I had lunch plans today. They got cancelled. I normally bring my lunch and eat in the office but did not do so today. I mulled over what I should do for lunch. If I had known it wouldn't work out to keep my appointment I would have brought my lunch.
Sitting at my computer finishing up some work a thought entered my mind. Before I tell you the thought I have to backtrack one week ago. I met a pastor/mentor friend for lunch last week at Whataburger. I enjoy our times together. He forgot his briefcase and the manager caught us before we got too far out the door. He went back to get his case and I had a chance to invite her to church. She seemed interested.
Now fast forward to today. With no lunch plans I contemplated what to do. I kept having this thought I needed to go back to Whataburger to make more contact with that manager. I also felt like I should give her a business card and one of my books. So off I went.
It worked out beautifully. She took my order at the counter. No other customers were behind me so I did not feel rushed with her. I reminded her who I was and gave her the book and the business card. She thanked me for thinking of her and assured me she would get out there one day. I sat down to wait on my order. When I got it and was about to exit another employee on break got my attention to ask me a question. She was holding the book I gave the manager reading it. The manager assured me from across the room she was just letting her read it on break. I talked briefly with the second lady knowing God orchestrated all of that.
My plans got cancelled. God had a whole other appointment in mind. His plans are far better than mine. Whataburger has become a hot spot. I shall frequent there again soon.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Doggedly Determined
How determined are you? Do you give up easily? Or do you dig in with dogged determination like a bull dog hanging on and pressing through?
I read a passage about a dogged determined man. This passage has intrigued me for years. To this day I can't say I fully understand it. I understand the end of the story. And I am challenged by this man's determination.
We all may start out determined at some task. Then the hard work sets in. The newness of the task fades. The excitement wanes. The challenges mount. We get weary. Maybe even impatient too. All of that combined can make a person lose heart. To lose resolve to stay the course. I have certainly experienced that and I bet many of you have also.
Let's read the passage.
Genesis 32:22-32 (ESV)
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
I read a passage about a dogged determined man. This passage has intrigued me for years. To this day I can't say I fully understand it. I understand the end of the story. And I am challenged by this man's determination.
We all may start out determined at some task. Then the hard work sets in. The newness of the task fades. The excitement wanes. The challenges mount. We get weary. Maybe even impatient too. All of that combined can make a person lose heart. To lose resolve to stay the course. I have certainly experienced that and I bet many of you have also.
Let's read the passage.
Genesis 32:22-32 (ESV)
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Here is the dogged determination of Jacob. "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The confusion part of this passage for me has always been did God come down and manifest Himself as a man to wrestle with Jacob? Was it an angel? The Bible just says a man came. In the end of this story Jacob believes he wrestled with God.
The point is Jacob strove with his opponent all night. Jacob refused to let go without a blessing. It got me to thinking about my prayer life. I asked myself, "Have I ever been that dogged determined in prayer about anything that I refused to quit praying without God's blessing?"
Is the farmer dogged determined when he prays for rain? Is the parent dogged determined when praying for their children? Is the pastor dogged determined praying for the flock? Is the intercessor dogged determined praying for revival and spiritual awakening?
Closer to home am I dogged determined when praying for multiple things? Do I have that stick to it attitude, refusal to be denied, tenaciously praying without losing heart until the answer comes? I can think of several items that will take nothing less for their resolution.
In our instant fast paced society we like results immediately. We want to reap the dividends quickly for our investment. Prayer does not always work that way because does not always work that way. He tests us. He tries our faith. He makes us wait. He looks at our determination. All the determination in the world directed wrongly in prayer will not produce the sought after result if it's not the will of God. When it is the will of God He still may test our resolve to get the blessing. Dogged determination can go along way to securing what we are trusting God to do.
The next time you fervently pray for someone or something stop and ask yourself if you are like Jacob. Are you so determined you refuse to let go until God blesses. Even if it takes an hour, a week, a month, a year or decades. May God teach us to pray like that for the glory of His name and the expansion of His kingdom.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
God's Testimony
It is not uncommon to hear people testifying about God. About His power, His grace, His patience, His love and so forth. Worship assemblies are often filled with these testimonies. So are articles, documentaries and media. These testimonies inspire, encourage, strengthen and produce hope in the hearts of people all over the world.
What is odd, downright uncommon, is to hear about God testifying on behalf one of His followers. How could Perfection ever testify, or put it another way, give witness tfor imperfect people? How could Holiness personified ever testify about unholy people. I would not have believed it myself if I had not read it earlier today.
If you thumb through your Bible and take a look at some of the giant characters God used you will discover all failed in some way. Abraham lied to protect himself. Moses tried to steal some of God's glory which cost him going into the promised land. Joshua feared. Elijah battled depression. Jeremiah wept because nobody listened to his words from the Lord. Peter denied Jesus. Paul did not have grace for John Mark for a season. Nobody is perfect.
How could God ever testify on behalf of any of His servants. Sinful servants on top of that. People brag on other people. Sometimes they brag of themselves. What about God doing so? God is in His nature truth. What He says about someone will be truth.
Here it is. Read it for yourself before I try to unpack it.
Acts 13:22 (ESV)
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
What is odd, downright uncommon, is to hear about God testifying on behalf one of His followers. How could Perfection ever testify, or put it another way, give witness tfor imperfect people? How could Holiness personified ever testify about unholy people. I would not have believed it myself if I had not read it earlier today.
If you thumb through your Bible and take a look at some of the giant characters God used you will discover all failed in some way. Abraham lied to protect himself. Moses tried to steal some of God's glory which cost him going into the promised land. Joshua feared. Elijah battled depression. Jeremiah wept because nobody listened to his words from the Lord. Peter denied Jesus. Paul did not have grace for John Mark for a season. Nobody is perfect.
How could God ever testify on behalf of any of His servants. Sinful servants on top of that. People brag on other people. Sometimes they brag of themselves. What about God doing so? God is in His nature truth. What He says about someone will be truth.
Here it is. Read it for yourself before I try to unpack it.
Acts 13:22 (ESV)
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
Did you catch it? "Of whom he testified..." Who is the "he" referring to? God. So this is what God testifies about David. Two things. He was a man after God's own heart. What does that mean? The word "after" means to follow close behind. David was a man who followed close behind God and His heart. David passionately pursued God. [Ps 42:1] [Ps 63:1-3] [Ps 63:8] I believe there was not a thing or a person David desired more than God.
God also testified that David would do all of His will. The word "all" means the whole, every part, complete. That does not mean that David did so perfectly. He was willing to do all of God's will. David was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. He had two glaring problems that showed up often. I believe he had a temper. I also believe he had a lust problem which manifested himself in adultery.
What I found stunning today is that when God testified about David He did not bring up the adultery. That is one of the most famous parts of David's story. Yet God did not even mention it. Why? I believe because of three beautiful verses David penned under God's inspiration.
Psalm 103:10-12 (ESV)
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
God not only forgives, but He chooses to remove sin from us. He chooses to deal with us in steadfast love. He did that for David and and He does that for us.
I think there are two takeaways from this truth. First, how deep and steadfast is the love of God even for imperfect sinners. His grace is sufficient. His mercy is unfailing. I hope that really sinks in today. It is a truth we banter around a lot but I am not sure we fully understand what it means. The sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption all born out of love.
The second, if God can forgive those who fail and fall into sin can't we also? None of us are in a position to throw stones. We need to look at the logs in our own eyes before trying to get splinters out of our brother's and sister's eyes. It is true love covers a multitude of sins. As we have been forgiven so ought we to forgive others when they fail.
What is God's testimony of you? What witness does He give about you? May we adjust our lives accordingly to what we long for Him to truthfully say about us.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Numbing
I went to my eye doctor today. Over the past several years it has become a familiar routine every two months or so. More often than not I know up front what awaits me. Injection in one or both eyes. Each time they numb the eye with two different eye drops and then a gel. Many times I can barely feel the prick of the needle. At other times I can slightly. I have endured this 79 times.
That is not my focus today. My focus is the different ways people try to numb the pain of life. Some do it in productive ways. They work. They exercise. They serve others. They get medical treatment. All in an attempt to manage the pain.
Of course people try to numb pain in unproductive ways as well. They give into hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure at any cost. They will have sex as often as they please and with as many people as they please throwing caution to the wind. Sex is used for personal gratification without taking the repercussions into account. In the end, instead of numbing the pain unbridled sex can create more. Unwanted pregnancies. Venereal disease. Shame. Broken marriages.
Others try to numb pain with alcohol. More than one can or bottle gets guzzled in an attempt to numb the pain. They may enjoy the temporary high in a drunken stupor, but the pain returns. It always returns. You can't drown your sorrows in booze. It creates a vicious cycle of searching for relief in a can or a bottle but the relief never comes. One glass of wine can turn into two. One bear can turn into two beers. In time beer is not a strong enough depressant. Then it goes to hard liquor. Maybe just a shot at first. Then two. Next a glass and then onto several bottles in a week. The consequences. Addiction. Strife in the home. Violent outbursts. Depression. Poor job performance. Alcohol creates more pain than it numbs.
The same is true with drugs. Introductory drugs pacify only for a while. Harder and harder drugs are tried. One day the drugs take hold of your life. It is what you live for. Everything revolves around the next high. Consequences are death, addiction, incarceration due to committing crimes to get enough money for the drugs.
None of these things can numb the pain of life. The pleasure of sex, alcohol and drugs is fleeting. Satan lies convincing if we just do it again, try one more, go a little further than last time it will bring the long sought after relief. Satan is a liar! It never works. Nothing he offers as a counterfeit to what Jesus offers will satisfy. Millions are duped over and over again.
Behind every sex act, behind every bottle of beer or the harder stuff and behind every drug hit sits a sinister smiling Satan. His ambition is to steal, kill and destroy. He will lie, deceive, trick, beguile, ensnare, and do everything in his power to do one of those three things; steal, kill or destroy your life. He is relentless too. While you may think his vices will numb your pain you will find in the long run only more pain follows his temptations.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
I see it in the people who look beaten up and beaten down by hard lives and repeated bad choices. Women used like dirty dishrags to gratify the selfish desires of another. They do not feel love. They feel cheap and worthless. I see people caught by the throat in addictions they are powerless to free themselves from. They try. They plan to break free. The cravings are too strong and they get sucked back in over and over again. Soon they loose hope they will ever be free and quit trying to resist as their lives spin downward in destructive patterns.
The pain of life is real. Very real. How is a person to cope? What is a person to do? This will sound as old as the oldest Sunday school lesson. Pray. Read your Bible. Before I elaborate, let me say I know some pains require professional help such as medical treatments, substance abuse treatments and mental health treatment. For the everyday garden varieties of pain and disappointments praying and reading your Bible will do more good. It will help you. More than sex, alcohol and drugs.
God's word is like healing medicine for the soul. Try these.
Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Psalm 119:165 (ESV)
165 Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
John 14:14 (ESV)
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Psalm 37:4 (ESV)
4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
These are just a smidgen of thousands and thousands of verses that can minister to the soul.
Prayer is inviting God to join your pain and help you through it. Read what prayer can accomplish.
Mark 11:23-24 (ESV)
23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
John 15:7-8 (ESV)
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
James 5:16 (ESV)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
That is not my focus today. My focus is the different ways people try to numb the pain of life. Some do it in productive ways. They work. They exercise. They serve others. They get medical treatment. All in an attempt to manage the pain.
Of course people try to numb pain in unproductive ways as well. They give into hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure at any cost. They will have sex as often as they please and with as many people as they please throwing caution to the wind. Sex is used for personal gratification without taking the repercussions into account. In the end, instead of numbing the pain unbridled sex can create more. Unwanted pregnancies. Venereal disease. Shame. Broken marriages.
Others try to numb pain with alcohol. More than one can or bottle gets guzzled in an attempt to numb the pain. They may enjoy the temporary high in a drunken stupor, but the pain returns. It always returns. You can't drown your sorrows in booze. It creates a vicious cycle of searching for relief in a can or a bottle but the relief never comes. One glass of wine can turn into two. One bear can turn into two beers. In time beer is not a strong enough depressant. Then it goes to hard liquor. Maybe just a shot at first. Then two. Next a glass and then onto several bottles in a week. The consequences. Addiction. Strife in the home. Violent outbursts. Depression. Poor job performance. Alcohol creates more pain than it numbs.
The same is true with drugs. Introductory drugs pacify only for a while. Harder and harder drugs are tried. One day the drugs take hold of your life. It is what you live for. Everything revolves around the next high. Consequences are death, addiction, incarceration due to committing crimes to get enough money for the drugs.
None of these things can numb the pain of life. The pleasure of sex, alcohol and drugs is fleeting. Satan lies convincing if we just do it again, try one more, go a little further than last time it will bring the long sought after relief. Satan is a liar! It never works. Nothing he offers as a counterfeit to what Jesus offers will satisfy. Millions are duped over and over again.
Behind every sex act, behind every bottle of beer or the harder stuff and behind every drug hit sits a sinister smiling Satan. His ambition is to steal, kill and destroy. He will lie, deceive, trick, beguile, ensnare, and do everything in his power to do one of those three things; steal, kill or destroy your life. He is relentless too. While you may think his vices will numb your pain you will find in the long run only more pain follows his temptations.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The pain of life is real. Very real. How is a person to cope? What is a person to do? This will sound as old as the oldest Sunday school lesson. Pray. Read your Bible. Before I elaborate, let me say I know some pains require professional help such as medical treatments, substance abuse treatments and mental health treatment. For the everyday garden varieties of pain and disappointments praying and reading your Bible will do more good. It will help you. More than sex, alcohol and drugs.
God's word is like healing medicine for the soul. Try these.
Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Psalm 119:165 (ESV)
165 Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
John 14:14 (ESV)
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Psalm 37:4 (ESV)
4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
These are just a smidgen of thousands and thousands of verses that can minister to the soul.
Prayer is inviting God to join your pain and help you through it. Read what prayer can accomplish.
Mark 11:23-24 (ESV)
23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
John 15:7-8 (ESV)
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
James 5:16 (ESV)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
I have found with time, as I keep praying and reading my Bible, God has helped me through every pain. He has not only numbed the pain. In most situations He has changed me or changed the circumstances.
I started writing this today talking about visiting my eye doctor. On my last visit two months ago the vision in my left eye was 20/80. Today it was 20/25. I give glory to God. My poor eye sight has been a source of great personal pain to me over the past seven years. With prayer, reading the word (sometimes in giant large print) and seeing my doctor I praise God I can see today.
Don't try to numb your pain in destructive ways. God's way is better.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Rededication
13,294 days ago a group of excited worshipers gathered for a special day. They had prayed and prayed for that day. They labored to see it come. They sacrificed deeply to stand at the threshold of that day. In the beginning it just started with a dream. A painted picture on the minds of a faithful few. The dream germinated and took root. The fledgling dream was carefully shared with others. People believed. Slowly the dream began turning into reality.
On April 3, 1983 the Spring Creek Baptist Church of Weatherford, TX worshiped in their brand new sanctuary for the first time. It was Resurrection Sunday! Last night I heard from a few who were in that service. They spoke about the excitement and the hard work that went into making that day a reality. That was 36 years 4 moths and 23 days ago.
In that time there have been about 1,899 worship services in that space. Lives have been saved. People have been called to preach. Burdens have been lifted. People have repented of sin. Lives have been rededicated. Spiritual victories won. Burdens laid down. Comfort given. Funerals held. Revival meetings conducted. Weddings celebrated.
Over the course of 36 plus years it would not be uncommon for the enthusiasm to fade and the excitement to wane. It has become familiar. Ordinary. Common. While close to 2,000 worship services have been held, not including special revival services or conferences, not every one of those services hasn't been filled with excitement. It's kind of like eating supper. You may not know what you ate three months ago for supper but you are sure you had something and it nourished you to keep going. So with worship and the ministry of the word. A steady diet of both nourishes the soul.
Shouldn't we be excited and expectant when we gather in God's name to exalt and seek Him? We never know when His full and weighty presence will drench and soak the temple like He did in II Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV)
1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house.
3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
God filled the Temple with His glory when Solomon dedicated it. I'm not looking for some experience or exhibition. I'm seeking God. And I wonder if sometimes we take all of it for granted. We take the gathering place for granted. We take the word of God for granted. We take the music for granted. Worst of all we take God for granted. Worship and getting into the word can become humdrum. A duty rather than a delight. Drudgery rather than joy.
These things burned in my heart as we gathered for our evening service last night. I preached from the above scriptures. Then I submitted a very simple invitation. To huddle in small groups to prayerfully rededicate the Spring Creek sanctuary for the purposes God put us here for to begin with.
I prayed with Brenda and Turner. When we finished it moved my heart deeply to see little huddles scattered and crying out to God. Of all the scenes that have unfolded since coming back to Spring Creek none has moved me anymore deeply than what I witnessed last night.
What will God do with a rededicated people and a space rededicated for His purpose? I expect that August 25th, 2019 will be a historic day in our church. One day we will look back on that day as the day God did a new work. To Him be the glory for the great things He has done and the great things He is about to do.
On April 3, 1983 the Spring Creek Baptist Church of Weatherford, TX worshiped in their brand new sanctuary for the first time. It was Resurrection Sunday! Last night I heard from a few who were in that service. They spoke about the excitement and the hard work that went into making that day a reality. That was 36 years 4 moths and 23 days ago.
In that time there have been about 1,899 worship services in that space. Lives have been saved. People have been called to preach. Burdens have been lifted. People have repented of sin. Lives have been rededicated. Spiritual victories won. Burdens laid down. Comfort given. Funerals held. Revival meetings conducted. Weddings celebrated.
Over the course of 36 plus years it would not be uncommon for the enthusiasm to fade and the excitement to wane. It has become familiar. Ordinary. Common. While close to 2,000 worship services have been held, not including special revival services or conferences, not every one of those services hasn't been filled with excitement. It's kind of like eating supper. You may not know what you ate three months ago for supper but you are sure you had something and it nourished you to keep going. So with worship and the ministry of the word. A steady diet of both nourishes the soul.
Shouldn't we be excited and expectant when we gather in God's name to exalt and seek Him? We never know when His full and weighty presence will drench and soak the temple like He did in II Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV)
1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house.
3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
God filled the Temple with His glory when Solomon dedicated it. I'm not looking for some experience or exhibition. I'm seeking God. And I wonder if sometimes we take all of it for granted. We take the gathering place for granted. We take the word of God for granted. We take the music for granted. Worst of all we take God for granted. Worship and getting into the word can become humdrum. A duty rather than a delight. Drudgery rather than joy.
These things burned in my heart as we gathered for our evening service last night. I preached from the above scriptures. Then I submitted a very simple invitation. To huddle in small groups to prayerfully rededicate the Spring Creek sanctuary for the purposes God put us here for to begin with.
I prayed with Brenda and Turner. When we finished it moved my heart deeply to see little huddles scattered and crying out to God. Of all the scenes that have unfolded since coming back to Spring Creek none has moved me anymore deeply than what I witnessed last night.
What will God do with a rededicated people and a space rededicated for His purpose? I expect that August 25th, 2019 will be a historic day in our church. One day we will look back on that day as the day God did a new work. To Him be the glory for the great things He has done and the great things He is about to do.
At The Appointed Time
God has His appointed times for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
There are seasons of abundant blessings. There are tumultuous seasons of trials. There are somber seasons of suffering as well as joyful jubilant seasons. God is sovereign over all of them.
One of the least enjoyable seasons for me is the waiting seasons. Joseph had to wait to get out of slavery and prison but God was right on time in His plan. Israel waited in bondage for four centuries before God raised a deliverer. Moses waited in the wilderness with the children of Israel but God proved faithful. David had to wait before He became king. He had to wait to build the Temple. Abraham and Sarah had to wait on God's promised heir. A promised son. They waited until hope faded like the sun setting at dusk.
God made an imposible promise to them both in Genesis 18. Genesis 18:1 (ESV)
1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
Genesis 18:9-15 (ESV)
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”
10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
God's promise tested the limits of Abraham's and Sarah's faith. The natural order of things indicated Sarah was too old to bear a child. Sarah's disbelief manifested itself in laughter. Then Jehovah spoke these all powerful words, "Is anything too hard for Jehovah?"
God left and two bewildered senior adults had no choice but to wait. They waited. For another solid year they waited. How often during that year did they replay the above encounter they had with the LORD? Still nothing changed. Everything went along just as it had for the past two plus decades. That is until Genesis 21.
Genesis 21:1-7 (ESV)
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
There are seasons of abundant blessings. There are tumultuous seasons of trials. There are somber seasons of suffering as well as joyful jubilant seasons. God is sovereign over all of them.
One of the least enjoyable seasons for me is the waiting seasons. Joseph had to wait to get out of slavery and prison but God was right on time in His plan. Israel waited in bondage for four centuries before God raised a deliverer. Moses waited in the wilderness with the children of Israel but God proved faithful. David had to wait before He became king. He had to wait to build the Temple. Abraham and Sarah had to wait on God's promised heir. A promised son. They waited until hope faded like the sun setting at dusk.
God made an imposible promise to them both in Genesis 18. Genesis 18:1 (ESV)
1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
Genesis 18:9-15 (ESV)
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”
10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
God's promise tested the limits of Abraham's and Sarah's faith. The natural order of things indicated Sarah was too old to bear a child. Sarah's disbelief manifested itself in laughter. Then Jehovah spoke these all powerful words, "Is anything too hard for Jehovah?"
God left and two bewildered senior adults had no choice but to wait. They waited. For another solid year they waited. How often during that year did they replay the above encounter they had with the LORD? Still nothing changed. Everything went along just as it had for the past two plus decades. That is until Genesis 21.
Genesis 21:1-7 (ESV)
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
There are three phrases I would like to highlight for the consideration of all forced to wait on God for something. First, "As He had promised." God visited Sarah and she conceived just like He told her would happen. How often do we doubt God and judge Him too early because we get impatient? God does what He says He will do. He keeps His word. He fulfills His promises.
"At a time which God had spoken." God gave Abraham and Sarah a timeline. That is unusual. God does not always do that. He often just requires us to wait on Him in faith. God has an appointed time. Remember the Ecclesiastes passage. We can't hurry God or slow Him down from His appointed time to work. His timing is perfect. Every time whether we believe that or not. Perfect. He knows our circumstances, dire straights, and deep desires. In His time. At the appointed time God will do what He wills is best.
"Who would have said?" God does impossible things. He can do whatever He pleases and often does it just to leave a watching world bewildered by His omnipotent power. It must have been a site when people saw Sarah nursing with wrinkled and sagging skin. She had a few miles on her but I bet she radiated that same glow young new mothers shine. Who would have thought? Who would have thought God could part the Red Sea? Who would have thought God could rain bread out of heaven? Who would have thought God could turn a rock into a water fountain? Who would have thought the crippled would walk, the blind see and the demon possessed cease to be tormented. Who would have thought a crucified Christ would become the resurrected Redeemer. Who would have thought an older woman in her twilight years would give birth in her old age. It happened. At the appointed time. Who would have thought.
All of these things happened in His appointed time. You may be tired of waiting. You may feel like your breakthrough will never come. You may have lost hope and not have a prayer left to say. At the appointed time you, like Sarah, may say, "Who would have said God could do __________?" You fill in the blank. Nothing is too hard for Him. Not at the appointed time.
Power Band Of 20
After our evening service we loaded into our vehicles and made our way to Floyd Court where we gathered for a home prayer meeting/fellowship. In attendance were senior adults, young adults, teenagers and children. We divided into a group of men and a group of women. This included the teenagers and the children old enough to participate.
I prayed with twelve warriors. Men, teenagers and children who all prayed like warriors. The whole scene moved me deeply. It's been awhile since I attended a prayer meeting where 20 people showed up. They knew the purpose of our gathering was to pray. The fellowship afterward took a back seat. I wish I could relay some of those prayers. Even the young ones prayed like they meant business. And I have no idea what the women prayed.
As a church we have committed ourselves to praying. It is not coincidence that since doing that we have seen an increase in attendance. Visitors show up. Yesterday we rejoiced as a young boy made a public profession of his faith testifying to trusting Jesus for salvation at VBS. He wants to follow in baptism. Another spoke to me about baptism after the service.
God is starting something here. Certainly not anything I can take credit for. Excitement is building. Attendance is increasing. Vision is expanding. And I attribute all of it to God answering the prayers of His people.
Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)
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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
I prayed with twelve warriors. Men, teenagers and children who all prayed like warriors. The whole scene moved me deeply. It's been awhile since I attended a prayer meeting where 20 people showed up. They knew the purpose of our gathering was to pray. The fellowship afterward took a back seat. I wish I could relay some of those prayers. Even the young ones prayed like they meant business. And I have no idea what the women prayed.
As a church we have committed ourselves to praying. It is not coincidence that since doing that we have seen an increase in attendance. Visitors show up. Yesterday we rejoiced as a young boy made a public profession of his faith testifying to trusting Jesus for salvation at VBS. He wants to follow in baptism. Another spoke to me about baptism after the service.
God is starting something here. Certainly not anything I can take credit for. Excitement is building. Attendance is increasing. Vision is expanding. And I attribute all of it to God answering the prayers of His people.
Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)
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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
I Need Him
My first sermon was not really a sermon. I gave my testimony before a group of teenagers. From start to finish I spoke for a whopping seven minutes. I thought I had enough material for half an hour. My knees knocked, my voice cracked as I did my best scared out of my mind.
I did not preach again for nearly a year. My pastor, Charles M. Roberts, assigned me and another young ministry student to go out to Lake Sam Rayburn and travel around the lake at camp grounds holding services through the summer. God had other plans. We never made it past the Shirley Creek Marina. We started there and stayed there. Jason Waltman and I alternated preaching each week. What started out as two college boys preaching at a point on the lake eventually became the Shirley Creek Baptist Church.
At the end of the summer Brother Charles invited Jason and I both to preach on two consecutive Sunday nights at our home church. Jason preached first and knocked it out of the park. The following week I got a text but did not think I could go through with it out of fear. I prayed. Studied. Wrote down notes. Prayed some more. The closer Sunday came the more I contemplated withdrawing from the whole thing. I saw no way I could stand before that church of several hundred people and preach. Not me.
I practiced preaching. I went out into our backyard storage building and preached that sermon to boxes and shelves using a deep freeze as my pulpit. I bet I preached that sermon from Exodus 3 dozens of times before Sunday rolled around.
I knew I needed God's help. I knew that the day He first called me to preach. I almost backed out on my preaching assignment that Sunday night. That is when the girl I dated spoke words I still remember today, "God will not call you to do something He will not enable you to do." I owe so much to her for those powerful words. With God's help I preached that late summer night back in 1986 at Denman Avenue Baptist Church in Lufkin, TX. With His help I have been preaching since then.
I've preached in outdoor tabernacles, in two foreign countries, multiple states, in large worship centers, in small country churches, in living rooms, in a converted warehouse, in school cafeterias, basketball ball gyms, in football stadiums, in the mountains, near the ocean and lakes. One thing has not changed in all those years. I need God's help. Whether ministering to a dozen or hundreds I need His anointing, inspiration and passion to do what He calls me to do.
Those first few sermons I pleaded with God for help out of raw terror. Now after 30 years of preaching I still plead for His help sitting on the front pew before going to the pulpit. I plead for His help in the wee hours of the morning praying through the message point by point before ever arriving on the church campus. I need His help all the time. I need His insights. I need His revelation. I need His joy to permeate my whole being while delivering eternal truth. I need His anointing, or put another way, I need His empowering.
As I write this Sunday is past. It's Monday morning. Time to start all over again. The journey of digging into the text, studying, gathering information and illustrations for three different messages starts all over with each new week. It is like studying for three research papers every week but far more important. I need God's help today just as much as I needed it those first few times I preached. I need Him more to keep it fresh, to not let me fall into the rut of becoming a professional preacher . I need Him to guard against my just mechanically going through the motions. I need Him, O I need Him every hour I need Him. What about you?
I did not preach again for nearly a year. My pastor, Charles M. Roberts, assigned me and another young ministry student to go out to Lake Sam Rayburn and travel around the lake at camp grounds holding services through the summer. God had other plans. We never made it past the Shirley Creek Marina. We started there and stayed there. Jason Waltman and I alternated preaching each week. What started out as two college boys preaching at a point on the lake eventually became the Shirley Creek Baptist Church.
At the end of the summer Brother Charles invited Jason and I both to preach on two consecutive Sunday nights at our home church. Jason preached first and knocked it out of the park. The following week I got a text but did not think I could go through with it out of fear. I prayed. Studied. Wrote down notes. Prayed some more. The closer Sunday came the more I contemplated withdrawing from the whole thing. I saw no way I could stand before that church of several hundred people and preach. Not me.
I practiced preaching. I went out into our backyard storage building and preached that sermon to boxes and shelves using a deep freeze as my pulpit. I bet I preached that sermon from Exodus 3 dozens of times before Sunday rolled around.
I knew I needed God's help. I knew that the day He first called me to preach. I almost backed out on my preaching assignment that Sunday night. That is when the girl I dated spoke words I still remember today, "God will not call you to do something He will not enable you to do." I owe so much to her for those powerful words. With God's help I preached that late summer night back in 1986 at Denman Avenue Baptist Church in Lufkin, TX. With His help I have been preaching since then.
I've preached in outdoor tabernacles, in two foreign countries, multiple states, in large worship centers, in small country churches, in living rooms, in a converted warehouse, in school cafeterias, basketball ball gyms, in football stadiums, in the mountains, near the ocean and lakes. One thing has not changed in all those years. I need God's help. Whether ministering to a dozen or hundreds I need His anointing, inspiration and passion to do what He calls me to do.
Those first few sermons I pleaded with God for help out of raw terror. Now after 30 years of preaching I still plead for His help sitting on the front pew before going to the pulpit. I plead for His help in the wee hours of the morning praying through the message point by point before ever arriving on the church campus. I need His help all the time. I need His insights. I need His revelation. I need His joy to permeate my whole being while delivering eternal truth. I need His anointing, or put another way, I need His empowering.
As I write this Sunday is past. It's Monday morning. Time to start all over again. The journey of digging into the text, studying, gathering information and illustrations for three different messages starts all over with each new week. It is like studying for three research papers every week but far more important. I need God's help today just as much as I needed it those first few times I preached. I need Him more to keep it fresh, to not let me fall into the rut of becoming a professional preacher . I need Him to guard against my just mechanically going through the motions. I need Him, O I need Him every hour I need Him. What about you?
Saturday, August 24, 2019
One Team = One Dream
The power of human beings to come together to achieve extraordinary things is evident. Just watch a ball team, a construction crew, a team of business employees or a squad of soldiers. Like the old saying goes, "eamwork makes the dreamwork."
Get a team of engineers together and they can figure out elaborate highway systems. They can design new vehicle models. It is an amazing thing to watch people use intelligence, creativity and old fashioned teamwork to accomplish something noble and good.
It is also true that people use intelligence, creativity and teamwork to create evil for harm and destruction. It is a frightening thing what can happen when people come together with a common goal. When people come together they can focus on dreams that do not honor God. In fact, their dreams try to usurp God.
In history it has been seem in dictatorial governments like Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro. Way before that it happened early in the human saga. You can read about it the book of Genesis.
Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV)
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
The sin nature runs deep. Wicked thoughts turn into wicked plans. Wicked plans carried out produce devastation and death. One day we will see it on full display when mankind comes together to form a one world government under a sinister Satan controlled leader. We are closer than we might think. There are people who work night and day to make this reality come true.
What I find so odd is how often the church does not come together in unity How often church members are at odds with one another backstabbing, backbiting, and backsliding. Sometimes these battles spill out into the community impacting lost people and turning them off from the church and worse from Jesus.
Why can't church folks always work together toward the accomplishment of a common goal? Power struggles, selfish agendas, secret meetings and manipulative maneuvers often characterize church goers more than humility, unity and putting other's interests above self.
I have seen the beauty of a church coming together to achieve something great for God. I have also seen the the pain of church people at odds with one another hurting one another. It is not pretty. I have seen church business meetings resemble bloodbaths. Why would unchurched people want to be a part of that. They see enough of that behavior in corporate America.
I am inspired by a group who came together to do something great for God. They worked as a team to accomplish a great dream. Teamwork made the dream work. Read about it for yourself.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Get a team of engineers together and they can figure out elaborate highway systems. They can design new vehicle models. It is an amazing thing to watch people use intelligence, creativity and old fashioned teamwork to accomplish something noble and good.
It is also true that people use intelligence, creativity and teamwork to create evil for harm and destruction. It is a frightening thing what can happen when people come together with a common goal. When people come together they can focus on dreams that do not honor God. In fact, their dreams try to usurp God.
In history it has been seem in dictatorial governments like Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro. Way before that it happened early in the human saga. You can read about it the book of Genesis.
Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV)
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
The sin nature runs deep. Wicked thoughts turn into wicked plans. Wicked plans carried out produce devastation and death. One day we will see it on full display when mankind comes together to form a one world government under a sinister Satan controlled leader. We are closer than we might think. There are people who work night and day to make this reality come true.
What I find so odd is how often the church does not come together in unity How often church members are at odds with one another backstabbing, backbiting, and backsliding. Sometimes these battles spill out into the community impacting lost people and turning them off from the church and worse from Jesus.
Why can't church folks always work together toward the accomplishment of a common goal? Power struggles, selfish agendas, secret meetings and manipulative maneuvers often characterize church goers more than humility, unity and putting other's interests above self.
I have seen the beauty of a church coming together to achieve something great for God. I have also seen the the pain of church people at odds with one another hurting one another. It is not pretty. I have seen church business meetings resemble bloodbaths. Why would unchurched people want to be a part of that. They see enough of that behavior in corporate America.
I am inspired by a group who came together to do something great for God. They worked as a team to accomplish a great dream. Teamwork made the dream work. Read about it for yourself.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
What kind of person are you? What kind of people do you associate with? Are you working together for God honoring dreams or have you joined forces with those hell bent on evil? What dream are you working toward? May it glorify God.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Purest Praise
Mark 1:35 (ESV)
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
I am trying to imagine what one of those times between Jesus and His Father must have been like. I am sure it was absent of religious cliches. There was no need. Jesus talked with His Father. They had a real relationship. Their conversations were not filled with pretense but natural. Devoid of the religious chatter we so often hear in praying. Just a Son talking to His Father. Those times must have been intimate, real, informative, inspirational, and worshipful.
It is that worship that I am meditating on today. Jesus adoring His Father. Jesus praising Jehovah. Jesus exalting Yahweh. Jesus offering the purest praise that has ever been offered by anyone at anytime. Pure praise. Sinless praise. Undistracted praise. Selfless praise. Sincere praise.
I know followers of Jesus praise. We do it privately and publicly. Can any of boast that we have ever praised God like Jesus did? Can any of point to an unwavering devotion and a perfect love like Jesus had? I have to constantly fight battles in my mind to stay focused in prayer and worship. Sometimes I catch myself singing the words but not engaging the heart. That is not pure worship.
Jesus could offer the purest praise because He had the purest heart. He also had perfect knowledge of His Father. Not only that, but no-one ever lived more surrendered to the will of God than He did. He also maintained a perfect communion. That is why He got up and left the crowds to be alone to commune with His Father.
While we may not have those things like Jesus, but we can do better. We can love Him more. We can surrender more. We can serve Him more. We can live more holy. We can be more devout. And with God's help we can offer sincere and pure praise.
Think about that for a moment. What if the next time you gather for worship, if you did so with a pure heart, and offered the purest sincerest praise you ever have before? What if you were surrounded by others who did the same thing? What would that worship experience be like? It is what we must strive for. Pure worship. Pure praise.
While our worship will never match up to Jesus' worship it sure can be richer and deeper. In order for that to happen one thing we have to do. We have to take our focus off other people and get our focus exclusively on Jesus and Jehovah. When we can solely give our hearts and attention to them our worship will be pure. It will not matter what others think if we sing a little off key, miss a word here and there, lift our hands or weep we will not care what others think of us doing those things. We will be lost in the wonder of worship of the only One who matters. I long for that. I want to strive for that. I want to be a part of a church who desires and strive for that as well. May we all press on to pure praise.
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
I am trying to imagine what one of those times between Jesus and His Father must have been like. I am sure it was absent of religious cliches. There was no need. Jesus talked with His Father. They had a real relationship. Their conversations were not filled with pretense but natural. Devoid of the religious chatter we so often hear in praying. Just a Son talking to His Father. Those times must have been intimate, real, informative, inspirational, and worshipful.
It is that worship that I am meditating on today. Jesus adoring His Father. Jesus praising Jehovah. Jesus exalting Yahweh. Jesus offering the purest praise that has ever been offered by anyone at anytime. Pure praise. Sinless praise. Undistracted praise. Selfless praise. Sincere praise.
I know followers of Jesus praise. We do it privately and publicly. Can any of boast that we have ever praised God like Jesus did? Can any of point to an unwavering devotion and a perfect love like Jesus had? I have to constantly fight battles in my mind to stay focused in prayer and worship. Sometimes I catch myself singing the words but not engaging the heart. That is not pure worship.
Jesus could offer the purest praise because He had the purest heart. He also had perfect knowledge of His Father. Not only that, but no-one ever lived more surrendered to the will of God than He did. He also maintained a perfect communion. That is why He got up and left the crowds to be alone to commune with His Father.
While we may not have those things like Jesus, but we can do better. We can love Him more. We can surrender more. We can serve Him more. We can live more holy. We can be more devout. And with God's help we can offer sincere and pure praise.
Think about that for a moment. What if the next time you gather for worship, if you did so with a pure heart, and offered the purest sincerest praise you ever have before? What if you were surrounded by others who did the same thing? What would that worship experience be like? It is what we must strive for. Pure worship. Pure praise.
While our worship will never match up to Jesus' worship it sure can be richer and deeper. In order for that to happen one thing we have to do. We have to take our focus off other people and get our focus exclusively on Jesus and Jehovah. When we can solely give our hearts and attention to them our worship will be pure. It will not matter what others think if we sing a little off key, miss a word here and there, lift our hands or weep we will not care what others think of us doing those things. We will be lost in the wonder of worship of the only One who matters. I long for that. I want to strive for that. I want to be a part of a church who desires and strive for that as well. May we all press on to pure praise.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Impatiently Learning Patience
Our schedule is a little unusual today. Turner has a football scrimmage this afternoon. It made more sense for me to drive Brenda to work and him to school than for us to take two cars. Normally, I like leaving before dawn for the office. I adjusted my schedule and planned on leaving later.
When I walked out of the bedroom Turner informed me he had to be at school by 7:30 a.m. for his dual college credit class. Brenda wanted to stop and pick up some breakfast and all of that meant we had to hustle out the door. Of course when you are in a hurry the rest of the world is not. The breakfast order was called in but not ready when we arrived. I felt tense. Impatient. Brenda teased me but I did not laugh.
We finally got breakfast and then hurried off to get Turner delivered. Then I dropped Brenda off at her work. Finally I could make my way to the office. As I drove through Springtown it was right during peak morning traffic. A two lane highway with bumper to bumper traffic in both directions. I waited through a long line of cars turning to drop students off at school. I waited in a long line at one signal light after another barely creeping forward.
By this time my impatience had penned patience down for the count like a wrestler penning his opponent to win the match. I arrived at the office much later than I planned knowing I had a short day anyway. I tried to pray to get myself together but my mind kept spinning with multiple thoughts all at the same time. I felt too impatient to pray.
Finally, God stilled my mind and heart long enough for me to see my sin of impatience. Yes, I am impatiently trying to learn patience. God gives me plenty of practice. Seems like I am always waiting on something or someone. Waiting on traffic at busy intersections. Waiting on the mail. Waiting at the drive through. Waiting on Brenda. Waiting for Turner after football practice. Waiting at the barber shop. Waiting on God. Waiting on answered prayers. Life is filled with waiting.
Waiting is part of the fruit of the Spirit. It is God's will for believers to be patient. How often I find myself getting inpatient. In those moments that is a clear indication I am not walking in the Spirit but rather walking in the flesh. When I walk in the Spirit I will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
May I learn patience. The kind of patience God has with me. May I learn to rest in Him. To be more flexible in my schedule. To enjoy life's journey even when it means delays and detours. Many times that is for my protection. At other times it is God sitting me in the dunce corner because I impatiently learn patience.
Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
When I walked out of the bedroom Turner informed me he had to be at school by 7:30 a.m. for his dual college credit class. Brenda wanted to stop and pick up some breakfast and all of that meant we had to hustle out the door. Of course when you are in a hurry the rest of the world is not. The breakfast order was called in but not ready when we arrived. I felt tense. Impatient. Brenda teased me but I did not laugh.
We finally got breakfast and then hurried off to get Turner delivered. Then I dropped Brenda off at her work. Finally I could make my way to the office. As I drove through Springtown it was right during peak morning traffic. A two lane highway with bumper to bumper traffic in both directions. I waited through a long line of cars turning to drop students off at school. I waited in a long line at one signal light after another barely creeping forward.
By this time my impatience had penned patience down for the count like a wrestler penning his opponent to win the match. I arrived at the office much later than I planned knowing I had a short day anyway. I tried to pray to get myself together but my mind kept spinning with multiple thoughts all at the same time. I felt too impatient to pray.
Finally, God stilled my mind and heart long enough for me to see my sin of impatience. Yes, I am impatiently trying to learn patience. God gives me plenty of practice. Seems like I am always waiting on something or someone. Waiting on traffic at busy intersections. Waiting on the mail. Waiting at the drive through. Waiting on Brenda. Waiting for Turner after football practice. Waiting at the barber shop. Waiting on God. Waiting on answered prayers. Life is filled with waiting.
Waiting is part of the fruit of the Spirit. It is God's will for believers to be patient. How often I find myself getting inpatient. In those moments that is a clear indication I am not walking in the Spirit but rather walking in the flesh. When I walk in the Spirit I will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
May I learn patience. The kind of patience God has with me. May I learn to rest in Him. To be more flexible in my schedule. To enjoy life's journey even when it means delays and detours. Many times that is for my protection. At other times it is God sitting me in the dunce corner because I impatiently learn patience.
Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Burden Of Prayer
While reading a book on prayer this week, I came across this little phrase, "The burden of prayer." The context talked about a person who willingly accepted the responsibility and burden of prayer. My first thought was, "How can prayer be a burden? Prayer is one of the things we do to unload burdens."
Are we willing to accept the burden of prayer? Are we willing to let God burden our hearts with the things that concern Him the most? To receive His burden and pray through those burdens? There is a burden to prayer. Just ask anyone who has truly interceded for a loved one. Someone who stood in the gap for a people, community or nation. Just ask the people who agonize in prayer over lost people, revival and spiritual awakening.
When I read the story of Evan Roberts who prayed for his nation of Wales for years I see the burden of prayer. God burdened his heart and Roberts rose in the middle of night to plead for His nation. This went on for years. John Hyde prayed for lost souls. He prayed so fervently and continually it literally broke his health and he died at a relatively young age. Leonard Ravenhill's widow reported in his biography that he used to pray eight hours a day. I have seen videos of him preaching in his latter years. You could see the strain on his face and hear the passion in his voice. The average person puts in eight hours a day at work. I guess Ravenhill felt that was his greatest work. He put in a full day of prayer. He used to rise around midnight and pray for several hours. He would go back to bed for awhile and get up to pray, read and write. He used to say, "Eat as little as you can. Sleep as little as you can. Pray as much as you can."
Now there is a type of praying that is not a burden at all. It is just mouthing some words quickly. It's more wishing than believing. It costs very little and produces very little.
There is another form of praying that is a burden. Words like agonizing, travailing, pleading, standing in the gap, interceding all characterize that kind of praying. I have felt it. I have felt the prayer burden as I prayed for wayward sinners to repent. I have felt the strain when I prayed for revival in Seminole and Kermit. I felt it when I pleaded with God to move immovable mountains. I've felt it praying for provision against impossible odds.
After all these years of praying, writing about praying, preaching about praying and testifying I realize more than ever, I know very little of this burden of prayer. I have known it in seasons. It comes and goes. I have never had the sustained burden of prayer like I should. Do I dare ask God for that prayer burden night and day? Do you? Are we satisfied in our prayer lives? Are we satisfied with our meager praying producing meager results in the church? Lord, I plead with you give me and my brothers and sisters this burden of praying. I ask You to sustain it for the remainder of our lives. Let it be said of us at the end of our lives, they carried and lived the burden of prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)
17 pray without ceasing,
Are we willing to accept the burden of prayer? Are we willing to let God burden our hearts with the things that concern Him the most? To receive His burden and pray through those burdens? There is a burden to prayer. Just ask anyone who has truly interceded for a loved one. Someone who stood in the gap for a people, community or nation. Just ask the people who agonize in prayer over lost people, revival and spiritual awakening.
When I read the story of Evan Roberts who prayed for his nation of Wales for years I see the burden of prayer. God burdened his heart and Roberts rose in the middle of night to plead for His nation. This went on for years. John Hyde prayed for lost souls. He prayed so fervently and continually it literally broke his health and he died at a relatively young age. Leonard Ravenhill's widow reported in his biography that he used to pray eight hours a day. I have seen videos of him preaching in his latter years. You could see the strain on his face and hear the passion in his voice. The average person puts in eight hours a day at work. I guess Ravenhill felt that was his greatest work. He put in a full day of prayer. He used to rise around midnight and pray for several hours. He would go back to bed for awhile and get up to pray, read and write. He used to say, "Eat as little as you can. Sleep as little as you can. Pray as much as you can."
Now there is a type of praying that is not a burden at all. It is just mouthing some words quickly. It's more wishing than believing. It costs very little and produces very little.
There is another form of praying that is a burden. Words like agonizing, travailing, pleading, standing in the gap, interceding all characterize that kind of praying. I have felt it. I have felt the prayer burden as I prayed for wayward sinners to repent. I have felt the strain when I prayed for revival in Seminole and Kermit. I felt it when I pleaded with God to move immovable mountains. I've felt it praying for provision against impossible odds.
After all these years of praying, writing about praying, preaching about praying and testifying I realize more than ever, I know very little of this burden of prayer. I have known it in seasons. It comes and goes. I have never had the sustained burden of prayer like I should. Do I dare ask God for that prayer burden night and day? Do you? Are we satisfied in our prayer lives? Are we satisfied with our meager praying producing meager results in the church? Lord, I plead with you give me and my brothers and sisters this burden of praying. I ask You to sustain it for the remainder of our lives. Let it be said of us at the end of our lives, they carried and lived the burden of prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)
17 pray without ceasing,
Climatic Conclusion
Something is up. Weird things are happening. I mean some very out of the ordinary things. Like multiple earthquakes in Kansas. Kansas! They had a 4.1 and a 4.2 earthquake there recently. Earthquakes? In Kansas. Tornadoes I can believe. Earthquakes? Others have been felt in Oklahoma.
That is nothing. Wait until you read this. You will think I am making this up. Since eJuly 4th, in the state of California, there have been.... are you ready? Over 80,000 quakes in a little over a month! When I read that I did a double take. I thought I misread it. Maybe 800 or possibly 8,000. Sure enough the article reported over 80,000.
What in the world is going on? Now get this. That was just in one state. At the time of this writing just 21 minutes ago a 2.8 magnitude quake hit in northern Alaska. 32 minutes ago a 2.6 quake shook part of California. In the first nine days of January 2019 Alaska experienced 81 significant earthquakes.
Something is up. The earth is groaning and belching trying to get our attention. Matthew 24:3-7 (NKJV)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
Could it be God reminding all of us there is a confusion to the unfolding human drama. There is a final chapter. It will be climatic. There will be a rapture. Seven years of tribulation. God's judgment. The battle of Armageddon. The conclusion promises to be climatic.
I can't help but wonder if all these earthquakes and other weird weather patterns are wake up calls. I hope we are listening. I hope we are ready. It appears it won't be long now. Any day. Come Lord Jesus quickly. Come.
That is nothing. Wait until you read this. You will think I am making this up. Since eJuly 4th, in the state of California, there have been.... are you ready? Over 80,000 quakes in a little over a month! When I read that I did a double take. I thought I misread it. Maybe 800 or possibly 8,000. Sure enough the article reported over 80,000.
What in the world is going on? Now get this. That was just in one state. At the time of this writing just 21 minutes ago a 2.8 magnitude quake hit in northern Alaska. 32 minutes ago a 2.6 quake shook part of California. In the first nine days of January 2019 Alaska experienced 81 significant earthquakes.
Something is up. The earth is groaning and belching trying to get our attention. Matthew 24:3-7 (NKJV)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
Could it be God reminding all of us there is a confusion to the unfolding human drama. There is a final chapter. It will be climatic. There will be a rapture. Seven years of tribulation. God's judgment. The battle of Armageddon. The conclusion promises to be climatic.
I can't help but wonder if all these earthquakes and other weird weather patterns are wake up calls. I hope we are listening. I hope we are ready. It appears it won't be long now. Any day. Come Lord Jesus quickly. Come.
Craving Silence
I backed out of the driveway long before the sun came out to make my commute to the office. Multiple thoughts were spinning in my head about all I needed to get done. In the background the radio played. Chatty disc jockeys laughed and joked. Then they played a song along with more laughter and joking afterwards. It began to irritate me.
Then I decided to push the button to turn the radio off. Really I just wanted to turn the noise off. As soon as the sound ceased I immediately felt relaxed and peaceful. It was like my soul craved the silence. All I could hear was the rolling of my tires on the pavement and the sound of oncoming traffic from time to time. I relished the quiet for the rest of the drive.
Our society does not value silence. People always have headphones, earbuds, or music playing. Around the house the television is usually on or youngsters are busy playing video games or watching a video on their phones. The noise never ends. Depending on where you live you may still be able to hear traffic, sirens, and trains all night long.
So many voices. So many distractions. So many competing for our attention. I know people who sleep with the television on or with music playing in the background. When do people ever stop the noise.
Why is this important? Two reasons. First, it is in the silence we train ourselves to meet with and hear from God. His still small voice can get drowned out by all the other noise that clutters our mind. When is the last time you spent 30 minutes to an hour surrounded in silence during waking hours? I'm betting for some it has been awhile.
The music blares louder and louder. The volume on the television gets turned up in surround sound for a better entertainment experience. Yet the still small voice of God goes unnoticed by the masses. We must train ourselves to get comfortable in silence.
A second benefit to silence is it gives you time to think. To put that another way it gives you time to ponder and meditate. So many look frazzled always in a hurry, stressed and at their wits end. If such people took time to slow down and enjoy the silence and just do a little praying and a little thinking it might relieve some of that stress.
I have a back porch. I have not sat back there in months, mainly because of blistering 100 plus degree summer days. Many times I have gone back on that porch with a glass of tea or water and at times a book. Sometimes I've gone back there to just sit in silence. I watch the birds, hear their chirps, see the squirrels scurrying about. On a few occasions I have actually seen dear grazing on the fairway behind our home.
When I turned that radio off in the car I did not realize that my soul was craving silence. Thinking back over the weekend we were busy. Sundays are always a full day. So was Friday night as football seasons kicks off and we stayed busy on Saturday. I needed some time to pray, think and rest.
Now I realize for some there can be too much silence. No other human interaction. Complete isolation. That can be unhealthy and this post is not to make lite of that. That is another topic for another day.
This is just a simple reminder that for busy, stressed, hurried, harassed, helpless and hopeless people God often meets us in silence and solitude. I hope you will carve out some time for both in your days.
Then I decided to push the button to turn the radio off. Really I just wanted to turn the noise off. As soon as the sound ceased I immediately felt relaxed and peaceful. It was like my soul craved the silence. All I could hear was the rolling of my tires on the pavement and the sound of oncoming traffic from time to time. I relished the quiet for the rest of the drive.
Our society does not value silence. People always have headphones, earbuds, or music playing. Around the house the television is usually on or youngsters are busy playing video games or watching a video on their phones. The noise never ends. Depending on where you live you may still be able to hear traffic, sirens, and trains all night long.
So many voices. So many distractions. So many competing for our attention. I know people who sleep with the television on or with music playing in the background. When do people ever stop the noise.
Why is this important? Two reasons. First, it is in the silence we train ourselves to meet with and hear from God. His still small voice can get drowned out by all the other noise that clutters our mind. When is the last time you spent 30 minutes to an hour surrounded in silence during waking hours? I'm betting for some it has been awhile.
The music blares louder and louder. The volume on the television gets turned up in surround sound for a better entertainment experience. Yet the still small voice of God goes unnoticed by the masses. We must train ourselves to get comfortable in silence.
A second benefit to silence is it gives you time to think. To put that another way it gives you time to ponder and meditate. So many look frazzled always in a hurry, stressed and at their wits end. If such people took time to slow down and enjoy the silence and just do a little praying and a little thinking it might relieve some of that stress.
I have a back porch. I have not sat back there in months, mainly because of blistering 100 plus degree summer days. Many times I have gone back on that porch with a glass of tea or water and at times a book. Sometimes I've gone back there to just sit in silence. I watch the birds, hear their chirps, see the squirrels scurrying about. On a few occasions I have actually seen dear grazing on the fairway behind our home.
When I turned that radio off in the car I did not realize that my soul was craving silence. Thinking back over the weekend we were busy. Sundays are always a full day. So was Friday night as football seasons kicks off and we stayed busy on Saturday. I needed some time to pray, think and rest.
Now I realize for some there can be too much silence. No other human interaction. Complete isolation. That can be unhealthy and this post is not to make lite of that. That is another topic for another day.
This is just a simple reminder that for busy, stressed, hurried, harassed, helpless and hopeless people God often meets us in silence and solitude. I hope you will carve out some time for both in your days.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Broken
I could see it in her eyes. She had just unloaded her sad tale of a shattered fairy tale and a broken heart. Bravely she fought back the years but I see her misty eyes. For some reason she felt comfortable sharing her brokenness with me. I could only listen and love. I can pray.
There are broken people everywhere. Broken hearts are not easy to see. When people are wounded externally it is obvious. There is a gaping wound. Broken hearts are hidden. People try to fake it. They go to great lengths to try to hide their broken hearts. If you know the signs you can tell.
A broken heart is usually accompanied with a darkened heavy countenance. You've probably noticed someone who seemed down and asked if they were okay. I bet you heard many times, "I'm fine." Or if you asked them what was wrong they responded with, "Nothing." You didn't buy it but did not know how to help.
Broken people are all around us. In our families. Among our friends. Around our neighborhoods and even at work. We worship alongside broken people. From the outside it may appear such people have their acts together. Appearances can be deceiving. Broken shattered lives hide behind two car garages, nice clothing and fake smiles.
Jesus sees broken people. I find it interesting how many times He went out of His way to engage such people. The demon possessed. The woman with the issue of blood. The grieving mother at Nain. Jairus and his daughter. The woman caught in adultery. The lepers. The paralyzed man at the Pool of Siloam. The blind.
We live in a world of broken people. Widows and widowers. The divorced single parent. The impoverished. The wounded. The forsaken and neglected. The forgotten. The disillusioned. The drug addict. The adulterer. The cheated on spouse left to cope with the after effects. Unloved and unwanted children. The abused. The enslaved.
It is easy to get so caught up in our own worlds, and at times our own pain, we forget about the broken people around us. While we may not be able to fix all their brokenness we can do two things. We can pray with them and for them. We can also point them to Jesus. Jesus is able to pick up the broken and shattered lives and put them back together. He has done it for me. I have seen Him do it for others. I believe Him to do it for you today. So here is my prayer for all the broken people out there.
Jesus,
You see the broken people. They may feel alone. They may feel forgotten or ignored. You see them. You see their pain. You see their silent tears and the ones that flow freely when nobody is watching. You see tear stained pillow cases. You hear every sigh from a weighed down heart. I ask You to manifest Your presence today. In a Bible verse. In a phone call. In a text, email or letter. I ask You to show up in a friendly smile, a hug or pat on the back. I ask You to bring to mind broken people in the minds and hearts of Your followers. I ask You to motivate Your servants to reach out. I ask You to use Your servants to be You with skin on for broken people.
I ask You to lift heavy burdens off the broken. Please give them relief and refreshing today. I ask You to breakthrough in impossible situations and against impossible odds. I ask You to comfort the grieving. I ask You to draw near to them and massage their hearts with Your love and compassion. I ask You to provide for those against the ropes and who need a miracle. I ask You to save the day for them. I ask You to restore hope for those cast headlong into despair. I beg for Your still small voice to speak louder than words of demonic screams that torment the mind. I ask You to touch the physically suffering today. You are able to heal, restore and revive any broken body. I ask You to help unbelief for those trapped by their circumstances. I ask You to make a way where there seems to be no way. I ask You to give strength to those barely hanging on. Please empower them to get through this day and then the next one hour by hour.
I ask Yo to make broken people whole. For the sin stained in bondage I ask You to break the chains. For the devastated I ask You to give the garment of praise in exchange for the dungy clothes of depression. I ask You to recover to the broken what has been lost, mainly their pace of mind and joy. Those things are not impossible to You. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH YOU. I believe You for all of it for the broken. I believe You for this in Jesus name, amen.
There are broken people everywhere. Broken hearts are not easy to see. When people are wounded externally it is obvious. There is a gaping wound. Broken hearts are hidden. People try to fake it. They go to great lengths to try to hide their broken hearts. If you know the signs you can tell.
A broken heart is usually accompanied with a darkened heavy countenance. You've probably noticed someone who seemed down and asked if they were okay. I bet you heard many times, "I'm fine." Or if you asked them what was wrong they responded with, "Nothing." You didn't buy it but did not know how to help.
Broken people are all around us. In our families. Among our friends. Around our neighborhoods and even at work. We worship alongside broken people. From the outside it may appear such people have their acts together. Appearances can be deceiving. Broken shattered lives hide behind two car garages, nice clothing and fake smiles.
Jesus sees broken people. I find it interesting how many times He went out of His way to engage such people. The demon possessed. The woman with the issue of blood. The grieving mother at Nain. Jairus and his daughter. The woman caught in adultery. The lepers. The paralyzed man at the Pool of Siloam. The blind.
We live in a world of broken people. Widows and widowers. The divorced single parent. The impoverished. The wounded. The forsaken and neglected. The forgotten. The disillusioned. The drug addict. The adulterer. The cheated on spouse left to cope with the after effects. Unloved and unwanted children. The abused. The enslaved.
It is easy to get so caught up in our own worlds, and at times our own pain, we forget about the broken people around us. While we may not be able to fix all their brokenness we can do two things. We can pray with them and for them. We can also point them to Jesus. Jesus is able to pick up the broken and shattered lives and put them back together. He has done it for me. I have seen Him do it for others. I believe Him to do it for you today. So here is my prayer for all the broken people out there.
Jesus,
You see the broken people. They may feel alone. They may feel forgotten or ignored. You see them. You see their pain. You see their silent tears and the ones that flow freely when nobody is watching. You see tear stained pillow cases. You hear every sigh from a weighed down heart. I ask You to manifest Your presence today. In a Bible verse. In a phone call. In a text, email or letter. I ask You to show up in a friendly smile, a hug or pat on the back. I ask You to bring to mind broken people in the minds and hearts of Your followers. I ask You to motivate Your servants to reach out. I ask You to use Your servants to be You with skin on for broken people.
I ask You to lift heavy burdens off the broken. Please give them relief and refreshing today. I ask You to breakthrough in impossible situations and against impossible odds. I ask You to comfort the grieving. I ask You to draw near to them and massage their hearts with Your love and compassion. I ask You to provide for those against the ropes and who need a miracle. I ask You to save the day for them. I ask You to restore hope for those cast headlong into despair. I beg for Your still small voice to speak louder than words of demonic screams that torment the mind. I ask You to touch the physically suffering today. You are able to heal, restore and revive any broken body. I ask You to help unbelief for those trapped by their circumstances. I ask You to make a way where there seems to be no way. I ask You to give strength to those barely hanging on. Please empower them to get through this day and then the next one hour by hour.
I ask Yo to make broken people whole. For the sin stained in bondage I ask You to break the chains. For the devastated I ask You to give the garment of praise in exchange for the dungy clothes of depression. I ask You to recover to the broken what has been lost, mainly their pace of mind and joy. Those things are not impossible to You. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH YOU. I believe You for all of it for the broken. I believe You for this in Jesus name, amen.
Covenant
covenant | ˈkəvənənt |
noun
an agreement.
• Law a contract drawn up by deed.
• Law a clause in a contract.
• Theology an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people. The Jewish faith is based on the biblical covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David. See also Ark of the Covenant.
noun
an agreement.
• Law a contract drawn up by deed.
• Law a clause in a contract.
• Theology an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people. The Jewish faith is based on the biblical covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David. See also Ark of the Covenant.
God takes covenant seriously. He did for His chosen people Israel. He does through relationships between people and Jesus. He also does in the covenant of marriage.
It is the covenant of marriage that weighs on my heart today. Nobody talks about this anymore. Two people fall in love (or lust) and wed. Sometimes a preacher performs the ceremony. Often it is a Justice of the Peace. This used to mean something. It has become a sham. I attended a wedding once where a mail order ordination certificate was ordered so an individual could legally perform the wedding. Truth is I have heard about this happening on at least three occasions. I bet there was little talk about covenant.
Things in the marriage may start off well. The newlyweds enjoy marital bliss. Then real life hits. Bills. Work. Children. Arguments. Adjustments. Soon the fairly tale fades. Then one day one spouse decides they do not want to get married anymore. Selfishly they pack up and move on leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. They get a lawyer and head to the divorce court. Soon, after much heartache and devastation the divorce is finalized. As is often the case, the one who wanted the divorce feels free. The other is left to pick up the shattered pieces of their not happily ever after.
Here is the part few ever think about. The covenant. The agreement for the two to become one in the eyes of God. The contract between God and two people. God established marriage. It was His idea. He set up the boundaries. He created the covenant. People can go to divorce court and break off the marriage agreement. What about the covenant? The divorce court cannot break the covenant in the eyes of God.
Jesus did make an exception in the case of adultery. Adultery is pandemic. It seems not a month goes by that I do not hear about someone cheated on someone and now divorce is imminent. Sadly I hear about thins among Christians way too often. Satan tempts, lures, and entices people outside the covenant relationship. Covenant is cast to the side for fleeting moments of passion. Satan only creates destruction. God set up boundaries. His idea was for marriage to be between a man and a woman in saved relationships with Him and a covenant relationship between one another. A bond. A sacred trust.
Let me state this clearly. MARRIAGE IS HARD WORK! There are compromises to make, meeting in the middle, denying self, serving, and working at keeping the romance alive.
On the day I got married I had the whole morning to myself. I went to get a haircut. The lady asked me what I had going on that day. Proudly I stated, "I'm getting married today." I ate breakfast alone. Later I headed to the church excited and got ready to join my heart and hands with the woman who captured my heart on the campus of Howard Payne University. I put on my tuxedo. I joked with my groomsman. The hour arrived. I walked out with the preachers to stand down front to receive my new bride. When the back doors opened and she walked in with her father a flood of emotions hit me. She looked stunning. Took my breath away for a moment. Then another thought. The full weight of marriage hit me at that moment. Even though, we did premarital counseling, and our counselor told us we had a very realistic view of marriage. We read books on marriage. We talked about it endlessly. As she walked down the aisle I recall thinking, "This is not dating anymore. You don't just get to breakup. This is forever." The full weight of covenant hit me in that moment. From that moment on during the ceremony I soberly and willingly entered into that covenant marriage relationship with Brenda Maria Ortiz on June 29, 1991. We are still in love today 28 years later.
As a pastor I have had the privilege of performing marriages for several couples. I always require premarital counseling before I officiate at the wedding. I talk about covenant. I have also sat with many a brokenhearted person coping with a cheating spouse or a spouse who just wanted a divorce because they did not love anymore. In most cases one wanted out and the other willingly would do anything to keep the marriage together. I have talked to both about covenant. Sadly many times to no avail.
I've seen covenant broken way too many times. I have experienced the pain of broken covenant marriage relationship first hand as a child. I've also seen it as a pastor watching the after effects on families. Children feel torn and guilty. While children are resilient, make no mistake divorce impacts them in very real and negative ways.
What bothers me most is when Christians throw away the covenant marriage for illicit sexual affairs. Like dogs who cannot control their unbridled lustful desires sexual flings happen. Does anyone stop to calculate the success of those type of relationships? I am betting few affairs last into happily ever after.
Now let me state I know in the case of adultery Jesus made exceptions for divorce. While He never addressed physical abuse I cannot fathom Jesus telling a woman to stay in a relationship with blood pouring out her nose after a punch to the face from her husband. That is a discussion for another day.
I just want to remind all of us that marriage is not a partnership. It is not a promise to stay together as long as we feel like it or until someone else better comes along. It is a covenant. One God takes seriously. I wish more people took it seriously too.
Genesis 2:21-25 (ESV)
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Matthew 5:27-28 (NKJV)
27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:31-32 (NKJV)
31 "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Dark And Empty
It is late Thursday afternoon. I just returned from a stroll through the sanctuary located right outside my office door. I went in there to pray. No lights. No crowds. No sounds other than the passing traffic outside. Just an empty dark sanctuary and yet I did not feel alone. God met me there.
I walked up to the front pew on the right side where my family has made our home the past two Sundays. I did not have an agenda. Just wanted to sit before the Lord. It is not the first time in my ministry I walked into a dark and empty sanctuary to pray and listen for the still small voice of God. I often did it at FBC Seminole sitting up in the balcony. On several occasions people came in and did not even know I was there.
Though the room was dark and empty in my mind I could see future days where the room would be filled with life, excitement and worshipers.
I got up and walked behind the pulpit. I gripped both sides with my fingers and prayed silently. I asked God for to fill that space with His presence before He fills it with people. I want people to encounter God when they walk in that room. To encounter Him through worship and through the pages and truth of the Bible. I want people to be encouraged, convicted, challenged, inspired, comforted, given direction, and to be able to lay down heavy burdens down. I long to see people matured as they feast on God's word in His presence. I want them to grow in their love and zeal for Him. I also want them to see the fruit of their prayers come to fruition.
There is no greater service I can do for this flock than to lift them before God. I am able to do that in the dark and empty sanctuary when they are busy about their daily lives. I do it to prepare my heart for this coming weekend of ministry. It is in the dark and empty times many ministerial battles are fought and won.
In the dark and empty sanctuary I can mentally see the faces of the flock in their seats. Some are in tears. Others are in deep concentration. A few sit quietly with smiles on their faces. Others worship. Some pray. My heart swells with new love for this flock God has entrusted to me.
I still feel like pinching myself. While I am well into my third week here at Spring Creek, when I walked into the dark and empty sanctuary, I could not help but thank God for choosing me to serve here. It is a blessing beyond words. It is still hard to believe God made this possible. This truly has been the desire of my heart for decades.
I walked up to the front pew on the right side where my family has made our home the past two Sundays. I did not have an agenda. Just wanted to sit before the Lord. It is not the first time in my ministry I walked into a dark and empty sanctuary to pray and listen for the still small voice of God. I often did it at FBC Seminole sitting up in the balcony. On several occasions people came in and did not even know I was there.
Though the room was dark and empty in my mind I could see future days where the room would be filled with life, excitement and worshipers.
I got up and walked behind the pulpit. I gripped both sides with my fingers and prayed silently. I asked God for to fill that space with His presence before He fills it with people. I want people to encounter God when they walk in that room. To encounter Him through worship and through the pages and truth of the Bible. I want people to be encouraged, convicted, challenged, inspired, comforted, given direction, and to be able to lay down heavy burdens down. I long to see people matured as they feast on God's word in His presence. I want them to grow in their love and zeal for Him. I also want them to see the fruit of their prayers come to fruition.
There is no greater service I can do for this flock than to lift them before God. I am able to do that in the dark and empty sanctuary when they are busy about their daily lives. I do it to prepare my heart for this coming weekend of ministry. It is in the dark and empty times many ministerial battles are fought and won.
In the dark and empty sanctuary I can mentally see the faces of the flock in their seats. Some are in tears. Others are in deep concentration. A few sit quietly with smiles on their faces. Others worship. Some pray. My heart swells with new love for this flock God has entrusted to me.
I still feel like pinching myself. While I am well into my third week here at Spring Creek, when I walked into the dark and empty sanctuary, I could not help but thank God for choosing me to serve here. It is a blessing beyond words. It is still hard to believe God made this possible. This truly has been the desire of my heart for decades.
The Ultimate One Time Offering
Hebrews 10:12-14 (ESV)
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Mankind needed saving. Our rebellion started in the Garden of Eden and has persisted to this day. Through the ages people tried many things to get themselves right. They tried to keep God's law but found it impossible. To make atonement for their sins they needed a blood sacrifice. The blood of countless lambs and goats was shed. These sacrificial offerings were insufficient for they had to be repeated to be effective.
People constructed gods of their own choosing. They crafted and sculpted them but to no avail. No such idols could ever deliver them from sin and the wrath of God no matter how devout people worshipped and trusted. Dead idols could not ever justify a person in the eyes of the one true God.
But then Jesus. The sinless Son of God. The perfect Prince of Heaven. The righteous Redeemer. He made an offering. The ultimate offering of all time. He offered His life in exchange for our pardon. He bore the penalty for our sin while we received the righteousness that He alone could lay claim to. He embraced the cross in a single all satisfying sacrifice to cover for all time.
His offering of Himself is still sufficient today. For all time His sacrifice will cover the sins of generations. For as many as call on the name of the Lord will be saved. We could not offer our lives as a sacrifice and it be sufficient. Our sins would make our sacrifice worthless. The sinless Savior's sacrifice was a one time offering that is still reaping great eternal reward for the repentant.
Jesus' one time ultimate gift is working today to perfect all followers of Jesus. No gift ever touched more people. No sacrifice ever cost more and yet brought greater reward to the masses. Sinners destined for condemnation and the wrath of God have been rescued by Jesus' one time offering of Himself in our place. It is humbling. It is powerful. It is life changing.
We can't repay such an offering. All we can do is love Him, serve Him and devote our lives to following Him. A life offered to Jesus in service should be our ultimate offering.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Mankind needed saving. Our rebellion started in the Garden of Eden and has persisted to this day. Through the ages people tried many things to get themselves right. They tried to keep God's law but found it impossible. To make atonement for their sins they needed a blood sacrifice. The blood of countless lambs and goats was shed. These sacrificial offerings were insufficient for they had to be repeated to be effective.
People constructed gods of their own choosing. They crafted and sculpted them but to no avail. No such idols could ever deliver them from sin and the wrath of God no matter how devout people worshipped and trusted. Dead idols could not ever justify a person in the eyes of the one true God.
But then Jesus. The sinless Son of God. The perfect Prince of Heaven. The righteous Redeemer. He made an offering. The ultimate offering of all time. He offered His life in exchange for our pardon. He bore the penalty for our sin while we received the righteousness that He alone could lay claim to. He embraced the cross in a single all satisfying sacrifice to cover for all time.
His offering of Himself is still sufficient today. For all time His sacrifice will cover the sins of generations. For as many as call on the name of the Lord will be saved. We could not offer our lives as a sacrifice and it be sufficient. Our sins would make our sacrifice worthless. The sinless Savior's sacrifice was a one time offering that is still reaping great eternal reward for the repentant.
Jesus' one time ultimate gift is working today to perfect all followers of Jesus. No gift ever touched more people. No sacrifice ever cost more and yet brought greater reward to the masses. Sinners destined for condemnation and the wrath of God have been rescued by Jesus' one time offering of Himself in our place. It is humbling. It is powerful. It is life changing.
We can't repay such an offering. All we can do is love Him, serve Him and devote our lives to following Him. A life offered to Jesus in service should be our ultimate offering.
Jesus Allows U Turns
I am saddened today. Saddened by people I love, people I pray for, people I invested in, people I served Jesus right along side but who have fallen away from the faith. They are not alone. There is a great falling away from the faith. A famous pastor and author recently resigned from his church and went further by publicly resigning from his faith. I just read an article about a famous worship leader and song writer who denounced his faith publicly leaving he makes confused and bewildered.
This is not anything new. We read in the Bible Judas turned away. Paul wrote about Demas turning away because he loved the present world. The prodigal son left his faith for a season. It grieves me when people I know turn away. People who were once in my flock under my watch care. When they turn their backs on Jesus who put His back on a cross for their salvation they have forgotten the depths of His love and mercy . I have seen people shun Jesus and holiness while embracing immorality and hypocrisy. Bibles get shoved and tucked away and modern morality standards replace Bible truth.
I am not angry. Far from it. I am grieved. The grief is like a sick feeling in my gut. A deep sorrow weighs heavy. I cannot just pretend or ignore this reality. Once strong passionate followers of Jesus have renounced all of it bringing shame to the church and to Jesus for the fleeting pleasures of sin. It is fleeting. Temporary. Momentary. Brief. Eternity is everlastingly long. What am I to do? Forget them? Forget the lives they once lived for Jesus? Forget the ones I love? I cannot. I dare not.
While reading my Bible yesterday I came across a passage that shocked me to my senses. I read over the passage twice thinking about those I know who have fallen away from the faith. Deeply saddened and grieved I see how Satan deceives, disillusions and distracts people away from the faith. Others see it too.
Hebrews 3:12-15 (ESV)
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hard truth for hard hearts. We are called to exhort one another so that our fellow believers are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Make no mistake. Sin is deceitful. It promises fulfillment, joy, and satisfaction. It never delivers. For the once follower of Jesus sin only produces temporary pleasure followed by shame, remorse and condemnation.
Many months ago I crossed paths with a believer who fell away. It was the first time we had seen each other in well over a year. Small talk was exchanged until I asked, "Where are you with Jesus?" This person responded with, "No beating around the bush with you. You go straight to it." My question did not get answered as the conversation deflected to other items. As our time to depart neared I only had one final comment for my friend. "Jesus allows U turns."
What I meant is Jesus allows people to repent and return. Jesus' grace is big enough to cover falling away. His mercy is big enough to cover moral mistakes. His love covers a multitudes of sin. May He hold us firmly in the faith to the end of our days. If we fall away, may He remind us He allows U turns!
This is not anything new. We read in the Bible Judas turned away. Paul wrote about Demas turning away because he loved the present world. The prodigal son left his faith for a season. It grieves me when people I know turn away. People who were once in my flock under my watch care. When they turn their backs on Jesus who put His back on a cross for their salvation they have forgotten the depths of His love and mercy . I have seen people shun Jesus and holiness while embracing immorality and hypocrisy. Bibles get shoved and tucked away and modern morality standards replace Bible truth.
I am not angry. Far from it. I am grieved. The grief is like a sick feeling in my gut. A deep sorrow weighs heavy. I cannot just pretend or ignore this reality. Once strong passionate followers of Jesus have renounced all of it bringing shame to the church and to Jesus for the fleeting pleasures of sin. It is fleeting. Temporary. Momentary. Brief. Eternity is everlastingly long. What am I to do? Forget them? Forget the lives they once lived for Jesus? Forget the ones I love? I cannot. I dare not.
While reading my Bible yesterday I came across a passage that shocked me to my senses. I read over the passage twice thinking about those I know who have fallen away from the faith. Deeply saddened and grieved I see how Satan deceives, disillusions and distracts people away from the faith. Others see it too.
Hebrews 3:12-15 (ESV)
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hard truth for hard hearts. We are called to exhort one another so that our fellow believers are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Make no mistake. Sin is deceitful. It promises fulfillment, joy, and satisfaction. It never delivers. For the once follower of Jesus sin only produces temporary pleasure followed by shame, remorse and condemnation.
Many months ago I crossed paths with a believer who fell away. It was the first time we had seen each other in well over a year. Small talk was exchanged until I asked, "Where are you with Jesus?" This person responded with, "No beating around the bush with you. You go straight to it." My question did not get answered as the conversation deflected to other items. As our time to depart neared I only had one final comment for my friend. "Jesus allows U turns."
What I meant is Jesus allows people to repent and return. Jesus' grace is big enough to cover falling away. His mercy is big enough to cover moral mistakes. His love covers a multitudes of sin. May He hold us firmly in the faith to the end of our days. If we fall away, may He remind us He allows U turns!
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
He Never Told A Lie
Even though we are specifically commanded in Ex 20:16 not to bear false witness, people do it all the time. I was told this past week a churchman was caught in a lie right in front of the congregation. It is not the first time I have heard of that same person fabricating the truth multiple times. Lie enough and sooner or later you forget the lies you told. You get the facts mixed up. It's easier to tell the truth. People lie about little things as well as big things. The truth is bent, stretched and even fabricated if it justifies a person's agenda.
Politicians lie. I don't believe any of them. Preachers lie when they alter the facts to make their church or ministry look more impressive. Lawyers lie to get the desired verdict. Children lie to hide the facts. Employers lie to employees. Sometimes spouses lie to cover their tracks.
I know one who has never told a single lie in his lifetime. Well advanced in years he has maintained a commitment to tell the truth and never to speak a lie. Think about it. Not to tell a lie one single time in a lifetime is impressive. I would even go so far as to say it is rare. It is possible.
Titus 1:2 (ESV)
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
God is the one who has never lied. He's made many promises to His children through the ages. Not once, did He ever lie. He does what He says He will do. He doesn't forget. He does not change the conditions midstream. He says what He means and means what He says. Never has God lied. Not to your far removed ancestors. Not to you and yours. And not to those who will come along after you. He has never, still does not, and will not ever tell a lie.
That is reassuring when it comes to salvation. It is reassuring when it comes to His promises to forgive, to hear, to restore, to forget, to save, to provide and so much more. Trust in that. You can depend on God to honor what He promises. It is secure. For God has never lied to anyone in any generation. I don't figure you and I will be the first ones.
Politicians lie. I don't believe any of them. Preachers lie when they alter the facts to make their church or ministry look more impressive. Lawyers lie to get the desired verdict. Children lie to hide the facts. Employers lie to employees. Sometimes spouses lie to cover their tracks.
I know one who has never told a single lie in his lifetime. Well advanced in years he has maintained a commitment to tell the truth and never to speak a lie. Think about it. Not to tell a lie one single time in a lifetime is impressive. I would even go so far as to say it is rare. It is possible.
Titus 1:2 (ESV)
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
God is the one who has never lied. He's made many promises to His children through the ages. Not once, did He ever lie. He does what He says He will do. He doesn't forget. He does not change the conditions midstream. He says what He means and means what He says. Never has God lied. Not to your far removed ancestors. Not to you and yours. And not to those who will come along after you. He has never, still does not, and will not ever tell a lie.
That is reassuring when it comes to salvation. It is reassuring when it comes to His promises to forgive, to hear, to restore, to forget, to save, to provide and so much more. Trust in that. You can depend on God to honor what He promises. It is secure. For God has never lied to anyone in any generation. I don't figure you and I will be the first ones.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
More
Exodus 33:18 (ESV)
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
We live in a society where people always want more. More money. More stuff. More power. More prestige ad influence. Preachers want more people, more tithes, more programs and more buildings. so many want more. More of everything except one noticeable thing. How many want more of God.
Moses did. He hungered for more of God. So much so he asked God to reveal more of His glory. Moses did not content himself to know more about God. He yearned to know more of God. To walk closer with Him. To commune closer. To experience more of Yahweh.
Contrast that with the casual attitude most people approach private and public worship. There is very little hunger. Hunger for more of Him. We hunger for all sorts of temporary things. Things that will not last and never satisfy. God satisfies the deepest cravings of our souls. He fills up all that is missing in our lives. He is what we hunger and thirst for. Moses understood this. He still wanted more.
Think about it. Moses had so many incredible encounters with God. He had the boring bush experience in [Ex 3:1-14]. He had a front row seat to watch God judge Pharaoh and Egypt in Exodus chapters 7-12. In [Ex 14:9-22] God parted for the Red Sea and defeated Pharaoh forever. The Israelites grumbled in the desert at Marah because the waters were bitter. God made them sweet in [Ex 15:22-25]. He gave them rest in Elim [Ex 15:27]. He supplied the heavenly bread called manna in [Ex 16:1-21]. Don't forget the revelation of the 10 Commandments in [Ex 20: 3-17]. God did other things too.
On top of all that Moses hungered for more. He wanted more revelation and fresh encounters with the living God. Do we? I know we gather for worship and study but do we truly hunger for more of Him. Do we content ourselves to fill our notebooks and yet not fill our hearts with fresh experiences with Him. Head knowledge will never satisfy. We must have heart knowledge.
God told Moses he could not see God's face and the fullness of His glory or Moses would die. God let Moses see the backside of His glory. He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock. O that each of us had a cleft from where we may experience more of God. To behold more of His power and more of His glory.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai the countenance of his face shone. He had a glow. He radiated with the glory of God. His encounter with God lingered. It became evident Moses had been in God's presence. O that we would have the desire to know God more fully and to experience Him more than we ever have before. More of His glory. More of His presence. More encounters privately and publicly. Lord, please let us know you more and experience a greater revelation of you. In Your name Jesus, I ask it. Amen.
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
We live in a society where people always want more. More money. More stuff. More power. More prestige ad influence. Preachers want more people, more tithes, more programs and more buildings. so many want more. More of everything except one noticeable thing. How many want more of God.
Moses did. He hungered for more of God. So much so he asked God to reveal more of His glory. Moses did not content himself to know more about God. He yearned to know more of God. To walk closer with Him. To commune closer. To experience more of Yahweh.
Contrast that with the casual attitude most people approach private and public worship. There is very little hunger. Hunger for more of Him. We hunger for all sorts of temporary things. Things that will not last and never satisfy. God satisfies the deepest cravings of our souls. He fills up all that is missing in our lives. He is what we hunger and thirst for. Moses understood this. He still wanted more.
Think about it. Moses had so many incredible encounters with God. He had the boring bush experience in [Ex 3:1-14]. He had a front row seat to watch God judge Pharaoh and Egypt in Exodus chapters 7-12. In [Ex 14:9-22] God parted for the Red Sea and defeated Pharaoh forever. The Israelites grumbled in the desert at Marah because the waters were bitter. God made them sweet in [Ex 15:22-25]. He gave them rest in Elim [Ex 15:27]. He supplied the heavenly bread called manna in [Ex 16:1-21]. Don't forget the revelation of the 10 Commandments in [Ex 20: 3-17]. God did other things too.
On top of all that Moses hungered for more. He wanted more revelation and fresh encounters with the living God. Do we? I know we gather for worship and study but do we truly hunger for more of Him. Do we content ourselves to fill our notebooks and yet not fill our hearts with fresh experiences with Him. Head knowledge will never satisfy. We must have heart knowledge.
God told Moses he could not see God's face and the fullness of His glory or Moses would die. God let Moses see the backside of His glory. He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock. O that each of us had a cleft from where we may experience more of God. To behold more of His power and more of His glory.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai the countenance of his face shone. He had a glow. He radiated with the glory of God. His encounter with God lingered. It became evident Moses had been in God's presence. O that we would have the desire to know God more fully and to experience Him more than we ever have before. More of His glory. More of His presence. More encounters privately and publicly. Lord, please let us know you more and experience a greater revelation of you. In Your name Jesus, I ask it. Amen.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
I Don't Wake Up Angry Anymore
She walked with a noticeable limp when she came in. She did not have use of her left arm. We were introduced and she wasted no time telling me her testimony. She spent a long time bedridden after a very active and successful life due a bad turn in her health. This beautiful, active, successful lady got reduced to a bedridden patient without the ability to communicate. I understand she used to sing and traveled extensively doing so. Doctors did not know if she would ever walk or talk again. She asked God to restore her ability to walk and talk and committed her life to serve Him. I understand she had not been devoted to serving Him before that. And that is exactly what she is doing. She is letting her light shine for Jesus and speaking to others about Him.
Testifying. Encouraging. Praying. Creating videos for people. She commented that God had not completely healed her yet but at least she does not wake up angry anymore. This lady radiated pure joy. Her countenance did not portray anger nor bitterness. I am sure deep down she wishes she had full use of her arm and leg but that is not stopping her from being effective.
There are many trials and setbacks in life. It would be easy to grow bitter, sullen, and lose all joy. The Bible is filled with people who suffered. If anyone had a right to be bitter it would be Joseph. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown into prison and worst of all the haunting dreams he had as a young man about his future success. That must have tortured him as he sat in the prison for two full years.
Joseph did not sulk, give up or lose his joy. In fact the Bible says about him repeatedly that God was with him and he was shown favor in Potiphar's house and in prison. That is a remarkable statement. Sure Joseph must have been frustrated. Wouldn't we? Yet God was with Him.
In the darkest hours, in the hardest times, in the most painful seasons God does not abandon us. He is with us. He is there to provide strength, hope, joy, peace and perseverance. The lady I met has found God with her even in her physical challenges. She mentioned God had not fully healed her yet. I take it she believes to be fully restored. I find myself believing that for her as well. That is not too difficult for God. If the healing never comes God is still with her just like he is with us.
He is with us when our hearts are broken, our reputations are slandered and the slippery slope of trials leaves us on shaky ground for a season. He is with us at the final stages of life. He is with us in victory as well as defeat. He is with us during the nights of weeping as well as the mornings of joy.
In Joseph's life, not only was God with him, but God showed him favor. He excelled in what he had to do. He bloomed where God allowed him to be planted not knowing or understanding God's design behind all of it. I take it Joseph maintained joy through all his circumstances. I am not saying he liked it. I am certain he did not understand any of it. I am saying he did not let all the adversity sour him.
There are plenty of sour people. They wake up every day sour and angry about life. They don't like the things that have happened to them. They even get sour at God. If you know the story of Joseph you know that overnight Joseph went from prison to the palace becoming second in command of all of Egypt. God can do anything He wants. We don't know how it will turn out for us until God has the last say.
It is our job to be faithful where we are and in what we are going through. It's our job to keep trusting God even when we don't understand. It's our job to let the joy of the LORD be our strength. When we do that maybe we too can say, "I don't wake up angry anymore."
Testifying. Encouraging. Praying. Creating videos for people. She commented that God had not completely healed her yet but at least she does not wake up angry anymore. This lady radiated pure joy. Her countenance did not portray anger nor bitterness. I am sure deep down she wishes she had full use of her arm and leg but that is not stopping her from being effective.
There are many trials and setbacks in life. It would be easy to grow bitter, sullen, and lose all joy. The Bible is filled with people who suffered. If anyone had a right to be bitter it would be Joseph. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused of sexual assault, thrown into prison and worst of all the haunting dreams he had as a young man about his future success. That must have tortured him as he sat in the prison for two full years.
Joseph did not sulk, give up or lose his joy. In fact the Bible says about him repeatedly that God was with him and he was shown favor in Potiphar's house and in prison. That is a remarkable statement. Sure Joseph must have been frustrated. Wouldn't we? Yet God was with Him.
In the darkest hours, in the hardest times, in the most painful seasons God does not abandon us. He is with us. He is there to provide strength, hope, joy, peace and perseverance. The lady I met has found God with her even in her physical challenges. She mentioned God had not fully healed her yet. I take it she believes to be fully restored. I find myself believing that for her as well. That is not too difficult for God. If the healing never comes God is still with her just like he is with us.
He is with us when our hearts are broken, our reputations are slandered and the slippery slope of trials leaves us on shaky ground for a season. He is with us at the final stages of life. He is with us in victory as well as defeat. He is with us during the nights of weeping as well as the mornings of joy.
In Joseph's life, not only was God with him, but God showed him favor. He excelled in what he had to do. He bloomed where God allowed him to be planted not knowing or understanding God's design behind all of it. I take it Joseph maintained joy through all his circumstances. I am not saying he liked it. I am certain he did not understand any of it. I am saying he did not let all the adversity sour him.
There are plenty of sour people. They wake up every day sour and angry about life. They don't like the things that have happened to them. They even get sour at God. If you know the story of Joseph you know that overnight Joseph went from prison to the palace becoming second in command of all of Egypt. God can do anything He wants. We don't know how it will turn out for us until God has the last say.
It is our job to be faithful where we are and in what we are going through. It's our job to keep trusting God even when we don't understand. It's our job to let the joy of the LORD be our strength. When we do that maybe we too can say, "I don't wake up angry anymore."
Monday, August 5, 2019
Khaw-yah
I've spent the better part of the morning seeking the Lord for Spring Creek. Not just the church but also the community. I asked God to share His heart with me so I could feel about the church and community the way He does.
I sat quietly before Him listening for His still small voice. An English word came to my mind but somehow I knew that was not the word He wanted to put into my heart. I looked up a verse with the word in it and then looked up that word up in the Hebrew language. Khaw-yah is what I found.
Unless you are a Hebrew scholar that word probably means nothing to you as it did to me earlier today. Just a weird Hebrew word. And yet that is the word the Lord put in my heart for all of Spring Creek. Khaw-yah means to quicken, live, revive.
There are things that appear alive but are either dead or in the process of dying. Recently my boys and I helped some other men cut down a massive tree that fell on a widow's roof. Yet inside the tree was hollow. There was just an outer shell of bark and a thin layer of wood holding it together. You would have never known that just by looking at the outside.
So it is with many Jesus followers and churches. They appear alive but inside they are hollow. There is no life. They are cut off from the needed nutrients of the roots. Such people and churches need Khaw-yah. I saw Khaw-yah yesterday.
My family planned to join the church yesterday morning which we did. What made it more exciting is two other couples joined yesterday as well. One person commented it had been a long time since anyone had joined the church. I saw several misty eyes. I certainly didn't do that. I didn't make it happen. I just preached the message God laid on my heart and He used it. He brought Khaw-yah. I hope and pray He brings more.
While many churches hold weekly worship rituals there is not a lot of Khaw-yah in it. There is no life in it. God has not breathed life and quickened the elements of worship through His Spirit. God through His Spirit can do more in one service than we can do in years of trying to do it on our own. May His people wake up and cry out for Khaw-yah while there is still time.
I sat quietly before Him listening for His still small voice. An English word came to my mind but somehow I knew that was not the word He wanted to put into my heart. I looked up a verse with the word in it and then looked up that word up in the Hebrew language. Khaw-yah is what I found.
Unless you are a Hebrew scholar that word probably means nothing to you as it did to me earlier today. Just a weird Hebrew word. And yet that is the word the Lord put in my heart for all of Spring Creek. Khaw-yah means to quicken, live, revive.
There are things that appear alive but are either dead or in the process of dying. Recently my boys and I helped some other men cut down a massive tree that fell on a widow's roof. Yet inside the tree was hollow. There was just an outer shell of bark and a thin layer of wood holding it together. You would have never known that just by looking at the outside.
So it is with many Jesus followers and churches. They appear alive but inside they are hollow. There is no life. They are cut off from the needed nutrients of the roots. Such people and churches need Khaw-yah. I saw Khaw-yah yesterday.
My family planned to join the church yesterday morning which we did. What made it more exciting is two other couples joined yesterday as well. One person commented it had been a long time since anyone had joined the church. I saw several misty eyes. I certainly didn't do that. I didn't make it happen. I just preached the message God laid on my heart and He used it. He brought Khaw-yah. I hope and pray He brings more.
While many churches hold weekly worship rituals there is not a lot of Khaw-yah in it. There is no life in it. God has not breathed life and quickened the elements of worship through His Spirit. God through His Spirit can do more in one service than we can do in years of trying to do it on our own. May His people wake up and cry out for Khaw-yah while there is still time.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Potential Powder Keg
Things seem about to explode in the United States. Everywhere you look there is crisis. The racial divide appears at an all time high in my lifetime. Any day it seems it could revert back to the race riots and segregation of the sixties and seventies. People are angry on both sides. The racial divides are being drawn in the sand and nobody is budging. Fingers are pointed and rhetoric is espoused.
The anger has already spilled over into violence on local levels. It all feels like a boiling cauldron of hate about to bubble over. People are hated and judged just because of the color of their skin. Behind the scenes radicals are fanning the flames of hatred to a feverish pitch. How long before the powder keg blows and violence and bloodshed fills the streets.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. A dream for racial equality he championed and ultimately died for. It seems we are further from that dream now than ever. People are still judged by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. I don't understand.
My best friend in 5th grade was a black guy named Dennis. We spent time in each other's homes. One of my childhood football teammates, and my best friend on the team, was a black guy named Jerome. He was the quarterback all the way through high school and I loved blocking for him. I loved him. Two other black guys came and ate dinner in my house named Antonio and Jerry. I was also friends with James.In addition, I worked on the newspaper staff with a black guy named Dwayne. All African American. We had several classes together and spent time hanging together outside of school.
Those guys were my friends. The color of our skin did not matter. We were just people. Jesus loves people of all skin color. His family is big enough to include all shades of skin. My wife is part hispanic but I never saw that. I only saw her heart and her beauty. Outwardly and inwardly. She loved and still loves Jesus. Eventually she loved me too. That was enough.
As Jesus followers we are supposed to love people. I realize some minorities have been mistreated and they carry resentment and anger. I wish slavery and civil injustice and segregation never happened. They did. I wish the Native Americans were not lied to and mistreated. I wish Hispanics were valued for their strong family values and work ethics instead of being called names. All of those negative things did and do happen. As followers of Jesus we are supposed to love and forgive. It's that simple.
In a culture of love and forgiveness hatred could deescalate. Tempers could calm. Forgiveness could supplant bitterness. Hugs and handshakes could replace guns and knives. The gospel could transform one life after another. Maybe that sounds like a fairy tale. It sounds like revival to me and I will devote my life, prayers and passion to seeing that reality. May this potential powder keg never explode because God calls this nation to repentance and salvation in a massive spiritual awakening.
The anger has already spilled over into violence on local levels. It all feels like a boiling cauldron of hate about to bubble over. People are hated and judged just because of the color of their skin. Behind the scenes radicals are fanning the flames of hatred to a feverish pitch. How long before the powder keg blows and violence and bloodshed fills the streets.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. A dream for racial equality he championed and ultimately died for. It seems we are further from that dream now than ever. People are still judged by the color of their skin and not the content of their character. I don't understand.
My best friend in 5th grade was a black guy named Dennis. We spent time in each other's homes. One of my childhood football teammates, and my best friend on the team, was a black guy named Jerome. He was the quarterback all the way through high school and I loved blocking for him. I loved him. Two other black guys came and ate dinner in my house named Antonio and Jerry. I was also friends with James.In addition, I worked on the newspaper staff with a black guy named Dwayne. All African American. We had several classes together and spent time hanging together outside of school.
Those guys were my friends. The color of our skin did not matter. We were just people. Jesus loves people of all skin color. His family is big enough to include all shades of skin. My wife is part hispanic but I never saw that. I only saw her heart and her beauty. Outwardly and inwardly. She loved and still loves Jesus. Eventually she loved me too. That was enough.
As Jesus followers we are supposed to love people. I realize some minorities have been mistreated and they carry resentment and anger. I wish slavery and civil injustice and segregation never happened. They did. I wish the Native Americans were not lied to and mistreated. I wish Hispanics were valued for their strong family values and work ethics instead of being called names. All of those negative things did and do happen. As followers of Jesus we are supposed to love and forgive. It's that simple.
In a culture of love and forgiveness hatred could deescalate. Tempers could calm. Forgiveness could supplant bitterness. Hugs and handshakes could replace guns and knives. The gospel could transform one life after another. Maybe that sounds like a fairy tale. It sounds like revival to me and I will devote my life, prayers and passion to seeing that reality. May this potential powder keg never explode because God calls this nation to repentance and salvation in a massive spiritual awakening.
Friday, August 2, 2019
He Drew First Blood
I never saw him coming. He blindsided me. I did not hear him either. Stealthily he came up from behind and hit me. I did not even know he was there until I felt the pain. When I looked down blood was oozing out of the top of the backside of my upper calf. The blood startled me more than the pain. I am not talking about a little blood. It bubbled for a moment.
Then I spotted my assailant. A pesky horsefly. He attacked on my afternoon walk. He drew first blood. I can't swear to it but over the next four miles something buzzed me nearly every step of the way. Buzzing past my ears. Clipping my fingers from time to time. Just being a nuisance. At some point the or a horsefly landed on my arm. I squashed him with my hand. Problem resolved.
Now Satan is like that. He attacks in stealth. He hits up from places we do not expect and at times we do not expect. He is intent on drawing first blood and to destroy. He is a masterful deceiver. He is also a liar. He and I have a mutual agreement. I HATE HIM AND HE HATES ME.
There are ways to combat his attacks. I wrote about this recently. The word of God is a powerful weapon against his pesky and annoying ways. There is one short verse anyone could remember to use against the devil.
James 4:7 (ESV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The word submit means to rank under. Rank under who? Rank under God. If we try to fight Satan in our strength and with out wisdom we will get soundly whipped every time. He can outsmart the most cunning. He can manipulate the most independent people. He is crafty. He has deceived people since Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. So we have to bow in submission and trust in God who outranks us and the devil to help us.
Then we are to resist the devil. We are to oppose and stand against the devil. We oppose him just by quoting this scripture and others like this one. We stand against him by trusting God for the strength to say no to temptation. We oppose him by exalting the name of Jesus and telling others about His great salvation. We oppose him by being light and shining brightly in this dark world.
When we do this did you catch what happens next from James 4:7? The devil must flee. He must runaway. He has no choice in the matter. When we stand in faith using the sword of the spirit as a weapon against him he tucks tail and runs like a scalded dog. HALLELUJAH! He is no match for the word of God. He is not match for Jesus.
Satan may draw first blood but Jesus has the last say. Satan is defeated. His days are numbered. He is operating on borrowed time. It may look like he is winning but he has already lost. His future is secure and he loses. Take hope in that today. Just like the horsefly drew fist blood but I had the last say, so will Jesus when he banishes Satan forever. O what a glorious day.
Then I spotted my assailant. A pesky horsefly. He attacked on my afternoon walk. He drew first blood. I can't swear to it but over the next four miles something buzzed me nearly every step of the way. Buzzing past my ears. Clipping my fingers from time to time. Just being a nuisance. At some point the or a horsefly landed on my arm. I squashed him with my hand. Problem resolved.
Now Satan is like that. He attacks in stealth. He hits up from places we do not expect and at times we do not expect. He is intent on drawing first blood and to destroy. He is a masterful deceiver. He is also a liar. He and I have a mutual agreement. I HATE HIM AND HE HATES ME.
There are ways to combat his attacks. I wrote about this recently. The word of God is a powerful weapon against his pesky and annoying ways. There is one short verse anyone could remember to use against the devil.
James 4:7 (ESV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The word submit means to rank under. Rank under who? Rank under God. If we try to fight Satan in our strength and with out wisdom we will get soundly whipped every time. He can outsmart the most cunning. He can manipulate the most independent people. He is crafty. He has deceived people since Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. So we have to bow in submission and trust in God who outranks us and the devil to help us.
Then we are to resist the devil. We are to oppose and stand against the devil. We oppose him just by quoting this scripture and others like this one. We stand against him by trusting God for the strength to say no to temptation. We oppose him by exalting the name of Jesus and telling others about His great salvation. We oppose him by being light and shining brightly in this dark world.
When we do this did you catch what happens next from James 4:7? The devil must flee. He must runaway. He has no choice in the matter. When we stand in faith using the sword of the spirit as a weapon against him he tucks tail and runs like a scalded dog. HALLELUJAH! He is no match for the word of God. He is not match for Jesus.
Satan may draw first blood but Jesus has the last say. Satan is defeated. His days are numbered. He is operating on borrowed time. It may look like he is winning but he has already lost. His future is secure and he loses. Take hope in that today. Just like the horsefly drew fist blood but I had the last say, so will Jesus when he banishes Satan forever. O what a glorious day.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Lord, What Do You Have On Your Mind
I sat before the Lord in a quiet isolated room and asked Him, "Lord, what do you have on your mind?" My intent was not come with a list of requests. My intent was not to do all the talking. My intent was to listen to Him. To find out what He is thinking?
That may sound unusual. Is it really?
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) :
3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
God has great and hidden things that we do not know. That I in particular do not know. Like, what does God intend for the Spring Creek community and Weatherford, TX at large? What does God intend to do at Spring Creek Baptist Church.? These are things I cannot know unless He reveals them. So I call out to Him. I call out in faith that He will answer and show me.
Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I am seeking Him. I want to discover more of Him. His promise is this is possible if I seek with all my heart. In the seeking I know He has so much to show me. I want to learn and discover more.
Amos 3:7 (ESV)
7 “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
Whatever those secret things are I want God to reveal them to me. So I ask. So as not to go out on my own agenda. I ask because I believe when God intends to do something somewhere He reveals it and calls people to join Him.
He revealed to Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. He revealed to Noah he should build an ark. He revealed His commandments and glory to Moses. He revealed courses of action and military strategy to David. He revealed Paul's purpose and mission for life.
I believe we should expect Him to do the same with us. To reveal what is on His heart and mind. That will require some time for us to slow down and be attentive. When He reveals what is on His heart and mind and calls us to join Him in steps of faith He demands obedience.
So Lord, what do You have on your mind.......
That may sound unusual. Is it really?
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) :
3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
God has great and hidden things that we do not know. That I in particular do not know. Like, what does God intend for the Spring Creek community and Weatherford, TX at large? What does God intend to do at Spring Creek Baptist Church.? These are things I cannot know unless He reveals them. So I call out to Him. I call out in faith that He will answer and show me.
Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I am seeking Him. I want to discover more of Him. His promise is this is possible if I seek with all my heart. In the seeking I know He has so much to show me. I want to learn and discover more.
Amos 3:7 (ESV)
7 “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
Whatever those secret things are I want God to reveal them to me. So I ask. So as not to go out on my own agenda. I ask because I believe when God intends to do something somewhere He reveals it and calls people to join Him.
He revealed to Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. He revealed to Noah he should build an ark. He revealed His commandments and glory to Moses. He revealed courses of action and military strategy to David. He revealed Paul's purpose and mission for life.
I believe we should expect Him to do the same with us. To reveal what is on His heart and mind. That will require some time for us to slow down and be attentive. When He reveals what is on His heart and mind and calls us to join Him in steps of faith He demands obedience.
So Lord, what do You have on your mind.......
Pastors Beware
Sadly I read two articles yesterday that broke my heart. Two mega church pastors under scrutiny. One is accused of several accounts of sexual misconduct. This pastor and author has meant a lot to me. Not that I ever met him. I did hear him preach in person. I listened to his recorded messages and I have read his books. After a lengthy ministry in one church he is now facing multiple accusations. I don't know if what he is accused of is true. I hope it isn't. The second pastor, a best selling author, now has left the faith and separated from his wife. Church members are left wondering what happened. This pastor is a celebrity of sorts.
How does this happen? The better question is how does it keep happening? The more penetrating question is how can I keep it from happening to me and to my fellow pastors? None of us is immune. I recall something I heard Vance Havner say on a tape once. "You can be saved and yet not be safe. You can blow it in the last innings of your life and fall into sin. You may still be saved but your testimony is blown. All the good you have done will be forgotten in light of the bad you did at the end. Your testimony is not safe until God calls you home."
Satan prowls looking for prey. He looks for the haughty, the vulnerable, the burned out, the wounded and weak. He is blood thirsty bent on destroying lives and hurting the church.
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
How do we combat that deceiver? The same way Jesus did.
Psalm 119:11 (ESV)
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
The only sure fire way to resist temptation is to know and quote scripture in times of temptation. And when it comes to sexual sins, like Joseph, pastors we must flee. We can't flirt with fantasies and emotional connections that lead to secret sin.
We need other men to ask us the hard questions ruthlessly holding us accountable. Have we looked at a woman inappropriately? Have we spent time in questionable activities with someone other than our spouse? Have we looked at any sinful material? Have we lusted after someone? Have we entertained fantasies in our minds that do not honor God?
Most never ask pastors these questions assuming the best. Often we pastors can compromise and drift privately. I've heard the tale too many times. I do not want to be one of those statistics. The consequences are too devastating.
When I think about the two fallen pastors I read about I do not cast stones. But for the grace of God there go I. I hurt for them. Forever their names and ministries will be tarnished. I hurt for them, their families and for their congregations. I hurt for the thousands who followed them in other ways.
Satan is a deceiver. He tempts. He allures. He entices. He never brings up the consequences. Just the thrill, the satisfaction, and the fleeting pleasure of sin. His intent is to destroy.
So church members, don't be afraid to ask your pastor some tough questions. And above all else pray pray for them. David had a group of elite soldiers he called his mighty men. I wish every pastor, especially me, had a group of committed people to pray for them daily for protection from falling into disgrace. Maybe if we had that, memorized Scripture and had people to hold us accountable fewer of us would fall into disrepute and the church would thrive.
Pastor's beware. We face a real enemy. He hates us. He schemes to take us down one by one. He has us in the crosshairs. But greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.
How does this happen? The better question is how does it keep happening? The more penetrating question is how can I keep it from happening to me and to my fellow pastors? None of us is immune. I recall something I heard Vance Havner say on a tape once. "You can be saved and yet not be safe. You can blow it in the last innings of your life and fall into sin. You may still be saved but your testimony is blown. All the good you have done will be forgotten in light of the bad you did at the end. Your testimony is not safe until God calls you home."
Satan prowls looking for prey. He looks for the haughty, the vulnerable, the burned out, the wounded and weak. He is blood thirsty bent on destroying lives and hurting the church.
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
John 10:10 (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
How do we combat that deceiver? The same way Jesus did.
Psalm 119:11 (ESV)
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
The only sure fire way to resist temptation is to know and quote scripture in times of temptation. And when it comes to sexual sins, like Joseph, pastors we must flee. We can't flirt with fantasies and emotional connections that lead to secret sin.
We need other men to ask us the hard questions ruthlessly holding us accountable. Have we looked at a woman inappropriately? Have we spent time in questionable activities with someone other than our spouse? Have we looked at any sinful material? Have we lusted after someone? Have we entertained fantasies in our minds that do not honor God?
Most never ask pastors these questions assuming the best. Often we pastors can compromise and drift privately. I've heard the tale too many times. I do not want to be one of those statistics. The consequences are too devastating.
When I think about the two fallen pastors I read about I do not cast stones. But for the grace of God there go I. I hurt for them. Forever their names and ministries will be tarnished. I hurt for them, their families and for their congregations. I hurt for the thousands who followed them in other ways.
Satan is a deceiver. He tempts. He allures. He entices. He never brings up the consequences. Just the thrill, the satisfaction, and the fleeting pleasure of sin. His intent is to destroy.
So church members, don't be afraid to ask your pastor some tough questions. And above all else pray pray for them. David had a group of elite soldiers he called his mighty men. I wish every pastor, especially me, had a group of committed people to pray for them daily for protection from falling into disgrace. Maybe if we had that, memorized Scripture and had people to hold us accountable fewer of us would fall into disrepute and the church would thrive.
Pastor's beware. We face a real enemy. He hates us. He schemes to take us down one by one. He has us in the crosshairs. But greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.
Only Two Left
Brenda and I drove over for midweek Bible study last night unsure of what to expect. We heard only a handful came for those studies. Over the past decade we have grown accustomed to small crowds while ministering the word of God. It didn't phase us. We were just happy to be there. That study would be my first official public ministry as new pastor. Excitement filled my heart. God's message burned in my heart and I longed eagerly to share it.
When we walked into the building several congregated in the lobby. One lady found some pictures from way back in the past 24 years ago when Taylor was born. I looked hideous. I can't believe I ever wore the shirts I had on in those pictures. A little embarrassing as those pictures were passed around the room.
As time neared to begin we made our way back to a classroom. At the front of the room sat a small table and chair. I felt a little awkward not just wanting to assume that is where I needed to sit. I started to sit down next to Brenda but they all told me my chair was up front.
By this time around eight people assembled. In walked another and then another. People had to start shuffling closer together. Another couple came in leaving only two seats behind the door. One lady commented she had prayed for me and the first night. She added that I should feel honored that all those people showed up. Truth is I felt honored even if the crowd had been half the size. I am just honored to serve here.
For the next 45 minutes we dug into the scriptures. Verse by verse. We exchanged points of view. I taught but always love teaching in those formats because I love the feedback and interaction of the congregation. They were engaged and God's truth both convicted and encouraged.
We capped off our time with a prayer meeting. What sweet prayers were lifted to the Father. I can't help but feel so grateful that God chose Brenda and I to come back to what feels like our home church in many ways. We of course grew up in different places and each have our own home church. This is home now. Spring Creek Baptist Church is where we belong. Sure we will miss folks at Heritage. This is our home now though.
Over the span of our ministry we will make many memories. We will encounter God together in significant ways. We will rejoice. No doubt we will most likely cry together too. I will always cherish the memory of my first Wednesday night teaching as pastor of Spring Creek. A night to remember when we only had two vacant chairs left in the room. People excitedly talked about what we would do if it got any bigger.
As for me, I content myself to let God move at His pace. I feel no need to rush and yet my mind is whirling with ideas. O how I pray and long for the day when there are only two seats left in the sanctuary that seats 400. I have seen this place packed for funerals. I trust God for the day when it will be packed for hearing the word of God and for worship. May it be so Lord. May it be so.
When we walked into the building several congregated in the lobby. One lady found some pictures from way back in the past 24 years ago when Taylor was born. I looked hideous. I can't believe I ever wore the shirts I had on in those pictures. A little embarrassing as those pictures were passed around the room.
As time neared to begin we made our way back to a classroom. At the front of the room sat a small table and chair. I felt a little awkward not just wanting to assume that is where I needed to sit. I started to sit down next to Brenda but they all told me my chair was up front.
By this time around eight people assembled. In walked another and then another. People had to start shuffling closer together. Another couple came in leaving only two seats behind the door. One lady commented she had prayed for me and the first night. She added that I should feel honored that all those people showed up. Truth is I felt honored even if the crowd had been half the size. I am just honored to serve here.
For the next 45 minutes we dug into the scriptures. Verse by verse. We exchanged points of view. I taught but always love teaching in those formats because I love the feedback and interaction of the congregation. They were engaged and God's truth both convicted and encouraged.
We capped off our time with a prayer meeting. What sweet prayers were lifted to the Father. I can't help but feel so grateful that God chose Brenda and I to come back to what feels like our home church in many ways. We of course grew up in different places and each have our own home church. This is home now. Spring Creek Baptist Church is where we belong. Sure we will miss folks at Heritage. This is our home now though.
Over the span of our ministry we will make many memories. We will encounter God together in significant ways. We will rejoice. No doubt we will most likely cry together too. I will always cherish the memory of my first Wednesday night teaching as pastor of Spring Creek. A night to remember when we only had two vacant chairs left in the room. People excitedly talked about what we would do if it got any bigger.
As for me, I content myself to let God move at His pace. I feel no need to rush and yet my mind is whirling with ideas. O how I pray and long for the day when there are only two seats left in the sanctuary that seats 400. I have seen this place packed for funerals. I trust God for the day when it will be packed for hearing the word of God and for worship. May it be so Lord. May it be so.
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