How GREAT is your life?

'This is the length of Abraham’s life: 175 years.
He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age,
old and contented, and he was gathered to his people. ' Genesis 25:7-8 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/GEN.25.7-8



This week marked the 19th anniversary of my fathers passing to his Heavenly home. My Dad had
a great life. He loved his Lord, he loved his wife, he loved his kids, and he loved his grandkids.
He worked hard when he was in retail and he worked just as hard when he led his congregations as
a full time pastor. His life was well lived. He was not perfect, none of us are. In reality, if any of us live
the life my father did, we would consider ourselves successful and completely satisfied. I am not
sure the world would consider my Dad's life exceptional. He was not a "PROMINENT" figure
even though he was loved and respected by so many people. By Biblical standards his life would
be considered Righteous as he loved the Lord and the Lord was the center of everything he did.

My Dad was not the father of Nations. He did live a life of righteousness through Jesus. His Life was
SO, GREAT.

Abraham was a righteous man. His life in
Genesis (Genesis 12-25) was spectacular?


You can certainly look to the near sacrifice of Isaac as an amazing act . It certainly is a pure act of faith.
It was spectacular. Although his Faith made him righteous, I am not sure this
act of faith made him a great man. I really think the single act that made
him a great man was him being chosen AND accepting the call of the Lord.
He never hesitated and never looked back. Yes, he had some times where he FORGOT the Lord.
He went his own way, without consulting the Lord, a few times.
He felt the consequences of those choices throughout his life. His relationship with
Hagar is the best example. Not only was HIS life thrown into turmoil
because of his choice to join with Hagar, the nations he fathered were also constantly at odds
because of this decision.

Abraham was chosen by God to begin a legacy of faith. He accepted and worked hard to live
the life he was called to. THAT MADE HIM GREAT. My Dad also was called.
No, he wasn't called to FATHER a NATION.
He was called to serve and bring people to a life of faith. HE ACCEPTED THAT CALL.
That is what made his life GREAT.

Stephanie and I have also been called to live a somewhat NOMADIC life of Faith. No, we do not
equate ourselves to Abraham and his life. We do have a great desire to learn more about the life of faith
we have been called. We do PURSUE the Lord each day.
We pray our choices will help others to see the power of Jesus.
We believe we are all called to serve the Lord. Many ignore that call. We don't want to miss
a moment of service to the Lord and can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for us.

Maybe YOU are being called to serve the LORD. Make your life great
by ACCEPTING the call of the Lord. Serve ONLY him. Pray for guidance
and then YOU will have the same GREAT life that Abraham had, that my father had,
and the Stephanie and I are not living!

DO IT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abraham, he wasn't that great!

I have made a commitment this year to DIG DEEPER into the scriptures. Besides my daily readings, I am also digging into the PEOPLE of the Bible. I finished Jonah, one of my favorites, and am now looking into the life of Abraham. I am so fascinated by this GIANT of the FAITH. I am also fascinated about what I DIDN'T KNOW about his life. I blame that on my Sunday School Teachers. Ok, I'm just kidding. Besides the cute song about Father Abraham having many sons,  I really did not learn much about his life. I think everyone learned of his blessing from the Lord. We also learned that he and Sarah were given a son when they were VERY OLD. We learned of God asking Abraham to sacrifice that son and then saving him at the last moment. But, as Paul Harvey would say, we need to know THE REST OF THE STORY.

The Blessing

If you are like me, you always think of Abraham as being a Rock Star for our faith. He was chosen by God. He was granted a special blessing:

He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are

able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

Abram believed the Lord , and He credited it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:5-6 HCSB

I mean that is amazing to be called by the Lord to be the FATHER of his special Nation. But, even more amazing than being called is WHEN he was called. In my early study, I was trying to find out how old Abram was when he was first called. What do we know of Abraham BEFORE he was called by the Lord.  I was reading a commentary by Chuck Swindoll who said he was called REALLY early in his life. In Acts, we get a hint of WHEN Abraham was called:

“Brothers and fathers,” he said, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when

he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him: Get out of your country

and away from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. Acts 7:2-3 HCSB

Chuck Swindoll shared in his book "Abraham:One Nomads amazing journey of faith", that Abraham was raised, most of his young life, in a town called Ur of  Chaldeans in Mesopatamia. He lived here before he traveled to Haran. Not to overstate the obvious, but there was no JEWISH faith at this point. As a matter of fact. Chuck Swindoll said, Abram, his father, and all of his relatives probably were worshipping the Sun God. They believed in many gods, not just ONE GOD. He would never have heard of "THE GOD" that we know today. IT is not like he heard about God from some Evangelist and said, "Yeah, this is what I've been looking for, I will follow God!"  God appeared to him, even though Abram didn't know the Lord! HE APPEARED to him while he was still a sinner, far from being a ROCK STAR in the Faith, worshipping some Idol. He appeared to him, told him to leave his home town, travel to a place he had no idea existed, and begin a journey with massive uncertainty. He was asked to do this by a GOD that he didn't  even know. Why did he decide to go?  We don't get the same message we got when the angels appeared to the Shepherds in Bethlehem. There was no "Do not be afraid" moment or a throng of Heavenly Hosts. We really don't know how God appeared to Abram. But I am guessing it was an amazing experience. He could have been in human form like he was when he appeared to Abraham later in his life or some other form. But, his appearance had a huge impact on Abram. He left and did exactly as God told him. It was clear to Abraham he was being approached by God and he was completely convinced to serve him. Wouldn't it be great if the Lord made a HUGE appearance to YOU?  Yes, and you know what? God WILL appear to you. It will be obvious and clear if you just give him a chance. If we sit back, call on the LORD, he will show up in a powerful way. I have seen him. No, I can't say I have seen him physically. But, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind how powerful God has been in my life. He has been with me. His presence is everywhere!

God knows. 

Long before Abraham was even Abraham, God knew. God knew who he was going to become. He not only knew Abraham was going to be the father of his chosen people, he knew that Abraham was going to mess up, often. He knew Abraham would still sin, even after becoming God's chosen one. He knew Abraham would have doubts. He knew he would lie. He knew he would make his own plans, outside the plans of the Lord. God knew Abraham had serious flaws. Yet, he still chose him and he chose him, not because he had a great track record going to church every Sunday. He didn't choose him because he gave his 10% every week to the church. He didn't choose him because he was a powerful, rich person. God chose Abram because He had faith in what he would become. Abram was not righteous because of what he did or even what he was going to do. Abram grew into Abraham and became righteous through his faith in the Lord.

"Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, " Galatians 3:6 HCSB

Guess what?

This is not the only time God chose someone NOT worthy when he chose him. Paul is another great example. He was going around killing followers of Christ and yet God still chose him. God chooses you in the exact same way. He doesn't have some set of rules you MUST follow before he chooses you. He has chosen Stephanie and I to minister through CMA, not because we are some great fantastic people of faith. He knows our flaws, he knows our weaknesses and the mistakes of our past. Yet, he has chosen us. I am AWED by his faith in us. I am awed that he would take the risk. The fact that we are chosen to serve, drives us. It motivates us to draw closer to him and constantly search opportunities to be his hands and feet in this world. We are still weak, but we are growing. He has blessed us beyond belief and we feel he is challenging us to step out of our comfort zone and serve in more and more ways. But, you know what? It is not easy. Stephanie and I still have urges to DO OUR OWN THING. We pray together often, yet we get busy and forget. We read and study the Bible. Yet, sometimes we do it out of obligation and not through great desire. Our faith is not rock solid, and we are not as bold in our faith as we should be. But, God has called us. He is transforming us every day. We are not what we want to be, but are on a path today that is ONLY BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH IN THE LORD.

Trust me when I say, GOD WANTS YOU!  We are not special and he has called us. YOU have a future with the Lord. All you have to do is call on him, realize your faults, acknowledge those before the Lord and promise to be open to his guidance and direction. Abraham wasn't special before being called by the Lord. He was special because he answered the call. He took the step to follow the Lord and THEN he became a father of a nation. I'm not sure you will be the Father of a Nation. God may not make your relatives as countless as the stars. But, he has a unique purpose for you. He has SPECIAL things planned in your future. Take the step NOW and find out what those special things are. 

The rest of the story - Jonah!

If you spent any of your youth in Sunday School, you know all about Jonah. I think Jonah and I have a lot in common.   I HAVE ignored the calling of the Lord on occasion and I certainly have argued with him over the direction of my life. I guess God has given me a break by not having me thrown into the sea and he hasn't sent a BIG fish to devour me.

My Sunday school teachers always emphasized Jonah running from the Lord and him changing his mind after getting swallowed by a big fish. But, why was Jonah running?  As a kid, I always thought after Jonah went to Nineveh he lived happily ever after. My Sunday School didn't spend much time on the less spectacular part of the story.

 Jonah's reaction AFTER he went to Nineveh says a lot about his reasons for turning and
 running from his calling.

                     Jonah 3:10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil 
          ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. 

                    Jonah 4:1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He              prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is                  what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and                  compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from              sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to            live.”

Jonah didn't run from the Lord because he thought he wasn't up to the task. He KNEW how effective he would be and he knew the Lord would show mercy to this sinful people. He was MAD that these people were going to be forgiven! He wanted them to suffer for their wrongdoing. 

Are we any different than Jonah?  

My wife and I went to Peru this fall on a mission trip. It was our first trip outside our country. The conditions these people lived in were unbelievable. Their housing conditions, their financial status, and their lives were so different than our own. We went into an open market and saw STACKS of dead rotting fish being sold. We saw live "grubs" being sold as delicacies. We witnessed young children chasing flying ants to eat just like candy. It would be easy to claim we were so much more superior than these people. Our carpeted, 3000 square foot homes, our $30,000 vehicles, and our College Educations are so superior than their own thatched roof huts with no walls, there three wheeled "Moto-cars", and their lack of advanced education. Or are they?

In reality, when these people find the Lord, THEY REALLY FIND THE LORD. When they accepted Christ as their savior, their lives change and they devote EVERYTHING they have to him. In our country even many of the MOST devoted followers of Christ sacrifice very little for their faith. An "Evangelist" in Peru, travels into extreme hostile conditions to share the Gospel. He walks miles and miles to attempt to convert people whose entire lives have been devoted to witchcraft and have never heard of Jesus. They have no Bibles and most of the villagers can't read or write. The gospel has to be shared by word of mouth or more importantly straight from the hearts of believers. 

We are so much like Jonah when we pick  and choose who we share the gospel message with. We want to make sure we share the gospel with those WE choose. We often look for the EASY target and those WE  think are worthy of our message. Bikers often are not considered worthy because they are a hard sell. Many people view bikers as the lowest of the low. They detest their party attitudes. They misunderstand their brotherhood and they only look at the sin that may fill their lives. They are often shunned by the community. In turn, Bikers, are skeptical and suspicious because of the hypocrisy they see in the ranks of the followers of Jesus. They view us as self-righteous and fake. They watch us. Before we ever get the chance to share the gospel, THEY want to make sure our walk matches our talk.  They want to see OUR meaning of love. We don't always set a great example. 

I see so many churches put their faith in programs and activities to draw people to the church. They plan flashy services and hire talented entertainers to share the message. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where is instructs us to put together a concert once a week to draw people to Christ. The message is simple. It just says, GO! It doesn't say, SIT! It doesn't say "Build it and they will come". We are called:

                    "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name            of  the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19

As we near the end of 2019 and head into another year. Let's all commit to getting out into the lost and dying world. Get out of your comfort zone. Get out of you church pew and go into the world to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world!  The world needs Jesus and yes there may be many in your church that don't TRULY know him, there is a great big world out there that doesn't know Jesus at all. They need to take the FIRST STEPS to a relationship with him! They may never step a foot into a church and will only hear about him if you GO!  Be bold in serving your savior! 

Going can mean many different things. I choose to go search out Bikers. But, maybe God has given you a passion for Prison or Jail ministry. Maybe he has wired you to work with the homeless. Maybe he has asked you to help families in crisis, pregnant teens, or maybe you are called to go into your own neighborhood. Regardless, GO and serve the Lord. The Lord has called you to be his hands and feet at a time such as this!

Why Lord?

I know I haven't written in such a long time.

Now is a really good time for me to start again.

I am on vacation with my awesome wife, granddaughter and her friend. We have been planning this trip for nearly two years. You see, we have a deal with our grandkids that between their junior and senior years of high school they can plan a trip and we will take them on it. Well, this is Hannah's Senior trip. We had planned a whirlwind three week vacation out west seeing Arches National Park, San Fransisco, Alcatras, Yosemite, Sequoia, Zion, Grand Canyon, and home. The trip was going great until we got to the mountains of Colorado. On the down hill run on I-70, the truck lost power, I could tell we were down a cylinder and she just stopped.

That started a chain of events that just has me puzzled.

To shorten the story, the truck needs to have a NEW motor. The cost will be in the thousands. I mean REALLY in the thousands. SO, here we sit between a rock and a hard place. It is cheaper buying a new motor than a new truck, but this whole thing was just not in the plans. While we are waiting on the replacement, we are continuing the trip. God is amazing and he has a way to humble us. We have rented a car and are back in a TENT camping without our beautiful fifth wheel. We are roughing it. (It's really not that bad). We have seen Alcartaz. The Arches National Park was replaced with Rocky Mountain National Park as we waited on the diagnosis of the truck. THAT was a great swap. We have plans on seeing all our sights and hopefully the truck will be done when we are ready to come home.

But, I am struggling. I believe in a wonderfully powerful God who sacrificed everything for me. He gave his son that I might live forever with him. Stephanie and I are devoting our retirement to serving him through motorcycle ministry. So, WHY would the Lord allow this to happen?  The money we spend on fixing the truck would have been used for our ministry plans. So, why would the Lord, who is completely in charge of our life's plans, allow this to happen?  He has helped us all along this trip of retirement, to get us to ready for service. We have motorcycle ministry scheduled all summer with the fifth wheel. We have a trip to Peru, and more service before the end of the year. WHY LORD?

But, you know what?  We are safe, Hannah is getting her trip. Sure we were a little inconvenienced and sure we are having to spend money we didn't plan to spend. But REALLY that's it. It is not that big of deal. God will still use us, he will provide whatever resources we need and I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. It seems trite, but it is JUST money. We have it, God has blessed us with it and we will spend it so we can serve him.

Today I spent the afternoon with Stephanie, Hannah and Kallee exploring Yosemite. This is my go to place in this world. I just love this place and the wonderful beauty GOD HAS CREATED. Seeing Half Dome, marveling at the MERCED RIVER, seeing El Capitan, and the meadows of Yosemite Valley are CLEAR PROOF of an amazing, all powerful, God. I can not let any small setback keep me from serving this wonderfully powerful God. THE GOD. THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.

Dear Lord, I LOVE YOU. I am so blessed with the life you have given me. I praise you today just as much as I praised you the first day of this trip. I am in awe of you and the sacrifices you have made for me, the greatest is the sacrifice of your Son JESUS. Please forgive me for my lack of faith. Please forgive me for me weaknesses and the sin of doubt. You are MY LORD. You are my redeemer and I will trust you until the end of my day.

We have to fix this!

I haven't written a blog post in a long time. Most of you know I have dedicated this blog to my thoughts about study of the word of the Lord. My love of the Lord has not changed. My love of His word has not changed. My love of pursuing God will never change. But I think I am going in a different direction with my writing. I really don't know if or HOW it will continue beyond this post. I need to let the Spirit of the Lord move me. I think he is moving me right now.

We have to FIX this!

Just like a lot of Americans, I am caught up in the debate about immigration and building the wall. I have to admit I want us to build a wall. I think it is so important for us to protect our country. I love this country. Yes, I love the things it stands for, God, Liberty, Freedom, and love of mankind.  I love that we have found a way, for more than 200 years, to make ourselves better. We have debated and literally fought each other to make this country free for EVERYONE. So many men have sacrificed everything to maintain our basic liberties, the freedoms of speech, press, religion, and the right to bear arms. They have fought to keep this Republic safe and to guarantee freedoms for so many other countries around the world. We also have people, entire groups and countries that want us to die. We have fought them and their only goal is to eliminate our way of life. This weighs so heavily on many Americans that we just want to close ALL our borders and effectively isolate ourselves from the world.  I think we have lost our way and right now we are at a significant turning point. Something has to change.

Our Immigration System is completely broken. Our country has always been so open to others searching for a NEW life. We have always been the land of opportunity. Immigrants have rushed to our shores to pursue a dream of a better life. I love this part of our country's heritage. Our society is so inviting to others around the world. We are STILL unique in the freedoms we provide. But, along the way in the past two centuries, we have lost our way. Our perfect REPUBLIC has been turned into a government control by bureaucrats, money, power, and privilege. IT needs to return to the people. ALL the people. Politicians mascarade themselves with calls of duty and honor, when in fact they really only know selfishness and personal gain. We have such a diverse population, that we still will have major challenges even if we snatch our leadership away from the political elite. But I believe we can do it. But, for now, I have some advice for the politicians in charge:

- Build the Wall - We must use physical walls, personnel, technology, and laws to make sure people entering our country do so the RIGHT WAY.

- Create a path for citizenship for ALL illegals in the country right now - That path needs to include extensive background checks AND rules if they violate significant laws in a 10 year period of time, such as murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, or similar crimes, they are sent back to their country. This system won't be perfect but it is necessary.  There will be backlogs, there will be those that BEAT the system. But, we need to go back to being a country that provides opportunity for those that dream of a new future.

- Set up a BETTER system to allow those interested in coming into our country PERMANENTLY for the right reasons to have a path where they can prove their loyalty to this country.  That should include getting jobs, paying taxes and following our laws, We need to do a better job tracking them during this time period. This is going to take MONEY and PEOPLE to make sure this is done. Harshly deal with those that violate the rules and SEND THEM BACK if they do not follow our laws and immigration policies. Instead of abolishing ICE, we need to expand their ranks and duties to make sure those that enter follow the laws and rules. WE CAN BE COMPASSIONATE, CARING, and A COUNTRY OF LAWS.

- HARSHLY deal with those that come into this country illegally. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!! That includes families or individuals. WE MUST BE A COUNTRY OF LAWS but we MUST DO THAT WITH COMPASSION.

Our country is the greatest in the world. We need to set an example for the rest of the world. We are COLLECTIVELY ignoring the problem and turning it into a political talking point.  WE NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WE NEED TO GET TOGETHER, COMPROMISE, AND TRULY SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.