The Awesome Presence Of God

We in the church make a big deal about being in God's presence and desiring God's presence in public worship gatherings. Let me draw our attention to one tiny point. When people encountered the awesome presence of God in the Bible they were humbled. Often they were terrified. Let me state just a few examples.

In Exodus God descended on Mount Sinai in fire covering the top of the mountain in smoke and thunder. God called Moses up and warned the people not to even touch the mountain less they die. Now read how the people responded to God's awesome presence.

Exodus 20:18 (NASB)
18  All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.

When God had his great showdown with the false prophets on the top of Mount Carmel Elijah asked God to answer by fire. God answered Elijah's prayer by sending fire to consume to burnt offering and the water he poured on it.  When God did look how the people responded.

1 Kings 18:39 (NASB) 

39  When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God." 

When Solomon finished praying to dedicate the temple the glory of God descended and filled the temple. Notice how the priests and people responded. They were humbled in the awesome presence of God. 

2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (NASB) 

1  Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 

2  The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house. 

3  All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting." 

Let's look at one New Testament example. 

Matthew 17:1-6 (NKJV) 

1  Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 

2  and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 

3  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 

4  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 

5  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 

6  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 

It appears to me by the lack of this response in worshipers today that the awesome presence of God does not always descend on our meetings. People can "go to church" and be unmoved. That does not appear the case when God descended on a place. People were awed. They were humbled. They were terrified. When is the last time you saw any of those reactions in a public worship gathering or a private devotion? I am betting it has been awhile if ever. 

I wonder if we uselessly kindle fire in our religious meetings. We plan. We program. We pray token prayers. Do we have the presence of God on our minds, in our hearts and saturating our meetings? I think by the response of the people the answer is obvious. 

Do we really yearn for the awesome presence of God. Let me conclude with some stories. Several years ago I preached a revival for a group of students on a college campus. They scheduled the revival meetings to last three nights. God had other plans. The meetings lasted for three weeks.  Those services were often three hours long. Most of that time devoted to people dealing with God after the message and worship. On the first night, after a message about repentance, I felt the powerful presence of God in that little room. Two thoughts dominated my mind. First, I needed to get out from in front of the people. Second, I needed to get on my face. I did. I put my head under a chair on the first row and prayed. I can still remember the sound of weeping all over that room as college students repented of sin and called out to God. That invitation time lasted well over an hour. 

In another revival meeting in Kosse, TX after preaching another hard word of repentance I again sensed the presence of the Lord. I lay prostrate under the baby grand piano praying. I honestly do not know what happened after that. I just knew I needed to get out of the way and get on my face before the Lord. 

In the summer of 2010 God blessed Seminole, TX with a revival that lasted 23 days. In one of those services I went to the altar during the worship knelt down and started weeping. I could not hold back the tears. I felt humbled and humiliated. I felt the weight of the revival crushing me. I could not preach. I did not even know what to preach that night. Eventually the worship stopped but I could not quit weeping on my knees before the Lord up front at the steps leading to the stage. Everybody waited to see what I would do. I could only weep and plead for God's help. I don't know why exactly I wept other than being caught up with God.  One wise deacon came and lovingly put his arm around me. He whispered in my ear, "Go ahead and preach what God laid on your heart." I honestly cannot recall one thing that happened in that service after that except that I did wipe my tears and preach. The presence of God humbled me.

Lastly, about a year and a half ago I got asked to preach to a revival meeting in east Texas. I spent the night with a friend afterward. I had an encounter with God the next morning I cannot explain. I sat at a little wooden desk in that bedroom and sought God in prayer. He met me in a way like I have seldom experienced before. It is like His presence came in waves. I basked in His presence with many tears. I could not leave. I did not want to leave. His awesome presence covered me and I felt His love and mercy in a profound way. He humbled me. He loved on me. He engulfed me. He overwhelmed me in that little bedroom. I am embarrassed to even say how long that encounter with God lasted. It seemed but a short time to me in the moment. Suffice it to say it was no ordinary devotion. 

Do we really want the awesome presence of God in our devotions? Do we really crave the awesome presence of God in our worship gatherings? This question is biting into me for the past several days.  I think we are often content to do our religious things without Him. May we be awakened to see what we are missing. May God be merciful to encounter us today. 

God At Work In My Son

Turner sat on a bench at the staging area in a track meet to pray before running the 400 meter dash. While he prayed others around him boasted about what they would do. Turner asked God to help him. Turner's best finish in that individual race was third place. He works tirelessly to improve but knew to perform his best he needed God's help.

The race had two heats. Turner ran in the first one. He ran well finishing first. Faster and stronger than we have seen him run. We timed the other heat and there were some fast runners in that heat as well. I tried to keep up with the times to see if Turner would even place.

Much later in the meet they finally announced the final results of the 400 meter race. When they did not mention Turner's name I was disappointed for him. That is they did not mention his name until they announced the winner and the winning time. God helped Turner. He ran three seconds faster than he has ever run before. He immediately gave glory and credit to God for such an accomplishment.

I watched God at work in my son. Turner gets it. It is not about Him. It is all about Jesus.
John 3:30 (NASB)
30  "He must increase, but I must decrease.

What could God do in and through all of us if we just surrendered to Him and leaned on Him more fully? I am inspired to see. If God can work through my son at a track meet how can He work through me in everyday life for His glory and to expand His Kingdom. I want to expend the rest of my days finding out.

A Perennial Best Seller

I love books. I love reading. Few things excite me more than just walking into a bookstore and perusing the titles. When Brenda is with me, I will often find a book and a chair and nestle in for a good read while she shops. Recently, I walked into a Half Priced Books store with a couple of friends. They looked at albums and comics. I had no intention of buying anything but found a new biography on Babe Ruth and found a chair and started reading until my friends were ready to leave. What little I read fascinated me.

I seldom go to the best seller's section. Over the years I have developed a far different appetite for reading. Knowing time is short and I am not getting any younger I am much more selective about what I read. I look for the biographies. I look for my favorite authors. From time to time someone will recommend a book or author.

Sometimes I read the same books over and over again at least once a year. They are that beneficial. In recent days I have been given over a dozen books. I've been blessed with thousands of others by retired preachers. So many new books I cannot keep up.

While making a hospital visit recently a lady asked, "When do you have time to read?"I replied I do a lot of it early in the morning.

One book fascinates me. I have read it several times. To be honest, some parts of it I do not understand. The author is a deep thinker. Far deeper than me. Much more intelligent. I still wade through the pages picking up a few hidden gems of knowledge.

Without question my favorite book is a perennial best seller. You will not see it on the lists though. If you did it would be the number one selling book every year. Of course I'm talking about the Bible. How about these fun facts.

• Each year 100 million Bibles are printed.
• In the United States 168,000 Bibles are sold or given to another individual each day. 
• 20 million Bibles are sold each year in the United States alone. 
• 92% of Americans own at least one Bible. 
• The Gideons give away about 100 Bibles every minute. 

Pretty amazing. Many followers of Jesus have made this book the staple of their spiritual diet. Most preachers have made the Bible the subject of their preaching and teaching ministries. Millions read the Bible devotionally. It is the most important book in the world. No other book has ever been written which has impacted so many lives and been so influential as the Bible. 

This sacred book has been , criticized, maligned, disbelieved, dismissed and dissected. It still stands as the perennial best selling book every single year. Pagan publishers do not want you to know that. So they disregard Bible annual sales to promote other books and authors. Those books come and go.  The Bible stands alone as the best selling book of all time. End of question. 

 I wish more of those 92% who own a Bible would read it, study it, and live according to the principles contained in it. Shucks, I wish the people in the church did the same. We live in a Bible ignorant age. Think on it. We live in a time when 80,000 different Bibles are readily available in most parts of the world and yet it seems few read it and even fewer live it. 

As a pastor, revival preacher and author I have God has my subject and the Bible as my textbook. In my personal readings I am working my way through the book of Exodus. The more I read and learn the more I realize how much I do not know. The Bible will never be exhausted in study. Unlike every other book written the Bible lives. Life transforming truth penetrates and pierces hearts. It is the book I've devoted my life to expounding. It is the most important book out of all my volumes. I thank God I have access to it. 

Now, enough writing. It is time to go back to Exodus and pick up where I left off yesterday. I pray I encounter God in the pages of the sacred perennial best selling book. 

2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB) 

16  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 

I'll Whip Your A _ _

Last night Brenda and I stopped to get Turner some supper before going to his track meet. Subway did not have a drive through so Brenda went inside to order and I waited in the car. Through the glass door I could see a little boy being a little boy. Bounding with energy and smudging the door with his his fingers. His family was leaving. He was the first one to the door. He pushed, leaned his shoulder into it shoving with all his might to barely get the door to budge and then slowly open. Behind him his little brother bolted out the door with older brother leaving the door in hot pursuit. Far behind I saw a frazzled mother screaming for the tykes to stop. They giggled and kept running down the sidewalk. Then I heard it. She screamed, "I am going to whip your a _ _!"

I could hear the youngest boy repeating, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Then I heard the familiar sound of a swat on the bottom though my view was hidden. I waited for it. Next, came the crying and screaming.

I wondered about that family. A mother who used such colorful language around her sons. A frazzled mother who looked like she was barely keeping her head above water. I know the panic she felt as those two youngsters ran out the door. You envision your child running into a busy parking lot and getting hit by a vehicle. You imagine a stranger kidnapping them. It is a powerless feeling. Brenda and dealt with that scenario times four little boys.

I know Jesus can make a difference in that mother's life. I don't know if she is married, divorced or living with someone. I just know in that instance she was not in control and it made me wonder how many other areas of her life are out of control. Her choice of language led me to believe she probably talks that way often.

Then I thought about those two little boys. They reminded me of mine when they were little. Full of energy, giggling, happy, curious.  I wondered what kind of home they are growing up in. I do not doubt the mother loves those boys. That is why she panicked. I wonder if those boys have heard the story of Jesus. I wonder if they have ever heard about the cross and the empty tomb. I wonder if those boys have ever been to a Vacation Bible School, a Sunday school class, or any type of church gathering. I wonder if they have ever seen a Bible. So many children never have. That thought tears at my heart often.

How do you help children growing up in harsh environments with dysfunctional parents in horrible circumstances. One child once commented about being called names at home. That child said, "It's okay. I still love my parents." How many feel unloved and unwanted? How many are being introduced to vile sin at an early age? How many have no sure foundation for living because the foundational unit of the family is shattered? It is almost more than I can bear.

How do Christian teachers undo in a couple hours a week what some children get brainwashed in 166 other hours a week when they are at home or school. Hurt children often hurt other children. These same hurt children grow up to be hurt adults. They will in turn hurt their on children. UNLESS...

Unless they meet Jesus and are transformed by His grace. That is my hope. That is my prayer. That is the desire of my heart. To see Jesus transform little ones and big ones making them new creations. May Jesus use us to be a part of that transformation as we tell the good news.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Flag Unfurled

It was way before sun up. My two buddies and I were making a mad dash from Austin back to Parker County this past Sunday morning where we had responsibilities to get back to. As we were pulling in for a quick breakfast to eat on the road I saw a beautiful sight. One that moved me and I thought to myself, "I have to write about this."

Overhead in the early morning breezes waved Old Glory in all of her splendor. This was not a small flag. It was huge. The wind blew ripples along the red and white stripes like ripples in the water. My initial thought, "How beautiful." I am a patriot. I love my country. I count it a privilege to live here. We are not a perfect country. We are far from God. There is no other place I would rather live unless God called me elsewhere. God has chosen to plant my feet in the United States to serve Him. Beyond that He planted my feet in TEXAS. That's about as good as it gets.

God has afforded me the opportunity to preach all around this nation and across this state. I have preached in every corner of this state and in many others over the yers. I have preached in mountains, near lakes, oceans in rustic retreat settings and in some of the beautiful facilities you can imagine. My work is far from over. There is so much left to be done. Still so many souls to be won. I am working on several now. My whole life and ministry have not amounted to more than a tiny splash in a huge ocean.  I must labor while I still have time. I have eternity to rest.

Seeing that flag unfurled in the wind brought several things to mind. My friends and I were headed home from a weekend youth retreat. They did the music and I got to preach God's word. I am thankful we can still do that in this country. We ate some amazing food. One place started with a man cooking on an outdoor grill and selling meat to help supplement his income. Soon he built a screen around the grill and now his place is a major tourist attraction where hundreds eat everyday. I am glad I get to live in a country where entrepreneurial dreams can thrive and succeed. I am thankful for churches. All kinds of churches where Jesus is proclaimed and He transforms lives. Some gather in crowded cities. Some gather off dirt roads in the country. They and many others are the bride of Christ. I am grateful for men like Eric Adcock, Jason Medlin and Wes Clark who labor for King Jesus. I am thankful for volunteers who love, give and serve tirelessly for the same King. I am thankful for the opportunity to be a chosen vessel for God to work through.

I am thankful for the family I returned home to. I am thankful for a flock I get to love and lead. I am thankful I get to do what I was born to do. I am thankful for a comfortable bed after a long day's work. I am thankful for for this computer where I get to type out my ramblings for others to read.

I am proud to be a citizen of the United States. I am a patriot. I love America. Yet the flag that means more to me and serves as the banner over my life is the Christian flag. That is my standard. That is my rallying cry along with millions of other believers. May that flag daily unfurl for all of us as we battle for our King. I live to serve Jesus. He is my Commander In Chief. He is my all in all. All I have I have because of Him. It is an honor to represent Him. I AM NOT ASHAMED OF JESUS OR HIS GOSPEL. MAY THAT FLAG WAVE OVER MY LIFE ALL MY DAYS.

Glory Tires

Glory tires surely sounds like a strange title. You know there has to be a story behind it and of course there is. I gladly tell it.

Just about a year ago I bought two new tires for my truck. Tucker drove it at the time. I needed four tires but only had enough money for two. I planned on getting the other two quickly. Weeks turned into months. Months became six months and then nearly a year. Every time we had the money saved something would happen. Our sons in college needed money. They needed gas money, money to live on, and tuition moneyWe ended up buying three batteries for their cars and new tires for one of our son's trucks. We had unexpected medical expenses. There was not enough for the two new tires. I had to buy tires for Brenda's vehicle.

Brenda and I were faithful with our money. We gave to our church. We sacrificed when God instructed us to. We  also did what we always do in such situations. We prayed. We asked God for two tires. I know that sounds a little crazy but for months I actually prayed for two tires. Nothing happened. No provision came we could use for tires. So we waited and prayed some more.

The  old tires on my truck got so slick they continually spun out in rainy weather. They also gave way spinning out on dry pavement as well. Months and months of praying and nothing changed.

This past Sunday a man in our church asked me about those tires. I tried to avoid the conversation and even change the subject but he persisted asking. I could not lie. Finally I told him the truth. He asked me the size of the tires. He ordered tires and paid for them. Today I had them installed. They are glory tires. Jesus once again answered our prayers. We asked for two tires and that is exactly what God provided. Glory tires for He gets all the glory for them.

For several weeks I've stood on John 14:14.

John 14:14 (NKJV)
14  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Jesus knew I needed the tires. They were becoming unsafe. Most days I drive over 100 miles a day. I use my truck to minister. Today I used it to share Jesus with Mary. Soon I will leave to go and talk to Mark. Last night I used it to preach to several dozen students and at a youth meeting. We did not have the money. We had a need. I took Jesus at His word. I asked in His name and in His time He answered and gave just what I needed and asked for.

I asked in His name to meet the need. He could have done it the first time I asked. For His purposes He delayed testing my faith. He came through. He worked. He provided. He heard. He moved. Now my black truck has glory tires on the rear. I praise and glorify Him for those tires. Once again He gave me a platform to testify for Him. That is exactly what I did. I praise Him for it. I glorify Him for it.

What next? What do I need for Jesus to do for me next? I trust Him to pay off the $84,000 debt on our facilities at Heritage. I trust God to add instrumentalists, vocalists, teachers and workers to our church body. I trust Him to begin saving the lost and growing our church. I trust Him  personally to pay off my home. I trust Him to provide my wife with a vehicle debt free. I trust Him to bless Brenda and I so much financially that we are able to give a gift of tens of thousands of dollars to pay off the debt at our church.

If God can supply glory tires He can supply all the above and more.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)
20  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21  to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We Have Because We Asked

On February 27 I wrote a blog titled, "We Have Not Because We Ask Not." In the blog I recounted stories of asking God for things and Him working and providing those specific things. I also wrote about some times when I did not lead the people of God to ask.

Then I cited such an example. I mentioned our church needing a crib, me a desk and bookshelves for my office. God convicted me that I had not led the church to ask God for those things. So I did. We asked. In simple childlike faith we asked. We asked repeatedly. For three weeks we asked and waited to see what God would do.

This is an update. Late Monday night I received a text from a friend who told me he was getting a new desk for his office and wanted to give me his old desk. A desk that is not old. A desk he and his wife personally bought for his office. He told me he felt like he was supposed to give it to me. His wife said she had planned on selling the desk but was in agreement with giving the desk to me. WOW. Coincidence or God heard our prayer and intervened to answer? You already know what I think.

The same week our music minister heard about a church giving away several items. That church had remodeled their facilities and had several old items to donate. He went to see if they had anything we needed. He found among several other things baby cribs and bookshelves. Again I ask, coincidence or divine intervention. We asked and a church just happened to give away the very items we prayed for. It does not matter if those things were used. One man's junk is another man's treasure the saying goes. We asked God for some specific things and He provided for those specific things.

This past Sunday afternoon while leading a Bible study about the body of Christ and how God adds people to the body as He chooses,  I asked the group this question, "Whom do we need God to add to this body." They made a list. Teachers. Instrumentalists. Vocalists. Children and Youth leaders. Nursery workers. Workers. Guess what we did after the list was completed. Yep. We paused and asked God to add those people to our body. I have personally asked God for those people everyday since.

If God does what He did with the cribs, desk and bookshelves I expect God will very soon start adding some very specific people to our body so we can function properly. That little group in our Bible study will know we asked and God supplied as each of those persons comes to Heritage.

O people. How often do we not have because we did not ask. Now I realize that many of you have asked repeatedly and not received. So have I. I have prayers not answered I have prayed for years. I keep asking. I keep seeking. I keep knocking. I expect if I am praying in God's will each of those requests will be answered in God's perfect timing.

I am excited God answered some very specific things in a relative short time for Heritage Baptist Church. I trust it will increase the faith of our congregation. I trust our faith will increase to believe God for even greater things. I hope our little testimony does that for you too.

Matthew 7:7-8 (NKJV)
7  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

City Lights

Last week I spent the night in Weatherford, TX due to some unforeseen circumstances, where I shepherd Heritage Baptist church. I had a room on the third floor with a large window overlooking the city. I sat at a table next to the window to pray. As the sun faded the lights of the city came on. God stirred my heart for the city where I serve and one day will live.

Weatherford is a growing city. Situated 30 minutes due west of Fort Worth on I-20. Well over a hundred thousand people are predicted to move in the area in the next couple of decades. Evidences of the growth are everywhere. Houses are built. The traffic is already congested. New shopping areas and restaurants abound.

As I sat at my table looking out the window I felt a burden and compassion for the people. Many without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Many weighed down by life. Many broken. Others bound in lifestyles of sin. Only Jesus can rescue them. Only Jesus can save them.

Looking out the window over the city stirred my heart. Much like Jesus' heart got stirred when He looked over Jerusalem. Matthew 23:37 (NKJV)
37  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Under those city lights are people whom Jesus loves and for whom He died. How many ignore Him? How many blatantly reject His love and mercy? How many defy Him openly? His love still remains. A love He has transferred into my heart. May the light of Jesus shine brighter than the city lights of Weatherford, TX. May the masses be drawn to Him and to houses of worship. May the name of Jesus be made more famous in Parker County. 

Free At Last

I drove back to my hometown last week for a funeral. I relived several memories along the way. I drove past the elementary school playground where I fell off the monkey bars and broke my left arm. On that same playground I kissed my first girl in second grade. I also stopped in my favorite high school hamburger joint called Ray's Drive in. Do yourself a favor when in Lufkin, TX and stop by. Get you a Ray's Special. It is my all time favorite burger ever!

I drove a little further and the memories turned dark. If I had taken a right turn onto a little farm to market road for about three miles and then turned right onto a little black top road that road would have come to a dead end. If you take a right turn there it eventually will get you back to the main highway. Turning left is a whole other matter.

Unfortunately, in my childhood my mother turned left. Repeatedly for years. It led to a nightmare. You see turning left meant going down a little lane that dead ends into my paternal grandparent's land. They owned several hundred acres. It may have even been over a thousand acres. On that land sat my grandparent's house along with four other old homes. One did not even have indoor plumbing. A tight knit family unwelcoming of outsiders. They had good reason to keep outsiders away.

In that place incest abounded, rape, molestation, physical abuse, alcoholism and I am sure more. My grandfather raped his daughters while my grandmother held them down. They got in trouble but the daughters remained. Later in life one committed suicide. The other remained in abusive relationships. My father got hit over the head with a lead pipe fracturing his skull. The Edwards compound as I have come to call it was a sick sinister place. One cousin told me decades later every female she ever knew from our family was raped or sexually assaulted. EVERY ONE!.

Abused children can grow up to abuse others too. My cousins did it to me. Maybe they taught it was normal. It was not I was in college that I looked back and discovered things done to me were not normal. They were dysfunctional.

My grandparents and their kids lived on that land. I learned a lot when we lived there. I actually milked a cow on that land. I watched my grandfather plow the fields with a mule drawn plow. I planted seed in the garden and picked vegetables when the were ready to be harvested. I ate fresh tomatoes right off the vine carrying a salt shaker with me. I saw a hog killed, scalded to remove the hide, and butchered as a youngster. I can still see the hog head severed from the carcass. Somebody mentioned hog head cheese and I did not eat cheese again for years after that incident. Many cousins lived on that same land. There were several and we played together.

Here is where it turns dark. While in grade school I got introduced to sex acts from my cousins. I first hand witnessed sex acts between brother and sister cousins. Sexual intercourse between them and then they made me try.  They did things to me and showed me things. I was young and did not understand. It was evil. It was sinful.

I also got introduced to physical abuse when my uncle got mad at me and whipped me with a bullwhip. I promise you the whelps on my body healed much faster than the scars and wounds to my mind. Something broke in me that day. I got shackled. Enslaved in a prison I could not get free from. My self worth suffered immensely. I developed real trust issues I still battle to this day. Because of the sexual things that were forced on me repeatedly I developed a very unhealthy view of sex. Those shackles and chains held me securely for years. Bound to my psychological, emotional and physical wounds I stayed enslaved for years silently. I did not tell anyone.  I resented any form of authority. Became rebellious and defiant against heavy handed leaders. I also grew very angry. Very determined to be different. A hot headed fighter. Bound by lust that gripped my mind.

I channeled my pain into athletics. No matter what I achieved it did not take the scars or chains away. Over the years I became a slave of sin. A slave to insecurity. A slave to anger and bitterness.

I do not recall how old I was when I made my last left turn at that dead end leading to my grandparent's house. My mother and father divorced. He got murdered. It did not matter to me. He was never my father in my heart. I have no memories of what he looked like and I did not attend his funeral.

We were still forced to got out there for family holidays. Somewhere around 10 years old I went out there for a Christmas gathering. I came home and told my mother I was never going out there again and I never did. Now I know that was God working in me to protect me.

Fast forward seven years on an October night in 1983. Jesus totally changed my life that night when I was introduced to Him. A local youth pastor explained Jesus died to take away my sin and guilt. I trusted Jesus for salvation and on that night Jesus began setting me free. He forgave my sin and redeemed me immediately.

Some of the chains still remained fastened for awhile. As I learned more and yielded more of my life to Jesus' control chains began to break. I became more free. Up to the point that 35 years later I can shout with Martin Luther King Jr., "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm free at last!"

Jesus has given me more peace than I have ever known. My trials are many. My mountains are huge. Yet I have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Chains have been broken by Jesus such as bitterness, anger, un-forgiveness, lust, temper, low self worth, lack of trusting others and more. Jesus has broken my shackles and chains. I stand in that freedom. I proclaim that same freedom to others who will listen.

Take your chains to Jesus. He is powerful enough to break them. Surrender your life to Him. Trust Him for salvation and forgiveness. Embrace His love and desire to heal you and restore you to complete wholeness. Accept His love, grace and mercy. Believe Him to heal you spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. He is your chain breaker. You no longer have to live in bondage. You too can be free.

Please feel free to share this with as many as you want hoping and praying God will set others free.

John 8:36 (ESV)
36  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Word Of God Speak

One of the most thrilling things about a close walk with Jesus is that He speaks to His people through His word. I have more than one Bible marked, underlined, hi-ighted and scribbled in with personal notes. When I come across those passages it reminds of an encounter I had with Him at some point.

In those encounters I have received instructions, comfort, rebuke, strength, hope, peace, reassurance, new ministry assignments and wisdom. It makes walking with Jesus a thrilling adventure. Walking with Him is a real dynamic relationship. Walking with Him is just as real as any other relationship you have with someone else. Only most people have contented themselves to just know about Him and never to really know Him. Knowing Him leads to encounters where He speaks.

I love it when God speaks to His people. Everything can change on a dime. It did for Moses at the burning bush. One moment Moses watched over sheep in the backwoods of the desert. Isolated. Bored. In that place God showed up, grabbed Moses' attention through a burning bush and revealed the mission God assigned and Moses would give the rest of his life to fulfilling.

It's one thing to read about God speaking to Moses. It is a whole other matter when God makes it more personal and speaks to us. When God calls us to His divinely chosen assignment. When He calls us to adjust our lives to get in step with Him. When He interrupts our boring mundane lives with a fresh word from Him.

And it is not just the big things. It's the daily things. The small things matter too. When God speaks about a character issue. When God prompts a sacrificial gift. When God calls for a step of faith. When God says step through a door of opportunity or when God shuts a door  on what looked like a can't miss opportunity. When God calls for a word of witness. When He demands you forgive someone who wronged and hurt you.

God speaks through His word. He encounters people through the pages of scripture. He meets people in His holy inspired word. The more He speaks through the Bible the more it whets our appetite for more. Reading the Bible should not be a drudgery done dutifully but not with delight. It should be like reading a love letter. The Bible is God's love letter. It is His revelation of Himself and His ways to us.

This morning as you awake and prepare to attack the day I hope you pause long enough to seek God in the Bible. I trust that He will speak to the multitudes through those sacred scriptures all around the world. More importantly I pray that He speak to you.  Only He knows what He will say today. Only He knows what encounters await us as we crack open our Bibles and pray, "Word of God speak."

Psalm 119:18 (ESV)
18  Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Playing It Safe

Many people like to play it safe. They like to stick to predictable routines. Do what makes them comfortable. They prefer the same confines of the known rather than venturing out into the great unknown. Only with a child of God, there are no unknowns for God knows everything. He knows every outcome. Every destination on planet earth.

Jesus calls people to risk. He calls people to bold courageous steps of faith. He calls people to take steps of faith that make your pulse quicken and your knees to quiver. He calls people to throw caution to the wind and to trust Him when He calls.

Let me say right now I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT CHASING YOUR OWN FOOLISH DREAMS CONCEIVED IN YOUR MIND YOU WANT JESUS TO FAVOR AND BLESS.

I am talking about responding to His call on your life. Many times that call leads to risky ventures and exciting testimonies if you are willing to obey. Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart. It is not for those who prefer the shallow end. It is for those who want to launch out into the deep and let your nets for a catch.

I have been a pastor for over two decades. I am ashamed to admit that I have played it safe much of the time. Safely hidden behind an office. Where did Jesus do most of His ministry? Here is a clue. Not at the synagogue. He was out among the people. I have spent so much time in offices praying, planning, studying, meeting, and not winning souls to Christ.

That must change. I have played it safe and the results are evident. I cannot say at anytime have I ever given myself wholly to outreach and evangelism. I have busied myself with other activities. I have played it safe in holy huddles. I have played it safe with the already convinced more than the never heard. That is sin. It is cowardice. It is about to change. This is an all in moment.

My youth pastor taught me personal evangelism. He lived it. He taught us how to do it. Most know my testimony. I did not come to meet Jesus in a church meeting. I met Him outside the walls of the church because Eli Bernard got infected with Jesus and could not keep the truth in. He was and is a soul winner. God used Him to reach me. If the church he served had waited on me to show up at one of their events they would still be waiting. I had no interest. Jesus, eternity, the Bible and church were not on my mind until he engaged me in conversations and put those things on my mind.

I once asked Eli what I could do to repay him for leading me to Jesus and investing his life in me. Well do I remember his response, "Tell others about Jesus and how to be saved." I have done that over the years but not like I should. Not the way Jesus desires. Not the way Eli did it for me. I played it safe and come to think of it so have a lot of preachers I have met.

Not D.L. Moody. He did not play it safe. He once chased down a child he taught in Sunday school who missed his class several weeks in a row. Moody spotted the child and lit after the little one jumping from his carriage in a full spring all the way to their home, bedroom and under their bed.

He also made a commitment to not let a day pass by without talking to some soul about Jesus and salvation. He kept his commitment. Only one night he was about to get into bed exhausted from a busy day and remembered he had not spoken to one person about Jesus. A thunderstorm passed outside making the weather dismal. Moody redressed and grabbed an umbrella to find someone to talk to about Jesus. Just as he opened the door a man hurried past getting soaked with no covering from the rain. Moody ran after him offering the protection of the umbrella and talked about how Jesus does the same. Moody did not play it safe. God used him mightily.

I am tired of playing it safe. It is time to follow Jesus with renewed determination and risk dozens and hundreds of conversations with lost and unchurched people about the best news in the world. No matter where it leads. No matter who it offends. No matter who rejects the gospel and me. This is an all in moment. I don't want to go to my grave having played it safe all my days.

Do We Care?

In just a couple of days I have seen these headline stories. A story of a supposed friend murdering a 19 year old female to get her money. A wealthy businessman caught for solicitation of a prostitute. Legislation introduced for abortions to be legalized days after the baby's birth. A famous former football player dying of a terminal disease.

Then there are the evils of sex trafficking. Sexual assault. Domestic violence. Pornography. Substance abuse. Gun violence. Pedophilia. Divorce. Homosexuality.

Does the church care? Do we care? Do you care? Do I care? We are quick to invite people to our religious events but not to our Lord and Savior Jesus. The world is going crazy. The pew sitters sit silent and unconcerned with the eternal fate of billions.

I was sitting n a seminary class on evangelism yers ago when the professor made a shocking statement that grabbed my attention. He said 90% of Christians will NEVER witness to anyone about Jesus. NEVER. He went on to expound that 95% of Christians will NEVER lead anyone to faith in Jesus for salvation.

While still in Bible college I had the fortune to listen to a famous pastor preach and then had lunch with him along with others from the church. He made a comment I have not been able to shake for close to 30 years. He said, "The reason people do not tell others about Jesus is not because we do not know enough and are scared. It is because we do not care enough."

We don't care. Where is the burden for evangelism in the church. Most every church I know has adopted the philosophy of "come and hear" more than "go and tell." We plan outreach events that unchurched people do not always attend.

In a recent survey I read some 70% of unchurched people say they have never been invited to a worship gathering of a church. Not one time. I find that hard to believe but if it is true it is heart wrenching. It gives credence to the argument the church does not care about the eternal fates of people they live next to, work around, sit next to at sporting events and see at school events.

Bob Pierce, founded Samaritan's Purse, later run by Franklin Graham. Pierce challenged people to pray a prayer in his autobiography. "Break my heart O God with the things that break your heart." Pierce cared. That compassion motivated him to get involved. What would motivate you to get involved in personal soul winning. Why are so many believers so hard hearted. We sing the songs. We hear Bible truth. We call the gospel good news but do not talk about it. We treat it like it is toxic.

Do we care? Or are we just hypocrites giving lip service to things we do not really mean. When I read about people like Jackie Pullinger, Amy Carmichael, John Wesley, D.L. Moody, David Brainerd and many others they WERE ALL SOUL WINNERS.

Statistics say that around 75% of churches are plateaued and or declining in attendance. Heritage Baptist Church falls squarely in those statistics. Is it any wonder. How many churches have a burden for souls? How many of us really care? Do you? Do I?

Church growth is really pretty simple. You get your people to pray personally and together. You get them to pay attention to the people who naturally orbit their paths. You speak a word of witness for Jesus. You love these people. You continue to pray nd continue to speak a word of witness. You continue to love and so forth. God does the winning of souls. He converts. He transforms. He saves. We celebrate this through baptism and the church grows. And we repeat the mission all over again. Very simple but very few do it.

If every adult in a local congregation committed to just reaching one person for Christ a year the church would grow. You just keep doing that and your church will grow in time. In fact, it will multiply like in the book of Acts. That is.... if we care.

Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV)
35  And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
36  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
38  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
 

Just When It Couldn't Get Worse

Furiously I scribbled notes to finalize sermon preparation just moments before the service started. Then someone walked in to visit and I had to put that on the back burner. I lost track of time and realized I didn't have time to put on my "Sunday best."

I went into the sanctuary to begin the morning service in old clothes. Immediately I saw people whispering and pointing out my sloppy dress. In the back I saw a young man along with his father and grandfather. I planed to baptize that young man that morning. I  planned to say an opening prayer and slip out of the service to get dressed in proper attire. Everything was going according to plan but when I stepped outside the door to make my way to the guest house I stayed in I got surrounded by a pack of dogs. Aggressive angry dogs. I stared them down and fought them off with a garbage can of all things. Finally they backed off and left only after connecting the garbage can with a couple fo canine jaws. Hurriedly I went inside to change clothes and get back to the service. It took longer than I planned. I was sooo late.

Upon arriving it suddenly dawned on me, "I forgot to put water in the baptistry." I sank the floor and started to weep. Brenda wanted to know what was wrong with me. I had a half prepared sermon. I had a kid and his family coming for a baptism service that I botched. My shoddy dress had embarrassed me and others that morning. Things were definitely not going my way.

If things could not have gotten worse they did when I actually fell asleep during the offertory prayer and woke myself up snoring. Others noticed too. I sunk a little deeper in the seat to hide from the eyes burning holes into my back.

Discouraged at this point I sat there with my head buried in my hands. Nothing seemed to go right. At first my eyes grew moist. Then they leaked a single tear on each side. That single tear flowed down my cheeks like water flowing from a waterfall dropping onto the carpet below. It felt like I ruined the whole service. Some attendees were so offended by all of it they got up and left. Barely half the people remained.

How could I possibly get up to preach? After the miscues of the morning why would any of them listen to me and I felt unprepared on top of that. Predictably the sermon bombed. I fell flat on my face in a very public crash and burn.

Then....

Have you ever had a day like that. Just when it could not get worse it kept getting worse. Sadly those days come.

Then... after not be properly dressed, not filling the baptistry and not being fully prepared to preach it got better. Surprisingly better. I WOKE UP!

Yep. It had all been one long nightmare. It never really happened. It felt real. I could feel real anxiety. I kept scrambling in my mind how to fix the situation.

In the dream at the end God spoke to me. Here is what He said. "Quit trying so hard. Rely on Me. Let Me do the work through you." 

In all my ministry striving, all my energies, efforts and best made plans I have often failed. Two planted churches disbanded. My first pastorate ended with plummeted attendance and finances. Multiple failed evangelistic campaigns in towns like Hudson, TX and Kermit, TX. Meager results and meager fruit. Multiple books I printed that ended up in boxes in my garage more than on someone's shelves. Repeated wrong moves and missteps. I've stayed up late, awakened early all too no avail. All striving, working, planning, serving, praying, hoping to be a part of God's great miraculous move.

What God wants is for me to be still and know Him. [Ps 46:10] What God wants is for me abide in Him and let Him do the work through me. [John 15:5] What God desires is my surrender and willingness to let Him lead. [Luke 9:23] He wants my trust even in the worst case scenarios when I think things couldn't get any worse and they do. [Ex14:14]

Maybe that dream was just a subtle reminder to slow down. To linger with God. To walk with Him wherever He leads. To cease striving and start clinging to Him. To let Him unfold the plan. To watch Him do the work as I fully rely on Him. I think I get the message loud and clear.