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.”

A short phrase in the Bible that is amazingly deep with meaning is the phrase, ”God said.” What was the reason for God speaking? There are many; He created something from nothing by speaking it into existence.

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.

The Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have always communicated with such truth, intimacy, and depth that they are like one in unity and essence.

God has often spoken to people. Exodus 33:11 ”Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses’ face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”

Many people know John 3:16, ”God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” but many forget that Jesus spoke those words to a man named Nicodemus.

The Bible is called ”The Word of God” and is said to be ”living and active and sharp as a two-edged sword.”

We having been created in the image of God have great power in the words that we speak, and with that power comes the responsibility to control them.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

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.

The words that I speak can create unity and oneness with other people and communicate love to them, or they can cause great division, strife, bitterness, and hate. With my words, I can solve problems or cause them. I have the responsibility with such power to exercise great self-control over what I choose to say.

James 3:8-12 The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Amid this growing anxiety, unrest, anger, and frustration, that is rising rapidly; I have strong opinions about what is right and what is wrong. As I read the news, Facebook, and listen to YouTube commentaries, I can feel myself getting caught up in the anger that is swirling around me like a great storm.

So what do I do, and what do I say? I know from reading and listening to others who have voiced opinions and concerns that it doesn’t matter what I would say. Some will take substantial issues with it. One of the biggest problems is that it is so easy for people to say things that aren’t true and to circulate things that aren’t true. An example is a post going around by Trey Gowdy which is fraudulent. It is easy to check those out to see if they are true or not. It seems safer to remain an autonomous observer and go fishing. But by virtue of my position as a Pastor, I am a leader, so I need to do that, but with wisdom and cautiousness.

The cool thing about writing is I can reread it several times, pray about it, set it aside for a day and read it again, and hopefully up the odds that something wise comes out of it. Many who write on social media don’t take those same precautions.

(This is a repeat of a blog I wrote a month ago with a few changes. These guidelines seem more necessary now than when I wrote them.)

During these times, I am following these principles.

1. Everything I do and say needs to be a good advertisement for God. I am an ambassador for Jesus. A question I ask myself daily is, ”If I were a skeptical unbeliever, would I be drawn to faith in Christ by someone who was acting and talking the way I am?”

2. Part of my responsibility here is to be aware of the opinions and values of those around me, which changes all through the day as I move from situation to situation. Practicing deference is a significant discipline for those who want to influence other people positively. Deference as I define it is, ”Limiting my rights and freedom so as not to offend those who I want to convince to follow and love Jesus the way I do.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

3. I will forgive anybody of anything quickly, no matter how rude or obnoxious they might be in expressing their views, opinions, or criticisms toward me or others around me that are family or friends. I will not answer rudeness with rudeness, a critical statement with defensiveness or an insult with an insult. I will respond with grace, humor if possible, I will give a blessing from God, and I will offer to pray for them if appropriate.

1 Peter 3:8-9 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

4. I will accept, be patient with, and love those who are different than I am in their views, values, beliefs, and opinions. I will not argue or debate with them about where they are. I will ask questions and honor them by listening attentively as they give expression to their views. I will answer questions they may ask with no arrogance or superiority because of my freedom. During the days of the New Testament there was a massive division in the church over whether it was alright to eat meat offered to idols and Paul gives this advice;

Romans 14:1-4 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

I ran my chain saw for 4 hours today cutting firewood and loaded it into a trailer. I now have a big pile of “rounds” in my driveway waiting to be split and stacked. When I got the wood unloaded and the pick up and trailer parked it was 3 pm. I ate 2 cheese sandwiches that patty fixed for me and then I sat down in my chair to rest a minute and fell dead asleep. I woke up about 30 minutes later and was so stiff I could hardly move so I sat in my hot tub for 15 minutes and went to bed. I got up at 7 pm, rode my stationary bike, ate dinner, am now writing this blog, will read my Bible and pray, and then back to bed for hopefully 8 good hours of sleep. The worst thing about getting older is not being able to do what I used to be able to do, not that long ago. My name is “Dee”, but I have been thinking about changing it to “EEE” for empty, as in my gas tank!

I am always bugging guys to pray with their wives. In the half dozen men’s accountability groups that I am in that is one of the things that all of the guys who are married report on. As much as I push it I have to admit that much of the praying that Patty and I do together she initiates. She didn’t in the old days when we were just getting started in the discipline because she wanted me to be the spiritual leader, but now that it is a normal part of our married life she regularly will say, “Let’s pray for_______”, and we pray for them right then. Patty has such a high level of compassion for people that she is always carrying a load of concern for various individuals who are going through trials or are facing a challenge. Our first priority is our kids, their spouses and our grand kids. Then extended family like my sister and others who may be struggling with life. We are praying a lot now for people in our church that we hear about having a health issue, marriage problems, kid problems, job or money struggles during these times.

Occasionally we will pray for our own problems, but not very often, we mostly just intercede for others. As I think about our marriage I would describe our relationship as a relaxed unity. Our unity isn’t something that we are really aware of, or are struggling to maintain, it is just sort of there in a nice comfortable way that brings lots of joy and contentment into both of our lives. The reason for our “oneness of spirit” I believe is our praying together. There is a supernatural bonding that takes place between people who pray together that God makes happen. It is the reason why married couples who regularly pray together have such a low rate of divorce. Couples who pray together stay together. The same is true in churches who have a high level of corporate prayer in their church life, there is great unity and a high level of love for each other, for those in the world and for God.

I nag, nag, nag about the importance of corporate prayer in our church. I am sure there are some who get tired of it, but it is so important and so powerful I won’t quit until every person in our church is involved to some degree.

The most difficult verse in the Bible for me to live successfully is Ephesians 5:25, ”Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” Jesus gave up His life for me so that I could be forgiven of all my sins, and live with Him for all eternity. I am supposed to love my wife in the same way. 1 John 3:16 says pretty much the same thing, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”.

Give myself up for Patty, lay down my life for her, die to self and live for my wife. That sounds great, it even sounds manly, even romantic, but how do I do it, what are the nuts and bolts of a “sacrificed life”.

Rarely is it going to be some big deal, some major sacrifice, instead it is going to be a bunch of little things that add up to a sacrificed life style, that make her feel incredibly loved. Here is one little thing that I am working on.

1. Do the things on her “honey do list” enthusiastically. Usually I don’t want to do the things she wants me to do when she wants me to do it. I always have a whole lot of things on my list not yet done which I would much rather do than her list. Most of the things Patty wants me to do for her seem very unimportant to me in comparison to my own awesome, amazing list of things to do. In the past, one of my common things was to say, “OK, I will do it soon”, but have no intention of doing it soon by her definition of soon, usually forgetting all about it, and needing reminding several times. 1 John 3:18 tells us how to love, “let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” Because I am doing something for her reluctantly it is easy to act like it saying, “Oh, all right”, making her feel like an imposition in my life.

Give myself up for Patty, lay down my life for her, die to self and live for my wife. So, I say with enthusiasm, I would love to do that for such a wonderful and sexy wife!

When our husband or wife or anybody else for that matter is doing something on a regular basis that bothers us, hurts our feelings, makes us feel bad, or offends us, we can attempt to change their behavior in a way that won’t change anything, and cause conflict, or we can choose to use a method that is very powerful and blessed by God, it is called “making an appeal”. It was used by Daniel when he was a slave as a Hebrew youth to the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. Jewish people had a very strict dietary code given to them in the Law of Moses, and the Babylonians diet was anything but kosher. Daniel was faced with a dilemma because he was being asked to eat food that was against the Law of Moses which he had lived by all his life. He could have simply said, “I refuse to eat your stinking food”. The result would have been that he was killed and we wouldn’t have a book in the Bible called Daniel. Instead he made an appeal to the one who was in charge of feeding him.

Daniel 1:12-13. Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

The result was that Daniel was healthier than the others who were eating the Kings’s choice food, and so he was allowed to continue with his own choice of foods. And more than that, he ended up in a short amount of time being the second most powerful man in the Kingdome. The reason was that God blessed Daniel and all that he did. Others have used this method of resolving conflict and influencing people in the Bible and it always resulted in God’s blessing and successful relationships.

Daniel 1:9. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,

A couple of key elements in a well given appeal. First of all, it was gracious and polite. Notice that the first word in Daniel’s appeal is “please”. Second, he didn’t make a demand, he made a suggestion and left the final decision to the commander. Daniel didn’t get angry, threaten, attack the commander’s motive or character, he simply made an appeal. There are certain things that seem to attract the blessing of God, and this seems to be one of them.