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My dear friend Dr. Scott Bauer

Written by admin on . Posted in death, friends, heaven, Scott Bauer. 11 Comments on My dear friend Dr. Scott Bauer

Today marks the five year anniversary since my dear friend Dr. Scott Bauer went to be with the Lord Jesus. He was the Sr. Pastor of Church on the Way, husband to his sweet wife Rebecca, and father to three wonderful children…Brian, Kyle and Lindsey. Scott impacted my life in so many ways and it’s still difficult for me to believe that he is no longer with us. I know that as a Christian Pastor I’m supposed to have all of this figured out. But here I am five years later and still missing this godly man. Yes, he makes heaven all more real to me but I don’t ever want to forget this mighty warrior for Jesus and the influence he had on this valley. It is very important that we remember Scott by doing the things he taught us and by living out the Christlikeness he exemplified.

I know that if Scott were here today he would be leading the charge to protect marriage as a union between a man and a woman. He would be involved in intense prayer and intercession for our city.

Scott the Great… I love you my brother. The time will soon come to pass when we shall see you face to face. We’ll look for Jesus and then we’ll look at the person closest to Him, and I’m sure that will be you.

Joshua Weaver Went to Glory

Written by admin on . Posted in death, funeral, Joshua Weaver. 4 Comments on Joshua Weaver Went to Glory

I know that I have not posted in a while… but for a reason. I was out of town and then I received the news that my dear brother and former Worship Pastor here at Shepherd of the Hills Church, Joshua Weaver, had died and gone on to be with the Lord on January 1, 2008.

Joshua was a Godly man who blessed my life and our church each and every time he led worship. I wanted him to be the first thing I posted about in 2008 and I did NOT want to post until after his funeral, which was today at 11:00 a.m.

The service today was a celebration of his life. We sang a couple of the songs that HE had written and Coach Bobby Brasswell spoke for a few minutes. There was a choir called Voice Of Praises that Joshua used to belong to, and they sang a couple worship songs. I spoke for about 30 minutes, honoring his life, encouraging his wife, Irene, and referenced the scripture in Philippians that says “to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” It was a wonderful service, and I am sure that Joshua would have been pleased, and I believe that the Lord was glorified.

I want to encourage you to pray for his wife, Irene, that God would strengthen her each and every day.

Joshua, my dear brother, I know you are in a better place, and I know that you are with Jesus. Thank you for letting your light shine here at Shepherd, and thank you for using your gifts in leading us to worship the Lord with songs of praise. You are so missed, but we are thankful that you are at Jesus’ side. We shall meet once again “on that beautiful shore.” We miss you, we miss your presence, we miss your voice, we miss your smile, and we miss your worship.

In love,
Pastor Dudley

Pain of Job

Written by admin on . Posted in death, devotions, Job, perseverance, storms, trials. 1 Comment on Pain of Job

Job said these words in chapter 16, verse 6, “If I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away either.” These are the words of a man who was truly hurting. Have you ever hurt so bad that you didn’t know what to do and didn’t know where to turn? Job had so much pain in him that he couldn’t find a solution to relieve him of his heartache. Life had been difficult for him, with his family and possessions all ripped away from him.

There is no greater pain than the pain of being separated from someone you love. There is something about love that bonds hearts and relationships together in such a way that whenever loss occurs, it is devastating.

I think that’s what Job was going through, and the pain was overwhelming for him. He tried to talk his way through this pain, thinking that if he talked about the issues, the pain would subside. Then he tried to not talk about the issues, thinking that if, perhaps, he ignored them, they would mysteriously disappear. Well, no such luck! When pain sets its terrible hooks inside of you, it’s nearly impossible to detach oneself from the pangs of tribulation that result.

When this type of suffering occurs, we can only RUN TO the AUTHOR of LIFE, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone can lift this burden. No other agent or entity has the means to ease one’s pain. Jesus suffered in all ways that He might relate to us and minister to us. I have been there when the only way for comfort was to lean on His majesty and His sovereignty.

I always take comfort in knowing that Jesus watches over the little birds of the air (Matthew 6:26), and if He’s watching and providing for them, then I can be assured that He is watching and providing for me as well. The only question that remains is whether or not God is able to truly care for me when I’m going through the valleys of this life.

One only needs to read Job chapters 38-41 with an open heart to reach the conclusion that God is the only One who is able to meet our deepest needs. Even Job reaches this conclusion in Job 42:5 when he acknowledges that “my ears HAD heard of you but NOW my eyes have seen you.”

This leads to this obvious conclusion: when we are hurting, truly hurting… we need to look no further than Jesus. When we understand His greatness and His authority, our problems will begin to diminish. He alone will walk us through the storm. He has… “been there, done that” when He died on the cross. He will see us through when we think we can’t go on.