Available and Surrendered

 Are you available to God? Are you surrendered to Him? We live in a culture of compartmentalized Christianity. People will focus on God for corporate worship gatherings and Bible studies. During the work week they put God on the back burner prioritizing other things. It is a rare thing to see people available to God and surrendered to Him. 

To be available means to be ready for immediate use. More specifically for our purpose to be ready for immediate use to God. Somewhere there are hurting lonely people. I made a pastoral visit today to a widower. He told me after his caretaker leaves around noon, that he stares at the same four walls. He reads until he falls asleep or gets bored with reading. He watches a little television. He spends the majority of his life alone with his aging dog. He has outlived many people at age 95. Who is available to stop by for a visit to people like him? Who is available to care enough to listen? Who is ready to be put into service for those others have forgotten. Who is available to help the needy? Who is available to teach little children the stories of Jesus? Who is ready for immediate use to work around your church? Who is ready for immediate use to love the unlovable? These are needed and many other places to minister? 

Who is surrendered? Surrendered means to give up control. For this context it means giving up control of our lives for Jesus to have full control. It is raising the white flag as we yield to Him. People like control. They want to control their own lives. A true Christian has been bought with the blood of Jesus and is no longer his or her own. I Corinthians 6:20 We need to yield to His will over our own. This is a hard fight for many people. They want to be in control. They do not want to submit to anyone. In light of what Jesus did for us on the cross, surrender is the only viable option. We need to adopt the attitude of Romans 12:1 where we lay our lives down on the altar of God. Many a person has rebelled against God. They have resisted surrender with all their hearts. This usually does not end well for the rebellious. Tragically it could end in eternal damnation if a person rebels against God to their dying day without a saving relationship with Jesus. 

Hebrews 11:7-40 gives a list of people who lived available and surrendered. Their exploits are summarized. This is a kind of Hall of Fame for people of faith. What might God do through us if we did the same? What kind of legacy of faith could we leave behind? Nobody will ever know if we choose the route of unavailability and resistance. God is looking for available people not just abled people. He is looking for surrendered people who give up control of their lives. The results are left up to God what He chooses to do with our availability and surrender. I bet it will be for His glory.  

It Never Gets Old

 I preached a hard sermon yesterday morning distinguishing between a church member and a disciple. We had our son Taylor and wife Abby in town for the weekend. After the service, I had a short meeting with our deacons. Brenda interrupted that meeting with the news that I had someone in my office who needed to talk to me. I finished up my meeting and strolled to the office where I found a young mother and her daughter. 

I queried what the nature of our visit was about. Her reply, "I'm tired of not being close to God. I want to get back to Him." Upon further examination, it turned out she had never been saved. Her and her husband have been through a lot the past several years. They lost their home in wildfires in 2024. Her husband got sick and was hospitalized and out of work for several months. Our church rallied around them in several ways including giving them food. 

This young lady was not saved. I explained to her the gospel message and invited her to ask Jesus to save her. She wanted to be saved and asked for it. Jesus did the rest. She wept as I shared with her the truth of Luke 15:7 which declares there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over 99 people who do not need to repent. This news caused her to weep even more. It was a beautiful time. 

That is what it is all about. Children of wrath becoming children of God. Those dead in their trespasses are made alive spiritually in Jesus. Sons and daughters of disobedience are transformed because God is rich in mercy and grace. Ephesians 2:1-5

That never gets old. I got to be a part of the same things a couple of Wednesday nights ago with a junior high young man who cried out to Jesus to save him. He had tears in his eyes afterward also. It never gets old watching Jesus change lives. I wish we got to see it more often. We celebrate those salvations with the ordinance of baptism. I love it when the baptism is full of water and we rejoice with the newly saved who go under the water. IT NEVER GETS OLD. I wish we saw it happen every week. 

God is working on people right now. He told us the harvest was plentiful in Matthew 9:37. He also said in that verse that the workers are few. We must keep telling the good news. We must keep introducing people to Jesus. We must obey the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 to keep making disciples. There are plenty of people who still do not know the way of salvation. May the Lord use us to tell the truth of the gospel. May the Lord saving people never get old for any of us. 

Vomit

 Brenda and I have been watching our son Tanner's dog for a couple of months, while he coaches college football and finishes up his course work for his Master's Degree in December. It has been an adventure. This week Brenda fed Buster one evening. I took him outside to use the restroom not long afterward. Buster likes you to stay outside with him and watch. Who wants someone watching when you go to the restroom? Buster does. He also likes to show off. When he is done, he starts running figure eights in the backyard. 

After a few laps, I let him back inside panting and proud of himself. Then things turned ugly. Without warning he started hacking and vomited a mound of freshly eaten food. He walked a few feet away toward Brenda's chair and vomited another mound which seemed like Mount Saint Helens. Our whole marriage Brenda has had a hard time cleaning up any vomit. She starts to gag and comes close to vomiting herself. Over the years that was my job with our sons. It is gross. The smell putrid. Nobody likes dealing with vomit. I made myself get in there and clean up Buster's regurgitated dinner so Brenda did not have to do it. Trust me, it was not a heroic act. I would not have done it, but God convicted me to do so. 

Revelation 3:16 calls the church of Laodicea out for being lukewarm. The New American Standard version reads that Jesus spit them out of His mouth. The phrase spit out literally means vomit. There is a lot that goes on these days in the lives of Christians and in churches that makes Jesus sick to His stomach. This Laodicean church age makes Jesus want to vomit. 

What passes for Christianity today is a far cry from the Bible. The masses prefer a comfortable Christianity. They stiffen and resist against total surrender, full devotion, and the crucified life all of which are Biblical. People embrace casual commitment, sloppy service, and listening to sermons they never intend to live out. It makes Jesus vomit. There is no use sugar coating it. 

Jesus called the Laodicean church to repent. We are just as guilty as they were and just as in need of repentance as they were. Who will call out this sin saturated society? Who will boldly step into the pulpit and preach messages of repentance that pierce and penetrate petrified hearts? While some boast about their attendance and offerings, who is cleaning up the vomit of Jesus because sanctuaries are filled with lukewarm, apathetic, and hypocritical members? 

We are held to the standard of God's word. That word has been watered down to make it easier to accept. Tickling of the ears the Bible calls it. We are entering into crucial times when the crucified Christ must be proclaimed. The truth of discipleship demands must also be declared fearlessly. If your love for Jesus is boiling over with passion, I applaud you. If you are cold hearted, you need to be revived with fire to warm your heart. If you are lukewarm, it makes Jesus nauseous. Repentance is in order. Do we really want to make Jesus vomit? 

Surprise Visit

 Do you like it when surprise visitors show up at your home unexpected. Many are embarrassed because the house is not as tidy as they would like for visitors coming over. Dishes may be in the sink. Beds may not be made. If they had known the visitors were coming, they would have prepared. They would have gotten things in order. The surprise caught them unaware. 

There is another surprise visitor coming I'm thinking about. It is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. Billions of people will be caught unaware. Prophets and preachers have warned people for millennials that Jesus will return and people should get their spiritual life in order. Some mock such preaching. II Pet 3:3 predicted this would happen. In fact, II Pet 3:4-10 informs that God counts time differently than we do. He is patient wanting more people to turn to Jesus for salvation. Heed this warning. Jesus will return like a thief in the night when people least expect it. 

Millions of Christians will suddenly disappear in an event called the rapture. It literally means that people will be snatched out of this planet. Billions will be left behind trying to figure out what happened. That is bad enough, but what will happen in the next seven years of tribulation will be tragic. Masses will die in ascending judgments of God. God will hurl one horrific event after another on people who defied Him and His laws. It will be unlike anything this earth has ever seen or will ever see. The full furry of God will be released on those who are left behind. 

It is my opinion that we are speeding toward that day of Jesus' surprise visit at breakneck speed. For those who know Him as Savior, it will be a welcome day. A happy reunion. A day of triumph. For those who do not believe in Jesus, it will be a tragic day followed by cataclysmic events that will increase suffering multiplied times more than our worst imaginations. 

I want everyone who reads this to be ready for Jesus' surprise visit. If you are one of those who needs to get things right with the Lord, let me challenge you to contact a local pastor, Christian family member, friend, or read the following verses to know what to do. Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9. It is as simple as ABC. Admit that you have sinned and need forgiveness. Believe Jesus died on a cross to take the punishment for people and rose again from the grave. Confess with your mouth your need of salvation and make Jesus Lord of your life. He will do the rest. 

A Voice

 There is a popular tv show called The Voice. I have never watched it. I think it is about finding new and gifted vocalists. That is not the point of this post. I'm not interested who can sing well for fame and fortune. I'm focused on God sending a voice. To raise a prophet who will declare His word fearlessly to a hard hearted generation. 

We need a voice and not an echo. If you listen closely enough to some preachers, you can tell what books they have been reading and what other preachers they are listening to preach. They are echoes. We need a voice of one who sits before God, hears from Him about messages, and puts fire in his soul to deliver them. These prophets only echo God. 

Preachers like to tickle the ears because it boosts the crowds and the offerings. Let a fire branded man of God thunder truth from the pulpit, and the crowd thins as well as the collections. This terrifies the hireling shepherd who is careful not to offend people. The prophet offends everyone, especially the established religious people. Bible truth churns in his soul like molten lava ready to erupt from a volcano. Souls of men get blistered when he erupts. 

Only prophets can awaken a nation. Between the book of Malachi and Matthew God remained silent for 400 years. He did not speak nor send a prophet. The priests carried on their duties ritually without the nation turning back to God. John the Baptist came on the scene and only preached for a short time. What the priests could not do in 400 years God used the voice of one crying in the wilderness to turn the nation back to God in six months. 

John the Baptist would have a hard time getting called to any church by a search committee these days. He dressed odd, ate an odd diet, and called the revered Pharisees a brood of vipers. He preached repentance. He feared no man. He even called out the adultery of King Herod which got him arrested and eventually beheaded. His voice still echoes today, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." John 1:29 

May God raise other voices who will declare His word boldly to a lost and dying generation. May God give those voices thick skin and tender hearts. May God inspire messages that will awaken a wandering generation. We need another voice. We need thousands of voices to penetrate the petrified hearts of this world. May the Lord bring other voices crying out in the wilderness. 

Are You Making the Devil Mad?

 This sin soaked society has spurned the salvation offered by the Savior. There is no shame in the streets anymore. Behavior that should embarrass both the offenders and spectators is considered mainstream. It is not mainstream in the eyes of God and therefore not to me. The church has failed this nation. We did not keep our watch on the walls and the enemy crept in unchallenged. He has his way now, but his days are numbered according to the book of Revelation. 

The church prefers to play than to pray. We cannot even get a dozen people to show up for our Sunday night prayer meeting. There is no hunger for God. No desire to see God do more than the average religious gathering. These are sobering times calling for a sobering response from the church. We cannot out entertain the world. We cannot wow them with our cutting edge technology. We can't push back the darkness over our communities with clever circus gimmicks. We can't fight the forces of darkness with weapons of flesh. According to II Cor 10:3-5 we do have weapons and they are powerful. So powerful they can be used to destroy forces the enemy has built. What are these weapons you may ask?

First, there is prayer. I'm not talking about the wish list prayer. I'm talking about spiritual warfare where we fight back against the devil. This means strapping on the armor of God and battling in fervent intercessions. This kind of praying takes a toll. You will become a target of demonic attacks. Satan does not want the people of God to take prayer seriously. He does not want to see the church on her knees pleading for God to tear down what Satan has built. 

Secondly, we have the weapon of fasting. Prayer and fasting go hand in hand. I seriously doubt if the majority of church members have ever fasted other than for a medical procedure. There is something about denying ourselves food and taking that time we would have devoted to eating and using it for extended prayer. This somehow moves God more than just prayer itself. Fasting can be a powerful weapon. 

The third weapon is God's word. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He fought back against Lucifer with scripture. One of the most powerful thing we can do is quote scripture against the adversary. He may go about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, but he is toothless when scripture is brought against him. Especially if you connect scripture and prayer. 

There is also the weapon of evangelism. If Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy according to John 10:10, then it must anger him each time another person is saved. We are commanded to share the good news of the gospel. Matt 28:19-20 Far too many Christians are tight lipped and dry eyed when it comes to lost souls. I believe in a literal place called hell. I warned our students about that place last week. Two young men indicated that Jesus saved them after that study. One talked to me with tears in his eyes. Satan hates that he lost another one. I love it. I rejoice along with the angels in heaven. Luke 15:7 I want to do all I can to make the devil mad every chance I get. That means sharing Jesus with more people and more getting saved. He has won some battles with me. Suckered punched me with temptations when I least expected it and was vulnerable. I've wised up to his tactics. Not that I am perfect, but I am focused to oppose him and stand firm against him. Eph 6:10-12 

We are in a war. The devil is working night and day to destroy everything and everyone God is building. We cannot just offer him no resistance. Imagine what would happen if every Christian on this planet decided to make the devil mad everyday of their lives. How much good could be done and how much evil could be stopped. Let me ask you, are you making the devil mad?

In the Quiet Hour

 We wait for God in the quiet hour. Where outside noise is hushed. Where the still small voice of God prevails. We wait at His feet in submission to His authority over our lives. We wait patiently for Him to speak His counsel, commands, and comfort. We wait in worship. 

We are not in a hurry. We linger long in His presence for fresh encounters. Tarrying. Trusting for His touch. Expecting His presence. We long for more of Him. In the quiet hour we seek Him. We find Him when we seek with all our heart. The priceless experiences that happen in the quiet hour can't all be told. They are too reverent to speak about. 

Those sacred moments fill our souls to overflowing. We find joy and pleasure in His presence that nothing else on the earth can offer. He satisfies. He renews. He restores. Burdens are lifted. Peace is given. Wisdom is dispensed. Strength is summoned. Guidance is discovered. 

What results is the abundant life. Deep rootedness to endure life's storms. A light unto our path to guide and guard our steps. A selfless life of service wins out over selfishness. Joy that defies circumstances. Contentment that rules against always wanting more. A purposed life that is focused. In the end, well done good and faithful servant. All begin in the quiet hour. 

A Line in the Sand

 Do you really want to be a follower of Jesus? I'm not asking if you want to be a Christian. I'm not even asking if you want to be a church member. Do you want to be a follower of Jesus? If you say yes, and that is a big if, it will cost you. Maybe more than you are willing to pay. Many will follow Jesus to a certain point, and they draw a line in the sand saying no further. Where is your line in the sand? Where have you said thus far I will go but no more?

Following Jesus is not easy. It is hard. It will lead to hard decisions. It will cause you to reprioritize your life. It will lead you away from comfort. It will require you to trust Him. Many times the path He calls you to follow will not make sense to you or those around you. Is that your line in the sand at which point you quit following? 

Following Jesus most likely will lead into some form of suffering. Jesus suffered. Paul suffered. Amy Carmichael suffered. Adoniram Judson  suffered. Hudson Taylor suffered. So did Charles Spurgeon. Jonathan Edwards suffered for obeying Jesus as well as David Brainerd. If you are not familiar with these people, by all means look them up and learn from them. Some of these served the Savior in great suffering. Brainerd died a very young man in anguish from tuberculosis. We would never have heard of him if he had not come to Jonathan Edwards' home the last months of his life. Edwards found and published Brainerd's journals. I have read and benefitted from them in difficult times. 

Following Jesus can lead you to sacrifice. Not just financially. You may sacrifice living among your relatives, your reputation, and living the American dream. You may learn to live without certain things others consider a right to have. You may sacrifice food when called to fast and sleep when called to pray. Following Jesus will not always lead to prosperity. He can lead you into poverty. 

Following Jesus can lead you to a broken heart as you see and feel what He sees and feels for lost humanity. Others may criticize and revile you. Some will reject you and spread false rumors about you. Following Him may require you not to defend yourself, but to endure injustices silently. This is the example Jesus set for us going to the cross. 

Following Jesus can also lead you down a path of shattered dreams. This is painful. Some never recover. Those shattered dreams and high hopes can stagger a person to their knees. It may appear God failed some followers. It is only an appearance. The truth is He is faithful, but that faithfulness does not mean all our dreams will come true. We are on His plans. We follow His will. He does not follow us, nor is He obligated to bless all our fanciful desires. 

Where do you draw your line in the sand with the Lord? Where have you stiffened your neck, bowed your back and resisted Him and His leadership? Where have your heels dug in refusing to budge like a stubborn mule? Jesus wants and demands our obedience. It is time to step over and past the line in the sand to follow the Lord wherever He leads. 

Yearning

 There is an intense yearning in my soul for God to move. It is a hankering for His fresh wind to blow on us like the wind on a blustery day. It is a pining, an aching, a longing for Him to have His will and His way among us. It is intense. It is emotional. There is a sad pining to it because it seems so far out of reach.

 I have disdain for the run of the mill mundane worship service where God is absent and the people are apathetic. I know God can do more. So much more. He wants to do more. Many bench warmer Christians are content to play religious games rather than to yearn for fresh moves of God. 

Preachers tickle the ears because it draws a crowd. They prefer crowds of people over the presence of God. I prefer God's presence drawing a large crowd into glorious encounters with Him. I yearn to see people broken and repentant over sin. I prefer to see heavy laden pilgrims find relief as they cast those burdens on the Lord. I prefer to see the body of Christ ministering to each other as God moves mightily. I prefer revival over religious routines. I prefer souls saved over sheep swapping. 

I yearn for this nation to return to God. We are living on borrowed time. Sooner or later God will judge us harshly. I yearn to see a spiritual awakening that changes the moral climate. I yearn to see little boys and girls brought to houses of God to learn Bible truths. I had a conversation with a little tyke once who told me, "I want to come to church, but my parents won't bring me." Those little ones are open to Jesus. They love to learn about Him. THEY CAN'T BRING THEMSELVES! Pagan parents do not make it a priority. Lazy Laodicean parents do not make the effort. 

I yearn to see less people populating hell and more bound for the promise land of Heaven. People are deceived. They choose to ignore Bible truth about eternity. They love the darkness and hate the light. The Light of the world exposes their sin. There is sin. There are consequences for breaking the laws of God. There is the good news of the gospel that Jesus died to take the punishment for sin and rose again. He offers forgiveness and salvation. The masses reject His love and sacrifice. Judgment Day is coming. None will escape. There will be a day of reckoning. I yearn for people to be ready when that day comes. I yearn for all who read this to be in right relationship with Jesus before it is too late. I think God yearns for those things too. 

Seeking and Finding

Many people love Jeremiah 29:11. Some claim it as their life verse. Not so many are as familiar with verse 13. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. There is always more of God to discover. More of Him to know. More of Him to experience. Many Christian people do not seek Him very diligently. They substitute religion for the relationship. 

What does it mean to seek for God? It means to desire Him. We live in a world where desiring God falls way down on the priority list. People desire pleasure. They desire sin. People struggling in addiction desire alcohol and drugs which can only offer temporary pleasure, as do all other things on this earth. God is the ONLY ONE who can satisfy the deepest desires of our soul. Nothing else will do. Let me ask, do you desire God? Do you desire Him the most? 

When we desire God the most, His promise to us is that we will find Him. That means that we will discover Him and encounter Him. Weekly people go to a worship gathering. Some are bored. Others are thrilled. What makes the difference? Those who come with the desire to encounter God personally and discover something new about Him, find what they are seeking. God is treated like a cosmic Santa Claus for others who have no desire for Him, but do desire what He can do for them. We give Him our wish list, but are not interested in taking time to seek and find Him. That is like a demanding and ungrateful child going to a parent wanting money or a toy, but never spending time with their parent or telling them how much they love and appreciate them. 

No wonder some worship services are dry. There is little desire among the people for Him. That can include the leadership too. I bet some worship services could carry on like normal without people noticing God's absence. People know how to plan and craft services, but God is not the ultimate desire. Experts know how to create a mood with lights, music, and slick sermon presentations. None of those can ever offer what God offers in Himself. Those things are shallow imitations for the real deal. When we seek God with all our heart, God encounters happen. 

Of those who do desire God and seek Him, how many do so with all their heart? We can get so distracted. Pulled in so many directions. Between emails, phones, deadlines, appointments, chasing kids, and overloaded work demands, when is there time for God? Even when we make time, do we halfheartedly go through the motions of devotions and prayer? 

If we want to know God, we must desire Him and take steps to seek Him. How? If we read our Bibles out of duty, we probably don't get much out of it. If we read them like God's love letter to us, we are much more likely to discover Him in the pages. That is exactly what happened to me today with Jeremiah 29:13. It was in my Bible reading and inspired this article. 

I have been on a search and find mission with God for several decades now. I wish I could describe the deep God encounters I've had during that time. I wish I could tell you how many times God met me at my point of need. The times He comforted in confusion. The times He provided when funds were insufficient. The time He met me by a lake, in the mountains, or on a beach in FL. Those are God encounters I recall fondly. I also can remember searching for Him in a puddle of tears at a youth camp on my face broken. There are times that I can't even pray. I just sit basking in His presence like a person would sit in the sun basking in the rays. Prayer is sweet. Worship becomes more meaningful when you seek God with all your heart. I am confident you will find Him. 

30 Minute Message

 I am committed to sitting before the Lord asking what He wants to say to His people each week. That is not the easy way. It was so much easier when God allowed me to preach successively through different books of the Bible. I still do that for the class I teach on Sunday mornings and our midweek Bible study. I did not even ask Him about the next message except when I finished one book and started another. I justified my behavior because it is all His word. So I would just study the next section of scriptures week after week. 

God put a halt to that for the Sunday morning sermon. I don't know why. I just yield to Him without an explanation. I trust He knows best. Every week I give significant time to asking Him what He wants to say to His people? Some weeks He inspires the passage and the message early. Other times it is a taxing process. Like last week. He did not reveal the passage until I was driving home from watching our son coach the Wayland Baptist University football team. It was a two hour drive home. I turned the radio off and pleaded with God give me a message for the people the following morning. He did around 9:00 p.m. an hour into the trip. 

I started praying early this week. Nothing on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I dedicated Thursday to prayer to receive the message to preach on Sunday. I prayed in my office. I spent a good deal of time in the prayer room. I prayed again in my office. Frustrated I received nothing. I questioned why God did not speak to me. I shared my frustrations with few church members when they asked about my day. 

I went to bed exhausted last night. Friday is supposed to be my day off, though I usually come into the office anyway. I awoke at 2:45 a.m. I made my way to my home office. Somewhere in the night a passage came to me. I looked it up, grabbed a pen and notepad, and started scribbling furiously. In 30 minutes, I had the message down. I sat before the Lord humbled and grateful. He reminded me again that He does not need multiple hours to inspire His message for His people. He wants my submission and patience to wait on Him. He wants my trust to remain assured He will come through. Even if I have to wait until I walk up to the pulpit. He knows far better than I what the people need. 

It is a fresh word for Sunday. I have a great deal of expectation for God to move mightily Sunday. I expect brokenness, repentance, restoration, and revived hope. I expect God encounters to happen. I know it did for me in the wee hours of the morning. May God glorify Himself through that 30 minute miracle message. 

Death to America

 Death to America is a saying heard around the world by radical Muslims. It's something you might expect to hear in Iran both before and after the war. Would you expect to hear it from a senatorial candidate in the United States. That is exactly what came out of the lips of a Muslim candidate for senate in a mosque. He stated the quiet part out loud. There are segments of society living in this country, benefitting from the freedoms this country provides and protected by the military and law enforcement this country provides, who hate us. They want to see us destroyed. Muslims have a plan to infiltrate every fabric of our society and to take us over without bloodshed. They oppose the infidels, as we are labeled. The United States is not a perfect country. 

We are no longer the pure nation we were at our birth, but rather polluted with sin. This nation has indulged in the blessings and protection God provided and denied His existence. We have broken every law like Sodom and Gomorrah did. They did not have a Bible, a church, nor a preacher. God destroyed them anyway. America has millions of copies of Bibles. Most sit dusty on shelves or tables and are not read. Even fewer are obeyed. We have hundreds of thousands of churches. We have about as many preachers, though some are charlatans. Homosexuality and transgenderism dominate political ideology. Tens of millions of babies have been murdered in the name of convenience and choice. God is not mocked. Gal 6:7-8. There will be a payday for America some day. Perhaps God has blinded the eyes of Americans to the invasion taking place right underneath our noses. 

We just celebrated the 250th birthday of America. The way things are going I'm skeptical if we will celebrate 300 or 350. I won't be alive to see either. My sons and future grandchildren could be. I want to see America revived and spared a little longer. I want to see the masses turn to Jesus for salvation. I want to see the church revived and become powerful influences in their communities. I want to see the people of God stand up and keep Muslims out of public office. We are one nation under God indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all. God, Jehovah, Yahweh created this nation on religious freedom. Not by Islam or Mohammad. 

Apathetic Christians and citizens have allowed this nation to be taken from within. We did not kneel and prayerfully protect this nation. We did not stand when laws were legislated that broke the laws of God. We ignored ideologies that oppose God and His commands to our own detriment. People also chant in our streets, "Death to Israel." It is politically correct to be pro-Palestinian. We have become fools. The day we turn our backs on our allies Israel, God's covenant chose people, is the day you will see God work against us. 

We need to repent turning back to God before it is too late. God is only so tolerant. He is patient to a point. There will be a time when God says, "Enough!" He will call His church home. Ironically many church members will remain and miss the rapture because they were not true believers. The Great Tribulation will begin. Seven years of the most horrific judgments of God this planet has ever seen will pummel those left behind. Massive loss of lives will follow. A one world leader will gain popularity and prominence. He is identified as the anti-Christ. He will order people to worship Satan from whom he derives power. He will execute those who refuse to take the mark of the beast. That mark of the beast will be part of a one world economy where people will not be able to purchase goods and services without it. 

Death to America is only the beginning. Without a turning back to God, the USA's days are numbered. Does anyone care. People are not even motivated to vote. I can understand why. Liars, greedy, scandalous, and deceivers sit in political offices. They rob us blind while lining their pockets with lobbyist's money. We are way past our prime in America. We have offended God over and over again. How much more will He stomach before judging this rebellious and stiff necked nation? He judged His people Israel when they turned away from Him. It might be Muslims saying death to America now, but one day it could be God Himself. May God give more mercy and time to turn back to Him. 

Discouraged?

 I wonder if there are any of you feeling discouraged. Perhaps you have lost your confidence. Maybe you have been told you are not good enough or what you do is not good enough. It could be that some of you have failed and you are struggling to pick up the pieces of shattered dreams. Your failures have left you with little courage to face tomorrow. 

It could be that you are feeling hopeless. Prayer has not worked. Church has not offered what you sought. It appears God failed you. People may have forsaken you and you are left treading water alone, but sinking fast. No matter how hard you try it feels like you are falling further behind. Hit with one trial after another. 

In your discouraged state, giving up seems like a viable option. Trying to pick yourself up for the umpteenth times feels too hard. Faith feels fragile. God seems distant. Giving up and giving in is the easy road of least resistance. Internal conversations only fuel more discouraging thoughts. 

There is a verse in Galatians 6:9 that fuel a smidgen of hope today. It starts out with the phrase, "Let us not lose heart." That means let us not become weak, weary, or lack courage. In other words, let us not be discouraged. There are so many things that make us lose heart. There are financial struggles, relational struggles, struggles with sin, struggles with work, and sadly even struggles in churches. How could Paul write not to lose heart when so many things around us do make us lose heart. There is more of the verse to be examined to answer that question. 

The next phrase is, "in doing good for in due time." How many of us are patient people? Most of us don't like waiting. Farmers are different. They have learned patience. They know there is a season to plow. A season to plant. A season to wait for crops to grow and be ready to be harvested. There is also a season to harvest crops. As you face discouragement, let me ask you to consider what season you are in. Seasons come and go. The farmer would be foolish to think he could plant one day and harvest the next day. There is an incubation period. Perhaps you are in that period. You are waiting on God to show up. There is great encouragement in John 5:17. That verse states that God is always working. We can't always see what He is doing. When the time is right, God will come through. 

The last phrase of that verse is, "we will reap if we do not grow weary." That means we will see God be faithful if we do not give up. If we do not quit. I've learned that quitting is easier than finishing. Life can be a grind. Prayer can be grind. You can pour your soul out day after day and see no response from God. You can labor until exhaustion and not get any further ahead. Satan will always want us to live discouraged and entertain quitting. God calls us to be finishers. We never know when God is going to show up and do something amazing. We must persevere. I'm not saying that is easy. Like I said earlier, quitting is easier than finishing. Giving up on God. Giving up on church. Giving up on family. Giving up on friends. Giving up on the job. Giving up on yourself. 

If you persist, keep plodding, keep trusting, and keep bringing your discouraged heart to God, He will come through. It may not be when you want Him too or even how you want Him too. I have lived this out too long to give up on God. 

Last week I was eating dinner with a man. I was reminded of having lunch with this same man six months ago. He was discouraged. Lower than a snake's belly. Everything that came out of his mouth was doubt and defeat. God has changed things in this man's life in a significant way. I asked him if he was teachable. He assured me he was. I reminded him about that lunch when he doubted God and was so defeated. He remembered that. I asked him to consider what all God has done for him since that day. He acknowledged that God has come through. What God did for that man He can do for any of us. I urge you to keep Galatians 6:9 close to your heart and mind. Cling to it when you are discouraged. Remind yourself that you are in a season. Seasons come and go. Your season of encouragement could be just around the corner. 

An Open Door

 How many doors have you walked through today? I just did a count and I came up with 20 and counting. We take doors for granted. They can be used for three things. First, they shut things out. One of the last things we do in our family before going to bed is to make sure the front door is locked. I bet many of you do the same thing. We do this to keep intruders out. We also shut doors to keep pets or visitors out of certain areas. We have to do this with our son's dog Buster or he will go in the bathroom and drink from the toilet or destroy things in bedrooms. 

A second reason for doors is to enter a building or a room. Doors transition us from one place to another. Like today, I transitioned from outside the church facilities and into my office. We walk through doors at work, restaurants, doctor offices, schools, businesses, and even churches. We take it for granted when doors are unlocked and accessible. A few times people have shown up early for a meeting or worship service and someone forgot to unlock the door here at the church. People are not happy when that happens. 

A third reason for a door is to exit. When a student concludes the school day, they are excited to exit the door to go home. Workers look forward to when they are off the clock and exit the doors to go home. In case of a fire we look for the nearest exit to escape from danger. Once again the door serves as a transition from one point to another. 

Sometimes God puts open doors in front of His people that are not literal doors. They are opportunities. God can open doors no man can shut and can shut doors no man can open. Revelation 3:7 Has God put an open door before you? An opportunity to pursue? Or maybe you are asking God to open a door like a man I talked to recently who asked for prayer about a new job. God holds the keys to opportunities. He can open whatever doors He wants. He can also shut whatever doors He wants. 

When I was a young preacher in my first pastorate, I received a letter from a church two hours from where I served. They were looking for a new pastor and somehow got my name and address. This was before emails. Truth is things had really gotten bad where I served. I took multiple voluntary cuts in pay because the finances were not good. I still remember the name of that church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church. I wrote them declining. In hindsight, was that an open door God put before me, but I chose to shut it. 

Fast forward two decades. Brenda and I resided in Seminole, TX and had recently come off an extraordinary revival there. For months I kept receiving the same message of, "Follow Me," from the Lord. I did not know what it meant. Through a set of circumstances I became convinced we were supposed to leave Seminole to start a church in Paradise. Just weeks before I was to move, I got contacted by a church in Levelland. I don't know how they got my name. The guy who called me was an elder in the church. He wanted to talk to me about becoming their pastor. I again declined because I thought we were supposed to go to Paradise. Was that an open door God set before me? I will never know. 

We have to be open to God's leadership in our lives. We never know when He might put an open door before us. We also must understand that some doors we try to force open He may keep shut because it is not what He desires for us. Many frustrated people spend a lot of energy trying to force a door open that God is keeping closed for their protection. 

Sometimes open doors don't look appealing. They look challenging. They would require faith to step through and more faith to walk on the other side. Just because it looks challenging does not mean God did not open the door. Elijah's open door to face down 850 false prophets looked risky. God came through in the showdown and the false prophets were defeated. I Kings 18:20-40. God put an open door before Jonah to preach in Nineveh. Jonah refused to go through it and went in the opposite direction. God gave Jonah a second chance and opened the door again. Jonah obeyed and revival came to Nineveh. Paul kept getting doors shut on him to go and preach in Asia. One night he received a vision from the Lord to go into Macedonia. That was the open door God put before him. Acts 16:9-10 

In King David's kingdom, there was one man who had the keys to every door in the palace. Like that man God has the keys to every door in life. He can open any door He chooses for you. He can also shut any door He chooses. I've learned to be thankful for open and shut doors. I've also learned that it takes faith to walk through some open doors, but bountiful blessings await on the other side. May we all keep our eyes open for God's open doors. 

Seeking God's Will

I often hear people say they are searching God's will for their lives. A better option is to seek God's will. His will is bigger than our lives. We are not the focal point of His will. God has purposes and He chooses to include us in those purposes. It is not all about us. It is about what He wants done. Admittedly, some people don't concern themselves with the will of God. They do what they want and when they want. Such living usually ends in a lot of sin and a lot of pain. 

How does a person seek the will of God? The will of God is what God desires. Here are the things I make a habit of doing. First, I ask Him in prayer. I ask Him to reveal His heart and mind to me. I ask and wait for His response. He speaks in various ways. I try to live with my spirit attentive most of the time so that I can receive any communication He wants to give. At times, God has spoken through another person. He has used circumstances to communicate. The Holy Spirit has impressed things on my mind.

 The second thing I do, is read the Bible. I choose the method of reading through the Bible at my own pace starting in Genesis and going through to Revelation. I have done this for decades. When I finish, I start over and do it again. There are many other methods and Bible apps on your phone to help you. The important thing is that you are getting into the Bible trusting God to speak to you. This is the primary way God leads me. Each time He wanted to reveal His will to me, it came with a Bible passage. There are certain verses that have sentimental meaning to me because God used them to reveal His will. Sometimes He gave those verses years before I fully understood their meaning related to His will. 

Thirdly, I talk to trusted counselors. Those include my wife and three trusted brothers. I seek their counsel about important decisions. My nature is to live life with my foot on the accelerator. I'm thankful some of these counselors are the brake pedals in my life to slow me down. They have saved me from many mistakes. I talked to each of them recently about a matter for which I needed their wisdom. One just texted me a prayer a few moments ago. They are valued relationships. I am sure you have some people like this in your life also. 

The last piece of advice I would give is to let the peace of God be your guide. What I mean by that is that when having to make a decision, you may feel peace and calm assurance in one direction. At other times, you may feel uneasy and not have peace. I've learned to listen to this internal radar system. When God's will leads down one path and His peace will guide us. When we are straying out of His will, we may feel uneasy which is an internal warning that we're not doing what God wills. 

People think God's will is a sentimental feeling. Sometimes it is a direct command that will lead to unpleasant paths. God's will for Jesus meant going to the cross. God's will for Paul meant a lot of suffering and martyrdom. There are also certainly times when the will of God will lead down paths of blessing and good fortune. Like it did for me when God opened the door for me to get a football scholarship to Howard Payne University. What I did not know was that God was working His will to bring Brenda to that same campus a couple of years later. When I met her and we had our study date, I had such peace that she was the woman who would one day be my wife. 35 years later I'm still madly in love with her. 

His will is always best. It is not always easy. It is not always the safest. It will not always make us comfortable. He knows how to connect us with His purpose and to get us from where we are to where He wants us to be. If we submit ourselves to Him, ask Him repeatedly to reveal His will, consistently read His word, seek the counsel of Godly people, and wait for His peace to guide us, I am confident we will discover His will. 

Not Greater Than Prayer Life

 I just read a quote from Leonard Ravenhill, "No person is greater than their prayer life." I would add to that no church is greater than its prayer life. Most people will agree that prayer is important. How many carve out time in their busy lives for prayer. If we judge that by results, I would say not many. Our nation's largest denomination reports that 29% of congregations do not baptize one person in a year. We are content to grow from disgruntled church members leaving one church and joining another one. 47% of churches report baptizing 2 or less. That speaks to a lack of prayer

If we really examined individual church member's lives, what would we find? Is their language pure or polluted with profanity? Is the marriage bed held in honor or is it polluted with pornography and infidelity? How do Christians spend their money? Do they accumulate more and more stuff while neglecting charitable giving? Are they characterized by holiness or hypocrisy?

None of us can live a God pleasing life without His help and power. That comes through prayer. Pew research indicates that the average person prays between 5-15 minutes a day. Is that enough? Is it working? People are stressed out. We are told in Phil 4:6-7 not to worry about things but to pray about everything and in exchange God will give us peace. We are informed in Matt 7:7-8 to ask, seek, and knock. The trouble is that many of us have done that and not received the answer, not found the help we prayed for, and not had the doors opened. We are instructed in Luke 18:1 to pray and not lose heart. Have we lost heart when God did not answer in the way we wanted? There are multiple reasons people can give for not being more faithful in prayer. 

Nobody was ever more busy than Jesus. People constantly crowded Him and persisted that He do a miracle for them or their loved ones. He still made prayer a high priority. Read Mark 1:35. He left the crowds to pray to His Father. If He made prayer a priority, how much more do we need to do so? 

Ravenhill also wrote, "The secret to praying is to pray in secret." Sometimes I hear people offer eloquent and prolonged prayers in public. I can't help but wonder if their private prayers match their public prayers. God knows. God sees what is done in the secret place and rewards accordingly. Matthew 6:5-8

I have preached on prayer, taught on prayer, and written about prayer.  None of that is an excuse for not praying. I'm very thankful God introduced me to some praying men as a freshman at Howard Payne University. They were upperclassmen. They took me under their wing and invited me to join them in the prayer room one afternoon. I had never experienced a prayer meeting like that. Some of them buried their faces in the carpet and poured out their souls to God. We were in there well over an hour. It felt like only a few minutes. God hooked me right there. He taught me that prayer is getting so caught up in His presence that we lose track of everything else. Time becomes irrelevant. Tried and worn religious phrases are tossed out the window. It is blessed communion with God. Those moments transform us and our worlds. I've been a student of prayer since the fall of 1985.

I'm no expert on prayer. It is a passion for me. There is much I do not understand and more I need to learn. I quote Leonard Ravenhill a lot. He was a master in prayer. He devoted 8 hours a day to it. I sit at his feet through his books and sermons and learn all I can learn. If I want to be and do more for God, I must be much with God. 

Surprised by the Voice of God

 The Bible is filled with stories about God surprising people with His call on their life. Noah lived in a wicked generation. One day God showed up and called Noah to build an ark. That assignment took him over a century to complete. His obedience preserved human life and animal life. Genesis 6-9. The surprise voice of God changed Noah's life. 

God surprised Abraham one morning telling him to pack up and leave for an unknown destination. God informed Abraham that he was leave his kinfolks, leave his country, and go to a land that would be revealed in the future. Everything about that surprise voice of God led to steps of faith. Imagine if God did that in your life. If He surprised you with news that required a move without revealing the end destination. I can only imagine Abraham having that conversation with his father who probably did not understand. That was a surprise. You can read about that in Genesis 12:1-3. 

You can fast forward to Exodus 3:1-12 when God surprised Moses on the back side of the desert where he was tending sheep. In that surprise God encounter, Moses received the call to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. Moses argued that he could not do it. The voice of God persisted and Moses chose to obey. God used him to free Israel from over 400 years of slavery. 

God surprised Joshua in Joshua 1:1-9 telling him to lead Israel across the Jordan to the land He promised Israel after Moses' death. Multiple times in that passage God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. The opportunity to fear was real. God also told Joshua to live according to the law and to meditate on that law day and night. God used Joshua to fulfill a promise made all the way back to Abraham. 

Jesus surprised some blue collar fishermen with a call on their lives to follow Him and become His disciples. Amazingly these guys left their families and livelihoods to follow. They went on a three year adventure with Jesus witnessing miracles and His arrest and crucifixion. In the end, most of them died violently because they believed Jesus rose from the dead and they kept spreading the message. That original surprise call to follow Him can be found in Matthew 4:18-22. 

What God did so many years ago He still does today. He still surprises people with His voice calling people to assignments. God never has to ask permission to surprise someone with His purpose. He has the right and authority to help Himself to our lives as His followers anytime He wants. We never know when He will surprise us with a call. We should live attentive to Him. We must be willing to obey by faith even if we don't understand the call. God still speaks in multiple ways. We should expect to be surprised by His voice when we least expect it. 

Obscure

 The road ahead is dark the way obscure, 

My path confusing my feet are unsure, 

Your light offers comfort and guidance,

Even when you surround me in silence, 

I'm forced to slow the pace in my travels, 

Navigating this steep road made of gravel, 

To the left and to the right are great blessings, 

I don't have to surrender to all the stressing,

Right here right now by faith I'm standing, 

Receiving all the peace that You're handing, 

You are not the author of all the confusion, 

An unwelcome demonic blow of intrusion, 

The path forward still obscure and unknown, 

The heavy burdens are oppressive I bemoan, 

I follow the lamp and truth of your counsel, 

Though sinful and a woeful bad scoundrel, 

You'll lead me home to Your warm embrace, 

Where my transgressions are never retraced.

Just Around the Bend

 You have probably heard the phrase, "One of those days." I have had one of those weeks. Trials. Challenges. Multiple things have interrupted my prayer times. One set back after another. I got up this morning to keep my routine. I rode the Peloton. Cooked breakfast. Showered and dressed. I headed out the door with a full agenda for the day. I was surprised when the car did not start. The battery was completely dead. There were no warning signs. It worked just fine the day before. This morning nothing. It would not turn the engine over. 

It is standing joke around here after I preached through James to say, "Count it all joy." I cannot say that was my first thought. I called one of our deacons who came over and jumped the battery off. I immediately headed to the store to purchase a new one which had not been on my agenda. I was forced to whittle my agenda down and just roll with the set back. It has been one of those weeks filled with bad news on top of other bad news. It has not just been one of those days. It has been one of those weeks. You have had them too. 

After dealing with the hassle of getting a new battery, I decided to treat myself to lunch at my favorite restaurant. It was early and nobody else was in the place but the workers. Not long after, I saw two familiar faces. Tim and Brenda who are part of worship team came in. We exchanged greetings and Brenda walked by my table and snagged my ticket. She told me to be blessed and not to rob them of the joy of giving. Just like that God reminded me that even during one of those weeks He is still there. Tim and Brenda seldom get to eat lunch together because of their work schedules. I normally eat lunch in the office. God orchestrated the timing and the place to arrange that appointment. I graciously received the blessing and thank God for the reminder that He is still there and He is still working. 

You may be in the middle of one of those weeks. Everything seems against you. You barely get through one trial before you are blindsided by another one. The temptation is to doubt God. According to John 5:17 He is always working. We just can't always see it. He has surprised me with His presence and power during those trying weeks over and over again for the past forty years. No matter what my eyes tell me, I choose to listen to the voice of truth. I choose to trust in the unseen, unstoppable, and undisputed Creator God. He is faithful. It is His nature. [I Thess 5:24] He can't be anything but faithful. He is also Almighty. There are no hard tasks for Him. All things are possible with God. [Matt 19:26]

One of the fascinating things about walking with God is you never know when He is going to show up in adverse circumstances and do something astounding. I have seen it over and over again. So many times when I was at my wits end, God showed up and showed off. In one simple move today He reminded me one of those weeks can turn into miraculous days we treasure for the rest of our lives. Let us hang on and press on until we see God flip the script. One of those weeks will eventually come to an end. Better days are ahead. He awaits us just around the bend. 

Courage or Cowardice

 If you were to do a survey, how many would consider themselves courageous and how many would see themselves as cowards. Many people's opinions is there are more cowards than courageous people in society. That is not easily measured or verifiable. Many people prefer comfort and conflict avoidance. They want to take the safe route. They surround themselves with security. 

There are times when courage is called for. Like after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Like after the 9-11 terrorists attacks on the U.S. Like protecting your family from an intruder. Like performing a risky surgery to save a life. Like stepping into risky and unsafe environments to enforce the law. There are times it takes real guts and courage to take a stand for God when everyone cowers in fear. It is one thing to own our faith in the safety of a worship service. It is another thing to maintain that faith with a gun pointed at your head like Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall did at Columbine High School in Colorado. 

In I Samuel 17, we find the story of David fighting Goliath. What strikes me in that story is the cowardice of the entire Israel army who were taunted and challenged for a total of 40 days. Day and night the champion Goliath challenged the army to send out a man to fight. Not one person in the Israel army volunteered. Some even fled each time Goliath approached. Saul did not opt to take a stand. Neither did his son Jonathan. Nobody until David arrived on the scene to deliver food to the soldiers. He was only a teenager. Something different happened when David heard Goliath defy Israel. David was provoked. Offended. He took issue with the uncircumscribed giant. David did not look at the size of Goliath. He looked at the size of God. The living God. David volunteered to do what no grown man had done in 40 days. 

David did not have a theoretical faith. It was real and practical. David relied on God killing a lion and a bear while protecting his flock of sheep. He refused to give into fear. He chose the risky path of faith. My favorite part of the story is when David approached Goliath. He did not walk out sheepishly. He RAN toward Goliath. He took one stone and slung it hitting the giant in the forehead. Then he cut off the head of Goliath in a courageous act that made him famous. After David exercised courage, it inspired the army to attack the Philistines and win the battle. 

Which one are you? Courageous or a coward? There are times in life when God calls us take courageous steps of faith. They may be scary. The outcome may not be certain. These are the times when faith is tested. When fear must be ignored. Times when we must run toward risk like David trusting God for the victory. Not foolish risk. Risks God calls us to run toward. It is on the other side of such courageous steps that God does mighty things. May He inspire us to become people of courage.   

Shop Window

 I have just been rereading Leonard Ravenhill's classic book on revival, Why Revival Tarries. I'm chewing on a paragraph he wrote in the first chapter. "One does not need to be spiritual to preach, that is, to make and deliver sermons of homiletical perfection and exegetical exactitude. The pulpit can be a shopwindow to display our talents, the prayer closet speaks death to display."

Many a preacher will carefully craft their sermons. They focus on eloquence, a wealth of information from their education, and preach for the applause of people. I've heard many such sermons. They are as dry as the Sierra desert. Cold as Antarctica. Often boring as a late afternoon math class in school. The pulpit is not a place to showcase talent! It is a place to declare, "Thus says the Lord."

I prefer preaching through books verse by verse. I don't have to concern myself with the next week's sermon text. I dig into the next set of verses. A month ago I was preaching through the gospel of John. I got to chapter five and studied the verses in the first part of the chapter. All week long I had an uneasy feeling that I was not supposed to preach that message. I felt God change the message late into the week. The next week I just assumed I would preach the prepared message from John. God again did not allow me to preach that and changed the message in the prayer closet early on Sunday morning. I learned my lesson. I was convicted that I had not even prayed about whether I should I preach from John 5. I have not made that mistake since then. Each week I sit before the Lord and ask Him what He wants to say to His people. It is not the most efficient way to prepare a sermon. Sometimes He does not reveal the message until late into the week. I write this on a Wednesday and I have already spent significant time asking the Lord's guidance but not received clarity as of yet. 

I'd prefer a fresh word from God born out of prayer than an eloquent message born of the flesh. In the course of 45 years of preaching, I certainly have files filled with sermons. Some of those sermons I've preached repeatedly at revivals, camps, and other churches. I'm not trying and showcase my talent in preaching. The pulpit is not a shop window. It is a sacred place where I'm tasked to say to the people what He says to me. I often pray, "Lord, what do you want to say to your people?" Then I wait on Him to reveal it. 

I'm not preaching for pats on the back. I preach for the sole purpose of proclaiming what I sense God wants to say to His people. Whatever that message is I preach to secure that decision in people. Sometimes it is to encourage. Other times the message is a strong rebuke calling for repentance. There are messages for salvation, to build up faith and perseverance, to pray, and fully surrender. God lately is determining the direction of those messages. I believe all of God's word is inerrant and truth. Many choose a different path of preaching through books as I have done and still do on Wednesday nights and for our connection class on Sunday mornings. He is directing me differently during the Sunday morning worship service. 

It is much harder to wait on the Lord in prayer. It requires humility and surrender. You don't lean on your education and experience in the prayer closet. You empty yourself and fully lean on God. God produces the fire in the soul for messages. He creates volcanic lava of truth in the heart and the eruption happens when the message is delivered. It is all about Him and what He wants to communicate. I deflect the applause of people. I prefer them to say God spoke through me. It is all about Him and nothing to do with me. 

Why Revival Still Tarries

 Evangelist and author Leonard Ravenhill wrote a hard hitting book in 1959 titled, Why Revival Tarries. It was reprinted 35 times up to the time my copy was printed. I am sure it has continued to be reprinted. Ravenhill was a bold prophet. He preached hard and wrote hard. Many do not have the stomach for him. I've loved his books and preaching since I was first introduced to him back in 1986. One of his conclusions about why revival tarries is that the followers of God are content to live without it. 

Ravenhill died in 1994 without seeing the revival he longed for. He prayed eight hours a day. He preached into his eighties. He wrote numerous other books. He did not get to taste the revival he spent his whole ministry laboring for. He saw tremendous moves of God, but not the revival that burdened his heart. 

He would be offended to see what has become of the church today. He challenged churches to pray during his life. You would be hard pressed to find a prayer meeting in all the churches today. Sin has entered the camp of God. It seems every month we hear about the moral failure of another minister. The word of God has been compromised with tickle the ear sermons. Pew dwellers do not have the appetite for messages on repentance, holiness, sanctification, and surrender. The church today seems content to carry on without revival. 

Not me. God used Ravenhill to hook me as a college student. I've tasted three genuine revivals. It only whets my appetite to taste that again. It remains on my mind. I read about revivals. Listen to sermons on revival. Watch documentaries about revival. It burns in me. 

Revival still tarries because it is costly. More than most readers know. In a church age where ministry is tailored to be comfortable and convenient, there is no room for prayer, fasting, travailing, solemn assemblies and full out devotion. The church I serve is no better than the others. We still hold prayer meetings on Sunday nights. This past week we had a whopping 9 people show up which included my wife and me. Some of those prayed the same things they prayed the week before. There was very little travailing. 

Revival seems as far out of reach as it has been for decades. There are pockets of revival. Many happened on college campuses. They have not swept across the nation or the world like the Welsh Revival back in 1904-1905 that moved across the world. The Prayer Revival that started in 1857 with one man named Jeremiah Lamphier. He started a noon day prayer meeting. God blessed that meeting that spread across New York City and eventually a great portion of the United States. Hundreds of thousands were converted in both revivals. 

I long for God to move like that again. The Welsh Revival started with a praying young man named Evan Roberts. The Prayer Revival started with Jeremiah Lamphier. Whom will God use in our day to be the catalyst for another mighty move of His Spirit? 

The Merry Go Round

 I loved to play on merry go rounds as a child. Whether I was the one spinning or riding, the faster we went the better. I used to climb on the handles, lock my feet in and lean backward for an extra thrill. If I was pushing, I ran and shoved as fast and as hard as I could. I guess experts deemed them dangerous and banned from most playgrounds. They are hard to find. I feel for kids who never experienced that thrill. 

Life feels like a merry go round much of the time. It keeps spinning faster and faster. I've talked with numerous retired people who say they are busier now than when they worked. The work weeks can be so long and the weekends so short. I can't remember the last time Brenda and I woke up on a Saturday when we had no commitments. Twice in the past week and a half I've gone to bed at 7:30 p.m. from exhaustion. Only trouble is I awoke at 1:30 a.m. The merry go round did not stop for very long. 

Jesus understood busy days. People crowded Him for miracles as He increased in popularity. Wherever He went the crowds followed. He taught and healed people on many occasions late into the night. That is what makes Mark 1:35 so interesting. Jesus chose to get off the merry go round and leave people to spend time alone with His Father. He made that a priority. Nobody did it for Him. He carved out that time to replenish His soul in the Father's presence. Even when He did this, the disciples sought Him saying, "Everyone is looking for You."

I am blessed to have two offices at the church. I have the main pastor office. I set up a make shift office in an unused classroom on the far end of the building where I put the remainder of my books that did not fit in the main office. It is a secluded quiet place to pray, read, and study. I frequent that office I call the "Cave." It has seven bookshelves mostly filled with theology books. I have a little table and chair and a recliner where I can get away. I know if I am to be of any use to the people I have to spend time alone with God. I have to make this a part of my schedule like Jesus made going to a secluded place a part of His. 

We move so fast. There are few times built in for buffering. Silence is pierced with our phones making us available all times both day and night. We are surrounded by noise. Music, notifications, television, conversations, social media, and traffic whirling by. We don't have time to ponder things. In older times people pondered when they rode a horse to town or sat in horse draw wagons. Farmer's had time to mull things over as they plowed and worked the fields. Ranchers thought on trail drives. The pace of life was slower. We have modern conveniences that are supposed to simplify life. I find they only complicate life and add more distractions. 

Each of us could use a little time to seclude ourselves with God for a spell. To soak in silence. To sit in solitude with God without any distractions. To buffer the busyness with a soul talk with the Lord. The quiet and seclusion may feel awkward at first, because our hustle and bustle society does not make time for that. It will do your soul a world of good. If Jesus stepped off the merry go round, maybe it would be wise on our parts to do the same. 

When the Path Is Dim

 There are seasons when the path is dim, 

When shadows obscure from seeing Him, 

Confusion sets in disorienting the way, 

Stumbling in the night and in the day, 

We find light when we open the word, 

Fresh strength as onward we're spurred,

His word is always a lamp unto our feet,

A light unto our path - a comforting seat, 

The path is winding - the journey is long, 

Even if it leads to pain God is not wrong, 

He is to be trusted in nights when we weep, 

We must believe when our faith starts to seep, 

None knows the troubles on the path we find, 

We walk on by faith when our sight is blind,

We'll gather in joyous worship at His throne, 

Where we will enjoy Him in our eternal home. 

Back to the Basics

 If you let it, Christianity can become very complex. One group emphasizes one doctrine and another group will focus on something entirely different. Over time, things can get disorienting. One group will promote prayer. Another group will highlight evangelism. A third group may make holiness the main priority. 

What does it mean to get back to the basics? Jesus was asked by a lawyer what the greatest commandment was. Jesus responded that question in Matt 22:37-39. He boiled down the basics to two things. This is my paraphrase. Love God the most. Love people. Let me elaborate. 

The lawyer asked what was the great commandment. The word great means the most important, highly esteemed, most excellent, and the highest ranking. How did Jesus answer? He said to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. We should not have any love that supersedes our love for God. All other loves must come second. That includes family.  That includes pets.  It can include shopping, hunting, fishing, golf, and money. Let me ask you what is your most important love in your life? Who or what do you most highly esteem? What or who is the highest ranking love in your life? 

There was a time when Brenda was the answer to all those questions. God had to take her out of my life for a year so that I would fall in love with Him first. When I got that  straight, one of God's greatest gifts was to bring her back into my life. We have now been married for 35 years. As much as I love her, she is my second love. 

Loving people sounds easy, but it can be challenging. Some people are much harder to love than others. Some are grouchy. Some have great  tempers. Others struggle with lust. Many are liars. Some enjoy stirring up strife among brothers and sisters. Choosing to love people requires the work of the Spirit of God. According to Gal 5:22-23, part of that fruit is love. It is a supernatural love born of the Holy Spirit. 

 We are called to love people who may never love us back. We follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He loved and still loves people who reject Him. He loved people all the way to the cross. We may not be called to go to the cross, but we can love people sacrificially. We can love people who seem unlovable. That is the way people know we are followers of Jesus by love we have for one another. Jn 13:34-35. 

Maybe it is time to get back to the basics. To work on loving God more and loving people around us. That may mean less religious routines and more devotions. It may mean opening your heart and arms to people you may find hard to love. When you boil it all down, these are two of the most important commandments. Let us master these commandments in obedience to our Lord's commands. 

Wake Up Call

 I was still groggy when the wake up call came. Sometimes it seems the days are long and the nights are short. I lay in the bed a moment somewhere between partially asleep and partially awake. I contemplated rolling over for a few more winks but decided to get up. It was dark in the room when I rolled out of bed. I groped my way to the bathroom and then to the closet. 

I grabbed some clothes, shaved, dressed and headed out of the door. Not before Brenda rolled over and asked what I was doing. I could not explain that God gave me a wake up call and I needed to go pray. I mumbled that I had a lot of work I needed to get done. That was true. I really was being summoned to prayer also. It was an earlier start than normal. No distractions. 

There was much to pray about. Family, friends, and flock. I also needed to listen for the still small voice of the Lord. I asked for anointing to study and deliver God's word this week. I read scripture hoping for a fresh word from the Lord for me personally. I did not feel hurried. I was nice to linger longer without a schedule to keep. 

I have not slept with an alarm clock in decades. The Lord chooses when to wake me up. He decides when to summon me to supplicate. Many nights I'm awakened at some early hour. I seek Him and then go back to bed for a short nap before going to work. He has the right to give me a wake up call whenever He wants. 

Prayer is my passion. I love time shut up with my Father. I'm a novice at prayer. Though I have practiced it for over four decades there is so much I don't know.  There are answers I have not secured. There are revelations I have not received. There are mountains that still have not moved. I welcome the wake up calls. I'm not saying it is always easy. I went to be at 7:30 p.m. last night. That made getting up early today easier. Some days it is hard to drag these tired bones from underneath the covers. When God gives those wake up calls, He has something on His mind. My response is to be attentive and present. Maybe He will let me catch a nap before the football game tonight. 

Surrendered

A boy suffering from birth complications, 

Saved by God for unknown explanations,

Growing up in abusive adult behavior,

A wounded young man needing a Savior, 

A youth pastor, football game appointment, 

A lost soul filled with life's disappointments, 

A repentant prayer and dramatic conversion,

A welcomed deliverance from sin's diversion,

A Sunday night and God's clear invitation, 

To preach the word for gospel transformation, 

Why me, a nobody with so much history, 

Why me, one so ordinary to tell His story, 

I seek to live totally and fully surrendered, 

For the Holy One who's still my defender. 

Unsung Hero

 There are lists of prominent Christian people God has used in significant ways. There is no use recounting them here. They have been talked about and written about already. That is not the purpose of this post. Today, I'm thinking about all of those faithful Christians whom God used, but their names have faded from the pages of history. Obscure people who served in out of the way places. I'm thinking about one person specifically. Her name is Doris and she lives in Lufkin, TX where she has lived with her husband for over 50 years. 

Doris is quiet. I don't recall ever carrying on a lengthy conversation with her. She does not prefer the spotlight. She is content to minister behind the scenes. The impact she had on my life is incalculable. To tell a small part of her story I have to travel back in time. 54 years to be exact. 

Doris is married to Charles Roberts. He is better known to me as Brother Charles. He is my pastor. He baptized me as a teenager and guided me through the early days of my ministry. That is only part of the story. Doris played a crucial role in my life before she even met me. 

The Roberts lived in the same neighborhood I grew up in. I used to play football as a kid in the yard next to theirs. A popular teenage girl lived across the street from them. She was the best friend of a girl I dated through high school. I spent a lot of late nights over there hanging out. Sometimes we sat in the yard talking way past bedtime. One day  Doris looked out at me through  the window and told her husband, "I'm praying for that young man." She didn't know me. We had never met. Why would she pray for me? God was up to something and chose to include her. She repeatedly told Brother Charles that she was praying for me. I don't know how long that continued. 

Fast forward a couple of years. Denman Avenue Baptist Church, where Brother Charles served as pastor, called a new youth pastor on staff. He was a fiery courageous guy from North Carolina. He hit the ground running. Eli Bernard is the man who shared Jesus with me in a football stadium where Jesus saved me. I've shared that story many times. What I have not shared nearly enough is the unsung hero of Doris Roberts tenaciously praying for a lost teenage boy she did not know. She could not know how the story would turn out. 

Jesus did save me through Eli's witness. I ended up in that church and I bet nobody rejoiced more in that room than Doris Roberts the day Brother Charles baptized me. It was the culmination of years of praying. A year and half later, I bet she rejoiced again when I walked forward on a Sunday morning to tell Brother Charles and the whole church God called me to preach. That was 42 years ago. 

God gave Doris the assignment to pray for a sullen, insecure, wounded, and lost teenage boy. She accepted that assignment and took it seriously. God had a plan neither of us knew at the time. By faith she believed that I would get saved one day. I bet she never thought I would preach God's word. She never considered the fact that God would call me to write multiple books and nearly 1,700 posts read by over 750,000 people. 

She is the unsung hero. She deserves to be recognized for her investment in my ministry. God used her powerfully in my life. I'm thankful for her and humbled by the love of God to go to such extremes to reveal salvation through His Son Jesus to me. Like Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story."

God's Training Ground

 I think most people would agree that typical days are fairly routine and mundane. Life can fall into a predictable rhythm. When we are asked how our day went, the typical response is that it was good or it was fine. There are some days that are so memorable they stick in our minds. These are days when the events are unforgettable. Your day could have started off routine and one phone call could change everything. It could be positive news or negative. I prefer to focus on the positive. 

I imagine that shepherding sheep was not all that exciting for David. Most days must have been mundane. Leading sheep from meadow to meadow and to water is not that exciting. Perhaps David amused himself watching the lambs skip and jump playfully. There were the rare occasion when a lion or bear attacked the sheep and he had to defend them. Other than that it must have been boring. It was not a glamorous job. David had no idea those days of watching over the flock were training ground for a larger mission. 

David also entertained himself by playing the harp and singing songs. He was a gifted musician noted for his skill. On those long days and night David sang to the Lord. It might have seemed like wasted time, but it was training ground for the work God had in mind later in David's life. 

One ordinary day, God spoke to the prophet Samuel informing him that he was to anoint the next king. God instructed him to go to the house of Jesse and He would designate which son was to be the next king. Jesse brought seven sons before Samuel. God rejected all of them to be the king. David was the youngest and did not get an invite. David was summoned and God chose the shepherd boy to be the next king in Israel. It was a day David would never forget. He must have been surprised when Samuel took out the horn of oil and anointed him. 

Those days watching sheep were not wasted days. They were training days. Just like he cared for sheep and defended them, so would he care for a nation and defend them. God used the music he made to be included in a large portion of scripture called Psalms. David endured mundane days before God revealed His true purpose for the young shepherd. 

God does the same things in our lives. I don't know where you are and what you are doing that seems monotonous. Maybe it is getting through school like the young man I talked to earlier today. Maybe it is an entry level job. Perhaps you are dreaming of a career change. Maybe it is just enduring day after day. God can use where you are to train you for His purpose. He might be molding you into a leader. He could use volunteer work in a local church to prepare you for a larger assignment. We just don't know. 

I'm betting David did not wake up on the day recorded in I Sam 16:1-23 thinking to himself, "Today is the day I will be anointed the next king over Israel." That is the way God works at times. He shows up and surprises us with His plans. You may think that God could never call you to do anything for Him of significance. You may believe you have nothing to offer. You are a prime candidate for the kind of people God is looking for to match an assignment. He is not looking for the smartest or most talented. He is looking for people most others overlook like David so that He gets more glory. Read I Cor 1:26-31. You might be in your training ground today. Don't be surprised if God shows up on an ordinary day to do something extraordinary in your life. 

Don't Forget to Say Thank You

 Yesterday, First Southern blessed Brenda and I with multiple cards for pastor appreciation month. Those cards included blessings for us. Some included money while others included gift cards. They showered us with their love. They are a loving and generous flock. 

I spent most of the morning writing thank  you letters. Why? On the day I made my call to preach public to the Denman Avenue Baptist Church in Lufkin, TX, Brother Charles Roberts whispered some advice to me after most of the people came and shook my hand. He said, "Don't forget to say thank you when people bless you." I guess he knew that a preacher gets blessed a lot. Just a couple of weeks ago one of our church members bought our lunch on a Sunday after worship. We did not even know they were in the restaurant. That has happened numerous times. A couple in our church gave us a push lawn mower soon after we purchased our house. Another man did some repair work on one of our vehicles refusing to take payment for it. We had a blow out coming from Amarillo one day. Turns out that car did not even have a jack in it. I called one of our deacons for help. Another deacon rolled up and saw us stranded. I can't say for sure, but the following day some money showed up on my desk for the purchase of new tires. I think one of them blessed us. I could go on and on with the blessings. 

Brenda and I have tried to be faithful to say thank you. We try to send out thank you letters. We have done this for over three decades of ministry together. It is important. We do not take blessings for granted when we know the sacrifice people make for us. 

We certainly don't take the blessings from God for granted. They are too numerous to count. We cannot give Him enough thanks. I know in a little over two weeks we will be in the Thanksgiving Holiday season. Challenges will be issued to be thankful for something everyday. Preachers will preach on gratitude. I am thankful for the advice of Brother Charles telling me not to forget to say thank you. I am going to contact him now and thank him for such great advice. I hope you will take to this heart and not forget to say thank you to those around you. 

A God of Second Chances

 When our sons were little we had a rule. If you get in trouble at school, you get in trouble at home also. Our oldest son Taylor was in daycare. He was not older than five when he got in trouble at his daycare. When I picked him up, they told me about it. He and I rode home quietly. He broke the silence and asked a question etched in my mind. He grew up hearing me preach and heard us talk about God and forgiveness in the home. He could not remember the word forgive. Here is what he asked me. "Dad, will you give for me?" I did not understand what he meant. He explained himself and I deciphered that he was asking to be forgiven. 

We have all needed a second, third, fourth, and so forth chance with God. I started needing forgiveness when I decided my white bedroom wall looked like an art canvas to color in elementary. Mama came in and scolded me the first time. As soon as she left the room, I shut the door and locked it to continue my art. She finally convinced me to unlock the door. She gave me a spanking. When she left again, I locked the door again deciding I would not unlock it again. She eventually had to take the door knob off before I stopped. I used up a lot second chances in that one episode and have needed God's forgiveness more times than I can count since then. 

When people mess up, they live under condemnation and shame. They feel it from others and mistakenly feel it from God. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He loves to heap shame and condemnation on people. To make them think they cannot ever be forgiven for their wrongdoings. He is a liar and what he plants in people's minds are lies. You don't believe me. Believe what God says.  Read Ps 103:3, Ps 103:10-12, Rom 5:8-9, Rom 8:1, and I John 1:9. All of those verses speak to the subject of forgiveness. 

We do not have to be defined by our mistakes. Abraham was a liar and yet he is listed in Heb 11:8-9 as a person with great faith. We can rewrite the script. Our past should be left in the past. We can't go back and undo poor choices and mistakes. We can only trust God for another chance and move forward. Some people have a hard time with this. They continually beat themselves up. They can't forgive themselves for offenses committed. If Holy God is willing to forgive and give us a second chance, shouldn't we learn to forgive ourselves and give us a second chance as well. 

I will long remember that incident with Taylor after daycare. I learned a lot from his little perspective. Continually I need God to "give for me" with a second chance. He is in that business. 

A Thousand Deaths

 Galatians 2:20 is a challenging verse. It refers to living the crucified life. It is a verse about dying to self so the Lord Jesus Christ can live through us. To live this kind of life means dying a thousand deaths. It means saying no when you would rather say yes to sin. It means dying to plans and agendas that may not align with God. 

Dying a thousand deaths will come in little things and big things. I have a deep conviction about watching movies with foul language. I get that conviction from Exodus 20:7 where we are commanded to not take the name of God in vain. Before going to see any movie at the theater my family knows I want to know if there is any offensive and profane words in it. There have been times I had to walk out of a movie theater. Recently, I had to walk out of a play several people from our church went to see together. Very early on in the play profanity was used I could not sit through. That is dying a thousand deaths. It would be easy to sit through it. To go along with everyone else. God would not let me do that. So, Brenda and I got up and left. 

Dying a thousand deaths might require staying up late or getting up early to pray. It might mean serving when you would prefer to be the one getting served. It might mean giving away prized possessions or much needed money. It could include doing what God wants you to do on a day off rather than getting to do what you want to do. It might include fasting when you prefer to feast. The crucified life is not one grandiose act of dying to self. It is the act of dying a little more every day. 

This is not popular Christian theology. This is about surrender, sacrifice, submission and maybe even suffering at times. It is about the continual act of denying self. It is about dying to our will and submitting to His will. Dying a thousand deaths it not easy. It is difficult when the selfish part of us resists and rebels. A truly effective life for God is a yielded life. The crucified life. It is painful to keep dying to self a little more and a little more. Until the day comes when you are so caught up in living for and pleasing God that it gets easier to die to self each day. To deny yourself the pleasure of a purchase in order to give your money away to someone else in need. The crucified life means that you are constantly available to God as a vessel. The crucified life means that you deny yourself the instant gratification of sin for the greater joy  found in seeking and serving God. May we all learn to die a thousand deaths. 

Did You Finish It

 God put us on this earth for a unique purpose. Yours is different than mine. He intentionally designed us  for His assignments. Many neglect those assignments and go out on their own doing what they want to do. They never take God's plan into consideration. Some just flounder through life. When you discover your purpose and live in it, I call that living in your sweet spot. What is your sweet spot? Mine is preaching and writing. I am most alive and contented when I get to do those two things. 

I don't know what your assignment is. Here is the focal point. One day God will hold accountable His followers, "Did you finish it?" Whatever it is for each of us. For stay at home moms, did you finish the task of raising your kids to love and honor God? For the business owner, did you lead your company with integrity and treat people your employees right? Were you a faithful steward of the money you made? For the coach, did you develop character in your players turning them from boys to young men? Did you coach for the higher goal of glorifying God rather than just wins and losses? For the doctor, did you treat your patients with kindness and compassion? For the factory worker, did you give good effort on the job and were you a team player? To the pastor, did you shepherd your flock faithfully? Did you finish the job or jobs God gave you to do in your lifetime?

Some people never even consider this. They hop from job to job. They get frustrated because they are in jobs God did not design them to do. It is never too late to discover your God ordained purpose. I talked with a man this weekend who did not get called to preach until he was 42. He had a successful job in the corporate world. He walked away from that to follow His purpose. He has only served one church as pastor and he is still there after 17 years. He is finishing the work God gave him to do. That does not mean that everyone will have a long tenure in one place they work. The point is are you finishing the work God gave you to do?

One day I will be gone. Should Jesus tarry, this church will have to find a new pastor. I'm closer to the end of life than the beginning. Part of finishing the work for me is to keep writing these articles. They will live long past my death. They are accessible around the world. One day I will write my last one. Who knows when that will be. When I put the last period on the last sentence I will have finished it. One day I will preach my last sermon. I don't know when and where that will be. When I complete the task of preaching it and my time comes, I would like to be able to say to the Lord, "I finished the assignment you gave me. I tried my best." 

I Tried

 Everyone of us will leave this earth one of two ways. Jesus could return and call us home through the rapture. The other option is we will die. Either way, we one day will have to face Jesus to give account for our lives. Those who trusted Jesus for salvation will enter heaven. Those who rejected Him will be condemned to hell. 

The group Mercy Me had a hit song several years ago, I Can Only Imagine, written by lead singer Bart Millard. What will we as Christians say to the Lord on that day? I heard the story of a much used preacher who contemplated that communication with the risen Lord. The given response was, "I tried. I did the best that I could."

Can we say the same? Can we tell the Lord that we tried? We did the best that we knew how. We tried to love Him the best that we could. We tried to serve Him the best way we knew how. We tried to point others to Him. We tried to obey His teachings. We tried to love others the way He does. We tried to believe Him even when life got hard and things did not make sense to us. 

I make a confession. I do not try hard at everything. A few years ago, Brenda and I were at a marriage retreat. They held a competition to see who could put a small jig saw puzzle together the fastest. It frustrated me. I cannot recall ever putting a jig saw puzzle together. Brenda worked at it patiently. I tried a few pieces and she kept telling me they were not the right fit. Finally, I just let her do it. I did not try as hard at that as I do riding my bike or lifting weights. 

I believe God deserves our best. Read Col 3:17. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. We are to try our best as an act of worship to the Lord. Col 3:23 reminds us that we work for the Lord and not for men. Therefore, we should do our work heartily. We should put our heart and soul into whatever we do. In other words, to try our best. I am not suggesting that we not give our best work to other people. The point is the ultimate motivation should be that we try our best to honor God above all other motivations. 

Trying to serve and please God must become a top priority. There are some who offer the Lord second rate service and half hearted devotion. That is not honoring to Him. Your best may look differently than someone else giving their best. When we come to worship it should be our desire to sing to Him. Whether we are on key or off key is not the point. He wants our hearts engaged in exalting Him. He wants our focus in reading and studying scripture. None us will be perfect in attempts to worship and serve the Lord. We can try our best. 

Failure or Faithful

How do you define success? Is it defined by your job title and salary? Is it defined by the number of people who know and admire you? Is it defined by how many toys you accumulate, or the size of the house you live in? Maybe it is defined by the car you drive and the clothes you wear. 

Jesus measures success much differently than the world does. Some of the most successful people in His eyes you never hear about. They are not rich in material things but abounding in spiritual wealth. Some of the most successful people to Jesus endured suffering. His success metrics are different. Please allow me to introduce to you to one success story. 

Many people have heard about John the Baptist. He was a prophet. He prepared the way for the earthly ministry of Jesus. He pulled no punches. He called the religious leaders of the day a brood of vipers. He preached a message of repentance and crowds responded getting baptized by John. After Jesus came on the scene to begin his earthly ministry, we do not hear a lot about John. 

John was arrested in put in prison for calling out the sin of King Herod. Herod's wife hated John. She manipulated for John's beheading. You can read about that in Mark 6. Before his death, John heard about the things Jesus did. John faced a crisis of belief. He had doubts and sent someone to question whether Jesus was the Messiah. 

Jesus' response is curious and challenging. He said in Matt 11:5-6, The blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me. 

Jesus did not directly answer John about whether He was the Messiah. He just laid out what He did and left it up to John to believe. The phrase "blessed is he who does not take offense at Me," means blessed are the people who do not stumble or get tripped up over Jesus. Author, Gene Edwards, interprets that phrase as will you serve a God you do not understand? Will you remain faithful when you can't make sense of your circumstances? 

People could easily make a case that John the Baptist was not successful. He dressed funny dressed in camel's hair and ate weird food like locusts and honey. He had a short ministry. At the height of his popularity, He took a backseat to Jesus. He got arrested and had his head cut off. That does not look like much of a success story. Not until you consider what Jesus said about him. In Matt 11:11 Jesus commented on John, "Truly I say to you among those born of women there has not arisen anyone Greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him." 

Jesus viewed John's faithfulness to the assignment God the Father gave him as success. John preached boldly. He called people to repentance. He fearlessly called out sin. He did not get swayed by political correctness or popular opinion. Jesus saw that faithfulness to the mission was success. Fancy titles, large salaries, and luxury living do not always equate to success in the Lord's eyes. There are Jesus followers who labor in thankless jobs in obscure places, but they are faithful. They do their work as unto the Lord and not unto men. Col 3:23. They are not failures to Him. Faithfulness matters to the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees the work you do. He notices the night watches, the attention to detail, the long labors, and the lack of fanfare for what you do. Others may view you as a failure. The Lord views you as faithful and a success. That will all be sorted out in eternity for believers. 

Let me encourage you to keep pressing on. Take to heart the truth of Galatians 6:9. There will be reward for your faithfulness if you do not lose heart. You are not a failure. You are faithful and great in His eyes. Not a failure, but rather a faithful servant. One day you will hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant."