Good News of Great Joy

We have endured another black Friday and a cyber Monday. As I write this we are in the middle of the Christmas shopping season. Our family has a tree up but at this point not one present has been wrapped and put under it. I felt embarrassed recently when I went to a friend’s house and saw dozens of brightly wrapped packages under his tree. He told me he is completely finished with all his shopping and did it all on the day after Thanksgiving.

Christmas lights are brightly lit hanging on trees and houses all over. The city Christmas decorations are up. Church choirs have rehearsed and are ready to begin performing their musicals and pageants. Christmas music is jamming the airwaves on radio stations with the Christmas spirit.

Retail stores have sale upon sale to lure potential shoppers in as they compete for holiday dollars. Television commercials remind us time is ticking down as we get nearer to December 25. We have less than three weeks left before the big day.

I love watching children this time of year. They get so excited as they count down the days. This is truly a festive time of year. My mind and heart are turned in a different direction this morning though. I know all too well that many surrounded by lights and decorations have a hard time during Christmas.

First, there are those who are facing financial hardship. They love their families as much as the next guy but sink into depression knowing they cannot possibly afford to buy Christmas for their children or spouses. They try but lay offs, the drought, and economic down turn have taken a toll. Depression puts an icy grip on their minds leading them to despair. Such moms and dads are desperate this time of the year. Without a true Christmas miracle they have no hope.

My mind drifts to all those who have lost spouses, children, or close relatives at some point in the past year. This will be their first Christmas without a loved gathered around the Christmas tree or dinner table. While the rest of the world sings and laughs joyously celebrating the season many enter this season filled with grief and sorrow. Silent Night is often replaced with silent tears as the grieving try to cope with their broken hearts and life without the one they loved.

I think of another group of people who have outlived spouses, relatives, and friends by many years. Though once young and vibrant at local churches in the past many of these dear people are now forgotten and forsaken. Some elderly will not get a Christmas present, a Christmas card, a phone call, or an invitation to a Christmas party this year and have not for several years in the past. They endure each day lonely and feeling unloved and unwanted. Some of these people question why they continue to hang on year after year. Some feel they have no purpose in living.

It is to all of these people I remind that Jesus came on that first Christmas morning. The angels declared, “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior who is Messiah the Lord was born for you in the city of David.” [Luke 2:10-11]

This is good news for the poor and the rich, the loved and unloved, the remembered and forgotten and the young and elderly. The gift of Jesus Christ is not only good news it is the best news in the history of the world. This news still contains joy for all mankind. Jesus is a gift surpassing in beauty, worth, and blessing than anything this world has to offer this season. I-phones, cars, computers, and clothes cannot compare to His infinite worth. You may not be able to find joy in your circumstances but you can rejoice in the truth that Jesus came for all people and that includes you. He does not leave or forsake His own. Most important of all is He came as a Savior. You and I needed a redeemer and Jesus came to save the day in that manger. He conquered the penalty of sin with his death on the cross and now salvation is available to people from all walks of life. That is the best news this world has ever heard and it all started with a babe in a manger.

Once the packages have been unwrapped, the tree taken down, the decorations stored, and family leave for home Jesus remains. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas and He offers Himself as the best gift of all. Embrace Him dear reader. This is the joyous good news I have to offer this time of year. Enjoy the other gifts and activities of the season but embrace Jesus. He is truly the reason for the season.

The Song of My Life

What do you do when after the worship service and the sermon you still find yourself in a place wanting to worship even more? How do you express those deepest longings and affections that even the best worship songs cannot convey? When the music fades and the doors are closed on all the cathedrals God is still worthy of worship.

I contemplated this reality a couple of days ago. The only way to really adequately express worship is through our lives. What I mean is that the way we live each and every day is really a song of worship. When we seek God in scripture, give a sacrificial financial gift, witness to someone, and love the unlovable these are acts of worship with our life. There are times when singing the songs is not enough. We worship with the song of our lives. We worship through living and I think this is the deepest form of worship and most pleasing to the Lord.

When you awoke this morning you had a brand new day to worship the Lord of Creation with your words, attitude, actions, and reactions. That is a great truth. I am worshipping seated at this computer typing these words. You might be worshipping on your job as you give your best work for you employer but more importantly for the Lord. Your worship might be taking the form of a student in a classroom or in a library gathering knowledge or a weight room training your body to perform your very best for the glory of God. Your life might be expressing worship as you do the dishes or fold the laundry. Worship happens as you comfort a friend going through a difficult time or as you befriend someone the rest of society shuns. God is honored and pleased with such living.

Our lives are a worship song sung to our King. True there are times when we hit the wrong notes. We make a sinful choice, we react in a un-Christ like way, or we rebel in obeying an explicit directive from the Lord. We get it wrong from time to time but what about when we get it right. O, if we could hear the beautiful music created by the lives of the servants and followers of God. This is a worship tune reserved for the ears of God alone.

How does the song of your life sound in the ears of God right now? Do you and I need to make some adjustments so we can get on the right track and play the song of our lives at full volume? This morning I worshipped cooking eggs, biscuits, sausage, and hash browns for my boys before school. I worshipped giving each of them a hug and reminding them I love them and am proud of them. I worshipped putting the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. I worshipped reading scripture and a book on vision early this morning.

I pray the song of our lives would resound loudly in the halls of Heaven before an audience of one. It really does not matter what others think. Only what God thinks of our life song truly matters. Let your life sing loudly.

Tearful Reunion

Brenda and I made a whirlwind trip back to Seminole to pack up most of our things to move to Paradise into a rent home. We did not have long to be there. We were only in Seminole for nineteen hours before hitting the road again.

In our brief time there we were able to see the staff we served First Baptist Church together along with their wives. We also saw a few other people while in town. Brenda and I welled up with tears multiple times in those nineteen hours. Though we left there close to four months ago, seeing those people again brought back many memories and opened the wound of grief all over again.

None of us thought our stay in Seminole would be so brief (just under two years.) I had to go back to my old office to clean out a few remaining things. Going from such a prestigious church to starting a church has been a major adjustment. I stood in the office for a moment remembering the many encounters I had with God in that place. Tearfully I had to walk away for good. My office space now consists of a table at a café, the library, and now a little desk in our rent home.

Brenda and I were very emotional walking back into our house back there. All our furniture was still there. It felt like we had been on a long vacation and were returning home except the purpose of our trip focused on getting most of our furniture and belongings back to Paradise. The house has been for sale for six months and we have not had one offer. Many have wanted to rent it but no one has even made an offer to buy it and in six months only three people have looked at it.

Our emotions overcame us because we never took that house for granted. Nobody knows how much prayer went into us getting a home. We prayed, waited, and waited. For four years we asked God for a house while serving another church but the Lord’s answer was no. When we moved to serve First Baptist in Seminole, TX and the Lord worked mighty miracles to provide us with our own house our logical conclusion became we would stay in that church and house for decades.

Leaving the office and the house behind were easy compared to seeing people we love. We gave our souls to Seminole and only left because God commanded us to. He called us to follow and we obeyed. That does not mean it has not been painful. Seeing those people I used to shepherd and preach to again saddened me grievously. Hugs were freely given. Yes, even I gave some hugs.

Twice during those nineteen hours the tears began forming in public places and I had to get my act together. The grief and sorrow felt like a heavy weight across my chest. The church is getting a new pastor this coming weekend and I am happy for them. None of that flock knows how deeply I loved and still love them though. They are not forgotten to Brenda and I or our boys. It hurts to leave people you love.

Most people consider me pretty hard hearted. I have even been accused on occasion of not liking people. I do love my times of solitude but the truth is I love people deeply. I worked hard to earn the right to become the pastor and shepherd for that flock. That makes leaving all the more painful.

Please do not get me wrong. I love the new flock I am called to shepherd. I admire the faith of this new congregation as we labor to get this new church off the ground. We are living a great adventure. Some of the people in this new church are people I served as their pastor in the past. I already have a heart connection with them. I am grateful for this new congregation but that does not lessen the pain of leaving a former flock.

Most people involved in church only know the pain of the church losing a beloved pastor from the congregation’s perspective. Few ever consider the grief when God calls a pastor to a new field of service from the minister’s perspective. It is deep I assure you. Even writing this brief essay has been emotionally challenging.

I just shut my eyes and relived countless memories of standing beside hospital beds and praying for the sick and dying. I recall sitting in living rooms ministering to those battling through tragedy. I recall the joyful banter of Wednesday evening Bible Studies and the work of God on Sundays as people responded to God’s word. How can I ever forget the twenty-three day revival? I have served three churches as pastor and started two other churches. Faith Community Church is the second of those church starts and the place I have asked God to let me finish my race.

I feel a huge void in my heart from missing my former flock and friends in not only Seminole but in every church I have served. There will be a reunion day. There will be a day when all tears will be wiped away and there will no longer by anymore goodbyes. [Rev 21:3-4]

In all of this I have learned the value of relationships. Relationships enrich life. While in Seminole a few days ago I went back and forth from raucous laughter to tears with those we were privileged to share time with. At times we laughed so hard the tears came again. My life is fuller from having served the people in Seminole. I will always love them.

My heart is full serving the people at Faith Community Church. We have already built memories. Those who were there will never forget our first Sunday in the blue room at the daycare. I hold precious the memory of our first baptism in a hot tub. The memories continue as the youth outgrew the day care and we moved into the Kelley Gym at the school. I treasure the memories of our youth retreat and Sunday night prayer meetings. There are many things to look forward to in this new church. The best is yet to come.

Paul writes we are to forget what lies behind and to press on to what lies ahead. [Phil 3:I3] I doubt he meant people. Though I have many memories under my belt from Seminole it is time to press on to the good work of continuing to build Faith Community Church. Now that we are no longer homeless we can settle and focus on the work at hand. Last night we had our highest attendance youth attendance with forty students. We had a great mid week Bible Study last night also with our adults. Great days are ahead for Faith Community Church.

Breakfast with Job

As I sat in the Finish Line earlier this week I had breakfast with Job. I guess what I should say is that I read through part of Job while enjoying a breakfast of soft scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

I have read through the book of Job more than a dozen times and I am still fascinated by his love for God and total devotion. In the midst of great suffering Job held fast his integrity and continued to worship God. Job loved God more than his family, wealth, and even his own health. He challenges me at this point.

I recently heard a pastor say that the point of Job is that God wants us to love Him most of all. Too often we love God for what He can do for us and when He does not resolve our problems in a timely manner our faith and devotion begin to falter. Job loved God most.

That does not mean that he did not love each of his ten children. That does mean he did not care about the well being of all his servants that worked for him. It does not even mean that he did not appreciate the great wealth God had entrusted to Him. He loved God more than all the above.

Because of that great love for the Lord Job could still trust God and praise Him in the middle of grief and personal agony. Though friends judged him and falsely accused him, he still loved God more.

My bet is you would not even be reading this book if you did not love God. You probably have some devotion time. You are most likely involved in a local church. You may even devote hours of service in your local church. Here is the crux of the issue. Do you love God more than your family? Do you love God more than house, cars, fashionable clothing? Do you love God more than your children’s accomplishments? Do you love God more than your own comfort and success?

No matter how you and I might answer those questions I don’t think the truth can really be known until you are stripped of some of those things. I have personally witnessed people tragically lose a spouse and a parent and still cling to God in trust and worship like Job did. Yes, many tears were shed but these people clung to their sanity because the loved God more.

I have seen athletes work toward their senior season and miss most of it due to injury while still giving God glory. How does one do that? You can only do it when you love God more than football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. You can do it when on the national stage playing for the national championship and you get knocked out of the game earlier on like Colt McCoy did his senior year. In the biggest game of his life he knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury against Alabama and did not return. When interviewed after the game he gave God glory. Colt loved God more than football, the University of Texas, and the national championship.

I have failed miserably at this point. When God called us to leave First Baptist Church of Seminole, TX to start Faith Community Church in Paradise, TX it also meant leaving behind our house. At the point of this writing it still has not sold. We are about to downsize into a rent house five hundred square feet smaller than our house back in West Texas. Do we love God more? Do the Edwards love God more than houses and land? If I were to be completely honest with you I would have to say on days we have loved God more and on other days our actions and attitudes have indicated otherwise.

Having breakfast with Job was a good reminder. It helped put things back in perspective for me. Enjoying my eggs and Job’s unwavering devotion to the Lord nourished my body but more importantly nourished my soul. God knew what I needed today. He knew sitting with the book of Job would pull me out of the doldrums and set my feet on the firm foundation of confidence in Him.

Go ahead and pull out your Bible. Maybe you will not be seated at the Finish Line but at your dining table eating dinner instead of breakfast. Open up to the book of Job and read all of chapter one and chapter two. Let God use Job to inspire you to keep loving, keep trusting, and to keep worshipping.