"I Love Jesus"

It is not right for a parent to lose a child!

My brother, Joel lost his son, James, last Saturday night.

Joel, I am SO sorry!

His name was James - same as mine and my Dad's and his Dad's, but to most people, he was "Spudd."

I'm not totally sure how that came about, but when he was young and playing soccer, there were several boys on the team named James, to they needed a way to differentiate them and my bother mentioned that they used to call his James by the nickname Spudd - and it stuck!

James was 20 years old - would have been 21 in May.

He was a handsome young man with a tender heart. He was a super soccer player, had been captain of his High School football team, was a track star who qualified for State several years. He played in the band. Spudd was very smart.

He was a nice young man with a great future ahead of him. He was loved by all who knew him.

He died way too early.

He was headed home from Miami, OK about 11:20 p.m. Sat. night when he missed a curve and hit a tree and was killed. We don't know all the details, probably never will - and we really don't even need to know all the details.

The police showed up at my brother's house a little after 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning to tell him his son was dead.

It is not right!

No parent should lose a child! No one should have to suffer that kind of hurt!

James was very much loved - and everyone who knew him will miss him!

He was not a perfect kid, but then none of us are perfect. He was a great son and a wonderful brother - and a great friend to everyone who knew him! He had a good heart and would do anything for anyone.

I preached for my brother on Sunday and will fill in for him again next week. I wish I could do so much more!

I love you, Joel!

The services will be at Pryor High School, Pryor, OK - 1100 SE 9th St. - at 11:00 a.m on Tuesday. I will be there for my brother. My wife, Sheila, will sing. I can't imagine it being anything but very, very sad.

James had a Facebook (doesn't everybody?) and I noticed that by this morning, 85 people had left messages. I was looking at all his pictures - and my favorite is the one posted above.

Joel and James - big OU fans - loved each other far more than either of them could ever express.

Parents should not lose their children! It is just not right!

Facebook is cool, because it gives you a look into someone's life.

James' last comment was made on Saturday afternoon about 3:30. He said "Keep my feet on the ground, keep my head in the clouds."

But - here is the thing on James' Facebook that meant the most to me. In his profile, under Religious Views, James wrote "I love Jesus."

That pretty much says it all, because that is really the only thing that matters. The Bible tells me that is the key to eternal life. "I love Jesus" was James' heart. And, so when James left this life on Sat. night and stepped into eternity, I know the first person he saw was Jesus. And, you know what Jesus said to James? "I love you, too, James! Welcome home!"

I love you, Joel!

Jimmie

Real Ministry

A little more than a year ago, Sheila and I became involved with God's Shining Light Church (GSL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

GSL does amazing ministry by which life, upon life, upon life has been and continues to be dramatically changed. It is the most incredible church I've ever seen.

I was talking to a local television station manager not too long ago and he saying that he couldn't understand why more churches were not reaching out in the same way as GSL. I told him that the answer was easy - most churches wouldn't want the kinds of people GSL is reaching to ever come to their church.

You see, GSL is reaching drug addicts and alcoholics and men & women just out of prison and the homeless. If you'd ask on any given Sunday how many people used to fit into one of those catagories about 80% of the congretion would stand.

Through a related program, Wings of Freedom, a sober-living environment is provided and through the Sunday service, the Wed. night Celebrate Recovery and the Fri. night service and 12-Step Study, 100s and 100s of lives have been change through love and acceptance and encouragement and accountability - but most of all through the power of Jesus Christ.

Over the next few days, I'm going to tell you more about God's Shining Light and Wings of Freedom and I'm going to introduce you to some AMAZING people - the kind of people that Jesus was thinking about on both side of the equation when he said, "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do it unto Me." At God's Shining Light, it is the former "least" reaching out and ministering to the current "least."

If you live anywhere near Tulsa or ever visit Tulsa - you need to come to God's Shining Light. Sunday service is from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and features a band called Broken Yoke, which happens to be the best Praise Band in America - and maybe the world! Wednesday night, you can come for dinner at 6:00 and stay for Celebrate Recovery from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. And, Friday night, you never know exactly what you'll get, but you'll get it from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - and you might, on occasion, even hear me preach! The church is located at 9897 East 11th Street, which is about a quarter mile west of Highway 169.

You can learn more about the church at www.gslchurch.com and you can find out about all the other events that are scheduled, like the "Setting Captives Free" Revival May 13-17 and the 3rd Annual Freedom Run motorcycle rally on August 29.

Again, starting tomorrow and for the next week or so, you'll meet some amazing people doing REAL ministry!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jim