The Myth of the "Jack-of-all Trades" Pastor

I am a retired officer (kinda pastor) of The Salvation Army. In all my years of serving our people, one of the things that bothered me most was this "myth" of the pastor having to do everything in the church. 

Oh sure, at first thought, I'm sure most would agree with me- pastors can't be expected to do everything in the church. HOWEVER. Big word there. HOWEVER, in reality, many people get all bent out of shape if their pastor doesn't do what they want. It doesn't matter that your needs are met by others in the church. If the pastor doesn't do it, for some strange reason, that makes all the difference.

Hypothetical: You're in the hospital and your pastor doesn't come to pray with you. Mind you, there are lots of others from the church who come to visit and pray with/for you, and help you but because the lead guy/gal doesn't, you grouse about it.

I'm now in a corps that has a lot of retired officers. When someone is sick or in the hospital, an email goes out and informs everyone of what's going on and what is needed. From what I can tell, that person is nearly overwhelmed with food, transportation, prayer, visits, and a whole lot of helpful things. The need is met.

HOWEVER, if the pastor isn't in that list, I will likely see a post on facebook mentioning just that. Remember, we just agreed that the pastor CAN'T do everything! And I add- frankly, SHOULDN'T.

In Genesis 18 we find the story of Moses who is literally killing himself trying to do it all for his people. Fortunately, his father-in-law sits him down and shakes his finger in his face: "DUDE! YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!" (Burr translation).

Then he tells Moses how to spread out all the responsibility. So Moses job is to make sure everyone gets their needs met, by using others to cover where he cannot.

THEREFORE, if the needs are being met, the pastor is doing his job . . . and should be encouraged for doing good work.

HOWEVER, there are STILL people who think THEY are most important and somehow deserve ALL the attention of the pastor. UGH. (That may be putting it in a rough way, but this REALLY gets to me).

I seem to remember another scene in Genesis with Moses. His sister Miriam (and Aaron) grouse about Moses. To make a long story shorter, God hits her with leprosy to punish her for carping about their leader, which God gave them (why Aaron did not get the same thing is for another blog).

It is a very dangerous thing to carp about the leader God has placed over you. If you do so, you are putting yourself in a precarious situation, to say the least. 

One more thing as I wrap up my rant . . . We each have our own spiritual gifts. Not everyone has the gift of pastor. Frankly, even many pastors do not have that gift! Pastors do a LOT of different things, only one of which is pastor people. If they do not have that gift, they need to make SURE their people are getting pastor-ed. If they do that, they are doing well and can then focus on the areas God has assigned to them via their spiritual gifts.

When I think back over the different pastors I have had over my lifetime, I find that each was doing what God called them to do- even if it did not meet with MY expectations.

If you find yourself in the place of carping about your leadership, I suggest you repent and find a way to support them. Pray for their blessing and some of that might just fall down onto you as well. 

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

"Witches cast mass spell against Trump," the article is titled. As a Christian, I have been the subject of witches' spells over the years. Even as I prayed for them, they have come against me. In one of my appointments, a local coven regularly came to my corps at 3 AM (witching hour) to lay hands on our building and "pray" against us. I once found physical spell evidence around that building. You see, witches are not the friends of Christians. They pretty much stand for everything opposite of what a Christian believes.

Now also, as a Christian, I know that such things (curses) cannot stand against us, God's people, because, well, God is God (Isaiah 54:17)! What he blesses, no one can curse! There's a certain passage in the OT (Balak's story in Numbers 22) that shows this playing out with the Israelites. Look it up. It's a good one!

In most cases, witches are against anything of Yahweh or Jesus.

Back to the article (there are actually many articles out there) about the witches cursing Trump. Frankly, if Trump were against God, then the witches would not be cursing him. Make sense?

Do you see any witches cursing Biden or Harris? Do the same search for them and you will find they SUPPORT them. That in itself should tell you something. Not everything, but SOMEthing you should be seriously thinking about.

So back to my title: as the saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Makes sense. Therefore those who are against Trump are with the witches. They are "friends," as it were.

You see, you cannot say you are for God and then support the opposite. It doesn't work. You end up holding hands with His enemies.

I think that bullet's near miss in Pennsylvania was God telling us something. I don't believe you can overlook God's hand in that as a miracle. God isn't finished with Trump yet. I for one, want to be around to see what God's planning for him!

Now you might be thinking: "there are some pretty bad people who support Trump!" Agreed. We could say that about both sides (which is true of SO many comments about either side!). Let's leave that for a future post.

This is not the only reason to support Trump in this election. I just hope there are some who will use this realization to see through the confusion of the enemy.

Our Retirement Home Blessing

This is our retirement home. Nestled at the edge of Forestbrook Reserve in Myrtle Beach, you will find our "forever home." Being a Salvation Army officer's kid, that says a lot, because I lived in 9 different houses before I graduated college (we actually lived in two houses while I was in college). Since then, you can add another 19 until we finally landed here! We don't plan on moving ever again! By the way- I have the address list of very house I ever lived in.

Here is the story of our retirement home blessing:

Three years before retirement (2020), our plan was to come to Myrtle Beach and find a good realtor (and we found one of the BEST!). We wanted him to show us some houses and we would fill him in on what we liked and what we didn't like about those houses. Then in 2021, we would come back and get serious about buying a home. During that year, I would learn everything I needed to know about buying a house, because, well, I had never done that. We always lived in Salvation Army provided "quarters" (homes).

Our realtor gave us access to his web site where we found about 4-5 houses we liked. The day before he was to show us around these houses, we drove around ourselves to see them from the outside.

The first was already SOLD, so that was crossed off the list. The second was in a neighborhood we didn't particularly like (and it was hard to get to), so that one was crossed off the list. The next one just didn't look as good in person as it did online, so off the list. The last two were fine and since we didn't have any others we liked, we would go with the realtor to see them the next day.

Very quickly that day, we realized the first house looked great on the outside, but was going to take more renovation than we wanted. Almost a bit sadly, we went to our final house. I mean, we had "struck out" so far, what was going to happen with our last one?

In case you haven't guessed already, we walked into the house shown above. Within 5 minutes of looking Debbie and I both KNEW this was THE house! Good news, bad news- we loved the house, but I knew nothing about the house buying process and wasn't even sure we could make an appropriate down payment. I went into deep thinking mode to figure out if we could do it.

Our realtor said if we liked it, we should make an offer right away, because he was certain it would not stay on the market much longer. To make a long story short, we made an offer and went back and forth a couple of times until it was all settled. Then a date was set for the closing. We went home back North to figure out the process and work through all the paperwork we needed to do.

About a month later, we came back to close and "lived" in our home for 5 days before we returned to work and decided to rent the place until we needed it. That proved to be a God-thing as well, because that extra money helped a LOT in paying for the mortgage and having some money to do the minor renovations we wanted- like painting, carpets, etc.

A year passed. You might remember the housing market went CRAZY in 2021! If we had waited until we had planned on buying a house, we never could have afforded our house or anything like it. The price had gone way above our limit. God had a plan all along. I am glad we chose to listen to His plan and not mine!

God says "My ways are not your ways." Good thing!

God is so good to us. We see our retirement home as a direct blessing from God. And the first of our many blessings he poured down on us as we headed into retirement.

Trust in Yahweh with your whole heart and don't depend on your own knowledge and understanding. If you do this, He will make your path an easy one (my paraphrase). 

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Postscript: In the process of buying our house, I learned a LOT about the process of buying a house. If anyone reading this is interested, I can provide a simple two sheet list of steps.

God Bless America?

There is little doubt about it- America has a lot in common with Israel when it comes to God's blessing. Both nations began with a complete focus on God and God's hand was on them both as long as they continued to follow His ways. 

The other day in my devotional reading, I came across this quote: 

"[Jeremiah's] society suffered from pervasive moral and spiritual decay. The nation of Judah had turned so far from God that it was soon to face His fierce judgement." 

And that got me thinking . . . thoughts that I have wrestled with many times before. 

The scriptures paint a vivid picture of what happened to Israel/Judah when the people strayed from God. God removed his hand of protection and they were (more than once) subjected to God's judgement. 

In the United States, we sing the song: "God Bless America." And for many years, God HAS blessed us. But as I think about this song today, I cannot sing it without conviction that God is no longer blessing us. Can we still ask Him to bless us when we have strayed so far from his ways? When we are doing so many things directly against His will for us? I think not. We have lost our way and I believe it is time for His judgement. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to sing "God BlessED America."

That said, the scriptures also paint as vivid a picture of what happened when God's people repented and returned to Him and again followed His ways. They were restored and God began protecting and blessing once again. This isn't rocket science!

We are never too far away from God that we cannot repent and return. He promises to listen and restore when our hearts seek him and we change our ways.

I'm not trying to be prophetic, but I believe we are in for some serious judgement. We can turn this around, but it's going to take a LOT of prayer, repentance, and turning back; turning away from the things we have put in God's place. Christians won't be exempt- Jeremiah was a righteous man, but he suffered right along with the rest of his nation.

What will it take for America to realize we need to get to a place of repentance and turn our direction around? Will we see the coming judgement as God trying to get our attention? Or will we act as if it was God who turned from us first?

Here's what I pray at least twice every day:

"O Father, have mercy on all humanity. Draw all people to Your Truth."

Pray with me for revival with deep repentance and a return to God.

Bass Trombone

About 3 years ago, I started noticing some amazing blessings God was sending our way- as we prepared for retirement. I could give you a long list of incredible things (and I likely will talk about many of them here in days to come), but want to focus on just one here:

In college, I majored in Performance on Bass Trombone. My intent was to play in an orchestra or pit band somewhere and my efforts went in that direction. That is until God told me he wanted me to be an officer in The Salvation Army. 

That "call" came along about 2 1/2 years into my studies. Once I agreed with his plan (and honestly that took awhile), Bass Trombone began moving down my list of priorities for things like public speaking and Bible classes. Before I entered The Army's school for officer training, I sadly sold my "baby" (a Holton TR180 with custom modified inline Thayer valves) and bought a small tenor trombone (Bach 16M), because that would be more practical (however it is the same horn Bill Watrous plays!). I still use that tenor today at my corps. I did keep my custom Bass Trombone mouthpiece (a modified Bach 1 1/4 G), however- just in case!

Over the years I have had many opportunities to play Bass Trombone in different Army bands, but always had to use the horn provided. Some were okay, others- not so much! But deep down, I truly missed playing "for real."

Don't get me wrong- I have loved my career as a Salvation Army officer with amazing appointments, people and going everywhere God has led us. I know his way was best and I was blessed to serve as he wanted. I wouldn't change a thing.

Then we retired in December. I happened to find a local community band that needed a Bass Trombone, so I went. And quickly discovered I needed my own Bass Trombone again! So I started looking. Now, mind you, the cost of a decent horn these days is seriously prohibitive. But to make a long story shorter, I found (ahem- God found FOR me) a brand new (only played once) Wessex inline double trigger for an awesome price! I drove 3 hours to my Mom's home town (Columbia, SC) try it out and instantly loved it. You can see it above!

Back in Myrtle Beach, the community band also has a Jazz Band (Jazz is in my blood!) AND Brass Choir (larger brass quintet, which I loved in college). I now play Bass Trombone in 3 different groups (and tenor and sometimes euphonium at the corps)! Retirement is like Frosted Flakes- it's G-R-E-A-T!

SOooo, the other day it dawned on me that God worked all this out to "give my Bass Trombone back again!" I did what he wanted for 42 1/2 years; now he is letting me do what I originally wanted to do for whatever years I have left. God is just SO cool! And I still get to work with the young adults at the corps too (my ministry)!

My Dad used to say "God loves everyone, but he loves ME the best!" 

I know what he meant.

Holes + Discouragement + God = Faith

OCTOBER 30, MORNING

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh. - Lamentations 3:26

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger withheld his tender mercies? - I said in my alarm, I am cut off from Your sight: nevertheless You heard my cry for mercy when I cried to You for help.

Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night, will he keep putting them off? - Wait on Yahweh and he will save you. - Rest in Yahweh and wait patiently for him: do not fret because men succeed in their ways; when they carry out their wicked schemes.

You will not need to fight in this battle: take up your positions; stand firm and see the salvation of Yahweh.

Let us not become weary in doing good: for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Be patient then until Yahweh's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the Autumn and Spring rains.

Psalm 77:9. Psalm 31:22. Luke 18:7,8. Proverbs 20:22. Psalm 37:7. 2 Chronicles 20:17. Galatians 6:9. James 5:7. - Daily Light on the Daily Path

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This is what I read first thing last Thursday morning. I have no idea how these words affect you right now, but to me they were a generous sprinkler to a dry lawn!

Some of you know our situation. For those who don't, let's just say our RI finances are impossible. After a little more than a year, we have seen very little change. In some ways, things have gotten worse, despite some enormous attempts to bring it under control. It can be very discouraging!

In times like these the days roll unendingly into each other and you begin to doubt God's presence- or at least his promises and blessing.

Then God throws you a bone!

As I ponder anew God's promises and blessing, I am encouraged. Is the end to our financial woes in sight? Absolutely not. But I have learned not to get off the train in the tunnel. There IS light ahead even if I don't see it right now. And in my experience of these things God has NEVER failed!

Even though I sometimes feel like there's no possible way out of this hole, I can remember the many times before when God has brought me out of the hole. This may be the biggest hole I've ever faced, but it's not bigger than God!

And my faith continues to grow . . .

The Blood Sacrifice

DISCLAIMER: You know I have strong political beliefs, but with this note I am trying to avoid them for a deep spiritual purpose. I know to some of you it won’t look like I am trying to avoid anything, but I put this here to assure you my purpose is not political, even though it may make you think that way. I use strong words, because this is a strong issue that needs to be addressed. I am not looking for a fight- I don’t have it in me right now. So please read this prayerfully.

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There are many issues we need to think about during election campaigns. I have always been a bit concerned with those who simplify things down to one major issue and have agreed with those who have said “you can’t do that; there are too many other factors that need to be considered.”

But I read an email the other day that has made me think differently. At least about one particular issue- abortion.

In 2 Kings 3:26-27 there is a strange case of the king of Moab in battle with Israel. The battle is going against him, so he sacrifices his son and the battle changes so drastically that Israel quits and goes away. There is something important in this story!

Here is the spiritual premise: a blood sacrifice releases much power in the spiritual realm.

I need not remind any of you of THE great blood sacrifice that released such great spiritual power that we are redeemed from our sin! We are the direct recipients of the power of a blood sacrifice.

Jesus’ sacrifice obviously overshadows any possible comparison, but we cannot ignore the fact that a blood sacrifice also empowers the enemy and his forces that fight against God. We have seen the results of such blood sacrifice over the years- in scripture and more recently, specifically with Nazi Germany against Israel. The blood sacrifice of God’s chosen people brought great power to the Nazi regime.

As we look at the HUGE blood sacrifices that have been and are being offered to evil through abortion today in the USA, it really doesn’t take much to see that evil is running powerfully rampant in our society. God himself turns against those who choose to go against his ways. As a country, the single most important spiritual issue we face is how we deal with the innocent. God will not continue to sit by and bless those who blatantly trash his precepts.

Is the economy an important issue in this election? Yes it is. Could it be going awry because of the strong influence of evil empowered by a blood sacrifice? Yes it could. Could any other issue be put in this same category? Of course it could.

My point is, we need to change the way abortion is empowering the enemy in this country. The fact that we are so blind to this issue only goes to show how powerful the enemy has become in even fooling “the elect.” We need to eliminate the blood sacrifice that brings him such strength in his fight against God

How do we do that? By electing people who have strong convictions against allowing blood sacrifice to continue in this country. If we do that, we can begin walking the long path back to allowing God to bless this nation- again.

How does your candidate stand up to this test? The next president of the USA will probably have opportunity to at least place 2 new judges on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the place where this abortion issue can be dealt with. If the next 2 appointments are pro abortion, we have lost the fight. If the next 2 appointments are anti abortion, we have a fighting chance to eliminate the enemy’s blood sacrifice empowerment and bring God’s blessing back.

Honestly, I believe there are a whole lot of important issues in this campaign. But as much as it is in my power, I cannot personally allow any of them to overshadow the importance of this one issue which can affect every other issue on the table. And God’s blessing, which we so desperately need.

Please pray hard and vote.

Friday Night at OOB Top 10 List

Friday night at Old Orchard Beach was awesome and there are many reasons I say so. Here's my Top 10 List:

10) It didn't rain!

9) I got to see "The Generals" coloring book made just for this year's meetings!

8) I was the first person to start off the 24/7 Prayer Room for the camp meetings (just like last year); 1 hour of POWER! The word I got was "It's all about Jesus."

7) It was (and always is) good to see many good friends and family!

6) It was great to be able to reconnect with a group of War College students who are all special to me!

5) I got to see and hug a few of my spiritual daughters (both official and unofficial ones)!

4) General Burrows spoke twice and was awesome (there were many seekers at the altar)!

3) I got to pray with a couple of people at the altar and General Burrows came down and prayed with us!

2) I got to spend some late hours praying with The War College Ministry Team for their week of Prophetic Evangelism at the OOB pier (praying with them is always fantastic)! God has some BIG plans for them this coming week!

1) The War College Team prayed for Debbie & I and gave us some awesome personal words from God about our specific situation in Rhode Island! One person who doesn't know our situation at all, spoke of the many children in our care and how God will be providing financially (as those of you who read my blog regularly know, we have a large Child Care Center in RI and we owe $2.5 million for its construction)!

Wow! More evidence God is working to get rid of that debt! Watch this space!

Mary and Dave

Mary and Dave MacKay. If you know them, I don't need to tell you about them. You already know. Wonderful people!

We've just spent the last 7 years with them and grew to love them more every day.

We just spent the last 2 days with them and saw yet again how important they are to us.

Mary and Dave drove us to Rhode Island from Bangor. The obvious reason- someone needed to get the van back to Bangor. The hidden reason- we wanted to hang on to them as long as possible. If just for a few more hours.

The 5 hour trip down went quickly due to good conversation with good friends. When we arrived, they immediately began to help us figure things out, move furniture around, clean, etc. We worked late into the evening. Since it was a long trip, they spent the night with us- our first Rhode Island house guests!

They just drove off and left us alone with our movers. We cried as we said our final farewells and watched the van pull off around the circle. Even though we know we're going to soon see each other again at OOB, there is the knowledge that it won't be every day any more. Mary won't be able to house sit any more. We won't be able to sit and chat whenever we want, hang out in our small group . . . the list goes on and on.

Our final ties to Bangor have been severed and that is why we're sad. {sigh}

Thanks Mary and Dave for all your hard work. Thanks for always being there for us and helping out in many small (and BIG) ways. Thanks for your friendship and prayers. Thanks for being so important to us; you were and will continue to be a HUGE blessing to us. We'll miss you BIG TIME, but trust God has even more good things in store for all of us!

We love you!
Doug and Debbie

Thoughts on 2 Chronicles 15-16

Check out 2 Chronicles chapters 15-16. It's a fascinating passage and I'd like to leave you with a few thoughts about it. I'll assume you've already read it now, so I'll just make my comments on specific verses:

15:2 If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

There's a promise and a curse here. If you do the right thing, you get the promise. If not- well, you get the idea. But the main issue is God's concern that his people seek him. Mind you, he WANTS to be found so he's not into hiding.

He actively seeks us, but that's not enough for him. He wants us to do the same. That doesn't just "happen" because we go to church once a week. It takes effort and time. He promises that we will find him, but we've got to do the seeking. The last thing we want is for God to forsake us, but it WILL happen if we do NOT seek him.

4 But in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.

It always seems to take some distress for us to really seek God now, doesn't it? I wonder what serious blessing we'd receive if we sought God BEFORE we got into trouble? Yet still, either way, he IS found WHENEVER we choose to seek him (whew!).

7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

Nice promise! I hang onto this one all the time, because just when I want to give up, I need a reminder to hang in there just a little bit longer.

12 They entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.

A covenant; a contract, if you will. Wouldn't it be great if we were so serious! To actually sign a contract with God that we would seek him with all our heart and soul. Wow! Powerful!

13 All who would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

Ouch! This would be a little hard to follow through with today! :) But they were serious and my bet is there weren't too many people that had to die that day. Seeking God was the most important thing they had to do.

14 They took an oath to Yahweh with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So Yahweh gave them rest on every side.

Not only did they take the oath, they did it wholeheartedly and with LOUD shouts and the whole band! They sought God with everything they had and, of course, they found him- because that's the promise. And God is good for his word. Always.

16:9 For the eyes of Yahweh range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Here's the kicker: If we will fully commit ourselves to God, he will strengthen us to be successful. And we see God seeking again- seeking all over the earth to find those who sincerely want to find him and know him with all their hearts.

Often in today's world, there are way too many things keeping us from giving God everything. Anything in your way of seeking God with ALL your heart?

Prophetic Titles

One of the special things God did for me this year during prayer ministry times, is give me a "Prophetic Title" for each person I prayed with (I say each person, because there are many people who wish to get involved in such prayer ministry, not just the current session of students. In fact, there are a few past students who have scheduled a prayer time with me every year I have returned!).

I mentioned these titles a couple of days ago. Simply put, they are a way God sees the person. It is prophetic, because (like all prophecy) the individuals have to agree with the title and move toward it for the truth it represents to become a reality. For instance, Jesus saw Peter as a Rock. Peter had to accept that and help it come into being in himself. If we disagree with such things they will not come into being.

Some of these are truly exciting to me, so I hope each person will receive them, agree with their truth and move in that direction.

I asked if I could publish these on my blog and got the okay, so here they are (not in any particular order and I hope I get all the names right!):

Matt Armstrong - Quiet Strength
Donny Melanson - God is my Power
Matt Elcome - My Pure One
Catherine Marquis - Explorer of My Mysteries
Lisa Stewart - My Worthy One
Becky Austin - Receiver of My Radiance
Crystal Myers - My Playful One
Andy MacDOnald - My Strong One
Lynn Wagner - My Priceless Jewel
Olivia Munn - I Pour Into This one (I was heavily impressed with this!)
Kirsten Ivany - Simply Trusting in Me
Juan Reyes - Abandoned to Me
Regan Lipsett - My Treasure
Holly Warren - My Obedient One
Stephanie Lines - Beloved of God
Stephie (last name?) - My Princess
Cristina Edmonds - At Peace With Me
Nicole Brindle - Blessed Beyond the Curse
Ian Smith - Full of My Wonder
Dawn Paulson - The One That I Want (with the music from the musical Grease!)
Jeremy Strain - Mighty Warrior
Lynne Cawker - My Precious Bride; My Sun Ray

Our Contract of Friendship

After serious & cautious deliberation, our contract of friendship has been renewed for another year (2007). This was a hard decision to make, so let's try hard not to screw it up!

My blessing for your 2007 is as follows:

May peace break into your house and may thieves come & steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become magnets for $100.00 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success, may happiness slap you across the face, and may your tears be that of joy! May all the problems you had, forget your home address! In simple words, may 2007 be the best year of your life!

FREE Music (Does that Get your Attention?)!

For those of you who are regularly blessed by Phil Laeger's music, you'll want to get right over to his website and download his latest FREE(!) album, Pride & Glory, Truth & Beauty.

http://www.phillaeger.com/home.html

There are 4 cuts, each named after the album's title. I haven't had the chance to listen critically yet, but I have no doubt I will be blessed and challenged as usual. You will too, I'm sure.

So what are you waiting for? Click! Download!

Is That IT?

It's Halloween night and as it happens, both Debbie and I are home for the evening (NOT the par for the course!). So we've been taking turns answering the door and handing out candy to the Trick-or-Treaters.

Now before I go any further, let me comfort anyone freaking out that we participate at all in anything to do with Halloween: I take the opportunity to pray for each child (and parent) who comes to our door and speak God's blessing over them. This has been my practice for more than a few years. I'd rather have nothing to do with this "holiday," but since it brings people to our door to receive whatever I have to give them (including the blessing and prayer [as long as it is preceded by candy!]), I offer them a little more than they expected. Here's to using The Enemy's holiday to "reverse the curse," as it were!

{ding dong} I'm in the kitchen getting dinner and it's Debbie's turn to answer the door. As she puts the candy in the bag of the first kid, I hear him belt out: "Is that IT?" (Debbie's classic response was: "Most people just say thank-you").

That sure is a typical comment from our society of entitlement. We deserve the best, therefore we should have it, therefore other people should make sure we get it . . . et cetera, ad infinitum!

And don't we often approach God that way? Before we go to him in prayer with our request, we already KNOW what we want him to do for us. If we were writing the "scripture" for this part, we'd probably say it something like this:

"Before I even asked, I knew what your answer should be."

Is that IT, God? Is that ALL you're going to do for me? Aren't you forgetting something? Hey- I'm talking here!

Shaky ground indeed.

Most Christians should just say "thank-you!"

Malcolm & Vicki Daniels

We just returned from Malcolm Daniels and Victoria Balcom's wedding. Now mind you- the day's not over yet- we still have The Celebration (party) to go to in a few minutes! I hear it's a big spread!

What a blessing to be asked to do the wedding of one of your old Junior Soldiers! And I must add, Malcolm was (and still is) one of my all-time favorites!

Everything went extremely well. Everyone looked great- especially the bride (of course, she was radiant)! It was certainly my honor to officiate. And as one of my responsibilities, I was asked to pray over them and offer a blessing during the ceremony. Here are my prayerful words:

Malcolm & Vicki's Blessing
When people all around you feel as though God has left (and they will), you will know for certain he has not. That's because you know when people turn away from God, he redoubles his efforts to get through to us.

When the road gets dark because of trials and difficulties (and it will), you will know Yahweh is always near to lean on. You will know the darkness only serves to strengthen you. And it is merely temporary.

You are strong- together. As a cord strengthens with each strand added, so combining your spirits makes you a formidable weapon against The Enemy. That strength is God's plan and you will be an example of how that unified strength has changed you both.

You are swift to see injustice and do something about it. Together you are a refuge for the lost and your home is a safe haven for those in need. Many will come to know of Yahweh's love for them by your loving example.

You have been down a difficult path, but your experience will be used by God to teach faith in Him and good decision-making in those who look up to you. You are an example of Yahweh's amazing grace; the more he pours into you, the more you will flow over into those around you.

Your communication skills will blossom as you resolve conflict thrown at you by The Enemy. His attempts to divide you will not be successful; you will always see him coming from afar and deal with him long before he even gets a chance to get his foot in the door.

God has a leadership role in store for you. Watch for his leading. He is sending a number of people your way and he desires that you will show them the way. You both naturally accept people where they are. This is a great starting point you should develop to its fullness, for it is placed in you by Yahweh himself for his grand purposes.

Know this: You have not even begun to experience the amazing ways God plans to use you both! This marriage will be a beacon to all.

It is good. And God is pleased.

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God bless you, Malcolm & Vicki!

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PS: Here's their wedding website.

Combat Faith

This is a book recommended by Chuck Missler on one of his teaching mp3s I've been listening to lately. I looked it up on AllBookStores.com and thought it sounded like I'd like it. I do!

I've been using it as my devotional book, so I read a chapter most mornings. Mr. Lindsey often talks about "cracking the faith barrier" and reminds us of many biblical instances of God teaching his children to have faith in his leading.

I am learning a lot about faith from his insights and have even gotten a good sermon (so far) from his thoughts. At the moment, I am thinking about today's reading where I highlighted most of the chapter!

Here's a quote:

"The deliverance at the Red Sea has a tremendous application to our lives today. Though the LORD may allow us to be led into a similar impossible situation, His will is that we boldly stand against the odds and claim His promises. When we do, He delivers us.

"In most cases, as soon as we react to a trial with faith in the LORD's promises, He removes it. If He doesn't, then we know that there is some greater lesson He desires to teach us concerning perseverance in faith. Remember that though God's leading may be unexplainable for the moment, His ultimate purpose is to teach us to believe Him so that we may have inner peace, joy and effective service for Him now and great rewards in eternity."

Good stuff, huh (or "good stuff, eh?" for our Canadian friends)?

Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore we should all be giving our best efforts to increase our faith. However, it seems God is so interested in developing our faith he "goes out of his way" to provide us with MANY opportunities to do so!

I could write much more based on my thoughts right now, but let's save some for future blogs and not make Travis too uncomfortable with a long blog! {heh, heh}

If you're interested in the book, click the title above (or the picture) to be directed to where you can purchase it. I highly recommend it.

BLESSING:
May you please God with the way your faith is growing. May you choose to believe he is leading no matter what happens in your daily life. May the tough situations you find yourself struggling through only allow God to prove himself you and to those around you, because you stand boldly on his promises and refuse to be defeated. And may God receive all the glory both now and forevermore!

Faith is . . .

I learned some interesting things while studying for last week's message. The subject was "faith" and I spent some time looking at God's promise to Abraham and Abe's subsequent faith in trusting God despite the LONG time it took to see it fulfilled. Did you know from the time God promised Abe a son (and a lot of descendants) to the time of the Famous Test (of offering his son as a sacrifice), was 50-55 years! YEARS!

Here's a time-line:

• Abram was 75 years old (Sarai was 65) when God first made his promise that he would have a son and many descendants. To prove it, God changed Abram's name (exalted father) to Abraham (Father of a multitude).

• Eleven years later Sarah took matters into her own hands and gave Abraham her servant to have a child with. The result was Ishmael, who became the father of the Arab people. This error on Abe and Sarah's part is still causing problems in the MidEast!

• Thirteen MORE years (Abe was 99), God repeats his promise. Sarah laughs at the craziness of the promise since they are both so old, but denies she laughed. God caught her lie.
  

• One year after that (Abraham was now 100), God names the child Isaac, which means "laughter." Imagine being reminded of your lie every time you look at your child!
  

• Almost 30 years later (Isaac is in his late 30s, Abe his late 120's), God tests Abraham's faith by telling him to sacrifice his son (the one of the promise).

Abraham believed God's promise to him for more than 50 years! And we grouse and give up when we have to wait a few days!

Faith is secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance in his will- always.

Can I do that? Can you?

BLESSING:
May you have a secure faith in God that trusts him no matter what. Even in the tough days you experience, may you continue to believe God is your salvation and your protection. May he be pleased with your steadfast faith and may you be an example to others as Abraham was (and still is).

The Blessing

You may have noticed I've started ending ("started ending?" Oxymoron, Josh Lyle!) my blogs with a blessing. For the last year or so I've noticed God telling me that blessing people is an important thing for me to do. But I don't often have a good opportunity to offer them, except on SonDay's at our corps.

I've actually written out a few for certain people- when I know I am going to be able pray it over them in person. I believe I may even have blogged one or two after I gave them to the person awhile back.

Rob Bell, an awesome teacher I have come to listen to a lot, always offers a blessing after his teachings and videos. He speaks a truth that he desires to come into being over the listener, based on the teaching he just offered. He is a master of the blessing and I look to him as an example.

The Bible is full of instances of people pronouncing blessings over people. I believe they can take on a prophetic role and "announce" a prophecy that God desires to fulfill in that person's life. That's how I think of them: I think, listen and pray a lot over a blessing before I give it. I don't just want to offer something that sounds cool or pompous. I want it to mean something, and if the person believes it and allows it to happen in their lives, come into fruition.

The blessing is a lost art form, which we should be steadily rediscovering and using. That's my goal.

So please take my blog blessings seriously. Allow them to flow over you as anointing oil flows over the head and drips down the body. Allow them to permeate your being and begin to be fulfilled in your life.

BLESSING:
May you learn to receive the Good Word God sends to you through his people. May you grab onto it, pull it inside and plant it deep within. May you water it, shelter it and allow it to grow into the flowering plant God desires. May you, in turn, become a large flowering plant that others can rest in your shade.