It was small, yet it was a giant, the people very genuine, loving and kind. They wanted to please the Lord, worship Him and follow the strong leading of His Spirit. The little church that was located down the road, down the road from my house. They took in strays, of which I was one. Parents caught up in work, mom caught up in an affair and later left the family. The little church down the road was there.

The little church down the road had people who, on purpose, loved a ten year-old boy when his parents went through a horrible divorce. The little church down the road also took in my broken-hearted dad. He was a deaf man who lost his wife to another man. The heartache could be felt in our lonely home for months. Yet, the little church down the road walked with us.

The little church down the road had a pastor who gave and gave and ministered. Many nights, this pastor from the little church down the road would sit with my dad as he would cry and cry. Many times this pastor's wife from the little church down the road would take me and make sure I had what I needed. I would spend the night at their home and they loved me.

It was through this little church that I found Christ as my Savior. As the wounds healed, my dad married again. Together, we would attend this little church down the road. The little church began to grow. It could no longer be called little, yet the people remained close in that they cared for each other.

Now a mature believer, my dad and stepmom would help others. We had become a big part of the church down the road. My godly stepmother became a strong part of my personal growth in Christ. Just when I thought the church that pulled my dad and I out of turmoil was done helping us, my wonderful stepmother passed away. Again, the church was there. I recall sitting on the church bench the Sunday after she passed. I was so sad. The youth leaders and the other teens ran to me and held me. I was sad, but I was so comforted.

I remember how it was celebrated when I announced my call to ministry. The support and encouragement I received from my church was amazing.

When I talked to our pastor about it, he told me I would be preaching in two weeks. At the age of seventeen, I stood before people who loved me and I preached.

As a seven year old boy, I was knocked off my feet by this cruel world. In the depth of my guttered life, the little church down the road picked me up. The little church cleaned me off, set my course and commissioned me. I have such a gratitude for that church! That was forty years ago, and what I have learned since that time is that one congregation is a part of a greater gathering. The body of Christ! I am thankful that they functioned in their part of the big church!

Category: One Thought at a Time

Tags: Church |

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids who come from broken homes.

Lockhart, TX is located outside of Austin and not too far from San Antonio. It is a typical small town in the great state of Texas. Five miles outside of Lockhart on a dirt country road is where they lived. They purchased five acres and placed a double-wide trailer on it. The trailer sat on the back part of the parceled land.

I had just entered the seventh grade. I lived with my dad in south Austin. Some weekends, I would go out to the trailer that my Mom and step-dad owned outside of Lockhart. The weekends were full of fishing and riding a beefed-up go-cart. My brother Clint and I would catch monstrous sized catfish. Our step-father Bill was a big fisherman. He would take us to Onion Creek, just about a half mile from the double-wide. We always had plenty of fish to eat.

I had finally come to accept the fact that my parents were not ever getting back together. By this time, my Dad had also remarried, to my first step-mother, Elaine. I had settled into thinking I would spend some weekends with my mom, but most of my time would be with Dad and Elaine. Junior High was an interesting place for me. I was bigger than most kids and no one really bothered me. My teachers sort of left me alone.

Just when I thought I had a new normal, the news of Elaine’s pregnancy came. I actually was enjoying being the only kid in the house. My older sister and brother had moved in with my mom, and I had Dad’s attention all to myself. Now a baby? The timing was right for me to make my exit. So the summer before my eighth grade year I moved to Lockhart.

Summertime for two boys in the country meant riding bikes into town, fishing, go-carts, and basketball. We had a pole in the front of the house, and we would shoot for hours. It was in Lockhart that I fell in love with the game of basketball.

I was enjoying my life in Lockhart. I made the Jr. High football team. I loved the fishing and the playing outside in the country. Just when I thought I had a home, more news. We were moving to San Diego, CA...from the country to a big city. As we drove the moving truck across the desert and finally arrived in San Diego, I just knew I would long for the country.

In San Diego, we lived in a very rough part of town. My mom, step-dad, brother and I lived in a two bedroom apartment. The apartment was a part of a four-plex. The walk to the Jr. High was horribly long, and I did not have a friend in the world. I hated living in San Diego. After six months there, I found myself at the age of 13 on a Greyhound bus, alone. I was moving back to Austin and in with my Dad, step-mother and new half-brother.

All this back and forth, uncertainty and loneliness was not at all what life should have been for a young boy. Yet, somehow God protected me. Somehow I just knew life would be ok. I remained with my Dad until I left for college. I was introduced to Jesus, and I had a church family that loved me. I think of those days and only try to remember the good things.

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids who come from broken homes. I have also made a commitment to raise my children in a secure environment where they know their parents love them and each other. I also believe it is a ministry that each Christian man should have...to support the lives of boys who come from broken homes. We have a unique opportunity to share God’s love just when it is needed.

Jim Finch

Category: One Thought at a Time

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We have to do it every day. We even have to do it before we get out of bed. If we don't do it, we are actually doing it in our not doing it! Making decisions!

If we stay in bed in order to avoid making decisions, we have made a decision to stay in bed and by doing so have engaged the very thing we hoped to avoid. It is inevitable!

Another thing about decisions is they come one at a time, each one bringing a consequence. Some of these consequences have huge life-changing elements. For example: I made a decision to ask my wife to marry me. In making that decision it forced the need for her to make a decision. She chose very wisely and said yes. We married and decided to have children. Our lives have been greatly affected by that decision. Our children have life because of that decision. Now if my current wife would have rejected my proposal, my life would be totally different right now. Decisions bring with them circumstances, circumstances bring with them decisions. Some decisions have consequences that are merely temporary.

Other decisions bring with them eternal consequences. One may decide they want to go sky-diving. They have a successful landing and a great thrill. The same decision could bring catastrophic consequences when the parachute fails to open. As we come to an understanding about what decisions mean, we can evaluate things and come up with the best decision. If we make a decision to go hunting for bear, we can make a secondary decision on the type of weaponry. I would suggest that a pocket knife is not the best choice. We need to choose wisely.

Another consideration is our belief system. We live in a world that has many different ideas about where we come from and where we are heading. One decision can forever change our direction. One decision can influence many lives.

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24: 15

Category: One Thought at a Time

Tags: Devotionals |

Every day I will praise you and extol Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.Psalm 145:2-4

I am convinced! No more proof needed. I have faith to know that God is God and Jesus is Jesus. I am also daily aware of His greatness.

As I walk in this world, I see the evidence of God all around me. The life experiences I have had are enough for me to conclude, God is God and Jesus is Jesus. As I search God's Word I am also further convinced that God is God and Jesus is Jesus. All these things, Reason, Experience and Scripture, have brought me to a resolve that God is and Jesus is.

It, however, might not be enough for you right now. I make this guarantee, if you seek God with all your heart, He will be found by you. The seeking part is very important. Seeking involves logic, emotion, discipline, education, faith. Basically, heart, soul, mind and strength! The eighties band Huey Lewis and the News sang a song about Heart and Soul when it comes to relationship. God has given His heart and Soul to us. As we seek Him, it won't be long before we give ourselves in relationship to Him. It is the best thing I have ever done.

Now, most people want to pass on good things to their children. If in my mind, walking in relationship with God is the best thing I have ever done, I would want to pass that on to my children. The next generation needs to know about the wonderful greatness of God. Pass it on! Passing the greatness of God on is like handing off a baton to the next runner. You want to get to them as quick as you can. You want the hand off to be received by them. You want to follow in their draft, or wake until they race away from you. In the hand off, you at one point need to let go. In the beginning of the race, your main focus is your own footsteps. Your stride and endurance is your focus. As you become secure in your race, your focus changes to what is before you. The next runner is in front of you.

It is no longer about you, but about how you will hand off to the next runner. The next runner is the next generation. They have a different stance than you did. They have a different rhythm, but it is what works for them. Your main goal is the hand off. The next runner must rely on you for sight. They cannot see behind them, but must trust that you are placing the baton in their hands. You could try to give them a lesson in basic running, but that's the coach's job. Yours is to pass the baton. They are in a different leg of the race. Their side of the stadium has different challenges. The one thing that remains the same is the baton. It has not changed. It is consistent. The Holy Spirit is the coach. The baton is the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us hand off the baton to the next generation.

Run the race!

Category: One Thought at a Time

Tags: Devotionals |

Haggai 1:5 & 7:
Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways."
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways."

There are many people whom I greatly respect. If they speak, I listen.

The words they say are valuable. I listen for their wisdom and very much want to give application to what they say that will improve my life. Yet, the one whose word should speak louder into our life than any other is God.

No matter if it is the Lord or the direct representation of God in Jesus Christ, the words of God should be heard. Here in Haggai, God says: "give careful thought to your ways." I am caused to stop and consider the way I live and conduct of my life. So many times I just do. I do life! I don't think about what I do, I don't stop to consider what I do, I just do. Sometimes the do I do gets me into doodoo. It does you too, the do you do!

Why do we do what we do? Give careful thought to your ways. Hmm, careful.

Consider your ways. I think in my life I want to move beyond consideration and into obedience. Do things His way.

Psalm 119:58-60
I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

God has a wonderful plan for each of our lives. It has peace, comfort, simplicity and adventure all wrapped together. It is not the easy road but it's the road that is best. It is targeted in one direction: Eternity.

God's original intent was an unbroken relationship, He with us and us with each other. He constantly draws us back to that original intent. In my doing, am I directing myself to Him? In my being am I being that which He would have me be? I wonder, do I do what I do to do the do I want to do, or do I do the do He would want me to do?

"Give careful thought to your ways."

Category: One Thought at a Time

Tags: Devotionals |