Our daughter Sherri has been in the hospital in ICU with double pneumonia and sepsis since Friday morning. She had been very sick, and we were all fearful that she was going to die. Lots of prayers from family and church have been lifted up for her. She took a turn for the better this afternoon, is now off oxygen, and ate her first food. During these last four days, I have prayed pretty much non-stop in my head. During this weekend’s activities with church services and preaching, it was hard not to get distracted by worry for her. I kept repeating Philippians 4:6-7 in my head, over and over,” Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The instruction is not to be anxious but to pray until you have peace. To not be anxious is a tough assignment at times like this, but that is what it says, so I trusted and prayed. I prayed at one point last night when I woke up, “Lord, I desire that You heal Sherri, but I don’t know what Your will is. We just had a family member who was 41 and a young guy in our church who was the same age also die. They were both married with kids. We prayed for their healing, but that obviously wasn’t Your will. Lord, I trust You totally that what You choose to do with Sherti is the best possible thing that could happen, even if it isn’t what I want.” When I prayed, I felt great peace and went to sleep. I am very thankful that she is much better this evening.

Proverbs 8:10-11 Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me.

Wisdom is knowing what to say and do in any situation. People should get wiser as they get older, but most don’t. The reason is that it takes humility to get wiser and most do not have the humility required to be a seeker of wisdom. The proverb says, “Those who diligently seek me will find me.” only the humble will do that. Solomon said that he found only one man in a thousand had wisdom. I wonder if it is any different today. We get to the point of having adequate wisdom early and quickly; that is enough wisdom to survive in our world, function, and get by. Once we get to that point, we quit seeking and pursuing, asking questions and getting counsel, quit reading good books, and are satisfied with just surviving. Those who are lifelong learners and wisdom seekers commit to being a seeker and are unsatisfied with being average. They read books, listen to podcasts, and take classes. They are constantly seeking advice from people around them. They are not content, and they always want more.

One of my Axioms for Life is a verse from the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 14:23, “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” I have made diligence and hard work a crucial part of my life and ministry. My parents raised me on the farm with a strong work ethic. I believe that God blesses the character trait of diligence, but I also enjoy working and getting as much done as possible in a given amount of time. My Dad used to say, “The one who works the hardest will get the most done, and the one who gets the most done will succeed in life the most, everything else being equal.” When I left the farm to be a pastor, my Dad said, “Every pastor I know is fat and plays golf all the time.” That is why I didn’t take up golf until after my Dad died. I wanted to prove him wrong on one of those points! Everyone is born lazy and hopefully develops the character trait of diligence in their growing-up years, or learns it as an adult, or remains lazy. The problem of laziness has increased markedly in our country in the last few years. The stories I hear from business owners and supervisors about employees would be funny if not so sad. The natural inclination to laziness remains in our flesh and pops up periodically. My natural tendency to be lazy has increased as I have gotten older and have less physical energy. I have had to consciously increase my non-physical work as my physical work has decreased. My thinking, writing, and speaking abilities have increased, so I continually seek opportunities to serve the Lord using those tools. The key thing for me is to rest systematically, not based on being tired because I am always tired now, but it is a physical energy tiredness, and I can sit, read, write, and physically rest at the same time and feel as good as if I took a nap. Another important discipline for me is not watching television too much, playing video games, or simply sitting and daydreaming. Those time-wasters are easy to justify as I get older, and they are enjoyable but addicting. My primary motivation is the “Judgment Seat of Christ,” where I will be rewarded for my work for the Lord. I think about and imagine about that event every day, and as a result, I am motivated to press on in life and run the race with endurance that the Lord has set before me. Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, and you will see that the word work is used five times. My work for God is important, and He will reward me for it both in this life and in eternity.

In yesterday’s blog, I said I have a dozen axioms, basic rules for living. But actually, I have 102 axioms that I have collected over the years. A bunch of them are leadership axioms, that I use as a pastor leading a church, some are financial, some parenting that I don’t use much anymore except when I teach a parenting seminar, and some for my health. I have an even dozen that are my daily walk with God, live with Patty, and everybody else axioms. I started this collection of short guidelines for living when I read a book entitled, “Axioms” by Bill Hybels years ago.

Another one of my twelve is, “Don’t be a grumpy old man!” Some corollaries to this one are, “Rejoice always,” “Talk nice, always,” “Honor everybody all of the time,” “Smile, you have nice teeth,” and “Make people sad when you leave the room, not when you enter.” This is a very important axiom I often mentally remind myself of when a trial happens. Anybody can be pleasant when everything is going well, but only a champion can do it during a crisis. How do you do? Make it a choice you make, not an emotional reaction.

Over the years, I have heard and learned about a dozen truths that I have called the axioms of my life. An axiom is a fundamental truth that many other truths can be built on; they are the foundation. I refined them so that I could state them in one sentence, easily remember them, and repeat them often. Those one-dozen truths are the foundation of my life. They shape and influence everything I have done and continue to do. The cool thing about having a few, very short guiding principles is that they easily pop into my mind at just the right moment to prompt and guide my words and decisions.

One of them is “eat dirt.” That is based on the words of Jesus when He said, “If you humble yourself, I will exalt you, but if you exalt yourself, I will humble you.” I get the chance to practice this principle almost every time I have a discussion with another person, which turns into an argument. I remind myself that I may win the argument but lose a blessing from the Lord. That really isn’t winning much.

Another one is, “I don’t have to act the way I feel.” Our emotions immediately follow an event or words from another person, and often, we feel hurt, offended, or strongly disagree. Speaking or acting according to those emotions can be foolish and damaging to relationships and our ministry. Children act the way they feel because they have little self-control, but I will do and say what is responsible, wise, and right. I can do that, and I will.

Another very simple axiom that I repeat often to others and myself is, “Read the Bible everyday, everyday, everyday.” That simple little phrase has made a huge difference in my life. So many times, I have been tired and tempted to skip my Bible reading for just one day, and that phrase pops into my head, followed by a second one, “ You don’t have to act the way you feel.” It is hard to skip after that.

I will give you some more tomorrow.

There are five people in my family, my siblings. All five of us, with our spouses, got together today for lunch and had a wonderful time. We talked about our kids and grandkids, and I got lost in the conversation—too many names to keep track of. The five of us have 24 kids, and they are all married, with 92 grandkids and four great-grandkids. That is a total of 149 names. That is a lot of people for an old guy like me to remember. Anyway, the ladies had a good time talking about kids and grandkids, and we guys talked about an assortment of other things.

In the Bible, several chapters are just genealogies: Adam begot Seth, Seth begot Enosh, and so on. It is boring reading unless you are studying about a person and his family. When they were young, one of our kids was reading through one of the sets of genealogies, and they asked me why God put all those names in the Bible. I wasn’t sure what to answer, so I said, “Because families are important to God.”

Years ago, Edith Schaeffer wrote a classic book called “The Family.” she talked about the power of a close family to positively shape each life and the destructive power of a dysfunctional family to mess up a person’s life. Tonight, as I sat reviewing the day, I thanked the Lord for the great family I grew up in and how important those years were in making me who I am today.

God brings many people out of dysfunctional families, makes great servants of God out of them, and does amazing things through them, but they are the minority. Most of the champions of God were shaped by the love, unity, and health of a godly family.

All that is to say, be a positive force in your family, immediate and extended. Families are the environment that God uses to raise up His champions.

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!