Bittersweet Farm

Nashville Again!

Thanks to the kindness of the people I serve at Bethel Church in Jackson, Michigan I am in Nashville with one of my ministry associates, Patrick Kelly. Pat has been the Pastor of Worship Arts and lots of other things at Bethel Church almost seven years now and he is delightful company. We hit a couple coffee shops and a BBQ place on the way down the the hours of travel passed swiftly as we talked about our families and planned things for Bethel.

We are here to attend the SING Conference. It’s an amazing event held in an amazing venue. We’ve been running into people we know from all over the country. It’s encouraging to see people who know and love and serve our Lord Jesus and His church.

I miss our quiet Bittersweet Farm and Lois and Hope. I miss my nice study and the people of Bethel, but I feel that what we are doing here is going to be something we can bring home to bring great joy and worship to the people we love and serve in Jackson.

There are thousands upon thousands of people here. Yesterday we heard from D. A. Carson and Dr. John Lennox. The well-known and gifted musicians here are too many to mention. Today we will hear from John MacArthur and this evening from John Piper in a meeting held in a local Arena. It is worship for the purpose of encouraging and helping others to worship and it’s hard to imagine a more worthy and noble thing to do. Joni Tada and Fernando Ortega sang and spoke as well.

I’m working on a few books. One of them is a book of fifty camp lessons I call: “Between the Fires: How to Keep the Campfire Burning All Your Life.” Today I am going to share one chapter from the book with you:

Knowing the Way Home

You don’t have to know the way home,
if you stay with the One who knows the way home.

Jeremiah 9:23 says; “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

I loved visiting my grandpa’s farm when I was a boy, that is probably why this story appealed to me so much when I heard it. I loved the story so much that I began to tell it when I preached at camps or youth retreats. It’s not my story, but that’s the whole thing about stories, you can give them away and keep them too.

Once there was a little four-year-old boy who was visiting his grandpa’s farm. Late in the afternoon his grandpa said; “Let’s go for a walk.”

Eager to explore the little lad agreed. They walked out over the hill and back beyond to the woods. They followed a path through the woods and the little lad spent some time getting crawdads from the creek. I was in no hurry. He walked across the creek on rocks and claimed bank on the far side and lay down in the fresh mint with his grandpa. It was a great day.

The grandfather wanted his sweet little boy to hold his hand but he would have none of that. He was too busy exploring.

They explored a rocky fence row and a meadow with flowers. The sun sank beneath the trees and suddenly the little fellow said; “We need to go home, grandpa.”

“Why, son. We are having such a good time.”

“Because it’s getting dark. We have to get home before dark.”

“Son, when it’s dark the stars come out. It’s beautiful. Are you sure you don’t want to stay and watch the stars come out?”

“No,” the little lad said, “We have to go home before dark. I don’t know my way home in the dark.”

The wise grandfather got down on his knee and he held the little boys face in his hands and looked deeply into his eyes. “Listen, my son and never forget this. As long as you are with me, you don’t need to know the way home.”

The Importance of Knowing God

If you really know God you don’t have to know the future. If you really know God you really don’t have to have your career figured out or who you are going to marry or your major in college. These things are important, but not nearly as important as knowing God, because if you don’t know God you won’t know the way home in the dark. But if you know God you will know all that you need to now when you need to know it and you will never be alone.

A Camp Song

Some of the songs you sing this week you will remember for the rest of your life. Over five decades ago I attended a camp and we sang a song in chapel that I have never gotten out of my heart. It goes like this:

I know who holds the future,
And I know He holds my hand.
With God things don’t just happen,
Everything by Him is planned.
So as I face tomorrow,
With its problems large and small.
I’ll trust the God of miracles,
Give to him my all.

Even as a small child at camp I understood the powerful security, provision, direction, encouragement, protection, and wisdom that would come from me when I know God and cling to his hand all the days of my life.

You don’t have to know the way home,
if you stay with the One who knows the way home.