Author, educator and commentator Dr. James Denison has been pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas since June, 1998. Prior to that, he was pastor at churches in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Midland (at First Baptist!) and Mansfield, Texas. Last night I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. Some dear friends invited Janet and me to the Dallas Stars game, where we sat on the first row, next to the plexiglass walls which protected us from flying pucks and players. Unfortunately, there were more fights (two) than goals (one, for the bad guys). The good news is that a puck was launched over the wall, where an usher retrieved it and gave it to me. I'm now the only Baptist preacher I know with a used hockey puck for his prized paperweight.
Good things sometimes come in surprising places. Today's Dallas Morning News tells us that a man in Florida robbed a gas station but forgot to fill up before fleeing the scene. When police began looking for him, a newspaper carrier told them that a man in a car matching the one from the robbery had run out of gas nearby. The man was arrested soon thereafter, and charged with robbery with a weapon and loitering/prowling. I wonder if he can be convicted of stupidity as well.
Bad things turn out well more often than we realize. My old laptop became so slow and its battery so decrepit that I had to do something; now I cannot imagine life without the machine on which I'm typing today's essay. I talked yesterday with a Cuban pastor who is one of my best friends on earth; he told me that when the government refused his request to purchase television air time, he began recording outreach CDs for church members to play in their homes. Now they're seeing more people coming to Christ through these home groups than they've ever reached before.
If you're like most of us, you're dealing today with some issues you wish were very different than they are. You're facing economic challenges or health concerns or family stress; you're worried about the future or dealing with guilt from the past. But God is in the business of transformation and redemption. He is fond of speaking to renegade shepherds through burning bushes and frightened sailors on the Sea of Galilee and marauding Pharisees on the road to Damascus. John saw his best friend and Lord in all his heavenly glory only when he was first shipped to Patmos.
It is impossible to predict the future significance of present faithfulness. And it is always too soon to give up on God. King David knew something about the grace of God, and promised us that "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). God transforms all he touches, and makes hard days into holy days.
Why did you need that reminder today?
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