i remember back when all eight kids were home and all were in school. Seems like so many years ago. It was a very busy, hectic, and pressure packed time. Sometimes when reading to them, watching them play volleyball or basketball, paying the bill for the cloths,food, and tuition I would wonder what each of them would amount to, hoping and praying that they would be champions for Jesus someday.  I took the weekend off from preaching, and Patty and I went to one of our “daughter church’s” that JBC has started. Patty and I went to Grace Community church in Stayton which started three and a half years ago and where are son Sam is the Pastor. It was a great service and Sam preached an anointed sermon that was an experience of hearing from God. He is doing very well as a young pastor and his church is doing well. When I was his age pastoring I was a colossal failure. I think that I was probably in year 20 of pastoring before I had even close to what he has now in wisdom, skill, anointing, and understanding. It was incredibly rewarding and satisfying to see and hear Sam this morning and remember the wondering years ago about wheather he would amount to anything.

So nice tonight to go to church at JBC and sit in the audience and listen to a good sermon by Mike Dedera our associate pastor.  I sat next to Patty and worshiped God and then was blessed by the power of God’s Word. It was a very enjoyable evening for me.

So many people are critical of the Church, indifferent to the Church, and even very hostil to the Church. The Church has lots of problems, but any organization with people in it has problems. It is still the “Family of God”, the “Body of Christ” and the “Bride of Jesus”, the eternal companion of Jesus Christ. Someday God the Father will present the Church to His Son, holy and blameless, without spot or wrinkle, but in the meantime it struggles.

If you told me that I was wonderful and that you loved me very much, and then turned around and called my wife, Patty, ugly, I wouldn’t like you much regardless of the nice things you said about me. Jesus loves the Church and died for the Church. My personal love for my church and my commitment to doing all I can to help her become beautiful is very pleasing to God.

The average person sees the church as a glorified Fred Meyer store. It exists to serve them and meet their needs and as long as it does They will support it, but if service wanes and someone hurts their feelings They are out of there.  Someday when Jesus comes back all will be as it should be, but until then I am committed to doing my part to build His Church around the world and at JBC.

I write a “to do” list every day for that day. I also write a “to do” list for the week every Sunday afternoon. I also write a plan for the next month about a week before the current month is over. It is time for the February plan. I start with the travel plans that are committed to, and this month there is the four day Pastor’s Prayer Summit at Cannon Beach at the start of the month and then the super important “Sportman’s Show” on February 6th all day in Portland!!! I am planning on a three day jack rabbit hunting trip February 9, 10, and 11 with 3 or 4 buddies that should be an absolute blast!! I then add all of the ministry events that occur each week. Weekend worship services, classes I teach, accountability groups, scheduled counseling times, corporate prayer meetings, staff meetings, etc I don’t have any fishing trips planned in February, not even one day trip, so sad😢 One  of my goals is to take Patty on a date at least twice a month so I pick a date, place, and time for those so I don’t forget and then ask her if that works for her. I then block in office time for studying, email, phone calls, etc and  I then schedule my exercise times making sure to put in at least 10 hours per week. I commit to an hour a day of praying for the people at JBC, reading my Bible for an hour each day as well, and reading good books for 30 minutes 5 days each week. I ask Patty what family events are scheduled like birthday parties for the grandkids, dinners, movies etc and get those down in ink. February has 672 hours in it and I have just about spent all of them not designated for sleep, eating, and personal hygiene chores. I like to go hard all day, and a full schedule and great goals motivate me to run fast. Few things are as fulfilling as knowing that you are using your time wisely for Jesus.

Patty and I went  out to breakfast with Gary and Lynda Brown this morning and I had a big omelet with hash browns and lots of good coffee. Then we drove to Lincoln City to their Condo on Devil’s Lake and had lunch and slept most of the afternoon. Then we went to a movie “Take 3” and then out to dinner and I had the Seafood Platter. Now Patty and I are sitting together on the couch watching the Trail Blazers. She is sleeping 😄 I am going to read a bunch this evening and sleep in until 9 am tomorrow morning. My oh my, I am feeling very lazy!

Our “Impact Prayer” seminar got over today at noon. Great group of people here this year and it looked like our largest attendance. I taught for 15 hours and was running on empty in my emotional gas tank. Went home shortly after it was over and sat in my recliner and took a nap and then went out and worked in my shop on a furniture project for a couple of hours, then shot my bow for awhile, went back to my office and answered emails, then went home and fed my fish and dog, ran on my treadmill and peddled my stationary bike for an hour, and now it is Midnight and I am sitting in my recliner next to the fire reading and thanking the Lord for a great life. Tomorrow we are headed for the coast for a couple days of R&R. Can’t wait. I love my wife and family, I love my church, I love the Lord, and I love my life.

Nothing feels as rewarding as being super tired as a result of doing something that you know is going to result in much spiritual growth in many people. God blessed me with the opportunity to teach His principles to a bunch of people today who were hungry to learn. It was exhausting to teach with passion all day, but I wouldn’t exchange the time for anything else. It was incredibly rewarding and very humbling to think about people sitting all day taking notes while listening to me. I truly want to glorify God, and to teach truth that blesses people and helps them live their lives with more success in ministry and joy because of the fruit they bear. It was a very good day. Thank You Lord for blessing me.

Our annual seminar started today. Looks like over 200 are here. I will teach 16 hours between noon today and noon on Wednesday. One couple came from as far away as Texas. It is such an honor to be able to teach all of these people. I don’t want to take this opportunity and privilege for granted, but to do a really good job. Being an influencer of people for Jesus is an honor given to us by Jesus. God gives us a small opportunity and if we are faithful He will gradually increase our influence over time. I want to be given more and more to do for Him. I want that more than anything else in life. Tomorrow will be a long day. I will start speaking at 8:30 am and go until 5:30 pm with breaks and lunch. Dear Lord, grant me strength to do well tomorrow for the sake of all those who are here that their churches will be blessed.

The next book he gave me by CS Lewis to read was “Mere Christianity”. I read it and reread it several times. The book resonated with my soul. The questions that Lewis asked and the journey he went on intellectually in search of faith in God was amazing. Reading and digesting that book and the discussions about it were like a big glass of water to a man wandering around in the desert thirsting to death. Professor Noble encouraged me to write a personal statement of what I believed to be true about God, Jesus, the a Holy Spirit, the Bible, salvation, heaven, hell, and other major themes. I did that taking several months to research and think through these major doctrines. Then the assignment was to read them everyday until I died or Jesus came. That discipline along with reading the Bible every day and memorizing Bible verses is probably why I am in ministry today.

The first thing I learned from Professor Noble was that the thoughts that popped into my mind randomly but lately with greater frequency were from the devil and his demons that were assigned to me. The first temptation that the devil brought into Jesus life was ” if you are the Son of God” prove it. Their primary goal is to get me to turn my back on Jesus and run my own life, then they can own me. He assured me that I was normal and not bad nor weak, nor carnal for having the thoughts that I had. In fact it was a compliment to my potential because the Kingdom of darkness goes after those who will have the greatest negative impact on their evil plans. He gave me a book by C.S. Lewis who was an atheist but became a strong believer and follower of Jesus, and wrote books about his journey. In fact he ended up giving me five books over the next couple of months by Lewis all of which I still have on the book shelves of my office. The first book was “Screwtape Letters” a fictional story about a demon and his training to become an effective  tempter of people. It was a super funny and enlighting book that I enjoyed very much. We got together and talked about the book and he actually made my time with him and the reading assignments a class that I got credit for and also an “A” for a grade. I actually had a class on spiritual warfare before the term was popular. Professor Noble’s counsel to me was read the Bible a lot and memorize it even if you are having doubts about it. A quote from him was, ” Read the Bible as if you believed it was supernatural in it’s powers to change you, and it won’t be long before it is”. Jesus quoted scripture when He was tempted and the devil left Him. If I do what Jesus did it won’t be long before the devil gives up on me as well. (Part 3 tomorrow)

Years ago when I was a Freshman in College I went through a dark time in regards to my faith in God and my commitment to Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord. There was no particular reason for it other than the ” newness and difference” of my new life away from my family, church, and farm that was so much a part of my security in life. I had a favorite professor that I went to with questions about life at least a dozen times that first year. He probably got weary of me hanging around after class asking him if he had a minute to talk. He used to make me feel quite special when he would say things like, ” that is a very good question”, or “you obviously are a deep thinker”, and my favorite response was ” intelligence is best measured by the questions we ask so I am declaring you a genius”. No wonder he was my favorite professor!! When I told him that I wasn’t sure any more if the Bible was the inspired Word of God as I had been taught all of my life, he responded by saying, ” I remember like it was yesterday having those very same doubts”.  Again, he made me feel very special in that I was like him, and he certainly seemed to have come out of his doubts strong. He said that many Freshman in college had the same doubts I was having, but that many of them dismissed them and pushed them out of their mind because they felt so guilty having the doubts. He told me that if I didn’t thoroughly investigate, study, and think through my doubts they would return at a later date stronger than they were then, and would probably prove lethal in regards to my walk with Christ. He offered to help guide me through this “testing of my faith”, and I with great relief accepted his offer. (To be continued)