1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Corinthians 15:34 Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning;

There are many other Bible verses and passages that say the same thing, that is we are to grow in character and our behavior is to become more and more righteous.

We are saved by Grace through faith with no good works, holiness, or righteousness required. But now that we are saved, in the family of God, headed for heaven forever, born again, part of the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ, God expects, yes, even commands that we become like Him.

Because of our modern day emphasis on Grace most Christians are pretty casual in their pursuit of holiness, no big deal, nobodies perfect.

There are some questions that need to be answered, some problems that need to be solved, and some commitments that need to be made if we are going to be successful in our pursuit of being a righteous person. Let’s do this in a step by step, strategic way that helps us understand how we are going to accomplish this, and that will give us some hope and confidence that we can actually pull this off.

1. If a person is going to grow and change every day of their life to be more and more like Jesus they must want to. The want to, the desire must be strong inside of us, a passion, a raging fire.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

The problem is that we all struggle with guilt when we sin, and it seems natural that if we increase our desire to be good that the guilt that we feel when we fail will increase. Because we naturally do things to reduce guilt instead of increasing it, because guilt is terribly unpleasant, most will work at being content with their level of godliness so as not to aggravate the guilt machine in us. Nobody will accomplish anything if the desire in us is lukewarm, and that is where most are.

So, how do we solve this problem, this major road block to spiritual growth and holiness? We confess all known sin to God and He forgives and cleanses our hearts from guilt. It is a great deal, free, no strings attached, simply acknowledge to God that you are a sinner, that you sinned. Be specific and detailed.Don’t make excuses, blame others, or justify, own it, lock, stock and barrel, you did it.

Psalms 32:3-5 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Sad things happen all the time. Someone I am close to dies. Someone I am close to has a loved one die. A good friend gets divorced. A family I am close to has a huge fight over COVID vaccines, and vows never to speak to each other again, and on the list goes.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy,
But in the day of sadness reflect- God has made the one as well as the other.

When a sad event happens to me or to someone close to me, I remind myself to consciously choose to do seven things;

1. I acknowledge God’s sovereignty over all circumstances in my life, I acknowledge His great love for me, and I acknowledge His infinite wisdom to do exactly what is best for all involved.

2. I ask God for His strength to endure and persevere well. To walk responsibly through this time and not wimp out. To help and encourage others who may be struggling.

3. I ask God for His wisdom so that I will know exactly what to say and do in order to minister to others.

4. I remind myself that time heals hurts, sadness, and wounds, and to be patient and steadfast until that healing happens.

5. I set my mind on heaven, eternity, and receiving my eternal glorified body.

6. I work really hard to be nice to everyone in spite of how I might feel.

7. I pray for all involved that God will give them His strength, His wisdom, His joy, and His peace. And I pray for any unsaved that I know that the sadness will prompt them to seek for answers from God.

Wow, I haven’t written a blog for awhile. I am sorry for that, and I’ll try to make-up. Patty drove me to the airport Thursday to go to Chicago where I was going to be speaking and preaching at two churches combined Men’s retreat. When I got out of the car I left my IPad on the dash so I didn’t have it for almost a week. Unlike many people, I can’t type for diddley on my phone so I just didn’t write one.

I don’t except many speaking engagements where I have to fly any more, flying aggravates my Parkinson’s, also I depend on my one hour each evening of riding my stationary bike to stay on top of my Parkinson’s and rarely do I have access to a bike when I travel and speak. Being around a lot of people that I don’t know wears me out emotionally, being the extreme introvert that I am, sleeping in a strange bed wears me out because I don’t sleep well, and I simply just don’t do well when I get out of my normal routine. All of that to say I usually say “no” to invitations to travel and speak any more.

But this was an invitation to speak to men which is my favorite audience. The pastor who called said that there seemed to be a revival, of sorts, happening in their church with the men, twice as many as normal signed up for the retreat. It was impossible for me to turn this opportunity down.

I spoke seven times in three days with each being an hour in length, and the Lord totally energized me, I felt great the whole time. The men were very responsive and spiritually hungry, and I felt very blessed by God to have Him give me this opportunity to influence this great group of men.

I pray every night thanking the Lord for the events of the day and the opportunities that He gave me that days to do something with my life that matters. Then I ask Him if He would give me some more opportunities the next day, and He keeps coming through. so far.

The main thing is you have to want to do something that matters, and look for the open doors that God supplies. God brings opportunities into everyone’s life, but most miss them because they are not looking for them. Most don’t look for them because they are so entangled in the affairs of everyday life that they have no time or energy left to do something that makes a huge difference in the lives of people.

The Bible clearly teaches that there are ways of behaving that finds favor with God, that is He is impressed, pleased, and rewards or blesses that behavior.

There are many who teach that God because of His mercy and Grace treats us all the same, and doesn’t have favorites. That is about the most unmotivating teaching that I can think of.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Luke 1:30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

Acts 7:46 David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

1 Peter 2:19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.

1 Peter 2:20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

Psalms 5:12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalms 69:30-31 I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Ephesians 5:10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Colossians 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

So what are the rewards from God when we please Him with our life and find favor with Him? I believe it is an inner sense of joy, fulfillment, and significance that comes from God. When Jesus came up out of the water when He was baptized, the Father spoke from heaven and said, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” We won’t hear an audible voice from God when He is pleased with us, but I do believe we will sense His pleasure in our heart.

I teach leadership classes, and part of that is teaching leadership principles that work, they work because they are in the Bible and God made these principles. One principle is don’t boss people around. As soon as you start bossing you are no longer leading, you are bossing, and bossing only works if you have a stick. A boss can fire his employees, he can reduce their pay, he can give them nasty jobs, and he can do a number of other things that are negative in their job setting, he has a stick. Bosses who have learned how to lead instead of boss have happy employees and motivated employees and as a result make much more money in their business than those who have to threaten with a stick to get people to do what they want. So the principle is, don’t boss people around, don’t tell them what to do as in lording it over them. Good leaders learn how to appeal to people’s conscience, not try to conquer their will. There is a big difference in results and their is a big difference in people’s moral. Bosses make rules that people have to follow, leaders cast and create a vision of a better tomorrow, leaders create freedom and bosses create oppression.

President Biden recently said, “the rule is, get vaccinated or wear a mask!” I wonder how many people were motivated by that edict. There is something in people that stirs them up to be the “macho man or woman,” telling people what to do. Just because a person has a position of authority doesn’t make them a leader, more often than not it makes them a tyrant. I do a fair amount of counseling with parents on how to raise and train champions for Jesus. One of the problems that many parents have is that they try and control their kids with rules. As soon as rules are made there follows the enforcement of those rules, and bossing starts, which always produces rebellion. Leaders motivate people to make right and good decisions, bosses demotivate. People enjoy following a positive, encouraging leader, who gives freedom, and casts a powerful vision that they can be part of.

Almost everyone has the potential in their life to influence people around them, friends, family, work associates, and complete strangers. One of the key principles of leadership Jesus gave in Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you.”

Some things I believe about the nation of Israel.

1. The nation of Israel is still the people of God, He has not broken His covenant with them. The two word phrase “my people,” referencing Israel is used over 100 times in the Bible.

2. The nation of Israel was scattered all over the world in 70 AD and ceased to exist as a nation, but God promised to gather them back to the land.

Ezekiel 34:13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land;

In 1948, the year I was born, the nation of Israel was reborn and God has been bringing the Jewish people back to the land since then.

3. The nation of Israel will be hated by the world as the devil works through the nations as he tries continually to destroy the Jewish people.

4. God will be the protector of Israel and there will be many miracles like “the six day war” in 1967 when Israel was surrounded by most of the Arab nations but prevailed.

5. Any nation that supports Israel will be blessed by God. The United States used to be a staunch supporter of Israel.

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

6. At some point there will be a great revival in Israel as many Jewish people turn to Jesus as their promised Messiah.

Romans 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”

7. The more Israel is in the news, the closer we are getting to the coming of Jesus.

I have taught four different leadership classes this year as a ministry at Jefferson Baptist Church. They started in October and ended today. I taught my first leadership Class in the church in 1980 and revised and improved the classes every year since. Teaching the class is the most enjoyable thing I do as the Pastor at JBC and, I believe, the most impactful ministry in our church over the years. The goals for the class are that every person would set their own goals each year and read them at least once each week as they pursue them. That each person would read the Bible every day for at least 15 minutes. That they would also spend 15 minutes every day with God in personal prayer. That husbands and wives would pray together at least three times each week. That each person would be a lifelong learner and seeker of wisdom, and would read good books and listen to podcasts faithfully. That each person would love our church as the Bride of Christ and be diligent to preserve the unity and love that we have in our church by their actions and words. That each person would be involved in some kind of ministry in our church that would cause the church to be healthy and grow. Almost everyone who goes through the class will give a 10 to 15-minute sermonette on some aspect of the class that blessed them and most impacted their life. Those will happen the last weekend of May and the first weekend in June. These are incredibly rewarding for me as I am aware of the significant growth many have experienced in the class for the year. Next year’s classes start the first week in October and I am already anticipating how rewarding they will be for me as I am involved in helping people become fully devoted followers and disciples of Jesus Christ.

The balance between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility is challenging to figure out mentally. One of the verses that helps me is 2 Corinthians 6:1 “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

I see many people who are up and down in their walk with the Lord, and with many of those individuals, the weak character traits in their life are self-control, diligence, endurance, and faithfulness.

2 Peter 1:5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish,

Hebrews 12:1 let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and I want to bear much fruit, grow every day of my life, never backslide, never get lukewarm, and finish life well crossing the finish line at a sprint.

Because of that desire I set goals, make “to do” lists, keep track of my time, stay in accountability groups, pray a prayer of commitment every morning, and ask God for strength constantly.

At this point in my life I know that my health is a significant factor in what I do and how much I do, so I am going to take every day as a gift and run with it. As things change I am prepared mentally to shift from doing, working, teaching, counseling, and meeting to praying more and more. I am pretty sure that when I get to heaven and see clearly, that I will know that the time I spent praying for people was the most profitable use if my time, energy, and life of anything else that I did.

Over the last 45 years of pastoring, my favorite part was the building projects. All of our buildings were built by volunteer labor in our church, and they were all built with cash. Every summer up until about 10 years ago was spent building. The first building project was what we call the chapel now, and it only took us three summers to build, but the gym took us six summers to finish, our present Sanctuary took eight summers, and our Discipleship Center took ten summers. Our concrete parking lot took two summers to complete. There were also several remodel projects that took a couple of summers as well. From 1977 until 2010 I spent 7 to 8 hours every day except Sundays from about June 1st until the end of August on our current building projects. I still had sermons to write, counseling to do and services to plan and preach at so I put in a huge amount of hours during the summers. Even though it was a lot of work it still was my favorite part of the year and my best memories as I look back over the years now. The reason I enjoyed it so much was that it was fun working with the people in our church family. We don’t do that now because there is no more room on our property to build any more buildings. Those were special years in the history of our church and I do miss them very much.

Tomorrow is a “Serv Inc” day. Our church is painting the Middle school. I am looking forward to tomorrow more than a fishing day, and I am so excited I doubt whether I sleep much tonight. It will be like the good old days except I won’t be moving very fast. Memories are the best part of life now.

Now that I have some you doubting my character, the real story is that the money that I used to buy my Mercury outboard motor came from extra that I got when we recently refinanced our house and we still have intact Patty’s teeth money, though her sciatic is causing lots of pain so she isn’t probably going to the dentist until she gets to feeling better from that.

One of the things that I am thankful for is that we were greatly influenced and taught by an older couple when we were first married about financial wisdom and choices, especially about giving to the Lord and living within our means. Most of the early years of pastoring our income was very low and with eight kids we needed to budget, save, do without, and pray a lot. Now at this point in our life we aren’t rich but we will have our house paid off in a few years with no other debt. Though I did get a notice from Oregon State that I had made a mistake on our taxes and owed them an additional $35!

I do have a nice boat that I built and a fine motor to make it go! So we probably are rich!

The number of wise people in our life over the years has been a major blessing for us. We have received great counseling on our marriage, how to raise good kids, how to manage our money, our walk with God, and how to Pastor a church successfully.

A key principle though is that we sought it and we listened and learned, many don’t do that.