From Pines to Panhandle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Fragrance of Worship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three Little Words

 Can three little words change your life? After all, it is just three words. I'll go even further than that. Can three little one syllable words change your life? They certainly did for me when a brown haired and brown eyed beauty at Howard Payne University said three words to me. What words? I love you. Those three little words changed my world in a way I could never have dreamed. She still says that to me three and half decades later after we said, "I do."

On the other hand, people hear the opposite three words, "I hate you." Those words damage the soul. Some never recover and spiral out of control into toxic choices trying to hide the pain. Spouses, siblings, parents, friends, coworkers, and even rivals have shouted these words. They cut deeply like a sword. The wounds may not be visible, but they are still real. 

It got me to thinking about some of the three word sayings of Jesus. How about this little command. Love one another. If people followed that teaching of Jesus around the world imagine the impact. If Christians and Muslims loved one another. If opposing political parties loved one another what more could be accomplished. If people loved one another in the work place, it would be a more pleasant environment. 

Jesus gave an invitation with the words, "Come to Me." An invitation you do not have to earn. You do not bribe, cheat, or deceive to get this invitation. It is extended to all of us. An invitation not based on merit. It is totally based on the good pleasure of the Lord to invite us to Him. He desires us more than we desire Him. 

On another occasion, Jesus said to a grieving father, "Don't be afraid." He followed that up with only two words, "Only Believe." These words were spoken to a father who had just learned his daughter died. The words of Jesus were prophetic because He brought the girl back to life again. 

One day a very influential man came to Jesus asking for help for his sick son. The father pleaded with Jesus to come before his son died. He believed Jesus could help. He wanted to take Jesus back to his home in order to get his son help. Jesus had something else in mind when He spoke three little words, "Your son lives." At that very moment the boy's fever broke and he recovered. The father learned of this later and believed along with all who were in his house. 

Three little words. What might those words be for you today? I forgive you. I love you. I am willing. I accept you. I redeem you. Ask and receive. Do you believe? Nothing is impossible. There's no condemnation. There is power in the spoken words of the Savior. Even if they are just three little words. I don't know what you need to hear today, but I am confident the Lord can speak those words to you. Words of hope, peace, strength, faith, and comfort. Words of grace, mercy, acceptance, power, and perseverance. Whatever He speaks over you I implore you to believe it like the man in John 4:46-53. Three little words can change your life. 

Problems and Pain

 Everybody has problems. They come in different shapes and sizes. They vary in degrees of severity. Some are just minor irritations. Others are mountain like in scope. Impossible to dismiss and way too massive to shove to the side. Chances are you are facing problems even as you read this. Problems you have not told anyone. Problems you cannot solve without divine intervention. 

Everybody faces pain from time to time. From scraped knees to scary diagnosis like cancer. People suffer various forms of pain. No amount of money can keep pain away at arms length. Pain penetrates when people we love die. Especially when it is prematurely. Brenda and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants a few days ago. We talked with the owner who took a leave of absence for a couple of weeks. We asked about this and turns out her mother recently died. Brenda instantly connected with as her mother died a little over a year ago. None of us are exempt from pain. 

When you put problems and pain together, God followers have opportunity to grow in faith. It is in the problems and the pain that we are forced to trust God and in doing so our faith is stretched. This stretching actually grows our faith to believe God for more. We cling to Him and His word to get us through the tough stuff. We cling to assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1

We are told in Ps 34:18 that God is near to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. Are you one of those today? Have the problems and pain worn you down? God is still near to you even if it doesn't feel that way. Are your problems weighing you down and sucking the life from you? Cast all your cares on God and He will sustain you. Ps 55:22 Do you weep nightly in despair. Find comfort in Ps 30:5 which reminds us that weeping may last for a night, but that joy comes in the morning. Sometimes that joy in the morning may seem like a long way off. It will come if we persevere and keep trusting. 

Problems and pain are really opportunities to behold the faithfulness of God over and over again. Those are not pleasant seasons. Some of you are waiting on God and wonder why He delays. I cannot give you a satisfactory answer to that question. All I can do is testify when I have waited on God long enough and trusted Him, He comes through. Sometimes at the last possible moment. Often in ways I never expected. Now when facing problems and pain I am able to look back and be reminded of all the times God helped in the past. 

A verse I have clung to for decades is Ps 46:1. God is our refuge. A safe place to retreat and find shelter when the problems and pain get the best of us. He is also our strength. When we don't think we can take anymore, press on through another day, pray another prayer, or take any more pain, God helps us. Helps us through the next minute. Helps us through the next hour and the next day. He is also our very present help in trouble. I love that verse. Maybe God will use it to help you through your problems and your pain. 

Doing Your Best

 I confess I was not a good student in high school. I was never into math and science. I did enjoy English and history more. I calculated during my senior year that I did not have to pass my math class in order to graduate. I passed it during football season so I would be eligible to play. After that, I did not try. I don't think you understand. I did not turn in homework assignments. When our teacher passed out tests, I wrote my name on them and turned them back in completely blank. From late November to May, I should have had a zero on my report card. I think she put a 40 I am sure more to protect her. What would it look like if a teacher gave out a zero on a report card. That was what I deserved. 

I used that class to do homework in other classes, study for tests in other classes, and to read. One day I was reading a football magazine. The teacher walked by and commented, "I hope you are better at that than you are in this class." I replied, "I am." She could not motivate me. Once I learned I could graduate without passing that class, I was no longer motivated. Nothing the teacher did or said motivated me. I was the man in our home. My mother did not comment on my grades in high school. There was nobody else to do so. I am ashamed of this now. I should have tried harder. 

I was a very young Christian at that time. Nobody had ever taught me that God wants our best. I had never heard of Col 3:17 or Col 3:23. I would not learn those truths until my second stint at seminary. Even in college I did just enough to get by. I tried. Thankfully I only had one math class. The classes interested me more. I had to pass classes to be eligible to play football. I did not do my best except on a few assignments that interested me. 

I hated seminary. I never felt I fit in with a bunch of preacher boys wearing ties or bow ties. I was bored in classes with the exception of two professors. I was put on academic probation after my first semester and was suspended after my second semester. I did not do my best. I wanted to get on with ministry. God had several things He needed to teach me before He would trust me with people to lead. 

I got married in this time and God opened doors to serve several small churches. Seminary was out of mind. I can't say for sure when it happened. One day I read those verses in Colossians and was convicted that God wants our best in whatever we do. We are to work heartily as unto the Lord and not men. Col 3:23. We are to do everything in the name of the Lord. Col 3:17. 

As the years passed, it really bothered me that I started seminary but never finished. I followed the counsel of my pastor from my hometown who told me about a distance learning Seminary. You moved along at your own pace in your studies, the professors sent the assignments to you. I listened to lectures on cassette tapes. It took a while. Little by little I did the course work for each class. In 2014 I graduated with a Masters degree. I made the best grades I ever made in school because I tried my best. I fought pride but not putting that degree on the wall in my office. It sits in a box along with my college degree and ordination certificate. 

God wants our best whatever we do. School. Work. Sports. Band. Volunteer work. Not doing our best for people dishonors God. Look around. Do you see people always trying their best? Customer service is lacking in many places. Employees cut corners glued to their phones instead of the work they are supposed to do. Some employees give minimal effort just to earn a pay check. Unfortunately, many students do what I did. 

Brenda and I certainly did not let that attitude fly around our house raising four sons. We did not demand perfection. We did challenge our sons to give their best. If their best was a C in a class so be it. If they were capable of earning an A that is what we expected. Parents fail children here when they demand perfection. None of us are good at everything. 

I don't know your role in life. I challenge you to give your best in whatever you do. Do it as an act of worship. Do it for the Lord even if nobody else notices. He sees. I think He is pleased when we try our best. Even if we are surrounded by people who give less than their best. You heard the old saying, "If it's worth doing it's worth doing right." Let us be people committed to doing our best. 

The Walking Wounded

 Family is supposed to be a safe place. A place where love flows and where support is found. These things are true in many families. It is a wonderful thing for a child to grow up in a family where they know they are loved in words and actions. It a confidence builder to be a part of a family where you are supported when you succeed and even when you fail. 

Tragically there are some families that are dysfunctional. Children get wounded in these families. They are not only unloved, and in some cases unwanted, they are also wounded. The wounds are sometimes physical. At other times the wounds are psychological. Messages of worthlessness are imprinted on the mind. Wounds they carry through life into adulthood believing they are not good enough, they are failures, losers, garbage, and have no purpose. Sometimes the wounds are sexual damaging young girls and boys for life. 

We have a society filled with walking wounded. Because of poor self esteem and poor choices, these wounded fall into cycles of making the same mistakes over and over again. Their lives become a series of additional wounds and in some cases they repeat the patterns of wounding they experienced. The cycle of wounding is passes from generation to the next. 

On my paternal side of the family, wounding was generational. A cousin told me once every single female she knew in our family had been sexually abused by a family member. Multiple boys and girls were physically beaten. The Edwards name is not held in honor in that community. It is disgraced several generations over. 

There is hope for the walking wounded. Jesus extends the invitation for all who are weary and heavy laden to com to Him to find rest. Matt 11:28 Jesus is a safe place to turn to for help and healing from the wounds. Nobody can love us like Jesus. Nobody can restore and renew a person like Jesus. People search in vain with many things trying to find healing. Alcohol does not do it. Neither does drugs or multiple sexual exploits. Each only deepen the wounds and leave a person feeling more hopeless. Read about the prostitute who poured perfume on Jesus feet and wiped them with her hair. She found healing. Luke 7:36-47 Read about the woman caught in the act of Adultery. John 8:1-11 Read about the leper Jesus healed. Matt 8:1-3 You can check out the story of the demoniac who had a legion of demons but Jesus delivered him Mark 5:1-20

Jesus said in John 10:10 that the thief, otherwise known as the devil, only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan does a good job of those three things. Jesus offered a contrast. He said He came to give life more abundantly. Life to the fullest. The best life. He did not say He came to make people rich and famous. He did not say He came to give people all they ever dreamed of getting. He said He came to give abundant life. 

Abundant life for the walking wounded includes deep healing. It includes forgiving those who did the wounding so a person is not trapped in bitterness. It means connecting people to their purpose. It also means guiding their paths. According to Rom 1:2, just like Paul, each of us was set apart by God for the gospel. Your testimony matters. People can benefit from journey to spiritual, emotional and mental health. 

Earlier this evening, I received a text from a lady thanking me for a recent message. She confessed to being wounded earlier in life. She does not talk about it because she wonders who would ever listen to her. I told her to tell her story. She never knows what God may do when she does.

 I tell my story. I was physically and sexually abused as a child. I AM NOT A VICTIM. I was one of the walking wounded. Jesus has been healing me for the past four decades. Through Him I AM A VICTOR. I want other walking wounded to experience the same healing and wholeness that He gave me and many others. 

More Faith Steps

 We tend to get comfortable. We like security. Most people go out of their way to avoid risks. When I read scripture I see God leading people to do just the opposite. God called Abram to leave his home to go to an unknow destination God would reveal at a later time. [Gen 12:1] God called Moses to leave the life of shepherding sheep to become a deliverer for God's people leading them out of slavery. [Ex 3:1-12] God called the disciples to leave their fishing profession and families behind to follow Him. [Mark 1:16-18] 

Nothing about those calls was comfortable or safe. Each assignment required steps of faith. Each required God's help to complete the assignment for the tasks were bigger than their abilities. In each case, God intervened in powerful and dramatic ways. 

It appears to me that a great many Christ followers prefer to play it safe. They prefer the route of least resistance and with the most predictable outcome. Let's be honest. The church is filled with people who have small faith and a risk adverse mentality. Go ahead. Read [II Cor 5:7] and [Heb 11:6]. What do those verses call us to do? 

I just took three faith steps in the past ten minutes. I am not at liberty to tell you the nature of those steps at this time. Suffice it to say it required getting uncomfortable and taking some risk. Only God knows how it will turn out. Sometimes faith steps feel scary. That is only when our focus is not on God, His call, and His promises. I recently wrote about living to prove God hears and answers prayers. He is giving me the opportunity to prove that again. 

I'm not an advocate for foolish risk for risk sake. You will not find me strapped onto a bungy cord jumping off a high platform. I have no interest in sky diving. Nor am I interested in diving into shark infested waters. I look like a supersized extra value meal. 

I know God calls people to take faith steps that don't make any logical sense to onlookers. He has called me to take those steps many times and the naysayers criticized them every time. I've been forced to lean on God over and over again. I had no one else. Either God would come through or we would fail. There were some times we failed. Maybe I did not discern the call of God those times correctly. There have been more times when God came through. When He put the puzzle together. When He connected the dots. When He sent the right provision at the right time. Those happened after the faith steps. We want God to do the miracles first and then we will step out. God did not cut off the waters of the Jordan at flood stage until the priest set their foot in the water first. [Joshua 3:1-17] Miracles happen after faith steps. 

Do we really trust God? Do we really believe He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do? Sooner or later we'll all be tested. God will call us to something that stretches us and makes us uncomfortable. It might even look a little risky. By faith we will obey or disobey because of doubt. The choice is ours and there are consequences for either decision. It just might be time to take some more faith steps. 

The Dream Giver and the Dream Maker

 God planted a dream in me as a child to write. That dream has only grown over the past five decades. A couple of decades ago, I was introduced to the world of blogging. I realize most people today prefer podcasts. God called me to write and that is what I do. On this site alone, God has inspired over 1,600 hundred posts. This site has been visited by hundreds of thousands of people. 

Just a few short years ago, these blogs were only visited by less than a dozen people per day. I begged God for the day to come when this site would be visited by thousands of people a day from all over the world. God set that dream and inspired that prayer. He also made the dream come true. I can't explain it any other way but God. Now there are thousands of people who read these blogs daily all over the world. It is humbling and I give all glory to God. I'm thankful that He not only gives dreams, but He also makes those dreams come true. 

I pray these days for God to get two books I finished this year into print. I have been turned down by multiple traditional publishers. I am looking into self publishing. I believe that the same God who called and inspired me to write both books is the same God who will put them into print when and however He wants. My job is to write what He gives me. His job is to make them available to people. 

He planted the dream in me to write books long before I was even saved or called to preach. My primary goal in writing is to glorify God and to help people. In the same way He expanded the reach of these blogs, I ask Him to expand the reach of these books. To get them into the hands of tens of thousands of people all over the world. God can make that dream come true. 

I have not been inspired by God to write another book at this point. I wait on Him to birth books in me. When that happens, I will once again sit at this computer and put letters, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters on the printed page. I leave it up to Him what He does with them. Until then I keep writing these posts. 

I hope to leave a legacy in my writings. Things that point people to God, the Bible, prayer, faith, and hope. In my pastoral ministry, I can only be in one place at a time. When I die, my earthly ministry does not die with me through these blogs and the books God calls me to write. Many times I wonder if the writings make any difference for people. I hope they do. Writing was a dream God put in my heart as a child. He has only fanned the flame hotter into my adulthood. He gets to determines to the level that dream is realized. 

It's not about me. It's not about my name. It's not about my talent. It is all about Him. I adopt the attitude of the John the Baptist in John 3:30. He must increase and I must decrease. He is to be exalted while I am demoted. He is to be praised while my name gets forgotten. He is to be made a big deal of daily. I'm to be made a less deal of  daily. I do not seek fame or fortune. I seek to be His vessel. I sit in faith knowing that the God who gives the dream is also the God who makes the dream come true. 

Legacy

What kind of legacy will you leave behind. I sat with a 96 year old man earlier this week. I listened with fascination as he told me about his career and how 47 years ago he started a company. The company is still going run by a family member. He recounted tragedies he endured like the death of his parents, wife, and daughter. He talked about financially lean times when he first started his business. Times when they ate a lot of beans because that was about all they could afford. He talked about work ethic. When he was 92, he loaded up in his truck and drove through the night to pick up a load of equipment to be delivered the next day. He got loaded close to midnight and drove back to his business arriving around 5:00 a.m. to unload the truck for a salesman to go make the delivery. Then he stayed awake and worked through the day without any sleep. 

He has seen so many changes over his life. He knows that he will not be around forever. He thinks Jesus will return soon. He loves His family and his church. He has been a member of our church multiple decades. He has seen the church go through hard times and good times and stuck through it all. 

I could not help but ask him a question. "When you die, what do you want people to say about you and remember about you?" I had no idea what he would say. I did not expect the humble answer he gave. He replied, "I want to be remembered as a good man who tried to do right." What a legacy this man will leave behind for family and friends. He has walked with Jesus longer than I have been alive. 

Legacy is defined as something transmitted or received from an ancestor or predecessor. What legacy did my family leave behind? My maternal grandmother loved to read. If she was not working around the house, or even when she cooked, there was a book nearby. She took me to get my first library card and often took me to a local bookstore to buy books. I fell in love with the Hardy Boys mystery books. She left a legacy in me for reading. I just finished a biography a few moments ago before I started writing. 

My maternal grandfather left a legacy of sports and competitiveness. He played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track in high school. He played semi-pro baseball. He taught me to catch and throw a baseball and football. He and I watched football and baseball games many times in his room. He took me to my first high school football game. I regret that he never saw me play a high school or college football game. He died of Leukemia before I on varsity. I wept and wept when he died. He was more a father to me than a grandfather. I still miss him all these decades later. He never met Brenda or our four sons. He never saw me get saved and baptized. He did know God called me to preach. He was not there to give advice to navigate high school, college, marriage, and parenthood. He did leave me a legacy of determination, resolve, and not giving up. He taught me to work for what I wanted. 

Now that I'm officially classified as a senior adult, I think about legacy. What kind of legacy do I want to leave behind. Very simple. A legacy of faith. What do I mean? I want to pass on my faith to as many people as possible before I die. Whether it be children, students, adults, future family, and those God puts in my path. I want to constantly point people to Jesus. I want to see many saved. 

Leaving a legacy of faith means leaving a legacy of prayer. If people could talk about all the prayers God answered for me, all the supernatural ways God intervened in my life, all the impossible things God did in answer to prayer, and it could inspire them to pray and to believe God for great things, that would be a legacy I'd like to leave. What about you? What kind of legacy are you leaving for those who will be left behind? Live your life in such a way to make that legacy come true that will pass down.   

God Hears and Answers

 I sat at a round table with a few other preachers months ago at a conference. The leader had us go through an exercise to discover our calling and purpose. We started with a long list of things we felt true of each of us. We narrowed down our lists to a few things. At the end, they challenged us to narrow down our calling to just two words. 

I did not take long to identify the two reasons I believe God put me on this earth. The first was to preach. I never feel more alive than when I'm proclaiming His truth. He put great passion in me to do that. 

The second calling is the point of this post. Prayer. I believe God put me on this earth to not just to pray. To pray in such a way that it proves that God hears and answers prayers. To pray for impossible things. To believe God for things others doubt will ever happen. To pray audacious prayers that leave people awed and inspired when God answers knowing that no man could ever make those things happen. 

My life has profoundly been impacted by George Muller. He housed and cared for 10,000 orphans over a period of several decades through prayer. He never asked anyone for money at anytime. Through prayer asking God for provision, he built multiple orphan houses, fed the orphans three meals a day, provided clothing for all of them, and maintained the daily expenses of running multiple orphan houses at the same time. God heard his prayers. God answered his prayers in dramatic fashion. Sometimes with just a little provision at one time. Other times, the money came in large amounts. 

Muller lived his life as an experiment showing that God hears and answers prayers. He was surrounded by doubters. At times his wife doubted. Even his best friend doubted. Muller continued to prayerfully believe God for provision to care for precious little souls who were parentless. Over and over again God came through. There were tests. Multitudes of them. Sometimes the trials were stretched daily months on end. Other times the trials came in shut doors to purchase property to build. Each time He prayed through to the answer and glorified God over and over again. His faith grew with those trials. 

Brenda and I adopted that attitude decades ago. We do not ask people for money. We pray about our needs. I have been tested. We served one church with no guaranteed salary. We set out a basket if people wanted to give to support us personally. There were weeks when the basket was empty. Others times just a few dollars and others times hundreds of dollars. God heard and gave us what we needed during that season. On more than one occasion, I've had wealthy people ask me what I need. They offered their help. Each time I refused to share our needs no matter how dire they might have been. God knows our needs. I assure you my prayers are big. I pray to the same God Muller prayed to all those years ago. I'm not believing for anything as noble as taking care of orphans. I do have a heart to give God glory through His answers like Muller. 

One of the reasons God put me on this earth is to demonstrate that a person walking by faith can prove that God hears and answers prayers. This has proven very practical for Brenda and I. Let me recount just a few things God has done without our asking any person for help. God has provided down payment money on houses. God has provided furniture. God has supplied appliances. God has provided groceries, gas, and finances for day to day expenses. God has given us twelve different vehicles with no debt. In one season, He provided five vehicles without one penny of debt in a span of 30 days. We are still driving some of those vehicles to this day. Twice God has called people to pay our mortgage payments for extended periods. Again, we never asked anyone to help us. We prayed. God heard and answered. 

We prayed and God answered in other ways too. Like sending real revival to FBC Seminole back in the summer of 2010 that lasted for three weeks. We have seen numerous people saved over the decades. We  rejoiced to see many baptisms. We saw churches grow in answer to prayer. God has provided funds to publish multiple books. I anticipate He will do the same things in the future. 

If I could have people say one thing about me after I'm gone, I would want it to be to say, "Look what  God can do in and through a man who really believed nothing was impossible to God." What He has done for Brenda and I He can do for you. What He will do for us in the future is also available to you. How can I say that. Two verses. Heb 11:1 and Heb 11:6. Our God still hears and answers prayers. 

Looking Back

I know that Paul wrote for us to forget what lies behind and press on to things that lie ahead. I can't help but to take a moment and reflect on where I've been. I'm closer to 60 than 50. Inside my mind I feel like a young man. Looking in the mirror tells me a different story. Thinning hair, achy joints, and eye glasses all indications that this mortal body is aging. 

I recall growing up in east Texas where towering pine trees are in abundance. I've grown to appreciate those tall trees. I hated them as a child. Anybody who has ever had to rake pine straw knows what I'm talking about. I spent many an hour raking pine straw off the roof and off the grass. I grew up riding bikes, playing in the woods, having sleepovers, and playing whatever ball was in season with other neighborhood boys. We didn't need organizations or fancy uniforms. We got up a game as soon as we got out of school. 

I took those games seriously and played for blood. I was and to some extent still am fiercely competitive. I hated to lose at anything. My fourth grade teacher named me "Bull Frog." She said one look at me after P.E. told her whether my team won or lost. When I lost she said I swelled up like a bull frog. Life seemed simpler. We thought punishment was being kept from going outside to play. Now days you can't hardly get kids out from in front of a screen of some sort watching or playing a game. 

We didn't go to church much. I liked it when we did. I had a great aunt who attended a Methodist church. She was always trying to get us to come. For some reason she took a shine to me. She often got me to pray publicly in the worship services. I don't recall the old Kelty's Methodist Church being a large congregation. They did help form a foundation of some basic Bible stories. Next, we attended the First Nazarene Church in downtown Lufkin, TX before they relocated. We didn't attend frequently, but I did go to a children's camp with them. I even won a trophy for memorizing the most verses that week. It did not mean I was in right standing with God. 

Football was my life. I read football books. Started lifting weights at 12 years old and have not stopped all these years later. I played imaginary football games in my backyard setting up obstacles and treating the pine trees as defenders to avoid. My dream was to play in college. I knew I would have to work for it. I was not blessed with height. God did give me strength. I worked feverishly at getting stronger to make my way to the starting line up for the Lufkin Panther football team. I wore the purple and gold with pride. It meant something to me back then. 

To improve my chances at playing in college I pushed my body. I skipped lunch after my senior football season ended and went to the weight room to get in extra work. I climbed the fence at the football stadium so I could run bleachers. I ran in the hottest part of the days. I pushed my body until the muscles burned from the stress. 

My whole life changed one Thursday night in October of 1983. I have written about it and talked about it numerous times. I will not go into great detail. I sat in Abe Martin football stadium when a man shared the gospel with me. It was during the junior varsity football game that I asked Jesus to save me. He did and my life has not been the same. 

A friend from church told me about Howard Payne University and their football team. My youth minister set up a visit and I was offered a football scholarship. God had much bigger plans that I knew. It was after I graduated high school that God called me to preach at a youth camp. I did not even know Howard Payne had a Bible department. I did not learn that until I was standing in line to register for classes  as a freshman and overheard two students talking about Bible classes. I connected the dots and enrolled as a Bible major. 

Two years later I met a brown haired brown eyes beauty. One date later and I knew I met the woman I wanted to marry. Brenda loved Jesus. Her heart was even more beautiful than her physical features. She is one of the greatest followers of Jesus I have ever met. Brenda said yes to become my wife on June 29, 1991 at the FBC Hurst, TX. That was 35 years ago and we are still madly in love. God has blessed us with four sons and one daughter in law. 

I never dreamed God's path for me in ministry would take so many twists and turns. I have served as a youth minister, evangelist, church planter, and a pastor. We have moved more than I ever thought we would. In the early days I chased success. It led to a lot of heartache. In latter years, I have learned to chase God and let the results fall where they fall. We have met and loved so many wonderful people over the years. We have seen moves of God that humbled us and left us awed. We have also endured some heartaches and ministerial failures. Our faith has been tested and proved. 

Now we find ourselves living in the Texas Panhandle. Sometimes it is hard to believe we live here. The church we serve has grown moderately. The people have embraced us. Brenda and I both work hard. We start our days early and usually go to bed early. We try to give our hearts to the congregation and community. We hope and pray this is the last stop until we get to heaven. We have much to believe God for ahead. 

It is good to look back at all the ways God has worked. It is also good to have God ordained dreams to pursue for the future. There is much work to do in this community. We dedicate our lives to serving our Lord Jesus and this flock. I am honored that I get to share this life with Brenda. Next to Jesus saving me, SHE IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME FOLLOWED BY OUR FOUR SONS. I can't say life has turned out like I thought as a child. I can say God has been faithful and for that I give Him thanks. 

The Trustworthiness of God

 In a world of suffering, can it be said that God is trustworthy? Every day 1,700 people will die in the U.S. of cancer. Many, if not most of those people, either prayed for healing or someone who knew them prayed for healing. Still 1,700 die. Millions are diagnosed with Alzheimer's each year. It is a very cruel disease. 116,022 people died of this disease in 2024. Prayers were offered and thousands upon thousands died. 

There are people starving and living below the poverty line in the U.S. 36 million to be exact. Add to that another 17 million living in deep poverty. How many pray for provision. Pray for the next meal. They plead with God to help and yet children cry themselves to sleep in hunger pangs. Like a man once told me, "Sometimes I just have to eat sleep." 

In all of that suffering, can it be said that God is trustworthy? O, I know that is easy to say. Can it be defended to those hurting and hopeless? That is the point. I know God's word declares that He is faithful in [I Thess 5:24]. The word faithful in that passage can be translated trustworthy also. Is that true? 

I admit approaching this topic with bias. I'm a preacher and author constantly pointing people to God and His word. Would I still believe God is trustworthy if I did not write religious material or did not preach? Many think my views are slanted because that is my job. Not so. I decided long ago to set out to prove the Bible true by living by faith and standing on the promises of God. It has not been an easy road. It has been an adventurous one. If it weren't true, if God was not trustworthy I would have walked away. He has proven Himself trustworthy to me and my family. 

I do believe God is trustworthy. Here are my reasons why:

1. I believe the stories in scripture and the promises are true. [II Tim 3:16]

2. I have tested scripture promises in the laboratory of life and found God  trustworthy repeatedly. 

3.I've read biographical and autobiographical accounts where others testified of God's trustworthiness in their lives and ministries. 

4. I have ministered to people in intense sufferings. Some were facing death due to incurable disease. I have witnessed many of those people face their suffering and death valiantly and triumphantly. They found something mor substantive in God than earthly comfort. People battling incurable diseases facing impending death hang onto something real. They found God real. They found Him trustworthy. I tend to listen to them and put great stock in their witness. 

Let's get real. There is a lot of suffering people in the world. Where is God? Why doesn't He fix it? Tap the brakes. This is not the plan God had originally. Go back to Genesis. God created a perfect world. Adam and Eve opted for temptation and ate the forbidden fruit. The consequences of that act has followed us to this day. You hate cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and all the others. Don't blame God. He didn't choose this for us. We chose sin. I say we chose it because we are still choosing it. The curse of sin brought along with it suffering and death. 

Even with that in mind, God is trustworthy in that He sent Jesus to take the punishment for people's sin. It is totally illogical. Perfection suffering for imperfection. Sinlessness dying for sinners. This world of suffering is the best heaven people who do not follow Jesus will ever experience. On the other hand, this world is the worst hell Christians will ever experience. For anyone who repents of their sins and asks Jesus for deliverance and rescue, everlasting life awaits. God will prove Himself trustworthy as we are ushered into eternity. 

I don't always understand the ways of God. [Is 55:8-9] I have learned to trust Him over and over again. Even in the hard times and the confusing times. He has come through time and time again. Even when I stood at the graveside of my mother in 1998 the day after Mother's Day and years later Brenda's mother. I put His trumpet to my mouth to sound forth the anthem that God can be trusted. 

People Matter

 I met a lady who worked as a janitor at a private school. She told me she was one of the invisible people who worked for the school. Her comment made me think she did not feel valued by her employers. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I want to value people. No matter their background. No matter their economic status or social standing. People are created in the image of God and have intrinsic value based on that truth. 

People matter. The waitress and the waiter matter. The student and the surgeon matter. The mechanic and the machinist matter. The cook and the computer analyst matter. People working at the drive through have value. The elderly have value. So many churches use the older members of the congregation for their money, but are discarded much of the other times. People matter. It matters how we treat people. 

Read accounts of how Jesus treated people. He touched the leper in Matt 8:1-3 that others shunned. He helped the woman with blood issues in Mark 5:25-34 that others kept at arm's length so as not to be considered ceremonially unclean. Jesus helped demon possessed Mark 5:1-20, crippled, paralyzed , blind, and even ate with sinners. Jesus made time for children and was not annoyed by their appearance. Jesus loves the outcasts. He welcomes the addicts. He accepts the immoral. He calls them to repentance and to turn to Him for salvation. Jesus even said the sick need a physician and not those that are well. Sinners need a Savior. Jesus loves people and they matter to Him. Therefore, they should also matter to the church. 

Churches can fall into the trap of just counting nickels and noses. People matter far beyond what they contribute in the offerings and adding to attendance figures. God created them with purpose. People created in the image of God with eternal souls. Many of those souls are lost and far from God. We should not be surprised when sinners act like sinners. We should applaud their courage when the muster enough to walk into one of our worship services or studies. They should be welcomed and loved to Jesus. 

People can get reputations. Some of them are bad. The only thing faster than track teams is small town gossip. People pile on when others fail and are down. Instead of pulling them up. We can push them further down. A recent survey reported that 70% of people are open to Jesus and have a favorable opinion of Him, but only 30% feel the same way about the church. This is a travesty. People matter to God and they should matter to the church also. They should matter to each of us. 

There are no invisible people with Jesus. He sees us all. There are no insignificant people with Jesus either. He loved people enough to die for them. See John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. People matter to God. We matter to God. You matter to God wherever you find yourself in life.

Delay or Denial

It has been said that God always answers prayers. He may not answer them the way we want Him to. Sometimes He says yes and gives us what we asked for. There are other times when the answer is no. Additionally there are other times when He says wait. We love it when He says yes. We are disappointed when He says no. When the answer is delayed we get disillusioned. 

How are we supposed to know the difference when God is delaying the answer for His purposes or when He denies our requests? We may not like it, but most of us know there are some things God is going to deny. It is not in His will for us. I love [I Jn 5:14-15] where we are assured if we pray in God's will we will get what we ask. Knowing what God wills it not always easy to discern. There are some things God is going to deny no matter how hard we pray. Like me playing in the NFL. I did ask God for that as a child. God denied it because His plan was for me pastor and preach. 

Recently, I resolved to only pray for what I felt assured was in God's will. I focused on asking God for what He desired to do in and around my life. It surprised me how my prayer list whittled down to very few things. We all have wants. We ask God for what we desire. We are not guaranteed to get all our desires. We will be denied many if not most of those things. That doesn't mean God is unkind, uncaring, or uninterested in the affairs of our lives. It means God knows what is best. That is hard to believe when God doesn't heal the loved one, when the prodigal continues a life of profligate living, and the finances dwindle until there is nothing left because the answer was delayed. 

God knows what He is doing. He certainly does not need my finite mind to help Him govern the universe. He also knows what is best. Past experience reminds me that I have fouled things up by making wrong decisions. He knows best and I am learning to trust Him even when I can't see the full outcome. He is also on time. Think about it. Has God ever been late for anything? His timing is perfect. 

If His timing is perfect, then His delays have purpose. Abraham and Sarah did not like waiting for a son of their own. They took matters into their own hands when Abraham married a servant girl and had Ishmael with her. That was not God's intended plan. Abraham and Sarah waited on their promised son for two and a half decades. They clung to faith and hope. In due time, at the proper time, and at the right time Sarah conceived and months later gave birth to Isaac. 

There are other instances in the Bible when God's timing proved perfect. Joseph from the book of Genesis felt forgotten sitting in a prison. His brothers sold him as a slave. His boss's wife falsely accused him of sexual assault when she was the aggressor. At the right time, Pharaoh had two dreams nobody could interpret. His cupbearer, who was incarcerated with Joseph for a short time, remembered Joseph interpreted a dream for him in prison. Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and prayerfully interpreted his dreams about coming abundance followed by years of famine. Joseph was promoted from prison to the palace in a day. Joseph was elevated to second in command over all Egypt. Later, he realized that God sent him to Egypt as a slave, prisoner, and leader to preserve the beginnings of the nation of Israel. God's timing proved perfect. 

If your prayers are getting denied, I challenge you to live out [Ps 37:4]. Fulfill the conditions on the front end and you will reap the reward on the backend. Start seeking what God wills to be done and pray [I Jn 5:14-15] with confidence. If we focus on praying what God wills to be done, we can be assured we will see less prayers denied. 

I exhort you to read [Luke 18:1] and learn to pray with perseverance when God delays the answers in coming.  Press on. Pray on. Don't lose heart. Trust that He will answer at just the right time when He has arranged all the circumstances and when He gets the most glory. Then, we get to brag on what God did. That in turn will encourage and inspire others to keep trusting and to keep praying while prayers are being delayed. 

A Dangerous Trend

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is here and it is here to stay. Many praise the benefits. Others warn of the impending dangers. A.I. is a present reality that is already impacting our world. Coupled with the sobering truth that Gen Alpha, those born in 2010 and afterward, is considered the most anxious generation to ever live. One of the ways many of those students are coping with anxiety is by turning to A.I. for personal support. 1:4 Gen Alphas say that A.I. knows and understands them better than any person. 

A.I. is not a person. It is a thing. If not checked, A.I. could even become a substitute for God. A.I. is rewriting the Bible. I have zero confidence in the inerrancy and infallibility of that finished document. Not in a world who claim God does not exist. Not in a world who rewrite laws God established long ago. Not in a world that values most things God opposes. 

One report said as high as 72% of Alpha students turn to A.I. for personal support. It is easy to type in your question and get an instant response even if it is wrong. Believe me when I write A.I. is no match for God. Let God download all His understanding and the hard drives would crash and burn. God's understanding is unmatched. His power unequaled. 

When Gen Alpha, who have been hurt and had trust broken, was asked what they wanted people to know about them, their answer was simple. They list very high on what they want from adults is for them to listen without judging. As we get older, judging comes easier. We complain about the music being too loud, hair being too long on boys, too short on girls, that they are glued to their cell phones, are lazy, and that they are unfaithful to church. Tap the brakes. 

The church that was supposed to protect them and nurture them has been one of the institutions that has hurt many of them. One sex abuse scandal after another has broken the trust of these students. These students have been criticized, ostracized, and marginalized by many congregations. They are labeled as the anxious generation. No generation before them has faced greater mental health challenges as they do. Especially the girls. Some dismiss the whole idea of mental health even being an issue people struggle with. Such naysayers adopt the attitude of, "Suck it up buttercup." I confess that has been my attitude by and large. I need the attitude Jesus had toward people.

It is interesting that Gen Alpha is open to Jesus but distrusting of the church. Christians are supposed to be representatives of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is us Christians that give the church a bad name. We violate that sacred trust when we have morale failures in leadership. We mismanage that trust when we look down our pious noses in disgust at a generation of students far different that we are. 

Jesus had compassion for people. Matt 9: 36 All kinds of people. He loved people others labeled unlovable. He embraced sinners that religious people shunned. He forgave the ones others condemned. He comforted people the religious leaders hurt. Christians must become more like Jesus if we ever hope to help the "anxious generation." 

Tracing God's Hand of Faithfulness

 Brenda and I sat in my office yesterday before the start of our connection classes. I perused my Bible and Brenda looked on her computer. Without warning we were hit with another trial that buckled us. We did not see it coming. It blindsided us. We sat stunned. We had a decision to make. Did we give into anxiety, fear, anger, or submit to peace, faith, hope, and endurance?

We chose to put it out of our minds and move on through the rest of the day. This morning I prayerfully chose to cast that care onto the Lord. I laid it at His feet. It is not the first time we have faced tests. I am sure it will not be the last time. 

Fast forward to this afternoon. I listened to the a podcast where I heard the phrase, "I traced God's hand of faithfulness." I wrote a book in 2008 titled, Behold the Faithfulness of God, all about the bountiful ways God has shown Himself faithful to Brenda and I. Not just the two of us, but for all of His people throughout history. Over and over again, sometimes at the last moment, God has shown Himself reliable. He has answered prayers in His timing and in His ways. It has not been the journey I would have chosen for myself as as freshman Bible student at Howard Payne University. It is the one God chose for us. 

God's journey for Brenda and I has been filled with unexpected turns. It is hard to write, and for many who will read this it will be harder to believe, I've carried a desire to serve one church for 20-30 years. The longest I served any church was six years. I don't understand why we have moved so much. I know at least one of those moves was a mistake on my part. I totally misread God's leading. I've repented and lived in regret for a long time. I realize my mistake hurt my family and many others close to us. For many years afterward it felt like I lived in a spiritual wilderness. I battled deep depression that plagued me for several years. Even in that God was faithful. One prayer time and one verse brought me out of that depression. God did not forsake me. 

God has been faithful to meet financial needs and material needs. God has provided things from vehicles to furniture. He sent financial provision at those crisis moments when all of our hard work and salaries could not meet the unexpected needs that arose. You have heard many of those stories. When we needed a vehicle for Brenda recently and prayed for over a year for a debt free vehicle, God provided one. A very nice top of the line 2013 Ford Edge. No debt. He worked again to provide a 2012 Nissan Armada that we gave to Tanner to replace his worn out car. He has done that nine times in our marriage. We ask Him to do it again. That is tracing God's hand of faithfulness. 

He has provided places for us to live. Our current home is no mansion, but it is the right home for us. I have asked God for well over a year to pay our house off early. We hate debt and have very little. Our home is the one exception. We have traced His hand of provision and faithfulness on two occasions in our past when someone paid our house payments one for a year and a half and the other for four years without us asking. Unbelievable. That is tracing the God's hand of faithfulness. It encourages faith and inspires hope. 

Our trial is still there. So is our God. What God has done in the past we trust He will do again in the present and in the future. I hope that you will do the same. Look back in your past and trace God's hand of faithfulness. He will be reliable in your present and future. He is trustworthy. He will come through in His time and in His way. 

Flex

 To flex means to bend and tighten a muscle. Most little boys, and even some older ones, stand before the bathroom mirror flexing their biceps hoping their muscles grow. When a person flexes their muscles they are tensing them. The point of this article is not about flexing muscles. As we age, muscles atrophy and weaken. 

I have a total other thought in my mind. It was a phrase I read in Mark Batterson's new book, Gradually Then Suddenly. Batterson wrote about flexing our imagination. Instead of looking at the obstacles we can flex our imagination to see the opportunities. Flexing our God inspired imagination can help us see potential, possibilities, and pathways to get there. 

The problem is that people who are overwhelmed with seemingly impossible situations do not have the energy to flex their imagination. They are focused on the hopeless situation in front of them instead of the God of hope who says nothing is too difficult for Him. Is that really true practically or is it only theory? 

Here is the question we must consider. What does God want done in our situation? If God wills something to be done, we can believe that He will make a way for that to happen. You might have to flex your imagination and think outside the box. 

Let me illustrate. Several years ago Brenda and I started a church. Our first Sunday we met in a daycare. The smell of dirty diapers mixes with cleaning solutions were pungent. On our first Sunday morning, we outgrew the daycare. We scrambled and secured the junior high school cafeteria for Sunday mornings. That space was not available to us for our Wednesday night activities. I prayed and flexed my imagination. We met with our students in the stands of the football stadium for Bible study. We got more than a few confused and amused looks when people walked on the track. We met in the stands until the weather turned too cold, and then we moved into our oldest high school gymnasium. Those things worked until we could rent facilities of our own. We eventually converted a warehouse with grease stained concrete floors into a sanctuary with enough seating for well over 200 people. The bay doors rattled when the wind blew during services. We had a/c and heat, but the place was drafty. It still worked.  II would never have considered building a stage and putting chairs in a warehouse producing a makeshift sanctuary. It worked.  never would have considered any of those options until God inspired and we flexed our imagination. 

If you are up against it, overwhelmed, filled with despair and have lost hope, I want to challenge you to do a couple of things. Take some time and get away. Batterson also talks about how changing our pace of life and changing our place can lead to some powerful God encounters. In other words, change your routine. Sit in a cafe with a journal to meet with God. Take a prayer walk. Go sit in a park. When you do that, pray with all your heart about how God wants you to handle your situation. Ask God to inspire and flex your imagination. Write down the ideas that come to you.  

Flex your imagination and consider what God can do for you. His resources are unlimited. Psalm 24:1 His power is unmatched and capable of doing anything. Jeremiah 32:17 His understanding is inscrutable. Isaiah 40:28 Go ahead and flex your imagination. You might just be surprised by the solution God gives you for your impossible situation. 

14 Times in 6 Chapters

 This morning I read in the book of Numbers. Not the most exciting Bible reading. A phrase kept coming up a total of fourteen times in six chapters. What was the phrase? "Then the LORD spoke to Moses." That struck me especially since the bulk of my prayer this morning was asking God to speak to me and listening. 

Prayer can be rushed with a list of requests without taking time to listen for what God wants to say to us. What He has to say to us is always more important than what we have to say to Him. How many really take time in prayer to listen? Some might ask how do you listen to an unseen God who rarely speaks audibly. You train your spirit to get in touch with His spirit. You must discipline the mind to be quiet before Him. I find this to be one of the most challenging aspects of listening. My mind often races like wild stallions across the prairie. Reigning in those thoughts is a battle. Satan uses his demons to plant thoughts in us to keep us distracted. The father of lies does not want us to quiet our minds to listen to God. With the weapons given us to fight these battles, we have to trust God to take our thoughts captive in obedience to Christ. [II Cor 10:3-5]

Do we really want to hear from God? He does not always speak uplifting devotional thoughts. He sometimes rebukes calling for repentance. He chastises when we are not compliant with His commands. He prophesies about future events. He calls us to assignments that require faith and courage. He guides us in decision making. He also reveals important truths that we do not know. 

My favorite part of seeking God is the listening. I never know what He might speak. This is the difference in religion and a relationship. The relationship consists of back and forth dialogue between followers and our supreme leader. There are times when God speaks something so important it changes our lives. 

He did that for me three years ago one morning reading Acts 16:9-10. Paul had a dream one night about a man from Macedonia calling him to come and help. That same passage showed up repeatedly that same week in several books I read. I knew God was speaking to me. A casual conversation over lunch days later confirmed it. I told Brenda that I sensed God was going to move us to a new church and I believed it was going to be in the Panhandle of Texas. Two years passed. One morning I received an email from pastor search committee in Fritch, TX telling me they received my resume. A friend sent my resume to them without my knowledge. I did not seek them or pursue a job with them. Based on the Acts 16:9-10 I agreed to a phone interview. For two years I believed there was a church crying out to God to send them help and that Brenda and I were the answer to that prayer. The last thing I told them during our phone interview that day was not to ever contact me again unless they were convinced I was God's man for them. I did not hear anything from them again for five months. After all that time they contacted me to inform I was their number one candidate. We had an in person interview and the rest is history. Brenda and my whole lives changed based on God speaking through one passage of scripture on a mundane morning. That is the thrill of seeking and following God. The same God who spoke to Moses also speaks to us. Are we listening? May He show us great and mighty things we do not know. Jer 33:3

Empty

 Have you ever run out of fuel in your vehicle leaving you stranded? It happened to me one time while riding with a friend. He ran out of gas and the engine stalled. The ironic thing is the guy was rich. He just neglected to stop long enough to refuel. We had to push his vehicle to the nearest gas station. Our cars and trucks have gauges to let us know when the fuel is running low. 

People don't have gauges to indicate they are running low of emotional, spiritual, and physical fuel. Many are living on empty. I'm not sure we could even call it living. People are going through the motions coasting on the fumes of past God encounters, and all the while they are empty, dry, and maintaining daily routines robotically. Empty people are often emotionally numb. Unable to feel deeply. 

This can happen as a result of burnout. It can be caused by repeated trials that eventually wear a person down. It can be the outcome of a life of trauma. No matter the cause, there are empty people walking all around us. People who appear to be alive on the outside, but they feel dead on the inside. Empty people are often hurting people. They may not even be able to express what is going on inside of them. They just know they are not right on the inside and in the mind. 

Well meaning believers may exhort them to read their Bible and to pray their way through the emptiness. The empty person may still do those things and still feel they do not benefit. What is a person to do when they feel empty? The enemy who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy [Jn 10:10] wants to isolate people in their emptiness. What they really need is someone to listen, someone to care, and someone who will not try to fix them. That is not our job. It is God's. 

Empty people need to reflect on activities that bring joy and refuel them. They may need to alter their routines to include these activities. Mark Batterson is an author and pastor and he writes that sometimes we need a change of pace and a change of place to get us back on track. Maybe a walk slowly taking in the scenery or take out a book to read for pleasure. Maybe lunch with a friend is a good medicine to refuel your spiritual, emotional, and spiritual tank. It may sound kind of silly, but it is amazing how a good nap can recharge our batteries and give us a fresh perspective. Empty people have little left to give. Refueled people are a tremendous help and blessing to those they encounter including empty people. 

My friend did not stop long enough to refuel his SUV all those years ago. It ended up costing him more in the long run. Maybe you to stop to do some refueling too before you are completely empty. 

Miracle in the Pulpit

 I sat with my head down praying while the praise and worship filled up the room. It had been a day. Two different trips to Amarillo ate up a good chunk of it. Other projects took out significant time. When I finally got in my office to study for an evening message, a visitor dropped in after only five minutes. That was the only time I had to study for the message. I did not feel prepared. I wished anyone else in the place had been chosen for the assignment but me. I cried out to God for help. 

I did not even know how to start the message. I prayed in desperation. I put no confidence in my ability, education, or experience. I've preached thousands of times. I did not feel adequate to preach that night. I heard the worship leader speak words I dreaded to hear as he prayed, "Now Lord, I ask you to speak through our brother whatever you have laid on his heart." I had a text. I had no meat. No introduction, no body, nor conclusion. I just had a text and prayer that God would speak to me. 

I reluctantly walked up and stood there silently for a few moments. I opened my mouth and molten lava of truth spewed forth for the next thirty minutes. Even while preaching, the thought occurred to me that only God could inspire the things coming out of my mouth. When it ended, I bowed my head and silently thanked God for the miracle that had just occurred. I told Brenda, Tucker, Turner, and several others that only God could have done that after the service. 

The next day a lady asked me if I could give her one of the points I made in the message she missed as she took notes. I told her I could not and then explained what happened. I told her I could never preach that message again even if I wanted to because God gave it in that moment. That is not the first time He has done that. I am sure it will not be last. 

Preachers are called to study for preaching to show ourselves approved unto God. There are times when life gets in the way. It is always God who inspires, gives revelation, and empowers people to preach if their is life and fruit in the preaching or teaching. There are plenty of preachers who don't rely on God. They rely on their education  and their vast experience in preaching and teaching. They work on eloquence and carefully crafted sermons. They may appeal to the ears, but they don't ignite the soul and fire new thoughts in our minds spurring us to repent, obey, and step out in faith. None of these things produces lasting fruit or spiritual life. 

I choose to lean into God. To acknowledge my inability to produce life change in people in my ability. Only through the power of God and unction of the Holy Spirit can I be a vessel of any use. He gets the glory. I don't deserve any credit. If He ever uses me to communicate truth and people are saved, moved to repentance, or to follow Him in a deeper level, that is all Him. I am just a vessel. God once spoke through a donkey. I'm humble He called and chooses to speak through me. 

May miracles in the pulpit continue whether I have time to study or not. May He keep using me to proclaim His truth to a lost and dying world, an apathetic church age, and to those hungry for the living God. I trust Him with the results and will do my best to deflect all glory to Him. 

Two Tough Questions

 Two tough questions surfaced recently that are not so easy to answer. Both asked by hurting people who wanted answers when the church does not act like the church Jesus commissioned. Tough questions that draw attention to our flaws and fears. 

Question number one came from a person outside the faith. A person who was covered in tattoos who looked rough around the edges. This individual lived right across the street from a church. He saw people come and go most Sundays. He was often outside washing and polishing his vehicle. Nobody ever approached him. Nobody invited him to attend a service. The man got involved in drugs and other criminal behavior and eventually ended up in prison. It was in prison where he heard about Jesus and got saved. 

When he got out of prison and returned home, he asked another Christian why nobody in that church ever invited him to attend. The fellow believer could only surmise that church members were scared to approach him. They were scared off by his looks. Not a satisfactory answer. 

The second question came from a lady in poor health and her husband who is also ailing. It seems their collective health is deteriorating rapidly. The lady asked me a tough question. She asked, "Why do people hug your neck and act like they care when you are at church, but you never hear from them when we are out of church.?" She went on to say that one deacon and I are the ONLY ones to ever call to check on them when they miss. Both have fallen multiple times recently and it would seem the days of their consistent attendance are in the past. Do they only matter when they sit in seats during a worship service?

I know that people in churches check on one another they are close to. People on the fringes often get neglected and forgotten. This shows another weakness in churches. We are supposed to care about everyone in the body of Christ. I do my best, but I often miss lonely and needy people who need comfort and support. When we notice people are missing we need to take the initiative to check on them. 

These tough questions are not easy to answer. People die and go to hell because we are too fearful to approach them. People are forsaken by the church because they are not popular, not wealthy, nor even faithful in attendance. It is easy to feel like nobody cares. Like you don't really matter. 

Churches, we can do better. First of all, God has not given us a spirit of fear {II Tim 1:7] We must trust God for the courage to approach even the most unlovable, unapproachable, and most resistant to hear the good news of Jesus. Jesus also said that when we did good deeds for one of the least of these it was as if we did it unto Him. We have to do better. Eternity hangs in the balance. 

Not Perfect

 I just proofed something I wrote for our church newsletter. I found a typo. I am sure there have been numerous others. I do proof these blogs before I post them. I do try to get it right. The fact is I am not perfect. That is not a surprise to anyone who knows me. Here is another sobering truth. None of us are perfect. We are perfectly flawed and imperfect people. 

We make mistakes. We fail. We stumble. We crumble under pressure. We make poor decisions. We don't always follow through on promises. We misrepresent the truth. We do things we don't want to do and don't do things we should do. To break it down we sin. I am not suggesting that everything we do is sin. We do sin. We break God's laws. We are imperfect. People who are perfectionist have a hard time with not being perfect. These are the people who don't like red marks on their papers indicating they got the answers wrong. These are the people who stress themselves out trying to keep up the appearance of perfection. It is bone wearying act of pretense. 

None of us are perfect. I am not suggesting this gives us a license to sin. I'm only suggesting that we not beat ourselves up when we fail. We should be sorrowful, regret our actions, and repent. I Jn 1:9 is a wonderful promise for repentant people. When we don't get it right every time. I'm thrilled that God has grace for sinners and mess ups like me. The volume of my sin is large. Those sins include the ones before Jesus saved me and the multitude of sins since He saved me. He has not given up on me. I don't think He ever will. Why? Read Romans 8:35-39. These verses remind us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not even our imperfection. 

It is a mind boggling truth that God loves imperfect people. His word is filled with the stories of imperfect people He redeemed. Abraham lied. Sarah doubted. Jacob deceived. Moses murdered. Rahab was a prostitute. Saul disobeyed a command of God and lied. He was also jealous. David was an adulterer and murderer. Elijah feared and doubted. Peter disowned Jesus. Paul was a terrorist. All imperfect people whom God loved and forgave. He will do the same for you. 

The Pencil

 A reporter once asked Mother Theresa about the secret to her success. Her response was not what the reporter expected. She reported that she started her day with prayer at 4:30 a.m. Then she told him she was just like a pencil. Here is her full response, "I don't claim anything of the work. It is all His work. I am like a little pencil in His hand., that is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil only has to be allowed to be used."

As followers of Jesus we are like pencils. We are just instruments in His hands. Vessels through whom He works through. It is not up to us to dream grandiose dreams of what we want to do. It is up to us to be available and to remain in the Master's hands. We let Him write His story and the role we play in that story. He plots the drama and we remain in His hands to write it out. 

There are many Christians who desire to play prominent roles. That is not our choice to make. He chooses the parts. We submit and are to remain faithful whether He uses us to do something significant, or whether He calls us to remain faithful in a more obscure role. We are all working together for the same purpose. To advance His kingdom and to glorify Him in the process. 

The reminder of the pencil alleviates the need for striving to get ahead and climb to the top. We are to submit. To surrender our will to His will and allow Him to write His plans through us. Yielding is not a posture that comes easy for many of us. We are doers, movers, and shakers. Yielding and submitting take us completely out of the driver's seat. We are passengers on this journey. Jesus is behind the wheel steering our lives and the end destination. 

The story of the pencil reminds me of what Jesus told His disciples in Matt 16:24. If we want to come after Him, we are called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and to follow Him. Each of those actions require submission. We don't always get to do what we want or even what we think is best. For instance, twice last week Brenda and I were out eating. Each time she looked at me and said, "I think God wants us to buy those people's meal." Both times I had already thought the same thing. Now, I am not saying we are rich. Our finances get stretched like a rubber band sometimes. Nor am I saying we are poor. In one case, two additional people joined the party of four we were paying for. Brenda and I looked at each other and said it is only money. God can make up the difference. We high fived and told the waitress our plan. That is just a part of what denying yourself looks like. Recently, I cast vision for a project at the church requiring us to raise $15,000. I had saved my money for months. I get a weekly allowance and I scrimped and saved. I am not saying it was a great deal of money to most, but it was to me. God prompted me to empty my wallet and to be the first to give to the project. 

Taking up the cross involves suffering. Most of us prefer to avoid suffering at all cost. Sometimes following Jesus leads us to suffering or to minister to the suffering like it did for Mother Theresa. Brothers and sisters we must not mind a little suffering when our own Savior suffered on the cross. 

Following Jesus could lead us anywhere. A little over a year ago He moved us to the Panhandle of Texas. Sometimes I catch myself thinking," I can't believe we live here. " Two years before we moved I got the sense that God was not only going to move us, but that He was going to move us to the Panhandle of Texas. The story is famous around here now, but I did not pursue this church. They contacted me. Someone sent my resume to them without ever telling me or asking my permission. In a phone interview with the search committee the last thing I told them was, "Don't ever contact me again unless you are convinced I am God's choice for your church." I did not hear from them again for five months. They did contact me to tell me I was their top candidate. Now you know the rest of the story. Being a pencil in the hand of God meant moving up north in the state of Texas to serve a church who experienced more hurt in the past ten years than any church I had ever heard of before. God chose to set Brenda and I in the middle of their pain to be pencils for God to write out a ministry of healing. 

I'm grateful for the lesson of the pencil. I hope you found it helpful. All we have to do is remain available to the Master and remain in His hands. He does the thinking and the writing. We are just vessels. 

The Fragrance of Worship

 I estimate that I have preached over 5,000 sermons. That means I've been in over 5,000 worship services as a preacher. I sat in many before I ever started preaching. If I were honest, I cannot say that really did worship in all of them. Some of them I prayed for direction for a message. Others I thought about the flow of worship and if it seemed the congregation was tracking. There were times when my mouth sang the words to songs, but my heart was somewhere else. There were occasions where my broken heart held me back from worship. 

There have been special worship encounters over the past three and a half decades. Times when I sang with such intensity and longing that I thought my heart would burst out of my chest. There have also been numerous private prayer encounters with the Lord when no one could see me get lost in the art of adoration. Some of my favorite worship encounters occurred in the prayer closet and not in a crowded sanctuary. 

I read about a worship encounter that was more intense than anything I have ever experienced. You can read about that encounter yourself in John 12:3. Jesus was invited to supper at Martha's and Mary's house. Lazarus was also in attendance fresh of his resurrection from the dead encounter with the Lord. Mary stole the show though. 

She took 16 ounces of very costly perfume. Instead squirting a few shots on herself to smell good for the dinner guests she anointed the feet of Jesus with it. She even went a step further. She bent over his feet and used her hair as a towel. What a sight that must have been. She had no regard for herself. She lavished love onto the feet of Jesus in a beautiful act of worship. Let your mind take in that scene. See her act of worship. Listen to the sounds of the others in the room. Don't forget to smell the fragrance of worship in the room. That aroma must have permeated the area letting others get in on the worship experience as well. 

Not everyone was pleased with the extravagant act of worship. That hypocrite Judas commented that the perfume could have been sold to help the poor. His real intentions were to embezzle the money as he done with other money entrusted to him as the treasurer. Some people are put off by sincere worship. David's wife Michael certainly was when David danced before the Lord bringing the ark of the covenant back to the capitol city. 

We are challenged to give God more worship. No matter what it costs us or how extravagant others might think it is. The only audience that matters in worship is God and Jesus. They are the audience. What people think is irrelevant. They should not be watching anyway, and wouldn't be if they were absorbed in adoring God themselves. We may not break expensive perfume out in worship, but the fragrance of our love should fill the room. The fragrance of worship is a sweet aroma to our Savior who deserves it. Let the fragrance saturate our prayer rooms and fill our places of worship. Because we have been forgiven much let us love and worship much. 

God Bless America

 No doubt you have heard that the United States is celebrating 250 years of our nationhood. That is a great accomplishment. This nation has endured and survived a lot during those 250 years. A revolutionary war to win our independence. A civil war. Two world wars. Other wars helping other nations. Multiple wars on terror. An attack on Pearl Harbor and on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. We survived a great depression, multiple down turns in the economy, the assassination of presidents, and other influential leaders. 

In comparison to other countries, we are but a toddler. China has existed for 5,000 years and the ancient roots of Israel goes back 3,000 years. We are still wet behind the ears as a nation. Even the Roman Empire lasted 2,779 years. I contemplated all this and then I considered the fall of the Roman Empire. What contributed to their fall?

Rome faced economic crisis largely related to financing continuous wars which drained the treasury. Our Secretary of War just asked congress for $80 billion to finance the Iran War. Couple that with the billions spent on the Ukraine War and actions taken in Venezuela and Cuba, and you wonder if we are not headed down the same path. Rome also had an instable government ripe with corruption. They had 20 different emperors over the span of 75 years. Some were assassinated. Others were weak. Those emperors reigned on average 3.75 years. You see the presidential election cycles of the past nine years. Our own government is filled with fraud and corruption. Rome also faced division as the empire was too large to govern efficiently. The United States is divided politically, racially, philosophically, and morally in ways I've never seen before. There was also morale decay rampant in Rome just like in the United States. Enemies invaded Rome helping to bring it down. We have tens of millions in this country illegally who have not been vetted. Some came here will ill motives. America must return to God. 

I love our country, but I'm concerned. We have turned so far from God. The vast majority seem unwilling and uninterested in repentance. Without God's protection and help we are a doomed nation. We may celebrate 250 years, but I find it hard to believe that 250 years from now America will celebrate 500. It most likely is a mute point. The Second Coming of Jesus is imminent in my belief. 

I am sure we will hear the songs God Bless America and God Bless the USA many times over the next week. How can God bless a nation that has forsaken Him. A nation that has allowed the murder of millions of babies through abortions. Sanctioned homosexual marriage. Allow murders and rapist to go free after committing these horrible crimes. How can God bless a nation that allows children to be mutilated in transgendered surgeries, grooms little ones in libraries with sexually deviant people, allows children to be sex trafficked and the guilty not to be held accountable to walk free to continue their pedophilia activities. This nation bows in worship to the gods of sex, sports, and satanic influenced entertainment. We are heading toward a collision of judgment with God. He did not spare His covenant people Israel. I do not believe He will spare us after all He done for us. I cannot sing God bless America. I do hope and pray God will have mercy on us and that His kindness will lead us to repentance as a nation before it is too late. 

Who Has the Most Followers

The World Cup is in full swing. It is the largest sporting event in the world. Like one commentator put it, it is like 78 Super Bowls back to back to back. I was wondering who had the most followers on social media. Cristiano Ronaldo has 666 million followers on Instagram. I'm not making that up. Coming in second is Lionel Messi with 508 million followers. That is a lot of followers. I don't really know what a social media influencer is, but I would think both of these guys qualify. Both men are devout Roman Catholics who give God the glory for their soccer talents and successes. Messi has a tattoo of Jesus on his thigh wearing a crown of thorns. Ronaldo says he attends church each week. 

That got me to wondering. How many followers does Jesus have today? 2.4 billion. Now I am not saying they are all devout followers. Some only follow in word and not in actions. There is no doubt about it. The Lord Jesus Christ is the most influential historical figure who ever lived without equal. He influences literature, the arts, entertainment, music, education, and on and on. There are over 4 million churches world wide. The Bible has sold over 6 billion copies and holds the Guinness Book World Record for the best selling book of all time. Jesus Christ is more than a social media influencer. He is a history influencer. A world influencer. He influences billions of individuals on a daily basis. 

I wish that could be said for all of His followers. Mixed in the multitudes are a host of apathetic, hypocritical, legalistic, power hungry, and insincere people who identify as Christians. There are more holy, loving, compassionate, and gracious followers of Jesus The faithful pastors get marred when a minority number of pastors fail in morale disgrace. That is not true of every pastor. Not even the majority of them. The few give the rest a bad reputation. The same for the unfaithful followers of Jesus who disgrace the faithful followers. When the people of God are devoted to prayer, remain on mission, and all in following they too influence people and communities around them. May our families of faith be a part of that bunch. Groups who influence those around us in good and wholesome ways. Like a man told me once, "May the church leave deep footprints in the sand." That is exactly what happened in the book of Acts. Read [Acts 17:6] May we turn our world upside down. 

Shredded

 Have you ever seen a paper shredder? You take your documents you do not want anyone to see or recover, and you put them through the shredding machine. Out on the other side comes dozens of tiny strips of paper. That is a great when it comes to shredding documents. Picture the same outcome only this time it is a person's heart. Not shredded with a machine. Shredded with words. 

The hearts of many people get shredded by sharp-tongue verbal vigilantes. They rip hearts apart with brutal and careless words. People are wounded by machete like words that pierce, cut, and dice the heart and the soul. Sometimes this happens by the very people who claim to love the ones they wound. 

Social media can add insult to injury. People pile on with hateful, insensitive, and cruel words they typically do not have the courage to speak to a person's face. They shred more than hearts. They can shred the psyche, the dignity, and self worth of others created in the image of God. Nobody is perfect. We all have our faults. Therefore, none of us have the right to verbally assassinate other people destroying them in the process. 

I see this in the eyes of students. They get hammered at home as well as at school in some cases. Many of the students I visit with are defeated because of the horrible things said to them or about them. It is sad. Beautiful young lives created in the image of God get shredded by adults and students alike. No wonder so many battle mental health issues. They feel like they have no worth because some are devalued by parents and peers. If they could only shut out all that noise and hear the heart of a loving Heavenly Father who created them. Here are some of the things God's word says about them taken from [Ps 139:13-16]. Our bodies, personalities, and intellect were intricately woven together with the precision of a loving Creator. God creates people with intelligent design. No two of us are alike. Each a unique and wonderful design of His wonderful imagination. God skillfully crafted us. We were not hastily or absent mindedly thrown together. Before we were ever born God saw us and knew us. More than that, He ordained the days set out for us before we ever took our first breath outside the womb. He saw this day when wounded souls would read this. 

God values His creation. So much so He sacrificed the death of His beloved Son Jesus to purchase our forgiveness and salvation. [John 3:16] God proved that love by sending Jesus to die while we were still sinners. [Romans 5:8] It is true none of us are perfect. It is also true that we are loved and valued by our God. He is also near to those who are brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. [Psalm 34:18-19]. If people shred us, it is God who binds our wounded hearts back together. His opinion should matter more than all the shredders of this earth. We have wroth to Him. 

Dear wounded one. Go to your Father and let Him love you back to health. Let Him warm you in His compassion. Let Him soothe the wounds until they are whole again. He does not shred. He loves, consoles, restores, and rebuilds. 

Increase My Faith

There is a picture of a map hanging on my wall with these words inscribed, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders." I need increased faith for my life's journey, ministry, and to pursue God ordained dreams for the future. Increased faith is not increased intellectualism. It is more than knowledge. Increased faith is not increased wishing. It is more than wishing for things to come true. 

Increased faith is growing belief, it is trusting in the tough times, and it is taking God at His word. Increased faith is refusing to be daunted by challenging circumstances. It is believing what God says over what our eyes tell us. To increase faith we must endure some trials along the way. We must learn in the laboratory of life that God is faithful. We stand in trust because we are grounded in truth. God does not lie. He does what He says He will do. 

If I want God to increase my faith, I invite Him to stretch my faith way beyond where I am comfortable. To lead me to impossible situations where I'm challenged to trust Him for improbable outcomes. To behold His miraculous intervention. That is when He gets the most glory. Like Moses at the Red Sea. Like Israel in the wilderness crying out for water and it flowing out of a rock. Like David fearlessly facing down a giant with a sling and stones. Like Elijah digging a trench and pouring water on the sacrifice and trusting God to send the fire. Like Jesus telling people to remove the stone from the tomb for his dead friend Lazarus. 

Increased steps of faith often happen on the wrong side of logic. Increased faith steps are often irrational. That should not deter me. Naysayers will try to sow doubt. Satan will spread fear. Increased faith overcomes those tactics. Increased faith looks at mountains as molehills. Increased faith stands firm when others flee in cowardice. I want to live with increased faith no matter how steep the price required to get it. The amazing adventures that follow will glorify our God and that is the reason I exist. 

What Do You Miss Most

I had the privilege of ministering to one of our widows this morning. She is a treasure. A rare jewel of a person aging alone without her spouse, but she is not a bitter lady. She is classy. She is delightful, interesting, and joyful. I promised her months ago I would come see her. Today was the day. We sat at her dining room table and visited for an  hour and a half. 

She and her husband were married for 63 years. I have not even reached the age of 63. He died in 2019. I asked her at one point what she missed about him the most. Her answer surprised me. She replied misty eyed, "I miss his touch." She lives alone. She is faithful in attendance among a group of other widows in our church. I often stop by their class on Sunday mornings to visit. Those ladies are important to me. Very important. 

As I thought about daily routines, it became apparent to me that she probably never gets physical touch from her class. I've never seen the ladies in her class hug one another. Does she ever get a hug? A pat on the back? Do people shake her hand?  Then I thought about my own life. Brenda and I usually kiss in the mornings and at night before going to sleep. We hug nearly everyday. There are others in the church who refuse to shake hands preferring hugs instead. I shake hands with multiple people during the week. Physical touch is built into rhythms of life. 

The saintly senior lady I visited today does not have that. While she did not say so, I imagine her missing holding hands with her husband. Periodically Brenda and I hold hands during the night. Something this precious lady does not get to experience. She does not enjoy the soft tender peck on the cheek or a quick kiss just to say I love you without words. She does not get any tender strokes on her cheeks nor does she get enjoy a quick hug. She lives a touch free life for the most part. 

Multiple times she choked back tears as we visited about her late husband. He was an interesting gentleman. I wish I could have met him.  63 years is a long time to share life with someone and then that person to be snatched away. 63 years of little day to day touches. A shoulder rub. An Eskimo kiss. Walking arm in arm. 

I left that visit with two take aways. First,  I want to make the most of the moments I have with Brenda. I know those times will not last forever. Either the Lord will take one of us home first, or Jesus will rapture us. The second take away is I need to remember how meaningful a handshake, a pat on the back or a hug might mean to someone who never gets any physical touch. I know this is a sticky topic in this day and time. There is such a thing as inappropriate touching. I certainly want to steer clear of that. On the other hand, God might use me and you to be the hands of Jesus to minister through simple human touch to other hurting and lonely people. Something as simple as human touch is something many of us take for granted everyday. May this be a reminder to keep watch for those who could use a little Jesus with skin on..