SOMETIMES ALL YOU HAVE TO GO ON IS A KNOW IN YOUR KNOWER

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It’s really hard for my wife and I to believe that two years ago today we left the snowy mountains of Western North Carolina and rolled into sunny Seminole, Florida. I will share a little of the backstory.

On May 4th of 2007, Gary Wilkerson, David Wilkerson’s son, gave me a prophetic word stating that “In one year Tom, you will know whether you will be here, (N.W. Indiana) for a very long time, or a very short time.” I said to him, “That’s easy Gary, I will be here a long time!” He kind of grinned and cocked his head. I realized he was serious and considering who he was, I sort of put it on the shelf for future reference. Well, on May 4th of 2008, Calvary Assembly of God, (now known as The Bridge Church of WNC) my home church, elected me as pastor, and I knew that in one month I would be moving back to N.C.

We always said that if God ever called us back home, we might as well get our tombstones because we would be there for life. Well, we were wrong! After 13 and a half years, God called us to Seminole Assembly. It was the most difficult thing the Lord had ever asked of us. Our roots had gone very deep there in those years and at our age, the thought of starting over was a hard pill to swallow. It meant leaving most of our family and very dear friends! I had to know if it was the call of God or just a late-life crisis! I had asked a trusted intercessor friend if she would pray for Tammy and I. That was all I said to her. A couple of days later, she wrote back these words. “Faithful is He who has called you, and He will do it!” (1Th. 5:24) With that my question was answered! Maybe one day I will write a little book on the whole story, but for now, I will just give you this snippet. The pulpit team here asked for my resume, so I sent it. There was a loud silence for weeks. I had to make many decisions that would have been disastrous if I was wrong. All I had was a know in my knower. On an early Tuesday morning, while praying, I had an overwhelming sense that I would hear from the church that day! Around 10:00 that morning I saw a post on social media that said, “The Door that has been long delayed, will open suddenly!” Chills ran all over me. While sitting there with goosebumps, my phone started ringing. The caller i.d. read, “Clearwater, Florida!” The person asked if I would like to have an interview with the board. The door opened suddenly! I must say that we love our wonderful church family here so much! Friend, true faith is a substance that is more solid than the ground you stand on! Cling to the precious Holy Spirit and He will lead your steps precisely, every step of the way, every hour of every day! HALLELUJAH! Just pray, “Jesus, where you lead me, I will follow!” Dear one, this is the key to the adventure of a lifetime!

Every blessing!

Tom