07/31/20 GOD’S ODDS — Judges 7:2-3, 5 (CSB) The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say, ‘I saved myself.’ 3 Now announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand of the troops turned back, but ten thousand remained. . . 5 For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to lay waste to it.

The Bible frequently does NOT tell us every single detail of an encounter (it’s thick enough as it is!). So let’s use our imaginations to fill in some details. Gideon is comparing his thirty thousand soldiers to the “innumerable” troops of Midian. So he schedules a strategy session with God. He tells God, “I don’t like the odds.” God says, “Me either; I think you have way too many soldiers in your army!” Definitely NOT what Gideon had in mind! But the Lord wants everyone to be absolutely clear—when this battle is over, there will be NO DOUBT in anyone’s mind that THE VICTORY BELONGS TO THE LORD!

This passage begs a vital question: What would have happened if God had NOT empowered Israel? Lots of church leaders today need to address a couple of similar questions: (1) Without God’s help, what can I hope to accomplish on my own? And, (2) Since God is all-powerful, are we attempting God-sized, God-directed ministries? The WRONG question is “Is God on our side?” The RIGHT question is “Are we on God’s side?”

07/30/20 PUTTING OUT A FLEECE? — In Judges 6 the Lord had already commissioned Gideon to destroy the Midianites. Perhaps as a small test, God commands him to destroy the town’s Baal altar and Asherah pole. Gideon obeys. But, facing the Midianite armies is too daunting for him; he needs to be 100% certain that the originator of this plan is God Himself. So he asks permission to TEST God with a lamb’s fleece… TWICE!

Throughout Scripture God is said to be testing people. But in the OT and NT, over and over, we are told NOT to test God. But, for reasons known, perhaps, only to Himself, God allows Gideon’s tests. And on the eve of the battle, God decides to provide even more assurance for Gideon. Then, absolutely confident, Gideon leads the Israelites as they (and God) utterly defeat the Midianites.

Nowhere in the Bible are Gideon’s tests either commended or condemned. So… is it okay for us to “Put out a Fleece?” Facing a troublesome decision, feeling the need to be absolutely sure of the Lord’s will for yourself, should YOU request such a sign from God? Soon after I clearly felt God’s call into fulltime preaching ministry, it seemed that I needed to quit my secure job at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, sell our house and go to seminary. I discussed this with my pastor, Dr. Ron Herrod. He proposed that I “put out a fleece,” that I ask God to send someone to buy my house for $20,000 more than the realtor had set. I expressed my concern, but I did it. We were out of town on the Friday morning when there was to be a 9am “Open House” for prospective buyers at our home. But a half hour before, at 8:30, a man showed up and bought our home… for $20,000 more than our asking price!

On that day I was checking out Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Jerry Falwell’s seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia. By the time I left Dr. Elmer Town’s (eventually my mentor and best friend) office, I had a job at Liberty University as a math professor and a solid lead for a new home there, which Linda and I arranged to buy before we left there on Sunday. What a weekend! If we had any doubts about God’s plans for us, He “blew them out of the water” from Friday to Sunday! Fleece or not, GOD CAN BE TRUSTED!

07/29/20 EXCUSES, EXCUSES — Judges 6:14-16 (CSB) The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” 15 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.” 16 “But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

In Exodus 2, God called Moses to go to Egypt and deliver Israel. Moses began to offer one flimsy excuse after another. Finally he told God, “Please, Lord, send someone else” (4:13). Later, in 1 Samuel 9:21, Saul responded to the prophet Samuel in similar fashion, “Am I not a Benjaminite from the smallest of Israel’s tribes and isn’t my clan the least important of all the clans of the Benjaminite tribe? So why have you said something like this to me?” And in our passage, Gideon tries to excuse himself from obeying God and following His plan.

Like Moses, Gideon, Saul and countless others, WE need to learn that GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES WHERE HE GUIDES! God’s Plans, Power and Presence are MORE than enough for any challenge we’ll ever face!

07/28/20 HOW DOES GOD SEE US — Judges 6:11-14 (CSB) The angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.” 13 Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”

Israel had disobeyed God and worshipped false gods. So, for seven years, God had sent the vast Midianite army to punish the Jews. They had consumed and/or destroyed all the food in Israel, plant and animal. In order to save what little food he could scavenge, terrified and desperate, Gideon is hiding in his winepress, threshing a little wheat. The angel of the Lord shows up out of nowhere, assures Gideon that “The Lord is with you,” and calls Gideon “valiant warrior.” What?! Perhaps a more apt description would be “You disobedient, cowardly infidel!”

Gideon points to the clear evidence that, in fact, God is NOT with him! (Just WHO is this “angel of the Lord”? Verse 14 calls Him “The Lord.”) The Lord commissions Gideon to destroy Midian and deliver Israel. He assures Gideon that His presence is ALL the strength he will ever need. God knew that since He would be there to support him, Gideon, indeed WOULD BE a Valiant Warrior!

These days surely lots of Americans (at least) are asking, like Gideon, “I thought God/Jesus promised He would never leave us or forsake us. Considering all this pandemic, political hatred, rioting and violence, where is He?” God sees us as we COULD be and WOULD be when and if we surrender ourselves to His Plans, Purposes and Power for us. Then maybe He would address US as “Valiant Warrior”, too!

07/27/20 ONE BIBLICAL COMMAND WE MUST BREAK — Mark 7:35-36 (CSB) says, “Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. 36 He ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it.”

Several times during His three-plus years of public ministry Jesus healed someone miraculously and, ironically it seems, ordered the healed person NOT to follow Him and NOT to tell anyone what He had done. My purpose here is NOT to try to explain why Jesus gave such orders; based on a few other incidents I think we can make a pretty good guess. Instead, NOTE this—several times the healed person entirely ignored and disobeyed Jesus’ direct command! The Bible is clear—Jesus IS God! And, to disobey ANY of God’s commands is definitely a SIN! Or so it seems.

Anyhow, I don’t think God (the Father, the Son or the Spirit) thought that guy had sinned. It was only natural and expected that he would want to share his miraculous healing with anyone and everyone! And those of us who call ourselves Christians, committed followers of Jesus Christ, MUST do the same thing: Tell anyone and everyone around us the BEST news of all—that JESUS SAVES!

07/26/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #2 — Enough of China, back to Central Asia (countries must remain unidentified). One of the main things my missionary hosts my visit did was to visit orphanages and minister to the children there. I confess, I don’t know exactly what orphanages are like here in the USA. But these were eye-opening, to say the least.

Apparently orphaned children in those countries were divided into three classes. The first group was those who were physically and mentally healthy and ready and highly likely to be adopted—the “cream of the crop.” The third group was for children with such physical, mental, emotional, and social problems so profound that they were judged basically permanently unfit for adoption. The middle group levels consisted of kids with some problems which could hopefully be resolved until they were promoted to group one.

In orphanage after orphanage, we were ushered into a room where the group one or two kids were seated. We were warned not to touch them at all; they said if they became too accustomed to being touched they would eventually be unhappy and unmanageable, since they were short-staffed. Then the staff left. As we played guitars and sang songs with them, the children would gather around us, closer and closer, until they were sitting in our laps or right under our armpits or their arms around our necks (and our arms around them). Eventually the staff would come, fuss at us and it was suddenly time to leave.

I kept asking my friends where the third group was; we had never laid our eyes on even one of them. They told me they were kept upstairs on the second floor, but we were not allowed up there. I wanted them to have “plausible deniability,” so I told them I was going to be on my own for awhile; just don’t get in the van and leave without me. I waited until no one was looking and dashed up the stairs. I was nearly overcome with what I saw.

The large room was one gigantic crib, a two-foot-high fence about a foot off the floor, all around the room. All the children were sitting or lying inside, many curled up in fetal positions. Some were pulling out their hair; others were repeatedly banging their heads on the bars of the fence; nearly all of them were moaning and groaning in agony. Not knowing what else to do, I climbed over the rail and gathered up as many of them as I could all around me. I stroked their hair and faces and rubbed their backs. I sang softly to them (in English, of course). The majority stopped pulling and banging and moaning and began to smile at me and try to hum along. After all these years, just typing this brings me to tears!

Eventually a horrified staff member found me and reported me to her supervisor. We were told to leave immediately; and they made it clear that I was never to be allowed to visit there again (oh well, I was leaving the country in 2-3 days anyway). I saw, up close and personal, what a powerful impact we can have on people if we just spread the genuine love and affection of Christ among them. Thanks for allowing me to revisit those memories!

P.S. Wow, I almost forgot! My missionary hosts adopted two of those group three kids shortly thereafter. They are back in the USA now and those “unadoptable” kids have graduated from high school! The sister is in college; her brother enlisted in the military. Unadoptable, indeed! Praise the Lord! (I know, I know—make these posts shorter!)

07/25/20 2005 FUN AT THE GOLF COURSE — Please excuse my “point of personal privilege.” One evening this week I began to play a few holes about 6:30pm. I had just finished hole #1. The way the course is laid out I had to walk past the tee for hole #9 to get to the tee of hole #2, which is exactly parallel to #9. Three college-age guys had just hit their drives for hole #9 as I walked past their tee. I thought I might have known one of them. Another one of them, trying to be helpful, called out, “Hey, mister, maybe you’re a little confused. This is hole #9. You need to walk over there for hole #2.” I replied, “Thanks, young fella. I guess I must be getting kinda senile. You know, I’ve played at this course several times a week for about six years.” He responded, “Oh, please excuse me. I thought you needed help.”

My drive on #2 was a beauty—over 300 yards, right down the middle (of course, the fairway is downhill and hard as a rock these days, so that helped)! Those guys had each hit 2 shots apiece and my drive was well beyond all three of theirs. One yelled, “Hey, I know you. You’re Mr. Ed, my Statistics professor at UT!” He told his buddies that had been his favorite class of all; he had learned almost as much about the Bible and life in general as statistics. I reminded him that my clear intention from the very beginning was exactly that! We had a really interesting, though brief, conversation about silly and profound things before we parted company. All in all, it was by far my best round of the week!

07/24/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #12 — On that all-night train ride, in the near total darkness I had absolutely no idea how to locate my bunk OR my other team members. I didn’t know where we had been or where we were going. That was the only time on the entire trip I was actually afraid. I had visions of starving to death—on that very train! Whenever the conductor scolded me, I pretended I needed to visit the “restroom”—a small hole in the floor in each car served as the toilet.

At sunrise, I could finally see enough to make a reasonable search for my stuff. After what seemed like an eternity, I was relieved and overjoyed to find my bunk. Our team leader had warned us NOT to read our Bibles on the train. He was leery of government agents who were aboard, who had harassed us at every turn—even evicting us in the middle of the night from a couple of hotels we had tried to stay in. But, after the harrowing night I had spent, I sat down on my bunk (leaning way forward so as not to bump my head or bother the guy snoring in the bunk just above me) and began praying and reading my Bible.

Suddenly the angry guy from the previous night was standing right in front of me. I thought surely there would be more trouble. But he smiled, pointed to my Bible, gave me a “thumbs up” and hugged me tight! Overjoyed, I went searching in broad daylight and found my buddies. Praise the Lord! By the way, when I told them about my adventure, they hardly believed a word I said. They said they had spent a peaceful, restful night! Go figure!

07/23/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #11 — Late one evening, we boarded a train for an all-night ride. Our team members were widely separated (I don’t know why) and assigned “bunks”—short benches on the sides of the cars, stacked 4 high to the ceiling, each with its own short blanket and tiny pillow. Fortunately, my bunk was on the bottom.

Across the aisle from me a young couple boarded. Only the top two bunks were available. The husband was berating and shoving his wife, trying to push her roughly up to the top bunk. She was struggling and crying out. When I gestured to him, trying to volunteer to trade bunks with her, he turned, growled at me and shoved me back toward my bunk.

The train was basically in total darkness—no lights in the cars whatsoever. Apparently my feet were sticking out into the aisle, because every time the conductor passed by he hit my ankles with his “stick.” As I tried to get to sleep in a near-fetal position, suddenly some uniformed “officers” shined flashlights in my eyes, grabbed my arms and escorted me many cars away. They began “interrogating” me in a small room with a painfully bright light. It wasn’t going too well—none of them spoke English and I didn’t speak Chinese. But they took great delight in passing around my passport and making fun of my picture. Eventually one gestured and bellowed angrily—I thought he was ordering me to leave, so I did. Stay Tuned!

07/22/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #10 — Our team leader gave me a special responsibility. The parents of our interpreter “Dee” had chosen a young Chinese man for her to marry. But, probably because Dee had graduated from an American college in Colorado, she was resisting their wishes. My “secret” assignment was to discuss the situation with her until, hopefully, she would comply with her parents’ plan.

Whenever there was a spare moment, I talked with Dee about her future plans, what Scripture says about honoring one’s parents and God’s clear expectations for marriage: 1 + 1 + 2 = 4, i.e. 1 man plus 1 woman 2-gether 4 life. Obviously God wants marriages to be productive, joyful, purposeful, long-lasting pictures of the intimate relationships in the three-fold Godhead. Americans have basically two widely accepted and practiced schemes for finding one’s “mate”:  (1) dating several members of the opposite gender until we (magically?) “fall in love,” and/or (2) living together before marriage to test our compatibility. I reminded her of the dangerously high divorce rate in America, clear evidence that NEITHER scheme is working well.

She assured me that her parents were committed Christians with a long and durable marriage. She agreed with me that they wanted only the very best for her. Later on I met her fiancé; he seemed like a fine, intelligent, committed believer. He and I had several interesting and informative conversations.

After all that it was time for us to leave China. Dee had still not committed to marry him; but she promised to continue praying about it. What a blessing it was when I received several photos of their wedding a few weeks later, as well as a nice letter from Dee, thanking me for all the time and godly advice I had invested in her. The Lord be praised!

07/21/20 VA TECH FOOTBALL #2 — Last Sunday’s sermon about Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem reminded me of another VT football memory. Each fall one of the home games was designated Governor’s Day. VT has a significant cadet corps among its student body. On that day, at halftime, the governor of Virginia would take the microphone and officially cancel all the demerits of all the cadets. The roar from them was predictably deafening. That was the “good news.” The “bad news” is that the very next day, the senior cadets went on a vendetta, seemingly determined to dole out at least as many demerits to the underclassmen cadets as those just cancelled. My cadet friends told me that week was the WORST of the year!

1 John 1:9 (CSB) says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Unlike the leaders of the VT cadet corps, when we surrender the control of our lives, relying on God’s promise to forgive our sins—past, present and future—He “FORGIVES” us and “REMOVES” them, once and for all! Praise the Lord!

07/20/20 VA TECH FOOTBALL #1 — Don’t go blaming me. Yesterday morning Pastor John Green’s masterful, powerful sermon concerned Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem based on Matthew 21:1-11. It may very well be that Virginia Tech currently stages the most spectacular college football team entrance in the land. But Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to begin Passion Week is the Grandest Entrance in All of Human History!

Pastor John described how fans at the VT football stadium nearly cause an earthquake when the “Hokies” take the field before a game. That’s MY school! His remarks and the short video brought back some vivid memories, which I’d like to share.

When I was a student there (eons ago!), there were so many fans attending the home games, that the entire stadium looked like it was burgundy. Surely some fans of the other team were there, but they were so few and far between, there was NO special section for them. It almost seemed as if only VT rooters were present. Several of Jesus’ parables concerned feasts and banquets, and exactly who were permitted to attend.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus described a king’s wedding banquet. The king noticed a man who was not wearing the proper apparel (which the king himself undoubtedly passed out to the guests). He confronted the man; the guy was "speechless." Matthew 22:13 (CSB) says “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Someday, at the marriage feast of the Lamb—Jesus Christ—only devoted “fans” (believers) will be in attendance. What a grand occasion that will be! I’ve made my reservation (in fact, I’ve already suggested one of my favorite menus to God); what about you!?

07/19/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #9 — Our team had several meetings before we left the states to prepare us for what lay ahead. Our leader was a Marine who had lived there for years and spoke the Mandarin dialect fluently. He warned us that Chinese people were not affectionate, and mainly unemotional. We shouldn’t even expect them to shake hands because of personal hygiene concerns.

I don’t know where he got his information; but nearly everything he had told us was 100% wrong! All over China, people shook my hands, and happily whacked me on the back and shoulders. They hugged and kissed me, the shortest of them crowding against me right under my armpits (not the best idea—sometimes we went days without a shower). On trains and busses, I played with their kids—great fun even though neither of us knew anything about the other’s language. They sat in my lap and laughed at my photos and antics. The ladies told me I was handsome (OK, some of them were slightly off kilter), and suggested I come back someday with my beautiful wife. And during our worship services, they loved to sing loud and fast and to read Scripture aloud in unison. They opened their homes to us and sometimes fed us their last/only chicken, joyfully, totally ignoring us when we begged them not to!

All in all, those were definitely some of the most amazing days of my life (so far)! Praise the Lord!

07/18/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #8 — One morning I preached to ~300 believers, mostly Chinese women pastors. Afterwards scores of them were telling me how the government had harassed and tortured them (in graphic detail) and asking me to pray with and for them. After one lady in particular had described her horrific sessions, our interpreter “Dee” began to weep uncontrollably. She told me she couldn’t translate what the pastor had said. I tried to clarify why. She blurted out between sobs that the woman was her mother; it was just too horrible for her to hear the details for the very first time!

As I prayed with her mother (Dee translating, of course), suddenly someone interrupted, “The police are coming! You MUST leave now!” I insisted that we were not afraid, that we would stay. But they explained to us that if the police found us there, they would likely kill some of them; if we were gone, they would just beat some and arrest others. They assured us there was nothing else for us to do! So, confused, frustrated and prayerful we left!

07/17/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #7 — Our translator/interpreter was a delightful young woman I’ll call “Dee.” She was a native Chinese, but she had studied at a Bible college in Colorado. She urged us to speak in short, choppy sentences. She told us she could not even begin to translate until we had said the main verb in our sentences.

This sounded like an interesting game of sorts; I could do this. I had already decided that my culture and theirs were so entirely different that I would do my best to avoid jokes or cultural references. I would just stick to Scripture and my own person testimony. The entire trip I think I only failed once: I said I had been a “linebacker”; puzzled, Dee asked me, “What’s a ‘Rinebacker?’” I told her to forget it; I would abandon that story!

Every time I gave an invitation at the end of my messages, nearly every Chinese person in the audience came forward. I’m not sure I ever really “caught on.” Each time I told Dee to tell them to go back to their seats (often a 2x4 board laid on cement blocks!) unless they needed to saved or be assured of their salvation. Dee patiently explained to me, each and every time, that almost none of these people owned any more than a tiny scrap of a Bible, maybe just a few pages! They had never seen or heard the Scripture I focused on and had never experienced a powerful, Bible-based sermon before. She strongly suggested that I stop complaining and get busy praying for and counseling with them!

I think Dee made us into a great team. God bless her! The Lord willing, you’ll hear more about Dee in subsequent posts soon!

07/16/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #4 — Just a few days before our trip ended we were treated to lunch in a high-end restaurant. All the round tables were occupied and all the patrons had already been served except one exceptionally large one in the very center—ours. On the way in I spied a glass case displaying the meat selections; when I asked the chef if one was a cat, he said “Yes!”

My plan was to pay close attention and avoid a feline dish. But there must have been at least a dozen different courses. Two Chinese women missionaries were seated on either side of me. They were not satisfied with which dishes I tried and how much I was eating; they began literally trying to stuff food into my mouth. So my plan disappeared; I no longer had any idea what I had eaten or skipped.

As we were leaving I noticed that the display case no longer held a skinned cat. Fearfully I asked if I had consumed one of my favorite pets. YEP! To this day I often get the creeps when anyone mentions “cat food.”

07/15/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #3 — One afternoon we stopped at a “church building.” It was a mass of rubble, much like any bombed-out town in the Middle East. They told us the communist government had bulldozed their church building; apparently they do it every 3-5 years! A bunch of Chinese believers, men and women, were busily rebuilding it. When I asked why they bothered since the government would just come and destroy it again, they said there were way too many Christians and far too few government snitches to keep up with them. So they just intended to keep on rebuilding it each time it was razed.

The whole time I preached, a bunch of the men were laying bricks, passing them up to a little guy on a high scaffold. I taught them to sing “I’m Workin’ on a Buildin’, I’m workin’ on a buildin’, I’m buildin’ it for my Lord, for my Lord!” They loved it and began to sing it (in Chinese, of course) louder and louder, over and over! The little man at the top started dancing, a little too wildly. He fell off the top and landed with a broken leg. As we rushed to him, he grabbed me in a hug and gestured for all of us to keep singing and dancing!

What a memorable example of strong faith in the face of real adversity! American believers, WE NEED TO TOUGHEN UP like those believers!

07/14/20 SENIOR SAINTS — In Joshua 14:10-12a (CSB) Caleb said, “As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these forty-five years as He promised… Here I am today, eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. 12 Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me…” He went on to say that giants lived there, so perhaps it was less than desirable. Also God had promised this area to him.

Experts suggest that Baby Boomers (“old people”) are a vast, largely untapped resource for American churches. In general we’re in much better health than elderly folk of past generations and live longer. But just as many pastors and church leaders seem content for us to sit quietly and tithe, far too many of us seem satisfied with being marginalized like that. And we talk and pray almost exclusively about aches, pains, sickness and dying!

BBCs (Baby Boomer Christians), let’s rise to the occasion and get busy serving the Lord, using our God-given gifts and abilities for His Kingdom! As we take on challenges no one else seems to want, like Caleb before us, let’s shout, “GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN! (KJV)”

07/13/20 MOUNTAIN MOVER — My Pastor John Green “messed me up” again with his powerful sermon yesterday. He focused on Matthew 17 where in verse 20 Jesus told His disciples, “… For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Also at least two of the songs we sang mentioned “moving mountains.”

All that reminded me of two of my favorite praise songs from the not-too-distant past: (1) Mountain Mover—“My God is a Mountain Mover; My God’s gonna make a way; Can’t count all the times He’s proven; We can trust Him, just have faith; Take a hopeless situation, Watch Him turn it all around; Nothing is impossible; I can’t hold back, I’ve gotta shout; My God, my God, my God is a Mountain Mover!” and (2) Bigger than All My Problems—“ Bigger than all my problems, Bigger than all my fears; God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see; Bigger than all my confusion, Bigger than anything; God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see!”

I hope and pray that you’ve experienced God’s moving and removing the seen and unseen mountains in your life—financial, spiritual, physical, relational, intellectual, job-related, etc. Jesus’ message to His disciples and to US is that (in our own strength) WE CAN’T BUT (in conjunction with our absolute faith in Him), JESUS CAN!

07/12/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #2 — On the mission trip to China I mentioned previously, Chinese believers frequently told us, “You need to GO HOME and FEED THE CHICKENS!?” Wait—they were NOT being ugly. It’s just that, apparently in China, healthcare is not nearly as available and effective as ours in America. Many Chinese people just assume elderly folks are so disabled that all they can manage is to sit on the porch or in the front yard and throw corn out to their chickens. They thought our entire team was old enough to be seriously disabled!

Covid-19 or not, we can thank our medical professionals and Almighty God for our EXCELLENT Healthcare and Food Supply, etc.! Nobody wants a short, wonderful life or a long, miserable life. One aspect of the Good News is that, repeatedly in the Bible, God promises faithful followers of Jesus BOTH QUALITY and QUANTITY of Life!

 07/11/20 MISSION TRIP TO CHINA #1 — Several years ago I joined two pastors and two laymen on a two and a half week mission trip to underground churches in China. Right off the bat we encountered serious difficulties. We missed our connection in Atlanta and had to spend the night in San Francisco. On the way our plane developed “engine trouble”; we made an emergency stop in Tokyo. When I returned to my seat all my notes, for 40+ Bible lessons/sermons, were gone (As I prayed about it, God reminded me that hardly any of the super-saints in the Bible had access to notes or copies of Scripture)! We were two days late arriving, so nearly all our previous plans had to be scrapped. It sure seemed that Satan had “won”!?

Originally we had planned to teach 50 Chinese pastors 15 hours a day the first week and 50 other pastors the second week. Instead we made a huge counter-clockwise loop beginning and ending in Beijing. Almost immediately one of our guys was sick from drinking their water; and another had planned a series of object lessons which flopped miserably—he was disappointed and disgusted. All along our trip we stopped and preached to and taught Chinese pastors, adults and young people in groups of several hundred at a time. With communist officers harassing us daily, we preached to more than TEN THOUSAND Chinese people of all ages!

Sometimes I almost feel sorry for Satan (almost). Even when he thinks he has struck a mighty blow against God and His people, Satan still ends up the biggest loser in the universe! And each of us was encouraged and loved and blessed beyond measure! Praise the Lord!

07/10/20 ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS — Many times I have repeated this proverb, “You NEVER get the RIGHT ANSWERS by asking the WRONG QUESTIONS!” In John 18:37-38 Pilate is examining Jesus before he passes sentence; he asks, “WHAT is truth?” WRONG question ! 

In John 14:6 (CSB) Jesus asserted, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. For questions of ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE, the RIGHT QUESTION is ALWAYS “WHO is Truth?” And the Only Correct Answers are “God” and “Jesus!” Some of us remember that old TV game show, “WHO DO YOU TRUST?” THAT’s the RIGHT QUESTION for all truly important issues!

07/09/20 THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN 24 CPs —

24. RESULT: A    COMMAND     PERFORMANCE   (6:10-8:5…)

    Esther’s (and Mordecai’s and God’s) plan works perfectly! Curiously she delays telling the king her request until he had agreed and attended two feasts she prepared! (6:1) One early morning (God ensures that) the king cannot sleep. Reading his royal journals, he realizes that Mordecai has never been rewarded for saving his life. At that moment, Haman just happens to be the only one waiting to see him. The king orders Haman to march ahead of Mordecai and proclaim his heroism to the people, in abject humiliation (6:10). The plan of his family and friends to have Mordecai hanged the next day inexplicably backfires entirely! When Esther exposes Haman’s deadly plan, the king has him hanged on the same gallows instead.

    BUT a final serious obstacle remains: No edict signed by the king could be revoked. So the king authorizes the Jews to defend themselves, to attack anyone hostile to them!

    Though God’s NAME appears nowhere, His “finger prints” and “signature” are all over this episode. In Acts 9:4, the Lord Jesus asks, “Saul, Saul, why you persecuting Me?” God has always taken it personally when enemies attack His people and He still does. Count on it!

( SORRY — I found NO Notes for Esther chapters 9 and 10. Maybe that’s where the other 9 CPs came from originally! I COULD try to come up with a few NEW CPs. Hmmm… I’ll think about it. )

07/08/20 THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN 24 CPs —

22. They did NOT CARELESSLY  PROCRASTINATE;(4:17)

    Mordecai immediately carried out Esther’s orders.

23. They DID     CONFIDENTLY PROCEED

    They were done with doubting and pouting. Buoyed by Mordecai’s analysis, Esther’s courage and God’s promises to support the Jews, they forged ahead.

    Like them, when we’ve analyzed the situation before us, enlisted the support of key believers and invoked God’s guidance, protection and deliverance, we need NOT Carelessly Procrastinate. Instead we should Confidently Proceed! (1 MORE CP — STAY TUNED!)

07/07/20 THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN 24 CPs —

17. Esther's     COMPELLING  PURPOSE,      (4:15-16)

    She RESPONDED Totally and Immediately to GOD'S CALL!

18. Her          CAREFUL     PLAN          (4:15-16)

    She requested three days of fasting on her behalf.

19. First,       CHRISTIANS  PRAYING, then

    As faithful Jews FASTED, they nearly always PRAYED! Fasting and praying is something WE ought to do a lot more of today.

20. Their/Our    CONSTANT    PARTNER, GOD

    Esther, Mordecai and the Jews KNEW that their #1 BEST ALLY was God Almighty, no matter how hopeless the circumstances seemed.

21. and          CERTAIN     PROVIDENCE

    They were CONFIDENT that God would NEVER FAIL to fulfill His PROMISES to protect and redeem His Chosen People!

    Faced with helplessness and hopelessness, do YOU count on your intimate relationship with God to cause Him to deliver you? (3 MORE CPs — STAY TUNED!)

07/06/20 THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN 24 CPs —

14. Esther's     CAUTIOUS    PLEA          (4:11)

    She sends Hathach to remind her uncle that the king has not summoned her for a month—he seems not to be pleased with her—and the penalty for intruding into his courtyard is instant death!

15. Mordecai's   CONTINUED   PERSISTENCE,  (4:13a)

    Not willing to give up, Mordecai reminds her that her Compromising Position will be discovered soon enough. If she does nothing, God will use someone else to rescue His people. But both she and her family will most likely die.

16. and his      CHALLENGING PROPOSAL      (4:13b-14)

    Esther 4:14b (CSB) “Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” Maybe God has deliberately placed you exactly where you are at just the right time. Don’t you want to serve Him faithfully by doing His perfect will for you?

    That’s a GREAT QUESTION for ALL of us! It just could be that God has placed you exactly where you are so He can do something great!!?  (8 MORE CPs — STAY TUNED!)

07/05/20 THE BOOK OF ESTHER IN 24 CPs —

11. The          CENTRAL     POINT         (4:7-17)

    Mordecai knows his failure to honor Haman is the reason behind Haman’s deadly plan. And the king is the only one who can overrule him. In this passage we see how a godly man solves a serious problem.

12. Mordecai's   COSTLY      PROBLEM,      (4:7)

    Mordecai has no direct personal access to either Esther or the king. But “Information is power!” He arranges for Hathach to give her information and documentation, including the exact amount Haman has agreed to pay the royal treasury in order to slaughter the Jews.

13. and his      CRITICAL    PETITION      (4:8)

    Mordecai sends Hathach to plead with Esther to intercede with the king on behalf of her people. He knows it’s dangerous but the situation is desperate! ( 11 MORE CPs — STAY TUNED! )

07/04/20 GOD, THE GOSPEL AND GOLF #2 — So many times while playing golf with other guys I’ve seen something utterly ridiculous occur. A guy is standing over his ball, staring at the green off in the distance, wondering which club he should use. He asks the rest of us which club we think Tiger Woods would use in that situation. GolfWeek says Tiger hits his 8-iron averages 158 yards; and his 9-iron, 142. I usually hit my 9-iron… None of your business! Let’s just say it’s a lot less. I always encourage the guy to use whatever club he thinks HE needs to get his ball all the way to the green. When they ignore my advice, they nearly always come up way short.

Over the years I’ve heard famous preachers—Adrian Rogers, John Maxwell, James Merritt, Bailey Smith, Ray Comfort and Johnny Hunt, just to name a few—describe and recommend their own personal witnessing styles and methods. While I appreciate their faithfulness and encouragement, I have found that I need to tailor my approach for the person(s) and situation before me, and my own personality. God has given each of us believers a unique combination of gifts and abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and experiences. I encourage each of you to use appropriate Scripture verses and your own personality and preferences to share with those around you the amazing blessings of enjoying an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and spending your life serving Him AND the ultimate urgency and importance concerning their own salvation.

07/03/20 God, the Gospel and Golf #1 — For the last few years I’ve played a lot of golf, often 3 to 5 times a week! And I’ve noticed many similarities between trying to get the golf ball in the hole and trying to get the Gospel into the hearts and souls of people.

In seminary I wrote a paper analyzing all the sermons in the book of Acts. Almost without exception, when the audience was Jewish, the preacher started with Jesus. But for non-Jewish audiences he started with God and creation. That makes sense. The Jews were familiar with the OT Scriptures and, especially, God’s promise to send His Messiah to deliver them. But one could not assume that non-Jews had any idea whatsoever of even the existence of the One and Only True God, Yahweh, much less His commands, expectations, blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience!

In golf some holes are par 3, some par 4 and some par 5. Par 3 holes are typically 100 to 200 yards; par 4’s, 300 to 400 yards; and par 5’s, often more than 500 yards. Golfers need very different clubs to “finish” these (i.e. get the ball into the hole) in as few strokes as possible. Just for fun some golfers have attempted to play entire rounds of golf using only one club. But this is DEFINITELY NOT the way to get the BEST SCORE!

In the same way, when sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, you need several different “clubs” depending on the spiritual and biblical knowledge, background and receptivity of the listener(s). PLUS it takes PRACTICE to determine which approaches work best for you. Let’s GET BUSY—“Hit ‘em Long and hit ‘em Straight!”

07/02/20 BIBLICAL EQUATION PUZZLE #5 — Identify the OT passage represented by the sequence: 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, … And identify the very next number in the sequence. Hint: It’s from the first book of the OT.

ANSWER: The passage is Genesis 18:26-33; and the final number is 10. Abraham was begging God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah since there were at least a few “righteous” people who lived there among the many wicked citizens. This scene reminds me of the cynical Greek philosopher Diogenes who went from town to town with his lantern searching for an honest man, but failing to find even one. At first Abraham asked if God would spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous people; and God agreed. Apparently the more Abraham thought about the population, the fewer godly persons he thought he could find. Eventually he proposed that God not inflict judgment if he could find only 10!

10 out of how many? Recent archaeological projects have discovered at least 2 million graves in and around the sites of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. Also it seems that these two cities existed for no more than perhaps 52 years. So they were HUGE cities, even by modern American standards. But God destroyed the cities in any event; obviously there were NOT even 10 righteous people who lived there!?

It’s still the case that about 2/3 of Americans claim to be Christians, committed followers of Jesus Christ. But all around us, churches are failing; and the Christian faith is being discredited, despised and legislated against by government, colleges, businesses, etc. One of George Barna’s surveys revealed that for 66 ungodly behaviors, there is NO statistical difference whatsoever between non-believers and so-called Christians. LET’S GET RIGHT WITH GOD BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

07/01/20 BIBLICAL EQUATION PUZZLE #4 —

Identify the OT passage and key verse represented by the

equation below:

ANSWER: Shadrach (S), Meshach (M) and Abednego (A) went into (—) the Fiery Furnace 1 time. The Result: 4 Men, No Effect on their Bodies (0 EB), Not a Hair… Singed (0 HS), Robes Not Affected (0 RA) and No Smell of Fire on them (0 SF). The verse is Daniel 3:27b (CSB) “… they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.”

INTERPRETATION: When you take a stand and proclaim your absolute trust in God, He takes notice. And when He decides to deliver you even from certain death, God does a TRULY AMAZING JOB! Praise the Lord!