Genesis 1:1
A lot of people are convinced that there is no God, and that this world we are living in just happened. These people have been led to believe an error. If you were to stop, and study this world, you would agree. It is a well- planned and designed world made by an intelligent and benevolent God that loves us.
Let’s take the eye as an example of planning, designing, and constructing. The eye is just flesh, tissue. Yet, light enters the eye through a lens made of tissue, and strikes the optic nerve. The optic nerve is excited by the light, and sends a message to your brain. The brain interprets the signals from the optic nerve, and an image appears inside your head! You can see the flower, its shape, and its color! You can see different shades of color in the same petal of the flower. You would be able to see a dewdrop on the petal of the flower, as well as the bee buzzing about the flower! All of that information came into your mind through an organ made of tissue that was able to change light into 3-D shapes and textures!
I have always enjoyed looking at the moon. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I had only always seen one side of the moon! Our entire lifetime on the earth we will only view the same side of the moon because it is in a synchronized orbit with earth. The earth spins on its axis once in a day, and the moon spins on its axis as it orbits about the earth. As the earth spins, and the moon spins, and as the moons orbits the earth, the same side of the moon is always facing the earth! We didn’t know what the opposite side of the moon looked like until a space craft orbited the moon, and made pictures of it!
I heard Dr. W. A. Criswell tell this light-hearted story on the radio many years ago. He said that Toad Frog, Green Lizard, and Fire Ant met up in the piney woods. As they talked, the ground began to shake beneath their feet. Only then had they noticed the railroad tracks near them! They looked down the rail, and a powerful locomotive came bellowing around the bend. It passed them so quickly that the wind from the train sent them tumbling along the rails!
After the train had passed, Toad Frog stood up, and said, “You know, some believe that somebody made that locomotive. Yes, yes, some believe that locomotive was made, but I don’t believe that! I believe it made itself.”
Then Green Lizard said, “And some believe that someone is driving that locomotive! Yes, yes, some believe that someone is in control of it! But not me. It just goes when and where it wants to go. That’s what I think!”
And Fire Ant said, “Well, some think that someone owns that locomotive! Not me! If someone owns that train, I invite them to prove it! Let them just stomp me right now!”
When nothing happened to Fire Ant, they all three decided that what they thought was true was indeed the truth! But you and I know that they were wrong!
(Willie T. Welch, Pastor New Prospect Baptist Church, 691 Hwy 84 W Brookhaven, 601-754-8717)

Tommie W. had just moved from Missouri to southeast Texas. He went to work in the shipyards there, and was making a good paycheck. He had made some friends, and things were really going well. When he got his first paycheck, he wanted to celebrate. He called a friend he had made, and asked if she would go out to supper with him. She accepted the offer, and they had a great time! After a long evening, it was getting really late, so they decided to head in.
As they passed a marina, Tommie thought a late night swim would be fun. They whipped into the marina, and went to the docks. There was a sign posted that said, “NO SWIMMING-ALIGATOR”. The owner of the marina had posted it because a large gator was lurking about the docks, and it had been acting aggressively toward patrons as they moored their boats. The alligator was about eleven feet long, so it was a potential threat to people who were in the water.
But Tommie defiantly remarked about the alligator, and ran to the edge of the dock and jumped in. He, being from Missouri, had no idea what a vicious predator an alligator is. Almost immediately upon hitting the dark, murky water he yelled out, and then disappeared from sight. His call for help alerted other people at the marina, but nothing could be done to rescue Tommie, he was gone!
Rescue personnel were called in, and after searching for an hour, they recovered Tommie’s body. It was found about a hundred yards from the marina. One of his limbs had been terribly lacerated by the powerful jaws of the alligator.
Tommie’s date was mortified, and told the authorities that despite the warning sign, and her personal pleas, he went into the water anyway.
How tragic! And yet, how senseless! If only Tommie had heeded the warning sign, and the pleas of his date! That alligator was a cold-blooded predator with no remorse or compassion.
The Bible warns us of a blood-thirsty predator that lurks in our very midst. He also takes without remorse, and is without compassion. God has posted warning signs, and many witnesses have made the plea to warn others of Satan’s merciless hunt for the unsuspecting. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
And Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
I wish Tommie would have heeded the warning about the alligator! I hope that you will heed the warning about Satan! Run into the safe and loving arms of Jesus! He loves you, and is compassionate. He offers life everlasting, and is incapable of harming those that come to him. Jesus is a friend!
Unlike Satan, whose only mission is to steal, to kill, and to destroy!
(Willie T. Welch, Pastor New Prospect Baptist Church, 691 Hwy 84 W Brookhaven, 601-754-8717)

If you ever have the opportunity to travel in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, you will likely travel some ancient roads that were built when Rome ruled the world. The Romans made some very durable roads! They realized the importance of good roads early on. The expression, “All roads lead to Rome” was based on fact. They carefully and meticulously planned an infrastructure that would connect every province and major city in the Empire with its capitol, Rome! They spared no expense in the construction of these roads, so consequently, many of them are still used today! All you had to do was follow the road, and you would eventually come to Rome. Isn’t that something, a road that has withstood the test of time and circumstance!
In our Bible we find a road that will lead us to salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is referred to as The Roman Road because it is in the book of Romans, and because it also withstands the passage of time and circumstance. I invite you to walk The Roman Road to Salvation.
1. Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto Salvation
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
2. Romans 3:10, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
3. Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.”
4. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.”
5. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
6. Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
7. Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies
a living sacrifice unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
(Willie T. Welch, Pastor, New Prospect Baptist Church, 691 Hwy 84 W Brookhaven, 601-754-8717)