God Laughs

 "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done." Isaiah 46:9-10

Physicists brag about quantum computing. They talk about how fast it is and how powerful it is. It only works on paper, but they still tout it's power. But God says that He knows the end from the beginning. No quantum computer can do that. God speaks things into existence out of nothing. God turns beer into groceries. God makes a nation in a day. Science pales in comparison. Quantum computing can do nothing that God does easily.

So while they boast about something that doesn't even work yet, God sits in heaven and laughs.

"But You, o Lord, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision." Psalm 59:8

Street Preaching

 I want to address an issue that may not be popular, especially here. The issue is street preaching. Most of the outreaching that we do as a church involves street preaching. Not witnessing and talking to real people. But preaching to cars with closed windows as they drive down a busy street. While street preaching may serve some purpose, it is not an effective way to win souls. IMHO.

Pastor Mitchell was not a big street preaching advocate. He was a proponent of personal evangelism and witnessing. The big outreach was the concert on Saturday night. But the next biggest outreach on Saturday was door to door witnessing. Taking a handful of flyers and knocking on doors in a neighborhood. Taking time to talk to people and to pray for people.

I would like to suggest that one of our assistant pastors would take some young guys out on a Saturday just to witness and to testify to people in the neighborhood. We know how to street preach. Do we know how to witness for Jesus?

So there it is. A challenge. To try going from yelling at cars to testifying of the gospel to people in need. Not just the homeless bums, but to follow Jesus and to bring the simple gospel to the poor of this community. 

Street preaching has it's place, but it only works if there are real people listening in person.

A Christian Nation? Really?

Why are we surprised or even shocked when sinners act like sinners? When the world acts like the enemy of God that it is? There is a reason why we are exhorted not to be worldly in attitude or behavior. There is a reason why we are called to live sin free. Our aim is to please God by following Jesus.

We are so determined to make our country into something that it was not intended to be,  and never will be. God is building a church, not a nation. Moses led a nation, Christ builds His church from individuals from every nation and kindred and tongue and people.

We are not nation builders. Our job is not to make any nation on Earth a Christian nation. We are to pray for political leaders but we are not called to be political leaders. We are too busy working for Jesus to spend our time in nation building.

The church is God's focus during the church age. His kingdom is not of this world. The weapons of our warfare are spiritual, not carnal. The sword of the spirit is not a steel blade but the word of God.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world....For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 1John 2:15-16

Let the words of Nehemiah be our guide.

"...I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?" Neh. 6:3

The Best Is Yet To Come

The big question still remains. What do we do when the rush of real revival is gone? What do we do when the glory has faded from our faces? Do we give up in despair? Do we spend our days reminiscing about the past? Do we leave and start over again? Do we fret that God has forsaken us?

Let's think about marriage. The honeymoon phase is very short in marriage. Soon you settle down to a lifetime together. Is it over because the thrill is gone? Do we look for another to make it all fresh and new again?

When a baby is born it is an exciting time. But once the baby sleeps through the night and begins to eat solid food do we give up and quit being a parent? At what point do we stop being parents?

Of course, the answer to all of these questions is no. And the truth of the matter is that the best years are still to come. The first years of marriage are good, but the later years of marriage are better. Children are a blessing and more so as the years roll on. Why then do we think that church is any different?

Think about God and creation. God worked hard for 6 days and created the natural world. He took a day of rest on day 7. Was He done with the world then? Or did He continue to work throughout human history?

David had an exciting beginning to his life. But in time he had to settle in to the routine of being a king. David was an old king when he died, not a strong warrior.

In a local church there is a growing need for ministry and service. We continue to focus on evangelism. We still pray for the sick. We support church planting. We help young people get married. We still have revivals and conferences and outreaches. We have picnics and home Bible studies. We have weddings and we have funerals. We dedicate babies and we honor graduates. The list goes on and on. The bigger your church is the more work that needs to be done.

Here is a word of encouragement for you who are weary in well doing. God always saves the best till the end.

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." Eccl. 7:8

"Do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this." Eccl. 7:10

One more thought. Prayer sparks revival, not outreach. Read your Bible.

Book of Acts Timeline

 An interesting study is to look at a time line of the book of Acts. It tells the highlights of what happened in Acts and puts them into proper perspective. What I found interesting is how much of what happened then happened in the first couple of years after Christ rose from the dead. Real revival always starts with an explosion of activity and results. There is no other time in the book of acts where so much happened in such a short time.

Acts chapters 1-5 all happen in year one after the resurrection of Christ. The ascension, Pentecost, Ananias and Sapphira, and thousands saved. This was a work of the Holy Spirit, not a result of big outreaches. New converts make the best evangelists.

Saul got saved in year 4. Peter preached to Cornelius in year 7. And the apostle Paul sailed for Rome in year 32.

It is not until chapter 6, and the persecution brought on by Saul, that the saints spread outside of their home town of Jerusalem preaching as they fled. That was in year 2.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the This is That event, happened in year 1 and never happened again.

After Christ ascension into heaven, the apostles busied themselves with taking care of the masses of new converts. It was not until Paul began his missionary journey in year 18 that any smidgen of activity emerged again.

Real revival is exciting at the beginning but it turns into a lot of work later on. The whole book of Acts covers 32 years. The exciting part happened in the first 2 years. Think about what I'm saying.

A lot goes on in a thriving church for sure. There is a lot of work to be done. God is still active. But the pedal to the metal, all hands on deck time is very short.

Ministry Thoughts

 It's sad when your pastor is gone. When he is in such high demand as to be gone from us. Pastor Mitchell used to go to great lengths, and some additional cost, to be home on Sunday morning. It was rare for him not to be preaching in Prescott on Sunday morning.

Pastor Mitchell did not hide out in his office until service started. He was always out among his people being friendly and cordial. Pastor Mitchell was a pastor, who did the work of evangelism by doing salvation/healing crusades. He was not a celebrity.

Having been in the Prescott church, it is hard for me not to compare where I am to where I was. Pastor Mitchell was such a fine preacher of practical righteousness that it is hard not to compare every sermon to his.

"For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." 1Cor. 4:15

I am grateful for the ministry in my life.

Truth Thoughts

 Theologians go to great lengths to explain the deeper meaning in the Bible. And yet, a Pentecostal believer raised under pastor Mitchell has a clearer understanding than the wisest non-Pentecostal scholar.

God made His word simple enough so that anyone can understand it. And yet there are veins of truth that a wise man can mine for years and never get it all.

The danger in dissecting the Bible is not cutting it apart. It is the danger that you put it back together again and you miss the point that God was making.

The Spirit of Truth guides anyone who needs it into all truth.

It's greater works, not deeper understanding, that Jesus promised to those who believe.

When you criticize speaking in tongues and Divine healing don't be surprised if you are wrong in your understanding of the rest of the Bible.

Miss truth by a fraction of an inch and you have missed it by a million miles.

"Study to show yourself approved unto God, and workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness" 2Tim. 2:15-16

It seems that the danger of error is moral, not theological.

Divinity Thoughts

I see some problems that arise by the doctrine of the Divinity of Christ in his earthy time. 

First, it robs Christ of his humanity. Jesus was born by a woman just like you and I. He grew as a boy and he lived as a man. When he went to the cross he did it as a man. Not as God.

Second, it robs the church of it's power. If Jesus did what he did because he was God, we can not do the same things because we are not God. But if Jesus did what he did as a man used by God, we can do what he did. The greater works. We too can be used by God.

The doctrine of the Divinity of Christ on earth focuses on the wrong thing. Yes, Christ is exalted and he sits at the right hand of God today. But he was fully man on earth. He had to be human to pay for man's sins.

Claiming Christ as God means that we rely on human creativity and charisma to do anything for God today. Jesus said that he had to leave so that it would not all depend on us.

The same people who make Jesus divine also dismiss speaking in tongues and divine healing.

Just saying.

A Lesson To Learn

Here is a lesson that young people need to learn, and that older folks need to be reminded of. People on a screen are not real. Images on a screen are not real. Whether on television or on your phone, they are not real people, places, or things.

It does not matter if the content is Claude generated or is from a real source, putting that image on a screen robs it of it's real power. A talking head is just a talking head whether the person is real or AI. You cannot talk to them in person or communicate with them in real time either way. Watching a travel video is not the same as traveling to an interesting place. Watching a cooking show is not the same as actually cooking.

This is why church must be experienced in person. You must go to church to get any benefit out of church. Preaching in person carries weight. Watching a sermon online carries no weight. I think we ought to stop streaming church services. IMHO.

You need to go to church to be a real Christian. You need to know the preacher and you need to be able to talk to him in person to get anything from him. Pastor, you cannot be a celebrity and hide from your people. You lose your effectiveness by hiding in your office.

Living the Christian life is done with real people, in a local church, with a real pastor.

This is one reason why God became a man and dwelt among them. God is Spirit. Christ is human. He could be seen, and approached, and you could touch him and talk to him. Christ is still God with us.

Content Filters? Really?

 Remember when we were told to put content filters on our computers? We thought that it was the content that was harming us. You cannot have a TV because of the soft porn that you might see there. We were concerned that it was content that was hurting us and driving us into sin.

The prophet Marshall McLuhan said it a long time ago. The medium is the message. It turns out that it is not the content that is hurting us and our children, but it is the act of watching and scrolling and idly perusing that is making us dull and stupid and robbing us of all that God has for us.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...." John 10:10

Tech steals our time, kills our creativity, and destroys our future.

While we fret over content, people are going to Hell, glued to a screen, endlessly scrolling, while looking at nothing.

Maybe we do not need a content filter as much as we need a moratorium on Chat GPT.

What or to whom are you dedicating the best of your time, your talent, and your money? That is your God.

"...Nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8

Adam and Eve and Marriage

The Bible never tells us how or when Adam and Eve were united in marriage. But God refers to them as husband and wife. We take for granted that the first humans were married in some sense. And after the fall they engaged in marital sex.

One thing that leaves me puzzled is that I always believed that Adam and eve were like the angels, neither marrying or being given in marriage. See Matthew 22:30. But God first says that Adam is incomplete and lonely in the Garden. So God brings to Adam a helper who became his wife. She is called his wife in Genesis 2:24.

Adam is named right away as Adam. Eve is called the woman and is not named until Adam names her.

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living." Gen.3:20

Eve is not called by that name until after the fall.

Anyone who thinks the first few chapters of Genesis are basic and simple has never studied them.

As confused as this world is about marriage we need to be a light that shines in the darkness by being married and by teaching on marriage.

The Biblical Pattern?

We say that we want to follow the biblical pattern for our local churches. Here are a couple of things that might be hard for us in 2026 to follow. 

The Bible condones slavery. The Bible gives guidance on how to be a good slave.

The Bible makes concessions for polygamy. Especially if you are rich and powerful.

The Bible gave the people a king. We in America are anti king.

The Bible gives no guidance on big buildings. It does give guidance on a big temple.

So to follow the Bible pattern we would have no Bible, no organized outreaches, no church buildings.  All the things that we embrace and all of the tools that we use are fairly modern.

I suppose that we are following the Bible pattern in a very broad definitions. But we are following modern church history more than ancient Bible history.

It is our pastor's job to take ancient and archaic truths and make them work in the modern world. To cause the truth to become light to us.

Pray for your pastor to rightly divide the word of God.

Questions Without Answers

 Because we are a youth oriented church there is no ministry to the elderly except to do their funerals.

Because we are an evangelism focused church there is no ministry for those who cannot evangelize.

Because we think there is only one place to go to church we make it hard for those who need to move.

Because pastors are not allowed to retire we listen to them slowly fade away, telling the same old stories.

Because we think that warehousing the elderly is good we make no provision for taking care of our elders.

Because we spend so much money on bigger building is there any left to help people in need?

Because, because, because. I wish that I had the answers to these questions.

Support Your Pastor

Did you know that people who lose a lot of weight often feel angry about it? They seem to resent the fact that they had to work so hard just to be thin like those around them. That they had to suffer and sacrifice just to be accepted as normal.

I wonder if pastors ever feel an inner resentment over the sacrifices that they had to endure to build a work for God. They say it's a work of God and not a work of a man. But, they did a lot and they put in a lot of work to make that happen. The years of doubt and uncertainty, wondering if it will ever work. The fasting and praying and outreaching that they did at the beginning. They may wonder how it works when it finally does work. But they paid a dear price just to be accepted by their peers and their pastor as the real deal.

We need not only to pray for our pastors, but we need to join them and we need to accept their vision as our own. We will never work as hard for it as they did. But we are critical to the success of our church just like them.

We Can All Get Better

 Have you ever wondered why professional athletes need coaches? They are the best in the world. They epitomize excellence every time they take the court or the field. And yet every one of them has a coach or a manager. Is this superfluous, or is this necessary?

I listened to a professional surgeon address this idea of coaching. He hired a retired surgeon to be his coach. Not for a day or a week or even a month. But for a year. This coach did not find any glaring errors. But he found a list of small things that would make a professional surgeon better. Coaching made him a better surgeon.

In the ministry, we train disciples, help them get started. And if they are successful, we let them go on their own. Conference is not a time to learn how to be better at preaching or teaching. Conferences are public events, like a championship game. It is a time to shine, not a time to improve.

We are too young of a Fellowship to have retired successful pastors who could work as coaches. But could you imagine the excellence that could begin to be exposed if we did? How many times have you heard a guy preach who is a terrible public speaker? But because he is God's man, no one can correct his flaws or instruct him on how to get better. We think that anointing makes up for terrible conduct in the pulpit. If anyone says anything then they are rebels.

All professional athletes have coaches. Professional orchestras have conductors. Business professionals have managers or corporate officers. Pastors are on their own. God help the successful pastor who grows so big that he cannot be improved. We can all get better. It is a rare man who does not need coaching.

No church will grow beyond the ability of the pastor to preach and teach in public. He owes it to himself, and to his church, to be better. There is no virtue in remaining ignorant and unlearned if you can be better.

Random Thoughts

Is a church service for the sinners in the pews who are saved, or is it for the sinners outside who are unsaved?

Is church just an outreach, or is it a place where sinners saved by grace meet with God?

Is discipleship where we make guys better soulwinners, or is it a training ground to make new pastors?

When we have no visitors, our pastors almost do not know what to do.

What happens when young men choose careers over ministry? When our vision does not capture them?

The Tabernacle and the Temple were not seeker sensitive. 

Men look for better methods. God looks for better men.

To be much for God, we must be much with God.

That's all, folks.

The Future Is Known

Artificial Intelligence is not God and honestly, it is not even good at what it does. AI doesn't do half of the things that it's promoters claim. Could it be that AI isn't a tool to help us but a weapon to control us? People use AI to create funny pictures or YouTube content. We are overwhelmed by virtual doctors and virtual experts who are wrong. The few things that Gemini or Claude get right are useful, but rare.

I remember life before the internet. I definitely remember life before AI. Tech is looking for ways to control us, not ways to help us.

I see a time in Bible prophecy when this current trend could come into play to fulfill God's plan for the Christ-rejecting world.

"He causes all both small and great , rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Rev. 13:16-17

So while the lords of tech make their plans in secret, God already has revealed to us what will happen.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Things That Happen As We Age.

 I recently read about things that happen to us as we age no matter how hard we work and no matter how much we wish and pray that they would not happen to us.

1.Your body is changing and it will never be the body you had as a youth again. The secret is to cooperate with the body that you have and not feel betrayed by the body that you used to have.

2. You circle of life is growing smaller by the day. Life naturally narrows with age. People move away. People disappear. People die. If you live long enough you will outlive all of your family and old friends.

3. Your prince is not coming to save you or sweep you off of your feet. You yourself are responsible for your own emotional wellbeing. 

4. Relevance changes with time. The reason you feel invisible or ignored is because technology has moved past you. You are not as influential or important as you once were. And you no longer need to compete.

5. Regret can suffocate you if you let it. You did the best that you could with the tools you had and the rules you lived by. To survive you need to make peace with your past.

6. Time becomes more and more precious. We do not have time to waste on drama or on conflict or on vision. Wisdom teaches us what is really important to invest the time that we have left on.

There is one more thought to add to this list. I call it the "But God" card. Life diminishes as we age. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Security In Being Settled

 I moved here to be close to my family. I was tired of being all alone. But since I moved here I have decided that this is where I will live until I die or until Jesus comes again. It is not a perfect place to live. But I can make a life here. I have made good friends and I have a good place to live. So this is where I have started over and have put down roots.

As long as I can I will live in this old house. As long as it's there I will be a part of my church. Who knows what the future hold. But as far into the future as I can see this is and will be the place for me.

There is a security in being settled.

Practice Makes Perfect

 Our assistant pastor preached Wednesday night this week while pastor Rubi is in Tucson. He started out well, sounding organized and very professional. I was impressed. But, about halfway through his message, he fell back to his old way of preaching. I can tell when a sermon is good and when it isn't. I can tell when a sermon is right on or off base. I can tell when a preacher has done his homework and when he is shooting from the hip. And I can tell when a preacher sticks to his notes and when he doesn't.

I pray for our pastors to rightly divide the word of truth. I pray that they will bring a word in season to us who are weary. I pray for the spirit of truth to minister in every service.

Practice makes perfect.

Conference Thoughts

 The days when I got a lot out of a conference are in my past. Conferences are exciting for the local church putting them on. You get to see old friends and people you used to know. You get good preaching from guys who are growing in their ability to minister. Conference gives regular people a chance to serve and to give. And regional conferences give people a chance to attend who cannot afford to travel to a big conference like Prescott.

The other thing to mention is that not every church does everything the same. It is hard not to compare this local conference with the one you grew up in. The people are not familiar, the building is not familiar, The songs are not familiar. Everything is a little different.

I watched Monday night of the Tucson conference because our pastor encouraged us to watch. It was not worth the effort for me to watch online. Being there in person would have been better.

Conferences are worth attending if you can. They help workers stay in the ministry. They are a catalyst for church planting. But, every conference is not for everyone.

Fading Glory

 "unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away." 2Cor. 3:13

Pastor Warner talked about what he called the fading glory last night. This struck a chord with me. It seems that we all deal with a fading glory from time to time. We all suffer from the memories of a glorious past as it compares to our current situation.

Moses at the beginning covered his face with a veil because they told him that his face was shining. But as the shine began to fade Moses still put the veil over his face. Was it because he didn't want the people to know that the glory was fading? Was it out of habit? Was Moses playing mental gymnastics with God's glory?

We all try to cover up what we perceive as a loss of the Divine presence. We cover up by reminiscing about the past. We cover up by doing new things we never did before. We cover up by lying about our current condition. We cover up by changing our theology. We cover up by comparing ourselves to others.

I may not be what I once was, but I'm not as bad as them!

The key to our walk with God is always to be honest before God. To be open, to reveal our hopes and fears. This is for our benefit since God already knows us better than we know ourselves.

Know for sure that glory does fade in this life. But there is a glory yet to be revealed both now and in the life to come.

Verse 10 talks about the glory that excels. It excels our past, it excels our current, and it excels anything that we can impagine.

Worship Leader Is A Distraction

 I started watching the first service in Tucson as they opened their conference. I do not know the song leader, but he is not a song leader or worship leader. He is a lead singer and a great distraction. A song leader ought to lead songs by singing them. A worship leader ought to set the pace by worshipping God in Spirit and in truth and speaking in tongues. He did none of those things.

I will tune in again once the so-called worship is over.

Converts or Disciples?

 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; al lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Mat. 28:19-20.

With our intense focus on evangelism I cannot remember the last time I heard a message from this text or even heard this verse quoted in a sermon. We're all about preaching and winning souls. But the truth is, we're not just trying to get people to the altar. We're trying to get people to Heaven. The core of discipleship is not just a new convert card, but a life lived in fruitful service to Christ.

I understand that they cannot hear without a preacher. But they cannot grow without discipleship. Church planting flows out of a culture of discipleship in our local churches. 

We need an outward vision for a lost world. But we also need to work to add converts to our church. Getting a thousand people to pray is fine, but not if none of those who pray ever come back.

Note that the Lord spoke of teaching them to observe what I told you. Discipleship is teaching converts so that become real Christians, not just  flash in the pan converts. The church world is filled with whiz-bang believers.

Church planting is not just uber-evangelism but it is training young men to become shepherds of God's flock. Discipleship is the training ground for guys and their wives to learn how to be pastors. To learn how to preach and how to teach and how to counsel and how to plan and how to organize and how to love. 

So are we going to continue to only preach to the nations? Or will we become true discipleship based churches who train our converts on how to be effective in the ministry?

Life Is A Daily Experience

 We are in the post boot camp doldrums. Everyone is tired. The thrill of camp is over for our teens. It's back to the real world today. This is why we cannot live only on the mountain top. Moses went to the mountain top to meet with God and to get the Law. Moses lived most of his live in the real world. It was not until the end of his life that the Lord brought him once again up to the mountain top.

It is human nature to only want the best life has to offer. We strive to be happy, to be healthy, to be excited. And we think something is wrong if we are melancholy or sick or bored. We work very hard on exercise or diet or on praying or on Bible study trying to do what the Bible never promises.

The land will have it's sabbaths, it's days of rest. We can stop and regroup, or God will stop us through age or illness. Even God took a day off from all that He did. 

God is not just the God of the mountain top. He is also the God of the valleys. Just because Moses lived in the valley, God still worked for Moses and the people. Miracles still happen in the valley. The valley is not a place of despair, but it is the place where we actually live.

The secret to life is to live life as it is and to live life to the end. Reminiscing about the glory days when your face shone is a waste of time. Dreaming about the mountain top is a fools errand. Manna had to be gathered every day. Life is a daily experience. 

Living on the mountain top takes away the hope of something better to look forward to.

Rules To Live By

 The world, the flesh, and the devil. These three are our arch enemies. They work tirelessly to make us stray and to turn us away from following Christ. The world is the godless society around us. The flesh is the unrestrained human nature within us. And the devil is the commander in chief of all the enemies of God.

The good news is that the newest believer in Jesus has power to overcome all the power of the devil. The weakest saint can say no to sin. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

So let he heathen rage and let the devil rage. Christ is risen from the dead and is alive forevermore. 

Stay close to the cross and you will never lose your way.

The Key To Stability

 Peace blows so few bugles in most of us. This is the logic behind the call to arms and the sky is falling that we sometimes hear in church. But, I want to share something with you to explain why some people do not live like everything is a four alarm fire.

When you have been through some things in your walk with God and survived you are able to process events in a way that gives you victory over panic. When you have been to the bottom and survived, you do not fear the bottom anymore. Paul listed his experiences to explain why he was as he was. Job told of his experience in the sea. Christ went through terrible persecution and yet lives in resurrection power and victory.

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2Cor. 4:17

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself," Acts 20:24

One thing that a survivor can do is to rightly judge what is dangerous and what is critical and what can be ignored. Pastor Wayman Mitchell could do this. Can you?

I used to think that it was maturity that produced this. But you can serve the Lord for 100 years and still be moved by circumstances. You can still live on a razor's edge of excitement. It is not years, but experiences, that produce stability.

So the next time you are tempted to complain about life just remember that God is working to make you more stable.

Creation Makes Science Look Foolish

 When God said let there be light, what did God create? He created light before the sun, moon, and stars were created. Light has to have a source, right?

We have been told that the speed of light is a barrier that cannot be broken. But science also tells us that light has no mass and therefore it does not move. Light just is. There is no space or distance in light. There is no time associated with light. The light on a distant galaxy and the light on Earth is the same.

God does not have to create machines or technology to blow our minds. The natural world is so vast and awe inspiring as to keep us wondering for a lifetime.

In Christ, the God who puts physics to shame, reveals Himself to us.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?" Psalm 8:3-4

National Revival

 There are people on You Tube talking about why is seems that America is in decline and why the US is not the dominant world power it once was. I may have an answer to that dilemma.

"And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them." Deut. 28:13

One thing about God is that you do not have to believe in Him nor know His word for God to work to bring about His will. This is true of us as individuals and it is also true of nations. Nations who ought to know better but who choose to walk after the wisdom of this present evil world will not escape the judgement of God.

It is not a matter of; we are better than them, why are they farther ahead than us? Why are they prospering who are more evil that we are?

"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48

In ancient times, the heathen nations whom God used to judge Israel were themselves judged in time. Israel was restored, but not the kingdoms who abused them.

America has no claim on God except that they have been liberal in allowing free access to the rest of the world for world evangelism. America used to be the land of opportunity that people strove to be here.

Change happens from the top down in national revival. I think that we can once again be more than we are. But not with this cadre of leaders we have now.

The Fear Of God

 Last night pastor Rubi preached on the fear of God. Here are some thoughts on the fear of God.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Heb.12:28

First of all, the fear of God is not being afraid of God. It is having a healthy reverence for God. It means showing God respect in our actions and our speech.

Secondly, the fear of God is the main requirement for service.

"You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast. and take oaths in His name." Deut.10:20

To serve the Lord correctly you must first have a healthy fear of God.

Third, the Bible tells us that the fear of God is the way to wisdom.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Prov.1:7

Fear can be a great motivator. Fear can be a great instructor. Fear and respect are the ground floor of our relationship to Christ.

Kingdom builders or Earth Fillers?

 Years ago pastor Wayman Mitchell preached a message called Kingdom Builders or Earth Fillers. His point was that we needed an outward looking vision.

I was thinking today about the Tower of Babel. How the people came together with a common language to build a city and a tower.

"And they said to one another, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Gen.11:4

This was not because they need a place to live. This is an act of rebellion against the call of God to fill the earth. They were building a religious site for worshipping other gods.

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Gen.9:1

We meet a man, a descendant of Ham, named Peleg. He is noted because in his days the earth was divided.

"And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided." Gen.10:25.

Peleg is mentioned before the tower of Babel and after it. Some think that the earth was geologically divided, like continental drift. I think that the division was a social one based on language. When my logic is confronted by the Biblical record, the bible always wins. So I choose to believe that God confused the languages by social upheaval, not by earthquakes.

And what was the result of this? God scattered them across the face of the whole earth.

"Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." Gen.11:9

We need to learn and to grow in our faith. But we need an outward looking vision for the regions beyond also to keep us on track.

We are not a mega church building Fellowship. We are a church planting Fellowship.

Born Again

 I was born again on December the 8th, 1973 in Prescott Arizona. That event so changed me that here, 53 years later, I still feel the effects of that experience. I am still not the same as I was before I was born again.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2Cor. 5:17

Being born again is as significant as being born. You know your birthday. You ought to know when you were born again. If you do not know, maybe you never were.

Being born again means that you live different, that you think different, that you speak different, than the rest of the world. There ought to be evidence in how you live and what you think and how you speak. For example:

People who drink alcoholic beverages have not been born again.

People who still cuss and drop F-bombs, have not been born again.

People who think sodomy is normal and acceptable have not been born again.

People who do not go to church in person, if they are able to, have not been born again,

People who have sex with someone they are not married to have not been born again.

People who do not pay tithes have not been born again.

If you are no different in these basic areas of life, I doubt that you have been born again. You may go to church on Sunday morning, you may read a Bible, you may talk religious talk, but until you have been born again you are not born again. You can be.

"Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

Marriage Is Critical

The Ten Commandments are the list of basic rules by which people are to live in relationship to God. It is not an exhaustive list. But it covers a lot of moral and spiritual ground.

The first four commandments deal with out relationship to and worship of God. Honor and respect God. Obey what God says. Do not substitute anything or anyone else in place of God. Give to God the first and the best or your time. You could obey these commandments and be right with God.

The last five deal with our relationship to other people and to society. These are the moral rules of conduct. These five deal with hate and lust and greed. These deal with honesty in human relations. The rule of law rests on these basic truths.

In the middle of all of these is the one unique commandment concerning family. Let me say that family is the cornerstone of our faith It is the key to an orderly society. God instituted marriage long before there was any law of Moses. Marriage is the foundation on which society is built and in which we learn how to honor and how to please God. Our relationship to God and our relationship to our fellow man hinges on a stable traditional family unit.

The world, the flesh, and the devil all work tirelessly to undermine and to discredit and to destroy marriage as it was instituted by God. We as the local body of Christ ought to do all that we can to promote, encourage, and to support marriage. Marriage is critical to our church, to our vision, and to our survival.

Jesus The Social Man

How much time did Jesus spend alone? Not counting his relationship with the Father. I only count a few times where Jesus was not in the company of others.

Once it was in the temptation in the wilderness. Fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. He did that alone.

Then it was for times of prayer on the mountain. He withdrew from his followers and from his disciples for times of prayer. He did those prayers alone.

The rest of the time Jesus was always in the company of others. Sometimes a small group, sometimes with a big crowd. Even on the cross Jesus was not alone. He had two thieves crucified with him.

Jesus was an actively social man. Should we follow his example and engage in social activities? How about going to church in person? How about greeting others? 

It's the banana that leaves the bunch that gets skinned.

Honor Your Parents

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord you God is giving you." Exod. 20:12

We are told that this fifth commandment is the first commandment containing a promise. Here are some basic thoughts on honoring your father and mother thus obeying God's command.

1. Honor means respect. It does not say to only honor them if they are good or if they are perfect. I take it to mean that we are to honor the position more than the person. This is a marriage commandment. 

2. Honor means maintaining the relationships. Taking the time and making the effort to keep the lines of communications open.

3. Honor could imply taking care of them as they age. This might be a stretch, but it is true that giving is proof of your love.

4. Honoring parents does something to us. I makes us better people. I teaches us how to successfully work in any field. It teaches us how to live that we might live blessed lives.

5. The God factor. It is the Lord who commands this. It is the Lord who gives the land. This only works if the Lord Jesus is involved.

6. Honor is not blind obedience. Do not go to Hell over a family obligation. At some point you have to honor God first. Honoring your parents teaches you how to honor God.

 

Things That I Would Do Differently

 If you could live your life over again what would you do different? This is a question that most people answer by saying that they would not change anything. I cannot say that. There are things that I would do different. I know that it would change how life worked out for me. But nonetheless, I would do a few things differently.

First, I would not get married so young. I was a teenager when we got married. I would not do it like that again if I could. I would wait a few years and wait until  I had grown up and become settled in church and become more mature.  

Second, I would not try so hard to get into the ministry. I spent years of my life trying to be a pastor with zero success. I would learn to be content to serve the Lord in Prescott without being a pastor.

Third, I would honor my mother and father and not try so hard to preach to them. I would not let my wife dictate to me the terms by which I honor my parents. I failed at this before, I would not do that again.

Fourth, I would make a living doing something more in line with my abilities, not letting the town dictate my career choice. If I couldn't make a decent living in Prescott, I would go where I could make more than subsistence wages.

Fifth, I might go back to school and get a degree. It would have helped back then.

Sixth, Along with marriage, I would have more than two children. At least three or four.

Finally, You cannot go back and change the way you lived your life. But if I could, these are things that I definitely would do differently.

Boot Camp Time

 Our annual boot camp starts tomorrow. It used to be a time to give kids a break from their phones and to teach them leadership and teamwork. Now it is a time where we hope that the kids will get saved. This tells me that we are missing the point of camp.

Call it boot camp if you want. Bring in drill instructors to yell at the kids. But don't treat it like a week long outreach. Let kids be kids. Teach them life skills and leadership skills and teamwork skills. Preach to them every night and tell them what God expects from them. They have churches and they have families and they have ample opportunities to get saved every week. Camp ought to be a special time, a memorable time. A moment in time that kids will fondly remember.

Parent will be praying this week. Not for salvation, but that their teens will be safe and happy. Parents are nervous about trusting us with their teens. We ought to be trustworthy to put their fears to rest.

Choose This Day

Most of the popular music that I grew up listening to I am finding out was drug inspired. What I mean is the artist who wrote the songs came up with the inspiration for the music while using illegal drugs. That is one reason why there are so many one hit wonders in pop music. Only truly gifted song writers wrote songs for a living.

Most of the movie stars from my youth were immoral. They were adulterers and fornicators. They did not honor God or their marriages. 

What am I saying? Entertainment is the world of anti-Christ and lawlessness. This is why trying to Christianize the world is a waste of time. This is why being a friend of the world makes you the enemy of God.

"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4

Entertainment is popular because it is popular. It is designed to draw you in and keep you coming back for more. The world is not planet Earth, but the organized systems by which society functions.

When you realize this, you begin to appreciate having three services a week to hear the Bible taught and truth preached. It is a small price to pay to keep on the straight and narrow path.

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Mat.7:13-14

A Living Hope

Another ongoing big lie that people believe has to do with creativity. Creativity is impossible to define but that doesn't stop experts from defining it. They never use the word inspired, since inspiration comes from beyond us. Inspiration comes from God. Creativity comes from us.

It is incredible the lengths the world goes to to keep God out of the equation. It's almost like they have grown up in a Godless society and dysfunctional families so that God is absent from their minds and hearts.

The church you are a part of is the last, best hope for humanity. AI is a false hope. Science is an empty hope. Christ is a living hope.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1Pet. 1:3

The reason why they cannot define creativity is that any honest definition must come to grips with Divine inspiration and to an evil and unbelieving world, that is unacceptable.

You shall be like God is a lie as old as humanity itself.

The Big Lie

"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Gen.3:5

The big lie of the serpent in the Garden was not that you will be God, but that you will be more than human. He told them that as you are is not enough. His lie is that there is special knowledge that God has and that you do not have. And that knowledge will open your eyes to wonderful and exotic things.

What is the lie told to people today? That you only use 10% of your brain and that AI can do things that you cannot do. That you are not beautiful enough or thin enough or tall enough or strong enough. Men wanted to live like women, and women want to live like men. Men chose to become feminine and women chose to become  masculine. And in all of this there is a glaring absence of God.

So the biggest lie of the serpent was that you are not enough as you were made. That God is holding back what you need to be more than human. Satan is always promising things that he cannot deliver on.

Society shows me over and over again why the first word in the Gospel is repent.

Missing Church

I had an interesting experience yesterday. I was occupied at home staying busy when my phone rang. The guy who was calling never calls me. He asked if I was on my way to church. I looked at the clock and I realized that for the first time in my Christian life I was going to miss church. I wasn't sick or working late. I was distracted. I forgot what day it was. 

Today is a new day. I hope to never miss church like that again. 

Love And Marriage

 Here are my thoughts on love, marriage, and sex.

When I met Kathy, we did not fall in love as much as we grew in love. I liked her, I married her. And I loved her far more at the end than I did at the beginning. 

Sex in marriage is a good thing. But it is not the only thing. A marriage built on sex will not last.

The seven year itch describes what happens to a marriage built on sex. You get bored. You start thinking about someone new. This happens at the seven year mark in many marriages.

I encourage people to marry young and grow up together. You will develop a lot in common.

Marriage is a commitment. Marriage is an adjustment. You have to want to be married. You have to work at marriage.

Romance is overrated. You cannot keep up those appearances very long.

She thinks she can change him. He thinks that she will never change.

Marriage is two selfish people learning how to live under one roof.

Get married, enjoy sex, and you will learn how to love someone besides yourself.