Recently, your RLF Manager was reviewing some old land surveys on file at the Mission's office. Several surveys bore the name of Gene Creel, a man very familiar to many of our BMA folks. A land surveyor by trade, he surveyed many properties for the BMA of MS throughout the years and was a long-time supporter of our Missions and Revolving Loan Fund Department. Although he is no longer with us, we remember him for his faithfulness and generosity to the BMA of MS.
A little less well-known was his wife, Dottie. She and Brother Gene were inseparable, and she would accompany him on many of his survey projects. She was a lady full of life and exhibited a great love for the Lord and His church. One memory that stands out was her expression of the word "glory" during many Sunday morning worship services at her home church, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Yazoo City, MS. While "amen" is the most common response during a sermon, she would say "Glory!" enthusiastically. It was her way of expressing her great love for the truths of Scripture. Each time she spoke it, she proclaimed the greatness of God and praised Him for who He is, as revealed in the Scriptures.
Giving God glory does not mean we add something to Him; "rather, it is active acknowledgment or extolling of who He is or what He has already done." (O'Brien) And what better place is there to declare His glory than in the church? The Psalmist David wrote, "In His temple doth every one speak, "Glory!"(Ps. 29:9). So we are to speak of the glory of God because He is glorious! And what is God's glory? The Puritan theologian, John Owen, wrote, "The infinite excellency of God, in His inconceivable perfections, raised up in such brightness as utterly exceeds all our apprehensions is His "glory." So when we begin to dwell upon the "infinite excellency of God," we may find ourselves one Sunday, just like Mrs. Dottie, proclaiming, "Glory!"
Gene and Dottie Creel believed in the work of state missions. Working in tandem with each other, the BMA of MS Missions and Revolving Loan Fund Department provide a vehicle for which our association can help plant and grow New Testament churches for the glory of God. Your investment is helping us do just that! Glory!
"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen."1 Timothy 1:17