(Originally Posted November 2023)

This coming Sunday is the beginning of the Advent Season.  Week One, Hope.

There is not room in this Meadow Minute to cover all the great lines and scenes crammed into the 1 hour and 34-minute classic film, “A Christmas Story.”  It has become somewhat of a tradition for our family to watch it at least once, while together on Christmas Day.  Depending on the memories you have as a child during the holidays, watching “A Christmas Story” just might become a tradition for your family, too.

Care must be taken here not to spoil it for any of you who have never watched it.  The main character of the film is a 9-year-old boy by the name of Ralphie Parker who has his heart set on one thing for Christmas—a “Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle.”  Ralphie says the line a dozen times or more in the film!  I can relate to Ralphie because I remember attempting a variation of something he does in the story.  Ralphie inserts an ad for the BB gun into the middle of an issue of his mom’s LOOK Magazine so she will “accidentally” find it.  (In my case, it was the hope of a “GI Joe action figure with his own storage footlocker, underwater diving gear with a speargun, and an extra M-1 rifle with an ammo belt thrown in,” but I digress.)

Are you old enough to remember how exciting it was for the Sears Christmas Catalogue to show up in the mail?  Those catalogues were the “bomb-diggity!”  Hope was found on every page of the toy section.  Hope was all over the sporting goods section.  Okay, so there were new clothes and appliances in there, too, but my brothers and I simply flipped through those areas to get to the hope parts.  To get Mom’s attention, I circled what I was hoping for in crayon, and left the catalogue laying around open so she would see it.  Once I saw the catalogue had been moved, I did it again somewhere else.  It must’ve worked.  Joe showed up that year!

In Western culture today, we hope for a lot of things, don’t we?  We hope it rains.  We hope our team wins.  We hope things work out for us at school or at work.  But in Hebrew thought, hope was an established reality and not something that might or might not happen.  We should use that word more as the people of Israel did.

If you are a Christian, your hope is in heaven, and it’s not a wish.  Your hope is eternal life.  Not that it might happen, but as an established reality.  Your hope is in Christ.  Not that His taking your place on the cross might get you forgiven, but as an established reality that you are forgiven.

Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Early Christians openly, publicly confessed what they believed about Jesus.  Not as wishful thinking, but as an established reality.  In this verse from the Book of Hebrews they were told to hold on to what they had previously claimed “without wavering.”  Our hope in Christ truly is an established reality.  God can be trusted to keep His promises because “He who promised is faithful.”

Beyond some new furniture or the latest electronic device, what are you hoping for spiritually this Christmas?  You don’t have to wonder if God keeps His promises.  You can have the hope, the assurance, the established reality that what God promises will come to pass.

Grace,

Tom

My family often enjoys giving me the business about my technology acumen.  Old dogs…new tricks…you know the drill.  I admit it—I’m a work in progress—baby steps.  I wear it as a badge of honor that I have not yet taken the plunge into the wonderful world of Apple Watches.  Is nothing sacred?  I was the last one in my family to quit wearing a normal wristwatch, having been taught to carry my phone everywhere, that could take care of the time and much more.  So, using that logic, what’s the point of an Apple Watch?  I still have my phone!  I sense a “disturbance in the force.”  The wheels are turning in the minds of every Apple Watch owner reading this.  Put down your keyboard and step away.  Just breath!  The continuous, creeping scourge of technology and AI and all that involves is not the point of this Meadow Minute.  Time is.

It has been recorded that in 1683, the English patriot, Sir William Russell, went to the scaffold for treason.  Just before he was hanged, Russell took out his pocket watch (remember those?) and handed it to the physician who attended him at his death.  “Would you kindly take my timepiece?” he asked.  “I have no further use for it.  I am now dealing with eternity.”

How can our puny, finite human minds wrap themselves around the concept of the infinite?  “For all eternity” does not only speak of a never-ending forward.  Eternity also speaks of a never-ending backward.  God is eternal.  Not just from here on out, but from here on back.  God simply is.

A.W. Tozer wrote, “Time marks the beginning of created existence, and because God never began to exist, time can have no application to Him.  Because God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future.  God dwells in eternity, but time dwells in God.”

Is there any adult reading this who has never said to an anxious and pleading child, “We’ll see…”  Or, how about, “Maybe…”  Particularly during this time of the year.  As parents and grandparents begin receiving and amending gift lists for the holidays, it often seems we keep secrets better than we keep promises.  The hope is that when the “gift getters” get what they get, all will be forgiven of the “gift givers” who didn’t give all the gifts to the “gift-getters” they were hoping to get from the “gift givers.”  (Say that five times fast!)  We sometimes keep our promises, and we sometimes parse words to give us an out.

But God keeps His promises.  1 John 2:25 says, “And this is the promise He Himself made to us: eternal life.”

An eternity in heaven is not reserved for a select few, but for all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, allowing the Holy Spirit to indwell their hearts and minds with the truth of God.  God’s love and patience is shown in that He desires “that none should perish but have everlasting life.”  Infinite.  Eternal.  Life.  Sadly, many will choose not to believe the promises of God.  Jesus says in Matthew 25:26, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Either way, eternal.

There is a time set when life here on earth will be over.  There will be no use for any timepiece, and we all like Sir William Russell, will be “dealing with eternity.”  Choose Christ.  Choose eternal life.

Grace,

Tom

Have you ever noticed how interchangeable in meaning the word “church” has become?  We use it to describe addresses and locations of buildings and facilities where the faithful gather every week.  We use it for the unified body of believers who claim the name of Christ around the world.  It is often used by specific denominations when describing and identifying their faith.  Most commonly, I suppose, “the church” refers to the local members of a local congregation.  That’s what I was thinking about when I read something interesting by W.A. Criswell who served as the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas for five decades.

Criswell wrote, “Some years ago, a famous radio entertainer delivered his version of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  His presentation was so different that he was deluged with mail after he delivered the address.  You see, the entertainer did some research and found that when Lincoln delivered that address, he put an emphasis upon one word in that dedication.  We always say: ‘The government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people should not perish from the earth.’  Lincoln emphasized not a preposition but the PEOPLE.  He was moved by the PEOPLE.  That is the emphasis that ought to be in our work and in our assignments.  Our work concerns people.  It concerns human souls.”

God’s church is not now, nor has it ever been, about buildings and programs and denominations and property.  It is not representative of a political party or a system of Government.  The church consists of the PEOPLE committed to Christ, with the message shared by the PEOPLE about Christ, of a grace and salvation for the PEOPLE through Christ.

What I am saying is there is an innate importance and commission of lay leaders and other faithful members of the local church stepping up to live daily for Christ.  Yes, there are pastors and worship leaders and youth leaders and others who are called to lead in ministry at the local church.  But that must not be taken as some kind of excuse to avoid giving witness for Jesus.  The call to Christian ministry is not some absolution of the responsibility that everyone who has received the grace and forgiveness of the Lord must fulfill in the purposes of Christ.

The New Testament is consistent in commissioning and encouraging us believers to see the church not as anything other than the hands and feet of Christ.

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”  “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  “And He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.”  “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”  (Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:25; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:18; I Thessalonians 5:11)

What a privilege to be called His!

Grace,

Tom

One of the longest passages of Scripture relating to a single miracle of Jesus is the entire 9th Chapter of the Gospel of John—Healing the Man Born Blind.  I would encourage you to find it and read it again.  So many sermons have come from this one amazing narrative.  However much of the story you remember and/or get to read, don’t miss the last seven verses of the chapter.  After so much happens to the man and to his parents in the story, Jesus seeks him out.  You might recall that up to this point, the blind man had never seen the Lord.  He was blind when Jesus put mud on his eyes before obeying Jesus’ instructions to “Go to Siloam and wash.”  Then, at the end of story, Jesus asks him if he believes in the Son of Man.  The healed man’s blunt and honest question in Vv36 is both timeless and timely for us today.  “Who is He, sir, that I might believe in Him?”

This last Sunday, we began a new message series at FBC that will take us all the way to Christmas.  It is my prayer that this series of messages can at least be a partial answer, opening the eyes of those in our church today—believers and seekers—who might be asking something similar.  “Just exactly who is this One we are called to worship, so that I can believe in Him?”  The series is entitled, “Knowing God.”

In the Church today, in OUR church today, do we have, as A.W. Tozer called it, “Knowledge of the Holy”?  How lofty is our understanding of God?

Jesus said, “Go…make disciples.”  Many Christians do exactly that, taking the Great Commission to heart.  Not only do such faithful followers find opportunity to share a witness of words.  But by their life of joy, and obedience, they show the Christian Walk to be something worth pursuing.  Still other believers don’t always sense the necessity or motivation to introduce family members or friends to God.  Could the hesitancy be in part that people in the pews have lost the concept of the majesty, the wonder, the awesomeness of who God is.  Is our reverence of God pushing us to live for Him?  Or could it be that some people’s idea of coming to Christ, occasionally attending church, getting to heaven, is more about what’s in it for them instead of recognizing and worshipping and proclaiming the Unequalled God who made their salvation possible in the first place?

Try this: Describe God.

Did that question stump you?  Even for a second or two?  Is your image of God Someone you can comfortably keep at a distance until you need Him?  Can you describe the Almighty, even with your most eloquent words?  The Hymnist, Charles W. Fry gave it a shot in 1881.

“I have found a friend in Jesus—He’s everything to me.  He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul; the Lily of the Valley—in Him alone I see all I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.  In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay, He tells me every care on Him to roll; He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star; He’s the greatest of ten thousand to my soul.”  I’ll wager you just sang that in your head!

While we love that great hymn, does that even come close to explaining in your mind who God is?  I hope you can be a part of these next weeks of worship with us at FBC Meadow as we endeavor to recapture all that it means in Knowing God.

Grace,

Tom

It was so good having many of the Bronco Football Team and Cheerleaders with us this last Sunday.  We should all be grateful to Coach Jacob Guzman and other adults at the school who encouraged the young people to join us.  As expected, the covered-dish luncheon after worship was also a success.  I will say it again—the people of this church know how to lay out a spread!  Several of our young guests have become regulars during Wednesday Evening Bible Study with Trevor Brockway.  Having them now be a part of our Sunday Worship was a wonderful blessing.  We are a loving fellowship, and I pray all the guests who visited Sunday felt welcome and will come again.

As most of you know, while Diane and I were away from Meadow recently at the Hiding Place Retreat on Lake Brownwood, it was necessary for me to go through a chemical peel on my face to eliminate multiple pre-cancerous spots.  If you have had occasion to do the same, you know what I’m about to share is the truth.  IT WAS HORRIBLE!  Causing myself such burning anguish by covering my entire face with that poison twice a day for a week was completely counter intuitive.  Why would anyone intentionally, voluntarily, do that to themselves?  My dermatologist warned me I would no longer like him by the fourth or fifth day.  He was partially right.  I no longer liked him—by the third!  By the seventh day, I was just about in meltdown.  (I’m still a bit miffed about it.)  When we got back, a “former friend” at the gin asked if I had taken up welding—without a mask!  Two men I “used to like” at the church asked if I had spent my time away out on the lake getting blistered.  I have a host of supporters!

Looking at my face now, you cannot fully appreciate the cracking, itching, burning, flaking nightmare that comes AFTERWARD as your face falls off!  Praise God for Eucerine lotion.  And I will never again make fun of Dove Soap’s “¼ moisturizing cream” commercials.  My granddaughter says I look much younger.  She didn’t say I am better-looking.  She said younger.  I’ll take it.  One must work with what one has!  So where on earth is this Meadow Minute going?  How ‘bout this?

Lasting, meaningful spiritual change can also be extremely painful.  Think back to the time when you first understood your need of Christ.  Fully acknowledging your sin and your lostness was not without guilt, pain, and maybe even some tears of sorrow.  Maybe you were driven to a point of despair by circumstances and cried out to Him, or because of our human selfishness and self-centered attitude, you may have first tried making a deal with God, negotiating or tiptoeing into the Christian life.  Did you think it would be less painful that way instead of completely surrendering?  It’s not.  Even now as a born-again believer, you might still experience real change as painful.  Why it’s painful is likely because of how far you drifted before facing what it takes to realign yourself with God’s will.  In either case—new Christian or not—repentance can be painful.  And what might begin with a simple “I’m sorry,” becomes true repentance only when we turn around, change direction, and take a new path.  True repentance is a “painful joy.”

We must not run from God’s forgiving, loving discipline.  Joy comes in the morning.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

Grace,

Tom

And so, you've made your choice.

Even if you haven’t already exercised your right as a citizen by voting early, you likely have decided on who you will vote for next week.  So, Christian, you have made your choice.  Now what?  The rancor from Christians and non-Christians on both sides will continue.  The vitriol and hatred from Christians and non-Christians on both sides, will still be spewed at the coffee shops and kitchen tables.  Opinions and verbal attacks from Christians and non-Christians on both sides will continue to be posted and videoed and broadcast.  Christians and non-Christians on one side will believe the nation has been brought back from the very brink of annihilation while Christians and non-Christians on the other side will be in deep despair over what must surely be the end of the republic.  We all have our pet initiatives, our positions, our opinions, and we have chosen our side.  So, Christian, I’ll ask you again.  Now what?  Does anything…anything…identify followers of Jesus on either side as different from the world?  Is there any identifying marker?  Is there a balm in Gilead to heal our sin-sick souls?  Sometimes, a song says it best.  How about this from songwriter, Chris Binion.

“For the world that’s lost in darkness, for the saint who’s gone astray.  For the sinner, blind and searching, for the child in need of faith.  For the homeless and forsaken, for the hungry and the cold.  For the prisoner and the captive, for the young and for the old…”

“There is a remedy for every sin-sick soul.  There is a cure for all—all the pain and hurt and wrong.  There is a solution for all the problems deep inside.  There is a remedy, and His name is Jesus Christ.”

“For the bitter, for the lonely, for the weary and afraid.  For the burdened and frustrated, the discouraged and dismayed.  For the mocked and persecuted, for the battered, for the wronged.  For the scarred and for the wounded, for the weak and for the strong...”

“There is a remedy for every sin-sick soul.  There is a cure for all—all the pain and hurt and wrong.  There is a solution for all the problems deep inside.  There is a remedy, and His name is Jesus Christ.”

“For every tribe and every nation, for every color, every race.  For every tongue and every language, for every time and every place.  There’s an answer to the questions.  There is love for all the hate.  There’s a Healer for the dying.  He’s the Light, the Truth, the Way…”

“There is a remedy for every sin-sick soul.  There is a cure for all—all the pain and hurt and wrong.  There is a solution for all the problems deep inside.  There is a remedy, and His name is Jesus Christ.”

Christians on the left, Christians on the right, we are not called to be the “bodies of Christ.”  We are called to be the Body of Christ.  One.  United.  With differences, but unified disciples showing Jesus’ love—to each other.  That’s not my opinion.  That’s His command.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:34-35

“There’s an answer to the questions.  There is love for all the hate…He’s the Light, the Truth, the Way.”

Grace, 

Tom

Underwood’s Cafeteria in Brownwood, TX has world-class BBQ.  I love it.  I love the beef steak and the short ribs and the potato salad and beans.  I love the amazing BBQ sauce and usually put it on everything except the sweet tea and peach cobbler.  That reminds me…I love the sweet tea and peach cobbler.  And don’t even get me started on the hot rolls.  I love the smell that hits me when I get out of my car, and I love the way I’m treated when I get inside.  Underwood’s is the real deal.  There is no such thing as imitation Underwood’s.  I know why I go there, and I know what I’ll get.  Underwood’s is consistent quality.  Have I sold you yet?

Maybe you have a different favorite BBQ place.  That’s okay; we all have the right to be wrong.  Maybe you’ve been to Underwood’s and didn’t care for it.  I’ll pray for you.  Maybe you’ve heard about it, but you’ve never been to Underwood’s.  I’m telling you, the 3 ½ hour drive from Meadow is worth it.  Just not on a Wednesday.  Underwood’s is closed on Wednesdays, and anyway, we have Bible Study on Wednesdays at FBC!  (You’re invited—6:30 p.m.)

Stay with me for Just a Meadow Minute.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet!”  Okay, Honest Abe never said that.  But that’s the point here.

How are Christians today expected to discern between true and false teaching in the church, at the university or other classrooms, on social media and the internet?  Which version of God’s Word is the best for us individually?  Are there teachers in our schools and universities who would intentionally or unintentionally lead our children astray?  Is there even anything worthwhile on the internet anymore?  Yes, there are heretical teachings spoken from some pulpits in America.  Yes, there are some dangerous individuals in education today.  Yes, the internet can sometimes seem more like a toxic waste dump than the Information Super-highway.  But once again, God has not left us on our own in this dark and lost world.

1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Those who have the Spirit of God have been promised the ability to discern the truth from error because the Spirit has been promised by Jesus to lead us into all truth.  But the responsibility for testing the spirits does not rest on church leaders or scholars and teachers or any other source of information—electronic or otherwise.  That responsibility falls on every Christian.  Followers of Jesus should not believe everything they hear just because they like the pastor or a mentor, teacher, or coach.  And especially not just because it came from their favorite news channel.

You might trust my opinion enough as your friend to now think Underwood’s is the finest BBQ on the planet even having never tasted it.  Maybe some miscreant has told you something different.  You might have read rave reviews about Underwood’s Cafeteria in the paper or on the internet.  But until you test it, until you taste it for yourself, you will never really know if I’m right.  (Which, I am!)

It is the same spiritually.  The Truth is out there.  (Notice the capital “T”.)  You can know the Truth, and He will set you free.  Don’t take my word for it.  Don’t take anyone else’s word for it.  Jesus IS the Word for it.  Christian, let the Spirit of God lead your heart and your mind and your decisions and your education.  Trust Christ.  You won’t be disappointed.

Grace,

Tom

In hearing the line, “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood,” you’d know immediately who said it, right?  Fred Rogers.  Mister Rogers to millions of people young and old.  In efforts to let his light shine before men, Rogers was pilloried and discredited and made fun of for decades.  Even in his death, many saw him only as a naïve, homophobic, simpleton who, in the vernacular of our culture, needed to be “canceled.”  To me, this kind Presbyterian minister always appeared to be one of the most “at peace with himself” individuals.  I never met Fred Rogers personally, but I value the memories of having sat with my kids watching his program and singing along.

Fred Rogers is quoted as saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’”

If you have read the Meadow Minute for any length of time at all, you know how much I cherish the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.  As the saying goes, “I’m either in the Smoky Mountains or I am missing the Smoky Mountains.”  Well, as everyone is aware of, that area, along with parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virgina, has been devastated by Hurricane Helene.  Places that I hold dear to my heart since I was a young boy like Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Black Mountain, and Boone are just now digging out.  It could take years to repair I-40 from Knoxville to Ashville.  The first images coming out of NC and Tennessee made my heart hurt.  Diane and I both have family affected by that powerful storm.  In praise to God, our family members are safe and accounted for and for the most part have not suffered any catastrophic losses.  In recent days it was my privilege to pray with my aunt and uncle there by phone for the people who have lost everything.  We also prayed for others in our family who are in the thick of it, working long shifts as linemen, and helping in other ways.  The current videos I’m finding now are all about the restoration process beginning.  That’s when I was reminded of Fred Rogers’ quote.

“Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.”

Scary events like Hurricane Helene often shake our sensibilities.  For many people, just facing another day in our world can be a very uncertain and scary thing.  As followers of Christ, we have been set apart as children of God to be a light in this dark and lost world.  We’re called to be helpers.  Why?  Because the world IS watching.  And while the world watches a bit closer when something as tragic as a hurricane or a flood or a fire or a war happens, I can assure you the world is watching you in your Christian life, every day.  Don’t believe it?  Stumble.  The world will take notice.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

As a child of God, be a helper.  Not to earn God’s favor.  Not to earn the praise of men.  Be a helper in such a way that the lost world that’s watching may see the difference Christ has made and is making in your life.  Be different.  Be set apart.  Be faithful.  May the Lord bless those impacted by Helene and those who are making a difference by helping in the aftermath.  May the world always find people of God who are helping.

Grace,

Tom

Last week, September 24th would have been my mother’s 91st birthday.  I cannot fully describe the earthly and eternal impact that Mom has had on my life.  Next to Diane, Colleen Heath was the gentlest, kindest, godliest lady I have ever known.  With three boys to raise, often alone with Dad on deployment overseas, Mom had her moments of frustration and exasperation.  Yet her forgiving and loving Christian witness is what I remember most about her.  Mom put up with an owl and five-foot python in my oldest brother’s room…for a while.  She tolerated my middle brother Eddie’s raccoon, Yankee…until it climbed the living room curtains.  I guess Mom learned her lesson with those two.  I was only allowed to have a hamster named Houdini that ended up getting loose from the cage all the time.  Besides our dog, Ginger, there were countless snakes and lizards kept in our rooms.  We had box turtles, an armadillo and a porcupine, but none of them made it inside the house.  (Mom had to draw the line somewhere.)  FFA parents of kids that show sheep and goats and pigs have nothing on my mom.  Through all of that, she held onto her sanity and her faith.

I remember Mom’s name being in the newspaper only twice.  The first time was in the Women’s News section of the San Angelo Standard Times.  For some reason, the paper published Mom’s no-bake cookie recipe.  There is a soft spot in my heart (and in my stomach) for no-bake cookies.  Recently, my granddaughter, Emily, made me a legacy batch using Mom’s recipe.  I’m having one now as I write this.  They are delectable.

The other time Mom’s name showed up in the paper was also in the Standard Times, when it fell to me to compose her obituary.  That’s when I learned how impossible it is to condense a person’s entire essence into a few short lines at the end of life.  Maybe you have been given that task before and can testify that describing a precious someone in a paragraph or two is not an easy thing.

To this world, Mom was not a great or accomplished person.  She wasn’t famous and never will be.  But there were many who loved her, and we recall her memory with gladness and joy for having been connected to her.  Mom’s name IS listed somewhere that matters more than all the recognition I or anyone else could ever give her.  Mom’s name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  And through her example, my brothers’ names and my name are also listed there.  Each year during September and the start of April when Mom went to Glory, I often get ambushed by my grief.  I do so miss her.  But Scripture reminds me I’ll see her again.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 comforts followers of Christ with, “…we grieve, but not as those who have no hope.”

The times in which we live, whenever that is, wherever that is, for however long that is, are not what really matters.  I suppose that’s the point of this Meadow Minute.  When this mortal life is but a memory, what matters is where we stand with the Lord.  Momma stood with Jesus.  Make sure your name is written in His Book of Life.

Grace.

Tom

(In full disclosure, I better share this.  As a member of the Key Club in High School, I kept the San Angelo Central High Bobcats Mascot, Dynamite IX, in our back yard during my senior year.  Dad and I would load him up and trailer him to every game before Dynamite was allowed to retire when I graduated.  Then, he lived the rest of his days—all the way through my college years, and even well-after Diane and I were married— in a specially designed enclosure in my parents’ back yard.  Dad ended up feeding Dynamite a diet of cat food, chicken necks, and hard-boiled eggs every evening after I moved out, and that cat lived to be 18 years old.  The things parents will put up with for their kids!  At least it wasn’t another python...)

Years ago, I served as chairman of the Missions Committee at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood, TX.  We were one of several sponsoring churches that supported the First Baptist Church of West Yellowstone, Montana.  The town it’s in is located just outside the western entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

The Lord put in my mind that Diane and I and another couple from the church could somehow help Mac Graham, the pastor at the time in West Yellowstone.  Coggin has always been a mission-minded church.  Using CABC stationery, I wrote Mac in late winter with our available dates in the hopes of setting something up with his church when we four could all get away.  Strangely, I did not get a response…for months.  The four of us became convinced we might be getting ahead of God.

Then, out of the blue, Mac wrote me back.  It must’ve been the hardest letter this godly missionary pastor had ever written. Mac said he had gotten the letter months earlier but had not opened it.  Just before mine arrived, he and his wife, Louise, had received letters from two other sponsoring churches saying, because of budget cuts, those congregations would no longer be aiding the Grahams’ ministry in West Yellowstone.  Mac said he and Louise just couldn’t bear to face another rejection, so when my letter arrived, they put it unopened on the mantel and prayed for God’s leadership and the future of their small fellowship.

Mac wrote that in anger one day, he grabbed my letter from the mantel and tore open the envelope.  In tears of joy and repentance to God he read how our church was not writing to back away but instead, we were looking for a chance to come and serve and minister beside them.  Mac told me it broke him and shamed him and then, in God’s mercy, the Holy Spirit refreshed his faith.  As it turned out, the Lord had already planted in Mac’s mind the need to organize a lay revival for the summer, but Mac had not been able to line up anyone to be a part.  That’s where the Holy Spirit stepped in.  God had already matched the dates of Mac’s revival with our opportunity to come.  With guitar in tow, we four loaded in our mini-van and headed for Montana.  Diane and I brought the music each night of the revival, and our friends helped in devotionals and Bible study during the week.  When we first found Mac in town, he gave me a bear hug I will never forget!  The time with the Graham’s was wonderful, and getting the chance to see some of the beautiful park was just icing on the cake!  I hope to have the chance to share some other memories from our connection with Mac and Louise Graham.  They are very special people.

Many Christians today get bogged down in their Christian Walk, spending inordinate amounts of time trying to decipher “hints” from the Bible about the end times.  “What does this prophecy mean?”  “What does that prophecy mean?”  “Is there some secret message in this verse or that one?”  Anticipation of the second coming of Christ should keep us faithful AND keep us serving.  Jesus Himself gave assurance of all that would happen before the end.  And yet, He also spoke of how many would be found idle or misled or distracted by various signs and events.  There’s one thing about His second coming that Jesus said as plain as day.  It’s found in Matthew 24:14.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”

The Savior has promised His return AFTER the gospel has been preached as a witness to the world.  That’s what missions are all about.  At FBC, we are involved in several missions’ offerings during each year.  September is when, as a church, we support the Mary Hill Davis Offering for State Missions.  Okay, Yellowstone is not in Texas.  But I pray this Meadow Minute will bring into focus all that each of us can be a part of through the Cooperative Program and our giving to missions.  Perhaps there are those who serve the cause of Christ in our state and in our world who may be feeling the discouragement that Mac and Louise felt.  Each of us can have a part in the work of sharing Christ.  Pray for God’s leadership.  Who knows?  He may call someone from our church to serve Him in missions.  May the Lord have His way with us in sharing the Good News.  And then, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Grace,

Tom