Give A Bottle Of Water

Today our staff had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion with Rick Bezet, Pastor of New Life Church, Conway/Little Rock, AR led by Phil Brassfield via webinar. The church is 6 years old and at 6000 in weekend attendance. That happens in 9 services! Rick really challenged our thinking and urged all of us toward greater response to the Great Commission -- as opposed to just getting comfortable with "our church services." I think it's an easy thing to do -- just enjoy our church and forget that we're not called to make ourselves comfortable in church -- but to reach out to the lost in our community and to lead the hungry and the broken to Jesus Christ. It's really not about us! Jesus' death and resurrection is about "lost people" yet we continually make it about what feels good to us; our religious culture, feeding our own needs and forgetting that we're supposed to reach beyond the borders of the physical church. The greatest story ever told must be told continually. We cannot afford to keep quiet about what we know. Who among us would see a helpless woman, dying of thirst, and not give her a bottle of water? Is that not the mandate for every follower of Christ, to give Living Water to those dying of spiritual thirst? Help me pray that God will liberate us from ourselves -- that He will free us to free others with the life-changing power of God's love. Get ready!

Sunday's Second

Wow! Sunday's Second Service never ceases to amaze me. Have you noticed the growth in that service? And what about all the people receiving the Right Hand of Fellowship! On top of that, five people in that service committed their lives to Christ! Then this morning, I got a call from a family who said that both the husband and wife recommitted their lives to the Lord on Sunday. Thank God! Sunday night wasn't too bad either -- it's never too bad when God shows up. He knows exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Here's a little more News You Can Use: We got a call last Wednesday from Whirlwind -- the steel company saying the first load of steel will be delivered in 3 weeks. That puts us back on track after Hurricane Gustav. The steel company is located in Houston, TX and was without power for 2 weeks. Seems some very large jobs got shuffled to the back of production and our job got moved forward. Anyway the Admin. Bldg. and the Prayer Chapel should be here mid-October with steel arriving every 2 weeks until it's all delivered. Thank God, huh?!

18 Holes of Stink!

Today, I played a round of golf with a few pastor friends at Pine Hills. I really stunk it up, but I had a great time and shared a lot of laughs! When I got back to the church this afternoon, the staff had finished a new stage design. It really looks great and will be a good set for Mia Fieldes on First Wednesday Worship. Many thanks to our wonderful staff -- very gifted and talented people who do whatever it takes to get the job done! Trina and I enjoyed Taco Bell with Morgan, Scotty, Gibson and Theron after we left the church. Those kids are a hoot! It's great being Papa T.

Don't End Up Somewhere Else!

I went to my Wednesday small group this morning @ 6:30. We're studying the book The Faith -- What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It and Why It Matters by Chuck Colson. The discussion is great seeing we have many deep thinking men from various denominations participating. I'm always enlivened by their engagement and love the open discussion about what and why we believe what we believe. Someone said -- and I don't know who -- 'Truth is like a nickel. The more you rub it, the more it shines." I do think that Christians ought to know why and what they believe. Why is Truth important? Another quip fits well -- "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else!"

Thanks to all who participated in the Campus Prayer Walks yesterday at Boley and Highland schools. I know your praryerful presence on those campuses will be highly effective.

Blessings your way!

Can You "Believe" It?

The last two Sunday nights I've ministered about faith and the miraculous. We are believing for wonderful reports of God working in the lives of His people. I've not been disappointed. Last Monday I got a call from a faithful young family who had restructured their finances and put themselves on a budget. Things were really tight, though they knew they'd get better if they'd just stick to the plan. On Sunday, they fulfilled their commitment to God in their tithe and honoring their commitment to the Touching Eternity Building Campaign. They had been out the previous weekend, so they gave the amounts for two weeks. It was a real step of faith as they indicated that they were not just running short -- they were broke. The call I got Monday was from an ecstatic and elated BELIEVER giving praise to God. Out of nowhere a check came in the mail -- get this -- for 4 times the amount of their giving on Sunday! God is so faithful!

This afternoon I got a phone call from a dear lady for whom I had prayed on Sunday morning. Here's her testimony. She had cut her finger really badly -- almost off! It had been over a week and the finger was not healing -- she was concerned that she may lose it. So I prayed for her right there in the Common Ground Cafe' and we believed God for complete healing. This morning at around 11 am her daughter looked at the wound and said "Mama, you're gonna have to go get it stitched back up!" At 4 pm, the bandage was coming off, so as she was changing the bandage, she looked at it again -- and there it was as plain as day, new skin -- wound healed -- no scar! That's her testimony! Can you believe it? God can do it! Let me know what God is doing for you. Can't wait to hear.

Just Like Him?

I was reading this morning about how perfectly man, as the crown of creation was formed -- in the likeness of God! The original sin of Adam and Eve has obviously affected our entire world in a very negative way -- all of us included.
I was reminded of the power of the human mind -- and that most scientist estimate that the most brilliant among us use only 10% of their brain. That may even be an over-exaggeration when you think of the possibilities of the human mind. People who are affected by what has been termed as the Savant-Syndrome are severely limited as to their brain function -- and still they can blow YOUR mind by the almost unbelievable ability of their mental capacity in isolated areas.
Max Anders, in his book 30 Days To Understanding The Bible says there are twins in New York who can calculate the day of the week of any date you mention. If asked in which months and years of this century the twenty-first will fall on a Thursday, the brothers can give you the correct answer instantly. Wow! Still another man is legally blind and so severely retarded he can barely speak Yet he draws pictures with crayons that betray the skill of a master and are sold for exorbitant prices around the world. The minds of savants, he says, are like calculators or tape recorders or cameras -- able to capture the specific details of pictures or songs or mathematical formulas and then use those details with exacting precision.
It makes you wonder what man may have been before the fall --it may even give us some insight into what our glorified bodies will be like. Think about what John writes . . . "Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is" (1 John 3:22 ) NLT. Want to see some real life action -- check out this 3 minute YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhcQG_KItZM

Bug Juice!

I had a great afternoon at "Grandparents Snack-Day" with Gibson. I went all out, I thought. His favorite snack is an Ice Cream Sandwich but I had to figure out how to keep it frozen while I drove out to his school. So I went to Wal-Mart -- bought one of those flexible/zippered coolers ($3.28), put ice in it and was on my way to Woodlawn Elementary. I stopped at a convenience store on the way and got 2 Ice Cream Sandwiches -- and in case he wanted something to wash it all down with -- a bottle of "BugJuice" -- a fruit drink with a sports top on it. I put it all in the little ice cooler thing and was so proud of myself. I knew he was gonna be excited about the Ice Cream Sandwiches. I got there to a packed house -- 20 kids each with a grandparent -- plus 2 teachers. It was very crowded in there. Gibson was excited to see me -- ran over to me and gave me a big hug. That was worth the Ice Cream. I opened the cooler and exposed the Ice Cream Sandwiches. We each began to eat -- while he continued to rummage through the cooler. I had a Starbucks Mocha for myself and his eyes landed on the BugJuice. Immediately he said -- "I'm not very hungry -- I just ate lunch." This after only a couple of bites of ice cream. I'm thinking -- "What about your favorite snack here?" "I'm thirsty" he said. So the BugJuice was a hit. He sucked the bottom out of that thing -- which by the way , gave him a red tongue that he was pretty proud of. He first looked at himself in the mirror and then went around the room showing his friends his red tongue. It was all a pretty good experience, especially for such a "Young" Papa T!

Thirsty Truck!

Can you believe it? I was getting my truck washed and someone said that you can't get gas anywhere in town. I left the car wash and noticed that Super 1 had all it's pumps roped off. The next station i came to was Chevron -- Nth 7th at Cypress Streets. All the pumps had yellow bags over the handles. Whoa! I've gotta go find some gas for my thirsty truck!

New Blogger Alert!

Okay, Morgan has helped me set up this blog spot. So if it looks cheesy -- blame her!