A thought for my friends about the finished work, revival, and such.

Over the last few months I have had a number of people talk to me about family. I have thought long and hard about it. So many are bemoaning the “loss” of their family while in pursuit of the Lord. Here is one of the statements one made to me. “ I have also been dwelling on what good does it do if I get it but no one else in the family does.” That is it! Where would God be without His family? Why sacrifice for the “whole world” if He was going to keep it to one?

In the early days of my salvation, I attended a church. The schedule ran like this.

• Sunday 10AM & 6PM
• Monday off
• Tuesday Youth group and other ministries
• Wednesday Bible school
• Thursday evening service
• Friday cleaning and street ministry
• Saturday ministries including nursing home, door to door and more

Now do not get me wrong. I loved it. I was in the middle of my second divorce, life was hard and I had a lot to change. Getting into the kingdom is the easy part…getting the kingdom into you takes a little longer. And I thrived on the activity and friendships. I went into “ministry mode” fairly quickly. I found worship, saw miracles and loved God.

Some years later I married my wife Tina and we had 5 children between us. And life got real busy. Over the time there I watched folks slip away. I could not understand it. But I also saw something in retrospect that I have thought long and hard about. So intent were people about ministries that many marriages suffered. (Over the years I have seen the demise of many.) I saw children sleeping on the floor of the sanctuary late into the nights of ministry. I saw children who were not “in love” with Jesus. Tina and I were always needing to be somewhere.

And then we left and entered another church. A small church. They had few ministry opportunities. But they had families. And I began to grasp something. At one point my wife and I went through a tough stretch following an accident I was involved in. And family and friends were there. Upon moving to the other side of the state I started our own church. I pursued revival and everything related to it. Our church soon had multiple meetings. I was in “travel mode” going here and going there. There was always something to do and then one day the brakes came home. A series of intense circumstances happened. And I looked around and I asked myself, “what do I have?” Certainly I had Jesus. But my wife was wounded over a number of the incidents. The near death of our son, people’s disregard and cruel words towards us, the loss of my mom and stepmom and a couple of Judas’ that changed our financial condition.

I told you all that to let you know I have been there. But being “there” was not something the Lord was going to allow. Because at the heart of it the Lord loves His children and He loves family. I was “losing” mine. I did not have time for my children. For my wife. For my friends. One day a friend said to me, “if I go do something bad you will be there, but if I am doing well, I never see you”. One of my many wakeup calls in this season.

I looked around. Where were our children? Where was our marriage?Most importantly where was my focus?

I began to change. And those that loved my fiery meetings and brash demeanor stepped out of my life. I was told I was “back slidden”, that I was under a curse, that I was losing my faith. Meanwhile I watched them “press in”, “push harder” and “seek God”. Finally, I pulled the plug. Many things “happened” that lead to it, but not too long after I found myself walking with a friend. The change was coming to fruition.

Today I am going to talk about 4 areas that changed my life.

Family first-Never again will I allow myself to do anything that takes away from my family. I have seen the rebuilding of my family and I am not going to move in a direction that would threaten it. My wife loves being with church friends again. My children over the years have begun to “come home”. I attend a church fellowship where the emphasis is on family and while we have meetings it is very strategic.

Grace-I woke up to the fact that a “fall from grace” was not a moral failure, but attempting to “do works” rather than accept the gift of grace. And then I saw grace as the person of Jesus Christ. And I realized it is Him who empowers me to walk well.

Finished work-One day I woke up and realized I did not have to “pursue” perfection. That I had been made in His image, perfect. Set apart. That it was an inward working of the spirit of God inside of me. That I did not have to try harder, but simply relax in the work of the cross. Like Paul, I still move towards the goal, but I do not focus on sin or feel condemned. And that alone was freeing to me.

Revival-This one is a hard one for my friends. Many thought I had given up in my pursuit of God. I will tell you I have seen the power of restoration in the body of Christ, in families and manifested in healing and resurrection. I do believe there is a “mighty power” of God but I also see that I am walking in revival because He is revival. It is not a meeting but a person. Jesus.

I am sure some will seek to debate this, but I am confident in who I am, what He has done and what He has promised. And that can be “taken to the bank”.

I no longer respond to urgency or anxiety but choose peace. Because of my confidence in Him and what I just described to you, peace is my walk. (Mixing faith with the promise to enter His rest.)

So, if you have looked around and you family is not there, perhaps that ought to be the first indicator of “where is Jesus”. If you have felt the anxiety or burden of ministry perhaps it is just time to say “stop” and see what God has to say about it. Ministry ought to be the outpouring of a joyful, peace filled life. Not to take the place of a family but to endorse family.

I look forward to hearing from you…