I want to do good things for the right reasons, it is so easy to do all the right things for all the wrong reasons, and not even know it. I can slip over to being a people impresser easily, and become consumed by the desire for praise from people, and be totally motivated by pride. When that happens I get tired because the Holy Spirit in me is grieved and not working in me. When I stop serving the Lord to sense His pleasure I get grumpy because His joy is a major reward when serving with right motives. As I pay attention to myself and how I am thinking I can catch myself before I lose to many rewards.

Matthew 6:1 Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

My birthday is in two weeks and I am looking forward to it because all my kids, son-in-laws, daughter-in-laws and 27 grandchildren will be here. It is going to be a wonderful time. But more than any other event I am looking forward to the Rapture. The word rapture comes from the Latin word raptura which is the Latin translation of the Greek word translated “caught up” in 1Thessalonians 16-17.

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 Rapture as an event is also described in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

The Rapture is when Jesus comes and takes us to heaven. If I am alive when it happens the first thing that will happen is I will hear a loud trumpet sound coming from heaven. Then my physical body will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. I wii receive a body like Jesus, no more aches and pains, no more weariness. Then I will hear a loud voice say, “Come up here,” and then I will rise from the ground and meet Jesus in the air with other believers and off we go to heaven.

Every day I think about that event and I plead with Jesus to make it today. Most people are going to be left behind on that day because they aren’t following Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

My confidence in my being part of this great Exodus is what makes all the current events bearable.

The Bible commands that we pray for our government leaders.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority,

So exactly what am I supposed to pray for them? I like the prayer David prayed for King Saul in Psalms 108:8-11, and I am tempted to pray it back to God, but that probably isn’t what God had in mind in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 when He commanded me to pray for our government leaders.

Psalms 109:8-11
Let his days be few;
Let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless
And his wife a widow.
Let his children wander about and beg;
And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.
Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder the product of his labor.

I pray five things each week for Senators, judges, governors and president.

1. I pray that God would bring about an event strong enough to get their attention, and prompt serious thinking about their decisions, as He did with King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel.

2. I pray that He would bring a godly person into their life who would have some influence in their life, such as Elijah in the life of King Ahab, or like Samuel in the life of King Saul.

3. I pray that God would turn their heart like water in the palm of his hand toward justice in all of their decisions.

4. I pray that God would prevent the devil from influencing them in any way.

5. I pray that God would cause them to have dreams like Pharaoh in the life of Joseph, like Nebuchadnezzar in the life of Daniel, and like Belteshazzar also in Daniel’s life. The dreams were reoccurring and scared the rulers split-less causing them to seek for counsel.

Revelation 16:8-9 The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

There is a lot of climate change mentioned in the Bible, but in every instance, it is God-caused, not man-caused or, I might add, not even man prevented or cured. What can man do about tornados? Nothing, just wring their hands. What can man do about hurricanes? Nothing, just build dikes. What can man do about earthquakes? Nothing, just get under the table. Man can’t do a whole lot about anything, they can’t even fix the problems they really did cause, like the present and coming economic crisis. Now, when man tries to fix something, it just gets worse and worse.

Psalms 2:1-5 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. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury.”

In the midst of all that is happening around us, I just trust the Lord. He is in control, and He knows what He is doing. I am riding a roller coaster and enjoying every minute of the crazy ride.

There is a lot of stupid politics going on today about everything that is good, Christian, traditional, and American. One of those is the call by some to cancel Colombus Day and change it to “Indigenous People’s Day. “

Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York described the Italian explorer as “a genocidal maniac,” and went on to say, “Today should just be IndigenousPeopleDay.”

When I was a kid I picked up many heroes that I admired and wanted to be like. Some of them were real people that I knew, but many were historical people that I learned about in school and in history books. One of my heroes was Christopher Colombus. He was on my hero list because he was brave, he had a dream and he went for it, and he did what everyone else was afraid of doing. When I was an Eighth-grader I asked my teacher Mrs Fosmark if she had any books about Christopher Colombus that I could read, and she brought me several that I devoured quickly so she brought me some more. She asked me if I would like to write a paper about Christopher Colombus from what I had learned from my reading. She told me that if it was good enough I would earn an “A” in history. I wrote the paper and entitled it, “Christopher Colombus, the Brave Explorer,” and I got my “A.” She entered it into a State writing contest for me that included kids up through Seniors in High School and I won first place.

Today almost everyone is afraid of COVID or something. In Colombus’s day everyone was afaid of falling off the edge of a flat earth. They were afraid of something that wasn’t true, but it didn’t matter that it wasn’t true, it still restricted their life. Columbus wasn’t afraid and because of his bravery he opened up the world to Europe. Most of the fear that controls and restricts people today is no more true than a flat earth, but it doesn’t matter if it is true or not, it still controls the lives of people

Columbus was a dreamer and he didn’t let the fear of failure keep him tired up to a dock in Europe, and he didn’t let the fear of death keep him from sailing to the edge of the known world and beyond, he pursued his dream. Most people have no dreams, no aspirations to do something great with their life, they are tied to the dock by their fears of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of pain and loss, and fear of death.

Columbus Day is a great day to celebrate and remember not only because of it’s significance in American history, but also because it commemorates the character that made America great in the past.

Matthew 7:28-29 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

The teaching that Jesus did was compelling, the listeners were anxious to do and live what Jesus taught. That authority is supernatural, it is the Holy Spirit empowering us and working in the hearts and minds of the hearers. The question is, “what will it take on my part for God to give me that same authority that Jesus had.

God blesses those who are faithful, responsible, and diligent in their preparation. Whatever we are teaching on or about, we need to study the passage well or the topic we are dealing with. Studying is so much easier today than when I started as a preacher and pastor. Back in the ’70s and 80’s all my studying was done in books and encyclopedias. I often drove into Corban to use their library because I didn’t own enough books to study some passages or topics well.

Now with the internet I can sit in my recliner and look up information on every topic under the sun and include it in my sermon.

But even with the internet diligence is the character trait that God honors, blesses and works through. Being diligent to study hard, to read the text repeatedly , read commentaries, listen to other sermons on the topic or passage, and to write, write, write.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

1 Timothy 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

I listen to 4 to 6 sermons everyday while I am driving, working by myself, and riding my bike. I listen to sermons by those preachers and teachers I most want to be like. I listen for what makes them good preachers and I try to learn from them.

Record your sermons and lessons that you have taught and listen to them, and become your own worst critic. I listen to the sermons I preach and evaluate what my strengths and weaknesses are. I will often replay a section repeatedly as I try to figure out what doesn’t sound right to me. I listen for enunciation and speed to determine if I can be understood easily. I ask myself if I am boring and what I can do in my delivery to jazz up my preaching a bit. I want God to anoint my preaching and for Him to speak through me. I know that God amplifies our diligence in preparation and evaluation so I try to give Him plenty to amplify. I know that God blesses the humble, and listening to my sermon is one of the most humbling things I do.

Pray, pray, and pray some more. I read books written by the early church fathers, and the main emphasis they made on improving preaching is to pray a lot asking God to anoint, and to work in the lives and hearts of those listening. Many of them emphasized the need for the time spent in praying to equal the time spent studying. I pray for everyone in JBC every week. The ones who are in my leadership classes I pray for several times each week asking God to speak through me into their lives. In a couple of weeks when the Wednesday night service has been going long enough to make a list of regular attendees I will pray for each of them on Wednesday before the service. I am also in the process of making a list of people at Buena Vista Community Church where I am preaching on Sunday mornings. The more I pray the more God works in my preaching. Nothing communicates to God and ourselves that we can’t preach and teach the Word of God without His blessing and strength as much as prayer does.

On one particular Sunday morning I preached what I thought was the worst sermon that I had ever preached in my life. I was so disgusted with myself and embarrassed at my efforts that I wanted to slip out without talking to anyone. But I forced myself to walk out into the foyer to talk to people. The first person I talked to raved about my sermon. I thought they were just making up praise because they didn’t want me to feel bad because of the bomb I had just unloaded on them. But then another person said the same thing, and another, and another. I received more praise that morning for my sermon than I could ever remember receiving before. Patty and I have a deal to help eliminate conflict in our marriage, she doesn’t say anything negative or critical about my preaching for at least three days until I am less sensitive about it. But that morning on the drive home from church I mentioned what happened, and she agreed with me that it was the worst sermon I had ever preached. I asked her why I got so much positive feedback from people then, and she said, “That is easy, it left your mouth bad but God fixed it before it hit people’s ears.” I laughed out loud at her simple explanation, and thought, wow, prayer is powerful.

Tell good stories that illustrate the points being made in the sermon or talk. I work very hard at telling good stories. I am always thinking of every event in my life as a potential story. I read lots of short stories written by the best to learn the secrets of engaging storytelling. I have subscribed to several online classes on learning how to tell captivating stories. Over the years I have written and saved hundreds of stories so that I have them available to put into a sermon or lesson that I may teach. Good stories, that are well told have great power to hold people’s attention but poorly told stories are worse than no story at all.

Tomorrow

I have a class that I teach on how to teach and preach effectively. In the first class I shared some basic principles that I was taught year’s ago. I have tried to follow these over the years as I have had the goal of getting better, just a little bit better every time I speak.

1. Always be learning. A basic law of God is that people learn from a learner not a know it all. Once a person thinks they have it all figured out they stop learning and they stop teaching effectively. Learners read a lot, they listen to good teachers and preachers, and they seek counsel and advice from wise people in their life. Learners are constantly expanding the breadth of their knowledge-seeking. A teacher and preacher of the Bible can spend all their time studying and learning from the Bible but if he learns how to tie flies, learns how to weld, learns Spanish, learns how to grow blueberries, and many other things his teaching will become much more alive and interesting.

Proverbs 2:2-5
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.

2. Learn how to write well. I read a lot of books, but I buy three times as many books as I read. When I start to read a book that I have purchased I give it one chapter to prove to me that it is a good book worth the time it takes to read it. If it doesn’t hold my attention well, then I throw it away or delete it if it is a Kindle or e-book. I want to learn how to write so that I hold people’s attention as they read, so I will only read books that do that to me so that I become a better writer by reading good writing,

A fundamental law of communication is that the better you write the better you will teach. As I write my daily blog I am constantly going back over and rereading what I wrote to determine if it makes sense, if it is clear, if it is logical, and if I think it will hold people’s attention as they read it.

A cool thing about the program that I use to write and publish my blog online is that it gives me a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly count of how many people read my blog. As I look at the numbers, it gives me the motivation to learn how to write better and to work at my writing harder.

More tomorrow.

I spent about 3 hours this evening planning the trip that several of us will take to the East Coast on bicycles this summer. The trip is about 4,000 miles and we will average about 70 miles each day. What I was doing was picking out campsites at approximately 70-mile intervals. Most of the time we have to reserve campsites at least two weeks ahead of our arrival date to be sure we will get one. I have an app on my iPad that shows every campground in the US, and there are a lot. But even with the good number of campgrounds many of them are full weeks in advance. And even with the number of campgrounds there are days when we will ride only 50 miles and days we will ride a 100 miles because that is just the way the campsites work out. We will be riding what is known as the TransAmerican route established by an Association of bicycle riders called Adventure Cycling years ago, so the route has already been determined, I am just figuring out the daily ending point. One of the cool things is that because this is an established route, we meet a lot of other bicycle riders doing the same thing we are. Meeting and talking with other bicycle riders is one of the enjoyable things about this kind of trip.

Once I get everything all figured out, I will have a library of maps, one for every day of the trip. Each night in camp we look at the next days map, what the next night’s camp will be like. We check out the elevations to see how much we will climb, and I check the route on Google maps to check out the road conditions, especially if there are rumble strips and what width the shoulders are.

It is nice knowing what the next day will be like, but often that knowledge makes us nervous and apprehensive. If we see that a very steep hill is coming up the next day sometimes I struggle to sleep because of the nervousness caused by the foreknowledge.

Even with maps and computers there is still most of the next day left as mystery as to what will happen. God is sovereign and He promises to direct my steps and guide my way, so the challenge is to learn how to trust him and live each day with peace and joy.

I am restoring a 1969 Mustang with one of my grandsons, and I am having a really good time. I am doing quite a bit of the work by myself of late, now that school has started, and Isaac has less time. I go out to my shop all times of the day usually for just 30 minutes of working time, at a time because of the business of my schedule. I was out there a couple of nights ago from midnight until 1:30 am. I am working on the engine, the brakes, the steering, the body, and the transmission and driveline. I have been falling asleep in my recliner while watching YouTube videos of some aspect of restoring a classic mustang, and I have learned a ton.

I think the reason I am enjoying this project so much is that it is such a major challenge. It was a total rust bucket when we got it, and every part of the car needs rebuilding. I am learning something new every day, and I am acquiring a dozen new skills.

As I work on the car I pretend that it is me and that I am God turning this pile of rusty nuts and bolts into a beautiful car. In the same way, God is in the process of transforming my life into a person who is holy and righteous like Jesus. Sometimes I will say out loud while working, “Lord, are You having as much trouble with me as I am having right now on this car?” “Please help me to cooperate with You as You transform me into something beautiful and valuable.”

I am having so much fun that I have started looking for another car that I can restore when we finish with this one. I am trying to find one that will be worth some money when I finish with it so I can sell it and make some money. I am getting a little faster and better in my rebuilding skills as I am getting plenty of practice.