My Year In Review

 Here is a brief rundown of my year in review for 2021. One year ago I was getting ready to start the new year in my old home but now I am writing this from my new home. So the biggest event for me was moving to Texas. My old home sold for more than I was thinking, and my new home was bought for less than they were asking. I have been able to furnish and fix up this old house and so there is nothing but maintenance and upkeep now. For all of this I am grateful.

I was hiking and had begun bike riding before I left Arizona. I found here that hiking in San Antonio was unsatisfying but riding is great so I have become an avid bike rider this year. I am grateful for good health.

One ongoing issue for me is changing relationships since Kathy died. I am grateful for those friends who have become better friends this year. I am grateful for new friends that I have met this year. And I am grateful for those who love me including my family.

Not every church in our Fellowship is the same. This new church is quite different from anything that I am used to. But I am learning how to live under this church and with these pastors. I am grateful to be a part of this ministry.

My life this year has become better than it has been for years. And I am trusting that 2022 will be even better.

True Worship?

 Tonight we had our usual song service. Long on singing, short on true worship. I also learned that it was a 20 minute song service from someone in another place watching the service online. I also found out that in Prescott the typical song service is 3 hand clapping songs and 3 hand raising songs and then worship. And in another Fellowship church it is 3 fast and only 1 slow song. And the song service with less singing does not repeat anything over and over and over and over ad nauseum like we do.

If you have been in one church since you were born again then you will not see what I see. I can safely say that I have not been in any church, Foursquare or Potter's House or the Door or Praise Chapel, that has a song service like ours. I am learning how to live with it as it is. But I am not crazy either. Our worship service seems to be long on singing and short on actual worship. I'm talking about speaking in tongues kind of worship. The kind of worship that helps us focus on Christ and not on how we feel.

There may not be an absolute right and wrong way to worship. But there is a way that really is hard for people like me to adjust to. But I am trying. And I vote for a new song leader who can actually sing.

The Innkeeper

 For some unknown reason the innkeeper in the Christmas story gets thrown under the bus. No room for Jesus! I have heard that sermon preached.  But, just because there was no room in the inn, he  did find a place for them. Joseph and Mary were thankful to have the manger. I wonder if the innkeeper's wife helped Mary deliver her baby?

Because of the decree of Caesar the whole world was in upheaval. People who never traveled were struggling to travel and to find accommodations. If you could lodge and feed travelers you would have made a lot of money during this time. So, God, who knows the end from the beginning, told the prophet that a virgin would have a son and that the son would be born in Bethlehem. God had already seen that event take place.

There are streams of God's purpose that are at work in the world today that are bigger than you, or your family, or your church, or our Fellowship. Just because we do not see or understand does not mean that God is not at work. Ours is never to ask why, but to ask what, or when, as it relates to us. God never shoots from the hip or reacts. He always knows what to do and when to do it. 

One rule of Bible prophecy that will keep you from unwise speculation is that the prophets were shown a snapshot of the future. They only saw a glimpse when something would actually happen. We can think that we understand, and once in a while we are correct. Like Peter on the day of Pentecost we can rightly say, This is that!

One day it may be that we can look back and see how God worked everything out. We see this in the Bible, when on the road to Emmaus Jesus opened their eyes and showed them how all that he did was in the Scriptures.

The secret to all ministry and preaching is not to be an expert on ancient history, but to be able to apply ancient words to current affairs. To be able to apply the Bible truths to our current circumstances.

One final thought. Pastor Mitchell was one of the wisest men that I ever knew. But he never professed to know everything. But, by keeping us on track with what he did know, pastor Mitchell saved us from  winds of doctrine that will lead us to destruction or irrelevance. Thank God for good pastors! And for the innkeeper!

Cynical Heart Of Unbelief

 "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." Hebrews 3:12

I watched an interesting video on the topic of cynicism, or of being a cynical person. The speaker was right on the mark of telling the truth. And it made me curious as to the definition of these terms and how they might apply to our faith.

A cynical person is someone who believes that people are motivated only by self-interest. They are distrustful of human sincerity and integrity. A cynical person is one who is distrustful, contemptuous, and pessimistic. But what really caught my eye are the synonyms of cynical. Words like bitter, resentful, soured, distorted. A cynic is one who is not only distrustful but also one who is doubtful as to whether anything will happen and whether something is worthwhile.

A cynical person, as it relates to faith, is one who mistrusts the church, who doubts the Bible, and who believes that nothing will happen so why bother. They do nothing because they think that God is absent or a myth and therefore not to be trusted. A cynic disparages the motives and the sincerity of God and of Christ. A cynic shows contempt for standards and morals and headship. A cynic is dishonest, untrustworthy, sour, and distorted.

Someone has stated that cynicism is the fruit of always being right.

God is not just a great king or judge. He is our father in Heaven. 

Just like the unfaithful man in Matthew 25, our view of God will affect our life now and what we do.

Monday Morning Roundup

 I was honestly surprised yesterday to find that my church does not know how to sing traditional Christmas songs. Or maybe the new song leader does not know how they go. One thing artists who cover old standards understand is that the people already know the songs. And they know that you have to be true to the original or the audience will turn you off. That is what happened to me yesterday. At least last night we were able to sing some Christmas songs the right way.

I am also surprised that no Christmas bonus was publicly given to our pastors. They deserve something from us. They ought to be blessed by the church that they serve. Why was nothing given to them?

I was blessed to see my daughter sing last night. She sounds nothing like her mother. But she did a great job on short notice.

There seems to be nothing but a regular church service the Wednesday before Christmas. That seems like a wasted opportunity for something special to be done.

I was blessed to be invited to a New Year's Eve celebration. One reason why I moved here is to not spend holidays alone. I won't this year that's for sure.

Putting Santa in a gang fight was classic San Antonio. That thought never even crossed my mind.

A new building is old news for me. But it is a pressing issue here. I have been through this in Prescott. This is the first construction job this church has undertaken. We will get through this together and live to tell about it.

That's enough for today. God bless us, everyone!

Wednesday Night Thoughts

 First, there is no date set yet but we hope to open the new year in our new building. So there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

Second, I received a plate of Christmas goodies at church tonight. And it was not from my daughter. I am grateful for that!

Third, pastor Garrett King ministered to us tonight and I felt like he was talking about me personally. That is real ministry. Not just words, but the word from God for me right now.

One final thought. Leah serves something on Christmas Eve that they all love but I do not like. I did not want to hurt her feelings but I thought that I had better speak up and be honest. I did. Problem solved. 

My Daily Devotions In Spanish?

 This morning as I opened my Bible reading app, the verses for today were in Spanish. I can see where I might be mistaken for being Hispanic. You start singing Spanish language songs in church and you get tagged as a Spanish speaker! I had to use an alternative means to read my Bible this morning.

The Big Question

 The big billboard on the 410 right by our church loudly proclaims that our building will be opening soon. The big question is, how soon?

Prayer Request

 Bridget got a good report from her oncologist today.  The doctors said that the leukemia is in remission. The chemo is  working. She is still in critical condition and she needs a bone marrow transplant next. But this is a good report.

Bridget still needs out prayers. She still has a long and difficult road ahead of her. Stem cell transplants are not painful but they cause a whole other set of concerns for Bridget and for her doctors. Without a miracle Bridget will be seeing doctors about this for the rest of her life. Leukemia is a deadly disease and ought not to be taken lightly.

Pray that the Lord will strengthen Bridget to face all that is ahead of her with peace and with hope.

The Fear Of Death

 Many years ago, while I was preaching in one of our Phoenix churches, I called for those who needed healing. A few folks came up for prayer. Then by inspiration I called for those who were fearful of getting sick and three to four times as many people responded for prayer.

I learned a lesson that night. The fear of illness can be as tormenting as the actual illness. We are afraid of cancer and we are afraid of covid-19. And in fear we rarely make sound decisions. We react and we over-react to fear even more than to pain.

It is the fear of covid that has caused our government leaders to do stupid things. It is the fear of leukemia that makes us happy when someone has a "good" day. It is our fear of death that makes medical providers ruin a person's life trying to keep them alive.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. He has given us the spirit of power, and love, and of a sound mind. Thank God for that!

Christmas In Church?

 I have always enjoyed seeing how the San Antonio church decorates for Christmas inside the building. I used to enjoy it when I would come to visit and I enjoy seeing it every service now that I am here permanently. And then yesterday two of my old Prescott friends sent me pictures of how the Prescott church has put up Christmas decorations inside their sanctuary and in the foyer. I was thrilled to see this.

God bless pastor Greg and pastor Rubi. Merry Christmas to all!

Death: The forgotten Subject

 Before I thought about what I intend to write about I first had to think about an interesting fact. How many Bible characters got to go to Heaven without dying? I count only two. Enoch and Elijah. Everyone else had to die first. Even our Lord Jesus had to die before he could go back to where he came from. The only group of people who will skip death are those taken up in the Rapture.

My point in mentioning this is that even though death is universal and no one will escape it we all act like death and thinking about death and dying is to be avoided at all costs. We don't mind mentioning death in our witness. but we shy away from death personally when it involves us or those that we love.

I did not think about death even when Kathy was so sick. Death was still far off in the future. Until she died in her sleep and never woke up. She was sick but she was not terminally ill, just annoyingly ill.

I knew nothing about grieving and mourning until it hit me like a ton of bricks after Kathy died. Now it is a topic of great interest to me.

One thing that my experience has changed in me is that when someone is very sick and they have been prayed for and are not any better I do not pester God for their healing. I begin to ask the Lord that he would take them to their eternal home and that he would help them accept with dignity their situation. I pray that they would not lose their faith no matter what happens to them.

One final thought. Hope is vital to living. Even the terminally ill need hope. But the hope people who are dying have is simply the hope that their spouse or their children or anyone else in their life will be okay once they are gone. Hope has many facets and the hope of the dying is still hope up until they are dead. Love may be the greatest. But to a dying person hope is stronger than love.

What Shall We Do?

 "Then they said to him, what shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He sent." John 6:28-29

When is the last time that you heard your pastor or any Fellowship preacher use these verses as his text? Have you ever heard anyone talk about this? I can't remember ever hearing anyone in our Fellowship preach about this in church or at a conference. So let me give a few thoughts on this.

We live in an environment and in a culture of go, and do, and serve, and sacrifice. We take some verses seriously but we ignore others. Don't you think that is a risky way to minister? The people wanted to do something. Jesus said there is only one thing that you need to do and that one thing is to believe.

We condemn people who believe that you must work and do good works to get to Heaven. But we believe the same thing. You cannot work to get saved but you better work like there is no tomorrow to stay saved. God is not pleased unless you work like it all depends on what you do. 

The old country song gives us some revelation. Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get? Bony fingers!

Properly Processing Life's Events

 Here is a thought that I think very few Pentecostals thought of this morning. Not every one can prophecy or give a public message in tongues. Not all of you will ever walk on water or heal the sick. Not all of you will pastor a large or leadership church. Not all of you will be the head of anything or be a big success in business. Not all of you will earn advanced university degrees. But all of you will have someone or something that you love die or be taken away from you. All of you will grieve over something you no longer have; whether a dream, or a person, or a career.

Why then do we try to hide from death and refuse to understand the grieving person? If you are born again Heaven is your eternal home. But for us who are left here after someone dies the hope of Heaven carries little solace or comfort. 

Maturity is the ability to properly process the events of life; the good, the bad, and the unwanted. It is childish to hide behind clichés and verses and to ignore what is happening to you and to those who you love.

Why Bother?

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able." 1Corinthians 3:1-2

As I have been in south Texas for a few months now some things have started to become obvious to me. I see a disconnect between my experiences and the people's ability to relate to me. I find that much of what is important to me others here do not even understand. I have asked simple theological questions to test some guys ability and they have failed miserably. Things that I have gone through in life they don't even know what those things are.

I find that some of the saints in south Texas seem to me to be very young in mind and in spirit. They strike me as being very immature. It's like a grown up trying to converse with a toddler. They don't understand and you get frustrated. And I find that no one here cares about who I am now or what has happened to me recently. All they want from me is my first hand account about the early days in Prescott. They get giddy when I talk ancient history but they get glassy eyed when I share what's on my heart today.

Therefore I have decided to take a break from writing anything important on this blog for a while. If I find anything easy and elementary or any news I will post that. Otherwise, why bother?