Under Assault

 Last night was not a good night. The constant assaults I have been under for the past several months associated with revival finally took their toll. The pain of it all spilled out. It was awkward. Not cohesive. Laced with pain and confusion I have lived with for some time. It came spilling out publicly in confession. 

One dear brother came to me in my office afterward to pray for me. Several encouraged me in the foyer and outside on the front porch. Others texted to tell me they were praying for me. 

I awoke with a pained heart. Yearning for God. This is where I have felt the most assault in the past several weeks. When I pray I am unable to focus. I often fall asleep. I do not hear from God. My thoughts go in a hundred directions on everything but God and prayer. I have pleaded for God to help me out. My faith has been wounded. Making prayer feel forced, dutiful instead of delightful. I am sad to report I prayed prayers I knew I did not believe when they left my lips. 

I questioned God. Languished in confusion and disillusion. I tried to pray through. It all felt hopeless. I knew I needed God, but God did not appear interested in meeting me. I doubted everything about the camp meetings I once believed so confidently and passionately. Everything felt like I was going through the motions. Numb.  

I felt a little spark of hope in prayer this morning. Then God pulled the veil that hung like curtains over my eyes. I finally saw clearly. Satan used demonic attacks to keep me from praying, to keep me from believing, to keep me from effective ministry. Suddenly, I saw that if the leader was taken out, soon others would fall too. Only the adversary did not know Spring Creek. These people rallied around their pastor. They stood in the gap for me. God heard and intervened. God broke through around mid morning today.  

The oppression lifted. I was able to pray forcefully as I have done in the past. Hope surfaced. Peace returned. Passion rekindled. God's word came alive on the pages filling me once again. For the first time in sometime, I prayed offensively and not defensively. My attitude soared. 

The spiritual war still rages on. The battle for Spring Creek and Parker County will not be won easily. Our enemy is well trained and fights savagely to protect ground he has grained. I am determined to see him driven out. Like soldiers advancing on D-Day, I press forward in this fight of faith surrounded by an army of prayer warriors battling at my side. I am thankful for the grace of God to pull me out and for a warring prayer-minded church to fight this spiritual battle on my behalf. 

More

 We live in a more society. More being defined as a greater amount or degree of something. People want more money. More stuff that money buys. More pleasure. More entertainment. More success. More gadgets and gizmos. More and more. Always wanting more. 

I am thinking of one thing it seems people want less. God. A little bit of God seems to suffice for most folks. A little taste of salvation. A little of religion. Less God encounters. Less pursuit of Him. Less desire for more of Him. 

There is so much more available to us. More of God than we can possibly imagine. We settle for less when He offers more. We are far too easily amused with this world to be fascinated by the God of the universe. We settle for the stale crumbs of religion day after day, week after week, and year after year. We chase after more of what we think will fulfill us. We chase after the wind in vain in this pursuit. 

Imagine being called to the Thanksgiving table only to discover stale moldy breadcrumbs on the serving dishes. You look for the other staples you have come to love, but they are nowhere to be found. How would you feel? Disappointed. Angry. 

God offers us Himself which is far greater than a Thanksgiving meal. He offers us the privilege to gorge ourselves on Him. Like overstuffing yourself on Thanksgiving Day to the point of misery with delectable bountiful savory dishes we have come to love. We get full to the point where we cannot eat anther bite. With God He increases our capacity to experience and enjoy Him for all eternity. We are satisfied but never get full. There is the opportunity to always want and receive more.  

More of God is what we need. More of God is what our souls crave. More of Him should be our life-long pursuit. When you look back at your recent devotion and worship activity, has it been religious exercises void of feeling or passion? Has it been a desire for more God encounters?

More. More of God revealing Himself. More of His conviction that leads us to repentance. More fresh encounters with Him in our private devotions. More God experiences as we obey Him. More time with Him. More power to serve Him. More holiness before Him. More passion for Him. We need more. Greater amounts and degrees of Him. More time spent getting to know Him. 

We pursue more. More of what? That very well may define a life well spent pleasing God or one wasted chasing the wind. May God give us the desire and wisdom to pursue more of Him. 

It Is Time

 It is early. Still dark outside. I have not slept for some time. After months and months of praying and preparing the day for Camp Meeting is here. In a few hours a specially selected person will stride to the pulpit and read the 22nd chapter of Revelation to culminate our cleansing of the temple. A prayer will be offered. Sean Decker will strum his guitar like a battle axe to go to war against the forces of darkness and lead people into an encounter with God Almighty. 

I wrestled all week with what to preach for the first service. I read scripture. Prayed. Waited. Read books and listened to other things trying to get inspiration. It did not come. I spent almost all day in the office on Saturday pleading with God for a message. Nothing. People asked me about it when they came to read for cleansing of the temple. As the day progressed the pressure mounted. I finally settled on a passage God used in my life recently and scribbled some notes in the margins. Before I went to bed, I knew that was not the right message. Both frustrated and exhausted I fell into bed. 

In the middle of the night, I awoke with a passage on my heart. A surprising passage. I mulled it over in my mind for the better part of two hours before getting up to study and put God's message together. It is a messy passage. Not one I have ever heard in a revival service, especially the first one. 

God means business. Therefore, I mean business. We will soon discover what all the praying, preparing and longing for God results in. I fully expect tears of brokenness. I fully expect the altar filled with repentant people. I also anticipate broken people who will need ministry to come forward. There very well may be some who come forward for salvation also. It will be messy. Genuine revival is messy. That should not scare or deter us. 

When God moves, there may be pain. There is also liberty on the other side of pain. Secrets that have long been shut up inside have a way of working themselves to the surface. Secret sins. Secret wounds. Shameful secrets. Trust me. There will be no manipulative tactics used to illicit a response. God does not need those disgusting things. His Spirit, songs of praise, and His word are enough. He is ready to meet His people in a profound way. 

I predict in the early days of these meetings God will deal with His people. Once His people have experienced Him, He will move onto to saving the lost. I urge you to prepare yourself before coming today or tuning in. He is able to move just as powerfully in living rooms, bedrooms, and wherever people tune in online. 

For those who will attend or watch online, come expecting. Come expecting each night for the rest of this week and into next week. Come Lord Jesus. Have your way in us. Prepare us for fresh encounters with You. In Your name we plead, amen. 

The 24 Hour Countdown

 At the time of this writing, the clock is ticking toward the final twenty-four hour countdown before our scheduled camp meetings begin. Sean Decker will be traveling into town later today to lead us in worship this next week. Sean serves the FBC Seminole as the worship minister there for over the past decade. God's hand rests on him. 

We are nearing the completion of reading through the entire Bible out loud as a congregation over the past eight days. We have people reading through I Corinthians currently and will finish with the last chapter in Revelation to begin the morning service. Many private and public prayer meetings have been held. We held a solemn assembly of repentance Wednesday night. Personal repentance has gripped the hearts of God's people. A slow hunger has built over the past months. People have become focused on more than normal church. 

This is the last day of personal preparation for me. A day to sit before the Lord. To repent of any unconfessed sin. A day to soak in God's presence. A day to bask in Him. 

Expectations are running high among many. Excitement permeates conversations. Now we wait to see what God will do. How He will shine His light in the darkness all around us we do not fully know. His light is needed. From Uvalde to Ukraine needs His light. From the Whitehouse to our houses needs His light. From Congress to California, and from Hollywood to the backwoods needs His light. In every shadowy corner, in each soul engulfed with darkness, we trust that Jesus the Light of the World will shine. To lead people to repentance. To open blinded eyes to the need for the Savior. 

In this little corner of the world, the Spring Creek Community and Parker County, may we see God rule and reign in the hearts of people. May He be pleased to save the masses and to send them to churches all over the county. May the flames of revival burn hot in the hearts of His people and may those flames spread into other congregations throughout this region and beyond. Those are some of our thoughts and prayers during this last twenty-four hour countdown. 

1,000

 On April 12, 2018 I wrote a blog titled Amazing Grace. It was the very first blog entry on this site. That was a little over four years ago. So much has happened in those four years. We were called to serve Spring Creek in August of 2019. Our youngest son graduated high school. Our oldest son recently got engaged. We relocated to Weatherford permanently in October of 2021. Through it all, I wrote entries to Chronicle God's work in our lives. I wrote to inspire others to press on. I wrote what God taught me along the journey. I wrote to challenge, encourage, and to move people closer to God. 

Today, I hit a milestone. The one thousandth entry. That is hard to believe. I used to write on another blog. I eventually started this new one looking for a fresh start. The old blog is still up. The address is www.nocompromisefbc.blogspot.com. It contains about a decade of entries totaling over 1,500. 

I am thankful for the calling and gifting to write. It is therapeutic for me. I hope it helps people. My only two desires in writing is to glorify and help people. May God keep that going for thousands more entries.  

Unexpected Blessing

 I was out of town when I received a text from one of our ladies in the church. She reported a man had come by to see me. He left her an envelope to give to me when I returned. She did not know the man and he did not leave his name. 

I returned home after a preaching assignment about a week later. She handed me to the envelope after our worship service. The envelope had a hand written message on it, "May God bless in your mission." The only mission I could think of was the upcoming Camp Meeting. I shoved the envelope in my pocket and continued visiting with folks before they exited the sanctuary. 

When I got home, Brenda was in our bedroom sitting in a chair waiting on me to go to lunch. I turned my back to her and pulled the envelope and opened it. I could not believe my eyes. It was filled with cash. Upon closer examination, it was filled with $100 bills. I started counting shielding Brenda from what I was doing. One, two, three, four, five,...$1,000. There was more. $2,000. I was well into counting the third thousand when Brenda asked me what I was doing. I could not hold the money in my hand I had already counted and continue counting so I handed her the $3,000. She stood there with mouth gaped opened in surprise. I hurriedly finished counting the remain money in the envelope. Another $2,000. That made a total of $5,000. We were both stunned. I am still stunned reading this. Praise God for His abundant provision. 

God knew our need. Car repairs. We have spent close to $10,000 thousand dollars on car repairs the past six months and still have more repairs needed. God knew. He saw. He responded. Neither Brenda and I expected such a tangible expression of God's love toward us. We are humbled and grateful. We still do not know whom God used for that unexpected blessing. All we can say is thank you and glory to God. 

God was not through. A couple in the church gave us a 72" television because they got a new one. I felt like I was sitting at court side watching a playoff basketball game. They GAVE it to us. The tv was so large we did not have anything to set it on. In a casual conversation with a man before church a few weeks ago he shoed me a picture of a piece of furniture he built his wife. I asked if he could build something for us. He did and it looks amazing. The stain perfectly matches the furniture in the living room. That customized entertainment center is a blessing. He charged us a very minimal price for it. More unexpected blessings. 

In the rough spots, in the dry seasons, in the hard times it is good to remember these unexpected blessings. It is good to recall the faithfulness of God. All glory to Him for the great things He has done, is doing, and will do in the future. 

Solemn Assembly

 If you ask many Christians about a solemn assembly, they may not be able to describe what such a gathering is. It is much more than just a gathering. It is a gathering for a specific purpose. Right from the start the word solemn means serious and sincere. This is not a joyous gathering. It leads to joy. It is not joyful in the moment. 

It is a corporate gathering for repentance. You can read about it in the book of [Joel 1:14-15] and in [Joel 2:15-17]. You will read words like weep and mourn associated with this type of gathering. It is a time of repentance and rending the heart as the people of God. A time of turning away from sin and turning to God. A time of changing the mind and attitude about sin. 

When is the last time you heard about repentance? When is the last time you repented? When is the last time the people you gather to worship with repented of sins of the church? Have we offended holy God? Have we turned from Him and His ways and embraced compromise?It is time to taken an honest look at His word and compare ourselves to that standard. Not to measure ourselves to the standards of those around us. 

When God's people repent and align themselves with Him, the door is opened for God to move powerfully in our lives and in the midst of our gatherings. I for one long for this. I know many others do as well. 

Tonight at Spring Creek we gather for the sober gathering of a solemn assembly. This is one of our last preparations for the meetings scheduled to start Sunday. May we be properly aligned with Him to receive all that He wants to do in us and through us. 

Final Preparations

 At the time of this writing, we are only six days from the first service of Camp Meeting. Prayers have been offered. Even as I write, someone is in the sanctuary reading through the Bible out loud. This will continue through Sunday morning. We will start the service with the reading of the last chapter of Revelation 22 with a secret selected servant of the Lord. We started reading Saturday morning in Genesis and volunteers are reading through God's word in time slots at designated times between now and Sunday morning. 

Sunday night, a good group finished our study through Fresh Encounter, a six-week study on revival. A good group started and stayed with us through the end. The hunger is building. The excitement and anticipation is growing. 

People have been challenged to personally prepare themselves by repenting of sin and drawing nearer to God. A remnant has done that. I wish that were true of the whole congregation. 

Wednesday night we will train counselors for evangelism and have a Solemn Assembly in some final preparations. 

The Holy Spirit is brooding over Spring Creek. His presence is real. I have sensed Him greatly the past couple of Sundays. Now we are on the last few days of preparation journey. It has been a long journey filled with victories, some set backs, and a WHOLE LOT OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE. 

The last blog I wrote was titled, We Are Not Ready. A person recently brought that to my attention and asked me if I thought we were ready now. Are ready to meet with God in profound ways. We are more ready. Only God knows what these Camp Meeting days hold. If He moves powerfully, I can predict what will happen. God's people will be moved to repentance. We will all be more emboldened to share gospel witness. People will get saved. Genuine worship will happen. I think a good number yearn for those kind of God encounters. God told us He would be found if we seek Him with all of our heart. [Jer 29:13]

I just finished my scheduled reading for this Tuesday morning. God's word is proclaimed. His promises linger in the air permeating the atmosphere. We are busy getting ready. Only six short days to seek God, to plead with Him, and to align ourselves with Him. God is getting us ready. Only He knows what lies ahead. Whatever it is, I pray we are all hungry to receive it. To receive Him. 

We Are Not Ready

 At the time of this writing, our scheduled camp meeting is 19 days away. Everything in me tells me Spring Creek is not ready. We have not done all the necessary things that precipitate revival. Intense prayer. Personal and corporate repentance. Craving more of God. Longing to see Him sweep through our community with power like we have never seen before. 

From my vantage point, it appears most people here are indifferent about the revival. It is just another event on a calendar which they will choose to participate in or not depending on their crowded calendars. They have no idea what revival is. Some think they do. Most have never experienced revival. The real thing. I have. I know the difference in meetings and real revival. 

 Revival meetings can be good. They can be productive days of God working. They may produce some fruit like souls getting saved. Revival meetings may do a little good. That is not my heart cry. In real revival, the people of God are repentant, they are so hungry for more of Him you cannot keep them away. They are often broken over their sins, filled with zeal and boldness to witness to the lost. God places new desires for holiness, for prayer, worship, and longing to hear His word when He revives. 

In revival meetings, you have to beg and plead to get people even to attend. There are no great moves of the Holy Spirit. Lives are seldom transformed. People remain apathetic and satisfied with their tried and true religious routines. 

People just do not know all that God is capable of doing. How can they long for something they have never experienced? How can they experience more of God if they do not long for Him and do not prepare themselves for profound encounters?

All of this makes me question seriously if we are ready for what God wants to do? God has been preparing me for months. I have never prayed harder or longer. My expectations of what God wants do have been high. I have complied with the things I sensed He wanted me to do personally. Now, there is just more praying, two more Sundays preaching in preparation, and waiting. The week before we will read through the Bible out loud in the sanctuary in shifts leading up to the first service on May 29. 

If it is true that we are not ready, I pray God change that over the course of the next 19 days. I long for the real thing. I long for more of God experienced by His people. I long for the salvation of souls in numbers that stagger all who hear for the glory of God. I am not after trying to make a name for Spring Creek. I am certainly not after trying to make a name for myself. I want to promote the glory of God. To bear abundant fruit that brings Him much glory. Are we ready? Are you ready? If not, I plead with you to get ready quickly. 

An Unsettling Question

 I had just finished preaching my heart out. I was near the front pew taking the microphone off when a young girl approached me. She told me her name and then told me she was already saved. She asked a question I did not expect. "What happens to people who are not saved when they die?" She really did not know. 

I found out later from a teacher at the local school that many people in her blended family are not saved. Not only that, but they had also never heard the resurrection story. They did not know who Jesus was. This little girl was the only one from this blended family who attended church and professed a saving relationship with Jesus. She really had no idea what happened to lost people when they died. 

I characterized hell and what awaits people who are not saved. Her eyes widened in surprise. She asked me again, "That is really what happens to people who are not saved?" I affirmed it indeed was the truth and prayed with her to be a bold witness. 

She has step siblings who have never heard of Jesus. They had no idea about Jesus, the crucifixion, or the resurrection. That is in the state of Texas. In the Bible belt. With several churches in the area. We have much work left to do before Jesus comes. 

I still believe in a place called hell. The Bible describes it as a place of utter darkness, a bottomless pit, a burning lake of fire, and a place of eternal torment. Heaven is contrasted as a place where the glory of God is light, the streets are paved with gold, there is a crystal sea, where worship around the throne of God takes place. It is a place where tears will be wiped away, there will be no more death, and no more pain. 

People just do not know the truth these days. As hard as it is to believe, some are biblically ignorant, for they have not heard Bible truth. We still have much work to do.

Matthew 9:36-38 (NASB)

³⁶  Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
³⁷  Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

³⁸  "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."never heard. We have work to do. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.