Who Is God

 By listening to some people talk you would think God had a last name as in the word damn, short for damnation. Who is God? Is He one of many gods. A search on the computer reveals historically there have been over 18,000 gods. Get this straight. There may be 18,000 little "g" gods. There is only one God! He called Himself "I am that I am" in Exodus 3:14. He is self existent. He is self sustaining. Put another way, that simply means He was not created. He has always been. 

In I Timothy 1:17, God is described in several ways. First, He is a King. Not just a king. He is the King. A divine and sovereign ruler over the affairs of the universe. People are subject to Him. He is the ultimate authority in the universe. Many refuse to believe that. Many deny that He even exists. He has outlived and outlasted all of them. He will do the same with current skeptics. 

Next, He is eternal. That is hard to wrap our finite minds around. We live in the limitation of time. We have a date of origin and will have a date of expiration. God has neither. He has always existed. He will never die. He does not age. He is not an old grandfatherly deity decrepit and too feeble to work wonders. He is as vibrant, strong, omniscient, as He has ever been. 

He is immortal. That means He is imperishable and incorruptible. God does not age. He is not weakened with the passing of time. He is not slipping mentally. He cannot be destroyed. He is not challenged. He has no rivals. He stands alone as the supreme deity.  Unequaled. Incomparable. Exclusive. Distinguished. 

He is all the above and invisible. He is unseen. His works are visible. He is not. In fact, nobody can see God and live. That is what God told Moses in Exodus 33:18 when Moses asked to see God's glory. God responded that nobody could see Him and live. He put Moses in the cleft of a rock and let Moses see the backside of His glory. Moses face radiated with glory a long time afterward. 

Even saying all of that does not scratch the surface. God is like an iceberg plunging deeper than we can see. He is like a mountain that no person can ever climb to the summit. He is wiser than we can comprehend. Greater than we know. He is therefore to be honored. That means He is to be valued and respected. The masses give Him no value nor do they consider Him worthy of any respect.  He will have the last word and people will honor and respect Him in the end. 

We are to glory in Him. The word glory means to praise in approval. We have the choice to glory in Him voluntarily now. The day will come when people will do it involuntarily. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. He will not be toppled ever. He will not be outlasted. He will stand uncontested as the only God through the ages forever. That is just a small sampling of who God is. 

A Deeper Commitment

 The older I get and the longer I've followed Jesus, I find myself longing for a deeper commitment to Him. To not be satisfied with past experiences or my current level of devotion. I know there is always room for improvement. There is closer communion with Jesus possible. There are new heights to discover and deeper depths to explore. There is more. 

I want to know Him more. Our youngest son, Turner, who is studying to be a youth minister and a psychologist, recently asked me if I could ask God for one thing what would it be. I did not hesitate to answer. This has been a matter of prayer for a long time. I want to know Him more and hear Him more clearly. N\I don't content to settle for what He can do for me. I want to know Him more. I want draw closer. I do not want to settle to know more about Him. Many Christians do that. They settle for gaining information. I want a closer relationship. I know that cannot happen without spending more time alone in His presence. To prefer His company over the company of the crowds. That is why one of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 63:8 in the King James Version. "My soul followeth hard after Thee O God." Following hard is more than a verse. It is an attitude of life. To be in constant pursuit of God to know Him more. Paul wrote that we should strive to know God in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings in Phil 3:10.

Another sign of a deeper commitment is to please Jesus more. Put another way, that simply means to obey Him more. To do the things He commands us to do. Like tell others about Him. I just walked out of a meeting with two ladies from a volunteer organization who will be using our facilities in the near future. I will probably never see these two ladies again since they are front people for the volunteer group, and will not actually be a part of the team that comes. After our business ended, I asked them both where they would spend eternity, and talked about Jesus' death on the cross taking the place for our punishment. I did not put them on the spot for a decision. I did please Jesus by spreading His good news. I wish I always did that. I missed an opportunity with a lady at Sonic earlier this morning. I don't always please the Lord. Many times I fail and must come back to Him in repentance. It is my desire to please Him more and more in all areas of my life. To strive to submit and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in holiness. I Pet 1:15-16

Another way to show deeper commitment is to glorify the Lord more. In John 15:7-8, Jesus told us one way we glorify Him is to bear abundant fruit. In Matthew 5:16, He also instructed that we can glorify Him by doing good works. That is my desire. To glorify Him when I preach, teach, write, and serve. Not trying to draw attention to myself. Not seeking to be honored. Deflecting accolades and attention to Him. I coached football, basketball, and baseball to glorify God. I wrote books and numerous blogs to help people and glorify Him. I desire to glorify Him by the way I endure trials and suffering. I want to glorify Him by answers to prayer when I get to testify to brag on Him. He gets the glory when we baptize someone. He is glorified through a sermon or gospel witness, He deserves all the glory. It is all about Him. Not about us. 

We can show deeper devotion to our God and His Son Jesus Christ by constantly striving to know Him more. Our commitment is demonstrated and we continually discipline ourselves to please Him more. He is most pleased when we deflect any person glory and deflect it all onto Him. 

Fellowship of the Burning Heart

 Jesus appeared to two people walking on the Emmaus road in Luke 24. They did not recognize Him at first. It was only after He broke bread and gave it to them that their eyes were opened to understand the risen Jesus was in their presence. Immediately Jesus disappeared. The two made a curious statement in [Luke 24:32]. They commented, "Were our hearts not burning within us while He was speaking to us."

The year was 1947 and renowned teacher, Henrietta Mears, taught at a retreat where several young men and women were in attendance. Several would later play prominent roles in ministry endeavors. Among them was Bill Bright, who founded Campus Crusade for Christ, and Richard Halverson, who later became Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. That night Mears challenged the young men and women to fully commit themselves to the cause of Christ, and to be expendable for Christ. A few of those students went silently to a study room to pray. 

Those students and Mears wrote out a contract and signed it to remember their decision to fully commit to the Lord that night. They pledged to maintain devotions through prayer and Bible study for the remainder of their lives. They pledged self denial and to live disciplined lives for the Lord. They also pledged to holy living. Lastly, they pledged to witness for Jesus and to bring at least one person to salvation every twelves months. They identified themselves as the Fellowship of Burning Hearts. 

The famous preacher and author A.W. Tozer also wrote about the Fellowship of Burning Hearts. He identified those included in this fellowship as those who loved Jesus Christ. Not just a casual love. To love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. [Matt 22:38]  He wrote that those in the fellowship would love Jesus and enjoy the worship of Him so much that they would not have to be entertained in worship services. Tozer continued that for those in this fellowship Jesus was their everything. Their all in all. People in the fellowship would abandon themselves to the pursuit of Jesus. They would also be unashamed to testify for Jesus to those who did not know Him. 

The fellowship of burning blazing hearts was formed informally over seven decades ago. Some have joined this fellowship over those years. Most have never even heard of it. Do the things Mears and Tozer wrote about describe your relationship with Jesus? Or do you find yourself a member of the fraternal order of lukewarm living? 

You cannot passionately pursue Jesus and not have Him set your heart ablaze. It is impossible to live in Laodicean lukewarmness when you spend time in the presence of the foremost burning heart of all time in Jesus Christ. Will you abandon yourself to Him? Will you pursue Him relentlessly as Mears and Tozer did? Tozer even wrote a classic book titled, The Pursuit of God. I long to be a part of this fellowship of burning hearts. Never satisfied but always hungering for more of Him. Unashamed to testify about Him. Seeking to burn more and more in His presence. Contented in Jesus and not needing nor even desiring to be entertained as a cheap substitute for substantive and soul satisfying worship. O Lord, let me burn for you so hotly and brightly that others are attracted to the flame and set ablaze as well.   

Holy Ambition

 From as far back as I can remember I had ambition. I used to sit in elementary classes practicing my autograph because I had ambition to be a professional athlete. I worked out in my junior high and high school years alone in the hottest part of the summers to excel in sports. I pushed my body and mind through ambition to succeed so I could play college football. 

When Jesus saved me, He did not take away my ambition. He redirected that ambition. It became a holy ambition, or at least it started out that way. I never dreamed I would become a pastor and preacher. In my early years in ministry, my ambition was to lead the biggest youth group in town. I worked relentlessly sharing my faith with students and saw dozens and dozens get gloriously saved. God grew that youth group. We saw multiple rows of pews filled with teenagers on Sunday mornings. We were big and influential. 

I left that ministry to become a pastor. My ambition to see the church grow intensified. We did grow in that first church. We doubled in size. It was during this season that God had to refine my ambition. I wanted the growth because I wanted the accolades. We won the award for the fasted growing church in our area one year. It was hollow. Between when we turned in our attendance statistics and the time I received the award our church split. Over the next few years attendance dwindled dismally. I cut my salary voluntarily several times. We met outside in the warmer weather on Sunday evenings because we could not afford to run the air conditioning all day on Sundays. I did not tell the church that, but they probably knew it. 

Over and over again I kept that ambition to see churches grow. To baptize more people. To see attendance increase. Always ambition for more. I struggled with contentment. Instead I chased ambitious success. God had to refine that ambition. I encountered systematic failure over and over again. Failed church plants. Decreasing attendance. Relocations. Only to experience more failure. 

It took decades for God to get me to a place of real holy ambition. To become kingdom of God minded. To reset my mind to not ambitiously focus on building my kingdom. Matt 6:33 exhorts us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. Paul challenged us to learn to be content in all circumstances in Phil 4:10-12. Holy ambition means to let God set the parameters of our ambition. I am still driven and focused. Still forward focused. Still ambitious. I set a goal this year to lead a minimum of 12 people to Christ. I ambitiously set a goal to baptize 100 people this year. I have never even seen 50 people baptized in my ministry. Only God can do that. Here is the difference than in my early ministry. I wanted to grow and baptize people because it was biblical, but I also wanted the recognition. 

Today, I shun the recognition. I want to glorify God. I got an email last week from the editor of a denominational magazine wanting to do an article on our church. I prayed over it and did not feel a peace about it. I want to guard against pride or ever stealing glory from God. I prefer to do my work with ambition, but behind the scenes where only God sees. I don't want to be in the spotlight. The only recognition I desire is from God. He will reward in eternity. I do not desire the accolades and my pride certainly does not need it. God gets the glory for 100 baptisms. My name or even the name of our church is not the focus. God saving people is all about His glory. It is all about Him. John the Baptist put it perfectly when he said in John 3:30, "He must increase and I must decrease." That is holy ambition. 

A Thousand Compensations

 I have served smaller churches most of my ministry. I have never had retirement set up as part of a salary packages. I will have to work as long as I am physically and mentally able to do so. No problem because I love my work. Small churches mean small salaries. On more than one occasion I have worked bi-vocationally. I am here to say emphatically that God makes up the difference. God's provision for pastors come in a thousand compensations. 

I heard that last statement today listening to a pastor speak on a podcast. God provides for pastors in a thousand compensations. Brenda and I have seen that repeatedly over the past three decades. It may bore you, but I am going to make a list of things God provided for us. Vacuum cleaner. Beds. Chest of drawers. Chairs. Dining table. 9 vehicles. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Televisions. Bags of groceries. Tuition payments for school. Tanks of gasoline. Suits. Ties. I could d go on and on. God makes up the difference when there is lack. 

God proves Himself faithful to His people over and over again. He also does this for His pastors in unique ways. Many congregations are not able to adequately compensate their pastor. Some just choose not to do so even though they have adequate resources. It doesn't matter. God is able to make up the difference. His storehouse is amply supplied. He never runs out of resources. According to Ps 24:1 the whole earth is His and everything in it. Ps 50:10 is a reminder that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He can meet any need. He knows every address for His people. He can get His provision to those who need it most. 

In I Kings 17, God used ravens to provide for His prophet Elijah. Night and day God commanded the flight of the ravens to deliver meat to His servant. How out of the ordinary. Miraculous. He is able to do those kind of things even to this day. I experienced it again this morning. 

My time with the Lord this morning landed in I Kings 17. My faith was lagging. My vehicle had multiple mechanical issues. I planned to take it to a mechanic and dreaded the diagnosis. Before the morning was over, I experienced God answering another prayer of provision. Provision in answer to something I've prayed for at least two years. I was offered to buy a vehicle that we can afford without going into debt. The offer left me speechless. I certainly prayed for God's provision of vehicles. I just never saw the means by which He would make that provision. Just another reminder that in my life God has a thousand compensations besides my salary. It is humbling, astonishing, and cause for rejoicing. He did it again. 

I asked God for six vehicles without any debt. I did not ask Him for brand new vehicles. I asked Him for debt free vehicles. God has provided two of the six in the last month. If He can do that, and He has, I trust that He can certainly provide the other four in His way and in His timing in a thousand compensations. To my God be the glory. 

He and God Had a Deal

 I just finished preaching another funeral for a person I never met. This has been a regular ministry in my life for decades. There are numerous people out there not connected to a church or a preacher. Their loved ones die and somebody has to preach that funeral. God has seen fit that I do it repeatedly. It is not my favorite thing to walk into a room of complete strangers and have to talk about death and eternity. It is part of the calling on my life. I have preached numerous funeral services for people I did not know. In fact, of all the funerals I preached over the past twelve months up here in the Texas Panhandle, I can't say I knew any of them. I've preached more funerals in this past year than I did in our previous church in five years. 

I met with the family yesterday and took notes as I listened to stories about the deceased man. He was 86. His wife died 13 years ago. It was not an easy road for him. I gathered as much information about the man as I could. In situations like that I am most interested in one thing. Did the person trust Jesus as their Savior at any point in their life. I was told that he was alright with God. He and God had a deal. 

If that deal did not include repentance and turning to Jesus for salvation, then no deal was ever made. God doesn't make exceptions to John 14:6. The only way to heaven is through Jesus. He continuously offers mercy and grace while people are living. Once people die it is too late. Their fate is sealed. It's not based on good works. Eph 2:8-9. We are only saved through the gift of grace trusting in Jesus. 

I hope the deceased man today understood that and surrendered his soul before it was too late. I preached a pure gospel message. No sugar coating. Right along the Roman Road of Rom 3:23, Rom 5:8, and Rom 6:23. We don't like death. We don't even like to talk about death. It is a reality. We all have to face it at some time or another. Heb 9:27 records the truth that we all have appointed day to die. I saw that at the cemetery looking at grave markers. In one family, a son died at 26 and a brother or a father died at 40. Very young for both. Whether we live to a ripe old age of 90 plus or younger, we all have an expiration date. After that comes judgment. We all face God to give account for our actions. Only the grace of God reconciles our indebtedness because of sin. That is the only deal God ever makes. Nobody gets off the hook. God cuts no special deals or makes any other special provisions. It is grace alone, in Jesus alone, through faith alone. I hope it is the deal you have going with God. 

Astonished by the Power of Prayer

Most people pray at one time or another. Not all people pray expecting to get answers. Most of us know the disappointment of praying earnestly for God to intervene in our circumstances. We get accustomed to not receiving what we ask God to do. This begs the question whether we pray believing or whether we just make wishes when we pray.

In Acts 12, King Herod arrested Peter. He had him surrounded by 16 soldiers at one point. One night as Peter slept chained between two guards, an angel showed up. The angel woke Peter, made the chains fall off, and led him out of the prison past the guards. The iron gate leading outside prison suddenly opened. Peter followed the angel in the street and then the angel vanished. 

While Peter was in prison, many people were gathered praying for him. We are not told specifics about what they prayed. I imagine they prayed for his protection, strength, and deliverance. Peter showed up at the home where they were praying. He knocked on the door until the servant girl Rhoda recognized his voice and in her joy ran to tell the others. She didn't let Peter in, so he kept on knocking. When Rhoda told them Peter was outside, they thought she had lost her mind. 

I find that interesting. They prayed for Peter, but did they believe that God would really deliver him? I don't think they expected Peter to get out of prison. God answered their prayers in dramatic fashion. It does not seem they actually believed God would help. Isn't this the way we pray at times. We voice the words expressing our desires, but do we really anticipate God's miraculous intervention?

I'm disappointed when God does not answer. This past Wednesday night I asked God to save some people at our student gathering. I presented the gospel. Several students indicated they were unsure where they would spend eternity. Nobody responded. I sat in disbelief. 

There have been other times when God has saved several in answer to prayer. I've already reported in previous posts that eight times we have received blessing vehicles from God in answer to prayer. Many testify God has healed them through prayer. Revivals have been born through prayer. Peter got delivered from prison in response to prayer. 

God still astonishes in answer to prayer. So keep praying. Keep P.U.S.H.ing. Pray Until Something Happens. Sooner or later God will astonish you too with something grand. When the time is right, when it is His will to do so, and when He can get the most glory, He will astonish over and over again with the power of prayer. 

Mercy Triumphs

Every person plodding through life on this planet has transgressed the commands of God. We are all guilty. We have all sinned and rebelled against holy God. None are exempt. It does not matter what prevailing political correct views are. God established the standard of right and wrong before any of us were born. The times may change, but God's truth is timeless. His standards are not compromised. 

There are billions of people on this planet. Some follow Jesus. Most don't. Some do not even believe He exists. Those people make up their own rules. They do whatever they want without fear of consequences. It pains my heart to think of all those people facing God in judgment. God is perfect in His love. He is also perfect in His justice. He will hold people accountable. All people. According to [Matt 7:13-14] there are more people headed toward the judgment of destruction than those headed toward heaven. 

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [Heb 10:31] The anger of God is just as perfect as His love. That anger will be poured out on those who spurned His offer of mercy. His full fury will be unleashed in the day of judgment. Many who thought they were okay will be horrified to find out the mercy they rejected is the mercy they need, but it will be too late. That is the bad news. 

The good news is that mercy triumphs over judgment. [James 2:13] The word triumph means to boast, exult, and glory. The mercy of God is greater than His judgment. We don't deserve mercy. Not me. Not you. Not any of us. Yet God in His love and kindness leads people to repent [Ro 2:4] and receive mercy. What a wonderful gift of grace. A free gift to us, but a gift that cost Jesus dearly. His sacrifice paved the way for mercy. That mercy triumphs over the wrath of God. Mercy is the door opened by Jesus' death and shed blood to salvation. 

I'm humbled that God offered me mercy when I deserved condemnation. I don't boast except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. [Gal 6:14] He is my hero. He is my Lord. My Master. My Savior. His mercy triumphed over what I deserved. Instead of being sentenced guilty, He declared me righteous because of mercy. A mercy still offered to the masses. A mercy that still triumphs. 

After God's Own Heart

 I am listening to music by a Christian artist I cut my teeth on as a new convert named Steve Camp. He wrote and sang a song titled After God's Own Heart. He sang how he longed to be what God wanted him to be. Those words echoed in my soul 30 years ago just like they do today. To draw nearer. To learn more. To encounter more of Him daily. To be consumed with the obsession to pursue Him. 

To be a man after God's own heart means being a broken man. The painful blows of God's chisel, as He shapes us into vessels He can use are, hard to endure. The chunks that must be cut off are excruciating. At times we may feel like giving up because the cost of following is high. It requires surrender, sacrifice, suffering and the fiery trials of sanctification. 

Following after God's own heart is not for the faint of heart. He has the right to help Himself to our lives anytime He wants. He can require us to go anywhere, to do anything, at anytime He wants to command us. It does not matter how great the suffering or sacrifice. Compared to His suffering and sacrifice on the cross; no cost is too great to pay. No demand of His is too high. 

People say they want to follow Jesus. What many mean is that they will follow Him as long as it is popular to do so, convenient, and His invitation to follow does not lead to danger, risk, or make us uncomfortable. The call to follow Jesus meant suffering and death for most of the disciples. My family has sure paid a high price for following Him. Is it worth it? Absolutely without question. One millisecond in heaven will confirm that. 

Day after day we must be in pursuit of God's heart. To feel what He feels. To love whom He loves. To serve like He served. To be singularly focused on going hard after Him. [Ps 63:8] KJV Chasing His heart in devotions, spending ample time in the prayer closet, digging deep in His word, and seeking to live out the truths found there. 

It's interesting that as I finish this post another Steve Camp song is playing. It is my favorite song by him titled Living Dangerously In The Hands Of God. That is my desire. To live dangerously in the hands of God. What does that even mean? It means not playing it safe. It means a life of complete surrender. It means a life of radical obedience. That is what following after God's own heart means. May we each be compelled to risk everything in faithfulness to His call to follow after His heart. Even if it means living dangerously.  

Organic Discipleship

 I am very fortunate in the fact that God sent a man to share the gospel with me. I have written about that incident on many occasions and will not do so again. My focus today is on what happened afterward. The same man who introduced me to the Lord Jesus Christ is the same man who visited my home a few days later inviting me to church. I could not tell you the last time I had been to church before that. I am confident in saying it had been years.

I do remember how nervous I was to walk into that large church for the first time. I found a home at Denman Avenue Baptist Church. I cherish my time among those loving believers. I learned Bible truths from Brother Charles Roberts and the youth minister Eli Bernard. It was Eli who personally  invested in me for a couple of years before leaving that church to serve a church in Florida. Eli taught me how to study the Bible. He also taught me how to share Christ with others. 

He taught our whole youth group how to witness to a lost person. We did not just learn information. He had us sit in groups of two with one role playing a lost person and the other talking to them about how to be saved. He then took us out on the town where our schoolmates gathered to share Jesus with them. We watched Eli's boldness. I also got the chance to observe him in person when I went with him to make home visits. Numerous times I watched him talk about Jesus to teenagers and their parents. Without warning one night Eli knocked on a door and stepped backward saying, "It's your turn." I fumbled through that gospel presentation but did it. I was so nervous. Looking back I am so glad he did that. It fueled a fire in me to share Jesus and equipped me to be able to do so.

Eli followed the example of Jesus in discipleship. Jesus taught the disciples. He also modeled ministry for the disciples. They heard Him teach. The observed Him in action. He did not stop there. He also sent them out to do the work of making other disciples. This is exactly what Eli did for me. He made an investment in my life of greater value than my college or seminary education. He taught me. He modeled for me. He also sent me to do ministry without him by my side. 

I once asked Eli what I could do to repay his investment in my life. He told me to go do for others what he did for me. The truth is he is still investing in me all these decades later. I've tried to tell others and make other disciples. I've invested my life in many students and adults over the years. I fall woefully short of what I would like to do. I currently meet with a couple of guys to disciple them. I wish there were more. I trust God there will be many more in the future. 

That is the organic way of discipleship. I believe it is more effective than offering a class or teaching a conference. This is the way Jesus did it, and if His followers adopt the same organic method of discipleship it will have a great impact. 

A Month of Good News

It is hard to believe we are already in the month of April. Flowers are blooming. We actually reached 102 degrees last Saturday up here in the Panhandle of Texas. It will reach 80 today. We get to celebrate Resurrection Sunday on April 5th. A day to reflect on the crucifixion and rejoice over the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. We serve a risen Savior. He is alive today seated at the right hand of the Father on the throne. He waits for the day when the trumpet sounds and God says, "Go get your bride." We as the church are the bride of Christ. One day, I believe sooner than later, Jesus is coming back for us. That is all good news. 

We all have opportunities to share the good news with those around us. I've had numerous opportunities in the past several days and continuously look for others. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. [Matt 9:37] He exhorts us in the next verse to beseech Him to send out more workers. That is my prayer. That more of His followers will feel compelled to share the good news of the gospel to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and people they encounter in the routines and rhythms of life. 

The stakes are high. Everyday people perish into hell without having trusted Jesus for salvation. Some are ignorant. I fell into that category as a teenager. Nobody clearly explained the message of Jesus to me until I was 17 years old. A complete stranger told me the story and Jesus transformed my life. Even to this day, 43 years later, I am humbled and awed at what God did in my life back then. It is the good news I share with others constantly. I want others to experience what I experienced. It is not just good news. It is the best news in all the world. 

I believe that if we just asked God to put opportunities before us to share this good news, He would orchestrate some strategic conversations with seekers. Seekers are those who are asking spiritual questions. They are interested in spiritual things. This is a sure sign God is at work, because nobody seeks after God on their own initiative. [Rom 3:11] When people get interested in the things of God it is evidence of God at work. We need to join Him in that work. Always prepared to tell the good news. Eternity weighs in the balance. O God, please send all of us as workers into the harvest. May You bless us with many souls getting saved by Your grace. May we not be ashamed of the gospel [Rom 1:14] for it's the power of You for salvation. 

Rejected

 I saw this young high school girl approach a group of students asking if she could take a selfie with them. Those students were from a different school than the girl one who wanted to take the selfie. Every one of them turned and left declining the selfie. I know the girl who wanted to take the selfie. I have never in my life seen someone rejected more by her peers than she is. She desperately tries to fit in. Everywhere she goes she is isolated from the group. EVEN AT CHURCH. 

She tries to make friends. She excitedly acknowledges other students when she sees them. They all reject her. Not one time have I ever seen her sitting with a friend. I see her with her sister and parent, but never with a friend. It breaks my heart. To see her so blatantly rejected repeatedly crushes my heart. She is ripe to be taken advantage of by some evil hearted boy who will use her for self gratification and reject her afterward. 

She is not the only rejected person. These people are numerous. They lurk in the shadows because their wounds are deep. They learn over time not to trust others. Some were rejected by parents early in life. They may not have been kicked out of the house, but they got the message loud and clear that they were not loved or wanted. Some of them will go their whole lives without knowing love. Not feeling the support system of those who care. Their precious hearts will get harder until they are petrified in self preservation to protect themselves. 

Jesus loved the unlovely. He did not reject them.  The lepers. The blind. The lame. The demon possessed. The immoral. He loved them and accepted them. He touched them and transformed them. That can't always be said about His churches. Many are judgmental. Instead of the church operating as a hospital for sinners, it acts like a members only welcome country club. Lonely people might be tolerated, but they are certainly not welcomed and embraced in some faith communities. 

I was told a story recently of a rejected woman in another community. She felt like nobody cared for her. Not one single person. In desperation she went to social media. She made three posts pleading for anyone who cared to reach out to her. Nobody did. Each post got darker as she explained her living conditions and the condition of her heart. Not one person reached out to her. Her last post  reported she had given up on humanity. 

A few hours later she walked to some train tracks and waited. When she heard the train coming she resolved what she would do. She stepped onto the tracks in front of the coming train when it was too late for the train to stop. She was killed instantly. All because she was rejected. She lost hope. She cried out for help. Many people saw her posts, but nobody got involved. Nobody cared. The woman died alone with a broken heart. I wonder if she ever  experienced the love of Jesus. Did she ever get saved in younger years. It is heart wrenching to think this lady could have sought  relief in death only to find the flames of hell a much worse torment than she ever knew in her life. 

It comforts me to some extent to think that perhaps she was a Christian. Unlike some people, I do not believe suicide is the unpardonable sin. Jesus said the unpardonable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. It comforts me to think that after she died, if she was a Christian, that she experienced the greatest acceptance and love in the after life. 

I experienced rejection as a child. The last one picked on the playground for teams. Rejected by friend groups. Rejected by girls until I was in high school. Rejected by more churches than I can count to become their youth pastor or pastor. Rejected by people planning youth camps and revivals in favor of other evangelists. It hurt. My solace? A loving Savior who accepts me and a wife who does the same. What Jesus did for me He can also do for all rejected people. His love and acceptance are life transforming. 

Clapping for Joy

 Imagine a court room. Only this court room is not of earthly origin. Imagine it is heaven. God sits behind an exalted desk as the Righteous Judge. The prosecuting attorney is a slimy fellow know as the Accuser of the Brethren. The defendant is another hopeless sinner. One by one offenses are read out loud. The sinner can only hang their head in shame because every accusation is true. Guilty on all accounts. Shame and condemnation abound. The Righteous Judge listens attentively taking every trespass into account. 

Suddenly the defense attorney rises and says, "Your Honor, the debt has been paid. Every offense has been atoned. Father, I died on a cross to take all the guilt on myself and bestow righteousness onto them." With those words God the Father brings down the gavel pronouncing the sinner pardoned and not guilty. 

That is part of a message I preached yesterday morning. I gave the invitation for people to ask Jesus to rescue them. I exhorted people to formulate their own prayer asking Jesus for salvation. I asked people to indicate their encounter by lifting up their hand. I scanned the room, but saw no hands lifted. I did see a woman sitting to my left clapping her hands slightly in a circular motion with pure joy on her face. We dismissed the service and I glanced in her direction when I walked past her. She had tears in her eyes and clutched her daughter's hands. When she reached the back, I asked if she prayed for Jesus to save her. She smiled and told me she did. I gave her a high five. 

Luke 15:7 reminds of us that God finds more joy over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent. Put another way, God delights in bringing new people into the family. He loves pardoning sinners and offering them the free gift of salvation. This young mother experienced that yesterday. Her clap of joy was the outward expression of the inward work of the Lord in her heart. We celebrate with her and look forward to her future baptism. 

The saving work of God goes on and on. All over the world people are meeting Jesus. He is transforming their lives. Those people are expressing joy through tears, clapping, and baptism. It never gets old. Adding new Christian to churches is exciting. It is a work based on the love, grace, and mercy of God. No person deserves to be pardoned by God. God does not base His pardons on the merit of our deserving it. It is solely an act of God's love demonstrated by allowing Jesus to substitute in our place taking our punishment. 

I hope God allows me to see those claps for joy in new converts hundreds and even thousands more times. I hope my joy cannot be suppressed and my excitement not be stifled. The angels do not hold back in celebrating. Why should we? May claps of joy abound among new members of the family of God. May the saving work of God spread further and broader as one saved sinner tells other sinners where to find pardon and salvation to the glory of God. Please do it over and over again God. 

Stay Enchanted With Jesus

 Followers of Jesus are not immune to suffering. Jesus Himself suffered. So did the disciples and the Apostle Paul. Through the ages Christians have been persecuted, marginalized, ostracized, and even killed. Following Jesus does not always lead to an easy road. It is a road marked with suffering at times. 

Why would Christians endure such ill treatment when denying Christ would lead to an easier life? That easier life is only temporary. There is much more that follows our physical life in eternity. Living for the temporal is a no win proposition. There is something else that drives Christians to endure dark seasons of depression, rejection, hardships, and unrelenting pressure among pagan people who want Christians silenced. The enchantment with Jesus supersedes all the hardships. 

What do I mean when I write stay enchanted with Jesus? The word enchanted means to be filled with delight and charmed. The closer Christians get to Jesus in their personal walk the more enchantingly delightful they find Him. Knowing Jesus is greater than anything in the world. Paul wrote about the "surpassing value of knowing Jesus," in Phil 3:8. He went on to write that he counted everything else as loss compared to Christ. This is not religion. It is all about a personal relationship. 

Jesus wants to be known. He wants to reveal Himself to serious seekers. Millions of Christians have learned through the ages that knowing Him, put another way being enchanted with Him, is better than anything. It gives courage to suffer. Jesus does not abandon His followers in their sufferings. He draws near to them. He comforts, sustains, strengthens, and produces perseverance. He does not abandon His people during hardships. He knows what it is like to suffer and ministers to His followers out of His experiences of suffering. 

We stay enchanted with Jesus when we seek Him daily. When we spend linger long in His presence in private devotions. Even when we question why such intense suffering comes our way. We may not get the answers we want to all our why questions, but we will discover that He is sufficient. He is sufficient in suffering. He is sufficient in pain. He is sufficient in doubts, depression, discouragement, and dry spells. He is enchanting. Reflection on His cruel death on a cross is enough to cause the greatest delight to our wounded souls. He agonized so we could escape eternal suffering. He died so we could live and enjoy everlasting life. 

Staying enchanted with Jesus means discovering more about Him. It means getting to know Him and not just about Him. It means experiencing the joy of His presence in each season of life. He rejoices when we rejoice. He weeps with us when we weep. He hurts when we hurt. He is invested in His followers. His love is indescribable. According to Rom 8:35-39 nothing can separate us from His love. For those reasons and many more we must and should stay enchanted with Jesus during the hard times. He will walk us and talk us through them. Stay enchanted with Jesus through it all. 

Transformed

 I did not deserve it. I sure committed my share of blunders. Errors in judgment abounded. Early in my teenaged years I found myself drowning in sin. Nothing I tried made any difference to stop sinning. I went to church on a few occasions with friends. It felt awkward. I did not know the lingo nor did I understand the gospel message. I thought if I went I could get some sins knocked off my account. 

On other occasions, I attempted to read the Bible. I did what you do with any book and started at the beginning. This was another attempt to erase some sins from my account. It did not take long before I got bogged down in long lists of names I could not pronounce. Some of the stories were cool to read, but I never made it to the New Testament. 

I attended some youth events for a trip to an amusement park and for a girl I was interested in dating. A guy preached, but I did not understand what he was talking about. I used the church to get what I wanted, but had no use for it after that. 

Not until my junior year in high school did somebody sit with me to carefully and clearly explain the message of Jesus, salvation, and the hopelessness of trying to work my way to heaven based on good deeds, which were not that good after all. I sat in that football stadium, while the JV football played on the field, mesmerized by the message shared with me. It all clicked. My sinfulness. My helplessness. My need for a Savior. It was then and there I bowed my head and asked Jesus to forgive me, save me, and take control of my life. He did all three in glorious fashion that Thursday night back in October of 1983 at Abe Martin Football Stadium in Lufkin, TX. Jesus transformed my life that night. He has continued doing that ever since. 

A few nights later that same youth minister, who talked to me at the stadium, stopped by my house to invite me to church. All my distant church going relatives were either Methodists or Nazarenes. This guy was a Baptist. To my knowledge, I am the only person in my family who ever joined a Baptist church. I did not know the difference. All I knew is that Jesus transformed me. I hungered to know more about Him. I attended everything I could. I followed in baptism a few weeks later. 

Did I sin again? Absolutely. I felt guilty and lived in shame much of the time. Jesus kept getting more and more of me. He continually transformed me, drawing me into a better understanding of Him and a deeper walk with Him. He called me to preach only one year later. I had very limited knowledge of the Bible when I enrolled at Howard Payne University to play football and study for the ministry. I certainly did not fit the mold of the rest of the ministerial students. My professor to the introduction to ministry class at first thought I did not belong in his class. He thought I was just another football player. He did not know what Jesus had done for me and in me. 

I am thankful for those years at Denman Avenue Baptist Church as a teenager learning the Bible from pastor Brother Charles Roberts and the student minister Eli Bernard. I learned so much from both of them. I learned foundational Bible doctrine like the inerrancy of scripture. I learned how to witness to other people about Jesus. I learned what a healthy family looked like observing the families of some of my new church friends. I learned to have quiet times and study the Bible. I read my Bible before football games on Friday nights. That church licensed me into ministry and gave me my first preaching opportunities. I cherish that church. 

My Howard Payne days deepened my faith. I learned about prayer. I learned about revival. I made lifelong friends there. I also met the love of my life Brenda. Her affectionate love for Jesus attracted me to her as much as her beauty. We dated off and on and were married on June 29, 1991. God blessed us with four sons who all met Jesus as their Savior. I baptized all four of them. We are still madly in love with each other and treasure time with one another. 

I'm still preaching and sharing the transformational message of Jesus. I delight in seeing Him do for others what He did for me 41 years ago. Every good thing I have in my life I owe to Jesus. My salvation. My wife and sons. My calling and purpose. My friends. My education. My house, vehicles, books, bicycle, furniture, clothes. All of it blessings from my King Jesus. I owe Him my life and seek to live sweetly surrendered to Him who transformed my life. 

Looking Back and Believing for Future Faithfulness

 Where did the time go? My mind races with childhood memories and dreams. I'm classified as a senior adult though I have no intentions of joining AARP. Where did the time go? One day I was playing football for the Lufkin Panthers dreaming about playing in college. I blink and then I'm playing for the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets and meeting Brenda. I fast forward and I'm a youth minister at Rochelle Baptist Church in the tiny community of Rochelle, TX. Next, I graduate from college and move to Fort Worth to go to Seminary. I dreamed of serving a church and waited for a door to open. I taught youth Sunday School in the church Brenda and I attended until God did open a door at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Weatherford, TX where 30 years later we returned as pastor. 

Time passes and Brenda and I get married. I started a ministry career serving at different times as a youth minister, evangelist, pastor, and church planter. There have been numerous youth camps, revivals, and retreats. We moved multiple times following God from one ministry assignment to another all over the state of Texas east, west, central and north. We enjoyed wonderful blessings of God in most of those places. We endured excruciating hardships in a few. Along the way God blessed us with four little boys who grew up into four men. 

Now I sit in my office in Fritch, TX located in the Texas Panhandle 30 minutes north of Amarillo. We have been here 11 months. In that time, we found a house and secured a loan located less than 30 seconds driving time and less than one minute bike riding time from the First Southern Baptist Church where I serve as pastor. Hardly a day goes by that I do not plead with God to pay that house loan off early. We have seen numerous people saved and baptized. The church has grown modestly. The people have endeared themselves to us as we seek to bond with them and the community. I've worked hard to earn the right to be called pastor and not just preacher. Even the last 11 months is a blur of activities in my mind. 

Truth be told, most of my time is spent looking forward. There are so many things I prayerfully believe God to do in the future. More salvations. Many more baptisms. Great moves of His Spirit.  Transformation of lives, families, churches, and communities. There is so much more I believe God wants to do. I'm not thinking about retirement or slowing down at my age. I'm ramping up for greater moves of God. Trusting for strongholds to be torn down. Hoping for Jesus to rescue the perishing. Travailing for revival. Believing for a growing church that impacts the community. 

My head is filled with many memories. Some pleasant and others not so pleasant. I'm not stuck in the past though. Dreams compel me by faith to the future. There is so much more to trust God to do. So many more testimonies of His future faithfulness to share. This is not a time to gear down and coast into retirement. Retirement is not on my radar. I'll retire in heaven. As long as God gives me breath, mental clarity, and a body to hobble up and down from the pulpit, imagination and inspiration to write, I have work to do. I believe for God's future faithfulness to empower me to be His productive servant until my time on earth comes to an end. I hope what I leave behind brings no recognition for me, but great glory for my King Jesus. 

Wind and Fire

Being a resident in the Texas Panhandle has given me a new appreciation for wind and fire. We recently had a blustery day where wind speeds howled as high as 70 mph. By the noise outside my office, it has been a windy day here once again. I heard the whistling winds in a different part of our church facilities earlier so loudly I actually thought someone was in the building whistling. 

It is very dry around here. We have had very little moisture of any kind for months now. High winds mixed with dry conditions and low humidity make for wildfires. There have been numerous this spring. One burned over 200,000 acres. The wild fires of 2024 burned over a million acres. Thousands of cattle were burned alive devastating ranchers. 

Wind and fire can be destructive. Winds from tornadoes and hurricanes cause catastrophic damage. Fires are equally destructive in the form of lightening strikes, arson, forest fires and wildfires. When the power of wind and fire are harnessed, that same power can be used for beneficial purposes like windmills, sails on a ship, and combustible engines. 

I pray for the wind and fire of God to move in the churches of this town and region once again. The wind of the Spirit blowing through congregations and communities powerfully. Empowering ministry endeavors. Convicting and converting the unsaved. The fire of God falling on cold apathetic hearts, ushering in days of  refreshing and revival, and calling people to repentance and renewal. We need the wind and the fire of God. 

Without them we have dead churches. People content themselves with stale religion without life. People sleepily sit in the pews unphased by music or sermon. The dry rot of religion keeps many people in a rut where they high center in lukewarmness. The wind and fire of God shakes up the status quo. It brings passion into worship gatherings. It produces sold out followers of Jesus who impact the world around them. Acts 17:6. 

Like I heard a preacher say, "God can do more in days than we can do in decades." The wind and fire of God unleash power like in the days of Acts. I've seen what God can do when the wind and fire fall. People get serious about God. The lost are transformed. The congregation gets clean before the Lord. The message of God travels faster and broader than in normal times. Worship is intensified. The altar gets crowded. People hunger for more of God. Those are all things I long to see again. May the Lord send His wind and fire across the land before it is too late.

One Down Five to Go

 I love testimonies. When people share what God has done it inspires hope in listeners. That is what I hope to do today. To inspire hope in people who may are having a hard time. To remind people how mighty God is and how puny our problems are to Him. He is so much more able to do impossible and improbable things than we can conceive. 

I bet most reading this know what it is like to pray in faith for something and have God either deny or delay the answer. I have been in that season. Two years ago I saw the writing on the wall. The five cars we asked God for and received debt free back between November and December of 2017 were old with many miles when we got them. After seven years, I could see each of them were getting on their last legs. I started asking God to provide six vehicles for my family without any debt. He provided five in 2017. What is one more? 

I prayed diligently through 2024 and 2025 with no answers. There were days when my faith soared high and I expected the answer to come at any moment. There were other days when doubt clouded my faith vision and it seemed God would never to come to our aid. According to Luke 18:1, we should always pray and not lose heart. So, I kept asking. At times, I even stated publicly what we trusted God to do for our family. People doubted. One person smirked, "That is a lot of vehicles." This is not the first time people have doubted God to answer faith prayers I petition to Him. God has proved doubters wrong before. I trust He will do so again. 

Three weeks ago that two years of praying paid off. God worked His miracle answer. A man met me after church and told me he was reading his Bible Saturday evening when he felt God prompt him to give away a vehicle that sat in his driveway unused. He felt like he and his wife were to give the car to Brenda and I. The transaction was completed this week. They had new tires put on the vehicle, replaced the struts, replaced the battery and had the car detailed. We could not believe how clean and fancy the car is. The car is a 2013 Ford Edge. It looks much newer. This is a crossover SUV. It has remote starting, heated seats, two DVD players with headphones connected to the back of the front seats, a sun roof, leather seats and much more. It is the nicest vehicle we have ever owned. God blessed us with the vehicle debt free. It is the tenth time God has blessed us with a vehicle in answer to prayer. Praise His mighty name. 

We have good financial credit and could have financed a vehicle. I made a vow to God several years ago I would trust Him for future vehicles and would never go in debt on a vehicle again. We trust to save enough to pay cash, for God to provide the money or to be blessed vehicles, so we wait. Waited in faith and in prayer for two years. God came through! He did it again. Praise His name and all glory to Him. We rejoice. Brenda told me last night while driving, "I still can't believe it." I can. I travailed for two years to see that miracle vehicle sitting in our driveway. God had the answer in mind all the time. He waited for the right time and the right receptive hearts with a heart to bless others. Brenda testified to the ladies at her work about the blessing. I am doing that now and will testify before the congregation this coming Sunday. 

One down and five to go. When that man told me they felt God wanted them to give us a vehicle, I rejoiced and silently prayed, "Thank you Lord. Now five more to go." The same God who provided the five vehicles in 2017, provided a Lincoln Continental before that, a Mazda 6, a Silverado truck, and a Caprice Classic in the past, is the same God I trust to replace worn out vehicles for my family. Tanner is next. His car has a slipping transmission, well over 200,000 miles, and has hail damage all over it. I am praying for him next. Turner's truck already has the transmission gone out. He is driving the Mazda 6 Brenda used to drive. The Mazda 6 is a 2006 model with high miles. Turner will be next in line. Taylor does not have a working vehicle. He and his wife are sharing a vehicle now. He does not even know I am praying for God to bless him with one. Tucker is next. His Kia is in bad shape. It is well over a decade old with high mileage, a dangling front bumper and fading paint. Lastly, I drive a 2004 Yukon. It has multiple issues and one mechanic told me needs a whole new engine. Most days I don't have to drive far. I determined up front that I would be the last one to receive a vehicle. For my other sons, I ask God to supply trucks. I will drive whatever God provides for me when that time comes. I cannot bring myself to ask for anything specifically. 

One of the first times I mentioned publicly I was trusting God for six vehicles, the listeners ridiculed me. I wish I could see their reaction when they learn God provided the first one. I will remind you that Brenda and I do not ask people to meet our needs. We ask God. The only reason I even state what we trust God to do here is so that when He does it, you will know this was a direct answer to prayer and not a random coincidence. 

I give God glory for the one. I will give Him glory for the five. I pray to the God who calls things to exist that do not exist. Rom 4:17 I don't know how He will do it. I don't know when He will do it. I do believe that He will provide another five vehicles for my family without debt. The reasons are to glorify His name, give us a broader platform to testify, build faith and hope in listeners, and build our faith to believe Him for bigger things in the future. Nothing is impossible with God. Not even five more. 

Living in the Sweet Spot

 From time to time some children hear the words, "You were a mistake. I never wanted you." This is devastating to a child. To grow up believing they were an unwanted accident damages the psyche. Read this very carefully. NO CHILD IS A MISTAKE. THEY WERE CREATED BY AN INTELLIGENT MAKER. I know I will get push back from that statement. Questions may arise as to why certain children are born with birth defects, disabled, or who will not live long after birth. The short answer goes back to Adam and Eve and their choice to sin. Their sin has impacted every person naturally born from that day to this day. Sin has cursed our world. Some of the consequences bring about sickness, disease, and disabilities. 

God creates people with purpose nevertheless. I know a disabled man, who even as an adult, has to be cared for by his aging parents. His name is Kyle. He is one of the most outgoing extroverts I have ever met. He is never shy about making new friends and talking to people about Jesus. He brings joy to everyone who knows him. His mental capacities are that of a young teenager even though he is nearly 50. He is also incredibly joyful. He impacts many people and never uses his disability to hold him back. At some point he learned to play the drums. His parents keep a set of drum sticks in the back of their vehicle so Kyle can pound away on the seat in front of him keeping the beat with songs playing. 

We are the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus. That is how Eph 2:10 phrases it. We were created with purpose. I did not know it as a child, but God created me to preach and write. I discovered the call to write in elementary school back in fifth grade. I loved to write so much that one year I asked for a typewriter. What twelve year old asks for a typewriter? We are talking pre computer days. I did not discover His call to preach until July 4, 1985 at a youth camp. For the past 40 years I have spent my life preaching and writing. 

You have some unique calling on your life for God too. He uniquely gifted you to do something. Some teach, nurse, coach, cook, clean, manage wealth, practice medicine, legislate, practice law, write, serve in law enforcement, own a business, repair vehicles, and a host of other things. God created you for something. He gave you a unique personality, passion, and mastery of skills to do something. Some can sing, play an instrument, paint, act, organize, operate computers, fitness train, farm, and ranch. 

There is lady named LaFonda whom we employ to clean our church. I cannot rave enough about the fantastic job she does. She is diligent, thorough, industrious, faithful, attentive, and willing to go the extra mile. So much so that one weekend when we had guests ministers in town, whom we gave a tour of the building, they commented about the cleanliness of the facilities and even said something about her from the stage on Sunday morning. She does a fantastic job that testifies to her talents and work ethic. I told her last week what a fantastic she does. She has earned my deepest admiration and she inspires me to work hard at what I am called to do. No joke, as I was typing this, she just knocked on my door to vacuum the carpet and to empty my trash. I asked her permission to include her in this article. She gave me permission and said, "Nobody has ever written about me before." She seemed surprised and at first thought I was kidding until I pointed out this paragraph to her. Her great work speaks for her. If you know her, give her a pat on the back or a word of encouragement. 

God created us with purpose. It is our job to seek Him to discover that purpose. When you are living in your purpose, it is what I call living life in the sweet spot. Have you ever hit a baseball with a bat? If you hit the ball too close to the handle it will jar your hands. It is a totally different feeling when you hit the ball in the fat part of the bat known as the sweet spot. Living life in your purpose is living in the sweet spot. I hope you discover yours. 

Unmotivated

 Have you ever felt unmotivated? Unmotivated to clean the house, go to work, complete that unfinished project, read the Bible, pray, or workout. It happens to most of us at some time or another. What do you do when you are unmotivated to do anything? Some people stay in the bed for extended periods. Others sit in an easy chair snacking and watching television. There are people who get absorbed in toxic thinking. Many just go through the motions each day. 

Where do we find motivation to be productive when we lose our motivation? Some people are self motivators. They motivate themselves into action through sheer will power. These are the early rising gym rats who do predawn workouts. These are the people who make to do lists and feel accomplished as they check one item after another off the page. These are the goal setters who strive toward a targeted goal. What if you are not one of them or even if you are, but lost the motivation to be productive? 

Are you depressed? Has something got you down in the dumps? Depressed people are not motivated people. Toxic thinking can sure impact not just how we feel, but our motivation to want to be productive. If you lose hope it is hard to be motivated to keep pressing forward. God is the source of hope. If we spend time dwelling on the things listed in Phil 4:8, we just might find a way out of depression. 

Another question to consider is are you burned out? I've learned over the years that I can push myself and my body hard for weeks on end. I also know that a day will come when I hit a wall and need to physically, mentally, and spiritually recover. The way I do this is by taking a couple of days to slow down. I pray and read. I work at slowing my pace of life. I force myself to slow down eating meals, getting ready each morning, and sometimes getting a way.  I find after a few days of this, I am recharged and motivated to hit the ground running. Just like a vehicle was not designed to run at maximum RPM's continuously for long periods of time. Doing so repeatedly will result in engine failure. The same is true for our bodies. We may not like it or even admit it, but God knew what He was doing when He designed one day to be Sabbath to rest. It is difficult to be motivated when you are not just tired, but burned out. Even Jesus took time to recharge. Mark 1:35

One final question. Are you disillusioned? Have things not worked out the way you planned? Have your dreams been dashed on the rocks of reality? Maybe you prayed your heart out until you no longer have a prayer to pray because you did not get the intended results. Therefore, you are no longer motivated to ask God for help. Maybe you worked hard at work and instead of being rewarded you get overlooked and passed over. You read stories of people in the Bible who had the opportunity to be disillusioned, but they kept trusting. They experienced breakthrough moments. Joseph went from the dungeon to second in command in the palace in one day. Gen 42-50 Martha and Mary went from grieving sisters over the death of their brother to front row spectators of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the grave. John 11. The disillusioned disciples went from cowards to courageous warriors for Him when the resurrected Jesus appeared to them. Luke 24. 

God can help with depression, burn out, and disillusionment. In gaining victory in these areas, He can also supply the motivation to be productive. Just a few moments ago I was unmotivated. I still chose to click on the computer and to type this article trusting God to overcome my lack of motivation. I did not even have an idea to write about. I sighed a silent prayer when the word unmotivated came to mind. Just typing the first few words in faith God made up what was lacking in motivation. Maybe this will help someone find new motivation. . 

Able to Do More

This morning while praying, I paused for a moment to reflect on whom I was speaking. God. Almighty. Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Meaning He is all powerful, all knowing, and all present. He is so much more capable of working than we can imagine. We don't always remember that when we pray. We often are overwhelmed by our circumstances and trials that overshadow our awesome God. We need to glance at our problems, but to gaze at our God. 

Ephesians 3:20 is a great reminder of how powerful God is. The verse starts off with the phrase, "Now to Him." That is where we have to start when we pray. The focus is on Him. Not on our problems. Not on our adversities. Not on our impossible situations. If you start with your problems, you may doubt in faithless praying. When we keep our focus on God first, our faith is encouraged so we pray more effectively. 

Our God is able. What does that mean? He is capable. He is powerful. He is mighty. Simply put God can do anything. Nothing is impossible to Him.  He is able. That should bolster faith. Increase our belief. He can do more than we can ask or think. Not just more. Abundantly more. I don't know about you, but I can ask and imagine a lot. I have a very vivid imagination. I can and have asked a lot. It is not based on our ability to pray. It is all based on His ability to answer. He does not even have to move a finger to accomplish great things. He can just speak and great things follow like creating the universe. 

What does God want you to believe Him to do? I ask that question based on the promise of I Jn 5:14-15 where we are exhorted to pray in the will of God. If we do this, we have confidence that God will answer. It just makes sense that if we are going to apply the truth of Eph 3:20, we need to believe God for the things that He wants us to believe Him to do. I did that this morning and waited for Him to guide me. I sensed Him directing me to ask and believe Him for eight things. Most of those things are related to growing His kingdom. The specifics are not important. What I can tell you is that I am powerless to accomplish even one of those eight things. It does not depend on me. It all depends on Him. He is able to do all eight of those things over and above what I can even think or imagine. 

The end result of such praying is that God gets glorified. He will be praised. People get to testify about the wondrous things that God does. That inspires faith in those who listen. It encourages those who grow discouraged in praying when they do not see things change the way they want or as quickly as they want. They are reminded that God is able to do more. I look forward in the very near future to posting more articles testifying about what God does because He is able to do more. There are answers just around the corner. Don't forget that God can always do more. 

Truth and Fire

 There are many preachers of truth. It is estimated there are five million preachers around the world. Many have been thoroughly educated in expositing the truth of the Bible. They have learned the Hebrew and Greek languages. They have immersed themselves in Bible history. They have wrestled with systematic theology and honed their skills in preaching classes. Yes, there are actually classes on preaching where students preach sermons to the professor and other students. These men fill pulpits of all shapes and sizes to proclaim God's word. They do so with great knowledge, oratory skill, and precision in expounding the texts. They are professional and polished. 

On the other hand, there are preachers who are fiery. They preach with great passion. The yell, pound the pulpit, walk all around, and preach with great emotion. They may read a text, but often incorporate many other texts in a shotgun patterned range of topics in one sermon. They are intense, laser focused, and preach hell fire and brimstone. These preachers often come from a Pentecostal background. What they may lack in education they certainly make up for in zeal. 

The preachers of truth may proclaim the Bible, but they do not always do so under the power of God. They lean on their education and preaching experience in sermon preparation and delivery. While their sermons are definitely Biblical, they are also often dry and boring. 

The fiery preachers preach with great zeal, but they do not always expound the truth of the text. They lean on emotional deliveries to get their desired results. Some of these do not any study before preaching. They just rely on the Holy Spirit to give them a fresh word from the Lord. Listen closely and you may find these people preaching the same sermon over and over again just shuffling different texts. Those texts are not exposited frequently. Any sermon without Bible truth is just a speech. 

We need preachers who will preach truth on fire. Those who proclaim the entirety of God's word and do so with the fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit. Not preaching with persuasive words of human wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power. [I Cor 2:4] We need truth and we need it on fire to come and set apathetic hearts aflame. 

This anointing with fire can't be found in the classroom, but rather in the prayer room. It can't be bought with money, but earned in the secret place in travailing prayer. We should judge sermons by their Biblical content and accuracy. We should also judge them whether they have the fresh fire infusing them in our hearts and minds. Truth and fire are needed today. Not just one or the other. We need Bible saturated sermons that are ablaze with Holy Ghost fire to brand them into our souls. 

The Tremors of Depression

 Multiple people in society suffer from mental health issues. They can feel the tremors of depression coming on them. Like ominous storm clouds building in the distance, depression comes on in waves of darkness suffocating hope. It is a place of isolation as depressed people often withdraw from those around them. Depression cripples people mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. 

Many suffer from such illness. Well meaning but ignorant people say things like, "Just snap out of it. Trust God and overcome. Look at all the things you have to be thankful for all around you." While these things may be said with good intentions, they offer little to no hope, but heap mounds of condemnation on those suffering through the dark cloud of depression. 

Depressed people may even be convinced that God wronged them, failed them, and forsook them in their moment of need. They wonder why God did not answer their prayers in the way they wanted. They question why God allowed the suffering to continue. They even blame God for adverse circumstances. They become convinced that God cannot be trusted, and therefore instead of finding hope in God, they find their perceived failure of God to be another reason for melancholy thoughts. 

What does a person do when they find the tremors of depression creeping into their thoughts? The Bible exhorts us to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. II Cor 10:5. We must be disciplined about the thoughts we entertain. Dark toxic thoughts may come randomly, but we determine whether we dwell on those thoughts. If they bring us down, we need to get rid of them as quickly as possible. One way to do this is by constantly filling our minds with truths that combat toxic thoughts. A great source of truth is the Bible with passages like Ps 27:13-14, Ps 30:5, Ps 34:18-19, Ps 42:5, Ps 50:15, Is 41:10, Jer 32:17, Matt 6:25-32, and Matt 11:28 just to name a few. 

Another thing depressed people need to do but often don't want to do, is to talk to someone. Talk to a family member, close friend, a pastor, or a professional counselor. Sometimes just talking about the source of depression helps just getting it off your chest. At other times, it may take professional help over a longer period to work through issues of despair and anxiety. 

One other tip to help is to remember that dark seasons for most people do not last forever. Those seasons come and go. Just as suddenly as the tremors of depression come they can also leave. That's hard to believe when you are in the middle of it. It feels like hope will never return. Many people who were drowning in depression can testify that they were rescued and God restored hope to them. He can do the same for you. 

Thirsty

I am thirsty. Not for anything this world can supply to quench that thirst. It is not a thirst for water, iced tea, Gatorade, milk or lemonade. My thirst is not of this earth. It is spiritual in nature. It is unquenchable by anything this world can provide. It is a thirst for God and His mighty move among us all. It aches in my soul. I feel it like a pain in my gut at times when I pray. It is on my mind continually. At times it keeps me up at night. I'm often distracted and preoccupied in my mind. I want more of God and His work among us. 

I read the wonderful stories of God in the Bible intervening in the lives of people who cried out for His help. Marvelous miracles followed. Miracles that blow the mind just to imagine. He moved millions of gallons of water into walls to deliver Israel. Exodus 14. He provided miracle bread in the form of mana in the wilderness. Exodus 16. He sent fire on Mount Carmel. I Kings 18 and then ended a three and a half year drought in the same chapter when Elijah prayed. He sent Jesus in the Gospels after 400 years of silence. The last verses in the book of John in the last chapter inform us that all the books in the world could not contain the records of the miracles Jesus performed. We only have a few recorded. 

I thirst to seek more of God and Jesus. I yearn to be drawn closer than an intellectual knowledge. I long for first hand encounters. I thirst for the church to experience God anew. Like He did through the book of Acts. Like He moved in the First and Second Great Awakenings. Similar to what He did in the New Hebrides revival and the great Wales revival of 1904. Like He did on the campus on Asbury College in 1970 and in 2023. Like He is doing right now at Southeastern Pacific University. 

I thirst for more than dry religion. I thirst for more than religious routines. I yearn for more than programs. I thirst for God and His power. I thirst for Him to be known and glorified in communities again. I thirst for repentance among God's people and salvation among the masses. I thirst for transformation of individuals and whole communities. 

The unquenchable thirst drives me to the prayer closet. It is pure travail trying to give birth to the miraculous move of God in our day. I pray in secret but long for God to reward openly for all to see. I long for His churches to be filled to overflowing with His Spirit and His worshipers. I long for baptistry waters to be continually stirred as the people of God celebrate new converts. It is a thirst no person can ever quench. Only God. May it be so Lord. May it be so. 

The Greatest Hero

 It was a very difficult time in America. Hope was fading. Conditions cascaded into catastrophes. People were on the verge of starvation. Work was scarce. People needed a helping hand. They needed a hero. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster found a hero. Not just for themselves but for the whole world. Jerry was the writer and Joe was the artist. They were high school friends who later came up with the idea for a hero. The year was 1933. America struggled through the woes of the Great Depression. People needed a hero. Jerry and Joe introduced the world to Superman. 

You remember the old cartoon introduction. "Faster than a speeding bullet. Stronger than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman." With that we were glued to comic books, later cartons and movies to Superman. His blue suit with the letter S on the front and his red shorts and red cape made him an iconic figure worldwide. He helped people escape their challenging lives. His character became a symbol of hope. 

He was and is make believe. Just like Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider Man, Captain America, and the rest. pretend defenders. Who is the greatest hero? According to my research Spiderman is the most popular by fans world wide. Batman and Superman are always in the top three. Billions of dollars was spent by movie goers to see these characters on the big screen. 

None of these is the greatest Hero. That designation is reserved exclusively for Jesus Christ. He did not have to be created. He existed with God before creation. He has no weaknesses like the others. He is all powerful. He conquered death. He not only raised people from the dead like Lazarus, but also was raised Himself from the grave. That is why we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Jesus also did something no pretend superhero could ever do. He took our punishment for our sins taking it on Himself. He took our punishment for sins He did not commit. He substituted His righteousness for our wickedness. He transferred us from children of wrath to become children of God. For all who repent of sin and turn to Him for salvation He is the greatest hero. 

Today, He hears our prayers, rescues and redeems, transforms tormented souls, reclaims reckless rebels, and loves the most unlovable. He is alive and active in the affairs of people. Jesus is the greatest hero. [Phil 2:9-11] informs that God gave Jesus the name that is above every other name, that every knee will bow at His name, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the greatest hero for humanity. 

Living Under a Burden

 There are burdens we are to cast upon the Lord as instructed in [Ps 55:22]. These could include stressors, trials, relational issues, financial concerns, health matters, and victory over sins to name a few. There are other burdens God places on us. Burdens He wants us to live under. Burdens for the things that God cares about. Burdens that drive us to our knees. I am living under several such burdens right now. 

The first is for revival. I first began studying about revival in 1988. I have been a serious student of revival since then. I have a whole shelf in my library of books devoted to the subject of revival. I've watched numerous documentaries on revival. I have written devotional literature about revival. Mostly, I have prayed for revival going on four decades. Three times in the past I experienced God sending revival in places we served. I cannot even put those times of refreshing into words. They were filled with fresh God encounters. I live under that burden again. It is on my mind night and day. It is a primary topic in prayer. 

I believe God put that burden on me. I also believe He intends to send a revival to our church, community, and the region. It propels prayer and fasting. I don't know when. I will not schedule it. I do not intend to ever schedule another revival meeting. I've both planned and preached such meetings that were not revival at all. I prefer to prayerfully wait on God to send genuine revival when He pleases. I hope to set the conditions in place to be prepared when such a time comes. 

I am also living under the burden for our students. These students are misguided, wounded, in bondage to sin, stressed out, and miserable. The numbers who have been and are still being abused crushes me. I see the pain in their eyes. They grow up in environments most of us cannot imagine. I pray for ways to connect with them. I plead for opportunities to tell them about Jesus. I feel their pain in the pit of my guts. This is a burden I want to live under. I desire to enter their pain through intercession. It is a burden I do not want God to lift. 

I also live under the burden of personal mountains. I know they are tests. Instead of having a shrinking faith I plead for faith to match the tests. These are situations where prayer gives birth to the miraculous moves of God. Such God interventions glorify Him immensely. I do not resent the trials. I embrace them as opportunities to watch God do the impossible and improbable. God will melt the mountains into miracles. That is what I believe God will do. 

Some burdens are meant to be lived under rather than cast off. Such burdens helps to focus our prayers. They are reminders of the things that God cares about and wants us to care about also. May God break our hearts with the things that break His heart. Those are the burdens we should all live under. 

Sweet Hour of Prayer

 One of my favorite rooms in our church is the prayer room. It is isolated in a quiet area. The room has two chairs, a kneeling altar, and small desk inside. It is the perfect get away when things get hectic. It is a place I love to frequent. I love to sit before the Lord. To worship Him in private. To bask in His presence. In that sacred place battles are fought and won. In that place burdens are laid down. In that secret place the promises of God are secured. [Matt 6:6] God alone sees us in the secret place. He hears us and rewards our time spent there with peace, provision, and power to serve Him. 

Time stands still in there. I never know how much time has passed. It is the highlight of my day to get away from the crowds to spend time with my Father. Time spent there is irrelevant compared to the God encounters. Those are more important than the amount of time spent there. Somedays I find that is all I want to do is sit before the Lord in that secret place. 

I attended a prayer conference in college that challenged us to spend one hour in prayer everyday. The speaker even gave us an outline to help us. It was a struggle in those days. I did spend an hour in prayer on a few occasions back then, but it felt forced and formulaic. It is different these days. Time does not even come into play most of the time. It is my most important appointment of the day. Everything else on my to do list plays second fiddle to prayer. 

What it makes it so sweet is that it is a two sided conversation. I assure you what God has to say is always more important than what I have to say. Like one author I read recently wrote, "Learn to pray with an open Bible." God speaks and prompts what to pray. I desire God to direct our time together. To learn what is on His mind and heart. This takes precedence over my pulling out my long list of requests and concerns. 

Many people see prayer as a duty and drudgery. I see it as delightful and desirable. It has taken 40 years of experimenting, exercising, and God encounters to find prayer sweet. I still feel like I have so much more to grow and progress. I am not where I want to be. There are higher heights to reach and I am resolved to reach them with God's help and guidance. I want to fully surrender in prayer. To devote myself to it and the pursuit of God more than ever before. In doing so, I know prayer will only grow sweeter in time. 

A Lot of People Say They Want Revival: Will They Pay the Cost?

 You hear a lot about revival. Many Christians say they want it. I have been a part of four genuine revival movements. I have witnessed first hand two others. I have learned a valuable truth that has led to a deep conviction. REVIVAL IS COSTLY. Most people are not willing to pay the price. People want revival on their terms. God sends revival on His terms. Those terms include brokenness over sin, repentance, prayer, and evangelism. 

A 13 year old boy received a heavy burden from the Lord for revival in his country. Imagine that. A young teenager becoming so burdened for his country that he begins praying God send revival. Nothing changed after a year. Not even after five years. A decade passed without any signs of revival. This young man continued to pray. He testified he would be awakened around 2:00 a.m. and pray until about 5:00 a.m. He would go to work in the coal mines praying. The burden never left. He went to a Bible college, but felt so burdened for revival he left to devote himself more fully to prayer. After 13 years, he preached a simple message to some teenagers. That was the spark that ignited the Welsh Revival of 1904 where God saved 100,000 people in six months!  That move of God spread all over the world. Would you have persevered in prayer for 13 years before the revival came?

Roberts' life changed. He was in high demand in churches all over the country. He never announced where he would show up not wanting to draw attention to himself. Revival services were happening everywhere. The services were not centered around a preacher. The people sang, they testified, the sang more, they prayed, and God wondrously saved many. Even when Roberts did attend local meetings, he did not always preach. He prayed and waited on God. If God prompted him to preach then he did. If he had no message he would just pray. The prayer burden took a toll on his physical and emotional health. 

After the revival ended, Roberts withdrew from public ministry devoting himself exclusively to a ministry of intercession in private. He died alone in a hospital unknown and forgotten. He devoted his youth to the pursuit of God for revival. The cost was high. Higher than most would pay. 

Genuine revival is not just costly on the ministers. It is costly on the church members. They still have to work and do household chores. On top of that, they add attending revival meetings late into the night for weeks, months, and in some cases years night after night. It is costly on church facilities. The wear and tear on the building from continual use for extended periods of times takes a toll. Just ask Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, FL or Asbury College in Kentucky. 

A lot of people say they want revival. Few are willing to pay the cost in prayer. Few are willing to inconvenience their schedules. Few are willing to let go of control so God can freely move. Three times in my ministry God has broken out revivals. He called me to preach all of them. All three lasted for weeks. My days were devoted to prayer, message preparation, and preaching. It cost time with my family. It cost time in extra preaching and study. It cost physically as most of those services lasted a minimum of two hours and some longer. It cost spiritually praying through spiritual warfare. It cost emotionally seeing people encounter God night after night, pleading with people to trust Jesus for salvation. It cost sleep deprivation as morning prayers were kept after late night ministry. I've experienced God's powerful revival movement. I can tell you it is costly. A cost I'm willing to pay all over again if God will just come move in power. Lord, please do it again. 

Living on Mission

 There is no question that my favorite room in this church is the prayer room. I frequent it regularly. I learned from researching church history that a group of ladies started a prayer ministry in this church back in 1993 with a room they designated as the prayer chapel. I'm not suggesting that is the first time this church prayed together in the past seven and a half decades. They started on April 15, 1993 with two ladies. They kept records of the numbers of intercessors, the regular prayer requests answered, and the number of hours people prayed during that year for a decade. So much of what I get to enjoy at FSBC Fritch is because God answered the prayers of those faithful intercessors.

We have a newer prayer room now. Isolated. Quiet. A sacred spot to seek the Lord. I was in the prayer room last Tuesday praying over various things. I felt a strong compulsion from the Lord that I needed to share my faith at Refuel with some athletes. Refuel is our ministry to high school students where we serve a free lunch to them once a week on Tuesdays. I waited for the students to show up later, but only one athlete came and he sat by himself. I recognized him because I served as the team chaplain during football and basketball seasons. I approached and struck up a friendly conversation with him with the mission of sharing Jesus. 

I asked if he knew where he would spend eternity at the end of his life. He contemplated and commented, "That is an interesting question." He had no idea. I asked if I could tell him something very important that someone told me when I was 17 years old. He seemed eager to listen. I told him an abbreviated version of my testimony. Sharing how Jesus took my sin away and saved me. His time was abbreviated before needing to get back to school, so I did not have time to press the issue. He did get to hear a clear gospel presentation. 

Today, we fed students again. God orchestrated three athletes showing up about 25 minutes before anyone else came. I had the chance to do the same thing with those students. I pulled up a chair and sat down with them. I told them up front that I cared about them. I shared my testimony and assured them that I would not pressure them. I just wanted to make sure they heard that message especially since two of them are seniors and my time with them is growing short. 

It is an intentional choice to live on mission for Jesus. Over the years God has opened doors to share the good news of Jesus with my children,  waiters and waitresses, doctors, nurses, coaches, students, drug addicts, alcoholics, law enforcement officers (when pulled over for speeding), and people dying. The man who led me to Christ and discipled me, Eli Bernard, led me to Christ because he lived and still lives on mission. He came to a junior varsity football game not to watch the game but with the mission of sharing Jesus with whomever he could. God sent him to me. God prepared my heart to receive that message. Nobody had ever sat me down and clearly explained the gospel to me before that night in October of 1983. I had a great uncle and a distant cousin who were preachers. They never explained the gospel to me even once. I used to play football with friends in the yard next to where a pastor lived. He never told me about Jesus. Eli lived on mission. God used his bold witness to introduce me to Jesus. God used that conversation in a football stadium during a football game to convert me. He can save anyone anywhere no matter who they are or what they have done. Hallelujah!

Eli continued living on mission by teaching me and others in our youth group to actively share our faith. I did so with my brother, cousins, sister, mother, aunts, best friends, and guys I played with on my football team. I just thought that was what every Christian did. I learned much later few people in churches actively share their faith. I'm not saying it has always been easy to follow in Eli's footsteps. I can say over the past four decades, God stirs me, gives the boldness and the ability to tell others the greatest news in the world.  God has enabled me to share my faith thousands of times both behind a pulpit preaching and in one on one conversations. It fires me up to get to be present when Jesus brings someone to faith and saves them. Baptisms ignite my soul. We are supposed to baptize two more this Sunday. Hallelujah twice. 

Imagine if we all chose to live on mission for Jesus. It is not our job to convert people. Only the Lord can do that. Our job is just to tell the good news. The Lord does the rest. Imagine if what Eli did for me by sharing the gospel, investing in me to teach how to do the same thing, and then releasing me to do it on my own, we did the same. He made a disciple [Matt 28:19] who has gone and made other disciples. That simple truth if acted upon could have profound impact on the community we live in and the church we call home. May God propel us to live on mission for Him. 

Lost and Found

 I typically put my wallet and vehicle keys in the same spot each evening. In my way of thinking, this saves time and mental energy of trying to find them. It is a habit I've tried to pass onto our sons unsuccessfully. Each morning I get ready without even considering where my wallet and keys are located. I grab them as Brenda and I walk out the door early in the morning. 

I noticed yesterday morning that I could not find my wallet. It was not in the usual location. Since we live less than one minute from the church I did not concern myself greatly. I forgot all about it until this morning. I remembered that I did not locate the wallet the day before. I dedicated myself to a more thorough search. I checked my jeans, checked on the floor of the closet, the shelf in the closet, and even emptied my dirty clothes hamper. I recalled the last time I used it was at a basketball game on Thursday night. I drove to the school to the exact parking space I parked in with no success. 

I shared this concern with our financial secretary and she prayed right on the spot that God would reveal it and that we would find it. Several hours later a thought popped into my head. I vaguely remembered putting my wallet in a dresser drawer to keep it hidden in case of a break in. I totally forgot that until after Leesa prayed. Sure enough, that is where that wallet sat safely and snugly in my tee shirt drawer. 

I learned two valuable lessons from this incident. First, I got anxious for nothing. My mind entertained thoughts that I lost it somewhere in public and whoever found it was using my cards to purchase who knows what. I started to panic thinking I needed to call the bank and cancel my cards and get hold of the Department of Public Safety to get a new driver's license, though I just did this back in June. All of that anxiety for nothing. 

Sometimes we can let our thoughts get away from us. We entertain worst case scenarios when in the end it turns out we had nothing to be concerned about. Much of what we worry about never happens. The little bit that does happen is not nearly as bad as we thought it would be. [Phil 4:6-7] is good medicine to help cope with anxious thoughts. To summarize those verses, let us pray about everything and not worry about anything. 

The second thing that incident reminded me of, is that God is concerned about the details of our everyday lives. In the big scheme of things going on in the world, a lost wallet is not that big a deal. It could have been inconvenient to have to cancel cards and get a new driver's license. It was not life or death. It was not the threat of nuclear war. It was not cancer. It was just a wallet. Yet, God heard Leesa's prayer and answered by bringing back to my memory putting the wallet in the dresser drawer. I racked my brain for hours contemplating where I misplaced it. Not one time did I remember putting it in the drawer until after Leesa prayed. God is concerned about us. He is interested in large and little things we encounter daily. Why didn't I pray about that matter? I relied on my memory and reasoning skills. Leesa trusted God and He answered. I wish you could have seen her face when I walked in the office holding that little black leather wallet. She had a praise session on the spot squirming in her chair. I hope to long remember the lessors learned from a lost wallet. 

Obedience That Defies Logic

 God gave Moses a HUGE assignment. Moses doubted his own ability to fulfill the mission just like we do. Henry Blackaby wrote in his study Experiencing God when we think things like that, we are really saying more about what we believe about God than what we believe about ourselves. God is powerful enough to work through anyone He chooses. That includes you and me. 

Moses doubted and asked God what if the Israelites would not even believe God appeared to Moses in the first place. God responded with three signs in Exodus 4:1-13. I am only going to address the first one. Moses' profession for forty years was a shepherd. One of the most important tools for a shepherd was his staff. It could be used to prod sheep along, rescue a fallen sheep from a ledge, or fight off prey attacking the sheep. 

God told Moses to throw his staff down on the ground. I find this symbolic. It is like God was saying, "Throw down your identity as a shepherd. Throw down your old way of life. Throw down the familiar and comfortable life you have known for forty years. Throw down living beneath your destiny.  

When Moses threw the staff down it turned into a serpent causing Moses to flee. God told Moses to do something very strange. He told Moses to pick up the serpent by the tail. Everybody knows the business end of a snake is the head. Especially venomous ones. Watch snake handlers catch snakes by the head so they cannot be bit. To pick up a venomous snake by the tail is to invite trouble. It defies logic. Does not make sense. Is irrational. 

I find God often asks us to do things that don't make sense. He tests our faith repeatedly. He constantly pushes us beyond our comfort zones. He nudes us toward things that look illogical. It comes down to obedience by faith. Will we trust what God says or what our eyes see? 

Incredulously Moses stretched out his hand putting himself at risk. When he grabbed the tail it immediately turned back into his staff. I am sure he was greatly relieved. He learned a valuable lesson. God can be trusted.  Even when obedience defies logic. That was to be the first of many tests Moses would face leading the Israelites. Small tests build our faith for the larger assignments down the road. We have a choice to obey or give into logic.