Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’m really good at starting things. Unfortunately, I’m not great at finishing what I’ve started. I’ve got a couple boxes of unfinished woodworking projects in the shop, partly completed paintings in my office and three books waiting for those final chapters.

Thankfully Jesus doesn’t have this problem. Paul calls Him “the author and Finisher of our faith”. (Hebrews 12:2 KJV). Once He had set His feet on the path towards Calvary, Jesus let nothing keep Him from completely the task for which He came to this earth – the redemption of our fallen race.

Scouring, beatings, humiliation, rejection. Jesus endured them all so He could save you and I. Finally, seemingly defeated, dying on the cross, His voice rang out in triumph, “It is finished.” (John 19:30).

With that shout Jesus proclaimed victory, assuring us a place in His kingdom if we will accept Him as our Savior and, with Paul, fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

Thankfully, we do not have to do this on our own. Our Heavenly Father is with us and “he which hath begun a good work within you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).

So don’t quit. Don’t be discouraged when it seems you’ll never get it right. God’s not done with you yet. Keep moving forward, and don’t ever give up till you’ve finished the race and you hear God say, “Well, done, thou good and faithful servant… Enter now into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21).

Have a great day and God bless!

A couple days ago I spent a good portion of the day building a chicken coop for Ana’s chickens. I used pallets to make the walls. The idea was to save money, but it ended up being more hassle than it was worth. I had to take several of the pallets apart, which was a pain.

Taking the old nails out was especially difficult. They were deeply embedded in the wood and hard to get a grip on. Several of the nails didn’t want to come out with just my regular hammer, so I had to get a crowbar. That did the trick. It’s amazing what a difference using the right amount of leverage can make.

Many times we face challenges which are too hard for us to overcome on our own. Deeply embedded sins, old habits, buried hurts. We try to work them out on our own, but just end up frustrated and depressed and sometimes worse off than when we began. It can be pretty discouraging.

There is a better way. The problem I’m facing may see impossible, but Jesus said,
“with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26 NLT). God provides the leverage we need to do the impossible. Even if your faith is as small as a mustard seed, with God’s power, you can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20).

Today, if you’re facing a challenge that seems more than you can handle, remember you are not alone. Jesus is with you, ready to lend a hand, to give you the leverage you need to succeed. So, instead of giving in to discouragement, step out in faith and declare, like the Apostle Paul, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13).

One of the challenges about living in a new town is finding my way around. Walla Walla and College Place were kind of confusing at first, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. I’ve discovered that Rose Street will connect me with most anywhere I want to go to the east or west and Myra Street is the secret to going north or south.

Sometimes, though, I still get a little turned around. That’s when it’s time to break out the GPS. What did we ever do before we had this amazing service at our fingertips? All I have to do is type in where I want to go and instantly it finds me the fastest route to my destination.

There are times, however, when I wonder if my GPS really knows what it’s doing, especially when it directs me down a dead-end street or through a construction zone. That’s when I feel like I’m stuck in an Allstate commercial, with “Mayhem” giving me directions..

Thankfully, when it comes to finding my way through this life I don’t have to depend on an undependable GPS. If I let Him, my Heavenly Father will show me the way I should go. He says, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” (Isaiah 48:17 NLT).

Sometimes the paths He leads you down can be a little dark and scary. You may wonder if He knows what He is doing. That’s when faith comes in. That’s when you have to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” and “not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God knows what He’s doing and “He never leads [His children] otherwise than they would choose to be led if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose that they are fulfilling.” (Prophets and Kings, p. 578).

Today you will face some new twists and turns in this journey called life, but don’t be afraid. We have a Guide we can trust. Let God direct your steps and just enjoy the journey. Remember, in the end it will be worth it all, because our destination is, literally, out of this world!

Having our grandchildren in our home several times a week has been such a blessing to Ana and I. For me, watching Ana care for our grandchildren, gives me little glimpses of how God deals with us and how much He loves us.

When the grandkids walk in the door Ana’s face just lights up with joy. I think that’s how God feels when we decide to spend some time with Him during our day. The Bible says, “He will rejoice over you with gladness.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV).

Sometimes our grandson gets fussy and throws a fit. That’s when Ana takes him in her arms and rocks him to sleep, whispering how much she loves him, holding him close. In the same way, when troubles come our way and we’re feeling stressed and afraid, God promises He “will quiet you with His love…” (ibid).

Then there are the fun times, the silly times, when the grandchildren bubble over with laughter as Ana sings some silly song, like “Baby Beluga.” God loves making us happy and it says, “He will rejoice over you with singing.” (ibid)

No matter what challenges you face today, take time to spend with your loving Heavenly Father. Let Him rejoice over you with gladness.” Let Him “quiet you with His love” and “rejoice over you with singing.”

Have a wonderful day and remember this one thing – God loves you! He really does!

I got plenty of church today! Two services in one morning! I think that’s a record for me!

I went by myself to the early church at Eastgate Seventh-day Adventist Church and thoroughly enjoyed the upbeat music and the pastor’s continuing study of Hebrews 11. Then I went home to get Ana and Rishana and we went to the College Place Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church together. Ana’s been wanting to hear God’s Word taught in her native language and this seemed like a good day to do that..

Although I did find myself longing for the gift of tongues at the Spanish Church, I still got a blessing from being there. The people were so welcoming and the food at the potluck afterwards was delicious. I think we’ll be going there more often (and not just for the food!).

Going to two church services in one day may seem excessive for many of you, but for me it was refreshing. I love spending time with God’s people, discussing Scripture together, hearing a good sermon, singing and worshiping our loving Heavenly Father. It refuels my batteries for the week ahead and refocuses my mind on the things that matter most – time with God, family, and with fellow believers.

In Hebrews 10:25 Paul warns us to “not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Although it’s fine to occasionally miss church to spend some time in nature or get some extra rest, if that becomes a habit we miss out on so much.

The truth is we need each other, now more than ever. This world’s not an easy place to live in and, unfortunately, it’s going to get worse. Now is not the time to try to make it on our own. We need to keep meeting together, lifting each other up in prayer, supporting each other through the hard times and laughing together in the good times. We’re so much stronger together, than we are apart. As Ephesians 4:12 says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.”

So, this next week, please come join us. Even if you haven’t darkened a church door in a while, you’re always welcome. If you’ve had a tough time with Christians in the past, please give us a chance to do better. We need you, you need us and we all need God. Don’t worry about your past or if you have the right clothes to wear. Just come as you are! Our doors are open! Just come home!

I had to do a little impromptu construction last week. I had to enclose in our chicken yard to keep our chickens from escaping. They’d gotten big enough to fly over the fence and this last week I arrived home just in time to see one fly out onto the lawn. Before I could do anything about it our dog, Lily, grabbed it and, well, we have one last chicken.

I knew I had to fix their enclosure right away, because everytime Ana loses a chicken it breaks her heart. I bought wood and wire and whipped together a covered chicken yard that should keep them safe for the foreseeable future. It ain’t pretty, but it is secure.

I’m not sure the chickens appreciate my efforts, however. They look longingly at the green grass of the yard, unaware of the danger that lurks there. All they can see is that lush grass and the wire restricting their freedom to enjoy it.

We humans are too often like our chickens. We don’t like being fenced in by God’s Law, even though it was given for our own good, to protect us from the consequences which come with straying beyond its borders.

We want to be free to enjoy the pleasures of this world without the “fence” of God’s law to hold us back. What we forget is outside of the protection which God’s law provides there lies an “enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NLT).

True freedom is not found in chasing after what the world has to offer. Real freedom comes from accepting Jesus as your Savior and then keeping His commandments, out of love and gratefulness for what He has done for you.

When you do this, choosing to live within God’s will as outlined in His Word, God sets you free from guilt, from fear, from regret. Then you will be truly free and “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

This Sabbath, open God’s Word and “look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free…”. If you do this and ‘if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:25). You will discover for yourself what true freedom is all about.

God bless and have a Happy Sabbath!

I love to listen to my little granddaughter talk and Bexlie loves to talk! She’ll go on and on about a flower or a cat or whatever’s caught her attention at the moment. However, there is one problem. I’m 6’2” and hard-of-hearing and she’s about 2’6” and has a quiet little voice. I really have to strain to hear her sometimes, especially if I forget to put on my hearing aids.

So, what’s the solution? I have to get down to her level. I have to bend down so I can listen. The funny thing is, when I’m at her eye level she pays a lot more attention to what I have to say too.

It’s the same with our Heavenly Father. Psalm 116:2 says that when we pray God “bends down to listen…” (NLT). It’s not that God is hard of hearing. He can hear the quietest whisper of a child and “knows every plan and thought.” (1 Chronicles 28:9). God hears us just fine, but He bends down to listen, because it brings us closer together, so we can have a more intimate conversation.

That is why Jesus came, to bring us closer to God. “Though he was God…he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” (Philippians 2:6-7). In Jesus, God literally bent down to our level, becoming a human. And Christ’s work didn’t end at the cross, because “He lives forever to intercede with God on [our] behalf.” (Hebrews 7:25).

Because of what Jesus did and is still doing for us, we know God hears our prayers. Just like I love to hear what Bexlie has to say, God loves to hear your prayers. In fact, He is bending down to listen to you and me right now. And, “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:2).

Won’t you join me?

I love to listen to my little granddaughter talk and Bexlie loves to talk! She’ll go on and on about a flower or a cat or whatever’s caught her attention at the moment. However, there is one problem. I’m 6’2” and hard-of-hearing and she’s about 2’6” and has a quiet little voice. I really have to strain to hear her sometimes, especially if I forget to put on my hearing aids.

So, what’s the solution? I have to get down to her level! I have to bend down so I can listen. The funny thing is, when I’m at her eye level she pays a lot more attention to what I have to say too.

It’s the same with our Heavenly Father. Psalm 116:2 says that when we pray God “bends down to listen…” (NLT). It’s not that God is hard of hearing. He can hear the quietest whisper of a child and “knows every plan and thought.” (1 Chronicles 28:9). No, God hears us just fine, but He bends down to listen, because it brings us closer together, so we can have a more intimate conversation.

That is why Jesus came, to bring us closer to God. “Though he was God…he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” (Philippians 2:6-7). In Jesus, God literally bent down to our level, becoming a human. And His work didn’t end at the cross, because “He lives forever to intercede with God on [our] behalf.” (Hebrews 7:25).

Because of what Jesus did and is still doing for us, we know God hears our prayers. Just like I love to hear what Bexlie has to say, God loves to hear your prayers. In fact, He is bending down to listen to you right now. He cares about you and me more than we can even imagine. And, “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (Psalm 116:2).

Won’t you join me?

For the last couple of days we’ve been exploring possible reasons why God remains silent, especially, it seems, during the times we need to hear from Him the most. When our world is crashing down around us, in our anguish we cry out,“O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God.” (Psalm 83:1 NLT). Then we listen, but we hear nothing, only deafening silence.

How can this be? How can our Heavenly Father, our God who says He loves us with an everlasting love, stay silent when we cry out to Him? If He loves us, how can He not answer our prayers, rescue us from our trials, or at least comfort us in the midst of them? Why does He not speak?

However, as we study God’s Word we discover it is precisely because God loves us He sometimes does not answer.

You see, God is not just our Heavenly Father. He is also our Teacher and a teacher sometimes has to give us tests. Matthew 11:29 says, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you.” The yoke we bear, the trials we face, are the tests He gives to help us grow and learn. However, as someone said at church recently, “A teacher is always quiet during a test.”

Can you imagine what would happen if a teacher, when giving a test, kept talking, telling his students all the answers? They’d never learn. They’d never study. They’d pass the class, but they’d never grow, and they’d leave that class unprepared to face the real world.

Each of us are being tested everyday. It is part of life and God, in His love, lets us have these trials for a reason. God’s not just concerned about your day-to-day problems. He’s looking at the big picture. God knows “when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” and “when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT).

Sometimes, like any good teacher, God stays quiet during the time of testing, but even in His silence, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation” because by staying quiet He is giving them room to grow into “the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12).

Someday soon God will speak. He will be silent no longer. On that day, when “your endurance is fully developed” and you are “perfect and complete”, you will hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21 KJV).

Till then keep listening for God’s voice, studying His word, “keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” (1 Peter 4:19).

God bless and have a great day!

The story of the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3 starts with this interesting observation, “Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.”

Sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it? Our world sometimes seems to think it has outgrown God and no longer needs His guidance. At the same time, the lives of those who claim to have a message from Him more often than not don’t match up to their words. As for us average Joe’s and Jane’s, our lives are so busy, with so many distractions and demands, that hearing God speak amidst all the noise seems well nigh impossible. Yet, even with all our frantic running around, we know something is missing. Sometimes we’d give almost anything to hear God whisper in our hearts, “Peace. Be still.”

So what’s a person to do? How can we hear God’s voice in the midst of all the noise? The answer is we need to Stop, Look, and Listen. This is how Samuel was able to hear God speak and it will work for you and I too.

Stop – 1 Samuel 3:3 (NLT) says, “Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. No, I’m not advocating sleeping in church, but to hear God’s voice we need to put ourselves in situations where He’s most likely can be found. For some this might be church while for others it might be out in the beauty of nature. Wherever your quiet place is, you need to go there regularly to meet with God.

Look – Look for a guide. Verse 7 says, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.” Samuel heard God speak, but he had no idea who it was. Confused, he went to Eli. Now Eli wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with God right then, but he knew God well enough to recognize what was happening. Sometimes, consulting with a godly friend or mentor can help us learn to listen better too.

Listen – Once he realized, with Eli’s guidance, what was happening, Samuel listened for God to call again. When He did, Samuel was ready. He replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” Then he did just that – he listened and he kept listening for the rest of his life.

God is still speaking. He’s still calling. He’s still looking for Samuel’s in our day and age. You can be one of them, if you will just remember to Stop, Look, and Listen everyday. And when you hear Him call your name, be ready to reply, “Speak, Lord, I am listening.”