TO THE TIRED CHRISTIAN WORKER!
SEEING BEYOND!
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
In God’s highest graduate school courses, suffering is always the lesson.We learn through suffering not resignation nor patience, but rejoicing in tribulation.
When we are tired we must press on!
ROMANS 8:37 Nay, in all things we are MORE than conquerors through Him that loved us.
Galatains 6:9 And let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, IF WE FAINT NOT!
1. I ramble again, please forgive me.
May God give you strength today, strength to try again, and then try again after that.
I know life’s twist go many different ways than we had planned, yet we can’t always see the plan
while we are tripping in the dark over things we didn’t know was there.
I have been praying for you, and thanking God for you and your work, I think I will write and let my pen just flow. May I encourage you toady!
2. Last night, near the end of our service an A/G pastor slipped in the back of the church.
We talked briefly, and he asked to go in my office. We sat down and I was broken.
I didn’t know, he had resigned his church effective end of July. He was burdened and could not
share his load with any one, we cried and prayed. Everyone but Linda was gone, when we came out.
So many peoples dreams are broken. Hope is gone? The pain is real? Who waters those that water?
3. I was remembering the past, I like to visit on Memory Lane, and the strange curves life has thrown.
You know, I was raised in the Church of God and would still be CoG, I never left the church it left me.
I was raised Church of God, and they closed the church down where we attend and put the building up
for sale. So one Sunday, with broken hearts we visited the next closest pentecostal church.
I ponder about the first time we went to Middlesboro Faith A/G. Our oldest son, Marty was a few months old.
While our son was in the nursery, David E’s little boy crawled into the bed with Marty and took a bite out of
Marty’s cheek. There was blood all over, after service we went back and everyone was whispering, we knew
something was wrong.
They had ice on our little sons face. The place was terrible, bruised and cut, it looked like a terrible scar would mark our son. Pastor Ralph Tennyson apologized, and asked would we come back to church and try it again?
I thought to myself --- NOT WHERE THE KIDS ARE CANNIBALISTIC!
The enemy did not want us to return to that church, because there was a plan for a new direction in our family.
We did return the next Sunday, because Pastor Ralph came that week to our house to check on Marty,
so we attended again.
What a strange twist? But I couldn’t see? I couldn’t see God? I couldn’t see the enemy?
But somehow God lead us, and we followed.
4. I think about friends, new and old friends, that have made a difference in our hearts?
Where are all the friends today? They have helped in many ways, where are they now?
David and Debbie and their son that bit our son 27 years ago? David died in the early 80’s, a gun and a sad story?
I ponder about Debbie and those kids?
I ponder about many of our friends from down through the past, and I know many have finished
their race down here.
I guess we can forget, but today we are building memories of tomorrow?
5. Today I walked through the grave yard, heart broken? Seems, I couldn’t even cry? I went to see the grave of the young man I watched executed.
I couldn’t find his grave? I don’t know what I was searching? What was I expecting to find? There was a storm blowing into our area? But I was reaching inside to find something? Comfort? Purpose? I don’t know?
6. In our last few services we have opened praying for pastors and churches. I have enevelopes that I randomly
placed the names of some pastors of little places. Each service we do one envelope.
In Kentucky we have about 175 churches, 69 average under 50.
Years of work and under 50 people? My heart needs to touch these? How? I can’t?
We have been writing pastor’s names on little pieces of paper and handing them out for prayer as we open
service. At prayer, we had a visitor last night, he had taken the slip of paper with Winchester and Pastor Herman G. name on it. I mentioned Herman’s knee replacement thing, and how he needed prayer, the visitor man that had Herman’s name spoke up, and said this is very odd, I have Herman’s name, he said I have two knee replacements and I know the pain and the heart of Herman and I don’t know him. The man pledge to pray several days for this Pastor!
7. I know the in the family and in ministry there is a battle that has been difficult, I know many have shed many tears and known heartbreak.
I know as we work we can’t see the bigger picture, I know you have been misunderstood, and the finances have not always been there to carry out your dreams.
I know others have been a team member and the work of their hands have helped keep your family
and ministry afloat. The twist have been very strange? That is OK! We trust God.
May God richly reward those that helped us, for those that have helped you keep your hands lifted,
and have done things to help you and your family.
There have been Demus’ (quitters) and Alexander’s the coppersmiths (did great harm) that have wounded us,
but all a lone this journey, there have been those that loved and helped us in our family and in our little ministry.
God keeps good records. We need to remeber their kindnesses! Their tokens of love toward us.
8. As I write I also want to remind you, this is a hard battle, but it is not your battle. You are not the enemy, family is not the enemy, nor are people.
The real enemy is a mean, cruel Devil working to steal, kill and destroy.
The tears you have shed, the dry hard times you have faced, the times that it seems only failure is ahead,
and there appears to be such a small harvest, well that is a lie!
You have been faithful and have done battle, whent others would have run, because you have seen the value of souls more than the value of what you want. As we extend our hearts, we must extend our hands. Life is trying to get us like the turtle and pull in the hard shell, and avoid another pain and more hurt. Jesus didn’t, we can’t!
9. So you don’t have many trophies? So the great ecclesiatial success sheets don’t flow after our names?
We want to succeed, not for success’ sake, but for the cross! But you can not always see with your eyes,
and you can’t always feel with your emotions. Emotions will play spiritual games with our hearts.
So we haven’t seen our dreams? Our families have not gone the direction of our hopes? We would not have walked this trail if we had a choice? This mess can’t be God, can it?
So we haven’t enjoyed seeing great problems roll away before our faith?
We have not been called to just guard and see and enjoy problems going away, we have been called to stand in the power and holiness of the Most High God.
10. As we walk with our friends, we have taken one of three roads,
1. we have stood in the gap for many,
2. we have served as tentmakers, and worked with others,
3. and we have provided seed for others.
As we give seed, we trust the God of the harvest, for our seed is but an investment, God increase our seeds.
But, we can’t focus on the problems around us!
We must fix our eyes on the CROSS and JESUS! May the very foundations of our life’s, may the very purpose of our heart beat, be TO SHOW GOD’S LOVE TO ALL!
I want to do more than just share God’s word, I can share a candy bar? I want to demonstrate, to preach,
to teach God’s word with more than words but with actions. I know there is more than cheap grace and
professional showsmanship of the edited poltically correct. How can I impress God?
Who loves the retarded? Who loves the aged? Who loves the throw aways? We do!
May we find happiness in carrying cool water to those left for dead in a desert of death.
May I not see through my eyes, but may I see through the eyes of Jesus!
11. We have so little time, at best we are more than half way through this show, we are tired,
we are weary, we are battle wounded, but the BEST IS YET TO COME.
The darker the night, the greater the light! Opportunity blooms all around us!
Sure, we could set back and pout, doubt, and brood, but look ahead, look my little friend,
see what Stephen saw --- I see JESUS and He is standing at the Father’s right hand, Jesus is moved
with great compassion.
12. We have to have more than just new ideas, we must grow a heart that will develop people to energize old
ideas with great zeal. We must build people!
God in His infinite wisdom does not allow us to skip ahead to our end of the chapter or end of the book to show us, but God leads us by trust and faith, page by page to understand and learn that GOD IS, God is the beginning, God is the conclusion, that God is the means, that God is the truth and God is life. Don’t doubt the journey!
Trust the Unseen Hand!
13. In 1994, we were at the Kentucky District Coucil, Joe Arnette was 82. We had served 8 1/2 years as Joe’s Pastor at West Prestonsburg. Joe said, "MY EYE SIGHT MAY BE GROWING DIMMER, BUT I AM SEEING CLEARER
EVERYDAY!"
O, God teach me to see beyond today! Beyond problems! Beyond tiredness! Beyond people problems!
Open our eyes that we may see there are more for us than against us, please, God open these weary eyes
for today’s vision.
14. My my little friend, God help us to see clearer and the way become dearer than ever before.
Pain and tears may endure through the night, but JOY COMES --- BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.
I have no answers, none! Maybe I fight the same giants that we all fight, but my goal is TO BE A CANDLE FOR THE LIGHT, as shine a bright as I can, where I can, as long as I can.
In love, I give myself to be consumed for the light, then may our children and their children take the torch beyond, may we teach others to grow much fruit to lay at Jesus’ feet.
God may we be human agents of Your Divine Revival!
Ministry is taking risk and gambling on people.
May we keep taking the chance on people... Jesus did.
With my heart and my prayers to my friend so dear.
His servant,
Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Help me? Pass this to another?
