I use the word magic or magical occasionally, but I am not using it in a “Harry Potter” kind of way. My personal, made up definition is, “impossible to explain”. So, I often say, “fishing is magical”. When I go fishing I get this amazing peace, contentment, and joy that is impossible to explain to myself or to others the “how” or the “why” of it, it is just magic. The government may be becoming dictatorial and corrupt beyond belief, the economy may be tanking, possibly worse than the “Great Depression”, and half the population around me may die of a pandemic (not my opinion, but that of the hyper- exaggerating media), but if I can go fishing, life is good.

I am leaving in a few hours for Odell Lake pulling my 20 foot pontoon boat, and I am going to spend the next 4 days fishing for Kokanee. There will also be 20 guys from JBC fishing with me and camping together. My favorite form of fellowship with other men is fishing or hunting, you know, there is something magical about the camaraderie that happens, really!

Where we will be camping there is very limited cell service so I won’t be writing a blog until Tuesday, I will be to busy fishing anyway.

The Bible has several lists of requirements for a pastor or an Elder of a church. The lists are fairly extensive, and every time I read through them I cringe as I think about my own life. A short portion of one of those lists of requirements is in 1 Timothy 3:3

“not pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable,”

My Dad was in the Navy for 20 plus years, having joined prior to World War II. He retired when I was 12 years old in 1960, and from my birth until he retired we moved about 20 times. The Navy housing we usually stayed in was called “temporary housing” because it was for the families of sailors who would be there just a few months before they moved to the next port that their ship pulled into. The housing was packed tightly together, usually with a play ground in the center where lots of kids congregated. Because of my name I always got teased by the resident bully and his gang of friends minutes after our first visit to the playground, which would always result in a good fight. My brothers Cliff and Matt and I stuck pretty close together, so when any one of us got into a fight the other two would jump right in. The three of us took on the best the playground gangs could offer, and we whipped them all. One of the things that happened with the many moves and the many, many fights was that I got to enjoying the experience of the anticipation of the upcoming battle and the victory. After Dad retired and we bought our first farm and settled down I never got into another fight, at least physically. But I have gotten into lots of fights verbally and relationally. As I was thinking about some things I was planning on doing to resist the control of government over my life and the life of our church, I thought to myself, I sure enjoy a good fight, especially when I am sure I am right. I thought to myself, “that is probably the definition of pugnacious”.

What does that passage say, “The Lord’s servant must not be pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable”. Darn, being pugnacious sounds so much more fun.

I want to accomplish as much as possible with my life as I can. The Apostle Paul said that his preference was to “depart and be with the Lord, for that would be very much better”, but then he continued on by adding, “yet to remain on in the flesh will mean fruitful labor”. I don’t think that if given the choice by God I would stick around on this earth any longer, but He didn’t ask my opinion, and I am still here so I will do as much as I can. Part of the struggle presently is that my energy level seems to be waning a bit. I exercise faithfully, eat good foods, no sugar, get enough sleep, and talk to myself positively. So my new challenge is to learn how to pace myself throughout the day, and not overloading myself on any given day, but that is easier said than done for sure. I am leaving on 2000 mile bicycle trip on June 1st so I will need to keep my energy up each day for about 70 miles. One of the interesting observations that I have made about myself is that the constant irritation that I have been feeling towards the government, and the media lately with this shutdown and all the “stuff” that goes with it has increased my weariness by a factor of 10. I started up an old discipline of keeping track of how much time I spend reading the news and watching you tube testimonies by doctors and others on how stupid this whole thing is. It is so easy to get addicted to reading and watching all that crap, but my desire to not be so tired all the time will motivate me, I hope, we will see. Once I am on my bicycle trip I will be limited and the increased exercise seems to give me a major boost in my level of self-control as well.

My theology and what I have taught and preached for the last 40 years is that the church will be raptured out of this world before the Tribulation starts. Many have debated this view with me over the years, but I am convinced that my view is correct.

But let’s pretend I am wrong, there are many very smart people who believe we will go through the Tribulation. Let’s also pretend that January 1, 2021 is the beginning. The fourth event that occurs after the start of the Tribulation is a world wide pandemic along with war, famine and wild beasts that kills one-fourth of all the people on the earth. I wonder what we will do, how we will act, think, and talk. I wonder how much fear we will have? The very next event to occur called the fifth seal described in Revelation 6:9 is that there will be much martyrdom for us who believe and follow Jesus, ”When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;” And then the next thing that is said is that there is great fear in every person’s heart.

Revelation 6:15-17 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

How will I be acting, talking, thinking, and reacting to the events happening around me if I am there, how about you. Why would God leave me here in those days? There is only one reason that I can think of, and that is that we would he a witness for Jesus to those who are so filled with fear.

Tonight I read through the book of Revelation four times in a row, in order to get the full picture of what those days coming, probably very soon, will be like. When I got to the end of the fourth time reading the book I thought to myself, ”So how are you going to do Duke if you are here in those days?”

There is a number of views on the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel on how the last days play out. My view is based on the “literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation.” The Tribulation is seven years long and it consists of about 20 successive severe trials that consist of plaques, famines, wars, intense heat, darkness and on the list goes. The purpose of this seven years of judgment on the earth is God’s last resort of getting people to turn and follow Him. Many do, but most do not, but shake their first in his face and declare that they will not have God rule over them. I also believe that all true believers and followers of Jesus will be raptured right before the tribulation starts.

Revelation 3:10, ”Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

The Tribulation begins when an individual rises to power and becomes a world wide president. He is able to pull off a major ceasefire and treaty between Israel and the rest of the world which earns him this great power. The treaty signing is the official beginning of the worst nightmare the world has ever seen or will see. The middle of the seven years is the beginning of the great tribulation where all the tribulations increase in magnitude exponentially. The beginning of the great tribulation is marked by this world wide president breaking his own treaty and declaring himself, to be God. At this point he institutes a number of methods to control people and keep them from rebelling. We are seeing some of those being very close to those suggested by our very own governor of Oregon, Late Brown.

A couple of principles; this whole thing, the entire 7 years is orchastrated by the devil, but only as God allows, He is sovereign. We are living in a time that very well could be the ushering in of the tribulation period. If it is there is nothing we can do but enjoy the ride and anticipate the sound of the trumpet that marks our accent into heaven. It could be any day now, live your life with purpose, to grow and to bear much fruit.

During these times I change and fix what I can and live faithfully and responsibly, but I don’t fret about what I can’t control, change, or make better. God is in charge, He is good, and He loves me.

Here is a story that a missionary friend told me a number of years ago. Right after the Soviet Union fell there was a season where missionaries could go into Russian and other former Soviet block countries very freely. He and several others started taking in thousands of Bibles and handing them out to whoever would take them. They ended up in a small town in Siberia where there was a single church and handed out a Bible to everyone. They were so excited to get them and have their very own Bible. My friend went back a year later to visit and to see how the church was doing, and to his surprise everyone gave the Bible’s that they had received back to them. Their explanation for why they did this was very interesting. Before the missionaries came the little church had one Bible and everyone would gather together to read it and study it. After they each received their own, they tended to stay home and read and study on their own. It wasn’t very long before they all noticed that they were loosing their zeal for the Lord and we’re becoming lukewarm. It took awhile but they soon came to the conclusion that their lack of fellowship with each other was having a very negative influence in their relationship with God, so they gave the Bibles back. The missionaries tried to convince them to keep the Bibles and still be faithful to meet together, but they chose not to trust in their lack of self-control to-do that.

Gathering together is a necessary discipline of the Christian life, and and was obviously the key to the early chirch’s strength.

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

Acts 2:44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

Acts 2:46-47 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Tuesday morning I was praying and I thought ”Pentecost Sunday” is the May 31st, that would be a great day to get back to gathering together as a church again. That is the day that the church was born, the day that Holy Spirit came. Today a pastor friend sent me the Link to this video and after watching it I got so excited, and thought I want to be part of this!

Go to youtube and type in ”It’s time for churches to open their doors again” by Pastor Jack Hibbs.

For about two months, we have been restricted in our gathering together as a church, and it is starting to take a toll on many. We have attempted to buffer the problem with video services and zoom prayer meetings and Bible studies, but it isn’t the same.

I went on a two-week short term missions trip to the north African country of Mauritania several years ago. Mauritania is a very militant Muslim country that has outlawed Christianity and persecutes Christians severely. The high light of the trip for me was preaching at an underground church. The building that they met in the Sunday I was there was a large but simple home. There was no electricity, just a couple of candles, the floor was sand and most sat cross-legged on the floor with some standing. People arrived approximately 15 minutes apart so as not to arouse any suspicion from neighbors so it took several hours for everybody to get there and the same procedure was followed when they left. I preached for over two hours and then answered questions for another hour, so with coming and going and the service time it was an all-day event. The entire country of Mauritania is in the Sahara Desert so it is very sandy and very hot. The shutters over the windows were kept shut to prevent any inside noise and conversation from getting out, so with about 50 people crammed into this house for 8 hours with no ventilation in a country where 90 to 100 degrees is average; it was boiling.

When I preached there were four interpreters, the first one translated what I said into French, which is the official language of the country, though for many it isn’t their primary language. The second interpreted from French to Arabic which is the general trade language; a third translated into Wolof and a fourth into Serer. When the fourth guy finished I then spoke another sentence or phrase. It was probably the most challenging speaking experience of my life because of the length of time it lasted, and the difficulty I had in concentrating because of the heat, the darkness of the room, and the gap between sentences that I spoke. The pastor of the church told me afterward that everyone knows some of all of the languages and because most don’t read and are a verbal country everyone will remember my sermon almost word for word.

What impressed me most about the experience was that the people were willing to risk going to prison, losing everything they owned, being separated from their families and even being killled to gather together weekly as a church. They took that extreme risk not because that was what they were supposed to do, but they fully understood how essential it was to the health of their soul and their walk with God.

In my Leadership Class one of my main emphasis is that serious followers of Jesus need to be faithful to seven basic disciplines, (1) Bible reading, memorization, study, and meditation; (2) prayer, private and corporate; (3) self-examination and confession of sin; (4) giving; (5) seeking wisdom; (6) worship both private and corporate; and (7) gathering together.

Hebrews 10:24-25 let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The most common denominator amount those who fall away from the Lord and get lukewarm is they become casual and apathetic about regular times of gatheringvtogethercwith their church family to fellowship, worship, pray, and learn.

In studying the history of world empires and reading the accounts of many of them in the Bible, there are distinct patterns of change that take place in Governments.

Governments always move in the direction of increased control over the lives of the people they govern to the point of being oppressive. Governments move steadily from ”for the good of the people to the control of the people”.

The history of the world as we know it will end with a man becoming the ruler of the world who is called ”the beast”, and his ascension to power is described in Daniel and Revelation.

Revelation 13:16-17, 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.

As governments move to control people the primary tool is to create fear, and they then offer to solve the problem that created the fear by increased control. The media created an amazing level of fear in a very short amount of time which fed on itself which created a mass hysteria which caused people to almost immediately fall in line with all of the rules with little fussing.

As control grows Governments will always move to control people by controlling the economy and the availability of life-sustaining resources. Socialism is an underlying force in the evolution of every government.

As control grows Government expands geographically. Historically this has happened by wars, but the current method is through politics, the political push is towards Globilsm rather than Nationalism. The ”Beast,” the Antichrist will be a one-world ruler.

As governments move to control the lives of people disunity and hatred will grow stronger and stronger between people, even in families and in churches. In the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:10, ”At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”

Because Governments move away from God and become controlled by the devil they will begin to resist and attempt to control the spread of Christianity, than oppose it, than persecute it.

Here is a picture of the United States of America in 2020;

-Growing control through increased rules and regulations to save us from ourselves.

– The increase of fear over our security and health in the future with the fear of death being the primary antagonist.

– The offer to solve the fear causing problem through greater control and loss of freedom.

– The offer of greater security by controlling the economy.

– Globalism is touted as the solution to all world problems.

-Christianity becomes the enemy.

Leadership is influence, and good, positive leadership influences others in the direction of good and positive growth. How a leader lives, his lifestyle, choices, and actions are an essential part of the influencing they do. But the critical tool in powerful leadership is the words that a leader speaks. If a leader wants God to bless and use them in the lives of others they must speak in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Here are some verses that I have memorized and meditate on to help me to speak and write to people in the most powerful way.

Titus 2:8 & 11 the Lord’s bond-servant must be sound in speech which is beyond reproach. . .not argumentative.

Titus 3:2 To malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Leaders are leaders not because of their position or title, but because they can influence others. I am a Pastor and as such, have a position of leadership, but the results are what prove or disprove that I am truly a leader not my title. Real leaders choose to work at influencing others to grow, to change, to attempt big things, to seek God, and to become leaders themselves. Good leaders are always seeking wisdom from those who have demonstrated by their life and words that they are effective leaders. I am usually reading a book on leadership, listening to Podcasts and watching videos, and spending time with good leaders, as I attempt to become a more effective influencer of people for good.

No one is a true leader for God unless He gives them that position and blesses them. He chooses His leaders and gives them the opportunity to change people and the world. The good news is that God doesn’t require a great past, He doesn’t expect perfection, but He does expect that His leader is growing, changing, pursuing God, and wanting, really wanting to make a difference and change things for the better.

One aspect of leadership influence is the distance, the extent of, and how permanent the change caused by the leader is. If you stand on a bridge and drop a little bitty pebble into the water, the ripples caused are small and don’t go very far. If you drop a boulder it will create big waves that travel far. My desire is to be an effective leader whose influence extent is very far and long.

I teach leadership principles in our church, and a key part of the content that I teach is that there are obvious practices and disciplines that increase the power and extent of a leader’s influence. I know what they are, but I need to be careful that I faithfully practice them.

One of the most important disciplines is that I put my heart and soul into trying to influence people to do what God wants them to do. When the goal, the object, the direction of my influence is God’s will, I become His servant and experience Him working through me.

I know it is God’s will that every follower of Jesus read and memorize His Word often and faithfully, daily is best. I know a bunch of other things that are God’s will for every believer and I teach, remind, remind a lot, hold accountable, and influence in every way possible to get them to be faithfully obedient to what is God’s will for their lives.

Some things come up, many things in fact during these current events, that I feel inclined to get involved in but am cautious about. My cautiousness is not from fear of being criticized, or apathy, my cautiousness is based on this personal motto, ”What God wants me to change, fix, and influence others to do, I can’t fail at, but if it isn’t His will, I can’t succeed.”