Got to talking with my son Seth and son in law Thomas tonight as we watched the Warriors beat the Grizzlies in NBA Playoff basketball about “End Times”. I said I believed that Christians would be raptured by Jesus and taken to heaven before the Tribulation started which will last for 7 years and than Jesus will come back and us with Him and set up His Kingdom on the earth. Jesus will be King of the whole world and we will rule with Him. What started the discussion was talk about present conditions in the world which seem to be getting worse by the day. I said that it is going to continue to get worse and worse until Jesus is King and that the Tribulation described in the book of Revelation is literal and makes today look super good by comparison. I said I don’t know when but at the present rate of decline it can’t be to far away. My guess is that the rapture will happen on my 80th birthday. 😄I will plan on it and that means 13 more years to work for Jesus. It is going to be so cool to hear the Trumpet of the Lord and then His voice saying loudly to me, “Come up here”!

Many times in life you will see people in need and are drawn to help them. Sometimes it is pretty simple and the help needed is small, and other times there is a significant sacrifice needed on your part if you get involved to help. My brothers and I spent Monday building a deck for my Mom, and though we took the time to help her it really turned out to be a fun time that wasn’t really any sacrifice to speak of. Then there are those situations that you wish you could do something but there really isn’t anything you can do. Those are the times that I help by devoting time to praying that God will bless and work and make His presence felt powerfully. My associate pastor Mike Dedera’s Dad is not doing well and is probably close to death. I remember when my Dad was there. I wish it were possible to drain off some of the pain and carry it for Mike and the family but there is not. I sincerely believe in God and that He answers prayer that is prayed in His will. God will always give peace and strength and joy when we ask for it, and most definitely God loves it when we carry someone else’s burden in prayer, and He will give peace and strength and joy to those I pray for. I believe that with all my heart.

Went to a Urologist at OHSU today. They ran a bunch of tests on my bladder. He had mentioned earlier a number of different surgeries that were possibilities so that my bladder would function correctly again. The tests were for the purpose of giving information so we could decide which of the surgeries were the best for my situation. After the tests we had our little conference and bottom line was there nothing that would fix my bladder. It was dead and there was no hope of resurrection! I was going to have to continue to catherderize myself three times a day until Jesus came back. I was depressed most of the car ride back home as Patty drove. By the time we got back I was good again. It was a major bother but there are so many people in way worse situations than I am. My own son-in-law who is stuck in a wheelchair. So I decided to rejoice and be happy and set my mind on heaven even more then I have been doing. The upside is that I can go pee when I want to, you all have to go when the urge hits you.

I periodically get really tired and have thoughts that it sure would be nice to retire and take it easy. As soon as those thoughts pop into my head, I pray, “Lord, would You give us 2020 people coming each weekend by the end of the year 2020. Lord, Your desire is that none perish so please use me and our church to reach lost people and to make disciples. O Lord, please give me increase and bless the work of my hands. By focusing on the need and the vision expressed in a clear goal I get motivated and passionate about working and doing whatever it will take to accomplish the goal. I pray, “Lord, I can’t do this in my own strength, would You fill me with Your Spirit, please and give me the strength to do all I need to do to be a growing church. Give the wisdom to know what to do and say in every situation You Sovereignly put me in.

My three brothers Cliff, Matt, and Jeff and I built a deck for my Mom today. That is the first time we have done a project like that in a lot of years. We worked together all the time on the farm when we were kids putting in hay, milking cows, and building and repairing farm buildings and equipment. Quite a bit different now that we are all old guys, but it was a lot of fun, especially in that the deck turned out nice and my Mom loved it. I actually spent more time drinking coffee talking than I did building but it still only took about 4 hours to finish it. It is always fun to spend time with family. My sister was there as well and her family. The ladies made coffee, lunch, and took pictures of the fine deck as it progressed. I made a goal to call my Mom once a week at the first of the year but have been very unfaithful in keeping that goal. I remade it today while talking to Mom, and I am determined to be faithful to keep it. Giving my Mom time each week is very important, and I will do it.

This weekend at JBC I preached about the incredible, amazing, power that God has given to parents through much prayer. When we pray for our kids everyday God works in their life doing things that we could never do. We can accomplish much greater change in their life through prayer than anything else that we do. In order to be faithful at daily praying for our kids we really do need a prayer journal where we can write their story as we shape it through our praying. I have a photo/journal App for my iPad that I can put lots of pictures in and type in as well. I spend 15 minutes each evening praying for my 8 kids, 6 son in laws, daughter in law, and 22 grandkids. 15 minutes doesn’t seem that long, but done daily 365 days a year it makes a huge difference in their lives. I pray that God will work in their life and produce the character of God in them, I pray that God will protect them from the devil, I pray that God would fill them with a knowledge of His will for their life, I pray that they wouldn’t sin and I pray that God would meet all of their needs.

This morning I prayed the same prayer that I have prayed every morning for the last 20 years. “Dear Lord, today I present my life to You as a living sacrifice. It is the only reasonable thing I can do in light of all that You have done for me. You are Lord of my life. I will obey You and serve You and do whatever You ask me to do no matter how hard or difficult it might be. Today, I will love my wife the way You love the church, I will be the kind of father to my children and grandchildren that You are to me, I will do my part to build your church at JBC and around the world as You provide opportunity, I will love any person You Sovereignly bring into my life no matter how difficult they might be to love. Today I will take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus, I will speak only words that give grace to those who hear, I will not get angry at anybody, not even a little bit irritated no matter what they do. Today I will look for opportunities to be a witness for you, I will read Your Word, and I will be devoted to prayer. I can’t keep these commitments apart from You. Please give me Your strenghth today. I trust You. I
love You.

Went golfing today with a group of guys that are part of the group that I am here teaching, a men’s retreat at Cannon Beach Conference Center. The weather was amazing as we golfed, and I got a little bit of a sunburn on my face. Golf can be a very frustrating game as you try and do everything just right so you can beat the other guys you are golfing with. On one par 5 hole I got on the green in three hits and was all excited only to hit the ball back and forth across the green missing the hole by an inch each time finishing with a double par, 10 strokes. Aaaaarrrrggggg It makes you mad enough to throw your putter in the lake to join the half dozen balls You hit in there earlier. Frustration is a sort of slow burn anger that builds caused by the failed attempts at a personal desire or goal, in this case hitting a little white ball into a hole with a fewer number of attempts then those you are playing with. Afterwards thinking about saying “crap” with great emotion and the feelings of frustration over the inability to do what I was trying to do, I felt a bit silly. But in real life off of the golf course that same feeling is felt over and over again as I fail to accomplish what I want to do. Managing that frustration and patiently persuing my goals, refining the skills needed, getting a little smarter, and growing in character is what life is about. golf and life.

Driving over to Cannon Beach today to speak at a men’s retreat, and as I was driving I was thinking about my past and the future how much God has blessed me. In a couple of weeks I get to fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia to do a three day seminar for a group of churches. The week before that I get to fly to Minnosota for a week of fishing for Northern Pike and Walleye. The day before I leave for Halifax I am going with our staff to a Mariner Game. After I get back from Nova Scotia a bunch of our kids and grandkids are going over to the Brownlee Resevoir with the 20 foot pontoon boat that was recently given to us for a family camping and fishing trip. In between all that I get to preach the Bible to the best church ever. In the evenings I get to feed my fish, and work on my 1949 Ford pickup and pet my dog and sleep with my wonderful wife. Whoooeeeeee I think I could still fit in some more things if I worked at it. God is good, and then to top it all off it won’t be that long until I go to heaven.

I am going to Soldotna,Alaska to go Salmon fishing in the Kenai River the 13 to 23rd of July. I am going to be taking my grandson Josiah with me this Year. I have been thinking about the trip non stop for the last couple of weeks. When we get just a month from the trip I will be worthless for much of anything else. A strong anticipation of a future event is the definition of hope. I am confident of heaven and think about the glory of being there more and more. I am pretty sure heaven is going to be better than Soldotna. The stronger hope is the less the trials in the present bother you, and in fact the trials of the present make the object of our hope that much more desirable.