August, 2007

Sometimes we find ourselves in a HOLDING PATTERN. It can be many things: Sickness, a lay-off, a move of some kind, injury, accident, or other events that comes into our lives. It seems as though we are going no-place. We have been grounded and the days are long and dreary. There are things that need to be done and we cannot do them, places to go and we can’t go, these times try our patience, we are in a holding pattern. Recently two of my friends received their Instrument Rating as Pilots—Rev. Tom Hicks and Herman Keylon. This is a great step for a Pilot. I have my Instrument Rating.

What is a holding pattern? You are on a plane and that plane can’t land at the airport now. The Control Tower will put you in a holding pattern. A holding pattern is shaped like a large Gem Clip. A Holding Pattern is a predetermined maneuver designed to keep an aircraft within a specified airspace.

There are times that God’s saints are put in a holding pattern. Elijah was placed by a brook, he was in God’s Holding Pattern. Paul was in prison for long seasons….God’s holding pattern. John was put in Patmos…God’s holding pattern. Out of it came the Book of Revelation. Daniel was taken to Babylon and kept there but out it all came the Book of Daniel. I have been in a holding pattern for near three months. My yard needs to be mowed and I can’t mow it. There is so much to do and I can’t do it.

It is necessary for a Pilot to know how to go into a Holding Pattern. Flying a Holding Pattern is not an easy thing to do. Times when there are delays, sickness, waiting for an inspection before we can finish the building or job…we are to fly the holding pattern. This happens to the Old Minister many times. He has been so very active for many years and now—a funeral now and then or to speak here and there. These holding patterns are not easy but no holding pattern is forever. They are only necessary delays in our lives.

While in a Holding Pattern the plane is still seen by Radar. They know where you are, so it is when we are some kind of Holding Pattern. We are never out of God’s sight. He knows where we are and what we are doing. God knew where Elijah was and when the brook dried up God moved him to a better place. Paul was never out of God’s sight. God visited him and allowed him to write some of the greatest books on earth. John came to be in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. God had not forgotten him. He wrote the Book of Revelation. Daniel was out of Jerusalem but not out of God’s sight.

Dear friend, God knows where you are, how you are suffering, and your present need. As Baptists we believe in the Security of The Believer. There is no MIA (Missing in Action) list in heaven. He never has lost one nor will He ever lose one.

While I am in the Holding Pattern I can’t see much but the Airport is still down there. After a while the Control Tower will release me from the Holding Pattern and I will be cleared to land.

Hallelujah! One day the Control Tower will say you are to leave the Holding Pattern and you are cleared to land. One day the call from Heaven will come, ‘Come Home.’ I used to hear Governor Jimmy Davis sing, ‘Supper Time.’ Come on in, it is suppertime. Suppertime is coming. In a sense we live in a Holding Pattern. We sing, ‘This World is not my home’ and it isn’t. In Genesis 23 Abraham realized that he was a pilgrim and stranger, and so we are.

Death is a fact that faces all men, everywhere, rich, poor, famous or unknown. And yet many seem to act as if they will live forever. We have a better destination that this. HEAVEN IS OUR HOME. TO BE WITH JESUS AND THE SAINTS OF GOD forever is the lot of all who trust Jesus to save them.

If there is no heaven then I loved Dad and Mon needlessly. But thank God we believe that there is a Heaven where they are and we shall meet them again. I preached my Dad’s funeral. Before they closed the casket I leaned over and kissed his forehead and said, ‘Dad, thank you for everything you did and have been. Wait for me, I will soon join you over there’. I think Dad is still waiting for Gloria, Billie, Pert and I to meet him. Mother will be there. It is no wonder that we old-fashioned,

Bible Believing, Spirit filled, Christians believe in shouting and weeping. I am weeping as I write this article. We are on our way home. I am thinking of a friend, Joyce Ross, Tulsa, Oklahoma, lost her baby years ago in a car wreck on the Sand Springs Bridge. Joyce will see that baby over there.

Friend, there is nothing better than this Old-fashioned, shouting, weeping, religion. Think of this: My mother and father, my sister, my Granddaughter, Wana’s mother and dad are there. Some glorious day we will be together again—-forever. These Holding Patterns are not forever.

To God be the glory. It is all because Jesus Christ died on the Tree, shed His Blood, was buried and came forth from the grave on that Sunday morning. We sing, ‘He Lives, He Lives’ and because He Lives we shall live.

The great event is just ahead. JESUS COMING AFTER THE CHURCH, ‘HIS BRIDE.’ Think of all the unspeakable joys at that time. FIRST, we will see Jesus. I have never seen Him. I have loved him all these years. I will say to Dr. Brad Davis, Dr. Ed Moore, and Dr. Don Richards….look, ‘There He is. It is Jesus.’ There is no way to describe the joy of that moment. SECOND, to see our loved ones again. Wana, there is your Dad and Mon….you talk about unspeakable joy. I will see Mon and Dad. What a time that will be. Words cannot describe that wonderful moment. THIRD, when we see the beauty of Heaven. It will be a beauty unlike anything ever seen by human eyes. Throughout all eternity we shall share the beauty of all that is there. Its beauty will never grow old, ten million years from now the beauty of that Heaven will be there. Friend, have you really trusted Christ to forgive you and prepare you for eternity? If not, do so today, simply pray and repent and ask Him to forgive you.

I seem to be gaining strength week after week. I lost 40 pounds, down to 153, now I am up to 160.

Thank you for all the cards, letters, phone calls, visits, and e-mails. I was operated on May 18-07.

I want to thank all our friends who have supported the Winfrey Evangelistic Association. Our missionary work is now worldwide. Wana and I could not do this without the support of many friends. Your gifts are tax-deductible. Sandra Edwards, President of Carver Tax & Accounting, Inc., Marietta, Georgia does all our tax work. We appreciate all she does in helping us.

Wana and I appreciate and thank the many who support work regularly. Oct. 17-31, Dr. Matthew Skariah will conduct a Crusade in Nigeria. Pray that many souls will be saved. Souls are being saved in Africa, Egypt, and many other parts of the world. New churches are being built here in the U.S. The work in Mexico is thrilling. The teams of Doctors, Dentists, Nurses and other health professional working all over the world are such a blessing to thousands. The letters we receive are thrilling.

Wana is 82 and I will be 85 in November, pray that God will give us strength to keep working.

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