Morning Moments

A friend asked recently what kind of books I read.  Another friend interrupted and said, "He only reads the Bible."  I sometimes wish that were true, but it isn't.  I think it might have been Spurgeon who said he desired to be a man of one book - The Bible.  But I will say that I read few modern writers and I will explain why.  I have personally witness far too many zealous young preachers and writers who started well, who did not finish well,  so I read the classics; the lives and writings of men and women who ran well and finished well.  I don't say that everyone needs to do that, it's just what I do.

There have been times in my Christian experience that I wanted to "throw in the towel".  There have been times in my personal life, my marriage, my parenting, my pastoring, when I just didn't think I could take it anymore.  The ministry is often such a difficult life is so many ways.  I sometimes think of it as an emotional roller coaster where one minute you are rejoicing over the birth of  baby and the next minute you are having your heart ripped apart by the pre-mature death of a young boy or girl in the church for whom you cared so much.  And then there are the times when you are pulled into the middle of a marital conflict in which you love both parties and can see that both are being stubborn and unreasonable.  There are the times that you get out in the cold of the night to carry somebody the hospital and help a drunk sober up or try to find a child that has not come home, or comfort a wife whose husband has just put a gun to his head and killed himself, or attempted to attend to the wounds of a battered wife or child while holding at bay an angry but regretful man, and on and on.  It never stops!

On top of all that you have brothers who get in your face because you try to encourage other brothers; those who have little or no compassion, who want to blast everybody to hell, rather than lead them to heaven.  Those who refuse to prepare, to study, to dig for proper understanding, who just get up and fly by the seat of their pants and have their ministries, TV programs, books, magazines, etc, promoting themselves, and others who conceal their personal wicked lives and put on a show for people about Jesus.  It all happens!

BUT GOD...keeps loving and forgiving and saying, "Be not weary in well doing for in due season YOU shall reap, if YOU faint not!"

DON'T YOU DARE LET ANYONE STOP YOU!