Me at 3:30 pm....It's tame.

It is 3:30am on a Friday morning in the heart of Talladega AL. I woke up from a great slumber ready to begin my day and my body not realizing that we had 180 minutes of time left before we need to get up. As I laid in bed,contemplating why in the world can I go back to sleep? I remember those college days when I would ask the Lord to wake me in the middle of the night for prayer. He did on several times. I begin to stare at the ceiling praying for folks. I began to pray for folks who have a problem with me and I don't know why. I want to keep the bond of peace in every thing I do as the bible calls us to do. Some of these are hurt because of good decisions I have made with the Gospel instead of my personal preference. It is deep inside all of us to want to be loved and liked by all. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not to hate people but to love them, however my love for Christ can be so great that it seems like love. Some have left the church I pastor and I have no understanding of why they left. I have overwhelming desire to keep loving them. To keep loving them because I will spend eternity with them and we will be heartbroken at the time we were "mad" at one another in the short time on this dirt ball. PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE YOU...Check..prayed for.
Next came the lost people. I found myself desperately pleading for God to some thing supernatural in the lives of a man who sister goes to my church. Every time I see him, there is a pain in his eyes. I am building a relationship with him, but there are times when I just want to grab him and say "Jesus knows your pain and want it." I pray for the family across the street from my house. The Lord is doing a work and we have seen people saved. I want the rest of the family to come know the Lord.
Then, I thank God. I thank God for Tommy Challender who is getting better everyday. I pray for Mr. McCormack who has to be the sweetest man I know. I thank God for Gene Bolding who died last week and is now seeing the face of the Lord. I thank God for members of my church who love the Lord and will do any thing for Him. I thank God for fellowship with other pastors who are far better men of the Lord than I will ever be. I thank him for my salvation. Well, this is me at 3:49 now. Praising the Lord and wanting to surrender more of my life to HIM.

Oh yeah, my dream before I woke..I went deer hunting and saw some big deer and my gun would not shoot every time. I have had this dream more than once. Well, at least, the deer hunting and not being able to shoot. Any dream interpreters? I think I should give up hunting and work on my golf game.

New Appreciation!

I am writing our VBS curriculum this year. After much prayer and consideration, I leaned toward the Life of Paul. Title: Journey Themee: YOu have a journey, because God has a plan. (Jeremiah 29:11) After much studying and looking over passages I have a new appreciation for Paul. A man (like you and me) led by God through beatings, stonings, imprisonment, shipwrecked and finally killed for his faith. How great his impact upon the world! To keep going through trials aand press on ti tell people to hang in there and to love God and even love the people that hate them. I have people leave my church and it breaks my heart. None of my members have never thrown rocks at me. Press on. We share our faith and get blasted terribly for it. Press on. If we are looking for revival in our churches, cities, and our nation, we have to be willing to "press on" through the trials.

GOD BLESS

I AM A COWARD!

Lately,I have just really been in self evaluation mode. I guess that happens when you pastor a church and have dreams bigger than what reality is giving you. I want the bigger church and ready for my book to be #1 on Amazon. I want at least one person to come to know the Lord and be baptize every Sunday. And, yes, I understand all these shall be at God's will. I see the great preachers of old and the crazy and unbelievable results that happened when they preach. Jonathan Edwards would preach monotone and reading his sermons the Spirit of God was so incredible that people wept for their salvation. What has happened? Where is that power? I am too busy trying to keep people's attention, but these great men had that power because hours of prayer and seeking the Lord's face. They were intimate with Almighty God. Some prayed so much they did not eat and made themselves ill. Some were so engrossed with prayer for 10-12 hours a day in prayer was the mainstay. Yea, Yeah. I know quantity over quality. However, maybe quantity comes when I give Jesus the chance and time to show His quality. So why am I a coward? I am coward to tell people "NO." I am coward to teach my people that I might serve them better in my prayer closet on my face before an Almighty God and not at their bedside. I am coward to worry about petty stuff that others can do while I should be spending time with the High Shepherd on what my job is as under shepherd in taking care of HIS sheep. I am coward to not wanting to draw close to the Lord because I am afraid of what He might show me. He might show me those unknowing sin. He might show me an enemy to embrace. He might even lovingly chastise me. SO I am Coward. In admitting this, the Christian faith tells us when we are weak Jesus becomes strong in us. It is not the world's opinion, they already think that we are weak. It is the opinion of ourselves. Self-loathing? No, it is the truth. We know who we are. We are the guy who has taken a deep breath to pump up his chest and look strong. In reality, we are dying for air and need to breathe in the breath of life. I am letting out my air and deflating my chest and admitting that I am coward. Now, lets see what God can do. Love ya.