A Spiritual Pilgrimage

 

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations." - Psalm 90:1 ESV

Visiting the Church of my ancestors was something I'd thought and prayed about for years. I pondered about the Lord being our dwelling place in every generation of my family. While praying the Lord's Prayer early one mourning, the thought occurred to me that this prayer was prayed by those of my family who preceded me:

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." - Matthew 6: 9 - 13 KJV

Suddenly, I felt a spiritual connection to my family's past. It's not about ancestor worship - it's about my spiritual heritage. For two thousand years - generations of believers have prayed the same prayer.  

 

My Anglican ancestors were from Farhem, England - a small town near the English Channel. I prayed and had peace to make a spiritual pilgrimage there. As followers of Jesus, we are all on a spiritual journey here on earth until we see Jesus face to face. With my heart set on visiting my ancestor's medieval Church. I longed to encounter the same Presence they had experienced in the same place.  

It was a way of connecting with my spiritual roots. And to honor those who came before me and passed down the faith I cherish today. God no longer dwells in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24) but in the hearts of all believers. The Scripture says that we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). Those believers who are in Heaven now.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you. - Psalm 84: 1-4 NIV

5 

  I visited the parish of Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church in Fareham - in a way - it felt like home. On the following Sunday, I worshiped at Westminister Chapel in London. I was deeply moved by Paslm 84: 5, which speaks of pilgrimage to the house of the LORD. Our family name was originally Sparrowhawk. Over time, it was abbreviated to Sparks. I was encouraged as I saw the overhead graphic. 

The message to me was simple: Be audacious in pursuing the presence of God. And be faithful to share the faith with the next generation.

God Moments:

A few months ago during prayer, I saw a random picture (in my mind) of a Union Jack. It seemed God was impressing me to pray for England's spiritual condition. 

My son and I felt God's favor and the Spirit's leading on the trip. We always seemed to be at the right place at the right time.

 I was able to pray over four different people. And explain the simple Gospel to a confused man. I used the approach of what C.S. Lewis referred to as "Mere Christianity." 

While there are different views of what theologians call secondary doctrines, I focused on the meaning of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The simple yet profound Gospel.

Are We Having Another Jesus Movement? My Experience At Lee University

 

Could God send another revival like the "Jesus Movement" of 1969? Historically, each revival tends to be unique. The one common factor is repentance. 

We could be at the beginning of another revival, but it may look different. 

Outpourings of the Holy Spirit have often started historically with young people. The Holy Spirit is renewing the lives of young believers and hopefully some old ones too! 

I have concerns about the attacks by (supposed) theologically sound Christians against this college prayer movement. Their harsh criticism is irresponsible.

It is yet to be determined if this is the beginning of another "Great Awakening" in America. I hope and pray that it is.

Students are - staying up all night praying - worshiping God - and repenting of sin. Isn't that a good thing?

I attended the last student-led chapel gathering at Lee University. When I entered the chapel, young and old alike sat in silence. The atmosphere was peaceful and gentle. We sang old hymns and modern praise choruses that would break out spontaneously. 

I heard the confession of sin, the reading of Scripture, testimonies, and people asking for prayer. They had no worship band or choir leading the meeting.

One accusation is that these are "copy-cat" meetings on College campuses. What's wrong with that? Revival can spread that way! Spiritual hunger grows when we hear God is moving in power. 

The leadership at Lee University described these meetings as "prayer vigils." They aren't claiming this is another "Great Awakening"  or revival. 

God is sovereign, but prayer is a factor in the history of revivals.

The prayer meetings at Lee began with a small group of students who inquired of their professor about the meaning of revival. They ask their teacher - if they could go to their chapel to pray. He said yes - and this is how the "prayer vigil" began.

It sounds similar to the description of early church meetings by the Apostle Paul.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. - Ephesians 5: 15-21 ESV

One of the charges against this move of the Spirit is - too much emotionalism. Do those biblical theologians who criticize emotions ever read the Psalms? Our emotions are a gift from God - He even has emotions. The Bible is our guide, but God's presence in our lives produces godly emotions. 

"Taste and see that the LORD is good..." - Psalm 34:8

A Journey Into The Past - Merry Christmas

 

(I’m the little guy on the right with my friend Billy on the left. I wrote the article in 2008. My Dad passed away in 2007. Mom passed away in 2015, and my older sister in 2021.)

Christmas 2008

My earliest memories are of my family living on Lewis Street. Those memories from my early childhood there are special. I had three close friends, Billy, Mike, and Carol. We were the same age except for Billy, who was a year older. So as far back as I can recall, our gang and I met in our front yard on Christmas morning to compare presents. One year the boys and I all had cowboy outfits, and another year, football uniforms. But my favorite Christmas - we all got Army uniforms. We were all decked out in our uniforms and prepared for war! We played war games in those days fighting the ‘Japs’ and Germans (We didn’t know what political correctness was!) Occasionally when the guys pretended to have fought the enemy all day long, Carol would pretend to be our nurse.

In the early sixties, we lived in what seemed to be a “Leave It To Beaver” world. Our Moms stayed at home with us - families had one car (I remember our 63 Chevrolet) and one black and white television. We played hard back then until the streetlights began to come on, until I heard my Mom say,” Bobby, come in - it’s getting late!” During the summer months, we caught lightning bugs. Usually, I was getting scared by then because many times we told ghost stories while sitting on the sidewalk. I miss those simple days. 

I watched the first episode of Batman on television with my friend Mike, and I also remember the first episodes of The Adams Family and my favorite, Combat!

I woke up this past Christmas Eve morning feeling nostalgic. I miss my Dad and my old friends. So since my wife was cooking that morning (she’s a Proverbs 31 woman!) I decided to go to Broad Street, get a cup of coffee, and walk around downtown Gadsden. That’s where we shopped before we had a Mall, Walmart, and all the other new stores. We had a movie theater downtown where all the action was. There’s still one Variety Store that we shopped in when we were growing up, the name has changed, and it still has that same smell of varnished wooden floors and popcorn. I took a stroll on those sidewalks that had been a part of my formative years. And while enjoying the cool air and Christmas music - I reflected on the past.

Somehow I felt I was starting a journey back in time, so my next stop had to be at my old Elementary school, which I had attended until the second grade. I pulled up at the school only to realize I hadn’t looked down those halls since I left in about 1965. I just stared - it was like going back in time. The halls looked the same as I remembered. I could see my first-grade classroom, but the playground seemed much smaller than I remembered.

There was no stopping now - I had to visit Lewis Street. It was not my first time returning to the Lewis Street Baptist Church and looking at our old house. But this time was different. I drove slowly behind Lewis Street and gazed into the woods - where we played behind our house. There was a large flat rock near the woods that we kids believed the devil lived beneath! In those days, we had great imaginations because all we had to do was to play outside. No video games!

As I turned the corner to Lewis Street, I stopped the car and stood for a few moments taking in all the memories at the corner of the woods, where I had spent so much time so many years ago. I looked to the left where the ” Little Store “had been, at least that’s what we called it. The store was expanded and eventually made into a diner.

 I drove slowly past my old Church across the road from my old home. Carol and Mike lived on the other side of the Street from me. Billy’s home was next to mine. I could feel the memories. I don’t think I’ve ever looked so intently at our old house as I did that day.

The large lot we had played football on was not as big as I had remembered as a small child. My old house was for sale again. Oh, how I would have liked to have gone inside. The memories just kept flooding into my soul. As I turned left on Nunnelly Avenue, I remembered as if it were yesterday how I had somehow slipped out of the house unnoticed and ridden my tricycle to Nunnelly. I can still feel the horror as my Dad drove up and put me and the tricycle in the car. He was angry, and that was the worst spanking I ever got! I didn’t ride my tricycle back there again!

My first memories of Church, Sunday school, and Vacation Bible school happened at the Lewis Street Baptist Church. The Church was across from our home. My first thoughts about God and the prayers I prayed were in that neighborhood. That’s where I learned how to make and relate to friends. God doesn’t want us to live in the past. But there is something spiritual about remembering and honoring those formative moments and people from our past.

(To all those that are feeling lonely right now and missing loved ones – hang onto the good memories and Merry Christmas 2022.)