A Place Where Hope Has Never Dared To Go!

It has been a while since I sat down to write. There are a lot of things bouncing around in my head so this might just be a bit of rambling but hopefully I can share some of the things that are on my heart.

I was reading in my Bible in the third chapter of Acts. It is one of my favorite stories. Peter and John are on their way to the Temple to pray. This is something they must have done on a regular basis from the way it reads. As they approach the door of the Temple, a man calls to them in an effort to get their attention.

This man had been lame all of his life. For years, people had carried him to the Temple and laid him beside the busiest entrance so he could beg money of those coming and going by him. This was all he had known and this was all he expected from life. When he saw the two men approach, he once again asked for money. To what must have been his surprise, instead of ignoring him or tossing a coin his way, one of them said. “Look at us!”

His heart must have began to beat a bit faster as he thought he was about to receive a memorable amount of money from them. Then as equally fast, it must have plunged to his crippled feet as the next words spoken were, “We don’t have any money!”

Here was a man whose only hope everyday was that people would have pity on him. His hope was that he would receive enough from others that he could slip through life. His greatest hope was that someone would be kind enough to give him just a little more and make his life a bit easier. That was his hope. However, his hopes are crushed! Then God moves on a couple of preachers to take him to “a place where hope had never dared to go!” Peter said, “I don’t have money but I will give you what I have!” Taking him by the right hand, he commanded the man who had been lame to arise and walk! As he lifted him, the lame man’s feet and ankles received strength. He not only arose, he not only walked, but he went leaping, running, and praising God through the temple. For the first time in his life, he entered the temple because those who were lame were not permitted to enter the temple. He was no longer lame! The ban had been lifted!
God’s greatest desire for us is to take us to “a place where hope has never dared to go!” If we are children of the King of Kings then we have the right to the benefits of the kingdom. We are too often afraid to dream or even to hope that life can be different. Too often, we are content to ask for the leftovers, the spare change. God’s desire is to give us more that we can dare to hope. The world tells us think positive thoughts, but in our despair, we cannot even hope!

Paul speaks to us from Ephesians chapter three about God’s feeling for us. I do not have the time or space to go into a deep study on this but let me briefly share what God spoke to me. God fills us with His Spirit to help us to understand the magnitude of His love for us. To allow us to share the power and fullness of life that comes from Him. His Spirit living in us is to allow Him to do so much more than we can ever hope for or dream. It is His desire to take us to a “place where hope has never dared to go!”

We are not destined to live with broken hearts. Yes they will come. Life will happen and our hearts will be broken. Bad choices that we make will lead us to broken hearts. Life happening will often results in broken hearts. Sins of loved ones and those dear to us will often lead to broken hearts. However, we must realize that we are not fated to live with them. They are just opportunities for God to take us to “a place where hope has never dared to go!” He came to heal the broken heart! He came to make it new again! The broken heart is an opportunity for God to show His power and His love in a life!

Failures and defeat are part of life. We make mistakes. We fail in judgment! Oh if we could only live the moment again we would do it so differently. We cannot call back or relive those moments. Chains hold us captive by the mistakes and failures of yesterdays gone by. Fear holds us captive! Bonds of fear chain us. We are listening to the haunting taunts of failure! We will be happy with a couple of additional links in the chains to let us to move. We would never dare to hope those chains would be removed and we would be free to live and hope again! Hey! I have great news for you! Jesus Christ came to set the captive free! He came to take you to a place where hope has never dared to go! You can be free from you yesterdays. You can know a brand new tomorrow walking with Jesus Christ and allowing Him to set you free!

I have known people who lived in fear. Fear blinds you. You cannot see because of fear. Hurts and wrongs in your life will cause you to live in fear. This fear will blind you to what God wants to do in your life. A person who is blinded will always remember the last thing they saw before the injury. Too many people have allowed life to blind them and they live with a picture of the hurts and injuries that have happened to them. It is all they see. God has touched their lives, but all they see is the hurt. God has filled them with His Spirit, but all they see is the hurt. God has promised them joy, peace and righteousness, but all they see is the hurt! Again, I want you to know He came to heal the blinded eyes. Not just those physical eyes that are unable to see, He came to heal the spiritual, emotional eyes that are unable to see past yesterday! He came to take you to a “place where hope has never dared to go!”

Life impacts us! Sometimes it impacts in a good way. Many times life impacts in ways of sorrow and pain. Impact, a crash, blow or shock to our body will leave a bruise. We all have had bruises. We know them to be both ugly and painful reminders of the impact. They tell me that the bruise is the result of stopping the blood from flowing through that area. Until the blow resumes to flow there will be a bruise and healing will not take place for healing is in the blood. When the blood is set free to flow again then healing begins to take place and soon the bruise is gone and the impact is behind us. He came to liberate the bruised! Life shocks us. Life hurts us. Life affects us leaving bruises in its place. Once again, God is the difference maker! The blood of Jesus Christ will heal. God will take us to “a place where hope never dared to go.”

I remember several years ago that God spoke to me, as if in an audible voice, about being a God of Comfort. (Read my blog on the Great God of Comfort). The passage was from Second Corinthians chapter one and Paul speaks to tell us that God allows us to go through suffering, pain and misfortune so that we can experience His Comfort. However, it does not stop there. We experience His Comfort so that we might share that Comfort with others when they also go through suffering, pain and misfortune.

I had this driven home fourteen months ago. I was standing in an ICU waiting room with my son Jared. In the ICU, room was his fiancé. They were to be married in about five weeks. All of his hopes and dreams lay at deaths door. I am his father. All of his life I have tried to protect him from pain, suffering and misfortune. I have tried to fix those things that were wrong and make them right. That day I stood helpless.

I was talking on the phone to Abby, my daughter and I began to weep. Just a few years earlier, I had stood with her and Kelsey when they had lost their baby. Again, I had been unable to protect them or to fix things so they would not hurt. As I began to weep, I told her how helpless I felt. I had not been able to protect her and I could not do anything for Jared. It hurt so badly and my heart broke. I will never forget what Abby told me that day. She said, “Dad it is alright. You and mom have taught us there are times we just have to rely on God. Because we have gone through these times, we can now put our arms around others and tell them from experience that God will be there and God will heal and deliver! This is the only way we can really know that.” Once again, God took me to “a place where hope never dared to go!”

The lame man only hoped for a couple of dimes. God took him to “place where hope never dared to go.” How about you, what is it that you are dealing with that has broken you heart. What is it that has you bound, blinded or bruised? Is it the past? Is it the failure of a marriage? Is it the repeated mistakes? Is it the death of a loved one? There are so many things? However, I promise you God wants to take you to “a place where hope has never dared to go!” Let Him…

It’s just a thought…God Bless!

Write a Message on Your Shoe!

Several years ago, actually about 3 decades back, my wife and I were at a concert and a song was sang by the group that stuck in my mind. I was able to find the song online, Let me share the words with you;

You're about to hear a truth that will loose you from the noose
The devil's been using to defeat you
To you it may be shockin', to him you will be lockin'
The power you thought he had over you
I learned that God put all things under Jesus' feet
And since we are His body, I'm sure we are His feet
I think you've got the picture and now know what to do
Write a message to the devil (devil) on the bottom of your shoe (shoe, shoe, shoe)

Chorus:Write a message to the devil on the bottom of your shoe
Tell him you rebuke him and he's a liar too
You've finished list'nin' to him, God's word you will do
And be sure to write this message on the bottom of your shoe (shoe, shoe, shoe)

When Satan tries to blind you by depression or confusion
He's trying hard to defeat you
To you he is lyin', tell him you're denyin'
The power you let him have over you
Remember God put all things under Jesus' feet
And since we are His body I'm sure we are His feet
Now that you've got the picture, remember what to do

Write a message to the devil (devil) on the bottom of your shoe

Words and Music: Dianne Mays © 1979 Emmanuel Music

Too often we listen to our enemy rather than the voice of our Savior! Let me share a couple of passages with you, I think the song says everything else that needs to be said:

"And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 1:22-23

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Rom 16:20"

And do not give the devil a foothold." Ephesians 4:27

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

It's just a thought! God Bless...

Don Doran
TEAM Ministry

Are You Still Waiting On God?

I just want everyone to know that I am not, by nature, the patient type. I grew up in a preachers home, so at an early age I had heard that tribulation works patience. I have never prayed for patience, because I didn’t want the tribulation that would cause me to have patience. Good thing, I have had enough without praying for more.

I said all that in order to say, I hate to wait! I hate stop lights that are set on timers. They have you waiting for the light to change when there hasn’t been a car passing in the five minutes you have been sitting there. Slow drivers, those who refuse to go the speed limit, make me twitch.

When my wife and I were first married, I had to learn to wait. I am the type person who hates to get anywhere early, but I don’t want to be late either. I know how long it takes me to get dressed, eat and drive to work, to the minute. The same goes for church. So when we were suppose to be there at a certain time and weren’t ready to leave yet, I would sit in the car a honk the horn. If you think that helps, guess again.

Let me give a word of advice to other men. DON’T DO THAT! I finally learned to find something to do, such as read a book or mess with the computer while I am waiting. We are still married thirty years later.

If I start a new project, I want it done yesterday! Many times I have worked a lot of extra hours to finish because I had a hard time waiting. Thank God, with age, I have become a little better at the waiting game.

I have had problems with passages in the Bible. You know, scriptures like, “They that wait upon the Lord….” for one. Another is, “Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him…” Still another, “…Those that wait upon the Lord, shall inherit the earth.” How about, “…Wait on the Lord and keep His way…” I came across this one just the other day, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry.”

Wait! I know it is something that I need to do, but I really don’t have time! I am in a hurry to get where I want to be in God. I am in a hurry to see things done in my life. I can’t wait! It is kind of like the fellow who was praying and said, “God I want patience and I want it now!”

Actually, the word wait is a very interesting word and in the Bible context that we have read it in here, has little in common with our definition. Without going into a long discourse of Hebrew definition, let me share what I got from my study on the word. Simply this: “qavah - to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect:” (1)

To put it in our lingo, it is to twist together making one. Picture this: take a piece of thin string. It can be nylon, cotton or grass. Hold it in each hand and jerk on it. More that likely a good stiff jerk will cause it to break.

Next, take three or four of the same size in thickness. Put them together and twist them a few times. Now give the same stiff jerk. It might break, but it will be more difficult, this time. If you keep adding to the string, pretty soon you have a cord. Add more and pretty soon you have a rope.

You know if you get enough of those thin little pieces of string and you bind them together in a twisting motion. Then you take a couple of those and bind them together in a twisting motion. Then you take a few of those and bind them together in a twisting motion you will have a line that is strong enough it will hold the Queen Mary to the dock in a storm.

What the Psalmist is not saying is this. I am just going to sit around and wait until it is done. Hurry up God! What the writer is not saying is I am going to put on my apron and bring your super!

What the writer is saying is, if I can unite myself with God. Somehow I must bind myself to Him. If I can become one with God I will become stronger. My strength will be renewed. I will be able to learn His ways. I will be able to be an over comer. I can become refreshed!

What a life changing thought. I don’t have to do this on my own? I have always thought that it is all about how tough and resilient I am. Now I am finding out that it is all about waiting. I am finding that spiritual success is all about uniting myself with Jesus Christ.

Many years ago, Brother Paul Price of Napa, California taught a lesson on how to get more out of the Bible. He gave an illustration that I have never forgotten and we are talking about thirty-seven years later. He read from Matthew 11 where Jesus offers us to take His yoke and learn of Him.

Brother Price explained that he had done research on the yoke (thus getting more from your Bible study). In the Bible day when they wanted to teach a young ox how to work in the yoke they put him with a trained ox that was bigger than the young ox. They hitched them so that the entire burden was on the shoulders of the experienced ox. All that the young ox had to do was walk in the yoke. His sole purpose was to learn when to halt, turn and go. He only had to learn the commands. He had to “learn of” the experienced ox that carried the load.

Jesus offers to have us unite with Him. He bids us to walk with Him and learn of Him. He offers us the opportunity to allow Him to carry the load, His yoke is easy. His burden is light. Really what He is encouraging us to do is to wait on Him. We are invited to bind ourselves together with Him. He wants us to become one with Him. We are able to renew our strength through Him. To be refreshed and rested because of Him.

Oh, waiting is a hard thing to do. I hate to say I can’t do it on my own. It hurts to say I need help, I need somebody else. Yet when I submit myself to the yoke I become powerful. Not powerful in myself, but powerful in Him.

It is a trust issue. I have got to come to the place where I stop wringing my hands together. I have got to stop pacing the floor and moaning and groaning because I don’t know what to do. I just need to wait on God, to trust in Him. I need to become one with Him.
I think what I am going to do is wait patiently on God!

God Bless! It's just a thought...
　
(1) (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

There is Strength in the Word!

This was posted recently by my daughter. I was so moved by it and the power that is behind it I felt everyone I know should read it. Please take a moment to do so, then read it again and let it sink in. We underestimate the POWER of the Word of God!
God Bless...

There is Strength In His Word
By Abby Doran Harrell

I am crushedI look around and see the pieces of my lifeLaying shattered on the groundPushed down to the ground by the weight of this battleI lay on my back with my shield in my handCrying out to God, I can’t go on, I am so brokenI am so wounded my the darts the enemy keeps throwing at meHelp me Lord, to rise above this trial I am in
He reminds meThere is strength in my wordThe is power in my wordJust speak the word And you will rise above the enemy
So from my back with my shield in my hand I cry outO sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.-Ps 98:1Strength starts to return so once again I cry outO come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.-Ps 95:6-9I am able to rise to my knees and strength returnsOnce again I cry out But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. Ps 102:12-13Strength returns and I am able to rise to my feetAnd once again I cry out Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Ps 103:1-4
I am made whole, I am made newI can fight this that is troubling meOnce again I am able to fight off the enemyFor there is Power is His word
I look around meI am strong from my battle, I have fought a good fightI have kept my faithBut all around me, I see saints who are crushed From the fiery darts from their battleSo I go and remind them
There is strength in His wordThere is power in His wordJust speak the wordAnd once again you will rise above the enemy

Let Me Hear HIm Preach One More Time

David Leo Doran was said to be one of the greatest preachers to ever walk in shoe leather. I have said it myself and have heard many others say the same thing. He was an old time fiery preacher. He would quote more scripture in one sermon than most preachers use in a year’s worth of sermons. He could tell a story like you have never heard it told anywhere else. Most important of all, when he came to the pulpit, you knew that he had been in touch with God.
David did not have very much formal education. He had to leave school in the tenth grade to work and help support his family. Yet he always had a hunger to learn and continued to study and educate himself. He would talk to well educated men that he admired and ask them what books they recommended. He would then buy the book and read it from cover to cover. He was much disciplined about this. I remember someone recommended Clyde Narrimore’s book, “The Encyclopedia of Psychological Problems.” They said it was a good book to have to help when you had to counsel with people. David bought the book and read it from cover to cover, word for word.
He was a preacher who studied. He would eat lunch on Sunday afternoon and then go to his study and prepare for the message that night. When he was finished, he started on his Bible lesson for Tuesday night. Tuesday night, when he got off work, he would eat, bathe and change clothes, and then he would head for the church to finish up for Bible Study that night. He never walked to the pulpit without spending hours in study and prayer.
He took his responsibility so seriously that I recall a time or two when he would actually tell us that he didn’t have a message, although he had spent time in study and prayer, he didn’t have a message. He refused just to go through the motions or just be redundant in what he had to say. He was honest and up front and said he had nothing.
I saw him, one night at a Fellowship Meeting, it is a service with several churches, preach. He was preaching on Jehu telling different men to come see his zeal for the Lord. David got to preaching about being zealous for the Lord. He got to preaching about being like Jehu, who they said drove his chariot ferociously. David grabbed the hand of a young man sitting in the front of the church and he began to run around the building. All the while he is pulling this young man behind him and preaching with all his might about having zeal for God.
Mind you, at this time David was probably about 47 or 48 years old. The young man had just returned from Marine boot camp. David ran him around that building until his tongue hung out, while David never missed a word or slowed down. The man could preach!
A Bible Study, that David taught, might last an hour or more. A sermon that he preached would be thirty minutes or so. That was his average. A Pastor once called him to preach for them for several nights and the night of the main event the Pastor requested David preach on a certain subject and asked him to preach for three hours. David did just that, he preached for three hours and although I was not able to be there, those that I spoke to later told me it seemed just like minutes.
When David was 59 years old, he found out that he had Parkinson’s disease. If you are not familiar with Parkinson’s disease let me briefly explain its affects. Parkinson’s disease is the result of a chemical deficiency between the brain and the nerve center that sends signals to the muscles. As a result, many of the things we do reflexively have to be thought out in order to do them. For example swallowing is something done as a reflex, we don’t think about it at all. Yet with Parkinson’s you have to think through the whole swallowing process. Many people with Parkinson’s have problems swallowing food or even saliva.
Parkinson’s affects walking, talking, and standing. I won’t go into detail, but because of the lack of the signal from the brain to the nerve center it was soon evident that David’s time as a pastor had come to an end. It was also obvious that he would no longer be able to preach the way that he once had preached.
David was a champion; he squared his shoulders and faced the problems before him. I must say that the most difficult thing for him to face as a result of this disease that so handicapped him, was not being able to preach the way he loved to preach. At the time of his being diagnosed with Parkinson’s I was David’s associate pastor. When he could no longer carry on the work as pastor, in the church where he had pastored for twenty-five years, He and the church asked me to step in and carry on his work. Being his son and his student, I knew how he wanted to stay involved so I encouraged him to seek other ways to minister. One of those ways was discipling young Christians.
When I became Pastor, the people in the church began to call David “The Elder” as a way of honoring him for his life time of service to that church. When we started working together with David teaching young Christians I called it, “Sitting at the feet of the Elder.”
David dealt with Parkinson’s and all the affects it had on his life and his body for ten years. In 1999 the doctors told him and the family that Parkinson’s had taken its toll and David didn’t have much longer to live.
I spent many nights, along with my brothers and oldest son, sitting in David’s living room, sometimes holding his hand. Mostly just sitting talking quietly and listening to him talk to us. I don’t remember a lot of the details of those conversations, I think it was more of his spirit strengthening ours than it was of words and dialog. I just remember being there with him. As the days went by, David became weaker. He became so weak that they brought a hospital bed in and set it up in his living room.
I remember on a Saturday afternoon I was sitting with him. Faye, his wife and my mother, had laid down to rest. David was a sleep and I was sitting on the couch in the living room thinking. It was very quiet and still. I watched David as he slept and seemed to labor a bit in breathing. In the still time my mind went back over the years and I began to remember the different times that I had heard my Dad preach. I began to relive those moments and those sermons which we called “Messages,” my how he could preach.
I walked through the years. I remembered the times and the places. There were one room school houses. There were school gymnasiums. There were Camp Meeting Tabernacles and Brush Arbors. There were nice Church buildings and other buildings that had been converted from a former life into a church building. There were big crowds, medium size crowds and there were small crowds. David had preached in them all and to them all.
I remembered sermon titles like, “Are You Asking for Trouble?” “You Know Too Much!” “Check Points on the Road to Heaven.” “Five Things I Would Like On My Tombstone.” “A Three and Two Count!”
It was a pretty overwhelming experience. In my heart I knew that David didn’t have many days left to live. Along with that knowledge and the memories I felt just a little overwhelmed. Then I remember a thought that came to me. Maybe it was more of a wish or even a prayer than a thought, actually. Whatever it was, I said to myself, “I wish I could hear Dad preach one more ‘Message.’ I wish I could just hear him do it one more time.”
My eyes had actually been closed and when I opened them Dad was looking at me. I asked him if he had gotten some rest and he answered back appropriately. Then we both sat there somewhat lost in our thoughts.
A few moments later, Faye came into the room to check on David. They spoke to each other in low tones and then Faye left the room. I didn’t think any more about what had been going through my mind because within just a few moments’ people started coming in to the house to visit. There was Slim and Rose Daniel. Jean Daniel and the Petranoff family showed up. Marc and Valerie Anderson came walking in and the house was soon filled with family and friends from the church. One of the last people to come in that evening was Joe Silva. Joe and his wife Sheryl were new Christians that David and Faye had been teaching and Joe looked to David as a son does to a father.
After Joe came in, David began to talk. Suddenly he was once again the Pastor. He looked at my wife, Melinda, and asked her if she would get out the old accordion. He looked at me and asked me to get out my guitar. Then he looked at us all and said that he had asked Faye to call everyone in so that we could have a time of worship and fellowship. It was about this time that I realized the people he had had Faye call in were the people that he had pastored for so many years. These were “his people or his saints.” He had loved them, led them to Christ, discipled them and pastored them for twenty-five years. They were those who were dearest to his heart and he to theirs.
He would tell us the song that he wanted us to sing and we all gathered in and sang our hearts out. He would call the name of an individual and ask them to sing a “special” song that they had sang in church, and they would sing their hearts out. What a time we had. You could feel the Spirit of God as it began to minister to each of us.
After everyone had sang and after we had pretty much exhausted the old song book. David spoke to Justin, his oldest grandson and my oldest son, and told him to go into his office and bring him some things. When Justin returned he had with him some sermon notes and a chart which he set up for his Grandpa.
David turned to Joe and said, “With all that has happened I haven’t been able to teach you this lesson that I really want you to hear. I have called you all in because I have something that you really need to hear.”
My prayer was answered. My desire came to past. There on his hospital bed “The Elder” preached one last “Message” to his people. I got to hear him preach one last time.
He preached from Hebrews 10:34-38 which reads:
Heb 10:34-38
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” KJV
The words of the “Old Preacher’s” last message that stuck with me were this. Don’t cast away your confidence in God. Trust Him that He always does the right thing. I don’t know why things in my life haven’t worked out the way that I planned them, but I have confidence in God that I will receive my reward and that He knows what is best.
Yes, just as I had remembered it, the Preacher had a Message and that Message was for me. I am thankful I got to hear him preach one more time.
Just a thought! God Bless!

View of the Father's House, Second Look...

Have you ever made the wrong decision? I know that is a silly question to ask. Yet often people act as if I am the only one who has ever made the wrong decision and they never have. Sometimes I find myself acting that way toward others. Shame on me!
There are many different factors involved in making a decision. Factors such as how we are feeling, things we have recently experienced, other experiences in life. Our goals and objectives in life or in the situation, which we are facing, play a big part in making a decision.
I remember one time when I was principal of a Christian school. We had a 15-year-old student who was failing because he had stopped doing schoolwork. The teacher had tried to work with him and encourage him to no avail. He was attending school on a scholarship, not an academic one obviously, so I called his mother and sat up a meeting with them.
As we sat down together, I asked the young man why he was not doing his schoolwork and at least trying. He rather got a bit of an attitude, which really surprised me (note the sarcasm) so his mom jumped in to explain. Now I must admit Mom was as much of his problem as he was. She said that he had decided he did not need school; he was going to get a job when he turned sixteen. He was a big boy and so he was making his own decisions.
The second thing I must admit is this, that made me angry or maybe frustrated is a better word! I took several deep breaths, and then turned to the student and asked if this was true. He got a bit of a smirk on his face and said that it was true. I then asked him why he did not think he needed to finish school to get a job and make a good living for his family. I went on to explain to him he had nothing on which to base that decision. He had never worked a job nor even applied for work. He had never paid a bill, raised a family, or done any of the things he would be doing for the next fifty years trying to make it through life. I told him there would come a day when he would look back and dislike that fifteen-year-old boy that made the wrong decision that affected the rest of his life. I am sorry to say that he had already made his decision and he did quit school. Within months it was obvious to everyone who knew him he had made the wrong decision.
There were a couple of decisions in the Father’s house, which come to mind. They were what I would have to say, “Poor Decisions!” In Luke 15:11 Jesus tells us of a father who had two sons. We are aware of one of the decisions and this is the focus of the story. Actually, there were two decisions made and both were not good. Let me share with you my thought on this.
When the youngest son became of age he went to his father and told his father he wanted his inheritance. This was a decision that he had the right to make. The law of that day and that place allowed an heir to receive their inheritance prior to the death of benefactor, in this case his father. According to my understanding, he could do whatever he wanted with his inheritance when he received it. There were no regulations or restrictions. It was his.
One hoped that upon receiving the inheritance the heir would show wisdom and maturity in how he used his inheritance. One hoped they would invest it in a wise manner so that it would be a blessing to them in the years to come.
However, we know this young man made the wrong decision concerning his inheritance. He chose to waste it on good times and high living. He lacked a real appreciation for his inheritance. He did not understand the sacrifices that made to bring about such a rich a precious gift, for that is just what it was. Because of the cavalier attitude, he took regarding his inheritance it was not long until it was gone and he had nothing. Worse yet, at the same time he found himself spent, famine came to the land in which he had chosen to live.
I find this to be so like many people in Churches today. They are tremendously blessed. They have received so much as an inheritance. They are born into the Church of the living God. In an instance, they become joint heirs with Christ. They have all of the blessings of God at their fingertips. They have the power and authority of God at their disposal. Truth has been sought and revealed and is given to them. Fields have been plowed, harvests reaped, and they are able to enjoy the benefits. Yet the day comes when they feel they should take their inheritance and leave the Father’s house. Then because they have never developed an appreciation for their inheritance, they have never developed a love for their heritage. They recognize a freedom or liberty. They become careless when they feel there is no restraint. They make the wrong decision and use their inheritance foolishly. They awake one day in a land they have traveled to, spent, bankrupt and finding no sustenance in the land of their choosing. They have made a bad decision in the Father’s house.
The elder brother made the second wrong decision. From reading the scripture, account that Jesus told we know the elder brother also received his inheritance at the same time as the younger brother. Verse 12 says that the father divided unto them his living. Later the father also said to him that all he had belonged to him. He had the same opportunity to enjoy his inheritance at that time.
As the story progresses we find the younger son returns home. He is ashamed of what he has done. He is repentant for the disgrace he has brought to his father. He has realized his mistake and desires to become part of his father’s household if only as a servant.
It is at this point that we become aware of the second bad decision made in the father’s house. Upon hearing of the festivities that are, taking place the elder brother inquires as to the cause. He finds his prodigal brother has returned and his father has thrown a celebration in his honor. The eldest becomes angry! In fact, he is angry to the point that he confronts his father and questions why he would honor the disgraceful and not honor the loyal.
The father explains to the son that his motivation is his love for his son that has returned. He is thankful and this is reason to rejoice! The elder sons upset with this answer and in a petulant manner exclaims that he never gets anything done for him! To this exclamation there is a rebuke given by the father and that is, and I quote: “…all that I have is thine.” Luke 15:31
The bad decision made by the elder brother was not to take advantage of his inheritance and use it. He had received his inheritance along with his brother. He had the opportunity to use it, to spend it or to invest it. He obviously was the more cautious, in his lifestyle, of the two of them yet he went so far in being cautious that he cheated himself out of so much. He had never even killed a fatted calf and thrown a party.
Again, I find this to be so like many people in Churches today. They are tremendously blessed. They have received such a great inheritance. They are born into the Church of the living God. In an instance, they become joint heirs with Christ. They have all of the blessings of God at their fingertips. They have the power and authority of God at their disposal. Truth has been sought and revealed and is given to them. Fields have been plowed, harvests reaped, and they are able to enjoy the benefits of their heritage. Yet when it comes time to claim their inheritance they fail to do so!
They are happy to continue in their traditions. They carry on with life as usual. They persist to live below the privilege that is theirs as a son of the father. Their goal in life is to maintain what has always been their lot in life. There is no vision! There is no dream! They become discontent with their “lot” but only when they see someone else receive a blessing. Then they want to take the blessing away from the blessed!
What would have happened if both brothers had had a bit of the other in their outlook on life? What would have happened if the younger brother had said, “I have been tremendously blessed? I will use this to bring honor to my Father and to impact my world!”
What would have happened if the elder brother had said, “I have been blessed and from the Father’s house I can make a difference? So much has been given to me and now I can give!”
What would have happened if both brothers had had an attitude that said, “I have received what my father has labored for? Now I will take it and add to it from my own labors and be a blessing to my world and to my heirs?” How would the story have been different?
Let us take it a step further and ask what would have happened if the brothers would have worked together with their inheritance? They both had strengths! They both had weaknesses! Consider how strong they would have been if there had been unity in the Father’s house.
What would happen if you and I, as Christians today, were to look at what we have received from the Father in a different light? We are so blessed! We have such a great heritage! We have been give power and authority from God. Others have dug out truths and shared them with us. Methods have been tried and tested with time and now we can use then and build upon them. What would happen if we took advantage of our inheritance to change our world?
Again, let us consider what would happen if we worked together. We all have our strengths! We all have our weaknesses! What could we do if there was unity in the Father’s house?
Are we wasting what we have received by not valuing it? Are we wasting what we have received by not using it? Are we making bad decisions in the Father’s house?
It’s just a thought! God Bless…

Prayer Needed for Little Jared

Last fall I was a member of a online social group and came across a post by a mother asking people to pray for her little boy Jared. The name caught my attention because I have a son also named Jared and have a huge soft spot in my heart for kids.She shared that Jared, at age 9, had been found to have a brain tumor. I won't go into all of the details, but this fella was just the bravest little guy. I wrote Lora and got permission to contact Jared and for the next several months, as long as I was able to remain active on that site, I contacted him almost everyday. He couldn't hear to well but loved pictures so I and many others began sending him pictures of animals and all other types of things that would interest him. Many members of the site were good to visit him on a regular basis, trying to encourage him.Since leaving that site I have remained in contact with Ed and Lora by email. We have started a group on FB that just prays for Jared and his family. Today I received a email from Ed, which I will share. I cannot even begin to imagine what Ed and Lora are dealing with and feeling right now. The Drs have said there is nothing more than can do for Jared, it is in God''s hands. My heart breaks for them, but at the same time I know we serve a God who is just and caring and will do what is best for Jared and his family. I know God can heal him completely and I also know there are times when God says that isn't my plan. Please join me in praying for them. Ed, Jared's father, wrote:"donald we went to Cincinnati.childrens today and they found the tumor growing its in last stages we so need prayer for jared please pray they said hes in gods hands which we knew but ask god for jareds life with us,its so so hard please pray"God Bless

View of the Father's House, First Look...

We have read and heard the story of the prodigal son told in so many ways and so many times that it can easily become “old hat.” There is a danger when that happens because then we tend to miss some of the less obvious truths that Jesus is trying to get across to us. I know I have a tendency to gloss over passages that are familiar to me. Just today I was reading a familiar story in the Gospels, it is told in three of the four, and found a small bit of information I had never noticed or heard anyone else mention. Not earth changing, it is just interesting…ok, I will share. Did you know there were two demoniacs in Gadera? That is right; you will find the account in Matthew 8:28. However, Mark and Luke only speak of one in the same account. Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Jesus shares with us a story of a father and two sons in Luke 15:11. Jesus is trying to convey to His listeners how exciting when you are able to restore that which was lost. He is trying to help them understand the blessing that comes in finding what was lost! He speaks of some natural things to which His listeners will relate. If they had ever lost a sheep they would understand how excited the shepherd is when he is able to return with the lost sheep! Anyone who has ever lost some money, especially a goodly sum, knows how excited he or she was when he or she found the lost money!

Jesus takes the lost and found stories just a bit further as He speaks of a father with two sons and one decides it is time to leave home and strike out on his own. I will never forget the day my oldest son left home.

I remember quite vividly the time just before Justin got his drivers license. I was so troubled and disturbed. It was not that I did not want him to drive or did not trust him that was not the problem at all. I recall sitting with Melinda in a restaurant that was close to the freeway near where we lived. The lights of emergency vehicles flying down the freeway caught our attention. It seemed they kept going by forever. Just a while later, as we were heading home, we passed the scene of a tragic accident and later found out that a person had gone down the wrong side of the freeway and ran head on into another car.

As we passed, I began to weep. Melinda looked at me as if I were crazy and asked what was wrong. It was at that point that I realized what had been bothering me about Justin getting his drivers license. Up to that point, I had been able to protect him. Now, along with the independence gained by him in having a license to drive there was the fact that I would not be able to protect him as I had in the past.

Just a few years later, just weeks before his twentieth birthday, I recall standing on the porch of our home and waving goodbye as he walked to his truck and headed for Arkansas, leaving us in California. Now the plan was that he would be traveling with his uncle and his family. He was going to live with some friends of ours. We were planning to move to Arkansas within a week ourselves. Yet I knew that it would never be the same and it has not.

I can feel for this father as his son came and asked for his portion of the inheritance. This was not a bad thing! It was legal and acceptable in the time in which they lived. At any time, an heir could ask for their portion of their inheritance and receive it. Yet I am sure the father was aware that things would never be the same as before and it was not.

The son, after a couple of days, left home and journeyed to a far away place. The independence that he had so recently obtained became an unrestrained lifestyle. The young man made foolish choices. The results were devastating and it was not long until he spent the whole inheritance, leaving nothing!

The Bible says the young man “came to himself” which leads me to believe that he had not been thinking right. He experienced a brief moment of “temporary insanity” that came from having more money than he was accustomed to. Adding to that unbridled freedom. From that lifetime “high”, he slams into an all time “low” as he struggles for survival without any money, any friends and a famine in the land where he is living. It would be enough to make you unaware of who you are or even where you are.

I can picture the father, in my mind, getting up every morning and looking outside to see if maybe his son had returned during the night. I can see him looking anxiously toward the door every time it opens unexpectedly. I can just imagine him walking to the front porch and looking down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son returning. However days and weeks go by without a word. The rejection of the son to his father sets in to the point that the mourning and loss of the father are as if his son had actually died.

Yet in a distant land, the son comes to himself. He realizes he does not have to continue this lifestyle. He is not destined to a pig pin. Yes, he has made a mistake and yes, he has done wrong. Yet in his heart, he knows the heart of his father and knows that if he returns and asks forgiveness his father will at least find it in his heart to let him be a servant. Being a servant in the Father’s house is better than taking care of the hogs in a distant land. Being a servant in the Father’s house is better than anything he had experienced.

He returns to his Father’s house. The picture in his mind of what will take place is much different from the actual event. He expects chastisement but instead of a rebuke for his foolishness, he is welcomed with open arms. He has pictured a time of making amends and earning his father’s love or maybe just acceptance. However, after a few words of repentance and remorse his father expresses his love and acceptance.

What the son finds on his return to the Father’s house is compassion and restoration. He had made a mistake. He had rejected the Father and all that was his. He had lived a life that brought shame and disgrace to the Father. Yet on his return all, the Father needed to know was that his son was sorry and wanted to live in the Father’s house. Upon seeing him, the father had compassion! He ran to him, grabbed him in a bear hug, and kissed him. Upon hearing his words of repentance, he turns to the servants and declares that his son who was dead is alive and it is time to have a party in his honor.

This reminds me of a passage of scripture that is so dear to me. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9
John warns us in this passage we will all make mistakes. How certain he and the other disciples had been in their ability not to ever fail, yet they had. He is alerting us to that fact; there will be times of failure. He is making us aware that anyone can and will fail. Yet, he is also letting us know that in those times of failure we can be certain to find compassion and restoration from our heavenly Father. If we repent, He will forgive and restore.

We as Christians can learn so much from the Father. Be quick to show compassion. Be quick to restore those who have fallen. Lift them up and let them know they are welcome in the Father’s house. Compare the spirit of the Father to that of the eldest son. The Father’s house is a house of compassion and restoration.

Just a Thought…God Bless!

Weekend of Minsitry and Blessings

What a wonderful experience in the presence of the Lord this weekend! I love it when God shows off!

TEAM Ministry traveled to Osceola, Arkansas on Saturday August 8 to enjoy Praise Break ‘09 with the saints of the United Pentecostal Church Worship Center of Osceola. Pastor Tim and Cristie Doran are part of TEAM Ministry who were the host of this wonderful service.

There were about a 130 in attendance, which packed out the church with chairs down the hallway. Pastors from nearby churches brought their young people and singing groups to take part in this wonderful time of worship. Young and old alike sang with great anointing and inspiration. Several signing groups blessed us with audio and visual singing. Sister Dyson brought the house down as she sang, “He’s an On Time God!”

Churches represented, that I was able to catch the names of, were Leechville, Arkansas with Pastor Jerry Johnson, Wilson, Arkansas with Pastor Keith Stokes, and Kennett, Missouri with Pastor David Henderson. There were also several members of TEAM Ministry Group in attendance Royce Henderson, Todd Henderson, Shirley McCoy, Karynn Doran and Yvonne Hinshaw. We had the privilege of meeting TEAM Ministry Group members Jade Gonzales and Nancy Brooks for the first time.

Sunday afternoon we enjoy being God’s blessings once again with another divine visitation as we ministered in Osceola. Pastor Tim ministered to the children while the rest of us joined in on the fun and blessings. God spoke to us about His love for us. Our lives were touched. Several left changed!

After a quick meal and time of fellowship, we rushed to Calvary UPC in Jonesboro, Arkansas and enjoyed a great time of worship and the preaching of the Word of God. Evangelist Robert and Deborah Tisdale were ministering at Calvary. They are friends of ours of many years. We were neighboring pastors in Northern California in the 1990’s and shared pulpits on many occasions.

Evangelist Tisdale preached “Don’t Touch Me I Am Going Up!” I am not staying in this situation; God has called me to something greater. I will not allow circumstances to bind me God has called me UP! What a powerful message. Three people received the wonderful baptism of the Holy Ghost during this service. One of those was from the Church in Osceola. What a wonderful was to end a blessed weekend.

We enjoyed the hospitality of Pastors Tim and Cristie Doran of Osceola. We also enjoyed meeting and fellowshipping with Pastors John and Bonnie Chance of Jonesboro. These folks have enjoyed a wonderful move of the Holy Ghost and have seen 103 baptized with the Holy Ghost in ten weeks. Thank you Pastors Chance for allowing TEAM Ministry to be blessed.

Thank you for your prayers TEAM, they were felt and rewarded. Together Enjoying Apostolic Ministry!

The Blessings of a Wilderness Experience

I was recently in a service and heard someone use the phrase, “I have been in a wilderness experience.” My mind instantly grabbed a hold of what they were saying and I related to the expression, having known the same feeling. A wilderness experience, a place, situation, or multitude of people or things that makes somebody feel confused, overwhelmed, or desolate, is how the dictionary defines it.

To most folks a wilderness would be something terrible, maybe even to be ashamed of being there. However, as I begin to consider wilderness experiences I quickly realized it was actually a prelude to greater things in a person’s life. Let me share a few thoughts that came to my mind.

Moses was in the wilderness when God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt. In fact, Moses had spent forty years in the wilderness prior to his call. He had even become productive and blessed in the wilderness. The wilderness prepared him to lead Israel. It was in the wilderness that his attitude changed from that of a brash, impatient man who relied on his own power, ability and authority to a man who was gentle, patient and giving of himself.

It was a wilderness time, again of forty years, that prepared Israel to enter into Canaan. It was a time of learning to be obedient to God’s word. It was a time of learning to rely on God and His ability to meet their needs. It was a time of learning that God keeps His promises. When they came out of the wilderness, Israel was ready to rely on Him.

Joshua spent forty years in the wilderness and it prepared him to become the leader of Israel after Moses died. It prepared him face the impossible obstacles such as the Jordan, Jericho and nations that were much greater military powers than Israel and to know that God would fight their battles for them. The wilderness prepared him to stand before Israel and challenge them to serve the Lord God.

Caleb was spurred by forty years spent in the wilderness and declared that he was fully prepared to claim the promises of God. Caleb went on to demand he receive what was his and assured Joshua he was going to lead his people into battle and take their land.
The wilderness brought compassion and insight to a young man who was to be king of Israel. For a number of years David lived in caves in the wilderness while running for his life. This time prepared him for forty years of leading Israel. It was here he learned to treasure the blessings of God. It was here that he experienced rejection and became compassionate toward those who also experienced rejection, even to his own injury.

It was in the wilderness that Elijah had a close encounter with God. He had experienced the power of God in his life. He had witnessed many miracles, food from ravens, oil and meal supplied from God, consuming fire from heaven, a rainstorm in response to his prayer and fleet feet that could out run horses. However, it was in the wilderness that God spoke to him in the still small voice. God showed that he was not alone but others also trusted God. It was in the wilderness that God sent an angel to minister to Elijah and to encourage him, enabling him to return to his ministry. After the wilderness he was able to share the anointing that was upon his life with Elisha and then to pass on a double portion to his disciple. It was after the wilderness that God sent him a fiery taxicab to escort him to heaven.

In the wilderness, John the Baptist prepared himself for the ministry that God had called him. In the wilderness, John received the message, which he preached to Israel. It was from the wilderness that he obtained the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the highest authority in the land and declare a need for righteousness. Jesus pointed out there was none like John the Baptist.

It was in the wilderness that Jesus spent forty days spiritually preparing himself for his ministry. It was here that He withstood testing and temptations that were designed to sabotage His purpose, but they failed. It was in the wilderness that angels came to minister to Him. It was from the wilderness that He came preaching a message of the kingdom of God working miracles and healing all manner of diseases.

After his conversion, Paul took some time to go into the desert of Arabia. We are not sure how long he was there but some feel maybe close to three years. It was during this time that he obtained a personal knowledge of God. He had many years of teaching but it was in the wilderness that God was able “… He revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.” (Gal 1:16) He came from this wilderness experience with a message and mission to take the wonderful message of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

The wilderness can affect us two different ways. When Israel was in the wilderness, many people died because they refused to recognize it as a place of growth and maturity. They looked upon it as their destiny. They saw themselves as grasshoppers and unable to overcome. The other way it can affect us is as a place where God can become personal with us and take us to a new level in Him. He can minister to us and encourage us. He can give us a new message brought about by a divine revelation of whom He is.

Do not become frustrated and discouraged in your wilderness. Remember and stand on the promises of God for you life. Envision the great victories because of time spent in the wilderness. Use this time as a time to focus on your relationship with Jesus Christ learns of Him. Watch as God brings blessings of provision and sustenance to you, ministering to your needs. I know the wilderness isn’t a pleasant place to be but when you have entered the promises of God and look back on the wilderness you will be blessed at what you experienced during that time. Enjoy the blessings of the wilderness…

Just a thought! God Bless…

The Blind Pillow Fighter

Have you ever felt battered by life (not as in cooking batter) from all sides and had no idea where the blows were coming from? Feeling harried unable to find a target to strike back?

I remember when we were teens my brother and I took a couple of weeks, one summer, and spent them with our uncle and his family. They lived on a farm in southern Oregon and we loved spending time with them. Uncle Bill and Aunt Marilyn were fun people and of course, our cousins were too. There was always some type of adventure when we got together. Trust me the truths and details of these shall always remain our secrets.

This particular time we all decided we needed to have a party and invite as many people as possible to it. We carefully planned what to eat, even to the ingredients of the concoctions that we had decided to serve. We planned each game (more like prank), carefully choosing each of the victims, I mean participants. One of the “games” that we picked was a pillow fight; well that is what we called it. We took the two victims and tied a blind fold on them. We then tied a rope around their waist explaining this was to keep them from wondering off and getting hurt. We tied one end of each rope to a pole and we brought the victims together so they knew they could reach each other. We then led them back to their corners, (i.e.) pole, to start the fight. While they were at the pole, we shortened their ropes so they were now unable to reach each other. When the bell rang they eagerly headed to the middle of the area and began swinging their pillows as hard as they could, of course they were unable to hit the other victim because they could not reach them. Now, what made this so interesting and added to the comedy of the situation was a third person also had a pillow but no rope and no blindfold. This person would go back and forth between the victims and willfully hit them with the pillow while the crowd cheered the victims on. The victims would swing wildly and as hard as they could to no avail. They wanderer all over the area their ropes would allow them to reach, again without success. Soon you would recognize puzzlement and then frustration of the victims, as they were unable to hit back while being hit.

It was so funny to those of us watching but was actually a bit mean to the victims. Soon they either became very angry (we did not expect this in all honesty) or they became so frustrated they would just stop and stand there. They gave up trying at all.

Just recently, I came across a passage of scripture that has just been eating away at my heart. In Matthew 9:35-36 Jesus is ministering to the people. He is teaching them and preaching to them. He is healing them of every sickness and every disease. Suddenly He looks at the multitude and it is as if He sees them for the very first time. The words, which are, actually used say, “But when He saw the multitudes…” something takes place in the heart of Jesus at that moment. It goes on to say, “…he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” It was as if the real problem of the multitudes was not the sicknesses or diseases He was healing, but really something else.

The word that I noticed, which did not really seem to fit with the rest of the description of what Jesus saw, was the word “fainted.” As I thought about this, in my minds eye I saw people just falling out on the ground everywhere, unconscious. I saw medical people and friends running to them trying to get them to respond! On street corners, they sold smelling salts at a premium price! This just did not seem to fit the scenario so I decided I had better look up the word. Much to my surprise, the word “fainted” used here means to “flay or to harass!” It also means to skin, to mangle or to vex, trouble or annoy.

Upon, please stay with me a moment and I will try my best not to bore you, further investigation I found the word was used by the Greeks to talk of being so troubled it was as if they were being flayed alive! They were troubled on every hand.

Therefore, when Jesus looked at the multitude He saw people who were so troubled with life they were harassed. Some even felted their troubles were so great they were being flayed alive. In my minds eye I now saw the blindfolded pillow fighter never knowing where or how to respond. He is feeling helpless and hopeless receiving blow after blow!

Have you had life come at you from all directions and realized you had no idea how to respond to it? You had no idea which way to turn or what to do. Coming to the place where you finally just stood there taking blow after blow with no response! I am not talking about good things happening to you in this manner, I am talking about the pains, fear, disappointments of life. I am talking about experiencing feelings of depression and despair!

Jesus went on to think of these people being like sheep without a shepherd. They were fearful and confused! Not knowing where safety lay! They did not know which way to turn or to whom they should turn. Troubled and ready to just stand there and take whatever came their way.
As this dismal picture unfolded before me, I was encouraged to realize that when Jesus saw these people in this condition He had compassion on them. Their needs touched Him. He yearned for them from the depth of His emotions. He felt sympathy and pity for them. To sympathize with a person is to share the feelings of someone else. To say I can understand how you are feeling I have felt the same thing.

When Jesus saw the multitude and saw that, they fainted and were as sheep without a shepherd He sympathized with them. He said I understand how that they feel I have been where they are. From His deepest emotions, He yearned for them. He wanted to help them so much and yet realized the difficulty that would be involved in meeting that need.

When life comes at us, as it does the Blind Pillow-fighter, and bombards us from all sides we need to know there is hope. When life seems hopeless, it only seems that way if we try to handle it ourselves there is hope. When our hearts have been broken, there is hope of healing. When the disappointments and frustrations of life hold us captive in chains of hopelessness, there is hope of deliverance. When we are blind by the failures of the past and the dismal picture of our future, there is hope we will see the beautiful promise that lies before us. When we have suffered at the brutal hand of life, bruised and broken, there is hope of liberty and healing! It is only in Jesus Christ who yearns with sympathy to make all the difference in our lives. In Him is our hope.
Luke 4:18 tells us that Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, to set the captive free, to open the blind eyes, to set at liberty them that are bruised. Luke also told us that Jesus came to seek and to save those that are lost. He came to save the sheep looking for a shepherd. He came to seek the lost sheep who are wandering without direction. He came to lead us to safety!

Do not lose heart! Do not give up! Jesus can and will make the difference in your life. You no longer have to face life as the Blind Pillow-fighter, not knowing which way to turn, feeling flayed alive by life. You can know that Jesus knows your pain and is willing to make the difference…He is moved with compassion for you!

It is Just a thought! God Bless…
　

Compassion Sometimes Has to be Learned!

Several years ago Melinda and I were on a short vacation on the Oregon Coast. We were playing tourist, stopping at the gift shops and browsing when I came across a coffee cup that caught my attention. I collect coffee cups of special places we visit to remind me of our time there. This particular coffee cup had a picture of a group in a white water raft with the caption, “Don’t whine, just paddle!” I bought the cup because it stated my philosophy of life, “Just deal with it.”

Being a fairly young pastor, with some knowledge and less wisdom I used the coffee cup for an object lesson in a message and the saying for the title of the message. I must admit, it didn’t go over quiet as well as I had hoped. Another time I told the same group of people we were going to have revival and they could get in, get out or get run over! Some did… Probably won’t do either of those things again.

Just the other day I was impressed with the thought that compassion often has to be learned. There are some folks who are compassionate people just by nature. There are other folks, I guess I am one, whose first tendency is to say, “Just deal with it.” For those of us with that tendency compassion has to be learned and it usually is learned by being in a similar situation.
For the past four and a half weeks Melinda has been in Colorado with our daughter who just had a baby yesterday. This is the longest period of time we have been apart in the past thirty-three years, thirty-one of which we have been married. We call each other two or three times a day and text several times a day. I feel like only part of me is here and it isn’t the best part. I turn to tell her something and she isn’t there. I wonder what she is doing and if she is ok. I miss her terribly! I have come to understand, to a greater extent what it must be like to lose your spouse after years of marriage. The pain and emptiness that must be experienced. At least I can call my spouse on the phone and talk with her. I have learned a little more compassion.

My daughter called me several months ago to tell me the wonderful news that she was going to have another baby. She was so happy and excited. I wept because I was afraid of what she would have to go through to have another child. I remembered her other pregnancies and the pain and suffering she dealt with and did not want her to experience that again. I spent the past three days scared, frustrated and feeling helpless. She was in Colorado and I was in Arkansas. She was trying to have her baby and I wasn’t there, didn’t know what was happening and waiting on the word everything was alright. She had a great big baby boy and she and the baby are doing good. However, I came to feel for the moms and dads and loved ones of young men and women who are in danger, fighting for our country. Mom and dad don’t know what is happening at any given moment. They feel helpless and frustrated waiting on the word that all is well.

Compassion often has to be learned. Many years ago my wife and I went through a tough time. It lasted for about three years until finally one night I was able to spiritually break through and get the answer from God I needed for my life. As I got up from praying that night a dear Sister came to me and said that God had given her a word for me. God had allowed this to happen in my life so that I might become more compassionate toward people. I guess I am a slow learner, but I am trying.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every point that we are tempted in. He feels compassion toward us because He understands what we are dealing with. He has felt the same pressures.

The dictionary tells us that compassion is sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help. It also tells us that sympathy is to feel someone’s pain. It is to enter into and share their feelings. Empathy on the other hand is to simply understand it, yet you remain apart from the feeling.

Matthew 9 tells of Jesus preaching and teaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. He is healing them of every sickness and disease. Then as he looks upon the multitudes He is moved with compassion as He notices they are troubled and had no where to turn for help and direction. That word compassion used there means that the center of His emotions yearned in pity for them. He hurt for them and their lost condition.

When was the last time that our soul yearned in pity for the lost of our world? When was the last time that we looked around us and realized many of the people we brush shoulders with on a daily basis are like sheep without a shepherd, not knowing where to go for help?

Sometimes God allows us to feel helpless and maybe even lost just to try to teach us compassion. Trying to remind us that there was a time when we too were like sheep without a shepherd not knowing which way to turn.

Yesterday I listened to a young man, twenty-three years old, talk about his condition. He was born feet first. He has never experienced a feeling from his waist to his feet. He told us of the multiple surgeries he has had as doctors tried to find a way to enable him to walk. He has spent his whole life in a wheelchair. He can’t drive a car. He depends on other people for everything, literally everything. As he is sharing this with us my heart began to hurt. Then he looked up with a far away look in his eyes and said that he would give anything in the world to be able to walk, to be able to drive a car, to go to the restroom by himself. He said he would dance a jig if he felt a tingling sensation in his feet and was able to get up out of that chair!

I began to weep! I have been picking him up on my bus for months and yet not one time I had felt compassion for him. Oh I empathized with him. I thought his life would be so much better if he could walk. Yet never one time have I yearned in pity for a man who couldn’t walk. My mind went to another man in the same condition. For years he had been brought daily to the gate of the temple to beg alms. Then one day a couple of preachers came by and they were moved with compassion for him. They didn’t try to meet his financial need, they went for the greater need and God healed his body.

Jesus was moved with compassion at the need of a powerless man laying by the pool. He felt the man’s hopeless feeling of always being too late to get in the pool in time to be healed when the angel troubled the water. Jesus decided to circumvent the pool and just heal the man.
Sometimes compassion has to be learned. As we deal with the problems of our everyday lives we need to ask God to help us to learn from that problem that we might be moved with compassion for others. We often quote the passage in Romans eight. I wonder if the good that Paul is talking about, is compassion? “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (VS 28) His purpose is that we would become like Him. He was moved with compassion.

I need to ask myself where I would be if someone had said they didn’t have time for idiots and left me struggling like a sheep without a shepherd. Thank God some have had compassion on me. Go ahead and whine a bit if you need to and I will try and paddle for you. Compassion can be learned.

Just a Thought! God Bless…

Value?

Good morning! I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July holiday. Spend some time with your family and friends and also take a few moments to thank God for this wonderful country.

I was struck by a thought yesterday (I won't go to the funny side of that comment) and thought I would share it with you. I have written several articles and thoughts about forgiveness in the past several months and of over two hundred articles I have written these have generated the greatest response, someone always has something to say. I have written several thoughts about our value, to ourselves, others and especially to God and these have received little or most times no response.

This observation has made me to wonder...is it easy to see that we need forgiveness? That we need to forgive? Yet is it hard to see that we are loved and chosen by God? That He places great value in us? That we are special to Him?

John 3:16 tells us that God was motivated by love. You love someone because you value them. You love someone because you recognize the worth of the person loved. If you consider the to be so invaluable that they are not worth the gunpowder it would take to blow their nose, you don't love them! They are worthless...

We must understand how God sees us! We must begin to look upon ourselves the way God looks upon us, with love. In fact Jesus said the second greatest commandment is that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We have to love ourselves, to place value upon ourselves, in order to obey this commandment.

Remember, God loves you, not because He has to, but because you are special and you are special because God loves you.

Just a thought! God Bless...
Don Doran

Father's Hands

Father’s hands, so rough and scarred,
Father’s hands, so strong and bold,
They fix, they work, they are there to hold.

Blunted fingers, callused palms,
Weathered, cracked, broken nails
Missing fingers, life’s story it tells.

Rough but gentle, hard yet soft,
Familiar with a hammer, accustomed to a saw,
Used in correction, extended in love.

Hands holding a Bible, God’s Holy Word,
Hands that were familiar with the pages,
A friend, a comfort, a confident through the ages.

Father’s hands, so strong and caring
Father’s hands, treating all alike,
Helping the old with a window, the young with a bike.

Father’s hands, so much like him,
They tell who he is and how he lived.
With them, to so many, he loved to give.

They are a picture of those hands,
Nail scarred, battered, splintered and bruised,
Hands of your heavenly Father, extended to you.
　
By Don Doran

In Memory of my father David L. Doran 1930-1999　

Evil is Present

Have you ever tried to do the right thing and it seems every way that you turn there is something blocking you from getting it done? Maybe you are doing chores around the house and the phone rings. Of course with caller ID we know not to pick up the sales call or the bill collectors calls, but we will stop and talk with a friend because our curiosity won’t let us miss that call. Just when you start back to the chore that is demanding your attention one of the children comes crying and needs your love and attention. Finally you return to the demanding chore when the doorbell rings. Thank God for garages to hide the car in and peep-holes in the door so you can check and see who is there. No it isn’t Avon calling, but a neighbor with a three layer chocolate cake in her hand. Gotta be neighborly even if the chore is calling.

Paul made a statement in Romans that came to my mind today. He said, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good , evil is present with me.” Romans 7:21 I know that his reference here is to the war of the flesh against spiritual things. When we try to live for God and serve Him with all of our hearts, our flesh is going to fight against that happening. There is an ongoing struggle between the flesh or carnal man and the spiritual man.

However, let me take this just a bit further and maybe look at it from a different point of view. Have you noticed when you try to do something more for God, evil is present. I am not talking, now, about your flesh warring against the spirit. I am talking about outside forces that try to hinder, stop or discourage you from doing more for God.

Let me give you an example that comes to mind. I know of a case several years ago where some young people were desiring to have a deeper relationship with God. They wanted God to do something out of the ordinary in their lives. They began to pray, fast and read their Bibles. They began to become more focused in their worship. They would spend hours at the church praying and seeking God. They spent extra time in Bible Study. They were hungry for a move of God in their lives. Yet while this was going on there were others who were criticizing them. Trying to distract them from continuing. There was evil present when they were trying to do good.

Paul encountered this more than once in his ministry. I recall he is on his way to Jerusalem. He stops to visit a church and while there the people beg him not to go. Prophecies are made of beatings and imprisonment. I am not accusing these people of being evil, but I am saying there was evil present to stop him from obeying the call of God in his life. Paul asked them to stop breaking his heart! He had to obey that call.

Ordinary things happen to people who are content with the ordinary. Just give us the “common place events“. We are happy with the “run of the mill” accomplishments in our lives. We are content with the mundane, humdrum that has been going on in their lives. Don’t rock the boat is our motto and it is a motto we are too often happy to live by.

However, when we become disillusioned with the ordinary and long for the extraordinary, things will change! Once we get a taste for the astonishing power of God doing the unexpected and surprising us, there is no going back. Step into the realm of a supernatural experience with God and you can never be content with the ordinary again. Once you see God touch a life that you have influenced for Him, you will never be the same. Once you see a healing take place you will not be willing to have it any other way.

Just recently I was asked to come teach in a church on a Sunday morning and Sunday night. The subject was one where people will not be running the aisles or swinging from the rafters. In fact, you will be fortunate to get a few amen’s. I had been asked to teach on giving! All week I prayed and told God how I felt. I love teaching on Apostolic giving! I love teaching that God loves cheerful givers! I love teaching people that God has a financial plan for His church and when we test God, look out! However, I wanted God to show His pleasure in His Word and that is what I asked Him to do. As I was teaching I could feel resistance from some of those that were there, they didn‘t like the subject matter nor did they agree with my teaching. However, at the end of the one hour and thirty minutes of teaching on that Sunday night the majority of the people rose and with cheerful excitement came and gave to God, for a second time that night, a love offering. The power of God fell in a mighty way as people began to worship God. I looked over and witnessed a lady being healed right there in that offering time!

When I would do good… I can’t let anything or anybody stop me from doing the good God has impressed upon my heart. I can’t let anything stop me from the relationship with God that He is drawing me to. Years ago someone said, “They never built a statue to a critic.” There will be those who will stand around and criticize me for what I am doing and desiring from God, however, they will not be standing in my place before God and answering Him to why I didn’t heed His direction. I am the one who will have to answer that question.

Let me assure you there will be evil present to stop you from experiencing that extraordinary. Jesus experienced it from His closest friends and His reply was, “Get behind me Satan…” No He wasn’t saying Peter was Satan! He was, however, saying the spirit that was being shown there was evil. When I want to do good, evil is present…

Just a thought! God Bless…
　

Why Percentages of Fruit?

A few weeks ago I was reading the story in Mark 4 as Jesus told of the four types of soils. There was the wayside, the stony, the thorny and the good ground. We have all read this parable many times, I am sure. What caught my attention, in fact I poised it as a question on Face Book and no one responded, "Why did the good soil produce different percentages of harvest.?"

Jesus said "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." Mark 4:20

Why didn't all of the seeds sown in the good ground bring forth a hundred fold? Today I was again studying this passage and Jesus goes on to talk about the farmer sowing a kernel of corn and not knowing how it grows but is ready to harvest it when it produces fruit. As I began to study about corn I found that there are many different things that can effect the amount of fruit a stalk of corn produces.

Ears that are near the top of the stalk will produce more kernels. Ears near the bottom of the stalk will generally produce little or no kernels. If there is hail during the pollination time it will likely keep the ears from being pollinated and there will be no fruit. Too much water, weather that is too cold or too hot can all effect the yield of the fruit.

I came to realize there is more to the amount that is harvested than just what is planted, it also has to do with the response of the plant to the environment it is in, the stresses that come upon it and how it is able to weather the storms. The same is true in our lives. We hear the Word of God, we receive it and we will bring forth fruit from the Word...but the amount of fruit we bring forth will be dependent upon our ability to deal with our environment...the stresses of life...the problems that come our way...our faith and trust in God. Some will bring forth thirty percent, and others will bring sixty percent, I want to bring a hundred percent to present to God.

Just a thought! God Bless

Lot, Why Did You Chose Sodom?

Have you ever wondered why a person made a certain decision? Maybe you are looking back in time, like in a history book, and wondering why they made a decision that had a devastating effect on their lives and from your vantage point you can see they should have done something different. I have often asked, “I wonder why they did what they did?” “What were they thinking? “ Those are questions that came to my mind recently concerning Lot.

Now, let me assure you, I do not have an inside track into the mind of Lot. I really have no way of knowing exactly what he was thinking or any way to find out exactly what he was thinking. However, I asked myself the question, as if I were speaking to Lot, “Lot, why did you move to Sodom? Why did you make that choice?”

When Abraham left Haran at the direction of God, he brought with him Lot, his brother’s son. God had spoken to Abraham and told him to go to a place that God would show him. Abraham and his family end up in the land of Canaan. Upon their arrival here, the Lord appears to Abraham and promises him this land and that the promise and the land would be passed on to Abraham’s children. Every thing seems to be going along great and then they hit a snag. A famine comes over the land. With the famine, Abraham decides to continue south to Egypt.
After being in Egypt a short time, Abraham and Lot leave Egypt and return to Bethel, where they had pitched their tents prior to their trip to Egypt. Things still are not normal. They were already rich and both Lot and Abraham have lots of herds and people working for them. Now, settled in one place there is conflict between the two camps. The bickering becomes so unsettling that Abraham finally approaches Lot and suggests they part ways. Abraham offers Lot first choice and promises to go in the opposite direction. The Bibles says Lot looked at the well watered plains of Jordon that were like the Garden of God and he wanted to live there. So Lot made the choice and lived in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Why would he choose to live here? Did he not see the dangers of living in an area that was so perverse and ungodly? Was he not worried about his family and the exposure they would receive from these cities? Why would he choose Sodom, for the next time we read of Lot he is not living in the plains, he is not living in the cities in the plains, nor is he living with his tent door facing Sodom? He is living in Sodom and is a highly respected citizen sitting in the gate of the city. WHY!?

I think the clue is found in the scripture that describes the plains and cities let me quote:
“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.” Gen 13:10 (emphasis mine)

Lot chose Sodom because it reminded him of Egypt. In his journey to Egypt he had gotten a taste for it and when he saw Sodom he disregarded all of the danger to satisfy that hunger. Of course, all through the Old Testament Egypt is an example of sin and the world. It is a type of a place that is far from God and the things God stands for. It is often typical of slavery and bondage. Lot had a taste for Egypt.

We as Christians would do well to be careful to protect ourselves from Egypt. There are going to be times in our walk with God when we will be in the blessings of God, yet it will seem the blessing will not last. Heed the warning; do not go to Egypt to find another blessing! Stand on the promise of God. Abraham left Canaan and Bethel where God had promised blessings and went to Egypt because of a famine. Lot was introduced to Egypt while there.

Parents, how often do we introduce our children to the world and its ways just because we are unsure of the promises of God? Do we give them a taste for Egypt in our moment of weakness? How often do we introduce ourselves to the bounty of Egypt and then wonder why we are struggling with ungodly desires and hungers. Have we looked at the cities of the plains and pitched our tents toward their offerings because of a trip to Egypt?

Sometimes we make mistakes, we are only human. There are times when we will fail to trust God in a moment of weakness and take a trip to Egypt. However when we come to ourselves we must realize we do have a choice. We can return to the place of God’s promise and claim His blessings or we can turn toward the place that reminds us of Egypt. The choice is ours.
Lot, why did you choose Sodom? It reminded me of Egypt…

Just a thought! God Bless…

Momma's House, Daddy's at Home!

I drive a bus for a day school here in the city we live in. I have passengers who are over the age of eighteen and under the age of four or five. All of these are developmentally disabled for various reasons. One of the four year olds on my bus has cerebral palsy. A couple of the children are autistic and others have behavioral problems. At first I was a bit apprehensive about working in this environment because they tell you a lot of the bad things that you will have to deal with, however, I have been touched in many ways be the sweetness of these people.

The other day, at about 6:55 AM we pulled up in front of a home to pick up a little two year child. The child was standing out front with their mother and when they saw the bus approach they got so excited the child was jumping up and down. I stopped and then tooted the horn to make the child laugh. This child struggled to climb up the steps with their little short legs and stopped beside me to show me their new shirt. One of the aides took the child back to their seat and got them strapped into their car seat. The mother stood on the steps and watched the process, talking to me for a moment. Then her child stretched out their arms toward her indicating they had to have a kiss good-bye. Momma went back and gave them a kiss then climbed off the bus and headed toward the door of the house. As we rolled down to the end of the road to turn around the little one began to cry and say “Home! Home! Home!”

I looked over at the house that the child lives in. It is an old mobile home with unpainted wood siding. It sets in the trees and never sees the sun at all. The side that is visible from the road is the north side and it is cover with green moss. The yard is neatly kept with a few interesting landscape additions. As I looked at the house and its kind of dismal appearance I thought to myself, “Why would anyone want to go to that home?” Then just as quickly I realized it wasn’t the house they were talking about. The child wanted to be where Momma was. That was home.

I have another three year old who is adopted from the foster care system. This child’s mother or father brings them out to the bus every morning and again there is a big production of goodbyes after they are in their car seat. I love to see the love and care they show this child. I also love to see the adoration this child has for the parents. This child thinks that the father “hung the moon.” When we return in the evening as we pull up to the house the child begins to watch to see if the father’s truck is in the drive way. If it is there the child begins to holler, “Daddy home! Daddy home! Daddy home!” This happens so often that now all of the children will holler with him, “Daddy home!”

It is amazing, some of these children can barely talk, even at four years old, but when it comes time for them to be the next stop they know they are getting close to home. One of the students cannot speak at all. I noticed that she shows her happiness and stress by voice inflections not words. One afternoon, right after she began to ride my bus, I had to run to route a little different and failed to turn on her street but drove past it. She immediately began to holler and carry on. I realized she knew where home was. I am now careful to take her home the same way everyday and she is happy.

The other day another child’s mother went on an out of town field trip with an older sibling. This child stayed with a grandparent who met us each morning at the home to put the child on the bus. The first morning the child was fine, Momma had just left and they had Grandma. However, the next morning it was a different story. The child was crying when they got out of the car. Grandma promised them the world if they would stop crying. She said, “I will take you anywhere you want to go tonight, just don’t cry!” It didn’t matter they kept on crying. As we were pulling away I was surprised to hear the child saying, “I want my Momma!” I had thought they were crying because they didn’t want to leave Grandma, but it was Momma who was being missed. There just isn’t a substitute for Momma, not even grandma.

Someone once said, “Home is where the heart is.” I would have to say this is very true. I would also have to say that with these children, home is where the loving parent is, and be it Momma or Daddy. They are what make it home. It isn’t the appearance of the house that makes it home. Neither is it the location of the house but it is the recognition of who and what is there, Momma and Daddy and lots of love.

I have found the same to be true in my relationship to God. Home is where Momma is. The Church is our spiritual mother. It births us. It nourishes us. It is where we are fed. It is where we go when we hurt. It is where we go when we need loving. It doesn’t matter so much what the house looks like. It can be a store front or it can be a beautiful edifice. I have seen it housed in garages, school houses and exquisite buildings, it really doesn’t matter as long as Momma is there. Momma is going to make it all right!

Of course Daddy provides the security and provides. He is there with His strength and power. That quite strength that reassures us the world can be shaking on the outside, but as long as Daddy, our Heavenly Father, is home, everything is going to be alright!

I love to drive up to the house and begin to feel the anticipation of knowing that Momma is there. All of the problems and pressures of the day and week will be shared with her. Those bumps, scrapes and boo-boos are going to be doctored. The emptiness inside me is going to be replaced with satisfaction. The loneliness I am feeling will leave with the sweet fellowship of Momma’s loving care.

I love to walk into the house and recognize that Daddy’s home. The fear and uncertainty is gone, Daddy’s home. There is safety and security now because Daddy’s home. Those around me can also feel the excitement from with in me and they too come to recognize that Daddy’s home.

There just isn’t a substitute for Momma! There is nothing in the world that can ever take her place. When you are away from Momma there is something inside your soul that cries out for her. There are a lot of things that try to take her place in our lives, but nothing and no one can take the place of Momma!

No, it doesn’t matter where it is nor does it matter what it looks like on the outside, just as long as it’s Momma’s house and Daddy’s home! That is where my soul longs to be…

Just a Thought! God Bless…