Walk Toward the Light

Being a pastor is a rich calling. I get to experience so many wonderful things that many others might miss out on. Recently after finishing a Bible study on the life of Abraham I was engaged in a conversation with a woman from our church. She is a widow and was telling me the story about the last few months with her husband. He was battling a terminal illness and they both knew that without a miracle from the Lord his days were numbered.

She recounted how he suffered excruciatingly. It was not a pleasant experience but she was able to say everything that needed to be said. As the end came she had one last message for her husband that really spoke to my heart. He was a Christian and her last message to him as he labored for every breath was to walk toward the light. In just a matter of moments he left this world and stepped into eternity.

That is our challenge as we live out these days on this planet; to walk toward the Light. What I mean is that we are to live each day walking toward Jesus to know Him better as the Light of the World. This proves to be a challenge because often we do not like coming into the Light because our deeds are evil. Jesus as the Light exposes those evil deeds, thoughts, motives, and attitudes. The challenge is which do we love more, our evil deeds or Jesus?

Far too many love their evil deeds. “This is the judgment that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil, hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light so that his deeds may be manifested as been wrought in God.” Therefore, rather than coming day in and day out before the Light many choose to lurk in the shadows and dark places of not only this world but in their hearts as well. That explains why there is so little difference between church members life styles and those of pagans. Sin is loved, cherished, and fought to protect. We do so behind the cloak that sin is our choice and that is does not affect anyone but us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our sin hurts and impacts the lives of those around us. Ask the family of the drug user, alcoholic, sex addict, or the one looking for contentment and fulfillment in the things of this world. We will never find what we are looking for in those places. [Jer 2:13]

If I do not love the Light and in fact hate the Light because I do not want Him to expose my evil deeds I will turn about and walk away from Him. People do this everyday. Pagans do it because they are deceived. Christians do it because the flesh is strong and loves for us to live in the shadows rather thank walking toward the Light. If I truly love Him and yearn for Him even if it means exposing the dark places of my heart then I keep walking toward the Light. Day by day, morning by morning, devotion by devotion, worship service by worship service I set my face toward the majesty of the Lord and with resolve set my course walking headlong into it.

This is exactly what I did yesterday morning. I was sitting in my chair in the living room while the rest of the family slept. It was dark outside and the only light in the room came from the lamp on the table near my chair and the scriptures in my heart as a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. [Ps 119:105] I was reading [II Chronicles 7:1-2]. As I was pondering those verses in prayer I could not help but think about the brilliance of the glory of the Lord shining into every dark place in my heart. I want to be consumed by the Light. No shadows. No dark hidden corners. No dimly lit places. I want Him to shine through every crevice of my soul.

In the middle of worship yesterday morning we sang a song with a phrase that grabbed my attention. The phrase was, “with You (referring to God) there are no shadows.” God is such perfect Light that you cannot find a shadow. I saw a little boy walking backward in his driveway on Saturday mesmerized by his shadow. You and I could search for all of eternity and not find an inch or even a millimeter of a shadow in God. Yes, walk toward the Light but don’t stop there, walk in the Light. Be engulfed by this Jesus and let His Light shine through our hearts to dispel the dark places and to comfort us as we walk with Him through the murky shadows of this world stained with sin.

I don’t want to wait until I am staring eternity into the eyes before I start walking toward the Light. I want to walk toward and in the Light now each day so my spiritual eyes are adjusted. I want to walk in the Light until the glittering things of this world no longer hold any appeal. Like the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into His wonderful face, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Today you and I face the choice of walking toward the Light or walking toward the darkness. One brings life here and now abundant and afterward eternal. The other brings death a thousand times over now and into eternity a punishment so horrific it defies explanation. So which way will you walk today and when you face eternity? My exhortation is for us all to walk toward the Light for that is where life is both abundant [Jn 10:10] and eternal. [Jn 3:16]

Everlasting Preoccupation

There are so many things that compete for our attention and energies. The church is not exempt. The church and more specifically preachers are continually calling for people to do more, give more, serve more, and to become preoccupied with all of these. In calling people to do so much good we err calling people to be preoccupied with lesser things and not to be preoccupied with the best thing.

I am not sure what the Lord is doing in me but it is good, it is deep, and it is pulling me to closer and closer to Him. After a rather dry season and a seven day period during Thanksgiving where I did not have one quiet time, I was challenged a few weeks ago with [Matt 22: 37-38] which states that we are to love the Lord God with all of our hearts, souls, and strength. Since that day I have sought the Lord for a personal revival, which has translated to a great searching for the Lord and seeking Him. He alone is to be our everlasting preoccupation. Our thoughts should continually dwell on Him. Our affections should ever be increasing for Him. Our devotion should be continuously focused on Him. God has rekindled something real in the caverns of my soul.

Some of what we do in our churches actually can compete with our everlasting preoccupation with Him. We can stay busy but busyness can actually distract our preoccupation with God. We may find ourselves doing many things for God but never making the time to seek God and know Him in our private lives. By doing more we can actually experience Him less. Many do and have contented themselves to live in this dry and desert like condition.

None of us can produce this everlasting preoccupation with God. That is a work He has to produce in our lives but we can help to foster this by simply slowing down and lingering in His presence. He will create that desire and He will help us not only find the time but make the time to be sit at His feet and worship.

I know people who are preoccupied with making a fortune. What happens to all that money in the end? It doesn’t follow us into eternity. Others are fixated on sports for themselves or their children. The end of this path will only result in frustration. Most of our children will never play competitively at the college level much less the professional level. We create stress and frustration in the stands and on the playing field or court. During those times our preoccupation with winning and being successful at something as child like as playing ball can bring out the worst in us. How many sons and daughters have gone to bed misty eyed and broken hearted over the stinging words of an angry parent preoccupied with their child’s athletic career? How many student athletes play but resent the demands put on them by parents or coaches who only know the temporary preoccupation with winning but who have bankrupt souls who no little to nothing about the everlasting preoccupation with God.

How many are preoccupied with life and service at the church but inwardly they are hypocrites and rotten to the core of their souls? Worship is hollow and life for these people is nothing more than religious rituals, singing from rote memory, and staying in the religious ruts of many around them. Outwardly these people may appear to be the cream of the crop but inwardly they are inconsistent and living a life of pretense. Where is the preoccupation with knowing the Lord in the pews that translates into a life spent in pursuit of Him? [Ps 63:8]

I am captured by the thought of having an everlasting preoccupation with seeking to know the living God. It is an everlasting preoccupation because there will always be more to know about God even throughout eternity. There will always be more to know like a person walking into a huge library but one that contains every book that has ever been written since the beginning of time. I am talking about millions of books lined up on shelves from floor to ceiling stretching into infinity. No person could ever read and retain that much knowledge. Even if one could that would only represent a fraction of the person of God and all that can be known about Him. There is no greater reality in all the universe and yet countless numbers of people who call themselves Christians have seldom if ever been preoccupied with knowing Him and discovering more about Him for months at a time rather than everlastingly. It is a tragedy.

Here is the question before us. Will we plead with God to develop that everlasting preoccupation within us or will content ourselves to be preoccupied by other things? Lesser things. Temporal things.

Dear Father, I plead for you to come and reorient my mind and heart to be preoccupied with you for eternity. I want that preoccupation for the here and now and I want it to follow me throughout eternity. I ask you to consume my life and captivate my deepest affections. I ask for an insatiable craving to know you more than being entertained, chasing after idols, and settling for lesser things. Please help me not be too easily amused or satisfied with the flittering and glittering stuff of this age that will not last. I ask you for an everlasting preoccupation with you that gets me up in the morning, sustains me through the day and tucks me in the bed at night. In Jesus name, amen.

Hoist the Sails

God must have a sense of humor. I spent some time traveling this week back to Paradise to minister to my former secretary as she had major back surgery. After spending the night I turned around to drive back to Seminole.

While driving west on I-20 I was listening to a message from Louie Giglio about hoisting the sails of our lives and letting the wind of God blow us where He wants. As I listened to this message I literally was dodging tumbleweeds and fighting a strong head wind as a wind storm swept through west Texas. There were winds clocked as high as 68 miles per hour here in Seminole. At times the dust was so thick I could barely see the truck in front of me.

It is ironic or should I say a divine appointment that I would see the power of the wind while I was listening to a message about the power of the Holy Spirit to blow our lives and to use our lives for His purposes. The Holy Spirit is the wind in our sails.

Today while driving around town I noticed a few things the wind had damaged like trees, signs, and Christmas decorations. The power of the Holy Spirit can empower us to do great things and have great impact like the winds had this past Tuesday. Yet some of us live less than empowered lives because the sails of our lives are never hoisted. We keep them lowered and spend much of our Christian lives drifting. We want to chart our own courses and determine our own directions.

If we as the people of God could hoist the sails of our lives and let God fill those sails with the wind of His Spirit what He could do in us and through us. He could blow us to Kingdom assignments, witnessing opportunities, missions endeavors, and opportunities to give like so many of us are experiencing this Christmas season.

I am not going to say that I do it right all the time but I have sought to live with the sails of my life hoisted to the wind of God. That is exactly why I sit writing this at my desk in Seminole, TX as opposed to Paradise, TX. When I really made my life available to God day after day He drew me, called me, and blew me here. There is so much ministry to do here. Just today I got to pray for a saint struggling with a heavy burden, counsel a single mother about her daughter, minister to a grieving family over the loss of a loved one, eat breakfast with a man struggling in his marriage, and meet a couple of fellow ministers out working in the ministry.

When I woke today one of my prayers was to present this day before the Lord and allow Him to blow me wherever He wanted. It has been a good day. When we hoist the sails of our lives we never know where He will blow us next. I never imagined myself being blown to West Texas but I am enjoying the blossoming ministry that God is growing right beneath my feet. It is a blessing to serve Him and to be on mission for Him.

We never know what God will do through a life wholly surrendered to Him. We never know the people we will encounter, the needs God will use us to meet, and the role we will play in building His kingdom. My challenge for all of us is to hoist the sails and allow God to blow us wherever He pleases. God is settling the Edwards clan in west Texas. We have been baptized by wind. We have survived the dust and the gale force winds. From this vantage point God can blow me personally and FBC Seminole corporately to the far ends of the earth. The sails are hoisted and God awaits to send us on assignment for Him. Bring on the wind. We eagerly wait to be pushed by the wind of God and empowered to serve Him.

Let It Snow

This has been a pretty amazing week. I awoke early on Tuesday morning and went to the Fitness Center and discovered snow on the ground. When I came out of the Fitness Center it was snowing even harder. Our boys were giddy playing in it before school. I herded them outside and snapped a few pictures of them in it.

Today the temperature has hovered around freezing all day. It has been bitterly cold for the better part of the week. The north winds cut through the skin like a knife through warm butter. Tonight Brenda and I went to the High School Band Christmas concert and walking into the auditorium it was snowing again. There we were listening to Christmas music in the month of December and it was snowing outside. That is the first time I have experienced anything like that.

Growing up in East Texas I can only remember two times it really snowed in my eighteen years there. We had a few ice storms but seldom ever saw it snow. Looking around over the past couple of days and seeing the ground covered with a blanket of snow is a beautiful sight. Each day the snow has melted but it was beautiful while it lasted.

I looked up into the dark night from the parking lot pierced with the illumination of a street light and like dust floating in the breeze I watched tiny snow flakes dancing in the wind and falling gracefully to the ground. My wool overcoat was pelted with these flakes. It puts me in the Christmas spirit.

Once the snow has covered the ground it is pristine before tire tracks begin to muddy everything up. My heart is capable of sin. Always has been and always will be. Like the old hymn says, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” All of us struggle with the sin nature. All of us from time to time leave the God we love and choose sin over Him. We leave a trail of heartache, sorrow, and a heart soiled with the filth and stench of our rebellion. The tire tracks of sin mess my God’s desire for holiness in our lives.

We desperately need the snow of God’s grace to fall on our hearts to forgive and cover our sin. Only the grace of Jesus can cover the dark stains of our wayward thoughts and actions. I need God’s grace to fall like snow on my heart not just once or twice a year when a cold snap comes through. I need it continually like you do.

My kids are exited about the snow. They have been praying that it would fall even heavier. In a whole other connotation I am asking the Lord to let it snow as well. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” [Is 1:18]

Dear Lord, we are blood red guilty with our sin. We cannot hide it from you. I ask you to let grace fall like snow on our hearts and turn them white like snow. We do not deserve such forgiveness but we need it. I trust you for this in Jesus name. Amen.

1972-A

Yesterday morning we loaded up Brenda’s suburban and drove the near seven hours from West Texas to Paradise and then to Hurst for Thanksgiving. It was a smooth trip. To save time we packed sandwiches and drinks and ate on the go. We got into the thick of the Metroplex right at 5:00 p.m. and navigated the traffic until we finally came to Carolyn Sreet where we were reunited with Brenda’s youngest two sisters and their families along with Brenda’s mother.

Brenda’s sister Dianna has kept a Thanksgiving tradition for many years. The tradition dates back to the three Ortiz girl’s living in government owned housing where the rent was made affordable to a single mother trying to make ends meet from week to week. Brenda and her two sisters grew up in government owned apartments. They were all abandoned by their father when Brenda and Dianna were teenagers and while their mother was pregnant with Jennifer. Jennifer did not even meet her biological father until she was twelve years old.

Times were tough. My mother in law worked two and three jobs to provide for the girls. She did not let the girls play the victim though. She showed them a strong work ethic and encouraged them all to get a college education which she had not been able to do. The house was kept clean and the girls wore the best clothes she could afford for them until they got old enough and to help buy their own clothes. To this day she is one of the best money managers I have ever met. She learned the difference between wants and necessities.

I am not sure how old the girls were when the church they were attending started a food drive to help people out with food for Thanksgiving. The girls were excited when they returned home and opened the pantry to share what they had with those less fortunate. Times were tough but the girl’s mother who has always been a giver gave permission for the them to gather food to take back to the church.

A few days later someone knocked on their apartment door. It was a lady from the church bringing Thanksgiving food to their family. Brenda, Dianna, and Jennifer did not know they were the less fortunate. God has brought all three of those girls a long way from that apartment. All three are married, two have children and Jennifer is pregnant with her first child.

Dianna started the tradition of taking a Thanksgiving meal back to the residents of that apartment every year since then. She tells the story of how they received that blessing many years ago and then give bags of groceries filled with all the ingredients to make a Thanksgiving feast. In all the years she has been doing that only two years have the same residents been living in that apartment.

This year it worked out for the first time for Brenda’s mother and her three girls along with all of our families to join in on this tradition. Brenda’s mother commented that there were a lot of good times in that apartment and some really hard times too. Each of our boys and their cousins carried bags of groceries as we walked up to apartment 1972-A. True to history the door was opened by a new family who had not lived their last year. Dianna told the story and then each of us presented our groceries to an overwhelmed lady. She had not bought anything for Thanksgiving lunch and was grateful to receive the food.

I was asked to pray over the home and over the lady’s three children. One of my brother in laws actually had coached her sons when they were younger. It was a great time of giving. I am glad my boys got to experience that. It is good for them to know where they have come from and to know how faithful God has been to get them where they are today. We all need to stay in touch with our roots.

As we walked back to the cars I was walking with Jennifer and her husband Paul. Jennifer is like my flesh and blood daughter because she came to live with Brenda and I when she was fourteen. God simply spoke to my heart back then and told me to be a father to that hurt, confused, and angry little girl who had never known the love of a father. That is what I did and our relationship has a special bond. I walked her down the aisle at her wedding and then turned around preached the wedding the ceremony.

As we were standing on the sidewalk last night I put my arm around her and told her God had moved her a long way from that apartment. I was not talking so much about physically as I was spiritually and emotionally. I told her that never again in our families would any have to live at that level of poverty. The chains have been broken and God has provided hope with bright futures for Brenda, Jennifer, and Dianna. This little talk took on added significance for me when Jennifer and Paul told us over dinner that Jennifer is pregnant with their first child and they just bought their first house. Jennifer is a teacher and her husband is a physical therapist for Flower Mound High School. Dianna is a radiologist and MRI technician. Her husband John is a coach history teacher and together they have been blessed with two girls. You already know about Brenda and her four boys.

What a joy to return to apartment 1972-A in Bedford, TX to give and to remember all God has done for us. All of us are a long way from that apartment. God has been faithful to each of our families. My boys and their cousins do not have to live that way any more. I am grateful that this Thanksgiving my boys got to see how far God has brought their mother and aunts from apartment 1972-A.

Reunion in Paradise

Over the Thanksgiving weekend Brenda, the boys, and I enjoyed a little time back in Paradise. We met with several families from the church at a home and enjoyed laughing, great food, and more than anything just getting to be together. It was great to see everyone.

Brenda sat around a table surrounded by her girl friends. When I walked over at one point to tell her we needed to be leaving every lady sitting at that table looked at me with eyes that could kill. They were not about to give up their friend without fight. For a moment I thought I might be coming back to Seminole as a single parent as those ladies were going to hold Brenda hostage. I thought I was about to experience a mutiny so I backed away from the table cautiously not wanting to get a knife thrown at my back.

The boys were reunited with their friends. I barely saw them the whole night. They played football and basketball until right up to time to leave. I am so thrilled God worked it out for them to see each other. It was good for them to get to see some of their playmates. Leaving was not easy the first time but it seemed a little easier the second time.

Anna Belle even got to be reunited with her sister Sheeba who resides at the Young house. They have not gotten along so well in the past but did much better this past Friday night. I think Anna Belle may think she is a little better than her sister. She began barking loudly when we got ready to leave as if to say, ‘Hey don’t forget about me! Don’t leave me here.” When we were walking out the door she even growled at a lady who wanted to pet her while Brenda held her. Her Jezabel heart which is black has her fur often shows itself. She was in no way going to get left behind. She slept curled up next to me two out of the three nights we were away. She believes in everyway she is a major part of this family.

I enjoyed getting to visit with everyone. I talked with several men who mean a great deal to me. I enjoyed getting to see my former secretary and her husband. She is in a great deal of pain and is scheduled for back surgery on December 7^th. I am going to do everything in my power to make it for that surgery. I enjoyed seeing men I prayed with, coached with, discipled, and bonded with. It was a night filled with surprises as people dropped in all night long many whom we never expected to be there.

We talked about the future and what the Lord is doing in Paradise and Seminole in the present. I was a little embarrassed when one man persisted in asking me how many people were coming to the Sunday morning worship service in Seminole. I tried to dodge the question because I do not want to sound like I am bragging or taking credit for anything that is happening in Seminole. Over and over again I gave God the credit for the growth we have seen in Seminole in just three months. God is working and He alone gets the glory for it. I am simply hanging on for the ride.

All throughout the evening I mingled around the room trying to spend at least a little one on one time with all the people. Before I knew it it was 9:00 p.m. and we had to drive back to Brenda’s sister’s house in Hurst which is about forty five minutes away. Before we left I huddled all the adults in the kitchen and offered up a prayer for them. I had not shed one tear over Paradise since the last Sunday I preached there and we drove out of the parking lot for the last time on August 23rd. But in the middle of that prayer I got choked up and tears began to form. When I finished praying one lady had a tear stain on her sweater and most of the women were wiping tears from their eyes. It was great to see people we love so deeply but not so easy to leave them for the second time.

Of course they all wanted to know how things were going in Seminole. The one thing I miss more than anything is the deep relationships we had and still have with the Paradise church and community. I know that will also happen in Seminole but it will take a little time. I have to remind myself it has only been three months.

I am so glad there is day coming when none of us will ever have to say goodbye again. There will be no more death, no more moves, and no more separations by time or space. There will be a glad reunion for all those who know Jesus Christ as Savior. That happy reunion will go on for endless ages. I look forward to that day.

As we drove around Paradise briefly I saw the football stadium and track where they boys and I dropped gallons of sweat running and working out over the summer months. I saw the Finish Line Café where I ate breakfast most mornings and sat at my table in the corner. I often studied and wrote in my journal while there. Countless conversations about the Lord took place at that table. I shared my faith, counseled, dreamed, and listened to the heavy laden, and all the while developed wonderful relationships with those people.

We drove by the church and I actually got to walk into the offices. Walking into my office and seeing it empty with barren bookshelves standing at attention against the walls was a stark reminder that things have changed for both us and the Paradise church. I looked at all the additions and improvements that were made to the church facilities during the course of the four years we were there and remembered our journey of faith. That journey continues for both Paradise and the Edwards family though our God ordained paths have taken us in different directions.

I got a chance to drive by the land FBC Paradise will one day get to relocate to. I walked that land several times praying and dreaming God’s dream while the pastor of that church. It was a real joy to my heart to get to give the money from our last book signing to them to help them reach this goal. I pray I live long enough to get to see that new building and to watch God make that dream come true.

In many ways as we met with those people it felt like a Sunday night right after church as we had often gathered to fellowship. My heart reconnected with people I love at the soul level. There were the college students whom I got to watch grow up and fulfill the call of God on their individual lives. There were the young couples who came to FBC Paradise under different circumstances and made up the Connections Class Brenda and I taught for a couple of years. There were those I worked with like my secretary and children’s minister. Only God knows the agonizing prayers Brenda and I continue to pray for those people. Only God knows the deep love and tender affections we still have for those people. It is 3:36 a.m. and I couldn’t sleep. As I write about Paradise tears form in my eyes and an ache throbs in my heart as I think about how much I love and miss them. Tears roll down my cheeks as I think about those men, women, and children I love. I got to see two little boys I lead to the Lord. One was saved at the end of our baseball practice of the team I was coaching. He and I sat in the bleachers and talked about how to be saved and we both bowed our heads in prayer. There was another boy who was saved at children’s camp. He and I knelt on our knees as he wept over his sin asking Jesus to forgive him and to save him. I hugged them both tenderly kissing one on the head like I do with my own children. Both them spent the night at our house and my boys went to their house. We were all extended family.

One day I will be reunited with all of those people I love. Though we saw many there were others who were not able to come we love just as deeply and miss just as much. It was good to be reunited and a little hard to leave all over again.

Yesterday we spent close to seven hours traveling back to West Texas. It was around 4:30 p.m. when we turned off telephone road onto Hwy 385 back in Seminole. I turned to look at Brenda and I asked her if Seminole felt like home yet. We were lugging a U-Haul trailer with furniture that had been given to us by Paul and Jennifer. She looked back at me with contentment in her eyes and said yes. Seminole is home now. This is not just a stopping off place. It is not another rung on the ladder of ministry success. Seminole is not just where we serve and live; it is home.

Last night we began moving a few things into the miracle house at 2112 NW Ave B. We have all but two pieces of furniture in the living room. It was fun trying to figure out how to arrange it. We hope by the end of this week to be nearly moved in. God called us here, and God has begun planting our roots here. There is no way Seminole will ever replace Paradise in our hearts. We will never forget those precious people. God is creating a new love and a new place in our hearts for Seminole. In time we will form new memories and will experience fresh moves of God right here. In time, the bonds between a pastor and a flock will run deep and we will have our own faith journey to walk and our own dreams to believe God for. God is daily giving me a love for the Seminole flock and for this community. In time, we will love and be loved just as deeply as we experienced in Paradise. We have been extremely blessed and accepted in Seminole with open arms. I am overwhelmed with the blessings of God in allowing me to pastor such a great church.

For both Paradise and Seminole whom Brenda and I love as deep as we know how, I rejoice that in eternity I will not have to choose one over the other. I can worship with both flocks and I can be reunited with both sets of people. The tears I shed even now as I write this will be wiped away in Heaven. Gathered around the throne of God we will join in Heavenly anthem, “Worthy is the Lamb!’ We will do this together.

As great as that reunion will be and the reunion to see my Momma, sister Jamie, Papaw and Mammaw, along with so many who have touched our lives over the years I will be pulled to the Jesus, my King, Sovereign Lord, Gracious Redeemer, Savior, and Master. At His feet I will fall in both shame at my unworthiness and unbridled joy that I have been counted righteous by Him by faith and kneel in His presence. I hope to kiss his feet and spend ages thanking Him for His goodness to me. I will thank Him for His goodness for the Paradise years and I will equally thank Him for His goodness for our ministry in Seminole. I will thank Him that this nobody from the Pineywoods of East Texas was saved, hand picked to preach the gospel, refined by the fires of affliction, and given the mandate to preach the endless truth of the scriptures while getting to love and serve people as a pastor. That will be the ultimate reunion in Paradise. Until then, this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. I will seek to enjoy life and ministry here but know that a glad reunion day is coming.

Here Comes the Rain

The clock on my computer tells me it is 4:34 a.m. I went to bed early last night which means that I normally arise early. While writing another blog I heard the gentle tap on the windows in the living room of the mission house. At first I could not make out the source of that sound. In time the tapping increased in frequency. It was then I discerned that it was raining outside. This is a wonderful chorus for most living in West Texas.

Soon the rain fell more heavily causing me to cease typing and to listen. I don’t know why but I love to listen to it rain. I love sitting out on a back porch or inside the garage and watching storms roll through. I enjoy watching the rain give the dry and parched land a drink. I enjoy watching the flashes of lightening and hearing the peels of thunder while feeling the vibrations underneath my feet.

As so often happens just as quickly as it came the heavy down pour turned into a faint sprinkle. I still hear the pitter patter of a slight sprinkle on the cover over the back porch. I can hear the splatter as the water falls from the roof onto the concrete outside. There is a pretty big storm brewing. Weather forecasters are predicting frigid temperatures and possibly a wintry mix of precipitation over the next couple of days. This little shower is only the beginning.

It is early Sunday morning and a little bad weather can affect the crowds from time to time who are willing to brave elements to come to church. Some people see rain as an unwelcomed intruder messing up plans and causing us to have to alter our schedules. There are those on the other hand who see rain as a blessing from God and welcome it with open arms as the land is replenished being prepared for next year’s harvest.

There are people who go through life and see their glass as half empty. They are negative, never satisfied, and often make everyone around them miserable. There are also those who are look on the brighter side of things, they find the good in any situation, and they have the proper attitude. These people are a joy to be around. They are like sunshine on a cloudy day helping to drive away the dark clouds of despondency.

My question is what type of person are you? The rain is coming, or I should say has come and continues to fall. It might get a little slick later on tonight and over the next couple of days. We might not see a peek at the sun over the next thirty six to forty eight hours. Will you approach these days with joy and gladness as you walk with the Lord or will you whine and complain?

There is a little verse in the book of Philippians that has a little bite to it. I am thinking of Phil 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.” The words rejoice can also mean be glad or find joy. Now every situation in life does not produce feelings of joy or gladness. In my calling I come across those who are suffering emotionally or physically continually. There are many times I walk out of a hospital or away from conversations with people very discouraged. There are times when I wonder if what I do makes any difference at all. The tide of evil seems to be swelling like a Tsunami about ready to come ashore with devastation in the aftermath. When I open the Bible I find both encouragement and inspiration to keep hope alive.

Paul dealt with more in his lifetime than most. He was persecuted without mercy. He spent the last days of his life imprisoned for his faith and was eventually martyred. While in prison he actually penned those words in Phil 4:4. I don’t want you coming away from reading this thinking this is another motivational reading about working on your attitude. That can be helpful but what I am thinking about here goes far deeper than some mental gymnastics about taking your lemons and turning them into lemonade.

Paul had something much deeper at the soul level that could cause him to rejoice whether being beaten, preaching to the masses and seeing dozens converted, or being stuck under house arrest. Paul could rejoice because no matter what happened or did not happen to him – he had a relationship with Jesus that was the source of real joy and gladness.

I have not known many people who really had true joy but of those I have known everyone of them prized their relationship with Jesus more than life itself. Circumstances will always try our faith. There will be sunny days and there will be rainy days and Jesus is Lord over both. Regardless of what is happening to me or around me I know God is in control. If I am being pelted on the head by rain drops and being drenched to the bone or whether I am being scorched by the sun, God is the source of my rejoicing not the rain or the sun.

When God is treasured and valued above all, He will be our reason for rejoicing. Today the rain is coming but what I must ask myself and you ask yourself is if you are going to rejoice in the Lord today. You might not be able to rejoice in your present circumstances but you can rejoice in the Lord. He is constant. Let the rain come. Bring on the bone chilling north winds. Come what may we must rejoice in the Lord. He alone satisfies. [Ps 16:11]

Book Signing

God has blessed me again with the opportunity to hold another book signing. This will one will take place on November 17^th at Oswaldt’s Pharmacy in Seminole. I will be there from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. to sign books, to meet new people, and to minister. I hope you will have the opportunity to come and get the chance to get the two books we will have available on that day. Remember, all the proceeds from the book Behold the Faithfulness of God will go back to FBC Paradise to help them in their building program. Please come support this effort to build and expand the kingdom beyond Seminole with me.

If you believe God is using this writing ministry I ask you to begin praying with me about the release of three new books . The manuscripts are finished and after some tightening will be presented for publication. I am unsure at this point as to the cost that will be involved but know that God will get them into print. The three books are entitled 40 Days to Trust and Obey, Swimming in the Bathtub, and Close Encounters.

Two of these books are devotional books. Please believe with me to get these books into print and in use for ministry with the reading public. I thank God for books. I have been blessed by hundreds and hundreds of them in my own life and pray that God might use the ones He calls me to write to minister to people at FBC Seminole as well as beyond Gaines County to the far ends of the earth. To God be the glory for books!

Done Deal

Anybody who knows me knows two things about me. I am passionate about prayer and I am passionate about God getting glory for doing the seemingly impossible in answer to prayer. Brenda and I have been blessed to see many answers to prayer over the past eighteen years we have been married. Some large ones and some that might not seem like a big deal to others but were continued reminders to us that God hears and God comes through.

There have been many times when either the answers to prayer did not come or at least they did not come in the timely manner we had hoped they would. We have had to learn the often painful lesson of waiting on God. Days have turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. I can still remember asking the Lord for His will and for things that did not come.

[Luke 18:1] exhorts us to always keep praying and not to lose heart. That is pretty easy to read but much harder to live out. Our faith soars when the answer comes in a timely manner. On the other hand, our faith sinks like the Titanic when the answer to our prayers does not come. Abraham got a first hand lesson in waiting on God for his promised heir in Genesis 16-21. For over two decades he waited and waited. He at times grew impatient and took matters into His own hand like following through with Sarai’s plan to give Hagar (her maid servant) to Abraham for a wife so she could conceive and have a child to be the legitimate heir. Everything went according to plan accept God did not bless it. It was not His will.

Waiting on God is not always a pleasant experience but it is profitable. It builds enduring faith. At times God’s delays give Him more glory such as the death and resurrection of Lazarus. [Jn 11] We may not understand on the front end what the Lord is doing but His glory will be furthered if we wait long enough and trust Him.

We as a family have prayed and prayed waiting on God. I recall the many times the boys and I would sit around the breakfast table discussing verses from the Bible and then taking those verses to God in prayer. We prayed and waited. At times those things we had asked God for seemed so close only to fall through our fingers.

I received a phone call yesterday that once again allowed me to have a front row seat to behold the Faithfulness of God. Our realtor called us and told us we were ready to close on our house. We had been praying for our own home from even before we actually moved to Paradise. We looked at many over our four years there but the door never opened. When we moved to Seminole we knew we had to find a place to live since there was no parsonage. We have lived in the vacant mission house for the past three months but missionaries are coming to live in that house in June.

All of our stuff still remains in storage. We have prayed and prayed. We came to town with less than two thousand dollars in our savings account. We started looking at houses in faith knowing that only God could make that happen. On the first day we looked at close to a dozen houses. Out of all those one of the last ones really stuck out. It was not an extravagant house but that suited us because Brenda and I are not extravagant people. It was way out of our price range and it was only a three bedroom house.

We looked at so many houses they at times began to run together except for the one of 2112 NW Ave B. That is the one house we could never get out of our minds. We prayed for wisdom and then were disappointed to learn that someone else put a contract on that house. As we continued to look we did not find anything. More praying and more waiting ensued. Let me remind you that while we were waiting we were still asking God for His provision to make our getting into a home a reality. It would take a miracle for us even to be able to have money to put down on a home.

Several weeks after we moved to Seminole the first miracle happened. We were given a check by anonymous donors in the amount of $7,800. Hallelujah. We kept praying and waiting and then we received another gift for $500. During this time we found a house we liked with two exceptions. The house did not have a shower or bath in the master bedroom and there was no garage. We looked at that house two different times and were just about ready to make an offer on it when our realtor told us the contract had fallen through on the house we really liked. It was still priced out of our league but I went back by myself to look at it as Brenda was tied up and could not come with me. Each time I walked into that home it felt right. There was peace in my heart. It is located in a great part of town. It was completely updated. The only two set backs were the price and the fact that it was only a three bedroom hosue.

As we were in the middle of praying about what to do a third miracle happened. I have blogged about this miracle in the one titled “Numbers”. A loving couple from the church dropped by one Saturday while I was watching some college football and Brenda was napping. They did not stay long but handed us a card. They told us the Lord had been dealing with them about doing that for a long time. I opened the card and there was a personal check for $5,000 made out to us to help buy a home. I was stunned to say the least. Brenda could not see the card but knew by the look on my face that they had done something extremely sacrificial and had been very generous.

We decided to put feet to our faith and to make an offer on the house we had most liked on NW Ave B. We decided we could close in the formal living room to make a four bedroom house and got a bid on that. We made an offer and the sellers countered offer. We then made another offer and they countered offer again. Brenda and I felt a peace the Lord was giving us the green light and we signed a contract contingent on our getting financing. We signed a contract for $13,000 below what the house appraised for.

God worked and it all went off without a hitch. This is when my realtor called yesterday afternoon and told me we could close the deal yesterday if we had time. We reworked our schedules and signed the papers and closed the deal. It was a day of celebration and a long answered prayer when they handed me the keys and the garage door openers. I thought of all the years we had been praying and waiting on God since we sold our home in Hudson, TX and moved to Paradise where we lived in the parsonage for the next four years.

After school we took the boys to the house. They have been waiting anxiously until we can get moved. We opened the garage door and went into the house. It was the first time Taylor had ever been inside. We all gathered in the empty living room and I told the boys to close their eyes. When they opened them I showed them the keys and told them the house was ours.

They were excited as they looked around. Taylor was taking it all in and was especially pleased when I showed him where his bedroom would be. After everyone had a chance to walk around, including Annabelle, we assembled on the back porch as a family sitting on the patio furniture that was generously left behind for us. By the sellers I asked the boys to remember all those days we had prayed around our breakfast table in faith asking the Lord to bless us with a house. I reminded them of how faithful our God was and that at long last God answered and the house was a done deal. I asked what they thought we ought to do next and Tucker piped up, “We aught to pray and thank God.”

That was exactly what I had in mind. We sat on our new back porch and each one in our family prayed and thanked God for His miracle in providing us a house. We dedicated the house to the Lord to be used for ministry purposes. We prayed in faith for the many deep spiritual conversations that would take place in that home and for all the friends the boys would have over. We asked the Lord for His protection and that the boys would grow fond memories of life in Seminole like they made in our time in Paradise. It was a sweet time as a family to celebrate the goodness of the Lord in the month of November with Thanksgiving just a few weeks away.

Once we get the remodeling done on adding the fourth bedroom we will be set to move in right in time for Christmas. Brenda’s family will be coming to visit and to celebrate Christmas with us. It will be a joyous occasion as we get to share our new home and show the new church and the community we now call home.

As I sit here early this Saturday morning taking it all in what the Lord has done for me and my family I am overwhelmed. I think about how the Lord used some wonderful people in our lives in East Texas to support us and help us minister. I think about the loving people from FBC Paradise and the Paradise community who captured our hearts and prayers even to this day. We will never forget that flock and how they blessed us over and over again and up to the very end were used by God to provide my truck. Though God has moved us our bond with those precious people will endure. My mind now drifts to the loving people from FBC Seminole who have demonstrated their affections and support for my family by not only calling me as their pastor and encouraging us with letters, cards, emails, and kind deeds but who have loved with more than words in being used by the Lord to make this miracle house a reality. It is a done deal. I cannot wait to begin using that home as a place of ministry. Once again God has allowed Benda and I to have the desire of our hearts. [Ps 37:4] We have delighted in Him. He is more than provider of trucks, houses, and so forth. He is our King and we delight in Him more than His gifts.

If you are ever feeling down and your faith is shrinking in the midst of your trials or your waiting on God, I invite you to drive by 2112 NW Ave B in Seminole, TX and notice the house. Stop and remind yourself that the Edwards family prayed for that house for close to four and a half years before they had even heard of FBC Seminole. Look at the black four door truck in the drive way that was prayed for seven months. Let the faithfulness of God sink into your souls. Come and knock on the door if you need to and let us show you around a true miracle house. Let Taylor tell you how the Lord answered his prayer by allowing him to have a room of his own for the first time in his fourteen years of living. Let Brenda walk you through the house testifying of how the Lord has blessed her. Let me take you into the back yard where we entertain and on the back porch where I sit often to read, pray, and meditate. Let me tell you how hard it was to wait and to trust but how God came through. Let us pray with you over your situation and by faith believe with you it too will become a done deal.

A Basket Full of Love

I am not sure where the idea originated other than the heart of God but a group of people rallied around the idea of taking common everyday laundry baskets and filling them with groceries and household items. These baskets were offered on the altar of the church and then each family was challenged to take their baskets and an address they were given and to deliver their baskets on a Sunday afternoon.

I will not forget one elderly gentleman in our church who testified about knocking on the door of a house and simply telling the residents, “We have a basket filled with love for you.” It was a very simple act but it touched so many people. Mainly those who delivered the baskets. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive. [Acts 20:35]

It really takes so very little to make a difference. John wrote in [I Jn 3:17-18] “But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and truth.”

Churches are often good at telling communities they love them but do a poorer job of putting that love into action. O, I have seen love shared by churches with my very own eyes. I have witnessed people rally together to rebuild houses devastated by fire or floods. I have seen thousands on top of thousands of dollars given to those who were in need. I have witnessed churches dispersing clothing and school supplies for those needing some assistance. Churches have met the needs and even fulfilled the Christmas wishes of children who would otherwise have gone without as well as sending shoe boxes filled with love, toys, and clothing all over the world wit organizations like Samaritan’s Purse.

When the church of the Lord Jesus really rallies together to love their communities and the world it is a beautiful thing. On the other hand, when churches become so focused on building their own kingdom that they do not meet the needs right under the shadow of their steeples this is tragic. There are hurting people all around us and if we choose not to look with spiritual eyes we will look right past them at our beautiful steeples and buildings and miss the point all together.

I am not advocating the social gospel where we meet physical needs and stop right there. I am thinking that meeting spiritual needs is just an avenue to tell people the great news that God offers forgiveness for mistakes and morale blunders. In a world filled with negative and violent news I think this is a welcome change. We meet physical needs in order to have the open door to meet spiritual needs. [Mark 2:1-12]

It was just an ordinary laundry basket. God took those little white baskets and moved people to fill them with canned goods, baked cooking items, clothing, books, snack foods for children and it was all done in the name of Jesus. Those simple baskets were prayed over and filled with more than food, they were filled with love. I love that man’s introduction as he and his wife stood at the door of complete strangers and said, “We have a basket filled with love for you.”

It was just a simple gesture but it was doing something. We have this world’s goods and we know that people are often in need. The fact that we cannot meet every need in the world individually as well as corporately should not keep us from doing something!

Baskets of love should not be an event but rather an ongoing lifestyle. We should walk in the Spirit asking the Lord to open our spiritual eyes to see needs and then we must be willing to sacrifice and give to meet those needs. At times that might mean money. It might mean physical labor to help with house repairs or yard work. It might mean giving a bag of groceries or clothes. When we all do a little it can turn into a big deal collectively.

What needs are in front of you? What is the Lord calling you to do to meet those needs? Do you need to rally the troops where you are to make a difference? It doesn’t take much. A basket filled with love can go a long way.

Blending Into the Shadows

I have two burdens on my heart for this blog. One concerns how people are left to blend into the shadows of life the older and less mobile they get. The other one is how we have a tendency to drift into the dark corners of life when we are not walking in fellowship with the Lord.

Let’s address the first. As a pastor I have spent a good deal of time ministering to senior adults in hospitals or homes. I have listened to their stories and have often thought about the real possibility staring at me that one day I may grow old and I may not be as mobile. It is not a pleasant thought. It reminds me of a conversation I had with my pastor back in Lufkin, TX many years ago.

It was a Sunday night and as he and I sat on the front pew before the start of the service he began speaking very candidly to me. He told me that some of the most lonely people in the world are retired pastors. After they retire a new pastor eventually comes to take his place and begins to build his own memories with the flock. Soon people no longer need their former pastor and soon forget about him for the most part. Life moves on. The retired pastor often has trouble at this point. The older he gets his health may become more frail but fewer and fewer former church members will stop by to visit or call to check on him though he may have spent decades doing the same things for the flock.

My pastor then looked me in the eye asked me to promise him that once he retired and I would always check in on him. I made that promise and do not want him to see his last days blending into the dark shadows of life unseen and forgotten. He has had a tremendous impact on me and therefore I want to honor that impact by not letting him be forgotten. I know the church he has pastored for over thirty years will not let that happen either.

It is a stark reminder that I am growing older too. With each passing year I can feel the effects of old age creeping on. They might not be apparent to others but I see the signs coming. One day I could be the one alone, forgotten, and no longer needed. How do I want people to treat me in those days? That motivates me want to be a better pastor.

There are so many people in society who were once productive members. They worked, volunteered, gave, sacrificed, and served their local church. Many of them wish they could be just as active as they always were yet their health fails them. Their minds may still have the want to but their bodies just cannot physically do what they once did. They do not have the energy to keep on the go and so they sit alone. They hope and pray someone will remember them and long for a phone call, a drop in visitor, or a card or letter in the mail. Days of disappointment often turn into weeks and weeks into months. Before long, years have passed and a whole new generation comes on the scene that do not even know the aging saints who gave so much of themselves and their money to the church. When their names are mentioned new members give blank stares. We must not let these people blend into the shadows. We must make some time periodically to go, to sit and to listen. We must simply remember and love. [Jn 13:34-35] We must be available to those in the shadows of life. [Matt 25:31-40]

I am also extremely burdened for those who drift away from the Lord and lurk in the shadows of life embracing their sin and the shame that comes with it in the darkness. Sinful deeds are openly done in the darkness. We think no one sees and we think we can hide our wickedness but God sees all. There is nowhere we can run from His presence. Sons and daughters of the light can even grow accustomed to living in the shadows because their deeds are evil.

I recently received a phone call from a distraught mother who was burdened for one of her children. I had preached an event for his youth group many years ago and she called asking me to pray and to call this child. I have done both but this child is still lurking in the shadows. Only God can bring him back. How easily we give up on those who drift away. It is awkward. We don’t know what to say and inevitably say too much or nothing at all. We find ourselves not really knowing what to say but James tells us, “…if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” [James 5:19-20] That is never easy to ask someone the hard questions and to confront one straying from the truth. It may not be easy but it is necessary. I have needed it in my own life many times from my wife and from a trusted band of brothers. They have often had to confront me and to ask me the hard questions. At times I have been angry and offended but on the other hand when I listened to their concerns the Holy Spirit used them to speak truth into my heart. They were used by the Lord to bring me out of the shadows. God has used many preachers and books to bring me out of the shadows into His glorious light. There is a freedom living in the light with nothing to hide. Jesus said it right, “For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” [Jn 3:20-21]

It is time to walk into the shadows to remember those who gave so much and to reclaim those who have strayed from the truth. Neither is easy or convenient but both are needed. I plead with you as you read this confront me, speak truth to me if you see me straying. As I get older I hope the Lord will call someone to remember to listen, to care. Until then, I hope I do the same for someone else. “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” [Matt 7:12]

Reflections

Do you ever have one of those moments when you stop and reflect on life? I had that experience one week ago today. I attended a community prayer meeting and had a wonderful time with God. When it was all said and done that prayer encounter with the Lord caused me to spend the rest of the day reflecting on Him and my role in the Kingdom of God.

There was a time in society when people were encouraged to think deeply and reflect. The intellect was stimulated with thought provoking questions and truths. There was a time when reading a book was a more common use of time than listening to the radio or watching television. Today there is little time to read even though we have access to more information than ever. We are trained to listen to sound bites on the evening news or catch the headlines on web but when do we ever digest the sound bites and reflect on the implications of it all.

Our days are scheduled well in advance with multiple appointments and commitments. Even when we do schedule vacations we feel the pressure to squeeze as much in as we can and justify doing so in order to get the most bang for our buck. In all of this there is little if any time to reflect. Reflect on the pace of our lives. Reflect on the condition of our families. Reflect on our relationship with the Lord. Reflect on the spiritual condition of our churches, communities, and country. We often make next to no time to reflect on the scriptures and let truth fall into our hearts.

It is early on a Tuesday morning and I am at the office alone well before the sun comes up. I have spent a great deal of time reflecting and the truth is I do not like some what I see in my own life. There are far too many inconsistencies. I do not like the condition of my walk with the Lord. Though I love Him and desire Him it seems I have lost a deep seated passion to run hard after Him. [Ps 63:8] KJV I miss the intensity that has often gripped me to know God and chase after Him in relentless pursuit. It is easy to fall into the rut of going through the motions but we were created for much more than that.

As I reflect I am brought face to face with the truth that our enemy never ceases trying to trip us up. I was given a grim reminder as another minister fell into gross immorality ruining his testimony, destroying his family and ministry, and hurting a church and community. This is a startling reminder to wake up and realize that we might be saved but our testimony is not safe until we get to Heaven. We are to endure to the end and I know that on any given day if my flesh is not crucified and if I am not walking in the Spirit I could be tripped up just like many others have been before me. This is a sobering thought.

As I reflect on my life I see that so much of what I am called to do gets pushed to the side to be involved in many things others want me to do. I know I have to be in control of my time and devote myself to prayer, study, and writing while not neglecting the flock God has entrusted to me. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. I leave the office everyday wishing I had more time to read, write, pray, and study. I have to make choices about the best use of time and that can only come when through reflection I contemplate how I am living each day. Am I living with purpose?

Reflecting is good but I am not going to waste all my days looking back. I have to learn from my past mistakes and look forward. Paul wrote it like this, “Brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 3:13-14]

Reflecting helps me to run harder, to push forward in the faith, to pursue the prize of knowing Christ more fully and serving Him with more passion and devotion. I am thankful for the mental ability to reflect. God is using it to help me run the race of life with more purpose and more effectiveness.

I enjoy long trips alone with the radio off as I am alone with my thoughts. Life used to have more time for this. When you rode a horse you had built in time to reflect. If you plowed a field you could use your time for thinking and pondering life. I often done the same thing while sitting on a lawn mower or riding a bike. We must build in times in our lives when we think and reflect over how we are living. That must be evaluated in the light of the scriptures.

Even athletic teams know the value of reflection as they view game film to learn how they can correct mistakes. It would do all of us good to do a little post game analysis on each day. Where did we succeed? Where do we need improvement?

Take some time today to reflect on your life and your relationship with the Lord. Think long hard about the deep issues in your life and pray for God’s direction and solution. Let us present to Him a heart of wisdom and let the Lord teach us to value the number of our days. [Ps 90:12]

Humble Pie

I got a large dose of humble pie early this morning. I got up early to go to the Fitness Center where I was to meet another man from our church to play racquetball. I felt pretty decent about my chances to hold my own. I took a class on racquetball in college. That was thirteen years ago. I played pretty often about six or seven years ago. I was thirty six then not forty three. I knew I would be a little rusty but I did not realize I was about to be force fed some humility like I had not experienced in a long time.

As we started our match I quickly came to the realization that my cardio training on the Stairmaster or the Elliptical had not prepared me for all the running, stopping, twisting, contorting, and lunging to hit the ball. We had not been playing long when through deep breaths I thought to myself, “You are in big trouble. You just started and you are already winded. You had better pace yourself.”

My opponent knew just where to hit the ball to make me run more which only served to leave me gasping for more air. I had no time to recuperate as the next bullet like serve came bouncing off the wall leaving me more times than I care to admit swinging with all my might and connecting with nothing but air. One time I actually swung and missed the ball twice on one bounce.

It was humiliating. The longer we played the more I began to sweat and long for air in my lungs from having to lug this oversized body around the court. My opponent seemed to be floating on air. His shots were precise, his serves like laser beams while mine seldom even were legal. H never appeared to tire and told me casually afterward that he runs three miles a day on the days he does play racquetball. That would have been nice to know on the front end. I might not have agreed to playing him.

I do not know how long we played. At one point I commented the score had to be about 90-4. I am a competitive person and normally do not enjoy losing. On this occasion I was too tired, too uncoordinated, and too unskilled to even make the game competitive. Finally in boredom my opponent called it a day without having even broken a sweat.

Peter challenges us in His book [II Peter 5:5-6] “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time.”

What does it mean to clothe ourselves in humility? The word “humility” means to have a humble opinion of oneself, a deep sense of one’s own littleness, and to have lowliness of mind. We are tempted not to wear such an attitude all the time. People compliment us and we like the strokes to our ego. We begin to tout our successes even if other people do not and keep a list of personal statistics and track records of accomplishments. We like to be a made a big deal of. We often let our focus drift from making a big deal out of Jesus to living to make a big deal out of us.

John the Baptist got it right when he said, “He must increase and I must decrease.” [Jn 3:30] He saw his own littleness and the greatness of Christ in contrast. He was lowly in mind and his own estimation of himself.

I am thankful for a good old fashioned dose of humility to help me remember I am not a big deal but God is a big deal. I have limitations, weaknesses. I get tired and am unskilled. Far too many Christians have inflated opinions of themselves and are being set up for a big fall. We all need regular doses of humble pie.

I talked with one of my greatest friends today. He tragically told me of another pastor who fell morally to an affair with a lady in his church. He was the quintessential pastor with the highest academic accolades, a proven track record of past successes, and a large vision for his church.

While his wife was recovering from a life threatening illness, this high minded, large ego preacher slipped. Somewhere he took off humility and began believing his own press clippings. He slipped off the garment of humility and replaced it with pride. While pretending to be the captain of the ship he was really acting out the part of a teenage boy with out of control hormones. We learn from the Proverb that, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” [Prov 16:18]

I want to learn humility and to wear it gracefully in places like the racquetball court and not in the public arena of morale failure. This is a warning to all of us. Take heed lest we fall too. We have no room to boast. All we have to boast in is Jesus Christ and His cross. [Gal 6:14] Let us slip into the work clothes of humility and clutch them close to our chest grateful for the reminder that we are too must combat pride and embrace humility. Let us be reminded this day that if we are prideful and filled with ourselves we will find God in opposition against us and we will fall.

Lord, thank you for humble pie today. May I never grow weary of its taste.

Hold My Hand

Brenda has had an infection in one of her toes for nearly a year now. She put it off and put it off but finally agreed to go and see a doctor. We drove over to Midland so see a physician. Dr. Weaver had not been in the examination two minutes when she diagnosed the problem as being an ingrown nail.

Brenda has tried several things to cure the toe but nothing has worked. The doctor told us that there were two treatment options. The entire nail could be removed permanently or a partial part of the nail could be removed temporarily. We opted for the second treatment.

One of Brenda’s fears about going to the doctor was that she might have to get a shot or be stuck with a needle. She has a phobia of needles. I don’t think you understand. SHE HAS A PHOBIA OF NEEDLES! I could see the fear building on her face and eventually working itself out through her dear ducts. I got up to her hold her hand and made a classic mistake.

I gave her the hand with my wedding ring on it. When the doctor stuck her toe to deaden it for the procedure Brenda began squeezing my hand like a vice grip. My wedding ring began to cut into my fingers under the pressure. The more pain she felt the harder the squeezed and then just like that it was done. A few moments later she removed part of the nail and found the ingrown nail and removed it. Again Brenda held onto my hands and squeezed but a minute and a half later the whole thing was over and done.

God spoke through Isaiah in [Is 41:10] “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

There are times in life when male or female, strong or weak, big or little we need God to reach down from eternity and to hold our hand. When it is dark outside and my boys cannot see to find their way they do not fear if they can reach out in the darkness and find my hand. Just knowing that I am there brings peace and comfort. It is the same way with God. In the darkest times God reaches down to hold our hand to offer strength and comfort. When we reach out to grasp His infinitely strong and sovereign hand; peace floods our hearts and minds. [Phil 4:7] If we draw our hand back in defiant independence we are left to cope with the darkness with our own limited resources. Many try. It is a hard row to hoe.

Last night we went to open houses on two of the campuses for Tucker and Turner. Turner was excited twisting, leaping, running, skipping, and twirling. It was driving Brenda crazy. At one point he forgot what he was doing and took off running across a parking lot which is a big no no in our house. I told him to hold my hand and that as long as he was holding my hand he could jump, twirl, twist, and shout. He could leap, skip, and bounce all he wanted. The one condition was he could do all of that just as long as he kept hold of my hand. I wanted him to know the safety of my boundaries while still being able to enjoy himself.

The simple act of holding a hand can have so many different implications for a believer. It can remind us that God is in control and serve to strengthen and comfort us in the painful times of life. Holding the hand of God can also serve as our protection. Holding His hand can bring security in insecure situations.

Now let’s take that one step further. How many people need a helping hand? We, the body of Christ, serve as Jesus’ representatives. We are to be the hands of Jesus to those who are in need of assistance. We must be willing to lend a helping hand even without being asked. We are to offer a loving pat for those hurting and filled with sorrow. We are to gently hold the hands of those who are ill offering prayer on their behalf. We are to extend a loving hand for those experiencing excruciating pain. Look at the example of Jesus; [Matt 8:2-3] [Matt 14:30-31] [Mark 5:40-42] [Luke 4:40] [Luke 13:10-13] Those are just a few examples.

Such a simple act has so many implications. Today there are two simple applications. There might be times when like Brenda or like my boys you may need to reach out in your spirit to grasp the hand of God. He has a big hand which will not only engulf yours but also all your burdens as well. Give them to Him one by one. The other application is that somewhere in this world someone needs a loving ministering hand to hold or to help. Will you be that hand for someone?

Waking in the Arms of Jesus

Each Tuesday morning I go to the Care Center to lead a service for the assisted living residents there. We sing a few songs and I teach something from the scriptures. Afterward I try to go by a few rooms and visit with some of our members. This morning I had the privilege of going to see our oldest living member. She is one hundred one!

She is frail but her spirit is strong. Today she was very sleepy and while I visited her with a senior adult lady from our church she had a hard time hearing and communicating. She kept fighting drifting off to sleep. That is when the other lady told her, “One day you are going to go to sleep and wake up in the arms of Jesus!”

That has stuck with me through out the day. Just a few moments earlier I visited with a lady who will turn one hundred on October 29^th. I can’t imagine the frustration mixed with the joys of living to be such a ripe old age. I know at forty three I cannot do things I used to do at twenty three and thirty three. I went to the fitness center early this morning before coming to work. I began working my way up doing presses with dumbbells. I had to stop way short of the weight I was lifting back at Howard Payne University. I cannot fathom having the limitations of fifty seven more years on this body.

We all know that we will not live forever and drifting off to sleep one day and waking up in the arms of Jesus with a glorified body and into our everlasting reward defies imagination. What a day that will be. Jim Hill penned those very words in a hymn. “There is coming a day when no heart aches shall come – no more clouds in the sky

No more tears to dim the eye. All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore.

There’ll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear, no more sickness, no pain

no more parting over there. And forever I will be with the One who died for me.

(chorus) What a day, glorious day that will be! What a day that will be when my Jesus

I shall see, and I look upon His face – The One who saved me by His grace.

When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promised Land;

What a day, glorious day that will be!

There must come a point when it is more appealing to look over yonder into eternity than to try to cling to what is left behind here. There comes a day when we have more loved ones over there than we have of those left behind here. There comes a day when every day is a labor as our bodies wear down and begin to fail while we linger here and start to contemplate the glorified bodies we will receive in Heaven. What a day that will be indeed.

[I Cor 2:9] gives great hope for those who long to wake up in the arms of Jesus. “But it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Don’t read over that too fast. No eye has seen anything that can compare to the beauty and splendor of Heaven. No mountain range, sea shore, scenic forest, or picturesque sunset can compare to the glory of Heaven. Our eyes have never beheld such beauty and wonders and that does not even begin to describe what we will see in Jesus. There are no words. It will be something we will have to experience for ourselves.

No ear has ever heard anything as beautiful as the sounds that will resound in Heaven. I do not know what they all will be but I do know one anthem that will be played over and over again night and day. “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, The Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.’ And the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever.” [Rev 5:8-9] Louder than any choir you have ever heard, more in harmony and pleasing to the ear than any singer you have enjoyed will be this booming chorus reverberating the halls of Heaven and penetrating our souls.

Still we are not finished. No man has ever come close to imagining what awaits us in Heaven. Colors will be brighter. Our thoughts higher, our senses greater, our hearts purer, and the glory of God more brilliant than the sun. No painter could capture this with oil paints on a canvas. No writer could lasso and corral the right words to convey what Heaven is like. It defies both description and imagination. Still we are contemplating Heaven and not the King of Glory. We do not have that kind of mental capacity this side of eternity. It would blow our circuits.

Alas, we are left with the simple hope and trust that one day each of us who had trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior will breathe our last breath here and wake up in the arms of Jesus. O what a glorious day that will be.