Green and Growing

Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.

Proverbs 1:5 ESV

The desire to learn is a gift from God and should be practiced daily. Learning occasionally is one thing, but to be a perpetual learner is something entirely different.

It appears that Jesus Himself was a perpetual learner, (Luke 2:41-49). In His early days as a twelve year old boy He stayed back in the temple and learned from the teachers rather than going home with His parents after the feast. He seemed to be overcome by the possibility of learning more about the things of His Father God.

I too have been overcome when learning more of God. Even at my age I can’t seem to learn enough. The more I learn of God, the more I want to learn.

Almost fifty years ago as a young minister I was driving from Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas. A few miles outside of Corpus Christi I drove past hundreds of acres of wheat fields. As I drove past those wheat fields I was overcome by the presence of the Lord because I was remembering what Jesus in John 4:35 says, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

Without even thinking I immediately pulled my car off the highway and stopped in front of the wheat field. I jumped out of the car and began preaching to the wheat as if I was preaching to thousands of people. I don’t know how long I preached because I was so overcome by the Spirit of God.

I’m sure the folks driving past must have wondered what in the world I was doing. At that point I really didn’t care what anyone thought because something was happening in the spiritual realm that was a prophetic picture of my future life. My prayer has always been to be as passionate when preaching to others as I was when I was preaching to the grain field.

When I finished preaching I noticed that one stock of wheat was taller than the rest. I said, “Father I don’t know what it means but I want to be just like that one.”

Sometime later I was ministering in a church and told that story. A lady in the back of the church raised her hand and said, “Brother John, I grew up on a wheat farm in Oklahoma and when a stalk of wheat is taller than the others it’s because it’s still green and growing.” I shouted and said, “That is exactly what I’ve been praying for. I want to always be green and growing.”

I still pray that prayer to this day.

Father,
Thank you for giving me the gift of learning. Learning natural things satisfies my soul as nothing else can. Learning spiritual things satisfies my spirit as nothing else can. I thank you also Lord for allowing me to be a teacher so other learners can be fulfilled in mind and spirit as well. Lord stretch my ability to learn in realms I’ve not yet imagined. You said in your word to “let the wise hear and increase in learning and the one who understands obtain guidance”.
Amen.

IS TRUE FATHERING WHAT IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE?

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Proverbs 13:20 KJV

One of the hot topics today in Christian circles is the subject of spiritual fathering. It’s as though if one can be labeled a father, he’s attained at least some measure of respect and worth in the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, it seems that many of the modern day fathers aren’t fathers at all, but self-made men who have discovered a new way to control the hearts, lives and money of trusting Christians.

It is yet to be discovered whether true fathering is what it’s cracked up to be. We must first come up with some true fathers so we can test the principle. (Perhaps that statement was a little unkind and uncalled for and only a reflection of my own little protest against the injustice I see in the body of Christ with self proclaimed fathers.) I do believe there are many true fathers today who are nurturing their spiritual children without claiming their spiritual children’s inheritance as their own.

True fathers are packaged in many ways. Some are so scholarly and deep that you discover the need to be small while you sit at their feet and learn.
Others, like Jesus, use natural things such as birds, storms, fish and parables to draw a parallel to the truth that will help you through the problem at hand.
There is still another kind of father that is often overlooked. This one says very little because he’s not sure he knows muchyet with each word, he speaks volumes. The ways of this man should be studied carefully, because he just may be one of those Moses fellows who talks to God mouth to mouth (Num 12:8 NAS) but is not all that good at talking to man.

Which of the above three is the real father? God has deposited all three of these men in our spiritual bank account for us to discover that we can draw from their unlimited treasure at will. The fact is, there may be times when we may need the scholarly, other times when we need the practical, and yet at other times we will need the quiet one.

Is true fathering what it’s cracked up to be? The answer is a resounding “yes” by those who sit at the feet of the scholarly fathers, the storyteller fathers and the quiet Moses type fathers.

Father,
I thank you for all the father type men you have put in my life…men of great character. Men who not only see my God given potential, but men who have the patience to work with me while you are perfecting my life. Father, help me to be a better student of the men I respect and admire. Help me to also see the same God given potential in other people’s lives and give me a willingness to help them along the way as others have helped me.

Amen!

OLD MEN NEED FATHERS TOO

A fool despises his father's instruction, but he who listens to correction is wise.

Pro 15:5 MKJA

There doesn’t seem to be an age limit to one’s need for a father. Age itself doesn’t eradicate the need for that special moment with a father figure. The thought of spiritually sitting on dad’s lap listening to his wisdom, and having a man to man talk can heal many things.

Unfortunately, most men today have never had a lap sitting experience with a real father much less a spiritual one. Maybe that’s why there’s such a deep longing inside so many men for that special father’s touch.

However, God does have a way of using those unfortunate fatherless situations in training men to be fathers to the fatherless themselves. They seem to make the best kind of father because of their deep level of compassion for others. You can only really minister effectively through a heart that has been tested.

I recently had a spiritual son go home to be with the Lord. He was sixty eight years old—yet for the past twenty years he honored me as his spiritual father. I was only five years older than he, but when it comes to fathering, age is never the issue.

Age alone does not make one a spiritual father but the calling of God. The world is full of old men, yet there is still a need for spiritual fathers.

One of the special fathers in my life was an old black man of God. He lived about forty miles from me. I used to go to his house every Tuesday and listen to him talk about the things of the Lord. He spoke with such simplicity…yet with such wisdom. I often wondered how he learned all of those deep things, while I felt so shallow.

This special man would teach me the bible and prophesy how the Lord was going to use me. I must admit I probably had more doubt than faith, and wondered how in the world these things could possibly come to pass. However, I, like Mary, hid all those words in my heart, and over the years I watched all of them come to past.

Sometimes on Tuesdays I still feel the urge to go and sit on the front porch of that little unpainted house and learn from a very special man.

My black father is now with the Lord and the little unpainted house is no longer there. However, the effect of all the teaching and learning that took place on that front porch is still bearing fruit to this day.

It’s been many years since I experienced the black man’s fatherly touch. I do miss those special days and think sometimes if I could only go back for just one day with him and his wisdom I might be able to minister a lot more effectively. But having said that, I also realize that now it’s my turn to sit on the front porch and mentor others as I was mentored, otherwise my black father’s time was wasted.

Do old men need fathers? Of course we do. Our bodies may get old but that doesn’t mean our minds do. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we’ve attained some level of wisdom that would alleviate our need for learning.

As a matter of fact, I’m learning more today on how to be a more effective spiritual father than I learned in my youth.

Father,

I thank you for my black father who not only taught me the simplicity of the gospel, but also had faith in my spiritual development. Help me Lord to always be an effective front porch minister. Lord there are many who need to be mentored today by fathers who care for them and have faith in their spiritual development, as the black man had in me. Help me Lord to remember the things that I was taught so I can teach others in a more effect way.

Amen

The Old Junk Man

(1Co 1:27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

I've noticed over the years that many father figure examples are camouflaged with all kinds of coverings. They come in all kinds of shapes, forms and persuasions.

Sometimes there's a real father figure diamond in the rough right in front of you if you will only open your eyes and look. Such was the case for me when I was thirteen years old. I had already been on my own for a while when I had the rare privilege of meeting and working for an old man that was commonly known as the junk man.

He didn't look like much and sometimes he didn't even act like much, but he was industrious.

He lived on a little farm in East Texas in a small unpainted house in the woods off a deep sandy road.

His relationship with his wife was zero. As a matter of fact, at night she even made him sleep on a cot in the chicken house with nothing separating him from the weather except chicken wire. However, he seemed to be happy with that arrangement because I never heard him complain. Not that it would have made any difference because she was tougher than a wart hog.

The old man was also a part time preacher.

We would travel up and down those East Texas sandy roads Monday through Saturday visiting every farm looking for scrap iron to sell. We were commonly known by folks as "the old junk man and his boy." It seemed like a great job to me because my duties were to drive his raggedy old truck.

You may think to yourself, what in the world could you possible learn from a father figure like that? Actually, I learned many things that continue to be profitable to this day.

I learned how to handle the rejection of others in a more graceful way by watching the old man handle his chicken house experience. Today, life is full of chicken house experiences that will get you down if you let them. The thing that was the real lesson to me was that even though the old man had to sleep in the chicken house, the chicken house never slept in him.

The second lesson I learned from the old man was that there's treasure in junk. Today as I minister and I see a person whose life looks like junk, I begin to look for the richness and wealth hidden beneath the surface. Your life may be ragged, ripped and torn apart, but because of the lessons I learned from the old junk man, I can see treasures in your life.

The next lesson I learned from the old junk man was that true success was not in the getting of things, but the ability to enjoy the simple things of life.

I am in my seventies now and I continue practicing each of those wonderful life lessons I learned so many years ago. I feel grateful each time I remember the days of driving the old pick up truck up and down those deep sandy roads in the back woods of East Texas, picking up junk and learning from an old man who slept in the chicken house...

Was he really a junk man in my life or Jesus in disguise training me for my future role as a minister of the gospel? Hmmm!

I see so many lives today that could benefit from having an old junk man around to teach them real life lessons.

Father:
I thank you for teaching me some of the most important lessons of my life through an ordinary old junk man. I also thank you Lord for helping me discover the joy of simplicity. I pray I will never forget how to teach others in the same simplistic way that I was taught.
Amen.

Why Not Tonight

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Mathew 19:14

There is an old saying that says that you can always tell when a person is getting older because they only want to talk about their past. This would of course imply that there is nothing happening in their present life worth talking about. I might agree with a part of that but certainly not all of it.

There are plenty of things happening in my own life today worth talking about…and I do. As a matter of fact, the presence of God and His revelatory teaching to me is more powerful today than before. I can hardly wait to wake up in the morning and listen to his sweet voice giving me daily direction. I also can hardly wait to go to bed at night so He can speak to me through dreams and night visions.

Having said all of that… a couple of days ago the Lord called something to my remembrance that is worth sharing with others. What He brought to my remembrance was certainly an encouragement to me and hopefully it will also be to you. It has to do with how God started working in my life at a very early age.

When I was six years old we lived on a little farm in a community called Jersey Village. There were several small farms and businesses scattered around the dairy farm and store which was the center piece of our community.

In those days most people either rode buses and trains, or they walked, because they couldn't afford cars and gas. This was of course during World War II when most things were rationed.

One day a traveling preacher set up a gospel tent and began holding revival meetings not far from where I lived.

I was strangely drawn to those meetings even though I had not been invited. I would leave home after dark and walk down the dirt road and across the highway to where the tent was set up. I was a very shy, bashful little boy so I never went into the tent. Instead I walked back and forth and up and down the road in front of it. Even though I didn't understand what the preacher was saying, I felt good. The thing that seemed to get to me the most was the invitation song. It still has the same heart warming impact in my soul today as it did back then. "Oh Why Not Tonight Will Thou Be Saved, Oh Why Not Tonight?"

Little did the tent preacher know that his greatest influence was not on the twelve or fifteen people sitting in his service on those make shift benches, but in the heart of a little six year old barefoot boy walking back and forth in the dark in front of his tent.

It's been many years since those tent meetings, but the same Holy Spirit that strangely drew me out into the darkness to go listen to a tent preacher with an invitation song called, "Oh Why Not Tonight," has become my very best friend.

A father's influence comes in many different ways. Without knowing it, an ordinary little tent preacher had a fatherly influence on my life. His influence would one day help shape my own commitment to God and my preaching the gospel.

My prayer is that I too might have the same influence on some other little bashful six year old barefoot boy, as the tent preacher had on me.

Father,
I thank you for "drawing" me through the faithfulness of the tent preacher. Even though he may have never preached the gospel more than just a few miles from where he lived, he was still influential. Father, only you know the effect of our ministry. I pray I will always be a faithful extension of the tent preacher's ministry, although we never met.

Father I too want to have an influence on some other little barefoot six year old boy that you strangely draw to hear me. "Oh Why Not Tonight".