In about an hour Brenda, two friends from Paradise and me are headed west to Seminole to pack up the rest of the contents of our house. For nine months we have prayed to sell the house. A few have looked at it but in nine months we had only one offer and those people rejected our counter offer.
We are leasing our house for the next year to a family transitioning to Seminole. Until April 1, 2013 our house will be off the market. I have peace about this. Even more so after the story I heard on Thursday. Sit back and let me retell it to you. It puts a lot of things in perspective.
Several months ago I received a phone call from a couple who had looked at the house. They loved it. The only problem is they did not have all their financing in order. I talked with the husband and even told him the story about how God worked miracles of provision for my family to be able to get into that house. I never heard back from him. I thought he had lost interest.
Thursday I received a phone call from a coach and dear friend from Seminole. He told me before I sold my house I had to hear this story. When the above mentioned family looked at our house months ago they loved it. While they were looking at it their little girl played outside in the backyard. This is not unusual until I tell you what happened next.
When the parents called their girl to leave she said she couldn't. They called her again and she replied, "I can't. I am playing with Jesus." The parents could tell she acted like she played with somebody invisible.
Now you might write this off as fanciful thinking of a child. I on the other hand take this more seriously for a couple of reasons. First, is child like faith. I think children can relate to Jesus on a level many adults can't or don't.. I do not doubt that little girl played with the resurrected real Jesus in my back yard. I don't doubt this on a second level. I know Jesus rules over that house. I cannot tell you how much prayer went into my family buying that house. Most every room has some picture or framed scripture verse hanging on the walls.
The day we closed on the house I went there and sat on the back porch and dedicated that house to the Lord. I asked him to make it a place of ministry. In that house we entertained people from the church. We built and established relationships there over meals. In that house our children played with friends and sleepovers. I sought the Lord in that house hours on end in my recliner in the living room. At times I prostrated myself on the carpet pleading for more of God. Jesus Christ rules and dwells in that home.
I only lived in that house for nineteen months. For nineteen months we did not take that house for granted. We thanked God for his blessing. We rejoiced in His bountiful provision for the Edwards family. And then God called us to leave. Leaving that house was and continues to be difficult. The last time I stepped foot in that house I sat in a lawn chair in the garage and wept for an hour. So much I do not understand.
Sacrificing that house has been one of the most difficult things about starting Faith Community Church second only to leaving so many wonderful church members and friends behind. Hearing the story about the little girl playing with Jesus brought things into perspective. God has not sold our house for at least two reasons. The family leasing our house started a new business. While the father has lived in Seminole getting the business off the ground his family has not been able to join him yet. I remember what that felt like when I first came to Paradise and Brenda and three of the boys stayed in Seminole for six weeks. God is reuniting a family until they decide where they will live permanently. I also think God is giving the family with the girl who played with Jesus more time to get their finances in order. I see the bigger picture. Could God be reserving our home for them.
Many times I have relied on Is 55:8-9. "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts from your thoughts.'" Many times I have thought of the ways of God as mysterious and I have not always understood what He was doing. I wanted the house to sell quickly. God already has a buyer appointed and in my estimation He played and danced with a little girl in my back yard. I want to sell my house to that family so she can dance and play with Jesus more.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Rejoice Always
[I Thess 5:16] "Rejoice always."
This is one of the shortest verses in the Bible. Two simple words. Easy to understand. Much harder to live. How could two simple words could have such profound meaning and be so hard to live out in our daily experience.
The word rejoice means to be "exceedingly glad". The word always means "continually". When you put the two together it means to be exceedingly glad continually. Day in and day out. When times are good and when times are bad we are supposed to rejoice continually. When we are blessed and when we suffer we are still called to live with a glad heart.
I know the tendency in my life is to be glad when my circumstances are good. I was challenged yesterday while studying this passage. I thought about [Acts 5:40-41]. "After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the name."
In this situation rejoicing and being glad had nothing to do with circumstances. The apostles were flogged. This means they were beaten, skinned, thrashed and smitten. There is nothing pleasant or glad about those circumstances. Yet, the apostles left the Sanhedrin after being beaten and REJOICED! That sounds impossible. People typically do not rejoice after having their backs beaten, bruised and bloodied.
This is not the only instance. Flip a few pages and you find Paul and Silas not only beaten but also shackled in dark dungeon. "Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." [Acts 16:25] Once again circumstances did not dictate the gladness of Paul and Silas. While their backs were still caked with blood throbbing with pain they sang finding Jesus the reason for a glad song to well up from their souls and lips.
So the obvious question is where did these followers of Jesus get their joy? What was the source of their perpetual gladness? Get this. Jesus produced the joy and gladness in their hearts. His eternal and abundant life fueled the joy no matter what those early Christians had do endure. When blessings came they rejoiced. When sufferings came they still rejoiced.
This is a lesson we have not learned nearly as well in the Bible Belt or in this nation. We do not rejoice continually. We rejoice at times and grumble at other times. This is a lesson many have failed to master. Jesus is the joy. The simple truth is He has to be enough for us. Regardless of what we have or do not have, regardless of whether our paths are straight and smooth or rocky and uphill we are to rejoice. Jesus is the one constant source of gladness. He alone has to be enough for all of us. We often act as if He is enough as long as He makes us happy and gives us our hearts desires. The first time He doesn't we can throw a fit.
So on this Thursday morning I woke up rejoicing. Even though yesterday we thought we had sold our house. For the first time in nine months somebody made not only an offer but a cash offer. We were glad only to have the buyer reject the counter offer. I still rejoiced. We have someone leasing our house for the next twelve months starting this weekend. I would have preferred to sell the house but I rejoice that God is making a way through the lease to give us time. Regardless of my circumstances He alone; my Savior, my King, my Redeemer, my Lord, my Prince of Peace alone is the true source of joy and gladness.
Today He is still sitting sovereignly on His throne and my gladness is found in Him. So my challenge as well as yours is to rejoice always. Be exceedingly glad continually.
This is one of the shortest verses in the Bible. Two simple words. Easy to understand. Much harder to live. How could two simple words could have such profound meaning and be so hard to live out in our daily experience.
The word rejoice means to be "exceedingly glad". The word always means "continually". When you put the two together it means to be exceedingly glad continually. Day in and day out. When times are good and when times are bad we are supposed to rejoice continually. When we are blessed and when we suffer we are still called to live with a glad heart.
I know the tendency in my life is to be glad when my circumstances are good. I was challenged yesterday while studying this passage. I thought about [Acts 5:40-41]. "After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the name."
In this situation rejoicing and being glad had nothing to do with circumstances. The apostles were flogged. This means they were beaten, skinned, thrashed and smitten. There is nothing pleasant or glad about those circumstances. Yet, the apostles left the Sanhedrin after being beaten and REJOICED! That sounds impossible. People typically do not rejoice after having their backs beaten, bruised and bloodied.
This is not the only instance. Flip a few pages and you find Paul and Silas not only beaten but also shackled in dark dungeon. "Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." [Acts 16:25] Once again circumstances did not dictate the gladness of Paul and Silas. While their backs were still caked with blood throbbing with pain they sang finding Jesus the reason for a glad song to well up from their souls and lips.
So the obvious question is where did these followers of Jesus get their joy? What was the source of their perpetual gladness? Get this. Jesus produced the joy and gladness in their hearts. His eternal and abundant life fueled the joy no matter what those early Christians had do endure. When blessings came they rejoiced. When sufferings came they still rejoiced.
This is a lesson we have not learned nearly as well in the Bible Belt or in this nation. We do not rejoice continually. We rejoice at times and grumble at other times. This is a lesson many have failed to master. Jesus is the joy. The simple truth is He has to be enough for us. Regardless of what we have or do not have, regardless of whether our paths are straight and smooth or rocky and uphill we are to rejoice. Jesus is the one constant source of gladness. He alone has to be enough for all of us. We often act as if He is enough as long as He makes us happy and gives us our hearts desires. The first time He doesn't we can throw a fit.
So on this Thursday morning I woke up rejoicing. Even though yesterday we thought we had sold our house. For the first time in nine months somebody made not only an offer but a cash offer. We were glad only to have the buyer reject the counter offer. I still rejoiced. We have someone leasing our house for the next twelve months starting this weekend. I would have preferred to sell the house but I rejoice that God is making a way through the lease to give us time. Regardless of my circumstances He alone; my Savior, my King, my Redeemer, my Lord, my Prince of Peace alone is the true source of joy and gladness.
Today He is still sitting sovereignly on His throne and my gladness is found in Him. So my challenge as well as yours is to rejoice always. Be exceedingly glad continually.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Down But Not Out
Last night I caught an interesting documentary on television about the creation of the Rocky movies. Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in the movies. The first movie had a shoe string budget and had to be shot in less than a month to cut costs. As a child and even as an adult those movies have been some of my favorites with the exception of Rocky V.
The character Rocky Balboa is a man with a great deal of courage, guts, and heart. When he gets knocked down by Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, or Drago he gets back up and fights to the finish. He doesn't win every fight. That is not what endures his character to us. It is his ability to keep getting up after getting knocked down that we love. We love how the character refuses to back down from the challenge. We love his ability keep getting back up.
At times I feel that is what endures me to people. I have had no super star rise in ministry success or fame. Brenda and I have been called to walk a hard road. We have been knocked down more times than I can count but we have not given up on God or the local church. We love God as much today as we ever have.
The first church I served as pastor grew fast for two years and then attendance plummeted for three years. No matter how I prayed or what I did the church never grew again while I served there. I took three cuts in salary and sought to stay the course. At times I served as the pastor, youth pastor, worship pastor and janitor. To this day I have never sung in a church again since that church. The memories are too painful.
I left that church to travel full time and said I would never pastor again. Several years of living out of suitcases, living on the road, and leaving Brenda and the boys behind softened me. There were some very lean years during that time. Many weeks I had no invitations to preach while other friends filled their calendars years in advance. My ministry did always receive a warm reception. I preached hard and called people to repentance. This message did not sit well with many folks. The longer I traveled the more I began missing the local church and wanted to pour my life into one flock.
After four years the Lord led me to start a church. We gave all our souls into that effort. There were many good days and the dream of CentrePointe Community Church flourished. Then the wheels came off and Brenda and I found ourselves with no church and no salary. Our financial partners pulled their support and the church disbanded after three years. For the next year and a half Brenda and I struggled and lived from prayer to prayer. In this time we were officially turned down by over thirty churches. We spent our time teaching a little left over remnant from CentrePointe who could not find a church home. We met in my living room for much of the next year and a half. They gave their tithes for us live on. God sent many others to send financial support to sustain us during those days. Those eighteen months were some of the hardest. It felt like we got knocked down time and time again. We kept getting back up. We never stayed down. We did not give up.
No matter what we did in ministry it seemed over and over again we were knocked down on the canvas. Confused I sought the Lord. I sought him in tears, desperation and perseverance. No matter how many times we got knocked down we got back up again. We trusted God for His help. For eighteen months we had no salary. We lived on what God supplied.
In 2005 the First Baptist Church of Paradise, TX came calling. For the first time in our ministry we experienced sustained success for four wonderful years. Suddenly God called us to leave. We experienced more successs in our all too brief time at First Baptist Church of Seminole, TX. We thought the days of getting knocked down were behind us.
The call to start Faith Community Church came and along with it some of the most severe trials we have ever known. We obeyed and walked in faith. We got knocked down. We got back up and continued walking with God. We testified of His faithfulness and got knocked down again. Like a prize fighter clutching the ropes for support we clung to God as we climbed back to our feet. We sang His praises, moaned and whined at times, but we kept getting back up. We are still on our feet fighting for our King.
Today many of the dreams have faded. I have not written any best selling books but I keep writing. I have often preached to barren altars and small crowds but I keep preaching. I have never lead a mega church but I keep leading where I sense God leading me. We have not become famous but we are loved by the flocks we have served. We are not rich but God has provided what we have needed. The road has not been easy to traverse but God has made it straight.
We have been knocked down over and over again. When the enemy has sought to deliver the knock out blows and stood over us counting to ten, God has pulled us to our feet. I think our enduring legacy is that we keep getting back up. Though we have been pummeled by trials of every sort we keep getting up to fight for our King. There are times when it looks like we are down for the count. We may be down but we are not out.
If my life could inspire others to keep getting up trusting and serving God, even in the midst of hardships, I would consider my life and ministry a success. I want to be a ministry Rocky. No matter how hard it gets or how difficult the challenges I want to keep getting up. I want to keep trusting. I want to keep believing. I want to keep serving, preaching, and writing leaving the results to God. Maybe each time I get up helps someone else who has been knocked down trust God for the strength to rise. We may be down from time to time but we are not out.
"Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure." [II Thess 1:4] May this be my lasting legacy. Down but not out!
The character Rocky Balboa is a man with a great deal of courage, guts, and heart. When he gets knocked down by Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, or Drago he gets back up and fights to the finish. He doesn't win every fight. That is not what endures his character to us. It is his ability to keep getting up after getting knocked down that we love. We love how the character refuses to back down from the challenge. We love his ability keep getting back up.
At times I feel that is what endures me to people. I have had no super star rise in ministry success or fame. Brenda and I have been called to walk a hard road. We have been knocked down more times than I can count but we have not given up on God or the local church. We love God as much today as we ever have.
The first church I served as pastor grew fast for two years and then attendance plummeted for three years. No matter how I prayed or what I did the church never grew again while I served there. I took three cuts in salary and sought to stay the course. At times I served as the pastor, youth pastor, worship pastor and janitor. To this day I have never sung in a church again since that church. The memories are too painful.
I left that church to travel full time and said I would never pastor again. Several years of living out of suitcases, living on the road, and leaving Brenda and the boys behind softened me. There were some very lean years during that time. Many weeks I had no invitations to preach while other friends filled their calendars years in advance. My ministry did always receive a warm reception. I preached hard and called people to repentance. This message did not sit well with many folks. The longer I traveled the more I began missing the local church and wanted to pour my life into one flock.
After four years the Lord led me to start a church. We gave all our souls into that effort. There were many good days and the dream of CentrePointe Community Church flourished. Then the wheels came off and Brenda and I found ourselves with no church and no salary. Our financial partners pulled their support and the church disbanded after three years. For the next year and a half Brenda and I struggled and lived from prayer to prayer. In this time we were officially turned down by over thirty churches. We spent our time teaching a little left over remnant from CentrePointe who could not find a church home. We met in my living room for much of the next year and a half. They gave their tithes for us live on. God sent many others to send financial support to sustain us during those days. Those eighteen months were some of the hardest. It felt like we got knocked down time and time again. We kept getting back up. We never stayed down. We did not give up.
No matter what we did in ministry it seemed over and over again we were knocked down on the canvas. Confused I sought the Lord. I sought him in tears, desperation and perseverance. No matter how many times we got knocked down we got back up again. We trusted God for His help. For eighteen months we had no salary. We lived on what God supplied.
In 2005 the First Baptist Church of Paradise, TX came calling. For the first time in our ministry we experienced sustained success for four wonderful years. Suddenly God called us to leave. We experienced more successs in our all too brief time at First Baptist Church of Seminole, TX. We thought the days of getting knocked down were behind us.
The call to start Faith Community Church came and along with it some of the most severe trials we have ever known. We obeyed and walked in faith. We got knocked down. We got back up and continued walking with God. We testified of His faithfulness and got knocked down again. Like a prize fighter clutching the ropes for support we clung to God as we climbed back to our feet. We sang His praises, moaned and whined at times, but we kept getting back up. We are still on our feet fighting for our King.
Today many of the dreams have faded. I have not written any best selling books but I keep writing. I have often preached to barren altars and small crowds but I keep preaching. I have never lead a mega church but I keep leading where I sense God leading me. We have not become famous but we are loved by the flocks we have served. We are not rich but God has provided what we have needed. The road has not been easy to traverse but God has made it straight.
We have been knocked down over and over again. When the enemy has sought to deliver the knock out blows and stood over us counting to ten, God has pulled us to our feet. I think our enduring legacy is that we keep getting back up. Though we have been pummeled by trials of every sort we keep getting up to fight for our King. There are times when it looks like we are down for the count. We may be down but we are not out.
If my life could inspire others to keep getting up trusting and serving God, even in the midst of hardships, I would consider my life and ministry a success. I want to be a ministry Rocky. No matter how hard it gets or how difficult the challenges I want to keep getting up. I want to keep trusting. I want to keep believing. I want to keep serving, preaching, and writing leaving the results to God. Maybe each time I get up helps someone else who has been knocked down trust God for the strength to rise. We may be down from time to time but we are not out.
"Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure." [II Thess 1:4] May this be my lasting legacy. Down but not out!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
A Job Well Done
Faith Community Church hosted a basketball tournament this weekend to raise money for our students going to camp. We had games going in two gyms going Thursday night, Friday night, and all day Saturday and into Saturday night. I am so impressed by the job I saw done by our students and adults alike to pull off this huge project.
The whole event was organized well. Everything from people working the gate, security, concession stands, cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash was done with excellence. No detail got overlooked. The whole event went smoothly. We left the facilities cleaner than we found them. An amazing job. We even had people going back to Walmart five different times because food had to be restocked due to the fact it sold so quickly.
Yesterday, Brenda and I spent the whole day at a track meet. We drove back into Paradise right as the championship games were played last night. What I saw upon entering the gym amazed me. I saw a man and his step daughter, not only mopping the cafeteria, but they had also mopped both bathrooms. The chairs were already set up for our worship service this morning. Everything from the concession stand had been cleaned and put away. We finished putting out the sound system to complete getting set up for church this morning.
I walked over to the other gym and again got stunned by what I saw. Teenagers emptying trash cans, carrying tables, picking up trash in the gym and cleaning the concession stand. One man and woman were washing down all the windows and glass doors. Another man mopped the lobby and soon another man joined him. The bathrooms were cleaned. Everyone worked as a team pulling their load.
Several times since we have started this church I have been amazed by the people. Once we worked the concession stands at a Friday night football game. Our people crammed in that space and worked like busy bees. My heart swelled with pride to be a part of such a great team. Another time we all pitched in to put a float in the homecoming parade. Again I could not have been prouder of the job pulled off by the team. Our children put on a Christmas play with excellence this past December. The work our adults and children put into that play blessed my heart. Props were built for the set. Costumes were made. Children knew their parts. They all did an amazing job.
Each Sunday after the service everyone from children, teenagers, men and women pitch in to haul equipment off the stage, set up tables and move chairs back in place in the cafeteria. Within ten minutes the job is done and everyone gets to stand around and visit. They do an excellent job.
I know when this church sets out to do something they do it with excellence. When a job needs to be done people work. They roll up their sleeves and do the work. They sweat, sacrifice and do the jobs many people do not want to do. When these people come together and set their mind to accomplish a task the end result is amazing.
I want to take that same mindset and focus it on building the kingdom of God. I want to see our team focused and laboring toward things that will matter for eternity. I am proud to be a part of Faith Community Church. The journey has not been easy and as past blogs have told the story, I have struggled along the way. This has been a good week. God has reaffirmed His call on my life to serve as pastor of this church. He has set new vision in my heart. I have been reminded of the wonderful people I get to serve with. So I put my hands together and say to the people of Faith Community Church, "Job well done! Job well done." I look forward to worshiping with you in a few hours.
The whole event was organized well. Everything from people working the gate, security, concession stands, cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash was done with excellence. No detail got overlooked. The whole event went smoothly. We left the facilities cleaner than we found them. An amazing job. We even had people going back to Walmart five different times because food had to be restocked due to the fact it sold so quickly.
Yesterday, Brenda and I spent the whole day at a track meet. We drove back into Paradise right as the championship games were played last night. What I saw upon entering the gym amazed me. I saw a man and his step daughter, not only mopping the cafeteria, but they had also mopped both bathrooms. The chairs were already set up for our worship service this morning. Everything from the concession stand had been cleaned and put away. We finished putting out the sound system to complete getting set up for church this morning.
I walked over to the other gym and again got stunned by what I saw. Teenagers emptying trash cans, carrying tables, picking up trash in the gym and cleaning the concession stand. One man and woman were washing down all the windows and glass doors. Another man mopped the lobby and soon another man joined him. The bathrooms were cleaned. Everyone worked as a team pulling their load.
Several times since we have started this church I have been amazed by the people. Once we worked the concession stands at a Friday night football game. Our people crammed in that space and worked like busy bees. My heart swelled with pride to be a part of such a great team. Another time we all pitched in to put a float in the homecoming parade. Again I could not have been prouder of the job pulled off by the team. Our children put on a Christmas play with excellence this past December. The work our adults and children put into that play blessed my heart. Props were built for the set. Costumes were made. Children knew their parts. They all did an amazing job.
Each Sunday after the service everyone from children, teenagers, men and women pitch in to haul equipment off the stage, set up tables and move chairs back in place in the cafeteria. Within ten minutes the job is done and everyone gets to stand around and visit. They do an excellent job.
I know when this church sets out to do something they do it with excellence. When a job needs to be done people work. They roll up their sleeves and do the work. They sweat, sacrifice and do the jobs many people do not want to do. When these people come together and set their mind to accomplish a task the end result is amazing.
I want to take that same mindset and focus it on building the kingdom of God. I want to see our team focused and laboring toward things that will matter for eternity. I am proud to be a part of Faith Community Church. The journey has not been easy and as past blogs have told the story, I have struggled along the way. This has been a good week. God has reaffirmed His call on my life to serve as pastor of this church. He has set new vision in my heart. I have been reminded of the wonderful people I get to serve with. So I put my hands together and say to the people of Faith Community Church, "Job well done! Job well done." I look forward to worshiping with you in a few hours.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Run to Win
"Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win." [I Cor 9:25]
It is early on Saturday morning and we are about to head out to a track meet. I love track meets. Watching young women and guys run is a thing of beauty. Some look like gazelles with their elongated and graceful strides. Though I never ran in track meets I did throw the shot put. When my event finished I used to gather my sack lunch and spend the rest of the day watching the speedsters run.
There are events in track that are pure gut checks. You have to not only overcome your opponent but also the heat, cold and blustery winds. These are easy compared the greatest opponent in your mind. While tracksters run the body begins to hurt and muscles fatigue. The mind sends a message that it cannot continue the current pace or go any faster. The mind can play tricks on you. You can always do more than you think you can. The runner can resolve to push through the pain and fatigue toward the finish line. Don't you love watching the person who finishes the last part of a lengthy race giving all they have.
This is true in life as well. How many really live lives running to win? When I researched the word run, it means to "exert yourself, to strive hard, to spend your strength." The path of least resistance is to coast through life giving minimal effort to the marriage, to parent children or to work. Honestly, how many people do you know who really run to win at life. Don't you see in others and maybe in yourself the tendency to slacken the pace the older you get. Don't you notice the pattern to pace yourself and hold something back especially when life becomes more demanding.
Run to win. Live to win. At a track meet only one person is going to win first place. Others may place for points in positions two through six, but there is only one winner per race. That is the person who exerts all the strength they have and strives with all their might to cross the finish line first. We celebrate these individuals. Shouldn't the same effort and strength be put into living.
As a husband or wife shouldn't all our strength be invested in cultivating a great marriage. Shouldn't we put everything we have into training our children to serve God in their generation. Shouldn't we come out of bed like a sprinter out of the starting blocks to pursue God day in and day out through prayer and meditation on the Bible. Shouldn't we strive to do the best work we can for the glory of God. Shouldn't we serve the risen Lord with all our might giving our best effort rather than the left overs of our time and energy.
Just as the athlete runs to win we must get the same mentality in living to win. What does win mean? I am coming to learn more and more that what we equate with winning is not always what God equates with winning. We often mistakenly think winning is having larger salaries, job titles, large homes, luxury vehicles and updated wardrobes. A person can obtain all of that and lose at life and with God in eternity. The word win in [I Cor 9:24] actually means "to obtain, seize or to take possession." In a subtle twist the real winner is the person who gets obtained, seized, and taken possession of by Jesus Christ. The goal of Christ for every believer is that He gains control over our minds and wills and governs them. He then empowers us to run to win.
A real winner is the person devoted and yielded to God serving Him with all the passion and effort of a runner in a race. We run to win at life and we run to the finish line.
Recently, I took all the boys to the track and timed each of them running a forty yard dash. When Turner ran for his time he slowed down well before getting to the finish line and jogged rather than sprint. This gave him a slower time. I exhorted him to run past the finish line and to run with all his might. On his second try he obliterated his first time. He ran to win and ran past the finish line. In fact, each of the boys bettered their times as they ran to win past the finish line. All of them ran the fastest times of their lives that day.
God is looking for some runners who will give all they have in the race of life. God is looking for runners who will exert all their strength and strive with all their mights to run and live to win. God is looking for some finishers who will run the race of life to win all the days of their lives. On your mark! Get set! Go! Run to win this day and all the days of your life.
It is early on Saturday morning and we are about to head out to a track meet. I love track meets. Watching young women and guys run is a thing of beauty. Some look like gazelles with their elongated and graceful strides. Though I never ran in track meets I did throw the shot put. When my event finished I used to gather my sack lunch and spend the rest of the day watching the speedsters run.
There are events in track that are pure gut checks. You have to not only overcome your opponent but also the heat, cold and blustery winds. These are easy compared the greatest opponent in your mind. While tracksters run the body begins to hurt and muscles fatigue. The mind sends a message that it cannot continue the current pace or go any faster. The mind can play tricks on you. You can always do more than you think you can. The runner can resolve to push through the pain and fatigue toward the finish line. Don't you love watching the person who finishes the last part of a lengthy race giving all they have.
This is true in life as well. How many really live lives running to win? When I researched the word run, it means to "exert yourself, to strive hard, to spend your strength." The path of least resistance is to coast through life giving minimal effort to the marriage, to parent children or to work. Honestly, how many people do you know who really run to win at life. Don't you see in others and maybe in yourself the tendency to slacken the pace the older you get. Don't you notice the pattern to pace yourself and hold something back especially when life becomes more demanding.
Run to win. Live to win. At a track meet only one person is going to win first place. Others may place for points in positions two through six, but there is only one winner per race. That is the person who exerts all the strength they have and strives with all their might to cross the finish line first. We celebrate these individuals. Shouldn't the same effort and strength be put into living.
As a husband or wife shouldn't all our strength be invested in cultivating a great marriage. Shouldn't we put everything we have into training our children to serve God in their generation. Shouldn't we come out of bed like a sprinter out of the starting blocks to pursue God day in and day out through prayer and meditation on the Bible. Shouldn't we strive to do the best work we can for the glory of God. Shouldn't we serve the risen Lord with all our might giving our best effort rather than the left overs of our time and energy.
Just as the athlete runs to win we must get the same mentality in living to win. What does win mean? I am coming to learn more and more that what we equate with winning is not always what God equates with winning. We often mistakenly think winning is having larger salaries, job titles, large homes, luxury vehicles and updated wardrobes. A person can obtain all of that and lose at life and with God in eternity. The word win in [I Cor 9:24] actually means "to obtain, seize or to take possession." In a subtle twist the real winner is the person who gets obtained, seized, and taken possession of by Jesus Christ. The goal of Christ for every believer is that He gains control over our minds and wills and governs them. He then empowers us to run to win.
A real winner is the person devoted and yielded to God serving Him with all the passion and effort of a runner in a race. We run to win at life and we run to the finish line.
Recently, I took all the boys to the track and timed each of them running a forty yard dash. When Turner ran for his time he slowed down well before getting to the finish line and jogged rather than sprint. This gave him a slower time. I exhorted him to run past the finish line and to run with all his might. On his second try he obliterated his first time. He ran to win and ran past the finish line. In fact, each of the boys bettered their times as they ran to win past the finish line. All of them ran the fastest times of their lives that day.
God is looking for some runners who will give all they have in the race of life. God is looking for runners who will exert all their strength and strive with all their mights to run and live to win. God is looking for some finishers who will run the race of life to win all the days of their lives. On your mark! Get set! Go! Run to win this day and all the days of your life.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
God's Formula for Hope
Hope can be very fragile and many are desperate to cling to it. If I were to tell you God had a time and tested formula for hope you would want to know it. What you may like is the process to get to that hope. God's formula for hope is not the path we would choose. There is a time tested path to hope and many have walked it before us. Are you willing to take this same journey?
Read it for yourself. "And not only that, we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character and proven character produces hope." [Rom 5:3-4]
Right off the bat we have difficulty with the phrase "we also rejoice in our afflictions." Who does that? How many people do you know going through adversity and afflictions who really rejoice in them? Don't we normally whine and complain because of the discomfort. Don't we normally seek to avoid affliction at all cost. You could substitute the words tribulation and pressure for the word affliction. It all means the same thing. Do we really rejoice when the pressure is on?
Most of my Christian life I have been trying to get out afflictions rather than to rejoice in them or be glad in them. I don't like the pain and the hardship. I don't like the pressure. When I look back objectively over the past twenty-nine years of my life I can see how God has used the pressure of affliction in my life. I have learned more about God during these experiences that all my triumphs. The afflictions produced endurance.
What is endurance? Endurance is patience, steadfastness and constancy all mixed together. Are we patient when the afflictions come. Do we remain steadfast in our love and devotion for God and our resolve to serve Him constantly when life gets hard? These are legitimate questions. It is easier to quit. The path of least resistance means throwing in the towel but this is not what God wants. Whether we finish the race of our lives in a full sprint or limping battered and bruised across the finish line; God wills us to finish! Quitting is a habit and so is finishing. We must endure through our afflictions. We must wait on God patiently. I know this is easier said than done.
Patience does not come easy for me. It never has and yet this seems to be the one lesson God has been teaching me most of my journey with Him. Some afflictions come and go quickly like a twenty-four hour virus. Others linger longer like cancer, financial trials, sorrows and grief. Like the marathon runner training for the race, the affliction or pressure of the work outs actually produce stamina and endurance.
Wise are the ones who come to realize that affliction is actually a useful tool in the hands of God for His followers. Through adverse circumstances God has strengthened us and built a steadfast resolve to not buckle under the pressure. Our progress may seem slow. Like C.H. Spurgeon once said, "By perseverance even the snail entered the ark." Day in and day out we keep running or walking. We have learned from past afflictions with God's help we can endure. Day after day and year after year we endure. We make slow progress but at least we are progressing. We remain steadfast and we patiently wait on God. In these times God is at work. It may not seem like it. From our vantage point it may seem like God is absent. He is working endurance in us.
All this endurance is not wasted for it produces proven character. This means God produces experience in us. When I look back at all God has taught me and produced in me through affliction and endurance, I have come to know Him better through these first hand experiences with Him. I saw how God worked in my life when my mother suffered a massive heart attack resulting in severe brain damage back in 1998. For the last three months of her life she lived in and out of hospitals and rehab centers. I actually had to spoon feed her. Most of the time she was incoherent. God gave me the endurance to preach her funeral when she died.
I also saw the power of God through my wife when she stood up and spoke at her father's funeral in 2011. She testified of Jesus Christ and His power to save. She talked about a man most in attendance at that funeral had never known. Her dad had strayed from the Lord in the last years of his life. Brenda's step sister talked about dad sneaking her alcohol and others shared stories of partying with him. Brenda talked about her dad singing "Jesus Loves Me" and driving a church bus each Sunday to pick children up for church. She talked about going out with her dad on Saturdays house to house to invite children to come to church. She talked about a man who prayed and loved to serve God. Few in attendance would have recognized that man. God strengthened my wife to testify for Him that day because she is a shy behind the scenes kind of person. Getting up to speak publicly is definitely out of her comfort zone. I have seen God strengthen my wife in the days since.
In those two experiences with God Brenda and I better know how to minister to those grieving the death of a loved one. We know how God comforts, strengthens and produces hope as well as joy even against the back drop of death and grief.
Over and over again God allows us to experience Him trying and giving our character worth as we press on through the tough times. It is in these moments God reveals Himself. We come to really know Him in these experiences.
Through all of this the end result is hope. It is the confident expectation that God will come through. It is the joyful expectation that better days are coming. It is the joyful and confident expectation that no matter how tough it gets in this life, for the follower of Jesus it will be better in eternity. With God there is always hope. This hope is forged on the anvil of affliction and endurance. Our worth is being forged with blow after blow from the hammer of affliction. Our character is tried when we keep trusting God and we pressing on when we feel like giving up.
God's formula for hope is proven. He used it in the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah and Paul. Others have learned hope this way as well such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. Missionaries such as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor and John Paton learned this same lesson while walking down this same path. God's formula for hope will lead all of us through the classrooms of afflictions and endurance. When we take this into consideration we can learn hope. Not easy lessons to learn but the end result is well worth it.
Read it for yourself. "And not only that, we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character and proven character produces hope." [Rom 5:3-4]
Right off the bat we have difficulty with the phrase "we also rejoice in our afflictions." Who does that? How many people do you know going through adversity and afflictions who really rejoice in them? Don't we normally whine and complain because of the discomfort. Don't we normally seek to avoid affliction at all cost. You could substitute the words tribulation and pressure for the word affliction. It all means the same thing. Do we really rejoice when the pressure is on?
Most of my Christian life I have been trying to get out afflictions rather than to rejoice in them or be glad in them. I don't like the pain and the hardship. I don't like the pressure. When I look back objectively over the past twenty-nine years of my life I can see how God has used the pressure of affliction in my life. I have learned more about God during these experiences that all my triumphs. The afflictions produced endurance.
What is endurance? Endurance is patience, steadfastness and constancy all mixed together. Are we patient when the afflictions come. Do we remain steadfast in our love and devotion for God and our resolve to serve Him constantly when life gets hard? These are legitimate questions. It is easier to quit. The path of least resistance means throwing in the towel but this is not what God wants. Whether we finish the race of our lives in a full sprint or limping battered and bruised across the finish line; God wills us to finish! Quitting is a habit and so is finishing. We must endure through our afflictions. We must wait on God patiently. I know this is easier said than done.
Patience does not come easy for me. It never has and yet this seems to be the one lesson God has been teaching me most of my journey with Him. Some afflictions come and go quickly like a twenty-four hour virus. Others linger longer like cancer, financial trials, sorrows and grief. Like the marathon runner training for the race, the affliction or pressure of the work outs actually produce stamina and endurance.
Wise are the ones who come to realize that affliction is actually a useful tool in the hands of God for His followers. Through adverse circumstances God has strengthened us and built a steadfast resolve to not buckle under the pressure. Our progress may seem slow. Like C.H. Spurgeon once said, "By perseverance even the snail entered the ark." Day in and day out we keep running or walking. We have learned from past afflictions with God's help we can endure. Day after day and year after year we endure. We make slow progress but at least we are progressing. We remain steadfast and we patiently wait on God. In these times God is at work. It may not seem like it. From our vantage point it may seem like God is absent. He is working endurance in us.
All this endurance is not wasted for it produces proven character. This means God produces experience in us. When I look back at all God has taught me and produced in me through affliction and endurance, I have come to know Him better through these first hand experiences with Him. I saw how God worked in my life when my mother suffered a massive heart attack resulting in severe brain damage back in 1998. For the last three months of her life she lived in and out of hospitals and rehab centers. I actually had to spoon feed her. Most of the time she was incoherent. God gave me the endurance to preach her funeral when she died.
I also saw the power of God through my wife when she stood up and spoke at her father's funeral in 2011. She testified of Jesus Christ and His power to save. She talked about a man most in attendance at that funeral had never known. Her dad had strayed from the Lord in the last years of his life. Brenda's step sister talked about dad sneaking her alcohol and others shared stories of partying with him. Brenda talked about her dad singing "Jesus Loves Me" and driving a church bus each Sunday to pick children up for church. She talked about going out with her dad on Saturdays house to house to invite children to come to church. She talked about a man who prayed and loved to serve God. Few in attendance would have recognized that man. God strengthened my wife to testify for Him that day because she is a shy behind the scenes kind of person. Getting up to speak publicly is definitely out of her comfort zone. I have seen God strengthen my wife in the days since.
In those two experiences with God Brenda and I better know how to minister to those grieving the death of a loved one. We know how God comforts, strengthens and produces hope as well as joy even against the back drop of death and grief.
Over and over again God allows us to experience Him trying and giving our character worth as we press on through the tough times. It is in these moments God reveals Himself. We come to really know Him in these experiences.
Through all of this the end result is hope. It is the confident expectation that God will come through. It is the joyful expectation that better days are coming. It is the joyful and confident expectation that no matter how tough it gets in this life, for the follower of Jesus it will be better in eternity. With God there is always hope. This hope is forged on the anvil of affliction and endurance. Our worth is being forged with blow after blow from the hammer of affliction. Our character is tried when we keep trusting God and we pressing on when we feel like giving up.
God's formula for hope is proven. He used it in the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah and Paul. Others have learned hope this way as well such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. Missionaries such as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor and John Paton learned this same lesson while walking down this same path. God's formula for hope will lead all of us through the classrooms of afflictions and endurance. When we take this into consideration we can learn hope. Not easy lessons to learn but the end result is well worth it.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Get Your Mind Right
Get your mind right is a phrase often used by coaches when an athlete is about to face a difficult challenge. I heard this phrase used over and over again while watching the NFL Combine. I find this thought to be helpful when facing the challenges of life as well. It is amazing how powerful the mind and our thoughts are.
One day I can be riding my bike up a steep hill and when my mind is right I rise to the challenge pressing to the top. On other days, when my mind is not right, all I see is the steep hill and the difficult challenge. This only serves to make the hill more difficult to climb. I see this same thing when I am lifting weights. If I know a particular exercise is difficult and my mind is not right I find myself dreading it. When my mind is right I tackle the exercise attacking the repetitions. It is a battle of the mind. When I dwell on feeling weak and tired my body seems to correspond accordingly.
This is true of the challenges of life. We all have our own challenges. When we allow our minds to drift away from scripture and the promises of God, our faith becomes weak and we easily lose hope. When we live this way day in and day out we live with a sense of dread and despair that defeats us. Life is not easy. There are seasons when we sail through life on smooth seas. There are others seasons when the seas of life become tumultuous tossing us about. What do you during those seasons?
This morning I read about Abraham and his hope against hope that God would keep His promise making Abraham the father of many nations when he and and Sarah had no children. Abraham waited for over two decades to see this promise come true. He was one hundred years old. Sarah was way past prime child bearing years. In fact, the scripture tells us Sarah's womb was dead. Talk about a situation looking hopeless. Go ahead and travel down to the local Senior Adult Rehab facilities and Care Centers and I assure you will not find any of the residents pregnant in their seventies, eighties, and nineties.
Abraham kept his mind right. He saw the reality that with each passing year he and Sarah were getting older. He did not allow that reality make him weak in his faith. Don't we often do just the opposite. The greater the challenge we face and the longer God delays don't we grow weaker in our faith rather than stronger? "He did not waver in unbelief at God's promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God." [Rom 4:20] Our eyes can deceive us. How do we approach life? Do we look through our physical eyes taking note of every problem, trial and challenge? Do we look through the lenses of faith and God's promises? We must get our minds right to view life through the eyes of faith.
Abraham did not waver between faith and doubt. I know I cannot say that. I have often wavered because I filled my mind with lies from the enemy rather than the truth of God and His word. What does God have to say about your situation? Fill your mind with that. Dwell on that. Build and strengthen your faith on that.
Abraham was fully convinced that what God had promised him, God would perform. [Rom 4:21] Think about this. Abraham kept believing this not for a month or a year but for two and a half decades! He kept his mind on the promise of God and built his faith on that, not what he could see with his physical eyes. You know it was not easy. Everyday he awoke with hope but went to bed without the promise being fulfilled. We face the same thing. Some reading this are tired, frustrated and maybe angry. What do you see right now? I see challenges and mountains I have been up against for months and some others for years. You see real needs, real crisis and real challenges you need God's help to overcome. If our minds are right we wait and live in faith.
When I get my mind right, like this morning by reading scripture, hope floats and my faith is strengthened. My challenges are not really challenges at all. God is able to accomplish, no He is more than able to accomplish, all that concerns me. I am not saying keeping your mind dwelling on the promises of God is easy. On any given day or at any given moment your mind can be lead astray. Keeping our minds right is a chore. There are no short cuts. Keeping your mind right requires the daily discipline of focusing on God's word.
This is why regular devotions are vital for your life and mine. Each day we dig into the scriptures we are reorienting our thoughts, attitudes, convictions, and hope. If we choose to neglect regular devotions, our mind not only begins to stray from God but also away from hope. Our adversary is all too quick to fill negative, defeated and despairing thoughts in our minds.
We must get our minds right. We must do this by continually inputting God's Word. We must feast on His truth trusting God to strengthen our faith to face the challenges before us. We may not be able to move our mountains in our own strength but with God all things are possible. Yes, even having a child as senior adults, facing life alone, getting back up from failure, waiting on God without wavering in unbelief and trusting that God keeps His promises no matter how long the delay. Get your mind right today and attack your challenges in faith.
One day I can be riding my bike up a steep hill and when my mind is right I rise to the challenge pressing to the top. On other days, when my mind is not right, all I see is the steep hill and the difficult challenge. This only serves to make the hill more difficult to climb. I see this same thing when I am lifting weights. If I know a particular exercise is difficult and my mind is not right I find myself dreading it. When my mind is right I tackle the exercise attacking the repetitions. It is a battle of the mind. When I dwell on feeling weak and tired my body seems to correspond accordingly.
This is true of the challenges of life. We all have our own challenges. When we allow our minds to drift away from scripture and the promises of God, our faith becomes weak and we easily lose hope. When we live this way day in and day out we live with a sense of dread and despair that defeats us. Life is not easy. There are seasons when we sail through life on smooth seas. There are others seasons when the seas of life become tumultuous tossing us about. What do you during those seasons?
This morning I read about Abraham and his hope against hope that God would keep His promise making Abraham the father of many nations when he and and Sarah had no children. Abraham waited for over two decades to see this promise come true. He was one hundred years old. Sarah was way past prime child bearing years. In fact, the scripture tells us Sarah's womb was dead. Talk about a situation looking hopeless. Go ahead and travel down to the local Senior Adult Rehab facilities and Care Centers and I assure you will not find any of the residents pregnant in their seventies, eighties, and nineties.
Abraham kept his mind right. He saw the reality that with each passing year he and Sarah were getting older. He did not allow that reality make him weak in his faith. Don't we often do just the opposite. The greater the challenge we face and the longer God delays don't we grow weaker in our faith rather than stronger? "He did not waver in unbelief at God's promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God." [Rom 4:20] Our eyes can deceive us. How do we approach life? Do we look through our physical eyes taking note of every problem, trial and challenge? Do we look through the lenses of faith and God's promises? We must get our minds right to view life through the eyes of faith.
Abraham did not waver between faith and doubt. I know I cannot say that. I have often wavered because I filled my mind with lies from the enemy rather than the truth of God and His word. What does God have to say about your situation? Fill your mind with that. Dwell on that. Build and strengthen your faith on that.
Abraham was fully convinced that what God had promised him, God would perform. [Rom 4:21] Think about this. Abraham kept believing this not for a month or a year but for two and a half decades! He kept his mind on the promise of God and built his faith on that, not what he could see with his physical eyes. You know it was not easy. Everyday he awoke with hope but went to bed without the promise being fulfilled. We face the same thing. Some reading this are tired, frustrated and maybe angry. What do you see right now? I see challenges and mountains I have been up against for months and some others for years. You see real needs, real crisis and real challenges you need God's help to overcome. If our minds are right we wait and live in faith.
When I get my mind right, like this morning by reading scripture, hope floats and my faith is strengthened. My challenges are not really challenges at all. God is able to accomplish, no He is more than able to accomplish, all that concerns me. I am not saying keeping your mind dwelling on the promises of God is easy. On any given day or at any given moment your mind can be lead astray. Keeping our minds right is a chore. There are no short cuts. Keeping your mind right requires the daily discipline of focusing on God's word.
This is why regular devotions are vital for your life and mine. Each day we dig into the scriptures we are reorienting our thoughts, attitudes, convictions, and hope. If we choose to neglect regular devotions, our mind not only begins to stray from God but also away from hope. Our adversary is all too quick to fill negative, defeated and despairing thoughts in our minds.
We must get our minds right. We must do this by continually inputting God's Word. We must feast on His truth trusting God to strengthen our faith to face the challenges before us. We may not be able to move our mountains in our own strength but with God all things are possible. Yes, even having a child as senior adults, facing life alone, getting back up from failure, waiting on God without wavering in unbelief and trusting that God keeps His promises no matter how long the delay. Get your mind right today and attack your challenges in faith.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Spring Break
Looking out the living room window this morning I am thrilled knowing the boys are on Spring Break. We do not have to hurry off to early morning practices. We do not have to fill our days with hurried activities. Though Brenda still has to work, the boys and I get to enjoy some time together.
Turner wants to go inside a Barnes and Noble bookstore and a Half Price Books. The boys want to go to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville. They also want to go to the two dollar movie in Denton. I just want to enjoy some time with them before I go out of town for a preaching trip at the end of the week.
One day far too soon there will be no more Spring Breaks in our home. The boys will be grown and out of the house. Brenda and I will left here alone. I will not look down and see Turner's shoes left in the living room from the night before. I will not find wrappers and glasses left on the table from the boys snacking. I have loved and enjoyed our four boys. I have sought to give them my life and that means also giving them my time.
I always have projects that need my attention. I have a church to plant. Books to write. People to win to Christ. Activities to plan. Money to raise. This week all that gets pushed on the back burner as I devote my energies and time to the boys. One day they will not be here. I want to take full advantage of the time I have with them over Spring Break.
These are precious days for me. Taylor is sixteen and looking more like a man every day. Tanner is fourteen and extremely witty. Tucker is twelve but is driven like a person twice that age. Turner is about to be nine and still loves to sit in my lap and hold my hand when we walk somewhere. The memories I have built with them in the past and will build this week are priceless. I do not take any of my sons for granted. I have been counseled by countless other parents to enjoy them while I can. This week I heed their advice.
So on this Spring Break I am making time with them a priority. I want to give them my undivided attention. Each day I want to enjoy time with them and to build memories that will last for a lifetime. I want them to look back on these days with fondness. As they grow and discover God's plan for their lives I want them to look forward to coming back home for visits and not to dread them like many children do.
I want them to anticipate with great excitement coming home with their spouses and children. I want them to walk into our home and relive countless memories bringing laughter. So while I have the chance and still have them at home, I plan to take full advantage of Spring Break. I will start this morning by cooking them breakfast. As long as I am together with the boys it does not matter much what we do. God, thank you for Spring Break.
Turner wants to go inside a Barnes and Noble bookstore and a Half Price Books. The boys want to go to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville. They also want to go to the two dollar movie in Denton. I just want to enjoy some time with them before I go out of town for a preaching trip at the end of the week.
One day far too soon there will be no more Spring Breaks in our home. The boys will be grown and out of the house. Brenda and I will left here alone. I will not look down and see Turner's shoes left in the living room from the night before. I will not find wrappers and glasses left on the table from the boys snacking. I have loved and enjoyed our four boys. I have sought to give them my life and that means also giving them my time.
I always have projects that need my attention. I have a church to plant. Books to write. People to win to Christ. Activities to plan. Money to raise. This week all that gets pushed on the back burner as I devote my energies and time to the boys. One day they will not be here. I want to take full advantage of the time I have with them over Spring Break.
These are precious days for me. Taylor is sixteen and looking more like a man every day. Tanner is fourteen and extremely witty. Tucker is twelve but is driven like a person twice that age. Turner is about to be nine and still loves to sit in my lap and hold my hand when we walk somewhere. The memories I have built with them in the past and will build this week are priceless. I do not take any of my sons for granted. I have been counseled by countless other parents to enjoy them while I can. This week I heed their advice.
So on this Spring Break I am making time with them a priority. I want to give them my undivided attention. Each day I want to enjoy time with them and to build memories that will last for a lifetime. I want them to look back on these days with fondness. As they grow and discover God's plan for their lives I want them to look forward to coming back home for visits and not to dread them like many children do.
I want them to anticipate with great excitement coming home with their spouses and children. I want them to walk into our home and relive countless memories bringing laughter. So while I have the chance and still have them at home, I plan to take full advantage of Spring Break. I will start this morning by cooking them breakfast. As long as I am together with the boys it does not matter much what we do. God, thank you for Spring Break.
Not Ashmed
I am not ashamed of Jesus or the gospel message. Twenty-nine and a half years ago my life was suddenly changed when a man introduced me to Jesus Christ. I have never been the same. I have struggled with sin. I have had some doubts along the way as well. I have questioned the ways of God in my life. I have not been perfect but I am not ashamed.
As a teenager I witnessed to my friends wanting them to experience the new life I found in Christ. I did not know anything about religion. All I knew is a man named Eli introduced me to Jesus and Jesus not only forgave my sin but transformed my life as well. We shared Christ with our friends in our youth group going out on Friday and Saturday nights in local parking lots. Many of my teammates on the football team questioned my zeal for the Lord. Some thought I gone off my rocker including some in my own family. I never dreamed Jesus would set me apart to preach for Him yet He did on July 4, 1985.
As a young preacher all I knew to preach was Jesus. I showed no shame in those early sermons. They were simple and saturated with the gospel message. They were not deep but they were gospel sermons. I lived in depression if someone did not get saved each time I preached. It bothered me then and still bothers me today when the gospel is preached or shared and people do not respond. Nearly three decades later I may have more understanding of the Bible but the gospel message is still declared. Once again this past Wednesday night God used that message to save a sophomore football player.
My entire life changed one October Thursday night back in 1983. He who began a good work is completing that work in me until the day of Christ Jesus. [Phil 1:6] And to this day I am not ashamed of the gospel message for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [Rom 1:16]
The pressure to tone down this message or to hide our faith from a world in defiance against God is relentless. Many Christians live their faith undercover. They work hard at blending in and would never share their views or the gospel for fear it might offend someone. Many preachers have turned away from preaching the pure gospel message in favor of practical talks on issues more relevant to everyday life.
Are we ashamed? I am a sinner. The truth is I was born into sin and have been sinning for the past forty-six years. I needed a rescuer. My deliverance did not come from my performance. My deliverance did not come from trying to do better for I failed again every time. My deliverance came through faith in the message that Jesus came to earth and lived sinlessly. He lived perfectly on planet earth. His perfection made Him the only acceptable sacrifice to atone for my sin and the sins of the world. Perfection died for imperfection. Holiness died on the cross for filth. The Righteous One died for the unrighteous. The spotless Lamb of God died for the defiled and defamed. Jesus died for you and me.
The story did not stop there. Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him down. The soldiers could not put an end to Him. The tomb could not conceal Him. The authorities could not get rid of Him. The sting of death could not exterminate Him. He is raised from the dead conquering the power of sin. He is alive and I am not ashamed. Hallelujah!
It is my privilege to speak for Him. It is my joy to serve Him. It is my honor to proclaim the gospel from behind the pulpit as well as out in the highways and byways of life. It is my duty and delight to love Him. It is my task to write of Him. I am not ashamed! I hope you are not ashamed either. The world desperately needs to hear this truth though they often turn a deaf ear to it.
As a teenager I witnessed to my friends wanting them to experience the new life I found in Christ. I did not know anything about religion. All I knew is a man named Eli introduced me to Jesus and Jesus not only forgave my sin but transformed my life as well. We shared Christ with our friends in our youth group going out on Friday and Saturday nights in local parking lots. Many of my teammates on the football team questioned my zeal for the Lord. Some thought I gone off my rocker including some in my own family. I never dreamed Jesus would set me apart to preach for Him yet He did on July 4, 1985.
As a young preacher all I knew to preach was Jesus. I showed no shame in those early sermons. They were simple and saturated with the gospel message. They were not deep but they were gospel sermons. I lived in depression if someone did not get saved each time I preached. It bothered me then and still bothers me today when the gospel is preached or shared and people do not respond. Nearly three decades later I may have more understanding of the Bible but the gospel message is still declared. Once again this past Wednesday night God used that message to save a sophomore football player.
My entire life changed one October Thursday night back in 1983. He who began a good work is completing that work in me until the day of Christ Jesus. [Phil 1:6] And to this day I am not ashamed of the gospel message for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [Rom 1:16]
The pressure to tone down this message or to hide our faith from a world in defiance against God is relentless. Many Christians live their faith undercover. They work hard at blending in and would never share their views or the gospel for fear it might offend someone. Many preachers have turned away from preaching the pure gospel message in favor of practical talks on issues more relevant to everyday life.
Are we ashamed? I am a sinner. The truth is I was born into sin and have been sinning for the past forty-six years. I needed a rescuer. My deliverance did not come from my performance. My deliverance did not come from trying to do better for I failed again every time. My deliverance came through faith in the message that Jesus came to earth and lived sinlessly. He lived perfectly on planet earth. His perfection made Him the only acceptable sacrifice to atone for my sin and the sins of the world. Perfection died for imperfection. Holiness died on the cross for filth. The Righteous One died for the unrighteous. The spotless Lamb of God died for the defiled and defamed. Jesus died for you and me.
The story did not stop there. Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him down. The soldiers could not put an end to Him. The tomb could not conceal Him. The authorities could not get rid of Him. The sting of death could not exterminate Him. He is raised from the dead conquering the power of sin. He is alive and I am not ashamed. Hallelujah!
It is my privilege to speak for Him. It is my joy to serve Him. It is my honor to proclaim the gospel from behind the pulpit as well as out in the highways and byways of life. It is my duty and delight to love Him. It is my task to write of Him. I am not ashamed! I hope you are not ashamed either. The world desperately needs to hear this truth though they often turn a deaf ear to it.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
For the Sake of the Call
This past Monday night I drove home alone from Nocona, TX where our Jr. High students ran in a track meet. I met my great friend Eric for dinner and he loaned me a cd to listen to on the drive home. One song ministered to my heart and served as the catalyst for the message I preached this morning from [Matt 4:18-21].
The song is sung by Steven Curtis Chapman called "For the Sake of the Call." Here are the words. "Nobody stood and applauded them - so they knew from the start this road would not lead to fame. All they really knew for sure was Jesus called to them - He said, 'Come follow Me,' and they came with reckless abandon they came. Empty nets at the water's edge told a story few could believe and none could explain. How some crazy fishermen agreed to go where Jesus lead with no thought of what they would gain for Jesus called them by name."
Those words bore into my soul so much I listened to that song over and over on my drive home. It made me think back to when I first met Jesus and started following Him as a high school student back in 1983. For twenty-nine years I have been following. I followed Him to Howard Payne University where I met Brenda. I followed Him to Weatherford, TX where I served a great group of students for two years. I followed Him to east Texas where I served as a pastor first and then vocational evangelist for a decade.
I continued to follow the Lord to Paradise where we gave four years of our lives to the wonderful flock of First Baptist Church. We followed Jesus to Seminole, TX where we met and served some of the greatest people on the face of the earth. While there experienced close to one month of real revival; the kind you read about in history books.
While listening to that song over and over again in my truck driving home the words continue to hit home. It all felt eerily similar to how the Lord called my family to leave the comfort and secure life in Seminole for the grand adventure of starting Faith Community Church. Nobody applauded. We new we would not get famous. All we knew is for months Jesus called us to follow Him. Our starting this church came only in response to call of Jesus to follow Him. Though not an easy road it has already been a road filled with adventure.
I preached this morning recounting Jesus' declaration He would make His followers fishers of men. As I looked out over the congregation in the high school cafeteria I locked eyes with two men who trusted Christ and several teenagers that have been saved since Faith Community Church began. That is what this is all about. It is about praying, loving, sharing, witnessing, and celebrating when Jesus saves someone and calls them to follow Him.
I don't know many people who follow Jesus with reckless abandon. We like our safety nets and following Jesus often defies logic. We love to read the success stories of the athlete, author, business owner who becomes both famous and wealthy. This would not be the case for Simon, Andrew, James or John. Following Jesus proved to be very costly.
Simon, later named Peter, died crucified upside down in Rome. Andrew is reported to have been crucified and preached from his cross to his last breath to those watching. A tyrant had James beheaded in Jerusalem. People cast John into a caldron of boiling oil. Miraculously he survived. He lived out his last days banished on the island of Patmos.
Anne Askew suffered torture on the rack and died by being burned at a stake in 1545. At twenty-five her last words were mature beyond her age. She said, "I am not come hither to deny my Lord and Master."
John Huss believed in the infallible and authoritative scriptures. That belief cost him his life. Before he was killed he said, "What I taught from my lips I now seal with my blood."
People have done all sorts of things for the sake of the call of God on their lives. They have taught a Sunday morning Bible study though scared out of their wits. They have given away vast sums of money though it meant sacrifice, gotten passports to go on a mission trips though nervous and unsure, loved the most unlovely people though uncomfortable, moved to new communities though scared and unsure, believed God for impossible things though impossible, and have overcome every imaginable adversity all for the sake of the call.
I think of a high school football coach who trusted God for the money and took his whole family to Africa for two weeks for the sake of the call. I am thinking of a school administrator who has his whole family in Honduras on a mission trip at the time of this writing. I am thinking of a senior adult lady who still teaches a young boys and girls Sunday School class when others her age have surrendered this task to the younger generation. Then there is the farmer who gave $10,000 for a mission project though the he is not rich by any means. I recall the single mother who gave $1,000 to missions sacrificially after working two different jobs. There is the man who followed the Lord who serves the Lord through his computer skills updating his church website and serving in the audio/visual needs for the church as well as teaching students. All these serve for the sake of the call.
Nobody applauds them and they are not famous. They are normal men and women who follow Jesus where He leads for the sake of the call. I want to be counted in their number. Whether that means writing a new book or blog, serving as a church planter or pastor, or sharing Christ with some new man or woman, I want to keep following. All for the sake of the call.
The song is sung by Steven Curtis Chapman called "For the Sake of the Call." Here are the words. "Nobody stood and applauded them - so they knew from the start this road would not lead to fame. All they really knew for sure was Jesus called to them - He said, 'Come follow Me,' and they came with reckless abandon they came. Empty nets at the water's edge told a story few could believe and none could explain. How some crazy fishermen agreed to go where Jesus lead with no thought of what they would gain for Jesus called them by name."
Those words bore into my soul so much I listened to that song over and over on my drive home. It made me think back to when I first met Jesus and started following Him as a high school student back in 1983. For twenty-nine years I have been following. I followed Him to Howard Payne University where I met Brenda. I followed Him to Weatherford, TX where I served a great group of students for two years. I followed Him to east Texas where I served as a pastor first and then vocational evangelist for a decade.
I continued to follow the Lord to Paradise where we gave four years of our lives to the wonderful flock of First Baptist Church. We followed Jesus to Seminole, TX where we met and served some of the greatest people on the face of the earth. While there experienced close to one month of real revival; the kind you read about in history books.
While listening to that song over and over again in my truck driving home the words continue to hit home. It all felt eerily similar to how the Lord called my family to leave the comfort and secure life in Seminole for the grand adventure of starting Faith Community Church. Nobody applauded. We new we would not get famous. All we knew is for months Jesus called us to follow Him. Our starting this church came only in response to call of Jesus to follow Him. Though not an easy road it has already been a road filled with adventure.
I preached this morning recounting Jesus' declaration He would make His followers fishers of men. As I looked out over the congregation in the high school cafeteria I locked eyes with two men who trusted Christ and several teenagers that have been saved since Faith Community Church began. That is what this is all about. It is about praying, loving, sharing, witnessing, and celebrating when Jesus saves someone and calls them to follow Him.
I don't know many people who follow Jesus with reckless abandon. We like our safety nets and following Jesus often defies logic. We love to read the success stories of the athlete, author, business owner who becomes both famous and wealthy. This would not be the case for Simon, Andrew, James or John. Following Jesus proved to be very costly.
Simon, later named Peter, died crucified upside down in Rome. Andrew is reported to have been crucified and preached from his cross to his last breath to those watching. A tyrant had James beheaded in Jerusalem. People cast John into a caldron of boiling oil. Miraculously he survived. He lived out his last days banished on the island of Patmos.
Anne Askew suffered torture on the rack and died by being burned at a stake in 1545. At twenty-five her last words were mature beyond her age. She said, "I am not come hither to deny my Lord and Master."
John Huss believed in the infallible and authoritative scriptures. That belief cost him his life. Before he was killed he said, "What I taught from my lips I now seal with my blood."
People have done all sorts of things for the sake of the call of God on their lives. They have taught a Sunday morning Bible study though scared out of their wits. They have given away vast sums of money though it meant sacrifice, gotten passports to go on a mission trips though nervous and unsure, loved the most unlovely people though uncomfortable, moved to new communities though scared and unsure, believed God for impossible things though impossible, and have overcome every imaginable adversity all for the sake of the call.
I think of a high school football coach who trusted God for the money and took his whole family to Africa for two weeks for the sake of the call. I am thinking of a school administrator who has his whole family in Honduras on a mission trip at the time of this writing. I am thinking of a senior adult lady who still teaches a young boys and girls Sunday School class when others her age have surrendered this task to the younger generation. Then there is the farmer who gave $10,000 for a mission project though the he is not rich by any means. I recall the single mother who gave $1,000 to missions sacrificially after working two different jobs. There is the man who followed the Lord who serves the Lord through his computer skills updating his church website and serving in the audio/visual needs for the church as well as teaching students. All these serve for the sake of the call.
Nobody applauds them and they are not famous. They are normal men and women who follow Jesus where He leads for the sake of the call. I want to be counted in their number. Whether that means writing a new book or blog, serving as a church planter or pastor, or sharing Christ with some new man or woman, I want to keep following. All for the sake of the call.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Soggy Saturday
It has rained all day. I am not talking about a gentle little mist. Since around 10:30 a.m. until now at 7:15 p.m. the rain has not stopped. We have had a real soaker. The rain has alternated between a heavy down pour and a steady drizzle all day long. This is the kind of day when you cannot do much. It would have been the perfect day to read a book.
Brenda and I attended the funeral of a beloved teacher in the community earlier this morning. Afterwards we went to lunch and enjoyed some one on one time. This is a blessing I do not want to take for granted. What the husband of that teacher would give to have just one more meal with his wife. I do not want to take these times with Brenda for granted. We gathered the boys later and went to a movie. Over dinner we told funny stories about one another and rolled in laughter. This has been one of the best weekends we have enjoyed together in a long long time.
On this soggy Saturday I know many have been disrupted from their normal routines. Baseball games had to be canceled. An outdoor auction left everyone soaked. Today has been the kind of day when you just wanted to stay home to keep warm and dry.
I am grateful for some great family time over the past couple of days. Having all the boys together with no athletic events to attend has been nice. We have laughed and made memories together. We have enjoyed time as a family and not had to rush about. It has been a nice relaxing weekend even though the rain has not stopped all day long.
I think about the coming of summer ushering in hotter temperatures and a dryer climate. The drought and heat wave of 2011 is not forgotten. I am grateful for this soaking rain to nourish the grass and crops, to replenish stock tanks and lakes, and to make the way for the coming of Spring. I am grateful for this soggy Saturday to slow down, to enjoy my family, and to bask in the bounty of God's faithfulness.
Inclement weather usually means low attendance at church. I thank God anyway for this soaking rain. I heard people complain about why the wet weather could not have coming during the week instead of on the weekend. I can only speak for one Edwards family. The rain caused this family to slow down and to enjoy one another. I would trade this soggy Saturday. I am not saying I would want every Saturday to be a soaker. I am just grateful for this day. Lord, thank you for showers of blessings.
Brenda and I attended the funeral of a beloved teacher in the community earlier this morning. Afterwards we went to lunch and enjoyed some one on one time. This is a blessing I do not want to take for granted. What the husband of that teacher would give to have just one more meal with his wife. I do not want to take these times with Brenda for granted. We gathered the boys later and went to a movie. Over dinner we told funny stories about one another and rolled in laughter. This has been one of the best weekends we have enjoyed together in a long long time.
On this soggy Saturday I know many have been disrupted from their normal routines. Baseball games had to be canceled. An outdoor auction left everyone soaked. Today has been the kind of day when you just wanted to stay home to keep warm and dry.
I am grateful for some great family time over the past couple of days. Having all the boys together with no athletic events to attend has been nice. We have laughed and made memories together. We have enjoyed time as a family and not had to rush about. It has been a nice relaxing weekend even though the rain has not stopped all day long.
I think about the coming of summer ushering in hotter temperatures and a dryer climate. The drought and heat wave of 2011 is not forgotten. I am grateful for this soaking rain to nourish the grass and crops, to replenish stock tanks and lakes, and to make the way for the coming of Spring. I am grateful for this soggy Saturday to slow down, to enjoy my family, and to bask in the bounty of God's faithfulness.
Inclement weather usually means low attendance at church. I thank God anyway for this soaking rain. I heard people complain about why the wet weather could not have coming during the week instead of on the weekend. I can only speak for one Edwards family. The rain caused this family to slow down and to enjoy one another. I would trade this soggy Saturday. I am not saying I would want every Saturday to be a soaker. I am just grateful for this day. Lord, thank you for showers of blessings.
New Mercies
Spring Break started a little differently than we expected yesterday. Taylor and I worked out after school. After cleaning up the whole family sat around laughing. I'm not sure what triggered it but all the boys said or did something funny. We kept laughing until we decided to go grab a bite to eat.
Taylor drove us to Decatur to the restaurant. After dinner the boys wanted to go to Blockbuster. This is never fun for me. Over the past few years I have found less and less movies I am interested in watching. Most of the time, while they are getting movies, I sit in the car. What happened next is both comical and real life Edwards drama.
Taylor once again drove us to Blockbuster. After they had all gone into Blockbuster I decided to go in as well at the last minute. Big mistake! Typically I did not find anything that really grabbed my attention. I tried to find some classic movie section but did not find any. Bored I headed back out to the car. Here is where the drama began. I asked Taylor for the keys and he told me he left them in the car. Panic set in. I recalled locking the door when I exited the car.
Sure enough, the doors were locked when I pulled on the handle. It was around 6:30 p.m. and the temperature had dipped into the forties with a slight breeze. Brenda was still recovering from a virus the night before. Tanner had on shorts, a short sleeve tee shirt but no jacket. The other guys all had on warm clothing.
I tried to call a guy from the church who lives close to our house but did not get an answer. I called one of the other go to men in our church who lives ten minutes from our house. Mercy number one; he answered and was at home. I told him our dilemma and took a chance asking if he could go by our house to see if we happened to leave the door unlocked, the garage door open and find my keys. Mercy number 2; he was willing to help us.
I was not in a great frame of mind mad at myself for locking the doors while leaving the keys inside. Mercy number three; Brenda kept reassuring the whole ordeal would soon pass. It was nothing to get worked up over. Turner and I played a game of rock soccer and he used his imagination to make up some other adventures. Tanner did not have warm clothing so I gave him my jacket and thanked God I had on a long tee shirt.
Our rescuer called with good news a few minutes later. Mercy number four; we left the garage door open. I vividly recalled being the last one to walk out the door back home and thinking I did not need to lock the door because we would put the garage door down. Taylor forgot to push the button on the sun visor when we left for the garage door. Mercy number five; the garage door was not only up but the door left unlocked. Mercy number six; I left my keys on the table in plain sight.
Within fifteen minutes our friend pulled into Blockbuster with my keys to let us into Brenda's suburban. We were all cold. Mercy number seven; heat in the vehicle. Crisis over. Mercy number eight; we did not have to call a locksmith and spend extra money.
From your perspective these mercies may not have seemed like a big deal. I assure you they were not lost on me. We could have walked back into Blockbuster to stay warm but opted to stay outside so Brenda could sit down. In the end this will make another great memory for the Edwards family. For me once again God reminded me His mercies are new every morning. I am grateful for a true friend, an open garage door and unlocked door. I am thankful for a long sleeve tee shirt, an understanding wife and warm clothing to share with Tanner. I am grateful for keys and heat. All evidences of His mercy.
Taylor drove us to Decatur to the restaurant. After dinner the boys wanted to go to Blockbuster. This is never fun for me. Over the past few years I have found less and less movies I am interested in watching. Most of the time, while they are getting movies, I sit in the car. What happened next is both comical and real life Edwards drama.
Taylor once again drove us to Blockbuster. After they had all gone into Blockbuster I decided to go in as well at the last minute. Big mistake! Typically I did not find anything that really grabbed my attention. I tried to find some classic movie section but did not find any. Bored I headed back out to the car. Here is where the drama began. I asked Taylor for the keys and he told me he left them in the car. Panic set in. I recalled locking the door when I exited the car.
Sure enough, the doors were locked when I pulled on the handle. It was around 6:30 p.m. and the temperature had dipped into the forties with a slight breeze. Brenda was still recovering from a virus the night before. Tanner had on shorts, a short sleeve tee shirt but no jacket. The other guys all had on warm clothing.
I tried to call a guy from the church who lives close to our house but did not get an answer. I called one of the other go to men in our church who lives ten minutes from our house. Mercy number one; he answered and was at home. I told him our dilemma and took a chance asking if he could go by our house to see if we happened to leave the door unlocked, the garage door open and find my keys. Mercy number 2; he was willing to help us.
I was not in a great frame of mind mad at myself for locking the doors while leaving the keys inside. Mercy number three; Brenda kept reassuring the whole ordeal would soon pass. It was nothing to get worked up over. Turner and I played a game of rock soccer and he used his imagination to make up some other adventures. Tanner did not have warm clothing so I gave him my jacket and thanked God I had on a long tee shirt.
Our rescuer called with good news a few minutes later. Mercy number four; we left the garage door open. I vividly recalled being the last one to walk out the door back home and thinking I did not need to lock the door because we would put the garage door down. Taylor forgot to push the button on the sun visor when we left for the garage door. Mercy number five; the garage door was not only up but the door left unlocked. Mercy number six; I left my keys on the table in plain sight.
Within fifteen minutes our friend pulled into Blockbuster with my keys to let us into Brenda's suburban. We were all cold. Mercy number seven; heat in the vehicle. Crisis over. Mercy number eight; we did not have to call a locksmith and spend extra money.
From your perspective these mercies may not have seemed like a big deal. I assure you they were not lost on me. We could have walked back into Blockbuster to stay warm but opted to stay outside so Brenda could sit down. In the end this will make another great memory for the Edwards family. For me once again God reminded me His mercies are new every morning. I am grateful for a true friend, an open garage door and unlocked door. I am thankful for a long sleeve tee shirt, an understanding wife and warm clothing to share with Tanner. I am grateful for keys and heat. All evidences of His mercy.
Friday, March 9, 2012
A Fresh Start
It is an overcast cold Friday morning as I sit at the Finish Line. As I sit at this back corner table my mind is consumed with thoughts of a fresh start. Today is a fresh start. It is a day of new beginnings. A new beginning to dig into the scriptures. It is a new day to open my heart to the wonders of God's presence. It is a fresh opportunity to relate to family and friends and to enjoy life.
From time to time we all need fresh starts. Maybe we had a bad day filled with trials and set backs and want to push the rewind button. I had a day yesterday where everything seemed to go wrong all day long. It started with our freezer on the refrigerator in the garage not working and many of the things inside defrosting spilling water on the ground. Next, I tried to get some mowing done before a cold front blew through and the rain began.
I could not get our push mower started. I yanked and yanked on the pull cord but nothing. When I finally did get it to start, I only got about one third of the front yard mowed when the rains came leaving me soaked and headed for cover. When I cleaned up and went to lunch with Brenda I ordered the lunch special. It proved to be disappointing choice. Lost in translation had to be the small portion of food I received. I left still hungry.
By this time the rains stopped and I determined to get the rest of the front yard mowed. The cold chilled me to the bone as the winds blew wet grass clippings all over me from head to toe. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I at least I accomplished finishing that task.
To top the night off Brenda got sick after dinner. She spent the majority of the evening sick in bed. I felt badly for her but nothing I could say or do helped. She just needed to gut it out. She still did not feel well this morning when she woke up.
I received a phone call from one of our principals informing me he had to call in one of our boys for a little discipline issue. When Brenda learned of this when she got off work I think it contributed to her not feeling well.
So that brings me to this point of making a fresh start. Yesterday is gone forever and can never be recaptured. I say good riddance. Better to let it go and to press forward with a fresh start today. This day has not fully unfolded before me and I am not sure what will happen. I know this day is held in the hands of God. I know this day is a fresh opportunity to encounter God.
I like the way the day has unfolded so far. I met a friend at breakfast this morning and enjoyed my time with him. He purchased my breakfast. I had a good devotion with the boys before school about sharing our testimony with others. We reminisced about the day each of them trusted Jesus into their hearts for salvation. I have enjoyed some time to think and write in this back corner of the cafe for the past couple of hours. It has been a fresh start to what I anticipate to be a very good day.
From time to time we all need fresh starts. Maybe we had a bad day filled with trials and set backs and want to push the rewind button. I had a day yesterday where everything seemed to go wrong all day long. It started with our freezer on the refrigerator in the garage not working and many of the things inside defrosting spilling water on the ground. Next, I tried to get some mowing done before a cold front blew through and the rain began.
I could not get our push mower started. I yanked and yanked on the pull cord but nothing. When I finally did get it to start, I only got about one third of the front yard mowed when the rains came leaving me soaked and headed for cover. When I cleaned up and went to lunch with Brenda I ordered the lunch special. It proved to be disappointing choice. Lost in translation had to be the small portion of food I received. I left still hungry.
By this time the rains stopped and I determined to get the rest of the front yard mowed. The cold chilled me to the bone as the winds blew wet grass clippings all over me from head to toe. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I at least I accomplished finishing that task.
To top the night off Brenda got sick after dinner. She spent the majority of the evening sick in bed. I felt badly for her but nothing I could say or do helped. She just needed to gut it out. She still did not feel well this morning when she woke up.
I received a phone call from one of our principals informing me he had to call in one of our boys for a little discipline issue. When Brenda learned of this when she got off work I think it contributed to her not feeling well.
So that brings me to this point of making a fresh start. Yesterday is gone forever and can never be recaptured. I say good riddance. Better to let it go and to press forward with a fresh start today. This day has not fully unfolded before me and I am not sure what will happen. I know this day is held in the hands of God. I know this day is a fresh opportunity to encounter God.
I like the way the day has unfolded so far. I met a friend at breakfast this morning and enjoyed my time with him. He purchased my breakfast. I had a good devotion with the boys before school about sharing our testimony with others. We reminisced about the day each of them trusted Jesus into their hearts for salvation. I have enjoyed some time to think and write in this back corner of the cafe for the past couple of hours. It has been a fresh start to what I anticipate to be a very good day.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The King is Coming
It really hit home with me yesterday that Jesus Christ the King is coming back. Any day now. Any hour the eastern sky will split, Jesus will step out on the clouds and the trumpet of God will sound. The dead in Christ will rise first and then Christians all over the world will be snatched away. Nobody but God the Father knows when this will take place.
As I sit in my chair it dawns on me it could happen before I finish this. What a way to go. Writing about the return of Jesus Christ would be a great thing to be caught doing at His second coming. I preached on this topic last night to our adults and students. That would have been a great thing to be doing at His second coming. Teaching and preaching to warn people to be ready.
Jesus told us that He would return when we did not expect it. I wonder what you and I will be doing at that moment. Will we be engaged in private devotions seeking Him and wanting more of Him? Will we be caught in some act of service for our King? Will He come when we are engaged in public worship singing our hearts out in adoration? Will He snatch us away while giving witness for Him.
He could come at an hour when we are slothful as it relates to holy living. He might return while we are engaged in a secret sin, in the middle of a temper tantrum, in a spell of depression, or with a luke warm and indifferent heart.
When the King comes back how will He find His church? Will He find His church spotless or soiled in degradation? That should give cause for us to guard over our activities. None of us would want to be caught unexpected. The best way to avoid that is to live in constant expectation He could return at any moment.
Wow. When that thought sinks in, I mean really sinks in, it puts everything in perspective. Things that appeared so important suddenly fade in the light of eternity. Problems that consumed our thoughts begin to shrink. Our passion should be directed toward loving the King and yearning for His return.
The King is coming back. Any day now. Any hour. Are you ready? I remember hearing an old song with the line, "I wish we had all been ready." Until that day I want to warn people to get ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ the King.
As I sit in my chair it dawns on me it could happen before I finish this. What a way to go. Writing about the return of Jesus Christ would be a great thing to be caught doing at His second coming. I preached on this topic last night to our adults and students. That would have been a great thing to be doing at His second coming. Teaching and preaching to warn people to be ready.
Jesus told us that He would return when we did not expect it. I wonder what you and I will be doing at that moment. Will we be engaged in private devotions seeking Him and wanting more of Him? Will we be caught in some act of service for our King? Will He come when we are engaged in public worship singing our hearts out in adoration? Will He snatch us away while giving witness for Him.
He could come at an hour when we are slothful as it relates to holy living. He might return while we are engaged in a secret sin, in the middle of a temper tantrum, in a spell of depression, or with a luke warm and indifferent heart.
When the King comes back how will He find His church? Will He find His church spotless or soiled in degradation? That should give cause for us to guard over our activities. None of us would want to be caught unexpected. The best way to avoid that is to live in constant expectation He could return at any moment.
Wow. When that thought sinks in, I mean really sinks in, it puts everything in perspective. Things that appeared so important suddenly fade in the light of eternity. Problems that consumed our thoughts begin to shrink. Our passion should be directed toward loving the King and yearning for His return.
The King is coming back. Any day now. Any hour. Are you ready? I remember hearing an old song with the line, "I wish we had all been ready." Until that day I want to warn people to get ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ the King.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Faithful Provider II
I kid you not. God provided miraculously again for the Edwards family last night. We had a late night with a high school track meet. Thankfully the meet was in Paradise. I worked the meet starting at 3:30 p.m. until it ended. Taylor runs in the last event so Brenda and the other boys were there until the end as well. I did not bring my phone with me so as not to lose it.
When we got home I checked my phone and found this simple message from a number I did not recognize. "Please check your mailbox when you get home." I almost forgot getting distracted by eating dinner and getting the kids off to bed. I just wanted to get into bed.
After letting the dog out I remembered the text message. I went out to the mailbox and discovered a white envelope. Our names were on the envelope along with a message about our using the contents of the envelope to do something special we might not get to do normally. I took the envelope into our bedroom and gave it to Brenda. When she opened it I knew God had done something special through an anonymous servant. Tears welled up in her eyes in gratitude as we thanked God for doing something so dramatic and miraculous for the third time in the past two weeks.
Two nights earlier, after the junior high track meet, I told Brenda my feet were killing me. In fact they ached for two days after working that meet. I knew it had to be the shoes I wore. I wore my newest shoes for the meet but they are not new by any means.
We looked on line for some shoes and when I saw a pair I liked and thought they were affordable she told me we would have to charge them. I told her no way would I do that. Fast forward to last night and her opening the envelope. She said, "Now we can get you some new shoes." That is the way she is always thinking of others before herself. Her feet have been hurting too because of her shoes and my thought was, "Now we both get new shoes!"
I do not know why God has chosen to work so dramatically in our lives when it comes to provision. Most people go to work and get a salary. Many people never give God's provision a second thought. They have financial and job security. Brenda and I, not by choice, have not always been able to live that way. We have been forced to lean on God and to depend on Him for provision as we have followed Him.
God has used numerous people in our lives to sacrificially give to support our ministry. Almost from the very beginning Brenda and I wanted to follow God and to serve Him wherever He saw fit to plant us. When I started No Compromise Ministries in 1998 God used a business man to give me $6,000 to get started. I received a $1,000 salary for the first six months when I had very few preaching engagements. God used an attorney to bless our ministry with $10,000 one time about a year later. As generous as those two people were I am equally grateful for others who gave $20, $50, and some $100 each month to help us. Some were newly married just starting out. Some were retired and living on fixed incomes. Some struggled to make ends meet month to month and yet faithfully and joyfully sacrificed because they loved and believed in Brenda and I. God used several ladies through a business to pay our house payment for fourteen months when we tried to start a church and it disbanded in 2002-2004. I am thinking of the man who gave me a sound system, another who bought me a wireless microphone and the numerous ones who have given to make the publication of all my books possible.
God has used people all over the state of Texas to provide for Brenda and I. On one hand I hate it. I hate living a life where we have not always been financially independent. I hate that so much of the focus of our prayers seems to be for God's provision. We would much rather be on the giving end. Brenda and I love to give to others. I look around at others in ministry who appear to be well off and wonder why God has chosen such a different path for us. Years ago I realized God was calling me to walk a different road. He called me to walk and live out the principles of faith and prayer. That is what we have done for the past twenty years of marriage. It has been a lonely path. Many have misunderstood or even doubted God's leadership in our lives. We have sought to obey God even when it appeared foolish in the world's eyes and to people in the church. We heard the whispers and gossip and cried silently when our obedience seemed so costly. Through it all God met our every need.
When the first church we tried to plant disbanded I planned on getting a job until God spoke to me at the prayer cabin as I sought Him for direction. Nobody could have been more shocked than me when God clearly said, "Do not get a job. Trust me for provision. Do not tell anyone when you need money but bring your needs to me." Even today as I write that it seems bizarre God would lead in that fashion. He did and we were tested. Many did not understand. Brenda's family did not understand and I felt like a fool. I doubted many days I had really heard from God. Brenda had to suffer as we literally lived below the poverty level according to statistics. God kept putting food on the table and gas in the vehicles. We prayed and God supplied. Many thought we were foolish expected us to go under. Many times I faced the temptation to be disobedient. I wanted to throw in the towel. Through God's grace He strengthened our faith and allowed us a front row seat to behold His faithfulness.
That season of our lives lasted for eighteen months. God used people to give to meet our needs. At times He used churches who called asking me to preach rallies, revivals, and retreats. He used people we had known for years and He used people we did not even know. Behind all of it, we know God ultimately provided for us.
When we followed God to Paradise for the first time we saw Him provide many times. He used many people to provide for us at Christmas. There were years when we had nothing extra to buy for the boys or when they asked for something completely out of our financial reach. God used people to give to us and answered prayers for our family. God used someone in that church to provide a vehicle for me when God called me to give mine away. When I see that truck today I cannot help but think of God as my provider.
When we moved to Seminole we knew the church did not have a parsonage and rental party was scarce. We lived in the mission house the church owned for three months while praying yet again for God's provision. God moved in dramatic fashion. The church took up a love offering of $8,000 to help us get into a home and a married couple hand delivered another miracle of $5,000. Through that we were able to buy a home there.
God has used the wonderful people of FBC Seminole and the courageous people of Faith Community Church to provide for us over the past six months as followed the Lord in starting Faith Community Church. Over and over again when real needs have arisen God has used His people to meet those needs. There have been lean days but we have never been without. God has always sent His timely provision.
Though I do not understand all of this, my one hope is that somebody reading this that may be facing a financial crisis will be encouraged to trust God. I pray whoever that person might be will cling to God and trust the promises of God to provide and remember what God done for my family. By faith I believe each of those people will experience God's provision in dramatic ways as Brenda and I have done.
I cannot say I enjoy living by faith but I can say I love when God comes through and I get to testify. I love watching the faces of children, students, and adults when I tell the faith stories and I love writing out these fresh testimonies.
We are going to take the advice given to us on that envelope last night. We are going to watch a donkey basketball game tonight. We are going to take the boys to a movie tomorrow after Taylor's powerlifting meet. Brenda and I are both going to buy a new pair of shoes. All of this because God provided and the bills are paid. I am humbled that He chooses to continue to provide for us.
When we got home I checked my phone and found this simple message from a number I did not recognize. "Please check your mailbox when you get home." I almost forgot getting distracted by eating dinner and getting the kids off to bed. I just wanted to get into bed.
After letting the dog out I remembered the text message. I went out to the mailbox and discovered a white envelope. Our names were on the envelope along with a message about our using the contents of the envelope to do something special we might not get to do normally. I took the envelope into our bedroom and gave it to Brenda. When she opened it I knew God had done something special through an anonymous servant. Tears welled up in her eyes in gratitude as we thanked God for doing something so dramatic and miraculous for the third time in the past two weeks.
Two nights earlier, after the junior high track meet, I told Brenda my feet were killing me. In fact they ached for two days after working that meet. I knew it had to be the shoes I wore. I wore my newest shoes for the meet but they are not new by any means.
We looked on line for some shoes and when I saw a pair I liked and thought they were affordable she told me we would have to charge them. I told her no way would I do that. Fast forward to last night and her opening the envelope. She said, "Now we can get you some new shoes." That is the way she is always thinking of others before herself. Her feet have been hurting too because of her shoes and my thought was, "Now we both get new shoes!"
I do not know why God has chosen to work so dramatically in our lives when it comes to provision. Most people go to work and get a salary. Many people never give God's provision a second thought. They have financial and job security. Brenda and I, not by choice, have not always been able to live that way. We have been forced to lean on God and to depend on Him for provision as we have followed Him.
God has used numerous people in our lives to sacrificially give to support our ministry. Almost from the very beginning Brenda and I wanted to follow God and to serve Him wherever He saw fit to plant us. When I started No Compromise Ministries in 1998 God used a business man to give me $6,000 to get started. I received a $1,000 salary for the first six months when I had very few preaching engagements. God used an attorney to bless our ministry with $10,000 one time about a year later. As generous as those two people were I am equally grateful for others who gave $20, $50, and some $100 each month to help us. Some were newly married just starting out. Some were retired and living on fixed incomes. Some struggled to make ends meet month to month and yet faithfully and joyfully sacrificed because they loved and believed in Brenda and I. God used several ladies through a business to pay our house payment for fourteen months when we tried to start a church and it disbanded in 2002-2004. I am thinking of the man who gave me a sound system, another who bought me a wireless microphone and the numerous ones who have given to make the publication of all my books possible.
God has used people all over the state of Texas to provide for Brenda and I. On one hand I hate it. I hate living a life where we have not always been financially independent. I hate that so much of the focus of our prayers seems to be for God's provision. We would much rather be on the giving end. Brenda and I love to give to others. I look around at others in ministry who appear to be well off and wonder why God has chosen such a different path for us. Years ago I realized God was calling me to walk a different road. He called me to walk and live out the principles of faith and prayer. That is what we have done for the past twenty years of marriage. It has been a lonely path. Many have misunderstood or even doubted God's leadership in our lives. We have sought to obey God even when it appeared foolish in the world's eyes and to people in the church. We heard the whispers and gossip and cried silently when our obedience seemed so costly. Through it all God met our every need.
When the first church we tried to plant disbanded I planned on getting a job until God spoke to me at the prayer cabin as I sought Him for direction. Nobody could have been more shocked than me when God clearly said, "Do not get a job. Trust me for provision. Do not tell anyone when you need money but bring your needs to me." Even today as I write that it seems bizarre God would lead in that fashion. He did and we were tested. Many did not understand. Brenda's family did not understand and I felt like a fool. I doubted many days I had really heard from God. Brenda had to suffer as we literally lived below the poverty level according to statistics. God kept putting food on the table and gas in the vehicles. We prayed and God supplied. Many thought we were foolish expected us to go under. Many times I faced the temptation to be disobedient. I wanted to throw in the towel. Through God's grace He strengthened our faith and allowed us a front row seat to behold His faithfulness.
That season of our lives lasted for eighteen months. God used people to give to meet our needs. At times He used churches who called asking me to preach rallies, revivals, and retreats. He used people we had known for years and He used people we did not even know. Behind all of it, we know God ultimately provided for us.
When we followed God to Paradise for the first time we saw Him provide many times. He used many people to provide for us at Christmas. There were years when we had nothing extra to buy for the boys or when they asked for something completely out of our financial reach. God used people to give to us and answered prayers for our family. God used someone in that church to provide a vehicle for me when God called me to give mine away. When I see that truck today I cannot help but think of God as my provider.
When we moved to Seminole we knew the church did not have a parsonage and rental party was scarce. We lived in the mission house the church owned for three months while praying yet again for God's provision. God moved in dramatic fashion. The church took up a love offering of $8,000 to help us get into a home and a married couple hand delivered another miracle of $5,000. Through that we were able to buy a home there.
God has used the wonderful people of FBC Seminole and the courageous people of Faith Community Church to provide for us over the past six months as followed the Lord in starting Faith Community Church. Over and over again when real needs have arisen God has used His people to meet those needs. There have been lean days but we have never been without. God has always sent His timely provision.
Though I do not understand all of this, my one hope is that somebody reading this that may be facing a financial crisis will be encouraged to trust God. I pray whoever that person might be will cling to God and trust the promises of God to provide and remember what God done for my family. By faith I believe each of those people will experience God's provision in dramatic ways as Brenda and I have done.
I cannot say I enjoy living by faith but I can say I love when God comes through and I get to testify. I love watching the faces of children, students, and adults when I tell the faith stories and I love writing out these fresh testimonies.
We are going to take the advice given to us on that envelope last night. We are going to watch a donkey basketball game tonight. We are going to take the boys to a movie tomorrow after Taylor's powerlifting meet. Brenda and I are both going to buy a new pair of shoes. All of this because God provided and the bills are paid. I am humbled that He chooses to continue to provide for us.
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