Summer 2023-Enjoying the Mild Temps and the Holy Spirit's Work

 Haven't blogged in so long.  In fact, pretty sure the next blog will be a vlog-or what some might call a podcast.  It just takes less time and you can reach so many more with the video tool these days!

So, yes it is amazingly mild in Bullhead City these last really 6 weeks.  We have had below average temps-with very little really hot days so far.  In fact I continue to spend time in my outdoor office enjoying the really, dry, warm and comfortable weather.  Right now it's almost noon and it is barely above 90 which for us desert rats with no humidity is really the perfect weather.  

God has given great weather and some great things going on at the place of the Gospel, Trinity Baptist.  We have seen a person repent and believe in Jesus with several others seeking and wanting to follow Jesus.  Out of nowhere God sends people that need Him.  What should we do? Do the work of the ministry and reach out to all that need the Gospel.  God is also challenging many of us to read and study the Bible intensely.  I'm enjoying counseling some of our young people about their future goals and paths.  We recently challenged four high school seniors to go out and serve Jesus with thief lives.  June 2023 might be an important marker for many under the ministry of Trinity.  Let's pray for the Work to make a difference in our community!  Let's pray for our young people to rise up and take on the responsibility of sharing the Jesus walk!   

Healing Prayers Needed

May God bless all of you in this new way of living.  The world is in quarantine mode and many of us are probably feeling a little claustrophobic.  It is such a different mentality.  I'm waking up and acting like a Pastor.  Being a pastor of  church is like having your own business.  You make your own schedule in most cases and seek God as you take care of tasks needed for the believers.  Although, I'm continuing teaching, I'm in such a different mode.  I have much more time to think, pray and not be busy. 

During this time may we all be in prayer for those struggling with this disease.  You might have heard the questions-"do you know anyone that has the COVID-19 Virus."  I've heard that question posted over and over again.  Up until last night I didn't know anyone.  One of my niece's friends Dad died two weeks ago to COVID-19.  That was as close as I have come to actually knowing someone with the disease.  Last night a childhood friend and her family I found out are all infected.  My family grew up with a missionary family to France as one of my parent's best friends.  We used to send cassette tapes and our moms would talk for at least an hour-just visiting with one another.  On those tapes we talked with our counterparts.  The Bittner family had kids that were almost the same age as all of the Evins 5 kids.  Malea was the youngest of the Bittner's.  She followed in her parents footsteps and ministers to the French speaking part of Belgium.  We heard yesterday that their family has all come down with the Virus.  Malea is suffering with strong symptoms.  Let us stop and pray for Malea and Ted Winston and family.  They are involved in youth evangelism in Belgium.  Another related person, Valerie, who is the niece of Malea and daughter of our Trinity Baptist Missionaries, Mike and Melanie Webster also has the virus.  Let us pray that God would proved healing and comfort for these our friends.  May God use this situation for the Glory of God.  May we as believers trust Jesus and act with hope of heaven.  Let us be intentional in our witness in the isolation.  May these words from Colossians encourage your hearts:  James 5:

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Upside Down!

That's how I feel.  Do you?  Its truly a different world in just two weeks.  Its amusing to observe many of my teaching colleagues who have been teaching all of their lives and have sent their children off to school every day.  They now are in home school mode.  Well, many of us have been there and done that.  Right?  At least 50% of the folks in our town are now unemployed.  Some will be taken care of with the stimulus package.  But, we all have to start looking ahead on how we are going to survive this wild time.  Our God is good and He always provides for his own.  Today we were reading in Luke 6.  Such encouraging teaching from the Savior.  Luke 6 is all about Kingdom Living.  Living like sons and daughters of the King of Kings.  But we might be in for more of how the King lived while he walked this earth.  We are forced to live the simple life.  Jesus in these words teaches the Beatitudes, asks us to "turn the other cheek and produce good fruit.  Goals!  Yes, Goals for Coronalife 20.  We have more time.  We can now be intentional in living for the King.  Love, do good, be meek, and all the other humbling things that God asks us to do.  Hmmmm.  Maybe a slow down will make us more intentional in being a son or daughter of King Jesus!

Lots of amazing teaching here:  Luke 6  20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes
Love Your Enemies

24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic[b] either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

A Coronavid 19 World

Its like nothing most of us have ever experienced.  Over the last 10 years there have been scores and scores of movies telling of a post-apocalyptic world where disaster strikes and the life of the citizens of the world becomes very difficult.  Unless you are nearly 90 and lived through World War II you probably haven't experienced anything like what's going on this last week.  This is nothing like a nuclear disaster or what some people in this world are experiencing as they try to survive bloody wars.  Americans have been asked to sacrifice.  Sacrifice their freedom's, entertainment, jobs and other hugely important things.  Las Vegas is dark tonight.  Really?  These days are immense-are they not?  What is our response?  What should we as believers do?  How are we to respond.  Let us be peacemakers, let us be "the light" as Jesus would be.  Let us not fear but speak of hope.  

Hoarding is one of the most selfish actions that I have seen in this last week.  This behavior demonstrates a lack of community and caring for others.  If you are one of Jesus' I hope this is not you.  I hope you would ignore those who have become the most immediate problem for many.  In fact, the right response is to give away anything that you have robbed from others in hoarding.  

What words give the most comfort in this week like none other?  Its the words of Paul from Philippians 1-3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,[d] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.  I love these brothers in Philippi.  They lived in perhaps the most difficult times of all the early believers, yet they were the greatest of all.  They lived genuine lives of grace, humility and love.  They lived without fear.  Paul shows his gratitude for all they did for him and also shows the example that he demonstrates in difficulties in these verses.  May we be like the Philippians and Paul during these perilous and difficult times! 

Finally Found My Blogs!

Today is March 18th, 2020 and its been a long time since I posted a blog here.  For some reason I could not find my blog in searching for my google account over the last almost 3 years.  Not that I was posting all that much-but its good to capture my life in both my blogs-this one for the church and the one I posted for Caleb's journey with Leukemia.  This week has been a crazy one and I want to leave my thoughts at out newly designed website with a link to this blog.  The next post will be my thoughts on The Coronavid 19 World.  Its earth shattering!  But, so glad I have my blogs back!

God is on the Throne in 2016

2015 has come and gone.  It has been a year of change for our church.  We have seen more graduates leave our church and city to pursue college goals. They sure are missed-but God is continuing to work in the lives of our children, youth and families.

This year has brought some troubling change to our society.  What God tells us is right has been challenged by our government-so that right is now wrong and wrong is right-according to our government.  Thankfully we have a sure foundation in God's Word.  The absolute truth of Scripture never changes.  May our country never take away our freedom to practice the truth of God's Word.  Unfortunately, there may be more attacks on truth in the years ahead.  May all of us who know the truth take a stand for what is right when we can.  May we seek God's Word in 2016 so we know it well.  May we search the scriptures so that we may know the hope that is within us.

This year I am encouraging everyone to be intentional in their walk with God. Do you have a plan for studying and reading God's Word?  Would you like to read through the Bible in a year or two?  Would you like to focus on a short devotional plan?  There are many options and some great encouragements in the electronic world.  Below I've listed a few websites that might help you plan out an intentional plan to meat with God on a daily basis.  God is on the throne and he will be there for us through thick and thin.  We must reach out to him through His Word.  We can also be intentional in our fellowship with the believers.  We need to commit to being there with the believers in 2016.  I mean attending church regularly.  Just be there.  In Hebrews it tells us to no forsake the Assembly!  That is the church.  May we follow God's way with an intentional plan to get to know Him better in 2016.  He is on the throne no matter what the wold thinks is happening.

I'll end with a verse that we  looked at on New Year's Eve at our house.   This verse is a great encouragement and blessing to me as I look ahead to 2016:  On New Year's Eve we looked at a few scriptures that are great to consider for the New Year.

Isaiah 40:31  31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

These are encouraging words for this new year.

Here are few links in setting up plans to be in the Word in 2016:  

A great daily devotional by Chuck Swindoll-Biblical and Practical:
Chuck Swindoll's Daily Devotional

Bible Gateway's Reading Plans:  
Bible Gateway's Reading Plans

Spurgeon's 365 Day Plans
Spurgeon: Morning and Evenins

There are apps for most of these and you can have the reading emailed to you every day.  If you are wanting a hard copy version to order-Amazon is a great place to search.  You can find the above plans on Amazon.

If all of the above just confused you-talk to me at church and I'll order the tools for you to use.  Our church will take care of whatever the cost is to help someone study His Word.

A Week at Camp

If I had more time I would take it to tell of God's work at Ironwood over the last 20 years of our church.  This is God's place.  When you are coming in on the old Ironwood Cherokee Road and see the facilities for the first time it is breathtaking.  Most new wooders say things like how could a place like this be here in the desert.  There is only one reason-God did it.  God used a man named Walt Brock to have a vision for a place for kids and adults to get away from the things of the world to have chance to get to know the Savior and Creator of the universe.  Of folks from Bullhead City-I was the first person to visit Ironwood that first year as a counselor in 1983.  God worked in my life.  I grew more as a Christian that summer then perhaps any other except possibly since my days at Prescott Pines as a Junior High Camper when I dedicated my life to serve God!)  This is  God's place.

So the rest of this note is to our Trinity kids.  Many of us are praying that God would do a great work in your life and challenge you to serve God!  I pray that God would be real to you this week; that you would be open and honest with your counselors and the staff and that you would seek the answers to the tough questions in life-and above all listen to God working in your heart.  Have a great time, enjoy all the games-but listen to the Spiritual messages that you are hearing.

We all love you and are praying for you  earnestly!

A Great Perspective From a Pastor from Canada

What a tumultuous week for the church in America.  The Supreme Court ruling concerning marriage has seemed to have turned everyone into debaters and experts on the subject of marriage.  No matter what the SCOTUS has ruled we as believers must stand firm in the truth.  May we be strong in our faith and not be discouraged by the so-called  liberal experts on God's Word who despise those who believe in a inerrant infallible an inspired foundation(basically, this means that we believe all of God's Word is true, without error and comes from God Himself).  Our view of right and wrong is not changing like shifting sand in a Colorado River sand bar.  When it comes right down to it-one of the most important principles in this debate is if we are willing to say yes to the reliability and trustworthiness of God's Word.  I've been reading the liberals who would try to tell me that I believe my religious conviction about marriage between one man and one woman based on the book of Leviticus.  God gave us all of His Word for instruction-but thank God the law-based faith of the OT believers has been overtaken by the New Covenant and the gospel of Grace when Jesus came.  It doesn't mean I get no more teaching from Leviticus-but it does mean many of the practices of Leviticus are now done away with.  I seek out the New Testament story of grace for guidance.  I also look at the definition of marriage found in the very beginning in Genesis.  It is pretty clear-marriage is between one man and one woman.  Any other interpretation questions the true foundation that God's Word is.

With that being said-I'd like to share an article from a Pastor in Toronto.  Canada has been dealing with same-sex marriage for over a decade.  This pastor's perspective is encouraging and hopeful.  May we, the true Christian church in the USA, stay vigilant for truth no matter what obstacles our government may put in our way:

http://www.churchleaders.com/daily-buzz/257355-advice-sex-marriage-us-church-leaders-canadian.html