The Old Farm

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19 KJV

One day many years ago while riding my horse through the deep woods of East Texas I came upon an old home place. The trees and brush had taken over the yard, the fields, the fruit orchard, the road and everything else. Unless you were very close to the house or the barn you could not tell they were there because of the trees and brush.

It was apparent that no one had lived on the old farm or had even driven on the road for many years. As a matter of fact, I had grown up near this old place and had been all through those woods...but I never knew the farm was there. It was easy to tell that at one time this must have been a very beautiful old farm.

I got off my horse and started looking around. I carefully walked up the steps (the ones that were not rotten) to the old house and onto the front porch. There were still a couple of old rocking chairs sitting on the front porch. I walked into the house through what was left of the screen door. All of the furniture was still in the old house even though most of it was rotten or broken down. In the kitchen the breakfast dishes for two were still sitting on the small kitchen table. The skillet used for cooking breakfast was still on the old wood stove. In the bedroom you could also tell that the bed had not been made when they got up and made breakfast that last morning. The entire house looked as though the people who lived there just got up that morning, had breakfast, walked out the front door, and never returned home.

After looking at the house I walked out the back door and went out to what was at one time, a beautiful old barn. There was an old wagon half way out the front door of the barn. There was also an old plow lying on the ground halfway out the side door of the barn. There were several other farm implements on the outside of the barn. There was still the remains of hay in what used to be the hayloft. The rain barrel (like most farms had in those days) had long since been rusted out.

After looking at the house and the barn, I began to walk out toward the field. I was amazed that the rows were still there even though the brush and trees had taken over the field.

After looking at the field I decided to go look at the fruit orchard in back of the house. In those days most farms had a fruit orchard so the family could have fresh fruit for the summer as well as preserves and jelly for the rest of the year. As I walked around, I knew this must have been a beautiful orchard with peach trees, pear trees, and fig trees. Of course by now the orchard had long been abandoned and overgrown with vines.

I then walked around the old house, sat down on the only step to the front porch that was not rotten, and began looking at those beautiful large oak trees that lined the little wagon road coming up to the house.

I began wondering why anyone would just walk off and leave this beautiful old farm and never return.

After some research I found the answers to my questions. The old farmer and his wife had a daughter who moved away from the farm and never wanted to return. When her parents got old, the daughter came one morning and picked them up after breakfast. She took them to her home in a town an hour away. The old couple never returned to their home as they had assumed they would.

The old couple died without having the joy of seeing their beautiful farm again.

At the time of my research the daughter had grown old and had never gone back to the farm and that is why it was in such disrepair.

I would often ride my horse through the woods to the old farm and sit on the front step and dream about living there. I am sure I never shared my discovery with anyone else because it was such a private experience for me. From time to time I would go back to my little private hideaway (the old farm), and pray. For me, it really was a special place to walk with the Lord in the cool of the day.

Jesus went to the mountain to spend time with His father. Moses went to the burning bush to talk with God. Elijah was in the back of the cave when God came to talk to him. My place of solitude with the Lord was the old farm house that had been partially covered with vines. We may not all have a mountain or a burning bush or a cave or an old farm house to get alone with God, but it is good to have some place to meet our Father.

Father,

You and I have spent time together at many wonderful places and they have all been special. However, the old farm had to be one of our most special places to meet. Father, that old farm was no doubt one of the most unique places of intercession I have ever been to. It may have been forgotten by others, but not by You. It was You who led me there so I could experience the burning bush as Moses had done. Father...I, like Mary, have hidden these wonderful experiences in my heart because it was so intimate. Thank you Father for leading me to the old farm.

Amen.

Gaps

They haven't lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God's Day of Judgment.

Ezekiel 13:5 Message Bible

The Message Bible more than any other Bible seems to give a clearer picture of the problem with the unrepaired defenses of the city. There were gaps (or holes) in the wall of that city where the enemy could come in and destroy its inhabitants. As I studied this passage I began to realize how applicable this story was to our lives today.

The city represents us and the walls represent our defense that keeps the enemy out of our lives. Over the years I have noticed that many people seem to have gaps (or holes) in their lives. In many cases these gaps are of their own doing and in other cases these gaps are not of their initiative. Some times when a person is growing up, the pain they may have experienced causes them to block out certain periods of time in their life in such a way that they really do not remember particular times or events. Yet at other times an experience is locked in their memory and although they remember these experiences, they cannot talk about them. As unfortunate as these experiences are, they often leave gaps in that person's defense, and they can become vulnerable in those areas of their lives.

Over the years I have spent hundreds of hours ministering to people...as I have dealt with most every kind of problem. The things that are painful enough to cause gaps in a person's life can range from incest and other physical abuses to abortion.

Counseling itself is wonderful and should be explored, but some of these things can only be discovered through a word of knowledge. Even though some of these gaps are caused by physical problems, the need for spiritual healing is the only solution for healing the mind and memory.

I once ministered to a man that was in his early fifties. His spirit had been shut down all of his life-the result of a variety of physical abuses. He was a big man and he had always been very soft spoken and extremely withdrawn.

After a time of ministering to him through words of knowledge...he was completely set free. As a matter of fact, he was so changed that he was a shock to everyone else, including himself. Even his wife wondered what had happened to him, because he was not the same man she married. He discovered that he had been living a manufactured life shaped by his circumstances. He was not the man that God had created him to be. He was now able to repair the gaps in his wall and become the defender of his spiritual city because Christ had healed him.

If we are not careful we can get gaps in our walls where the enemy can enter and destroy our inheritance.

Father,

Help me to be a faithful repairer of the gaps in my own walls so I can help others repair the gaps that are in their walls. Thank you Lord for passages of Scripture such as Ezekiel spoke, which remind us of the strategies of Satan that could thwart the blessings you have in store for us.

Amen

His Eye Is On the Sparrow

Always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. GOD of the Angel Armies! King! God!

Psalms 83:2-3 Message Bible

The reason I chose this scripture out of the Message Bible is because of its poetic style. Delicate sparrows seem best fitted in the framework that the Message Bible provides.

The thought of God meeting the needs of a little insignificant sparrow gives me great confidence that my needs will also be met. This scripture is a constant reminder that I am never out of God's mind.

Unfortunately the world is filled with people who feel unloved and insignificant. They feel that if they were not here, they would not be missed. I have seen that look on many old folks in nursing homes, the homeless and on the faces of little ones in an orphanage. I suppose I could imagine how those folks may feel unwanted and insignificant. The thing that really bothers me is when I look on the faces of people in a crowded church and see that same look of being unwanted and insignificant. After all...we are supposed to be the ones with the answers to such problems.

I think I understand—at least to some degree—how many of these folks feel. I remember some time ago, still being a young preacher, going through an experience that seemed to have no real solution. I started driving around out in the country and asking God what I should do. I parked my car under a big old tree and put my head across the steering wheel and prayed for a long time. When I finished praying I looked up and sitting on the end of a rotten limb in front of my windshield was a little sparrow. This little sparrow just sat there staring through the windshield at me.

My entire perspective was instantly changed concerning my present problem as well as future problems. The voice of the Lord seemed to speak to me through the presence of that little sparrow and reminded me of scriptures such as our text, as well as the Matthew 10:29-31 KJV passage.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

From that time I have never doubted that God is with me and cares for my well being.

I have also dedicated my life in sharing the sparrow story with others who feel hopeless, unwanted and insignificant. If God has His eye on the sparrow then how much more does He have His eye on those He made in His image such as you and me?

Father,

I pray you will help us all to be the sparrow sitting on the end of a rotten limb for another discouraged hopeless soul. Father sometimes it is not what we say, but it is our presence that you speak through. Thank you Father for allowing us to be your hands extended to others in need.

Amen

Charlie's Temper

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 ASV

Anger is probably one of the most destructive sins that have ever been enacted by mankind. The byproduct of anger has killed people, caused sickness, started wars, destroyed marriages, lost money, driven people to insanity and a litany of other things.

Oftentimes, the root of anger can be insecurity, fear or jealousy. Most everyone seems to have a hot button, and when it is pushed it will set them off. Many times anger is manifested early on in a child's life…and if not dealt with could lead to a pattern of bad behavior later on in life. This may not always be the case, but it is very likely that the root of anger did not start after a person became an adult.

There is nothing quite as ugly as a person displaying their anger. It makes those around them uncomfortable and can also leave them embarrassed after they cool off.

Without the Lord's help there is no restraining force to convict us as we have outbursts of anger. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit is our only hope for change. The story below is a good example of just how ugly uncontrolled anger can be.

When I was a young man growing up in East Texas I knew a couple whose names were Mary and Charlie. This couple did not have any children, so they looked at me as their 'part time son'. They lived on top of a red clay hill in a board and batten house that was built a couple of feet off the ground. The house had never been painted and it was very old.

Even though I loved Charlie-he had a temper like a baby rattlesnake.

Charlie was a good carpenter and wood worker. One day he decided to build Mary a new bed. The bed looked great, but he cut the slats (which hold up the springs and mattress) too short. Instead of taking the time to cut new slats, he and Mary slept on the bed with short slats which would fall out every night. Every time the slats would fall out Charlie would hit the floor. Mary said his customary routine was to jump up, cuss his bed, put the slats back in, get back in the bed and go back to sleep. According to Mary this went on night after night for years.

However, one night Charlie was particularly tired when he went to bed because he had a hard day at work. Mary said his patience seemed to be shorter than usual that night. Charlie went to bed and had just gotten to sleep when the slats fell out and as usual his frazzled body hit the floor.

Mary said she was totally shocked because Charlie did not jump up off the floor as his pattern was, and start cussing his bed. He just quietly got up off the floor and headed out the back door, wearing nothing but his long handle underwear with one side of the back flap unbuttoned. He calmly walked out to the barn and picked up his ax and walked back into the house. He stopped in front of his bed, and like a wild man, all of a sudden he started cussing his bed and chopping it to pieces with the ax.

Mary stood quietly by in the corner of the room watching while Charlie did his thing. When he got through chopping his bed into stove wood, he grabbed his mattress and dragged it over to the corner of the room and went to bed. Mary lay down beside Charlie on the floor assuring him that everything was going to be all right. After a time of snorting and cussing, Charlie finally fell asleep.

Charlie may have gotten some immediate relief from his escapade of rage that night-but it was short lived. When he woke up the next morning with a sore back from lying on the floor all night, and started staring at a pile of wood that used to be his bed…an enormous amount of guilt and shame came on Charlie. He had never gone this far before with his anger and he was so ashamed.

Mary said she never said a word as she got up the next morning to make Charlie's breakfast. She just gathered up some of her bed-which had been chopped up the night before-and put it in the stove and started cooking breakfast.

All of this rage happened because Charlie cut the slats too short.

Charlie and Mary have been gone for many years now. I thank God that Charlie never went that far with his temper and rage again. The Charlie story has been a constant reminder to me as to how ugly a violent temper and rage can be.

There is no doubt this story may have caused an array of emotions to many of my readers. After having read dozens of my writings, some may wonder why I would even write such a story. Others might feel angry because it reminds them of their own father or husband, or someone else they know. This story may even make others feel insecure when they are around any man with a violent temper.

It is not my intent to glorify uncontrollable emotions, but rather to point out the need for God in such circumstances. Sad to say, there are far too many Mary and Charlie stories out there where tempers have turned into harmful situations for other people. Charlie only chopped up his bed, but there are those today who harm other people as a result of their rage.

My reason for writing such an article is simple. There seems to be more angry people in the world today than ever before, and we need to find ways to help them. I believe all of us should make more of an effort in praying for those people and against this rage epidemic that is spreading today like a grass fire.

Father,

I pray that the lesson I learned from Charlie's story will be a continual reminder for me as to how ugly tempers can be. Lord, help all of us to practice controlling our emotions. Father we desire to walk in peace with You and our fellow man. Help us to put our emotions on the altar every morning and walk in holiness with You.

Amen

Faith for Pennies

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Luke 12:27-31 KJV

If there was ever a scripture that speaks of covenant, this one does. One of the blessings of covenant is that you and your covenant partner share each others possessions. That means when we are in covenant with the Lord we give Him our sin-sick soul and He gives us life everlasting and all that it provides. As a minister who lives by faith, I find that comforting. The point of this scripture is if He takes care of the little things of nature how much more will He take care of us.

Early in my ministry God began to teach me the principle of walking by faith. I could receive the offerings for ministering but then I was instructed to give the money away. This method of giving went on for years. I learned many things in those early days that have helped me to be a more dedicated minister to this day.

The first lesson I learned was that ministry and money are not one and the same. All ministers need money, but money is not the deciding factor as to whether one is in the ministry or not. The call and anointing of God alone is the deciding factor.

The second lesson I learned was that God is my supply and the above scripture is my love note of Covenant from God.

God has blessed me abundantly over the years and I can say with David in Psalms 37:25

"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread".

After many years of giving the offerings away the Lord spoke to me one day and said He was going to start providing for me through the offerings. This was a shock because over the years He had provided for me through the blessings of a business. Now I was instructed to give that business up and go to my next level of trusting God for provision in a new way.

Each time I would go out to minister I would add up the bills to the penny and pray for that exact amount of offering. However, many times the honorarium check was not even close to what I had prayed for.

As I flew home I would start going through my briefcase looking for the rest of the money I had prayed for. I knew it had to be there even though I could not see it. After all I was doing what the Lord told me to do and He had never let me down. I would continue going through my briefcase and coat looking for the rest of the money. If God took care of the sparrow He would certainly take care of me...so I kept looking. After a while I would begin finding money in places where I had already looked many times before. By the time I landed I had always found all the money I needed to the exact penny.

When I got home, Karen and I would rejoice thanking God for the miracle provision. This would happen many, many times over the years. Even today I can hardly look at a flower or a bird and not feel spiritually moved by the presence of my beloved Covenant partner the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father,

Thank you for teaching me the ministry of living by faith and praying for pennies. Those times were so personal and intimate and I weep today when thinking of them. My prayer Lord is that those who are following the faith walk will also know You in that intimate way. I can again say with David "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread".

Amen.