2/17/2008 "West of the Pecos"

Well with the tornado warnings behind us and the sun and a new day before us we were up bright and early to see, so to speak, two of our hero’s of the faith. In the town of Garden Valley, Texas, there is a small and humble cemetery where you will find the graves of both Keith Green and Leonard Ravenhill. Lord please allow us to make a mark for you as they did. On Leonard Ravenhill stone he asks all that visit a question that everyone should ponder. “Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?”

There were many very large estates in the area of the cemetery and farms. One of the estates we saw was the estate of David Wilkerson… (ever heard of the book The Cross and The Switchblade) We also got a good look at the local longhorn cattle that Texas is so famous for.

As we got back on the highway we say many things that I am sure the Lord is very grieved over. We came into the highway loop that surrounds the Dallas / Fort Worth area and saw two mega churches right off the bat. One with a large sign facing the highway that said “Your Tithes At Work”. With the starving and homeless people that exist everywhere I am sure Our Lord would have spent those tithes to feed the poor….

Lord, please forgive me / us for our perspective on money. Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Our drive out of the Dallas / Fort Worth area opens into the desert and there you see a new world. It is not the moon scape of sand that I had expected. It is an environment with cactus, small green bushes, oil derricks, oil pumps, and off in the distance are mountains that are unimaginable. This is big oil country. This life blood of this country.

We finally ended our driving that day in a small town called Pecos, Texas, for a total of 617 miles driven and we will call Wal-Mart home for the night. When we first entered the town I really didn’t think too much of it but was soon enlightened. Have you ever heard the old cowboy movies say “there ain’t no law west of the Pecos”? Well this is the town…. We are now “West of the Pecos”.

Robin

*****************************************************************************

Our trip to see the graves of Keith Green and Leonard Ravenhill has to be one of my highlights from this trip so far. While I know that these spots are nothing, they do remind me of what God can do and wants to do with men. If you have never heard anything from either of these men of God then I would recommend you search them out on www.sermonindex.net and listen to some of their messages. They were truly men that had a message to the church for their day as well as ours. I would also strongly recommend that you watch the Keith Green Story (the link is shown in our favorites) and read the Biography of Keith Green, "No Compromise", written by his wife which is far more indepth into the life of this man. Truly humbling. You may not agree with the music but you can't deny what the Spirit of God was doing.

David