In yesterday's Sunday School class, we were in John 1 where it is written,

"and to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them who believe on His name".

I looked up the greek word for "power" expecting "dunamis" and found "eXsousia" instead. Dunamis is the dynamite explosive kind of power but eXsousia is most commonly translated as authority. That was encouraging because it does not reflect on the good that I did, I do, or will do. If Jesus gave us dunamis to become the Sons, I would feel bad that I haven't used the force to be better. It is not a Credit Card based on works, but a Debit Card that He pays for.

Thinking of the prodigal son, one of the things that the father first put on the returned son was a ring. The ring was most likely a signet ring, the "authority" ring where they used hot wax put on a document or letter, then imprinted with the ring. Even though the son no longer had any wealth of his own, he could use his fathers ring to purchase goods.

I have the family "eXsousia" card to get through the day, desiring to do the works because He loved me first, knowing I am no longer dead in trespassing of sin, but still have the "eXsousia" to yet still be called a son.

One woman commented that we are called "sons". While we all agreed that both genders are accepted, she thought it was good to be sons because daughters don't inherit, as according to Law, so being a "son" she was glad to be a joint heir with Jesus.

Finding Beauty

We have had the privilege of visiting Yellow Stone National Park twice. We went once in 1986 and once in 1990. The great geysers, wildlife, and incomparable panoramas amazed us. We saw the buffalo, deer, and got a close-up of a moose cow and her calf.  We took rolls of film and kept even more memories. The moose shot was likely a foolish one, we passed them while driving down a park road, and I stopped and got out as she stood on the road behind us, the calf off the edge in the woods that lined both sides.

Our travels to Yellowstone are not the only wondrous visits we have been able to enjoy. There could be very deep debates of what is the "best" place in America, (over the earth?). Even the geysers are not unique to that area of rugged beauty. Wolves, buffalo, birds and other scarce pieces of creation are seeing the park as a refuge from what might otherwise be extinction. It could be said that Yellowstone is one of the most diverse pieces of real estate we can so easily get to.

We saw the park twice, once before the fire, once after. Like most Americans, we sat by television news reports of the destruction. There were comments of how it might never recover. Supposed authorities cried this would be a tragedy from which there would never be full recovery.

Our second visit confirmed what some were very surprised to find. The burned areas had found new life. Small plants that had been shielded from the sun, now flourished. Diversity of life exploded after the fire. Even the animal life continued to go on and even multiply. The new life in the park would not have been except by the fire's passage. We learned that the lodgepole pine tree cones don't open except in forest fires.

There are things in life that do not come easy. Some great things only follow what others would define as hurtful. Expressions of love, depth of concern, level of compassion, and other big qualities of our humanity, are rarely seen or known by other means. People with Mito, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and other silent thieves are the "Petri dish" of growth for those who must care for those who our society calls ill. These "ill" people (of which I count myself) are not the debris of life. These lives challenge our sense of normal, in love, in giving, in going beyond ourselves.

These lives are the foundries of greater being. Too many lives fill their length without doing anything memorable. Lives that breathed, ate, slept but never reached out beyond simple day-to-day that is called life (by some). It was my answer to such a call that led me to be a living liver donor. I saw a life that was nearing a sad end, potentially leaving a wife and three kids behind. The doctors were able to remove a part of my liver and completely replace the liver of a man I will call friend. I did not get paid for this (such is illegal), and it was not I who could gain that drove me. I gained being able to help. Now I am receiving from others having become one in the "Mito family".

I believe in God. I know that when we have given to others, He knows and remembers. Maybe we should get T-shirts that say, "I am a lodgepole pine!" for the depth of challenges that care-givers experience.

Does big equal best?

Why do we read the books of church leaders that have thousands of members on their lists? Did the leader create the faith that converted their souls? Do the numbers really mark success?

1 Corinthians 3:6-8,

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor." 

Since church growth is of God, Pastors of small churches are no less faithful if the measure is the size of the congregation. Even if we could see the measure of Faith in the membership, that Faith is not the result of gifted speaking. Sermons, lessons and prayer are parts of ministry, but not the result of man's efforts.

Ephesians 2:8-10, 

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

If the Faith that saves is not of works, then the rule applies to the church leader as well as to the individual believer. Why then does God choose to make some churches large and others tiny? While we are on the topic of God's moving among people, why are there a disproportional number of churches in one country versus the next?


Isaiah 29:16,
"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"

God works in the small and in the large. Jesus gathered for Himself, twelve, and one of them was a traitor. In the public ministry, Jesus had crowds measured in the thousands. Did these masses stay in Jesus's teaching?

John 6:63-68,
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 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."

Jesus knew how the crowd would respond. He didn't go running after them crying, "Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't really mean that. Please come back." Jesus let them walk away, KNOWING they would never return. The heart of His disciples was his concern, not the numbers. Not everyone will believe, in fact the John passage shows The Father has a specific list, and "few the be that find it".

To the leader of a small group I write, (to myself as well) obey God, teach His Word and His Way. The Father will draw to Himself those that He chooses. 

Galations 6:9,
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

2 Thessalonians 3:13,
"But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing."

We need the books written by leaders of the few, as well as the leaders of many.

I had a vision today, my father shaking hands with Miriam's dad. It would not be that unusual, in the past they have shaken hands, and there was no animosity between them. They likely agreed when Miriam and I were about to wed (Dec. 21, 1978) that we should have waited til we were more mature, more financially secure, and maybe out of college. Now thirty years later, well their concerns were rational but we have remained committed in love.

No, the uniqueness of these two Christian men shaking hands is tested in that Miriam's Dad died back in the early 1990's. My Dad died this morning. In full assurance and confidence, they are rejoicing in the presence of our Lord. I venture that they have few thoughts of us in our earthly doings. It isn't that they are heartless or cruel, but rather they have entered into the rest of our LORD and have left the trials, pains, and burdens of this life behind. Jesus has promised to "wipe away all tears". For them to leave behind sin and this sin filled world, God may have a way for them to cheer on those of us who are still running the race, but not be discouraged by sight or sound or ...marks of evil that are in abundance around (and in) us.

I have pondered that Jehovah is the master of time and eternity, so when we, those before us, and those to follow will step off the "Heaven Express" to arrive at the same station, same time, ready to join in the jubilee.

Dad was a farmer, electrician, mechanic, teacher, preacher, welder, father, husband, and outdoors sportsman. The Master Architect, Father God (of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, Daniel...and a bunch of Westbrooks) has woven together an incredible and sometimes unrecognized bigger picture built from seemingly disjointed lives. In giving back to God, the people around us receive grace from the things HE has put in our hands, or made our hands to do. Love lived out by our skin and bones.

It was in one of those giving plans, that Dad got his ticket home. As farmers tend to do, one helps another by supplying what the other lacked, then in turn giving with what the second had. Brother lifting up brother. One of Dads hobbies involved collecting and rebuilding, and rebuilding, and rebuilding bulldozers (his cats). The project was somewhere that required a dozer being put on a truck with a "lowboy". In the steps of driving the dozer up, something went wrong. It fell off and rolled over. Dad was gone just like that.

I know where he is, and look forward to joining him, at a date not yet identified. His hope is in the Lord, my hope is in the Lord. The blood of Jesus was sought to purchase us back from Death and Hell. That is our only claim to allow us into "the joy of our Lord". Were Dad to be able to speak aloud to me, I'm sure he would say, "Come anytime, I'll be here, Our Father sends His love".

Why the book of Acts?

The book of Acts (of the Apostles) is a record of the transition from the age of the Law, to the age of Grace. Not that all rules went away, but actually a higher code where LOVE is the core. True Love is more than a feeling. It shapes everything into expression for the other and not centered on self. It demands REAL commitment.

When baking a cake, is it important if you use baking soda or baking power? They look essentially the same. Why should it matter? For those experienced in baking, they might be very aware, especially if they made such a mistake.

Getting into the book of Acts, we will find a time frame where the new order is mixed and confusing for some. There will be errors made, some small, some very large with catastrophic results. In reality, this was the arrival of a “New Age”. It might be like putting an assemble-yourself car together before anyone knew what a car was. Like unto the first cake ever baked. All the parts/ingredients are there, but it is all new with no example to follow.

The understanding of the book of Acts will invariably guide to what a present church should be and do. The mission and priorities of the Church as a local assembly (if it should be looked at, in that manner) and the Church as a total of all Christ followers (if it should be looked at, in that manner) has foundations in the book of Acts.

The question has been asked, “Have we faithfully modeled the design handed down to us by the Apostles, handed down to them by Christ Himself?” Many have answered, “No”, and created entities that are referred to as cults. A schism exists between large groups that say, “elements of Scripture: A, B, F, and L, are required to be defined as Church”. Another will demand A, B, G, E, and O, to be properly defined. Lively debate over the crucial elements have been going on for two centuries.

“Can we really know what is the truth?” Join in for the next quarter as we delve into the book of Acts, for an honest search of where we come from, why we are here, and where are we going?

Why do the heathen rage.

How many of us remember Salmon Rushdie and The Satanic Verses? His book caused so much uproar, that there were death contracts (not just threats) on his life forcing him to go into hiding. What deep, dark, heinous crime did he commit? His text suggested that the Koran was not absolute, that it might in fact have untruths in its pages. For that, the followers of Mohammed could not contain themselves, they cried out in “righteous indignation” for the blood of Rushdie.

Why are Christians less offended when the Bible is questioned? Are we cowards not to take up arms, or to charge the “infidel” screaming at the top of our lungs? The reasons for our restraint are in the character of our God and the instruction to the Church.

I have to start with who our God is and demonstrations of His nature. We are told in Exodus 33:19,

“And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Bottom In Deuteronomy 32:35,

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”

He will bring greater destruction than is possible by us. He is watching and will mete out His fire on those who turn their backs to Him. Job 21:18,

“It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’ Let Him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!”

Jehovah is distinct from Allah (in so, so many ways) in that He owns vengeance but can show mercy to someone like Saul of Tarsus, who was not seeking Him, was cursing Him, and yet was found of Him.

The justice of Adonai is longsuffering. 2Peter 3:8-10,

“ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”

The argument for righteous wrath could be made from the case of Elijah and the five hundred prophets of Baal. Elijah personally delivered the deathblow to that crowd, should we not also be so bold? The difference is Elijah was acting on the rule of law that Israel was living under. Israel was to be an earthly kingdom, the commands were literally written in stone. The full Law of Moses called for the death penalty to those who go after other gods. Deuteronomy 18:20,

“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”

And Leviticus 24:14-16,

“Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.’ ”

Today Israel exists and they should hold the Law of Moses as their mandate. I am not Jewish, nor am I living in Israel. Those who are Jewish and live in Israel, aught to live by Moses Law. I myself, and most of my acquaintances, are Christians living in the United States of America. We live under the laws of this land, established by The Declaration of Independence, and The U.S. Constitution. Looking back on Lev. 24, note that the judgment is upon those within the congregation. Not for those who are without.

Jesus laid out the pattern for us in the current age. We will be brought before judges and councils for our Faith, as in Matthew 10:16-20,

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you,”

Mark 13:9, has the same message. We are to allow ourselves to be quietly brought before evil rulers, but not retaliate. BottoRomans 14:11,

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

And Philippians 2:11,

“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We can rest assured that the day will come when ALL will stand before His Throne!

What if the tree fell the other way?

In a dream the other night, I was having some friends over to my house. Being a dream, some odd people were at this party. They were both former co-workers, but one is dead, and the other moved off to another part of the state. "M" is the one who died but was alive in the dream. "P" was the one who moved away.
"M" and I were pulling on some dead branches on a living tree. The branches broke off and fell but were logs instead of branches, they fell on "P"s car. "P" was sitting on the hood of the car, so the dead logs crushed the bumper...and "P's toes. For some reason, "P" got angry and pulled a revolver out of his boot holster. His intentions were clear that he wanted both "M" and I dead.

It wasn't about old grudges or past hurts, just a crisis brought on by my impetuous and not well thought out actions.

I woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding. What came to mind were flashes of events that started by my foolishness, but had by grace fallen the other way. The tree in the dream fell the wrong way, crunching a car and nearly killed a man. Without revealing some past antics specifically (I plead the 5th), there were a number of situations where my initiation or complicity could ... well I knew guys in prison, who had done something that resembled my loonacy, but theirs went bad enough to have a Judge give them 5-7 years.

Please understand I did not always have malicious intent, however when the snowball starts rolling, it can go beyond the first action and end up catastrophic. I won't put any specifics in this paper, because (1) in the event that it involves others, I need to go to them and resolve face to face. Also (2) the statutes of limitations may not have expired.

Psalm 103:8-14, "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor his anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

So many times I did not get what I deserved. Knowing this, I should make every comment, evaluation, and correction, knowing full well, I might be as guilty as any common criminal (in the thought process, if not in actuality). IT IS THE HOLY "BEER LAHAI ROI" (Gen 16) that sees our needs, and forgives our fault.

Also He has promised, Psalm 19:13, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."

I know that there were times when it was Heavenly guardians, that prevented my movement toward sin, and they cut me off. I had the desire for evil, but thankfully, things were not where they were supposed to be, or that quiet place suddenly had crowds.

Some day when the saints of God surround His throne, we may find out how MANY-MANY times Jehovah comes to protect us from our foolishness, when we never knew. I was/am a foolish person that the True and Living God answered my prayers to keep me away from presumptuous sins.

I pray that you will not pursue foolishness, or if you do, God will send angels for our own good, just like Baalim riding his donkey met a flaming sword. By grace, he was allowed to see the weapon of death, before it fell on him.