Political Thoughts.

I have reached an age where partisan politics holds no appeal for me. Even when those in power are not the best or the brightest, they still deserve my respect. They hold an office that is worthy of respect. It's not as bad or as dire as the opposition says it is. They are not as evil as their opponents say they are. Even if all there is is to agree to disagree, I can live with that. We have had a string of national leaders who have tarnished their elected offices by bad behavior. But the offices still command respect.

Our system for electing representatives is genius. The founding fathers were wise beyond their time in devising a system that still works perfectly. In spite of the effort of some radicals to dismantle or discredit our system, it still works just like it was intended to work.

I pray for our elected officials. God, help them to act in a manner worthy of their position. Amen.

One final thought. Staying in office beyond your ability to serve your constituents is very selfish. So is keeping someone in power when they should retire is also very selfish.

Love covers a multitude of sins. 

A Sad Lesson Learned

 If you watched the presidential debate you saw in President Biden something very similar to what we saw in pastor Mitchell in his last few sermons in Prescott. It was sad to see pastor Mitchell get lost in his sermon, and to get confused about where we were in the service. It was greatly appreciated when pastor Greg stopped his father from preaching anymore. It was an act of kindness for a great man.

President Biden was a lot like pastor Mitchell the other night. He got lost, he got confused, He didn't make sense. And like pastor Mitchell, president Biden will not step down or step aside on his own. Someone else will have to pull him aside, with respect and dignity and mercy, and tell the president; no more, you're through.

This is not about politics. This is a story that I have seem more than once. My own father was the same as these public figures. I had to stop calling him. His mind was gone.

Proud men will not quit. Successful men will not step aside. Someone who loves the president needs to tell him, and to save him from further humiliation. When a man will not retire, he will be retired for his own good. President Biden has done a lot of good. His days of serving the American people are over.

I think that our Fellowship needs to rethink the retirement issue and find a way for the founding or successful pastor to step down with dignity To write a book or something. Dying in the saddle is a Hollywood myth that does not work in the real world.

Pastor Mitchell was greatly diminished at the end. There must be a better way to serve those who have served us.

Men And Women And Power

 Pastor Eric preached an interesting message recently on the power that women have over men. I have never thought about this before. How that, when the serpent attacked the people in the garden he targeted Eve, knowing that she would get Adam to do what he knew was wrong. Adam did the deed, but Eve was deceived.

"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." 1Tim.2:14

If the serpent had come directly to Adam, Adam was strong and powerful and Adam would have easily conquered the serpent. A weak, fragile woman brought down her husband and in so doing affected the whole human race.

Pastor also mentioned Samson and Delilah. How the pretty, attractive, little woman destroyed the strongest man on Earth at the time. Pastor went into some details about this, but what spoke to me was how a petite but beautiful women brought down a strong but undisciplined man.

The good news is that Samson, in desperate circumstances, found God again. And he accomplished more in death than he ever accomplished in his self-centered life.

"Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!" Judges 16:28

"...So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life." Judges 16:30

We do not know what happened to Adam and Eve after Seth was born. They disappear from history, although they would have lived a long time. But Samson recovered enough to do something notable right up to the end of his life.

God, who brings light out of darkness and who brings life out of death, is able to do more than we can ask or even think.

Women have power over men, only when men fail to be men.

Burning Your Ships

 Our pastor preached about burning your ships, no turning back. I made that decision years ago; to follow Jesus all the way. I know that life must be lived to the very end. I am doing that daily.

When I moved here I knew there was going to be no turning back. I did not burn any bridges or need to burn any ships. I knew that I had one chance to get this right. And now that the dust has cleared I find that the Lord Jesus guided me all the way. Even when I didn't see it, He was working.

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it! Amen!

Here I am, here I stand, and here I will stay.

Get To The Point

I have noticed something. A lot of news stories draw me in with a headline that promises useful information. Then, they begin the story by going back in time to explain how we got to where we are now. So the headline is buried under the weight of the history. By the time they get back to the headline often I have clicked off the story.

In church I see this happening in our pulpits too. The preacher will make a statement to explain the scripture that makes me pay attention. Then, he stops so that he can explain the context or the story that led to this current place in the Bible. When he finally gets back to the main point, he has lost my interest. 

Maybe there are those who honestly do not know the history or the background of anything. I suppose they have to learn somewhere. I have lived a long time and I have learned a few things. I am ready to hear the headline now. Some ignorant and unlearned people must need to be informed first. Not me, usually.

One final thought. If a pastor will preach on money on a regular basis, he will not need to preach a sermon on money for every offering. Pastor Mitchell raised a lot of money in the Prescott church with short and concise thoughts, just enough to announce that he was taking the offering. I have been in conference services with money in my hand, ready to give. But the guy taking the offering went on and on and on until I put my offering back in my pocket to give another day. He no longer takes the offering in Prescott conference. Just saying.

If you want me to pay attention, get to the point!

A Christian Nation?

Is America a Christian nation? Does America owe more to God for it's forming and sustaining than any other nation? We believe that we will be great as long as we are good. We have not been good for many years, so are we no longer great?

Many years ago there was a movement roughly know as the British Israeli movement.  It claimed that since Britain was a Christian nation it had the right to claim all of the national promises God made to the Jews as their own. That their status in Christ made them owners of Israel's national promises.

America is not a Christian nation per se. It is a Christianized nation due to the several great awakenings in our history. England had some visitations also in their past. America has given the church liberty to do what the church needs to do but it has not promoted or provided for the church's rolls in society.

Partisan politics is divisive and contrary to the command of Christ to love your neighbor as yourself. Ask the failed Christian Coalition how their foray into partisan politics worked for them.

If you are bored with your faith, ask the Lord to revive you. If you think you have a platform that various people will support, run for office. If you think it matters, vote. But do it as a private individual, not as a church.

I think it is important not to get sidetracked into partisan politics. The church has a singular focus; evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Not politics, not schools, not food banks, not hospitals. If that is not enough to keep you busy, you are not trying.

One final thought. If God loves Christian America, why does God bless pagan Saudi Arabia and godless Red China? Why is all of our national wealth going to nations that hate Christ?

Random Thoughts

 I have written on many topics in this space. It is rare to have something new to write about. But here are the thoughts rattling around inside my head today.

The Bible is God's word. It is an ancient text. Preachers who preach just the bible make it seem like God only worked in ancient times for primitive people. To hear them preach, the only miracle happening today is when a sinner gets saved.

Is salvation really the greatest miracle of them all? I think the miracle you need now is greater. If you need healing or money or a new car that would be pretty exciting if God worked for you today, wouldn't it?

We live in a youth oriented society. We serve in a youth oriented church. Most of the ministry is focused on a small segment of our church. Do we have the results of young men getting married and being sent out to justify all of this energy going their way?

It is a challenging place in life to age out of ministry. To have been involved but, because of age or ailments, you cannot now do what you used to do. 

The future of our church is young people taking the baton and running with it. But we send out guys in their 50's. Something is not adding up to me.

Big buildings can feel cold and sterile. But no one asks us before they build a conference center. They think bigger is better, even when it is not.

Blogs may be old school, but it's all I have. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

The End Of An Era

 For over 10 years I had another blog. It began it in the dark days after my wife died. A pastor friend of mine gave me the idea. It was a blog focused on my journey through grieving the death of my wife.

Today I bid farewell to that blog. Those days are far behind me. Most of the people who used to read my blog have moved on. Grieving is a phase you go through, not a place to live.

This is now my only blog. In a world of podcasts and social media I feel like a relic from a bygone era.

This has been my place to share what is on my heart and mind, and to share what the Lord is saying or doing in me and in my church. I got a benefit from writing here.

I do see the day approaching when this blog will fade away. Blogging is old school in a digital world. This blog will never die, but I will one day not have any reason to write here.

I have no interest in a podcast. Social media is a voice crying in the wilderness. 

It may be that this is simply the end of an era.

Thursday Thoughts

 "But none of these things move me..." Acts 20:24

I have been saved a long time. Over 50 years. I have been through a lot of things; any one of those things may have ruined some men, or caused other men to walk away. But I'm still here. Still saved. Still serving. Clothed and in my right mind still.

I see some saints who strike me as being immature. Not new convert zealous, but emotionally exuberant. My life is like a bed of coals; once the blaze of fire has burned down, there remains glowing embers. I cringe around excitable and overly enthusiastic people. They scare me!

I admire the zeal of a new convert. Everything is so fresh and new to them. They want to do everything! They believe that God can do anything. Even if their body won't go, they are ready and willing to blast off.

I do not want to be an old fart for Jesus. I want the Holy Spirit to ignite something inside of me again. Some fresh fire. I cannot do what I used to do, but my life isn't over. I just have not yet found out what is next for me.

So, if I can survive the zeal of the converts and the exuberance of others, I may yet make Heaven my home.

"But he who endures to the end shall be saved." Matthew 24:13

Farewell Services

 We said farewell to Ray and Rubi tonight. Brother Ray has been our staff evangelist for many years. They are leaving to go to eastern Europe. Ray and Rubi will be missed. It's the price you pay as the sending church. We send our best. We send those who made impact here. We need someone to rise up and take their place.

Two Truths Learned Today

I heard something this morning that I have never heard before. See, no matter how long you have been saved, there are still things to know and revelations to be had.

First, in Genesis chapter three God pronounces a curse on the land concerning produce.  So then in chapter four, when Cain offer an offering, it is from the cursed ground. Not only was there no sacrifice, it was the sweat of Cain's brow that produced his offering. Our works will never win God's favor.

Another thought. In Hebrews chapter eleven, it says that by faith Abel offered his offering to God. Every time we obey God in tithes and offerings we do it by faith. It's not just money changing hands. God notices and accepts our gifts made by faith.

It is important that we go to church where the Bible is taught and preached from.

"Now, therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God." Acts 10:33

"By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain..." Hebrews 11:4

Attitudes of Aging Saints

As we age in the faith there are things that I notice in the attitudes of my brethren. 

1. No matter how old we are, we think that if given the opportunity we could still be pastors. That our pastor could one day be in prayer and the Lord could tell him to pick me. That will never happen.

2. No matter how old we are, we still think that we are on the cutting edge of evangelism. We haven't been on an outreach in years. We are not active in evangelism. But we think that we are.

3. Because pastor Mitchell limped across the finish line, we think that we all must serve until we die. And our best hope is to die in the saddle. Retirement is a four letter word to many of us. Not me.

4. It is arrogant and dishonest to have these kinds of attitudes. But when older saints are given so little support and expression, we tend to live in a fantasy world thinking we still can, when we can't.

5. When we send out a 50 something guy, every 70 something guy in the place thinks they could be next.

Why can't we be content to be who we are and do what we can do and stop kidding ourselves about what we will never be?

Did We Throw The Baby Out With The Bath Water?

 We have declared war on social media in some of our churches. But do you realize that by doing this you have cut off all of those kids who you will never minister to because you hate the world that they live in? Social media to me is not the same as social media to my 11 year old granddaughter. To me it is a tool. To her it is a way of life.

We may have thrown the baby out with the bath water by ignoring where this generation lives. The answer is not we all use old phones and never use modern technology. We are not sucked into the lies of social media, but they are.

We reached hippies by playing their music and opening coffee house style outreach venues. We are trying to reach Gen Z with hippie or hip hop style outreaches. It's not just letting the Holy Spirit bring them in in spite of us. It's using wisdom to reach young people where they are.

The parents of Gen Z kids are lost and fearful and depressed. They don't know what to do or how to do it or what works. We know all of that. Is our message getting to where this beleaguered generation lives?

You cannot go forward while looking backward. What got us here may not get us there.