From Pines to Panhandle

 The ways of God are exhilarating, adventurous, and mysterious. I grew up over ten hours from where Brenda and I currently reside in Fritch, TX. Most people have never heard of Fritch, a small town about 40 miles north of Amarillo. We boast a population of some 1,800 people. I visited with our mayor today who wore jeans and boots. I sat last night with many others watching our volleyball team win a match from a bigger school in Amarillo. I serve a loving flock. 

God has the ability to lead, guide, and steer our lives in ways we could never foresee. I grew up in the midsized town of Lufkin, TX. That was a far different world than the Panhandle. I grew up with the abundance of rain. Grass was green. Trees were tall. Wind was minimal. Humidity was high. Thunderstorms were frequent. We swam in rising creeks during the rain. We built forts in the woods. 

Through many twists and turns Jesus got hold of me as a teenager. He took over control of my life. I never saw myself ever becoming a preacher. I had my sights on becoming a journalist. God steered my path to Howard Payne University to get a Bible degree. I met some very important people there. Brenda, whom I married. Eric Adcock, who served as the best man in my wedding and has stood by my side all these years later. Jase Waller, whom I served with at FBC Seminole and others. 

Fast forward 37 years. Now I serve the First Southern Baptist Church in Fritch, TX. How did God get Brenda and I here? Let me state that it all started with one conversation over lunch at Firehouse Subs. Can God really speak to a person at Firehouse Subs?  That conversation got me to praying. Soon after, scriptures were brought to me through my own Bible reading, reading books, and other circumstances. God had my attention. I told Brenda in 2023 that I thought God was getting ready to move us. Two yeas passed and nothing happened. 

One morning I received an email from the pastor search committee of this church. I did not send my resume to them. For a long time, I did not know how they even got it. I later found out a retired pastor friend sent it without informing me. There was a phone interview. It is well know around here now that the last thing I said in the phone interview was, "Don't ever contact me again unless you are convinced I am God's man for you." 

They honored my request. I did not hear anything from them for five months. I received an email requesting that we come interview in person. The rest is history. Here I am sitting in my office reliving all of that. We have lived in Fritch for 15 months. We have served the church for 16 months. We commuted for a month until we could purchase a house. 

Now we live in the Panhandle. We endure more windy days than not, violent storms with hale, wild fires, snow storms, and droughts. In the summer, the wind blows feeling like a blow dryer turned on you. The winter winds cut right through necessitating me purchasing a heavy coat. In the winter months, we keep an emergency kit in the vehicles including water, food, and blankets. It is a far different world up here. A world I love. I will always be an east Texas boy who loves the Pine trees. Trees are sporadic in these parts. I am a transplant Panhandle man now. I'm learning the toughness and resilience of Panhandle people. They are survivors. 

God used scripture, people, and circumstances to navigate me from my hometown all the way up to the top of Texas. He doesn't always show us the whole course at one time. According to Ps 119:105, His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. This came home to me a few years ago. I preached a youth camp in NM up in the mountains. The path back to my cabin went next to a mountain stream and across a bridge over a pond. The first night I had no flash light. I stumbled and tripped my way back to the cabin. It is a wonder I stayed dry. I stumped my feet on rocks and roots. The rest of the week I kept a flashlight with me. That light gave just enough illumination for the next few steps. That is the way with God's guidance. Obeying God one day at a time and one step at a time, He got me from the Pine trees to the Panhandle. He can lead you too by His word. 

The Fragrance of Worship

 There is a story found in Luke 7:35-50 about a dinner party Jesus was invited to attend. What is interesting is that a Pharisee invited Jesus. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees. He even called them hypocrites repeatedly in Matthew 23. Pharisees were obsessed with being viewed as ceremonially clean at all times. They were religious fanatics about it. They were legalistic. They wanted power and demanded the common people to live in ways they did not live themselves. 

Jesus accepted the invitation. Somebody else heard about this dinner party. A woman labeled as a sinner. She was anything but clean. Tradition says she was a harlot. Everything about her lifestyle was unclean. She was defiled, morally dirty, and desperate for change. I am sure she had a reputation. She is what eighteenth century historians called a "company keeper" in the days of Jonathan Edwards. This woman crashed the party. Imagine the awkward silence when she came into the room. 

I am sure the Pharisee was mortified. Everything that immoral woman touched in his home became unclean. She upset everything. The Pharisee looked at her with condemnation. 

The woman brought a bottle of very expensive perfume. Some say it cost a year worth of wages to purchase. I can't help but wonder if she used the perfume to cover the shame and misery of her sins. If she could not be treated like high society, at least she could smell like it. Perfume is a curious item to bring to a dinner party. She poured out the perfume on the feet of Jesus mixed with tears. The perfume was symbolic of sacrifice and emptying herself. The tears were a sign of her broken heart. She offered no words. Just this simple act of love. The fragrance of worship overwhelmed the room. She did not care what anyone thought except Jesus. 

The Pharisee began judging Jesus for allowing this immoral woman to touch Him. Jesus read his mind and told a parable about two people who owed money. One more and the other less. Jesus asked which one was more appreciative. The Pharisee correctly answered the one who was forgiven more. 

Then Jesus dropped the hammer. He called out the Pharisee for not washing His feet when He arrived. He praised the sinful woman for doing so. Then He spoke these profound words. "The who has been forgiven much loves much. The one who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:47 Jesus also said that her sins which were many were forgiven. She was cleansed in that moment. No longer condemned. She was saved by faith. 

All the while the fragrance of the perfume permeated the air. Her faith, courage, and desperation to pour such extremely valuable perfume to get right with Jesus saved her. She believed Jesus could love her, accept her, and transform her. He can do the same for anyone reading this. If you look closely enough at some of those Sunday morning church goers who look all cleaned up on the outside now, you might be surprised what they used to be like before Jesus transformed them also. Those are the ones who love much because they have been forgiven much. You can experience that too. One act of faith could lead to your own fragrance of worship encounter.