Recently as I was meditating on Revelation 4:3, the Lord spoke to me powerfully about the rainbow the verse says was “round about the throne.”  First of all, there is the prediction or promise of the rainbow. If you were to go back to Genesis 9: 8- 17, you would discover that God set up the rainbow after Noah’s flood that destroyed the world. It was the sign of the covenant or promise that God was making with mankind that He would never again destroy the world with a flood of water. According to 2 Peter 3:10, He is going to destroy this present earth, but not with a flood, rather with fire! Basically, the rainbow was the sign & symbol that the storm was over! In Heaven, the rainbow will be the constant, eternal reminder that the storms of this life are over. What a comfort to know that whatever storm we may have gone through, are going through, or will go through won’t last forever! Next, there is the perfection of the rainbow. Notice, the verse in Revelation says that the rainbow was “round about the throne.” In other words, that rainbow is a complete circle around the throne of God. In this world, we only see a partial rainbow, at the most we see half a rainbow, indicating that there’s another storm coming.  But, in Heaven, we’ll see a perfect rainbow, completely encircling the throne! The rainbow will not only be the reminder that the storms of life are over, but that the storms are over forever! No more heartache or heartbreak, or as Revelation 21:4 says, “no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain….” Heaven will not only be known for what is there, it will also be known for what is not there! Then, there is the position of the rainbow. Notice that it is connected to “the throne.” It’s interesting that the first thing John saw when he was caught up or raptured up into Heaven was a throne & One sitting on the throne, God Himself! This throne speaks of the Sovereignty of God, that He is in control! At least one truth this communicates is that even the storms are subject to the Sovereign Lord! Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9, “Our Father, which art in Heaven….” If your saved, the next time someone asks you what your father, what your dad does for a living, just say, “My Father runs the universe. What does your dad do?” Finally, there is the perception of the rainbow. John said it was “in sight like unto an emerald.” “Emerald” is a green color that speaks of springtime, of a refreshing, a reviving, & a restoring. It’s what Revelation 21:5a says, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” In other words, in Heaven there will be an eternal freshness. It will be like an everlasting, neverending springtime! As a saint of God you will survive the storms of life. You’re going to survive; you’re going to make it, even though sometimes you don’t think you are! The rainbow round about the throne guarantees it!

I need to explain the title of this blog. There is never a time when God is not “at His best.” In fact, if there were ever a time when He was not at His best, or less than His best, then He would be less than God, & not God at all! He is immutable or changeless. Whatever God was, He is, & whatever God shall be, He is! He is the everlasting, everliving, neverchanging “I Am!” When God revealed Himself to Moses out of the burning bush in Exodus 3, as the “I AM,” He was saying, “I’m not the ‘I was,’ though I was; nor am I the ‘I shall be,’ though I shall be! But, I am, right now, the ‘I AM!” I mean by the title that God’s best is best seen when life is at it’s worst. Basically, that is the message of Romans 8: 28, which says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”  It is one of the greatest Biblical affirmations of the Sovereignty of God to be found anywhere in His Word. It is also one of the most incredible promises in the Bible that is, at the same time, one of the most unbelievable verses in the Bible. Notice, the verse says, “all things,” & not “some things,” or even “most things.” I looked up the word “all” in the Greek New Testament, which was the original language the New Testament was written in, & to my surprise discovered that the word in the Greek means “all” & that’s all “all” means! It includes everything & excludes nothing! It means that God is Sovereign or in control in the bad times, as well as in the good times; in the sad times, as well as in the glad times; in  times of adversity, as well as in  times of prosperity; in times of sickness, as well as in times of health; in times of death, as well as in times of life!  Recently, I was visiting the graves of the remains of my mom & dad, in a cemetery next to the church my brother pastors. I was walking through the cemetery, looking at the headstones of many that I knew in life. I came across the graves of one of the previous pastors & his wife. There were a couple of interesting things about their tombstone. First, was the date of their death or departure from this world; both of them passed away on “7-7-77.” According to Biblical numerics, the number 7 is the number of perfection or completion. Their son-in-law, who served as pastor of that church after them, shared with me that it was as if they knew they were going to die 2 weeks before they did. They wrote letters to their children saying things that indicated they knew they were about to die. They also talked to their son-in-law about preaching their funeral. They had shared that their prayer was that they both would die at the same time, & they did. Don’t misunderstand, their death was not from a self inflicted injury, but from a horrible automobile accident. The second interesting thing about their tombstone was the Scripture engraved on it: Romans 8: 28! As I looked at it, I thought to myself, “If Romans 8: 28 isn’t true in a cemetery, then it isn’t true anywhere. But, if it is true in a cemetery(& it is), then it is true anywhere & everywhere; in any given situation & circumstance.”  There are no “loopholes” in this promise. Here is the promise in a nutshell: God can make a mess into a message; He can turn a test into a testimony; & He can transform a problem into a proclaimation! And the message, the testimony, & the proclaimation is: our God reigns!

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the nation of Haiti. I’ve heard that there are an estimated 50 to 100,000 dead, as a result. Our hearts ache & break for the victims & survivors, as well. As an aside, it’s interesting to me, as I watched the news reports about the devastation, that mention was made several times about the Christian missionaries, Methodist church group, & Baptist men’s ministry there ministering to the people. I have a pastor friend of mine, Chuck Sackman, whose church in northwest Arkansas has an ongoing ministry in Haiti,  along with several of his church members is preparing to go help in the relief efforts there. The question came to my mind, “Where are the atheist groups trying to help?” If they are there, no mention was made about it.  Now, back to the topic at hand. It has been said that this was the most powerful earthquake to strike Haiti in 200 years. It is a great tragedy, if not the greatest to affect their nation. I’m sure that some are already asking, “Why?” The best place I know to get answers for questions like that is the Holy Bible, God’s Word. We have various teachers in life & according to the Bible, one of the greatest teachers is tragedy. We learn some things or at least, are reminded of some things we would not otherwise learn or be reminded of in any other way. In Luke 13: 1-5, the Lord Jesus refers to 2 tragic events of His day. He uses them to teach us some important truths relative to tragedy. The first truth we see is that tragedy is unexplainable. According to v. 1, some people told Jesus about a tragic event when some Galileans were murdered by Pilate in the middle of their sacrificial ceremony. Maybe they shared that in order to get an explanation from Him as to why it happened. But, it’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t explain, but rather questions & even challenges them. Perhaps one reason Jesus responded the way He did was because there was no explanation, at least on the human level. Now, personally I don’t believe it’s wrong or sinful to ask God why tragedies happen, because Jesus Himself cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why?” But, we need to realize there is a mystery to tragedy & that there is no ultimate explanation that will completely satisfy. It’s illuminating to study the book of Job in this light. If you’ve read his story in the Bible, you will remember that because of one tragedy after another, he lost his health, wealth, & family. What really intrigues me about that whole account is that according to Job 2:3, God allowed Satan to attack Job, “without cause,” or for no apparent reason. In other words, Job lived & died without knowing why he suffered the way he did. We sometimes talk about living by faith. We need to realize that often faith involves living & even dying without explanations for some, if not all, the tragic events of our life. In the final analysis, tragedy is unexplainable.  The second truth we see is sin is universal. There is an emphasis on “sinners” in verses 2 & 4. Evidently, people tried to make a rigid connection between individual sin & individual suffering. Probably, Jesus wouldn’t have asked, ” Do you suppose or think they were greater sinners than others,” if they didn’t think that. Some still believe that today. Now, we  know that generally speaking, sin is the major reason for suffering because Bible passages like Romans 5 & 8 reveal that because of the first man’s sin, we now live in a sin cursed universe that groans. It’s interesting to notice in Luke 13:1-5, the emphasis on “all.” The point I believe Jesus was making was that individual, specific sins were not necessarily the cause of the tragedies He mentioned or even that the sufferer’s sin was greater than others because again, “all” have sinned & therefore, all are sinners needing to repent. In other words, sin is a universal problem, not just an isolated or individual problem. According to Romans 3:23, we’ve all sinned & fallen short of the glory of God. You really can’t tell who has individually sinned or not sinned based on the tragedy they experienced. And by the way, this concept of sin has fallen on hard times in our day. Around Thanksgiving, 2009, the news broke about Tiger Woods’ alleged & seemingly admitted adulterous affairs he had with 15 women(at last count). During that time some psychologists were speculating about whether or not he was a “sex addict.” No, he’s not a sex addict. He is a fornicating, adulterous whoremonger who needs to repent of his sin & get saved by the grace of God. Brit Hume was right when on “Fox News Sunday,” Jan. 3, 2010, he said, “He’s said to be a Buddhist; I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’” Whatever happened to sin? A psychiatrist by the name of Karl Menninger wrote a book in 1973 entitled, “Whatever Became of Sin?” Recently, I went to check that book out of our local library. Ironically, when I enquired of the librarian about it, she said that the library did have a copy, but someone checked it out & never returned it! Finally, the third truth we see is repentance is urgent. In verses 3 & 5, Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” We’ve already shared that sin is universal & since it is, repentance is universal as well & urgent! And the reason repentance is so urgent is because all of us, because of our sinful status, deserve to die & go to hell( Ezekiel 18:3 ; Romans 6:23). So, the correct question to ask in the wake of a disaster like that which struck Haiti & killed all those people , is not, “Why did they die,” but, “Why didn’t we all die?” The Bible declares in Lamentations 3:22,23, that it is only “because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” The truth of the matter is that God doesn’t owe any of us anything but hell, & it’s only because of His mercy, grace, & love that we’re not all there now! Let’s not waste the lessons we can learn from the tragedies of life: Tragedy is ultimately unexplainable, sin is universal, & therefore, repentance is urgent!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the apostle Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Paul said we are to give thanks, not just in some things or even in most things, but,”in everything.” In other words, thanksgiving is to be thanksliving; i.e., not just something we do one time a year, but all the year & all the time. In Job 1:21, Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” It’s interesting that he said that right after he got the reports that he had lost his fortune, farm, & family. I’ve always contended that if you can’t praise God in a cemetery, maybe you ought not to praise Him in a church. This truth was put to the test in my family the last 2 weeks of November, 2009. Beginning on Tuesday, the 17th, I sat by the bed of my mom, the one who brought me into this world, as she was leaving this world. She was 90 years old & had alzheimers for the past 7 years. We were told it was just a matter of time before she passed away. Even though she was unconscious, I talked with her. I told her I loved her & that I would see her later. For those who know the Lord Jesus, death isn’t saying goodbye, it’s just saying goodnight, because we will see them again on resurrection day, that great “gettin’ up mornin’,” when Jesus returns! I also told momma that when she saw the Lord to go toward Him. I didn’t tell her to go toward the light but toward the Lord, because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan is able to transform himself “into an angel of light.” When believers in Jesus die, they see the Lord, not necessarily a light. At 8:55 a.m., on Friday, the 20th, momma “graduated to glory!”  And when she did we grieved & were sad. It isn’t wrong or sinful for believers to experience sorrow when a loved one passes. In 1 Thessalonians 4: 13, Paul said, “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep(or have died), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” Paul wasn’t saying we should not sorrow, but, that we should not sorrow as those who have no hope. For the believer, the death of a loved one is a bitter/sweet experience. In the wake of my mom’s passing, I feel both sad & glad: Sad that she’s not here, but glad that she’s there; sad that she’s no longer with us , but glad that she’s with the Lord; sad that she’s absent from the body, but glad that she’s present with the Lord; sad that her body’s dead, but glad that her spirit’s alive; sad that she hurt, but glad that now she’s healed; sad that she saw through a glass darkly, but glad that now she sees face to face, she no longer walks by faith, but she now walks by sight; sad that she had alzheimers, but glad that she now knows even as she is known! Thank You Lord for the hope of Heaven!

October 5th – 16th, 2009, I went on my 3rd trip to Brazil. I witnessed firsthand the power of the simple Gospel message.  I preached in 2 churches, & in an area-wide crusade, from Wednesday, the 7th through Sunday, the 11th. In those 5 days, we saw 101 public decisions in the services, & 1 person prayed to recieve Christ as his personal Lord & Savior in front of his house, as I shared the Gospel message with him through an interpreter. We saw 96 precious souls saved by the grace of God & 6 rededicate their lives to the Lord! I preached 5 different messages during those days, but basically what I shared was the simple Gospel of Christ. In Romans 1:16, Paul said, “the gospel of Christ…is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth….”  In our day, many speak of the need for revival. I agree. But, one of the things we desperately need a revival of is confidence in the Gospel of Christ. There are some, if not many, who at least imply, that they don’t have confidence in the Gospel. They are the ones who propagate a pragmatic approach to ministry, that basically says the end justifies the means. They say that the methods we use & even the message we preach really don’t matter.  Based on what Paul wrote in that verse I quoted, I believe he would disagree. There are at least 6 truths Paul reveals about “the gospel of Christ,” in Romans 1:15- 16: 1. The Passion of the Gospel- In v. 15, he said, “as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel.” In other words, Paul was saying that the passion that absolutely consumed & captivated his life was the Gospel. 2. The Pride of the Gospel- In v. 16a, he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” Unlike many in our day, Paul was proud of the Gospel, including its claim that Jesus is the only, exclusive way to Heaven. 3. The Person of the Gospel- Notice Paul emphasizes the fact that the Gospel is “the gospel of Christ.” The Gospel message isn’t so much about a plan or a principle, as it is about a Person, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is “Christo-centric,” or simply, it’s all about Jesus! 4. The Power of the Gospel- Paul says the Gospel itself is “the power of God.” Resident within the Gospel is the power of God Almighty Himself, & that power is released when the Gospel is simply shared! 5. The Purpose of the Gospel- Paul says that specifically, the Gospel is God’s power “unto salvation.” In other words, the primary purpose of the Gospel, isn’t to make us healthy or wealthy, but to save us from our sins! 6. The Partakers of the Gospel- Paul gets even more specific when he says that the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”  The Gospel does save, but it saves those & only those who believe it. The bottom line is the Gospel is sufficient; the Gospel is enough!

This past weekend, Sept. 12-14, I preached a revival meeting at the South Burleson Baptist Church in Burleson, Texas, where Shawn Paschal is pastor. Though I cannot say we saw a widespread spiritual revival & awakening, I can honestly say I believe we saw a measure of revival or of the manifested Presence of God. In every service there was a great response to the “altar call.” Sunday morning, during the invitation there were 13 public decisions for Christ, as well as others who came to the altar. At least 8 of those public decisions were for salvation, 2 were for rededication(but, after the pastor gets to counsel with them, it might be they were truly saved as well. Besides, I don’t see “rededication” anywhere in the Bible, while I see “repentance” everywhere in the Bible), & 3 joined by letter. Sunday evening, I preached on “God Still Moves” from Acts 2. I closed the message by challenging God’s people to come to the altar & begin crying out to the Lord to reveal & remove every hindrance to Him moving mightily in our midst & asking Him to begin to move “unhinderably” among us. Most in attendance did so. A spontaneous prayer meeting broke out with some literally, verbally crying out to God with tears from a broken heart. Some in their prayers publically confessed various sins. Basically, the service ended with people just leaving the service. When everyone had left the auditorium, we knew the service was over. We experienced a genuine touch from the Spirit of God. Monday night there were less people than the previous services, but the Lord moved again with several publicly responding & even sharing publicly. There was a spiritual intensity in that service. Praise God for what He did, & on the basis of Philippians 1:6(”Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus”), for what He is doing, & what He is going to do!

Have you ever been in a boring worship service? I know many of you will say you have, but I haven’t! Now, I’ve been in many boring church services; in fact, I’ve preached in many boring church services, but never in a boring worship service, because real worship is never boring! The Lord Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  “In spirit” means “with enthusiasm” and in “truth” refers to worship that is guaged, guarded, & guided by the truth of God’s Word. In John 17:17 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” No, real worship isn’t boring because it is exciting(”in spirit”), & it is enlightening(in “truth”)!

I recently talked with a pastor friend of mine. He shared with me that his church had just had a revival meeting. When I asked him how the meeting went, he responded, “It was a good meeting.”  How many times have I heard that response? How many revival meetings have I preached that could be classified as “a good meeting”? I for one am tired of having just  a good meeting. I desperately desire & we desperately need “a God meeting”; a meeting where God shows up & God shows out; where saints are revived & sinners are redeemed; where the Lord Jesus is glorified, believers sanctified, unbelievers justified,  the church edified, & the devil terrified!  May we pray with the prophet Isaiah as recorded in Isaiah 64:1, “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down….”