All Saints Day

November 1st....
All Saints Day....
A day of remembrance of those who have gone on before us.
A day of remembrance of those who are still with us.
To those we owe a debt of gratitude for the love and influence they had upon our lives.

Hebrews 12:1 Amplified Bible
Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (Who have borne testimony to the Truth) let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and the sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.

Truly in this life, no person stands alone on their own merits. No one is a part of the body of Christ without the influence and love shown to us by others. We become a part of a larger family. Ever since I moved into full time ministry, I have observed All Saints Day. Maybe not in an elaborate ritual or service, but in the simple act of keeping my thoughts and heart on those people God has used in my own life. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all stand on someone else's shoulders. The church at large is always under the headship of Jesus, but the line to Him stretches far back, and is found in the lives of others. 

So on this day, I want to say to all those who poured from their lives into me.

W.A. and Geneva Lutes /  Clarence and Lillian Whisenant / 
Your influence and love showed me what a family should be like. Your love for Christ and His church gave me sight to see Him for myself.

Lewis Wood /Don Gentry / D.E. Hendrix / George Creel / Jim Bentley /John Wimber - Each of this men touched my life through their service to Christ. Each one, in their own unique way, is responsible for making me the follower of Christ that I am. As I typed out those names, I was taken by uniqueness  each one of these men. They all burned for the same Jesus....They all had answered the call to pastor. Yet each one was a prism through which the light of Christ shone, breaking down the colors into greens and blues, reds and yellows. 

Brook and David Finlayson / Debbie Handy / Bill Anderson: What was so common and a part of your lives, you shared with me. You gave me a place to make music. For that I am eternally grateful.  It wasn't always perfect, but it was always from the heart and thrown out there for all the world to hear. Thank you Brook for inviting me to play bass at the Vineyard on that warm July night back in 1991. That night changed me forever, as I was introduced to worship. I just thought I knew what it was all about.

Chad and Josh Bynum: Even though you are my sons, I have watched you go farther,higher and faster in your own lives than I ever dreamed of. I have watched you take the best of what your mother and I tried to give you, and become godly men who love Jesus and the Kingdom. You have, and continue, to, walk in integrity before those God has surrounded you with. 

Then there is Keith Green /  Leonard Ravenhill / A.W. Tozer / Dietrich Bonhoeffer / John Wesley / Smith Wigglesworth / Randy Clark /  John Arnott / Amy Carmichael /  Charles Finney .

Saving the best for last.....
My wife, Vicki ---
For simply believing in me at every turn on this journey we've taken together.
For being that voice of encouragement when those other voices told me I couldn't. 
For being a true example of what I Corinthians 13 Love looks like.
I see Christ in you.

God on you...
mb