Relevant Rantings

Introduction

Movies extol the virtue of the strong, silent type. But most of us are not that type of person. We either lack strength or we are noisy. From the time that I was a small child, I was noisy. Like most noisy people, my hope is that there is some valuable wisdom and communication in the midst of all the noise.

Just prior to the beginning of the New Year, I was praying that the Lord would help me to discern His will, hear His voice and do what would please Him. As I waited on the Lord, I sensed one word – WRITE.

He didn’t tell me what to write, when to write or how to write. He just said WRITE. The Bible says, The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Heb 4:2).

In order to mix with faith the word that I heard, I cancelled my daily subscription to the newspaper. For forty plus years I have been a daily reader of the newspaper but if the word was going to be mixed with faith there needed to be some overt action on my part. I needed to choose writing over reading.

The journey to write began with a simple commitment to write something daily and post it on Facebook. I did not want to bore my over-taught family and friends with more preaching and exhortations so I chose to share a parable with a principle. The Bible says that Jesus never taught without a parable.

A parable is just a story with a message. Life is one story after another. We all have stories of happiness and disappointment. As a lawyer, pastor, politician and businessman, I might have a slightly different take than many people. I went from living and working fifty years in Montana to pastoring a poor, black church in South Central Los Angeles.

As you read this book, I will probably say something that you may disagree with. Even my wife does not agree with everything that I say. I don’t want us to agree to disagree but to think, pray and discuss.

I pray that you will be guided to read the Bible reference at the bottom of each page. It will do you more good than my words. From the time that I first came to Christ over forty-five years ago, I have been committed to read the Bible in its entirety at least once a year. There have been times when I read it cover to cover in a month. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matt 24:35).

Life has gone very fast. Just yesterday I was a young boy in Sunburst, Montana shooting hoops with my buddy Bobby Malberg. Now, I am at the other end of the age spectrum looking back at a full life of decisions, difficulties and blessings.

My prayer is that God will cause my own love for life to be transported from these printed pages to you. The Bible tells us about a man named Caleb who at 85 reminded Joshua that he was still strong and wanted the mountain promised him by Moses.

Many of us have the Caleb spirit. We have lived a life battling the enemy but there is still one more mountain for us to take. Writing this small book is just one of my mountains. Now it’s time to look for another one.

My son, Dugan, called my Facebook postings Andy Rooney rants. I always loved how Andy Rooney would take a slice of life and give us his take. My hope is that my own parables with a principle will be more than just a noisy rant. In the midst of all the noise that comes from work, family and finances, may you hear that still, small voice of the Lord.

My greatest desire is that I finish well. We are living in a time where many are falling away from their love for Jesus and His church. It’s not a time to retire but recommit. I agree with the Psalmist when he wrote:

"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness" (Ps 17:15).

January 1

STOP REWARDING MEDIOCRITY

S top rewarding mediocrity were the first three words pressed into my spirit for the New Year as I waited for His still, small voice. The Lord told me that this was to be a year with no excuses and no limitations (Phil 4:13).

My wife is quick to point out that I seldom feel bad about some tasks that don’t get completed or resolutions that fall on the floor of failure within hours of verbalization. We have concluded that the conscience of a former Catholic (me) and a former Methodist (her) are quite different. I am quick to absolve myself for any latent guilt or failure while she beats herself for the smallest undone tasks.

How often have we settled for second best instead of pushing ourselves? We have settled for just showing up.

May this be the year that we do much more than just show up. It’s time to break barriers and bondages by pressing into Jesus. BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE might be merely a motivational slogan but it can be your life.

Quit scavenging for crumbs from the table and take your seat at the table of the Lord (Matt 15:27). No excuses and no limitations will cause you to grow.

Genesis 1:1 - 2:25 Psalm 1:1-6

Matthew 1:1 - 2:12 Proverbs 1:1-6

January 2

AN OUNCE OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Be a Barnabas in somebody’s life. The world is tired of the naysayers who do nothing but pick at our faults by pointing out the obvious. Any fool can see a problem but a wise person sees the solution. May I be a true Barnabas in this year.

I want to talk with those who see my warts and blemishes and still love me. I want to be around prophetic people who give me an ounce of encouragement instead of a pound of their truth.

In Judges 6, Gideon asks, Where have all the miracles gone? A prophet comes along and points out the obvious but offers no solution. Then God sends an angel of encouragement (the first Barnabas).

The angel of encouragement declared Gideon’s potential as a mighty man of God. The eye of the Lord is looking for men and women that need encouragement and blessing. To be that person requires more than wishin’ and hopin’.

Encouragement comes to those willing to get out of the boat of comfort and risk walking on the water in spite of the waves and the naysayers. May this year be the year that you become the mighty man or woman God has called you to be.

Genesis 3:1 - 4:26 Psalm 2:1-12

Matthew 2:13 - 3:6 Proverbs 1:7-9

January 3

DON’T BE A BYSTANDER

Too many of us are all suited up with our opinion but remain on the sidelines criticizing those willing to participate in life. My life has been one of taking chances, making choices and living with the consequences.

A few months ago, a friend told me to keep my head down. He wanted me to join the nameless, faceless gallery of bystanders muzzled by their desire to be accepted. The world is full of people overflowing with an opinion about what I should do.

I decline the temptation to be just another Monday morning quarterback whose sole joy is second-guessing the ones doing the stuff. The choice is simple – STANDER OR BYSTANDER? Having done all, I stand (Eph 6:13).

The Greek word for resurrection means to stand up. On Resurrection Day, Jesus stood up and led captivity captive. He has given us the same resurrection grace. When this year is done, I want to be able to say, I lived. I was more than a bystander. I stood up for what I believed.

Genesis 5:1 - 7:24 Psalm 3:1-8

Matthew 3:7 - 4:11 Proverbs 1:10-19

January 4

DISTRACTIONS, DELAYS, AND DISAPPOINTMENTS BE DAMNED

God is raising up a new generation of warriors whose call is to finish the task. Patience and perseverance are virtues that have escaped many of us.

We have become the NOW GENERATION detoured by minor distractions, delays and disappointments. We are consumed with personal comfort while hating any and all delayed gratification.

Waiting is not a passive process of doing nothing but an active time of praying, processing, and pursuing.

May the Lord show up and reveal Himself and His plan in the midst of every distraction, disappointment, and delay. May I be patient and not be of those who shrink back and are destroyed (Hebrews 10:39).

Genesis 8:1 - 10:32 Psalm 4:1-8

Matthew 4:12-25 Proverbs 1:20-23

January 5

BROKEN COMMUNICATION LEADS TO BROKEN RELATIONSHIP

In every relationship, there is usually a talker and a listener. In my marriage, I am the talker. Unfortunately, it’s usually the same way in my relationship with the Lord.

As a prophetic believer, my chief responsibility is to hear His still, small voice and speak or act accordingly. Jesus said He only did what the Father told Him to do.

The devil hates relationships, as the synergism that comes from oneness is unstoppable. He lies, distorts, and accuses in an effort to break communication and relationship (John 8:44).

Communication requires patience, persistence, and humility. My father in the Lord told me we see things as we are, not as they are. This insight has helped curb the arrogant edges of my conclusions and give others the benefit of the doubt. The only way to truly see things as they are is to BE THE PERSON GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BE.

Genesis 11:1 - 13:4 Psalm 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-26 Proverbs 1:24-28

January 6

CAN OLD DOGS LEARN NEW TRICKS?

Afew weeks ago I had another birthday. My kids think I should retire but my wife and I have not heard the Boss say, You’re done. So, instead of retiring, we choose to press on in this fast moving, communication and information driven world.

I have long chosen the pathway of learned helplessness over learning new things. After all, I am an old dog. I much prefer to stretch my beloved of 43 years than stretch myself.

But today I am challenged by the word no excuses and no limitations. Rather than pressure my wife to check on a UPS shipment, I went online and used a tracking # to find my no excuses/no limitations wristbands (Phil 4:13).

I am feeling so virtuous that it made me want to bark. Who said old dogs can’t learn new tricks? FROM GLORY TO GLORY, HE’S CHANGING ME (2 Corinthians 3:1).

Genesis 13:5 - 15:21 Psalm 6:1-10

Matthew 5:27-48 Proverbs 1:29-33

January 7

IT ALL GOES BACK IN THE BOX

One of my favorite authors, John Ortberg, wrote a book entitled When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box . Ortberg used to play board games with his grandma who told him that no matter how the game went everything goes back in the box.

I was having a casual conversation with my friend Kert when he asked me, Do you want to view my burning? He went on to explain that he was preparing for his ultimate demise – cremation would be $700 but if I wanted to view his burning it would be another $350.

Religions reach different conclusions on body burning. I am of the fast and cheap school of theology, so burn baby burn.

Grandma Ortberg is right. IT ALL GOES BACK INTO THE BOX. Only what is done in the name of the Lord will survive (Matt 24:35). This motivates me to be salt and light to a lost and dying generation.

Genesis 16:1 - 18:15 Psalm 7:1-17

Matthew 6:1-24 Proverbs 2:1-5

January 8

WHAT’S ON YOUR BLACKBOARD?

Many years ago I realized that my soul was like a blackboard. It showed my feeble attempts to erase past hurts and misunderstandings as well as my successes and failures.

Meditating on the mistakes of yesterday makes it hard to embrace today. The secret is to bow before the Lord in the garden of life and agree with Jesus not my will but thy will be done. When we do this, we erase pride, stubbornness and the deception and destruction of self-centeredness.

Christianity is about Christ. A verse in a song we used to sing said it’s all about YOU. One scripture says in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

In faith in the One who has saved me from a meaningless life of serving myself I JOYFULLY ERASE MY BLACKBOARD again today.

Genesis 18:16 - 19:38 Psalm 8:1-9

Matthew 6:25 – 7:14 Proverbs 2:6-15

January 9

GOD WILL LEAD YOU THE EASIEST WAY YOU LET HIM

My friend Margaret VanCamp shared this great spiritual insight with me twenty years ago. We know that the steps of the righteous are ordered by God, but it doesn’t say how many steps!

As a student of the Bible, I have marveled at how long it took God’s people to get from Egypt to the Promised Land. A journey that should have taken days took forty years.

Even today God’s people continue to walk aimlessly in the wilderness overcome by their addiction to self. Submission to God is the key to getting out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Promised Land (Exodus 16).

Yes, Margaret, GOD WILL LEAD ME THE EASIEST WAY I LET HIM.

Genesis 20:1 -22:24 Psalm 9:1-12

Matthew 7:15-29 Proverbs 2:16-22

January 10

YOU DECIDE

In 1984 God impressed on me that I (and the church I was pastoring) had become an irrelevant, salt-less, light-less, bless-me club.

As I agonized in prayer over this heavy revelation, I sensed God’s encouragement to move God’s people from the monastery to the marketplace.

The clearest road back to the marketplace seemed to be seeking election as Attorney General for Montana. As I pestered the Lord in prayer, I felt the Lord say YOU DECIDE. I didn’t like this, as my walk with the Lord had been personified by trust and obey.

I asked my wife, the elders, the deacons and the church what they thought. Like an unrehearsed choir they all said the same thing – YOU DECIDE (2 Sam 7:3).

God revealed that as He is, so are we in this present world (1 John 4:17). He has imparted His character and values to us. As mature believers, we must decide.

What kind of life do you want? What kind of person will you be? YOU DECIDE.

Genesis 23:1 - 24:51 Psalm 9:13-20

Matthew 8:1-17 Proverbs 3:1-6

January 11

OLD FRIENDS ARE HARD TO BEAT

Cathy and I flew to Calgary, Canada to spend a weekend with the Amanteas, Syratts and their church.

We have been good friends for over thirty years. They know me when I am pushy, angry, upset and unpleasant yet they choose to love me anyway. When I disappoint them, they don’t run away.

The Bible says that iron sharpens iron, so does a friend sharpen the countenance of a friend (Prov 27: 6,17). I am so blessed to have old friends who tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.

God has blessed me with friends all around the world. I desire to see them and impart love, insight and encouragement. OLD FRIENDS stick until death do us part.

Genesis 24:52 - 26:16 Psalm 10:1-15

Matthew 8:18-34 Proverbs 3:7-8

January 12

GOING HOME

In October, 1996 I was praying when I heard the still, small voice of God whisper I am going to take those trained in the wilderness to the city.

We all judged this as a good word but not for me, as I was the Jerry Falwell of Montana. I thought my destiny for better or worse was to live, die and freeze my derrière in Montana.

A year after this revelation of moving to the city, God revealed to me that I needed to move. Ralph Mahoney, founder of World MAP, offered me a position with his mission organization based in Burbank, California, so we packed the truck and moved.

In the natural everything changed, but in the spiritual nothing changed. The scripture says, In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Some have said home is where the heart is.

OUR HOME IS IN HIM (Phil 3:20).

Genesis 26:17 -2 7:46 Psalm 10:16-18

Matthew 9:1-17 Proverbs 3:9-10

January 13

YOU GOTTA DO BETTER

Many years ago I was doing a presbytery in Mexico and one of the prophets said the same thing over every person. He said, The Lord says YOU GOTTA DO BETTER.

As we were driving home, I told the old prophet that he and I should write a book on grace. He quickly volunteered all his research. I told him we would call the book YOU GOTTA DO BETTER.

The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions (Titus 2:11-12). Many of us have a warped perspective about grace. We see grace as a warm blanket of love created and administered by God to cover and forgive our sins.

But true grace is far removed from the greasy rendition that tells you it is okay to sin because you are only human. True grace makes us more than human – it makes us divine.

While we never got around to writing the book on grace before my friend went to Heaven, I learned that grace is a teacher that whispers, YOU GOTTA DO BETTER (Rom 6:1).

Genesis 28:1 - 29:35 Psalm 11:1-7

Matthew 9:18-38 Proverbs 3:11-12

January 14

PUT ON YOUR BIG BOY PANTS

Modern parenting has become a compilation of manipulating and maneuvering as the parents avoid damaging their child’s delicate psyche by using the dreaded N word. Timeouts and distractions have become the right and left hand for many parents.

Even though eight of the Ten Commandments use the N word, most people throw a tantrum when somebody or some circumstance says NO. The N word is both a measuring device and a grow word.

When life says NO, our will is crossed. It might be a NOW NO or a FOREVER NO but either way our will is crossed.

At the threshold of NO, we must make a decision to grow up and PUT ON OUR BIG BOY PANTS.

Genesis 30:1 - 31:16 Psalm 12:1-8

Matthew 10:1-23 Proverbs 3:13-15

January 15

SATAN’S FAVORITE SCRIPTURE

Matthew 7:1 is Satan’s favorite scripture. He loves to nullify believers’ faith by whispering in their sin-stained ear, Judge not lest you be judged.

The result of Satan’s misinterpretation of a biblical principle is greasy grace where every believer does what’s right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). Matthew 7:1 and other scriptures using the word judge became my first word study as a new believer.

I found that the English Bible translated several words as judge even though the correct interpretation might be condemn or discern.

Paul was not afraid to judge the sin of others in 1 Corinthians 5. Judge yourself and you will not be judged.

Yes, we need to get the log out of our own eye before we are consumed with pulling the splinter out of our brother’s eye. This is a call to judge yourself.

When others judge you, thank them. Don’t be rendered impotent by Satan misquoting the word of God.

Genesis 31:17 - 32:12 Psalm 13:1-6

Matthew 10:24 - 11:6 Proverbs 3:16-18

January 16

RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT CONTROL

For several years I have been a part of an international fellowship of pastors and churches that says it is about relationship without control. Like so many mantras much is left for individual interpretation and application.

Most of us experience a multitude of relationships without control. As much as I want to control my wife Cathy, I have found it a futile and ignoble effort. The best I can do is influence her through love, sensitivity, and spending time together. Even then she maintains her individual sovereignty (aka free will).

Great friendships are based on adherence to shared values. Relationship without control is to be highly valued. It allows the colorization of personality, perspective and administration. A world devoid of differences would be boring.

Several years ago I was led to define the CORE VALUES of Open Arms as threefold – intimacy with God, relationship with man and prosperity – spirit, soul and body.

God is not raising up either puppets or puppeteers. He is raising up believers with a set of core values who practice RELATIONSHIP WITHOUT CONTROL.

Genesis 32:13 - 34:31 Psalm 14:1-7

Matthew 11:7-30 Proverbs 3:19-20

January 17

DON’T FIRE BOB - FIRE YOURSELF

As I rose early in the morning to have a cup of coffee and quiet time, I was excited that it was my birthday. I had determined that I was going to fire one of the attorneys who worked for my law firm. With his large Confederate flag and related issues, it was clear that Bob didn’t fit.

As I was contemplating the words I would use to fire Bob, I heard the still, small voice of God whisper, DON’T FIRE BOB, FIRE YOURSELF.

God was not interested in punishing the past but pushing me towards the future.

Every time I have ever made a major occupational, political or geographic move, I have heard His voice pressing on my consciousness. It’s not audible but it is just as real.

Oftentimes, I am slow to hear, so God allows circumstances to accumulate and press me in a certain direction.

God orders our steps. If need be, these manifold trials will come upon us (1 Peter 1:6). What about you? Has God ever told you to FIRE YOURSELF?

Genesis 35:1 - 36:43 Psalm 15:1-5

Matthew 12:1-21 Proverbs 3:21-26

January 18

THE PURGATORY OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD

When I was a child growing up in the Catholic faith, I was taught that in between Heaven and Hell is a place called purgatory. This was the interim destination for imperfect people who would do their time for their misdeeds and then go on to Heaven.

While I don’t believe in a purgatory after death, many of us live in a purgatory of misunderstanding. With my gift of communication, I believed face-to-face communication could eradicate any obstacle.

Misunderstandings and broken relationships are a plague that even the immunization of constant, anointed communication fails to remove. I hate being misunderstood. I don’t mind disagreement as that is life, but to be misunderstood is purgatory.

Being misunderstood is one of life’s great frustrations. The only solution is prayer and humility (James 4:10).

Genesis 37:1 - 38:30 Psalm 16:1-11

Matthew 12:22-45 Proverbs 3:27-32

January 19

SUPERMAN OR STUPID

Many years ago I aspired to own 10 businesses and oversee 10 churches. With time I am a bit fuzzy on the exact number of businesses and churches that I owned or oversaw but it was about seven of each.

Other than being tired most of the time, I noticed that every day presented a new crisis. Everything would be going good and then boom. No problem, SUPERMAN was on the job and would instantly solve the problem.

One day, I took another look at the big S on my chest. The S was there but the rest of the letters did not say Superman but STUPID.

I was in such a hurry to reach my goals that I had become STUPID. Most of us take great offense when somebody calls us stupid. That’s why