I am currently the Pastor at Jefferson Evangelical Church. I was the Pastor of Agape Family Fellowship in Albany a couple of years ago. Before that, I was the pastor at Buena Vista Community Church and Talbot Community Church. All the while, I was also Pastoring at Jefferson Baptist Church. I have been involved in helping to start five different churches in the area around Jefferson, and I was also involved in helping to start half a dozen churches in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The reason for all of that involvement is that I love the church; the church is the “Bride of Christ,” and the church is the “Body of Christ.” My love for Jesus is measured by my love for His Bride and Body, the church. I believe my commitment to Jesus, my Savior, is measured by my commitment to His “Bride” and His “Body,” the church. When I walked out of Jefferson Evangelical Church this morning, got into my truck, and looked back at the church building, I said to myself and the Lord, “I love this church. Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be used by You to help make her beautiful for You.”

A lot of well-meaning Christians are very critical of the church. They love to point out all the problems and shortcomings of churches they know. I see a lot of issues and weaknesses in every church I am involved with. I probably see even more than the average person attending church because I have read and studied what a healthy church should look like. But I don’t complain about those weaknesses; I don’t tell others about those problems; instead, I do whatever I can do to fix them. I do that because I love the church; the church is the eternal Bride of Jesus, and the church is the Body of Christ. Jesus died for the church; He gave His life for the church. He is presently making His Bride beautiful and uses people to do that, but he doesn’t use critical and judgmental people; he uses humble people who love Jesus and show it by loving His Bride.

Colossians 1:24 The Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking”

Paul said, “I do my share.” If every Christian did their share on behalf of their church, the church would be holy, growing, and beautiful.

Years ago, I made a goal to build an airplane and learn to fly. I bought the plans and started researching how to build it and where the best place was to get the various parts. I never got started on it, and now I have zero desire to rekindle that dream. I also made a goal to learn to scuba dive and buy all the equipment so that I could scuba dive regularly as a hobby. I never even took one lesson, though I did find a place to take the lessons. Now, I don’t even swim in the ocean when we visit our daughter and family in Oahu, and they only live 100 yards away from a beautiful beach. I decided to take lessons, get my skydiving license, and buy a parachute. I never got started on that one either, though I have gone tandem skydiving three times and plan on going again. About ten years ago, I made a goal to build a sailboat and sail it to Hawaii by myself. I bought the plans, started building on the sailboat, and signed up to take sailing lessons in Portland. I still have the hardwood I purchased to make the ribs for the boat. I watched hours of videos of people who had sailed to Hawaii and was excited to do it myself. I made a goal a few years ago to buy some property in Alaska, start a gold mining business, and spend a couple of months each year working the mine instead of bicycle riding and fishing in the summer. I still might do that one; maybe we will see, but probably not. There are a bunch more goals like those that I have made, but I don’t share them for fear people will think I am crazy. For most of those goals, I did hours of research, reading, writing, and watching many YouTube videos. I had much fun dreaming about and pursuing goals that never materialized. This year, I have a goal to plant a 2,000-square-foot garden, become an excellent gardener, and grow all the vegetables our family of ten needs. I have purchased several books and have a dozen YouTube sites marked for further viewing. I also have a goal to put in a quarter-acre fish pond and plant it with largemouth bass so I can fish any time I want. I have a goal to build a 40×50 shop. My favorite goal for this year is to build a car from scratch and power it with a diesel Kubota engine, and I have already bought the plans.

I know so many people who don’t set goals because they fear they won’t be able to accomplish them. I have accomplished many more of my goals than I have failed at, and even the ones that didn’t happen were fun to dream about. Some might not agree with this statement, but I believe it to be true with all my heart. “People who set goals always accomplish more with their life than those who don’t.”

Now is an excellent time to think about and set some goals for 2025. You can do it; give it a shot.

I do so many things wrong, make so many bad choices, say things that aren’t edifying, spend money on things I don’t need, and get lazy when I should be working hard for the Lord.
Regret by itself is a paralyzing emotion and thought pattern. It makes you feel like a failure, a loser, useless, and good for nothing. However, regret as a stimulus for personal growth is highly profitable. One of the most important things for us to do in this life is to grow in character and become like Jesus. Regret should prompt us to think about and examine our lives and learn. Mistakes are a great source of wisdom if we learn from them. Life-long learners and wisdom seekers make the most of every wrong choice they have ever made so they don’t repeat them and learn from their mistakes.
One of the problems many have is that they never admit that they made a mistake, made a wrong choice, or sinned; it is the other person. One of the surest ways to stay a fool is to blame everyone else for your bad circumstances and relational conflicts.
God is delighted with the person who sincerely, accurately, and humbly examines their own life, owns their mistakes, confesses them to God, apologizes to people, and learns what not to do.

I am feeling in a groove right now, a good groove. I preached at the Evangelical church in Jefferson on Sunday. I preached a 15-minute sermon at a Memorial service on Saturday. I taught a 15-minute devotional at the Senior gathering; I taught in Leadership class last night for an hour; I preached a 40-minute sermon tonight at our Wednesday Night service; I will teach tomorrow night at Men’s Leadership I for 40 minutes, and then Leadership class II right after that for another 40 minutes. God sovereignly gave every one of us gifts and abilities. Mine is teaching the Bible, and when I do that, I feel His pleasure and power, which is very fulfilling and energizing.

Every person has a supernatural ability in some area designed by God to bless and edify other people and to build his church. Most people have not discovered what that giftedness is. If I didn’t know mine, I would not rest until I discovered it. I am fortunate in that while I was growing up in the church, I was given many opportunities to teach and share, and when I did, people would encourage me to keep at it.

The best way to discover how God has wired you is to listen for opportunities to serve in various ways. Keep experimenting and trying new things until something clicks. God wants you to discover your spiritual gift; he will lead and guide you if you move. I visited with a guy in our church who recently led someone to faith in Christ. As he told me about his experience, he commented, “I was made for this.” What are you made for? Find it!

Every evening, as I sit in my recliner, the first thing I do is check the news on what is happening with Israel. I have several Christian sources who know the Bible well and understand the significance of what is happening. Tonight, Iran launched 200 or so missiles into Israel. What is next? I don’t know, but I will check to see what happened tomorrow night. I believe the Bible is the Word of God, that Israel is the people of God, and that all of the prophecies in the Bible are true and will happen as prophecied.

Psalms 2:1-4 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.