Month: June 2026

This fundamental fact of this existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything which makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. Hebrews 11:1 The Message

Just yesterday we paused to celebrate our Fathers, and I couldn’t help but think of some of my favorite guys who are not only excellent fathers, but faithful men as well. Each of them has contributed and continues to contribute to the spiritual course of our family!

I enjoy watching the old tv series like Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, and of course, The Andy Griffith Show because the shows depict the world in which I grew up. Each show depicts a father in a different light – a dad who arrives home in a suit carrying a briefcase, a single dad raising three boys alone, and my favorite, a hard working dad who loves his Lord and always makes time for his family.

On a recent episode, Andy and Opie were sitting on the front porch on a Sunday afternoon while Aunt Bee was making home made ice cream. Opie looks at Andy and says, “Pa, I hope you don’t mind if I tell you about something that happened.” Andy gives him his full attention and asks, “What is it, Opie?”

“Well,” says Opie, “Mrs. Gilbert’s kitchen window got broken.” Andy pauses and says, “Well, I guess you did that.” Opie nods. “Well then,” Andy continues, “I hope you don’t mind if I tell you that you won’t get any more of your allowance until that window is paid.” Opie nods and says, “Yes, Pa.” They smile at each other and go to get ice cream! A perfect example of a father who has passed down to his son his faith, beliefs, and discipline.

This kind of father is likened to the ones who had enough faith in their Lord to sacrifice everything for this new country two hundred and fifty years ago. They trusted God to give them the strength, courage, fortitude, and vision to fight for freedom for these United States.

Now, we are gearing up to celebrate two hundred and fifty years of the United States of America! As a country, do we have the Faith of our Fathers to carry this country forward with the same strength, courage, fortitude, and vision that was entrusted to us?

Most of us in this country today are standing on the shoulders of those praying, believing, and steadfast Fathers that have come before us. Their unshakeable faith in times of hardship, their prayers at night, and their commitment to truth are examples that have shaped our lives more than any words that were ever spoken.

The faith of these fathers of our country provided strength in trials, hope in chaos, and direction in confusion. There are some qualities of those early Fathers of our country that we must embody and pass on.

First, these fathers of faith, obeyed God’s call and possessed a faith that moved forward in response to divine instruction. They never delayed when God spoke to them.

Next, these fathers of faith stood firm under pressure. They were not shaken by setbacks as they pursued the goal of freedom, but rather put on the full armor of God to move this country forward.

Finally, these fathers of faith cultivated a personal walk with God even amidst sacrifices. They passed on this faith to our country, and it is their greatest legacy.

The faith of our fathers is a foundation upon which this country was built these many years ago. The legacy of faith is the greatest inheritance we can pass on to the next generation, and it will last beyond time into eternity.

As we begin the preparation, remember the words of the song, Faith of our Fathers written by Frederick William Faber.

Faith of our Fathers living still, in spite of dungeon, fire or sword. O how our hearts beat high with joy, when ere we hear that glorious word. Faith of our Fathers, holy faith. We will be true to thee till death.

God Bless America!

Do not worry! Matthew 6:31

There are several friends of ours who love to do jigsaw puzzles. In fact, they enjoy them so much, that there is constantly a partially solved puzzle on a table in their homes with the missing pieces scattered all around!

I am not great at the huge jigsaw puzzles, but occasionally, while standing there, I try to find the correct piece to add just for fun! If I can see the picture on the box, I have a much better chance of getting the piece to fit. At this particular house; however, the box with the picture on it was not there! Suddenly, I had no hope of getting this one in the right place!

Life is a lot like trying to put a puzzle together without the finished picture. When things happen, we tend to do one of two things: we either blow the whole situation out of proportion, or we look at it as “no big deal!” I’ve heard these called “awfulizing or minimizing.”

In the course of our life in the ministry, I tended to be the one who awfulized a lot! Our very first parsonage was in the small town of Newborn, Ga which is a “suburb” of Covington. The house was built in 1848, was there during the Civil War, and was the birthplace of Charles Allen a famous minister.

In those days, the minister’s family did not see the parsonage before moving day. When I opened the front door on that June day in 1978, I began “awfulizing.” Needless to say I could not see the big picture.

When my parents arrived to help us move in, my mother opened the door, and immediately burst into tears! I got my “awfulizing” honestly. She didn’t see the big picture either.

After several months of “awfulizing” during which time the kitchen sink fell in, a brick from the fireplace fell into the den, and we did a lot of cleaning and crying, we finally invited the parsonage committee to come take a tour of the church’s house! We wanted to show them the big picture!

It turns out, they had no idea of the state of this parsonage! The men on the committee immediately wanted to fix everything, the women wanted to get all new furniture plus a washer, dryer, and dishwasher which we had been without. They saw the big picture, and we were able to work together.

God subtly taught me that this wasn’t about having everything we needed when we needed it, but rather teaching me how to trust Him and wait for Him to reveal the big picture. These people became our family, and some of my most precious memories are of them and this church.

As humans, we have a limited understanding of God’s big picture of our lives. Without His assistance..we never will. People today have a tendency to try and figure out why things happen as they do using our own thoughts and theories. If we want to understand the big picture, we have to go to the one who created the puzzle in the first place.

The truth is “awfulizing” and “minimizing” never go away. Just like worry, it plagues us constantly. When one issue is resolved, there is always another one waiting to take its place. It’s a fact of life, and we can’t change it.

We can only comprehend so much about God and His plans. Does anyone know where they will be in 5 years, how about next year, next month, next week, or tomorrow? We can make our plans, but who knows if they will fit into God’s big picture. We must trust Him.

Thankfully, God is a God that is unlimited. He isn’t held to time. He isn’t held to place. He knows all about the plans for our big picture – He even created it. The grace of God that brought us through the last “awfulizing” situation will be with us in the next one, and the next one.

We all have a tendency to worry about the future. Whether it’s money, relationships, or the state of the world, we worry about uncertainties instead of letting God show us our big picture in His time.

There’s a story about Death walking toward a city, and a man stopped him and asked, “What are you doing to do?” Death said, “I am going to kill ten thousand people.”

As the days passed, the man warned everyone he could think of about Death’s plan. At the end of the day, the man saw Death again and said, “You said you were going to kill ten thousand people, and yet seventy thousand died.” Death replied, “I killed only ten thousand. Worry and fear killed the rest.” 1502

Notice what Jesus said about the things we worry or “awfulize” over most: Do not worry. Your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Proverbs 31:33

God’s plan for each of us is perfect because He has the ultimate perspective.. The big picture is in His hands. We just need to watch while He finishes the puzzle!

So shall my word be that goes out of my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

One of the most helpless feelings in the world is to be driving in a sparsely populated area and notice that the gas gauge is almost on empty! No gas stations in sight! You wonder how in the world you ignored the gauge when there were plenty of gas stations around? Nobody likes to be running on empty in that situation.

Just before World War II at the Tournament of Roses parade, the Standard Oil Company had a beautiful float entered in the parade. It was covered in red roses. The theme that year was, “Be Prepared.” In the middle of the parade, the oil company’s float came to a screeching halt and the rest of the parade stopped with it!

What happened? The float committee which had, spent countless hours making sure every flower was in place, which had spent literally days making sure that the music was just right, that the sound system was adequate for the task, had simply forgotten to fill the float engine with enough gas. That’s right, the Chevron oil and gas company float had run out of gas! It was running on empty!

The directors of the Chevron float had done everything well, but they had neglected to use their company’s vast resources of oil. They had neglected to do the one thing needed to finish the work of that day. The parade waited while somebody ran to get a gallon of gas.

There are times in this life when we might feel that we are running on empty. There are times when the unexpected circumstances of life take all our energy and leave us feeling empty. It can be spiritual, emotional, or physical depletion that can leave us feeling exhausted, confused, and just basically wiped out.

Forrest Gump ran, just because he liked running, for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours across America. Maybe for sometime now, we are like Forrest Gump, just going through the motions, with no meaning or purpose. We do it just because we think it’s what we are supposed to do. We are running on empty.

The late Adrian Rogers once shared how we live our lives like a car. We fill up the tank and take off never thinking of our need for fuel/power again until we are running on fumes and the tank is empty.

This life is not easy, there is so much pain, suffering, heart break, and sickness that we forget to remind ourselves that every day is a gift from God that we will never have again. I think God would have us fill up our tank every day by remembering the value of this day. Don’t run on empty.

First, resolve to experience and enjoy each day and try not to tackle our whole life’s problems in one day. Next, be agreeable. Try to be courteous and considerate of everyone in your path. Don’t run over those who might be running on empty.

Then, try to have a plan and a goal for the day. We might not follow it exactly, but have one anyway. Having a plan and a goal will save us from two of the most bothersome enemies – hurry and indecision.

Finally, don’t be afraid to love or risk. Endeavor to enjoy all of God’s blessings and believe that every seed we sow in God’s kingdom will be multiplied back to us many times over.

When we let ourselves run on empty, it’s like working outside God’s will for us. We wear ourselves out and end up having nothing to show for all our efforts.

We get out tank filled when we allow ourselves to stop, renew our fellowship with God, and allow Him to direct us.

God knows how draining life can be, so don’t run on empty -remember to fill up!