Did My Dad Really Believe?

4 CommentsFamily Stuff

My thirty-year-old prayer was answered: Dad made a profession of faith in Christ after 88 years of unbelief. He was no longer headed for Hell but would have eternal life in a place where there’s no more pain and no more tears. But did he, really? I had my doubts….

(Start at part 1 here.)

I was doubtful because he didn’t sound sincere when he believed. There was no contrition, so sorrowful weeping over all the years he had lived in rebellion to God’s laws. No joy either that his sins were washed away. Maybe he had “believed” because he wanted to please me.

Now my dad was in the Emergency Room because he refused to stay in bed and fell headlong onto the floor. He was barely conscious, had a nasty gash on his forehead and re-fractured his already broken shoulder. He would shout “Get me out of here! Get me out of here!” every time he awoke while trying to climb out of bed. The doctor informed me that this might be the last time I’d ever see him alive. I needed to confirm that his salvation was real, so I asked him if he had thought about our conversation the night before.

“Yes! I believe!” he replied.

“Believe what, Dad?” Then I rehearsed the Gospel again to him. “Do you believe that you are a sinner?”

“Yes!”

And you need God’s forgiveness through Jesus?”

“Yes!”

“You believe Jesus died for your sins, was buried and on the 3rd day rose from the dead?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Dad, I love you, but are you just saying this to get me off your back?”

“No! You can take it to the bank!”

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My Dad Finally Dies

Family Stuff,

A few days before Father’s Day I got a call from my stepmom: My 88-year-old dad was rushed to the hospital with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. In God’s providence, I had booked my flight to see him several months before and would be there to see him before he passed on; the prognosis didn’t sound good. I also hoped to celebrate his 89th birthday with him—if he lasted that long. But my main goal was to give him one last chance to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ so he wouldn’t go to Hell. (Read Part 1 here.)

When I wrote about visiting him last, I told how hard-hearted he had been about responding to the good news that Jesus saves sinners. For over 30 years I had spoken to him about his soul to no avail. Though he wasn’t antagonistic to the message, he wasn’t moved either. The last few years I had decided to live out the example of a good Christian pastor son. But now, the time was critical.

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Will It Truly Be Father’s Day?

Family Stuff,

I got the call from my stepmom: My 88-year-old dad was rushed to the hospital with congestive heart failure. I rushed to see him on June 15, 2022 with one goal in mind: give him the Gospel of Jesus.

When I got saved in 1990, after a life of dissipation and sin, dad didn’t believe I had really changed. I couldn’t blame him. I was a bad, irresponsible son who cared not a whit for anybody, even my family. But God gave me a new heart and new desires; over time he has seen the change. But that wasn’t enough for him to believe in Jesus.

My dad is an agnostic who taught me that God could be a beer can when I was a child. So, of course, I worshiped and lived as one who serves a beer can. After I had put childish things away, my only desire was to prove to dad that Jesus is real. But he’s a stubborn guy. Like I was. Like I am. Like all of you.

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America’s Christian Roots

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Since we celebrated Independence Day last week, I thought it important to understand how the majority of its founders acknowledged that God had a hand in building this greatest nation on earth despite what the naysayers and cynics say.

American’s confidence and belief in the bible is at an all-time low with only 20% saying that the Bible is the literal Word of God, according to a recent Gallup Poll. In addition, there’s a decline in overall religiosity in the U.S. adult population including

  • declines in formal identification with a religion
  • declines in church membership
  • declines in religious service attendance,
  • declines in the personal importance of religion,
  • and declines in belief in God.

This is tragic because we as a nation were founded on Christian principles. Want proof? I’ll bet you didn’t learn this about Christopher Columbus’ reason for setting off to discover a new world:

“I was led of the Holy Spirit to carry the message of the Gospel to undiscovered lands.”

This is what the Pilgrims wrote in the Mayflower Compact about why they came in 1620:

“In the name of God, amen. Having undertaken for the glory of God and for the advancement of the Christian faith, do solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, covenant and combine ourselves together.”

Twenty-three 23 later, as more and more people settled in New England, the Puritans formed The New England Confederation. This is in their Constitution:

“Whereas we all came into these parts with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity and peace.”

As each state organized itself, the founders’ commitment to the Gospel is evident in the documents drafted:

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Flag Day in Johnson City

Special Days

Today is Flag Day which commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

It’s wonderful to live in Johnson City, Texas, a town that loves America and celebrates traditions such as Flag Day.

Our flag is a symbol of the greatest nation on earth, exceptional in that America is a nation of immigrants bonded together by a shared commitment to the democratic principles of liberty, equality, individualism and laissez faire economics, as well as one nation under God.

I have the honor every year to give the Invocation at our Flag Day Observance sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution in front of the Courthouse.

Here is the prayer I composed during my time with the Lord this morning and then prayed at the Courthouse:

Lord God of the earth and of America,

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