Hope For A Hopeless World

As this week comes to a close all I can say is that I’m very tired, but a good tired. I can’t ever remember a week like this is my life with so many out of the ordinary things happening. But it should be calming down one of these days. But then again, maybe not. If I wasn’t so private I could share a whole bunch of stuff, but the more I think of it, the more I realize I rarely ever scratch the surface of what’s really going on around here. But that’s the way I’ve always blogged. When a person is all tired out from a combination of work and a huge influx of matters of faith it somehow gets me to thinking about the simplicity of the Gospel. Funny, when a person is all up and going at a hundred percent he can think about all sorts of complicated matters. And that’s OK, but sometimes getting back to the nitty gritty is good for a person. And the Gospel is about as down to earth as anything can get, if a person allows it to be. Hope for the hopeless, that’s the simple way to explain it. And when a person gets right down to it, there’s not one of us with any hope unless we have Jesus. Not a one of us.

There’s not a one of us going to come out of this alive. There’s not a one of us that’s going to keep anything we’ve acquired over our life times. Not a single thing. Not a one of us is going to stay young and vibrant. With out Jesus there is absolutely no hope at all. On an evening like this one of my favorite Gospel stories comes to mind. A hopeless situation turned completely around by Jesus. I’ll share it here , from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5:
25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

From these simple verses a person sees a huge drama take place. A woman that had no hope at all until she heard of this Jesus. For twelve years she suffered, was outcast, had spent all that she had trying to find a cure without success. And then, no hope left, knowing that the sickness would kill her as she lived outside of Jewish society, shunned by all the people. But the outcasts do talk, and she must of heard of this Jesus and of the healings He was preforming on all who believed in Him. She didn’t have no Bible studies, she didn’t get to listen to preachers preaching the good news. She must of just heard about Jesus through the grapevine and a small spark of faith was kindled in her. And she decided to put that small seed of faith into action.

Now, it was against Jewish law for her to even come into the pressing crowd as Jesus was passing through that day. The penalty was severe if she broke it, but there was nothing to lose in a dying person’s mind. She only knew that this was her only hope. She literally crawled on the ground to just get a touch of Jesus’s garment. And when it was within reach I believe she grabbed it hard and wasn’t going to let this get by her. And the healing anointing flowed out of Jesus into her and instantly healed her. Healed her because of that faith from the talk she heard being put into action as she went and grabbed the garment’s hem.

Hope, hope for the hopeless, to me that’s what the Gospel is. To be brought back to a loving God that wants to take care of us, if we’d only let Him. I know that a post like this isn’t the norm when folks write about faith matters. But really I don’t care. Because the Gospel to me is such a wonderful gift to everyone that I’m in awe of it. I don’t need to complicate something simple, so I won’t. When a person is all tired out and the mind isn’t functioning at 100% it’s time to get back to the basics. I don’t want some religion, I don’t want burdens, I want Jesus. I don’t want what the world offers because no matter what it’ll fail in the end, no matter what. But God won’t fail, no He won’t. I don’t care about what the world thinks, I don’t care what they say, I just don’t. I want to walk with our Lord. He promises His burden is light, unlike the burden of this world.

Yup, I’m calm tonight, calm knowing that Jesus is there to take care of every need if we just let Him. Just trusting Him like a little child. And like a trusting child I’ll listen and obey Him in whatever He wants. And I want to share this good news to all in an unbelieving world. How could I do anything less? Hope for a hopeless world.

Children Spreading the Gospel

Glory! A fine day out here, windy, getting colder, but a fine day! Everything is kinda on cruise around the farm these last few days and I hope it’ll continue thru the Christmas break. Well, I don’t get a Christmas break, but the rest of the family, mainly the kids do. But there’s not a thing in the world wrong with slowing down for a week or so. There’s plenty of work that’ll save itself for me no matter what anyhow. A feller could work till he’s blue in the face and never get done anyhow so what the hey!

But I’m ah thinking today, always thinking. Many folks know that about my favorite interest in the whole world is the Pentecostal explosion that took place in the first half of the last century in rural America. I’m talking about when it first swept through the hills and the hollers, the farms and the small towns. An incredible time, a time like no other in American history. A fire swept many parts of the big land back then. And much to the dismay of established religion it took root and has endured. But what I love reading about the most is how the people spread the word back then, house to house, farm to farm. How even the children were wild with excitement spreading the word! And how some of the kids out of curiosity from hearing the news would go and listen to the meetings that were held outside, in homes, in stores, and even in barns. And as they’d be listening they’d get overcome with the Holy Ghost and many times be in for a good whupping when their parents would find out when they got home cause it’s pretty hard to hide the evidence of the Holy Ghost!

But all of that is just a backdrop for what happened this week around this neck of the woods. You just know there was a move of God when the kids get involved. And I ain’t talkin about some church program or something organized or nothing like that. I’m talkin about when the kids get touched by the power of the Holy Ghost and go and spread the word! This past week with all the healings that took place at church there were more than a few children in the healing lines. I just love kids because they got it together more than many adults do. When they get a healing they know they got a healing and ain’t afraid to tell the world about it!

Well, seems like a girl got some serious ear problems healed the first night in our little bible believing church in the hills and it was an instantaneous healing, and not the only one like that on the first evening. But what that little 9 year old girl did is what amazes us growed up adults like me. The next day she went off to the public school and she was testifying to all. Even the teachers! And you know, the second night a couple of the teachers were so touched with the testimony of a 9 year old girl that they had to drop by the church for the second meeting to see what this was all about! Well they got the music and they got the preaching and when that was all said and done as the healing lines started one of the teachers even came up front for some healing from God!

Glory to God! This just gets to me. I’m witnessing what I’ve always dreamed of! The children racing off and testifying where ever they go. Now one must admit, stuff like this is not the norm in this modern day and age. But moves of God are never what anyone would call normal!

A New Day in Fly Over Land

   Glory to God, what a week this has been! It was only a few days ago I was all nerved up, so much to happen in three days , the first three days of the week. The whole years work, or should I say a large percentage of the year’s work was on the line this past week. Selling the bulk of the year’s calves on Wednesday. loading them all up on Tuesday and having them trucked up north about forty miles to the small town of Motley to be sold the old fashioned way at auction. Working like a madman, running, really sometimes running to get the work done. And that ain’t all to easy when your dressed Minnesotan!

Then to top it all off we had us church services on Tuesday and Wednesday evening with J.C.  Smith coming from all the way out east to our little church in a hard hit town of around 140 folks. Services started at 6:30 both evenings, dark out for a couple of hours already in the north country. But the weather was blessed and nothing hampered the services, you never know in winter around here! Tonight I’ll just touch on this because there was so much involved in those services I’d be doing an injustice trying to write about it all tonight. So much happened and when you know most of the people and see how God moves it just has me a bit overwhelmed.

This is different than some big meeting where most folks are strangers, this is almost like family and when someone gets healed, rather dramatically I might add, everyone takes notice! It’s definitely not a surprise that the healings take place because we believe our Lord is our healer, but to see something dramatic take place in our midst just floors a guy!

Maybe it’s something to do with where we are located. By this I mean in a rural area. The culture today is overwhelmingly city, metro, whatever. But we ain’t. When you turn on Christian TV, radio, read Christian magazines it’s always about those folks over there, in the city or suburban American culture. And it does wear on people. It really does. We don’t have them big fancy church’s, we don’t have big fancy praise teams, heck we don’t even have a bathroom in the building. Across the street is an abandoned three story high brick school house with windows broke out, box elder trees already getting mature around it. A good percentage of homes in the village are trailer houses, and most of the rest are what would be considered poor housing in the rest of America.

But even with this backround there are folks that just love Jesus! And the last two evenings will forever change my views of it all. I always knew that God loves us the same as anyone else, but the cultural thing still would weigh down on a person because we aren’t exactly what you’d call main stream America. More like the forgotten folks. Not the dirt poor, not the big city or suburban people, just out here in no where land. The last two nights I was reminded we were not forgotten, far from it!

I hope folks will understand that I’ve got to just write a little tonight, but more will come and come soon! There’s so much going on because of the last two evenings, things continuing in our own family that I’ll just hold back a hair and digest it all. Cause this is good for quite a few thousand words, believe me! And of coarse sooner or later every one of them words will be written! I know with all my heart that every one in our little church is Praising Jesus for having His servant J.C. Smith come out into no where land. The people have stepped up into a higher level following our Lord, that’s apparent, and it won’t slide back. I know for a fact there’s a burning desire in almost all the folks here now, much more than before. I Praise and Thank You Jesus!

The Truth Shall Make You Free!

 Well, it looks like this week is coming to a close and all is well around here. The weather is good, (remember, this is Minnesota), cattle are happy and so am I! I got more projects in the fire than I can even remember. Kinda going in circles but the good thing about going in circles around here is that I never get lost.

I’m currently reading the book, “Healing the Sick”, by T.L. Osborn. J.C. Smith recommended it a few posts ago and lo and behold our church has a nice copy in that little library in the church’s entry way. And of coarse when a person checks out a book from there you don’t have to get all worried about getting it back pronto. But I’ll get it back someday, maybe as soon as I buy a copy for myself. But that book is good, and it’s a faith builder to say the least!

The strangest thing and I mean this is strange is, why didn’t I ever see these things my whole life? Of coarse I attended church here and there through the years but never was on fire till these last couple. I read the Bible, I read the Gospel, and have to admit that I was blinder than a bat. Well, I always read about the healings, but could it be because it was “never” preached in church that a person just doesn’t see it? I don’t know, but since coming to our little church in the hills it’s been preached. But even then, in a church setting, sometimes all the stuff can’t quite come across because of lack of time, and I’m sorry to say that, but there just ain’t enough time to begin covering some of this. I guess its our responsibility to read further, to study more and to look at that Bible and just believe it.

Because the Bible says that healing is a major part of the Gospel.  Not something that happens only once in a while, but something that anyone that believes in Jesus shall receive when asking in faith, same as salvation. The funniest thing, I have books that touch the subject of “faith healing”, I just use this term because that’s what it’s called in those old books, I’ve had them around here for thirty years and thirty years ago the subject had a draw on me, a strong draw! But a person goes to church and there’s never, and I mean never anything mentioned about the subject. So it gets put on the back burner, a person figuring that them preachers must know a bit more than a farmer and faith healing is all a bunch of bunk. Just something some old hillbillies believed in, some uneducated folk that knew no better. But it still had a draw on me, year after year, but no direction to follow at the time.

Then since coming to our little church I witnessed healings, heck, in fact I received them even with the super limited amount of faith I had at the time. Then there was the healing services for three days a couple years ago at church and that was what made me realize that there was something to this. That I wasn’t alone in thinking this way. I made it to all three services, just because I wanted to learn, to witness and see for myself about these things.

Here’s some from the book I’m reading:

Healing in the Bible is physical as well as spiritual. Sin and sickness which proliferated in the human race are both the result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The two redemptive blessings which Christ brought to the world are salvation and healing-deliverance from sin and sickness. Salvation from sin and sickness or healing from sin and sickness are both blessings included in our redemption, provided by one sacrifice and by one substitute. To say healed or to say saved means the same. If we say healed, or if we say saved, that is for the body as well as for the spirit.

  It would be incomplete for an unsaved person who is sick in body to be saved from sin and not be healed of sickness, after they had heard and believed this truth of the gospel. For you to be healed and not to be saved would be incomplete. God wants your spirit to be regenerated when your physical needs are met. Why? Because that is what redemption is. How could you be blessed physically and not be blessed spiritually, after you heard this truth? You discover Jesus as your own substitutionary sacrifice, bearing both your sins and your sicknesses in your place, and you are set free. This is the truth that sets people free in their bodies as well as in their spirits.

” You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32)”

Hot Dawg!

I’m just having one of them evenings, feeling good, got a little zip in my step! Yes sir, a good evening! Don’t really have any special reason for it being good, just is! I tell you, there’s more flu bugs going around then a guy can shake a stick at. Was working yesterday cutting wood and got myself sweated up a bit more than common sense allows in this neck of the woods when it’s that cold out. Came in last evening and I felt that bug coming on, ears ringing, headache starting, the whole ball of wax. That starts to get me depressed and down until I remember it don’t have to be that way cause this is from the devil and I won’t stand it anymore, Glory! And I might just throw in a “yee haw” in at this point too. Or I could say it like that healing evangelist of old, Jack Coe, and yell out a “Hot Dawg”! Yup, that bug was ah coming but Jesus took it away! Feel like a million bucks tonight, whatever that is, maybe I should say I feel like five bucks because I told the wife if I got five bucks in the pocket, and no debt, that we’re richer than probably 90% of Americans and I do believe I’m right on that!

Glory! I used to read about Kenneth Hagen, that preacher from Oklahoma that started the Bible School where our pastor attended. That’s the man who’s books first introduced me to healing and faith. They got a whole pile in the back of our little church, so I read! He said that he’d feel sickness coming on and just drive it right back out in the name of Jesus! Now it took me a long time to put this into practice, I don’t know why, maybe a lifetime of religion or something, a lifetime that always said that talk like this is a bunch of bunk. But I know what I know and the Bible says we’re not under the curse of sickness no more and the Bible is the Word of God so that’s that for that! Either believe it or throw that book away!

I look back, yes I think about this allot now. Why, why after all them years in church’s, why wasn’t the bible taught. Salvation and healing, going hand in hand. That’s what my Bible says! Why was only salvation taught, if that? The more and more I dig into the Word the more exciting it’s getting, an eye opener! It is the Good News! Not just something to hold us over as we barely scratch a living on this old world till we die and then finally get some peace. It’s Good News for right now too! Oh, this ain’t some modern day prosperity talk, no it isn’t. This is just flat out fact from the Word of God! And I ain’t going back to dead pan religion, I’m not going back to traditions of men. No sir, never!

And I ain’t giving up this race, I’m hungry to learn and not only learn but to apply what I learn. To use what I learn to help the Body grow and prosper. This is what it’s all about, this is why we’re here. Other wise God could just as well bonk us on the head when we are born again and take us up into Glory right away. Nope, there’s a job to do down here, that’s why we’re here. To spread that Good News. And this is why I’m typing a mile a minute tonight with my two incredible typing fingers smoking away at the keyboard. I just love this when this happens! Hot Dawg!

Feeling At Home

A Monday evening and all the work is done for today as far as I know. Was a pretty good one, nothing went wrong or anything. Staying home tonight and the rest of the week except for Wednesday evening’s church. Last evening was a different time. We went to a church about 20 miles south of here, an Assemblies of God church. What a great bunch down there! Now our pastor was the speaker there last evening and we decided to go and have us a listen. Plus there was a whole bunch of food at the event, even a jazz band, although I still don’t know how anyone could even attempt to play music without a fiddle in the band, but that’s just me I guess. Some folks just ain’t up to my standards yet, but they’ll get there some day!

It was around five below when we headed for that church and when we got there they said they had a table for us, sounds good to me! Little did I know that it was the table with the preachers and the jazz band, by the way, they were from North Central college down in the Twin Cities. Things were going good, shootin the bull, eating bigtime, when all of a sudden the church’s preacher introduced us “guests”, gulp. Now I never figured we were anything special but he musta thought so and when he introduced us the whole crowd was clapping, hmm. I ain’t never, never had anything like that happen before in my entire life, never. Now it just wasn’t for me, it was for the little handful of folks from our church that came there. But this sure was different. But when our pastor spoke the crowd was at full attention! It was incredible! And it was a big crowd compared to what I’m used to.

Yup, I was thinking about all of that today, and I was thinking about how it felt having such a welcome, I tell you that was a new experience for me, just blew me away. Taught me a lesson to, taught me what it feels like when people are so warm hearted and gracious, making a person feel that welcome. I can live to be pretty durn old and I’ll never forget it. It makes me see the true importance of making visitors feel at home. And that church will always be a second home!

So here I am tonight, just pondering it all. Nothing earth shattering, no not at all, but big never the less!

Tired At the End of the Week

  Time to kick back tonight and relax just a bit. Three evenings in a row at church this past week and it’s nice to be home for a bit. The Christmas program went very well and even I survived it which surprises me a bit. Good, it was all good. Boy, am I lazy here tonight, trudging around with enough clothes on all day for a South Pole expedition. Tires a man out, then get into a nice warm house and a huge supper, need I say more?

This coming week will be closer to normal, just Wednesday evening church, no big deal, just teaching the children. I was going to study tonight, but am too lazy. Well, I’ll read a bit, but I’ll save the real studying for next week, hit it hard then and hopefully continue the rest of the winter, get er done! I wrote a short little thing on Northern Farmer a few minutes ago. About an experience this week that taught me something.

I’ve been busy tracking down some books and old films on healing. I’m finding them, but it’ll take a little bit to get them. Gotta do it all the old fashioned way, call for a catalog, order and write em a check cause I don’t do credit cards. Makes me feel like a dinosaur, out of step with  the modern ways, but we survive. Might not be as convenient, but things get done just the same. Just never had much interest in doing them kinda transactions. Figure they already got my SS number, no need to get more numbers on me. Kinda a cash man myself.

Can’t make donations online to ministries, but that’s OK too. I figure if I donate I’ll just write out a check and send it. Now there’s two ministries I support that ain’t here by us. One is Tommy Bates Ministries and the other is Holy Ghost Online. Both have helped me beyond measure, and I want to help them both spread the word! There are others that I pray for and also help any other way possible. But one rule I have when giving is if who ever we send a donation to starts sending us a ton of junk mail, promising miracles for the money, the brakes are locked. No more! It’s hard for me to swallow this, send your seed and receive your miracle stuff. No, just don’t get into that stuff.

I won’t go into that anymore, it’s just a simple statement, I won’t have anything to do with that stuff. Somehow I don’t feel good when I hear those messages, not at all. Something is wrong. Well, maybe I will get into it a bit. What ever happened to just having faith in Jesus? My humble opinion is that today the church is a wreck because of all this garbage, about paying for your miracle. It really bothers me. No wonder the church is just a weak faltering thing. No wonder generations turn away from garbage like this.  What about church’s that worship God, have faith in God and allow God to move? You know, our little church is about the farthest thing from perfect as you can get, but I’ve seen moves of God that would outdo those big ministries that want “seed money” for your miracle. And I ain’t kidding!

I sometimes can’t believe where God has placed us cause I know a major move of God is near. I do believe it’ll happen where the “wise” would never suspect. We don’t have flashing lights, or big praise teams, or multiple praise teams, none of that. Heck, we don’t even have a bathroom in the church! How’s that for big time. But there’s something special with that little group of people, a hunger, a simple hunger. Some more than other, but it’s there.

Lamentations

Just got done eating some supper after a day out in the snow. And now they’re talkin that we’re supposed to have some more tomorrow. Everything is cleaned up real nice right now as far as the first snow goes and a snowfall during the week is allot less pressure on me. Don’t have to work like mad to get to church or anything like that. This past weekend was a little tough but we still made it. Just had to get to work much earlier and try and get things done around here. Then after church get right back at it. Funny how life is actually easier during the week, well, there’s more work but no worries about getting anywhere really. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to wake up on a Sunday and take it easy for a while and then head to church all refreshed, get done with church and take the rest of the day easy or go do something to relax or something. But it ain’t that way and it won’t be that way as far as I can see.

Just the mere fact of getting to church requires allot of sacrifice, earlier hours and a bit of a rush. One thing I’ve noticed, and this ain’t picking on any certain folks or anything like that, is that the folks that have to go that extra mile to get to church, sacrificing their time, working harder to make it, seem to attend more than many who have nothing else to do. Again, I’m not singling out people, or being self righteous or anything like that. But some things are just plain truth. This just got me thinking and yes that’s how I write, with not the slightest idea what I’m going to write about when I start, got me thinking about how folks were in the past, compared to now. Again, that word sacrifice. The poor folk years ago sacrificed allot and made their little church’s a hum of activity, the center of their lives. And they’d be beat tired going there all the time, work was work then unlike many things now.

But them folks were hungry for them old Holy Ghost meetings because the tiredness and worries of the world just melted away! Them little church’s literally rocked with those folks worshiping and praising their Lord with all they had. Nowadays I figure everyone thinks they’re so important they don’t want to be seen acting like those poor folks years ago. And with self importance comes reasons for not attending church so much, or else saying that I don’t have enough time in my busy lifestyle of basically doing nothing important.

If I was to title this post after a book in the Bible I’d call it Lamentations, because it just tears me down. What I’d give to see folks coming to Christ and having a Book of Acts church once again. What I’d give to see God working powerfully with these people and the faith spreading like it did in the Book of Acts and again in America for more than the first half of the last century. What I’d give to see folks coming into church from the surrounding area, getting healed of terrible diseases and afflictions, coming to Christ. But what I see is a the saved church folks always in the healing lines, over and over instead of bursting out into the area bring new folks in. The unsaved sick and afflicted can’t get to the healing lines because they’re full of saved church folks! Something is upside down nowadays, something just ain’t right.

Lord help me, I don’t want to spend my life just being a church goer, a pew warmer. No, if that’s what it is I’d probably rather not be saved. I can’t stand inaction. I can’t stand reading the Bible and discovering all the wonderful works of God and His people and sit around and do nothing. I don’t want church! I don’t want for it to be a social club, even if it’s a durn good social club. Maybe it’s just me but there’s a burning inside and I can’t stop it. I see us praying in church for our sick and a rage almost comes over me, why are we letting the devil keep us cornered, we should be going through the area bring Christ’s forgiveness and healing to the multitudes, not coming in defeated week after week. The church is so weak, so, so weak. And as I write this I want to make one thing clear, I’m blasting at myself here, not blasting at “them”. Rage comes not at others but at my own professionals pew sitting, never hardly stepping out in faith like I should. Now anybody at our church will tell you I do allot of stuff at church, but to me it’s not enough. Not hardly anything. Sure I can do many things, switch into a different job on the spot, involved in many things. But when a person leaves the safety of church there’s very little difference. Who did I bring Christ too? Who did I help as the Lord commands? Not many I can tell you that. Who did I pray over to drive some demonic sickness out, no one. I see the sick and a rage boils up inside of me, at first I thought it was a rage at the devil, which it is in part, but more so a rage at myself for being so inactive and not stepping out in faith when ever and where ever it’s required.

Lord help me. I could sit here and blame and blame and blame how the church doesn’t do this or doesn’t do that, but would it be truthful? I don’t think so. What right have I to even complain, when I’m more guilty than most. By guilt I mean this. Sure I do many things in church, sure I attend more than many, sure I study and pray and do all the right things. Sure I’ve grown and grown at a tremendous rate these last couple of years passing many 20 or 30 years Christians up on knowledge and all of that. I know that, it’s not a brag, its just fact. But until I put out that foot and take a step of faith, its nothing. Just nothing. That’s my rage!

Lord, just guide me, yes, just guide me. There’s a song that I love and here’s the link, it’s on Holy Ghost Online, probably my favorite site on the internet. Just click here:   http://www.holyghostonline.com/sound/An_Unseen_Hand.mp3