Category: Four Horsemen (Page 5 of 7)

Plunder Taken, Captives Rescued

August 28, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

“Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce?
This is what the Lord says:
‘Yes, captives will be taken from the warriors,
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
and your children I will save.'” ~Isaiah 49:24-25

“No one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” ~Mark 3:27

As Jesus teaches and loves and heals and drives out demons in Mark 3, he’s accused by religious leaders and his own family of being possessed by Satan. But Jesus makes it clear: what’s happening is not the result of some civil war within Satan’s ranks. This is a direct frontal assault from the outside. The strong man is Satan. His house, his domain, is this world which he’s trying desperately to secure and hold on to. His possessions are his victims, these people he’s taken captive. He’s trapped these victims. He’s imprisoned them with sin and fear and death and disease and demons. He’s holding them with divorce and crime and addiction and unemployment and cancer. He’s got ’em. But then along comes the stronger one, Jesus. He comes from God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to cross the barriers of time and space, to smash through the walls of the devil’s house, to tie Satan up and carry off his precious possessions. To free the captives. To rescue the prisoners.

God himself overcomes the mighty one. He destroys forever the destroyer.

Satan uses our fears of the awful things we see all around us. Hebrews 2 says Satan holds the power of death and holds us in slavery, keeps us paralyzed, holds us in prison, by our fear of it. And then God himself breaks through, as the divine Son of Man. Jesus comes to earth, right into the middle of Satan’s house. He walks our streets. He teaches our people. He hugs our kids. He eats with us. He touches us. And he brings with him the eternal Kingdom of God! He wages war—not against the petty tyrants and selfish leaders and evil empires. He comes here intent on destroying THE Kingdom of Satan which has enslaved all of humanity. Christ Jesus, by his birth and life and teachings and ministry and death and burial and resurrection and exaltation, takes Satan’s plunder and rescues Satan’s captives and he ties Satan up and makes him watch.

We are that plunder taken. We are the captives rescued. This is us. We were the ones imprisoned by Satan. We were the ones held in slavery by our sins and paralyzed by our fears. We were the ones stuck, doomed, distressed, condemned. We were the hostages. We were the sentenced prisoners. We were headed to an eternity of death and despair. Damned by our own selfishness and sin. We were hopeless. We were already given up for gone.

But now we are rescued. We’re freed. We’re liberated.

We’re not just rescued from ourselves and our sins, we’re snatched from the life-choking clutches of Satan himself! We’re freed from the Kingdom of Darkness to walk eternally in newness of life.

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~Colossians 1:13-14.

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Several of you have been asking about Debbie Miller, the wife of one of the Four Horsemen, one of my dearest friends. Her surgery was yesterday. And it couldn’t have been more successful. It couldn’t have gone any better. And our Father couldn’t have answered our prayers in any more of an amazing way. All the cancer is totally gone! 100% gone! There wasn’t any in her muscle tissue. There’s not any in her lymph nodes. It was all contained in the tumors and the tumors are gone! Praise God!

I talked to Dan last night. He told me it was the greatest and happiest day he’s had since….and then he said it’s the greatest and happiest day of his entire life. Our God is great. He answers prayer. And he delivers his people. And we rejoice today with Dan and Debbie.

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We’re leaving Friday for Searcy, Arkansas to spend about 24 hours with my brother, Keith, and his wonderful family. And then it’s off to Benton, Arkansas to hook up with Jimmy Mitchell and the Benton Church of Christ. Jimmy was our Youth Minister in Marble Falls when we were there from ’05-’07. I’ll be preaching for them in Benton on Sunday. Please keep our family in your prayers. And ask God to bless our time with great family and great friends.

Peace,

Allan

God's Worldwide Reach

July 16, 2008 / Allan / 5 Comments

Once again a Texas Ranger drives in the winning run in the All-Star Game. Michael Young’s game-winning RBI on a one-out sac fly in the bottom of the 15th at 12:37 this morning won it for the American League. And I’m paying for it this morning. Great game. Excellent pitching early and tons of drama late as both benches and bullpens emptied and both teams put runners in scoring position time after time but couldn’t bring any of them around. Last night’s mid-summer classic set all-time All Star Game records for longest game (290 minutes; 4 hours, 50 minutes), most runners left on base (28), most players in the box score (63), most pitchers used (23), and most strikeouts (34). I just wish once, just once, the Texas Rangers would figure as prominently on the national stage in October as they seem to in the middle of July. (Kinsler was safe at second in the bottom of the 11th. Bad call.)

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About three weeks ago I received a call here at the church building from a woman who lives in another city in another state, over 660 miles away from North Richland Hills and Legacy. This stranger introduced herself to me over the phone and proceeded to tell me all the details of several tragic things that had happened in her life over the past few months including, but not limited to, a teenage daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock, an unauthorized abortion, and an unwanted divorce. This woman was in tears—she was trembling, I could hear it—as she told me of the dark valley she was walking through. And the whole time I’m listening to her I’m trying to understand why she had called me. Why was she telling me these things? Who is she? What’s the connection?

And then she says, “Allan, your three sermons on Habakkuk are the only things that have gotten me through the past couple of months.”

My jaw hit the desk and chills ran up my arms and my back as she told me how she was just searching church websites, looking for some encouragment and comfort, when she came across Legacy’s site and the audio of our Sunday morning sermons. Accidentally. She can’t even remember what she googled to get there. But she appreciated the sermons. They provided her strength and comfort. They gave her hope. And she just wanted to call me and thank me and ask me to pray for her.

Wow.

Of all the amazing things that have happened to me over the past three years, I believe that was the absolute most unbelievable. I preach my guts out to a thousand people here at Legacy and those three sermons meant more and did more for a lady I’ve never met who lives three states away than they did for the people I’m actually preaching to.

Some weeks it’s kind of a hassle to get those sermons up on the website. I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using that resource, if it’s worth the trouble. Suzanne and Bonny have to track everything down and load it and check it and all kinds of stuff. And this lady hits me between the eyes with a sledgehammer to remind me that, yes, our God is using those sermons!

Sometimes I wonder about this blog. Some days it’s kind of a hassle to get something written here. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful, sometimes, in that I want what’s written here to be meaningful and important and helpful. And I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using it, if it’s really worth the trouble.

And then I read all the comments on my post regarding Jade Lewis’ death last month. That simple request to pray for Hank and Janet has turned into an internet meeting place where all of Hank and Janet’s friends scattered from Texas to Florida are posting prayers and sympathies and well wishes for that precious family. The Lewises have been so encouraged by the response. Everyone who’s read Hank’s comment have been encouraged. And as I read and re-read all those comments, I’m blown away by the fact that our God is using this blog!

I’m appealing to our God today to use this blog to his glory again. And I’m asking you—personal friends and family of mine and Carrie-Anne’s, Christ’s Church here at Legacy, our brothers and sisters in Marble Falls and Mesquite, all you sweet people in Florida, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell’s church families in Arkansas and California—please pray for Debbie and Dan Miller.

As I mentioned yesterday, Dan is one of my nearest and dearest friends. He’s one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s Word today. He means more to me than I can put into words. And I’ve tried over the past couple of days.

They just found out Thursday that Debbie has cancer. She underwent some emergency surgery at Medical City in Dallas Saturday. She’s still there, undergoing all kinds of tests, probably for the rest of this week. They still don’t know everything they’re going to know in the next couple of days. I spent a couple of hours with them both yesterday. Debbie is strong, of course. She’s prepared for the fight. She’s ready. She’s determined. Her faith and her trust is in our God. For the first time since I’ve known him, Dan seems shaken. Completely understandable. His faith is strong. But he’s asking tons of questions. And he seems rattled. And tired. And I love them so much.

Pray for them today. In the powerful name of Jesus, please ask our Father today to heal Debbie and to comfort her and Dan and their three precious children.

And, Lord, please use this blog to work an amazing thing in their lives. And may you, Father, receive all the power and all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.

And all God’s people reading this today say “Amen!”

Peace,

Allan

On Hamilton & Homers & Honor to God

July 15, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

If you watched Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton in last night’s Home Run Derby at Yankees Stadium, you already know. If you didn’t see it, there’s no way I can explain it to you. Words are inadequate. Pictures don’t do it justice. It was simply the most amazing single display of power and grace I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. It was inspiring.

You can read ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s account by clicking here. SI’s Joe Sheehan’s story on Hamilton’s amazing night can be found by clicking here.

It wasn’t just that he obliterated the record by smashing 28 long balls in the first round. It wasn’t just that he hit homeruns on 13 consecutive swings at one point. Or that he hit 16 homers in 17 swings. 20 of 22. 22 of 25. It’s that they were long, tall, towering, majestic, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, oh-my-word-did-you-see-that rocket launches. Three of them went past the 500 foot mark. Nobody’s ever hit a ball outside the confines of the stadium. Nobody. Ever. Josh nearly did it three times, coming closer to doing it than anyone in history. He was bouncing dingers off billboards, off the top row of the black seats in center field, off the back wall in right. The exhibition stunned everybody inside the stadium—fans, announcers, All-Star baseball players, concession workers, ball boys, Madonna. They were chanting his name. They were chanting “M-V-P!” Other players were sending their kids over with balls and bats for Hamilton to autograph in between swings. Rangers teammate Milton Bradley interrupted twice to towel him off. It was incredible.

And the reclamation project who’d been suspended from baseball; who’d been to rehab eight different times as he battled drug and alcohol addiction; who’s now given his life completely over to our Father thru Christ Jesus; this prodigal son in more ways than one has come all the way back.

He gives all the credit for his salvation, publicly and privately, to our God through Jesus. He gives all the glory for his physical success and for his spiritual redemption to God. His teammates and his coaches say he’s the team evangelist. Hamilton’s apparantly talking about his new relationship with his Savior to everybody in that Rangers clubhouse.

Terry Rush is always praying that God will use the media to show people his power, to show people doing good things in the name of the Christ, to use the news to highlight God’s people doing and saying wonderful things that will inspire others to seek him and his Kingdom. I think about that prayer when the wife of one of the murdered Christian musicians in Garland openly forgives her husband’s killers and prays publicly that God will change their lives and forgive them and save them. And I think about that prayer when Josh Hamilton tears down the house that Ruth built on a national stage, when he captures the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans all over the country, when he becomes the lead story and the water cooler talk all over the nation, and continually and openly and publicly gives full honor and all the credit to our Father in Heaven.

If you know anything at all about his past and his story, you’ve probably fallen in love with Josh Hamilton this season. Knowing Hamilton’s story and watching Hamilton live as a “new creature” in Christ is also causing others to fall in love with our gracious God who believes in reclamation projects.

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Please say a prayer today — say several prayers today — for Debbie & Dan Miller. As many of you know, Dan is one of my dearest and best friends. In fact, I don’t have a better friend than Dan Miller. He’s one of the Four Horsemen, one of the greatest influences in my life, one of my greatest encouragers, a man of tremendous faith, one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s gospel today. I just found out late last night that Dan’s wife, Debbie, has been diagnosed over the weekend with cancer. And it’s rocked them. Of course. I’ll see both of them at Medical City in Dallas this afternoon. And I’m going to write much, much more about this tomorrow. But please lift them up to our Father today.

Peace,

Allan

Whitney's Bouncing Back

March 10, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

Thursday and Friday were awful beyond description with Whit. But she’s on track now and doing wonderfully.

Whitney had gum reduction surgery on Thursday. She had so much gum tissue in her mouth and around her teeth that it was obstructing her bite and even preventing her braces from doing what they need to do. So this three hour surgery on Thursday was to go in and slice and peel and scrape and cut and stitch her gums—all the way around, top and bottom—to make the inside of her mouth more like everybody else’s. Of course, this three hour surgery turned into a four surgery. And Whitney’s mouth continued to bleed all through the night. After a very long night—mainly for Carrie-Anne and Whitney–her mouth was still bleeding Friday. And she didn’t look good. She was pale and groggy, maybe from the pain medication. But she was absolutely miserable because of all the blood. I’m serious, it was everywhere. And it wasn’t stopping.

I reluctantly left for Tyler at about noon for our annual Four Horsemen Advance (more on that below) and Carrie-Anne wound up taking Whitney back to the surgeon at 1:00. After four more hours in the chair, this time without anesthesia, they finally got the bleeding stopped.

When I got home at about 5:00 Saturday afternoon, Whitney looked and sounded so much better. She’s finally on track now with what they had told us would happen and how long it would take. It’s just that they did so much cutting and there was so much gum tissue there with all the attached blood vessels that it took more than they anticipated to control that aspect of the procedure. But I was able to get a good look at her mouth yesterday and I can actually see all of her teeth! They were always there. We just couldn’t see them. She’s not in pain anymore. She’s still uncomfortable. But not nearly as much as she was two days ago. She still hasn’t had anything to eat since Kipi’s meatloaf last Wednesday night. But she’s drinking tons of water and juice, strawberry milkshakes, and Dr Pepper floats.

We’re very grateful to all of you who’ve sent her cards and well wishes. Thanks to Mary Glover and Lance and Taylor, Whitney has me continually running up to Sonic to get her a Blast or a float. And you four sweet girls and your moms who came to visit yesterday afternoon, you know you’re an answer to our prayers for great friends for our oldest daughter. Thank you.

She’s going to try some soup this afternoon. Maybe mashed potatoes by Wednesday. She won’t be ready for chips and salsa or popcorn by NCAA Tournament time. But I don’t think the Sonic cards will be out of credits by then either.

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The Four Horsemen rode into Tyler Friday afternoon and nearly froze to death at Tyler State Park. The same thing happened last year in Cleburne. It seems that everytime we schedule our yearly Advance, the weather freezes up and shatters records. If we set next year’s event for June, be prepared for a catastrophic shift in the earth’s atmosphere.

I’ve written at length over the past several months about Jason and Kevin and Dan. I don’t have any closer friends. And I don’t know any men who are more dedicated to our Father and to his Kingdom than these brothers. My time with them—during our monthly lunches together and, especially, on our annual weekend camping trips—is always uplifting and encouraging. We pray together. We talk about our families and our kids. We study Scripture. We talk about God’s Church. We help each other with advice and insights. Jason and I talk about preaching. Dan talks about ministering to the margins and planting churches. Kevin keeps all of us grounded and connected by talking about the big-picture of the Kingdom. And we all four come away stronger and better and closer to God and each other.

Kevin, I’m not sure how you’re going to explain the burn marks on your hand. Dan, I hope you’ve recaptured your breath following our hike to the lake. And Jason, I don’t care what you think, we could all three take you. It would take all three of us. But we could take you.

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I’ve shared my snow and snowman pictures with you. Here are two more I have to pass on. Darryn “Everything’s A Skit” Pope built this first snowman in the middle of his street. Aaron Green stuck 20-month old Parker on the top of their snowman Thursday before it was finished. As always, click on the pic to get the full size.

And then, one final note. I missed last Tuesday’s Screwtape study due to my trip to Waco (more on that tomorrow). When I returned to the office/study Tuesday evening, I found our little church office mascot, our lamb that reminds us to “think of the flock,” upside down in front of my door. I blame Byrnes and Pope who think the flock refers only to them.

Peace,

Allan

Pressing On

February 7, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

(We bought a Chinese-Dwarf Hamster for Valerie. His name is Theodore. I’m a little concerned about the language barrier.)

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“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on…” ~Philippians 3:13

I just got off the phone with Dale Bresee, our guest speaker for this weekend’s Legacy Men’s Advance. And we talked about all the things we always talk about together: elders and ministers, men and work, the Church and the World. His vision for relationships within our families and within our churches is straight from Scripture. It’s a powerful vision that puts Christ at the center of everything we do and everything we say to and with one another. It casts to the side the petty, worldly things on which we generally focus and aims our attention at loving and serving one another.

I’m excited that we have so many men at Legacy, over 60 of them and counting, who are giving up their weekends to come together to learn how to be better leaders—better husbands, better dads, better deacons and elders and ministers, better committee members, better Christians. These men obviously want to know each other better and want to know our God better. And Dale is going to bless our lives.

A good friend of mine, David Bazillion, introduced me to Dale when he spoke for us at a Men’s Advance David and I planned together for the Mesquite church in 2001. And that weekend changed, not just the lives of the men who were there, it changed the whole church. It changed me dramatically. It greatly improved my marriage relationship with Carrie-Anne in ways that she noticed and appreciated immediately. It changed the way I saw our God and his Church and the relationships we have with one another in his Church. It changed my perception of the roles and responsibilities I have as a husband, a dad, a deacon, a member of the Body of Christ. It was radical.

All seven of our elders at Mesquite attended that weekend Advance. And the bonds that were forged, the prayers that were lifted, the tears that were shed, the promises that were made all carried over in the following months and years. The Mesquite church began doing things instead of just talking about things. A regular feeding of the homeless in downtown Dallas, the regular Second Saturday Servants, the 24 Hours of Prayer, the Wednesday night dinners, all of that stemmed directly from that Men’s Advance with Dale.

The Four Horsemen grew out of that weekend. All the amazing things our God is doing through Dan and Kevin and Jason and me all go back directly to that Advance.

I’ve often looked back on what was a watershed weekend for me and wondered if it was Dale (he’s good, but he’s not that good) or if it was just that a whole bunch of men had come together to worship and study and talk (it was very different and wonderful) or if it was the bonding that happens during three hours of paintball (it was intense) or if it was God (duh!). And I’m not suggesting that, if you’re at the Advance this weekend, you’re going to ditch your career and go to preaching school. But I do believe it’s going to change you. It’s going to change us. And it’s going to change our church.

Let’s be in fervent prayer together for the next 24 hours as we anticipate all the wonderful things our God is going to do with us this weekend. I can’t wait to see you there.

Peace,

Allan

A New Attitude and Mind

November 12, 2007 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of your redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” ~Ephesians 4:29-32.

There’s an old story about Woody Hayes, the volatile Ohio State football coach. In a 1968 rivalry game against the hated Michigan Wolverines, Hayes ordered his team to attempt a two-point conversion in the 4th quarter of a contest the Buckeyes wound up winning 50-14. Asked why he went for two, Hayes replied, “Because I couldn’t go for three.”

That’s bitterness. That’s malice. That’s rage. And I love that story. It’s hilarious. But Hayes never could get rid of it. That bitterness and rage took him over, ate him up, and eventually cost him his job.

Paul tells us that, as disciples of Christ, we’re to put off the old self and “be made new in the attitude of your minds.” We’re to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” You can’t excuse rudeness or abrasiveness or mean words or hurtful comments by saying, “Well, that’s just who I am” or “Well, that’s just the way he is.” The apostle says that grieves the Holy Spirit of God. Unwholesome talk is, according to Paul, any talk that doesn’t build others up and meet their needs. One who is not kind and compassionate is, according to Paul, one who is eaten up with rage and malice and bitterness. That grieves our God. And, as God’s people, it ought to grieve us.

Let’s commit today to being “imitators of God…and live a life of love.”

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My thanks to everyone at the At The Cross Church of Christ in Mesquite. My family and I had a wonderful time worshiping with that group of believers, seeing old friends, and meeting brand new Christians whose lives are being changed by the saving grace of God in Jesus. The Allenhurst and Peachtree apartments in Mesquite are home to plenty of abuse and neglect and poverty and lonliness and despair. And At The Cross is reaching out to those places with the love of Christ and making a difference in the Kingdom. I praise God for them. And I thank God for the great people at Highland Oaks, Mesquite, and New Hope who are playing such a significant role in ministering to that church family.

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With the division title on the line, on the road in a hostile environment, against a good team on an unbelieveable hot streak, the Cowboys showed again that they’re pretty stinkin’ good. No Barber. No Witten. No matter. Romo’s great. His throw to the tight end in the corner of the end zone while he was being sacked in the middle of the field was another classic. Romo seems to produce one of those great plays that most quarterbacks have no business even attempting at least once a game. Who can stop them? The Packers?

Please?

Peace,

Allan

Category: Four Horsemen (Page 5 of 7)

Plunder Taken, Captives Rescued

God's Worldwide Reach

On Hamilton & Homers & Honor to God

Whitney's Bouncing Back

Pressing On

A New Attitude and Mind

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