He Is

He is a Light in the darkness,
Bringing hope in life's harshness,
He  is peace even in despair,
He is joy beyond all compare,
He is strength to move mountains,
Gladness bubbles like a fountain,
He  is resolve to sin withstand,
He's guidance with a Sovereign hand,
He is trust to go ahead and follow,
Even when life is bitter to swallow,
God gives the necessary endurance,
He is our all and our perseverance.

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A Normal Life

Does God intend for His children to live a normal life? Before that question can be answered, what is a normal life.? People laugh. People weep. People enjoy triumphs and work through trials. People see God move powerfully and then go through dry spells when it seems God is silent but not absent. They love and they have their hearts broken. They celebrate life and grieve over death.

Does the normal life look like a family with wonderful kids, a nice home, fulfilling work, plenty of money in the bank, and engagement in a meaningful body of Christ? Does a normal life mean great health, a shiny new car, fashionable clothing, a manicured lawn, and the nicest and latest gadgets? Does the normal life look like, on the other hand, living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep ahead and manage the household, labor to keep running the rat race, chasing kids from event to event, and not having meaningful involvement at any church.

Does the normal Christian life look like the two young married couples who recently forsook the American dream to pursue God's dream for ministry in drug cartel invested Columbia? Or does it look like the upwardly mobile young couple on the fast track to success. What does the normal life look like for a believer?

When I read about the lives of the apostles and Paul they certainly did not live the life of luxury and ease. They suffered. They sacrificed. They served. They seldom settled in any one location for very long. Most of them did not enjoy their retirement years. Most of them did not even reach retirement age.

Paul wrote so much powerful truth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is what he wrote as his normal life in Acts 20:24. 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. 

What is normal? That we not count our live dear to ourselves. We live just the opposite in this age. Our lives of inflated importance and self gratification are of paramount importance to us. What matters most and should be most important is to follow the course God has set for us. We hoist our sails to catch God's wind and allow Him to blow us where He wills.

That includes when and whom to marry or if to marry. That includes where to live and where to serve Him in a local body of believers. That includes what profession we choose. That also includes what ministry He gives us. Some teach Sunday School. Some use their gift of hospitality to welcome newcomers. Others use their gift of mercy to minister to suffering people in the flock. Some organize. Some have a passion for missions and work tirelessly to raise money and send volunteers. Some are called to preach and others to preach in evangelistic crusades. All are to have a ministry.

What should be normal for the Christian is that you have received and are exercising your ministry where God planted you. And part of that ministry for all of us will be constantly testifying of the grace of God. We are to do it in our natural course of life with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. That is supposed to be the normal life.

Following Jesus is New Testament normal. Walking by fearless faith is New Testament normal. Being bold in the faith is New Testament normal. Living as a bond-servant to Christ is New Testament normal. Laying everything down to follow the call of Jesus is New Testament normal. That is the normal I pray we all long for.

God Are You Really Sending Me To Kermit?

"What are you dong Lord?" is a prayer I am offering constantly these days. The dreams related to Kermit, TX have not stopped. In fact, I've had two more in the past few days. Here they are.

In the first dream I walk into an old room (it feels like a store front) located in the downtown area of Kermit. There are people off to the side praying and they are unaware that I am there. In the back of the room I see a small stage with a pulpit. There is a pillar of fire coming down from the ceiling behind the pulpit. I walk up to stand in the pillar of fire and instantly the scene changes. Where as before the place was dark and empty suddenly it changes to a room brilliantly lit up filled with people. There are people packed in the room seated in chairs and many are at the front near the stage on their faces. I come down off the stage and start praying for people. My shirt gets soaked with perspiration from praying with all the people. I look up to see the fire of God spreading through all the people and out the back door. Next, I hear a clear message. Go to Kermit. Deliver my people from bondage."

I was reminded of Matt 9:36-38 "But when He saw the multitudes,He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep with no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"

I was also reminded of Ex 3:1-12, especially verses 7-12. Out of that reading I am even more convinced that God has something for me to do in Kermit though I do not know one soul in that town.

I had another dream today. In this dream I see a trail of fire going down the highway all the way to Kermit. I follow it there. Once in Kermit I go to a park and sit at a picnic table and begin to pray. Suddenly the wind picks up and the tree branches begin swirling. I find refuge in the old building on Main Street I saw in my first dream. The building is empty. The pillar of fire is still falling from the ceiling. I go to the front of the church and get on my face to pray. When I get up the church is filled with people seated in chairs. I receive a message, "Go to Kermit. I am sending you."

God is not the author of confusion. He is a God of order. For those on the conservative side it is easy to dismiss all of this as foolish deception. I would reply I understand. I also understand when God is moving in me and He is certainly doing that. He has my attention. I am continually in prayer and reading scripture seeking Him.

We had a testimony service scheduled at church yesterday. My mind swirled with trying to make sense out of the dreams and trying to make sense of the possibility of making a trip to Kermit.

We sang a song yesterday with a line that shot through my heart. The line goes, "Spirit lead me where my faith is without borders." I sat in conviction. Could I really sing that. Could I honestly say, "Lord lead me to the places where my faith is so enlarged it is not contained with borders. Lead out of the comfortable places. Lead me to the places where I have no choice but I have to trust You." My flesh wanted to shrink back and dismiss everything related to Kermit. The dreams. The scriptures from Is 6:8 and Acts 16:9. And of course the scripture from Exodus 3.

Then the testimonies began in the service. God stopped me in my tracks when a man stood up and in his testimony talked about Exodus 3. Of every single scripture in the whole Bible he used Exodus 3. Why that passage on that given day at that given moment when I wrestled with faith steps and steps toward comfort and security.

I HAVE TO GO TO KERMIT! I am mandated by God to go there. I am not sure why? Like Moses I have already made some excuses and God's reply has been the same one He gave to Moses, "I will be with you. I AM that I AM has sent you." I do not know what it all means. I do not know where it will lead. I only know this week I will get in my truck and drive to West Texas. I will pray. I will meet with a few people. I will listen to the Lord. I will wait on Him.

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Lord, What Are You Doing?

It is 4:00 a.m. and I have been up for the last hour crying out to God. Much of that praying has revolved around these points. "Lord, please show me what You are doing. Lord, I ask for the courageous faith to get in on what You are doing. Lord, I ask You to show me the heart of people and let me see them as you see them. "

My head is swimming and has been for the past 48 hours. Though I have attended football games and even helped coach a game my mind is elsewhere on what God is doing in me, around me, and prayerfully what He will do through me. Things like ball games have taken on less importance for me even though I have sons playing on four different teams. Football has always been a big part of my life and a passion.

God is stirring a greater passion in my soul. A passion for Him. A passion for genuine revival. Not the kind we bookend with starting dates and ending dates. Trying to plan and control the fresh outpouring of God in a church or community would be like trying to dam the mighty Mississippi River. True revival cannot be contained or controlled.

What is God doing around me? For over a year He has been giving me dreams. Very vivid and detailed dreams. All of the dreams have come after times of prayer. They all have a common theme. Prayer that leads me to preaching with greater anointing, and revival that spreads in the hearts of people. A year ago, a lady asked me to join her in praying for Kermit, TX. I agreed to do so but soon forgot all about Kermit, TX until last week. Through two dreams Kermit, TX has been on the forefront of my mind and heart. Those dreams and what has transpired afterward are much of the reason why my head is swimming and I can't sleep as I cry out to God. God, what are You doing?

The older I get the less interested I am in going off on tangents following my foolish dreams. Sadly I have wasted many years of living and ministry asking God to bless things I did. I do not want to take a step to do anything that He does not will or initiate. So when I pray, "Lord what are You doing? Show me what You are doing so I can get in on it," that is paramount in my desire and determination. I do not want to waste another minute of my life chasing after things God did not initiate.

As I sit here this morning, I cannot deny God took the initiative to place Kermit, TX on my heart and mind. I DO NOT KNOW WHY! I have more questions than answers. WHY ME? GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN ME? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN KERMIT? WHAT CONNECTION CAN ANY OF THAT HAVE? ARE YOU CALLING ME TO GO PREACH A REVIVAL THERE? ARE YOU UP TO SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT?

Kermit is a small West Texas town of 5,800 people. There are three Baptist churches, a Pentecostal church, a Methodist Church, and a Church of Christ. I am sure there is also a Catholic church as well but I did not see that listed on the internet. The town is made up of about 58% Hispanic, well over 35% anglos, and the rest a mixture of others. The income level is slightly less than the sate average. The town is located about 45 miles from Odessa.

I don't have any clue what God is doing there. Why did God lay Kermit on my friend's heart in Seminole, TX? Why did she feel prompted to ask me to join her in prayer for that town a year ago? Why did I have two very viivid dreams where Kermit played such a prominent role in them? Why did a lady from Kermit read my blog about those dreams? How did she or anyone from that town even find that blog? Why have over 500 people read that one blog to date? Why did that one lady read the blog and make the effort to track down my phone number? Why did she go the extra mile and call a complete stranger to talk to me about what she has been praying for over the past three years?

In all of this I can only sit back in prayer, no matter the hour of the day or night, and fervently ask, Lord what are You doing? Please reveal that to me and give me the courageous faith to join You and get in on it. In Jesus name, amen. 

PRAYERS FOR KERMIT

There has been a new Facebook page created titled PRAYERS FOR KERMIT. I want to encourage you to visit that page and like it. I also want to encourage you to write out your own prayers for that community God has so recently laid on my heart and post them on that page.

Oct 25th there will be a prayer meeting in Kermit, TX. Lord willing I plan on attending that prayer meeting to discern what the Lord is up to.

You may be in the same boat I'm in. I have no connection to Kermit, TX other than two dreams and God's pretty clear confirmation He is up to something. I don't know why the Lord has chosen to involve me. My response is to pray, "Lord show me where You are working and what You are doing and then let me join You in that activity."

I have also begun praying that God would open the eyes of the people in Kermit to see and discern what God is doing. Please post your prayers for Kermit, TX.

God Shows Up

We pray. We read scripture. We listen for God's voice. We watch what God is doing in our surrounding circumstances. We seek His will. Days, weeks, months, and at times years can pass without much of a breakthrough. Then suddenly God shows up. God may show up when we are close to losing heart and hope. He still shows up.

He clears away the fog. He opens spiritually blinded eyes He peels back the curtain on His will and His purposes. He shows up in ways we could never fathom. I am drawn to [Eph 3:20]. "Now to Him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever amen."

He shows up in miraculous fashion. He shows up in the hospital room for the sick patient and the caretaker. He shows up at the side of the casket for the grieving. He shows up for the heavy laden giving them rest. He shows up for the desperate person who prays and prays looking for answers. He shows up for the person living in a spiritual desert offering an oasis of His love and presence.

Today, God showed up in my life in a dramatic way. I recently posted about some dreams I had concerning Kermit, TX. Yesterday, I prayed for God to confirm His leadership in this area. He showed up and did so in an undeniable way. I had a missed call from someone in West Texas this morning after a meeting. The person left a message.

When I listened to the message in the parking lot of McDonalds I sat dumbfounded. Stunned. Bewildered. A lady from Kermit, TX read my blog. Somebody saw it and shared it with her. She diid more than read it. She took the next step to make contact with me not knowing she was an answer to my prayer. She contacted FBC Seminole to track down my number and stepped out in faith to call me.

I returned her call and learned she has been praying for three years. She was born and raised in Kermit. She moved away for awhile and then moved back. She also had a dream about some ministry God put in her heart. I asked her a question that has been foremost on my mind. I asked if she was like the person in Acts 16:9 Paul saw in the vision asking for help. She said, "Yes." God showed up for her and God showed up for me.

I am comforted knowing I did not make these dreams up and God is definitely up to something. He is showing up for all of us. Beyond what I could have thought or dreamed God confirmed He is at work. We will continue to trust Him to show up each step.

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Are You Willing To Risk Appearing The Fool To The World

I love the book of Isaiah. There are so many powerful and wonderful truths contained in that book. I love, love, love Is 6:8 and the passionate prayer of Isaiah to be sent by God. I also love Isaiah 40:31, Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint. 

The Lord has used [Is 41:10] to comfort and encourage me numerous times. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God, I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

There are numerous other passages God has used at one time or another to guide me. Is 42:8-9, Is 43:2, Is 43:18-19, Is 55:8-9, and  Is 62:6-7 just to name a few. What a masterful prophet. God has used this book to minister to many over the centuries.

Isaiah loved God and wanted to obey Him. That is my heart as well. I want to obey God and follow by faith. I want God to be glorified.

Am I willing to appear looking like a fool to other Christians and a lost world in my obedience to His leadership? That subject dominated much of my praying this morning. I thought I had weighed the odds and settled on the life of obeying God by faith and then I read Is 20:2-3. Nothing could have prepared me for that level of faith and obedience this morning. Read it for yourself. During that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, "Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet," and he did so, going naked and barefoot  - the Lord said, "As My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush.

Talking about risking looking the fool. For THREE YEARS ISAIAH WENT AROUND UNCLOTHED BECAUSE THE LORD TOLD HIM TO. We would have made excuses. We would rationalize such behavior is not socially acceptable or even legal. We would dearly cling to our reputations. Isaiah simply obeyed God's instructions by faith. He risked ridicule not for a few days but for three years. Surely people joked about him. Surely their were rumors and people labeled Isaiah a complete fool. Yet he obeyed God.

In 2003 I obeyed God in what I felt to be a clear leading from Him to trust Him for financial provision without getting a job or telling people our financial needs. The church wer served was tiny and the offerings were low. We lived that way for 18 months. We were tested repeatedly. Their were gossips and many people whispered behind our backs that I was a fool. Most doubted I had heard clearly from God. The end result. A book I wrote titled, Behold The Faithfulness Of God, filled with testimony after testimony of how God provided in answer to prayer. My God came through over and over again for a year and a half with our family having no guaranteed salary. Yes we looked a fool but God got the last word and glorified His name through faith obedience.

In 2008 I once again looked like a fool in obedience to the Lord. I gave away my truck with out the means to get another vehicle. Again people gossiped. I walked to church for awhile. I drove the church van until the Lord instructed me not to even do that. Many offered to let us burrow a vehicle but the Lord hindered me from accepting those offers. Seven months went by before the Lord made provision. The truck I drive to this day came as a result of our stepping out on faith and appearing a fool.

July 24, 2011 I once again appeared a fool to fellow Christians and a watching world when I left the comfort, security, and blessing of serving as pastor to FBC Seminole. I gave up the largest salary I have ever known as a pastor to start a church. When I drove out of West Texas I drove away from security toward risk not even knowing if the new church would be able to pay me anything. When I did learn they would pay me, the salary proved 60% less than what I made in Seminole. Brenda and I determined upfront we would not tell people our financial needs. When we have been in need, which has been often, we have taken those matters to the Lord. Time and space do not allow me to recount all that God has done in providing for our needs. Time and time again God has used someone to meet a specific need at just the right time like car repairs, home repairs, clothing for the boys, paying for youth camp,   a supply of a freezer full of beef, helping with Taylor going to college and even a vacation. We have been humbled and also appeared the fool to many people. We still obeyed God. God has always come through for us.

Just because we have taken faith steps in the past does not mean we get to coast into our retirement years on easy street. Quite to the contrary. God continues to instruct me to risk looking a fool in obedience to Him. I will question what if God does not come through? What if I did not hear Him clearly? What will happen if I give up the safe and secure road for the risky road of rigorous faith? What about what people will say? What if I fail?

Isaiah obeyed God and looked like a fool doing so. Should I expect any less. I can thank God He has never called me to go unclothed as a sign to this nation. He has asked me to unclothe my dignity repeatedly as I obeyed Him. I have often been humiliated. I have wanted to hide in total embarrassment from those who saw my faith obedience as foolishness.

What about you? Do you hold to your reputation more than obedience? Do you truly have faith to obey? Is your trust in God only theory or are you willing to put it into tangible action today? Will you too risk appearing a fool to this world in your obedience? D you really believe God, who assures us He will never leave us or forsake us, will ctually come through for you? Are you willing to appear a fool so God can be more greatly glorified? If you cannot say yes to those things I submit you have a faith in God that is not real. Faith is not real until you have stepped out with God and will most assuredly crash and burn unless He comes to your aid.

Yes, it is true. Many times I have appeared the fool to those watching. Many have scratched their heads in bewilderment at some of my exploits. True, there have been some times when I have gotten it wrong. Yet, down deep I know God is pleased because without faith it is impossible to please Him. [Heb 11:6] I have appeared the fool in the past and am assured I will appear that way again in the very near future. May God strengthen my faith to obey no matter what He calls me to do. Will you do the same?

I recently came across some resolutions I wrote down for my life years ago. Here is one of them. I resolve to sprint toward risk by faith when God instructs me to do so and leap in trust everytime until my last day and my last breath? I challenge you to do the same.

Go and Come to Kermit

For well over a year I have been having a series of dreams that all seem somewhat related. They have to do with prayer, fresh anointing from God for me to preach and revival.

Well over a year ago a precious saint from Seminole asked me to join her in praying for the town of Kermit, TX. She said the town needed a fresh touch from God. I prayed with her for some time but eventually the burden lifted and Kermit, TX never crossed my mind again until this week.

i had the first of two dreams that drew my attention back to Kermit, TX. I do not know one person in Kermit. I have been there to watch one of my sons play football and I drove through there on my way to another town once.

In the first dream I see an older man sitting in my dinng room dressed in a brown hooded cloak. Somehow I know this man is a prophet. He never says a word but walks to my home office. I follow. In my office he motions for me to kneel down and when I do he lays hands on me. I am consumed with fresh fire from God. When I look up the prophet is gone. I get up to sit at my desk and notice a map laid out. Two towns stand out in bold print and larger print than every other town. The first town is Springtown. The second town is Kermit.

I thought that to be a strange dream. I called my sister who had first asked me to pray for Kermit. Her burden for that town remains. She seemed excited that something had been awakened in my heart concerning Kermit, TX.

Yesterday, I had another dream. All of my dreams come after seasons of prayer. In this dream I saw myself preaching through a megaphone. Before me were dozens of people on their faces in tears and repentance at the altar. Then I see a green city limit sign that reads, "Kermit." Next, two short messages come to me. "Go to Kermit." "Come to Kermit." The dream ends there.

For about a year two different verses have surfaced repeatedly. Isaiah 6:8, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Who can I send and who will go for Me?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me.'" The second verse is Acts 16:9. "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; a certain man of Macedonia, was standing and appealing to him, and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'"

For a year I have been asking God where He wanted to send me. For a year I have been asking God to send us help at Faith Community Church. In the two phrases in my dream things seemed to make sense. "Go to Kermit." "Come to Kermit." It would seem that God is calling me to go to Kermit for a Shake The City Revival. I do not feel called to pastor a church there or to relocate my family there. I believe somebody in Kermit, TX has been praying for God to send help. For some strange reason I believe I am the answer to that prayer.

The burden on my heart for revival intensifies. I seldom sleep through the night awaking to seek God. All through the day my heart cries out for God to revive this nation.

God birthed Shake the City Revivals in me many years ago when I worked as a full time evangelist. We held two of them in East Texas. One we held in the Hudson community under a tent until we were rained out. The second we held on the campus of Angelina College in the Baptist Student Ministry building.

While in Seminole we held another Shake the City Revival at FBC. We prayed. We fasted. We prepared our hearts for a fresh visitation from God. We scheduled the meetings to last for ten days. God had other things in mind. The meetings lasted 23 straight days. They were glorious meetings with God's visitation among us. Like the song we sing, "Heaven came down and glory filled my soul." Three dozen people were saved and followed in baptism. People repented of sin and were cleansed. Worship in song filled our souls with the glory of Heaven. The anthem of that revival was a little song called, "I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN." If you are interested in reading more about that revival I blogged about each of those 23 days while they were happening. Go to July of 2010 and you should find them atwww.nocompromisefbc.blogspot.com.

Now it appears God is calling me on that sacred revival assignment again. I do not have a time or any logistics. I only have what I believe is an invitation from God and He has my "yes." [Matt 16:24] Please pray with me for the Lord to clearly show us what He is up to. I also ask for HIs favor as I begin to make contact with some of the spiritual leaders in Kermit. If this is where God is at work I am willing to join Him.

Today We Live

I sat at lunch with a grieving husband walking the painful path of watching his wife battle a terminal illness. I did not minister to him rather he ministered to me. Words of wisdom poured from his mouth and into my soul.

His wife recently told him that she felt like she was dying. He responded that she is indeed dying but not that day. That day they were still living and were going to live like they were living.

What does that mean you might ask? This special lady is indeed dying. She has less than a year left to live unless God chooses to do a miracle. She could spend her last months giving up and acting as if she were already dead. The husband could mope around in depression and act like his wife had already departed. Instead they are trying to make the most of the time they have left.

Over lunch he told me, "We have had a good run. We have been given far better than we deserve. We love each other and have told each other that everyday. Our kids love and serve God. It has been a good run."

How many of us take life for granted. How many married couples do not take the time to lovingly gaze in one another's eyes and say, "I love you. After all these years I still love you." How often do we take for granted a spouse reaching out for our hand or lovingly patting us on the back. How often do we hurriedly wolf down meals together without exchanging meaningful conversation.

How often do we take the time to lovingly hug our kids and tell them we love them and are proud of them. We rush about the rat race of life and then one day look up and the kids are grown and out of the house. With deep regret only then do we wonder where did the time go.

We work and work for years saving and scrimping hoping to have enough money at the end. Do we really take the time to enjoy the life we are already living. Do we have the wisdom to enjoy today because tomorrow is not promised.

My friend told me three months ago on a Thursday he and his wife were fine. They had great plans for the future. By the end of that Thursday their entire world was turned upside down when the doctors diagnosed his wife with this terminal condition. Everybody has a Thursday like that at some point in their lives. A moment with the brevity of life comes crashing through all our false sense of security and notions of immortality.

I got up this morning early and let the dog out. I walked with her outside. I am living today. I do not take for granted that I can walk. The day could come when I may not be able to walk on my own. Last night I slept next to Brenda, whom I have slept next to for the past 23 years. Often in the night we both reach out to touch one another. A loving hand on the bak, a gentle rub of the shoulder, or at times we interlock our fingers and hold hands while we sleep. Today I am living and enjoying the woman God has given me to share life with. We are both getting older and our bodes are aging but we are still LIVING!

In a couple of hours the five of us Edwards will go to our semi-annual dentist appointment. It will be a long morning of scraping, cleaning, and getting a check up for the five of us. Taylor will have to get his done on a break from college. Today I will live. The five of us will get to spend some time together granted, it will be at a dentist office. Afterward, we will eat together. I will treasure those moments as if they were in slow motion capturing each minute with snapshots in my heart. Today I will live.

I will enjoy the food savoring each bite. I will take in the different flavors and listen to my family talk. I will live. I will look at the trees, grass, the sky and be reminded of a God greater than me created those things. I will worship Him today in prayer and Bible meditation. I will give God thanks for this day and the gift of life afforded to me. I will try not to take rings for granted like my chair I am writing this on. I choose to feel the fabric and enjoy the cushion against my back. Today I live.

I will find time to laugh with family and friends. I will take time to remember those suffering all around me and not take this gift of life for granted. Today I will live. I will remember the widows and widowers who would give anything for one more kiss, one more time to eat a meal with their departed, or to hold hands one more time on a stroll. I will remember those who can no longer be active but are homebound. I will not take my mobility for granted. Today I choose to live.

Today, as I live, I give God thanks for eyesight that allows me to see what I am writing and to read His word and other good books. We are all dying but are we all really living. I choose to thank God for the ability to breathe, to think and reason. I thank God for the cool air of the ceiling fans blowing down on me. I thank God for the living room I sit in and for the fire place soon to offering warmth on cold nights. Today I live.

My friend ate lunch and offered wise words of counsel in our time together. He has just finished reading through the book of Ecclesiastes. He told me toward the end of our time together that at the end life comes down to relationships. Our relationship with God. Our relationship with our spouse, children and other family. Our relationships with friends.

Today we live. We breathe. We eat. We love. We laugh. We cry. We work. We clean. We sleep. All of those things are a part of living. Today we live.

"Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. Lord - how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days." [Ps 90:12-14]

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We Need A Simple And A Pure Church

I bless God for creating the church. Church has played a major role in my life for the past three decades. I owe a debt of gratitude to the great people at Denman Avenue Baptist Church back in Lufkin, TX I can never repay. Eli Bernard firsr clearly shared the gospel message with me one on one as the youth minister of that church. God used his influence to steer me to go to Howard Payne University where I met Brenda and now have a son attending school there. God used Charles Roberts to disciple me and give me ministry opportunities. God used Kevin Roy and Keith Nash to encourage me in the tough times. God used many of the members to partner with me in furthering my education as well as ministry ventures.

Denman Avenue is still my home church but over the years we have served some other wonderful churches. We have fallen in love with some wonderful people all over the state of Texas. Those people are like family to us. They know who they are.

Yet this morning, as I contemplate the church, I am reminded of how simple the church was in the book of Acts. No buildings. No budgets. No programs to prop up with money and volunteers. A simple group of ordinary men proclaiming the simple but powerfully life changing message that Jesus saves!

We make church complicated. It has become a complex corporate structure often big on the business end short on the ministry end sometimes. People often attend worship services with other people they do not like,.They listen to a preacher they cannot stand. They refuse to sing songs they despise. Sadly and resolutely they refuse to give their time or financial treasure to support the ministry of the church in anyway.

These same people often manipulate others to gain control in power moves. What exactly they hope to control is beyond me. Usually it has to do with buildings and the money. Those two things have never meant that much to me. I mean we worship in a rented warehouse. Nothing to get all worked up over there.Who wants to control a drafty and dusty warehouse. I thank God for His provision to get paid and we as a church have a place to meet. We don't have much money so there is no need to try and control what we do not have.

Brenda and I were driving home from Brownwood last night after going to Taylor's football game. We drove alone, as the other three boys, had commitments that kept them from going with us. We were talking about church when she commented, "I love our church. It is so simple and pure."

Many churches started out that way. Faith Community Church is only three years old. It is pretty easy to keep it simple. Over time other churches that started out simply became entangled in a maze of power structures, multiple committees, and in many churches a committee to appoint people that serve on the other committees. Rules and regulations keep everyone on edge as every "t" has to be crossed and every "i" has to be dotted. The whole thing can be cumbersome at best and ineffective at worst.

Today, I am grateful for a simple church. I am grateful for a small group of believers that will gather later this morning with love for one another. I am grateful for a unified church. Nobody fusses and fights with one another. I am grateful for the freedom to shout, clap, raise my hands, sit down, or kneel in worship if I choose without fear of offending someone. Today, I am thankful that when I stand to preach I will not be on the clock. There are no time restraints. Today, I am thankful that Jesus Christ is the Head of our church and there is no need for power struggles. He is the leader and we all submit to Him. I am grateful that I do not have to endure worship wars over what songs will be sung. We can sing a new song or one written 300 years ago and nobody will complain or sulk. We just sing. I am thankful for the simpleness of the order of the service. We will worship in song, giving, and studying His word. I will stand behind a simple homemade pulpit built by two men in our church before my family came back. That simple pulpit, built with loving hands, has served us well over the past there years studying through books like Mark, Haggai, James, I Thessalonians, and now the book of Acts verse by verse.

Normally some of us will fellowship over a meal afterward. I am grateful that long after the service ends today people with cloister in little groups hugging, talking, and laughing afterwards. I am grateful when I see them gathered together at ball games in the stands. These people do more than go to church together. They share life together. Like the lady I talked to delivering a meal to a family battling a terminal illness. Like the other lady I noticed in the stands ministering to a recent widow because she lost her husband a few years ago before remarrying.

I am thankful for how God has sustained His church over the years. Even when the church has grown complicated God has not abandoned her. Whether you worship in a multi million dollar state of the art worship facility, an older warm sanctuary holding many sentimental feelings, or a rented temporary facility I plead that you will not take your church for granted. Your church is not the buildings but the people. Church is a gift from God. Through your church I pray things will be simplified today in your heart to the point you can have a meaningful encounter with God. Sing with gusto. Listen to the sermon attentively. Walk slowly through the congregation expressing love and offering ministry where needed. Look for those that might need a loving word of encouragement. Make things simple today. Do not get distracted with church business so you miss out on encountering the God who called us to the business of loving Him first and loving others. Don't hold grudges today. Release them to the Lord and live in freedom again. Don't fight over the music. Listen to the words and offer them as a praise offering to God. Give your tithes and offerings joyfully and not begrudgingly today. Choose to make church simple and pure in your heart once again. [Acts 2:42-47]

No Turning Back

No turning back. Jesus never said following Him would lead us down the easy road. In fact, He told us, "If anyone wants to come after Me let Him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." [Matt 16:24] Following Jesus is not easy but it is always right. He also said that once we put our hand to the plow we are not to turn back. No turning back. No turning back to our former lifestyles of sin. No turning back from the hard road that leads to sacrifice, No turning back even when following Jesus leads to a little suffering like those experienced by our brothers and sisters in hostile nations to Christ where persecution and martyrdom are real.

There is to be no turning back when dreams get shattered and hearts get broken. There is to be no turning back when mountains loom and faith gets tested. There is no turning back when grief grips our hearts like a vice and we weep buckets of tears. There is still no turning back as we labor for our last breath and close our eyes one last time this side of eternity and awake in the arms of jesus.

The road of following Jesus is challenging but is also rewarding. Only following Jesus leads us to the abundant life. [John 10:10] Only following Jesus leads us to store up treasure in Heaven. [Matt 6:19-20]

To the pit of hell with giving up, giving in, or giving out, "For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while He who is coming will come and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith and if he shrinks back My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. " [Heb 10:37-39]

God did not put shrinking or turning back in us. O, the devil attacks. The battles are numerous. Trials abound that test our faith to the limit. For the child of God there is no turning back. There is persevering faith to follow forward. Press on dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

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My Friend

31 years ago I met a friend who's impact on my life has been immeasurable. He befriended me at a time when I suffered from poor self esteem. I was not an easy person to love. Because of suffering many abuses I lived sullen, angry, and pushed people away.

My friend loved me anyway. He was always there when I needed to vent. When the pressures of keeping up grades in high school, performing on the football field, and trying to choose a college overwhelmed me he would often give me sound advice.

Because he accepted me a whole other social circle opened to me. People who had never spoken to me before suddenly accepted me all because of my friend. We hung out together and often they invited me into their homes. Nicer homes than I had ever been in before.

My friend is Jesus Christ. He changed my life. When I met Him 31 years ago I told my family and friends about HIm. Most of them rejected Jesus. Some still do to this day. In two hours I will once again tell people about Jesus as I have bee doing since I fist met Him over three decades ago when I stand up to preach from Acts 4:1-29..

He is my first love. He is my passion. He is my Lord. Jesus is my Master. By His shed blood on the cross I am redeemed, saved, and a brand new creation. Therefore, I boast in Jesus.

A creed did not save me. A denomination did not redeem me. My beloved home church, Denman Avenue Baptist Church, did not rescue me from my sin. ONLY JESUS COULD DO THAT. ALL TO HIM I OWE. ALL TO HIM I SURRENDER. NO OTHER NAME DO I OFFER MY ALLEGIANCE.

God Is With Us In Days Adversity

The adversities in life come to all. They come to the Muslim as well as the Christian. They come to the poor as well as the rich. They come to the educated as well as the uneducated. Adversities in life are no respecter of persons.

They are to be expected. They are to be anticipated. This truth burns in my soul today. God is with us. That truth might not sound exciting or draw a huge following but it is a truth we need reminding in our hearts and minds. We especially need to be reminded of this when the adversity comes and does not go away.

You have your battles. Addiction to sin. Drought. Cancer. Divorce. Poverty. Depression. Death. Adversities and setbacks that can stagger us like a blind side hit from a linebacker we never saw coming. These adversities can take the wind out of our sails if we forget God is with us.

Far too often we fall for the lie of the enemy that in the tough times God has abandoned us. Here is a truth many do not want to here. God often uses adversities to advance His cause and bring greater glory to His name. See Exodus 14 and the miracle of the Red Sea. See John 11 and the miracle of Lazarus. Look also at Acts 16 with the arrest of Paul and Silas and their deliverance. God did not forsake Moses and Israel. Nor did He forsake Mary, Martha or Lazarus. He did not forsake Paul and Silas either.

Behind those dark ominous clouds of confusion and adversity sits a infinitely wise and omnipotent God still in control and still with us. He listens. He comforts. He gives courage. He strengthens to fight on. He lifts burdens. He offers counsel. He nourishes and sustains our souls with His word. He mends broken hearts. He helps rebuild shattered faith. He gives peace and takes away anxiety. He moves mountains. He forgives sin. He delivers from bondage. In these and countless other ways God demonstrates He is always with us.

I sit writing this at my dining table. As I look out my window into the world of my adversity the temptation to fear is arises. I choose faith. God knows my troubles. He knows my pain. He knows my needs. He has not left me alone nor you. He is with us. He is setting the state in my life for Him to work in such marvelous fashion He will once again get to show His greatness and I will behold His faithfulness.

Today I choose to turn my focus onto watching and seeing the ways God shows He is with me. I hope you will do the same. I also take comfort that, while God is with me here, He is also with Brenda at work, Taylor at Howard Payne University, Tanner and Tucker at Paradise High School, and Turner at Paradise Middle School. God is with our extended family in North Richland Hills, Hurst, Lewisville and Flowermound. God is also with my friends in Seminole, Lufkin, Tyler, and Weatherford, Arlington, and beyond.

Therefore, I will not be afraid. [II Tim 1:7] No matter what adversity I face today or tomorrow. No matter what trouble lies ahead for this nation I will not fear. No matter how dark things get I will tenaciously cling to this truth. God is with me and those I love. Be encouraged in your day of adversity.

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God Can Do More

God can do more in a few minutes than all our man made efforts with our modern technology can accomplish in decades or even centuries. We may say we believe this but we do not live like it. We are a defiled and polluted church age. Sin clogs the channels of God's blessings. We strive for success in kingdom ventures. We plan and promote programs that do not live up to the promises. We will try almost anything except prayer and repentance of sin. Those things are out of vogue. Experts tell us there are new methods that will usher in church growth. While attendance may grow in some of these churches I often wonder if we are not adopting a big business and small ministry mentality.

110 years ago one man received a deep burden from God to do more in his church, community, and country. This translated into many sleepless nights of prayer. After a lengthy season of waiting on the Lord God gave this young man a small platform to preach. He preached a very simple four point message to a small crowd of less than two dozen people. God took that message and that man and did more with him. In six months tens of thousands of people were saved across that country. We now know that movement as the 1904 Wales Revival where over 100,000 people were saved and the revival touched the whole world. We remember the preacher as Evan Roberts. GOD DID MORE!

80 plus years ago a group of discouraged pastors and missionaries gathered. They mourned the sad state of the churches they served. They felt like giving up. Several voiced the option of quitting and moving on to new fields of service. Dead churches filled with apathetic members littered the landscape. The saved became entangled in sin and lived in hypocrisy. Things looked dismal. Quitting seemed like the best option.

After hours of defeated thinking one man thought God could do more. He remembered [II Chron 7:14] He called the discouraged pastors and missionaries to pray and repent of sin. They did so for years and in 1932-1933 God broke out in revival all over China. Historically this move of God has been labeled the Shanghai Revival.

God can still do more in our day. [Eph 3:20] declares it so. Will we continue laboring in our own strength with our limited resources or will we repent and ask God to do more. He could do more in one week than our man made methods could accomplish in multiple decades.

I am convinced time is running short. God will not ignore the sin of this nation and the apathy mixed with hypocrisy in His church. I have long prayed and believed God would send one more great revival before the end of the age. Apart from that there is no hope for an impotent church and a sin sick nation.

I once read the story about William Booth's funeral. He founded the Salvation Army. After the burial a man was found in the church at the altar weeping in prayer. He kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. This is what he prayed, "Do it again Lord. Please do it again." He prayerfully pleaded for God to raise another mighty warrior in the faith to take the mantle of William Booth. He asked God to do more again.

In the same way I cry out to God this morning to send another revival like in Wales and in Shanghai. I ask the Lord to do it again. I believe He can do more than we are currently experiencing. He has done it in the past and I am pleading with Him to do it again in the days ahead. Amen and Amen.

Helpless, A Tender Kiss, I Love You, Till Death Do Us Part

The doctor's face looked grim when he walked into the ER examination room late last night dressed in green surgical scrubs. None of us wanted to hear the news he reported. The cancer has not gone away.  The medical treatments to date have not produced the desired result. His report felt like a punch to the gut. I sat there, as a pastor, with a husband and his wife stunned and saddened by the news.

I really had no words of comfort. I have never felt anymore helpless as a pastor than in that moment. They did not need a scripture, a sermon, or some trite thought. They need real hope and a miracle. I was and still am powerless to provide either. God, on the other hand, can do both in larger ways than we can imagine.

After the doctor walked out of the room the husband got up next to his ailing wife and compassionately said, "I love you." With that he bent over and gave her a tender kiss on the lips followed by another one. I sat there silently moved by the whole scene. The phrase, repeatedly spoken in many marriage vows, really hit  home in that moment, "Till death do us part."

I returned home near midnight. When I climbed into bed Brenda had already gone to sleep. I reached out my hand just to touch her. I listened to her breathing thanking God for the gift she has been to my life for the past 23 years. The simple act of touching my wife next to me in bed is a pleasure many would do anything to experience just once more. Their spouses have entered the realm of eternity. There are no longer good morning or good night kisses. They will never again hold hands while strolling down the sidewalk. They will not get to enjoy a leisurely eaten simple meal with some table talk. The only "I love you," spoken now happens in dreams.

In one of their worst moments after decades of marriage that husband ministered to his wife with the words, "I love you," and a tender kiss. I heard in that simple statement, " I will be here to the end come good or bad. I am not giving up on you. I love you just as much today as I did when we stood at the altar on our wedding day. I will treasure every moment I have with you to the very end."

I knew nothing else to do but pray. We prayed but the words sounded hollow. What that family needed I could not give them. I could not comfort them in their sorrow. I could not manufacture hope for a better medical report. I could not give them reassurance that everything would be okay. Those were all things only God can give them.

I sat there afterward, feeling helpless to aid those two I have grown to love over the past few years. My simple child-like prayer lately has repeatedly been, "Lord help them." I will long remember last night and that helpless feeling, that affectionate, "I love you," and that tender kiss.

In The Zone

I got up early on Sunday to pray before preaching. The message content that morning did not especially excite me. I studied and did the expositional labor to unlock the text days before.  I still prayed for fresh anointing and for God to move in our worship service.

Holiday weekend attendance in our church usually mean dismal attendance and Sunday proved to be no exception with Labor Day weekend. At the last moment three young people  came who are headed toward drug infested Columbia to be missionaries in a couple of weeks. They have visited in the past and their simple love or Jesus and passion for serving Him are infectious. They hunger for God and bring energy to a worship service.

Somewhere between the first and long worship songs God began stirring my heart. Though I preached the same passage I studied the message came out much differently. I got into a zone with God that thrilled my soul. I preached things I never planned to say. The passion intensified, the energy level picked up, and God's Spirit moved. Those visiting missionaries told me later over lunch, "There was a different atmosphere today." That is only explainable by giving God all the credit.

I cannot explain it. God brought me into a zone to communicate truth. He inspired me with His thoughts, with His passion, and with His power to deliver a fresh word from Him. I could not go back and preach that sermon again if I wanted to. Much of it I do not even remember. God did it through me.

This has happened to me more times than I can count. There are times when I am actually teaching or preaching where I feel God anointing me and guiding me in what I say. There are time when I think to myself, "Where did that thought come from?" I know the answer before I even ask the question. God gives illumination as well as inspiration. He puts me in a zone with Him where I truly feel I become His spokesman expounding His word. It is a purpose and passion I truly live for. Those are the moments, when no matter what else is going on in my life, I truly feel alive. Those are the moments I am fulfilling my purpose. Those are the moments when I do what He created me to do. Those are the moments when I live in the zone of a spiritual realm between heaven and earth.

I am humbled that God chooses to use me. He gives the illumination. He inspires new thoughts . He provides the revelation of truth. He wells up the passion to preach. He empowers me to deliver His word. He provides the opportunities. It is all Him. Therefore He gets all the glory for the changed lives. May I ever live and preach in God's zone.