I Believe

These are things I believe by faith. God's silence does not mean His absence. His delays do not mean He doesn't care but is the perfect expression of His best for us. Unanswered prayers do not always indicate a lack of faith but the expression of God's perfect will because He knows what we need better than we do. His strength is perfected in our weaknesses. His mercies are new everyday and great is His faithfulness.

Faithful Pastors

Paul boldly proclaimed the gospel. He fearlessly went into hostile environments to point people to Jesus. He brilliantly debated with skeptics and won many of them over. He worked tirelessly at preaching, evangelism, church planting and writing. What may surprise many of us is how much he loved the people in the churches he planted. Let me give you just a few examples from the Thessalonica church. "We proved to be gentle among you like a nursing mother tenderly cares for her children." [I Thess 2:7] "Having so fond an affection" "well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives" "You had become very dear to us" [I Thess 2:8]

This pastor loved the flock entrusted to Him. Many pastors preach the word. Some do so in anger scorning the very people they are supposed to serve. Some do so professionally and mechanically not caring about the spiritual well being of the flock. They preach out of duty. Many pastors use their leadership position to manipulate people to accomplish their agenda. People are used as stepping stones to achieve and objective.

Then their are true shepherds who not only impart the gospel but give their very lives to the people they serve. They love intensely. They rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. They are well pleased to give their lives. These pastor's fates are bound with the fates of their flock. For these pastors their joy, crown and exultation is their flock in the presence of Jesus one day. [I Thess 2:19] I salute all true shepherds who love their Lord and flocks more than their own glory or ministerial success. I thank God for a faithful pastor in Charles Roberts and a youth pastor in Eli Bernard who loved me and imparted their lives to me. Thank you God for faithful shepherds no matter what the size of the church.

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Lessons From Psalm 119

Most people know that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. A lot of people know that the chapter has 176 verses in it. Most know the subject of the chapter is the cherishing and valuing of God's word. People have memorized many verses from this chapter.

Do you know what verse 176 says? It surprised me to read it today. In that verse the Psalmist confesses that he strayed from God like a lost sheep. It shocked me to read that after reading a whole chapter about how much he valued the law of God and thought it more valuable than gold or silver and sweeter than honey he still wandered away from God. He strayed, was seduced, and tempted away from God. As I backtracked I noticed how many times he prayed that God would revive him in the word. He even shed tears over the fact that he was not living up to the law of God.

I too have wandered away from God and stood in need of a personal revival. I too have sinned and not lived up to the law of God. I too have been broken over my sin to the point of tears. I am thankful that a loving Shepherd God continually seeks me diligently. God thank you for lessons from Psalm 119.

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Summertime Sweat

Summer time in Texas means sweat. Summer time for the Edwards household means a twelve year tradition of summer workouts. They originally started with me spending a little time with the boys each day getting in some physical exercise instead of watching them just sit around all summer. As they grew older the workouts evolved depending on what sports they were interested in.

This summer we are getting one ready to play in college, two to play in high school, and the youngest to play in his last year of peewee football. Hard to believe. We push weights, run, sling sledge hammers, do agility drills, push sleds, flip tractor tires, and do other work. We drink lots of fluids and it seems sweat it all out. Most days our clothing is drenched at the end of the work outs from sweat.

I cannot say I always enjoy the workouts. At close to 48 years old  my body does not respond or recover from the extreme work as quickly as it used to. My knees and other joints ache at times. I am unable to do things I did back in my younger days but I still show up and do what I can. I sweat right along with them.

I am thankful for the memories I get to make with the boys. They have learned what it means to work hard not only in physical exercise but also when they have to work for money also. I hope they are learning lifelong habits of physical fitness.

The weather forecast calls for triple digit temperatures over the next week. More heat and more sweat. This is all preparation. For them they are getting ready for two a day football practices. For me I'm learning lessons of endurance in life and ministry. I learn how to push my body and my mind beyond what I think I can do. This serves to remind me that I can trust God through adversity and do more than I think I can.

Sometimes the sweat we drop is the result of hard exertion. It is the result of pushing muscles to fatigue. It is the result of expanding our lungs through running. All of this to prepare us for something.

Some reading this are in the middle of the blistering heat of their circumstances. Those who endure better are those that sweat in their souls through prayer and Bible study and meditation. Those things produce spiritual endurance and combat faith fatigue. It is not easy to keep trusting and to keep showing up for service. It is not easy to stay the course when the winds of adversity blow against us. It is not easy to endure the summer times in our lives. One thing we know for sure. Summer eventually gives way to fall and fall to winter and winter to spring. The seasons do not last but eventually change. So do the summer time of our circumstances.

Hitting The Curve

Most of us are creatures of habit. We wake up at the same time. We typically eat the same things. We wear the same kind of clothes. We travel the same routes and keep the same routines. Life has a rhythm like that. We get in the groove in our familiar routines. We get in a comfort zone and know what is expected of us. We learn how to perform at optimum levels.

We get married. We have kids. We pursue our careers. We buy houses, go to ball games, celebrate birthdays, and make holiday memories.

Some of us even get pretty good. We are like a batter in the batting cage before a ball game hitting moderate fastballs. You find your timing and make solid contact time and again.

Yet in the game the pitcher is trained to throw the batter off guard with off speed pitches and breaking balls like the curve. Many a hitter has been fooled by the curve ball and swung helplessly missing the ball.

Life can be like that. You are enjoying your routines and then suddenly you are thrown a curve ball. An aging parent has an accident causing every part of your life to be thrown into upheaval. You find yourself scrambling after a home repair surfaces unexpectedly. Curve balls in life come in the form of kids getting sick necessitating changes in schedules. Curve balls sometimes are more life and death serious.

Why are we lulled to sleep in life not expecting curve balls. They come. We often see them from a distance impacting others but we think we are immune. This is not the case. Sooner or later in life we all face adversity. I talked with a widow once who told me her mother in law asked why a tragedy had to happen to their family. The grieving wife responded saying, "Why not us? We are no different or better than anyone else." So very true.

Tragedies happen. Pain arises. Health fails. Curve balls come. If you have trained yourself to hit the curve ball you learn how to face these adversities in faith. [Rom 12:12] You learn to lean on God to help you.[Ps 46:1] You learn how to adjust your routine. [Ps 119:105] You read the Bible with a new intensity and tenaciously cling to helpful truths found there. [Ps 119: 165] You pray with more fervency. [James 5:16] You gain new strength to endure more than you ever imagined you could. [Eph 3:20] You hit the curve ball.

As you go to bed tonight or wake in the morning expect some curve balls to come. Tomorrow may be another day in the batting cage enjoying the familiar and predictable. Keep looking for the curve ball. Sooner or later one or more will be thrown in your direction. With God's strength you can hit it in the sweet spot.

Keeping Your Way Pure

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. [Ps 119:9]

The battle for purity is difficult. Temptations abound. Sexual sin is rampant. Lying is common place. Violence is everywhere. There are so many pitfalls to avoid, so many snares to hurdle, and so many luring and seductive pleasures to flee like drink, drugs, and sex.

How is a young man or young woman supposed to navigate these treacherous waters without shipwrecking their faith? Television, the internet, and Netflix are formidable foes. Skimpy skirts and predator guys abound. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and many times we never see what hit us when we sin.

If you really want to keep your way pure, holy, and righteous the way to do so is according to the word. Verse 11 of the same chapter states, Your word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against You. As we read, study, meditate, memorize, and apply the scripture to our lives we can traverse the path of purity. If we keep the scriptures as a high priority in our lives and the standard for how to live and make decisions we can remain holy by God's supernatural enabling.

God's church is blemished because of the hypocrisy that abounds. It is easy to sing "Blessed Be The Name" or "Blessed Assurance" at church and then curse like a sailor at home, work, school, and the locker room. If you watch and listen to profanity it will infiltrate your thoughts and eventually roll off the tongue. Avoid every appearance of evil the Bible commands. We can preach True Love Waits but too many young men and young men are not keeping their zippers zipped and their skirts down. The church is stained with sin. The path to purity is the path of taking major doses of scriptural medicine accompanied by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

One summer in college I spent the summer working construction and worked eight hours a day six days a week among some very savory characters. I heard every form of profanity imaginable and before the summer ended those vile words had lodged in my mind. Though I did not say them I certainly did think them. When I became frustrated I would think horrible words and thoughts.

That happens all over the church. The only way to combat this is to fill our hearts and minds with more truth from the Bible. When we keep our focus there, draw our strength from there, and practice what we read we can live pure lives. Will you take the path of least resistance and give into sin or will fight for purity. Saturate your mind and heart with truth from God's word.

Pay Your Vows

Many vows are made to God as a bargaining chip to get what we want. We promise God we will do this, give that, or go there in an effort to get what we want. Many times the vows are just as quickly forgotten as they were when made.

Today God is calling due vows made to Him in earnest or haste. [Ps 116:14] "I shall pay the vows I made to the Lord and Oh may it be in the presence of all His people."

What vows have you made to the Lord.?Maybe they were made years ago. You may have even forgotten the vows until this moment. God is calling them due. Repentance is in order. Obedience is required.

Pay your vows. Give God what you promised. Follow through. Finish the task. Complete the calling. No more excuses. No more rationalizing disobedience. Do what you said you would do. Keep your promise. Pay your vows.