It is a BIG Deal!

Have you ever heard the expression, “familiarity breeds contempt?” It was often used as a warning when I was growing up and I have found it to be true. The more familiar I become with things the less I hold them in awe. The more casual I feel and act around these things. I have seen this in many areas of life. In fact, this was forcibly brought to my attention this past weekend, here, let me share.

My alarm goes off at 4:20AM every weekday morning. After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, while trying to talk myself into getting out of bed, I get up and take a shower, get dressed and head for the kitchen. While Melinda is getting ready, I fix her breakfast. Now don’t get excited because I just put some cream cheese on a bagel and get a bit of yogurt out. I then fix my breakfast, eat, and quickly rinse off my dishes and place them in the dishwasher. We then head off to work.

Friday morning the routine was moving right along just fine. I wasn’t having to think and it was a good thing because my mind isn’t awake at that time of the morning. However, the routine came to an abrupt halt when I started to rinse off the dishes to put them in the dishwasher. Much to my chagrin there was water standing in both sides of the sink and it wasn’t there when I had gone to bed. Thus began two days of dealing with a plumbing situation that was the result of a full septic tank.

Saturday morning a tank truck pulled up to pump the septic tank. Out of the truck came two men who, without hesitation, began a process that I could tell they were very familiar with. The older man, who obviously was the boss, walked over to where the tank was located and sat down on a five-gallon bucket. The other man began to pull hoses off the truck and hooked them together. The boss then took one end and stuck it into the hole in the tank and the pumping began. After a little bit of time had passed the boss said something to the helper who then went over to where I had a shovel laying. He picked up the shovel, my shovel, and walked back to the tank and stuck the handle down into the septic tank moving it around. He then pulled it out and turned it over and stuck the blade down into the septic tank and moved it around.

I just want you to know that about the time the handle of that shovel disappeared into the septic tank there came over me a “spirit of generosity” because I decided right at that moment those two fellas had just gotten themselves a new shovel. I was never touching that shovel again! I didn’t and they did!

The difference between them and me was simply they were so accustom to working in that environment that they didn’t think twice about what they were doing I was standing thirty-feet away and I was worried I might get some on me. Familiarity breeds contempt! To them it was not big deal.

I have watched the waste disposal men reach into some strangers garbage can and pull out bags of garbage with their bare hands and think nothing of it. Then I have seen them climb in the truck and drive to the next place while eating or drinking. I have a hard time reaching into my own can and lifting out the bags. The difference between them and me is they do it every day and do it all day long. They have become familiar with it. Familiarity breeds contempt! To them it is no big deal.

Several days back I was reading a novel for some recreational reading. Melinda and I had been reading several books by a Christian author and had really enjoyed her light, humorous style of writing. I have not read a secular novel in over a year because I get tired of trying to find books that are not filled with curse words, sex and violence. As I was reading this particular book I came upon a “mild” curse word (I put mild in quotes because that is how it would be classified by most people) and I flinched. I read a bit further and came across another “mild” curse word. This time I looked to see if this was the author we had been reading and it was. I then looked at the copyright date and found it and realized that this book had been written before she had started writing as a Christian and although most would not consider it offensive, because I had not read those words in such a long time they were to me. Familiarity breeds contempt! It is a big deal!

Recently someone was telling me they had stopped watching television and movies. Their reason was they were trying to get closer to God and felt this was a hindrance in seeking that close relationship they desired. They said that after several months they were visiting another family and the television was turned on. The show that was being watched was a home and garden show. This person said that when the advertisements came on they were so offensive! They went on to explain they had never noticed this before but because they had been away from television for several weeks they noticed and were offended. Familiarity breeds contempt! It is a big deal!

I remember in times past doing something that I knew was wrong. Oh how it bothered me! I knew that God was going to come and I was going to be lost. I would get up in the middle of the night and repent because I was afraid God would come while I was asleep. Nevertheless I wouldn’t change and pretty soon I didn’t feel so bad about what I was doing. Now it wasn’t a big deal!

The American Indians had an explanation for the conscience. They said it was a circle inside of each man that had a triangle inside of it. When we do something wrong the triangle turns and its points hurt as the rub the wall of the circle. However, if we ignore the pain, long enough, the sharp points of the triangle will wear away and we will no longer hurt. What they were saying is, “Familiarity breeds contempt!” Or it is a big deal!

The wise man wrote, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecc. 8:11) What he is saying is because we do something wrong and God doesn’t “ZAP” us we continue and think it is all right. Why? Familiarity breeds contempt! We think it is no big deal!

I remember as a young teen hearing a Brother Charles Garner preach about Freddy the Frog. It seems some boys caught Freddy and wanted to cook him. They got them a pot of water and put it on to boil. When it came to a boil, they dropped ole Freddy right in the pot. Immediately ole Freddy jumped right back out of the boiling water. They put him back in and ole Freddy jumped out again. After several unsuccessful attempts to cook Freddy one of the boys got an idea. They poured the boiling water out of the pot and filled it with some nice cool tap water. They put Freddy in the cool water and he began to swim around. They put the pot back on the stove and Freddy continued to swim around. They watched as the pot of water began to warm up, anxiously watching to see if ole Freddy would try to jump out. Ole Freddy the Frog was doing the back stroke! He was swimming like a frogman! For a while that is until the water became nice and warm then he became sleepy and pretty soon ole Freddy the Frog was a cooked frog.

Brother Garner explained to us that is the way it is with sin. We watch for the “BIG” ones. We won’t rob a bank or murder someone with a gun. But the enemy of our soul knows that if he can slip in with something small pretty soon we won’t notice until it is too late. We become familiar and familiarity breeds contempt! It’s no big deal. We can handle it!

When was the last time we sincerely prayed asking God to “shine the spotlight” of His Word on our lives and show us what needs to be changed or removed? When was the last time we decided that no matter what everyone else was doing we were going to make some changes just because we wanted to draw closer to God?
I know that what I am writing isn’t usually found in a blog and will not be popular. I am sorry, I am not trying to be offensive but I truly believe that we have allowed ourselves to become familiar with the things in our lives that should not be there. It is time that we fall on our faces and seek heaven and turn from our sins. Familiarity does breed contempt! It is a big deal!

God Bless . . . it’s just a thought!

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 nights, 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, 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. The whole time he was pulling this young man behind him and preaching with all his might about having zeal for God.

Mind you, at this time David was about 47 or 48 years of age at this time. 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, which 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 that he 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 too 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 effect on a body. 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 of this, many of the things we do reflexively have to be thought out, step by step, in order for the person to be able 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, which so disabled 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 effects 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. Most of those nights were spent sitting together, 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 very 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 into 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 Faye call in were those 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 him 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 sung and after we had pretty much exhausted the old song book. David spoke to Justin, his oldest grandson and my oldest son, and told Justin 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 in my mind was 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!



40th Anniversary of Triumphanlt Life Center Rio Dell, California

Almost Only Counts in Horseshoes and Hand-Grenades!

How often have you used the phrase, “I almost” attached to an action that almost happened? How many times have you looked back with a bit of regret and used the phrase indicating that you had almost made the right decision? If you are like me, it has happened more times than you want to count. Almost doing it shows good intentions but it doesn’t really count. In fact, when I was growing up there was an expression that was often used in our neighborhood, “Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades!”

I am not a great horseshoe player but I do enjoy a good game when the opportunity comes my way. Horseshoes, like a lot of games, can be very enjoyable but can also be very exasperating as well. In case you have never played, let me explain it in a brief and simple manner. You have two stakes set up several feet apart and you have four horseshoes to throw at the stake. Each player stands by a stake and throws their shoe at the stake several feet away. You want to ring the stake with your shoe to score points. However, if you get a shoe within the width of a horseshoe you also get a point. This is where the “almost” comes into the picture. You can almost get a ringer and still be a winner.

I think hand-grenades are very obvious. They are some shrapnel bombs of sorts. When they explode, they send shrapnel in every direction. Again, you don’t have to hit the target right on, just get close or just almost hit it.

Standing in the court room, he gave his best defense to those sitting in judgement. Well, I wouldn’t really call it a defense, it was more of a story of the change that had taken place in his life prior to this day. He explained to all that listened how he was raised and his early goals in life. He explained that he was so focused on doing what he thought was right that his whole life centered on accomplishing it, not realizing how wrong he was. He the told them of how God brought light into his life and changed it and how he could change their lives also if they would allow it to happen.

As he finished speaking one of the men sitting in judgement was visibly moved by what he had heard and said, “Paul, you have almost persuaded me to be a Christian.” However, as you and I both know, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. You cannot be an “almost” Christian.

Just outside the city of Hebron, his attention is caught by the beckoning voice saying, “Come here! I have something important to tell you!” Foolishly he turns aside and walks over to talk to a man who he knew to be his enemy. A man he knew had sworn that he would kill him the next time he saw him. As he stood in front of the alleged messenger, he felt a stabbing sensation in his side. In horror he looked down to see his life’s blood flowing from his side. He was almost inside the city of refuge where his enemy, Joab, could not have touched him. In fact, David, the King, gave a eulogy at his funeral that said, “Abner died as a fool died. His hands were not bound and his feet weren’t in chains. He was almost safe and turned aside!” Of course, you and I know that almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades.

I wonder how many of us will stand before God, some day, and use that ill-fated word as our excuse, “Almost!” I almost read my Bible. I almost prayed. I almost went to Church. I almost talked to them about salvation. I almost made a commitment in my life. I almost . . . but of course you and I know that almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades.

My dad once told me, “The road to hell will be paved with good intentions!” I am sure this is so true. We all have those good intentions that we will someday do what we know we should. Let me encourage you to make up your mind to do so today. As you are reading this there are thoughts going through your mind of things, you know you need to do. You are thinking of changes you need to make in your life. There are choices you have been weighing for a while, knowing the way you need to go. Make the choice today! Do what you should do today! Make the change in your life you need to make today! Almost will never change anything because, as you and I both know, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades.

Well, it’s just a thought! God Bless . . .

If That Isn't Love...In Memory of Shirley Petranoff

I woke up this morning with a song running through my mind. It wasn’t just the words of the song I was hearing but I was hearing it sang by a certain voice. Here are the words to the song:

He left the splendor of heaven,
Knowing His destiny,
Was the lonely hill of Golgatha,
There to lay down His life for me.
1. Chorus
If that isn't love;
The ocean is dry,
There's no stars in the sky,
And the sparrow can't fly.
If that isn't love;
Then heaven's a myth,
There's no feeling like this,
If that isn't love!
Even in death He remembered,
The thief hanging by His side;
There He spoke with love and compassion,
Then He took him to paradise.
Chorus
If that isn't love;
The ocean is dry,
There's no stars in the sky,
And the sparrow can't fly.
If that isn't love;
Then heaven's a myth,
There's no feeling like this,
If that isn't love!

The song has been recorded by many artists over the years. Probably two of the most famous would be Elvis Presley and Dottie Rambo, the writer of the song. However, it wasn’t either of these voices I heard singing the song. Rather it was a voice that most would not recognize and which would never win any awards. Yet my soul was moved once again as, in my mind, I heard the love that the song was sang with. I could even hear the voice break with emotion, as it had so often in times past.

I walked from the bedroom into the dark kitchen to prepare breakfast and my mother was there. It was then she told me that Shirley Jean Horn Petranoff had received her promotion last night. My eyes immediately filled with tears and I thought, “Shirley, you can now tell Him personally how much you appreciated that love.”

I first met Shirley and her husband Ed in the fall of 1972. They had come to Rio Dell to visit Ed’s family and had decided to move “back home.” We were excited to have a new young couple in the Church. They had two small children at the time, Leann and Steve.

Shirley and Ed fit right in with the Church family. It wasn’t long until Shirley was asked if she would teach the Nursery Class. She was more than happy to help in any way possible and taught the Nursery Class for a number of years. She felt that was her calling. Shirley had a few notable students that came through her classroom doors such as Tim Doran (Pastor in Osceola, AR) Abby Doran Harrell (Music Minister in Harrison, AR) Justin Doran and many others including some of her own children.

I remember the love that Shirley had for her family. When her grandchildren came along, she was so faithful to bring them to Church at every opportunity. Even when they were tiny infants she made sure they were in Church. A Nursery teacher knows the importance of getting the Word of God into a baby’s heart.

I always thought of Shirley being a “fighter.” Not that she had a pugnacious nature, but she was tough. Shirley was born with a bone disease and it seemed like she had to fight for most things she did in life. She was a hard worker and a giving person.

In the fall of 1990 I became the pastor of the United Pentecostal Church in Rio Dell, CA. My father had been the pastor for the 17 years that Shirley had been a part of that Church. Shirley had worked under his leadership and felt a strong bond with my parents. Now they were stepping down and a new man was taking the leadership, one that she could remember “when!” I knew that it was going to be hard for some folks to see me in this new role, to make that change. I always felt that in her heart the Elder and Sister Doran would always be her “pastor” and that was all right because they will always be mine. However I can truly say that Shirley was always loyal and faithful.

I will always remember, as I did this morning, hearing Shirley playing her accordion and singing those words, “If that isn’t love . . .” She sang not with the most beautiful voice, but she sang it with a voice that had truly known that love.

It’s just a thought!