Two Masters Is Impossible

 "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Chat GPT." Mat. 6:24 (not exact.)

AI is a tool. Nothing more. It is not divine. It has no God-like properties. It cannot save you from your sins. It cannot heal your body. It cannot meet your financial needs. It cannot restore a failing marriage. It is just a tool to use.

You make a great error when you give technology more credit than it deserves. When you give AI attributes which it does not have. When you trust Claude more than you trust God.

I used Gemini to find my text today. I did not ask it what it means or how to apply it. I rely on the Holy Spirit to do what I cannot do. 

I am not anti technology. I am anti other gods that demand allegiance and loyalty.

If you love Claude more than you love God you are in deep trouble. It's time to repent. Ask Chat GPT what it means to repent.

What Must I Do?

The common question of a lot of people is what must I do to be saved. What steps must I take, what list must I follow, what work must I do, what rules must I obey, to earn God's salvation? There is one answer to all of man's questions and the answer is, nothing. There is nothing that you must do. There is nothing that you can do. Christ did it all. God did it all.

"this is the work of God, that you believe on him who He has sent." John 6:29

The main thing that we must do is to simply believe. Until you have believed there is nothing you can do. Once you have believed there is a lot that you can do to live the Christian life. Until you have been born again you cannot even see the kingdom of God. Once you have been born again you not only can see it, you can experience it and live in it.

The other thing that we can do is to ask Jesus to save us. You have to ask Christ to save you. You have to open your mouth and ask.

"For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

So you believe in your heart, and confess with your mouth. A child can do this. Why can't you? 

Do Not Be Afraid

"Thus saith the Lord unto you,  be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. ...You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you." 2Chronicles 20:15,17

There are times in life when you have to fight. There are times in life when you have to be strong and courageous. I understand this. But then, there are times when God fights for us. There are times when the obstacle is too large or the enemy is too strong, or we do not know what to do. It is times when we are spent and our resources are used up And our spiritual weapons seem weak that God has not yet begun to show us what He can do.

In all of life and in your ministry to God's people you need to know that the battle is not against people or circumstance only. And that always, the battel is not ours, but Gods. It is in times like this when we need to stand still and shut up. We need to rest and we need to wait and we need to not worry. God is still God and you and I are not God.

Do not be afraid or dismayed. You do not need to fight. And watch what God will do when we let Him be God. Christ has promised to go with us to the end. He is faithful who promised. The salvation of the Lord is with you today.

Why We Go To Church

Last night at the end of the service one of our pastors prayed for me. Immediately I felt a dark cloud of despair lift off of me. I felt in my body that something had changed. Today I fell happy and joyful and at peace. 

This is just one more reason why we go to church. This is another reason why our local church is better than some mega church with a celebrity pastor. We have pastors who can actually pray for us with grace and power.

Today is a new day. 

"In righteousness you shall be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you." Isaiah 54:14

The Gospel is good news, not just to the world, but to me!

Faith, Faith, Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things that do appear." Hebrews 11:3

You do not need truckloads of faith to simply believe that what God said in His word is true. You need truckloads of study and advanced degrees to begin to understand the rational view of life. If you read the first two chapters of Genesis and you accept that God created the natural world, you are exercising faith. If you prayed a sinners prayer and were born again you have exercised faith. You do not need a whole lot of faith. You just need to use what you have.

In our text we read that faith has substance. Faith has evidence. Faith sees things and makes things and understands things about God. Faith is taking God at His word.

Science is exclusive, reserved for those with special knowledge. Faith is inclusive, anyone can believe in God and can live by His word. Faith is how we connect, and how we trust, and how we obey a God we cannot see. Rationalism is self centered and self exalting. Faith is Christ centered and God exalting. It is because they did not or would not honor God that God turned them over to wander in the wasteland of rational science, to waste their lives on things that do not matter.

Every time you pay your tithes, you have faith. Every time you pray, you have faith.  You have more faith than you think. It only takes a little faith to do a whole lot.

"...and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27b

The Creation Thumbnail

 " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:1-2

There are some theologians who think that there is a historical gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. That God created a perfect world which became dark and empty. They tie this ruin to the fall of Lucifer. I think that this is a big stretch of the scriptures.

How about looking at Genesis 1:1 as the title page or the heading. Then beginning in 1:2 the writer begins to lay out how God created the natural world and in what order they were created. This doesn't just involve planet earth. It involves the entire universe. Before there was a natural world, there was darkness. The first thing that God created was light. Viewing Genesis 1:1 as the title makes it much easier to understand for me.

The first two chapters of Genesis were never intended to be a scientific explanation of the creation story and the origin of life. It was not important in God's mind that we know the physics of creation. It gives us a thumbnail of how life and the universe came to be. Science wears itself out trying to come up with a story that omits God.

I Shall Not Die

 "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." Psalm 118:17

This verse jumped out at me today. I have wondered at times if my life was over. When someone I know dies it makes me wonder how long I have to live. But today the Lord spoke this word to me and I am confident than I still have many years yet to live.

Life must be lived to the end. I intend to do that to the best of my abilities. I went through a season of illness. I seem to be in a renewed season of wellness again. thank God for that!

Grief Lessons From Job

One last thing that I want to deal with about death and dying and grief. It is not only the spouse who is grieving, it is their friends and family members. And the problem is that people want to help but they do not know what to do. They are afraid to hurt you. They are afraid that you are contagious. 

Here is the story involving our old friend Job. 

"Now when Job's three friends had heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came...to mourn with him and to comfort him....So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great." Job 2:11,13

First, no one criticized Job for grieving.

Second, no one spoke to him. They were just there.

Third, grief is "very great".

Fourth, in chapter 3, Job is angry at God. This bothered Job's friends. It did not bother God.

Sometimes just being there is enough. Do not try to fix the grieving person, Let them grieve. Give them food, give them a hug, give them some tangible help. One of Kathy's friends came over and did my dishes. Ladies from church brought me meals. It was not until Job's friends began correcting him that they got into trouble with God. And God was the grownup in the story. He let Job rant. Then God dealt with Job as a grownup. Then God put Job in his place. And God gave him twice as much as he had lost. God can absorb our anger.

The worst thing you can do to a grieving person is to ignore them. They are so lonely, and you ignoring them only confirms what they feel inside.

Another List of the Stages of Grief

 Like I said before, there are similar lists of stages to grief. Here is another list from another source. This is a useful tool for those who work with people.

1. Shock. Shock is a numbed disbelief that you use to disconnect from reality. This is protection from overwhelming news.

2. Denial. Denial is common. We use it to guard our hearts from the unimaginable. We somehow think that this hasn't really happened and we try to tell ourselves that nothing has changed.

3. Anger. Anger is normal but we feel that it is wrong. It is normal to be angry. It is healthy to be angry. Anger is not hatred, it is inner pain. We lash out at those who we feel caused us this pain. I was angry at Kathy for leaving me.

4. Bargaining. This writer says that this is about control. Death feels beyond our control. We start to think what if or if only. This is mental gymnastics. We are desperate for control of our circumstances. We wonder if God has lost control over me.

5. Depression. Depression is challenging and it can be dangerous. This is what happens when it all begins to sink in that it really happened. Depression is hopelessness.

6. Testing. This is the what now stage. Seeing what still works. We test life to see if it still works. We test what to do next. I tried to do things that I did before Kathy was in my life. I went to a grief support group. I was desperate to find something that worked.

7. Acceptance. In the beginning of grief, you think that accepting it all is a fantasy. But one day, little by little, you will accept life as it is now. Sadness will begin to recede a little bit at a time. It takes time to accept it, but once you do, you are halfway home.

I went through all of these stages. I thought that I would not survive. I cried until I had no more tears. But I did survive and I am here today on the far side of grief, looking back.

The Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief.

The 5 stages of grief will mean nothing to you if you are not dealing with the death of a loved one. The 5 stages of grief will let you know that you are not crazy if you are dealing with the death of a close loved one. The 5 stages of grief will help you understand what a grieving person is going through.

So here is a brief explanation of the Kubler-Ross version of the 5 stages of grief.

1. Denial. Even though you know they are dead, a thought will occur to you that they may walk through the door any minute. That this is only a dream. Death is so traumatic that we cannot wrap our heads around it. We feel paralyzed with shock. We feel blanketed with numbness. Our minds and our hearts cannot accept the obvious. Denial is irrational, but it happens.

2. Anger. Anger is natural and normal. Why do we try so hard to suppress it? We get angry at the dead person, we get angry at ourselves, we get angry with God, we get angry at doctors and pastors. Anger is simply a sign that you cannot accept death as a fact. The root of anger is pain. And we direct our anger at those who we think caused us this pain. One good thing about anger is it is proof that you still have feelings.

3. Bargaining. We go from bargaining for more time alive to trying to make a bargain on surviving the death. I used to beg for just 10 minutes of quiet in my heart and mind. We bargain with God, with ourselves, with our family, to just let me live again, let me live now. Let me find peace.

4. Depression. Depression to a grieving person is like a fog of intense sadness. We think, why go on anymore. Life seems empty and pointless. You spend the day in bed, or in your pajamas. We must understand that grief is deeper than we imagined. We feel like this depression will last forever. I hate to tell you, but depression associated with grieving is necessary. The only way around it is to go through it. It will not last forever. Depression means that you have finally come to grips with the fact that they are never coming back. That is sad. If depression deepens you may need to seek professional help.

5. Acceptance. Acceptance does not mean that it's over, that it's fine, that everything is okay. Acceptance is the first step in learning to live without the one who you cannot live without. You do not have to like it to accept it. But you must, little by little, accept this unacceptable fact. In acceptance you cross the line and the good days begin to overtake the bad days. This takes time. Acceptance for me emerged the first time I laughed at something. The first time I saw something that brought me happiness.

So there you have it. Like I said, this is not a checklist or a map. These are just guidelines to help you to cope. Grief is something you go through, not a destination where you live.

The Stages Of Grief

Many years ago doctor Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book called On Death And Dying in which she wrote down what came to be known as the Five Stages Of Grief. Later she wrote a book entitled On Grief And Grieving.  In later years others have added to her original idea to come up with the Seven Stages Of Grief. Whether five or seven, they all cover the same ground.

The stages of grief are not a timeline or a check list. They were never intended to help us organize a chaotic, messy mass of emotions into a tidy neat package. They are the result of years of observing how real people react to dying, and in observing how survivors deal with grief. They describe the responses to loss of real people. I have experienced all of them.

According to Dr. Kubler-Ross, the five stages of grief are:

1.Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

At a later time I will go through all of these to explain what they mean.

Another professional listed the stages of grief like this:

1. Shock

2. Denial

3. Anger

4. Bargaining

5. Depression

6. Testing

7. Acceptance

Again, while these are similar, I will go through them one by one to explain them in order.

These lessons are for people suffering with real loss and death of a close personal relative. You can grieve the loss of a lot of things. But the deepest, hardest grief journey definitely comes from the death of a spouse, a child, or a parent. My wife of 40 years died and her death threw me into the maelstrom of grief that I am surprised that I survived. But I did. You will survive too.

"...you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." John 16:20b

New Bad Words

 As followers of Jesus we do not cuss. We do not use bad words. We do not drop F-bombs. We try our hardest to let no corrupt communication proceed from our mouths, as we read in Ephesians 4:29. We do not want to be found grieving the Holy Spirit by our words.

But in grief some people learn a whole new set of bad words that they say freely. These words sound reasonable under the circumstances. Some church folks use the same bad words in their daily lives. What are those words? Should have, ought to have, could have, etc. Or to put it into slang, woulda, coulda, shoulda.

 I should have done more. I should have paid closer attention,  I should have made the call, or paid the visit, or opened my mouth. If I knew then what I know now I would have behaved differently.

But we didn't know then what we know now. We did all that we could do under the circumstances. We did and said what seemed best at the time. Looking back only fills you with regret.

When Kathy was sick, pastor Mitchell gave us some good advice. He told us to do what the doctor told us to do. So we did just that. They did their best, and then Kathy died anyway.

So do yourself a favor and stop beating yourself up with those new bad words. It's time to move on.

What Is Grief?

 Grieving is proof of your love. The deeper you grieve shows the depth of your love. But what is grief? Someone said that grief is suffering without the relief of dying. So let me share some insights on grieving with you.

1. Grief is a strong, and often overwhelming emotional response to the death of a loved one. You can grieve the death of a pet or the loss of a career. But we will limit our understanding to the loss of a close personal relative. Spouse, parent, or child. Grief will take you on a journey covering a wide range of emotions, and for a while, all happening at once. You may feel like you are losing your mind and that your life is spinning out of control.

2. Grief is a natural response to death. Grief is both universal and personal. Everyone grieves, and so will you. And everyone will grieve in their own unique way. There are stages to grief, but there is no timeline or checklist. There is no time limit to grief. Grief is a natural response to an actual death, not just sad that things didn't work out.

3. The loneliness of grieving is the most painful and intense loneliness you will ever feel. It is the loss of a needed relationship. It is the violent breaking apart of what God had joined together. The loneliness of grief will not be fixed by a new relationship or a new spouse. Only Jesus can heal your broken heart.

Grief is a deep well of understanding. Do not be afraid to grieve the one that you lost to death.

Broken Hearted Me

I was talking to a couple of friends after church and I began to tell them some of my experiences in grieving the death of my wife. As we talked and as I told my story I was surprised by the pain that I began to feel inside. My wife died in 2014. I have moved on from grief. But I realized that there are scars on my heart that are always there and I can feel them when I begin to rehearse the events surrounding my wife's death. This surprised me a little.

The most traumatic thing that ever happened to me as an adult Christian man was Kathy's death. I was not prepared for the grief journey that I found myself on. I was not prepared for the jumble of emotions and the intensity of emotions that I felt. It got so bad that I began to attend a grief support group called Griefshare. Griefshare saved me from the awful depths of despair.

So while I was happy to share my story with my friends, I sit here now nursing the pain from remembering those awful days from finding Kathy dead in our bed to attending my first Griefshare session.

There was a time when reminiscing about Kathy's death would have been off limits to me. That I can talk about it now is a good thing. That it still hurts is a puzzling thing to me.

Some people thrive on memories. I do not. That's the biggest reason why I left Prescott. It was our place, and she was gone.

A new wife will not fix what is wrong with me. Only Jesus can do what needs to be done, which is to heal my broken heart.

 

Perfect Attendance?

Do as I say, not as I do. This seems to be the attitude shown by some in leadership positions around us. It's like challenging people to fast while your belly is full. It is mental gymnastics done by those who think that they are above the law.

One thing that I see in some churches is the disconnect between church attendance from our pastors and regular church folks. Someone who never misses a service is more faithful to their church than someone who is out preaching but absent from his home assembly. There were times when I was more faithful to my church than my pastor was, even though he was in church more than I was. He was in church somewhere, but not here.

There are people who can live anywhere, and the rest of us who must live somewhere. There are people who go to church somewhere, and there are others who can go to church anywhere.

My conclusion is simply that if we are more faithful to church that you, at least don't hammer on us to be more faithful. Appreciate those who stay by the stuff. 

One thing that some pastors will never earn is a gold star for perfect attendance.

Loneliness Is Overrated

 After my wife died I felt a loneliness that is indescribable. The absence of a need relationship as one author put it. The brutal separation of two become one flesh being ripped apart. But grief is not a permanent residing place and I have moved on.

Loneliness is overrated. Especially if you are a part of a local church. If you are trying to live a self centered Godless life you might feel lonely. But church give social interaction and close relationships to as many people as you can stand.

Social science tells us that widows who do not marry again right away will probably never marry again. I am okay with that.

We did not know that the last few years were going to be our last years together. But the last years of my marriage were the best years. Why you ask? Because we both stopped trying to change the other and we accepted each other as we were. I stayed with Kathy through the hard times, when other men would have left. Through sickness and in health, till death did us part.

We were not perfect people without flaws. This does not mean we were not spiritual, it just means we were human.

A woman marries thinking she will change him. A man marries thinking she will never change. I have lived long enough to see that both are wrong. He will never change, she will change dramatically. Marry young and grow up together. Enjoy each other as they are.

Speaking In Tongues

 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;" Mark 16:17

Speaking in tongues is common to us in our Fellowship. We do it all the time. But it is controversial or contentious to some who claim to be Bible believing Christians. The Bible talks about speaking in tongues. 

Acts 2:4 says "and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Some people heard them worshipping in a foreign language, but not everyone did. Tongues are not for us to understand, it it only for God to hear.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels..." 1Cor. 13:1

"Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not;" 1Cor. 14:22

The record of the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts tells that people who were filled with the Spirit in other places and at other times also spoke in tongues.

"For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God..."Acts 10:46

"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied."  Acts 19:6

It is God's will that all who are filled with the Holy Spirit will first and foremost speak in tongues.

"I would that you all spike with tongues..." 1Cor. 14:5

"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all:" 1Cor. 14:18

And finally, a word to those who use 1Cor.13:8 as an excuse for not being filled, I say obey the scriptures.

"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophecy, and forbid not to speak with tongues." 1Cor. 14:39

I bet that those who are against speaking in tongues do not prophecy in church either.

The main question is not do people still speak in tongues when they get filled with the Holy Spirit. The question really is, why don't you speak in tongues?

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

400 Years of Silence

 Some people fret over the 400 year gap between the Old and the New Testament. Why so long they ask. Why wasn't God speaking or active during those years? This is a question only God can answer. Could it be that time had to elapse so that Christ could be born at the right time? For some reason known only to God, it was important for Christ to die exactly when He did.

My question to add to this mystery is, why has God not said anything since the first century CE? The writings of the apostle John are the last words written that are in the Bible. First, second, third John and the Revelation are the last times written words were incorporated into the cannon of scripture. We spend most of our time taking ancient texts and working to make them understandable to a modern audience.

I have said this before, but we get more instruction on how to organize and run a local church from modern church history than we get from the Bible.

I guess that God had said all that He had to say by the end of the first century CE. The Bible, which tells God's story going all the way back to the creation story, has zero to say about AI or high tech or even the printing press.

One thing that this tells me is that people do not change over the centuries. There is no evolution causing people to adapt to our surroundings. But, cultural practices are vastly different today from what they were in ancient times. Abraham may have had the same hopes and fears as us, but his morals were quite different. 

So do not lose sleep over the missing 400 years. We have had 2000 plus years of silence to date.

Sermons On TV? Really?

I remember way back in ancient times how pastor Mitchell would schedule an evangelistic movie to be shown on Sunday night When he was out of town. As the Door Director I often had the job of making that happen. Pastor had no assistants.  It was him or a movie.

Tonight we had a better than normal Sunday night service. Pastor was back from conference and people were glad to have him back. I was surprised when he announced that we would be watching a conference video instead of having one of our three pastors preach.

Oh well. It was good anyway. But it wasn't live. I guess the Holy Spirit can move either way.

I do not like watching a sermon on TV.

Conference Thoughts

 I checked the Prescott church's website to see who was announced out of their conference. For the first time  I did not know anyone who was announced. I recognized two names for changes. This must be a sign of getting older and of not living in Prescott anymore.

Several of the bigger regional conferences plant their own churches out of their own conferences now, so there were not as many churches planted out of the Prescott conference. Seven international and six domestic.

Conference is about more than planting churches. And an aging church does not plant as many churches now as they once did in earlier years. When we were announced pastor Mitchell had a pool of disciples who he was working with and training. As you age that pool gets smaller.

My friend in Prescott was exhausted by serving at conference. I remember those days. The folks in Prescott work their fingers to the bone to serve the conference body.

Conference is an exciting time. Make sure you attend a conference in your area.

Where's The Peace?

 If it bleeds, it leads. So is the motto of most news gathering organizations.

It's never so bad, that it can't get worse. Or so the say.

Peace blows so few bugles in most of us. Or so they say.

King David needs to get saved. He is a whiner.

Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell. Not me. I am happy  living where I am. Save your cliches and dogmas for someone who cares or for some unstable soul who you can manipulate.

If life goes from one catastrophe to another, from one crisis to another, you either live in the middle east, or you are not saved. Jesus gives us peace. Jesus gives us a living hope. 

Two Or Three

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Mat. 18:20

This past Wednesday, because of the weather, our service was smaller than a normal midweek service. But as we started, this verse came to my mind. And I was able to rejoice and to worship no matter who was or wasn't there. Pastor preached like it was a full house. People got saved. It was a good midweek service.

Note that the Lord said where 2 or 3 are gathered. Not 20 or 30. Not 200 or 300. Not 2000 or 3000. Just 2 or 3. God is not put off by a small church or a lowered attendance. God cares about His church. And Jesus makes His presence known even to a small church or a small group. 

You do not have to have a big crowd to get the Lord to take notice. You do not have to have multitudes to attract the Lord's attention. God is interested in even one sparrow that falls in the wilderness. He cares about you and I even if we live alone.

A crowd draws a crowd. But two or three draw the Holy Spirit if they are gathered in Jesus' name. 

Weather As Judgement?

 In the Bible we read how God uses natural disasters as a means of judgement. Rarely is it fire and brimstone like Sodom, or an angel with a sword killing people. As I watch the coverage of the tornado and river flooding and rain hitting our area and as I hear the fear and the frustration in the reporter's voices, I am reminded how terrifying natural disasters can be.  Weather is something you can watch or experience, but you cannot change it. Only Jesus can rebuke the storm and it stops.

It is no wonder how God uses the power of nature to show His mighty power to an unbelieving world. The amazing thing is how people will survive a storm or fire or flood and feel like it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. They never connect the dots to think that maybe God is trying to get their attention.

Pray for us here in south Texas.

Conference Thoughts 2026

 I remember when pastor Mitchell used to say that the Prescott conference was a "people's conference". I do not fully understand what he meant by that, but we had so few churches out that the bulk of the crowd was just folks, not pastors.

I also remember when I first noticed that the Prescott conference speakers were preaching to their fellow pastors, and not to any regular folk.

One more thing that I noticed was how conference became primarily about planting churches. That the whole reason for existing was based on the number of new works planted, not on the quality of the ministry during the week.

Conference sure has changed over the years. 

Mountain Climbing

 The mountain climber carries a lot of weight to climb a mountain. He carries gear and tools and even ropes. He carries food and water and dry socks. It takes a lot of work and a lot of gear to successfully climb a mountain.

But, what about once you have climbed that mountain? Once you are sitting on the top, what do you need? For a while at least, you need nothing. You can take your pack off and just sit there enjoying the view. You can take a selfie to prove that you made it. You do not need to carry your gear once you have arrived.

This is true of life. As we age we find that the things that were so important when we were younger do not matter at all now. We find that there is much less life yet to live as to make us stop putting off things for a later day. That later day is today. It is time to stop worrying about your bank account and your weight. If you are a widow it is time to stop thinking about getting married. You have too little life left to spend it on what have become unimportant pursuits.

This is hard to do in our youth orientated Fellowship. It always about go ye and fasting and striving for perfection instead of surveying how far we have come and how good God has been to us. I am not planning for my next big achievement or my next adventure. I am wondering what to do when I can no longer take care of my house on my own. Where to live when I cannot take care of myself anymore.

In mountain climbing, the only way to succeed is to climb higher. However, you cannot live on a mountain top. So we see that life is not all upward and onward, it involves climbing back down and going back home. For me, this is what retirement is all about. Climbing down and returning home.

On Idolatry

"They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass." Psalm 106:19-20 

Over and over again in the old testament God criticizes the idolatry of the children of Israel by mocking the image they worship instead of God. He always talks about how they eat grass or cannot see or speak or move on their own. All of this is true. But it made me wonder; what is it about idolatry that makes it so enticing to people?

This is a subject that I know nothing about. I have never prayed to a statue or prayed the rosary of burned incense to an image. But I have suspicions about why this appeals to people. 

First, I think that it is the pageantry associated with pagan worship. The music and dancing and other activities that go with idolatry. The spiritual buzz that people get when they practice this.

Second, I wonder if their are supernatural manifestations that accompany idol worship. There must be something more than tradition or ritual. Are there voices or visions or other manifestations? Something happened while Moses was up on the mountain that caused the people below to go crazy that was not just because of a golden calf.

People will practice false religion for a long time out of tradition or habit. But at some point something supernatural or spiritual must have happened to command such fear and devotion.

Tuesdays With Grandpa.

 My generation grew up on television and Dr. Spock. This generation grew up on social media and influencers. There is one big things we have in common. It is all based on the big lie. There is not one smidgen of reality in mass media. Like one author wrote a while ago, We Are Entertaining Ourselves To Death.

Mass media has lost the trust of many of us. The national news is skewed so far left that it is insulting to many thinking citizens. We have no one speaking truth to power anymore. Just parrots mouthing Trump Derangement Syndrome over and over and over again.

In church we are so focused on one thing sometimes that we forget to minister the whole counsel of God to the faithful saints. Pastors forget that what is a hot button issue to them might not be a hot button issue to many people out there listening to them. Sometimes we find ourselves battling demons and issues that are never mentioned from behind the pulpit.

We are the salt and light to a darkened world. We need to show that Jesus is the answer for their lives. We need to make Christians first, and then make some believers into disciples. Our job is to live out ancient stories and ancient texts and show that God in Christ is always current and fresh.

One final word. Wild animals are not cuddly and friendly. They are wild, they are dangerous, they will hurt you, they are afraid of you. Never feed them or try to pet them.

Help Us

"Let all things be done decently and in order." 1Cor. 14:40

The old testament is a lesson on how to build a nation. And how to build a temple. And how to serve God. The new testament is primarily how to live for Christ, how to operate a local church, how to solve church problems, and how to evangelize the world. It can get involved and complex, but at it's root it is all pretty easy to understand. Israel, by serving God in His temple and in His nation, would be a testimony to the rest of the world. The church age involves no nation building. But it does focus on earth filling. Letting the light shine in dark places and among darkened people.

Our Fellowship is doing it's part to fulfill the great commission. We must be careful not to get too close to the world or worldly systems. When our job is to be salt and light in the world, we cannot risk diluting our message or cheapening our purpose. This is the purpose of a conference. It gives us a way to bring into focus what we know and to keep us on track.

We need pastors to minister to people. We need young people to catch the vision of evangelism. We need every member to support the church's vision. We need Jesus to help us to do His will.

The Best Is Yet To Come

When you have lived your whole life being self absorbed and self focused it is hard not to be the center of attention anymore. You still want the praise and adoration you are accustomed to. You still crave the excitement  of being special. But in reality, you are just another grumpy old man or whiny old woman.

So what do we do as we fade into irrelevance and obscurity? We reminisce. We talk a lot about the good old days. About what we used to do way back when. How good we were and how well we performed. Some of us still have our participation ribbons we got just for playing. And God help us if we were actually good at something or accomplished something.

Life must be lived to the end. We never get to rest on our laurels. Like God, we may get a day off, but we get right back to work. Heaven is not an eternal vacation. It is a place to put into practice the things that we learned in life to serve the Lord for eternity.

Maybe, instead of just wanting more of the same, we should be seeking God to find out what He has for us going forward. We had no idea how this would all play out back then. God always saves the best until now.

"...Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" Jn. 2:10

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap id we do not lose heart." Gal. 6:9

"Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly" Job 8:7

 

Missing Chruch

 If you are not feeling well, or if you tend to feel sad or depressed at church time, and if this will keep you from going to church, you will find yourself feeling ill or sad or down every time you think about going to church. When I started thinking about this, I immediately began to assume that it is the devil who does this to us. He strikes us with sickness just before we start to get dressed for church. We have family drama or get into a fight every time we think about going to church. And this would be true.

But what if God is behind your reasons for not going to church? What if God is testing you to see how bad you want to be in church? What if God does not intervene in your condition because He wants to see what is more important to you than going to church?

I am convinced that if you want to be in church, you will be there. You will die on the way to church before you let sickness keep you from going. I will not make concessions for ailing or infirm or housebound people. If you want to be there, you will be there. Any reason you give for not going is just an excuse. Maybe if you went to church Jesus would heal you. 

I personally think that we ought to stop livestreaming church services. Number one, it is a terrible way to go to church. Number two, if it is important enough to you, you will be there in person. If you want to watch a conference sermon, go to conference. 

Missing a service from time to time happens. But miss too many services and I begin to think that you really do not want to be there. Just saying.

Does Much Learning Make Us Crazy?

Theologians, like intellectuals, get a bad rap that is often well deserved. They live in a world of ideas and theories. They are detectives searching for clues. They seek for patterns and reoccurring themes.  But too often they throw out the baby with the bathwater. They take things apart and when they put it all back together they get it wrong.

We have tools that we use to understand ancient languages. Hebrew and Greek dictionaries giving the English translation to ancient words. We are not looking for errors or inconsistencies. We are looking to understand the meaning of the words from the language they were first written to be able to apply them to our current language and understanding.

We often get benefit from the work of theologians. We read their books. We quote them in sermons. But if one of our disciples talked to them they would consider them to be religious but unsaved. This is the wonder of the Bible. Anyone can read it and apply it. Many read it but it is a dark mystery to them. Not to us. We get it.

Theologians would benefit from spending more time among ordinary people and attending a real church. It would benefit them to humble themselves and seek ministry that speaks the Word of God with anointing. Theologians would benefit from what we do three times a week now. We go to church. We sing and worship. We pay our tithes. We greet out friends. And we all have walked down the aisle to kneel at an alter and pray a sinners prayer. Maybe much learning makes us crazy.

Make A Choice, Then Make It Work

 Why is it so hard for our young people to get married today? Is it a spiritual problem, since we know that our enemy hates traditional marriage? Could it be a social or psychological problem as well? Could it be that we become a victim of paralysis by analysis? Could the fear of missing out make us hesitant to make a choice? Could it be our unrealistic ideals and standards for a spouse that no one can meet? Or, could it be that we have so many choices that we become unable to make a choice?

When the idea of getting married first occurred to me I asked a friend to point out to me the young, single, and available girls in church. Which he did. It turned out that there were 4 or 5 girls at that time who were single, available, and attractive. I married one of them.

You do not fall in love and then get married. You marry, and then you learn to love them. You do not need to get to know them before you get married. You get married and then you spend years getting to know this stranger who you married. Choosing someone to marry is first a choice. You must choose someone, and they must in turn be willing to be chosen. The burden of this transaction rests on the man.

Throw away your list of qualifications and standards. Be a true Christian and you have all of the standards that you need. Find someone who you feel attracted to who is single and available and ask them. Dating is a waste of time if marriage is your end goal.

Let me say that your parents, and your pastor, are bad judges of character when it comes to marriage. Pick someone who attends your church and that is enough. You will be marrying a stranger no matter how much time you spend together before marriage. Pick a spouse, and then tell your parents and your pastor your plans.

"And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. ..." Genesis 24:66-67

Isaac and Rebekah never dated, they were total strangers, but that didn't matter. They made a choice, and then they made it work.

A Bible Lesson For Today

 "...And his servant said to him, alas, my master! What shall we do? So he answered, do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2Kings 6:15-17

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by life? Have you ever thought that your situation looked hopeless and even dangerous? Can I tell you that you are not alone in feeling this. But it may be that you are young or immature in your faith. The young man saw one thing, the elder prophet saw a different thing. The young man panicked, Elisha was calm.

One big truth to see in this text is that always there are more for us than against us. Only one third of the angelic host followed Lucifer in rebellion against God. Two third of the angels stayed true. Do the math.

You think that your pastor is just a nice guy who preaches.  I wonder if you ever thought how God surrounds him with an army of angels and chariots of fire? The angelic host was protecting Elisha, not the young man. I think that the greater the leader, the bigger the spiritual host that surrounds him. We stay safe by staying aligned with our pastor.

The final thought is that Elisha prayed. "And Elisha prayed" is the statement that changed everything. Before Elisha prayed there was fear. After Elisha prayed there was peace. Prayer not only changes the circumstances, it changes our perspective. The angelic army was there before Elisha prayed, but the young man only saw it after Elisha prayed. Prayer helps disciples see from God's perspective. Prayer diffuses fear in your church.

What God did for Elisha and his young servant He will do for you.

Is Science A Tool To Deceive?

"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, he catches the wise in their own craftiness. and again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 1Cor. 3:18-20 

The problem with physics and mathematics and molecular biology is that it only works on paper, or under a microscope. It does not work in the real world. Things that make perfect sense to a physicist make no sense to anyone else. Things that look real under a microscope or through a telescope are not real to anyone else. And God looks at man's wisdom and accomplishments and He calls it all foolishness. Evolution is not scientific at all. It was a man's attempt to discredit the creation story in the Bible.

Speaking of the Bible, it is one thing that looks real on paper and actually works in real life. 

Note in the text how the word "deceive" and "craftiness" are used by the Holy Spirit. These words speak of a deliberate act to mislead and twist. Science seems to be a tool of the evil one to draw us away from God. Creation means that there was a creator. Evolution means that nature acts on it's own, randomly.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Romans 1:18

See, men suppress the truth of the Bible in their sinful behavior. But God keeps good records. He will give to every man the wages due him. 

It's time to repent.

More Valuable

 "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Mat. 10:29-31

I do not know how valuable a copper coin, or a farthing, is. But I do know that whatever it costs to buy two pigeons, you are more valuable than that. If God knows how many hairs you have on your head,  and if God is aware of every bird that dies, do you doubt that God knows you and is aware of what you are going through right now?

God still loves you no matter what you've done. God still wants to help you no matter what kind of trouble you are in. You still matter to God.  God will heal your broken heart and dry your crying eyes. You are still more valuable than a pigeon. Christ died for you, not for animals.

Maranatha!

The Bible on Slavery

 I wonder if you would be surprised to find out that the Bible nowhere condemns slavery. The Bible is an ancient book written in ancient times where life was very different from our modern era. It address things that we do not do or consider abhorrent. It is God's word written By men of God to ancient and somewhat heathen people.

Nowhere does the Bible condemn polygamy. God does speak clearly on marriage and on how marriage works best. Several prominent men in the Bible had more than one wife.  Also, the Bible actually speaks a lot about kings even though in our modern era we are anti king. In fact, our form of government is not found in the Bible. God refers to Himself as a great king of kings. Jesus said the kingdom of God is among you. All political activity in the Bible revolves around a king.

The same is true about slavery. Slavery was common in ancient times. Slavery is still practiced in the modern world. Slavery may be immoral to us, but it is never condemned in the Bible. The Bible actually gives instruction on how to be a Christian slave, and it gives instruction on how to treat slaves as their owner. The failure of American slavery was the ill treatment and the dehumanization of slaves by their owners. The South needed slave workers, but their treatment of them was terrible. In America, slavery became a moral and a human rights issue, as it is today. God views slaves as people who need to be saved just like everyone else.

It is always hard to understand ancient societies measured by modern standards. This is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us apply ancient words to our current situations.

You Have Built It. Have They Come?

 "If you build it, he will come." This line is from the movie Field of Dreams. We have changed it slightly to say, if you build it, they will come. We sometimes use this idea in our churches concerning buildings. We think that if we build or buy or rent a bigger building, more people will visit our churches. 

Pastor Mitchell did not build big buildings to attract big crowds. We enlarged the Ruth Street building at least twice to accommodate what God was doing in revival. When I first was saved in 1973 we were packed to the rafters with people. We used to sit on the floor in the alter space, crowded in like sardines in a can. We held services there three days a week. We held revival meetings there. We held the early conferences there. And when the building could not hold conferences, we bought the tents. The city of Prescott back then had no facilities to accommodate our crowds.

There are "rules" governing church attendance. They say that you will not grow beyond 80% capacity. I saw the Prescott church SRO and we grew. So much for rules. People come because the early days of real revival are always accompanied by explosive growth. Once we stopped growing we didn't need a bigger building anymore, even though we were at the magic 80 % line. But that didn't stop the Prescott church from building bigger buildings.

You who have built it so that they will come, have they come? 

An Amazing Book

 The Bible is an amazing book. It is so simple that an ignorant and unlearned child can read it and understand the big picture. But the Bible is so complex and deep that scholars spend their entire careers studying it and what it says and how it came to be a book.

Translation takes ancient writings in foreign languages and rewrites them into a language that the local population can read and understand. And while we are on this topic, the importance of the Bible is what it says, not in how it came to be. It's the word of God written down, just like the ten commandments that Moses received.

One interesting fact is that most of the new testament writings were simply letters written to local churches. They were not published or copywritten. Therefore, scholars tell us that we have no original copies of the ancient writings to translate. That letters dashed off to churches have survived in any form is a testament to the hand of God active in making sure the translators got it right.

Now, we take the Bible in our language, written in ancient times, and make it apply to current events. Now we pray for our pastors to get it right when studying the Bible.

All of His promises are yes and amen, no matter how long ago they were first written or spoken.

Selfish? Or Caring?

I know that our pastor is in high demand around the Fellowship. But knowing this does not mean that we do not miss him when he is gone. And on this trip pastor missed three Sundays in a row. I went from missing him to wondering if he was alright to wondering if he had an offer to take a bigger church.

So when I saw pastor last night I was happy to see him. And I was happy to learn that he was preaching to us. And then he said something that cut me to the core. He said that it was selfish to think that he needed to be home more or to stay home more. So now it is selfish to want our pastor to be here for his own church?

For years pastor Mitchell would, at great expense, make it a point to be in his own church on Sunday morning. The biggest and most important service of the week. It was rare for pastor Mitchell not to be there on Sunday morning, even if he would be flying out on Sunday afternoon. We had good assistants in Prescott. But I always felt that if it all went south, pastor would be back soon to set things right.

The danger of being gone so much is that you become irrelevant to the ongoing work of the church. We have a handful of guys who can still preach to your church. You only have one church full of faithful people who love you and who support the Vision.

Please do not call me selfish for missing you.

Random Thoughts

It's not good that a man  lives alone. Unless you are older. Then it is preferable.

Pastor says that we are being selfish for wanting our pastor at home. 

My birthday is coming up. It is not a milestone birthday so I am not making a big deal out of it.

Street preaching and open air preaching are not the same thing. Open air means no building is available.

Open air preachers preach prepared sermons. Street preachers preach a simple gospel.

When the boss is absent it's business as usual. When workers stay out business fails. Same with church.

It's never so bad that it can't get worse. Or so is the gist of Bible prophecy preaching.

Do we really need a fire and brimstone message on Sunday morning? Maybe we do. Oh me.

God bless us, everyone.

Signs And Wonders?

 We live in a world where everyone is an expert, but usually they know next to nothing. They know how to make a YouTube video. They know how to start a business. They know how a church ought to act. They are experts who have done nothing in the real world.

One good thing about our Fellowship is that we are real people in real places who have seen God move in tangible ways. Whether your church is large or small, you are a testimony to the reality of God at work in society.

There are words that are empty of value and then there are words that have weight. I have doctors whose words carry weight. News from one of them is news indeed. I have pastors whose words carry weight. When they speak from behind the pulpit their words carry the ring of Divine anointing and the light of truth.

If you want something real in your life, go to a real church. Listen to a real man of God preach. Put into daily practice the truths in the Bible. And in so doing you will experience truth made light through you.

I have had doctors whose words I dismiss. I have heard pastors whose words were empty of any spark of inspiration. I sing songs written by unsaved people. They do not work for worship. It takes more than a sign on the door or an MD after your name or a feel good rhythm. For some churches, they put a sign on the door and then they wonder if God will show up for service. That's the only signs and wonders they see.