I watched tonight as Michael Phelps won his 21st and 22nd  gold medal, the most by any other athlete in Olympic history. How does a person do that? Some kind of luck, or did he just inherite the right genes from his parents? One of the ads that played tonight was something like this, “Everyone was born with gold in them, but only a few are strong enough to dig it out”. I would change that a bit to”everyone has gold created in them, but only a few have the grit to develop it”. It obviously takes a lot of help from others, especially in the early, formative years where attitude is developed, muscles and coordination are being trained, and that relentless, determination that is a clear characteristic of all champions is shaped. I am to old to train and win a gold in the Olympics, but I pray every morning and ask God if He would work in my life so that I can bear more fruit for God and for eternity in the next ten years than I have in the previous 40 years of being a pastor. I really believe that God is going to give me this desire of my heart. I pray everyday and ask everyday, but one of the commentators made this statement, “everything else being equal, the person who practices the most will win the most”!  So I pray and ask and trust, but I am also going to work as hard as I can, and I am going to work at developing a relentless determination that won’t die in me.

I love watching the Olympics, even the gymnastics, though basketball and swimming is my favorite. There is something very inspiring watching people compete who have worked so hard at a particular skill. During interviews it is not uncommon to hear the athletes talk about their goals and how they have motivated  them in the pursuit of being the best at what they do, and win the gold medal. As human beings created in the image of God we have incredible potential to grow mentally, physically, and in character but very few ever come close to reaching that potential because it requires us to push ourselves outside our comfort zone on a constant basis and comfort is the god of our age and culture. The announcers are constantly referencing certain athlete’s “work ethic” and as they show video footage of their practice regime it is amazing. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one wins the prize, run in such a way as to win. They exercise self-control in all things to win a prize that will not last, but we exercise self-control in all things to win a prize that will last forever. Therefore I don’t run without aim and I don’t box as beating the air, but I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I will not be disqualified for the prize”. We will stand before Jesus at the end of our life and be rewarded by Him with prizes that will last forever for the fruit that we have born for Him, for the work that we have done for Him. Those eternal rewards are worth us working very hard, learning skills, reading, memorizing, speaking, meeting needs, and many other things. The best tool for me to move me outside my comfort zone every day are the goals that I thoughtfully and prayerfully set so that I am not “running without aim and boxing as if beating the air”.

From time to time I have reposted on Facebook an article that is pro-Trump. When I have done that I have gotten what I would call mean spirited responses from some.  I understand and am well aware of all the problems of Donald Trump, but  I am so saddened by the fact that 53 million unborn babies have been killed through abortion since 1970. I believe with all my heart that life begins at conception. Jesus, God’s Son left heaven and became just exactly like us so that we could be forgiven of our sins and live in heaven forever.  In The gospel of Luke 4:35 it says, “the Power of the most high will overshadow you, and the child will be holy, He will be called the Son of God”. Jesus emptied Himself of all that he was and became flesh, He became an unborn baby. The fact that 800,000 human lives are taken every year overshadows everything else in regards to personality, arrogance, economy, and all the rest in this election. I often think about myself being self aware, living, having children and grandchildren, growing in character, fishing, riding a bicycle, and then there are those that never get to do that because they are killed, on purpose. I believe that with Trump as President there is a chance because of the possibility that he could appoint some conservative Supreme Court Judges that legal abortions could end in our country. I don’t believe with Hillery there is a chance.  That is the totality of the choice between the two for me, because nothing comes close to being as important in my mind as that one issue. If you think or believe differently, I can handle that, but I will try to influence you, but I will do it with grace and will treat you with respect and honor because you have been created by God in His image.

I am am reading a fascinating book right now, “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” by Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool.  It basically teaches how any of us can become exceptional at most any skill. The chapter that I am reading now is talking about our ability to remember information. The authors use several studies and examples to demonstrate that the part of our mind that we use to “remember” is like a muscle. If we exercise it and push it on a regular and routine basis it has the capacity to grow very strong.  One of the examples was a study of London taxi cab drivers who have to pass what is called the most difficult test in the world to get a license to drive  a taxi in London. To pass the test they have to memorize all the streets and routes from and to various places in London. When they did brain scans on these drivers they found that the memory part of their brain was very large. One of the things I learned about Parkinson’s is that almost half of those with it develop significant senality problems. One of my goals as I work at fighting this disease is to work on memorizing Bible verses for 30 minutes every day. I have memorized over 500 verses so far and aiming for over 1,000 verses by the end of 2017. Reading this chapter in this book has increased my motivation in scripture memory, but the most valuable blessing is the power of God’s Word to work in my heart, mind soul, and spirit to bring about life change. I have noticed a significant improvement in my ability to remember information. One of the statements in the book was that our ability to recall information easily and quickly, and to hold multiple thoughts in our mind at the same time is a major key to “thinking clearly” and being able to solve problems.

One of the more interesting passages in the Bible is Hebrews 2:10, where it says that Jesus is “made perfect through suffering”. Jesus is God, equal with the Father, but He became flesh, was born into the world as a baby, and as a baby he had no character, He had to grow in character as you and I do. The phrase, “made perfect” means He became perfect in character, and it was accomplished by suffering. If there was ever a person who could grow in character easily, it would have been Jesus, but still suffering was required in order for Him to become perfectly mature and grown up as a man. The point being, if it was required for Jesus it certainly is going to be a requirement for you and I to grow in character. I don’t like suffering, I don’t even like minor irritations, but I can’t grow mature without them and the more I have the faster I will grow. Sufferings and trials don’t automatically produce character. In many people they produce bitterness, anger, self pity, and major grumbling and grouchiness. The Bible says, rejoice when you suffer and then you will grow. We don’t rejoice because it is fun, we rejoice because God said to, and that obedience in the face of pain brings great grace and life change from God. What I am in character when I enter eternity is what I am, suffering is over. I want to enter eternity as much like Jesus in character as possible so I can enjoy Him, and He can enjoy me for ever. If I have that eternal perspective sufferings become my friend, which doesn’t mean I go looking for trouble but it does mean that I get over fussing, whining, and feeling sorry for myself when life gets hard, it is supposed to be hard.

The most important character trait that a person can have is being teachable.  The presence of that character trait guarantees that a person will continue to grow all of their life. Having the mind-set of a life-long learner…being open to learn from anyone at anytime on any topic. I have met very old Christians who are still teachable and I have met very young Christians who are not. I have met some very humble people and I have met some very arrogant people who have a hard time listening to anyone but himself or herself!  I have met a some who wanted to learn, but didn’t want to be taught. They wanted to learn on their own and were not really open to having anyone else speak into their lives. Pride is a major problem that we are born with, and a key way to measure how much we are conquering it is by the measure of our teachable spirit and also a major way of pursuing humility is by working hard to be teachable, to seek out mentors and teachers for various areas of our life.

Yellow jackets seem to be really thick this year, by that I mean a lot, like millions! There was a nest in the grass shoot of our broken riding lawnmower and when I started to work on it they were every where. There was a nest in our barbecue that we haven’t used in two weeks and when I started to move it to the deck I got surprised! They built a nest in the exterior mirror of one of our cars, under the eves of our shop, our deck, in our pump house, and on the under side of our picnic table. I went and bought 6 cans of that yellow jacket spray and went on a rampage. I think I will buy 6 more tomorrow, along with a dozen yellow jacket traps. I wonder if the devil has enough power to create? He probably doesn’t have a lot of power, just enough for some little bugs like yellow jackets and mosquitos. It doesn’t say so in the Bible but I believe there won’t be any yellow jackets in heaven.

An area of everyone’s life that is almost always a struggle is in managing our money. Most of the people in my life are always working at staying out of debt and paying bills and dealing with emergencies. Regularly there is the choice of purchasing something that is on the “not needed” list. You could do without it, but you would really like to have it. You think about it, decide to get it and then change your mind, and then you decide again to get it, back and forth. If you are married you try to decide together and then sometimes you fight about it.  If you are wanting to faithfully give to the Lord through your church or other mission you often feel guilty when you move into the “extravagant” in spending. Then there is the same struggle with the use of time as we attempt to manage it well. There is the very serious and profitable use of time and then their is the fun and frivolous. How much of each? Words that I want to be a description of me is responsible, faithful, wise, self-controlled, but then having fun is good and healthy and renewing. Some guidelines that have worked well for Patty and I are (1) peace between us, that is we are both comfortable with the decision be it time or money or both, (2) daily asking God for wisdom in making choices, (3) not being in a hurry so we can think clearly what we want to do, (4) managing both time and money on paper before we spend it in reality, and (5) always thinking about our use of time and money from an eternal perspective. The struggle to be wise, generous, and balanced as a steward of the treasure of time and money is what potentially moves us to Christ like maturity in our character.

In this hour I would ask of the Lord God only this: that He would give His blessing to our work, and that He may ever give us the courage to do the right. I am convinced that men who are created by God should live in accordance with the will of the Almighty. No man can fashion world history unless upon his purpose and his powers there rests the blessings of this Providence.”

That may sound like an ideal leader, but that speech was given in 1937 by the Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler. In his speeches, he challenged people to love their neighbors, to care for the poor and sick, and to take a stand against violence.

Matthew 7:21-25 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The fact that Hitler will hear Jesus say “depart from Me, I never knew you” is easy to believe. But many, many people today who claim to be Christians will hear those same words. I can’t think of any thing saddler than the shock those words will be for many at the judgment when it is to late to do anything about it.

I don’t intend this blog to be a judgmental one, but one of genuine, heart felt compassion  for people who have a superficial religion and not a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

Today was JBC’s annual “Baptism at the Lake” service and potluck. There were 32 people baptized, and as always it was a beautiful and inspiring time. Each person who was baptized shared a testimony about the circumstances of how they became a Christian, and a bit of the history of their life. Many of those who shared have been attending JBC for only a short time and I haven’t gotten to know them much yet so it was great to become more acquainted with them by hearing their story. One of the things we teach at JBC is that many people say they are Christians but few really live like it, and a key to living like Jesus did is to be a “fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ”, one whose highest priority in life is to follow, serve, and please the Lord. Our own personal  Baptism is a public declaration that He indeed is Lord, master, King of our life. We all tend to drift away and wander from that commitment so it is a good thing to everyday declare Him the Lord, master, and King of your life. I believe that daily saying as a simple commitment of our heart, “Jesus, You are Lord of my life, I will follow You” results in increased self examination of how we are living and changing in character, an increase in power from the Holy Spirit to successfully live a life pleasing to Him, and an increase in awareness of what His will is for our life. It has been a great day.