We Know?

For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (TNIV)


As Christians, we love this verse. We quote it often and use it as a source of comfort in troubling times. It seems that we take particular assurance from it during times of great tragedy.

But do we really know this truth? Do we really know that in all things, God works for our good? It seems that often we do not really believe it. When we fret about the potential loss of a job, when our medical bills stack up, when we are discouraged that our plans for life are not turning out the way we had hoped, do we really know that God is working all things for our good?

I am often guilty of the sin of worry. I see trouble or difficulty looming on the horizon and I think of all the potential disasters that are going to happen. As a result. I get upset, stressed, and grumpy. Just ask my wife! And all of that shows that in my heart I am not really grasping the truth of this verse. If it really is true that in all things God really is working everything for my good and his glory according to his plan, then worry should never enter my mind.

I am often like the disciples in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee with Jesus asleep in the boat. They feared for their lives, but if they really understood that the master of the sea was in the boat with them, they would have had nothing to fear. Instead, they wake him with the question, "Don't you care that we are about to die?" They doubted instead of trusting. And that is what happens when I forget this verse.

Father, help me to trust in your work in my life no matter what is happening.

Awesome Day

Today was a great day. I got to preach about worship this morning, one of my favorite topics.

This afternoon we had our "Growing God's People" Class.  I had a really good time with this group. Great interactions, and I love teaching people some practical things they can do to grow spiritually.

Now, I'm totally beat and ready to hit the sack...

Snowpocalypse 2

More snow today! It doesn't look like it is going to be quite as bad as predicted, but still it's way more of the white stuff than we are used to in North Texas.

It makes me thankful for a number of things. I am thankful for a warm house to live in a a big fire going in the fireplace. I am thankful for plenty of food to eat. I am thankful for a beautiful wife and four incredible children to get to spend the day with. I am thankful for forgiveness of sin. Though my sins were like scarlet stains, God has made them as white as snow. I'm thankful that God is sovereign. Every year, springtime and harvest, summer and winter come at his faithful command.

I'm ready for a warm spring, but I'll enjoy the snow while it is here.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This post was supposed to go out last week, but with the first round of Snowpocalypse, I didn't get to it till now:

January 30 is my birthday! Ok, it's not my physical birthday. I was actually born on April 13, 1973. January 30, 1983, is my spiritual birthday. It is the day I gave my life to Christ.

I grew up in a tiny town (population 144) in southwest Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, called Center Point. Every Sunday morning, our family got up and went to the Center Point Missionary Baptist Church at a little white frame church building that was about a hundred years old. My dad was a deacon and Sunday School teacher, and my mom was the “song leader.” We didn't miss a Sunday!

In the early weeks of 1983, I began to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That's church talk for, I began to understand that I was a sinner and that my sin had caused some problems between me and God. Okay, at nine years old, I had never killed anyone, done or dealt drugs, stolen much more than a pencil or some candy from my brother, or seriously betrayed any of my friends.

In general, I was a good little kid. But I came to realize that I was still a sinner. I had disobeyed my parents, lied to my parents, gotten in lots of fights with my little brother, tried out a few bad words, cheated on a test at school, and was sometimes mean to my friends. Now, those may not seem like really big things to you, but what I really started to understand was that those things were serious to God and that things weren't right between me and him.

The other thing the Holy Spirit made really clear to me was that my only hope was in Jesus, specifically that Jesus had died on the cross for me, to pay for my sins so I could be forgiven, and that Jesus rose from the dead. I didn't exactly get all that meant, but I knew that if Jesus came back from the dead, then my best shot at getting right with God and going to heaven was in him.

So, all of that came to a head on January 30, 1983. The pastor offered a traditional altar call, an invitation to come to the front of the church at the end of the service, if you wanted to put your trust in Jesus. I was way to scared and shy at the time to do that (which may explain why I rarely do them today). After the service I bolted for the door and hid out in the car until my mom came. Then, I couldn't hold it in any longer. In a rush of tears, I told Mom that I didn't want to die and go to hell, but that I wanted to live forever with Jesus. She took me back into the church building, and in a little Sunday School classroom at the back of the church, our pastor, Brother Jerry, shared with me how to give my life to Jesus. I bowed my head and prayed a nine-year-old prayer to put my trust in Jesus. It was the greatest day of my life, and one I will never forget.

Yesterday, I got to celebrate twenty-eight years as a follower of Jesus. I got to preach that same message about Jesus to our congregation. Then yesterday afternoon, we baptized five people going public with their commitment to follow Jesus. Happy birthday to me!