A Life Well-Lived

I’m watching (and re-watching) the video of the funeral service of a great man of God, Bro. T. F. Tenney.  I never had the privilege of meeting him, and today, my heart aches at the thought of his departure.  Can you regret not knowing what you don’t know?  That seems strange to me.  But I hear the testimonies from the family and close friends and the ministers he impacted, and I’m struck by the thought of living a life that so impacts the world around you that generations deeply feel your loss.  Not because you sang a song that hits the top 40, or because you made a blockbuster movie, but because your heart beat for the eternity your fellow man will one day face, and your whole life is consumed with making sure that others have access to Truth.  How can any other life even compare? 

When I think about the things I’ve been allowed to accomplish in my career, I’m glad—but when I think of someone like Bishop Tom Fred Tenney and his wife, Thetus Tenney, and their legacy, I wonder what I have ever done that matters.  Please understand, this is in no way a fish for compliments from those I know.  It’s the stark realization that one day, the things of this life are going to burn, and only what I’ve done for Christ will last.  It’s a profound and humbling thought.  If I have any sense about me at all, it should keep me up at night.

Lord, help me.  Let this burden take root, and become my heartbeat.  Give me direction and purpose, and help me to embrace it.  I don’t know what that will look like, but speak to my heart, and open my understanding so that Kingdom purpose is my purpose, and Your heartbeat is the one that rings loudest in my spirit.  How can I be 50 years old, and feel like my life is just beginning when it comes to Kingdom purpose?

If you haven’t watched this Homegoing Service, I urge you to do so.  I believe you will feel an unexpected pull of God, drawing you to a deeper walk.  As I watched, the following thoughts stirred in my heart: I don’t want to be a shallow, surface Christian.  I want to be an anointed woman of God, a daughter of the King, and a humble servant on a mission for the Master.  I want a heart of compassion to engulf me, a spirit of discernment that is clear and sharp, and an intolerance for the lies and the deceptions of the Enemy of our souls such as never before.  I want to pray with fire and authority and direction.  I want Apostolic authority—and I’m not talking about a position.  I’m talking about authority in the spirit to affect the spiritual climate around me for the King.  An ambassadorship, if you will, not from an organization as much as from my Father, who rules and reigns forever.

The life of Bro. T. F. Tenney is a powerful reminder that it doesn’t matter where you come from, when you give your life God, because He alone can take you where you need to go. 

“We all die.  The goal isn’t living forever—it’s creating something that will.”

“Jesus is coming soon.  Who will be caught up with Him?  Those who are caught up with Him NOW.’’

“It is your job to humble yourself; it is God’s job to promote you.  If you insist on doing HIS job, He will do yours.”

“No man with wet eyes will ever preach a dry sermon.”

“It is not the Great COME-mission, it is the Great GO-mission.”

--T. F. Tenney

This is the message Bro. Tenney devoted his entire life to:

Acts 2:38-39 NKJV

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

God, grant that this would be my mission, too.

Homegoing Service for Bishop T. F. Tenney--Alexandria, Louisiana