The Beacon Article 12/16/09

Have you noticed all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season? Stores this year put out Christmas displays before Thanksgiving Day. Wait, did I say Holiday Season? EXCUSE! me I meant Christmas Season. You see the secular world wants us to say holiday season to take the emphasis off of Christ, Emanuel, the Messiah, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Please don’t fall into that deception of the enemy. Approximately two thousand years ago God our heavenly Father gave us the best present ever. He gave us the presence of his Son. John 3;16 says
16:For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
If you have accepted Christ then His presence is with you always. Christ’s coming was necessary to reconcile us to God. You see we all are borne into a sin nature that was a curse upon Adam. Christ provided the blameless, sinless perfect sacrifice for my sin and all of our sins. The birth, announcement and the manger scene will celebrate this time of years is only the beginning. You see the true meaning of Christmas is God loves us still no matter what we’ve done. The Father is waiting on all of his prodigal children to come to him. Jesus said in John 14:6 (NKJV)
6:Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Tony Macaulay wrote a song titled “If I get home on Christmas day” made famous by Elvis Presley. Won’t you come home for Christmas this year? All you have to do is ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. It’s that easy. What better way to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas? May the Love of the Father and the Christ Child bless you this CHRISTmas season.


With The Love of Christ
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

The Beacon Article 12_9_09

It was a warm spring day. The sun was warm on my shoulders and it was almost noon as we walked home. I was holding the hand of a beautiful woman. The first woman I ever loved. My mother’s hand always had a cool, soothing touch. We only lived a few blocks from the school where I was enrolled in kindergarten. As we passed the big church on the corner it happened: the playing of the noon bells. I don’t remember the tune. This past Sunday night’s service reminded me of that time in my life. Hearing the bells at our church, I always go back to that time. What a great memory. I pray this Christmas season’s sights and sounds bring back special memories for you. My mother has been in glory for about fifteen years now. But one day we will celebrate Christmas together again. It will be better than ever because Jesus will be there.
You see, that great night the shepherds saw and heard
10 …the angel say to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people
(Luke 2:10 NKJV).
You see, I have great Joy in Christ. I hold firm to His gift of eternal life. It gives me a peace in this life. I pray that you experience the Great Joy and Peace this Christmas that the Angels sang about that blessed night in Luke 2:14 (NKJV)
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Let’s keep Christ in Christmas this year
Merry Christmas

With The Love of Christ,
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

Beacon Article 12/02/09

If Ben Franklin had been given his way our national bird would have been the turkey. Little did he know Americans would still celebrate the turkey. You see, the wild turkey is a smart bird. Yet like many smart men, he has issues. Turkeys are polygamous, they like to have many hens. During season a Tom will "strut" and puff up his breast and spread his wings to display his feathers to look bigger. You see this helps display to the hen he has what it takes to protect the brood. Many men do this too. If you don't believe me, just watch teenage boys or even middle aged single men as they get ready for a date. The problem with many modern men today is they see the world’s view of what a man should be: macho, strong, outdoorsman type, maybe loving partying, hunting, and sports more than being with his family. They ignore what God had meant for a man to be. Daniel demonstrates what God wants from a man in Daniel 6:4 (New King James Version)4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.

Another example is like Joseph when Potiphar's wife tried to force him into an adulteress relationship as we read in Genesis 39:8 (New King James Version) 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
I am convinced that if men of this nation were what God had intended them to be our nation would be much better off. We find in Ephesians 5:25-29 a way to eradicate many problems of our society:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church

Men, I hope this past Thanksgiving you showed your love for your wife in a Godly way.

Love in Christ
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

The Beacon Article 11/18/09

Mary had a little Lamb whose fleece was white as snow. Do you remember that nursery rhyme? I didn’t like it. But this Thanksgiving season it has come to mind again. You see, the author of that rhyme was Sarah Josepha Hale. Ms. Hale was also a very influential magazine editor. She launched a successful campaign in the mid 19th century to make Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. Even though Mary had a little lamb, I am not as thankful for it as I am for the One that God sent to the cross for us.

In John 1:29 John the Baptist said as Jesus approached him, 29 …... “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
God has blessed me beyond measure, starting with my salvation. He took away my sin. November 15, 2009 has been a great day. I did not or do not deserve the role God has for me here at Clarksdale Baptist Church, but nevertheless God has granted me the blessing of sharing in Tyler Ferrington’s joy of his baptism. I praise God for that. Please remember to pray for Tyler as he follows the Lamb of God. You see, that Lamb has given Tyler eternal life. He will you give you eternal life and take away your sin, too, if you just ask. Jesus is the Lamb of Life.





With The Love of Christ,
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

The Beacon Article 11/11/09

I awoke rather abruptly from a dream that unnerved me. I was only in the seventh grade and yet I was dreaming of a wedding. I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to think of marriage for years. I pushed the dream out of my mind. Years went by; there were several new places I would reside before I thought of that dream again.
It was a busy day in the radiology department at Oxford Lafayette County Hospital. My brother asked me if I saw the new employee that had just started, but I hadn’t. Then it happened. I met her. Immediately a dream came to mind. I had seen this girl before. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on. ( OK guys you know how it feels sweaty palms, your heart skips a beat, and oh yes the butterfly’s in the stomach). I had fallen for this beauty. I made excuses just to go to her office. I told her then I loved her. She said “you’re crazy you don’t even know me” I said” I will”. That was thirty years ago this past August. I still don’t “know” her. But she is my sister in Christ, my friend and the love of my life (take that E-Harmony). You see God had a plan to bless my life.

In Proverbs 18:22 it says:

22:He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.

The Song of Solomon 4:9-10

9: You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse;

You have ravished my heart

With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace.

10 How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse!

How much better than wine is your love,

And the scent of your perfumes

Than all spices!
explains how I feel about my wife Charlotte ( my first & only).

Yes the Lord has favored me many times. One thing I am so thankful for this Thanksgiving season (besides my salvation) is my wife. As for the dream what can I say my name is Daniel.
May you find God’s favor and find a good thing.


Love in Christ
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

The Beacon Article 11/4/09

It was a beautiful spring day. I was looking for my nephew and niece (Jeremy and Tonya). At the time we lived in a big antebellum home. As I rounded the corner there sat Jeremy and Tonya. They had their pet guinea pig shaving it. Now that seemed like a good idea for children that were six and four years old. The guinea pig even seemed to be enjoying floating in shaving cream. Now I explained to them if they shaved the hair off the guinea pig it could get cold, sick and maybe even die. They didn’t understand the need for the guinea pig to keep its hair. You see sometimes we are like Jeremy and Tonya were. We get what seems like a good idea. We don’t seek advice (wise counsel). We jump right in and try to execute our plan sometimes not understanding the ramifications of our actions. We don’t take time to seek wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5 says: A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
Jeremy has since grown and become a deacon in his church. He has learned and demonstrated wisdom that could only have come from God. Jeremy put his trust in God at a young age. I have seen the promise of God develop in him. You see he took Proverbs 3:5 to heart:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;

See you Sunday

With the love of Christ
Deacon Dan
John 3:30

The Beacon Article 10_28_09

My family celebrated my granddaughter’s birthday this past weekend. Audrey Gayle was born October 19, 2006. She could be a clone of her mother, Jennifer. Scheduling four families to get together is not an easy task. We enjoyed ourselves, visiting our granddaughter, grandson (Carter Daniel Knight), daughters, and sons-in-law. Have you ever noticed just how uplifting the laughter of children can be? There is nothing like watching a child open a present. The expression of surprise or the sound of them being so happy can brighten anyone’s day.
Their laughter is like music to my ears.
I love to watch our church family’s children go the children’s church. They are always excited and the expression on their face is much like them receiving a present. They race off to see what their teacher is going to talk about. Psalm 127:3-5 (NKJV) says:
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;…

Yes, I had a happy weekend. I pray that you did too.







With The Love of Christ,
Deacon Dan
John 3:30