We just had the wedding of Phillip Shay and Emmie Wolters. It was an important event for the Sparta church, as Emmie was raised in the church. It was a special wedding in more than one way. Phillip and Emmie would have a real honeymoon after the wedding. Yes, they dated without sleeping together. Most men as teenagers remember discussing the strategies of getting close to girls with the hopes of sexual fulfillment. You do this and then you do this; the baseball analogy was used in terms of getting to first or second base in order to eventually make it to home. There is a book called "Hooked" that describes the physiological workings in our body as we give and receive these touches. Phillip and Emmie understood these dynamics and chose not to let the touches of dating lead them to sexual activity and instead chose to reserve all touching for after the wedding.

Phillip and Emmie have given themselves and incredible head start in the enjoyment of their marriage. They will have an opportunity to live their marriage with the joy God designed into it by both fulfilling the roles that God has for them, thus “the two shall become one”. We had a marriage ceremony blessed by God. Monday after the wedding Phillip received a call letting him know that he had been selected for a new job he had applied for. When you live in right relationship with God, your marriage partner and all of the other relationships of your life you can expect God to open doors again and again. They have an exciting future ahead of them.

The other element of the wedding was the brokenness of many of the attendees. Their marriages hadn’t turned out so well. The dating experiences of many didn’t lead to a beautiful wedding like the one they were witnessing. This fairy tale wedding set against the backdrop of a battlefield of wounded lovers was at times painfully evident. Yes, we had the Macdonald’s coffee club. The men and women from the generation before mine, one of these couples let me know that they had been married over 50 years. Maybe, this wedding was a glance backwards in time to a time…well you find the words.

I felt all of this as I preached; the joy of the wedding party and the sadness of past experiences. The introduction of comparing a marriage with God’s promise “to never leave or forsake” made sense for this couple but how do the people witnessing the ceremony, knowing that they had violated their own marriage vows, how to they digest these words. I preached through the tension trusting God to minister to each heart in attendance. We had an altar call. No response for salvation. With every head bowed and every eye closed I asked for the wounded to raise their hand to God asking him to heal the wounds of their failed marriages and dating experiences. The hands began to go up all through the building.

I cannot say that I handled everything perfectly, but I know God can. Anyone of these people can call out to God and He will be there to heal and save.

As for Phillip and Emmie: Rejoice and again I say rejoice!

Here is an article that describes the European experience with socialism and its effect upon the human spirit. He speaks of three things that sound good on paper: free health care, free university education, and government retirement programs. Here is a quote:

Some may think this an enviable prospect, but one brief look at the average European retiree tells a different story. The human spirit does not respond well to dependence. It withers. The freedom to make choices, to succeed and stumble on our own merits, the hardiness that comes from having to rely on ourselves — these are the things that make us whole. And that, really, is the most cautionary part of this tale: Americans must resist the creeping welfare state, lest we lose not only our quintessential Americanism, but ultimately also some unquantifiable measure of our humanity.

This ties in with what I have been preaching about the human spirit in relationship to health the last two Sundays.

Here is an article by Victor David Hanson that gets close to identifying the spiritual malaise of the country. The reason behind the reasons for what he feels is that we are a nation that has rejected God: Isa 5:20-24

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

And prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,

Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,

23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,

And take away justice from the righteous man!

24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble,

And the flame consumes the chaff,

So their root will be as rottenness,

And their blossom will ascend like dust;

Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,

And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

NKJV

If only God can heal us.

Here is a story from Yahoo’s AP feed: rare fossil octopuses

What one sees is all dependent upon your belief system. I see an octopus fossil that “is almost indistinguishable from living species”, thus confirming my belief that God created all creatures “according to its kind”.

From the article:

Prior to this discovery only a single fossil species was known, and from fewer specimens than octopuses have legs, Fuchs said.

What most surprised Fuchs and his colleagues Giacomo Bracchi and Robert Weis was how similar the specimens are to modern octopus. "These things are 95 million years old, yet one of the fossils is almost indistinguishable from living species," Fuchs said.

This provides important evolutionary information, revealing much earlier origins of modern octopuses and their characteristic eight-legged body-plan, Fuchs said.

Yet another person who puts his faith in evolution sees this 95 million year old fossil that looks like a octopus of today as “important evolutionary evidence”.

Pontius Pilate would be right at home today: “What is truth?”

One of my enjoyments of life is visiting farmer’s markets. We did most of our vegetable shopping in Zambia at a big farmer’s market in Lusaka. I would always buy from the gardener’s in the compounds selling their tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. I would buy the ground nuts (peanuts) and managed to live and eat there for 7 years without ever contracting food poisoning. It was only when I returned to the states that I ate some bad frozen fish and enjoyed the charms of my stomach dealing with the poison. My conclusion, I feel safe eating freshly picked produce. But, the one world government doesn’t share my security. I sure hope they don’t outlaw having a garden this year; all for my safety I am sure.

I read the "Measure of a Man" by Gene Getz. He actually used this bible study in starting a church in Dallas. Originally published in 1974, I was reading an eighth edition that came out in 1978. It would be a great men’s bible study. He used the qualities listed in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-10 to gage the maturity level of a man of God. He did an excellent job of cross-referencing each character trait. Here are the character traits:

Above reproach

Husband of one wife

Temperate

Prudent

Respectable

Hospitable

Able to teach

Not given to wine

Not self-willed

Not quick-tempered

Not pugnacious

Uncontentious

Gentle

Free from the love of money

One who manages his own household well

A good reputation with those outside the church

Love what is good

Just

Devout

Not a new convert

Worth trying for men’s study group.

Using these verses from Proverbs found at Bible Gateway: Proverbs 2:10-15, 3:21-26, 9:10-12, 16:22, 19:23; I want to talk about our health. These verses give us four words to bring into our lives. They are:

Wisdom: doing the right thing at the right time

Knowledge: the sum total to date that you have learned from living your life and receiving instruction from others

Discretion: purpose, having a plan for tomorrow

Understanding: knowing how today will affect tomorrow, its root word points to discernment between choices.

You can see from the above scriptures that these qualities, if brought into our lives, will touch our souls (the person we really are on the inside).Wisdom, knowledge, discretion and understanding, when linked to God, bring a strength and zest to our entire being: body, soul and spirit. This is the modern key to good health in the world we live in.

Proverbs 9:10 says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Whatever the issue is in a person’s life: turning to God, Jesus Christ, will open the door for God to bless you with wisdom, knowledge, discretion and understanding leading to a fuller and healthier life.

Here is a good link: http://www.faithandhealthconnection.org/

Reading this article and thinking about the prophetic future; one cannot help but think that President Obama has arrived at this critical juncture to usher in the next big step towards one world government, preceded by a new international currency.

I was looking at the word “ponder” in the book of proverbs. It has the idea of weighing out an idea, making a rough road smooth and finally to resolve or to make a decision. This led me to pick up "Thinking for a Change" by John Maxwell. Here are his 11 ways of thinking:

1. Acquire the wisdom of big-picture thinking - does my thinking extend beyond me and my world
2. Unleash the potential of focused thinking - concentrate to find clarity on the real issues
3. Discover the joy of creative thinking - get out of the box and find break through thinking
4. Recognize the importance of realistic thinking - does my thinking have a solid mental foundation
5. Release the power of strategic thinking - is my thinking leading to plans for today that help me reach my potential tomorrow
6. Feel the energy of possibility thinking - possibility thinking can help you find solutions to even the difficult problems
7. Embrace the lessons of reflective thinking - am I revisiting the past to gain understanding and learn from what happened
8. Question the acceptance of popular thinking - am I rejecting the limitations of common thinking
9. Encourage the participation of shared thinking - am I engaging others to expand and sharpen my thinking
10. Experience the satisfaction of unselfish thinking - am I considering others and their needs
11. Enjoy the return of bottom-line thinking - am I staying focused on results

Here are some book quotes, mainly quotes he used from others to make his points.

Mark Twain: “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

King Solomon: “As people think in their hearts, so they are.”

Jack Welch: “The hero is the one with the ideas.”

*Unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival

*Average people focus their thinking on maintenance

*Successful people focus their thinking on progress

“Ninety-five percent of achieving anything is knowing what you want and paying the price to get it.”

Leo Tolstoy: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

Leroy Eims: How can you know what is in your heart? Look at your behavior.”

“Don’t ever be too impressed with goal setting; be impressed with goal getting. Reaching new goals and moving to a higher level of performance always requires change, and change feels awkward.”

Senator S I Hayakawa: “learning to write is learning to think. You don’t know anything clearly unless you can state it in writing.”

“Ideas have a short shelf life. You must act on them before the expiration date.”

“Eratosthenes made that big-picture connection by using everyday facts and putting them together.”

Leaders:

“See the vision before their people do.

Size up situations, taking into account many variables.

Sketch a picture of where the team is going.

Show how the future connects with the past to make the journey more meaningful.

Seize the moment when the timing is right.”

Thomas Fuller: “He that is every where is nowhere.” To get things done, you need focus.

W Clement Stone: “Keep your mind off the things you don’t want by keeping it on the things you do want.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs.” “To help me concentrate on the things that matter, I work to keep important items before me.”

Vince Lombardi: The joy is in creating, not maintaining.”

Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

“Its easy to connect ideas when you have a plan.”

Max Depree: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.”

Four challenges of a leader: “influencing change, resolving conflict, developing leaders, and making the tough call.”

“Actions always have consequences; realistic thinking helps you to determine what those consequences could be.”

“I’ve known businesspeople who were not realistic thinkers. Here’s the good news: they were very positive and had a high degree of hope for their business. Here’s the bad news: hope is not a strategy.”

Thomas Edison: “The value of a good idea is using it.”

“Realistic thinking helps to pave the way for bringing any dream to fruition.”

President Truman: “I never give ‘em hell. I just tell the truth and they think it is hell.” “That’s the way many people react to truth.”

Winston Churchill: “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.”

“Am I building a solid mental foundation on facts so that I can think with certainty?”

“Most people spend more time planning their summer vacation than planning their lives.”

Miguel Cervantes: “The man who is prepared has his battle half fought.” “Strategic thinking takes complex issues and long-term objectives, which can be very difficult to address, and breaks them down into manageable sizes.”

General Patton: “Successful generals make plans to fit circumstances, but do not try to create circumstances to fit plans.”

“Strategic thinking is the bridge that links where you are where you want to be.”

Mary Webb: (strategic thinking) is “like saddling your dreams before you ride them.”

“The one with the plan is the one with the power.”

Robert Schuller: “Yard by yard, life is hard; but inch by inch, it’s a cinch.” “The first step in strategic thinking is to break down a issue into smaller, more manageable parts so that you can focus on them more effectively.”

“A strategy that doesn’t take into account resources is doomed to failure.”

Thane Yost: “the will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare.”

“Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?”

“Become a possibility thinker.”

“When you believe you can do something difficult and you succeed many doors open for you.”

“being a possibility thinker can create new opportunities and attract people.”

“Big thinkers who make things happen also create possibilities for others.”

Thomas Fuller: “The real difference between men is energy. A strong will, a settled purpose, and invincible determination can accomplish almost anything; and in this lies the distinction between great men and little men.”

(talking about handing out flyers) “If you know something can’t succeed, how much time and energy are you willing to give it?”

“The first step in becoming a possibility thinker is to stop yourself from searching for and dwelling on what’s wrong with any given situation.”

“Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible situations?”

“Reflective thinking gives emotional integrity to your thought life.”

“Reflective thinking enables you to distance yourself from the intense emotions of particularly good or bad experiences and see them with fresh eyes.”

“That process can help a person to stop carrying around a bunch of negative emotional baggage.”

“Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.”

“Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?”

John Maynard Keynes: “The difficulty lies not so mush in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones.”

Kevin Myers: “The problem with popular thinking is that it doesn’t require you to think at all.”

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

“One of the best ways to get out of the rut of your own thinking is to innovate.”

“Most people said the doctrine of my church would hinder its growth—I rejected that thinking and in 1976, ours became the fastest growing church in Ohio.”

“Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?”

“If you combine the thoughts you have and the thoughts that others have, you will come up with thoughts you’ve never had!”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “To accept good advice is but to increase one’s own ability.”

Charles Burr: “Getters generally don’t get happiness; givers get it.”

Alan McGinnis: “There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being—to help someone succeed.”

“In 1904, Bessie Anderson Stanley wrote the following definition of success in “Brown Book Magazine”:

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it, who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had, whose life was an inspiration, whose memory a benediction.”

Norman Peale: “People with humility don’t think less of themselves; they just think of themselves less.”

Paul the Apostle: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Horace Mann: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

Thomas Edison: “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”

There are actions by Google in terms of freedom and Christian values that have me using Microsoft’s search engine based upon my respect for Bill Gates in business and especially in his efforts to bring opportunity to Africans since his retirement. The political correct nature of Google, and I have no examples at this moment to refer to, seem to line up with that anti-Christ spirit of this age. This example from Facebook makes me put Facebook and Google in the same group. Who owns Facebook?

Our revival finished off with Pastor Richard Brooks in an incredible fashion. Pastor Brooks brushed off the dust from his piano playing fingers and began to preach his sermon on David while playing the piano. It was entertaining, yet anointed, as he weaved in a few facts about David that were added for color: like he worked at Walmart. The refrain of the performance was: “David don’t you worry about a thing, You keep your eyes on your sheep and a watch on your soul”. You could feel the pastor’s heart as he and all of us believe and wait for God to move through this nation again. We had everyone from church out for the evening. His “sermon” was followed by a Happy Birthday for Rebecca Rivera on her 14^th birthday. I tried to upload the video to “tangle” (godtube) but I wasn’t able to, I’ll try again later. Here is a photo of Pastor Richard Brooks at the piano and Rebecca in the Sparta IL Potter’s House.

Here is a good story about pastoral reconciliation.

We have been having a great time of refreshing with Pastor Richard Brooks preaching for us. There is a wonderful presence of God in the services with healings, words of knowledge and prophecies coming from the church folks. Last night Pastor Brooks shared with the congregation and visitors how he became a Christian. I’ll do my best to recap:

He was born in Bishop, California. Actually that is where the closest hospital was from Big Bear where he was raised on a cattle farm. He had a few church experiences as a young person but it was only after he got involved with drugs and the music scene as a young teenager did anything happen that touched him. It was when one of his drug buddies got saved, became a Christian, by asking Jesus to come into his heart. This wasn’t enough to bring him to Christ, but was something that stayed with him his whole life.

He was in that pattern of life moving from one relationship to the next, one binge with commitments to stop to the next, one job to the next, always with music desires on the horizon. This was all happening in an alternative universe we call Orange County. He was well connected with the party scene and at a private house party was listening to Bob Dylan play the piano. He went into the next room and began playing a guitar along with him so that he could tell everyone he jammed with Bob Dylan.

One day Bernie Leadon from the band, the Eagles, came and got him and brought him to church with him. This man had quit the band, this was just before Hotel California, because he knew the lifestyle wouldn’t allow for him to be a Christian. Richard went to a big church of over 800 people. He remembered seeing one woman raising her hand while they were singing. The preacher gave people an opportunity to come and pray but Richard, fought back the urge to go forward not wanting to be the only one. Bernie prayed with him that night when they went home.

Richard went to church, but no one would talk with him. He went 3 Sundays in a row. The fourth Sunday a friend came by and he missed church, the refrain of the sermon was “you don’t have to go to church every Sunday”. Well one Sunday missed was followed by another missed and before you know it the old life habits were getting control again of his life. So he turned his back on it all and found himself linked to an East Coast snob who was working with the CIA to infiltrate the drug smugglers in Columbia. He blessed Richard with a big satchel of cocaine and a man to do business with in Australia. What Richard did not know was that this Australian was already under surveillance and he was met at the airport by the police who put him in prison eventually with a 12 year sentence.

Sitting on the little bucket that they all had to share as a toilet he reminded himself: “you don’t have to go to church every Sunday”. He prayed, got a hold of a bible and began to devour it. He was exercising, walking back and forth in the yard, when he was spotted by a Christian man working at the prison. This man felt promised by God that something spiritual was going to happen in the prison. He secretly took Richard and laid hands on him and prayed that he would receive the Holy Ghost. That night Richard began to praise God speaking in other tongues in his cell. His cell mate got saved. Before you know it everyone was hearing about what was going on in the prison. God’s favor was being poured upon this group of believers in this prison. They were allowed to have bible studies. They were getting baptized in the bathtub. More and more inmates were getting saved. Richard had a bible and a book that was given to him by a American pastor in Australia who was visiting the brother of a girl who had got saved in his church. This book was called “The Open Door”. It was the story of our fellowship’s venture into overseas ministry.

After three years, Richard made the mistake of reading about and having a communion service with bread and water instead of bread and wine. The prison chaplains, who never appreciated his faith, accused him of administering the sacraments without being ordained. They began to work on the warden to have all the members of Richard’s group (church) split up into different prisons. Richard and the Chinese cook remained. Richard stayed because they didn’t know what to do with him; the Chinese cook because he was a gourmet cook who cooked for the warden. The reports started coming back to Richard of revival starting in each of the prisons where these men were sent to.

It was just after that that Richard was released and sent back to America. He went back to California and eventually found himself in a church with a halfway house. In 1989, as Richard was reading about the open door into Romania, he got the name of a translator from a Romanian church in LA and went to Romania. He was preaching at a time that would be unique for Romania. He was preaching to a group of about 300 people on the streets after playing his guitar. They all prayed. Then God spoke to him: Now what are you going to do with them. He went home sold everything he had to come back to Romania to start a church.

He abbreviated this portion of his testimony, maybe we will get more tonight, but he met and eventually married his wife, started a church with young people, met the author of the book “The Open Door” and was given some help and guidance. He was a great pastor, raising disciples, eventually sending out 10 other churches into Romania, Switzerland and the Ukraine.

Just a note: Wednesday night will be special as Richard has agreed to play the piano while he ministers to us. It is going to just be plain cool.

We are having a great time with Evangelist Richard Brooks. Saturday night we had a special service on the topic of Near Death Experiences. Corey Britt had put together a short film depicting the elements reported by the more than 8 million people who have experienced a near death experience (according to Gallup). The short film with the accompanying music was the perfect introduction for the preaching.

An intense moment in the sermon was Pastor Brooks breaking down the word for Hell or Hades. In the Greek the word is made up of two root words. One is “a” for “alpha” meaning first and the other is “eides” meaning “to see or understand”. The picture described is finding yourself in hell and for the first time being able to see the spiritual world that you are now trapped in for eternity.

The next morning in Sunday school we talked about Jesus’ use of the word “Woe” in describing the cities that had rejected his teachings. It is not a word of wrath or judgment rather it is a word of pity and compassion. The person who rejects Jesus, God’s gift of salvation to this world, will experience a terrible moment when for the first time their eyes are opened but it is too late. Believers should, despite those same people mocking us, should have a healthy compassion for them. “Woe”!