Staff Retreat

Jase, Sean and I are sitting in the Lubbock airport waiting to catch a plane to take us to Tyler, TX where we will rendezvous with my friend Jimmy to drive to the famous prayer cabin I have written so much about over the years. We are going on a staff retreat. The goal of the retreat is simple. To become refreshed in our walks with the Lord and to hear clearly from Him.

I will also get to preach to the students at FBC Palestine on Wednesday night as well as get to reconnect with my great Uncle Billy Ford, who is a retired preacher. He lives alone and this might possibly be the last time we get to have a prayer meeting together and I get to see him since we live so far a part. He is one of the most holy men I have ever known. I look forward to our time together.

Life in ministry can be busy. More days than I can remember my day starts early. Last night I finished up a few last minute things in the office after dinner and did not get back home until around 10:00 p.m. Getting away for a few days to seek the face of God without any distractions is a welcome relief to me. I cannot wait to walk into the back door of that old two-bedroom cabin. I can see every detail of that cabin in my mind. I see the old outdated furniture in the living room. I see the orange chairs, the brown striped love seat and couch. I see the glass top coffee table with a large mouth bass mounted on top. I see the oval shaped oak dining table with six chairs where I have sat to write books, blogs, and messages to preach at revivals, camps, and retreats.

On the back porch there are several rocking chairs looking over the picturesque ninety-acre lake and rolling hills of pasture and forest on the other side of the lake. God meets me in that place. I am excited to take Jase and Sean there and allow them to soak in some of the presence of the Lord. They make only the sixth and seventh people I have ever shard that place with. I know God is everywhere. He is just as present in Seminole, TX in my office as He is at the prayer cabin. That cabin holds great sentimental value for me. I have met with the Lord there and plan to do so again this week.

[Mark 1:35], “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place and was praying there.” Jesus found time to retreat from ministry, to retreat from people, and to seclude Himself alone with His Father. Jesus intentionally retreated from everything and everyone to meet with His Father. We have been trying to schedule this staff retreat for over four months. There is never time. We are in no less need to do that today though. We need to get away to have some focused and undistracted time with the Lord.

We have now flown into Tyler and made our way to the retreat. I sit early this morning at the dining table where I have met with the Lord numerous times over the past fourteen years. Sitting in this very chair I wrote Behold the Faithfulness of God and 40 Days to Shake the City. In this cabin Jase, Sean and I sought the Lord last night after dinner as well as going our separate ways earlier in the afternoon to seek the Lord. We have only been here about twelve hours but our time has been enriching.

At this isolated bungalow there is no television. There is a television set but we do not have access to cable or satellite. To be honest I do not miss it. In this cabin I do not even have access to the internet. Life comes to a crawl here but it is a good crawl. This all makes more time for prayer, scripture reading, meditation and reflection and of course writing. This retreat is a time to catch our second wind as we continue to run the race God has set before us. [Heb 12:1]

This is a secluded place. We are maybe a mile or more from the highway. We cannot see the neighbor’s house. We are surrounded by towering trees and rolling pasture. Yesterday the lake became as smooth as glass. So smooth in fact, I could see the reflection of the trees on the surface of the waters. Tranquility filled my soul. This is the perfect place to come and seek the face of God. I sat in my favorite outdoor prayer nook yesterday afternoon enjoying the presence of God. From my perch I had a perfect view of the lake. In the past I have seen eagles from this vantage point. I did not have to be in a hurry. There were no schedules to keep, no deadlines to meet or appointments luring me away from the feet of my Lord. In those moments I not only enjoyed Him but I also found refreshment for my soul.

I came here with one request that supersedes all the rest. I just want to hear clearly from the Lord. In fact as we three gathered last night the heart of what we all need is to hear clearly from the Lord in these days. We just want to hear a clear word from the Lord. So with that request in mind I am up early (4:34 a.m. to be exact) ready to seek the Lord again.

Lord, I know those who read this are busy. In the hectic dash to make it through the day I pray You would slow down Your children long enough to find a secluded place to meet with You. I ask You to fill their hearts with Your intoxicating presence. I ask You to renew their love for You and Your word. I plead that You would stir the hearts of Your followers not to meet with You out of sense of duty but they would find delight and refreshment in Your presence. May that also be the case for Jase, Sean and I as we sojourn on this staff retreat.

God is Like the Snow

Like much of the nation Seminole has been blanketed in snow and gripped with icy temperatures for most of this past week. This weather has reminded me of the times I have spent in Canada in the winter. The chilling wind has cut right through by coat and other clothing. It has been a good week to sit inside.

The title of this blog did not originate with me. It came from my youngest son Turner. Brenda drove them to school on Wednesday and Turner commented as he looked out his window that God is like the snow. He then went on to elaborate, “He is everywhere.” Pretty profound for a second grader.

God is like the snow in several ways. I will only focus on two. He is everywhere. That means as I sit in my office at 7:19 p.m. on this Thursday night waiting on an appointment God is with me. As you read this from your home or place of work God is with you. He blankets us in His love and the reassurance of His presence. God is here right now and He is accessible. Like the snow covers the ground and is everywhere I look, so is God. I can talk to Him now. I can worship Him now. I can listen to Him now. He is everywhere.

I do not know what you are going through but I know God is there to help, to comfort, and even rebuke when needed. He is everywhere as Turner said. I need Him. I need His peace and I need His power to do what He has called me to do. I need His continual inspiration to write. I need His revelation to see truth. I also need His anointing to preach and teach. I need His wisdom to lead. I need His love to help me past selfishness to minister to the needs of my wife. I need His patience and tenacity to teach my boys and stay involved with them. We need God and He is here. We need God and He will be there in the future as well during trials and in the storms. He is everywhere.

God is also like the snow in the fact that He purifies and makes our hearts white again with His grace. Just like the snow covers the ground and all you can see is a blanket of white pure and clean snow, God can do and does that to our hearts. He forgives and cleanses our sin. He covers our blunders with the white snow like blanket of His righteousness. This grace and righteousness are stunning to behold. It is like a fresh start and a new beginning.

I just finished meeting with one of those people who need to be covered with the snow of God’s grace and forgiveness. This intelligent person that who grew up in church needs a fresh touch of the snow like grace to come and to cleanse once again. He is here and faithful to do just that. So do I and so do you. We continually need God to pour grace on our hearts.

Yes, Turner. God is like snow and He is everywhere. I am thankful the Lord took my boy and spoke to my heart through him. I pray He speaks to your heart as well. What a blessing.

Lord, I lift up those who read this. I pray you would remind them you are there with them in this moment. I ask you to renew their heart with your grace. I ask you to renew their hearts and make them pure. Thank you for speaking through a little boy but one who sees things so profoundly. I am humbled to be his daddy. How I pray you would use Turner to do greater things than I have ever done. I ask you to take Him deeper with you than I have ever gone and to climb higher to your summit than I have ever forged. I pray that over Taylor, Tanner, and Tucker as well. Thank you for being everywhere. In Jesus name. Amen.