One day when the residents of New England woke up, they quickly noticed a darkness seeming to descend on their community. As the early morning gave way toward noon, it became noticeably dark. By 2:00 p.m. the cows headed back to their barns and the night birds came out. It was May 19, 1780. They lit more candles and oil lamps; people began to fear that judgment day was at hand. According to one Boston newspaper account,  “a portentous omen of the wrath of Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land … the immediate harbinger of the last day, when the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.”  The unexplained darkness lasted about 19 hours, with no stars visible in the night sky. There was no solar eclipse that day. It would be more than a century until the probable explanation was found—a ferocious Canadian forest fire mixed with clouds and fog had sent ash and soot across New England. The traumatizing day left its mark.

Faced with a visible doom, some people raced for refuge into churches to make their peace with God. Some just cowered in fear. In Connecticut, when legislators considered ending their session early, Councilman Abraham Davenport proclaimed. “If it is the end of the world, I want to be found doing my duty.” How are we supposed to respond when deep fear shows up on our doorstep? Physical danger calls for quick actions to get out of the way and cries for help to others. Circumstantial crises, like money, food, jobs, or health changes call for availing of community resources. Emotional and spiritual fears call for wise counsel. I suggest that admitting or naming your fear is the healthiest first step. Step two is opening the door of faith. Step three is to invite God to help you dig deeper to uncover what may really be the issue at hand. Ask yourself what you are fearful of and why are you so afraid. Things that trigger our fears are wrapped in many emotions.

The reality is that many would like to “claim faith” when confronting fearful things, yet they do not really trust that God is trustworthy. Jesus teaches us to Take up your cross daily. Trusting God and being obedient is our daily spiritual battle. Jesus faced it in the garden of Gethsemane. We must find our confidence in the Lord before faith can overcome our fears. The darkest day in New England ended, but the light revealed there was still a mess of cleanup to do. And no one alive that day ever knew why the darkness came.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Our God is trustworthy. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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No one enjoys being played for a fool or a sucker. Upon deeper examination it seems the famous con artists are surprisingly gullible. One example is P.T. Barnum (1810-1891.) His is the famous phrase “There’s a sucker born every day.” If he really said it, he was talking about himself. I read his autobiography when I was a teen. (A reminder that all autobiographers shape the story of the themselves in their own image—not precisely accurate.)  Phineas Taylor Barnum wrote in his book that when he was born, his grandfather deeded to him a piece of property called Ivy Island. He was reminded throughout his childhood that he owned Ivy Island and dreamed of the adventures he would have on his personal island one day. When he was 10, he finally saw Ivy Island. “It was a worthless piece of barren land,” he wrote. The joke was on him. He was 15 when his father died. He became sole provider for his mother and five sisters and brothers. P.T. Barnum understood disappointment and pain yet somehow discovered the strength and courage to embrace life. How do you handle your disappointments?  

Around age 30, P.T. Barnum wanted to buy what would be his first museum of curiosities. He was not able to raise much money, so he made a deal. He mortgaged himself to the building’s owner, proposing for collateral: good references, a determination to succeed, and a “valuable and sentimental” piece of property known as Ivy Island. A year later he was out of that debt. In his 40’s, Barnum took positions against slavery and for temperance. He was nearly 70 when he teamed with James Bailey to provide “The Greatest Show on Earth.”  If you read Barnum’s whole story, you will discover he spent his life using and abusing people for money and fame. He allowed his disappointments to misshape his heart and relationships. Sadly, it all became part of his con game.

It is my observation that people tend to undervalue their victories and overrate their disappointments. We undervalue our victories, joys, and successes with words such as, “It was just lucky,” “I happened to be in the right place,” or “It’s no big deal.” We overrate our disappointments with words such as, “Things never work out for me,” “No one understands,” or “I always get the raw deal.” If I’m not careful, I can nurse my disappointments as if they are wounds that will never heal. If I’m not careful, I can focus on the circumstances around me rather than on the Spirit that forever holds me.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Choose the way of Jesus. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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One of the true joys of faithful churches is found in the opportunity to plant new churches. Our church has been blessed to help organize three strong churches: Belview, Southwood, and Monte Los Olivos. Each of these congregations was born out of a committed group of lay leaders who saw a greater vision for God’s kingdom. I highlighted in 2022 the remarkable vision of our church to send nearly 100 members, in concert with our local association of churches, to plant the Belview Baptist Church on north Yale Ave.

Tulsa’s Southwood Baptist Church is a story of faith, adversity, and victory. In 1975, our church, under the leadership of J. Ray Smith, one of our deacons, outlined a vision for a new congregation in southeast Tulsa. Mr. Smith had located a piece of property on 41^st Street south near where Highway 169 would one day be extended south. I was on the Missions Committee of our Association at the time. One of our tasks was to locate and purchase future property for new church starts. The association soon purchased the property. In August of 1976, I received a phone call concerning a possible new mission start. I met with the fledgling church group and subsequently our church voted to help them become a new church. Our church led the organizing council in September 1976. They met for a while at the former Mayo Elementary School, but later we invited them to share our facilities while they raised the funds to build on the 41^st streetproperty.

In the late 1980’s, Southwood found themselves in a financial crisis due to a balloon payment due on their church bonds, and the savings and loans banking crisis across the country. Our church stepped up to help them weather that stormby endorsing a plan for refinancing their debt. It never cost our church any money, just faith and much prayer. Southwood has always been known for its community outreach with the nearby Roy Clark Elementary school, providing hospitality with food and clothes, English as a second language classes, and as a lighthouse of wise counsel for those needing salvation and renewal. Sunday, September 27th, Southwood Baptist Church will celebrate its 50^th Anniversary. What a fellowship!

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Share the joy. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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​This week marks the 25th anniversary observance of the 9/11 attack on the United States. I am always surprised by the emotions I feel about a story from long ago that I thought I knew so well. We reflected on the on-going impact of that day duringlast Sunday’s service. Dorothy and I, along with our daughters,visited the Memorial site in 2018. While we were in New York City, Dorothy and I attended the Broadway show, Come From Away. It is a musical play based on a true story of the days following the attack. 

​Come From Away is about the little community of Ganger, Newfoundland, the home to a little-used international airline refueling station. On September 11, 2001, every airplane going or coming to the U.S. was required to land immediately. The Ganger runway was big enough to land some of the international flights. In fact, 7,000 passengers, including infants and crew members from 38 airplanes, found themselves stranded in Ganger with nowhere to go and nothing to do. This story tells of the generous and heroic efforts of the townspeople to open their homes to these strangers in distress. And no one knew for how long they would be stranded there. Or the fact that nearly all the planes had animals on board! And of course, manyinternationals did not speak English or French Canadian. “Come from aways” are what Newfoundlanders call visitors. You can watch some clips of the production on the internet. 

​This is the story of people rising to meet a dramatic and uncertain situation. It brings to life the power of hospitality to transform times of distress to the good. Hospitality is the power to bless others. In the play, there are themes centered around fear and grief, neighborly love for strangers, with a kind of loaves and fishes quality about it all. The passengers were sheltered for5 or 6 days. At the end of the performance we attended, during the standing ovation, a small group of young people in front of us clapped vigorously. One young lady exclaimed for all to hear, “I have never been so proud to be a Canadian!”  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Bless the come from aways you encounter. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Several have been asking how I have been doing these days. I have nothing to hide —transparency is always best — but I also don’t want to generate pity. No matter what, we keep looking to Jesus with gratitude, but these past several months for me have been really challenging.

Since March, I have had to be bedbound more than not. In fact, I typically only have a few hours a day when I can be on the wheelchair to work on my computer. It is getting harder and harder for me to be on Facebook or Zoom. Even using WhatsApp on my phone has become challenging.

Worse, physical decline from multiple sclerosis keeps happening. Weakness increases; dexterity decreases. Muscle spasms keep getting worse. As I begin to adapt to a new normal, the bar keeps lowering. It is not uncommon now during times of great weakness to have to be spoon fed. Such needs show me that I deal with some arrogance because I just don’t like it at all. “Dear Lord, I am 51. Not 101.”

The greatest difficulty is not being able to serve others like I want. Certainly not in person and less and less virtually. But I cannot stay here — in this place of self-pity — because there is still much to do. Much for which to be thankful. After focusing on Scripture passages, I have many hours a day to pray. I have several hours a day to listen to audio books from the library.

I have greatly enjoyed hearing autobiographies and biographies from those serving in Kenya like Charles Mulli, China like Charlotte (Lottie) Moon, and India like Sundar Singh. I have heard memoirs from those like Pope Francis, Beth Moore, and even those like the Dalai Lama. I have heard memoirs from Muslims, both from those who have begun following Jesus and from those who never have. We pray that they encounter Him soon!

There are billions across the nations who need to know that they have been lovingly created. Come, Lord Jesus! Come and deliver and save!

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