Turkey day is over-Thank goodness, says my waistline

The turkey has settled and we seem to be back on a normal week. I hope you all had a great week last week! I thank you for allowing me and Paige to spend some time with our families south of here. It was a blast to see some cousins and extended family/friends over Thanksgiving.

I had the opportunity to preach at FBC Houston, MS this past Sunday. FBC Houston has sponsored and supported Riverbend since day one. I thanked them for their prayers and their support as well as opened God’s Word up and preached. Please lift FBC Houston up to the Father today. I love so many there, and I desire to see God move afresh there.

Excitement is building in me! I am so excited about the “NEXT STEP” here at Riverbend. God has opened the door and has allowed us the opportunity to expand for His Glory. We are looking forward to the new building come February. I hope you all received a letter from Riverbend last week and that your family is praying to see what God would have you give to “Be a Part of More.” We are going to take up an offering December 12 and 19. God is blessing and He desires for us to be available for His use. As we move forward, physically and figuratively, please know that the adversary is out there seeking whom he can devour. We are in a war! We must remember to daily put on the whole armor and get in the fight. Satan wants to bring us down to defeat, and he really doesn’t care how that comes about. He is crafty and we must remain focused and on task for Christ. As you go about your week this week, please pray for the marriages and families in Riverbend. Pray for God to break through in some areas where people have built up walls and strongholds. He is able! You and I must Pray and believe!

I love you all,

Brian

Men's Night @ Safehaven

Sorry for the delay in posting. Internet was out at the Tillman household over the weekend.

Just got back from Riverbend Men’s Fellowship at Safehaven. We had the opportunity to cook Thanksgiving for the men at Safehaven. We had a great turn out of guys! Over the past few weeks I have been taking the guys through a study on Faith by Manley Beasley. This study has stretched the men of Safehaven, it has stretched me. I asked the men of Riverbend to come out with me and they did. We had a great time! Brad Fowler fried us a turkey and the men at Safehaven and Riverbend LOVED IT.

Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to speak each Friday night to the men of Safehaven and I have enjoyed spending time with the men there. Many of you may not know what Safehaven is, it is a transitional ministry form men who have served their time in the prison system and trying to get acclimated back into society. Larry Logan is the director and there is doing a great job.

The thing I love best about Safehaven is that the men there are hungry to learn the Word. They have messed up and paid for it, but now they want to grow. Every time I am there I am reminded of God’s grace and also His desire to use us if we make ourselves available.

As I close may I just challenge us all to grow! Be in God’s Word and obey what He says. We must remember that this world is not our home; we are residents of heaven. We are here for a reason; to be ambassadors for Him. He has us here on official business. We are to live out our lives in such a way that everyone around us knows that we are His. They know because we are telling them and also they know because they see a difference. So be His and remain focused on the task at hand.

Brian

Weddings and Marriages

The past few weeks I have had the opportunity to be a part of two weddings. I know what some of you are thinking, “Brian HATES doing a wedding!” You are correct, but as I have focused on the wedding or better yet the marriage picture, I have been reminded of a couple of things that we truly need to remember.

First, marriage between a man and a woman is a picture of the union between Christ and His bride, the church. That union is forever, a marriage union is to be until death. Christ is the head of the church, Col. 1:18, and He is to provide for and protect the church, bride. So too the husband is to do this for his wife. He is the one that has the greatest deal of responsibility and the one whom God looks at when looking at the family. God has given us husbands much responsibility and we must not take that lightly.

This picture is not just a snapshot taken at the wedding ceremony where everyone puts on a great smile. No this is a daily picture lived out. The picture is to be seen by two sets of people, the couple and the world. The couple sees the marriage union up close and personal and therefore knows the points of contention or the points of joy. They see the union and are ever reminded of what they said before God and witnesses that day. The picture is also for the world. The world doesn’t know God. They don’t know how much He loves them, cares for them and has done for them. The marriage picture is to show the world just how much God has done and will do for His bride. Sure in our day and culture that picture may not be as clear as it should be or even once was, but it is still to be that. Also we are to champion that cause with the culture, with friends and family, so that they might see marriage that way.

Men LOVE your wives totally and sacrificially! Women submit and respect your husbands! The world is looking at us; be the witness God has called us to be.

Secondly, marriage is a LONG journey. We focus on the wedding event, not the marriage. This is so true and so sad! For the most part we spend hours and hours, ok the ladies do, picking out the right items and accessories as well as the dresses and songs and all the stuff. It is a LONG time consuming process. We put much focus and money into the wedding, but one hardly ever thinks about the WORK that needs to go into the marriage even before it happens. We don’t do that, usually, and because we don’t the marriage itself suffers. Because our focus is usually on the ceremony or the “day,” the couple is not prepared for the issues that will come up six weeks/months into the marriage and there is “friction.” This “friction” then grows and before too long the couple is at each others throats and the marriage is on “thin ice.” Now many of you reading this might say that your marriage is not there, I hope not, but to be honest over 1/2 of all the marriages today will end in divorce. We must start to look at this epidemic and seek to stop it! We have to spend time, effort, focus and even financial means to prepare for the marriage, not just the wedding ceremony, or we will continue to see marriage after marriage fall by the wayside in divorce.

I don’t want this to be a negative post or a negative look at the recent weddings I have been a part of. The two couples of late that I have been a part of their marriage both desire God to be the “glue” in their union. I am writing this today because I have been thinking about marriage here lately, that is all.

For those of us already married, how about some homework. Think about what marriage is: a picture Christ and the Church; a covenant between two people and God; a vocation because we are called of God to be husbands and wives; an institution because God has put us together; a union. All of these things are true! Take one aspect of your marriage and focus on it for a while; work on your marriage this week, it will reap bountiful benefits.

Pastor Brian