Why I am Thankful

 On a sunny Spring morning during the first COVID outbreak, I sat in our backyard marveling at the abundance of life in front of me. I watched hummingbirds flit around the feeders Kristina had hung from our porch rafters. A pair of mallards were drifting through our swimming pool. Dove and quail pecked at tiny seeds embedded around our plants. Butterflies pranced atop green bushes and bees hummed as they bounced atop yellow and purple flowers in our garden.

These beautiful little beings were living without concerns about COVID, wars, economic conditions or politics. They were giving me a fresh perspective. Sometimes we get robbed of the blessing right in front of us because we are too concerned about issues beyond our control.

It’s challenging to keep abreast of world affairs and enjoy life at the same time. I try to stay aware of current events so I can pray effectively and use my influence wisely. The solution is not avoiding the news or claiming that God is sovereign, therefore he is going to do whatever he wants without our participation. The prayers of Elijah stopped the rain for three years to bring Israel to repentance. “The prayers of a righteous person have great power.” James 5:16.

I pray with intensity about my concerns, but there is a truth from Hebrews 1 that helps me relax. Jesus “loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God anointed him with joy above his companions.” Jesus knew better than anyone the evils that were corrupting mankind, yet he wasn’t depressed or anxious. He proclaimed the kingdom of God with power, drove out demons and healed the sick. At the same time, God blessed him with joy as he lived on earth.

After I finish my morning Bible study, I usually read the Arizona Republic and the Wall Street Journal while I eat breakfast. One recent morning, the papers had stories about Ukraine, Israel, AI dangers and iPhone thieves. I stopped reading and began to pray. I felt the Holy Spirit lift my heart with grace. I was immediately strengthened and encouraged. I felt like shouting to the world, “You don’t have to fight with each other! Jesus is alive and God can hear your prayers!”

Ever since the Lord began to reveal himself to me, I have tried to tell people that Jesus is alive. I’ve proclaimed the resurrection to hitchhikers, on airplanes, on radio and TV programs and through thousands of sermons and Bible studies. I’ve invited strangers into my home and shared the gospel in parks, on street corners and door to door. Some of these approaches have been more successful than others.

Our encounters with the Holy Spirit are confirmation of the message of Jesus. He promised the disciples would receive the Spirit when he went to the Father (John 14). He also said we would be better off when the Holy Spirit came to us (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit comes to refresh and empower us to share the gospel and to confirm our hearts have been cleansed of sin by the blood of Christ.

I can get obsessed with political battles, wars and economics because I want people to live in peace and stability. I also can get disturbed when people I love are getting divorced, using drugs or making bad decisions. I remind myself their trials will continue as long as they refuse to love God and obey his word. If I care more about the outcome of their trials than they do, it can make me crazy.

            As our next political season ramps up in intensity, I’m going to try my best to walk in the Spirit of Christ. I want to discuss the issues with wisdom and grace, especially when I disagree with people. I know many people whose lives have been transformed by the love of Jesus, but I know few people whose minds have been changed by my arguments.  Looking back, I also realize many things I once worried about never came to pass.

As I write this year-end Reflections, I have a thankful heart and want to praise God for these blessings:

I’m thankful for the many people who generously support our ministry.

I’m thankful for the leaders who keep Living Streams Church healthy.

I’m thankful for the unity of pastors throughout Arizona.

I’m thankful Kristina and I can share this season of life together.

I’m thankful I have many opportunities to preach and teach God’s word.

I’m thankful for my friends who bring joy to my heart.

I’m thankful for my health so I can work out, hike, fish and play golf.

I’m thankful for the freedom and abundance we have in America.

I’m thankful for our three children and four grandchildren.

I’m thankful to be able to send my Reflections and for you who enjoy them.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you with peace and joy.

Divine Dilemmas

Dilemma: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones.

A dilemma is what it means to be between a rock and a hard place. There are dilemmas being played out in the international arena right now that have captured the attention of the world.

Pope Francis is facing dilemmas as he seeks to lead the Catholic Church into relevant righteousness. He knows Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. He wants the church to be welcoming and loving to whosoever comes; yet, he cannot be true to Christ if he blesses people in their sin.

People who follow Jesus must change their behavior from self-serving, to God-honoring. This happens when they receive grace from Christ and experience transformation from the inside out. If the church blesses people in their sin, it is no longer preaching the gospel of salvation through the blood Christ. How to love the sinner and hate the sin is often a dilemma for believers.

Israel has been trying to remove Hamas from Gaza since October 7, when Hamas attacked and killed over 1,000 Israelis. Hamas continues to hold hostages and fire rockets into Israel. Israel wants to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages without killing civilians or the hostages. Since Hamas hides among the civilian population, Israel has a dilemma.

The longer it takes Israel to finish their operation in Gaza, the more pressure they get from nations around the world to stop the war. If they move too quickly, their soldiers are left vulnerable to Hamas’ traps and it is harder to rescue the hostages alive. This seems like a no-win situation for Israel.

Occasionally, we all are in situations in which we are in over our heads. We don’t have the resources to fix some problems which concern us the most. The more we care about the trials we face, the more agonizing they can be. The solution to our dilemmas is not to withdraw and care less about people. God allows our dilemmas so we will call on Him for wisdom and be transformed in the process.

The births of our children were each traumatic. Kristina was in labor with Matthew for over fifty hours after her water broke. Philip was born blue in a home birth and needed his lungs immediately suctioned out. Kelly was born at a friend’s house after we had to pull the car over on our way to the hospital. Kathryn’s umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck three times and her heart was decelerating.

We had to make decisions with life and death implications in each of these situations. The Holy Spirit guided us through these trials. The long term benefit for me was an increased confidence that I can depend on the guidance of the Spirit in times of crisis and good times as well.

I came to a simple conclusion: If God guides us when we call on him in times of crisis, then how much more can he give us wisdom and understanding if we seek him when we are not distracted by crisis. This insight continues to motivate me to seek the Lord.

I often counsel pastors and leaders who are facing dilemmas. They are squeezed by their love for their family member or church member on one hand, and their frustration over an intractable situation on the other hand. They desire to stay faithful to the Lord, so they resist anger and seek wisdom from God.

Many of our major trials are spiritual wars which we cannot control. To those in midst of these circumstances, I stress three fundamental truths. First, when you are in a spiritual war, everything you say and do, can and will be used against you. Therefore, do not say or do anything unless you are prepared for everyone involved in the conflict to know about it.

Second, though we don’t know the ultimate outcome of our trials, we do know God will ultimately work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, trust the Lord and stay close to him. Don’t compromise your faith by trying to comfort yourself in the midst of your pain in a way that will be harmful to your soul, or you will miss the blessing the Lord wants to give to you through your trials.

Finally, since you will be making decisions in this situation that have implications you can’t reverse, you need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your decision making. The Lord promises the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). As you learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow his lead in your trial, the redemptive aspect will be an increased ability for you to recognize and receive guidance from the Spirit for the rest of your life.

Your destiny will be shaped by how you respond to the dilemmas of life. The hotter the fire of your trials, the more blessing you will receive as God reveals himself and his purposes to you. The revealer of mysteries is your Father in Heaven. He loves you and is for you, now and forever.

Health and Happiness

Malcolm Gladwell has written several excellent books. One of my favorites is Outliers, in which Gladwell describes a close knit community of Italian-Americans who lived in Roseto, Pennsylvania. This community was studied by Dr Stewart Wolf and sociologist John Bruhn in the 1960’s because they had much lower incidences of heart disease, cancer, suicide, and other maladies than the general public.

The study wanted to determine whether the health benefits in the community were caused by diet, exercise or environment. After extensive research, they concluded that it was not red wine, olive oil, or the mountain air of Roseto that gave the community great health outcomes. The fact that they lived close together and cared for each other deeply were the reasons they were living healthier and happier lives.

In January the Wall Street Journal published an article called, “The Lifelong Power of Close Relationships.” The article reported on the findings of a Harvard study which has been tracking an original group of 724 men and women and 1300 of their descendants for the last 85 years.

Three generations of those in the study have been asked thousands of questions and been measured in hundreds of ways to determine what really makes people healthy and happy. They have discovered one crucial factor that links physical health, mental health and longevity. Surprisingly, it is not their careers, exercise or healthy diets that bring the biggest benefits to people, though those disciplines matter. The study clearly shows what matters more than anything else is close relationships.

Here is a quote from the article. In fact, close personal connections are significant enough that if we had to take all 85 years of the Harvard Study and boil it down to a single principle for living, one life investment that is supported by similar findings across a variety of other studies, it would be this: Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period.

We all want to live happy and healthy lives so we try many different things. Most people prioritize making money so they can be free to pursue the pleasures of life. We assume that wealth will give us the freedom to live where we want to live and do what we want to do every day. A strong desire for wealth assumes fulfillment comes from financial freedom. If that were the case, then the wealthiest people would be the happiest people on earth. Neither studies, nor personal experience bears that out. Wealthy people are as prone to addiction, depression, divorce and suicide as anyone else.

Jesus emphasized the Kingdom of God rather than wealth. Our relationship with God is what makes us secure and gives us peace. Peace and security are vital to the foundation of a fulfilled life. He said, “Blessed are the poor, because theirs is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). Often times the poor can see God’s faithfulness in providing for them. This gives them the blessing of feeling loved and cared for by the Creator himself. If you were broke in the past, you probably felt more loved when God provided for you than you feel today when you look at your bank balance.

In our affluent society, many people are preoccupied with health foods. Jesus cared a lot about health and healed people wherever he went. Yet, he deemphasized the Old Testament focus on diet when he said in Mathew 15:11, “It is not what goes into someone’s mouth that defiles them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Proverbs 17:1 says Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house full of feasting with strife.

Long before the Harvard Study began, Jesus Christ came to bring God’s kingdom to earth. He knew what people needed to experience health and happiness.  He commanded us to love one another, serve one another, give to one another and forgive each other. These are the foundation stones for close relationships.

I have the privilege to travel and speak at many churches each year. It is not the biggest churches where the Holy Spirit always moves most powerfully. The Spirit brings God’s blessed presence when believers love one another, live holy lives and worship with sincere hearts.

I don’t spend time or money to try to promote my ministry. This is not because I don’t want to have a big impact for Jesus. I want to reach as many people as possible with the good news of God’s grace in Christ. I simply believe that the best way to impact people for the Lord is to deeply love the people who are already in my life.

I’m happy when I make new friends and my sphere of influence widens. However, the example and teachings of Jesus show us that crowds are not our goal, expanding God’s kingdom is our goal. We do this most effectively by sharing our faith in Jesus and loving one another.

Jesus did not wait for people to come to him. He reached out and initiated relationships. He said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) We too need to constantly reach out to others. If you wait for people to call you and invite you into their lives, you will probably be disappointed by the results.

If Christ is in you, you have the power and ability to bless people. You either reach out with your love, or you waste your gifts. I email, text, send letters, write newsletters, make phone calls, and pray for the people I love. If the Lord gives me a word of encouragement or scripture for someone, I try to share it with them.

There are times when my calls and messages are not returned. One friend told me recently, “I saw that you were calling, but I didn’t want to talk to you.” I don’t like rejection, but my network of relationships is my field of ministry. I want to water and cultivate this field so that the people I love are blessed. If they don’t want my input that is their choice, however, I try to encourage my friends any way I can.

Our Father in Heaven loves us and from time to time he shows us that love in special ways. If we are doing our Father’s work, we too are loving his people. Jesus brought us a New Covenant. The New Covenant is a deep commitment from him to love us. In response we make a covenant to love him and to love one another for life.

Entering into covenant love with our Father in Heaven and one another brings more health and happiness than anything else.

Every Day is a Gift

 Kristina and I celebrated Mother’s Day this year at Talon Lodge, Kristina’s favorite place on earth. Talon is an eight-acre island two miles off the shore of Sitka, Alaska. The lodge and guest houses overlook a rugged beach and nearby islands. They sit among tall spruce trees, where bald eagles perch as they watch for careless fish to rise in the surrounding waters.  

Our friends Phil and Gwen Younger own Talon. Each May they bring a team of men and women to Sitka to prepare for their paying guests who will be arriving for the summer fishing season. We joined twenty people who landscaped, stained and cleaned for two days before we fished for two days.

We bonded with men from across the country as we worked to restore the grounds from the ravages of winter. We cleared trails, pulled weeds, pruned bushes, and planted strawberries, so the natural beauty of Talon sparkled.

As I was praying the morning of our first day of fishing, I had the distinct sense that it was going to be a special day. After breakfast, we got bundled up in rain gear and headed out to the fishing boats. There were six of us on each boat, along with a captain and deck hand.

We took a twenty minute ride in a boat powered by two huge outboard engines, passing humpback whales which were spouting and diving to feed on the abundant bait in the cool waters. When we reached the designated spot, our captain dropped anchor and told us to start fishing.

I cast my weighed anchovy bait, which dropped steadily to the gravel bed 120 feet below. When the bait touched the bottom, I began to reel it back up at a steady pace. Within seconds, I felt a tug on my line and the rod tip dipped towards the ocean. I pulled the rod up and it bent and shook as the strength of a big fish fought against my line.

My heart beat faster as I battled the fish. I didn’t want it to break off and escape. The fish came towards the surface for a while and then plunged deeper into the sea, taking out my line with its power. I reeled until my arm ached. Eventually, as it tired, the king salmon broke the surface of the sea.

As I pulled it towards the boat, the deck hand reached over the rail with a long handled net and scooped it into the nylon. He hoisted the flopping salmon up and onto the deck as my boatmates congratulated me.

I have caught a lot of king and coho salmon over the years, but it’s rare to catch one on the first cast of the day. I assumed the others would want to know my casting and reeling technique, but they showed no interest. I thought I would be catching many more that day, but I didn’t. I caught halibut and sea bass, but no more salmon.

As I thought about the sense God had given me of a special day, my perspective changed from the number of my fish to the experience itself. I was given a great fish, but it was a gift that had nothing to do with my skill or expertise. I had to put my line in the water, but the results after that were beyond my control. The same is true of ministry success. We have to speak the word and love people, but good results come by God’s grace.

On our second day of fishing, our captain took us beyond the shelter of the local islands into the open ocean. We were after the abundant halibut who thrive on the ocean floor. I was scared as we rode straight into giant waves that towered over our boat, spraying us with cold saltwater. I had been told there was nothing to fear, yet my heart was unsettled.

Once we dropped anchor and let down our lines, the fish started biting. I celebrated with my friend Brien as he shouted with joy after landing a 49-inch halibut.

After two hours, we had 12 halibut aboard and we headed back to calm waters.

I was mesmerized when a pod of orcas passed by our boat. These killer whales glided boldly through our fishing grounds, like bandits riding horses through the middle of town, daring the sheriff to stop them.

I thank God that Kristina had the strength to work and fish vigorously. As she approaches her 70th birthday, her new heart is going strong and her spirit is as healthy and feisty as ever.

“You are in the fourth quarter of life,” a friend said to me recently.

His statement did not make me happy, even though it’s true. Most of the time I don’t feel very old. Along with preaching, leading groups and mentoring leaders, I still hike, work out, and play golf, though I’m not as strong as I was years ago.

The meaning of life is not found in how much we own, the power we possess or the length of our lives. It is a gift from God when we are fruitful and can enjoy the simple pleasures of life. If we are thankful each day and connect with the Lord, then Psalm 16:11 can be fulfilled: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Jesus did all his public ministry in three years. It’s amazing what he accomplished in such a short time. He was focused on revealing our Heavenly Father. He taught his disciples about God’s kingdom and became a sacrifice for our sins.

Tragically, two weeks after we returned to Phoenix, a similar boat from a different lodge in Sitka flipped in the waters where we had been fishing. Everyone on board drowned.

None of us knows how much time we have left to live. If we obey Jesus’ commands and love others deeply, we will have eternal life and be ready when our time on earth is up. We probably won’t attract big crowds or become famous; but we can lived fruitful lives, filled with grace and joy. This too is a gift from God.

Where are You Lord?

I was in California recently to meet with pastors, get together with my brothers and sisters, attend a memorial service on Saturday and preach on Sunday. A month earlier, I had a similar schedule, including a family meeting, a pastor’s meeting, a memorial service and preaching at another church.

Normally I look forward to this kind of trip, because I get to connect with many people I love. This trip was different. We had had nine people at our house for several days for Easter and a “Festivus”. Our Festivus was a time for “airing of grievances”. We had several issues that needed to be cleared up, so we scheduled our Festivus when our family came to visit for Easter.

 Those days were both wonderful and emotional, but by the time I got to California, I was depleted. We had a good pastor’s meeting on Friday, but on Saturday morning, I was dressed and ready for a three hour drive to the memorial service, but I felt sick. I prayed and asked the Lord, “Should I go to this memorial service or not?”

The service was for Levi Fenn, the twenty-three year old son of Marty and Nanette Fenn. Marty had moved to Phoenix in 1985 to help us establish Living Streams. He worked with us for nine months at his own expense. Marty, Mark Dugan and Keith Kostlan established a discipleship house that was a fruitful ministry for many people for years.

I knew Marty’s heart was broken. I wanted to be there for him. Yet, when I prayed, I got no answer from the Lord.

This concerned me because I had just been studying I Samuel 14. In this Old Testament chapter, the priest asks the Lord if the Israelites should pursue the Philistines who were fleeing a battle in defeat. When the Lord didn’t answer their prayer, King Saul realized the problem was someone’s sin. King Saul had lots cast and the sin was revealed.

I prayed again, wondering, “Lord, why aren’t you answering me?”

I received an unexpected response, “I already answered you.”

I thought back to a conversation the day before. When I had started to feel sick, I called Kristina in Phoenix. I knew she would understand my dilemma. I told her how I felt and how much I wanted to go to the memorial service. Her reply was clear, “Don’t go to the memorial service. You need to rest.”

Kristina is filled with the Holy Spirit and she loves me. Yet it is still hard to have the Lord speak through her when her counsel challenges what I want to do.

Sometimes when I don’t get the answer I’m hoping for, I keep pushing and probing to get what I want. On this occasion, I wasn’t happy about the decision, but I surrendered.

I then remembered the memorial service was going to be livestreamed from the church. I started scrolling through my Facebook Messenger account to find the livestream information which had been sent to me. As I looked through my old messages, I came across one from Courtney, which had been sent to me six weeks earlier. I rarely use my Messenger account and had missed it when it arrived.

I’ll summarize Courtney’s message. “This is awkward, but I’ve been looking for my dad’s family. I recently found out that he was born a Buckley in Marin County in 1963 and then put up for adoption. I was looking through Facebook for Buckleys in Marin and came across your picture. You look a lot like my dad, so I thought I would reach out to you.”

I immediately responded to Courtney and sent her my phone number. We talked on the phone when she responded. She told me that her dad had been trying to find his natural family for years, but he had been thwarted by deception. He had been told his adoptive family had no information about his birth family.

I knew I had a brother born in 1963 who I had never met. As we talked, pieces of our family jigsaw puzzle started to fall into place for both of us.

I don’t know if I would have ever connected with Courtney if I had not been looking for the livestream connection. When I had not responded to her message for over a month, she assumed I didn’t want anything to do with her or her dad. I hope to tell you the next chapter of this story in a coming Reflections.

That afternoon, I watched the memorial service for Levi livestreamed from Grace Community Church in Auburn. It was powerful to listen as Marty and Nanette and their children talked about the son and brother they loved with all their hearts. They had prayed for him and played with him all his life.

They told the truth about Levi’s love for God and his struggle to stay free from a highly addictive drug. Levi had not wanted to die, he only wanted to get high. One extra drop of fentanyl is all it takes to snuff out a life, whether someone loves God or not.

I John 5:6 says, “The Spirit is the truth.” If we want the Spirit to move in our lives, in our churches, and in our nation, we must tell the truth, regardless of the cost. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. The Word of God is truth. Jesus is the truth and we too must be people of truth.

Deception comes to us from foreign adversaries because they want to divide us. Deception comes from Hollywood because it makes sin seem exciting. Deception enters politics because people crave power. Deception negatively effects medical care, business and relationships. Satan is the father of lies. When we lie, we allow Satan to work through us. The penalty for deceiving others is that we reap what we sow and get deceived ourselves.

Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. Even though this is a painful journey for all of us at times, if you follow Jesus with all your heart, you too will overcome the evil one and reign with Christ.

May the Spirit of truth set you free from all deception and empower you to love others effectively.

A Spiritual Awakening

I watch movies on TV and airplanes, but Jesus Revolution was my first trip to a theater since before the pandemic. It was well worth the visit.

I had met four of the characters in the movie during the Jesus Movement in the early 1970’s. The actors and music were excellent, yet this was a rare instance when most of the real-life people were more handsome and charismatic than the movie stars portraying them.

The movie describes how Lonnie Frisbee and Chuck Smith worked together in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s to bring thousands of young people to Christ in Southern California. Lonnie came out of the hippie scene and had long hair and a beard. Chuck was a straight Foursquare pastor with a family.

The worship services, baptisms at the beach, and discipleship house scenes in the movie brought tears to my eyes. I could sense the Holy Spirit moving as the characters shared the word of God and worshiped. It brought back memories from our ministries in Northern California that were bringing people to Jesus at the same time.

I met Lonnie and Connie Frisbee in Santa Cruz in 1973. They had been helping Danny Lehmann and Frank O’Neil with Mission Street Christian Fellowship. Lonnie had lived in the House of Acts in Novato in 1969. He went from there to San Francisco and then to Costa Mesa, where he worked with Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel.

Lonnie had a dynamic preaching gift that drew people to the Lord. The movie portrays how he and Chuck struggled in their relationship. They differed over how the gifts of the Spirit should be used in worship services. Lonnie had other issues the movie did not address. He and Connie divorced and Lonnie died of AIDS in 1993.

Greg Laurie had the courage to include Lonnie in the movie. It would be tempting to leave him out because of those ministry struggles and his flaws. Lonnie did not get away with his sin; he lost his marriage and his ministry. When he died at 43 years old, he had been reconciled to the Lord, but it was too late for his body to recover.

Right now there are spiritual awakenings going on all over the United States. People are coming from all over the world to Asbury University in Kentucky to experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. CBN News reported revival is spreading to Texas A&M, Indiana Wesleyan, and LSU. Any time people are seeking the Lord intensely and people are giving their lives to Jesus, it is a good thing. Yet, because people are people, they will have struggles and challenges.

I had the privilege to speak on “Revival and Church Growth” at Hope Church in Tempe last month. Five hundred students were there, passionately worshiping the Lord at the Marquis Theater. Many responded to the altar call and six students committed their lives to Jesus that Sunday morning. Over 150 students have made commitments to follow Jesus at their ASU-focused congregation in the last two months. God is doing something special at Hope Church.

Many people have been praying for a revival to sweep America. They are distressed about ungodliness in our media, government and society. Millions of people have quit going to church. For a spiritual awakening to spread across our nation and around the world, it will take believers making the same bold declarations of faith and commitments to love each other that were common in the Jesus Movement and the book of Acts.

 Acts 11 tells about believers being scattered because of persecution. Instead of being intimidated by threats, they boldly shared their faith as they traveled towards safe havens. As they began to share the good news about Jesus with the Greeks, “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21)

For over fifty years, I’ve been preaching the gospel in many churches, schools and ministries. I’ve also used radio, TV, newsletters, Facebook, and Instagram to let people know Jesus is alive. I’m very thankful the Lord has opened these doors for me because I’ve had the privilege to see many people turn their lives to Jesus.

Having access to media allows us to get God’s word out to many people. However, nothing is more effective than sharing Christ one on one. Believers sharing their faith with others has been the most effective way the gospel has spread the last two thousand years. It is also available to all of us.

If you are willing to obey the Lord and share the gospel with others, you too will see people turn to the Lord. Every now and then, he may even “put his hand on you” as he did with the disciples in Acts 11:21 and increase the effectiveness of your testimony exponentially.

Don’t worry about the fact that you still stumble or have sinful desires at times. The same God who used imperfect people in the Bible—and the Jesus Movement—still uses flawed people today. They happen to be the only ones available.

If we really want a spiritual awakening, we will do our part, so God’s Kingdom will come and his is done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Jack and Joe

In January, two men I admired in California died within 24 hours of each other. Jack Hayford, the pastor of Church on the Way, a Foursquare megachurch in Van Nuys, and Joe Garcia, my friend in Novato. Jack was a well-known pastor, author and conference speaker. Joe loved the Lord and was known by a much smaller circle of people. Both of these men lived life to the fullest and finished strong in faith.

In the 1980s and ‘90s, friends and I would attend Jack Hayford’s pastors’ conference each year. Thousands of leaders attended from all over the country. Jack was a preacher’s preacher. He would teach us worship songs he wrote and give inspiring messages. As he preached, he spoke in sentences as long as extended paragraphs.

Jack was like a Pentecostal Billy Graham. He had great integrity and was respected across denominational lines. Hollywood celebrities attended his church and his songs were sung in congregations around the world. He was often on TV, and his books sold thousands of copies. I had Jack’s book, Prayer Is Invading the Impossible, sitting on my bookshelf. I didn’t read much of it, but the title alone inspired me to pray boldly.

While Jack’s ministry inspired and encouraged me, my friend Joe made an even greater impact.

Joe began coming to our church in Novato in 1976, when we were just getting started. He needed to rediscover his faith and rebuild his family. In time, Jesus resurrected Joe’s faith and gave him his wonderful wife, Claudia.
 
When I discovered Joe played chess, I challenged him to a game. He beat me soundly. The next time we played, he taught me strategies which are foundational in competitive chess. Once I could compete with him, he bought me a wooden chess set which I have used for forty years.

After we moved to Phoenix, I would drop by to see Joe when I returned to Novato. He liked to cook special meals, tell stories, and pray together. Joe read everything C. S. Lewis wrote and memorized many passages. He liked to begin a discussion with, “As brother Clive would say…”

Joe gave me a beautiful shotgun that I have used on desert hunting trips since 1986. He was generous with his friends, restaurant servers and people in need. But if someone burned him, he was not so sweet.

Occasionally customers would come into Winter’s Glass, which Joe owned, and say, “Mr. Winter promised me a special deal on a new window.” There was no “Mr. Winter.”  Winter was the name the original owner made up. Joe gave gifts to those he loved and good deals to everyone, unless someone was trying to deceive him. Those folks had to pay a premium.

I was sad when I heard that Jack Hayford had died. His character was outstanding, his gifts extraordinary, and his multifaceted ministry inspired thousands. I had breakfast with Jack once and both of us wrote for Ministries Today magazine. However, I doubt he would have remembered my name.

I wept when I heard Joe died. I had lost a friend who enriched my life with his love and encouragement.

Most of us are more like Joe than Jack. We are not going to be famous, but our lives can be powerful, because the greatest gift of all is love. We don’t have to pattern ourselves after someone on a big platform for our lives to have significance. We just have to focus on loving the people God brings into our lives.

There is a race set out for each of us. If we stay on course we will finish strong and enter glory. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

A Bumpy Road to Heaven

I was in a worship service at the San Rafael Open Door this past November, when Becky Riley walked up to the front to lead the congregation in prayer. Becky prayed boldly for the Lord to send rain to California. The state had been in a drought that created a crisis. For several summers, fires burned hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and wild animals; many homes were destroyed and people lost their lives. Farmers were forced to abandon vast tracts of crop land and fruit trees because their water allocations had been reduced.

As one atmospheric river after another brought rain to California, I called Jon Riley, the Open Door pastor to commend their congregation for their bold prayers. Jon told me that Peggy Burt had persisted in asking their church to pray for rain each Sunday. They believe James 5:16-18, The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain...

The correlation between human behavior and climate is well documented in the Bible. God brought a great flood to destroy the wicked in the days of Noah. God used famines to mold and move Abraham and eventually all of Israel from the promised land to Egypt and back again. The cause of every famine or storm is not easy to interpret; however, sin does affect climate and rain is a blessing from God.

This abrupt shift in climate from a historic drought to the greatest rainfall total in the shortest time in California history can be interpreted as either climate change gone wild, or an intervention of supernatural grace in response to bold prayer. I believe these storms are the grace of God, and the grace of God fills me with thanksgiving.

By definition, the supernatural is something that does not happen on a regular basis or with natural timing. I’m not pessimistic about the future, because God has supernatural power, which he releases to accomplish his purposes. He can pour out the Holy Spirit suddenly and change the course of our lives and history.

Obviously, floods can cause property damage and loss of life. I’m aware of the pain storms can cause. Our son Matthew drowned in a rain swollen river. Yet, without rain, our civilization would not survive. Jesus told us to build our homes and lives on the solid foundation of his word because literal and spiritual storms will test us all.

The current storms are a messy miracle of mercy. God’s intervention brings disruptions as well as deliverance. The Old Testament is filled with bloody stories. Circumcision and the sacrificial system were bloody. Israel being delivered from Egypt was bloody. Israel conquering the promised land was bloody. The judgements of God on Israel’s disobedience were bloody.

In the New Testament, Herod’s response to the birth of Jesus was bloody. The crucifixion of Jesus was bloody. When Jesus cast out demons it was messy. When he spit, made mud and put the mud on a blind man’s eyes, it was messy, yet afterwards the man could see.

It was bloody when I watched our children being born, yet their messy bodies were miraculous to behold.  It was bloody when Kristina had a heart transplant, yet today she is thriving in her ongoing battle to overcome physical challenges.

Our extended family is wonderful and messy. The history of the churches we have planted are both miraculous and messy. Depending on your perspective, politics, vaccines, our economy, and the history of America is wonderful, bloody, and messy.

You would hope that people would change over the centuries. However, the Holocaust that led to the fulfillment of prophecy and rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a horrific bloody mess.

Many people are praying for revival because they think a spiritual awakening will save our nation from judgement and disaster. I pray for spiritual awakening as well. However, the Jesus movement when millions of people, including me, came to Christ in the 60’s and 70’s was messy. Immature people don’t develop great character quickly just because they begin to follow Christ.

The wonderful spiritual awakening I have seen in Ecuador the last ten years has had a messy dynamic as well. Even God’s family struggles with each other as we mature and God’s judgements begin in his house before he deals with the rest of the world.

Buckle up my friends. God answers prayers in miraculous ways, yet we are still in for a bumpy ride on this narrow road that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Gift of Faith

Many of you have been praying for Kristina since her heart transplant in 2020. I’m sharing this update to give praise to God and thank you for your prayers.

Thirty five years ago we bought our son Matthew a used desk. It was solid oak and weighed hundreds of pounds. I removed Matt’s bedroom door and corralled two strong friends to help me bring the desk into our house.  The three of us spent half an hour wrecking our backs while hoisting the desk at every possible angle trying to get it into his bedroom. We concluded it was too big to fit. We left the desk wedged in the doorway and headed out because we were late for a meeting.

When I returned home that night, the desk was in the bedroom. Kristina had moved it in by herself. I was flabbergasted, and to this day I don’t know how she discovered the angle and had the strength to maneuver it into the room.

In her fifties, Kristina built a big chicken coop on our side yard. It had taken me and five other men a lot of strain to lift the five hundred pound coop from where she built it to the far side of our backyard. A month later, she wanted me to move the noisy chickens away from our bedrooms. I told her it might be awhile before I could gather enough men to move it.

A few days later, I came home to discover the coop was sitting fifty yards uphill to a shady spot under our pine tree. She had moved it by herself, using round logs and poles. By then I had realized Kristina has a gift for engineering feats and she loves a challenge.

Gary and Marilyn Kinnaman were recently at the Banner University Hospital Heart clinic so Gary could have tests. They asked one of the nurses if she knew Kristina Buckley. The nurse smiled and pulled a tiny cap out of a nearby cart. It was one of the many caps Kristina had knitted for preemie babies at the hospital.

Since her heart transplant, Kristina has backed off most heroic physical feats. She now sews pillow cases for respite residents, quilts for the homeless, and caps for preemies and first responders. She also coordinates a transplant support group. Some of the men swear like sailors on their zoom calls, but it doesn’t faze her.

Kristina and I recently purchased a used dresser and end tables. Our old dresser was too big and bulky for our bedroom, which already has her quilt making machine, an exercise machine, and big bookshelves crowding it.
A strong couple helped me muscle the old dresser into our backyard with a furniture dolly. It sat on our patio like a sulking dinosaur for two weeks. It needed to be moved to our front yard so it could be picked up by the donation truck. I told Kristina I needed at least four men to move it through our backyard to the front.
I came home from my office last week and saw the dresser on the side of our driveway.

“Who came over and moved the dresser?” I asked when I walked into the house.

“I took care of it,” she replied.

“What! All by yourself?”

“Yes. You don’t believe me?”
“I believe you, but how did you do it?”

“I used poles and the dolly.”

I know the building of the pyramids is a mystery, but my wife is often a mystery to me.

She still needs help bringing things she buys in from her car.

She still has constant doctor appointments and health challenges because her immune system is compromised by anti-rejection medications.

She still needs prayer for grace, strength, and encouragement.

However, she has never given up, because she has the resurrection life of Christ inside her. God’s grace is manifest through her in ways that amaze me and make me very thankful.

I have friends who have made their fortunes by investing in real estate that others overlook. I know counselors who untie knots in people’s souls that have been bound up for years. I know pastors who are fruitful because they help broken people find new life in Christ.

These folks all share Kristina’s characteristics. They don’t fear failure. They don’t give up. Where others see trouble, they see potential. What looks to most like a hopeless situation, they see as an opportunity. This kind of faith is a gift from God who makes all things possible.

If you want to enjoy marriage or life, be thankful for what you’ve got, rather than frustrated about what’s not. In time, you too may be surprised by what God reveals and restores.

If you feel stuck between doorways, or have burdens too heavy to lift by yourself, there are people with gifts from God who can help you out. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Colossians 2:3), and Jesus gives these treasures to those who seek Him.

The Emerald Isle

I was playing golf one afternoon this summer in Phoenix with Richard and Dan when a monsoon storm approached from the north. Thunder rumbled, lightning bolts shot from dark clouds and strong winds bent the trees. We looked at each other wondering if we should go in for shelter.

“I’m preparing for Ireland,” I told my friends. “I don’t get many chances to play in the wind and rain.” I have been saying that for years, not knowing if I’d ever actually go there.

“I’m good.” Richard reassured us.

Dan played pro football for the Kansas City Chiefs. Richard is my friend and an attorney who loves the Lord. “Do you know what the newspaper headline will say if lightning kills the three of us?” Dan asked. “Two Tears and a Cheer.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I wondered.

“A tear for the pro football player. A tear for the pastor. And a cheer for the attorney!”

That was funnier to me and Dan than to Richard.

A month later, David Stockton invited me and my granddaughter Ava to join his family for a week of ministry in Ireland. David moved to Tipperary, Ireland in August with his wife Brittany and their three daughters for ten months of missions and ministry.

The Stocktons are working with pastor Shaun Alexander at Tipperary Christian Fellowship. Shaun’s wife died from cancer two years ago. David has also been helping a pastor and church near Dublin. The pastor recently resigned after experiencing an emotional breakdown. David wanted me to bring counsel and encouragement to these men and speak to their churches. Ava was invited to bring some joy to the Stockton girls who are adjusting to cold weather and a challenging culture.

Ava flew over and back on her own because of her fall break from school. She brings love and encouragement wherever she goes. I followed three days later, after returning from ministry in Reno. I flew first to Chicago and then took an overnight flight to Dublin. Jet lag, time zone changes, and bringing multiple sermons to a foreign country can stretch my grip on sanity. I get anxious about sleep deprivation on ministry trips, but not so anxious that I will pay double for business class. When we took off, no one was sitting in the two seats next to me, so I felt loved by God as I curled up to get a couple of hours sleep.

At the Tipperary church midweek meeting, three ladies from the church joined the Stocktons, Ava, Shaun, and me. After my teaching and before our prayer time, we discussed how God uses trauma to mold and shape us. Their honesty and vulnerability touched my heart.

I also realized how David and Brittany are laying down their lives to bring people in this small town into God’s kingdom. I thought about my visit with them seven years ago in Belize. David and Brittany have a pattern of working for six years and then taking a sabbatical year to do ministry in another culture. This is their third such missions adventure.

Fourteen years ago, they settled into Gales Point, a small village in Belize and raised up disciples, including a gifted pastor named Kenny. Seven years later, they returned to Dangriga, Belize and connected with young men and women who now serve the Lord faithfully. David and Brittany understand that the fruit we bear in Christ is in proportion to our faith and God’s power, and not dependent on the prominence of the people or place where we serve.

During my visit, we drove on narrow country roads from east to west across southern Ireland. We passed old castles on hillsides and stone churches in villages. Sheep and cows grazed on grassy fields bordered by ancient stone hedges. We passed hundreds of old country farms, but I didn’t see a single broken down truck, car, or tractor rusting in a farm yard.

We returned for a men’s barbeque on a cold night in Tipperary. Before I gave a message, we sang classic rock and worship songs that connected our hearts to the Lord and to each other. I gave each of them one my books. I hope reading how the Lord saved me, will encourage them on their journey with Jesus.

We drove to Naas on the outskirts of Dublin, to meet with the leaders of Hope Church. They are reorganizing their leadership since their pastor stepped down. I talked with them about showing up for each other in times of crisis so their hearts knit together in love. As the Lord unites us, we become a spiritual temple that God inhabits with grace and glory.

On Sunday, I preached to their congregation. Hope Church has members from Romania, South Africa, Lesotho, Nigeria, Australia, Germany, and Ireland. I was amazed by how the Lord had brought them from around the world to form this congregation. They have the culture of God’s kingdom, which incorporates all nations, encompasses every language and values each person.

David and I also walked nine holes of golf on a lush green course in Tipperary. It was a sunny afternoon with no breeze. I don’t regret preparing for the rain, but it reminded me that the trials of life are rarely what we prepare for.

I flew home from Dublin to Phoenix through Dallas. The flight attendant announced that our flight was full so we needed to stow our carry-on bags carefully. As we lifted off through the wind and rain, I marveled at God’s grace. The plane was packed; but again, the two seats next to me were empty. As laid down on the flight home, I thought about the love Ava brings with her, the faith that fills the Stocktons, and the goodness of our Father in Heaven.

The Lord knows how to bless us in ways that reveal his goodness and grace. Obviously, there are times when big things we pray for do not come to pass the way we hope. However, unexpected little gifts of grace can help us to trust God when we don’t understand why things happen the way they do. Life is not luck or accidental, our Father has a purpose in everything.

May you have grace to see God work, enjoy his provision, and continually trust his love for you.