Good Trip So Far

I'm sitting in my nephew, Allan's, living room. The sky is as gray as I remember it being in northern Canada at this time of year. There is snow on the ground and the wind is howling like it was mid January. Actually, Allan's home is not in Canada at all, but it is as far north as it can get and not be in Canada. Americans this close to Canada are really Canadians at heart. They even say "eh" and act like Eskimos in caucasian disguises.

I drove from Colorado so that I wouldn't have to rent a car at this end. I intend to visit some family members after I am finished with the Revival meetings. I drove one thousand miles the first day and finished off with five hundred miles the last day. Piece-o-cake. I listened to two very good audio books. One on Winston Churchill, excellent. And one on Deepthroat, the man who leaked the truth about Watergate to Bob Woodward, the reporter. That book was excellent, as well.

I preached the first of five sermons, yesterday. It seemed to be well rec'd.

Allan and his cutie, Bonnie, are very hospitable. Their three girls, Jesse, Mac, for Macayla, and Elaina, are wonderfully sweet, well behaved and very social. The oldest, Jesse, is great at checkers, but when she comes close to winning, she backs off and lets her adversary win. She can't stand to offend. I love it. Everyone should be so loving.

I'll be moving over to Anne and Nelson's place on Tuesday. We had a nice visit yesterday, but with too many others. All is well. If winter doesn't ramp up too quickly, I should be home safely in two weeks. Till next time.

Be Diligent in Prayer

I saw the most beautiful rainbow, yesterday. I went up the mountain twice during the day, to pray. The second time, it was beginning to rain when I left, but I really didn't care as I was determined, since I am mostly alone anyway, to pray as much as I can. When my wife comes home in one month and one week, I'll have less time. We'll spend all of our time looking into each other's eyes. Well, that will take three and one half minutes, or four. Anyway, I had worked five hours on this topic of Righteousness by Faith without much success and in a state of semi-discouragement, I went up the mountain to talk to the Lord about it.

He got through to me, or maybe, I got through to me that it is nonsense to fret over sermon material. I can't produce a good sermon on an ideal day. If the Lord doesn't give me the material as a revelation, a gift, then I am up the creek. I didn't ask for the assignments and if He wants to use me, then that is His prerogative, but He'll need to supply the talks. So instead of busting my head over blank thoughts, I've decided to have faith in God and relax. He never lets me down, anyway. So, as I am making my way home with a hard wind at my back and the rain soaking my backside, the sun came out and produced the sharpest rainbow I have seen in forever. The rainbow, a double, spanned nicely from one end of Eden Valley to the other. I took it to be God's promise to me as well as giving Eden Valley a favorable nod.

Honestly, I am praying more and more and more. "Only the work accomplished with much prayer . . . will in end prove to be efficient for good." DA 362. It is as if God goes out of His way to answer my prayers, when I go out of my way to pray them. That is so encouraging. In 2008, it took a year, it seems like, to reveal that He heard. Sometimes, it's immediate. In any case, my confidence grows. I'd like to encourage you likewise. Don't tell me God doesn't answer your prayers. Tell me instead, how faithful, how earnest, how determined, how persevering you are in petitioning His throne. God will do wonders for them that "believe that He is and that He rewards them that diligently seek Him." The key word here is "diligently".

So says the Preacher to his Tribe

God is so Good

The weather is fabulous. It's November and to my Canadian senses, the summer hangs on. One of these days it's going to turn, but till then we will bask in God's gift of warm sunshine.

No new events in my life, I think. I've been praying a lot about the ASI meetings I've been ask to do. Yesterday, I presented the first of the three sermons to my staff. I can only praise the Lord. It turned out far better than I expected. Usually, the Lord lets me sweat until the last minute. True, He never lets me down, but boy, He gives me plenty of opportunity to stretch my faith. So now, I have one. Just two to go. Will they come easy? I'll let you know. Once I am satisfied that I have the messages, I am suppose to write a book/booklet using the sermons God has given me. This is so we can hand them out at the Convention. Since I've never done anything of the sort, I am somewhat intimidated. Nevertheless, I am determined to go forward. It will be interesting to see how things develop. I'd never put myself in such a predicament willingly, but being pushed into it, I am actually grateful for the challenge.

Julie just moved in to her new-to-her house, Angie's battle with her adopted twins is intensifying (I believe that thru' the Lord, she will overcome), Jason is on his last major trip of the year putting up One Day Churches. My wife arrived home yesterday with a guest from Canada, Beverly is her name. I'm working on putting out a new Faith Ventures magazine and I have to preach every time I turn around. No problem, the Lord always gives me something to say.

Being alone, well mostly alone, I endeavor to pray two and one half hours per day. The dividends are definitely noticeable. I am encouraged to pray more and more and more. "Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good." DA 362:2

Are you sometimes overwhelmed? Are the challenges you face intimidating? Is the future dark and uncertain? Welcome to life on a fallen planet. That's what life is like for everyone I know. The dark future we face is lighted up by the fact that Jesus is the orderer of all our experiences and if we could see the end from the beginning, we would choose no other way to be let. Just put one foot ahead of the other. Go forward. The outcome is sure to play itself out to our advantage.

So says the Preacher to his tribe.