Just Do It!

Recently it was a blessing to participate in providing music for a Fall Festival Supper at a Lutheran church in Alamo, ND.  Located about 30 miles south of us, the church is part of a five church parish connected to Concordia Lutheran here in Crosby, ND and served by a husband and wife pastor team.  Our "Music Makers" group has been blessed by the banjo playing talent exhibited by the husband, and so it was we were asked to provide "background music" at the festival both last year and this year.

Last year the meal was pancakes, but this year we enjoyed ham, potatoes, creamed corn, coleslaw and a variety of "goodies" for dessert.  We sang a few numbers prior to eating, and then entertained for about an hour afterwards.  All the while we played, people were busy enjoying fellowship and participating in what they called a "Norwegian Auction".  After purchasing tickets for fifty cents a piece, you wrote your name on the tickets and placed them in containers next to various prizes which had been donated by the members of the congregation.  There were also quite a number of "silent auction" sheets which corresponded to more deluxe items.

My contribution to the Music Makers is singing.  Several of the songs we share are instrumental, giving me an occasional break.  During this time I purchased a few dollars worth of tickets and made my selections.  At the end of the evening I was delighted with my winnings, which were a pair of gloves and a container of date filled cookies.  I also won one of the silent auction items, which was an autumn themed basket.
 

As often happens when I participate in fun events, pictures were taken and shared over Facebook.  One of the comments expressed by a friend was "I want some date cookies!  I love them!"  Since date filled cookies are a rare treat at our house, my first instinct was to simply "like" her comment and move on.  Instead I found myself posting a reply.  "Stop over tomorrow afternoon and I'll share!!" 

The next morning came and went, and I didn't hear anything further from her.  About mid-afternoon I had a little voice in my head say, "You should call her and tell her to come over!"  Then the other little voice in my head said, "You don't want to do that!  The house is in a disarray and, seriously, you want to save all those cookies for yourself!!"  After a little back and forth between the two voices, the first one won out and I'm so glad it did!  My friend came over and we enjoyed a nice visit. . .the real, face to face kind. . .over date filled cookies and cranberry mango juice.  There was even still one cookie left when we were done with our visit!

 

It is really sad how seldom our home is used for entertaining.  Years back it was quite often we had someone over for a meal or an evening of visiting.  Times have changed.  Now we sit home alone with our eyes glued to a screen of some sort.  We keep track of how many "friends" we have and post comments on how our day is going.  Occasionally we share pictures.  But we really don't fellowship.  After the visit with my friend, I was reminded of how nice it is to greet someone at my door, invite them in and enjoy sharing face to face. 

How long has it been since you've had company at your house?  I can already hear the excuses. . ."My house is too messy!". . ."I have too much to do!". . . "I need to check the news feed on Facebook!"  Next time God brings someone to mind, don't hesitate to ask them over. . .just do it!  You'll never regret it!



Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
1 Peter 4:9
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pencils, Sharpeners, You and the Church

Our church has an adult Sunday School class which is taught by our pastor, Dennis Huenefeld.  This morning, in the course of the class discussion, he gave a good object lesson I thought I would pass along. 

Each of us has a story to tell, and thus we are like a pencil.   Over time, however, every pencil gets dull and needs to be sharpened.  In the same way, going to church serves as the "sharpening tool" to freshen our lives, making them able to put out a clear and concise message about our Christian walk.

Can you be a Christian and not attend church?  Of course you can, since the requirement for being one is not church attendance but believing in and establishing a personal relationship with Jesus.  The church does, however, serve as a tool used by the Holy Spirit to "sharpen" our knowledge of God's Word and also provides much needed fellowship with other believers.

The question of the day is, "Did the point of your Christian experience get sharpened today?"  So thankful for Crosby Assembly of God and the many times it has served to make me a more productive Christian.  I'm also thankful for Concordia Lutheran Church here in Crosby, ND which provided my foundation in Christianity and gave me a positive experience growing up in the church. 

Would anyone else like to share the story of how a church or combination of churches has shaped your Christian experience? 

Rescue the Perishing

The forecast for tonight is a hard frost.  This means pretty much any remnants of the warm seasons will soon be history.  The bed of snapdragons in our front yard provided a nice array of color all summer, but lately really decided to flourish.  At a time the plants appeared to be done blooming, I decided to cut off all the "dead heads" to see what would happen.  The combination of this process and no heavy frosts has made for a real bright spot amid our fall colors.

 

 

Not wanting to say my final farewell to their beauty, I decided to cut and bring in the remaining flowers with plans to place them into bouquets to share with others around town.  Twice I had to go back inside the house for another container to put them in.

 

 

It took some time, but eventually all the leaves and wilted flowers were removed, leaving me with quite the assortment to work with when it comes time to create the bouquets.  Looking at the clock, this may be a project for tomorrow!

 

 

As I was working with the flowers, a song kept going through my mind.  "Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. . . "  It is an old hymn of the church written by Fannie Crosby back in 1869.  A quick search on Goggle provided the rest of the words to the song:

 

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. 

 

Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting,
Waiting the penitent child to receive;
Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently;
He will forgive if they only believe.

 

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

 

Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;
Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;
Back to the narrow way patiently win them;
Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died.

 

Refrain:Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

 

 

Somehow, as I worked with the flowers, there was a bigger picture unfolding.  Much like the flowers growing in the yard, people living without Jesus in their lives are simply going about their business, unaware of the pending doom.  For the flowers, death would surely come from exposure to cold temperatures.  But for the life facing death without acknowledging Jesus as Savior, a different temperature awaits them in the fire of hell. 

 

As I sorted through the piles of flowers, there were buds not yet opened, flowers in full bloom and other blossoms which were showing the withered signs of age.  In the same way, people of all ages face the possibility of their life's end at any moment.  None of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

 

According to the forecast, the night ahead brings with it impending doom for the snapdragons.  Because of my care and concern, their life will be extended because I rescued them.  Tonight the question at hand is not so much about my flowers, however, but about what awaits YOU in eternity.  Have you been rescued by Jesus Christ, our Savior?  As the song says, He is waiting for each of us to believe and receive the forgiveness He freely offers. 

 

The snapdragons will now have a few more days to spread their beauty, but how wonderful it is to have the assurance my soul has been rescued not only for today and tomorrow, but for all of eternity.  Praying you, too, will be among those who say "Yes, I believe" to Jesus!

A Double Portion of Revelations - Part 2: More From Dan

On the tail-end of reading David Jeremiah's "Agents of the Apocalypse" came the arrival of Dan Johnson.  He spoke at our church for a series of four services.  During the second service his message also supplied a bit of a "revelation" I had not seen prior to his pointing it out.  The title of his message was "No King, Man's King and God's King" and was taken from the books of Judges, and 1 & 2 Samuel, with a brief peek into the book of Ruth which falls between them.

He showed us through the Scriptures of a time when the people of God had no king.  After the great leadership of Joshua, Judges 2:10 tells us there arose a generation who didn't remember him.  Because of this, it seems "everyone did as he saw fit" or as other versions are worded, "everyone did what was right in their own eyes".  You will find this phrase repeated often throughout the book of Judges.

Eventually it came to a point where the Israelites decided they wanted a king like the other nations around them, and thus it was God gave them Saul, who was what Dan referred to as "man's king".  Eventually in 2 Samuel came David, who was God's choice as king and a man after God's own heart.

These stories from the Bible were not new to me.  In fact, over the course of my lifetime, they have been read many times.  And so it was quite "enlightening" to have Dan point out something very interesting relating to the bigger picture of this portion of the Bible.

In Dan's opinion, we are now in a period much like the one referred to in Judges.  It seems there is no one looking to anyone in particular to be the absolute authority, leaving everyone to do what is right in their own eyes.  We are in essence doing a repeat of what happened to God's people in Judges.

Jumping over the book of Ruth, Dan compared the time when the Israelite's were ruled by Saul, man's king, to a time in the future when a person known as the Antichrist will arise and unite the world under one government.  It will seem as if this world ruler will be the answer to the problems, but unfortunately, during this time in the future, people will relinquish their freedom for a false sense of security.

Following this time of "man's king" will come the return of Jesus Christ, which will be the establishment of God's King.  At this point, the Bible says, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Dan questioned why we would want to wait until a time we will be forced to kneel when we can freely do so now?  By doing so, the Bible says we will avoid a very troublesome time under the rule of the Antichrist.

This is where the Book of Ruth comes in.  Ruth is a love story between a young widow and her "kinsman redeemer", Boaz.  In Old Testament law, a kinsman redeemer could marry a relative's widow to redeem the inheritance.  Dan used the story of Ruth as a picture of the love between God's people and Jesus Christ who redeemed us by His death on the cross.

Will the Old Testament pattern of no king (Judges), a wedding (Ruth), man's king (1 Samuel) and God's king (2 Samuel) play out in the end time scenario?  Looking around our world, it certainly is a point in time where everyone is doing just as they please as they did in Judges.  The wedding will take place when Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, comes to claim His bride, the church.  A time of man's king ruling will take place during the troublesome time referred to as "the tribulation" under the rule of the Antichrist.  Finally, God will put Jesus in place as the King of Kings after His second coming. 

It is exciting to me to realize we may be alive during the time all this happens!  Many come with the argument, "Yes, but people have been saying the end is near for a long time".  I say, "How much closer are we now?" and "Someday there will be a generation who will live through the ending of the story".  Could it be we will be the ones?  I guess only time will tell.  In the meantime, I'm thankful for powerful men of God, like Dan Johnson, who help us see God's timeless story in a new light!

A Double Portion of Revelations - Part 1: Book Report

All too often books find their way into my house and get relegated to the "back burner".  For some odd reason, it seems scrolling endlessly through FaceBook takes priority over reading books which could enlighten me in new ways.  (Could this be a secret plot on the part of the enemy to distract me?)  Looks like I may need to call on some Holy Spirit help to change my habits.

Fortunately, as we were preparing for our trip to the League of Cities convention, a book which had been purchased some time ago caught my eye.  I opted to bring it along, as there would be free time both on the road and while Bert was attending his meetings.  I'm so glad I did!

Thinking back to school days, there were times we were assigned "book reports" where a book was read and then reported on to the class.  Things to include were the name of the book, author and a summary of what the book was about.  With this in mind, here is my latest report:

 

Title of Book:  "Agents of the Apocalypse"

Author - Dr. David Jeremiah

Summary - The subtitle of the book is "A Riveting Look at the Key Players of the End Times".  As the first chapter unfolded, so did an outline of how future chapters would be presented.  First, there was a fictitious story written about someone playing a role in a particular piece of the "end time puzzle".  For example, chapter one was entitled, "The Exile" and featured a possible scenario of how the apostle John became exiled to the Isle of Patmos.  This was where God revealed to him the events recorded in the book of Revelations.  Following this, the second part of the chapter would come under the heading of "The Scripture Behind the Story".  In this section, the author would share passages from the Bible which inspired him to write the story as he did in the first half of the chapter.

Other "agents" covered in the book were the martyrs, the 144,000, the two witnesses, the dragon, the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth.  If you've ever taken the time to read through the book of Revelations these will sound familiar.  The final three chapters covered the Victor, the King and the Judge, all referring to the role of Jesus in the unfolding of the end of time as we know it.

What I found refreshing in this book was the way the author inserted "lifelike" human characters into a plot which previously had seemed very confusing to me.  Somehow, placing a person who could be you or me into the events made them much easier to comprehend and far less mysterious.  It also left me with the challenge, "Where will my life story fit into these events as they unfold?".  In addition, it gave me a desire to encourage others to read and heed the message of this book, which mirrors the final book of the Bible as inspired by God many years ago.

Have you read the book?  What was your opinion of  it?  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or contact me personally with your reflections.  If you haven't yet read the book, you certainly have my recommendation to make it one to read in the future.

Dan, the Man!

[Dan Johnson will be speaking at our church this coming week-end, and for two nights next week.  If possible, come hear for yourself the wisdom he shares.  Sunday, October 14, 2018@11:00am and 6:30pm; Monday, October 15@7:00pm; Tuesday, October16@7:00pm.  This is a blog I wrote when he was last at our church. . .what a blessing it has been in my life to sit under his ministry!]



It was a special day at Crosby Assembly of God.  For two services we were blessed by the ministry of a man named Dan Johnson.  His FaceBook page says he is "retired", but at 83 years of age he still travels the country to do speaking engagements and is also an author.  At a time our church was without a pastor, he drove all the way from Tacoma, Washington just to fill in for a service, and was instrumental in connecting us with our current pastor.  Needless to say, we tend to get excited when he comes to town!

As a pastor for many years, and now as a traveling evangelistic speaker, he is an amazing man of God who has years of wisdom to share.  This morning he shared a passage of Scripture in Proverbs 22:28 which says:

"Do not move an ancient boundary stone

set up by your forefathers."

 

Also being a history buff, Dan often shares quotes from the forefathers of our country.  Stressing the importance of history, he told us the desecration of the past is the first step in overturning the present.  Sadly, what we are seeing in the current generation is a move away from even knowing history, let alone valuing it.  One sad statistic he gave was 47% of American youth have no memory of Billy Graham, a great man of God. 

Tying in with Dan's message was a song which was included in our worship time.  The title of the song is "Ancient Words", one we first became acquainted with during a VBS session a few years back.  It was also made popular by Michael W. Smith and combines words about the Bible with a beautiful melody.  You can access a recording of the song at this link:

Ancient Words

Tying the verse and the song together, he reminded us how important it was to hold fast to the truths of the Bible and not waver or move from them.  In my own personal life, the Bible is the "ancient boundary stone" passed on to me by my forefathers, and its words guide my life.  I am so thankful it has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember.  Today I am also thankful for a man named Dan who reminded us today to stay true to its words!




Happy Grandparents Day!

Although this may be mere speculation on my part, days such as "Grandparents Day" are on the calendar mostly so Hallmark can sell more cards.  Cards which, after being received, generally end up displayed for a time and then discarded or added to a collection of memories, tucked away somewhere, never to be seen again.

Because of this, it has never really bothered me when, like today, the text arrived saying, "Totally forgot that today was Grandparent's Day. . .So sorry!  We are thankful for you today and every day!"  The real blessing is knowing my grandchildren are only an hour away, and the drive can be made as often as I like.  Arrival at their home is generally accompanied by four voices saying, "Grandma!" and eight arms providing hugs.  Yes, I don't need a special day to remember being a grandparent is special!

Looking back on my own life, the world of grandparents consisted of only one grandmother.  My maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother died long before I was born, and my paternal grandfather died when I was just a toddler, leaving me without memories of who he was.  Where other children had "grandparents", I had "Grandma and Henry" (Henry was my uncle who never married and lived with Grandma).  Still, I never really felt cheated, as Grandma Ellen embraced her role in such a way I never felt lacking in the grandparent department.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of times spent at Grandma's house.  The farm, which began as a small homestead shack on the prairies of North Dakota, was lovingly built up into a beautiful yard filled with trees, a big red barn, chicken coop and come summer, a garden and lots of flowers.  Many a day was spent exploring and enjoying the freedom of "life at Grandma's house".  Our family often made Sunday the day to visit, culminating with an evening meal of sandwiches and home canned sauce in pretty oval bowls with purple flowers on them.  To end the day, there was "Wild Kingdom", "The Wonderful World of Disney" and "Bonanza" to fill our minds with more adventures.

And so it is, at the end of this Grandparents Day, I find myself saying, "Happy Grandparents Day, Grandma Ellen!  Thank you for the storehouse of memories you provided in my life.  Thank you for being the greatest example of someone who showed love to all and never anger, even amid a life filled with heartaches.  Thank you for being a wonderful role model for me to follow, as I now have my own grandchildren to love.  Tell my other grandparents I look forward to getting acquainted one day, knowing they, too, are a part of the person I've become.  Also, please tell God thank you for arranging it so you were always close by in my life, and for now providing the same privilege in the life of my grandchildren.  What a blessing to know we will one day enjoy an eternity of time together with the God who placed us in each other's lives!"