LIVING IN AN ARTIFICIAL WORLD

   According to the Bible, Satan is the god of this world.  (2nd Corinthians 4: 4)
   Therefore, this world is Satan's dominion.  This world is his kingdom.  And this world is the devil's sandbox.
   The devil rules over governments, and the devil rules over religions.
   Everything that we see in this world is man made, and everything is artificial, not designed to last.
   Kingdoms arise, and kingdoms fall.
   Nations arise, and nations fall.
   Governments arise, and governments fall.
   One by one they all rise up, and one by one they all fall down.
   Living the dream is the same as living in an imaginary world, a world that is artificial.
   That which was here yesterday is gone, and that which we see today will be gone tomorrow, being replaced by the newest brand of artificial.
   Everything is artificial, not designed to last.
   We get educations, get jobs, build houses and have families, working our way through various systems to provide for ourselves and for our families, to hopefully save enough money to retire, play golf, walk along sandy beaches, take naps, eat and drink, watch television, and wait to die. 
   Everything is artificial, not designed to last.
   Governments are artificial, television is artificial, and so is entertainment, business, sports, movies, and music.  Nothing is designed to last.
   Religions, too, are artificial because they are created from the imaginations of men:  filling the heads of people with false gods, false beliefs, false hope, false salvation, and complete with an artificial heaven where people believe they will arrive in their own imaginations---even to believe that certain men of the earth are gods.
   So here we are, living another day in an artificial world, and still exhibiting the same behaviors that previous generations lived:  hoping for a better day, a day when the world could be at peace, but peace has always been an allusive vision, a dream too far.
   This world is a sick place to live, for people are either dead, or they are dying.
   Conditions are the same as when Christ arrived in Bethlehem two thousand years ago when sick people did not want the Lord's message of love, hope, and peace; therefore, men of religion killed Christ because men of religion want people to die, not to live. 
   The love we know in the world today is all because of the love of Christ.  Take that away and the world is no more than a slaughtering pit of men against men, families against families, nations against nations, and people against God. 
   While men talk peace, they hold daggers behind their backs.
   If you are looking for this world to be a better place in which to live, stop looking.  Stop hoping. Stop dreaming.  And stop believing in men in fancy suits and priestly garments.  Instead, believe in the Bible and you will be correct.
   The only good that happens in this world is because of the love of God that abides in the hearts of people who have come to believe in Christ.  That's it.  And that is all.  Everything else is artificial, not designed to last.

WALNUT GROVE

                                               Photo by:  Blue Ridge Mountain Genealogy

    According to the history of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association of Wilkes County, North Carolina, church minutes do not reflect the beginning history of Walnut Grove Baptist Church.  Based on county deed records, however, there was a Walnut Grove Church as early as December 29, 1884, and it was a member of the Primitive Baptist Association in 1884.  Its pastor was Calloway Blevins.
   Prior to 1848, there was a church, an arm of New Covenant Baptist Church, located in the same immediate vicinity, and the name of that church is not known.  On April 29, 1848, a new name was given, Mount Zion Baptist Church, which ceased to function in 1873.  Mount Zion was a member of the Primitive Baptist Association.  It seems logical that this is the church from which Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church had its beginning.  Walnut Grove was organized on or before 1876, a member of the Mountain Union Association, under the leadership of Calloway Blevins.
  The earliest Minutes of Walnut Grove date to 1895.  In 1897, the church called for a pledge to build a new building, and church records reveal that the present church building was completed on the present site before October, 1908, about one half mile north of the original site.  In May, 1909, a dedication service was preached by Rev. Callie Blevins, assisted by Elder W. W. Myers and Rev. Grant Cothren.  In the 1940s, the church was rebuilt and later Sunday School classes were added.
   In 1897, Walnut Grove withdrew from the Mountain Union Association to become a constitutional member of the newly-formed Stone Mountain Association.  Calloway Blevins was the first Moderator of the Stone Mountain Association, an elected position that he served ten times.
   Some of the ordained preachers at Walnut Grove are these:
   Troy Blevins, 1910; S. L. Blevins, 1916; Callie Pruitt, 1916; Gar Pruitt, 1941; Minter Blevins, 1943; Major Caudill, 1949; Andrew Blevins, ?.
   Former members of Walnut Grove, but ordained in other churches are these: 
   Fred Blevins, Ernest Blevins, Hilary Blevins, Garfield Gambill, Famon Blevins, A. W. Pruitt, Uriah Hanks, Avery Blevins, Jimmy Pruitt, Gordon Joines, WajTie Blevins, and Chelsie Johnson.