Indescribable
Joy!
Just a Meadow Minute
I can remember how unsettling it was as a child when I watched my dad disappear into the clouds, headed across the world while serving in the USAF. I found courage by telling all my friends that Dad was a hero, and I knew he was coming back. I was always so proud of him for what he did for this country even though most people never knew about his sacrifice.
Each time Dad left, Mom would cry for days. Weeks. She was an amazingly strong woman, but each time Dad was called away, her job became raising three boys alone while keeping the “home fires burning.” Dad’s deployments overseas were always hard on those of us left behind. But once he landed in the States again, the joy was indescribable.
Dad’s longest deployment was fifteen months in Peshawar, Pakistan. Peshawar was one of the launch-sites of the U-2 aircraft used by the CIA during the cold war. I believe it was from where Gary Powers took off before being shot down over the USSR. Some fifty years later, the villain Osama bin Laden would eventually be tracked down and killed not far from where Dad had been stationed while I was a kid.
When Dad was away on that tour of duty, we received regular reel-to-reel audio tapes of him talking to us. He would whistle for our dog Ginger, and she would sit and cry under the table just hearing Dad’s voice.
Dad was deployed multiple times in his 30+ years of military service. Sometimes half-way around the world, and sometimes to locations in the US. In total, we had years of practice waiting for Dad’s return. Assured he was coming back, I worked hard in school. I learned to play the guitar while he was in Thailand during the Viet Nam Conflict. And I stayed involved at church, but not to earn his love. Because of it. When he returned, I wanted Dad to always find me faithful to the family as his child. I wanted him to be proud of me.
The Bible says that our Lord ascended into the clouds with His closest followers watching. So far, believers have had about 2000 years of practice waiting His return. If we want to hear from Jesus, there’s not an audio recording of His voice, but there is a wonderful record of His words found in Scripture, and we can talk to Him in prayer. When my Master comes for me, I want to be found faithful and doing my best as part of the family of God. I want to be found sharing the story of Jesus with friends and everyone else who will listen, even though most don’t ever think of the sacrifice He paid on the cross of Calvary. Not to earn my Heavenly Father’s love, but because of it. And I long to hear, “Well done…”
In the first chapter of the Book of Acts, the Bible says, “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; so that where I am, there you may be also.”
Talk about indescribable joy…
Grace,
Tom
Meadow Minute Archives
Previous ten articles of the Meadow Minute can be located by date and content.
What a wonderful day was had by everyone who took part in the final Bronco Sunday of the 2025-26 school year here at FBC Meadow. Thank you all who participated in worship, and also so many who stayed for the catered lunch afterward. God was honored, and I believe our community was strengthened.
Blake Jackson, the Head Coach and Athletic Director at MISD brought us a word that resonated with everyone in attendance. While we look at Blake and the fine man, husband, dad, and coach that he has become, it was so appropriate for him to tell of his struggles in attaining many of his life’s goals as adversity struck again and again. His honesty and connection with parents and students alike was exactly what we all needed to hear. Blake’s story is one of perseverance and faith and service. As I reminded those in attendance after his testimony, Blake might not consider himself to be a super hero, but I’ve never seen him and Batman in the same room together! I so loved the quote from Billy Graham that our audio team put up before Blake came to speak.
“A coach or teacher will impact more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime.”
We need to be reminded of that and be grateful there are many people of faith in leadership positions at MISD. To all the teachers, administrative staff, coaches, and others impacting the daily lives of so many in the community of Meadow, know how much you are appreciated and encouraged in what you do. Like Blake recalled those who blessed him with counsel, you have that same opportunity to make a lasting impact.
To the parents of students in our school, this pastor and so many others are praying for you that you might find true wisdom in guiding your charges to also be led by faith and guided by the truths of Scripture as we heard Blake’s parents guided him. We’ve all heard it before…parenting is not of sissies! May the peace of God cover your homes and your efforts to glorify Him in your parenting.
Finally, to the students of Meadow – the star athletes and the overachievers, the average students and those just hanging on to finish up the year – may God protect you as you complete your studies. Be strong and upbeat. And may the Lord watch over you this summer. Whether you are returning to MISD in the fall, or this is your last year here as you look forward to new and exciting things in life, “Remember the Lord.” Take the name of Jesus with you. Live a life that honors and reveres your Creator. Open your hearts to all the possibilities that He will provide to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
While Blake gave his testimony, 1 Peter 3:15 was displayed at the front of the church. “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to every one who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Our Head Coach WAS ready, and he DID answer the call. Cling to the Scripture Blake quoted during his testimony, Colossians 3:23. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” Blake honored his Jesus with a testimony that we all can take with us. To God be all the glory, amen!
Grace,
Tom
Among the many volumes in the Pastor’s Study, there is a leather-bound Revised Standard Bible that once belonged to my father’s father, Leslie A. Heath. Dad and my Uncle Murray had originally given it to my grandparents as a Valentine’s Day gift on February 14, 1953, making it just over seventy-three years old today. Dad had done the leatherwork for the cover himself while still at Mars Hill Junior College in North Carolina, and he inscribed the words, “Keep Looking Up” on the inside of the front flap. That copy of God’s Word was included among items in several boxes containing the final effects that were gathered up and shipped to Dad settling my grandad’s affairs. Dad gave it to me while I was attending college at Angelo State. As unsentimental and proper and formal as Grandad had always appeared, bowtie and all, he had cut off and saved the P.S. from the bottom of Dad’s letter that accompanied the gift. Years ago, I found that small, stained snippet of paper tucked away in the back flap of the Bible’s leather cover.
“P.S. Keep Looking Up is the name of a song I heard during the Religious Focus Week here at school which is going on now. I hope you like it. Jimmy.”
I write this with tears in my eyes, recalling the last letter I wrote to Dad just weeks before he went to Glory on Armed Forces Day, 18 May, 1996. I included lyrics in the letter from the great old hymn, “Does Jesus Care?” Dad had been such an active person, always going somewhere, leading the charge, or building something. In that last letter, I added Dad’s very own PostScript, “Keep Looking Up.” During his final days, struggling for every breath, all Dad could do was lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. He did just that until his eyes closed here on earth and opened at the feet of Jesus.
Jesus commanded His followers saying, “Follow Me.” His command is first to any who would surrender by faith to the grace He provides. His command, “Follow Me,” is also a loving call to come back to Him when the cares of life cause His followers to drift away. And “Follow Me” is also our marching orders to stay faithful in testifying of Him by our life and witness to the very end in anticipation of our eternity to come in His glorious presence. Jesus assured all believers that there would be no doubts or confusions or questions or hesitations when the Lion of Judah returned for His own.
Our Lord comforted us with the same thought in Luke 21:28, as He spoke of the end-times and the urgency of our living a life of courage and conviction, undistracted by the “signs” and situations we would experience in the world around us. The King James version says, “…look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.” The New American Standard says, “…straighten up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” The implication of Jesus’ words is a warning to His followers not to become defeated and downtrodden or distracted or distant. The return of our Lord is certain and one day closer. His words still ring true today, calling us to stand at attention, not looking down in defeat or worry or distraction, but looking up in readiness.
A few verses later in Luke 21:33, Jesus assured us of His promise when He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Keep looking up!
Grace,
Tom
It is said that during Napoleon’s Austrian campaign his army advanced to within six miles of the town of Feldkirch. It looked as though his men would take it without resistance. But as Napoleon’s army advanced toward their objective in the night, the Christians of Feldkirch gathered in their little church to pray. It was Easter eve.
The next morning at sunrise, the bells of the village pealed out across the countryside. Napoleon’s army, not realizing it was Easter Sunday, thought that in the night the Austrian army had moved into Feldkirch, and the bells were ringing in jubilation. Napolean ordered a retreat, and the Battle of Feldkirch never took place. The Easter bells caused the enemy to flee, and peace reigned in the Austrian countryside.
As Easter is celebrated each year, churches and cathedrals around the world ring their bells—not to sound Christ’s death knell but to declare Christ’s victory over death. He is the risen Lord, and because of Him our final enemy—death—has been defeated, and peace reigns in our hearts. –Copied.
Are you continuing to carry the joy and peace and victory of Easter with you now that the annual holiday is over? It’s possible some people find more joy getting off work or out of school for “Good Friday” than celebrating what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. For such people, now that Easter is over, is it time to put all the spring decorations away and simply go back to the routine of living in the real world? Well, the Bible makes it abundantly clear after that first Resurrection Morning, nothing should be, would be, or could be routine for His disciples ever again. Their lives were turned upside down by the events that weekend culminating in an empty tomb. From cowards hiding in the upper room afraid of what was coming next, Jesus’ followers would be transformed into bold, Spirit-filled witnesses who would impact their entire world. They would not be distracted or discouraged by anything or anyone, even to the point of martyrdom. One of the greatest pieces of evidence found in Scripture and revealed even today in supporting the truth of the resurrection is the changed lives of those claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”
Warren Wiersbe writes, “The world’s joy is temporary and artificial, and when the joy is gone, people are left with even greater weakness and emptiness. The joy that comes from the Lord is real and lasting and enriches our lives. God doesn’t give us joy instead of sorrow, or joy in spite of sorrow, but joy in the midst of sorrow. It is not substitution but transformation.”
This Easter Sunday, I asked those in attendance, “What Difference Does the Resurrection Make?” Has your world been turned upside down by the empty tomb? There are no steeple bells found at FBC Meadow, but your life and my life are to be lived loudly for Christ, bold and Spirit-filled. Not just on Resurrection Sunday, but in every circumstance, every situation. We must celebrate every Sunday as Resurrection Sunday! We should be, would be, and could be further evidence of Christ’s resurrection by allowing the joy of the Lord to be our strength. We can be a part of the difference the resurrection makes.
“Had Jesus come to earth but not died, His life here would have been pointless. Had He died but not resurrected, His death would have been powerless. Praise the Lord, Jesus accomplished everything He set out to do, and we are free.” –Billy Graham.
We Proclaim Him!
Grace,
Tom
Carpe diem. Seize the day!
That’s great advice if applied to seizing the most of every opportunity one has been given to live a life as God intended. It’s great advice for sharing His message of grace and forgiveness every time we’re given the chance to someone who has not heard. Every time we wake, realizing God’s mercies are new every morning, we should seize the day in an attitude of gratefulness and thankfulness and opportunity in our hearts for His provision and mercy and grace.
But sadly, a pervasive form of carpe diem in today’s culture has grown into the prominent philosophy of our “gotta have it now” generation. Instant gratification and living only for the here and now, makes many multitudes of people assume this futile life is all there is. Then after a life of self-indulgence and self-gratification, in their minds, we all just take a “dirt nap.” That kind of thinking leads each of us to seize (what we can of) the day, say and do what we feel like, and everyone else including our Maker can pound sand. Well-meaning folks might preach “it takes a village,” but then succumb to the mindset of focusing on their concept of happiness, pushing their own agenda for the here and now while caring little for others around them or sharing the Good News of an eternity with Jesus.
“Hey, if what I do isn’t hurting anyone else, whose business is it of anyone else? I sure don’t need God trying to ruin my fun or butting into the decisions I make. That Bible stuff is nothing but a long list of ‘Thou Shalt Nots!’ I want to seize the day!”
I have heard this kind of carpe diem described as trading away a Rembrandt for a drawing in the sand. It’s shortsighted and ridiculous, and it’s forgotten in an instant.
As Christians, we know that life is eternal and seizing the day for immediate gain is folly.
In the second half of 1 Corinthians 15:32, the Apostle Paul wrote, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’”
But believer, knowing the truth, are you living in the urgent reality of the resurrection in teaching your children the truths of Scripture? Is your life grounded in eternal considerations and not just in temporal pleasures? Do you spend your money and use your time, your energy, and your talents only on things that are here today and tomorrow that get thrown in the garbage? Sure, we live in a throw-away society. Disposable razors and disposable diapers (thank goodness). But apparently, even some of us who claim an eternity with Christ still live with disposable principles, and disposable morals, disposable commitments, and disposable expectations.
Seize the day, yes. But as Jesus would have you seize the day…in gratitude and purpose and faithfulness.
2 Corinthians 4:18, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Grace,
Tom
Ever been told you have physical features of your grandparents or your mom or dad? Thanks to genetics and other factors, we often exhibit similarities to other members of our family. Maybe it’s hair or eye color. Maybe it’s our complexion or our smile or gait. Maybe we’re athletic or musically gifted. Maybe we’re tall or short, thin or heavy, and we get compared to a relative with similar attributes. It might be an accent or word phrases we use that can sound familiar. My family used to say I had Grandpa’s hands. Some say I resemble my mom.
Christian, do you look like Jesus? Do you sound like Him, love like Him? Do you relate to others with the same mercy and grace that He has shown you. Does the Spirit of Christ so fill your life that you are easily recognized as belonging to the Family of God? You might not resemble a middle eastern male, but shouldn’t you “let others see Jesus in you?”
The night before our Lord went to the cross, He spent time teaching and praying with His disciples. He prayed to His Father saying, “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
During His brief earthly ministry, Jesus had taught His disciples that while they were in this world, they were to make a difference, to be salt and light. He wanted His disciples to impact others positively. They were to illuminate The Way, The Truth, and The Life. He told those closest to Him that to make a difference in the world, they had to be different from the world just as He was. He expects no less from you and me. With help from and trust in the Holy Spirit’s transformation, you and I will take on the divine genetics of Jesus as living sacrifices.
In Matthew 5:16 the Lord says, “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.” It was not a suggestion. People should see the Father in our faces and in our actions.
Our good works are not to be for our glory. They are for His. Our good works aren’t intended to somehow remind God of our righteousness and that we deserve an eternity with Him in heaven. Our good works done in His name are evidence to a lost and dying world that we are already a part of His family, and that reality is a thing to be desired. Would others want to be a part of God’s family because of the Jesus they see in you? We are called to act in a way that reflects positively on Christ.
Maybe your auburn hair or deep green eyes make you feel a part of your earthly family. Maybe you’ve started sounding like your mom in conversation, or you seem to have your dad’s sense of humor. Looking like your mom and dad and sounding like your mom or dad is strong evidence that you’re a member of your family. Looking like Jesus, sounding like Jesus, loving like Jesus is the strongest evidence that you’re a member of His.
That salt and light thing…He meant that!
Grace,
Tom
It seems often the lines of this Meadow Minute are written in memory of those in our community who have gone ahead of us to God’s presence. On February 27th, Helen Bingham went to Glory, anxious for the reunion she would have with Jesus and her husband, Don. It was a sweet memorial service held at FBC Meadow on March 9th. My prayer from the start was that Helen’s four children and her large extended family felt very much at home where she and Don had raised a family and worshiped the Lord for many years. What a joy to have the SonShiner Choir sing for the service. Both Don and Helen had been a part of their group for a long time.
Upon one of my visits with her in the hospital just days before her death, we sang “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross” together with others there in her room. That’s when Helen told me she was “ready to go home.” That small statement was her final testimony to me and it says so much about Helen and the family she comes from.
Helen was “ready.” Some would say she was just tired and sick and worn down and lonely for her precious Don, and so she was ready to die. As a pastor, I hear that word, “ready,” differently. Helen endured her last days with grace and beauty and peace. She was ready because long ago, she had given her life to Jesus and held the assurance of her eternal salvation in her heart.
She was “ready to go.” With Don, Helen taught being ready to her children and her grandchildren. She lived her life knowing this mortal existence, as wonderful as farm life was with Don and her kids, was not all there is to life. Jesus promised her a place was prepared just for her, and she knew He would receive her to Himself.
Helen had lived an abundant life here, (how could she not with an ample supply of Dr. Pepper?). But she was “ready to go home.” She often spoke lovingly of her days on the farm here at Meadow, and the memories shared by her children were just as rich and clear. She also loved being near her beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders after moving to Lubbock. But Helen knew where her true home was. A place that breaks the back of words. A place holding things that “…eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” You see? Helen said so much when I bent down by her bed and she looked me in the eyes to say, “I’m ready…to go…home.” Praise God for the life and the witness of Helen Bingham.
How about you? Do you ever find yourself thinking life cannot possibly get any better than this? Is your life about acquiring things here, putting down forever roots here, clinging to family and friends and everything you have to build your forever home here on earth? The Beloved Disciple has something to share about that.
1 John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
As I shared at her service, if you don’t know her Savior, your time with Helen is over. As much as you may have loved her, as much as she has meant to you in this life, all you have now are your memories. Without accepting what Christ has done for you on the cross in faith and receiving God’s grace, your time with Helen is done. But the hope and message of the cross is that those who are “in Christ” can look forward to the reunion we will have in God’s heaven. I for one am looking forward to seeing Helen again.
Grace,
Tom
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
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