I had just finished preaching a passionate message and giving the listeners an opportunity to respond. I prayed to conclude the service and then asked to congregants to pause for about ten seconds before dismissing. They had no idea why I asked that. While they sat there quietly for those ten seconds I took snapshots in my heart to preserve that memory in my mind. I desired to imprint that moment and occasion on my heart and in my mind forever. A momentous occasion. It was no ordinary service. A memory I wanted to preserve.
How many life moments pass and we never take the time to enjoy them, treasure them or the people we share those moments together. Moments like Brenda reaching under the covers and taking my hand in the middle of the night. Like just the two of us enjoying a quiet meal after church. Like the pastoral visit I made early Saturday morning. I did not know what I would never get to see that person again as they passed into eternity the following day. I took a snapshot with my heart as I stood by the bedside and prayed.
Looking back I can see multiple snapshots in my mind of our family over the years. Days filled with laughter, joy and memories of little boys running and playing. Now those snapshots are made of grown men transitioning out of our home and into the adult world of responsibility. I desire to take it all in. Each meal together. Each holiday shared. Each special birthday celebrated. I treasure one on one time with my sons. I relish grown up conversations about what matters in their lives. I know one day they will have families of their own and come home less and less often. They will get so busy with their own families and work they will not call and not have time to stop by for a visit. So I take snapshots with the heart.
I do the same with congregations. In my mind I can see the Heritage flock as I stand behind the beautifully handmade pulpit. I recall grand days and the moving of God's Spirit. I recall days of love and laughter. I recall being recipients of their love and generosity on more than one occasion. I do the same for the flocks at Faith Community, FBC Seminole, FBC Paradise, CentrePointe Community and Burke. I do so for Spring Creek Baptist Church as well as Rochelle Baptist Church. Each holds fond memories of dear people who mean so much to me.
It is easy to take people and life for granted. One way to combat that is to take snapshots with the heart. To intentionally make the effort to capture moments and imprint those memories. Like I did last week with my friend Eric on another ministry trip together. Those trips with him are one of God's great blessings in my life. Like phone conversations I have with my friend Jimmy as I benefit from his wisdom.
To take snapshots with the heart you must walk through life a little more slowly. Take in the surroundings. Enjoy the sights, smell, touch, taste and sounds around you. Do it while you can. I challenge you to do it at least once today. Make a memory and take a snapshot of the heart with family and or friends. One day even ordinary things will be looked back with great fondness. Make a memory photo album of snapshots of the heart.
Monday, July 15, 2019
Redeeming Time
Yesterday God afforded Brenda and I a unique opportunity. In some ways it felt like stepping back in time. It felt like going home. Before we married I got called to serve Spring Creek Baptist Church in Weatherford, TX as youth pastor. I met their youth while at a youth camp. For some reason we all connected and months later God connected me to that church. That was 28 years ago. Brenda and I wed just a few months into that ministry.
Yesterday I got to preach in that church. We saw familiar faces. We hugged necks. In-between the morning and evening services I sat in the sanctuary to pray. I couldn't help but remember scenes from years gone by. Precious memories. Victorious days. Brenda and I cut our teeth in ministry at that church.
God blessed our time back then so many years ago. He blessed our youth ministry with salvations and growth. One Sunday I got to baptize multiple teenagers during a service. What joy. A lot has changed over time. In that time Brenda and I have more mileage on us. So do the people at Spring Creek. None of us are youth chicks anymore.
Time goes on. None of us can stop the clock. It keeps on ticking. The challenge is how will we redeem the time? How will we make our days count for God? At 52 I know my days are numbered. While the law averages would indicate I have several years left I know there will be an end. I contemplate that often. There is so much more I want to do for God. So many more souls to reach. So many more things to write. So many more sermons to study for and preach. So many more books to read. So many more prayers to pray, visits to make, vision to cast and service to give.
When I die I would prefer to die with my face in the dirt and not my head on a pillow. I prefer to live productively until God calls me home. To redeem the time. I am painfully aware of days that have been squandered in unproductively. Some sit around always dreaming but never doing. I still have many dreams and visions but I long to see them become reality and not remain dreams.
Colossians 4:5 (NKJV)
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
One of the meanings of the word redeem is to improve the opportunity. To put that another way it means to make the most of each day. Don't waste your life in front of a television or computer screen doing nothing productive. For me that means there are thousands of books I've never read. There are thousands of thoughts I've never captured and put down in print. There are tens of thousands of Bible passages I have never studied in depth or ever preached. I must make the most of whatever days I have left to improve them for the glory of God.
In the background somewhere a clock ticks. Tick tock. Tick tock. It is a reminder that time never stops. I can't stop time but I can improve how I use time. I must work diligently to redeem it. Maybe, just maybe, God will allow me to recapture the glory of former years in doing so.
Yesterday I got to preach in that church. We saw familiar faces. We hugged necks. In-between the morning and evening services I sat in the sanctuary to pray. I couldn't help but remember scenes from years gone by. Precious memories. Victorious days. Brenda and I cut our teeth in ministry at that church.
God blessed our time back then so many years ago. He blessed our youth ministry with salvations and growth. One Sunday I got to baptize multiple teenagers during a service. What joy. A lot has changed over time. In that time Brenda and I have more mileage on us. So do the people at Spring Creek. None of us are youth chicks anymore.
Time goes on. None of us can stop the clock. It keeps on ticking. The challenge is how will we redeem the time? How will we make our days count for God? At 52 I know my days are numbered. While the law averages would indicate I have several years left I know there will be an end. I contemplate that often. There is so much more I want to do for God. So many more souls to reach. So many more things to write. So many more sermons to study for and preach. So many more books to read. So many more prayers to pray, visits to make, vision to cast and service to give.
When I die I would prefer to die with my face in the dirt and not my head on a pillow. I prefer to live productively until God calls me home. To redeem the time. I am painfully aware of days that have been squandered in unproductively. Some sit around always dreaming but never doing. I still have many dreams and visions but I long to see them become reality and not remain dreams.
Colossians 4:5 (NKJV)
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
One of the meanings of the word redeem is to improve the opportunity. To put that another way it means to make the most of each day. Don't waste your life in front of a television or computer screen doing nothing productive. For me that means there are thousands of books I've never read. There are thousands of thoughts I've never captured and put down in print. There are tens of thousands of Bible passages I have never studied in depth or ever preached. I must make the most of whatever days I have left to improve them for the glory of God.
In the background somewhere a clock ticks. Tick tock. Tick tock. It is a reminder that time never stops. I can't stop time but I can improve how I use time. I must work diligently to redeem it. Maybe, just maybe, God will allow me to recapture the glory of former years in doing so.
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