My Last Sunday

 I sit here this morning with a flood of emotions and memories filling my mind. It is my last official Sunday at Spring Creek. In a few moments I will stand behind that pulpit for the last time to deliver the life changing truth of God's word. Tonight we sit in a classroom for a Bible study. My memories do not just span the past five and a half years. They go back 33 years ago when I served this church as youth pastor. We got married just after starting ministry in this church.  

Relationship bonds have been forged. These people have become spiritual family. It was Jonathan Edwards who once commented that the bond between a pastor and flock will endure for eternity. It is a sacred trust to be called someone's pastor. We prepare to walk away from people we love and what has become home for the unknown path ahead. 

Sitting alone in my soon to be old office surrounded by dozens of boxes filled with books and looking at bare walls where pictures of my family used to hang is sobering. It is not easy to say goodbye for an unknown future. Sure we have met the people we will soon serve. We trust God for a special and enduring ministry there. The love of Jesus and His call for Brenda and I to follow overshadow all the discomfort. We must obey God. 

We shared breakfast together this morning, took a few pictures, and gave out many hugs. I still have this morning and the Bible study tonight before my role as pastor officially ends. I want to make the most of the day and to enjoy these precious people. I also want to fearlessly proclaim the truth of God's word. That is why we gather. He is the focus. He is the main attraction. Brenda and I are just support actors in His greater drama. 

We will never forget the people at Spring Creek. Their love, sacrificial support for our family, their service, hard work, and wonderful ministry memories. Memories so rich and deep they cannot be put into words. We love this flock. We have known some here for over three decades. Some attended our wedding. 

There is a new flock awaiting our arrival by next Resurrection Sunday. Several will come load us on Thursday and our great adventure in Fritch, TX at First Southern Baptist Church begins. We have no permanent home there yet. Brenda does not have a job yet. The state is set for God to do something great. It is a step of faith or I should say more like a giant leap of faith off a cliff. God knows and God sees. The Fritch flock does not know us and we do not know them as yet. It will take time for the deep bonds to be forged there like we have enjoyed here. I trust God it will happen. We will never forget Spring Creek. At the same time, we are ready to embrace the new work of loving people, preaching and teaching God's word, and earning the right to become the pastor in Fritch. 

As The Deer Pants

 I got up this morning at the prayer cabin and strolled onto the back porch. I looked across the lake on the far shore and saw something stirring out of the pine trees. Upon closer examination I discovered five white tail deer strolling down to the lake for a drink. Like deer are prone to do they were on alert. After a few moments something spooked them, and they scampered back into the woods. 

I immediately thought of Ps 42:1-2 about as the deer pants for water so the Psalmist's soul panted after God. That has been my heart over these two days. I have no idea how many hours have been spent in prayer. I'm not keeping track. That is the main reason I came. To seek God. To long for Him as intensely as the deer thirst for a drink of water. 

Other than lunch with my friend who manages this place and a few phone calls to Brenda and others, I have been isolated shut up with God. Removed from the outside world but near to the heart of God. There are no schedules to keep here. The pace is slower. Prayer times can be extended. There are no distractions. A few chirping birds, but even as I write this the birds are silent. The only sound is the tapping of these keys on this computer. 

My only agenda in being here is to drink deeply from the well of God. To satisfy my soul soaking in Him. The time here is always short. In less than twenty-four hours I will be back on the road toward home and our Wednesday night Bible study. I want to make the most of the remaining time. There is more of God to experience. More of Him to fill my thirsty soul. I thirst after Him like those deer this morning thirsted for water. May He satisfy me in ways nothing else in this world can ever do. 

But God

 Travailing in prayer is much more than throwing up a few wishes. It is carrying a burden inside the soul much like a pregnant woman carries a baby in her womb. To give birth to either requires travailing labor. The mother must endure to give birth to her child. The prayer warrior must travail to give birth to unseen realities. Both produce miracles. 

It is early in the morning. I have not slept for the last hour even though I remained in bed. Travailing over a mountain that Brenda and I need God to move. It is a pushing into existence that which does not exist except in the spirit. It means denying all doubt and clinging to hope that only comes with faith. It is being reminded but when God intervenes everything can change. But God. Look at God and what He has done in the past and what He is capable of doing in the present. It is refusing to accept impossibilities in light of a God for whom nothing is impossible. 

Travailing prayer is hard work. It is time consuming. It means carrying the unseen answer like a baby in the womb during the gestation period. Each day is a day closer to the miracle birth. Each prayer one step closer to the mountain moving. [Mark 11:23-24] Travailing means forsaking sleep and even food for the sake of pleading with God night and day for His intervention. God can change any circumstance. Prayer is asking God. Through prayer God can do anything. So, we ask, seek, and knock. [Matt 7:7-8] We pray with active faith believing for the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. [Heb 11:1] We pray without losing heart. [Luke 18:1] We trust that nothing is impossible with God. [Luke 1:37]. 

It does not matter how the odds might be stacked against us. But God. They were also stacked against Moses and Israel at the Red Sea. They were stacked against Joshua and Israel at the Jordan River before going into the promise land. They were stacked against Elijah 850:1 on Mount Carmel. They were stacked against David fighting Goliath. They were stacked Lazarus dead in the tomb for four days. They were also stacked against Jesus in the tomb for three days. But God. What did God do in each of those situations. He parted the sea, divided the waters of the Jordan, sent down fire on Mount Carmel in answer to prayer, defeated Goliath through a shepherd boy and a sling, raised Lazarus from the dead, and Jesus arose from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. O, but God. 

That is not just a God who worked powerfully in the past. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He did in the past He is more than capable of doing in our day. It might require travailing prayer to see the desired outcome. But God.  It might require some fasting and a few sleepless nights. But God.  It will require more faith. It will also necessitate perseverance in travailing. We have to keep on pushing in prayer until the answer is birthed. People rejoice when the answer comes. Few rejoice in the days, weeks, months, and even years of travailing. This is done in secret where nobody sees. This is hard work. It is painful labor to keep asking and not lose faith when the answer is delayed. 

In ten days, Brenda and I are leaving the home we have enjoyed for the past five years. God graciously provided a free home for us through the loving flock of Spring Creek Baptist Church. God put a new call on our lives to follow Him to Fritch, TX to serve the First Southern Baptist Church as pastor. Our first Sunday there is April 20. We have no home there as of yet. O, but God. This is our pregnant prayer travail. Brenda is leaving the job she has worked at for the past 14 years and does not have a job in the Panhandle of Texas yet. But God. This requires travail. It is not a step of faith. It is a leap of faith. It is our crisis of belief moment. We will technically be classified as homeless, though some friends have offered us their one room efficiency apartment to stay in until we get settled in a home in Fritch. From the outside world it looks impossible. But God says nothing is impossible. I am taking a significant cut in salary. The Spring Creek church paid our utilities for the past five years. But God assures His children that He is our provider. [Phil 4:19] Everything about this situation screams IMPOSSIBLE! BUT GOD! 

When God steps in and does what only He can do everything changes. What looks like a mountain turns out to be a mole hill. What looked like an impossibility melt into possibilities. What naysayers prognosticate can't be done God does. What doubters dismiss faith attends and brings to pass. By faith Brenda and I believe our great God has a home for us in Fritch, TX. A home to build memories, to do ministry, and glorify Him. Yes, I see the obstacles. BUT GOD. Sure, I am aware of our limitations. BUT GOD. I certainly ascertain the absurdity of what I'm asking. BUT GOD. When He steps into a situation, flexes His muscles, speaks His word, moves in miraculous fashion watch out. Something grand will happen. Something that will astound people. Another testimony will be built. Another prayer will be answered. For now, we travail in the waiting period. Any day, any moment, and any time now God will do His God stuff. So, I am reminded of all those who faced difficult challenges in the past, but God showed up. So, I'm hanging my hope on nothing else but God. 

The Prayer Cabin

 It has been over two years since I last visited the prayer cabin. I am here now, and it is long overdue. Nestled among the pines and a 90-acre private lake in east Texas, this place has been my sacred get away for the past three decades. I come here to pray extensively and on occasion to write new books. It is hard to believe it has been two years. 

This is not even the same place. A flood damaged the cabin and the whole place was renovated on the inside. Where paneling used to be now is painted sheetrock.  It does have the old outdated rustic furniture, nor the several mounted trophy bass caught from the lake. Two new recliners and a sofa have replaced them with a beautiful coffee table. The dining table where I write is brand new with four chairs around them. It is all brand new on the inside. We will see if it still is the place where I am able to meet with God in profound ways. 

The house sits nearly a mile down a dirt driveway from the Farm to Market Road 287. It is located about three hours southeast of Weatherford, and more like nine hours from a soon to be new home in Fritch, TX. This is my chance to come pray extensively as I enter into my last week as the pastor of Spring Creek Baptist Church. We spent over five years there and have made many memories. We have begun the long painful goodbye to our son and daughter in law, close friends, the church family, while also packing boxes and getting ready to transition to a new ministry and new community. 

It is hard to put into words what this place means to me. It was formerly owned by evangelist James Robison and then was sold to a Dallas businessman who graciously allowed me to use it until he died and now his son owns it. All allowed me access to this place periodically to meet with God. None of those people have any idea how God has used this little two-bedroom cabin to restore my soul, revive my body and spirit, reveal vision, and to meet me in profound ways. 

I will be here for the next 48 hours. Not long, but I hope to make the most of my time here. I was not in the cabin for ten minutes before I opened the lap top and went to work. Gladly devoting myself to the wonderful work of writing. Here I can get lost in my praying and writing for hours on end. There is no television to distract. Just a small home and breathtaking scenery all around. 

The cabin is surrounded by giant oak trees providing shade. From the back porch the lake is less than fifty yards away waters shimmery in the sun. A pine thicket is down a dirt road to my right trees waving in the winds. A creek runs through the middle of that thicket that feeds this lake. On the far side of the lake are rolling hills of lush pasture bordered by more pine trees. 

The owner comes here to fish. I come here to soak God like a sponge. For the next two days I get locked in on Him. Locked in hearing from Him. Reading His word. Seeking His counsel and direction. Basking in His presence. I fully expect multiple significant God encounters. Let them begin even now. To be continued. 

What Shall I Say?

 1757 was a very difficult year for the Edwards household. I am of course not referring to my family. I am talking about Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. It started with the unexpected death of their son in law Aaron Burr. Burr served as the president of Princeton College. Not long after his death those looking for the next president of the college turned their attention to Jonathan Edwards. He accepted the position which meant a separation from his wife of 30 years. 

Edwards had not been on the job very long when he took a small pox vaccination. He got a fever from the vaccine from which he did not recover. He died prematurely and unexpectedly. There were no telephones or internet service. News traveled slowly back to Sarah about his death. 

Ten days after Jonatan died, Sarah wrote a letter to their daughter, Esther, which has now become famous. She wrote, "What shall I say? A holy and good God have covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands over our mouths. The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, the we had him so long. But my God lives and He has my heart."

Esther never received that letter. She died from a fever two weeks after the letter was written. Sarah now had three deaths to grieve in a short period. Sadly, Sarah also died in the year on 1757. Very tough blows for the Edwards family. 

Jonathan is considered one of the most brilliant theologians who has ever lived. He wrote numerous books that are considered classics and still read today. He also was dismissed from his beloved flock he served faithfully for 30 years. They did not like a theological stand he took and voted to fire him. He spent some time working in obscurity in a little country mission before taking the presidency of Princeton College. He did so much in his relatively short life. You cannot help but wonder how much more he could have accomplished if he had lived longer. I am sure these are thoughts Sarah wrestled with in the days after her husband's premature death. 

The depth of her love for God and trust in Him shines through her letter. A holy and good God she called Him. She wrote about kissing the rod of affliction and laying her hands over her mouth that she would not sin against God in blaming Him. She recognized that God took her husband. It was not an accident. Still she had faith to adore the goodness of God. 

The way we deal with adversity speaks a lot about our relationship with God. Hudson Taylor lost two wives and several children while serving in China. He faced enormous pressure in providing for over a hundred missionaries by prayer and never asking for financial help. He said something that cuts me deeply today. "It is not so much the greatness of our troubles, as the littleness of our spirit, which makes us complain." I complain with ease at the slightest inconvenience. It reveals how shallow my faith really is. 

What shall we say? Each of us faces adversity. How we face it is the issue. Do we maintain faith, joy, and hope in the dark days of distress? Do we cling to God and His goodness and trust Him even when we do not understand? May we also learn to kiss the rod and lay our hands over our mouths. What shall we say. Like Sarah Edwards may we say God is holy and good and He has our hearts. 

The Cost of Following

 There has always been a cost to following God. To listen and obey Him may require sacrifice and discomfort. God's ultimate purpose is not to make us comfortable. We easily forget that in our comfort driven culture. To live in compliance with God will most assuredly put you at odds with culture. This is nothing new. It will cost. you personally and those around you. 

One of the questions I ask people to initiate a gospel conversation is, "Are you a follower of Jesus?" This is so much deeper than asking if a person is a Christian or if they believe in God. Jesus followers live with a different set of priorities. They have different standards. They live like soldiers waiting to hear marching orders from their Commander and Chief Jesus. He dictates the plans. He issues the orders. Our job is to listen, trust, and obey. 

Think of soldiers and sailors being deployed on some mission. They are required to leave parents, spouses, children, and friends behind to carry out the mission. I am thinking of those brave soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy. They knew they were headed for dangerous trouble. Some barely made it off the landing the crafts before being gunned down. Those who survived still courageously pressed onto the beachhead under heavy enemy fire. 

Christ followers must live with the same mentality. We must listen to the Master and execute the plans He charges to His people. All the while we must calculate the cost of following. Make no mistake. There is a cost if a person takes following Jesus seriously. Such people may be required to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of the Savior. Some shrink back at such a high price refusing to surrender. 

Are you a surrendered soldier yielded to the wishes of the Savior? Are there places where you intentionally hold back and rebel against the Lord? It is comfortable to sit in the pews week after week, month after month, and year after year always hearing but never doing. To live surrendered laid on God's altar is the biblical mandate. [Rom 12:1] We offer our entire lives as a living sacrifice. Jesus has the right and authority to help Himself to our lives anytime He wants. He can interrupt our lives, redirect our plans, reroute our future and not one time does He ever have to ask our permission. This is way too much for some church members. It is a cost they are unwilling to pay. 

The ultimate cost for following Jesus may mean martyrdom. Many gallons of blood have been spilled over the centuries for following Jesus to the hard places to do hard things. For most people the cost of following may simply be inconveniences, time sensitive commitments, and sharing of resources. Those are still costs some are unwilling to pay. 

To follow Jesus may mean you are misunderstood. Some may question unorthodox decisions, risky leaps of faith, and throwing caution to the wind to obey the call of the Master. Many are hated for doing these things. Families have been fractured in the cost of following. Hardships have been endured. Here is the truth. Jesus paid the highest price to redeem us. He suffered. He was abandoned by His followers. He endured excruciating pain of the cross for the sake of reconciling lost people to His holy Father. What cost is too great for us to pay in light of what He suffered for us? Nothing. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. [Matt 16:24] We are to count our lives not dear to ourselves so that we might follow His calling and finish the ministry to testify of His salvation. [Acts 20:24] We are to live crucified to the old life and live yielded to Him living in  and through us. [Gal 2:20] The reward of such following will outweigh the costs and sacrifices in eternity. 

Transition

 The word transition can be defined as the process of changing from one state or period to another. That is exactly where Brenda and I find ourselves. After five and a half years serving the flock of Spring Creek Baptist Church we are in transition to the Panhandle of Texas to start a new ministry at First Southern Baptist Church of Fritch, TX. This is not a position we sought. The church came after us after a friend sent my resume there without my knowledge about a year ago. 

It is tough saying goodbye to people you love and have served for over half a decade. We battled COVID together, saw many come and go, watched God provide to renovate our education facility, and provide a playground for children. We saw God add Pinnacle Christian School to our facilities and have mutually benefited from each other. We saw God start a thriving skatepark ministry outreach as well as one to a local substance abuse detox center we have showed up for the past few years each Sunday afternoon to proclaim Jesus to people from all over the United States. God has saved many. So many wonderful memories. 

Now we begin the last two weeks of our ministry at Spring Creek and in Weatherford, TX. Fritch and Weatherford could not be anymore different. Weatherford is a booming town with exploding population growth nestled up close to Fort Worth. Fritch is a small town of 1,800 people located about 40 miles north of Amarillo. It is closer to Colorado from Fritch than to Dallas/Fort Worth. Fritch was one of the towns scorched by the wild fires in the Panhandle over a year ago. 

It is never easy to say goodbye to people you love. The call of God on my life is to follow where He leads. It is evident that He is leading Brenda and I to the top of Texas. It is one big step of faith after another. We have no house to move to as of yet. Brenda has no job. We may actually start our ministry in Fritch living in a one room efficiency apartment in a town about half an hour from Fritch. There are more unknowns than knowns at this point. My salary from the church will be less than the salary generously provided from Spring Creek. The call of God trumps all of that. We go where God calls and never even discuss salary with churches we have served up front. That has never mattered. The call of God is the only thing that matters. 

So our days are busy with transitioning from life here to the unknown life ahead. We are leaving a son and daughter in law behind, Brenda's mother, two sisters, and their families all because we believe God heard the people of Fritch like He heard the man from Macedonia pleading for help to be sent. We are the answer to that prayer for Fritch. I hurt for Spring Creek. We love these people. It is not easy to leave them, but we believe God loves them more and will show His faithfulness to them. 

I know how Abraham must have felt when God called him to leave his country and family and yet he did not know exactly where he is going. [Gen 12:1-2] The transition would be easier if we had a home to move to instead of a temporary dwelling. God knows. We trust Him and are thankful for His provision of the efficiency apartment until we are able to secure permanent housing in Fritch. We trust God will do something amazing because He rewards those who live by faith. [Heb 11:6]. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. [Heb 11:1] By faith we believe He has a home for us in the Panhandle. We wait and watch to see what God does next in our transition.