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How could we forget the fires of 2017? Ranking #1 in the nation in any category was bad enough. We ranked #1 in fire and #1 in worst air in recorded history. To add insult upon injury, if you lived east of Highway 83 here in the valley, you were asked to evacuate. Where to go when everywhere was on fire or had bad smoke conditions? What could possibly be a ray of sunshine among such tall timber of despair? Well, we experienced some of the finest examples of service in our little valley. When you had to leave your home, was there someone that...
I believe we can all agree that the truth is a very elusive commodity in this day and age. It is rare that you get the same story on TV, newspapers, internet or radio as most of the stories seem to be slanted toward a particular agenda or thinking. It’s called “spinning the news” by omitting pertinent facts or statements that don’t allow the receiver to get the whole story. You know what I mean. We all experience this every day. Truth is often defined as “that which conforms to reality, fact or actuality” but this definition leaves many questio...
Have you ever wondered why a world in such obvious trouble would choose to resist good? In the midst of a world which is filled with misery and dysfunction, does it not strike you as odd that we seem to look in all the wrong places for answers to the problems which beset out culture today? Some years ago I was looking at statistics on our schools to see if there were any correlation between the removal of the Bible and school prayer from our schools. On June 25, 1962 the Supreme Court of the United States decided in Engle versus Vitale that...
Amsterdam in 1697 was the richest of all European cities, with by far the biggest port, and famous for the finest built ships anywhere. It was all within one of the major powers of the world at that time, the Dutch Colonial Empire. If you would have been walking the docks at the building yards in the late summer that year, you might have seen a carpenter emerging from his housing unit after cooking himself and his fellow workmen a traditional breakfast to start their day or later having a simple lunch with them seated on a nearby log, talking a...
Today is my 25th anniversary! I can honestly say that it has been the best 25 years of my life and I thank God every day for giving me a godly, wonderful, intelligent, beautiful wife who loves and respects me, and sacrifices herself to take care of her family. Our oldest daughter got married just over a month ago, so between that and our 25th anniversary, it seemed fitting to write some brief thoughts about marriage. What is the purpose of marriage? God created marriage (see Genesis 2:18-25), and ultimately, everything God created is for the...
Of this there can be no doubt for in the Good Book in Mark 10:16 Jesus took the children in His arms, put His hand on them and blessed them. It should trouble us all to hear how many children are abused and neglected. The little ones are denied the joy, love, security and correct discipline that childhood deserves. What troubles my soul is Planned Parenthood and their lack of compassion for the unborn. The callous way they sell baby body parts makes Hitler look like a day care provider. The last year I could find was 2014 - 926,000 helpless...
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?” Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man travel...
When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He began with the Beatitudes. These are the ‘blessed are the’…verses found in the fifth chapter of Matthew. These describe the Christ-like attributes that I imagine He is asking us to develop—He being perhaps the perfect example of each. When I read “blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth’, I feel a bit confused as it appears to be somewhat of an oxymoron. I am confused because I don’t think of Christ as being meek—at least in the sense that I understand it today. We have a tendency to...
Early in his life after he had taken over as King from his father David, God said to Solomon, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.” (1 Kings 3:5) Solomon replied that because he was young he wanted wisdom to discern between good and evil to be able to act as a judge for his people. God being pleased with his answer gave him great wisdom along with riches and honor that he had refrained from asking for. 1 Kings 10:23-34 says, “So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. All the earth was seeking the p...
A friend once told me that when he had invited a neighbor to church, the neighbor’s response was, “Why would I want to go to church? They’re all just a bunch of hypocrites.” My friend responded jokingly, “Don’t let that stop you, we’ve always got room for one more.” The reality is that non-believers often misunderstand Christians. The misunderstandings are generally based on false assumptions or false impressions. First, they may assume that Christians seem to act superior (and certainly that is an impression we might leave) assuming that t...
“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11 When it pertains to God and His Word, there are two basic groups: those who do accept Him as their Creator, and those who don’t. No one forces this choice upon any of us but the consequences of either are real nonetheless. We live now in a society where the very word “sin” is seen, at best, as anachronistic. More...
It’s shortly after the dawn of another new year, and I just thought I would share a few thoughts with you. Its always good to reflect on the past, being thankful for what God has done, and look forward to the future, being thankful for what He is going to do. This last year, every one of us who lives in, visits, has family living in, or is somehow associated with the Seeley, Swan, and Ovando valleys, can be thankful that we were spared from catastrophic damage during the fire season. I am thankful that God has given me another year to enjoy l...
A great conversation unfolded within my weekly study group of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. This week’s topic: Developing your friendship with God. The crux of the chapter is that you are as close to God as you choose to be. The way you get closer is by intimate desire, time and energy. But as the chapter goes on, it has a heavy emphasis on how we need to learn what God cares about and then do the same… The group of nearly a dozen talked about the widow and orphan – and the homeless person flying a sign on the street corner. As that...
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” [Isaiah 40:3] The biblical image of “the wilderness” is a mixed bag - neither inherently good or inherently evil. It seems to be a neutral place, full of possibility and potential. It is often a metaphorical place we enter to discover something about ourselves, the world, God or all of the above. The Israelites wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years. God gave them this time to s...
A widely accepted adage says, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” This statement tries to get us to accept that as time goes on, it’s too late to make a change. Many enjoy the Discovery Channel show, “Mythbusters”, which takes on widely believed assumptions and attempts to disprove them. One of my favorite episodes challenges the above-mentioned adage head-on. The hosts found an aging pair of Alaskan malamutes who didn’t know a single trick in the book. Malamutes are also known for the...
Bible (King James version) John 17:3: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. The most important thing we need to do in this life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, for this is life eternal or eternal life with God. To know the true God, we need to know the truth of God. What is True? www.merriam-webster.com defines True as: (1): being in accordance with the actual state of affairs (2): conformable to an essential reality Truth means, how things actually are. No...
There are a number of theories as to why Christmas (originally the Mass of Christ) is celebrated but it is almost certain that Dec. 25 is not the actual day. Among other factors, the nights at that time of year often get overly cold and snowy, and it was not the tradition of Jewish shepherds to have their flocks in the field in the winter months. But again, why Dec. 25? Many have pointed out that that date was when the Romans celebrated the pagan festivals of Saturnalia and Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. One prominent theory holds that that date...
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” Romans 15:13 Planning for upcoming holiday festivities often puts folks in a dither. Minds whirl with all that needs to be done; stress levels spike. The list of holiday preparations looms long and daunting with self-imposed deadlines. Where’s the peace that should envelope us at this time of year as we reflect on the hope and love God gave us in His Son Jesus Christ? God’s merciful gift of joy and peace was made available to all of us when Jesus was born. God is the...
One definition of perspective is “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” We all have a perspective and that perspective can greatly influence our outlook on life. A good perspective, a good attitude, results in a positive outlook on life, whereas a poor perspective, a bad attitude, results in a negative outlook on life. We all have ups and downs throughout the course of a year, but I think that this season of holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, can be a great time to stop and reflect on wha...
It was somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mother was preparing for her yearly pilgrimage. The old hand grinder was clamped to the table with care and calling out the back door Mother knew I’d soon be there. She had all the dates and fruit and whatever she put in her famous fruitcake waiting for me to crank away. None of those big lumps in Mom’s fruitcake, no-sir-ree. I knew better then argue with my elders so I “debated.” And so I explained to her that I needed to finish the snowshoes I was working on, the trapline was ready to be l...
And now I want to urgently remind you, dear friends, of the old rule God gave us right from the beginning, that Christians should love one another. If we love God, we will do whatever he tells us to. And he has told us from the very first to love each other. (2 John 1:5-6) Grace and peace to all through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Like many of you over the last week and a half, I have been praying and pondering over the details of the stories emerging from Sutherland Springs, Texas where a man came into a church and shot and killed 26 people and...
A memorable experience in my teenage years was a strenuous hike up Mount Rainier in Washington State. I ascended the mountain to an elevation of a little over 10,000 feet arriving at Camp Muir. This camp contains shelters that are important staging camps for mountaineers desiring to summit the peak of Mount Rainier. Those planning to reach the summit of the mountain rely on the refuge of Camp Muir to provide shelter while awaiting a mountain summit. There is no way to accurately plan or predict...
In Proverbs 23:7 we read, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” In these past few months we’ve had a lot to think or be concerned about. It seems the world has been in commotion with all manner of natural and man made disasters, even in our corner of beautiful Montana. The news has brought us daily accounts of tragedy including: earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, wildfires, mass shootings, terrorist acts and even the threat of nuclear war. And yet, with all these events raging about us, the Lord comforts us. In John 14:27 He says,...
“He got up, and rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mark 4:39) I don’t know what’s more impressive: Jesus calming the storm or him simply being able to sleep through it, on the deck of a small boat, upon Lake Galilee. I just returned from Africa, riding in planes for more than 30 hours. I’ve never been able to sleep much in a car or in a plane, let alone on a boat in a storm. But there’s Jesus, dead to the world, within the storm. Perhaps he was too exhausted to worry....
Francis Scott Key once said, “The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, ‘A lamp unto his feet, and a lamp unto his paths.’” And Woodrow Wilson said in 1911, “We are born unto a Christian nation.” If you’re over 60, you may remember different times, lighter times, times when the most awful thing you could do in school was talk or chew gum in class. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that murde...
