But last weekend, a new young man in our church came up to me and explained to me how he had a roommate who was very much against God, who mocked God, and ask condemning questions about God. He even claimed that he had sold his soul to the devil. He wanted advice, and prayer, as to how he should deal with his friend.

I honestly was interested, and cared about these young men, but in my mind I just- to be honest- kind of blew it off after the conversation was over. It was almost as if I didn’t think God could do anything with this man. I didn’t really believe that, or even think that, but due to me just going on with life normally after the conversation, I might as well have.

So this Sunday…guess who shows up! The new guy at our church with “the friend!” Holy cow!

Okay. So he’s here, but his heart will be hard to God and he won’t get anything out of coming to church, right? I mean, we’re going to be talking about sexual sin in the lives of men. That will make him more hard-hearted and upset, right??

Heck, maybe I should tone-down my message a little bit so I don’t offend this atheist?

To say that thoughts like this didn’t go through my mind would be a little dishonest, but I pressed through and did as I was directed by God.

And when I gave an opportunity for those present to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and to confess publicly that they were doing so by raising their hands; guess who did? Yep! Him! And another person that we’ve been specifically praying for, and a husband and wife- together!

The guy who “sold his soul to the devil” had it purchased back for him with the blood of Christ!

I’m being reminded again and again, that those who we would too quickly deem “least-likely” to be saved, are exactly the ones who God is calling- and I am humbled.

I don’t normally like to post real specific things like this, at the risk of violating someone’s privacy, but this was too good not to share!

I can’t wait until this weekend!

First of all, it’s crazy that in such campaigns they don’t dare use the word “abortion.” Abortion sounds like the atrocious thing that it is, so they need to make killing babies seem more friendly. So they make it all about women having a right to choose, instead of about babies being killed and vacuumed out of that woman’s uterus.

Second, it drives me nuts that groups who celebrate tolerance, diversity, and equality can’t tolerate someone’s right to be against, not “a woman’s right to choose,” but the killing of an innocent baby.

But the thing that bugs me the most about this ad is the part involving incest and rape. Without actually saying it, they’re saying that babies conceived out of the horrible circumstances and abuse of rape and incest aren’t worth a *insert curse word of choice, here*. Imagine being a child born out of incest, or rape (which I’m sure there are plenty of) and hearing this commercial- how worthless and unwanted you would feel.

They almost make it seem as if those who are against abortion in the cases of incest and rape, are actually advocating incest and rape. No! Those who are against abortion in those circumstances are not for incest and rape!

They are for the life of children born out of incest and rape, who are just that, children! They are so concerned about a woman’s right to choose, but don’t give a damn about a baby’s right to choose, especially if that baby is a product of incest or rape. Because, for some reason to them, a child of incest or rape has less of a voice, has less value than, well, them.

People who vilify those against abortion are ridiculous to think that the public buys-in to  all of this being about a women’s right to choose! This is not about a woman’s health, or a woman’s contraceptive choice! This is about being inconvenienced by a child, and killing it in order to maintain your selfish lifestyle.

So to anyone who was born out of incest or rape- you are valued, loved, and worth the blood of Christ- just as much as those who wish you were dead.

There are four things that have been going through my mind the last several weeks that I want to begin to pray for fervently in the year 2012. Those four things are:

1. The Old Big Lots Building:

I fully believe that one hindrance of growth that my church has, is our small facility. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and paid for, but it is way too small for us to grow. And on the outside, it looks even smaller than it actually is. Not to mention that it is sort of tucked away behind a major tire retailer on one of the city’s busiest streets.

Last spring, several members of my leadership team were praying that God would give us the old Albertson’s building- a big-audacious prayer for sure! Funny thing, though, is that Big Lots- which is right across the street from us- moved into the old Albertson’s building. This left the old Big Lots building open.

The Big Lots building is, well, big, and would make a perfect church facility! And, the building has great curb appeal right on Lancaster Drive. Plus, it wouldn’t be too difficult to move things right across the street.

Who knows; maybe God had us praying for the Albertson’s building FOR Big Lots, so that their building would open up for us.

2. A Large House:

Before I entered the ministry, my wife and I had a nice new house in a nice neighborhood with a nice yard. But God had other plans for us and moved us into a small condo in the neighborhood we would be pastoring in.

We are content with what we have, and consider ourselves to be blessed, but we are at a place where we could really use a big house with a big yard. We have people over all the time for ministry, host a small group (which with kids is not very small), and would love to host way more church and community events if we had the room. Not to mention the fact that our growing kids need a place to ride a bike, play basketball (both against the rules in our condos), and play outside.

The house isn’t a big deal to us, and we currently can’t afford one, but we will be praying audacious prayers for one this year.

3. Our Car Paid Off:

We, compared to many, make decent money, but we would like to have some of our monthly income freed up to have a greater margin to be able to save, give, and spend. We currently spend $330 on our monthly car payment, and if that was freed up, we would have a lot more breathing room.

We, in the natural, have no way to pay off this debt in the next year, but for some reason it has been laid on my heart to pray for this very thing. So, praying for our only car to be paid off is exactly the audacious thing I will do.

4. For Michael McMullin To Get a Local Job After Graduating:

This seems like a weird big request, and I feel a little silly even typing it out. But we have some GREAT SATURDAYNIGHT and College Pastors here at Fellowship Church, and it would be VERY sad to lose them to an out of town job.

Michael graduates from Oregon State this May with a degree in mechanical engineering. Upon graduation, he will need to start a job in his new field. Most of these jobs are out of town.

We love him and his wife Katie so much, and in a short time, my wife and I have come to consider them to be good friends, so we really do not want to see them leave.

So I am already praying big-audacious prayers that Michael will find a job right here in the Mid-Willamette Valley!

I have been with my wife Susan for over 16 years, and have been married to her for nearly 13. I love her and could not be any happier that we both made the decision to do life with one another.

And what’s amazing is that; 16 years, two kids, and an interesting life later, I actually love her more- way more- than the time we started dating and even more than the day we were married. And to be honest, I’m far more attracted to her now, and think that she is far more beautiful at thirty-something, than she was at 16. We are better friends, better spouses, better parents, and better lovers than we were the year before, and the year before that, and the years before that.

Each day, I discover something new about her- I realize that I care about her, and love her even more.

These past 7 years, especially the last 3 or so, have been a whirlwind for us- times of extreme highs and extreme lows. These past 2 years have been very difficult for us in many areas, but our marriage, our friendship, and our sex life are better than they ever have been! We have come to rely upon each other more and more each day; as we both learn to rely on God.

This past week, we had the opportunity to get away for the night. We stayed in a romantic hotel room that sits right on the beach. We both did things that the other liked, wore clothes the other liked, gave, and took. The night was great. The ocean was great. The dinner was great. The drive was great. The private beachfront hot tub was great. The hotel room was great. But my wife; she was AMAZING. If all we had was one another, that would be enough.

I can’t wait to see where God takes us; what adventures await us; how much more in love we can grow.

a] church,

b] wedding,

c] movie,

d] play,

e] concert

f] serious conversation, intervention, or counseling session, or a

g] funeral

I’m a pastor and are in some of the previous scenarios more than the average person, and it never ceases to amaze me how so many     people, especially seniors, do not silence their phones before entering into one of these scenarios. This is especially true for                     funerals- the most inappropriate time to have your cell phone unsilenced. I have been to many funerals over the past few years and     can say with all certainty that not one of the funerals that I have been to recently has been a ‘cell phone ring-free’ service- really.

So for the sake of all appropriateness, ask your grand kids how to silence your phone. They’ll be happy to show you, and a whole new world will be opened to you.

2. NEVER answer a call when you are in any of the previous scenarios- EVER!

You’re not the president. Whoever is calling you can wait. Don’t show disrespect for the person you’re with or talking to by answering a call. Can you imagine having a face to face conversation with someone, then just walking away during the middle of your conversation to talk to someone else, then entering back into the conversation with the original person whenever you feel like it like nothing ever happened? Not likely. Remember, the same rules applies when someone calls your phone. People can leave a message, and you can call them back, If someone doesn’t have that kind of patience (to wait for you to call them back), do you really want to be having a conversation with them in the first place?

Exceptions to the rule would be if you are responsible for your child or grandchild, and the person watching them for you, tries to call you. There may be an emergency you need to deal with. Another exception would be if you are with someone you are always with, and your spouse calls. Your spouse, your children, and your grandchildren are more important than everyone else anyways, so don’t feel bad about taking a call related to one of them. Just make sure the timing is appropriate, and that you excuse yourself by stating who it is and why it is imperative you take their call. You may have a job that requires you to answer calls at all times, but there are situations and events where you should never answer a call, and if you have to, you need to excuse yourself and quietly leave the situation.

If you’re in a funeral, wedding, movie, or church service and you get a call that you have to answer- not everyone needs to know. Let it go to voicemail and quietly sneak out of the event t call back the party in private.

3. If you’re having a hard time hearing the person on the other line; yelling will not help.

Yelling will actually make things worse, as you will create feedback that will make it hard for both of you to hear. Try simply turning up your phone’s volume. Your grand kids can show you how to do that too!

4. Sticking your tongue out to dial a number or text message does not make it easier- it just doesn’t.

5. Young people are not impressed with your choice of ringtones- sometimes they’re just inappropriate or over-the-top.

If at any point you’re thinking of choosing Justin Timberlake’s “I’m Bringing Sexy Back,” or Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies,” just don’t.

And finally(for now).

6. There will never, ever, be a dial-tone on your cell phone.

Just let it go. The longing for that familiar sound will subside.

One pleasantly surprising guest was his current first grade teacher, Mrs. Tsukamaki. And even more surprising; his kindergarten teacher from last year. They both entered our home beaming with smiles, yet showed great concern for our precious child. It was an honor for my son to have two of his school teachers actually come and make a home visit.

They brought with them a large handwritten poster from his class, and personalized colored notes from each student in his class. The teachers giggled as we read through the notes. Zion felt loved. And his mother and I felt……proud.

Each and every child in our son’s class had written such nice things about him, all things that were true and of his character: “Zion you are friends with everyone.” “Zion you are my best friend.” “Zion you are so funny.” Zion I love you.” “Zion you are nice.” Over and over again they spoke of the friendship he gave to all of them, and of how funny he was. Many of them even (attempted to) wrote jokes to him in order to cheer him up.

Apparently our little six year-old son is making an impact at his school. Apparently all of the values we are instilling into his little life are blooming when he is away from us during the day. This boy is being a beaming example of Christ in his first grade class. He cares about those overlooked. He makes people laugh. And he makes sure he respects and builds relationships with those in authority over him. Most of the time, at least.

This little boy, who can be quite mouthy and hyper at home; is growing up and developing his own little individual personality at school. Character is being built that will carry him into the trials of adolescence and adulthood.

When his teachers left our house; I don’t know if I have ever felt more proud in my life. It wasn’t pride in myself. It was a pride in my son; who was made in the image of God; who has been given to Susan and I to raise, nurture, and teach about Christ. This boy who has a piece of me and a piece of his mother inside of him, who has been fearfully and wonderfully made by the Almighty, is making his father abundantly proud in him.

I thank God for my son and my daughter; and we pray daily that the Spirit would convict them of their sins, open their hearts to Jesus, and draw them to salvation in Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit would empower them to do great things to glorify God and advance His Kingdom, a hundredfold more than that of their parents.

The next morning he still wasn’t feeling good, and was complaining of a stomach ache, so we decided that he would need to stay home from school and rest.

A few minutes later, though, he was experiencing severe stomach pains. When my wife rubbed his back to comfort him, it brought on excruciating pain that continued in his stomach. We knew what this meant.

We brought him immediately to the doctor’s office where he began a cycle of throwing up that wouldn’t stop until later that afternoon. The doctor pressed on his abdomen above his appendix, and with pain, our fears were realized.

We were sent to the hospital for a pain-ridden ultrasound. And with a concerned look on her face, the ultrasound technician called in a doctor. The doctor told us that Zion would be having surgery that day.

We were sent to the pediatric unit where we would wait a long time for a surgeon who would be available to remove our six year-old son’s appendix. There, our son suffered with horrible pain, hunger, and thirst.

We prayed and prayed all day for Zion’s pain to go away. Every time the pain overcame our boy, no matter where we were, who we were with, or what we were doing, he asked us to pray for him on the spot. We prayed in front of nurses, receptionists, doctors, medical assistants, and anesthesiologist.

And around 4:00pm we experienced a miracle. Our son’s pain went completely away, and an amazing sense of peace came over him, until he had his surgery around 9:00pm! It was a wonderful answer to prayer.

Before his anesthesiologist wheeled him back to the operating room, we laid hands on him and prayed. The anesthesiologist laid hands on his head and prayed along. He was in good hands in all senses of the word.

He came through his surgery without a hitch and our prayers that his appendix would not be ruptured were thankfully answered.

He is home in his bed tonight as I write this. He is still stiff and sore; wobbling to and fro to avoid stretching his stomach muscles near his incision when he walks. Tonight I gave him his first shower since the incident, scrubbing off bandage marks, iodine stains, and examining the bruises and cuts he incurred during his surgery- careful not to scrub around his bandage covering his incision.

While drying him off and dressing him, I carefully inspected the incision, making sure it was not red or swollen in the slightest. Wanting to make sure we were diligent in watching for, and preventing, any kind of infection.

I needed to write all this out, it’s therapeutic. I wanted a record of what we went through. It all happened so suddenly, that I’ve already forgotten key details.

But the main reason I wanted to write about it was to share how I felt as his father. I felt so helpless. I wanted so badly to cry for my son, but because I was so in shock and had to be brave for him, I was numb to the feelings and couldn’t cry if I forced myself to.

I wanted more than anything to take on my son’s pain. To experience all of it so he wouldn’t have to. To go through surgery instead of him. To take weeks to fully recover while he played outside. I would have in an instant if it were possible. That’s what true, unconditional love would do- how it feels.

That got me thinking. This is exactly what God has done for us through Christ. Doing for us what we were unable to do ourselves. Bearing all of our sins. Taking on the full wrath of the Father, on our behalf. Experiencing death, and defeating it. All so we wouldn’t have to experience what we deserved to begin with. He loved us so much that He took on our pain so we wouldn’t have to.

God loves me like a son. Yet He was willing to give His Son, so that this son could escape death and experience life to the fullest.

That’s the kind of love I want to be loved by. That’s the kind of love I am loved by. That’s the kind of God I can give my life up for to serve. Because I am God’s son and through His Son He is pleased with me.

Anyone can grasp the Gospel, but now that I am a father I can see that it takes having children to be able to grasp, understand, and appreciate the Gospel more completely.