Kingdom Surrender

Posted on FaceBook Mar 27, 2020

GOOD MORNING KINGDOM!

Well, here we are, our first morning under Stay-at-Home orders. I’m sitting out on our back porch, enjoying a cup of coffee, while Pat is inside getting her Zumba on. The sky is getting lighter as the sun dawns on a new day. Life continues. It may not be the same as yesterday, with movement restricted, but continue it still does. We can’t stop it.

Many years ago, as an assistant manager at Walmart, I put a countdown sign up in the lounge the day after inventory, showing 365 days till the next inventory. It was to serve several purposes. For one, it was a reminder that though we had just had inventory there would be another one coming and there was nothing we could do to prevent it. Second, since we knew it was coming and there was nothing we could do to stop it, we might as well begin preparing for it now, and EVERY day going forward. That would make life much easier as the day drew near.

Just as life moves forward through this crisis, it will come to an end. In the meantime, we must continue to prepare for the return to normalcy. Find ways to continue the things you used to do. Just because you can’t go to your fancy gym to work out, you can still exercise. Use household objects to provide resistance (anything from canned vegetables to propane tanks). Be creative. Pat continues Zumba on-line. We continue Date Night by carry out or cooking things we’ve not had in a while. Connect with friends by phone (Skype or face time if you miss seeing their ugly mugs). Now is the time to put our brain power to use and get creative. Remember the times when we were kids and could do so much with just a card board box. Get in touch with your inner kid. Reach out to those you know that may be struggling with isolation. Pray with them. Watch positive podcasts of your favorite pastors. Worship. Again be creative. We must put in the effort.

Above all, We must keep our focus on God and trust He will carry us through this crisis. We are not in control. God is! He loves us more than we could ever know or comprehend. Always has and always will. Thank you Jesus for that love. All He wants is our love, given freely, and our surrender to His will in obedience. With that comes eternal life, as promised in Scriptures (John 3:16). He does the rest.2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” As I mentioned in my last post, pastors and others are raising one voice in praying for Gods intervention to heal this land. I can sense a revival swelling up throughout this country, despite all the bickering, hoarding, panic, finger pointing, etc. Spirit move, so that ALL the world will know your goodness and see your glory!

Posted on FaceBook, Mar 25, 2020

GOOD MORNING KINGDOM!

As COVID-19 continues to spread and cause panic around the world, many are “turning to God” in prayer. Those who follow Christ are raising their voice together in one accord, speaking of the promises in Scripture, like Psalm 91, and emphasizing trust in God. Their words may be different, but the message is the same – lean into God and find peace in this crazy world. As we do so, God works through us, allowing the light of His grace to shine and be seen by those around us, giving them hope. As believers, we know the power of prayer. Several times Moses implored God to have mercy on the Israelites, and He did. Pastor Robert Morris, Gateway Church, has asked all to join him in prayer twice a day, 7:14 am and pm, reciting 2 Chronicles 7:14. We must raise our voice in one accord. God will hear our prayers and “heal our land.

“God didn’t unleash this virus, but He will turn what the enemy intended for harm into good for His purposes. Church buildings may be closed, but the Word continues to be delivered through the same medium many point to as evil – the Internet. God works on so many levels, at the same time. At some point, God will stop this virus. My prayer is that all those who turned to Him in prayer during this crisis, stay with Him in praise and thanksgiving after the crisis, and grow stronger in faith, and don’t become “Emergency” Christians, abandoning Him until the next crisis. May God water that seed planted in them and bring them closer to Him. Cause a revival to flourish across this planet!

Breath life into us all! Set us on fire!

Posted on FaceBook Mar 10, 2020

Good Morning Kingdom!

And by morning, I mean early morning. I was awakened an hour ago, about 12:50 am, unable to breathe. As I stumbled to the bathroom, I realized it was darker than usual. It was then that I discovered the power was out, which is why I woke up. No power, no operating C-Pap machine, no proper breathing. After lying in bed for a while, not able to go back to sleep, I decided to get up and finish this post I had started last week, no easy task. I’m typing this on my computer in Word Perfect (don’t judge me), for later transferring to FaceBook. No easy task in the dark, not being able to see the keyboard.

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” Acts 4:32-35Ford has been telling me for the last year that the brakes in our Ford truck needed replacing, like every time I took it in for an oil change. Pat told me this past weekend (Mar 1) that it needed to be done before our trip to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock this weekend (Mar 7/8). So, Tuesday (Mar 3) I called around a few places to get quotes. The worst case (brake pads and rotor replacement) for the front brakes came to around $500. I wound up taking it to Goodyear for a free inspection and estimate first. The result? No work needed; the pads were fine and the rotors were well within tolerance. However, the battery would need replacing soon (cranking at around 200 when it should be 700.) The battery is only a year old, bought at Walmart and has a 3 year replacement warranty. I’ll be going to Walmart for that replacement.

Now, I’m no mechanic. It sure seemed like my rotors needed replacement, after running my fingers over their surface, and backed up with “expert” Ford opinion. But, no. God is great! $500 saved. I share this testimony, not to brag, but to give God all the glory and praise. To give others hope. To light a fire of revival in the hearts of all. This world is turned upside down. We may live in this world, but we are not of this world. The only way to rise above the chaos and live a righteous life is through the will of Jesus Christ. My focus for the year is revival, both spiritual and physical. There is something to be said for the early church days as described in Acts above. They wanted for nothing as all their needs were provided. Looking back on my life, I realize that through all the ups and downs of life, my needs have always been provided. Some may say that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth (actually some have actually told me that.) My life testimony shows blessings after blessings. But I know it’s not me. It’s God’s grace. And it continues. Every Christian can experience God’s love and grace by surrendering to His will, and obeying. That’s my revival theme for the year. Walk (and live) it out with Christ.

On Wednesday night, the message at church was titled “Our Testimony.” The testimony referred to was not our story but one Story, that of Jesus Christ. I used to almost feel embarrassed talking about all the blessings God has bestowed on me. That is until I realized I wasn’t focused on me; I was sharing the great things only God can do with an empty vessel. It’s a matter of perspective. When you look at a glass only partially filled with a liquid, do you see a glass half full or half empty? Me, I see a full glass, half filled with a liquid and the rest filled with air, so much air that the glass can’t contain it; the air is spilling over and completely surrounding the glass. That’s how God’s love and blessings are with each of us. He gives us so much blessing that we can’t possibly contain it all, and we’re not meant to. Those blessings are meant to be shared, passed on to others, as stated in John 7:37-38: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scriptures have said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” God blesses us immeasurably and we are to then spread those blessings to others by giving God all the praise and glory, speaking of his Story. That’s the perspective. Sometimes, it may be hard to discern the blessings, but if you believe, they are there. Again, it’s a matter of perspective. If you’re looking for blessings that are meant for you, you’ll miss the real blessings.

We had a great trip to San Antonio, with the assurance of riding with good brakes. 9 of us went to, up and back down, Enchanted Rock, then stayed overnight at the TLF on Randolph AFB, where the blessings continued. The genesis of the trip was Pat’s desire to start Spring Break off on a good note for her three teen aged grand daughters. They had never been to Enchanted Rock. So, we packed them, ourselves, Pat’s other grand daughter, two daughters and one of her sons into two cars and off we went. Had a great time on the Rock, all having made it to the top, even this old guy, and safely back down. A problem developed later that night, at the TLF. The upstairs toilet malfunctioned, over filled and had flooded the upstairs bathroom and leaked through the ceiling into the kitchen/dining room below. We called the front desk, and they sent out a Maintenance Man, who confirmed what I had already surmised. After shutting the water to the toilet off, I looked inside the tank and discovered the bulb had prevented the flusher to reset, causing the water to continue flowing, well beyond filling the toilet bowl. The maintenance man reset the toilet, and left, not able to clean anything up, because he was maintenance not house keeping. The front desk had no mops or buckets to provide us, just towels. Remember this was the start of Spring Break. There were no other TLF facilities to move us into and we knew there would be no rooms available at midnight in town, so we decided to block off the kitchen/dining room, sop up what water we could with towels, and tough it out for the night. The blessings came at checkout when we were told they had refunded the cost of the room because of our inconvenience.

Pat got to spend 7 quality hours alone with her three older grand daughters, we enjoyed God’s creations, free hotel, with only a minor inconvenience. Great weekend, thanks to God’s gracious blessings. That’s what awaits the true believer who submits to God’s will and walks it out.

And with that, the power just kicked back on at 2:55 am. Good night. God’s perfect timing. I will post this to Facebook later.

Posted on FaceBook Feb 20, 2020

GOOD EVENING KINGDOM!

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)At the beginning of the year last month, I posted several comments stating this was a year of REVIVAL. That is my word for the year. Revival: not just my own personal revival, but my commitment to further the revival of the body of Christ, His Church, how and wherever I can.

Today is a continuation of that theme. Anyone reading those posts last month may have correctly concluded I was talking about a spiritual revival, and they would have been correct. But in truth there is more. I was also talking about a personal physical and mental health revival. We want to travel more, visit family more, enjoy each other’s company more (a sort of mental health revival.) So, we are committed to more camping trips, starting this weekend (hopefully) with the granddaughter Maggie. We will take Pat’s other 3 granddaughters, as well as Maggie, Pat’s daughters and one of her sons, to Enchanted Rock for the weekend next month at the beginning of Spring Break. We will be flying to North Carolina for the 4th of July weekend for a family gathering with my baby sister and family, and a slew of relatives on my mother’s side. Then in October, we go to Gatlinburg, TN, to attend the wedding of a dear friend from Somerset, KY. And next year will continue with another possible cruise and a trip to Boston. And closer to home, Pat and I have weekly Date Nights, for as long as we continue to find places neither one of us have been to, which is hard since she’s a native Corpus Christi woman.

The calendar is even more filled with the physical revival side of things. As the above Scripture states, our bodies are the temples of God. My body is the only one I will have on this earth, and since I sense that I will be in it for a long time still to come, I had best treat it like the temple it is, to give all glory and honor to God. So, I ended last year beginning the process of having a complete physical. I intended to follow that with getting all the little aches and pains and issues addressed, one at a time. The blood work added an issue to the list of venous reflux, bad knee, back cyst, poor hearing, diet tweaking, and maybe revisiting my umbilical hernia. My Medicare card is going to get a major workout this year. The blood work showed that I am no longer an on- and off again pre-diabetic. I am diabetic. I had already started working on losing weight after Thanksgiving, losing 10 pounds before my diagnosis several weeks ago. Add six more pounds to that post diagnosis. Glucose levels are dropping, and I expect them to drop even more when I get back into the gym, which was supposed to have been this week. That will have to wait a couple weeks, as I have surgery Friday to remove the golf ball sized cyst from my back.

My nurse practitioner is being thorough. She is scheduling me follow-up appointments with my cardiologist and nephrologist. I have already started the venous closure process with a consult; the ultrasound is scheduled in a couple weeks. And towards that end, I have started wearing compression socks in anticipation of surgery. After these series of appointments and checks are completed, I will then address my hearing (which is deteriorating,) and my knee (which is actually improving.)All of this to say: my personal physical and mental health revival is actually part of my spiritual revival. It’s a package deal. Just as you can’t be content in claiming to be a Christian by going to church on Sundays, and living in the world, without regard to giving glory to God, the rest of the week. It must be all in! Now some may say “too much information.” I say “hogwash.” These are the steps to my personal spiritual revival. In listing them here, I will be accountable to you to stay the course on this path. My doing so might encourage you to take up a similar journey. Had I done this years ago, I might have prevented my heart attack in 2015. It’s not too late to begin your own journey of revival. My desire is to light a fire and inspire a revival of the body of Christ, one body at a time, if necessary (starting with my own.) Are you with me?

FaceBook post Jan 7, 2020

It’s been a few days, but it is now time to finish tying everything together. It seems that all that has gone on in the last several months has pointed to this. I mentioned in my last post that God had released me to begin playing my guitar again. The post before that I talked about living it out with Christ, from the heart, not just merely walking it out.In the last few weeks, I’ve heard more people talking from the heart about complete surrender to God’s will: people in our church, sports figures, preachers on pod casts, co-workers, etc. My presentation back in October was titled “Freedom in Surrender.”

You know how when you buy a new car, and you’re so excited because it is one of a kind, you’ve never seen one like it before, until you pull off the lot and on the way home you see several just like it? This increased sensitivity of hearing others talking about surrender is not like that. It is God moving! And He’s taking it to another level.We started a new cycle of GriefShare last night, after a month break, and start DivorceCare on Friday night. I feel revived, and excited to see what God has planned and will do in the next 13 weeks. I feel excited for the transformations God will orchestrate in the hearts and souls of the participants. It’s the dead of winter (for South Texas) and I can sense the revival of spring in the air, even as Pat pointed out the dead grass in the front yard this morning. My heart is singing for joy (very quietly of course) with the opportunity to be playing the guitar again, in moderation. I see my wife blossoming even more in her bold proclamation of Christ. I see people beginning to be more involved in church community. I feel hearts softening and people turning to Christ with a passion I haven’t seen in a while. All this despite all the evil, destruction and hatred surrounding us.

The first worship song recently at church was “Raise a Hallelujah,” a song I can’t keep from singing aloud, much to my wife’s chagrin. The very next song was “Move.” The Chorus is “So come move, let justice roll on like a river. Let worship turn into revival. Lord, lead us back to you.” God does not do coincidence. I have had this sense enveloping me the last month or so. It has permeated my soul. That’s is what led to my selection of the word for 2020: REVIVAL! Then God says to get back into playing my guitar (worship), then infuses my soul with a greater feeling of revival coming. THEN I hear this song with the line tying both of those together “Let worship turn into revival.

”This feeling is not one of renewal. That happened at the moment of our salvation. We were made new on that day. Unfortunately, many us of have become complacent in our faith. This is a new year and a new decade (depending on how you count decades.) God is moving and it is a time of revival, both personally and within the community of the body of Christ. I don’t plan on watching it grow. I will be a part of it. I pray that He gives me the strength and wisdom to move this forward. And surrounds this city, state, country and world with like-minded believers to spread the coming revival. It is time to shine the light of Christ!