Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Fresh Start

Everybody needs a fresh start from time to time. We need to press the reset button and start again. It is like the child I watched drawing in a notebook at her sister's end of the year awards ceremony. She got frustrated with one drawing and marked it out and started again. She did this several times. She would mess up not getting the picture in her mind on paper. So she started over.

We all need to do that from time to time. I have done that this morning. A fresh start with me started with the scriptures. "Search me, O God and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me. And lead me in the everlasting way." [Ps 139:23-24]

Sitting with the Lord this morning I asked Him to search my heart. There were several areas where I needed to scratch out my behavior and thoughts. I needed a fresh start. One by one I repented of those areas. Taking a deep breath I walk back to the track of life to resume the race God has marked out for me. [Heb 12:1]

I cannot concern myself with tomorrow for I do not know what it holds and am not promised I will live to see it. Yesterday is gone and I cannot go back and recapture it. All I have is today. So today I make a fresh start. I made a fresh start with God. Today I will enjoy a day with my family without being pulled in several different directions. I will not concern myself with things that are out of my control. I will take the time to be thankful.

I am thankful for this office I get to enjoy. I am thankful for my desk, bookshelves and chair. I am thankful for a secret place to meet with God. I am thankful for the children's areas and the furniture that was given to us. I am thankful for the beautiful chairs donated by several individuals. I am thankful for a loving congregation. I am thankful for progress. I am thankful for the dream that compels me to keep believing and laboring.

I am thankful for Brenda and the boys as well as Jennifer and her family. I am thankful that through PK Mowing I get to spend more time with the boys and teach them a work ethic too. I am thankful that what started out as just a dream now has become reality with mowing equipment and multiple yards. I am thankful for this community and the chance to love and serve people like I got to do  yesterday at our community high school seniors breakfast.

We all need a fresh start. I am not going to wait until January 1st. My fresh start begins today. My fresh start has already begun as I type this. It will continue as I walk out the door and head home to a family just now waking up. It will lead me through a day of celebration with the Brenda and the boys for their end of the year school accomplishments.

Do you need a fresh start? Do you need to scratch out the way you have been living or thinking lately to start again? You are the only one keeping you from getting a fresh start in the way you live and the way you think. Press the reset button with God and start again. Everybody needs a fresh start from time to time.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

No Enduring CIty

While reading in Hebrews today I came across this short verse. "For here we do not have an enduring city; instead, we seek the one to come." [Heb 12:14]

It is easy to get totally focused on life in the here and now. It is easy to get sidetracked by things that will not matter in eternity. See what the writer of Hebrews writes. Here we do not have an enduring city. The word "enduring" means abiding, continuing, remaining or lasting. Everything about life on planet earth is temporary. Relationships are temporary. Parents die. Children die. Grandparents die. If that does not happen we often move away from dear friends. The bond may remain close but time spent together can be rare. People date and break up. Some marriages end in divorce. One way or another relationships down here come to an end. We are unsure as to the nature of those relationships in heaven but down here they do not last.

The stuff we work so hard for and give our lives and money to purchase do not last either. Right down the street from me a family is building a new house. Should life continue as we know it for years to come you might come across that same house a hundred or one hundred and twenty years from now and the house be in shambles through years of neglect. I see houses crumbling and falling all the time. Worse, a natural disaster could strike leveling the house and all houses surrounding it. Though we call them homes they do not always remain. We have friends who live back in east Texas who bought a home and spent months remodeling it. One day a fire started and burned all their hard work to the ground.

If our homes do not wear down how many times have you left a house due to a move. Twice we have bought a house and twice we have had to leave them behind. I loved both homes and would take either of them again but we do not live in those cities anymore. Homes down here are temporary. As I write this another group of seniors are about to graduate. Some will be moving out of dorms and apartments as they graduate from college and prepare to enter the work force. Others are preparing to move from their childhood homes as they prepare to go off to college. Either way were they have been residing is about to change.

Governments rise and they fall. Communities are established and some dry up. Things down here are temporary. We spend a life accumulating stuff and after we are gone our children fight over all of it. Heirlooms are passed down from generation to generation. While we make think we possess them permanently sooner or later we release them to others either voluntarily or others seize them when we are gone.

Cities do not always remain. Why put all of our effort into a temporary city that cannot last. There is a lasting city. The city of God. A city of purity and the presence of God. There is a city of eternity. It will endure. It will never crumble. Today it does me good to think about that city because my lot down here has not been an easy one. There have been numerous trials and heartaches. I look forward to the city where there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more pain, and where all tears will be wiped from our eyes. [Rev 21:4]

Down here one may work for a lifetime to build something only to have someone else take it over. One day, should the Lord delay in coming again, somebody else will serve as pastor of Faith Community Church. I will not live forever. I have served other flocks and other pastors have taken my place and are dearly beloved among the congregations. People come and go. Life goes on without us.

The labor we do down here for the Lord will remain in eternity. Our lives and labor matter in eternity. So let this serve as a wake up call. Re-prioritize. Down here we do not have an enduring city. Let us turn our attention to the one that will last forever.

Pressure

Everyday somebody crumbles under the pressure of life. Recently I saw a news report about a well to do business woman who killed herself under the pressure. She saw no way out and took her own life. Others cope with pressure in other destructive ways such as drugs, alcohol and escapes into fantasy.

The word "pressure" is defined to mean the exertion of force upon a surface by an object in contact with it. It also means the state of being pressed or compressed. Let me give an example. If I blow a ballon up with air and then apply increasing pressure on that ballon eventually it will pop. The balloon is not able to withstand the exertion of pressure.

There are many people in life who feel like that balloon. They have pressure on them from all sides. There is the pressure to raise children and ensure they are able to keep up in academic, musical and athletic arenas. There is the pressure to cling to marriages in our increasingly hurried society. There are economic pressures to deal with month to month. There are pressures to perform at work, in the class room, performing arts building or on the athletic field. There are pressures to better yourself and to keep up with other families. There are the physical pressures of people over worked and under rested. I just returned from an end of the year awards ceremony for one of our boys. I noticed a guy standing against the wall asleep on his feet. No telling how many hours he has had to work.

People do not cope with pressure well. Like the balloon eventually pops so the body eventually crumbles under the strain. Physically living under pressure or to put it another way, living under stress, causes headaches, sleeplessness, high blood pressure and could lead to a heart attack. The body simply cannot cope with too much pressure.

This does not even take into account the emotional toll of pressure. I recently visited with someone who lives with a chronic disease. They live with chronic pain and never get any relief from it. They do not have good days when they are pain free. They have days when the pain might be less severe but it never goes away. NEVER. After awhile this pressure erodes hope for the future. Soon such people feel like they are drowning in an ocean of despair. Dark thoughts can cloud the judgment. Looking for relief and an escape from the pain people grope for anything that might provide relief whether it be a booze, a bottle of pills or a revolver.

For others the emotional toll might stem from a loveless marriage, a rebellious child, a mountain of debt and financial set backs. The weight of the pressure exerted produces anxiety. I feel like we live and walk among people who are about to implode under the pressure. Living like this becomes a strain. You never feel rested in the morning no matter how much sleep you get. You will yourself to get ready, go to work, fulfill your obligations. Such people slowly begin to withdraw socially as they retreat to the shadows to lick their wounds.

What are the pressure points in your life? A shattered dream. A broken heart. A dysfunctional family. Financial set backs. Everyone has pressure to some degree. What or who is pressing on you to the breaking point.

For the believer things are complicated when it appears God is the one applying the pressure. When the mountain does not move, the pain does not go away, the disease is not healed, the marriage is not restored or the financial strain only increases after you have prayed and cried your heart out what do you do? Some lose heart and lose hope in God. Others turn to temporary pleasures to numb the pain and confusion. Neither provides a lasting solution.

I don't know what your pressure points are. I don't know the severity of your pain or the depths of your despair you cope with daily. What can I offer you during this difficult season? Once again I turn to the book for the ages for help. Here it is. "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance proven character; and proven character hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." [Rom 5:3-5]

The word "hope" in this passage means joyful and confident expectation. To be perfectly honest there are those, especially living with chronic disease, who will never be healed in this life. Hope for them is only found in heaven and the reassuring presence of the Lord from day to day. Heaven is what they joyfully and confidently expect as reward at the end of life. Others will enjoy varying degrees of temporary relief. I say temporary because eventually the pressure gets to all of us as our bodies age and fail.

In the mean time I want to embrace the truth that tribulations are serving two things in our lives. They build perseverance and that builds proven character. Proven character is another way of saying experience. We have all endured many tribulations. Through those we have gained valuable experience with God. We have learned to press on even when under pressure. We have also learned God loves us even when it hurts. With that in mind we press on even under the constant pressure you feel all around you. One day for every child of God the pressure will fade when we step into eternity. Until that day may we persevere and experience the love of God poured out in our hearts.

Monday, May 21, 2012

17 Days and Counting

Seventeen days from now Faith Community will embark on a forty-day journey with God to prepare for revival. We will use the the "40 Days to Shake the City" devotion book. Students and adults alike will go through this journey as we prepare for God to shake our lives, shake our church and to shake our city in revival and spiritual awakening.

If you want to join us in the journey you can get a copy of the devotion book by contacting us at Faith Community (pastorfaithcommunity@gmail.com) or by going online to www.ForTheMaster.com to secure your own copy of the book. We would love to see all of you who read this blog go through the forty-day journey with us.

Our revival is scheduled to begin July 15th. Please pray for our worship minister, Chris Nash, for those days. Chris and I have labored in revival before. He has a heart for the heart of God and to lead others there. Please pray for me. I am sending this out to solicit prayer cover for myself and Chris starting now and going until the revival ends. We have not set an ending date. We will leave that up to God. I covet prayer partners who will stand in the gap for us.

Several have taken this forty-day journey before back in Seminole the summer of 2010. Here is what some of them had to say about that journey of preparation.

"This devotional book is full of enriched scripture and challenging words that aided me in examining my current spiritual state. It helped prepare my mind and heart for the outpouring of God."

"I Thess 5:16 says we can be joyful always. This what God did in our lives. As a result of God's work through this book - we will never be the same."

"God moved in an amazing way during our Shake the City Revival. In preparation, many of us committed to read, study, and pray through this devotional book. God used the 40 days prior to the beginning of the "meeting" to begin revival in our hearts."

"If you will give time to praying and seeking Jesus, He will up and show off! This devotional book worked like a starter's gun at a track meet, and led me to an incredible encounter with my Lord and Savior."

"40 DAYS - the most important devotional guide for spiritual maturity to come into the church since Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God."

Of course you do not have to be a part of Faith Community Church to go on this journey with God. Many may opt to go through these forty days on their own. Our prayer is that many churches will go through this journey together when it is best for them to see God move powerfully in their churches and communities. May the Lord use this book for His glory. May God move in Faith Community Church and beyond for His glory. May the kingdom of God be expanded much through revived churches doing evangelism around the world.

Small Steps of Progress

The journey of planting a church has many mileposts. Some bring greater joy than others. There are the memories of our first Sunday together July 31, 2011. We crammed into a napping room inside a daycare. We packed people into that room and some had to stand in the kitchen. We had to move to the Junior High cafeteria the next week. That is a great memory.

Another milepost is that many of those people who came that first Sunday have since left to find another place to serve the Lord. In the past ten months we have seen numerous people come for a season and then move on to other churches. We know Faith Community is not for everyone. In that time God has drawn several families who were not saved to join the family of God and Faith Community family.

I remember all too well our first baptism. Tom and I are not only brothers in Christ now but we are friends as well. He and his wife are active in our student ministry. I recall that baptism in a hot tub. O what a day. Since then we have celebrated baptism in that hot tub numerous times and will do so again in a couple of months.

This weekend we celebrated a small step forward. Friday night we got a deal on some office furniture. I am set up with a desk two matching book shelves and cabinets and a filing cabinet. Saturday carpet was laid in the lease building we are renovating. Last night we unpacked some of our new chairs and enjoyed having our Power Band prayer meeting in the new facility. Their was a great deal of excitement among the people. We remember the journey we have been on. It has not been an easy one but we have encountered God along the way.

This morning Melanie, our children's minister, and I loaded up chairs, bulletin boards, tables and bookshelves we received for free from the lady who owns the daycare. We moved those things into the new lease facility. This Wednesday night we are having our first official services in our new location. This is a step of progress for our infant church.

In the next few weeks a stage will be constructed in the warehouse and soon afterward we will move our Sunday morning service to this location as well. Our landlord okayed us to use a grass area next to the buildings for a play area for the children. This is all coming together.

The ladies huddled together last night with decorating ideas.  All of these are steps of progress in moving the right direction. I am humbled this morning by God's provision through the owner of the daycare and many individuals who have sacrificed so Faith Community could make this transition. To God be the glory. Great things He done.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Trying Not to Look Back

I believe it was the old pitcher Satchel Page who said, "Don't look back something might be gaining on you."

We spend a lot of time looking back. We can become stuck in the past. People fixate on past problems, failures and relationships. If we spend all of our time looking back how we can see to go forward. I learned this lesson the hard way when I first learned to drive. I was driving through my neighborhood when one my friends told me a police office had pulled in behind me. I was not speeding but became so focused on what was going on behind me I did not pay attention to the curve in front of me. I missed the curve and took out a whole front yard worth of hedges. You know the ironic thing is there never had been a police officer behind me.

How often do we worry about things behind us that are not even real. Like Satchel Page mused, something might be gaining on us or in reality nothing may be gaining on us. We need to live in the moment. How many people are not enjoying today because they are worried about the past? How many people are missing out on the good life now because they are pining away their lives longing for the good old days.

You have to keep pressing forward in life for something. It might be to cultivate a closer walk with God. It might be to get ahead or get out of debt. Maybe you are progressing toward some physical goal like losing weight, running a 5K or doing a bike race. Find something in your life that honors God and helps you keep pressing forward to something ahead. Read a book. Take a trip. Finish your degree. Fix up the house. The possibilities are numerous.

We have to keep pressing forward and resist the urge to stop progress so we can look back. Looking back at the past and remembering loved ones who have died can be healthy and heart warming. To stop living and remained focused exclusively on the past with them is not healthy. Many people are not able to cope with the loss and remain stuck in the past. They live in depression and brokenhearted. Life is never the same after death but a person can still press forward to come goal.

Likewise, it is not healthy to dwell on past mistakes. We can get stuck in the mud if we can't learn to accept God's forgiveness or to learn to forgive ourselves. Man this came hitting home in a big way last night on the baseball team I coach.

Before every game I lead the team in a devotion and prayer. My devotion last night came from [Phil 3:13-14] "Brethren, I do not regard myself has having a laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

During the game one of our guys had two ground balls go between his legs in the same inning. He was heartbroken when he came back to the dug out. It was his turn to sit in the next inning and when I went into the dug out after the other guys took the field I noticed this little boy was crying and hanging his head. I sat down and sought to comfort him. It was not working. He felt devastated.

Then I remembered our devotion. Forget what lies behind but press forward to what lies ahead. I spoke this into his shattered heart. I then told him I had a magic pill guaranteed to make him happy. I reached into my pocket and took out a piece of bubble gum and handed it to him. He looked up and forced a little smile. Progress. Forget the past and press forward to what lies ahead. I reminded him there was still a lot of baseball to be played.

When he got up to bat the next time he had a great hit scoring some of our runners. He beamed standing on first base. Same kid. Same game. Same errors. Totally different attitude. When the inning ended he was all smiles. What that little boy learned in two innings of a baseball game some people never learn in a life time.

We cannot spend our time looking back at past mistakes or regrets. Our focus has to be on the call of God on our lives in front of us. There are strides still to be made. So let me remind you to forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Born to Write

I just finished reading a phrase about a pastor and author from centuries ago that struck a chord with me. The sentence read, "he was born to write." That is how I feel. On a day like today when I have had time in the office to pray and reflect all I have wanted to do is to write.

The power of writing words is addictive to me. I have written many times I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not love to write or want to be a writer. One of the greatest days in my life is the day when God revealed that my life long love of writing could still be cultivated along side my call to preach. I am a man born to write and to preach.

With the written word a person can be encouraged, rebuked, challenged, inspired, broken, educated, motivated, burdened, entertained and many other things. Along with my great love for writing is my great love for reading. I have well over seven thousand volumes all sitting in storage boxes until I am able to get book shelves in my office. The power of written word is incomprehensible. I love that word. It is as fun to write as to say.

Many people have to have the perfect conditions for writing. A secluded luxury office with a scenic overlook. I have written in cafes, RV's, tents, hotels, offices, my living room, on air planes, buses, crowded airpots, on beaches, in the mountains and even in foreign countries. Writing is in my DNA. I have to write just as I have to breathe. It is what God made me to do.  I have written on such things as prayer, faith, devotion to God, revival and hope for the troubled heart. Most everyday as I just live life I find topics to explore and let the creative juices flow in writing.

This morning I encountered a broken hearted mother who did not get to see her children on Mother's Day. I also ran across someone enamored with their physical appearance. I exchanged pleasantries with a man while walking into the Post Office. For much of the day I have been consumed with thinking about the scriptures, reading books and writing.

[Eph 2:10] "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

My interpretation of this verse is simple. You were born to do something. God created you with a purpose in mind. Mine just happens to be writing. Few things in life give me more satisfaction than the process of writing, holding a new book I have written, or hearing  that God used something He gave me to write to help somebody. I was born to write. Josh Hamilton was born to swing to a baseball bat. Kevin Durant was born to shoot and dunk a basketball. Bill McCartney was born to coach and lead men. Bruce Wilkinson was born to inspire faith through preaching and writing. John Maxwell was born to train leaders.

What were you born to do? I remember sitting over breakfast one morning with a very successful banker. The only trouble was he felt restless and not sure he had ever really sought God about banking. He wanted to know what God had created him for. He taught Sunday School and faithfully served at his church but he did not know for sure what God had created him to do. In a huge step of faith he resigned his job and began a serious quest to discover his purpose. Guess where he landed. Back in banking. He had it right all along.

Some were born for sales or business ventures. Some were born to coach. Many were born to educate. Some were created to enforce the law on the streets and in the court rooms. There are some born to entertain through singing and writing beautiful music. I know men who find the perfect day to be one seated in the cab of a tractor planting cotton. I was born to write and preach. Not the most exciting life to some but a source of great contentment for me.

Before this day ends I want you to ask yourself this question, "What was I born to do?" You may not get the answer today especially if you are still in school. That is okay. Just don't forget to ask yourself this question. Many never think about it. They just go to work and earn a paycheck. They may not enjoy what they do but out of duty the keep doing it. We were created for more than duty. I find great delight in what I do. I was born to write. What were you born to do?

Things Hoped For

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." [Heb 11:1] ESV

"Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen." [Heb 11:1] HCSB

Two different translations but both say the same thing. As I write this I have been thinking on this verse. More than that I have been praying this verse. Right now in your life there are things you are asking for. There are certain things you are trusting God to do for you. There are things you are hoping will come to pass.

Now there is a kind of hope that is passive. You ask and wait. You hope the winds of good fortune will turn in your favor and a blessing will come your way. There is a kind of hope like a person playing the lottery. They buy a ticket hoping they will win but know the odds are not in their favor. The hope is tempered by the reality.

This is not the kind of hope Heb 11:1 is exhorting us to have. True hope for the child of God has to start with true faith. "Faith" means to have confidence, belief, assurance, and persuasion. When I prayed earlier today I prayed for some specific things. I prayed to God for the third time to work a miracle so we could buy a house. I have seen God help us twice before and I am persuaded He will do it a third time. I believe with all my heart God has a better housing situation for us. Though we are grateful to be under one roof our rent house is too small.

Taylor sleeps in the den with a curtain hung over the threshold for some privacy. Three boys eat at a cheap table we bought while Tucker eats at the bar because there is no room for him. Brenda and I eat at our recliners on TV trays. When we watch television together as a family Brenda and I have our chairs. We have a love seat that seats two. We also have an office chair. One person always has to sit on the floor or Turner ends up sitting in my lap. I know this is not God's best for us. I am paying for a storage unit because we cannot get any more furniture into our rent house. One of the things I am hoping for is a bigger house sooner rather than later. I believe it is the will of God for my family to have a bigger house. I know God has all the resources needed to get us into a bigger house. So I ask for a four bedroom two bedroom bigger house. We want and hope for God's best house for our family.

In my mind I can see a house. I am not saying I can see the colors or the interior but with eyes of faith I see my family living in a bigger house. I see Taylor in a real bedroom and I see all the family seated at our dining table. I see our coach and lounge chair in a spacious living room with ample space for entertaining. I see a kitchen equipped for entertaining. I see a small office for me to seek God in and to use to write and study. That is the reality I am hoping for. That is one of the things I am trusting God to bring to pass. It is not some figment of my imagination. This is reality. Somewhere in Paradise, TX there is a house appointed for the Edwards. I do not know if the house already exists or will be constructed in the future. All I know is there is a house for my family. I am confident of that fact.

That is not the only thing I am hoping for. I am hoping for a church firmly established. I am trusting God for the reality of people saved, baptized and committed to serving the Lord at Faith Community Church. In my mind I can see a crowded parking lot and a filled up warehouse gathered to worship. I can see a full band playing their hearts out for the Lord. I can see hands lifted, people shouting, clapping and weeping in the presence of the Lord. I can see a full house of children laughing and having the time of their lives as they learn Bible truths. I can see students over a one hundred strong lost in worship and surrendered to God for service. I can envision a sea of adult faces enthused to seek and serve God. I can see flags from different countries mounted representing different mission churches planted by God through Faith Community Church. I can see a hungry church for the word of God to be preached and taught. I see a revived church down the road in love with the Lord and walking in holiness.

Though we have made some progress as a church I see so much more. I see a church growing and impacting the community, county, and country. I see real revival. What I mean is I see the multitudes turning to God and away from sin. I see repentance. I see fresh fire falling from Heaven consuming people and giving them boldness to serve the Lord. I see a new passion in the church for worship and the word of God.

The word "hope" means to expect and to trust. I expect my family to get a house, to see Faith Community grow and have impact as well as to see Faith Community and Paradise at large revived. Those are specific and tangible things I hope and expect to see happen. There is my faith out there for all to see again.

Noah's faith built an ark. Elijah's faith first sent fire and then rain. Peter's faith enabled him to walk on water. Paul's faith established churches all over the world. I want my faith to point people to the power of our God. So today I expect revival, a growing vibrant church, and a house. What things are you hoping for. They are as good as reality if God wills it and you believe Him to do it.

Singing With the Heart

Yesterday I walked to church and I was tired. Not a physical tired mind you. We live less than a quarter of a mile from the High School cafeteria. I battled spiritual fatigue. It is the kind of fatigue you get when you live under a heavy burden. I am living under numerous ones. There is the burden to see Faith Community Church become firmly established. We live under the financial constraints of most new churches. I live under the burden of seeing the church grow. We have stagnated in recent weeks. I also live under the burden of the weight of the need of revival in Paradise and Wise County. In addition, there is the burden of people who fall away or leave the church all together. I cannot say this does not sting. I also have the burdens of getting books published and sold as well as getting the PK Mowing business growing.

As I walked to church yesterday I was a little melancholy. I kept to myself at the back of the cafeteria looking over my notes and wanting to avoid people for the most part before the service began. I took my usual place on the front row with Brenda when the service started. I tried to worship but I felt heavy hearted. That is until the last song. We sang the popular song "I Can Only Imagine."I got lost in the wonder of worship.


Many times people sing with their voice. Yesterday I sang with my heart. Every ounce of my being was poured out to God in worship during that song. In fact after it ended and I was supposed to preach I had us sing it again. I pictured myself before the King Jesus and doing my best to express my love, adoration, and gratitude toward Him. At times both my hands were extended in exaltation of my King. My heart bowed in His presence. I sang at the top of my lungs. I did not care what others thought. Jesus  ministered to my heart during that song and I wanted to give every ounce of worship I could. Ultimately it had to come from the heart more than the lips.


God used that song like a gel pack of energy squirted into the mouth. Afterward I felt alive in my soul. I no longer felt lethargic. God used Eddie and the worship to bring me back to life. My load felt lighter, my energy increased and I looked forward to preaching. I no longer felt fatigued but alive and reinvigorated. All of that took place during the singing of one song. That song made church for me yesterday.

I have attended many worship services. I heard much beautiful music. Many times I felt people merely went through the ritual of worship. The right words were sung from the lips but the heart did not mean them. Many times all the right notes have been hit and the sound is beautiful to the human ear but off key to God who looks on the heart. God wants our hearts.

Yesterday I sang with my heart and as I write this I am singing with my heart again. I am abounding with gratitude. I am writing this on a computer generously given to me by First Baptist Seminole. I am writing this is in my new office where I have already had significant encounters with God in a little over a week. In a few minutes I will go eat lunch with Brenda, my best friend and wife. In just a few days we will get to celebrate baptism again with an adult lady and several children and a teenager. All reasons to worship and to sing with gratitude from the heart.

I sing with my heart as I type every word. This is not a dutiful labor but a labor of love. Writing this blog is an offering to my Lord. It is an act of worship and I offer Him my heart as well as my actions. You can do the same thing wherever you are. Whether it be playing a sport, sitting in class, working in the office or out in the field you can sing with your heart. Every row driven on the tractor can be a song from the heart. Every page of notes taken from the lecture can be a song from the heart. Time spent in exercise can be a song from the heart when done unto the Lord. Laboring in the office on reports can be worship from the heart. Lunch with business associates or friends can be worship from the heart when your focus and heart are turned toward the Lord.

I have been privileged to know many worship ministers. I know they would agree that God desires singing from our hearts more than our lips. Worship does not end when the Sunday morning service ends. Worship happens when we live life. Today let your worship come from the heart. Let your heart match what your lips ascribe as worth to God. Sing with the heart and receive refreshment for your soul.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Great and Awesome Day of the Lord

I am thinking of a day in the future that will be a most unpleasant day. I am thinking of the day down the road that will be difficult to endure. Biblical writers refer to this day as the day of the Lord. It is judgment day. Israel experienced this day. Lost people throughout the ages have faced this day after death. It is a horrific day that defies description. Such a day awaits others who choose to resist and reject the Lord.

[Joel 2:11] refers to this day as a great and awesome day. The word "great" means it will be a long, mighty and loud day when God pours out vengeance and anger on those who have rejected him and his ways. Do not miss this truth. God does get angry over sin and he deals with it in a severe manner. When that day comes it will be the longest day for sinners. They will long and wish for the day to end but there will be no relief. It will be a mighty fierce day and a day filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth. The torment and anguish will never relent. The Bible tells us God is slow to anger. [Joel 2:13] He does get angry. Slow to anger means long suffering and patient with people. God gives people the chance to repent. He sends his messengers like he did with the prophet Joel to Israel. He has sent messengers in our day. Many choose not to hear. They turn deaf ears to preachers and other messengers from God who warn of a great and awesome day of the Lord.

While we continue life as normal the waters of God's judgment build into a tumultuous fury behind the safety dam of God's grace and compassion. While God hold himself back the anger and fury over sin and the rejection of his laws escalates. The day will come when wrath will overflow the dam of grace. The great and terrible day of the Lord will result in God's justice demanding payment for sin. This will come either through the sacrifice of his son Jesus who justifies to sinners to God the Father or it will come through eternal punishment. One way or the other sin will be dealt with. There will be a day of reckoning.

Even as I write this America, Texas, and Paradise are storing up wrath for themselves. We would be wise to consider it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. [Rom 2:4-5] History has shown over and over again when God had enough there was a great day of the Lord. History has also shown when the people of God repented and cried out for mercy God had compassion and forgave.

The great and awesome day of the Lord does not have the same connotation our society gives the word awesome. In this passage "awesome" means terrible, frightening, dreadful and fearful. Nobody will want to see that day. Judgment day is a day like no other. There are no words to describe the anguish and fierceness of it. There is no way that day can be described. More terrible than the imagination can conceive. More frightening than your worst fears realized but with no ending point. More dreadful than the worst experience of your life repeated over and over again for all of eternity.

There is still hope. There is still time to turn to the Lord. There is still time to repent and turn from sin and to the Lord. Yet, with repentance there is the hope for grace, compassion, and lovingkindness. With repentance and mourning over sin there is hope that God will forgive and restore and hold back his wrath and fury. O sinner, how long will you reject the love and forgiveness of God. Do not wait any longer. Your very life hangs in the balance between heaven and hell by a thread. Your life is suspended by a small thread over the volcanic molten lava of God's judgment. To spurn his love and grace is sealing your soul to impending doom and torture forever. Turn to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness. Rest in the rescue boat of his forgiveness and sail the tranquil waters of his compassion and mercy.

Paradise. Open wide your eyes and look around you. Blow the trumpet in Zion and cry out for God to draw his people back. Preachers weep between the porch and the altar. Plead for God to revive the city. Do not delay. The hour is late and who knows if we repent and return to the Lord if he will not come again and heal our land. None of us want to see the great and terrible day of the Lord. May we return to the Lord before it is too late for some. Eternity hangs in the balance.

Living My Dream

For nearly two decades I have dreamed of the Acts 2:42-47 church. I am getting my chance at planting that church. Faith Community has not always had an easy road. That does not mean that it has not been a rewarding one. When I look out and see the new Christians sitting out in our church I cannot help but rejoice. That makes the challenges worth it. Though our attendance is inconsistent the dream in my mind and heart drives me to press on.

I am living my dreams writing. I received the first proof from a new forty day devotional book on revival this week. We are sending out advanced copies this month and the book should be available by the first of June for purchase online. A great dream is being realized I've held since an elementary school student. What a great dream. These books will travel further and broader than any of the others I have written so far.

I assure you other books will soon follow. I am writing one now. I am about to put the finishing touches on another book I have nearly finished  and I have two at the publisher now for consideration. I have a list of other titles and dreams of books that will keep me busy writing for a lifetime. There is something rewarding about getting to live your dream.

I saw the power of dreams last night when Josh Hamilton hit four home runs and a double in one game for the Texas Rangers. He is living his dream. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III both are about to live their dream of playing professional football. I know people who dream of being a nurse, a lawyer and a coach. They are pursuing their dreams through education and experience.

My dreams are serving as a pastor and authoring numerous books. Everyday I lean into the harness of discipline to labor toward advancing Faith Community Church and writing more. What a dream. I know prayer is the key to unlocking all my dreams as well as yours.

The power of God's dream in my soul has seen me through lean times and repeated shut doors. God has opened doors at this season of my life to live out my dreams. The power of God's dreams sustains me. The power of God's dreams gets me up in the morning and allows me to sleep in peace at night. I know my life has purpose. I know my life has meaning. Praise the Lord for God's putting me in the sweet spot in life.

You will notice I did not say following dreams is a easy place of life. Constantly I ask God for and I long for God to put my family in a better housing situation. Daily I pray for Faith Community to grow and for us to be able to add a student minister at some point so I can devote myself to ministry with adults. All in good time. Until then I press on and ask in faith for God to move my mountains. It is an uphill climb but we are making progress.

Now, if God put a dream in your heart you can either sit back and hope it comes true or you can go after your dream with all the faith, work and perseverance you can muster. I have to believe at the end of our lives we will die contented when we give our days and souls to the pursuit of a God ordained dream. I know mine and I bet you can identify yours as well. No matter how far away it seems or how out of reach it may appear never give up. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER YOUR DREAMS NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE. PRESS ON. KEEP WORKING. KEEP PERSEVERING. KEEP STAYING THE COURSE. KEEP LABORING WITH PURPOSE. LIVE YOUR DREAM.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

My Prayer This Morning

Lord, as this new Sunday unfolds I am excited for the opportunity to worship with the people of Faith Community Church. I worship you now in the privacy of this secret place but I long to celebrate you with others. I yearn for more of you. I yearn for our people to yearn for more of you.

Lord, today I ask you to turn all of our hearts closer to you. Today I ask you to turn all of our hearts and our attention to you. This world competes for our allegiance and affections. May you help us today to know you. We must go beyond knowing about you. We must come to know you through experience. We can never be content to learn about what you did in the past. We long for you to work in our lives and to work in our day. You are mighty. We ask you to do mighty deeds in our midst. We want the opportunity to keep bragging and boasting about you.

Today I will open your word and declare your truth. If you do not give me fresh anointing there will be  no life in it. I ask you to create a hunger in the people to hear from you. I ask you to give your people ears to hear your truth. I ask you to give us the wisdom to alter our lives where they need to be changed.

I feel rumblings in my Spirit that you are up to something big in Paradise. I do not want to miss it. I ask you for revival in this community. I ask you to plow the fallow ground of this community. Please start with me and the people of Faith Community. I ask you to unite the churches and send a spiritual awakening that changes the community. May we grow increasingly uncomfortable with sin and more desirous of holiness.

This is the day you have made. I rejoice and will be glad in it. I will rejoice in you regardless of what the attendance is. I pray for more of your Spirit and more of your power to be evident among us no matter the size of the crowd. I anticipate meeting with you. I expect you to also meet with us. Thank you for ordering my steps to pastor Faith Community Church. The journey has not been easy but you have been faithful each step of the way. In Jesus name, amen.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Philosophy of Life and Ministry

I wrote this months ago but the truths still apply.

Philosophy of Life and Ministry

[Acts 20:24] “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”


Everybody lives for something or someone. Children often live to please their parents. The athlete lives to please his coach. A spouse might live to please their husband or wife and children. An employee labors to please his boss. The CEO works to please a board of directors. Let’s face it, some people live to please no one else other than themselves.
It is amazing the things people live for and invest their lives in. Some get caught up in saving extinct trees or animals. Others are consumed with civil rights and politics. There are some people who expend untold amounts of energy building a legacy to carry on after they are gone. Some work endless hours to build empires that eventually will be passed on to someone else.

Paul’s philosophy of life and ministry are captured in Acts 20:24. Notice how different it is from most philosophies of life and ministries. Paul right at the heart of it all minces no words and parts company with all who seek to lavish their lifestyles with comforts, securities, and accolades. He says, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself…” The word “dear” means valuable, costly, honored, or esteemed.

Think about how many live their lives in order to be highly esteemed and honored by others. Paul was not concerned with any of that. In fact, he repeatedly wrote that he chose to die to those things. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I might gain Christ.” [Phil 3:7-8]

Christ is the one who deserves to be honored, treasured, and highly esteemed in our lives. He is the one who should be the focal point rather than us counting our lives as dear in the eyes of others. Many may not struggle at that point but most will fall prey to the trap of counting our lives dear to ourselves. We have ongoing love affairs with ourselves day in and day out. We consider our lives valuable to us and worth whatever price luxury, riches, convenience, pleasure, and comfort requires. We are enamored with the American dream and see God’s dreams as inconvenient, risky, and completely out of touch with reality.

Where are the men and women who do not count their lives dear to themselves? I know there are some because young men and women often sacrifice the American dream to follow God’s dream to some foreign nation and readjust their lives to a foreign culture all for the sake of serving Christ. Such people are often considered extremist. What a shame that normal New Testament Christianity is now considered radical and extreme. The truth is that few have learned the secret of not counting our lives dear.

That secret can be learned from Paul in [Gal 2:20] and [Gal 6:14]. Crucifying our lives in exchange for the life of Christ to be lived through us is the secret. Hudson Taylor, the devoted missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission, called it the exchanged life. When a person experiences this reality it is easy to relinquish the reigns of our lives over to the one who died to set us free from the domain of darkness and the slavery of sin. We die a spiritual death that results in a yielded life as a devoted slave of Christ to do His bidding. Such living is a small token of gratitude for the new and everlasting life we have through Christ.

The thing that motivated Paul was to finish the course and ministry which he had received from Christ. Many have started out well with Christ only to quit along the way or to crash and burn before reaching the finish line. Some grow weary and find the way of discipleship difficult. Others get tripped up by sin and find themselves ensnared in the enemy’s trap. Paul was focused on finishing strong. His eyes were on the prize. The word “finish” means to complete, to accomplish the goal, and to bring to fulfillment. You know what I see regularly. Rather than God’s people getting focused on completing the kingdom ministry assignments He gives, many are content to shirk responsibility and cower in fear while living with the bedfellow of timidity.

Finishing the course God has set for your life will not prove to be boring. I assure you from personal experience that if you commit to finish the course God has designated for your life you will find yourself on the most thrilling adventure you can imagine. Still the majority hold back and half heartedly live their faith in a world that is looking for finishers and completers not beginners who get sidetracked by the lesser things of life.

If Jesus Christ is your Savior then He has a ministry for you. Everyone is not called to be a pastor, youth pastor, or missionary. Everyone does have a ministry. It might be teaching a small group, taking a short term mission trip, working in disaster relief, caring for the elderly, loving and investing in children, or involving yourself in a ministry that does not even exist yet but is waiting for your leadership to be given birth.

What will you do when you stand before Christ and the refining fire of His presence begins to burn through the things you invested your time, energy, your talents, and your resources in? If you ducked and dodged your course of ministry not completing it, what then? You will suffer loss [I Cor 3:10-15] and you will have wasted your life on trivial things that did not matter in the light of eternity.
There is no greater ministry than testifying about the gospel of the grace of God. Bring others to Jesus and do something that has eternal significance. It is not our job to do the saving but only the sharing. Christ is able to save all whom He chooses. I am thinking back over my life and thinking back on the number of people the Lord has saved and allowed me to testify about God’s redeeming grace. There was Bobby, Nick, Joe, Jennifer, Sue, Karen, Bill, Mindy, Averon on my college football team, Carrie, Cody, Bruce, the twin girls in Cuba along with the lady walking down the street, dozens and dozens in revivals all across the state of Texas and several other states along the way, teenagers at youth camps, adults in their homes, college students during a campus crusade, friends, family, and people right here from the Paradise community. Nothing gives my heart a charge like seeing people transformed by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. He is mighty to save. Why not join in the adventure of winning souls. Completing this ministry makes life worth living and you will join God on the adventure of a lifetime that matters in the after life. Renounce your life, embrace your ministry and finish the course. I am not saying it will always be easy but I assure you it will not be boring.

Keeping Watch

As I write this it is 3:06 a.m. God has bid me get up to take my watch on the walls of Paradise again. There is much at stake. While we slumber the enemy works overtime to steal, kill, and destroy. [Jn 10:10] Even as I write this the enemy is at work undermining marriages, leading students astray, and trapping the multitudes in the vice of sin they will spend years trying to be freed from.

Our only hope is keep watch on the walls of the city pleading with God for miraculous intervention. I know of a group of ladies who have been praying for decades for this city. They gather once a week, quote scripture and then cry out to God on behalf of family, friends, and the community. In the town of Seminole I know of a group of ladies who gather every morning and have been for the past one year and a half to stand in the gap for their city and church. In Lubbock, TX there is a church where several hundred people gather weekly to keep watch on the walls of Lubbock. I have read of a church in Brooklyn, NY where hundreds gather on Tuesday nights to interceded for the lost and to ask God for transformation of their city. In Seoul, Korea I have read of a church where thousands gather to pray each morning at 5:00 a.m. and all night on Friday nights. They keep watch not only for their city and country but also for the whole world.

"Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen on your walls; they will never be silent, day or night. You, who remind the Lord, no rest for you! Do not give Him rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth." [Is 62:6-7]

This is a challenging passage. Several things jump out at me. First, God appoints the watchmen on the walls. I have lived far too long to know how each of us can make an emotional decision about prayer only to have the commitment fade over time. To really be a watchmen that stands on the walls of your city you have to be called and appointed by God to this task. It is not easy. When it comes to prayer most of us are like the disciples that Jesus asked to keep watch with Him but they fell asleep. Rightly did Jesus say the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

God appoints the watchmen for each community. I feel God has called me to be such a person for Paradise, TX. I know I am not the only one. But I have a watch and this morning it started earlier than most. I know there are others. I may not know their names or see their faces but I know a remnant of people pray over communities all over the world. It is humbling and exciting to be a part of this ministry.

In our Isaiah 62 passage another point jumps out. To be a watchman means to be a person who perseveres in prayer. These prayer warriors will never be silent come day or night. The answers to their prayers may be delayed but they keep praying and believing anyway. They keep pounding on the doors of Heaven asking God for miracles of salvation, revival, and spiritual awakening. They stay at their posts day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade. When they reach their last days their prayers live on in the ears and mind of God. When they die God appoints someone else to take their place on the walls as watchman and their prayers outlive them.

I am also reminded in this passage that standing in the gap for the city is a tiring work. Watchmen stand ready day or night to cry out in prayer for their cities asking God to do such a work that the world hears about it and gives glory to God. Watchmen are challenged to take no rest for themselves. Even as I write this I am comforted with the thoughts of tens of thousands of watchmen praying and keeping watch at this very hour. The enemy is seeking to advance and scheming every perverted and wicked plan possible to defeat the armies of the living God but our great King has watchmen watching in prayer to protect the people and to detect the advances of the enemy.

Every hour of every day somebody is keeping watch somewhere in this world. We are challenged to give God no rest but here is the comforting thought. He needs no rest. He never tires or never slumbers Isaiah reminds us in [Is 40:28]. Keep reminding the Lord watchmen of His promises and the needs of your cities. Keep watch for the enemy goes about like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. [I Pet 5:8]

Are you one of those God is appointing to keep watch on the walls of your community? I talked with a lady yesterday who feels God has called her. She is actively seeking to simply her life so she can devote more time on the walls of her city crying out to God. She is an inspiration to me. She is a watchman who keeps watch and I am so grateful I am the beneficiary of her prayers. To God be the glory for the men and women who keep watch over their cities.

The Office

It has been nine months in the coming. Today I sit in my new office to write this. Nine months of studying where I could. In the early days of moving back here I did not have internet access or an office. I went to the public library, sat in the parking lot at McDonalds, went to people's houses to borrow theirs, worked off a table in the RV until we got into our rent house and got connected to the internet for ourselves.

Now I have a space to get away to work. I actually have a place to go to work. I love it. I had a fabulous office in Seminole and a great one at FBC Paradise. Starting a church from nothing makes you appreciate the simple pleasure like having an office. Many people have offices. Some people hate the office and the work that goes on there. Not me. I love having an office.

You see this is more than just an office. This is a secret place as spelled in the book of Matthew. "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." This is a sacred place to meet with God. Others have had this office before me. I prayed in here yesterday that any residing evil spirits would be driven out and the presence of God would be here. This office is now the primary place I will pray and study. This is the place where I already have and will continue to pour my soul out to God pleading for revival in Paradise and Wise County. This is the place where I will have encounters with the living God of this universe. This is the place where I receive messages to preach. This is now the primary place I will hear from God.

More than that this office is the place I will write books. Dozens of them. From this office articles for the paper and blogs will be born. In this little office I will have a place to get lost in my thoughts and write page after page after page. In this office I will write books God will use to further His glory and His kingdom. In this office books will be written that travel far beyond Paradise to minister to people.

In this office I will hold meetings and strategically plan the advancement of God's kingdom through Faith Community Church. In this office I will receive vision from God and clarity of direction for the future. We plan on remaining in this location until the Lord reveals His will concerning permanent facilities for Faith Community Church. That might take two to three years or even longer. It really does not matter because God has provided a space for us to settle in for awhile.

God has taught me to learn to be content in all my circumstances. I have to say that I rejoice exceedingly that this day has come. I learned to make not having an office work. Many joked that my office was the corner table at the local cafe. Some who saw me in there for breakfast and still saw me sitting in the same spot near lunch joked I should pay rent. God has put all this together for me to have my own space. I do not have space at the house. This is a major step of progress. I rejoice I got an office today.