Past, Present,
Future!
Just a Meadow Minute
During our recent time away, Diane and I ended up a bit further east than our normal trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Before heading back to Texas, and with I-40 East blocked by rockslides, we traveled up through Boone, N.C. and then south around Ashville to spend a few days with my aunt and uncle in my mom’s hometown of Statesville, North Carolina. Sometime, I will have to describe for you my favorite food memory growing up there that Aunt Brenda made every morning this last July…liver mush! Mmmmm! The day before we were to start back, I asked our hosts if we might drive past my Grandpa’s old farm where Mom and her four siblings had been raised. It can be a dangerous thing to dredge up the past because our memories never quite line up with reality. I got the shock of my life. The farm had long since been sold off, with the house and barns that my Grandpa built by hand completely razed. While some of the larger white oaks and magnolias had been left, the garden plot and apple orchard were both gone. The Redmond homestead looked more like a city park than the childhood utopia I remembered. Modern government buildings stood in the pasture where I used to hunt rabbits with my uncles. A parking lot extended down to the branch where I once walked with my brothers and cousins to dangle my toes in the cool ripples and hunt for crawfish. Maybe Thomas Wolfe’s novel has the perfect title…”You Can’t Go Home Again.”
In Romans 1:17, “The righteous shall live by faith,” is often thought of as describing the motivation and encouragement for living in obedience when trusting Christ with the future. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That too, sounds a lot like things yet to come. While both of these verses do speak to our promised future, each of them also speaks to trusting Christ by faith in His grace for our past and our present.
Like my trip down memory lane (actually, the street is Bristol Drive), clinging to the past, or maybe our recollection of the past in our Christian walk, can also dredge up some things that are not all positive in how we have lived for Jesus. But that’s where HIS faithfulness come in. Isaiah 51:1 tells us, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug.” Trusting Christ with my past includes acknowledging and then letting go of guilts and regrets that haunt me and attempt to remind me constantly of my failings. It is a difficult choice I must make to surrender what happened “back there” somewhere in my past—either recently or long ago—knowing that as His child, I am promised His grace has covered what happened, whether my recollections of the specifics are accurate or not. He was there, a part of my past, and just as He has my future in His hands, He holds my past and my present as well. Praise God it is not by my efforts, my works, that He has granted me a home in His heaven. It is by His mercy and His grace.
Along with hope for the future and value in knowing God has covered my past, there is an abiding joy in living and growing in the present. God’s mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. Even when current events and circumstances are not going the way I intend, I can trust that God is in control. He has not made us puppets, but He does very much guide us, working things out for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
“The righteous shall live by faith” means so much in our relationship with Christ. It means we can trust Him with our past, with our present, AND our future. Thank You, Father. Thank You.
Grace,
Tom
Meadow Minute Archives
Previous ten articles of the Meadow Minute can be located by date and content.
The demon of discouragement is not picky or selective. We are all susceptible to its destructive reach—even those of us seeking to walk the walk and not just talk the talk of our faith in Christ. And yes, it can affect pastors. This Meadow Minute is about one of my favorite hymns. I do cherish its simple message.
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
If you cannot preach like Peter,
If you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
And say, “He died for all.”
--Traditional spiritual
Jeremiah is often called the "weeping prophet"—not because he lacked strength, but because he loved deeply.
"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the healing of the daughter of my people not been restored?" (Jeremiah 8:22)
Jeremiah’s life offers a profound example of what it means to trust and obey without visible results. If you are facing discouragement from your witness being seemingly fruitless, ponder this. Jeremiah preached faithfully for over 40 years—and by all visible standards, he failed. The people ignored him. Kings despised him. He was mocked, beaten, and even thrown into a cistern. And still…he obeyed. Why? Because the Word of God was like “a fire in his bones.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
Discouragement is real. You pray, speak truth, live faithfully—and nothing changes. Like Jeremiah, you cry out, “Lord, I’ve followed You… but no one listens!” That’s when you remember: God doesn’t call us to be successful—He calls us to be faithful.
Even Jesus, the perfect witness, was rejected by many. But He never stopped speaking the truth in love, and neither should we. When you don’t see results, remember you’re not responsible for the harvest, only the planting (1 Cor. 3:6). Trust that God’s Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11). And know that your labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).
The slaves who sang “There is a balm in Gilead” were often not delivered physically—but they clung to the promise of spiritual healing and hope. You don’t have to change the world—you just have to tell the story.
The Gospel doesn't ignore sin; it confronts it. But it also offers mercy, forgiveness, and healing to all who will turn and trust in Christ. Jeremiah wept because his people would not turn. But we rejoice because we can. The balm still flows. The invitation still stands. And the Great Physician is still healing those who come to Him in faith.
Lord, when I feel like Jeremiah—discouraged, ignored, weary—remind me that You are pleased with faithfulness, not fame. Help me speak truth, even when no one listens. Let me find joy not in results, but in obedience. Burn Your Word in my heart, like fire in my bones.
Grace,
Tom
If you have ever heard of the folk group The Kingston Trio, then you’ve heard their most famous song.
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you’re bound to die.
The story goes that the young Tom Dula, also known as Tom Dooley, was romantically involved with a woman named Ann Melton prior to enlisting as a confederate soldier in 1862. After the Civil War, he returned to Wilkes County, N.C. and resumed his illicit relationship with the newly married Ann Melton, while also becoming romantically involved with her cousin, Laura Foster.
In the spring of 1866, Laura Foster’s body was found in a shallow grave days after she had been stabbed in the chest. Dula was arrested in Tennessee and returned to North Carolina where he was convicted at trial for Laura Foster’s death. The crime captivated the nation and inspired the ballad. Claiming his innocence and fighting to be freed to the very end, in 1868, Dula was hanged in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, my momma’s home town.
Legend has it that the actual perpetrator of the murder was Dula’s other love interest, Ann Melton. Historic lore of the area says that Ann Melton confessed to the murder on her deathbed in 1874. As a teenager, I had the chance to go to Tom Dula’s grave and see the marker.
By now, you must be thinking this has to be the strangest Meadow Minute ever. Stay with me. There’s a point in this legend from the Smokies, I promise.
What makes the story of Tom Dula spiritually sobering is what it reveals about human nature. We live in a world of sin, where justice is often flawed, and yet our consciences still cry out when we see guilt. Tom Dula’s final walk was one of public shame, just like countless souls weighed down by guilt today. But the Bible speaks of another man—Jesus Christ—who was also sentenced to death. But unlike Tom Dula, Jesus was truly innocent. And unlike Dula, Jesus willingly laid down His life, not for His own crimes, but for ours, yours and mine.
Romans 6:23 tells us plainly: “The wages of sin is death…”—that’s what guilt deserves. But the verse doesn’t end there. It continues: “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Where Tom Dula’s story ends at the gallows, Christ’s story begins at the cross—and leads to an empty tomb. Jesus’ death offers hope to every guilty heart. No matter how dark your past, no matter how heavy your conscience, the grace of God is bigger still. The question is not “Are you guilty?”—because all of us are. The real question is: “Have you received the gift of forgiveness through Christ?”
What sins or burdens of guilt have you been carrying? Have you tried to handle guilt on your own instead of bringing it to the cross? How does knowing Christ took your punishment change the way you live today?
Lord, we confess that we are guilty of sin, and we deserve judgment. But we thank You for the gift of grace, for the Savior who died in our place. Help us to receive Your forgiveness and to live lives that honor You. In Jesus’ name.
Grace,
Tom
“Until we meet again,” give me Just a Meadow Minute to look at some memories and reminders.
Last Saturday was the Meadow High School Alumni Reunion that is held every three years. Though not having attended Meadow ISD, I was privileged to take part in the opening meeting held in the “old gym,” and the event was very well attended. Someone there did say, “It smells like a school in here!” Everyone knew exactly what that meant. You can probably smell a similar memory in your mind right now.
Whether with families or school classes, reunions are sweet—hearing old stories, laughing at memories that once embarrassed us, looking into familiar faces aged by time but still full of life. For all those who attended this weekend’s gathering, I’m sure the memories were a powerful reminder that while time passes and paths diverge, relationships rooted in shared experiences remain strong.
For many, it must also have been bittersweet. Since the last reunion, some faces were missing—classmates and friends no longer around. Only their pictures showed up in Annuals on display. Their voices and their laughter were not a part of the festivities. Yet for those who are in Christ, we don’t say goodbye forever. As followers of Jesus we say, “Until we meet again...”
Heaven is not just a place of personal peace. Heaven is a place of perfect reunion. Scripture promises that we will be gathered together with the Lord AND with those who have gone before us in faith. The bonds formed here—those rooted in Christ—will not be broken by death, but will be made even more beautiful in eternity.
Which brings me to look at another memory and another reminder. This year’s VBS held last week was a wonderful time of water slides and Bible Stories, of music and mayhem, of making new things and making new friends. And once again this year, the children made a difference for their community, collecting 630 non-perishable food items for the Meadow Community Food Pantry. Well done!. Congratulations to the girl’s “team” for finally winning the food drive contest. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist!)
Vacation Bible School is likely a memory of most who read the Meadow Minute. This week, conversations I overheard among leaders at FBC/VBS included memories of marching in, of saying the pledges, and of memorizing Scripture verses during VBS summers where things went all day and lasted for up to 2-weeks. Hearing memories like that should be a reminder to all of us in Christ. The “seeds of faith” first planted in the hearts and minds of children can last a lifetime. Those faithfully continuing to serve as leaders each year testify to that. Let’s live with an eternal reunion in mind. Stay faithful. Love deeply. Share Jesus boldly. And when the day comes, what a joy it will be to hear a familiar voice say, “You’re here! Welcome home.”
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 says, “Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
Father, thank You for the glimpses of joy we experience during times like reunions and Vacation Bible School. Thank You even more for the promise of the eternal reunion we will share with those who are in Christ. Help us stay faithful to share You until that day. Comfort us in our grief, and give us joy as we look ahead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Until we meet again, grace,
Tom
More than thirty years ago now, I purchased the volume by William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues. Bennet served as the Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan. The book is a collection of traits essential for good character. Chapter titles include Responsibility, Courage, Compassion, Loyalty, Honesty, Friendship, Persistence, Hard Work, Self-discipline and Faith. According to the intro, “In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong.” I used this collection when my grandson Ethan was just learning to read. My hope was to plant in his young mind the principles needed to serve others. Before long, Ethan was reading some of the shorter selections to me. I highly recommend The Book of Virtues. Below is a story found in the chapter on Loyalty taken from an old Boy Scout book.
One of two brothers fighting in the same company in France fell by a German bullet. The one who escaped asked permission of his officer to go and bring his brother in.
“He is probably dead,” said the officer, “and there is no use in your risking your life to bring in his body.”
But after further pleading, the officer consented. Just as the soldier reached the lines with his brother on his shoulders, the wounded man died.
“There, you see,” said the officer, “you risked your life for nothing.”
“No,” replied Tom. “I did what he expected of me, and I have my reward. When I crept up to him and took him in my arms, he said, ‘Tom, I knew you would come—I just felt you would come.’”
Bennet then commented, “There you have the gist of it all; somebody expects something fine and noble and unselfish of us; someone expects us to be faithful.”
God’s Word has much to say about our relationship with our Creator. Each of us is encouraged to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” That love can in no way earn our place with Him. Neither can we, through our good works, our lives of love and sacrifice and service for others, save anyone to eternity—not even ourselves. It is by His grace that we are forgiven. It is because of His great love that He has prepared a place for us with Him in heaven. Still, we are commanded to live our lives in thankfulness and commitment to God. The love we show to God through the life we live in His Name is always to be validation that His Spirit is in fact living in us.
We are likewise commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The Bible continually speaks about our relationship with each other. We’re told to honor our parents. We are told to honor the marriage relationship. We are told to love and discipline our children. We are told to “rescue the perishing…care for the dying.” In Scripture is the call for each of the relational traits found in Bill Bennett’s book. Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Loyalty. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Hard Work. Self-discipline. Faith. And like last Sunday’s message from the Parable of the Good Samaritan, our Lord is calling us today to serve others as men and women who are growing more and more in the image of our Savior. Seeing value in others strengthens our relationship with the One who valued each of us enough to send His Son. Mercy begats mercy.
Remember, our Lord expects something fine and noble and unselfish of us; He expects us to be faithful.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Grace,
Tom
It’s time to tell you about another of my favorite hymns. I hope you love it, too. It was first published in 1787 by John Rippon, a Baptist minister in London. Even today, most hymnals still list the author simply as “K” because the composer wanted to remain anonymous. Most interested parties believe the writer was Rippon’s assistant, Robert Keene.
The original title of the hymn was “Scripture Promises.” Stanza 2 comes from Isaiah 41:10. Stanzas 3 and 4, from Isaiah 43:2. The “biggie” from Hebrews 13:5 comes on the final verse. We know the song as “How Firm a Foundation.” The melody calls you to join in even if you’re not a singer! This is one of those hymns to which we can apply James 1:7, “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” Sing along…
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
Oh, the promises of God found in His Word! The verses of this great hymn could go on and on. In that 1787 hymnal, above the first stanza, was printed a portion of 2 Peter 1:4. “…He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises…” How long of a sermon series would “Scripture Promises” end up being? I would start with Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” That promise covers my needs in this life, and my need of Him for life everlasting. If you’ll give it half a minute, you’ll have your own list of God’s promises started that you love and cling to.
Imagine sitting down alone in a quiet and reflective moment with pen and paper in hand. You have tasked yourself to write out the deepest, most personal feelings you could ever have for that one “to whom your soul loves”. You would write of your commitment and desire for that one’s best. With passion, you would tell that precious one of your love over and over. Then, imagine discovering that person never took the time to open and read your love letter? Might God feel that same longing for each of us to read and understand and recall all the great promises He has made in His love letter to us?
What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Grace,
Tom
When you were a kid, were you the captain when picking teams for dodgeball or some other game? Or, like me, were you just hoping not to be the last one chosen after everyone else had already been picked? More times than I care to remember, one of my brothers (who usually got to be captains) would “pity-pick” me so I wouldn’t be left dangling. I rarely thanked them for that, but I should have. It is good to feel wanted, to be chosen. When I was five years old, a bear in a ranger hat came on TV and told me that I am the only person who could prevent forest fires. Why I was chosen, I’ll never know, but I appreciated the effort he went to in getting the message to me!
Romans 8:29-30 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might become the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called, and whom He called, the He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” I believe in the necessity of personal faith in Christ, and the responsibility and free will of each person to respond to the gospel. Not wishing to offend any Calvinists brothers who might see this Meadow Minute, I want to share my heart about the idea of being chosen by God.
God has absolute and perfect foreknowledge. He knows from the end to the beginning and back again. Consequently, there is no contradiction between God’s foreknowledge and man’s freedom of choice. God just knows in advance the choice each person will make. The means and opportunities of our salvation were arranged before even time came about. God’s plan of salvation was from the beginning. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The elect are called. Ephesians 1:4 says, “just as He chose us before the foundation of the world…” So, whom did God choose for election before the foundations of time? Those who believe on His Son. And what parameters did He set out? “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” God foreknew who, in faith, would call upon the Name of the Lord to be saved—His elect. And to whom was the message given? To only some? No, to everyone. Out of all men, those who call upon the Lord will be saved, will be chosen, elected. God foreknew who that would be, those who would choose the way He laid out from all eternity. God, in His foreknowledge, set the parameters of our salvation. Those parameters, that election where all of us are guilty of sin, is our only ground for hope. God grants us our free will, and through the blood of Christ, lays out the process by which we are called His elect, His chosen. In His foreknowledge, God knows what choice we will make. And God’s election is always inclusive, never exclusive.
Here it is as blunt as I can share it: Predestination IS NOT God’s predetermining from past ages who should and who should not be saved. Scripture does not teach this view. What it does teach is that this Doctrine of Predestination concerns the future of believers. Jesus said that not one of His would be snatched from His hand. Predestination refers to the destiny of believers who are “in Christ.” It’s about what happens to “those who believe.” It has been determined beforehand that all who are truly His shall be conformed to His image.
It's good to feel wanted, to be chosen. And like me with my brothers, you and I as followers of Christ probably don’t thank God enough for choosing us by His omniscient grace to be on His team. But we should.
Grace,
Tom
One of my favorite memories of growing up in the church involved the story my mom told me about my oldest brother, Barry, when he was just a toddler. He loved to stand on the pew with his hands gripping the one in front of him so he could sing during the song service. Mom said Barry didn’t know the words, but he gave it his all anyway. Her story’s example was from the chorus of the hymn, “At Calvary.”
Barry would sing, “Mer-cy, mercy, mercy, mer-cy, me. Mer-cy, mercy, mercy, mer-cy, me. Mer-cy, mercy, mercy, mer-cy, me, at Cal-va-ry!” (Did you just try and sing that?)
One Sunday after each hymn that the congregation stood to sing, Barry was slow getting off the pew and sitting down. Each time, Barry’s hands got pinned on top of the pew in front of him by the man there sitting down. The man would then have to lean forward to let this little kid get his fingers free. Finally, after the Offertory Hymn, before the man leaned up to release Barry’s fingers, he took the time to grind his shoulder blades into Barry’s fingers—just as a teachable moment. Mom said before she could stop him, Barry grabbed a hymnal out of the rack on the pew back and gave the guy a whack across his head! Mercy message received and replicated. According to God’s Word, my brother was singing some great theology.
The phrase, “God desires mercy over sacrifice” or similar ideas appear several times in Scripture, both the Old Testament, and the New. Even with variations, each passage carries the same message: mercy, love, and justice must be prioritized over judgement, ritual, or legalistic observance. Jesus Himself speaks of this twice in the Gospel of Matthew.
The first time, found in Matthew 9:1, was in response to the Pharisees asking the Lord’s disciples why their Teacher would choose to eat with tax collectors and sinners. Maybe the Pharisees were trying to shame the disciples into turning their backs on Jesus. The selfish and self-righteous Pharisees were avoiding the ones who most needed spiritual help.
Jesus says, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion (mercy), and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The second time in Matthew 12:7, the Pharisees were shocked at Jesus’ lack of respect for the Sabbath. Well, more to the point: THEIR rules and regulations regarding the Sabbath. The Pharisees saw the disciples’ act of picking grain from the field to eat as threshing and harvesting—working on the Sabbath. Breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Taboo. The disciples had been around Jesus long enough and had heard His teachings to know the difference between the Mosaic Law and man-made traditions. They knew they weren’t breaking the Sabbath. How typical of a legalist!
Calling the Pharisees out on their hypocrisy, the Lord uses that phrase again. “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion (mercy), and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
Do you ever allow a mindset of legalism and ritual and judgement to control you? Is your growth in the Lord being adversely affected by your not dressing yourself with mercy and grace each day? That whole “Do unto others…” thing does seem to come to mind, doesn’t it?
James 2:13 says, “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Grace,
Tom
I’ve always loved timepieces. I am fascinated by them. In fact, I have the kit for a wooden Da Vinci cut-out clock I just can’t seem to get around to putting together. Maybe someday…when I have more spare time on my hands. (Pun intended.) I also have the gold pocket watch that was carried by my Great Grandfather, Albanus Heath. And though I have tried various clock shops, I have been unable to find anyone capable of replacing the very rare, broken crystal, and restoring the watch back to keeping accurate time. Sometimes that heirloom pocket watch ticks, and sometimes it doesn’t. Which brings me to this Meadow Minute, and a story I once heard about a renowned clockmaker.
The old man lived in a very small town, much like Meadow, yet he was known far and wide for fixing even the most stubborn, silent clocks. People came to him from miles around bringing him everything—from antique grandfather clocks to little travel alarms. The unassuming clockmaker rarely said much, but he always listened. Literally.
As the story goes, a curious young girl once asked him, “How do you know what’s wrong with the clocks?”
The old clockmaker smiled a wise smile and said knowingly, “I listen for what’s missing. Every clock, new or worn, large or little, is supposed to have a rhythm. When I hear what’s missing, I know what needs fixing.”
In many ways, God is the Master Clockmaker. He knows the rhythm of your heart and soul. And when, for whatever reason, your spiritual life loses its tick—when you stop listening, when you’re too distracted to notice the signs—He’s still listening for you. Your Heavenly Father is always ready to repair what’s offbeat. And He is still speaking if you’ll be still enough, long enough, to hear.
In last Sunday morning’s passage, Matthew 16:1-4, the Pharisees tested Jesus. They demanded to see a sign. But He answered and said to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” The logic of the Lord’s response to these supposed learned men was unassailable. Jesus wasn’t just criticizing the Pharisees for missing the signs already given them, though there had been many. After all, how could they have missed His feeding thousands with a kid’s lunch? They didn’t remember the once blind that could now see. Did they fail to connect how the once lame who could now walk. Even the once dead, Jesus had raised. They missed the Messiah standing right in front of them. Still, Jesus was inviting them (and us) to tune our ears, open our eyes, and return to the rhythm of God’s voice.
Do you hear God’s rhythm in your life—or are you letting the noise of the world drown Him out? Are you out of sync with the Lord? Have you become oblivious to His blessings showered on you, while ungratefully demanding a sign that He’s still there? Are the voices of the world around you so loud that you can no longer hear the still, small voice of the Spirit, guiding and comforting you through struggles and times of grief? Have you missed His quiet, tender presence, too busy looking for a way through the storms of your life? Jesus knows what makes you tick. He knows what’s missing in your life, what needs fixing. His Word, His truth, can help you find the rhythm.
The Lord is still speaking. Are you listening?
Grace,
Tom
Last Friday morning just after 9:00 a.m., we launched the FBC church van from the front lot with six students and two sponsors on their way to Fuge Youth Camp at Glorietta, NM. The expense of going to Glorietta has continued to climb each year. It costs several hundred dollars per student to go to Fuge, but any of us who have been to Glorietta will attest…there’s no place like it! This last spring, along with the Annual Church-Wide Dessert Auction, most of these young people also took part in earning their way to camp through service to others. These students recognized the opportunity to go as worth the effort to put some “skin in the game.” As a church, we should all be very proud of them and their families who have encouraged them and supported them in getting to camp. In a day when much is said about how entitled young people think they are, it is uplifting and heart-warming to see youth such as these step up and earn a large part of their own way to Glorietta. May God bless each of them with a Spirt-filled, life-altering week.
God’s Word continually highlights the importance of supporting and nurturing our youth. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Passages emphasize that children are a gift from God, a heritage to be treasured, and that young people should be taught and encouraged to live a life pleasing to God. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…”
Other verses of Scripture encourage the youth themselves to be strong in faith and to set an example as a team.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
The Bible doesn’t pull any punches, and our youth are stronger than we often give them credit for. It’s time to shoot straight with them about the things God expects.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”
2 Timothy 2:22 says, “So flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do no lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Those like our young people at camp warrant our prayers, our support, our example of faithfulness to God’s House and His purposes. As important and memorable as the mountaintop experience of camp can be, the Christian Walk most often is in the valleys and flatlands of daily living. Let’s do all we can as a church to encourage them in Bible Study. Let’s include them in fellowships and opportunities of service in using the gifts God has bestowed on them for His glory. Make it a part of your prayer life to lift these students and those who so faithfully work with them to the Throne of Grace, that God might grow His kingdom His way and to His good pleasure.
Grace,
Tom
Though many of us have before heard the account of Horatio Spafford’s circumstances in writing this favorite hymn, it bears repeating once more.
Spafford suffered financial disaster in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son just before the fire and they both longed for a chance to get away. Hearing that their friend, Dwight L. Moody, was going to be preaching in evangelistic campaigns in England, Spafford planned a trip for his entire family to England. His wife and four daughters went ahead on the SS Ville du Havre, and he was to follow them in a few days.
Out on the Atlantic the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and sank within twelve minutes, causing the death of 226 people including all four of the Spafford’s daughters. After being rescued and finally reaching shore, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband with just two words, “Saved alone.”
Spafford booked passage on the next ship. Crossing the Atlantic, he was told by the captain where it was thought the Ville du Havre had gone down. That night, Spafford penned the words, “When sorrows like sea billows roll…it is well, it is well, with my soul.” Sing these words in your heart…
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—O, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin—not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so”—it is well with my soul.
Oh, to have faith like Horatio Spafford! To know, “whatever my lot,” that still, “Christ has regarded my helpless estate.” And while the enemy “should buffet” and certainly in this life, “trials should come,” I remain redeemed because my Savior “has shed His own blood for my soul.” We all should long to live in the assurance and hope that there will be a day when our “faith shall be sight.” Scripture tells me to “look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.” I long for the day when, “the clouds be rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend.” Glory!
Romans 5:2b-4 says, “We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Grace,
Tom