That Old Time Faith!

Well, its been a week since I wrote anything as far as new posts around here. I’ve been busier than normal with faith things, namely to learn as much as I can in as little time as possible. So besides the regular church stuff I’ve been cramming in the evenings till bedtime with the bible Studies from Pillar of Truth Ministries. This will slow down considerably once the ground dries up enough for me to get out and start the spring workload that’s piled up here. But until then, its get as much done as I can. These studies are a real blessing for me, simple, to the point and they are developing good study habits of the Word of God. That precious Word!

And besides all of that and all the things going on at our little church, today, Sunday, March 30th we had us J.C. Smith preaching there. And the church has a new sound system, a very good one, and I have a great CD of today’s sermon downloaded on this clunk of a computer now. Now if I could figure out how to podcast I could make many good sermons available that we are privileged to hear in that little country church. Isn’t it amazing how such things can come from a little country church in no where land! And after the service I was strangely shot, beat, tired, but went and visited some of the saints on the way home for a couple of hours before afternoon chores. It was a good day, witnessing great preaching and powerful healings! I’d bet that there ain’t to many places in America today where someone could witness this happening anymore, sad to say. But for some reason its happening here.

Sometimes I wonder about all of this, why in that little church are folks so hungry for God? They sure are and it ain’t fake! Its almost like there’s a breakthrough about to happen, a going back to the basics when God moved strongly like years ago in the simple country churches. And I wonder, because as I stumble bum through faith matters there’s so many things I’m learning from all of this that I know I couldn’t get any where else that I know of around here. Not in the most on the move churches could a person ever hope to get even near what’s happening when a simple people chase after God, as in the days of yesteryear. Today Rev. Smith called me up there to witness a healing. An incredible healing. One of the church members brought some of his relation to church, maybe for the first time there, and one of them had a shorter leg. J.C. had myself and another lady witness this close up. Got my nose right down there where the man was sitting and observed close up. And I witnessed the shorter leg stretch out to become the same length as the longer one! There were many more dramatic healings and people coming to God, but I seen something like this on one of the healing videos one this blog from the healing revivals of yesteryear, but I gotta tell you, when you see it happening only a few inches away from your eyes, there’s no man or woman that can ever tell you different! What a privilege to witness God’s love and power right before your eyes! What the world scoffs off as impossible is real!

There were many other things that happened there, but for myself, I don’t have to rely on old videos to see the wonders of God’s healing ministry! In December, January and now March, I’ve witnessed close up and personal many, many healings along with deliverances! So where does this put me in the eyes of many nowadays. Well, I figure just writing things like this will make it so I’m laughed at, scoffed at, or called a liar. Doesn’t matter much, because I know what I know! This is what God wants! to be glorified!

So where does it all go from here. Well, I have no clear direction yet, the biggest burden on my heart is to learn as much as I can as fast as I can. To be prepared for what there is to do shortly in this area. This dual education, of studying and witnessing God’s power and majesty is a rare thing nowadays, a privilege for sure. But I sometimes wonder, why us folks out here? We’re basically nothings in this world. Just simple folks for the most part. But we’re seeing and living what most people can only hope to look back on in some videos or books. Will all this be wasted? I pray not! But one thing J.C. said today was burned into my heart till the day I cross that old river Jordan. It’s about when God looks down and sees a church He doesn’t call it by its man given name. He calls it the church of whatever town or location its in. And that goes for our homes too, the homes of believers which are God’s church. Well, from now on we’re the Church of Dairy Road in this house that belong to the church of Burtrum.

Allot to chew on today, allot. So much happening that its got me in a whirl sometimes. But a good whirl!

Easter Evening

Easter evening here and I wrote a post on Northern Farmer a bit ago. Since writing that I’ve completed three lessons in the Walking With Jesus series and want to do one more tonight. As long as I’m stuck in the house with the weather I want to really pour on the coals, get as many lessons done as possible because these free evenings are swiftly coming to an end soon. About all I can do tonight is praise the Lord for His goodness and His watching over us, basically what I wrote on NF blog.

Gotta butcher two steers tomorrow morning and what happens after that I have no idea. But something will that’s for sure. This Wednesday night things will return to normal and I’ll be heading back to children’s church and doing whatever I do there. I really enjoy those kids as of late, might be because I have an idea on what I’m doing. Makes a difference. We’ll be continuing about the gospels and that can really be easy with all this studying that I’ve been doing. Not much need to figure out what I’ll teach before hand, it just comes! Its almost like there’s never enough time in there, can’t even begin to cover what I want to get across, but what gets across has been sticking in them kid’s hearts and that’s what’s important.

So off I go again upstairs and try and complete one more lesson tonight!

A Wednesday Post

  Figured I should write something tonight cause I get tired of scrolling down a mile to get to the recent comments. But all goes well around here, the snow we got a couple of days ago is already melted off, turned into precious water, and they’re talkin another snow coming tomorrow night around here. This time of year they’re practically all wet snows with lots of moister in it. No church tonight because there’s church on Friday. So here we are on a Wednesday evening just sitting around home. It’s nice outside but I get tired of sloshing in mud and manure all day and its nice to be in a nice dry house.

I finished that Kenneth Hagin book, the Midas Touch and it sure was a good one in setting things straight about all the prosperity preaching going around nowadays. If there seems to be anyone that can set things straight it was old Brother Hagin! About as level headed as a person could possibly get. You know, a person can get all confused with so much of the garbage out there and its nice to get straightened out right from the Word of God like that. And in that book the Midas Touch, Bro Hagin never leans on one verse, he relies on multiple verses that confirm what he’s saying. Needs the testimonies of multiple verses before its setted. Makes sense to me.

So I’d better get myself all cleaned up and get back at it around here with the studies while the going is easy, before the spring work hits full brunt. Then I’ll just try to squeeze out a lesson here and there as time permits. But Glory, how I love studying direct out of the old Bible! Finished the first course and now am starting the second two credit course titled “Walking With Jesus”. Taking it chapter by chapter, starting with Matthew. Dissecting the verses and getting a whole lot out of them. God is Good!

Blessed

   Well I’m starting to get the fever, the spring fever that is. There’s water running around here and the snow is slowly melting. Just got back from the big city, well not exactly the big one in Minnesota but anything over 500 folks and one traffic light is to big for me. Went to the Fleet store to use up a couple small Christmas gift card before we forget about them or else the store does and I just meandered around for an hour and then toodled home. Submitted an online Bible college lesson and now I’m done with that for today. I tell you, those studies are keeping me busy every evening. And I love being able to do it online instead of the mail. No lag time and every day just work on and submit a lesson or two. Who knows, in a few years I might even graduate, wouldn’t that be something else. I never had a high education except for the school of hard knocks, although a person can learn quite a bit that way let me tell you. But I’ll justa keep doing what I’m doing, going thru the Bible durn near verse by verse and seeing what those verses say. Amazing how there’s so much in a verse and when a person is just doing a general reading of the good Book I don’t really notice so much of what’s in em.

But now that I got my yearly trip to the city under the belt life can return to normal around here. I don’t feel like ranting tonight, nope, what good does it do sometimes, time to just enjoy what we got, even if it ain’t all that much. Well, not that much when compared to what’s considered normal in tis day and age. But you know, even with the droughts draining away finances around here we still are like kings. We got so much food to eat that it would blow away the average American. Just had us some bacon and hams smoked in a little town three miles away and I tell you, I don’t think the hams and bacons in heaven will be that much better than this stuff, this stuff is great! I mean I could sit down and make a meal out of only bacon its so durn good! Nothing like that store bought stuff, plus those hogs were fed the old fashioned way by yours truly. None of this corn/soybean diet. Just some oats slop, kitchen leftovers and all sorts of goodies, and the last three weeks finished them off on some old fashioned Minnesota 13 corn. It don’t get any better than that!

I’m getting all excited because if I talk food that’s what happens to me! Especially home grown stuff. I know I’ve been dwelling on all that modern prosperity preaching lately, but tonight all I can say is the Lord is prospering us greatly out here! And I mean that! Our walk with the Lord grows every single day, we’re happy even when there are reasons not to be according to worldly standards. Things just keep falling in our lap, good stuff, not materialist stuff, but friends and new friends. People of faith finding us or we’re finding them. There’s lessons we learn from some of the hardships that have and are being dealt us, but Praise His Name through it all we’ll come out stronger! We see things happening in the church in central Minnesota that make us sick deep in the gut, but Praise His Name, we’re being shown how the modern church is falling asleep at the wheel instead of being blind to it. By that I mean all the things that I’ve been writing about lately. We are being shown the ugly side of religion in churches I once thought were really strong in the Lord.

This bothered me allot for a long time until I realized we are being shown this for a reason. And its our responsibility to walk the walk, even if many of the churches are falling away and getting deeper into humanism and all of that. We were placed here for a time such as this and I can see that more and more. And there are a few little hidden out of the way churches that are still searching for and finding God. I believe with all of my heart that God has got everything under control even when it looks bleak in the area. He will always be waking up a few and building up His church even when it looks hopeless. I see it myself, people waking up that is. I see things fall right into our lap, things that I would have never imagined a year ago. I’m talking spiritual things here. Yup, even when it almost seems hopeless I can give God the Praise because its never hopeless when God is on the move! When so many churches are only interested in pleasing the people and not pleasing God, things start happening in the most unlikely places and in the most unlikely people. There will be a people being raised up to proclaim the Gospel if the churches refuse to do it. There will be those that will be shunned by the high and mighty church elite that “will” do the job they were called by God to do! Because what’s impossible for man is easy for God.

Oh Glory, even with everything seemingly going down the tubes all I can do is give Him Praise! Because a few short years ago I was lost and now I’m found and that was considered impossible by most church standards, believe me! God took me and changed me where this modern society said it was impossible. And I know that nobody can tell me different! And when God does that, there’s only one thing I can do and that’s follow Him, to not cow down and submit to what’s considered normal in Christian circles in this day and age. Nope, just won’t do it! The Gospel was meant for all men and not just a few. Glory to God!

Kenneth Hagin’s Forgotten Warning, a New Page

I’ve put another “page” on the side bar on this old blog titled “Kenneth Hagin’s Forgotten Warning“. There are very few things that had me more confused than the modern prosperity preaching that is so rampant today, aimed at wooing the hearts of materialist carnal Christians. The more and more I read the Bible I can without any doubt say that this movement is totally unscriptural and I do believe it issues from the pits of hell itself. When hearing these preachings nowadays I always, and I mean always get a sick feeling in the gut, something is totally out of place, something is terribly wrong.

I cut my spiritual teeth on book after book written by Kenneth Hagin, (borrowed from Rev Josh and still not returned, cough), and nowhere did I ever get the sense of something wrong. In my humble opinion the ministry of Kenneth Hagin was really following God. But as with many things it can be totally turned the opposite direction by people that want to fulfill their own carnal desires. This won’t make me the most popular person on the block, (or in the back forty), but I do believe that most of the so called prosperity preaching today will turn millions away from Christ.

I feel like a heritic sometimes when I say that I’m satisfied the way God takes care of our family. I feel like an out of place outcast when people tell me to “speak it and receive it”.

1 John 5:14-15

14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

I don’t know if its just me, but I see the words “according to His will” in the verses above, not according to “our” will. So I’ll chew on this for a while, and I can say that today, in the mail, I received some junk mail from Breakthrough Ministries. They want folks to send their whole paycheck in so they can receive their “miracle”. Now armed with this statement from that country preacher Kenneth Hagin I can see that Breakthrough Ministries has failed in absolutely every point that Bro Hagin brought up. Every one! And they’re not the only ones out there doing this teaching from hell. There’s allot more.

I’m very grateful that I came across this article about Kenneth Hagin, because its good to see the truth in these days and times. Never did I get this so called modern prosperity message reading all those Kenneth Hagin books. His writings were always right on scripturally and I couldn’t understand about all these people saying speak it and receive it. That is until I read about the occult influence, a very strong one, that’s planting these ideas in the main stream full gospel churches.

So to whoever is interested, make sure you read what Kenneth Hagin warned about a few years ago.

Just Plain Tired

I’m really tired tonight, musta been all the coffee I drank last night at church and then stayed awake half the night, one of them things. But today we stuffed and smoked about a hundred pounds of sausage. I think it was eighty five pounds of pork and fifteen pounds of beef mixed. Just had us some a while ago for supper and I must say that this was a good batch! Nothing I love to eat more than our home made sausage, that is unless its our home grown pepper bacon which I’m heavily addicted to. Good stuff! I always figure that the best foods have a little spice in them to give it a little kick. Just me I guess. So other than that things are still on cruise around here, to cold to clean pens and the pack is getting deeper everyday. Its been a few years since winter has hung on like it has this year. But when it changes it can come fast.

Just got done with my nightly lesson, Bible lesson that is. This second schooling that I signed up for is more my style of studying, the only textbook is the Bible. And it really gets down verse by verse. I never realized there was so much stuff in all these what I thought were simple verses. But there’s a load of wisdom in every one it seems. This is how I like to study, in the book that really counts. I still read books and books every night, mostly the smaller books by Kenneth Hagin, some Smith Wigglesworth sermons, things like that and they are so, so good. But the Bible is thee one I’m really drawn to. And with years of studies ahead of me I don’t have to worry about what to study next.

Sometimes I ask myself and I’m sure others sometimes wonder how come I always want to be studying these things. I don’t rightly know, except that I do know that there’s such a hunger and it never gets satisfied. I mean there’s no way that I’ll ever finish and know it all, more than likely won’t know all to much but just keep on pluggin. just got done telling my wife how much I think this all fits into the way we live our life here. Just like when I’d mention the old farmer/preachers of years gone by. I think its a natural fit. Sometimes I wonder how come there ain’t more of that anymore until I realize that people are more segmented in their lives nowadays compared to years ago. Now it seems like a person gets done with the job that they figure they are called to do in life and they plop their butt down in front of a TV or something. Call it a day. Something that I never could do.

Work all day and talk with our Lord and when the work is done just get back into more of Him through His Word. And a couple times a week head for church and get together with the saints for worship and fellowship. It fits, it fits more natural than anything else I could imagine. And soon will be the spring crush of work, in fact that crush doesn’t end till next winter starts, but these last few years it seems like its gone better and easier even though we rarely miss a church service and continue studying the Word in the late evenings. I do believe that God takes care of those that seek Him and He ain’t gonna let us down because we are spending that little bit of spare time seeking His presence. So bit by bit I’m starting to realize that there can be a very good life seeking God, preaching the Gospel, and still farm full time. I’da never believed it if a person would have told me that even a couple years ago.

But like I say, I’m really tired tonight and I still haven’t done my nightly Bible reading in the Book of Numbers, (egad!), and if I can make it through two chapters of that without nodding off I figure I’m really doing good! But at least in looking ahead one can see the end of those books in sight near the end of March. Got me some pocket Bibles, ordered ten of them. They’re the full Bible, old and new, “easy to read” version, really that’s what they’re called, although I must say you do need a pocket a little bigger than one a snuff can fits in comfortably, but they’re still smaller than normal Bibles. That way I can read them in the busy season on the farm during the day, here and there when there’s a moment or two. Got ten of them for now, you never know when there’l be an opportunity to give one to someone. And it helps when a person is given a Bible that they can easily understand it. These ain’t for some deep theological studies, just the Word getting to the regular folks. Maybe soon I’ll set up a thing on my blogs to give them away to some folks that really don’t have any Bibles around. And a person would be surprised how many folks don’t have any nowadays.

Well I was going to write a short one just to let folks know what I’m up to, but just rambled on here tonight about nothing earth shakingly important. That’s OK, we all have our days and today’s one of mine. Tired, tired and tired! Hopefully I’ll be all rested up for tomorrow’s cold day.

To Whom Shall We Go?

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. John 6:66-69

In the Gospels these few lines have always struck me, deep. When Jesus asked the remaining disciples if they’d also leave Him. Talk about gut wrenching. Most everyone picking up and leaving Jesus. Most everybody taking off for what they figure were greener pastures when confronted with the truth. To me these verses are very personal because a person always has it in them to walk away from our Lord and Savior just like most of His followers did back then. And these people witnessed His miracles, His healings and all the other wonders that He preformed. They listened to Him personally, walking, talking with the Living Son of God. And still so many walked away.

Why does it hit me in the gut so hard reading these lines over and over through the years? Why do I feel uncomfortable when faced with this Gospel story? Might be because a person is always so close to walking away from Jesus everyday. And how many times every day do we walk away from Him? I know that I do all to often, every day. But its times like now when I just take a moment to pause and dwell on everything He has done for me every minute of the day and night that I almost have to come crawling back to Him. Because where do we go if we don’t follow Him. That’s what Peter asked, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”

How true. Lord to whom if not You? When I think about it, there is now where else to go, not one single place other than Jesus, not one. There’s not one single thing in the world more important, not one. Not family, because without Jesus its all in vain anyhow. Not the farm because what is there on the farm that’s worth anything without Jesus. Not vacations, riches, power or anything else the world could ever offer, there’s absolutely nothing without Jesus. And all the things the world offers will be destroyed in the end so as Peter said in my words, “where’d we go?”

During the day who’d we talk to while working the hours away? During the night before sleep or when we wake up who’d there be for us if we walked away from Jesus? Who could we share our deepest concerns with? Who would listen or even care? Who could we trust and be comforted in? “To whom would we go?”

The only thing in life that can cause fear is the thought of leaving Jesus, because He will never leave us. And that fear is so strong that I can;t even imagine the outcome. Is this one of the aspects of “fear of the Lord”? The fear of separation from Him. I know I’m not worthy for anything that He gives, not one single thing, even in my best moments. But He gave us the greatest gift that anyone could ever even dare to imagine. Walk away, I don’t think I could ever bear it for very long. From the first moment I’d realize there was something terribly wrong, without Him.

Oh Lord, I thank you for loving us, I thank you for accepting us as we come to you with nothing that could ever repay what you have done for us. What ever happens in life, what ever happens in this world I know you’ll be there for those who believe that you are the Son of God and that you suffered and died for us and then arose from the dead in victory, the greatest victory ever when you destroyed death. You took on all my vile sins on that old rugged cross, you felt my dirtiness and you died because of me. No one else ever has or ever will do that. You are my God and there are no others to whom I will go.

Hillbilly Praying Through

A Saturday evening and all is well out this way tonight. Farm’s in good shape considering the lean winter we’ve had with a severe lack of feed for the critters. The count down is on and I’m looking forward to a little over a couple of months from now when those cattle can get the boot and get on grass and I can quit feeding those things! Lord, I pray for rain this year and also pray that things return to a more normal year out here in farm country. But what ever happens I know God is looking out for us. These droughts might seem big now but in the big picture they really don’t mean all that much. Ten million years from now I don’t think I’ll be worrying about it all that much. Last night in Bible college studies they had a good DVD about praying through like the oldtimers did. That’s a thing that’s very rarely done nowadays and they sure made sure they stated that fact in the DVD. Of coarse when they started talkin about the oldtimers praying through my attention span really went up, quick!

Because I want what they had! Just walk in faith, don’t turn to the right or the left. If God said it, I believe it! Simple, but its severely lacking today. Maybe we don’t want to look so simple or something. Well, I’m simple, I live the way I live and that’s that for that. If Jesus said it then that’s the truth! The Bible is the Word of God, not just some guidelines for better living. If I never get rich here on this earth I ain’t worrying that I’m not in the will of God like so many preach nowadays. Because the more I read it the more I see the Bible says allot of things differently than what considered normal preaching nowadays. Maybe its dangerous to read the Bible because when a person does he or she will sure come to a different conclusion then many modern churches preach today. I might have to get deprogrammed one of these days if someone wants to make me a modern day Christian.

What got to me last evening studying about “praying through” is the fact that I realized that this is how I’ve been doing it without knowing the definition properly. Now I am about the worst public praying person anyone could ever see. I can stutter, stumble, whatever when put on the spot to say a prayer in front of folks. But I’d better start to realize that when I pray I ain’t out to impress anybody that’s here abouts. Just like all those hours doing chores everyday, just ah praying away, justa talkin to God almost from start to finish, everyday. Its different here I tell you. Hour after hour, day after day a person can talk with God without much interruption. Funny part is, and I’da never hardly believed this a few years back, its that He talks back. That inner voice will all of a sudden answer questions, bring up scriptures, you just about name it, it flows. I figured that this is what the oldtimers must have had figured out. Everything everyday is brought to God, not nagging and demanding, but just every aspect of life is talked over every day. And when you hear of others in need just talk with God about them too. In fact this is taking up more and more of these conversations, asking God to bless and help others. I figure God’s taking pretty good care of us and I’d sure like to have Him spread it around a little.

Well, after writing like this I sure don’t think that I’ll receive the Christian Heavy Thinker of the Year Award, but that’s OK with me. Won’t get much as far as theology around this here blog. Won’t get much about big problems in the world and the church either. But with some fiddle music playing in the back round here and some old time mountain singers singing “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be”, I’m happy! Does that mean I don’t care about all that’s going on in the world and the church? No. Because I know that no matter what happens we have our God that’ll see us through here and forever! We got a job to do being we’re Christians and we’ll do it with everything we got! If the world and the church figures we’re not normal well, that’s fine with me!