How Marvelous!
How Wonderful!
Just a Meadow Minute
In the early 1900’s, Charles H. Gabriel was the king of gospel music. Gabriel wrote the words and music for a number of hymns used by popular evangelists of his day such as Billy Sunday and his song leader, Homer Rodeheaver.
Gabriel’s hymns reflect a change in the style of gospel music. With the revivals of Moody and Sunday, Christians learned to love songs that were fun to sing, highly energetic, and easy to remember. I suppose Gabriel’s most popular hymn is “O That Will Be Glory For Me” with its rousing chorus. He also wrote “Send the Light,” a stirring missionary call.
Like the featured hymn of this Meadow Minute, these songs focus on a simple emotion and celebrate it. I love this song because I can identify with it. Perhaps you can, too.
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be;
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior’s love for me!
For me it was in the garden He prayed, “Not My will, but Thine”;
He had no tears for His own griefs, but sweat-drops of blood for mine.
In pity angels beheld Him, and came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows He bore for my soul that night.
He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry, and suffered and died alone.
When with the ransomed in Glory His face I at last shall see,
‘Twill be my joy thru the ages to sing of His love for me.
Gabriel’s amazing hymn reminds us it is pure, humble, raw amazement at the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice that should move us in gratitude to become Living Sacrifices.
Romans 12:1-2 says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
With all that our Christ has done for us through the cross of Calvary, how can we help but “stand amazed” in His presence? How marvelous! How wonderful!
Grace,
Tom
Meadow Minute Archives
Previous ten articles of the Meadow Minute can be located by date and content.
I could probably count on my two hands the number of times I have been on a roller coaster in my entire life.
As BSU Summer Missionaries, my partner and I cheated death on The Cyclone at Astro-World in Houston. My older daughter Jonna and I rode The Rattler at Fiesta Texas which by the way should have been named The Death Trap, while it was still considered the largest wooden coaster in the world. At San Antonio’s Sea World, I had the misfortune of a front row seat with my daughter Megan on The Steel Eel. That’s not going to ever happen again. With Megan’s family, Diane and I rode the Expedition Everest at Disney World. First, it makes you sick going forward, and then you get a flashback of the entire experience as it takes you backwards all the way to the starting point. Our granddaughter Emily screamed through the entire torture…forwards and backwards. And I don’t remember the coaster’s name, but I was once tricked into riding a cursed cruel corkscrew contraption at Carowinds in South Carolina with my cousin Suzanne McKinney Lowder. I do love Sue, so perhaps before heaven, I will find it in my heart to forgive her.
There were various other similar, smaller, less terrifying experiences, but you get the idea. At my age, I doubt I could stomach the Ferris Wheel. Maybe I’ll “slowly come around” (pun intended).
The Christian life can often seem like an extreme roller coaster ride with its ups and downs, twists and turns, smooth straight-a-ways, calm climbs, and gut-wrenching drops. A great roller coaster, just like the committed Christian Walk, keeps you very focused and doesn’t allow you to get distracted by anything else around you while you’re looking and longing for the end. Many people are afraid to even give it a go. Others don’t mind the Kiddie Coaster, but The Abundant Life ride is out of the question. That simply requires too much trust. Some with enough faith even turn loose, lift their hands to heaven, and relish every moment!
For me, there is nothing this world can offer more thrilling than knowing Christ. Not even an extreme roller coaster, or bungy jumping (not happening), or skydiving (ditto). Nothing. Like the Apostle Paul, I want to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection. Hands raised and heart surrendered. “Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me!”
Like a theme-park ride, this life will be over before we know it. For some people, the entire thing is much too short. For others, the end seems nowhere in sight. However long life lasts for you, make yours count for all eternity. Christian, stay the course. Press on. Go the distance. Fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Take life as it comes, praising God for the chance to live for Him who died for you. Even as exciting and challenging and heart-thumping as this life can be, there is even more to come for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). No eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no heart has ever experienced the thrill of all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).
That’s what Paul meant when he wrote to the church in Philippi: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
Grace,
Tom
“The more of heaven there is in our lives, the less of earth we shall covet.” (C.H. Spurgeon)
Diane and I often giggle about how very little we owned as we began our life together. In our first apartment, we watched three channels on a 12-inch black and white TV that sat on a flimsy metal stand in the corner of the living space. We spent our life’s savings on a sleeper-sofa bought out of the back of a broken-down furniture truck that was passing through San Angelo. With no bedroom furniture other than a mattress, box springs, and frame, we stacked our folded clothes on the floor where a dresser, chest of drawers, and nightstands would normally be. We had a black vinyl recliner with stuffing coming out of the arms (pulling it out gave us something to do). The footrest was bent, and our feet would slide off if we leaned too far back in it. I found an old coffee table in the attic at my parent’s home, and Diane’s folks loaned us a card table with 4 chairs until we could get our first dining room set. Corelle dishes were the bomb. I think we had one lamp. We were in love and living large. More than forty-six years later, we still are!
But it would be embarrassing to recount here all the things we have spent money on in our married life that later ended up at Goodwill or in a garage sale for $1.00. It would be more embarrassing to reveal things we boxed up and carried with us, move after move thinking, “We just might need that some day!”
What is there in this life that you would find difficult to lose? Perhaps the business you’ve built? Or maybe the home and vehicles and property you’ve finally paid off? Your spouse? Your children? Your parents? Certain friends? And have you gone from cherishing the people and things in your life to coveting them?
I recently had lunch with a good friend I’ve known since my college days at Angelo State University. Our conversation drifted to the fleeting nature of this life, and I shared with him how I feel less and less connected to the culture and world around me since being called to pastor FBC Meadow. We both spoke of the urgency to make Christ known to anyone who will listen. He shared a wonderful quote with me that spoke to the issue.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” (C.S. Lewis)
The abundant life provided by Christ’s coming, is not the end-all in our relationship with each other or with Him. You and I have been made for another world. From the very beginning when we all had nothing, while we all were lost in our sin and self-centeredness, God was working to bring us to Himself. In His wondrous love, He’s made the way to eternal life through the cross of Calvary where His Son, Jesus, paid the price for your sins and mine and rose victorious over death. Talk about living large! We must cling to our Identification With Christ and the gift of eternal life He offers.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37)
And if you treasure your loved ones and friends as we all say we do, tell them about Jesus. Let making Him known be the desire of your life, and all the other things will find their rightful place.
Grace,
Tom (Mark 8:36-37; Proverbs 28:22)
Rowena Caswell was one month shy of her 99th birthday when she went to Glory on February 6th, 2026. Rowena led a full and eventful life while an 85-year member of First Baptist Church. What effect does her passing, or any local death have on the church and a small community like Meadow? A profound effect, that’s what.
Watching her life of faith in God and respect for the values that make us such a fine community can certainly affirm the inherent value and preciousness of life—even while we collectively mourn. Every loss we experience here—every one of them—changes us. Everyone in our church serves as keepers of our community history. Along with the specialness of the ways Rowena loved on so many people, a library of local history has been taken away from us once again. Just in the four years I’ve been the pastor here in Meadow our congregation has experienced grief over and over again as so many ranging in age from early adulthood to seniors all went to their heavenly reward after living lives of service to the Lord through our church.
It is very possible that the death of someone like Rowena or the others who have passed from this life to the next can alter the character of our community. It can cause people here to decide that our city is changing, and not in a good way…it is disappearing…dying off. But as I shared during Rowena’s memorial service, I believe the life of faithful Christians like her does not speak of some nebulous ending with a whimper. Rather, the Christian Life has a continuation and excitement about the future…at least for those who are immersed in knowing and growing in Jesus. As Paul put it, we have died to sin and been raised to walk in new life when we allow the Spirit of God to indwell us. We can get our bearings by glancing back at what all God has done for us and through us in the past. But we must not be found constantly staring back at what once was. Christians are the most forward looking people around, and that includes those who live in our small town.
God has a plan for each one of us that includes our being used right now, right where we are, with whom we come in contact in our daily life. Let’s live expectantly, gratefully, purposefully every day. We’ve been given another chance to make an eternal difference in God’s kingdom. Think of Rowena’s long life. She was a witness for her Lord. She raised her children to be witnesses for Christ. She encouraged her grandchildren and others in her family to press on and fulfill the things God had for them. With such a great cloud of witnesses in our church who have gone before us, how can we not see a bright future for our town and God’s kingdom? I may be getting ahead of our current sermon series on The Most Important Letter Ever Written, but Paul says in Romans 13, that we should be encouraged to live with an urgent expectation of Christ’s return, as every day brings that final, full redemption closer. We must live with purpose knowing our God is faithful.
Isaiah 46:4 says, “Even to your old age, I shall be the same, and even to your graying years I shall bear you! I have done it, and I shall carry you; and I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 says, “That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day.”
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25a)
Grace,
Tom
I may be getting into something I’ll regret later, but do you own a wind suit? At one time, long ago, they were very popular. I didn’t realize that they were even still a thing, but I checked, and yes, they’re for sale on Amazon. Not the flimsy polyester wild-colored atrocities of yesteryear, but they’re still around. I suppose for certain individuals, wind suits are hep, cool, together, with it, whatever. I have never worn one, and have no plan to do so. My daughter Megan has threatened to bury me in one just for laughs. In fact, the whole topic of my normal, everyday wardrobe came up with her once when she took me to the hospital.
“Dad, you’re the only person I know that takes the time to dress up to go the Emergency Room! Belt, button-down shirt? Seriously?”
I am set in my ways. Some find comfort in food. Some find comfort in a bottle, or pills, or a pipe. Comfort is found in a multitude of ways. I find comfort in routine, in a system. “If it ain’t broke…” And whether you will admit it or not, you may be more like me that you realize.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Living the Christian life is described as changing clothes. We take off the old and put on the new. So why are we so hesitant to make the change from worldliness to godliness? Why is it so hard as Paul instructs to “put on Christ?”
We might claim citizenship in God’s Kingdom, but we often continue to wear the fashions of yesteryear. We say we just don’t do change well. We offer excuses as to why “cleaning out the closet” of our new life is so difficult. “Maybe it will come back into fashion…” The real issue is much deeper than that. It’s not about routine. It’s not really about comfort. It IS about conformity. In trying to fit in everywhere, we find out we fit in nowhere.
Maybe St. Francis de Sales was on to something when he said, “We cannot help conforming ourselves to what we love.”
For me, it was a major decision and life change just to start wearing V-neck tee-shirts. How can God possibly expect me to lay aside all my routine, all my comfort, my sin, my selfishness, my own way? And for what? To take up my cross and a life of service to follow Him?
Could the reluctance come from the fear of being rejected? We all want to be liked and accepted and respected and included. We want to be thought of as hep, cool, together, with it, whatever. Well, guess what. Rejection is coming, either from the world, or from the Kingdom of Heaven. The question is not whether we can avoid rejection. The question is, whose rejection do we fear the most? Whose side do we choose to be on?
Choose heaven. Love Christ. Grow to be more like Him. If you have read His Bible completely through, then you know. God wins. When tempted to cling to the old life, this life that is passing away, we must ask ourselves one question, “Who is it that my heart loves?” As believers, we live an abundant life in this world because of His goodness, but we are not to be conformed to it. We are to become like Him, transformed in all things, in all ways.
And if you ever see me in a wind suit, thanks for coming. Weren’t the flowers pretty? I hope to see you in heaven!
Grace,
Tom
(2 Corinthians 5:17; Jeremiah 1:5a)
Few followers of Jesus ever learn to truly love the cross. Oh, they might wear one on their lapel or around their neck, or stick one on the back window or bumper of their car, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Though the cross offers great deliverance that most Christians are anxious to acknowledge in their lives, it also demands great sacrifice.
Isaac Watts drives this truth home through the words and music of another of my favorite hymns. Watts was disappointed with the hymns of his day, which failed to inspire his congregation to encounter God in worship and to be salt and light in their daily witness. His dissatisfaction led him to compose more than six hundred hymns, all designed to call those who heard them and sang them to a deeper knowledge and worship of God. This hymn was written in 1707, ancient by the standards of our culture, yet its message still stirs the heart to love Christ more.
“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most—
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
What would you or I offer to God in grateful return for His gracious gift of salvation through His Son alone? All that we are and have is but a small offering in return for such great love.
Some want to say it’s through the church and the adherence to man-made rules and doctrines that saves us. Others work their entire lives to be good enough, to be current enough in their relationship with God, to make sure they “qualify” for God’s grace. But what I said at the very first of this missive is perhaps the most dangerous failing of most Christians. Saved by faith in Christ, some wrongly assume they can then move on with their lives as they see fit, forgetting all that the Father, through His Son, did for us on the cross and demands of us as His followers. I have quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the Meadow Minute before. “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.” Let that soak in for a minute.
Paul writes in Philippians 3:7, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”
We must cherish the cross we are called to carry in obedience every day. Not on our lapel or around our neck. Not flashed to the world on our vehicle. But in our very consciousness and desires and energy and character and speech and actions and worship. When we survey the wondrous cross may it cross our lips to say, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!”
Grace,
Tom
(Philippians 3:7; Deuteronomy 11:1)
The church sat empty on Sunday. It was an agonizing decision to send out the message on our church GroupMe Stay Connected app. Because of the coming winter storm, all activities at the church were cancelled. While we had experienced a bit of winter moisture, at the time of the message we didn’t even know if the heavier snow would come. I even got up several times during the night to see if the weatherman knew what he was talking about. What if the snow didn’t materialize. What if I had stopped people from coming to Bible Study and worship for nothing? Along with advice from our deacon body, I kept telling myself it was the best decision that could be made with the information available. And so I made it, and the church sat empty on Sunday.
Would our instrumentalists be able to get here? Debra and Pete live more than 20 miles away in Lubbock. What kind of music program would the worship service have without them? Loyd was out of town as well. We tell ourselves that’s not why we come on Sunday, but what that team does for us week after week is such a blessing. They help prepare our hearts to hear from God’s Word, and when they can’t be there, it impacts all we do. Perhaps I let that influence my decision, and the church sat empty on Sunday.
I made no early morning trip from the parsonage in whatever clothes I could find in the dark so I could turn on lights and get the heat fired up. It’s good to get the place comfortable for when folks start getting there. Later, around 9:30, there was no smell of coffee brewing. No happy voices greeted each other in the foyer as deacons showed up for their regular meeting. No Bible Study classes got underway, voicing prayer requests and praises from the previous week. There was no chance to learn something from God’s Word as a group. After 10:00, there were no giggles from the children’s room or the nursery. The sanctuary and the fellowship hall and the Sunday School rooms were all dark because the church sat empty on Sunday.
I fretted over how many people were disappointed because of the decision made to cancel. I had the sermon prepared like normal, but like many others in our area, the church sat empty on Sunday. Did it cross your mind that the halls at the church were dark and vacant last Sunday? That there would be no laughter from children there? That an opportunity for group Bible Study would be missed? That a chance to raise your voice with others in song and prayer and praise to the very one who suffered and died on the cross, innocent but bearing your sins, didn’t happen. Did it occur to you that the church sat empty on Sunday? Snow or no snow, did it matter?
There is a place for you at FBC Meadow. There is a fulfilling Bible Study class I just know you would love. There is a place for your youth, your child, your baby. There is a seat just for you in the sanctuary next to others more like you than you could ever imagine who will welcome you and sing with you and pray with you. It is a warm and inviting place.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” There are a lot more than two or three on any typical Sunday morning at the church, and God is there. I suppose that’s why it impacted me that the church sat empty on Sunday. You see, fellowship and group Bible Study and voices singing praises and thanking Jesus for His goodness can’t happen without us being together. I hope you will do your part. And may His church not sit empty next Sunday.
Grace,
Tom
There is a popular destination not far from Gatlinburg, Tennessee known as Grotto Falls. It is the only place in the Great Smoky Mountains where the trail leads you under a waterfall! Even for those not really into hiking, the Falls themselves make the three-mile round trip worth every step. When you finally get there, you will want to stay and never leave.
After only a few minutes from the trailhead, the only sounds of civilization you’ll hear are the occasional quiet voices of others overtaking you on the path. At times, the sky is completely blocked out above you by the old-growth hemlock forest. Rhododendron and ferns and the occasional stream you must cross keep your mind right where you are, letting the worries of elsewhere melt away. You can literally feel the peace.
Several years ago now, on our last trip to Grotto Falls with the grandkids, Diane and I were thrilled to find the path had been renovated. A re-worked walking surface, stepping-stones over the creeks, and log risers in steep places really improved the experience. On our first trip to Grotto Falls several years earlier, much of the trail had been washed out over time due to the large amount of rain that typically falls in the Blue Ridge Parkway. Navigating tree roots and boulders and struggling a bit through the mountain creeks made the hike that first time seem much longer than three miles.
As I remember Grotto Falls today while living far away in Meadow, Texas, I cherish the trail we traversed—both times—along with the destination. We knew where we were going, but we had no idea what all we would face getting there – neither the beauty nor the obstacles.
I guess by now, you know where this is heading.
Life can be messy and unpredictable. Sometimes, things can get so bad that the light from above seems to be completely blocked out. You might need to stop occasionally, sit down, and catch your breath. It could cross your mind to stay right where you are. Why make the effort to go on? You might even think of turning back wondering if the destination is worth all the effort it takes to keep going. The journey can knock the breath right out of you.
Yes, life can be messy, but it can also take your breath in other ways. At the birth of a child or a grandchild. At the touch of someone’s hand you have missed for too long. At the completion of a long and arduous healing process. At the salvation of a friend prayed over for many years. At the smell of the rain that God sends…just at the right time.
And if you focus on those times – times of beauty and thankfulness and wonder and grace – you can live in the now, and deal with the now, and relish the now, and with countless throngs of others who have gone before you say to the One who holds the world in His hands, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” By His Spirit, we truly can find peace.
For those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, those who by faith in His grace have opened their hearts to the Holy Spirit, the destination of Heaven will be worth every step of the journey. And the best part? We really do get to stay there forever.
Grace,
Tom
I am now and will forever be grateful to my parents for the many positive gifts they instilled in my life.
Mom gave me a love for Christian music and fine poetry. As my church family knows, my mind often works in song lyrics and prose. At times I cannot remember tomorrow’s schedule, yet I can recall lyrics to a song from my youth and recite lines of poetry from even further back.
Dad gave me a love for the feel and function of wood. He could make the most amazing things. For me, sawdust is “man glitter.” And Dad was a great storyteller. The twists and turns of his “mostly truthful” yarns brought my deep appreciation for so many works of literature.
Mom’s amazing faith and Dad’s storytelling were the inspiration for my Christian Fiction Novel, “The Lord of the Harvest.”
But the earthly gifts from my parents that I appreciate the most were their lessons on the pursuit of excellence.
Charles Swindoll said, “Excellence honors God…Excellence stands the test of time…Excellence today honors the legacy it has inherited…Excellence recognizes what is valuable and takes care to preserve it…Excellence pays attention to details…Excellence recognizes its duty to the welfare of others.”
Perhaps it is out of vogue to say so in our culture today, but I want excellence to guide my efforts. I confess that I can be picky and persnickety. “Be patient. God is not done with me yet.” And may He grant that my pursuit be seasoned with His grace and the validation of others.
Regardless of our profession or our circumstance or our lot in life, may all we do attract others to Christ, our perfect Lord and Master.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14-15)
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17)
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Grace,
Tom
William R. Newell was best known as a Bible teacher, commentator, pastor, and professor. But he also wrote one of my all-time favorite hymns. On his way back to teach a class at Moody Bible Institute one day, the words of this hymn began to form in his mind. He went into an unoccupied classroom and scribbled these words onto the back of an envelope he found there. A few minutes later he ran into Daniel B. Towner, the director of music at the school, and gave his friend the envelope. Towner went straight to work and composed the music to this hymn in less than an hour.
The first three stanzas tell the testimony of every Christian. The final stanza praises God for His love, His grace, and His mercy. Newell is best known for a commentary on Romans—the same book that our current sermon series is delving into. It’s no surprise that the last stanza resembles Romans 11:33, “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways!”
Calvary can be discussed theologically and examined biblically, but sometimes it is best for you and me to do what Dr. Newell did—simply marvel at it.
Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.
Mercy there was great and grace was free,
Pardon there was multiplied to me,
There my burdened soul found liberty—
At Calvary.
By God’s Word at last my sin I learned—
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.
Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus ev’rything,
Now I gladly own Him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary.
O the love that drew salvation’s plan!
O the grace that brought it down to man!
O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.
As we take an extended look at The Most Important Letter Every Written, the Book of Romans, take the time to recall how Paul’s encounter with Christ changed him completely forever. What Jesus did for you and me At Calvary should also constantly challenge and encourage us to live a life of faith. Have you “giv’n to Jesus ev’rything”? Do you “gladly own Him” as your King? While reading the words of this great hymn did your raptured soul begin to sing the familiar melody to recall just what our Savior did At Calvary?
Let’s commit in this New Year to be witnesses for Jesus. Remember the mantra of our church found in Colossians 1:28, “We Proclaim Him!” We say it often. It’s on the webpage and in our newsletter and on our Order of Service each week. Let’s make it the theme of our hearts!
Grace,
Tom
Let me tell you about one of my heroes, Colonel Bobby Bagley. As a young boy, Bagley came to know the Lord at Sharon Baptist Church near the very small farming community of Cumming, Georgia.
On 16 September 1967, USAF Major (at the time) Bagley was flying an RF-101 Voodoo over North Viet Nam when he was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Soviet-built MIG-21 just a few miles from the Laotian border. As he parachuted into the jungle, Bagley was captured almost immediately by a young boy who broke Bagley’s jaw with a single blow from the butt of a rifle.
Along with many other Allied prisoners, Major Bagley would endure beatings, starvation, isolation, and other tortures at the hands of the enemy in several POW camps including the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” In all, he suffered a shattered jaw, a broken back, a busted eardrum, almost constant dysentery, and partial paralysis in one hand and leg during nearly six years of interrogation and torture before finally being released on 14 March 1973. He was reunited with his wife, Sandy, and (by then) teenage daughter, Vickie. Colonel Bagley’s short biography by Rod Gragg is worth the read.
More than anything, Bagley missed God’s Word. Even with the threat of reprisals, he took part in creating, hiding, smuggling, and suffering for what became known as the POW Bible. Many copies were developed at different camps over the years among the men held captive. Every time a Bible was discovered and destroyed, another would spring up, and many men suffered terribly for being found with one. The Bibles were created using brown toilet paper for pages, and ink made from crushed roof tile mixed with spittle and hoarded cigarette ashes. A verse might take an hour to write, and a page could take as long as two weeks.
These crude collections of Scripture contained only the passages the captives could remember—sometimes a verse, sometimes complete chapters. But the contents grew over time as God brought back into focus the faded memories of His love letter to the minds of these men. Reading Scripture brought hope and comfort in the filth and despair of their desperate situation.
Every copy of the POW Bible contained John 3:16, but parts of the fifty-sixth Psalm was usually there. Philippians 4:6-7 made it into most copies that Major Bagley had a part in scribing. God forbid it ever becomes necessary, but here in Meadow, what would our copy of, say, the Bronco Bible, look like? What precious pearl might you dredge up from memory to be added to its pages?
I have a challenge for you…and for myself. This new year let’s make the memorization of God’s Word a priority. Let’s ask Him for the lamp and light of His Bible to strengthen us during those times without a Bible when we’re confronted by the filth and despair and suffering in our culture. Oh God, grant that we might recall a passage of hope and comfort in our own lives or to share with someone we care about. God will give us the memory for the things that matter! In each of the newsletters for 2026, you can find verses of Scripture to hide in your heart.
Say the God-breathed words out loud. Write them out longhand if that helps. We all can quote lines from films and books and songs immediately after being introduced to them. We can name the characters in those instances, and we can many times recall the titles and themes. Usually, we’ve found a way to apply the quote in our routines and in our conversations.
Surely, we who claim the Name of Christ can do the same with the Greatest Story Ever Told. We Proclaim Him!
Grace,
Tom
(Originally printed January 2023)