The Year of the Open Door

The Lord’s Time

Back in January I had a big shake up in my life. Things had been working up to a boil over on my job for several months and one morning it happened. The details are not important to this discussion and in the end it was a good and necessary thing but at the time it was hard—really, really hard. I had hit a wall and something needed to give, and it did.

But in the process I learned that things I had put too much stock in—my job, relationships, abilities and desires, could not be and must not be, who I am  and where my identity is found. The Lord showed me that it could all be gone in an instant and just how fragile and unstable anything that is not in or from Him can be.

Now, I still have my job, there have been changes, the biggest one being my perspective. ‘Nuff said.

Anyway, when I came home the day it all hit the fan I was really shaken, shaken to the core. So I took another blood pressure pill and some Tylenol for my head felt like it cold explode, and I walked up into the hills behind our house to pray—fervently.

The Lord, always faithful when we are determined to actually hear, began to speak to me. In a nutshell; the Spirit spoke to my heart that it was “time for me to come out of retirement” and I knew He was speaking about the ministry as I had stepped down from the pulpit two years earlier, and that I should “look for an open door.”

I realized afterword that it was literally two years almost to the day when this happened that we had had our last service at Hope Chapel Red Lodge. Was it coincidence that this big shake up in my other vocation had happened on this day? I don’t think so. 

I already knew from previous words from the Lord that I was not to partner up with another ministry, the Lord had spoken that very clearly to me in various ways. But I was not too keen on getting locked into what I had done for 20 years of formal ministry—serving as a pastor with all the demands on my time and heart that come with that, while trying to work full time construction with it’s intense demands and be there for my family.

But the Lord was stirring things and ideas in me that I have not been able to shake. I knew I was supposed to do something as the Pastor the Lord had equipped, called and ordained me to be. I learned long ago that I cannot run from my call nor the One who calls me.

So I asked few trusted brothers and sisters to be in prayer for me, including a prayer warrior named Margene. She scoffs at the notion in her humility but her prayers have affected my life, and many others, in significant ways we will never fully know until we look back from heaven.

A week or so ago I ran into her at one of the churches we have been frequenting, a Spirit filled church in Billings where the Holy Spirit is welcomed and free to move among the family of believers in their services. I told her that her prayers were appreciated and that I could feel them having an effect. I told her that I was feeling more and more like I was supposed to start a church in Bridger where I was now living, where the Lord had blessed us with a house that he had graciously given me the ability, strength and time to design and build myself, with help from family–as all of you who read my blogs know.

I still had that unspoken question on my heart though, what is this open door I was supposed to look for, and how does that square with me being instructed to be a lead pastor, not an assistant, and to be free from restrictive denominational yokes?

So as Margene and I visited I told her that after much prayer and counseling with other Spirit filled pastors I trust that my hearts desire to minister to God’s people and to advance His kingdom was starting to crystalize into a desire to start another church in the community where the Lord had planted me. A place where there currently are no Spirit filled, or Pentecostal if you prefer, churches—(I hate labels as they come with so much baggage).

As we visited about this and the heavy responsibility and seriousness this portended for me making me want to be cautious and sure about what I believed the Lord was leading me into she said, “Well this is the year of the open door.”

Immediately my attention locked in on that term open door. Seeing the look of shock and question on my face she further explained; “We are in the year of the open door according to the Hebrew calendar.” Immediately I began to tear up. Here was the answer to my biggest question and fervent prayer; ‘What is this open door Lord that I am supposed to be looking for?‘ I know she had no idea that the Lord had just spoken to me directly through her although she knows the Lord well enough to know that He certainly can, so I told her; “You have no idea what that means to me!”

I wanted to explain right then but I was too flabbergasted in the moment to do so I just thanked her and resolved to dig into this Hebrew calendar thing and see exactly what she was referring to—this cannot be a coincidence but I had never heard of this.

Well, it really is a thing. A quick internet search will bring up numerous sites revealing that this is the Hebrew year of 5784, which started in September, and the numbers, which have symbolic meaning in Hebrew, as do all numbers, signify that this is the year of openings, especially as concerns doors.

Of course to us in this culture, an open door is a metaphor for opportunity—that the time is right and ripe for whatever it is that is on our heart to advance. What this meant to me now was that the door is not a place, it is a time.

In my mind and in my heart, I could receive no more stark confirmation of what I had been wrestling—wrestling with my doubts and fears, with the Holy Spirit, and my ability to truly discern the Lord’s plan—that it is indeed time to return to the pulpit as a Spirit filled, prophetically gifted Pastor, teaching God’s word, bringing healing, hope, encouragement and empowering God’s people by His Holy Spirit in a ministry where the Spirit is invited and allowed to move.

This is the time, we are in what seems to be the end times and we need all of God’s called to step up in God’s power and be Jesus to a terrified and hopeless world.

The door is open—and Jesus is holding it for you.

For Such a Time as This

The war is won, don’t give up on this final battle. Your past, your insecurities, your scars–all are nothing in light of having been chosen by the King to be His. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

It’s becoming more and more obvious with every passing day that we are living in perilous times. Things once considered wrong, twisted, unacceptable and just plain evil are becoming normalized and often even elevated to a special untouchable status. Todays sacred cows were yesterday’s shameful abnormalities while everything good decent God fearing and freedom loving people hold dear is being systematically stripped away, maligned and ridiculed.

Too be honest, it’s frightening. Especially as I see the world teetering towards an all out war as major players, many of whom now have, or are on the verge of acquiring, weapons that can knock us back into the stone age become more belligerent and unrestrained. Our own nation, America, is being led by seemingly hapless, immoral power hungry fools who only seem to care about money and acquiring more power without giving a whit about any of the rest of us. We are just tools to be used to achieve their personal and idealogical goals. And, perhaps most worrisome of all, we have now officially (at least as far as our representative government is concerned) turned our backs on Israel and are facilitating those who would destroy her—this never ends well for any nation in the long run.

We are being led by deceivers who are themselves being deceived. To those who are paying attention, the hand of our enemy, the devil, has blinded all those who fail to seek the God of the Bible to the truth and to whatever is good and proper. Right is wrong and wrong is right and all who dare point it out are haters, bigots, racists, intolerant and must be silenced at all costs.

Indeed we are in perilous times. But then, we all knew this was coming. At least those of us who love God’s word did. But all is not yet lost.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Tim 3:1-5

You and I are still here, and we still have a voice to cry out; “Jesus is Lord! Repent and turn from your wicked ways that we may yet be saved! Receive His love, receive His grace, receive His power!”

The church cannot continue on as though nothing is happening and all is well, so long as we don’t ruffle any feathers or draw too much attention to ourselves. Business as usual in the church works in a society that has a common ground based in scripture and a shared moral compass based on God’s values, but we are no longer there. Much of the church has become powerless to the point of irrelevance. A woke church is a broke church. And a church with a form of Godliness, all words with no Holy Spirit anointing or manifestations of power, is only a motivational club that can be quickly overcome by the enemy when tested and tried.

So what are we to do– you and I? Well, I can’t answer specifically for you but I do know that it is no accident of fate that you are right where you are today, that you are placed here for such a time as this. You are never too insignificant, never to beset upon, never damaged or weak to not be used by God to fulfill a greater purpose than you could ever imagine.

Esther

Many, many years ago, there was a young girl whose parents had both been killed leaving her to be raised by her uncle, Mordecai. Her family had been forcibly removed from their homeland years earlier and they were living in a land where their God was deplored and they were considered weird and even abhorrent by most of their neighbors.

Then one day she is taken from her home and made to live in the palace of the king, under guard with many other captive girls, where they are treated like objects to be groomed and prepared to satisfy the appetites of one man, the king, who may declare one of them more than just part of a harem, she may be called queen.

A powerless orphan girl being groomed to become, let’s just say it—a sex slave—in a place where she doesn’t even dare speak out about her heritage and beliefs as a Jew who worships the God of the universe. Where is He now? Has He forsaken her and her people? Even while she lives in luxury she feels a prisoner in body and soul.

She believes in her heart that God made her for something greater, that she has a purpose, yet she despairs at the hopelessness of her position. But there is a small glimmer of hope, there is a small chance she could become royalty… never happen. She is a nobody from nowhere.

She is worse than a nobody from nowhere. Her people, her family, is hated and maligned by all those with the voices that seem to get the most attention. They have no freedom to move about as they choose or even to speak their mind let alone openly worship their God. And their place of worship has been destroyed anyway—closed forever.

But God has given her a sharp mind and a beautiful soul and her outward appearance reflects that beauty within and with her cleverness in discovering what pleases the king, she finds favor with him and he makes her his queen. She has become royalty. Yet she still feels she has to keep her true self hidden even from the king as her people continue to be despised.

 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17

Then one day she discovers that her beloved uncle is outside the palace gate with many other Jews, wailing while wearing sackcloth and lying in ashes. She sends him clean clothes but he refuses them and gets a message to her that nearly caused her heart to stop. Her family is about to be slaughtered. Her uncle is desperate and frazzled as he explains to her via messangers that the situation has grown dire for their people. Hamen, one of the kings advisors, has convinced the king to sign a decree that everyone throughout his empire must turn against their Jewish neighbors, plunder their property, and on a set date kill every last one of them.

Esther is horrified but she still feels helpless and insignificant in the face of such widespread evil. She is, after all, just a trophy wife to an all powerful king who still doesn’t know that she was just a poor orphan girl from a people they deem unworthy of respect, and now unworthy even of life.

Mordecai beseeches her, ‘you must go in and talk to the king on our behalf! You must do something—you are the queen!’

Esther is fearful and doubtful because she has not been called before the throne for over a month and no one can come before the king unsummoned under pain of death.

Esther sends a message to her uncle through her trusted friends, the eunuchs who guard her, saying she cannot do this.

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14

Esther is shaken to the core but she steals her resolve and goes before the King who extends the staff of his mercy to her that she may speak what’s on her heart. She invites him to dinner along with his conniving and arrogant advisor Hamen and long story short, she confesses that she is Jewish, that she fears for herself and her people because the one who shares their meal has deceived him into decreeing that they all be destroyed.

The king is outraged and has Hamen hanged on the very gallows that he had built for Esther’s uncle i another of his devious plots, and decrees that the Jews are free and encouraged to defend themselves against this scheduled purge. Their right to bear arms for self defense was restored as was their favor with their king and their neighbors. And the fear of the Lord fell on all the land and many Persians turned to the God of the Jews.

All because a little orphan girl realized who she was, she was royalty who had favor and the ear of the king. She had a brave heart and a resolve that enabled her to confront her enemies, speak truth to power and reveal her true identity. She was not just a queen in Persia, she was one of the children of Israel, a daughter of the Most High God.

God had put her exactly where he needed her to be. All she had to do was realize it.

How about you?

 Not only are you a son or daughter of the most High God by virtue of Jesus Christ, but you have unfettered access to the throne of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

If you are in Christ, you have the power and the authority to affect change, to make a difference—you have the ear of the King and the power through the Holy Spirit of the Lion of Judah!

You, we, have nothing to fear.

We must continually go before the throne, seek out his truth and speak truth even in the face of our enemies.

We can make a difference. We are light in the darkness. Truth in a sea of lies. Goodness in a world of evil and love in a time of hatred.

The war is won, don’t give up on this final battle. Your past, your insecurities, your scars–all are nothing in light of having been chosen by the King to be His. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And we all have an important part to play.

You are here for such a time as this.

Trickery and Distractions

Teach truth in love

Don’t be seduced or lulled into accepting a cushy non offensive whitewashed version of the gospel that leaves you harmless and sedated.

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine… Eph 4

One of the things that has always puzzled, and concerned me, is the propensity of the church at large to be caught up in fads–hoopla whatever you want to call it—basically jumping on whatever band wagon is passing by that seems to be carrying the most of our brothers and sisters. The wagons with the shiniest horns, the biggest smiles, the loftiest promises, the biggest sellers, the largest crowd drawers—surely this is what God is doing right now so we better get on board!

I always wondered if I was just too skeptical or was I really feeling a check in my spirit that was coming from His Spirit?

I’ve been around a while and I have seen a lot of them. From the Prayer of Jabez, the Left Behind Series, to the Mega church TV superstar pastors, high profile prophets and healers, and more recently super star music and prayer ministries and on and on. I’ve seen and heard local preachers teach from their books, stream their music, take pilgrimages to their events and so on.

I’m not saying they’re all bad, it just worries me when there is more excitement and more attention given to anything or anybody—more attention paid and greater influence allowed into the heart of the church than there is to the Holy Word and the influence and reality of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer. (How many “Bible studies” have you been to where the Bible is not actually the book being studied?)

I guess what it comes down to is that we have become disciples of men rather than disciples of God. And, sadly, many of those institutions and people that we have put so much faith in, given so much credence to, have fallen or are just a bit short, or a lot short, of being entirely accurate.

All this leaves the church unprepared and impotent. As was made abundantly clear during the dress rehearsal for the reign of the antichrist and his beast that we called the Covid pandemic.

Because a common denominator in most all popular movements that are not Spirit led and whole gospel driven is that they all promise sunshine and roses to the adherents if they just take to heart the message they are selling. And I mean literally selling.

On the other hand. I have seen of late a lot of angry voices (social media is rife with them) dire warnings given in accusatory tones with ‘everyone else is wrong and leading you to hell’ attitudes that only turn people away from whatever truth they may be espousing, and causing fractions in the body of Christ.

We must know the manner of the spirit we are of.

⁵⁴ And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. Luke 9:54-55

People are lost. People are confused. People are hurting and they need truth, they need answers—ones that hold up when their world falls apart. We need church leaders that don’t lay down and shut up, hide their faces behind masks and put away the elemnts of communion when the authories say so. That don’t stop teaching truth because Facebook and trolls deem them offensive. And look around you people, the world is falling apart, polite society is crumbling, and we cannot just hide away any longer, ignore the news, and pretend that all is well if we just read the right books, listen to the right songs and support the popular churches.

All those things may soon be either gone, outlawed or tainted and  controlled by the enemy of our souls—if they are not already.

Then what do we have? –We have truth, at least those left standing have truth because that will be the only reason they are standing! When the glitz and glamour are stripped away, truth stands bare and stark—yet indeed it stands. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:13

We, as the church, as believers—ambassadors for Christ—must speak truth in love. That is the Spirit we are of, that is the armor we bear that keeps us standing, that is what will save others from deceit and the deceiver. Don’t be seduced or lulled into accepting a cushy non offensive whitewashed version of the gospel that leaves you harmless and sedated.

Seek and speak truth! As I said in my previous blog, because it was impressed on me by the Holy Spirit, is that a truth that is spoken in love is a truth that is heard. There cannot be malice behind your words but neither can there be fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of courage and strength.

But we forget that, we choose to ignore the Spirit and focus on the words, the feelings, the culture, on what’s popular and accepted–sheep following the Judas goat to our own slaughter.

If people are offended by scriptural truth than so be it.

It may seem that the wicked prosper as the righteous suffer unheeded, that evil is rewarded and love punished in this wicked world we live in but that’s for two reasons: the devil is ramping up his attacks knowing his time is short and that our flesh grows weaker and weaker as we get farther away from the whole gospel, or any knowledge of the gospel. And because God is patient not desiring that any should perish but that all would come to know Him.

In other words; God has not struck all evil doers down like was so often the case under the old covenant because He is patient, longsuffering, wanting to ensure that all who have the opportunity to receive forgiveness and grace through the blood of His Son will do so.

Any suffering that comes to His people as a result in the meantime will seem but a flash, the briefest of moments, in the light of eternity in his presence.

That puts the responsibility on us to share His love and His truth with a dying world.

Don’t be deceived. Don’t be distracted. Don’t be discouraged. Our God wins, and has won. And the enemy knows it. A cornered animal is always the most dangerous. But all the enemy can do is roar–he is toothless. Our souls, our eternity’s are secure and greater is He who is in us that he who is in the world!

Ask the hard questions of your spiritual leaders. Don’t settle for platitudes and because I said so’s. Search the scriptures and have honest prayerful conversations with the Lord. And challenge one another in love. The days are short. The day of the Lord is coming, and justice will be served.

“He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Mat 3:11

That day is coming, and has come.

Pastor?

¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. ¹⁴ We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him… Eph 4

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my role as pastor, or is it former pastor? I do not currently have a formal pulpit in a church. I am not currently licensed with a denomination. Back in 2006 I was ordained by the denomination that had previously given me the training and the license to be called a pastor within their organization– so am I still “ordained”?

According to the denomination that gave me the pieces of paper and the accompanying ceremonies for my licensing and subsequent ordination, I need to be serving in an officially recognized pastoral role and current on my annual fee to be called pastor. So be it. I will not argue that I am not currently a recognized “pastor” within that body as I closed the doors to my church two years ago and (by the Holy Spirit’s promptings) have not renewed my license with the denomination.

And other than the annoying “Do not reply” automated emails reminding me to send in my renewal fees, I have not heard anything from them—confirmation.

Originally, when I was discussing the prospect of closing the church after having hit a wall, being exhausted after twenty years of Bi-vocational ministry and listening to the council of my superiors who suggested I take a break… (For the record, I did not want to close the church, I was initially asking for help to carry the load but none was forthcoming and when it was suggested that I close the church my spirit bore witness that it was time.) Anyway, while I was being counseled to take a break I was told that it may take a couple years to recover, or that I “might never be called pastor again.”

That line seared itself into my mind and stayed there-“You might never be called pastor again…”. At the time, as exhausted and discouraged as I was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to argue the point. But it sure didn’t sit right with me.

In a formal sense, within that organization, it may very well be true. But, bottom line, It is not man who called me, it is not man who ordained me, it is God, whom through His Holy Spirit began calling and preparing me many years before the position became official and affirmed many times and in many ways that it is so.

I did not seek this title/position in the body of Christ, not did I want it. In the years proceeding my answering the call, the more I learned of the incredible responsibility and challenges of this office in the body of Christ, the more determined I became to skirt my calling.

But I could not continue to kick against the goads and I embraced the title, and the three years of night classes, as a gift to the one who saved me, me a barbarian with a Bible who was gifted so much forgiveness and mercy. I had to share what I was so freely given and if it was in a pastoral role, so be it.

At my ordination ceremony, in a large a room full of others being ordained with all their families attending, I had a supernatural experience that mere words cannot come close to describing, but I’ll try. In short, I found myself to be in the Spirit during the worship that preceded the message and commissioning, and found myself in the presence of the Lord in a place where there was no time, yet we were in all time at once. I did not see Him but I felt His presence and heard His voice. He covenanted with me that I was being set apart for this purpose and that I could never be separated from Him nor negate my call.

So, I have no doubt that I am still Pastor.

This is not a point of pride, nor of boasting. It is an enormous responsibility and that is what I wrestle with. Because, in spite of what was told me by church leadership, many still call me pastor.

It is a responsibility I cannot not hide from, as much as I sometimes think I would like to. But when those whom I have had the privilege of ministering to over the years still look to me as a pastor, seeking comfort, fellowship, answers—when I see and sense the hunger in the souls of those I have come to love, those I have invested in, I cannot but ache to love them for Jesus, to shepherd for The Shepherd.

Everywhere I go, whether people knew me when I was preaching every Sunday, or whether they just recently came to know me, when they find out that I was a pastor, they somehow totally miss the was part, jump right into the current tense and expect me to have the answer to their questions concerning anything biblical or the challenges they are facing.

And I try to always give an answer for the hope that is in me, as all us who believe are commanded to do. But, as pastor, I feel the weight of my answers so much heavier because so many put a lot of stock in my words. Which, I suppose is why God gave us pastors among the many gifts he gave the church-to provide some answers and, more importantly, point to the One who has them.

…some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, Eph 4

What about you?

Might I be so presumptuous as to suggest that all of us who love Christ should find ourselves in one of those categories? Are you being called to pastor, to teach, to evangelize, to prophecy?

Step up, answer the call; train, work, practice, get godly advice, study the word, pray, spend time in prayer and fasting—and do it. Speak the truth in love.  A truth spoken in love is a truth that is heard!

Do not let man nor institutions hold you back. Do not let fear hold you back. If He can use this barbarian he can use you! The one who calls us is faithful and true, and He knows us far better than we know ourselves. The Kingdom needs you, the church needs you. We need each other and there is a whole world out there who needs Jesus!

People are hungry. Those who know Jesus are hungry for truth and direction, and those who don’t know Jesus are hungry for truth and purpose. God calls us to help point everyone to Him. The sorry state of the church today is not a lack of thirsty souls, it is a lack of those pointing the way, honestly, truthfully and lovingly, to the Living Water!

That said, please pray for me brothers and sisters as I seek the face of the Lord for direction in this next season. I am pastor, and I want to be where my King needs me to be. I am but a humble servant who’s heart breaks for those whom the Lord’s heart breaks.

For the record, I hold no ill feelings toward the denomination that I served in for nearly four decades, even long before I was called pastor, but the Kingdom is so much bigger than a denomination, so whether it’s there or elsewhere, I just need to preach. I have no right, as servant called of God, not to.

Again; Speak the truth in love.  A truth spoken in love is a truth that is heard!

Step up and answer His call no matter what they say.

Living in the Power part 3

Part 3

“Tongues is a way for us to pray without our own ‘this is what I want and this is what you are going to do’ name it and claim it tendencies getting in the way of what God has in mind–what He wants to do, what only He can see from his perspective, it is praying for what He wants us to contend for.”

So what is this Holy Spirit baptism we’ve been talking about? For those who don’t know, here’s a little Holy Spirit 101.

 When we receive Jesus, confess that we believe in Him and ask forgiveness for our sins, what Jesus referred to as being born again, we receive the Holy Spirit. It is the guarantee of our salvation, literally receiving new life that can never die.  But there is more, Jesus also makes available, and desires us to have more— to be completely immersed in his Spirit, to be baptized in it— or him. To not just be saved, but also to be equipped and empowered.

Jesus himself makes it quite clear that there is a distinction between receiving the Holy Spirit and his salvation and receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and his power.

The first time Jesus saw the apostles the day of his resurrection he said to them:

“Peace be with you!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-23

Right away Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit, breathes life into their very souls giving them eternal life— salvation! But then later Jesus tells them there is more to come, he didn’t just come to seal their eternity— he had come to bring the very Kingdom of God into their lives– a few weeks after his first meeting, just before he leaves to return to heaven them he tells them:

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5

Remember what John the Baptist said?

 “I baptize you with water but there is one coming after me who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!”

So here they are They had just received the Holy Spirit the breath of life from the creator himself— but now Jesus is telling them, the good stuff is yet to come, you now have life but the gift I have been telling you about is  yet to come.

And so, after they watch Jesus ascend into the clouds they do just as Jesus asked them to do, they hang out in Jerusalem and on the Jewish feast day called Pentecost, while they are all together praying, not just the apostles but 120 disciples-

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:2-4

Jews from all over the world who were in Jerusalem celebrating Pentecost heard all the commotion and came to see what all the fuss was about, they heard all these Galilean Jews speaking in the languages of the countries they came from proclaiming the wonders of God and were amazed, some thought they were just drunk but Peter stood up and said “We are not Drunk as you suppose-“

¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy. Acts 2:16-18

“In the last days I will pour out my Spirit…” We are in the last days and God has indeed poured out his Spirit, the last days certainly did not end with the apostles, that would make no sense at all, how could they be the recipients of the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days and we are not, there cannot be another age, what the dispensationalists call the church age, after the last days.  Either these are the last days, of this present earth, or they are not.   Either the Holy Spirit has been poured out or it has not. 

I know it has because the scriptures say it has and because it has been poured out on me, I have not only received his Spirit because I have believed in Jesus Christ as my Lord as Savior but I have also had the Spirit poured out on me, I have been immersed in the Spirit, I have been baptized in the Spirit.  And I have tried my best to live and to follow in the power and the leading of the Spirit— to be a witness using the gifts he entrusted me with, looking at the world through his eyes and always going back to the source of my strength.

To have lived the life I lived, to have made it through the challenges and trials of life, to have even come anywhere near my hope of being a good person, of making a difference in this world, of being able to love my children and my wife sacrificially, to be able to endure the pain both physical and emotional, illness both physiological and psychological, to do more than just survive but to thrive— none of that would be possible without the power the Lord so freely gives me simply because I asked. You need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit otherwise you are just spitting in the wind and wondering why you keep getting wet! Life is hard, why face it powerless!?

Jesus said I am giving you the power so you can be my witnesses. We witness by loving people— All people. If you are filled and moving in the power of the Spirit, and you get yourself out into the world, they will be drawn to you. It still amazes me when people I barely know pour out their hearts to me. Everyone is hurting and needs to know they are loved. Real love can only come from Jesus—via His Holy Spirit through us.

So what about this tongues thing?

When we are baptized in His Spirit one of the main gifts made available to us is tongues. Which is nothing more than a handy word that means speaking in a language other than our own. It is literally a prayer language, a language that is not one we understand. It is one we control, I only speak in tongues when I choose to and for as long as I choose to–  just as I do my own tongue— English.

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. ² For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. ³ But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. ⁴ Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. 1 or 14:1-5

Paul says here; I would like every one of you to speak in tongues… The gift of our prayer language is a way to pray straight from the heart without our minds interfering— straight from our heart to God’s. A perfect prayer releasing his power, seeking his perfect will and plan without our own agendas getting in the way, without our own to do lists for God confusing God’s will for us.

Tongues is a way for us to pray without our own this is what I want and this is what you are going to do name it and claim ittendencies getting in the way of what God has in mind–what He wants to do, what only He can see from his perspective–it is praying for what He wants us to contend for.

It is a way to effectively engage in the spiritual battles going on all around in a way that all our prayers of understanding never could in our doubting, frightened and self-seeking flesh.

Praying in tongues releases the power of God into whatever situation, whatever person we are praying for. When I had my daughter come up front in our church to pray for her babies as I shared with you last time, I finished by praying in tongues. That wasn’t for the church, that wasn’t for me, that was for the Holy Spirit who wanted to be released into Cally’s womb in power to take care of those babies and that is why those babies were no longer choked off from growing anymore, that is why Cally and her husband both felt the love and the presence of the Lord in the last, what could have been very scary and painful, weeks of her pregnancy with two little miracles growing within her being formed and blessed by God.

And if things had gone awry, we would have still trusted God and known that ultimately those babies were still in his care and that in the end we would all be together. And even in our grief– what would seem to be inconsolable grief to those looking in– there would have been a peace, a peace beyond comprehension. Why? Because we, because Cally has been baptized in the Holy Spirit and the power of our God is our comfort and our counselor. Our peace does not come from what goes on around us, it comes from within.

We need that power, God wants us to have that power, Jesus died to make that power available to you!

We can’t be messing around church, we need God’s power or we are going to lose this world and all that are in it, the time for lukewarm Christianity is over.

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. …Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. Rev 3:16, 20

Living In the Power part 2

Power? Why do we need it?

If we want to bring the Holy Spirit’s presence, the Kingdom power, with all its healing, saving, life changing, sin convicting, heart healing power, back into our churches, we need to stop with the seeker sensitive nonsense—gathering in our churches and putting on a show with the goal of making everyone want to come back with friends and never doing anything that might offend—and start getting real with one another and with our God.

Yes we need to come together as the church, to be empowered by the word, by the Holy Spirit and then we need get out there and be the seekers— we have found what the world needs, what the world is dying for and we need to share it. We can’t just sit here with a feel good message, a polished worship team to entertain and a building made to impress waiting for seekers to wander in— people don’t even know what they are seeking any more.

We are living in a post Christian society— people no longer even know that there is a real God who cares let alone loves them, people have no idea what’s in the Bible and it’s being portrayed by the ignorant masses as bigoted and outdated hate speech that makes people judgmental. Jesus is portrayed as just another in a long line of mystic holy men and prophets from centuries past who said some nice things just like Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed and Moses.

Jesus is not another prophet or just one of several ways to spiritual enlightenment. Jesus is real, he is here and he is everything- but unless we are moving in his power—taking it to them, seeking people to witness to, then we will be the last Christian generation— maybe the last generation period.

We need to go witness Jesus to people.  By witness I don’t mean quoting scriptures to people and pointing out their sin. People no longer know what sin is nor do they believe there is such a thing. But what they do know is that they’re miserable and they are running out of things to turn to— everything they were promised would bring them joy turned out to be a lie.

We have the truth, we have Jesus! The way, the truth and the life. We need to be full of that life—we need to be Spirit filled, we need to seek it and then continue to keep being refreshed in the Lord.

Ever since the Lord set me free and overwhelmed me with His presence and unfailing love it has been my desire I for everyone to know the joy that I have found, the deep down soul satisfying, nothing or no one can steal or destroy the hope that is in me, peace that lives in my heart and is there for no other reason than that I have trusted Jesus for my salvation and then asked for and received the baptism of his Holy Spirit—surrendering my life and my heart to Jesus.

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
    What can man do to me? Psalm 118:5,6

Renewed in worship

I love to gather with fellow believers who delight in worship and have often felt myself surrounded and infilled by the incredible love of God as I let myself worship in spirit and in truth, guided by Spirit anointed worship leaders. This can usually only happen in a place where the Spirit is invited and allowed to move freely and all are focused on glorifying the Lord.

I love to feel wave after wave of the Holy Spirit coming over me as I am renewed, strengthened and blessed anew by the Spirit of our mighty God simply because I have opened myself up to it and received it—standing before my God with my arms open wide and my hands lifted high praying- “Lord fill me, empty me of all the junk that has piled up in my heart and gotten in the way of what you want to do in me, what you want to do through me and fill me anew!” and He does, it’s that simple.

Be baptized and continue to seek refreshment in Him. Don’t let your spirit dry up for lack of coming to the living water. In cooperate worship, or in quiet moments alone on the mountain.

But you have to be brave enough to ask for it. And your place of worship does not facilitate that—you are in the wrong place. I’m sorry but there is a big differance between singing songs about God, and singing praises to God. Praising God opens the heart to recieve.

As a pastor and teacher I am loath to preach or teach without first joining those to whom I am speaking in worship. If you know–you know.

I have tasted the goodness of the Lord and I have been walking in the power and the freedom of our Lord for many years so I know, I want to keep going back to the well and getting refilled, even Jesus went up the mountain once in a while to pray— to be recharged by his Father. We only need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit once, but we must seek to be refreshed and renewed in His Presence.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” -Jesus Mat 18:20

When I first preached this message to my church a few years ago it was on the heels of an incident, an example of Kingdom power facilitated by Spirit filled believers coming together in worship. One of my daughters, Cally, was pregnant with twins, and they were breech, long after they should have turned around in preparation for birth.

Two or three days before a worried doctor had scheduled a C section before the babies were in serious trouble we had my daughter and her husband come forward after worship to be prayed for. We laid hands on Cally and prayed–and I prayed with my mind and with my Spirit.

¹⁵ What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. 1 Cor 14:15

—  yes I prayed for her in tongues, my prayer language given to me when I first received the Baptism — and two days later the doctor told her the babies were in the right position, were growing again  and a few weeks later she delivered two strong and healthy babies.

Why? Why were those babies healed, why did that womb that was cramping the growth of those babies suddenly become the safe place it was supposed to be— Because Holy Spirit baptized believers moving in the power of the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus Christ prayed for her— that’s why! — Because Jesus Loves Cally, because Jesus loves those babies and he loves us enough to give us the power to take care of those he loves, that’s why.

That’s why He makes that available to us, not so we can impress each other with how spiritual we are, it’s not a competition to see who is more spiritual, to harangue one another or cause division in the church as we either institutionalize or diminish the gifts— but so we can take care of one another, so that the world will know that he is real and that he cares.

Next time we’ll look more at how the Holy Spirit baptism squares with our salvation and being born again.

Living in the Power part 1

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses -Jesus

Today I want to talk about something that has been prominent on my mind, and often in conversations, as I have been privileged to visit several churches lately and experienced the various responses different church families have to the person, presence and doctrine of the Holy Spirit—primarily as concerns the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  

There are those that embrace it and those that shy away from it, and those who just don’t know what it is. But even among those that do claim to embrace it, there are varied responses to the power and gifts that are released by the baptism of the Spirit.

Getting it? Normally this baptism of fire comes upon us by the laying on of hands. Once you have it, and moved in it, it is really hard to ignore and pretend it’s not important or relevant. Yet too often it happens. I too often run into believers whom I know have recieved this gift that don’t seem to realize they may be embracing a church culture that squelches this power…

But back to the hands thing–There is a discernable power that is released in us by the laying on of hands, reminiscent of when Paul was reminding Timothy to …fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Tim 1:6 — Consequently spiritual battles are affected, healings are rendered, and gifts are released when the baptism of the Holy Spirit is facilitated by one who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.

As it was then so it is today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Heb 11:8

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, simply put, is the Releasing of the power. The New Testament talks a lot about this so it’s pretty hard to ignore— yet many still manage to do so. We are going to look at an example where Paul had traveled to Ephesus and found some believers who had not yet had the power released in them and he wasted no time in taking care of that laying of hands on them and Baptizing them in the Holy Spirit. Paul knew that without this, just like the first disciples before the day of Pentecost, they would simply be living life, perhaps saved— but powerless, fearful, and at completely at the mercy of the world they lived in.

We see in Acts 19:

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ² and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶

When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.  Acts 19

Ephesus, where this takes place, was a Greek and very pagan town but, because the power of the Holy Spirit was released there, a church would arise that would become a major player in winning the world for Jesus. Paul would write to that church later; Ephesians chapt. 1: 

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you ,…  ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be opened  in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, …¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

It was only by his power, His incomparably great power, that those believers could take a pagan city for Jesus. It is only by that power that we can take our cities, our families, our world— for Jesus.

Jesus has been pouring out his Spirit on His Bride, on those who are willing, and He wants to continue pouring out his power, He wants to take this land and he wants to use us, to use you to do it. But you have to receive the Power, and if you have— you need to choose to move in it.

Receive the Power

The Father wants to fill you from head to toe with his Spirit of power, He wants to immerse you in his love so that you can be his witnesses, witnesses of his love, living proof that he cares about us.  He never asked you to go through life alone.  He never asked you to love and serve him and your neighbor in your own power. When Jesus said, love the Lord your God with all your heart and all  your soul and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself, he knew we could not do that in our own strength, if we could he never would have come. He died for us so that we could become the Temple of his Spirit, so that we could be empowered to love others into the kingdom.

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Why would you not want to live in the power, to live in the power of God, to move in the power of our God, to conquer and overcome all that the enemy and this world would throw at us to discourage, to destroy, to minimalize us to the point where we are no threat to his grip on this world, his grip on our loved ones, his grip on our way of thinking— why would anyone not want to live in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Yet many people, even many believers— even born again; “Jesus is  my Savior, his Spirit lives within me and I am saved by the grace of God”  believers— fear the power of the Holy Spirit. And I don’t understand that, not for a minute. If you truly love God, and want to live free, want to make a difference in this world, want to live a life— to exist in this miserable fallen world— without just being kicked around by whatever whim the flesh and circumstances throw at you, why would you not want all that God has to offer you?

God’s power is for real, God’s power is for today, God’s power is for you!

Fear the Power?

Why would you fear the power, the power to love as Jesus loves. Because that is what it really is all about— the power to love the way Jesus loves, to see others with the eyes of Jesus and then have the power to make a difference in their lives, to deny the gifts, to not seek them out, to not desire to live in the fullness of all that God offers you is a selfishness that grieves the Lord.

He has called us to be his hands and feet, to be his voice and have his heart so that the lost and dying world that he suffered and died to redeem can indeed be redeemed!

If all that world ever sees is us struggling, worrying and fretting, trying to live this life in our own strength— no different from what they are already doing, than why should they bother or care a whit about our Jesus?  That’s not a witness for Jesus, that’s a witness for a powerless religion. ‘Well, I don’t want people to think I’m weird!’— Really? How is loving a person that no one else loves weird? How is telling a person that God sees their struggles— even naming their struggles by a prophetic gift or a word of knowledge weird? How is praying for someone who is sick and having them healed or recognizing that a person is being harassed by an evil spirit and freeing that person from that influence weird?

How is recognizing a need and having a burden to do something about it when no one else cares and then having the talents to serve, to build, to fix and encourage whatever that need— how is that weird? Calling yourself a follower of Christ and not earnestly desiring the gifts and the power of his Spirit— that’s weird!  If loving and healing the hurting is weird then let me be a freak for Jesus!

Let me point out the obvious here— people are not lining up to come to church anymore. People are not drawn to religion, people are not drawn to nicey-nice, smile in their face, lure them in with fancy programs and then throw a yoke of guilt and expectation on them church anymore. People are drawn to the power of the Holy Spirit— people are drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit.

People need— the world is looking for— something real, something that will actually change their life, that will set them free, give them a reason, give them hope; people are looking for Jesus, and Jesus gave us the power to reveal him, to be his witnesses— witnesses of his love, of his mercy, of his desire to heal and deliver, to set the captive free, to proclaim good news to the poor, to bring sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, we can have that power if we’ll just receive it— ask for it and receive it. All of that comes from being baptized in the Holy Spirit!

Enough of the seeker friendly already

We are running out of time. The days of seeker sensitive church are over and that model is no longer working. When things got real, like during the great government and fear driven shutdowns and riots of 2020, people left those churches in droves, which wasn’t hard for most of them had shut their doors anyway–just when we needed them most.

I am not accusing anyone, I was among them—at least for a time. Until it became obvious that the shutdowns were being orchestrated and encouraged by the enemy of our souls and the spirit of the Antichrist prevailing. We cannot let that happen again, we cannot stand down. We must love in the power; fearless, equipped and empowered. That can only come from the Holy Spirit of our God.

Two Years

I did not want to close my church, but…

This weekend marks two years since I preached the last message at Hope Chapel Red Lodge; a ministry I planted and led as pastor for twelve years. This was on the heels of 8 years of licensed pastoral ministry at another church in Billings MT. So basically for twenty years I was bivocational-working full time outside the church while serving in a formal ministry posistion whithin the church.

So to suddenly not be doing that was a major life change for me and my family. First let me say that I did not want to close my church. That decision was made, ultimately by my Lord, and by those in authority over me. The Lord knew I had completed my assignment in Red Lodge and those over me recognized that I was exhausted physically, spiritually and emotionally–I just could flat not go on.

These past two years have been an adventure all in their own and I am grateful for it. I got to build and just recently moved into my new home. Spending my spare time working with my hands alongside my wife, and often times daughters and son in laws, was a blessing in that it was a great time of reconnecting and relationship building. I had spent many years devoting all my evenings and weekends to the church, often times in a small office staring at a computer screen as I prepared for the ever coming Sunday, so to be outside using the tools of my other trade, construction, was thereaputic in may ways.

But that’s not neccasarily what I wanted to talk about today, although it sets the stage. Since I stopped preaching every weekend I have had the opportunity and pleasure of visiting many churches from many backgrounds and denominations and even in multiple states. I have fellowshipped in everything from KJV and hymnal worship only churches, to jump and shout spontanoius worship, slain in the Spirit healing services, to small time “I can barely play this guitar but I can make a joyful noise” churches, to laser light show, rock concert professional polished productuon churche–and many in between all those.

And I enjoyed and was (and continue to be) blessed by every single one of them because they all have two things in common; people who love Jesus and are hungry for more of Him, and pastors who love Jesus and his people.

I have a heart for the pastor because he, or she, has a responsibility and a burden that no one, unless you have been there, can ever understand, and it can be a heavy one. There are joys, immense joys, at seeing fruit being born for the Kingdom as those you love and invest heavily into grow in their faith and become true disciples. But there is also immense heartace when you see them struggle and even turn away or against you and worse, their God. With great love comes the potential for great heartache.

But my greatest concern for the pastor is the exhaustion that I know can come like a freight train when it seems there is no stopping it short of a crash. Exhaustion that can come when you try to live up to everyone’s expectations and discover, to their great dissapointment and yours, that you cannot. Exaustion that can come when you try to do things in your own strength instead of His-when you get ahead of Him. Exhaustion that can come when it seems there is no one to help you and you are all alone.

Exhaustion can come from working too long thinking that next year will be different-you will be able to let go of your secular job and focus on the ministry-maybe even get some of your life back. Exhaustion can come when it seems you can do nothing right and people come at you with theological corrections, disapointmenents, letters of rebuke or just plain leaving you with no explanation.

Church is messy–but vital, and so are pastors.

So please, take care of your pastor! Love them, honor them, be patient with them-share your joys and victories, help when able. Don’t pretend you know what they are thinking or assume that they are fine. Spend time with them as a freind and a brother or sister. PRAY for them and support their ministry with your resources of time, talents and money.

On another note; perhaps the days of traditional church as we have known it are past. Perhaps we have put too much on our leaders and given too little. Perhaps we have churched the Holy Spirit right out of out house of worship and programmed out Jesus–perhaps we have killed too many pastors and quenched too long the Spirit of truth.

Perhaps I’m wrong and we just need to get back to church and throw open the doors to Jesus and let the ‘Spirit blow where it will as we hear the sound of it and know not whence it comes or wither it goes’ -just that we want to be in the midst of it. “So it is with all who are born of the Spirit” John 3:8

Are we ready for that? Are we ready to let Jesus be the Good shepherd, are we ready to hear and obey His word, are we ready to let the Holy Spirit be our teacher, advocate, couselor, comforter–are we ready to be convicted unto repentance and open our hearts fully to Him? Untill we are, we are all in jeapordy of falling away and taking our pastors with us, and missing our own callings. Too many judges, too many spectators, too many comfortable christians.

Lord, lead me on. I am your humble servant.

Never Again!

There are rumblings among the elite and power hungry that Covid mandates may be coming down the pike once again. If “We the people” are foolish enough to fall for all this again then we deserve having the last of our freedoms and dignity stripped away from us as we cower in fear and lick the boots of the lab coated overlords.
But you ‘rich folks North of Richmond’ take note—As for me, my hope and strength is in the Lord and I will not roll over and allow my God given rights to be trampled on. I will not live in the fear you peddle and use to manipulate and I will not comply!
I will not comply with your soul wounding, kid stifling, small bussiness killing, face stealing, heart stopping, blood clotting, church destroying, pastor persecuting, societal rending, suicide inducing, economy wrecking, election stealing mandates!

“Unless the Lord had given me help,I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. Who will rise up for me against the wicked?Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?” Ps 94:15-16

We must choose now whom we serve and whom we trust, this may be our last chance. I said during the 2020 Covid madness that it all seemed like the Antichrist was doing a dress rehearsal for the final showdown. The next one will not be a rehearsal and that can only mean one thing. The horseman are poised to ride and the bowls of wrath and readied to pour— tribulation time.

Unless the church arises, holds back the darkness and prays in revival!

Refitting

Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ, and those still diligently seeking truth.

First off, I want to apologize to my many followers for the lack of blogging activity here. I have been in a very different season of late, one of busyness and building. Granted, that is not different for me, what is different, from the last couple of decades anyways, is that I am now busy with something other than formal ministry and building something other than the church.

Long story short, as many of you know, I stepped down from pastoring a church last year, and have focused my spare time on building a house on the land the Lord has blessed us with. It has also enabled me to devote more focus and energy on my construction job, a job I held throughout all my years of ministry to pay the bills, and one the Lord has blessed immensely.

Having more time and flexibility to spend time with my kids and grandchildren has been huge also.

Now, let me say, it has been, and is, a huge challenge NOT being in a formal ministry role, as I believed my lot was to be a full time pastor of a church and I sorely miss having a pulpit to speak truth, love and healing from every week. God’s word and His church are still the vital building blocks of the Kingdom and the best vehicle for the growth of His people—I believe. So to sit on the sidelines is hard. Especially as I watch the darkness, which used to creep in, now full on openly attack, pervert and destroy every vestige of morality, goodness and truth it can find left.

But I take heart in the glimpses of light and truth I see rising up in quiet and unexpected places, unafraid and unapologetic for Jesus, and people are flocking to those sources of light.

Perhaps my days of formal ministry are over… perhaps they are not… that is entirely in the Lord’s hand. I am but his humble servant.

What I do know, and appreciate about our Lord, is that he cares about his servants. I was on the edge, burned out, exhausted and frustrated, as I watched the church family I loved dissipate, for many and varied reasons, and all my help and support dwindle to nearly nothing. Looking back, I know I outstayed my call at that church, but this old son of the northern barbarians does not surrender or quit easy, and I went down kicking and screaming until I couldn’t.

But, and here is a big but, I am now blessed and being refitted, so to speak, even as I work my butt off to build, much of it myself, the home I hope to finish my days in with my greatest blessing- my wife.

Having gone from spending my entire weekend, and every evening after work, for over twenty years—evenings writing sermons, Saturdays getting ready, and Sundays ministering—enclosed within the walls of a church building or office, to spending my weekends swinging and hammer and climbing scaffolding as I watch the home I designed slowly grow out of the earth in the beautiful countryside of Montana…well, it has been therapeutic to say the least. And I am so grateful for this time of refreshing. And as I dash this off, I am getting ready to head to a Sunday church service where I can be ministered to and just enjoy the family of God and be refreshed by His Spirit. Sometimes we just need to go to church, not make church happen. (Closed circuit for my church leader friends)

So, my friends, don’t give up on me, I think of you often and continue to pray for you, as the Lord speaks to me as I toil in the dirt and the sawdust, using the gifts and experience He’s given me, to allow Him to refit me for whatever lies ahead.

And I have all faith, that whatever it is will be good. Because as we know, “He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” And I will get back to being more diligent with this platform as time allows and the Spirit moves.

Be blessed my fellow warriors!