Wherever He Leads I'll Go

For decades now God has graciously allowed me to preach to students in some capacity. I am closer to 50 than 45 but God still allows me to connect with students. He allows me to communicate His word to them in a hard hitting way that seems to resonate in their hearts. I take no credit for this. Just the opposite. God does it. God gave me a gift. He changes students' hearts.

Before each time I shared God's word this week, I stood in the back of the room pleading with God to help me, to anoint me, to empower me, and to allow me to connect with students I had never met. I confessed my weakness and inability to do anything without His help. Each day God showed up. 

Each day I watched God take His word and do His work in the impressionable lives of students. Many of them were hungry. They want to hear from God and to serve Him. Many of them feel God calling them to full time ministry and I talked to one girl who feels God is calling her to go to China to be a missionary. She is a junior high student. 

One day the word of God not only penetrated the student's hearts but it also penetrated mine. I preached about laying your life on the altar. from [Rom 12:1]. This is a message very dear to my heart. When I finished I knew I needed to go be alone with God. Ileft the room and found an isolated corner in the back of the building where I sank into a worn blue chair that had seen better days. That chair became my altar. As best as I knew how I laid my own before the Lord as an offering as I have done numerous times before. 

It reminded me of another time I preached [Rom 12:1] in Seminole, TX at a D-Now. Some had expressed interest from that church in talking to me about becoming their pastor and they were without one at the time. I wrestled with that decision all Saturday afternoon and changed the message for that night preaching Romans 12:1. At the end of the message I challenged students to lay down their lives to God on the altar. I exited the stage to my left near the organ and knelt at the steps there. 

This was my prayer. "Lord, if nobody else in this room means it I mean laying my life on your altar. I offer ti to you as a sacrifice to do with me whatever You want. I am giving You my yes. If You are calling me to leave where I am to come pastor this church I will do it."

Five months later my family relocated to west Texas. 

Sitting in that blue chair this wekI offered Jesus my life again. This past week that meant traveling to East Texas Baptist University and teaching God's word twice a day to students. Last night that meant teaching eight young men back in our church a biblical perspective on dating. Today that will mean mowing yards. Sunday that will mean standing in the pulpit of Faith Community Church to preach. Lord willing later this summer I will preach two youth revivals. Down the road I don't know what God will do. 

He cals all of us to follow Him. It does not matter what the task is. it does not matter how difficult the assignment. It does not matter the amount of sacrifice required. It does not even matter the risk involved. We are all called to lay our lives down on the altar of God. [Rom 12:1] We are all called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. [Matt 16:24]

I am thinking of an old hymn today. "Wherever He leads I'll go. Wherever He leads I'll go. I will follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever He leads I'll go." How about you? Will you lay your life on God's altar for His purposes? Will you follow Him?