Advantages And Disadvantages

 There are advantages and there are disadvantages to being single at my age.

The advantages all sound self centered. I can do what I want to do any time I want to do it. I can eat what and when I want to eat. I can read or watch anything that I want to read or watch. I do not have to answer to anyone, except God, for anything. My life is lived to please me.

The disadvantages are numerous. The disadvantages would not be cured by a new wife. I miss the companionship of someone who I grew close to over many years. I miss having someone with similar tastes and habits that I am accustomed to. I miss having someone who knows the same people and has been to the same places as I have. And I miss the voice of conscience who would have the right to ask me where I've been and what I've been doing.

I have worked hard to live a satisfactory life as a single Christian man. I have friends and pastors and a good church. I have enough money to live on. I could not support a wife unless she received some income as well. And the loneliness of the widow is no longer my constant companion.

I agree with the scriptures. If you are married, then stay married. If you are single, stay single. Read

1 Corinthians 7.

I am not looking for a wife so I guess that is one good thing that I will never receive from the Lord.

The Burden Of Wisdom

As I read through the book of Ecclesiastes I am struck by the idea that Solomon struggled with the wisdom that God gave him. He talks much about the futility of life. He talks about the dangers of women. He talks on and on about vanity and grasping at the wind. It sounds like even for a man trained to be a king God's wisdom was too much for him to understand.

The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. Read 1Corinthians 1:25. 

Solomon talks a lot about man being done in by women, and yet how many wives and concubines did Solomon have? Practice what you preach king.

One lesson for today is that wealth and power give you a sense that you are wiser than you are. This is the danger of politics. People get in office and they think that they know what is best for everyone. People get lucky in life and gain great wealth and they think that they are smarter than everyone else. The only people who seem to be immune from this are lottery winners. They just feel lucky. They know that they are not smart.

If a church is a work of God then why are we tempted to think that we know something that a small church does not know? One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.

I know things only because I have paid attention for many years. I am not an expert on anything.

God's wisdom made Solomon famous. It did not make Solomon happy. Is this a lesson that we can learn from the wisest man who ever lived?

Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and look what she did. Wisdom alone is not enough. We need Jesus Christ.

Blessing Are Evident

"I will bless those who bless you..." Genesis 12:3

These words first spoken to Abraham carry weight to those who through faith in Christ inherit Abraham's blessings. 

"that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus..." Gal. 3:14

I just recently I had a bout of back pain for a week. But rotating my mattress around seemed to bring me relief. So my family told me that they were going to buy me a new mattress. I count this as evidence of the blessing of Abraham in my life. Blessing from God is measurable and evident.

I pray that God will bless those who bless me in Jesus' name. Amen!

Old Wine Music

 My friend in another Fellowship church says that the song service hurts his ears. Our song service wears me out. I am of the opinion that a song leader is the one to lead us to God in worship. And the sound crew are the ones to keep the levels at a point where you can hear yourself sing. It is not a time to show off your talent or to put on a show.

The song leader in the early days of the Prescott church was a middle aged man who could sing and who could keep time and that is about all he could do. But with his help I learned the songs that I still sing to this day. Not in church of course. We don't sing those old songs anymore.

I remember when churches had choirs. Our choir sang on Sunday nights. No church that I know of has a choir anymore. We sing modern songs with clever beats and driving rhythm but no anointing. We sing songs about how I feel rather than about how great God is.

The old wine may not always be better. It's just easier to sing along to without hurting our ears.

Big Crowds or Big Hearts?

 A lot of what the Prescott church did they did with about 300 members. It was not the biggest church in the world. It was a church in a small town. Our pastor was not a high flyer in the religious world. We had a modest building and enough parking. We had a church choir with that small attendance.

We think that we must have big crowds to do anything for God. That we need the size and the income that a bigger church provides to plant churches and to make disciples. And I wonder if we are wrong in that assumption.

We did not have to have a convention center building back then. And we held conferences in our smallish building until the city threatened to shut us down. Then we started using the circus tents for conference.

I cannot tell you what pastor Mitchell was thinking back then. I saw him in action preaching and praying and overseeing everything by himself. Back before pastor Mitchell became famous.

Every genuine revival begins with a bang and a rush of excitement. Every true revival begins to taper off in time. But that doesn't erase the memories of what it was like in those heady early days. Back when everyone was called to preach. Back when we gazed at the map wondering where we would plant a church next. Back when we got married young and stayed married until death did us part.

This church has a history too. It's not my history but it is legitimate history here.

Street Preaching Style

 Back in the early days we didn't do much street preaching. We witnessed, we passed out tracks, we handed out flyers, but we didn't street preach. One time during conference some out of town guy went downtown and preached. Pastor Mitchell asked them not to do that.

My point in bringing this up is not to criticize street preaching, but to ask a question. How can a guy be zealous in street preaching, and be not very good preaching in a pulpit? I know that these are two different things. But pastor Rubi is the only street preacher who turned into a fine real preacher.

I wonder if the style of spur of the moment inspiration in street preaching makes guys think that impromptu inspiration is how you preach.

Street preaching is Holy Ghost power. Church preaching is three points with a plan.

Discipleship involving witnessing turned out leaders. Street preachers turn out seat of the pants preachers. Just saying.

Our Missing Pastor

 I heard from an old friend that my pastor is preaching in Prescott tonight. A men's discipleship class. I would watch, but why when he was not at his own church all day yesterday. If I am going to listen to what my pastor has to say I want to hear him say it in his own pulpit, not someone elses.

I wonder if those who have popular pastors in our Fellowship feel the same way as I do? I get no benefit from having a popular pastor. It's not like we get pastor Greg or pastor Warner or pastor Campbell or someone else to fill in.

I have no doubt that our pastor will do a good job tonight. He just won't have any impact on me at all.