Backpack...backpack

I shot my first deer almost 20 years ago. Over the years my hunting has changed a lot, from having to borrow a rifle to actually owning my own, from using a shotgun in Illinois to hunting with a bow when we moved back to Kansas. I have hunted out of tree stands, than have been in the same tree for decades to stalking deer on the ground. Probably the biggest change I have made is what I do with all my hunting stuff.

For years I loaded my pockets with everything I thought I needed, bullets, pen, license and tag, even extra gloves and a hat. There were times when I am sure I looked like the stay puff marshmallow man. The pockets of my coat and pants were stuffed as full as they could be. Then every time I got home everything had to be unloaded. Every time I left to go hunt, I had to load everything back up. I was always afraid I would forget something important, like bullets. Let’s not talk about that though.

A couple years ago, I was in Wal-Mart and saw the fix for my dilemma…a camouflage backpack. I think it was like $10. The price was right, so I bought it. I started putting all my “stuff” in it.
Having that backpack was great. Now I could throw my binoculars in it, my range finder, the release for my bow, my knife, spare gloves and hat, calls, scents, candy, flashlight and spare batteries and of course my cell phone in it and know where it was at all times. The problem is, you get what you pay for, and that first backpack wore out pretty quickly. The strap broke one day while I was wearing it. I bought another one, loaded it up and wore it out in just one season as well.

So this year I saved my pennies and nickels. We went to Cabela’s and I bought a really nice hunting backpack. It is made especially for bow hunters. It has a compartment for my range finder, a place for my release, a pocket for my face mask, and even a place to strap my quiver on the side. It is out of the way but still accessible.

When I got home, I began transferring all the stuff from the old pack into the new one. I was quickly amazed at all the junk I had accumulated. Having a spare pair of gloves is one thing, but I had a pair of heavy gloves, mittens, neoprene gloves, camouflage jersey gloves and three brown jersey gloves.

I also found my stocking cap, a full face mask, and a fleece neck gaiter. There were also several ink pens, most of which did not work. Some scrap pieces of paper and a hand full of empty candy wrappers. On one hand it was kind of like a treasure hunt. I found some things I had been missing. On the other hand, I have been hauling around a bunch of junk I did not need. Everyone knows excess weight just holds you back.

For some reason this verse popped into my mind.

Hebrews 12:1 says Therefore; since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Have you taken the time to examine your life to see if there is excess junk that keeps you from living the way God wants you too? Maybe it is a habit, or bitterness, or unforgiveness or even busyness. Sometimes we get so used to it being there, we think it is a normal and necessary part of our life. When in reality, it’s just excess weight that holds us back from living the life God meant for us to live.

So empty your “backpack” through prayer. Ask God to go through the contents and show you what needs to go. Then get rid of it.

Another way to look at it.

This comic was sent to me by a young lady in our church after I preached the "Oh! Deer!" sermon.

Bad Luck and Bucks

Last week, a massive buck was killed only a few miles from where I hunt. Rumors are flying about this deer. One of which is that it could break the Kansas state record. I was talking to a couple guys at church about it and one of them mentioned that there is a lot of luck that goes into killing a big deer. This story is no exception. From what I have heard, the guy who killed it actually fell asleep in his deer stand and when he woke up from his nap there stood this huge deer feeding not far from where he sat. I think that’s called being in the right place at the right time.
I have heard of other stories like this, as well. Like a few years ago in Nebraska. A hunter bought his gun, tag and deer stand the night before opening day. The next morning he put his stand up on property he never hunted before. And loaded a gun he had never shot before. Before the morning was over, he then killed a monster buck.
Luck and chance play a huge part in deer hunting. Of course so does bad luck. There is nothing like sitting there watching a decent buck work its way toward your stand. Knowing that if it just moves another 5 yards it will be within your “range.” Only to have the deer stop, turn around and walk away. Or having a deer stop behind a tree or your arrow hit a branch or the site on your bow is broken and you don’t know it until you let loose an arrow, which was not even close.
Then there is that windy day, when I sat on the ground in a homemade blind of burlap and electric fence posts. I took my quiver off my bow and hung it on one of the posts holding up my blind. Two does came out on the field less than 10 yards from me. They didn’t even know I was there. Before I could even raise my bow, the wind blew my quiver causing it to sway back and forth like a flag in the wind. That in turn caused the does to high tail it to the other end of the field. Or there is the night I sat on the side of this field and watched the deer feed 300 yards away. The next night I moved down closer to where they had come out only to see them, this time, a few yards from where I sat the night before.
There is more to deer hunting than just luck. I know from personal experience that the majority of deer that are killed every year is because the hunter spent hours preparing for the hunt. Days are spent scouting, glassing, and practicing at the range. The hunters I know spend enormous amounts of time and energy making sure everything is ready for the big day. Sometimes that pays off. Other times we go home empty handed. This is why it is called hunting not killing. Deer hunting is a combination of being prepared, luck and bad luck. Of course, personally, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck.
There is one area of our life that luck doesn’t play a part. Luck is not involved in our spiritual growth. If we choose to leave our spiritual growth to luck, we won’t grow.
2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

That word “grow” used here actually means to “cause to grow”. The emphasis here is on us doing certain things that will result in us developing our lives spiritually.
So the question is, what are you doing right now spiritually that is helping you grow spiritually? And on the other side of that, what else do you need to do that will help you continue to grow?

Getting Found!

Ok, so last couple of posts have been pretty long. I apologize for that. But we are covering a pretty big subject. And really, we barely scratched the surface of what is available. We have been looking at the Bible, God’s Word, and the perfect road map for our life.

We took some good advice from survival expert Bear Grylls and applied it to the Bible. His advice is that when you get lost 1. Get your bearings. 2. Make a plan. 3. Get moving.
We spent a couple weeks looking at getting our bearings. We can know that the Bible is accurate, valuable and that it is relevant to our lives today. But just knowing that won’t make a difference. Nor will it help us find our way.

Bear says after you get your bearings, after figuring out the lay of the land, which way north is, where there might be roads or people…then you need to make a plan.
Conventional wisdom says if you get lost stay put. You will be easier to be found if you’re not roaming around in the woods. But even if you stay put, you still have to make a plan. What do you need to do to be found? What do you need to do to survive?

Where will you get water? We can survive without food for a couple weeks but only a few days without water. If it is cold weather, how will you stay warm and dry? Will you build a shelter? Can you build a fire? What about if it’s hot, what will you do to keep out of the sun? What will you do to keep your body temperature down?

When it comes to reading the Bible for all its worth we need a plan. I know a lot of people whose plan could be called the “flop and plop” plan. They flop open their Bible and plop down their finger and wherever it lands they read. My guess is that most of the time they don’t get much out of it.

I believe in a systematic approach to reading the Bible. Though the Bible is made up of separate books written by different people, it is unified in its message. I have heard people say, “I don’t read the Old Testament, because it’s just too hard to understand.” But to really understand the New Testament you have to have knowledge of the Old Testament. It all fits together. It all goes hand in hand.

There are several good reading plans available. It is easy to go on the internet and just Google “Bible reading plan” and you will find everything from a “one year through the New Testament” to a “3 years through the entire Bible”.

If you’re just starting out, the best thing to do is to start simple. One of my favorite reading plans to share with people who are just getting their feet wet in reading the Bible is the Proverbs reading plan. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. Seven of the 12 months in a year have 31 days. Pretty cool, huh? One chapter a day for a month is a great way to start.
In a survival situation, there are things you have to get done first. You don’t wait until dark to gather firewood or build a shelter. You don’t wait till you’re thirsty to drink. Procrastination is the biggest enemy to survival. You make a plan, then you get moving.
Procrastination is the biggest enemy of reading the Bible. If you wait until you have time it will never happen. Make a plan, make the time and get started. The best time to start is now. No more excuses.

The most important thing to remember is, it is not the amount you read but what you remember. Don’t just go through the motions of reading the Bible just so you can check it off. When you read, take your time and allow what you have read from the Bible to go through you. Put it into practice in your life.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Survival experts tell us the difference between those who get lost and survive and those who don’t is actually mental. Those who survive don’t give up. Same applies to our Bible reading. It is very easy to get busy, to become sidetracked, or get behind and then just to quit.
If you make the commitment to stick with it, I will guarantee you that this is one habit that will completely change your life.

S.O.S. part 2

Getting lost can be scary. Anyone who has been lost can testify to that fact. But if you keep your wits about you, you can be found. Survival expert, Bear Grylls, gives three pieces of advice to make it safely back to civilization. 1. Get your bearings. 2. Make a plan. 3. Get moving.

Last week we started to look at how these three actions apply to the Bible. We started talking about getting our bearings, understanding why we can trust that the Bible is best road map for our life. Last week we looked at the uniqueness of the Bible. We looked at some basic facts about it.

Today we will look at the external and internal evidence for the reliability and accuracy of the Bible being God’s very word to mankind. Please know that we are barely scratching the surface of this topic. If you would like more information please feel free to contact me.

Well, let’s look at some external evidence for the reliability of the bible.

One of the ways we look to see the accuracy of an ancient text is to look at two different things. One is the date when it was written compared to the date of the earliest known manuscript. The fewer years between the 2 can tell us how accurate it is.

Second thing we look at is the number of manuscripts there are present today. The more there are, the more you can compare to see if there are any discrepancies.

One of the best-known books, one that is considered to be the most accurate by scholars is Homer’s “Iliad”. It was written in 900 b.c., the earliest manuscript is dated around 400 b.c. That is a time span of 500 years. There are also 643 known copies of the original. That’s pretty impressive for a book that was written almost 3000 years ago. Scholars believe it is a very accurate piece of ancient literature.

So what about the Bible, how does it compare? If the “Iliad” is the “golden child” of ancient texts, how does the Bible compare?

We already established that the Old Testament has been the same for thousands of years. No one argues about it. It’s the New Testament that draws the most fire. Here are the numbers. The New Testament was written between 40 and 100 a.d. The earliest copy that has been found dates to 125 a.d. That is only 25 years after the original was written.

What about the number of copies? If there is only one, then we could still discredit the Bible’s accuracy. 25 years is still long enough for mistakes and inaccuracies to be present. How many copies do we have? Well over 24,000 different manuscripts are known to exist. Those are just the ones written in the original language of the New Testament. We also have 15,000 other copies of the scriptures that were translated into different languages starting around 150 a.d.

The Iliad is considered fairly accurate. Only about 5% is considered to be inaccurate. If you were to read the Iliad, which I tried one summer and quit on page 2, if you were to read it you could be positive that 95% of it is still just like Homer wrote it 3000 years ago. When scholars looked through all the manuscripts for the New Testament, only ½ of one percent (0.5%) is called into question. So as we read our Bibles we can be sure that 99.5% is exactly like the original author wrote it.

What 0.5% boils down to, is about 400 words. The vast majority of which are differences in spelling. None of which have any negative effect on the message of the Bible.

There is more we could look at, but because of time probably need to move on. But from what we have looked at so far, we can say without a shadow of a doubt based on external evidence that the reliability of our bibles is greater than any other ancient text. That what we hold in our hands today is essentially the same as what was written almost 2000 years ago.

What about the Bible itself, what does it say? Listed here are several verses to look up and read. Luke 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:3; John 19:35

All these verses have one thing in common; they are the eyewitness reports of those who were there. The majority of the New Testament was written while the people who witnessed the events were still living. It would have been very easy to say, “No, that didn’t happen. I was there when that took place, that’s not how it went down”. Or the opposite could have happened. Those who heard it would say, “Yes, I was there, it took place just like that.”

Not only were the New Testament writers reporting what they saw and heard but they were also putting out a challenge to those who were opposed to them. They were in fact saying, “You were there to; if this isn’t true, then what is the truth?”

When the writers of the New Testament were confronted by those who did not believe what they were saying they responded by saying, “you don’t have to just take our word, but all the others who witnessed it as well. Even some of you doubters saw what took place. If you don’t want to believe us, then listen to what your own people are saying.”

Not only was it written by eyewitnesses who saw what was happening when it was happening. The Bible itself claims to be the very words of God. More than 3800 times authors introduce a passage or topic by saying, “thus says the Lord” or “the Lord spoke.”

We have just scratched the surface of the reliability and accuracy of the bible. The external and internal witness is clear, the Bible claims that scripture comes from God and is accurate, reliable and useful for our lives.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

S.O.S.

Where is Bear Grylls when you need him?

Inn the post before, I told you about the time I made the dumb choice to continue running through the Colorado wilds even after I realized I had missed the trail? I thought I knew where I was going but quickly found out, I was lost.

Honestly, I don’t mind being lost. It has happened to me on several occasions. There are times when being lost appeals to me. Playing hide and seek, or needing a break from work are a couple good reasons to get lost for a little while.

Most of the time, I get lost because of a choice I made, the choice to go my own way instead of following the established trail. We have this plaque in our house it says… “Don’t go where the path may lead, go where there is no path and leave a trail.” That sounds pretty pithy, doesn’t it? It really sounds cool, doesn’t it? Makes it seem like we are very adventuresome. Makes it sound like I am right up there with Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike or John Muir.
Actually, it’s pretty dumb. Our intention should never be to get lost on purpose. Not only does it cause ourselves to be placed in harm’s way, it causes our family unnecessary grief. The look on my dad’s face when I got found was enough for me to always stick to the trails. Best way to keep from getting lost is to follow the map.

Sometimes we get lost on accident. Not a choice we make just happens. I love watching the discovery channel. A couple of my favorite shows, besides “Mythbusters”, are “Survivorman” and “Man verses Wild”. I won’t pretend I could do what those two guys do. It would be fun to try, except for some of the things they eat and of course Bear’s habit of drinking his urine. No thanks.

I know Bear Grylls has faced some harsh criticism for being a faker. Honestly, he should. They should have been upfront with it all the time…it’s a TV show not real life. There are camera crews, sound men, light crews and support people and someone is standing by to make sure nothing really happens to him. It’s pretend but the advice he gives is good advice. His intention is that hopefully, you won’t have to use it but if you do you can survive being lost.
Here is his advice if you ever get lost. Three things to remember… 1. Get your bearings. 2. Make a plan 3. Get moving.

I am going to break those three down and talk about how they apply to the Bible, the ultimate road map of life.

We may think we know where we are going or how to live our life right, but if not careful we will end up getting lost. That is why God has given us his word, the Bible. The Bible is God’s road map for our lives.

Of course there are some people who have a problem with that. There are those who think it is a book written thousands of years ago and has no value for today. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

If we, whether we believe the Bible is God’s Word or have accepted Jesus as our personal leader and forgiver of our life or not, if we would live by the principles found in the Bible, or just by Jesus’ teachings, the world would be a much better place. We would not have to lock the doors to our house. We could leave the keys in the car. We would not have to worry about our kids getting kidnapped. We wouldn’t have to fear that our life savings would go down the drain because of other people’s greed. There would be no war, no hate, and no fear of terrorist attacks. The world would be a better place if we would all just live according to the teachings of the Bible.

It can free us from our past, prepare us for the future and guide us in the present, but only if we allow it to be part of our life. It can keep us from getting lost if we do what it says.

When Bear says, “get your bearings” he means, go to high ground or climb a tree and see if you can figure out the lay of the land. Try to determine which direction is north and which way would be the best way to get back to civilization. Concerning the Bible, it’s kind of the same way, before we can use it for the greatest benefit in our life, we need to understand it. We need to see the bigger picture. We need to understand its history so we can see its value for today and tomorrow. So let’s get our bearings.

The Bible is a very unique book. This week I want to share with you some basic facts that show its uniqueness. Next week we are going to jump into the evidence that is proof that the Bible is the Word of God.

Our Bible was written over a time period of 1500 years, by 40 different authors, kings, peasants, philosophers, fisherman, poets, scholars, shepherds, doctors and rabbis. Parts of it were written in the wilderness, in dungeons, on hillsides, in a palace, and even on a military campaign. It was written at different times, in times of war and in times of peace.

The writings took place on 3 different continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. It was written in three different languages, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.

The Bible is divided into two sections…the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the history of and the teaching for the Israelite people. The books that it contains are the very same books the Israelites have used for thousands of years. Jesus even used it while he was on earth.

There are many lessons we can learn from the Old Testament. But the primary purpose of the Old Testament is to tell of the coming of Jesus. Everything about it points to Messiah that would come to save mankind.

The New Testament contains the gospels, story of Jesus life, his teachings, death and resurrection. It also contains the history and teaching of the first church and also one book of prophecy.

The Bible covers hundreds of different topics but agrees in complete harmony. It is read by more people and published in more languages than any other book in history. It has changed history more than any other book ever written.

Psalms 119:89
Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

LOST

Have you ever gotten lost? I am not talking about going the wrong way on the way to Grandma’s house, nor when your mom left you in the toy section at Wal-Mart and then told you to stay put, but you decided to wander around. I’m talking about wet your pants…break out in a cold sweat…heart stuck in your throat…lost.

Have you ever gotten lost like that…I have. When I was in the seventh grade my family…grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins…all went to Buena Vista, Colorado for a week of fishing, hiking and relaxing in the Rocky Mountains. Just down the road on the way to the ghost town St. Elmo is a place where the Colorado Trail intersects with the county road. It is a good place to stop. A cold mountain stream runs parallel to the road. There are lots of trees. It is a nice place to stop for a picnic.

We decided to hike a little of the Colorado trail. We crossed the stream on a footbridge then hiked across the valley up on a mountain on the other side. My parents headed back and my brother, uncle and I continued on a little longer.

After climbing up the mountain a little ways, we decided to turn back and head for the car. Now back then everything was a competition, I decided I was going to beat everyone back to the car. So I took off at a run heading down the mountain.

Now somehow on the way back I missed the trail. Instead of stopping to find it, I kept going thinking that I would eventually intersect it somewhere. I didn’t. I don’t know if you have ever been in the mountains before, but it gets dark early, and with the darkness it gets chilly.

So there I was, a young teenager lost in the Colorado Mountains. It was getting dark and cold and there was only one thing I could think of…HELP…MOMMY!!!! I thought I knew where I was going. Boy, was I wrong.

If you were to ask Jenn she would tell you I have a tendency to get misplaced. I never get lost, there are just sometimes I don’t know where I am. I am a typical male, I don’t usually ask for directions. I figure I will find my way eventually.

The book of Proverbs talks about that, a proverb is a wise saying, and piece of good advice we should listen to.

Proverbs 14:12—there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end in leads to death.

We may think we know where we are going or how to live our life right but if not careful we will end up getting lost. That is why God has given us his word, the Bible. The Bible is God’s road map for our lives.

So over the next several weeks I want to take a closer look at this road map.

By the way, I did get found!

Bringing Home the Bacon.

We are finishing up what we started several weeks ago on being a steward. A steward is simply someone who has the responsibility to use someone else’s possessions in the right way. So far we have talked about being a good steward of our time and talents. Today we finish by talking about everyone’s favorite subject…our treasure.

I personally don’t like to talk about money. Most people figure money is a minister’s favorite topic. It may be some minister’s favorite thing to preach on. I don’t enjoy it. But it is impossible to get away from it in the Bible, especially in the teachings of Jesus. Half of the parables he taught were about being good stewards of our financial resources.

In this story we read in Matthew 25, each servant was given an amount of money that was to be used in the correct manner. The master or boss trusted them to use it in a way that would benefit him.

So the question we have to ask is…what is the correct use of our treasure? If we believe that God has given it to us and that we should use it in the correct manner…how are we to know what he wants us to do with it? The answer can be found in Acts 20:35. It says, “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus; it is more blessed to give than to receive.” His intention, his desire is that we are generous with what he has entrusted to us.

It was the day after Christmas and a man parked his car to pick up the morning paper. He noticed outside the store a dirty, poorly dressed boy, looking at his car. Seeing the boy he reminded himself to be quick about his errand or he might lose a hubcap or two. He came out of the store with his paper under his arm and just as he was about ready to open the door to the car, the little boy asked, “Mister, how much does a car like that cost?” The man replied, “I don’t really know, my brother gave this car to me as a gift.” The ragged little boy looked at the man and looked at the car, and then with wonder in his eyes he said, “Wow, I wish I could be a brother like that.”

Shouldn’t we all have that kind of mindset that it would be better to be able to give the car away then to have the car given to us? That it is better to give than receive?
Of course, the real issue is, what do we worship? Is it God or our possessions? We don’t have to be rich to struggle with our possessions becoming idols. Honestly, when it comes to our possessions, treasure or money, there really are only two choices. Either our treasure will be an idol or a tool. We will either worship our possessions and treasures or we will use them as tools to help increase the kingdom of God.

It was Jesus who said, “Where our treasure is our heart will be also.” What we place the greatest value on, we will spend our life trying to achieve.

Christian life is about priorities… either God is a priority in our life or our earthly goods will be. It was also Jesus who said in Matthew 6:24… “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

We should be good and wise stewards of our treasure

This little piggy cried wee...wee...wee

Now the parable we looked at when we started this little piggy adventure was about money, but we are going to do a little play on words. When we think of a talent we rarely think of money. Instead, when we hear the word talent our thoughts turn to a person’s abilities.

Like playing the guitar or singing. Some are natural born athletes, they can run faster, jump higher, and they are stronger. All you have to do is watch the Olympics to see this is true. Some have a head for business. They understand money and people and goals. And some of us have the talent of getting into trouble.

We are all born with talents and natural abilities. Some people have very noticeable talents, like my wife Jenn, she can take some chicken, a little bit of rice and a few other ingredients and make a dish that some would kill for. Some of us have talents that aren’t so visible.

I realize that this passage is not talking about our physical talents or abilities, but that does not mean we should not use them in the right way. They are still given by God and He expects us to be good stewards of them.

We have been given these talents and abilities to benefit ourselves, to bring profit in our lives. But at the same time we need to remember where they came from. We did not give them to ourselves. They came from God. Because of that, their use in our lives should bring glory to God.

There is another set of gifts we have been given. These aren’t natural gifts but are spiritual gifts. Anyone who belongs to the family of God has at least one of them. You can read a list of them in Romans 12:4-8.

Just as we are to be good stewards of our natural abilities and talents, we are to be good stewards of these spiritual gifts as well.

Let me make a few parallels between the parable from Matthew 25:14-30 and Paul’s writings in Romans.

1. All people receive a “gift” but not all have the same function. In the parable, the servants were given an amount of money but each amount was different, in fact it says based on their ability.

2. The talents were given to form one body. They were to be used for the good of the whole, not the individual. The talents were given to increase the wealth of the master, not for personal use.

3. The gifts were to be used in the right manner. Matthew’s point was not how much was made but that gift was used. The Master even told the third servant it would have been better if he had put it in the bank to draw interest. Our gifts and talents have been given to us to work, they are to be used to serve others.

We should be good and wise stewards of our talents.

This little piggy part 2

Today we continue what we started last week. Stewardship. Today we will look at the topic of time.

Everyday we are given 86,400 seconds that can never be replaced nor be reused. We only have one chance to use today, then its gone.

I saw a survey that few people would pay much attention to. It was taken of people 95 years and older.

They were asked one question. It was an open-ended question. They could answer however they wished. There was no religious connection to it, no anticipated response; all they had to do was answer this one question.

The question was: “If you could live life over again, what would you do differently?”
Here are the three most frequent responses.

1. I would reflect more
2. I would risk more
3. I would do more things that would live on after I’m gone.

Did you notice it was not…“I would work more”, or “I would make more money”, or “I would have a bigger house”. Instead, after looking back over the years they had lived, they wished they had spent more of their time doing something that was worthwhile, something with more meaning.

Studies show that in the average American lifetime…we sleep 23 years, work 16 years, watch TV 8 years, eat 6 years, travel 6 years, relax 4.5 years, are sick 4 years, and spend 2 years getting dressed.

Researchers say that by the time a person reaches 20 they will have watched 20,000 hours of TV, and then will watch 10,000 hours every decade after that.

Did you know that in 5,000 hours you could earn a bachelors degree? In 10,000 hours you could become an engineer. In 10,000 hours you could walk around the world if you wanted to and still have time left over to write a book about the adventure.

Do you want to know what I think is the best use of our time? I can actually think of several that are important…family, education or career. But the best use of our time is developing our relationship with God.

If we would just spend 5-10 minutes a day reading our Bibles, we could read through the entire Bible in the next year. If we would allow what we read to penetrate our lives, Iola (or wherever you live) would be a much better place to live and to raise a family.
Spending time with God and doing what he wants is the best way to use our time wisely. It doesn’t matter if you are a pig farmer, teacher, businessman or even a preacher.

My wife and my life

The other day I was thinking how my life is so much different because my wife Jenn is part of it. So I sat down one morning and wrote her this note. By the way, I have her permission to publish this.

"Before I do anything else I thought I would send you a note just to let you know how much you mean to me.

I was thinking about how my life is so much different since you became part of it. Not just how I now brush my teeth and hair every day. Or that my clothes actually match most of the time. Yes, you have have improved my hygiene and my style. Of course because of you the house is livable, clothes get washed, and I eat well.

You have made my life better simply by being the mother of our girls. Without you they would not exist. I don't think I have ever thanked you for that. There are also those times when you "fill in" for me in raising them. I appreciate you spending time teaching and training them.

But then there is also how you have made me a better person. I contribute my living for God to you. Without you in my life I would be heading down a completely different path. You make me complete in my ministry. Encouraging me to better myself and try harder. You reach out to people I could never reach. You help those I would not even know where to start to help. You bring a great sense of peace to my life, your presence gives me the strength to push on when it seems life is stacked against me.

So I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for all you have added to my life. I love you."

This little pig...

I once was the proud owner of a pig. Every year my high school ag class would buy 4 pigs for our annual pig race. Usually after the event was over, the four pigs would be turned into BBQ for the annual FFA meeting. My senior year, the ag instructor, Mr. Brooks, decided it was time for our class to start a gilt ring.

Now for you that aren’t familiar with a gilt ring, two “lucky” students would receive a gilt. A gilt is a female pig that has not had a baby yet. Those two students would then raise their gilt until it was old enough to breed. After the piglets were born, they were to raise them until weaning time. After the piglets were weaned, the student would return a gilt back to the class, keeping the other piglets and sow to do with what they wanted…sell it, keep it or eat it.

Some how, I’m not really sure how it happened, but I was selected to raise one of the gilts. So I took it home. My grandpa had room for it in one of his barns. We found someone who had a boar, got my pig bred then waited for my little dollar signs to be born…I mean piglets. On a Sunday evening in July during the week of high school VBS, four little pigs were born, two boys and two girls.

The first one out was a girl. She was a runt. The whole next week I spent working 24 hours a day trying to keep her alive. I bottle-fed her every hour. I kept her in my room under a heat lamp. Took her with me where ever I had to go. Unfortunately, she went on to a better place in hog heaven.

Next came Mutt and Jeff, named after a couple of guys I worked with. Though Mutt was a girl. They were two of the hardest headed, dumbest, obnoxious animals I had ever been around. Any time anyone came close to the pen, those two piglets would go squealing across it and hide. They were always into stuff.

The fourth piglet that came out we named Scrawny Williams. He had a pretty hard life from the beginning. He was born blind. He was smaller then the other two. They wouldn’t let him eat. I ended up having to bottle-feed him to keep him alive.

The days and months rolled by and I finally fulfilled my obligation. At weaning time I returned my only gilt back to the class. I decided it was time for me to get out of the pig business so I sold out.

I have always wanted to write a book or make a movie of my experience. Maybe you remember the book “Lord of the flies”, well. I did not write it, but that would have made a good title for that chapter of my life. Since it is already taken, I thought of another better title…“The ward of the sty.”

Believe me there is a point to all this.

The English language is a funny language. There are words that we use at times that we really don’t know where they came from. Take for instance the word “steward.” It actually means keeper of pigs.

It is made up of two words, first being “sty” or “pig sty” and “ward” meaning to keep or to watch over. A sty ward or steward as we pronounce it now, was a person who took care of someone else’s pigs. They did not own the pigs, but were hired to watch them and take care of them as if they were their own.

Today when we talk of someone being a steward, we aren’t talking about someone who watches someone else’s pigs. Instead, we think of someone who manages someone else’s money, property or business. They do not own the property but manage it as if it were their own.

When the Bible speaks of being a steward, we know it means a person who manages what God has entrusted to them.

There are three areas in our lives that God has given to us that we should be good and wise stewards…our time, our treasure and our talent. So over the next three weeks we will look in detail at these three areas.

To get ready for this, I would encourage you to read Matthew 25:14-30.

I wish...

There are many times that I think I have really dropped the ball when it comes to being a good parent. I feel like the lessons I try to teach my kids just seem to bounce off them and drop to the ground. Then there are the days they surprise me.

Several weeks ago we were sitting down to dinner. While we eat we make it a point to ask the girls how their day went. They usually tell us about whom they played with, what they did in music, how they did on a test or who got in trouble and who was sent to the office.

Well on this one night, I asked, “What did you do today? And Rachel said, “I told Lizzy about Jesus.” “That’s good,” I said, “what did you tell her?” Rachel replied, “I told her Jesus died on the cross and when you are baptized he takes your sin away.”

I am not sure what I did or said after that, maybe I passed out, or my jaw hit the ground, I am sure my eyes were the size of basketballs. That was the last thing I expected her to say. I thought maybe something like, Jesus loves all the little children. Or Jesus lives in my heart. But to share the basic message of the Gospel, never would I have thought she would say that. I sure am proud of her.

Of course that makes me think about myself. Why am I not more active about telling those around me, “Jesus died on the cross and when you are baptized he takes your sin away”? It’s not like I don’t have the opportunity. I take time out of every week to visit guests to our church. Most of them do have questions about it. I have a list of people that I pray for who I know need to make that decision. So why aren’t I more active in sharing the Good news?

I think it boils down to two reasons. The first one being fear. I am afraid I will be rejected. I am afraid I won’t know the right answers. I am afraid they may look at me as a weirdo. I am afraid they may think I am pushy or afraid it may damage a fragile friendship.

The second reason is, I believe the lie I have plenty of time. This one gets me more than the first I put off for tomorrow what I could do today. I have every intention of telling others but I seem to wait until I have “more” time or when they aren’t so “busy”. I can’t do it today but I am sure I’ll get the time next week.

As I think about this, Rachel didn’t tell Lizzy about Jesus because she had all the answers or because she knew her reputation was safe or that she wasn’t sure how much more time she would have with her. She told Lizzy about Jesus simply because Rachel cares deeply for Lizzy. They are friends. Rachel wanted to share the most important thing in her life with the most important friend in her life.

I wish I could be more like my five-year-old daughter.

Bet you didn't know this.

My wife thought it would be funny on her blog to do a little top 10 list of things no one knows about her. I decided to do one as well. So here goes. Top 10 things you probably don't know about me.

10. I've never had a Starbucks Coffee, I plan on taking care of that tomorrow.

9. I manage a "pretend" football player in an online football game. He is a middle linebacker, his name is Ti Tanium.

8. There is a road in New Zealand called "Bycroft Lane.' It is named for a distant relative.

7. I was in a Pepsi commercial drinking out of a Pepsi cup. It was Gatorade.

6. I wanted to be a smoke jumper. Turns out that you can be physically prepared but if you don't have perfect eyesight they won't let you in.

5. I was part of a band (not rock but high school marching) that set a Guinness World Record.

4. I got lost twice in the Colorado Mountains in grade school. By the way, they found me.

3. I bloodied my own nose boxing in Jr. High. Don't ask.

2. I had the 3rd highest score on the Microbiology final in the history of the college level class.

1. My birthmark is on my left hand. Most people when the see it think it is a burn.

Interesting isn't it?

On the road again...

This summer has been one of travel for our family. A month ago we went to Florida for vacation. Last week we traveled to Ohio. I had to attend a meeting the last morning of the North American Christian Convention. We decided to use that travel time to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in a while.

Our first stop was at the church we served at in Illinois. We took some time to visit with friends we hadn’t seen in several years. We kind of keep up with them through Christmas cards, email and phone calls. It was good to be able to sit down and just visit with them. Of course seeing how their kids have grown up made Jenn and I feel old. We even visited with a young man who was part of the youth group at the church when we were there. Now he is married and has a 16-month-old baby.

We stopped at Jenn’s parents house in Brazil, In. Of course that meant a family get together. Which was nice. We only see her brothers and their families a couple times a year. We went to Bloomington, In to see her grandpa and had a short visit with him.

We left the girls with Larry and Pat and climbed back into the car on Thursday to go to the convention. As we walked through the hallways, we would visit with people we went to school with or ministers we have both met through the years. There is one funny thing that happened. I look enough like my dad did 20-25 years ago that some of the older preachers who know my dad would look at me and you can tell by the look on their face…”I should know that guy, he looks so familiar.”

I went to my meeting Friday morning and saw guys I hadn’t seen in year. It is hard to catch up when you only have an hour. After the meeting was over. I went back to our hotel room. Jenn was getting ready. The final service of the convention was to start at 9:30. I looked forward to that more than anything else that went on.

Ben Merold was to preach the concluding service of the convention. I have known Ben for many years. He visited our church and preached revivals when I was growing up. He has stayed in our house on many occasions. I interned under Ben several years ago. Jenn and I were just dating at the time. He and his wife adopted us. Had us over for dinner, included us in things their family was doing. Jenn would stay with them when she came to visit me.

Before Ben got up to preach, the president of the NACC introduced him. He has preached revivals in 48 states. He has grown 2 churches from attendance of 200 to over 3000. The church he currently is serving is running over 3500. He has taught church growth principles all over the world. Did I mention he is 82 years old? He still sings at the top of his lungs during worship, still runs up on the stage, still preaches with passion and conviction, and still reaches the lost. This past month he officially “retired.” Though if you ask him about it he will say, “I am not retiring from anything.” He is just looking forward to the next adventure in his life.

Jenn and I had a few minutes Thursday evening to talk to Ben and Pat. While we were visiting with them, another couple came up to say “hi”. The man said, “Well, Ben, what do you plan on doing now?” Ben looked at him and said; “I guess I’ll just find something small.” With that everyone laughed. Everyone who knows Ben knows it won’t stay small.

I realize this isn’t much of a devotional thought. I guess it is more of a glimpse into my life. But as I talked to Ben, two verses came into my mind. The first one comes from Hebrews 12:1-2

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Second verse is found in 2 Timothy 4:7-8

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

To me Ben is a hero of our faith. God has used him greatly throughout his life. Ben just keeps serving God whole heartedly even though he is “past” the age when most would consider him a valuable asset. Ben is an inspiration to me to keep on plugging along…to fight the good fight…to finish the race.

I thank God for the many examples He puts before me. Men like Ben who do not seek their reward here on this earth or who do not seek comfort in the latter years but wait patiently and work diligently for the coming of our Savior.

hi jenn i love you