Let's picture an office building. An office building downtown with 20+ floors. Inside on the 14th floor is the QWERTY Keyboard Company. Bob & Ted are both employee's in their first year with the growing company. A "memo" comes out informing the employees of an important meeting coming up on Thursday morning at 9am. The topic of this meeting will be on the global expansion of the company and all employees are required to attend. Bob & Ted are in the break room and the following discussion occurs:
Bob: "So, what do you think of the big meeting?"
Ted: "What meeting?"
Bob: "The meeting this Thursday, didn't you see the memo?"
Ted: "No, I guess I haven't seen it yet. What did it say?"
Bob: "Well it said that there is a big meeting this Thursday at 11am about some sort of global expansion or something."
Ted: "Great, another pipe dream from the big wigs."
Ted figures he knows all about the meeting so why bother reading the memo. He sees it on his company email account later that day and deletes it without any further thought.
Well, Thursday morning comes, the meeting starts at 9am and the Board had plans on promoting Ted to lead the first global team BUT, no Ted....
No promotion.....
No pay raise....
Instead Bob is chosen for the new position. If only Ted had read that memo......
Have you stayed away from Jesus because of what someone told you?
Do you stay away from church because a Pastor told you something you didn't understand?
Do you think your "saved" and "going to heaven" because your parents told you you were going?
If you were to die today, do you know where your soul is going?
Are you sure you know?
This is the reason the Bible exists and will never be destroyed completely. The Bible was given to us from God so that we could read it for ourselves to see what God has said. Sure, I know the excuses; "It's too big to read". "I can't understand it." "No one can understand what it means." etc.
Well here is the truth.
Without Jesus in your life you WILL think the Bible is foolish. You WILL think church is stupid and for weak people.
BUT: when you accept Jesus as your Savior, He gives you the Holy Spirit, as a down payment for your eternity, and the Holy Spirit will assist, help, instruct you as to what the Bible says and means.
Read the Bible for your self. Don't just read some of it. Read all of it, it is a complete story. Read it over and over and over again. Keep reading it for the rest of your life.
If your new to the Bible start in the book of Proverbs. This book has 31 chapters so you can read one chapter each day of the month.
Then add Psalms, this book has 150 Psalms in it. Read 5 each day and you will complete it each month too.
Then start in the Gospel of John, read to the end of Revelation, go back to Genesis and read through to Revelation and just keep going. An average reader can complete the Bible 4 times per year. And the more you read it, the more will be revealed to you each time. I see new things all the time. These are revealed to me from the Holy Spirit and read the Bible is spending time with Jesus. Jesus tells us in John 17 that knowing Him IS eternal life.
Don't trust some one else with your eternity. The USA coins says it best, "In God We Trust".
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Heavy Hearts, Heavenly Homes
Less than 36 hours ago Holly's uncle, Alan Keifer, went home to be with the Lord. Although we are saddened with his passing we also rejoice that here was a godly man and there is no doubt in our minds that he is now in the presence of Jesus.
I first met Alan just over two years ago at my wedding to Holly. He had heard from family members that I was "born again", and how I had grown while listening to Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. He was also a fan of Dr. 's and we shared a few moments at the reception reflecting upon his unique style of Bible teaching.
As Holly and I prepared to relocate to North Dakota, we made a road trip to the Fresno, CA area to visit Alan and his wife Phylis, some of their children and grandchildren. Many had not attended our wedding and wanted to meet me before we moved from California. While spending two nights at Alan's home, I attended an "Iron Sharpens Iron" men's conference with Alan, his son-in-law Larry and two of Larry's son's, Justin and Christopher. This was the first men's conference I had ever attended and I must confess that it moved me. The sensation of singing praises in a room of 500+ men, praying and sharing our love for God is something hard to put into words, yet that feeling has never left me and I use it to get me through various trials of life.
The last time I saw him, Alan & Phylis stopped by our home on Palomar Mountain for an afternoon visit before we left California. We talked of the conference and of how we enjoyed each other's fellowship. This truly was fellowship, encouraging, uplifting and genuine.
3 months ago he became ill and doctors told him that his heart was weak. He had surgery to repair clogged arteries and remove unknown spots from his lungs, but his body had become weak in the process and a full life had come to and end.
I am a better Christian because of the short time I spent with Alan. He never verbally taught me anything, but he lived his life unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that message rang true at all times. He was the "Abraham" of the Keifer clan. A man who stood out and above other's in a crowd, yet his humility was constant and warm.
Thank you Alan Keifer. Thank you for living your life in a way that Jesus was seen. Heaven will be a fabulous destination and eternity is going to be so wondeful...
I first met Alan just over two years ago at my wedding to Holly. He had heard from family members that I was "born again", and how I had grown while listening to Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. He was also a fan of Dr. 's and we shared a few moments at the reception reflecting upon his unique style of Bible teaching.
As Holly and I prepared to relocate to North Dakota, we made a road trip to the Fresno, CA area to visit Alan and his wife Phylis, some of their children and grandchildren. Many had not attended our wedding and wanted to meet me before we moved from California. While spending two nights at Alan's home, I attended an "Iron Sharpens Iron" men's conference with Alan, his son-in-law Larry and two of Larry's son's, Justin and Christopher. This was the first men's conference I had ever attended and I must confess that it moved me. The sensation of singing praises in a room of 500+ men, praying and sharing our love for God is something hard to put into words, yet that feeling has never left me and I use it to get me through various trials of life.
The last time I saw him, Alan & Phylis stopped by our home on Palomar Mountain for an afternoon visit before we left California. We talked of the conference and of how we enjoyed each other's fellowship. This truly was fellowship, encouraging, uplifting and genuine.
3 months ago he became ill and doctors told him that his heart was weak. He had surgery to repair clogged arteries and remove unknown spots from his lungs, but his body had become weak in the process and a full life had come to and end.
I am a better Christian because of the short time I spent with Alan. He never verbally taught me anything, but he lived his life unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that message rang true at all times. He was the "Abraham" of the Keifer clan. A man who stood out and above other's in a crowd, yet his humility was constant and warm.
Thank you Alan Keifer. Thank you for living your life in a way that Jesus was seen. Heaven will be a fabulous destination and eternity is going to be so wondeful...
Monday, September 19, 2011
What's Your Heading??
Currently in the news is the attempt by "Palestinian people" to be recognized by the United Nations and given statehood. As I understand it, the people who are seeking statehood are nothing more than Arab people who have been rejected by their own homelands and forced to live elsewhere. They are simply refugees with no homeland. Yet Israel has been the only nation to show compassion to them and allow them a place to live. Yet, now, years later these displaced Arabs are doing what all Arabs do; rejecting the Israeli people and raging war against them, wanting them wiped off the face of the earth.
I'm learning that a moral compass comes only from God and without Him to guide us, we are hopelessly lost and wandering; IE a lost soul. The majority of the world is a "lost soul" and no further proof is needed but to look at the middle east situation. Here we have many religious groups claiming to have the one, true God but yet the fruit they bear is rotten and spoiled. God clearly states in His word who Israel is and what land is theirs. They are His chosen people and nothing the world does can change it. The world's compass is broken and they are lost without it.
Of course "Pride" is what the world uses for fuel and the tank is full and ready for a long drive. This drive for a "Palestinian State" is an attempt to take Israeli land by force and slowly take over the only region which showed them mercy. This act will continue until Jesus returns to stop the madness. We who support Israel must continue to trust in the Lord and what His word tells us. Being that the Bible has been correct 100% for the past 5000 + years, I continue to trust God.
So the question remains, "What's your compass heading? and Where are you headed?" If you are not yet "Born Again", there is still time. Recognize that your a sinner, repent of your sins to the one, true God and accept Jesus into your heart and believe that he died to pay for your sins. Receive the Holy Spirit and start eternity right now. Be sure of your salvation and your future in the Kingdom of God.
Stay strong and share His good news!!
I'm learning that a moral compass comes only from God and without Him to guide us, we are hopelessly lost and wandering; IE a lost soul. The majority of the world is a "lost soul" and no further proof is needed but to look at the middle east situation. Here we have many religious groups claiming to have the one, true God but yet the fruit they bear is rotten and spoiled. God clearly states in His word who Israel is and what land is theirs. They are His chosen people and nothing the world does can change it. The world's compass is broken and they are lost without it.
Of course "Pride" is what the world uses for fuel and the tank is full and ready for a long drive. This drive for a "Palestinian State" is an attempt to take Israeli land by force and slowly take over the only region which showed them mercy. This act will continue until Jesus returns to stop the madness. We who support Israel must continue to trust in the Lord and what His word tells us. Being that the Bible has been correct 100% for the past 5000 + years, I continue to trust God.
So the question remains, "What's your compass heading? and Where are you headed?" If you are not yet "Born Again", there is still time. Recognize that your a sinner, repent of your sins to the one, true God and accept Jesus into your heart and believe that he died to pay for your sins. Receive the Holy Spirit and start eternity right now. Be sure of your salvation and your future in the Kingdom of God.
Stay strong and share His good news!!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A Full-Time Service
Having spent 25 + years in the residential construction industry I acquired the needed skills for most home maintenance. I spent a majority of that time as a "Finish Carpenter", which means that I did the doors, window trim, closet systems, baseboards and many other special requests on custom homes. Many times I would be given a picture from a magazine and asked to recreate the item in the picture for a home owner. Sometimes it was a fireplace mantle, window valances, shelving etc. I did this work as a self-employed carpenter since 1997 and had a full work load until about 2008 when the housing market in California took a turn downward and continued in that direction.
In 2010 I moved to North Dakota to build a home for a friend there and made plans to stay there afterwards as an Oil Boom was growing in that area and a shortage of housing was in effect. A good spot to be in.
In February 2011, Ken, a friend and fellow Elder at Palomar Mountain Community Church sent me an email. Ken had been the Facilities Manager at the Palomar Mountain Christian Conference Center for about 10 years and had recently accepted a position as Director of the Guelph Bible Conference Centre, (GBCC), in Ontario Canada. He stated that the Centre was seeking a Facilities Manager and informed me of the responsibilities and said that he would never ask me again about the position, but wanted me to be aware of it. My wife, Holly, has known Ken & Peggy for at least 10 years and was eager to return to Christian Camping so I responded to the offer. GBCC flew us there in late April for a week to check the place out and to meet some of the Board Members. The meeting went well and I accepted the position.
We returned to North Dakota and over the next 3 months prepared to move to Canada. I have never had any desire to travel abroad of out of the United States, (except after accepting Christ I do desire to travel to Israel), so moving to a foreign country was never even a thought. But God changes us over time. We arrived in Guelph, Ontario on July 28th and have begun working here at the Conference Centre. We are finally unpacking and settling into a house and yard, knowing that God is the provider of all things.
I now serve the Lord full-time using the skills I learned over the past 25 years and being part of a team of believers who provide facilities for others to come relax, fellowship with old & new friends, and study Gods word in a camp setting.
The next step for us is locating a home church and serving there too. I look forward to sharing my experiences here with you.
The Lord is good!!!
In 2010 I moved to North Dakota to build a home for a friend there and made plans to stay there afterwards as an Oil Boom was growing in that area and a shortage of housing was in effect. A good spot to be in.
In February 2011, Ken, a friend and fellow Elder at Palomar Mountain Community Church sent me an email. Ken had been the Facilities Manager at the Palomar Mountain Christian Conference Center for about 10 years and had recently accepted a position as Director of the Guelph Bible Conference Centre, (GBCC), in Ontario Canada. He stated that the Centre was seeking a Facilities Manager and informed me of the responsibilities and said that he would never ask me again about the position, but wanted me to be aware of it. My wife, Holly, has known Ken & Peggy for at least 10 years and was eager to return to Christian Camping so I responded to the offer. GBCC flew us there in late April for a week to check the place out and to meet some of the Board Members. The meeting went well and I accepted the position.
We returned to North Dakota and over the next 3 months prepared to move to Canada. I have never had any desire to travel abroad of out of the United States, (except after accepting Christ I do desire to travel to Israel), so moving to a foreign country was never even a thought. But God changes us over time. We arrived in Guelph, Ontario on July 28th and have begun working here at the Conference Centre. We are finally unpacking and settling into a house and yard, knowing that God is the provider of all things.
I now serve the Lord full-time using the skills I learned over the past 25 years and being part of a team of believers who provide facilities for others to come relax, fellowship with old & new friends, and study Gods word in a camp setting.
The next step for us is locating a home church and serving there too. I look forward to sharing my experiences here with you.
The Lord is good!!!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Are You or Aren't You?
With the world spinning around as fast as it does, it makes me wonder, "How long do we have?". No one but God can answer that question correctly so we should simply do what Jesus asked us to do, keep spreading the "Good News". The good news is the Gospel of Christ, that thru faith in Him we can be forgiven of our sins, and have eternal life. And that eternal life begins the moment we accept Christ into our hearts.
At that same moment we are "born from above" or born again and receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts. It is this moment, act, gift from God that determines where we will spend eternity. Jesus told us that unless we are born from above we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. That's quite a statement!! Without this rebirth we cannot, will not, be part of the Kingdom of God. So it is the basis of being a Christian, being born again, that determines our future.
I meet and know many people who say they are Christian, but are they born again? We are told not to judge others so I have to look at their "fruit" to see if they are truly born again. Do they live a life of a born again Christian or do they still follow the world? So rather that just not know, I've decided to do the simple thing and just ask them.
Are you born again?
It is a direct question and if they are born again it should not be offensive to them. They most likely will be pleased that I cared enough to ask. But if they are offended I can assume that they are not born again and need to lovingly show them the way to God's plan of salvation.
Many people older than myself equate being "born again" with some sort of hippie movement from the 70's. And that's OK. It tells me at least they have heard of what Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel were doing at that time, (and continue to do today) and are aware that it has something to do with Jesus. But to explain to them the true meaning of being born again can be a tough process. Many in that generation were baptised as baby's and have a false sense of salvation, And are quite insulted to be told that they are not saved. Jesus said that the truth IS offensive so at that point I know I am on the right track. But with patience and time and prayer I can plant a seed, water that seed or just take part in someone elses work and do my part to help in the harvest.
So what about you, Are you Born Again?
At that same moment we are "born from above" or born again and receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts. It is this moment, act, gift from God that determines where we will spend eternity. Jesus told us that unless we are born from above we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. That's quite a statement!! Without this rebirth we cannot, will not, be part of the Kingdom of God. So it is the basis of being a Christian, being born again, that determines our future.
I meet and know many people who say they are Christian, but are they born again? We are told not to judge others so I have to look at their "fruit" to see if they are truly born again. Do they live a life of a born again Christian or do they still follow the world? So rather that just not know, I've decided to do the simple thing and just ask them.
Are you born again?
It is a direct question and if they are born again it should not be offensive to them. They most likely will be pleased that I cared enough to ask. But if they are offended I can assume that they are not born again and need to lovingly show them the way to God's plan of salvation.
Many people older than myself equate being "born again" with some sort of hippie movement from the 70's. And that's OK. It tells me at least they have heard of what Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel were doing at that time, (and continue to do today) and are aware that it has something to do with Jesus. But to explain to them the true meaning of being born again can be a tough process. Many in that generation were baptised as baby's and have a false sense of salvation, And are quite insulted to be told that they are not saved. Jesus said that the truth IS offensive so at that point I know I am on the right track. But with patience and time and prayer I can plant a seed, water that seed or just take part in someone elses work and do my part to help in the harvest.
So what about you, Are you Born Again?
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Simply Read it...
Watching the destruction on America, being caused by our worldly leaders, is disturbing. The methods they are instilling into our way of life have been proven wrong through out history. Moving our society to a socialist agenda is also moving us away from God. But since our leaders do not know Jesus, as a majority of our founding fathers did, the constitution seems foolish and they choose to ignore it.
God has been removed from our schools and an entire generation has grown up not knowing the ways of God. Also the family has been destroyed with welfare / Government taking the place of the bread winner in the family. With no father in many homes, the moral compass has disappeared. God states that the father is the teacher of God in the family, so many today don't have God in their lives and have followed the world down a slippery slope to destruction. The recent decisions in our court system over homosexual marriage, abortion, individual rights has continued the decline greatly.
So what are we to do? Hopefully you have made the decision to follow Jesus and devote your life to serving Him and leading others to His Kingdom. If you have, you have hope and are not discouraged. You also understand that this entire world belongs to Jesus, not just our own state or country. So with Him in charge we are safe in His hands even though trials will continue to come our way. With that said we need to be diligent to His word and the teachings of it. So many "confessing Christians" I meet are VERY ignorant of the word of God. They are believing in false teachings and doctrines which will take them to a wide, crowded gate to judgement. We must know our Bibles and correct them in a loving, caring way.
The best way to learn God's word is to read it daily. Start at Genesis and read all the way through Revelation. You will see that God's word is a complete story of redemption. Redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you read an hour each day, you will complete the Bible four times per year. The more you read, the more the Holy Spirit will reveal to you. And by studying the Bible, you will notice a false teaching when you see / hear it. I recommend reading 2 Timothy chapter 3, then begin at the beginning and continue on reading for the remainder of your earthly life.
Know the truth, teach the truth, spread the truth. Remember it is a simple faith which God has given to you. A gift which you can never repay, but one that will determine where you spend eternity.
God has been removed from our schools and an entire generation has grown up not knowing the ways of God. Also the family has been destroyed with welfare / Government taking the place of the bread winner in the family. With no father in many homes, the moral compass has disappeared. God states that the father is the teacher of God in the family, so many today don't have God in their lives and have followed the world down a slippery slope to destruction. The recent decisions in our court system over homosexual marriage, abortion, individual rights has continued the decline greatly.
So what are we to do? Hopefully you have made the decision to follow Jesus and devote your life to serving Him and leading others to His Kingdom. If you have, you have hope and are not discouraged. You also understand that this entire world belongs to Jesus, not just our own state or country. So with Him in charge we are safe in His hands even though trials will continue to come our way. With that said we need to be diligent to His word and the teachings of it. So many "confessing Christians" I meet are VERY ignorant of the word of God. They are believing in false teachings and doctrines which will take them to a wide, crowded gate to judgement. We must know our Bibles and correct them in a loving, caring way.
The best way to learn God's word is to read it daily. Start at Genesis and read all the way through Revelation. You will see that God's word is a complete story of redemption. Redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you read an hour each day, you will complete the Bible four times per year. The more you read, the more the Holy Spirit will reveal to you. And by studying the Bible, you will notice a false teaching when you see / hear it. I recommend reading 2 Timothy chapter 3, then begin at the beginning and continue on reading for the remainder of your earthly life.
Know the truth, teach the truth, spread the truth. Remember it is a simple faith which God has given to you. A gift which you can never repay, but one that will determine where you spend eternity.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Answered Prayer
As my Christian walk began, I knew that prayer is an important part of my relationship with God. Being a new-born I had to learn how to pray and the best lesson I got was to just talk to God, "simple". So I began my prayer life praising God for what He was doing in my life and also asking for guidance in my walk.
Some request were "simple", good health, discernment, strength in temptations, etc. Some examples of answered prayer for me were:
Being able to purchase a home. God had blessed me to be a carpenter. I am still employed in this field, but God has provided work for me and guided me to be able to purchase a home.
Enjoy time away from work to go on hunting trips. I enjoy upland bird hunting and God has blessed me to afford 2 great hunting dogs and be able to travel to locations to hunt. ie: Arizona many times, a week in Idaho, (never been there before), a week in North Dakota pheasant hunting. It was this trip to ND that I met Leon, an avid hunter, who asked me to come to ND to help him build a new home 3 years later.
My wife Holly. I had come to Jesus after my second marriage dissolved. I knew that a life alone was not for me, so one of my earliest prayers was for God to lead me to a wife, A: close to my age. B: not much baggage from life. C: a believer. Being 42 at that time I knew it was a tall order for God to fill. But God is awesome and I met Holly at the local church on Palomar Mountain. She is 4 years younger than I, never married, and a life long believer. Wow, I thought I hit the lottery. But she was not interested in me at all, being a divorced person. It took 5 years of prayer and God put me on her heart and after a short time dating we were married in Sept. 2009.
The house I currently live in. Holly & I came to ND with no home to live in. There is an oil boom going on here, so housing is very limited and expensive. Leon offered us a bedroom in his basement until we got on our feet. So that is where we stayed until a new friend of Holly's, from her job, offered us to stay in her families old farm house. It sits on 8 acres just outside the Williston city limits. It was for sale, but no one had bought it yet. One week after we moved in, Nov 1st, a developer from Minn. bought it. They had a 90 day escrow till they took ownership, so we knew we were safe until Feb. but what then. It would be the middle of winter in North Dakota, not a good time to be homeless. So we prayed that something would happen that we could stay in the house till spring. The sale ran into problems and got delayed 6 weeks. We made it. But the kicker is that the developer planned to tear down the house to build apartment buildings so the question was asked, "Why not let Pete & Holly have the house?" The developer said, "Sure, why not!" So now we are in the process of hiring movers to jack up the house and move it to our 1 acre property, (another answered prayer), just west of town.
Bottom Line, Prayer is Simple. Don't neglect it. Keep praying. Be patient.
Some request were "simple", good health, discernment, strength in temptations, etc. Some examples of answered prayer for me were:
Being able to purchase a home. God had blessed me to be a carpenter. I am still employed in this field, but God has provided work for me and guided me to be able to purchase a home.
Enjoy time away from work to go on hunting trips. I enjoy upland bird hunting and God has blessed me to afford 2 great hunting dogs and be able to travel to locations to hunt. ie: Arizona many times, a week in Idaho, (never been there before), a week in North Dakota pheasant hunting. It was this trip to ND that I met Leon, an avid hunter, who asked me to come to ND to help him build a new home 3 years later.
My wife Holly. I had come to Jesus after my second marriage dissolved. I knew that a life alone was not for me, so one of my earliest prayers was for God to lead me to a wife, A: close to my age. B: not much baggage from life. C: a believer. Being 42 at that time I knew it was a tall order for God to fill. But God is awesome and I met Holly at the local church on Palomar Mountain. She is 4 years younger than I, never married, and a life long believer. Wow, I thought I hit the lottery. But she was not interested in me at all, being a divorced person. It took 5 years of prayer and God put me on her heart and after a short time dating we were married in Sept. 2009.
The house I currently live in. Holly & I came to ND with no home to live in. There is an oil boom going on here, so housing is very limited and expensive. Leon offered us a bedroom in his basement until we got on our feet. So that is where we stayed until a new friend of Holly's, from her job, offered us to stay in her families old farm house. It sits on 8 acres just outside the Williston city limits. It was for sale, but no one had bought it yet. One week after we moved in, Nov 1st, a developer from Minn. bought it. They had a 90 day escrow till they took ownership, so we knew we were safe until Feb. but what then. It would be the middle of winter in North Dakota, not a good time to be homeless. So we prayed that something would happen that we could stay in the house till spring. The sale ran into problems and got delayed 6 weeks. We made it. But the kicker is that the developer planned to tear down the house to build apartment buildings so the question was asked, "Why not let Pete & Holly have the house?" The developer said, "Sure, why not!" So now we are in the process of hiring movers to jack up the house and move it to our 1 acre property, (another answered prayer), just west of town.
Bottom Line, Prayer is Simple. Don't neglect it. Keep praying. Be patient.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Finding Felllowship and Serving
My radio pastor's gave me good guidelines in finding a church. I was living on Palomar Mountain, CA so I checked out the local community Church. Now it took me awhile to obey God's voice, "Go to church", about 7 months to be exact. So in Feb 2003 I attended my 1st church service in 28+ years. At Palomar Mountain Community Church, PMCC, I found a loving group of believers. The Pastor and his wife showed the love of Jesus and the members were open to me. Being new, a child in Christ, I had no knowledge of a church's inner struggle. This small gathering of 30 people were not immune to satan and his influence.
I became a regular attendee and continued my radio studies during the week. The Bible was making sense to me and I was realizing how sinful I am.
I enjoyed the worship, the Bible messages and the fellowship. I was greatly encouraged to continue my walk. Many of the elders stepped forward to help me in my studies. One elder, Don, offered to guide me in the "One to One Discipliship" program which I accepted.
I began to assist Lorrie, the Pastor's wife, on the worship team and began playing / reading music, something I had not done in over 25 years. Reading music came back to me as if I never left it.
But the curch was shrinking. I didn't understand why, but slowly I was putting together the pieces from the various members / local residents. Over the next 5 years the church fell to only 6 attendees and the Pastor left. I was now one of two elder's left, so we decided to start teaching through entire books of the Bible while we searched for a new Pastor. Teaching through the Bible was a great experience. I learned much more doing in depth studies and preparing each week.
After 6 months we selected Matthew to be the new Pastor. He also taught entire Bible books at a time and the number of attendees began to increase. As I stated in my last post I relocated to North Dakota in June 2010, at that time there were 15 - 20 regular attendees. Still only 10% of the local residents, but a good start dispite the trials we went thru.
My next post will share the MANY answered prayers in my life. Prayer is so important in our Christian life. Don't neglect it for any amount of time. Paul encourages us to pray at all times, all day, in all crcumstances. It is one of our most powerful tools, use it....
I became a regular attendee and continued my radio studies during the week. The Bible was making sense to me and I was realizing how sinful I am.
I enjoyed the worship, the Bible messages and the fellowship. I was greatly encouraged to continue my walk. Many of the elders stepped forward to help me in my studies. One elder, Don, offered to guide me in the "One to One Discipliship" program which I accepted.
I began to assist Lorrie, the Pastor's wife, on the worship team and began playing / reading music, something I had not done in over 25 years. Reading music came back to me as if I never left it.
But the curch was shrinking. I didn't understand why, but slowly I was putting together the pieces from the various members / local residents. Over the next 5 years the church fell to only 6 attendees and the Pastor left. I was now one of two elder's left, so we decided to start teaching through entire books of the Bible while we searched for a new Pastor. Teaching through the Bible was a great experience. I learned much more doing in depth studies and preparing each week.
After 6 months we selected Matthew to be the new Pastor. He also taught entire Bible books at a time and the number of attendees began to increase. As I stated in my last post I relocated to North Dakota in June 2010, at that time there were 15 - 20 regular attendees. Still only 10% of the local residents, but a good start dispite the trials we went thru.
My next post will share the MANY answered prayers in my life. Prayer is so important in our Christian life. Don't neglect it for any amount of time. Paul encourages us to pray at all times, all day, in all crcumstances. It is one of our most powerful tools, use it....
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Finding Christ, a new birth.
In our US of A we are blessed with the freedom of worship. Having recently relocated to North Dakota, due to lack of work in Southern CA, my wife and I started the task of locating a new church home. Of course we started out on the web long before we left San Diego County to scan what church's were there. The Lutheran dominance popped up right away with a scattering of others to be found. We made a short list, packed and started our 4 day journey.
Let me start by saying that our journey, both married and spiritually, has been filled with answered prayer. I became a Christian when I turned a radio dial. I am one of those individuals who can work all day and listen to the radio too. Having been a fan of conservative talk radio for many years I was busy one day digesting the usual political rhetoric. At the time the Iraq war had just begun and the backlash from spineless politicians was filling the air waves. Being fed up with the talk I tapped the scan button on my radio and it went 4 clicks north to AM 740. Never hearing this station before I was intrigued to discover that it was a call-in pastor show. People from all over the country were calling in asking advice on their particular life issue. I was recently separated from my 2nd wife and feeling quite low at the time so I continued to listen. I was being encouraged by the fact that compared to these caller's I had a minor problem. Here were people with major problems; dealing with physical abuse, drug abuse -(me too), abandonment, poverty, etc.
I found myself tuning in the next day and there were various Pastor's doing bible studies and topical sermons. I hadn't opened a bible in 28 years, but found myself writing down scripture references and looking them up in the evening. Sometimes I had 10 -15 verses to look up.
As the days turned to weeks I was listening to 740am for 4-5 hours each day, soaking up the gospel message I had heard as a child but there was something new here. There was talk of a personal relationship with Jesus. This was never taught in my childhood church. It wasn't long before I knew I needed Christ as my Savior. That evening, alone, I knelt down, bowed my head and accepted Christ as instructed by the radio Pastor's.
I never looked back. My Christian walk had begun. My next step was to find a church home and other believers....
Let me start by saying that our journey, both married and spiritually, has been filled with answered prayer. I became a Christian when I turned a radio dial. I am one of those individuals who can work all day and listen to the radio too. Having been a fan of conservative talk radio for many years I was busy one day digesting the usual political rhetoric. At the time the Iraq war had just begun and the backlash from spineless politicians was filling the air waves. Being fed up with the talk I tapped the scan button on my radio and it went 4 clicks north to AM 740. Never hearing this station before I was intrigued to discover that it was a call-in pastor show. People from all over the country were calling in asking advice on their particular life issue. I was recently separated from my 2nd wife and feeling quite low at the time so I continued to listen. I was being encouraged by the fact that compared to these caller's I had a minor problem. Here were people with major problems; dealing with physical abuse, drug abuse -(me too), abandonment, poverty, etc.
I found myself tuning in the next day and there were various Pastor's doing bible studies and topical sermons. I hadn't opened a bible in 28 years, but found myself writing down scripture references and looking them up in the evening. Sometimes I had 10 -15 verses to look up.
As the days turned to weeks I was listening to 740am for 4-5 hours each day, soaking up the gospel message I had heard as a child but there was something new here. There was talk of a personal relationship with Jesus. This was never taught in my childhood church. It wasn't long before I knew I needed Christ as my Savior. That evening, alone, I knelt down, bowed my head and accepted Christ as instructed by the radio Pastor's.
I never looked back. My Christian walk had begun. My next step was to find a church home and other believers....
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