Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 16

Bethel Men

Men, Following Jesus,

Helping Other Men Follow Jesus

 

Bethel Men

Men, Following Jesus,

Helping Others Follow Jesus.

A group of men are meeting on Wednesday nights in the Bethel Library (the room just to the right of stairs when you come in the east door). We welcome you to join us this week. We meet from 7pm to 8pm. We will meet until November 16 and then break until the first of next year. We are men who want to follow Jesus and help others follow Jesus.

On October 26, 2022 we talked and studied the scriptures about what it means to walk in the Spirit

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:18–25, ESV)

 

“Walking in the Spirit is continually obeying

–the impulses of the Spirit in

–the power of the Spirit which produces

–the fruit of the Spirit.”

 

When a man discovers his life filled with the works of the flesh, he should examine his heart and ask himself, “When did I ignore or disobey in impulse of the Spirit, a teaching of scripture, or the example of Jesus, which led to this?” He should then return to the area he left the path of obedience and obey in the power of the Spirit until it produces the fruit of the Spirit.

Circuit-Riding Stories | Bittersweet Farm Journal | October 17, 2022

http://John Sloane Art

 

Sunday, we announced that on the last day of the month Jordan Napier will join our pastoral staff at Bethel Church to serve as Pastor of Youth and Family Life. Jordan is married to Marissa and they have three children. We are thrilled that God has brought them to us and anticipate and long and fruitful ministry together with our current team. Jordan and Marissa are Michigan people and they are eager to serve at Bethel Church.

October on Bittersweet Farm. 

I wonder where you are and what you will be doing when you read this. I wonder how you are. Are you happy? Are you sad? Are you afraid? Are you bored? I could ask like my mother, “Are you rested? Have you eaten well today.”

I send these little stories out faithfully to contribute to your spiritual and emotional well-being. I like to think these little slices of life inspire or encourage you. Maybe even sometimes they gently convict you and nudge you Godward. Please do stay in touch. I’d like to know if these stories are a blessing.

I took a long walk the other day way back to the north margin of the neighbor’s field. Along the way I noticed that this time of the year the margin of the field is full of bittersweet. At the sight of bittersweet I always pause to lift up a grateful heart to God for making so many bitter things sweet. Every fall the fields remind me again.

Friday I was in Williamston on my way north. I stopped at Chuk’s house in the village (He pastors the First Baptist Church there) and we spent some time together. We even rode our bikes long enough to justify a trip to the coffee shop for seasonal drinks. On the way I passed a wide golden and yellow field with an even wider sky over it. The sun shone and against the scattering of clouds on blue sky a skein of geese flew south and west and then I noticed another and yet another. The whole sky in every direction was filled with geese flying in their winsome formation across the autumn sky.

It’s my day off today. After a couple small chores this morning I spent the day writing in my loft over the old carriage house out back. I have a little device that informed me that while the temperature in my writing loft was rising, the outdoor temperature was dropping into the low forties. Something about the warmth of the heater and the sound of rain on the metal roof is conducive to writing. From where I write I can sip strong coffee and keep an eye on the progress of the leaf-fall. When the big maple that turns yellow orange in October is bare I have to attack the leaves with vigor, but until then I’m like the man in the picture with the dog and the boy looking out over the vista of autumn by the rock wall, and I am just drinking in the beauty of it.

Lois will be home soon and we will have dinner, and Hopey is going to stop by, but first I wanted to get this little story off to you. It’s the story of a God-sighting this weekend. There were so many. This one jumped out at me from an unlikely place when I wasn’t expecting it. Have you had that happen to you lately? I’d love to hear about it.

Circuit-Riding Stories

I’m spending a couple weekends away from the Bethel Pulpit circuit-riding. Last weekend I spoke at a men’s retreat. I opened my talk by asking, “Who of you has a special skill or talent?” 

We had a pretty, gifted bunch assembled there. One older gent was proud of his cookies, and all his friends chuckled and confirmed his baking skill. I asked for samples and they chuckled more and said there were all gone, rubbing their bellies. 

The crowd was sprinkled with hunters, a young airplane mechanic, a young motorcycle mechanic, a few pastors, a beef farmer (You can cannot successfully farm without an impressive cluster of useful skills and talents so we know he was skilled and talented).

One man was gifted and finish carpenter. His photos proved he was unusually good at it. Young Eric was very interested in fishing even though sleet fell hard between Breakfast and Chapel. Dave, the worship leader, reminded us in each session that he was not good at it but no one took that seriously. He had a strong singing voice and played a beautiful Taylor guitar, and inspired powerful singing among the men. 

One colorful fella’ successfully hunted a squirrel that was damaging his house with a Nerf gun and finished him off with his bare hands. There has to be a set of special skills in there somewhere. 

At lunch one elderly fella told me that he sometimes plays harmonica duets with his dog.

“Are you kidding me? You play a harmonica with a dog? Really?” 

His friend laughed and said, “He’s a ventriloquist and his dog isn’t a real dog and he’s not really playing the harmonica, it just looks that way.” 

“Still,” I said, “Where were you when I was asking for guys with a special talent?”

The chapel is full of men with special talents and skills in the middle of the pack was a giant of a man named Richard. Richard was wearing a John Deere hat on a John Deere shirt. He offered that he was the proud owner of a vintage John Deere tractor that had belonged to his father, and his special skills were mostly associated with that. All weekend when he spoke of the tractor he called it “her” and “she” and, yes, he had pictures. 

After chapel on Saturday morning, we had a long talk about it. He used his tractor and truck and trailer and talent for the Lord. He helped the men from his church pack a huge shipping container, bound for the mission field. He used his portable welding rig, his truck, and a special flatbed trailer to load and prep the container.  

He quietly told me that the flatbed trailer was purchased with money from his parents estate after they died.They were faithful members of the church, and they loved the Lord. 

When Covid hit the pastor had to find a creative way for the church to meet and he settled on the idea of an outdoor service. Richard, the John Deere guy, donated the use of his flatbed trailer for a platform. As he told me about it we were standing outside in the autumn air. He adjusted his cap and was quiet for a minute.

He said, “I know it’s what my parents would’ve wanted me to do…” As he spoke, big tears formed his eyes and spilled down on his face. Richard was up at the men’s retreat seeking God this weekend. Some kids don’t embrace their parent’s faith, but Richard did, serving him with all his heart and with a portable welding rig, a flatbed trailer, an old red Ford 350, and a John Deere tractor. 

Bittersweet Farm

October 17, 2022 

Maranatha

Do you long for the return of Christ?
Do you think often of his return?
Do you pray, “Come, Lord Jesus?”
Do you warn unbelievers of Christ’s return?
Do you encourage others with reinders of his return?
Do you talk often about it?
How often do you talk about the coming kingdom of Christ and his return?
Does the thought of Christ’s return thrill you, stir you?

The Bible mentions Christ’s return almost 2000 times.
It is mentioned eight times for every mention of the first coming of Christ.
23 of the 27 New Testament books mention the return of Christ.

What happens when people, even Christian leaders are unconcerned about the return of Christ?
When we are callous or unconcerned about the return of Christ we will also likely grow unconcerned about sin.
When we are not occupied with thoughts of and love for His return we will be overwhelmed by our sorrows and hardships and injustice.

Royalty Inspires Loyalty (Daniel 11:36-45) Audio

Royalty Inspires Loyalty (Daniel 11:36-45) Audio
Bethel Church | Jackson, Michigan
October 2, 2022 AM
Pastor Ken Pierpont

Royalty Inspires Loyalty (Daniel 11:36-45) Video

Royalty Inspires Loyalty (Daniel 11:36-45) Video
Bethel Church | Jackson, Michigan
October 2, 2022 AM
Pastor Ken Pierpont

Way Down in the Fall | Bittersweet Farm Journal | September 26, 2022

Way Down in the Fall

Our beloved guests from Oregon (Oldest daughter, Holly and grandchildren Aiden Redemption and Bella Allene) have come and gone since last we wrote. Now it’s bittersweet on Bittersweet Farm since they have gone.

While they were here we took a trip to the Ohio Amish Country like old times. We stayed up late and laughed and talked. My, did we stay up late. We ate way too much. We lay awake and told stories in the dark. Some were sacred. Some were scary. Some were funny. OK, most of them were funny.

My, did me laugh. What memories—bittersweet memories we added to the ones we already cherished from the little cabins in the Doughty Valley near Charm. The clop, clopping of horse-drawn carriages, the pastries “as big as your head,” the late night trips to the outhouse, getting up in the night to close the window, telling stories and memories and laughing at our own laughing. The days were perfect driving along the undulating backroads and visiting favorite eating places and shopping places, even our favorite orchard for cider. We stood and looked out over hills and hills beyond hills like the hills in my boyhood. (As a boy we often lived in suburbs and when we travelled to the farm in Ohio I would climb the hills and look out over the hilly green vistas with awe and wonder and deep, deep inexplicable joy. How sights like that bring joy to my soul. God’s good green hills.

After returning from Ohio we went to Kyle and Elizabeth’s for food and more stories and laughter and cousins and loved ones and a fire and couch-surfing, then we spent the day at a fun farm near Rothbury that Hannah arranged and then we went to her house for chili and more laughter and the fetching antics of children.

We travelled around to visit the other siblings in Michigan and the Michigan siblings travelled to Bittersweet Farm on the last night they were here to spend the day and say goodbye and celebrate Lois’s birthday and Heidi’s (Oh, the Wisconsin sibling visited, too).

There was love and laugher and there was food and there were tears and there were children, little tots—cousins playing under the walnuts and out in the north meadow and around the teardrop drive. We gathered sticks and rode bikes and we did little “farm chores” and the children pulled each other around in the wagon. We blew up the air mattress and made the couch and love seat into beds. We drove the back roads around here like we do in the evening sometimes and we had a treat every night.

And quickly as they came they were gone, back to Portland reunited with Jesse, and then over the coastal range and out to their home on the Pacific Coast Highway so very far away. And our hearts ached for love of them.

A few days after they left the seasons turned from summer to fall. A we are here on the place tonight, a place on earth Fernando Ortega called it in a line I suppose he borrowed from Wendell Berry, “Find me a place on the earth where a weary man can rest and listen for your voice in the turning seasons… a quiet place in the world where I can bow and confess that I fear where you have brought me mysterious God…” (Fernando Ortega—Find Me A Place on the Earth)

Song lyrics just snatches of them spring into my mind and some of them warm me like a hearty wood fire or a thick flannel shirt on a chili morning. Here is one…

“And I didn’t have a coat and it was way down in the fall…” Its a warm line about a cold time of year from a ballad about a little girl from the mountains whose mother made he a home-made coat out of scraps of fabric and called it a “Coat of Many Colors.”

On the first day of fall the temperature dropped from summer warm to autumn cool just like that. Suddenly all the fall chores sprang to mind and the days seemed shorter already. I remembered that I needed furnace filters. I started thinking about swapping the mower deck and the plow and when the leaves will turn and when they will peak and how many days into November until they have all blown down and how many times I will need to rake this fall and will there be clear days warm enough to do it before the leaves are buried with an early snow. And what happened to this summer—the summer of the bikes has come and gone so fast it’s bittersweet out on Bittersweet.

How is it in your neck of the woods and where is your place on the earth where you listen for God’s voice in the turning seasons?

 

Bittersweet Farm

September 26, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

When You Are Spiritually “Stuck” | September 10, 2022 | Bittersweet Farm Journal

The News from Out on Bittersweet

It’s a sunny fall-like day today and we are preparing for special visitors on Bittersweet Farm all the way from the Oregon coast. Today the Preacher’s Wife is selling her wonderful-smelling candles at the Main Street Market sponsored by the Urban Farm Girl near Rockford, Illinois. Tomorrow we will have our Family Fall Festival at Bethel Church.

I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the “Ber” months. May God bless your home, your church, your “students” returning to school. These are sweet months to savor in our parts. These days I am enjoying every mile on my bikes, sweeping along in the cool mornings thorough leaves beginning to fall and under skies especially clear and blue. What are your favorite fall traditions? What do you do to get fresh air in you lungs? How do you keep fit? What are your special fall plans this year?

Our son, Daniel recently moved from New Mexico to the panhandle of Florida to serve with the Santa Rosa Country Sheriff’s Department. Dan is married to Kate. They have a Christian home with three adorable boys. We covet your prayers for his safety as he serves to keep peace.

This morning I penned (or plucked) a little article that might be a help to those who are spiritually “stuck.”

When You Are Spiritually “Stuck”

How do you keep a warm heart and a grow strong faith?

How do you push back the creeping darkness of despair from your life?

How do you keep hope alive when you wrestle with hurts or guilt or shame or anger or anxiety or disappointment or depression?

How do you keep believing when you are tempted to think there is no God or that the things you have been taught about God and are not true? What do you do when you are tempted to doubt the Word of God?

How to you keep growing in your Christian experience year after year? How do you keep your faith fresh and satisfying?

Practices of the Faithful

Through the centuries followers of Jesus have had practices that are means of spiritual vitality. Some of them seem too simple to be helpful, but like good nutrition, when faithfully practiced, they do their good work. The scriptures teach that these practices, disciplines, are supernaturally empowered in the life of a believer to accomplish good.

Different Christian denominations and theological traditions see them from different perspectives but most of us agree about the value and the importance of these practices to our salvation and spiritual flourishing.

The London Baptist Confession put it like this:

“The Grace of Faith, whereby the Elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts; and is ordinarily wrought by the Ministry of the Word; by which also, and by the administration of Baptism, and the Lords Supper, Prayer and other Means appointed of God, it is increased, and strengthened. – The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, 14:1.

I found this quote from an article on the Center for Baptist Renewal sight to express my understanding:

When evangelical Protestants speak of baptism and the Supper (again, alongside the Word and prayer) as means of grace, they do not mean to convey that these practices are somehow means of justifying grace. Faith alone is the instrument of justification, with the righteousness of Christ its sole basis. But we can speak about the sacraments or ordinances as means of sanctifying grace in that these practices do function to strengthen and confirm the faith of believers and as indispensable aids in the perseverance and preservation of the saints during our earthly pilgrimage.

So, understood this way, as means of sanctifying grace, “means of grace”* are simple things. Prayer. Bible reading. Bible memorization. Bible meditation. Bible study. Fasting. Gathering in small Christian groups. Assembling with larger groups of other believers. Communion. Confession. Singing. Giving. Service. The use of spiritual gifts in cooperation with others. Visitation. Godly conversation. Baptism. Witnessing. Exhortation. Teaching.

For decades as a pastor I have given counsel and help to people who are seeking to strengthen or revive their faith. I have found that they are often tempted to doubt the power of the means God has appointed and look for some new or novel thing. But it is not that the means God has given do not work, it is that they have lost heart and they have stopped practicing them faithfully or they have settled for a mere outward and formal version of them and they are “going through the motions.”

Jesus once said, “You honor me with your lips but your hearts are far from me.”

I Have A Practical Suggestion

Return to the practice of the means that God has clearly commended in his word and perhaps begin with just a few. Maybe even one or two at a time. Find a quiet place to pray. Set aside a time for thoughtfully reading and thinking about one of the Psalms. Concentrate on the book of the Bible your pastor is preaching through and read and study that book until the meaning is clear. Mark parts that warm your heart or stir your soul.

Take a walk and talk to God. Begin with thanksgiving. Move to confession. Tell him all your heart. Unburden your soul to him. Walk and pray or go for a “prayer drive.” Find a place of beauty that tugs your heart godward.

Practice the practices from the heart and you will find that they are means of grace, ways that God has designed to gift his beloved children.

Bittersweet Farm

September 10, 2022

 

* [I have departed from a strict protestant theological definition of the phrase “means of grace” here. I understand. We are saved by grace through faith alone and our works are evidence and results of our salvation. I believe that, but use the term here in a different way closer to thy way it was used by John Wesley. Perhaps it is best to simply call them “practices” God blesses. But sometimes I have borrowed the phrase “means of grace.” ]

 

Camp Fairwood Family Camp Notes | Sept. 2-5, 2022

This weekend will be mostly Bible teaching on Four Ways to Build Better Relationships.

Love (2 Cor. 12:15 NKJV)Honor (1 Peter 2:17)Humility (Proverbs 28:13)Mercy (Matthew 18:21-22; Eph. 4:30-32)

What we do when we gather in the barn will be part Bible teaching, part practical seminar-like instruction, part story-telling, and personal testimony. I’ve been praying what I have to share will help you strengthen your fellowship God, see Jesus as sufficient, and deepen your fellowship with your loved ones.

Each day shortly before the session I hope to post helpful notes that go along with the teaching for those of you who find them helpful. You can follow along, or just use them to remind you of what you learned this weekend.

–Ken Pierpont

You can correspond: ken@kenpierpont.com 

Feel free to text me feedback or questions 517-262-3260

 

 

 

 

Notes for Friday Evening:

Psalm 66:16 “Come and listen all you who fear the Lord and I will tell what great things the Lord has done for my soul.”

How Do I Know What I Am Going to Tell You is True? 

—I have see people obey it and achieve beauty.—I have seen people ignore it and suffer. —I have experienced the blessing of it. —Sometimes the one who ignored it or did not obey and it was I who experienced the heartbreak of chastisement. (Hebrews 12:4-14) 

So I will speak from personal experience knowing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat but More than anything I know what I am going to tell you is true because I will prove it is the clear teaching of the Eternal Word of God. As such it is the difference between hope and despair. To despair is to turn your back on God—Hope is building your life on the promises of God! The Word. The Truth of God. 

—What is my purpose? To help you build better relationships… by knitting your heart to Christ, and the Spirit who gives the impulse and empowerment/enablement to apply these qualities in your home, church, and life. 

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3–4, ESV)

Power Tools For Building Better Relationships. You need to have them and you need to know how to be a “power-user.”

LoveHonorHumilityMercy

Deuteronomy 6:2-21

Deuteronomy 7:9-11

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Psalm 78:1-7

 

Bonus Material Below:

Fifteen Things Do When You Live With a Contentious PersonFive Practices to Follow When A Loved One Stays From Trust in God.Eight Things That Can Happen When You Listen Well

 

What to Do When You Live With a Contentious Person

(Fifteen Biblical Responses to A Contentious Person).

[This was originally written from the perspective of a husband dealing with a contentious wife, but it applies to all who deal with people who are contentious].

1–Avoid Evil people when you can. 

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” (Romans 16:17–18, ESV)

2–As much as it is possible live at peace. Create spaces where you can remove yourself and do productive things.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18, ESV)

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14, ESV)

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.” (Proverbs 21:9, ESV)

“It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.” (Proverbs 21:19, ESV)

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.” (Proverbs 25:24, ESV)

 

3–Love them like Jesus loves you. Don’t be harsh with them.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” (Ephesians 5:25, ESV)

“Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.” (Colossians 3:19, ESV)

 

4–Keep your promises to act in a loving way continually even if you are cursed or or hated or abused.

““But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” (Luke 6:27–29, ESV)

Do projects that benefit the family. Arrange and care for the home. Do storage projects. Don’t expect these will please them, but they are ways to love and invest and do good and live at peace. In the colder weather go down to the basement and make it extremely neat and orderly. Do projects down there that benefit your home and family. 

 

5–Make sure their curses are without cause:

“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.” (Proverbs 26:2, ESV)

6–Show loving-kindness and tenderness whenever you can. Walk in the Spirit. Keep Continually obeying the impulses of the Spirit in the power of the Spirit even when you are hurt or sinned against and it will produce the fruit of the Spirit. (Walking in the Spirit is continually obeying the impulses of the Spirit in the power of the Spirit, which yields the fruit of the Spirit). Gal. 5

“Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.” (Colossians 3:19, ESV)

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16–25, ESV)

 

7– Be like Jesus. Do not be selfish or think only of yourself. Give and serve others and lay down your life. 

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:1–16, ESV)

 

8–Do not get involved in argumentation and do not react sinfully to an attack. 

“The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.” (Proverbs 17:14, ESV)

 

9–Don’t engage in conversation that is just a lure to attack. 

““Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6, ESV)

 

10–Don’t Try to correct them. They will only be more contentious. Let God deal with them.

“Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9:7–8, ESV)

“A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.” (Proverbs 27:15–16, ESV)

 

11–Don’t blow up and vent your anger:

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Proverbs 29:11, ESV)

 

12–Do not return anger for anger. Trust the Lord to judge. 

“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23, ESV)

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1–5, ESV)

 

13–Strengthen yourself and encourage yourself in the Lord. Deepen your relationship with God when you are being abused.

“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6, ESV)

 

14–Always try to see yourself in the mirror before you look at the faults of the other. 

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5, ESV)

In the presence of my enemy. Don’t tell her things. She will use what you say against you. 

 

15–Leave all the children and other people completely out of it. It is not necessary or right to draw them into it. It is not their business. Keep them out of it. Don’t talk to other people about it. The only exception would be a qualified counselor. 

Treat the Contentious Person As You Would An Enemy. Bless. Do Good. Pray (Matthew 5:44 NKJV)

 

 

AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ONE BEAT LEFT IN YOUR HEART

Five Practices to Follow When A Loved One Strays from Trust in God.

1—CONFESS any past wrongs and make them right. Keep your relationship very strong. Don’t turn away from them. Don’t react sinfully to their sinful actions. Don’t manifest any anger of any kind.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1–2, ESV)

2–BE AN EXAMPLE of faithful Christian grace and living. Show them what it looks like.

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (Philippians 3:17, ESV)

3–PRAY without ceasing for them to think about things the way God wants them to think about things. Pray that God will bring into their path someone they admire that will speak the truth to them.

““But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:17–20, ESV)

4–LOVE them the way the Spirit directs you to love them and never quit not matter how hurt you feel with them or even angry. Be very creative. Love in a variety of ways. Love by listening even when what you hear is hard to take, even when you disagree.

“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 22–23, ESV)

5—LISTEN. Speak or write words of counsel to them only when you are sure you are being led of the Spirit and they have shown a clear readiness, lest you further alienate them–Do not cast your pearls… you know…

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24–26, ESV)

DO THIS AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ONE BEAT LEFT IN YOUR HEART.

 

 

Eight Powerful Reasons to Improve Your Listening Skills

I recently read a biography of Eugene Peterson by Winn Collier. (A Burning In My Bones) Peterson was well-known for his words, especially his written words. He wrote books that will be in print for a long time. He wrote a very popular paraphrase of the Bible. You could say he was famous for his words, but those who knew him best would say that he was a very skilled listener. He was very slow to speak. He was very slow to give advice. He was a listener. He considered listening one of his most important pastoral skills.

Here are eight reasons listening is so powerful:

1—When you listen well you often diffuse anger. Prov. 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath…” Proverbs 29:11 — “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

2—When you listen well you communicate love. Phil. 2:3-5 “…love is patient, kind…”

3—When you listen well you show honor. 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

4—When you listen well you learn. (Prov. 19:27) “Cease to hear instruction my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Prov. 2:1-4) You can learn while you are talking but you can’t learn without listening and attending. You just cannot learn without paying careful attention. In conversation, when I really want to learn. I try to ask questions and summarize. I don’t want to interrupt.

5—When you listen well you are equipped to guide, teach, and protect others. (Prov. 18:2) “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” It can be useful to talk about yourself, but if you really want to teach or guide others, you have to listen to them and talk about them.

6—When you listen well you help and heal. Proverbs 20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.

7—When you listen well you can help others reconcile and resolve conflict. Peacemakers are good listeners. (Matthew 18:15-17) “If he does not listen…” (Phil. 2:4) not just his own interests, but the interests of others.

8—When you listen well you are prepared to share the gospel effectively. Listening gives you insight into a persons soul so you can see the cracks where the gospel goes in.

I always want to learn and grow and progress in faith, character, and virtue. Since I was a child I have been known to be verbal, but I want to be a skilled and loving listener. God helping me.

Five Things To Do When A Loved One Strays

AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ONE BEAT LEFT IN YOUR HEART

Five Practices to Follow When A Loved One Strays from Trust in God.

1—CONFESS any past wrongs and make them right. Keep your relationship very strong. Don’t turn away from them. Don’t react sinfully to their sinful actions. Don’t manifest any anger of any kind.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1–2, ESV)

2–BE AN EXAMPLE of faithful Christian grace and living. Show them what it looks like.

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (Philippians 3:17, ESV)

3–PRAY without ceasing for them to think about things the way God wants them to think about things. Pray that God will bring into their path someone they admire that will speak the truth to them.

““But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:17–20, ESV)

4–LOVE them the way the Spirit directs you to love them and never quit not matter how hurt you feel with them or even angry. Be very creative. Love in a variety of ways. Love by listening even when what you hear is hard to take, even when you disagree.

“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” (Jude 22–23, ESV)

5—LISTEN. Speak or write words of counsel to them only when you are sure you are being led of the Spirit and they have shown a clear readiness, lest you further alienate them–Do not cast your pearls… you know…

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24–26, ESV)

DO THIS AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ONE BEAT LEFT IN YOUR HEART.

Eight Powerful Reasons to Improve Your Listening Skills

I recently read a biography of Eugene Peterson by Winn Collier. (A Burning In My Bones) Peterson was well-known for his words, especially his written words. He wrote books that will be in print for a long time. He wrote a very popular paraphrase of the Bible. You could say he was famous for his words, but those who knew him best would say that he was a very skilled listener. He was very slow to speak. He was very slow to give advice. He was a listener. He considered listening one of his most important pastoral skills.

Here are eight reasons listening is so powerful:

1—When you listen well you often diffuse anger. Prov. 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath…” Proverbs 29:11 — “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

2—When you listen well you communicate love. Phil. 2:3-5 “…love is patient, kind…”

3—When you listen well you show honor. 1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

4—When you listen well you learn. (Prov. 19:27) “Cease to hear instruction my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Prov. 2:1-4) You can learn while you are talking but you can’t learn without listening and attending. You just cannot learn without paying careful attention. In conversation, when I really want to learn. I try to ask questions and summarize. I don’t want to interrupt.

5—When you listen well you are equipped to guide, teach, and protect others. (Prov. 18:2) “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” It can be useful to talk about yourself, but if you really want to teach or guide others, you have to listen to them and talk about them.

6—When you listen well you help and heal. Proverbs 20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.

7—When you listen well you can help others reconcile and resolve conflict. Peacemakers are good listeners. (Matthew 18:15-17) “If he does not listen…” (Phil. 2:4) not just his own interests, but the interests of others.

8—When you listen well you are prepared to share the gospel effectively. Listening gives you insight into a persons soul so you can see the cracks where the gospel goes in.

I always want to learn and grow and progress in faith, character, and virtue. Since I was a child I have been known to be verbal, but I want to be a skilled and loving listener. God helping me.

We Live In A Nice Place | September 1, 2022 | Bittersweet Farm Journal

‘Til The Storm Passes Over

A big wind came through Monday night and made a mess. It was amazing to watch the power of the dark storm. The dark, roiling clouds passed through in less than thirty minutes. Trees that have been thriving longer than I have been on earth snapped off or were uprooted in the swift fury of the storm. Tomorrow we will hook our little trailer up to our little tractor and drive around the yard picking up the walnuts and the windfall limbs. We thank God nothing worse was damaged and pray for those who are without power or lost things precious and irreplaceable to them.

Before Charles Perlos sold us our place he had the trees, over 50 of them, all arbored up so they are not likely to be a danger to or little farmhouse or the carriage house we so cherish. We stood and watched and prayed the old prayer I remember so fondly from a song from my childhood, “Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by.”

One day Jesus will come in a great storm of judgement for those who have not turned to him from their sins. But there is mercy now for those who do. One day, maybe soon, He will come with his Saints and establish his Kingdom on earth. Are you sure you will be in it? What about those you love, those around you?

This weekend I will be in Wisconsin speaking to families at beautiful Camp Fairwood. I hope your summer ends sweetly and you have a chance to be around people you love. I hope you and yours and safe and well. The turning of the seasons is a good time to take time to give some thought to where you are with God.

We Live In A Nice Place

We live in a nice part of our county. Our road bumps into the Jackson Country Club. We live right on the edge of the place where doctors and dentists and lawyers and other well-to-do professionals live in large, beautiful, modern homes with professionally-groomed grounds. These people mostly live east of us between our little modest century-old farmhouse and the Country Club.

Out the other way, to the west, the road is lined with nice homes and farms. Almost all of them are tidy and well-kept. Trees arch over the way for miles along our country road. It’s beautiful. A real nice place to live.

There is this one fellow though. He’s a Christian. Everyone knows he is a Christian. There is no mistaking it. His place must have at least thirty signs of various sizes and they are all white with large bright red letters. He changes them continually. You can tell he is very diligent about his sign-making. They say things like, “As it was in the days of Noah,” “Repent,” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…”

The signs in is yard are true. They are usually quotes from the Bible. He doesn’t plant flowers. He doesn’t tend a lush lawn mowed in stripes. He doesn’t have any yard ornaments or matching lawn furniture. He is serious about putting his time and money into his sign-ministry.

I know what you are thinking. You probably think there are better ways to be a witness. To be honest, I have often thought the same thing. I don’t have any signs in my yard. I mow and trim and try not to embarrass the doctors and lawyers and such on the way home. I don’t stand in the road with a bullhorn and shout “repent” as they pass.

When I drive by his house I sometimes think, “I don’t really like his style, but what have I done today to make Him known to the good folk who live up and down our country road?” Sometimes I think that.

Truth is most people don’t appreciate calls to repent but there will come a day when they would give everything they ever owned and everything they ever did to have just one more chance to repent and turn to Jesus.

Jesus said it plain and clear, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Bittersweet Farm
September 1, 2022