Monday, November 16, 2009

My Wife Sings, and I Fly Airplanes

I recently attended a Sunday evening worship service at a church that I attended back from about 1990 until 1993. The church had gone through some very difficult, dry, times through the mid-to-late 90's and until recently. A new pastor is now at the church and has undertaken some ambitious programs to attract visitors and seek to grow the church. I've been watching this Pastor's blog and was interesting in meeting him and hearing him preach.

There were only a handful of "old timers" that I recognized at the church – everyone else was a new face. One of the couples I recognized, in particular, stood out. He had been a retired pilot and then farmer, and now a muscular disorder has made him practically an invalid, and who may also be battling some form of dementia, too.

He had just walked up a short flight of stairs and was sitting in chair that was in the foyer trying to catch his breath (that chair is the only chair in the foyer and it's there for him). I shook his hand and visited with him for a few minutes before the service began. He told me, "You know what, my wife sings here, and I fly airplanes." I told him I remembered his wife singing songs at the church, and we talked about him being a pilot. After the service I told him that it had been a blessing to see him again, and he looked at me, paused for a few moments, and then said, "You know what, my wife sings, and I fly airplanes." He then went on to share about some men in the church who had, a few months prior, rented a plane and taking him up for a flight - something which had blessed his heart immensely.

This is a man and his wife who have (as far as I know) been very faithful to the Lord through their lives. They were extremely involved in the pro-life movement, and have sought to faithfully serve the Lord in their local church.

He has such a desire to still work and try to farm that his wife told us of a time recently when he stood a ladder up near his tractor so he could try to get on his tractor and do some mowing. It worked OK for him getting onto the tractor. After he was done he carefully parked the tractor next to the ladder, but in the process of getting down the ladder he slipped and fell. He was unable to get up. His wife noticed the tractor outside parked by the ladder, and when he didn't come inside after a while she went out and, with difficulty, was able to help him sit up. They then tied a rope to the tractor wheel and he was able to pull himself up with that.

I experienced such a mixture of emotions. I was grateful to see them still faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and thought how precious these two must be to the Lord. And yet my heart broke for this dear man and his health.

And I couldn't help but wonder, when I am his age (if the Lord tarry, and if it be His will) and perhaps in his condition, what will it be that I tell people about myself? What will be the defining characteristics of my life? And, will I still be trying to work, or will I be wanting to just sit around?

May I be busy with the Lord's work while I still have breath and especially while I have my health!

"I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

I'm Good in That Department

Saturday was a beautiful day and I was working at my house on some projects. As I was working, an older, distinguished gentleman came walking up the side driveway. He looked identical to Ted Turner, and it turns out he works for Time Warner. He was a salesman, but wasn't pushy at all. We talked about television (he was very surprised to find out that we don't watch television) and I even brought up how liberal Time Warner is as a company. Conversation shifted to a nearby military base where this gentleman has done a fair amount of work, and we talked about the security around the base. That led to talking about how this nation has changed over these past years, and he volunteered, "and I'm not sure it's for the better."

I was praying that the Holy Spirit would give an opportunity to share with him. Actually, I was a little hesitant, at first, to share, because I was in the middle of a work project. God convicted me that my attitude was wrong and I prayed that the Holy Spirit would be working in the man's heart and would give me an opportunity to share.

As we kept talking the subject of neighborhoods that we live in came up. I asked if he attended a church near his home. He ignored my question and kept talking. I went back and asked again. He was sharp enough to realize that I was bringing up spiritual things – and he was very closed to the discussion topic. He put his hands up a bit, waved them back and forth, and said, "Oh, no, no, I'm fine! I'm good in that department." Even though we had enjoyed a few minutes of chit-chat it was clear that simply asking him about church had made him uncomfortable. And, I figured he was already uncomfortable, so why not ask another question? I asked if he had a Bible at his house.

Again, he ignored the question and kept talking. Eventually he backtracked in his conversation and did say that, yes, he had a Bible at his house. I said that was good and encouraged him to be reading in it so that he would know how a person who has broken God's law and is deserving of hell can be born again and forgiven of his sins through the Lord Jesus Christ. I went ahead and helped close the conversation by thanking him for stopping by and he left soon thereafter.

While he was a very friendly, outgoing, and personable person (most good salespeople are), it was interesting to see how quickly he locked up when spiritual things were brought up (and some would say that asking where a person attends church is hardly bringing up spiritual things!). While there's a chance that he is truly "good in that department", the fact that he wasn't willing to confess the Lord Jesus with his mouth ("that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus..." Romans 10:9) makes me suspect that he has not been born again. May the Holy Spirit bring great conviction to his heart.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Ye Must Be Born Again...

Last year my Dad was sharing the gospel with a JW and the Lord put on his heart an interesting method to share with them. Yesterday they were in our neighborhood as I was walking by my mailbox and I took a moment to share with them.

Actually, I ran into two sets of them and had basically the same conversation with each pair:

Them: Hi, how are you doing?
Me: Are you JW's?
Them: Yes, we are.
Me: I'm sorry… I'm a Christian who believes in Jesus as God and I'm not interested in any of your literature. May I ask you a question?
Them: Sure.
Me: Do you believe in Jesus?
Them: Yes, we do.
Me: Do you obey Him?
Them: Yes, we do.
Me: Have you been born again?
Them: No.
Me: Then why are you disobeying Jesus? He said, in John chapter 3, that "Ye must be born again." Why have you not been born again?
Them: (looking at each other, thinking….) Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, who went to Him at night.
Me: The reason he went at night was because he was a religious man who belonged to a religious organization that didn't believe Jesus was God (that would make him a member of a cult), and he was afraid of what the other members of his religious organization would say if he went to Jesus. It would be the same for you today, if you went to Jesus, be it in the daytime or if you were afraid of what others in your church would say – at night – it doesn't matter - He would tell you the same thing. "Ye must be born again." Why have you not been born again?

They then tried to bring up some crazy idea about the 144,000. I kept going back to being born again, and encouraged them to obey Jesus and be born again – and then said "bye".

I suspect they believe they are part of the 144,000, which is surprising to me. The fact is:
  • The 144,000 is a specific number (early part of Revelation Chapter 7 talks about the 144,000, and then in verse 9 it talks about a "great multitude, which no man could number" – which clearly shows that John, through the Holy Spirit, was referring to exactly 144,000 people)
  • In addition, if that isn't clear enough, 4 verses in Revelations 7 (verses 5-8) go through each of the twelve tribes and say that there are exactly 12,000 from each one. The Bible could have said "12,000 from each tribe", but instead if says "Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand………."
The Bible is very clear: the 144,000 are 144,000 actual people. Never mind that they are redeemed just like everyone else (Jesus said there is only ONE way to be saved - John 14:6 - and the JW's are purposely ignoring that ONE way).

JW's currently report worldwide membership actively involved at 7 million, convention attendance at 12 million, and annual memorial attendance at 17 million (not sure what memorial attendence is?). If I were a JW and was one of millions that were hoping to be considered one of the actual 144,000, I would be very nervous.

But wait, the nervousness would increase based upon the fact that we are given at least 3 additional clues as to who qualifies to be part of the 144,000:
- They are Jews. Chapter 7:4 "of the children of Israel" (not only must the person be a Jew, but they must be from the proper tribe, as each tribe will only have 12,000).
- They are male (Revelation 7:4 "which were not defiled with women")
- They are virgins (Revelation 7:4 "for they are virgins")

What was odd was that of the JW's I spoke with: all four were women, one had a child (I'm assuming hers) along with her, and one was clearly not ethnically Jewish.

I suspect everything I said while encouraging them to obey Jesus and of their need to be born again fell on deaf ears (such is the danger of believing church doctrine that contradicts clear Bible teaching), but I pray that they will seriously think about the fact that Jesus did say that if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN (John 3:3). Period.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Secular Museum "Credits" Charles Darwin's Theory As Being A Factor That Led To The 16.5 Million Deaths of World War One

On Friday I had the opportunity to visit the Liberty Memorial and World War One Museum: the nation's official WWI museum. It was a time of mixed emotions: gratitude to God for the freedom He has granted this nation, appreciation for the men who sacrificed so much, and sadness at how many million lost their lives through the devastation of war.

We know that Jesus not only is the Creator of life (Col. 1:16), but He came and brought His perfect peace to earth (John 14:27, 16:33). Unfortunately, He was rejected, and man has chosen instead to follow and believe the lies of Satan, who is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), and would be delighted to see the devastation of war.

With this being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, I was fascinated by one of the museum's displays. The display was in a room that was explaining the various factors that contributed to the start of World War One. The secular museum was displaying Charles Darwin's book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life". The placard next to the book shared that the theories in the book were used by European governments as an argument for colonialism, for dominating non-European peoples, for engaging in arms races, and, inevitably, for war.

Christians can readily see how Charles Darwin's anti-God and unscientific (claiming that everything came into existence from nothing?) theories, if believed, could contribute to war, genocide, racism, slavery, violence, and all sorts of other lawless actions. For, if we were not created by God but instead are chance mutations that randomly evolved over millions of years: then we can do whatever we want as we struggle to survive. Who is to say what we can and cannot do? Who is to say that it's wrong to lie, cheat, steal, or fornicate.

And yet I have seen a number of those who believe in Charles Darwin's theories come to his defense and say that they do not believe his theories contribute to war, destruction, and genocide.

Well, the Nation's Official WWI Museum (a secular museum), openly gives Charles Darwin's theories some of the "credit" for contributing to the start of World War One. 16.5 million people died as a result of that war.

Jesus, when warning the disciples about false prophets, told them, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20) One of the fruits of evolutionary beliefs is war.

The Museum Display.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

It is good for me that I have been afflicted….

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. (Psalms 119:71)

I was very sick this past week. The sickest that I have ever been in my life. Multiple days with 103.4 degree fevers, nausea, aches, chills – and then an incessant cough started and went non-stop for almost 24 hours. I was down and out.

God's hand of blessing, protection, and guidance was present throughout the week. When I went into the Dr. the chest xray showed pneumonia, and the blood work showed a massive bacterial infection (highest white blood cell count the Dr. had seen in his 10 years of practice!).

So, how has it been good that I've been afflicted? Seeing as this is a bit of my journal and I don't want to forget some of these things, I'm documenting them here. . .

  • There isn't anyone better to trust in than Jesus. I had a very important work commitment this weekend (read as: an out-of-state wedding to photograph). I have to confess that I struggled with trusting the Lord through this week. I wrestled with what would happen. And yet not only did a backup plan come together, but Lord provided a perfect substitute in their local area – whom the couple was thrilled with. I couldn't have been happier, and I was able to see how the Lord arranged things for His glory. "The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever" (Psalms 104:31)
  • Being down and out sick is a great time for evaluating one's heart, life, and attitudes. And I've been finding lots of pride, wrong attitudes, complacency, and focus on self. I feel like I can so readily identify with Peter as he says, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." And yet I know that He is the One I need to be close to, and it's His Spirit that has been revealing these things to me.
  • I've realized how soft I've become. This week, as I was sick, we've had temperatures in the upper 90's with heat indexes up around 110 degrees. I've been inside my air conditioned house this entire time. And yet I have missionary friends over in the jungles of Indonesia who are constantly battling sickness, malaria, fevers, and other jungle diseases – all without the comfort of air conditioning or easy access to Doctor's. And I've been evaluating how much time I spend lifting them up in prayer? How concerned am I for their physical welfare as they labor for Christ overseas?
  • I've had a softening in my heart towards those who are sick and infirm. "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." (2 Corinthians 1:4) There are so many whose lives are full of what I experienced for those 3 or 4 days. And, for them, there isn't an antibiotic to take that will start them on the road to recovery. Is my heart sensitive towards the suffering of others? Am I genuinely concerned for them?
  • Missed opportunities to share the gospel have also weighed very heavily on me. What if the Lord had chosen to take me home this past week? What would have mattered in my life? Only that which I had accomplished for Christ. I've thought back to conversations and opportunities I've had over these past few months to share with others that I let slide. May I never, ever, again let an opportunity to share the gospel with someone go by. Even if I was on my deathbed – may I be more concerned about sharing with others than with my self. "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)


I can look back and see all of this and much, much more. And yet the last thing my flesh wants is to ever be sick again. May my heart welcome whatever the Lord has for me in the future.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Guess I better start going to church...

A while back I was on the phone with an insurance representative talking about house insurance. At the end of the phone call I asked him if he had ever heard of or taken the good person test – he had no idea. So, we started through it. Of course he felt like he was a good person, and yet he readily acknowledged that he lied, stolen, blasphemed, although he had never committed murder or adultery (yet he had lusted).

When I asked him if God was to judge him based on the 10 commandments if he would be innocent or guilty, he was a bit hesitant to acknowledge guilt. When I asked him whether he felt he would spend an eternity in heaven or hell he hedged even more, eventually saying that if that's how God decides, then it would be hell.

He went on and said, "I guess I had better start going to church." While I was happy for the opportunity to share with him my heart was grieved that he would think the solution to his problem was simply to begin attending some church. People have so confused religion with a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's something I want to constantly be on guard in my own heart: pursuing a religion and not living for my Savior.

I spent the next while sharing with him the different between religion and a relationship with Jesus. The futility of religion (the Jews and Pharisees had a great religion going when Jesus came to earth). We talked about true, Biblical salvation, and I shared with him the story about my grandfather's car wreck and how he subsequently paid the fine for the guilty driver. At the end I asked if he had a Bible at his house (he did) and I encouraged him to read the book of John to learn more about what Jesus did for him.

And now I wonder: has the Lord done anything in his heart? Has he picked up his Bible and spent any time reading? Was our conversation forgotten minutes after it was done? May the Holy Spirit strive with him (Genesis 6:3) and convict him of sin, righteousness, and judgment (

John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me:
for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Monday, January 12, 2009

What the ***** do you want!?!

The other day we were at a nursing home to conduct a worship service. We know a number of the residents who enjoy coming to worship. We also try to meet all of the new residents and invite them as well. Sometimes they'll never come to worship but we're still able to build a friendship with them; we have to keep in mind that our goal is to share the gospel, not simply get people to come to church.

Back to my story… I was checking on a resident to see if he wanted to come to worship. He was asleep in his wheelchair and didn't wake up even when I called his name. Since he hasn't come the past few times, I didn't think it was worth waking him up to invite him.

As I was leaving the room I noticed his roommate, who was in bed, was awake and looking towards me. I knew his name was "Herman" from the sign on the door (and I think I had invited him to church a few weeks prior), and so I stepped over towards his bed.

With a low voice he kinda spat out, "What the **** do you want!?!"

I responded, "Hi Herman, we're here for worship this morning and I was checking on Mr. S. to see if wanted to come to church. We'd love to have you join us as well, but I noticed you're in bed and perhaps not feeling too well today."

His response was, "Oh, well, I think I would have enjoyed coming to church…"

Turns out he was cold, and so I was able to get another blanket for him.

I was laughing a bit as I left his room. I'd never really been "greeted" like that before, and was really surprised that he would then express some interest in joining us for worship!