Ridge Baptist Church Lubec Maine

01/21/2026

I am not a fan of the NIV (New International Version) Bible as it is a “thought for thought” translation rather than a “word for word” translation. I do use it in my study of Scripture, but it is not my “go to” as I prefer a few other version before the NIV.

However, I do believe that the NIV trumps some of the other versions in bringing out a truth of First Corinthians 2:14. For instance, the King James Version reads,

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Now consider the wording of the NIV.

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

What the Bible teaches here is that in our natural depravity there is not an ounce of understanding of spiritual things. We will hear of spiritual things and write them off as foolish thoughts. Like Nicodemus, who asked Jesus…

“How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4)

No man ever knows God until awakened by His Spirit. The only life a man can possess is the life given him by God. The only understanding of spiritual things is when God opens our understanding of His mind to us.

Every spiritual thought that I embrace came from God. Education may teach you about God and the Bible, and you may worship your education, but without the Spirit, you cannot worship God, for He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

01/17/2026

The church needs to be a testimony of God’s grace. God is our light and we are to reflect that light both individually and corporately. However, our message, what we stand for; better yet, WHO we stand for, is controversial. We will be hated for our love for Christ and His Word. However, somehow we have come to believe that we need to be “liked” by the community in order to be effective. We have come to think that if someone outside of the church gets offended then we should cease our offense. The fact of the matter is that Christians who live like they’re supposed to, will be offensive, not purposely, but by virtue of their testimony.

Christ was offensive. He offended many, and the offended wanted to crucify Him even over the little things that shook them up.

Peter was offensive. Why do you suppose he ended up in Jail and then martyred?

Paul was offensive. Timothy was offensive. Ten of the apostles were killed for being offensive. John was exiled for being offensive. Go back to the Old Testament prophets and see how offensive they were.

Our message is offensive, and those on the outside who know what is preached on the inside of our church building know our message is offensive. Go and tell someone they need to be saved. If they ask, “Saved from what?” Go ahead and tell them, “You need to be saved from the wrath of God”, and see how they take that answer. I suppose you can water it all down and simply tell them that God loves them, but it will have no spiritual effect until you tell them that “God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm7:11b), and that they will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Go ahead and tell that and see how they react. The bottom line here is that once you offend someone with God’s Word, or even offend by virtue of being a part of a Gospel church, you are marked. You will not be liked by many, and it won’t matter what you do for these people, they will be your enemy.

So, what should I do? It depends. If you want to be liked by the world, stop talking about God and stop going to church. But be warned, if you can walk away from what you professed that easily, then all you had was an empty profession and did not have possession of Christ as Savior (I John 2:15).

However, if you are willing to be viewed as a “fool” for Christ sake, or viewed as negative, judgmental, and intolerant, then you will also have to play the cards that Jesus dealt to His followers. You will be disliked at the gas station and the supermarket. It won’t matter if you’re worshipping or playing basketball, you will be disliked. It isn’t our lot in life to make the church “likable”. It isn’t your work to make sure that our community is happy. It is our duty to glorify God by being obedient to His Word and that the only thing in life that matters is Jesus.

The world will go to Hell in a hand basket. Every unbeliever will face God in judgement one day, and whether you shared the Gospel with them or not, they will hate you forever.

01/02/2026

01/01/2026

Come Join us this Sunday.

12/22/2025

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ. You NEED to read this. I usually post only what I write, my thoughts, but I came across this and it screamed POST ME. I am not sharing it with the original posters name as I know nothing about him, but I do like what he said as this has been on my mind for several weeks and has now come to the forefront since a TPUSA event is now in progress. Read and heed.

"Test the spirits.” 1 John 4:1

"Something’s off right now, and a lot of people can feel it, even if they can’t name it. Christianity is getting rebranded. Not with repentance. Not with holiness. But with platforms, influence, and cultural cool points. The world figured out that mocking the church doesn’t work anymore, so now it markets itself as the church. We’re watching voices shaped by the culture step into Christian spaces, speak just enough Bible language, wave faith like a banner, and get celebrated as “bold” or “revival” while never calling people to die to themselves. And a generation raised on authenticity is being fed a polished counterfeit."

"Jesus didn’t come to make faith trendy. He came to call people to the cross. The gospel isn’t a vibe. It isn’t a brand. It isn’t nationalism with a Jesus sticker slapped on it. Scripture warned us this would happen: “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 Deception doesn’t show up looking evil. It shows up sounding familiar. It knows the lingo. It knows the algorithm. It knows how to say “God” without surrendering to Him."

"Here’s the test: Does it call you to repentance, or just make you feel validated? Does it point to Jesus, or to identity, influence, and power? Because Jesus plus anything is no longer Jesus. A crossless Christianity is not good news. A faith without submission is just self-help with Bible verses. And a church chasing relevance will always lose its witness."

"So don’t follow hype. Follow fruit. Don’t ask, “Does this feel Christian?” Ask, “Does this look like Christ?” Because in the end, not everyone who says His name belongs to Him. Stay awake. Stay grounded. Stay rooted in the Word. The real gospel was never meant to be easy to swallow, but it was meant to set you free."

10/29/2025

“It is not about what you have, but about what you don’t have because of what you have.” - tg

10/27/2025

I woke up this morning at 1:38. I was wide awake. Don’t you hate it when that happens? You know it’s way to early to start the day, and if you do start that early, you’ll be back in bed when you would normally be getting out of bed. So, I laid there staring at our bedroom ceiling thinking that I could pray. So I did.

I thanked God for His grace and mercy and His working in me. I asked Him to use me and fill me with His Word, to help me overcome my failings, for victory over my sins, and that I would honor Him whether people see it or not.

Then I prayed for Deb, then my children and their families, then my church family as God brought their names to my memory. Then I prayed for friends, and lost people that I knew. Then GOD hit me up the side of my head.

Prayer is a reflex of dependence on God. Here’s my thoughts on prayer. If you can change something, do it. If you can’t change something, pray and ask God to do it. That’s when you have to depend on God.

When I began praying for loved ones who are without Christ, I also began to evaluate their lives. I told God something to this effect. “Lord, I don’t think they’ll ever be saved. They’re a mess. They’re so deep in sin, they can’t find their way out.” WHAT WAS I THINKING! Was I saying that salvation was dependent on their life changing first? Could I have told God they were beyond His capability to save them? Maybe I was saying that I was a better person than they are before I was saved. Whatever was going through my mind, God showed me that my thinking wasn’t right. We can apply this to every situation and circumstance that seems insurmountable or heartbreaking that sometimes enter our lives.

It is said that prayer changes things. That is true. It could change your circumstances, or a loved one, but more than not, prayer will change YOU!

10/17/2025

Jonah wouldn’t go to Ninavah, but when he did, God blessed beyond measure. Onesimus ran away from Philemon, but when he returned, Philemon gained a brother. I feel a camaraderie with these two men. Both tried to get away from God but found that He only lets you go so far, then returns you to where you belong. God is truly the God of a second chance. If only we were like God.