faithrunner

I am always inspired when I meet someone who says, "I have to do this. I don't know how, but it's got to be done," and then does it! That doesn't happen often, and I admit when people tell me something God has told them to do, I become a bit skeptical. However, every now and then, when someone like Robert Lee tells me he is compelled to meet a need, I believe them. Robert came to me soon after the 100-year flood in Nashville this past spring. He has a daughter, and granddaughter living near the flooded area. He heard of the devastation, which was mostly over looked by the media, but very much real and impacting the families there. He did not know how he would do it, but he would gather as much material and goods as he could, send it to Nashville, and distribute what he had to the children and their families affected by the flood. He needed a home base, and came to me, and, of course, I said yes. Legacy Church would collect and store whatever was donated. Alm...

This past weekend, I attended a family reunion, my family on my father's side. Sixty nine relatives gathered on Lake Whitney for two days of telling stories and catching up ; AND, celebrating the legacy which we share. My cousin, Terry, read of eight generations from John H. Mulkey, who was born in 1824 and to which my father, Mulkey Carl Wilkes, belonged . I learned that the head of each of those generations was a Christian. My father's father, and his father, and so on, not only embraced the faith but passed it on to their family. I am a recipient of that heritage of faith, and I trust the faith I have passed on to my children will be passed on to their children. The legacy of faith I inherited reminded me of Paul's words to Timotheos , when he was reminded of his young friend's "sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and...now lives in you ." ( 2 Timothy 1:5 ) We h ave the choice to pass on generational sins or...

Walter Brueggemann wrote that the essential message of a prophet is that the dominant narrative of the culture has failed and God's alternative way of life remains supreme. If the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has taught us anything, it is that the dominant narrative of a petroleum-based lifestyle has failed us . We can no longer count on it to give us the lives we want because it is essentially killing that life now. While British Petroleum has worked non-stop for over 50 days to stop the oil that gushes from the ruptured pipe 5,000 feet below the surface of the gulf and have invested their best engineers, technology, and ingenuity to stop the flow, the man-made leak continues. Our biggest and best can't stop what our biggest and best created. Even the President's promise to kick some a__ has and will not change the situation. Pointing the finger of blame will not solve this disaster. We are reaping what we have demanded by our lifestyles and what we have sown to have...

Manoah was the father of Samson , a warrior-judge of Israel. An angel reported to Manoah’s wife they would have a son who was to “be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel…” (Judges 13:5) Being set apart to God included the child not drinking “wine or fermented drink” or eating “anything unclean” from birth. Nor were they to use a razor on his head. This was to be a special boy, and Manoah had never been a father before. Manoah wanted help with God’s plan. Like a good father who is responsible for the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual development of his children, Manoah’s first prayer was “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” [ Judges 13:8 ] He wanted instruction on how to raise his son. Visitation by an angel was one thing. Parenting a boy set apart for God was something completely different. Manoah’s prayer is that of every potential p...

A friend emailed me the link to this entry on the opinion blog in the Dallas Morning News . The writer tells the story of how Roger Staubach gave up his seat in first class to a returning Army female who had lost her leg to sit in her assigned seat in coach. Read the short story here , and you will agree with the writer (and me) that "Roger Staubach is still Captain America." [I can't verify the story, but I pray it is true. I need a hero today.]

I described Samson's life as " an angel in the flame " from the mysterious event that happened at the announcement of his birth. An angel, a messenger of God , affirmed Manoah’s wife would become pregnant with a son, who would begin the deliverance of Israel. At a sacrificial meal to commemorate God’s child-giving grace, we are told that, “as the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.” (Judges 13:20) The angel in the flame was a foreshadowing of Samson’s life. Israel’s leader was set apart for the purposes of God, empowered with muscle, looks, and wit…He was to be a savior, a hero, and leader… As long as he stayed within God’s plan and Spirit, he would have the power to serve God’s purposes for his birth and life. Step outside the plan, and he would fall to earth like Lucifer after his failed coup in heaven. (38) The flame of ego rather than God’s Spirit consumed Samson …in the end his life flamed out in self-in...

Last week I started writing a weekly message of encouragement to men through the Legacy Church men's Yahoo group: texasoutfitters . We use the group to share upcoming events and outings for men connected to Legacy Church and post notes to the group. You know how those work. I wanted to encourage those in the group from my time spent in the stories of Samson and Jesus. Both are model men, and we can see ourselves in one and who God wants us to be in the other. These devotionals are intended to help us be the "angels in the flame" God created us to become through trusting and following our warrior-judge, Jesus. Wednesday, May 26, Our Cycle of Choices God sent Samson into His-story when Israel had fallen into a cycle of sin-repentance-rescue-and-sin. (See Judges 2:10-23 .) People ignored God and would do things they way they wanted. Consequences followed, and they cried out to God for help. God responded by raising up a warrior-judge to rescue them. Things would get better...