The Coming Faith

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In 1998, I spent the better part of a month in a third world country ministering largely among the poor of that country. Our team spent time on dirt floors in remote rural villages, in churches that met under aluminum roofs with no walls, and in huge sanctuaries in the major city that housed upwards of 5000-6000 believers at a time.

Before we left to return to America, a number of believers assured us that they would be praying for us, and told us that they already prayed every day for the American church. They wanted to give us a message to take back to the American church.

The message was this:

Believers in the third world spend much time every day in travailing prayer for the American church. The American church which has given birth to much of the third world church through it's missionary efforts of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, is now the one in desperate trouble, these believers shared.

"You don't know what's coming," they said with love. "You think that because 'America is a Christian country' that you will never know tribulation. But you are wrong. Even now, that tribulation is beginning for the American church. Soon, you will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the knowledge that this tribulation is a gift from God, and that it will reverse the apathy, complacency and lukewarmness of the American church."

From that day forward, I have stayed in intimate communication with members of the third world church the world over. I am humbled by their faith, their trials, their stand for Christ. I am learning from them. It has changed how I live.

Pause for a moment if you would and consider the faith of our brethren in China. Pause for a moment and consider if these conditions were to exist in America. This is a very personal consideration, for it quickly brings the question, "Is my faith yet persecution-proof? Am I ready to live as my brethren already do virtually the world over? What must I do to prepare my soul and my faith and my life?"



Click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen to view the CBS News report on the house churches of China.







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Changing The World

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In the film Evan Almighty, Evan Baxter is a modern-day idealist who wins election to Congress by promising to "change the world." As he is entering office, however, he comes to find that God has chosen him to be a modern-day Noah.

Fighting God's plan for his life and the dramatic sacrifices it will require of him, Evan (portrayed by Steve Carell) has an encounter one day with God. God says to Evan, “You want to change the world, son. So do I.”

Problem is for most of us, God doesn't go about changing the world like we would. God starts with us and those around us, and changes the world from the inside out.

In the special moment from Evan Almighty in the clip below, God (portrayed by Morgan Freeman) explains to Evan's confused and bewildered wife (portrayed by Lauren Graham) about how He does things, how He changes things.

Thinking that she is asking a server for a refill for her fried fish basket, she is at first unaware that it is God speaking to her. When the encounter concludes, however, she is left speechless.

When we pray for patience, when we pray for courage, when we pray for closeness with others, how does God change the world? (Click on the arrow in the middle of the video screen to play)







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And Blossom As The Rose

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Isaiah 35

1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.



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3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Our Fortress Of Safety, Christ

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I remember that our oldest son was 4 years old on 9/11. We were traveling out of state and were getting ready to depart from our motel room when we saw the planes fly into the towers, live on TV. My spouse and I said nothing, just watching. Then our son spoke almost under his breath, saying, "That's not good." It wasn't the fire that led him to say that, I realized, but it was just something he felt.

Answering the questions that followed was a challenge for my spouse and I. It was a good exercise, though. We knew that we needed to immediately return home but we didn't know that, that evening, our living room would end up being packed with 40-50 adults who had experienced that same unsettled feeling that our son had, and that they would need answers just as he had.

Our son got to watch as every person in that room left with a relationship with Christ. There was no button pushing on anyone's part, no "evangelism" needed. It was a simple understanding that everyone there had. Tomorrow we may die. Are we in Him today?

Our son realized that night that the safe place we inhabit in this life is actually a place beyond this life. He realized that the worst thing that could ever happen to us is the best thing. He realized that when we finally close our eyes for the last time on this earth, the first face we will see will be that of Jesus.

And he realized that, for him, that was the safest place he could be - in a relationship with Jesus.

A couple years later as he had listened to a story about some brethren in the third world that had given their lives for Christ, he shared with us, "You know, when one of us dies, two more of us step forward like never before."

Out of the mouths of babes, we hear of His strength within us.

Paul Potts: Hidden Treasures

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Paul Potts, the now winner of the Britain's Got Talent competition, had a moving first performance before the competition's judges, which included American Idol star Simon Cowell.

Before his performance, Paul - a simple, down-to-earth cell phone salesman - spoke of how it was difficult for him to have confidence. Even as he spoke with the judges before he performed, one could sense his hesitation to believe in his gift.

But when this man opened his mouth and began to share the vocal gift that he has within him, the audience, judges and viewers alike were left stunned by the astounding beauty of his voice.

I, like may others, wept as I listened to this man sing out the treasure that was hidden within him.

People of faith can be much like Paul. We know that we are just "regular people," though we hear and would probably like to believe that each of us has been made to be a special gift to others. We'd like to believe that there is a spiritual treasure within us, hidden away, that might touch or bless or perhaps even inspire others around us. Yet too often, we are afraid to allow that spiritual treasure within to see the light of day for lack of confidence.

As you listen to Paul speak of his battles with confidence, and then hear him bravely share his wondrous gift, please consider that spiritual gift that lies within you and ponder how letting it see the light of day might profoundly affect others for Christ.

Get the tissue box, and enjoy.

[A quiet smile and an appreciative nod to Kent at Faithfully Dangerous for his original post about this video. Thanks, Kent]

Perhaps For A Moment Just Like This

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Esther was a beautiful, young Jewish girl, living a normal Jewish life when she was selected as a potential new queen for the king. When the time came for him to select his new queen, he noticed her beauty and chose Esther, not knowing she was a Jew.

Granted, Esther was just a young teenage girl, but she must have wondered at some point “Why me? Why was I chosen?”. She must have known that her beauty played into it, but she must also have known that, had the king known that she was a Jew, he probably would never have married her.

Esther would have found it difficult to fully appreciate and enjoy her queenship as a result, you see. She was just a young woman. She did not seek out the throne of the queen. It was thrust upon her, seemingly by forces beyond her control. There was no way that Esther could have known the terrifying circumstance that had caused God Himself to choose her and exalt her to her current position.....

A Plot Is Hatched
Fortunately, Esther’s uncle Mordecai was nearby and was a wise man of God, and he counseled Esther regularly during her reign. This was providential, because an evil man named Haman (the king’s right hand man) who hated the Jews - and especially Mordecai - had devised a plan to destroy all of the Jews in the kingdom.

Haman told King Ahasuerus that there were a people in his kingdom that did not follow his laws, and that they should be destroyed. He convinced the king to decree that these “Jews” were to be killed at a certain date.

A Dangerous Assignment
Now when Mordecai heard of these things, he began to mourn, and eventually had opportunity to send word to Esther about what Haman had purposed to do to their people. Mordecai sent word to her that she should go unto the king and ask the king to stop this from happening.

Esther, however, was deathly afraid of doing that. She sent word to Mordecai, saying “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.”

When Mordecai heard of Esther’s hesitancy to go to the king to save her people, he sent word back to her, saying Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Esther acknowledged the wisdom of Mordecai’s words, took action, and her people were saved through the courage and bravery of Queen Esther. Were it not for the willingness of a young Jewish woman to face death, we would never have heard of a man named Jesus, never have had the opportunity for forgiveness of our sins and eternal life, never have received God’s New Testament Word through men of God named Peter and John and Paul.

She was scared to act, scared to die, but when Esther heard Mordecai’s last words to her, it spurred her to respond with faith and fearlessness to the call of God:

Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

A Rainy Assignment
Some 50 years ago, a nameless, faceless man had come to know Christ as his Saviour and Lord. Soon after, he had invited a couple of his closest friends to a church service so that they could learn about Jesus, too. Both of his friends received Christ as their Saviour and Lord that night.

On their way home, it began raining torrentially, so powerfully that they eventually could not see beyond the hood of the man’s truck. So the men pulled over to the side of the road and began to chat until the rain had passed. That’s when our Lord dropped a bombshell on that man.

“Tell the rain to stop” the Lord spoke inside of his heart. The man just kept talking to his friends as though he hadn’t heard the Lord. “Tell the rain to stop,” the Lord spoke a second time, and the man tried to ignore Him again. But the third time the Lord spoke to the man, He changed his “tone of voice”.

The Lord said somberly, “Tell the rain to stop.”

In recounting the events of that evening, that nameless, faceless man said he knew from the Lord’s “tone of voice” that he would never have this opportunity again. He felt the urgency of the Lord, and he knew that he must respond to Him.

He hem-hawed around for a couple minutes trying to find the words to explain to his two friends what he was about to say, but he finally gave up and simply said, “Look, the Lord told me to tell the rain to stop, and I have to do it.”

With that, he said, “Peace be still, in the name of Jesus.”

At the moment that man spoke the name of Jesus, not one more drop of rain touched the truck. Instantaneously, there was not a single cloud in the sky. The men sat in that truck by the side of the road and cried for hours and hours.

That man had been scared silly to do what the Lord had told him to do. But he became aware of the urgency of the Lord directing him to act in obedience. He became aware that he had to respond to His command. He became aware that, perhaps for a moment just like that, God had called him to the kingdom.

Who Knows?
Is God asking you to do something right now that you’re afraid to do? Are you wondering why you are in this situation in the first place? Are you wishing that someone else would take responsibility? Are you wondering “Why me?”.

Who knows whether or not God placed you in the spot you’re in for a moment just like this? Who knows what miraculous result might come about when you respond to God with faith and fearlessness? Who knows what God can do when we say “Yes” in spite of frightening outward appearances, past failures or personal insecurities?

When we are afraid, we must acknowledge and act upon our faith, for His Word tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When we are afraid, we must acknowledge and act upon our hope, for His Word tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). When we are afraid, we must acknowledge and act upon our love, for His Word tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

My friends, sometimes God’s very best blessings are found in the darkest of circumstances.

I will pray for you what I pray for myself, my friends, that we would be of good courage because of our God, that we would realize that fear's attempts to bind us must come so that His courage within us can be made manifest, and that we would respond to fear in faith, knowing that the victory over fear has already been accomplished by our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.

NOTE: This posting is a copyrighted writing by the author, published on this blog with their express consent. You may not re-publish this writing (including in blogs or e-mailings) without the express, written consent of the author. You may obtain such permission by contacting Nameless Faceless Love via e-mail.

I Will Take You Places Where Only I Can Deliver You

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As I was praying one day within the first year of my salvation, the Lord led me to look at a map of the state where we then lived, California. He drew my eyes to a valley in the center of the state, and a road running through the length of it. “On your next day off together”, the Lord said, “take your wife and drive that valley."

Well, the starting point was nearly 2 hours from our house, and I realized that this trip would take up the better part of a day. But I was learning that the Lord knew best, and I was learning to trust Him in everything.

Taking that “road trip” that day opened up a whole new part of life to my wife and me. By the time the Lord had called us to minister in another state, we had driven nearly every county, state and federal road from San Francisco down to the Mexican border.

There were days when we would leave at 7 or 8 am, returning at 9 or 10 pm, having traveled 1000 miles. That might sound odd, but you must understand that it wasn’t the destination that mattered. On every journey, we spent that time talking and praying and listening to Bible teaching tapes and holding hands and silently gazing at the splendor of God’s creation. It was a most wonderful revelation of God’s love for us, and between us.

On one specific journey, we traveled to Northern California, aiming to visit a very remote state beach that could only be accessed by driving a steep dirt road over a ring of high hills surrounding the beach.

As we reached Central California, it began to rain rather heavily, but it had subsided by the time we’d reached Northern California and neared the road to beach.

In the last 30 minutes or so before we reached the road, we were spending time in prayer and the Lord kept saying to us, “I will take you places where only I can deliver you." Over and over He said it; “I will take you places where only I can deliver you."

It was comforting, while at the same time a bit unsettling, as you might understand. :-)

We finished praying, and shortly thereafter reached the base of the first hill surrounding the beach. A very steep dirt road proceeded almost straight up the hill. The road looked a bit damp but very drivable and so we proceeded.

About halfway up the first hill, however, the tires of our car instantaneously went into a wild spin. The top 6 - 12 inches of the dirt road, though it looked safe, was actually begin to mudslide because of the heavy rains.

Our car began to slide backward down the hill with no ability to control its direction. After about 30 feet we stopped, thankfully, about 10 feet short of a perilous drop off a steep, unrailed cliff.

We sat for a moment and I looked out of my drivers-side window to see that our tires were caked with about six inches of mud all the way around, and were traction-less as a result.

I surveyed the situation, asked the Lord what to do, and then proceeded to try to drive forward to get farther away from the cliff. It worked, but too well. Unable to stop in time, our front wheels became engulfed in mud on the inside edge of the road next to the upward cliff face on our left.

When I looked out my window again, I saw that the front left tire of our front-wheel drive vehicle was about 75% submerged in the mud. At that point I uttered the words that I immediately regretted saying. “Well, honey, I don’t know........”.

You see, I should have been the bastion of faith, letting my wife know that everything would be alright no matter what. I should have been assuring her that God was watching over us. But as I gazed at the submerged tire instead of gazing into His face, I spoke what I saw. I could have done it and spoken it the other way, and immediately wished that I had.

I recovered just as quickly, however. I asked the Lord what to do, and He told me to turn my wheels so that I would back up right next to the edge of the cliff. I told my wife that we were driving out of there, and not to worry, because the Lord was with us.

I applied the gas and the tires just spun. I quickly realized that I would have to gun the engine to get the tire speed necessary to dislodge the tires from the mud. It that also meant that we would be coming out of that ditch at a higher rate of speed, and we had already stopped just short the cliff when we were trying to stop. :-)

I was aware of those concerns, but at the same time all of those "facts" really didn't matter, you know? You see, the Lord said to do it, and - with my confidence restored by His grace and mercy - I did what He said. I gunned the engine of the car. The tires came out and we lurched backward toward the cliff, stopping - again - 10 feet short of the edge. I was able to then turn the wheels downward on the road and slowly, gingerly, sliding all the way on our mud-caked tires, we drove down to the asphalt road at the base of the hill.

After we had reached the asphalt road, I spun the tires a few times to remove the sticky mud from them, and then we just stopped in the middle of that remote road, put the car in park, closed our eyes, and prayed.

As we thanked Him with all of our hearts for saving our lives, He said it again.

“I will take you places where only I can deliver you."

And it all made sense.

Sure, most of us would never sign up for most of the “harrowing” adventures we’ll have on the journey of ministering in this life for Christ. But we rarely know they’re coming. Sometimes, like this time, they happen when you’re doing exactly what the Lord called you to do.

So the important thing is not so much "what happens to us," but rather the fact that God has planted deep within our hearts the understanding that “I will take you places where only I can deliver you."

Then, imperceptibly and sometimes unbeknownst to us, that understanding comes forth from our Spirits and leads us to listen to God as He brings us out of the lion’s den, out of the fiery furnace, out of the prison house, and even down from a slippery, muddy hill to safety.

“Oh, if this were only a one-time experience, a lesson learned in full in one sitting," our flesh cries out. But our Spirit knows better.

Pure trust, pure faith and pure intimacy only happens in lions’ dens, in fiery furnaces, in prison houses, and on slippery hills. The opportunities to experience Him in this way will be presented to us again and again, and we will experience it if we can only turn our eyes from our own mud-caked tires to His glorious face.

Pure trust, pure faith and pure intimacy only happens “in places where only I can deliver you."

NOTE: This posting is a copyrighted writing by the author, published on this blog with their express consent. You may not re-publish this writing (including in blogs or e-mailings) without the express, written consent of the author. You may obtain such permission by contacting Nameless Faceless Love via e-mail.

The Roller Coaster

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I still remember that first trip to the amusement park after I had truly met the Lord as my Saviour. It was at Magic Mountain amusement park.

Before I met the Lord, I was a real "comedian" trying to make other people laugh. It was a defense mechanism and a lie. I was so sad inside.

But I myself had never wanted to laugh wildly like you would on a roller coaster - not in front of people, anyway. I was so bound up in fear that I felt it was a sign of weakness to really yell out and laugh. Besides, I had always been afraid of dying on one of those rides. But now I had Jesus with me, and I was free, and I knew it.

And so, as we "clicked" our way to the top of that big roller coaster, I made a fateful decision.
I would let go and I would throw up my hands, and I would yell at the top of my lungs, because even if I was thrown from that car, I would land in Jesus' lap.

By the time we got to the top of that roller coaster, the fear was gone, replaced with the breathless anticipation of "walking on the water".

We flew down the other side, and it was wonderful. The heart-felt cry of a man made free rose up to the heavens from the bottom of my soul. When I met Jesus, He broke the chains of my fear.  And I left the fetters on that roller coaster that day. Completely free. No remembrance. What joy there is in liberty!

When I got off of the roller coaster, having ridden it three times in a row, the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Ben, this is exactly what life with Me is like. Half 'Wheeee!' and half 'Aaarrrggghhh!'"

It is worth the "Aaarrrggghhh-s" to walk through life with Jesus to get to the "Wheeee-s." Because it's the only way - having "clicked our way" up that steep incline through trial and tribulation - that we can experience what we'll find at the top of the ride:

The mental and spiritual anticipation of the thrill to come, the oddly wonderful feeling of one's stomach just beginning to feel the thrill of the drop, knowing that your stomach will be in your throat at points along the way, yet letting go of that rail in front of you and throwing your hands to the sky in praise to the Lord, knowing that, "No matter what, Jesus will catch me."

The "Aaarrrggghhh" and the "Wheeee."

Lead us through the "Aaarrrggghhh-s", Lord, so we might experience the "We."


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I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:12-13

NOTE: This posting is a copyrighted writing by the author, published on this blog with their express consent. You may not re-publish this writing (including in blogs or e-mailings) without the express, written consent of the author. You may obtain such permission by contacting Nameless Faceless Love via e-mail.

27 Miles From Houston and a Hundred Miles From Home

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This letter was sent to me by a dear friend and follower of Christ some years ago, and I wanted to post it here today. As a background for you, at the time of this writing, my friend was diligently seeking employment as an NFL assistant coach, and recently his wife had left him and refused to return. I believe you will be touched by what he wrote upon his return from a trip to Mobile, Alabama to attempt to secure a position with the Buffalo Bills.
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Let me tell you about what happened to me as I came back from Mobile, Alabama yesterday. I had reservations about going to Mobile because, as I had told you, nothing was concrete and I really didn't have the money to go, but I just got this nudging to just go.

Concerning the job, I met with one of the important people there and he simply said that he would do his best. After leaving the hotel on Thursday, I wondered, "Lord why did you bring me here, because I could have heard that on the phone."

Later on Thursday night, I talked to someone real close to the organization and he assured me that the job was mine and the reason why Tom could not say alot. He said, "Reggie, the job is yours."

I was excited about that until he said that it would not be official for about a month. I understand the business and everything happens after the Super Bowl. Still, I wondered why God had brought me all the way there, because He could have told me that on the phone.

Maybe it was to hang out with my fraternity brother and his family. I really enjoyed being there, but was disappointed to find out he was cheating on his wife like crazy.

So why did I travel all the way to Mobile, Alabama?

I left Friday morning heading back to Houston. I thought about my family all the way back. About mid-way back, there was a guy stranded on the highway. He had run out of gas, so I stopped, picked him up and took him and got him some gas.

I was really glad to help him. He had major issues, young black man into money and women, and he had been divorced. I simply told him God loves him. I would remember him later.

Now I know you guys are wondering where I am going with this. Well I was rolling pretty good, I was about to make this trip in record time, everything was great, until I saw the sign that said 27 miles from Houston.

Suddenly I heard a bumping and then the car seemed to drop down on one side. I had had a blow out.

I struggled to get control of the car because I was traveling over 80 miles an hour. I finally got control of the car and pulled over. Unfortunately, I was on a part of the freeway where there was no medium and very little room to the right because they were expanding the highway and they had borders set up. My car was parked barely outside of the right lane so close that I had to get out on the passenger side of the car, and because of the borders I could barely get out.

As I looked up. there was that sign - "27 miles outside of Houston" - and I thought, "Wow, I have come such a long way and this happens 27 miles outside of Houston." It was 5:30 pm when this happened and I simply sat for a while. This was a new tire and that I had no car jack in my car.

Finally, I decided to flag someone down, but with no luck. It was such a tight fit and I was positioned in the curve of the freeway so people came by flying and if they wanted to help by the time they saw me they were going too fast and there was really no where they could park their car.

After standing there for about an hour, I decided to walk towards what appeared to be a truck stop about a half mile down the road. This was difficult because I had to hop over the borders and walk through the all kinds of stuff because they were expanding the highway,

I finally made it to the truck stop, which was not a truck stop at all. Sure, trucks were there, but they were all big Fords and Dodges. I instantly knew I was in the wrong place. This was a gas station, honkey tonk, adult movie store hang out.

As I walked in the red necks simply stared at me, I finally got the nerve to ask them did they have a car jack and the answers were all "No," with smirks and grins. I don't think they were racist or anything, just rough and rugged.

Anyway, I stood out in the parking lot near the gas tanks and asked every person that came in, about a million, if they had a jack and no one had one. At about 7:30 the temperature had dropped and I stood at this "shop." The red necks had left and now the perverts were coming to get their adult movies and no one had a jack. They had truck jacks, they had parts of jacks, they had jumper cables, but no jacks,

I would remember the guy who had the jumper cables. My emotions just took over as I, at that moment, thought about my life. No job, no wife, and stranded 27 miles from Houston and what seemed like a hundred miles from home.

The tears began to fall as I thought, "Where did it all go wrong?" and I could not control myself. I began to just shout, "I hate my life!". I cried for what seemed an eternity. Many people passed by but no one seemed to notice or care.


I finally decided to walk back to the highway and try to figure something out. I was now freezing and back on the highway, the trucks were coming around that curve so fast the car seemed as if it moved every time they passed.

Finally, I decided that maybe I could just drive to the next exit and to a gas station about a 2 miles away. I began to drive the car slowly and finally made it off the ramp. I thought that I would make it to the gas station, but 27 miles outside of Houston and a hundred miles from home the rubber came off the tire and I was riding on a rim.

I stopped the car, and just smiled. I was glad that I had made it off the ramp and, although I was in a very dark spot, I knew that help would soon be there.

Car after car came and passed. I thought maybe they couldn't see me coming off the ramp so I turned on my headlights and put the brake lights on. The emergency blinkers were already on.

As I stood there, there was a pattern to the people passing me up. Some would just look, others would speed up, the worst of them all though were those who would hit there brakes and think about helping but then pull off.

Many people stopped but had no jack; a Drivers' Ed teacher with students, a drunk, several truckers. One guy with a missing head light stopped, but he didn't have all the parts to his jack. He promised he would be back, but I never saw him again.

It was now 9:00 pm and I was still 27 miles from Houston and a hundred miles from home.

I know that you might be wondering, "Why didn't you just call someone to come get you?" I don't have any friends in Houston to call. Plus I knew that sooner or later someone would stop with a jack and I would be moving again.

As I stood flagging down cars, I began to just laugh uncontrollably. I kept saying. "27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I couldn't help it. I guess I laughed because I didn't want to cry. I was freezing, had no job, had no wife, and I was stranded 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I laughed until I realized that my life was a mess and I was so close to Houston but so far away because of circumstances. I thought about it being the same way with Tanisha, how I was so far from home. Then I began to cry, and this time it was uncontrollable.

I was running and falling and felt like I had just lost it. I begged God to speak to me right then. I ran to the car and grabbed my Bible and said, "Lord. please give me a word." He said, "Psalms 40:1."

"I waited patiently on the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry."

I thanked God and I began to sing. I was singing so loud that the people who I was trying to flag down must have thought that I was insane. The song turned into a sermon, and I literally was preaching to myself. The Holy Spirit came, and I could not help myself. I was engulfed in His Spirit right there, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

That scripture meant so much to me, it said all that I needed to hear. It spoke to the fact that I was stranded and needed help, it spoke to my finances, it spoke to my marriage, and I thank God for that.

Finally after 5 hours of standing on the side of roads, a guy came who had a jack. His lug wrench did not work, but he had pliers, and we changed that tire.

And I tell you that, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, the battery now went dead. Don't worry. I drive a stick, and I simply jump started it.

I finally knew why I had gone to Mobile, Alabama.

I got the answer 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

How Noah Felt

I work with a friend of mine and 8 or 9 ministers at a Christ-centered recovery house for men. The house is overseen by a volunteer staff of Serenity's house director, pastoral staff director, house manager and staff pastors and ministers. Many of these men of God credit Christ Jesus for their own complete deliverance from drugs and alcohol. Other Christian men from the community are also actively involved with mentoring the men in the recovery house.

This post is a tremendous encouragement given to us from God during an especially desperate season in this ministry.

It's about how we sometimes feel as Noah must have felt as God was using him to build the ark. Perhaps it will speak to you as God builds what He is building through you.....

While many may see the house as a recovery house, it is actually much more. While the addictions which plague our residents must be effectively and permanently eliminated from their lives, Serenity House does not simply purpose to "get men clean." The purpose of Serenity House is to help men to learn how to live personally, financially, and spiritually responsible lives as men of God and disciples of Jesus Christ.

A two-fold message is going out to the men of Serenity House; that one can see their lives effectively and permanently changed in every way through Christ Jesus, but that we are personally helpless to effectively and permanently succeed in any way outside of Him. By the plain Truth spoken in genuine love, some of the precious men of at this house are hearing, believing and living the understanding that inner peace, liberty, true manhood and eternity lie in Christ Jesus alone.

Operating such a house is a challenge in more ways than I can possibly share here, and yet we see God provide what is needed at every turn. There have been many times when things “looked hopeless,” but God has stepped in every time to bring about His further glory. This process of being taken down to the seeming last day, the seeming last moment of existence of what God had birthed within our hearts and hands at this house has been a purifying, transforming experience.

During one such season, we were down to one man in the house. It didn’t “look” like any more were coming soon, and it “looked” like we might have to close the house. And in the midst of this, God began to pour Himself out through a new manual for the house that had the potential to dramatically improve our outreach. As I sat in the office, the words poured out from God’s Spirit onto my computer screen, and I sat back and marveled at what He had created.

As I sat and rejoiced, a thought struck me.

“What for?”

I mean, it was a bit silly to be filled with joy and gratitude to God when there was only one man in the house and it looked like it might be closing at the end of the month. Yet I was so filled with excitement at what I was seeing before me, considering just how much this could be used by God in transforming men’s lives.

“What for?”

And then our Lord spoke to my Spirit and said, “Now you know how Noah felt.”

You see, my friend and I and a number of the ministers on staff at Serenity are delivered addicts, but none of us are trained drug counselors. God gave us a mission and, in spite of our lack of ability, He has given us the grace to trust His ability to fulfill the mission He gave us. It seems as though many times God has said to my friend and I and the ministers serving at the house, “Now you know how Noah felt.”

This man Noah was called to build an enormous ark. He was not a builder. He was a farmer. He wasn’t a weatherman. He was a righteous man. He had no special credentials other than his faith in God. It had never before rained upon the face of the earth, and yet God said the whole earth would be flooded. Noah had no hope other than his trust in God. The people hated him and mocked him for the 125 years that it took him to build the ark. He had no other encouragement other than the love of God. God speaks to us all as we consider these things, “Now you know how Noah felt.”

Noah was not a missionary. And yet, were it not for Noah and his successfully completed mission to build the ark, we would not be here today. We would not have received the 10 commandments from God through Moses. We would not have received salvation from God through Jesus Christ. Were it not for Noah, we would not have received from God the promises of the New Testament, promises that we see today springing forth in our hearts, in our lives and in our world today. We have come to live in the greatest of days, because an ill-equipped, unprepared, disrespected non-missionary named Noah heard a call from God, and decided to obey Him in spite of all that.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus told Peter in John 21:18, “when you were young, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted to go, but when you become a mature adult in Christ, another will dress you and take you places that you don’t want to go.” When we finally and obediently answer the true call of God upon each of our lives, chances are we won’t want to go there and do the things He‘s called us to do. Chances are, our human nature will want to do otherwise, wanting to avoid that call of God or to leave it up to someone else. God says to us all, “Now you know how Noah felt.”

Noah wasn’t a missionary. He was a everyday, righteous man whom God had called to do something, and he did it. God has called us to the same.

Oh, our mission - if you will - won’t look like everyone else’s on the block. Chances are, it will be a bit odd. Chances are it won’t garner much positive attention or personal praise for us - only glory for God. And chances are, there will be days that - even though we’re assured of our calling by God to that work - spiritually, emotionally and physically we will fall exhausted at the feet of Christ Jesus, pleading for His mercy and the strength, and wisdom and divine grace to carry on for another day. And He will give it to us again and again - He will give it to us - everyday righteous people, like He gave it to Noah.

No matter the different calls that each of us may have upon our lives, they will all lead us to one place - outside of the church walls, out of our comfort zone, out to the uncomfortable places that Jesus called “the highways and the hedges,” to places where the broken, and blind, and rejected people are found.
But we know this......

We can be uncomfortable so that the comfortless can know the Comforter.

No matter the different calls that each of us may have upon our lives, they will all be given to us for one purpose, the same purpose that our Lord Jesus Christ gave to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. His words to Paul are His words to us:

“Now get up - and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to the power of God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

This is the single purpose of all of our callings from God.

Noah was not a missionary, but he had a special mission given to him from God. So do each and every one of us. And if you’ve not begun work on that which He’s called you to do, or if you’ve stepped back from the work for a moment because of the pain and discouragement that sometimes accompanies it, or if you’ve been considering quitting in the midst of the work, you must know that the time remaining to start or resume and finish God’s work is growing short. You see, Jesus tells of His return, saying, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

These are the days of Noah, my brethren. Look about us. Sin abounds and it gets worse every day. There is no turning back. The end of this world is coming. But God has already provided an ark for this day. Not an ark like Noah built, a man-made vessel of wood. God has prepared a greater ark.......His own Son, Jesus Christ. Our mission from God, our calling from Him, whatever it may be, will find us leading - not animals - but the redeemed souls of men into the refuge of our loving King; safe from the deluge to come, sealed unto eternity within the ark of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.

Just as God promised Noah that, after the flood there would be a new world beyond the one he had always known, God has promised us a new world beyond this one. In spite of Noah’s own inability, in spite of the rejection of men, in spite of the seeming impossibility of what God had called him to do, Noah believed and he got up - and he stood on his feet. He answered and fulfilled God’s call, as He is calling us to do this day.

What relief, what excitement, what joy unspeakable and full of glory Noah must have felt when he first saw the dry land appear, just as God had promised.

If we believe and obey, in spite of our own inability, in spite of the rejection of men, in spite of the seeming impossibility of what God had called us to do, there will be a day when God’s promise to us comes to pass as well. If we believe and obey, there will be a day when the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and we will all be gathered together with Him to spend life evermore in His presence.

What relief, what excitement, what joy unspeakable and full of glory Noah must have felt when he God’s promise to him come to pass. And on that glorious day when we too behold God’s promise to us come to pass - on that day when we behold His coming with relief, and excitement, and joy unspeakable and full of glory, we will all surely say......“Now I know how Noah felt.”

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