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

Every Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m., I have the privilege of meeting with a group of wise guys (okay, so they’re guys who are wise) at the Co-Op for the Gin’s Men’s Bible Study.  We come from different backgrounds and different churches, and we find common ground in Christ as we look at a verse or two of Scripture for just a few minutes.  We might take the opportunity to hear different translations of the reference from the Bible, but I’m not sure we’ll ever let Bric Turner read anymore!  (You better ask him.)

Last Tuesday, I shared a quote by Chuck Colson.  You might remember him as Richard Nixon’s Special Council.  Colson was one of the Watergate Seven and went to prison for his involvement in the break-in.  In 1973, Chuck Colson came to Christ.  He is quoted as saying, “Christians are not the Lone Ranger.”

Our group looked at Hebrews 10:23-25.  God’s Word there speaks of “holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering.”  The Word speaks of God’s faithfulness, and our call to likewise be faithful.  The Word speaks of Christians “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some.”  His Word says we should be “encouraging one another” as each day brings us closer to when our Lord will return.  After I shared Colson’s quote, I asked what he meant by it and several men gave input.

The first said, “As Christians, we fight from a position OF victory not FOR victory.”  We are in a mighty struggle, but not by ourselves.  Rather we are on the side of the Winner.  Our Christ is already our Champion.

The second said simply, “As Christians, we need each other.”  The concept of the Body of Christ, of community in Christ, is something we men have looked at several times on Tuesdays.  The church is made up of believers with various gifts.  To have His Spirit involves bringing those gifts together in fellowship with one another.

The third said, “As Christians, it is not up to us alone to save the world.”  We must never think so highly of ourselves as to imagine the success of Christianity falls to us.  By what Christ has done, we should find unity in the church.  From Christ, we should find encouragement in the church.  Through Christ, we should find purpose and meaning in the church.  With like-minded believers we cannot do everything, but we do our part to serve the King.  That brought our discussion to the story of Elijah.

When Elijah had killed the prophets of Baal, the evil King Ahab threatened the prophet’s life.  Even after God sent fire from heaven to consume his offering in front of the people, Elijah was so frightened by Ahab’s threat that he ran away and ended up sitting alone, pouting in a cave.  To encourage Elijah, the Lord promised to pass in front of him.  A mighty wind came, but the Lord was not in the wind.  Then there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  Then there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  Then the quiet, gentle voice of the Lord asked Elijah why he was sitting alone pouting.  Elijah tried telling God he was the only faithful one left, and God, with compassion, told Elijah he was not the Lone Ranger.

Christian, you’re not called to face this world of sin and woe and opposition alone.  The church is made up of “redeemed yet flawed” people being transformed by the renewing of their minds.  Having the mind of Christ, we will find ourselves in tune with others who are also growing in His wisdom.  The Body of Christ is the physical presence of Jesus in the world, and you are called to be an active part of His church.

Grace,

Tom

“Look with your eyes and not your fingers.”

That was my father’s “go-to” instructions when dealing with my two brothers and me as we grew up.  If my family made a trip to Gibson’s (you know if you grew up in San Angelo), the three of us would head straight for the fishing lures, camping gear, and firearms—the “outdoor section” we called it.  We rarely got to buy anything, but we could look.  As we three headed off together, the last thing Dad would say was always, “Look with your eyes and not your fingers.”  During the summer if our family was headed to North Carolina for vacation and we stopped at Stuckey’s (remember those?) or at a tourist trap like Rock City, Pigeon Forge, Maggie Valley, or Cherokee, the same instructions were given before two of us headed inside while one of us got left behind to walk our dog, Ginger.  “Look with your eyes and not your fingers.” All three of us knew the rules.  If we didn’t break anything, we just might get a bottled Mountain Dew and a Moon Pie.  Those were Good Times.

You can see why it was confusing for me in High School when one of my teachers, Janice Eubanks, spent an entire six-week period explaining sculpture art to my class.  The wood or clay or metal or stone items, she said, were not just to look at with our eyes but were meant to be “looked at” with our fingers.  I never brought up the concept of sculpture art with Dad.  That would have been a wreck.

Perhaps that’s one reason why I have always had an affinity for my namesake in Scripture, the Apostle Thomas.  John 20:19 begins the story where, on the evening of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus appeared to eleven of the disciples and spoke with them in a locked upper room.  The Bible says that first time, Thomas was not with them.  He became known as Doubting Thomas when the other disciples spoke about what they had experienced, but Thomas could just not get his head around it.  Before he would believe, Thomas wanted to see Jesus with his own eyes and “see” Jesus with his own fingers.

Eight days later, Thomas was with the other disciples when the Lord again appeared to them all, and Jesus offered the very thing Thomas had demanded.  Jesus offered Himself.  There is no indication in Scripture that Thomas took the Master up on His offer.  Instead, the doubting disciple declared his devotion saying, “My Lord and my God!”  (I love it when Scripture uses an exclamation point!)  By all accounts, Thomas never doubted again.  Tradition says that Thomas preached, worked, and built churches for the next thirty years in Babylon, Persia, and eventually India before facing martyrdom by being run through with a lance for converting a monarch.

Today, you might have ideas and doubts as to exactly who Jesus is and is He really Someone you can have a relationship with and trust to give your life to.  It’s true the Lord is no longer here for you to see with your eyes and “see” with your fingers, but He does still offer Himself.  You can see a picture of Him through His Word in the Gospels.  You can experience His love and forgiveness by repenting of your sin and accepting His offer of grace through faith as your Lord and Savior.  Trust me, friend, when I tell you that by inviting Christ into your life, you WILL feel His Spirit.  As the song says, “He touched me and made me whole.”  Jesus will do the same for you.

Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”  Don’t nibble around the edges.  Experience all that He has for you.

You can know Jesus intimately, personally.  His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.  And after that, you will spend an eternity with Him in His Father’s heaven.  That’s Good Times and the Good News.

Grace,

Tom

The inspiration for this Meadow Minute came from what some consider the “dry and dusty Old Testament.”  There are several long and detailed passages in the writings of Moses dealing with the tabernacle—all the instructions and stipulations as to who would do what, when, and how.  When the tabernacle was finally constructed and plans were made for setting it up and caring for it and even carrying it in the wilderness, certain individuals with names we have trouble pronouncing were assigned to handle the tasks necessary in maintaining order.  Like me, you have probably read those parts of Scripture.  Descriptions of the ark and the altar, the candlestick, the incense table and the table of showbread.  So much detail about the curtains and poles and latches.  Where each item was placed in relation to everything else, even what direction items faced and who was allowed to touch them are all part of the detailed instructions to those appointed to tasks in the congregation.  But then, something I had never noticed before stood out to me.

Only the initial names of who began the work are given.  No replacement names are listed in Numbers 4.  Yet the order and the standards and the tasks and the instructions went on for centuries.  Someone always stepped in to lead.  That got me to thinking about our church.

For more than 100 years, the torch has been passed down at FBC Meadow.  Many people here fill leadership and volunteer positions, and some have done so for years.  There is also a long list of people, gone now to Glory, who looked to the future and continued the work where now we are called to serve.  True retirement on earth for the Christian comes, as Samuel Clements put it, only when we’re “horizontal with a lily in our hand.”  Until then, God calls the faithful so that His Truth will keep marching on.

With school starting back up recently, it just felt right to get back to Wednesday Evening Bible Study this week.  Lots of children and young people came.  Several high school football players had to come late due to practice, but they stepped up and came, and there was plenty of pizza left for them.  It was good for the adults to sit together in our Bible Study as we picked up where we left off looking at the Book of Acts and the very founding of Christ’s church.

As I shared Wednesday, the most amazing thing to me about the Book of Acts is that it was written with an open ending.  We all typically read a book expecting things to wrap up, work out, and come together in the end with everyone living happily ever after unless there’s a coming sequel to the story.  But that’s not the case in Acts.  Did Dr. Luke intend to write another volume that we don’t know about.  I don’t think so.  I believe God left the ending to Acts open as a call to future generations.  It is for you and for me and for all the faithful who would be the church, to “stand in the gap.”  Finding a place of service in the church and faithfully fulfilling that task is a form of worship.  Never by compulsion but in thanksgiving and gratitude, we bring our best to the Lord, and we offer ourselves to Him in service and worship for His glory and His purpose.

Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”

May our God bless each of you who serve so faithfully and have done so without recognition.  And may God continue to call others to the work of honoring Christ with our time and talents.  We love You, Lord!

Grace,

Tom

I attended San Angelo Central High School for grades 9th-12th.  During my freshman year, my English teacher was Louise Jones.  Near the end of the second semester, she gave the class a list of novels from which we could choose one to read and write a final essay.  To this fifteen-year-old boy, it was disconcerting to say the least that none of Louis L’Amour’s paperback westerns (Not even The Key-Lock Man, The Sackett’s, or The Quick and the Dead) made the cut!  I was stumped, and I began to wonder if Mrs. Jones really knew what classic literature was all about.  Did I mention, I was fifteen.  Cut me some slack.  Then, this 9th grade English teacher opened my mind to a new and incredible world of amazing books. I will be forever grateful that Mrs. Jones took a special interest in my dilemma and chose a novel from the list for me.  At her suggestion, I was first introduced to Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Miserables, considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.  This fiction novel follows the lives of several main characters, especially that of ex-convict, Jean Valjean and has been adapted for film and television.  Diane and I took our girls to the Broadway Musical while in New York more than two decades ago.  The message of Les Miserables is incredible, examining the nature of law and grace and love.  I kept that class list of titles for some time and found myself reading other volumes found on it before I finished High School.

Victor Hugo once said, “The supreme joy of life is the conviction that we are loved.”  It is such a tragedy that so many people will live most or all their life feeling unworthy, inadequate, and unloved.  Maybe you are feeling something similar right now.  Each of us might have such thoughts on occasion, but I have some great news.

Perhaps, like Mrs. Jones did for me, I can introduce you to another masterpiece of literature.  It was written by around 40 different authors through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  It’s composed of sixty-six different “books,” and the list of writers includes people from three continents over a period of roughly 2000 years.  It was originally written in three different languages from backgrounds as diverse as fishermen, physicians, shepherds, and even “a dresser of sycamore trees.” (Look it up!)  We all know it as the Holy Bible.  It is the divinely inspired love letter from God, given to help us look at the nature of law and grace and love through our Creator’s eyes.

So, what’s the big deal about absorbing this Book?  What does the Bible hold for you today?  You are valuable to God.  Not in your own righteousness, but in His.  The Bible says our own righteousness is as filthy rags.  And according to Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one.”  If we are to be judged by the law, we are a sad, condemned lot indeed.  We are in big trouble.  But then, “grace.  Grace.  God’s grace.  Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.  Grace.  Grace.  God’s grace.  Grace that is greater than all our sin.”

Several Sunday mornings ago during our study of Psalm 23, we looked at 1 John 3:16, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” And how about Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  If you are one who makes notations in your Bible, I hope both are among the passages already highlighted in your copy of the Scriptures.

This last Sunday we read from David’s song, “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”   God’s rod of authority and discipline and power for us is His Word.  We must claim it, know it, and follow it.  His staff of direction and comfort is His Holy Spirit.  And just as the Spirit directed the writing of the Bible, He can lead us into all truth. 

God loves you.

Grace,

Tom

Some of my most vivid memories while growing up are from when my family lived on Evelyn Avenue in San Angelo, Texas.  Our house was not far from Goodfellow AFB where my father served.  There were three of us boys in the home, and I was the youngest.  Every couple of days, Dad would say something like, “I need somebody to take the trash out.”  I thought I knew everyone living in our house.  I certainly knew my name.  I had never been called Somebody so, I would just sit there.  “Dad can’t be talking to me.”  That’s what I told myself…not out loud, of course.

A few seconds later, Dad would follow up with, “Whoever, take the trash out!”

Didn’t know Whoever lived with us, either.  “Dad can’t be talking to me.”  That’s what I said to myself.  Had I said it out loud, I’m quite confident I would not be here to tell this story.  Looking back now, I realize just about everything that happened in our home was somehow turned into a life lesson intended to make us three better men.  Trash day was no different.

Dad would eventually get around to saying something like, “Tommy, I know you can hear me.  Go take the trash out.”  That always got my attention—hearing my name from my father.  I’d take our trash out.  Depending on the look on Dad’s face, I might also take the neighbor’s trash out.  Maybe the people that lived across the street needed someone to take theirs out, too.  Hearing my name made it a specific call that came with consequences.

It can be like that in God’s family as well.  Some of us are sitting around in His church, week after week, waiting to audibly hear our name called out before responding to the Lord.  A particular Bible Study or a certain sermon might make us a bit uncomfortable but…that’ll pass.  Hasn’t He noticed how hard we’re trying to be a good, moral person.  We’re coming to church.  Doesn’t that count?  Doesn’t God notice the little fish sticker on the car’s bumper?  When someone asks how our relationship with Jesus is going, we have the perfect answer ready.  “I am blessed and highly favored!”  How about you?  You might have the act down.  You may know all the ins and outs of fitting in at church.  But you haven’t heard your name audibly called out recently so the lesson or the sermon must be for someone else.  If you sense His Spirit wooing you, calling you to surrender some area of your life to Him, you best not say no.  There will be consequences.  There could likely be eternal consequences for you and others.

In the Book of Hebrews, the writer says, “If you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…”  That verse doesn’t say, “If you hear your name called…”  As His child, when you hear His voice, when you sense His touch, you best not be caught looking around waiting for someone else to respond.  That touch is specific.  His Spirit has His hands on you.  If you are hearing the call of God on your life, take that as a blessing and not a curse.  Take that as an opportunity to please God, not something to dread or ignore.

Jesus says in John 8:47, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”  A bit later in John 10:27 the Lord says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”  If God is calling, don’t put Him off.

Just to be clear, Mom handled times like I’ve described differently.  She covered all her bases in one fell swoop.  To her, each of us had the same name.  We were each known as “Barry-Eddie-Tommy!”  That way, whoever was in earshot could not get off the hook.  Have I ever mentioned how wise my mom was?

Grace,

Tom

Ever heard someone say, “Don’t worry.  Be happy!”

Imagine for a moment if the angel of the Christmas story found in Luke 2 had attempted to dispel the fear of the shepherds with, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great happiness which shall be for all the people.”

Would Galatians 5:22 have the same impact if it read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, happiness, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”

What if the overall theme in Paul’s letter to the church found in Philippians 4:4 had been, “Be happy in the Lord always; again, I say, be happy.”

What if Paul’s message found in Romans 15:11 had been written, “May the God of hope fill you with all happiness…”

Or how about if the Lord’s half-brother who composed his letter to describe “pure religion” had written in James 1:2, “Consider it all happiness when you encounter various trials…”

When taken in context, happiness in each of these examples rings a bit hollow, a bit shallow, doesn’t it?  Words mean things, and happiness is not joy.  Not by a long shot.  Happiness is fleeting and conditional.  Joy is steady and unconditional.  So many people today settle for happiness.  How sad.  What’s even sadder is happiness is exactly what these people were looking for in the first place.  Many seek nothing more than happiness in their stuff, not joy in God’s provision.  Multitudes desire nothing more than happiness in their relationships, in their family, not joy found in God’s presence and leadership and involvement.  Even many Christians today seek happiness in their own schedule, doing their own thing in their own way, not joy in hearing the Master say, “Well done.”  We all know our happiness can be stolen by circumstances or by fleeting feelings or by worry.  Vance Havner describes worry in terms any of us can understand.  He said, “Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair.  It will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.”

In His teaching about the Vine and the branches, what if Jesus had said in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that My happiness may be in you, and that your happiness may be made full.”

The context of John 15 is all about being connected to Jesus, being sustained by Him.  And abiding in Him, we can live lives of meaning and purpose for His kingdom.  Abiding in Him, we will bear fruit in His name.  A day of being happy, thinking all is right with your world, can be destroyed by a single event, a single conversation, a single thought—possibly destroying your attitude and your witness for Christ.  Circumstances in a life of joy, knowing Jesus IS your world, reveal your witness.

Jesus has given us a remedy against fear and anxiety and despair.  He has given us a means to experience His ever-present strength and comfort and confidence.  Joy.  Joy comes through being obedient.  When we live a life of obedience, fear and anxiety and despair are displaced by joy.  Not happiness.  Joy.

In the obedient Christian life, the vacuous statement, “Don’t worry.  Be happy,” is replaced with “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  (Nehemiah 8:10)

Grace,

Tom

Our current Sunday message series on Psalm 23 is showing me again so many of the wonderful attributes of the Lord.  You have probably heard sermons and Bible Study lessons speak of the many Names of God found in the Scripture.  Several of those names are reflected in Psalm 23.

Jehovah-Rohi reads “The Lord, My Shepherd.”  This is an acknowledgment that I have surrendered my life to Him and God is in control.  This name of God carries with it the assurance that I have been born again.  I am in the family of God.  Psalm 23 is not a call for God’s salvation.  The words of Psalm 23 come from the mouth of one of His sheep, a part of His flock.

Jehovah-Jireh means “The Lord Shall Provide.”  King David expressed it as, “I shall not want.”  God is the “need-meet-er.”  He provides for me, and I must abandon any desire to look elsewhere for His provision.

This week in worship we read, “He restores my soul.”  That sounds quite a bit like Jehovah-Rapha, “The Lord Who Heals.”  The heart of the word is “to mend, repair, or restore something to its normal or useful state.”

Psalm 23 has comforted millions as it is often read during funerals and memorial services.  I do not discount its message to those who have found peace at such times.  But as a Christian, I can affirm the assurance from David’s great song that the Good Shepherd is not just there for me at the end, but “all the days of my life.”  God as my Shepherd restores my redeemed soul…repeatedly.  He doesn’t save me again.  He heals my waffling.  He mends my mess.  He repairs my brokenness.  He restores my communion with Him back to its intended state.  Another psalm of David, Psalm 51 says, “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation.”  David is not asking to be redeemed again.  He’s asking that the original joy of his salvation might be restored.

When was it, as a follower of Jesus Christ, that you found yourself the furthest from Him?  If you’re like me, it may be hard to choose any one time, as there have likely been several.  So then, answer me this: Who moved?  When you and I find ourselves stuck, stranded, sinking—however we would describe it— it’s because we’ve strayed from Him, and that’s when the Good Shepherd seeks us out, goes the distance…again…to bring us back to Himself.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”

Peter was speaking from personal experience.  When Satan sought to destroy Peter’s faith, Jesus says to his disciple, “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again (been restored) strengthen your brothers.”

As a child of the King, as a sheep belonging to the Good Shepherd, you have the promise that God will never leave you.  He will never forsake you.  And He can use you again in His service if you will let Him.   Jehovah-Rapha wants to heal you.  Mend you.  Repair you.  Restore you.  And because He can and He does, as the Lauren Daigle song says, “You’re gonna be okay.”

Grace,

Tom

We all love getting advice, amen?  Maybe it’s from the person sitting next to you in the car about your driving.  Maybe it’s from that friend who is a member of the “fashion police” on what you're wearing being “soooo last year!”  We get advice on our haircut, what movies to watch, and which team to root for.  It seems everyone has opinions and others have the obligation to hear them…right?  But don’t discount advice.

In a time of reflection not long before his death, my dad brought something up to me that had happened years before.  Something that I had thought little about since.  While working in retail, I was asked by a company buying out the stores I was supervising to stay and work for them rather than moving away from Brownwood.  I called my dad for advice on what to do while he was on vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  By Dad’s advice, I went from being a District Manager to a Vice President in the matter of two weeks.  Not too shabby.  But what he advised and how things turned out for us because of his advice is not the point of this Meadow Minute.  This is: Just weeks before my father died, he wanted me to know how much it meant that I had “thought enough of him” to seek his counsel on my career.  My call for advice had stayed with Dad for years.  How rarely I had done that.  I felt shame in how few times I could recall acknowledging the wisdom of my parents and all that they had taught me and done for me.  They had both advised me to do my best in school and to be involved in the community.  They advised me on finances and cleanliness and honesty and manners.  I had missed so many opportunities to thank them for their advice.

Then, after the guilt abated, I thought with joy of the best advice my parents ever gave me, “know Jesus.”  Their advice wasn’t “know about Jesus.”  They wanted me to know Him.  That advice included my being dragged to church until on my own I came to know the Lord and began living for Him.  I am fortunate that I had persistent parents.  I do know Jesus, and I will have the opportunity to thank my parents face to face in Glory.

Be honest with God and yourself for just a minute.  When was the last intentional conversation you had with someone who looks up to you for wisdom and counsel to “know Jesus Christ”?  Are you rationalizing things by giving that person “the freedom to discover Christ” for themselves?  Are you waiting on them to ask first?  Would you know how to lead your child to a saving knowledge of Jesus?  We regularly give our kids advice—whether they ask for it or not—about things we say really matter, things we believe they just must know.  What kind of counsel DO you regularly give your child or grandchild?

Do your conversations with them ever get past:

“Don’t drink.  Don’t smoke.  Don’t cuss.  Don’t chew.

And don’t you dare date girls that do!”

We are called by God to do more.  The same book that says, “Fathers, don’t exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” also says, “Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Mom, Dad, Grandparent, you have been entrusted by God with the privilege of introducing someone to eternal life through faith in Christ.  Take that privilege seriously.  Pray for wisdom and courage and opportunity to connect your precious charge to the One who loves them so much He died for them.  Then, you can say the words of 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”?

The Holy Spirit does the work.  We are to offer the introductions.

Grace,

Tom