2 Corinthians 5:8 ~ "Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday, February 6, 2019. This past Monday afternoon I was working on my computer in The Home Office and I took note of the fact that I had my small window A/C running. It was 76 degrees and extremely humid. I called up the national weather map and saw where some of our fellow Americans were still in the deep freeze at a minus 10 degrees. That was in northwestern Montana. It just goes to show you. I'm not exactly sure what it shows, but, it does show something. Just last week I needed a jacket early in the morning to walk Bentley. This week a short sleeve shirt. Go figure. I convinced myself to run the A/C because I wanted to make sure the brand new computer was taken care of. Or, I felt warm and wanted to feel cooler. It was one of those two or perhaps a combination, although I think the second one was the leading reason I switched it on. I saw several others on social media talking about trying to restrain themselves from turning the A/C on. You just never know exactly what to expect when it comes to weather in these parts.

I read a posting saying a preacher I know had passed away. Back in the 1980s, I was asked to speak on ministry planning principles at a seminary in East Texas. They told me I was the first lay person asked to speak at that particular event. At that time, I had started a Church planning ministry where I would go into a local fellowship and spend a day helping them flesh out an assessment of their current status and eventually they would set some goals and objectives to help move them forward. I was nervous about speaking at the seminary to an audience made up of preachers, men of God. It came my time and I went through my prepared remarks. I could tell that not everyone was buying into using planning techniques to enhance their ministry efforts, even though I gave solid biblical evidence for doing so. Most of the group was supportive. When I finished, the next speaker got up. He was a rather large fellow. I knew him and had actually heard him preach a time or two. He was a very effective speaker. He got to the podium and he wadded up his Bible in one hand and bellowed this out, "Everything I need to know about planning or anything else can be found in this book!" He wasn't looking directly at me but the remark was intended for me. And, I had no problem with what he said. None whatsoever. But, I always remembered him being so intense and how he squeezed his Bible and made his comment. Well, that's the fellow who passed away after serving the Lord for many years as a singer and pastor. May God comfort the hearts of all those impacted by his sudden passing. Amen.

As I was writing about that experience and my time as a planning consultant I thought about the artisans that assisted Moses in building the Tabernacle. God had given Moses specific plans in exacting detail in the building of this place where His presence would rest. It required many skills to do the work laid out. This work was organized, planned, and supervised by individuals who had most likely honed their skills as slaves in Egypt. God stirred their hearts and gave them a passion for the work. However, they used the skills He had allowed them to learn to contribute to this ordained work of God. You can read all about this in the Book of Exodus, Chapters 25-31 and Chapters 35-40. My desire in using the techniques I shared with Churches was to see them maximize their potential by using the talents, skills, abilities, and God-provided spiritual gifts within their local fellowship. You probably are tired of hearing the definition of insanity, but, since preachers love using it, here it is: It's continuing to do the same things over and over expecting a different result. That was my point. People can get in a rut of mediocrity and local Churches can too. Oh well, all of this came back to me when I read about him moving on up to Gloryland. You can only go there if you know Jesus as Savior. Not knowing about Him, but, knowing Him because you have put your faith and trust in Him, confessed your sins, repented, and given your life to Him. I have confidence I will see that dear brother again because we shared a like faith in Christ. Amen. .....More later.