Jim’s Blog

The Call of Obscurity

Posted on Mar 26, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: annonymity, call, dream, fame, hardship, notoriety, obscurity, position

They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
-HEBREWS 11:37-38 (NIV)

WHEN I ENTERED THE COMPETITION my hopes and dreams were big. I thought that maybe—just maybe—God was opening the door for me to pursue a concert ministry that would lead to recording contracts and—if I’m really going to be honest—a degree of recognition or notoriety.

It was 1986 when I first entered the vocal competition at the

Christian Artists Seminar of the Rockies held annually at the YMCA of Estes Park, Colorado.

Mar '19

Where Do You Go?

Posted on Mar 15, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: dependence, Jesus, source, supply

Mar '19

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said,
“This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said.
-Matthew 14:15-18

DO YOU REMEMBER THE EVENT when Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men, not counting women and children? This most likely means there were several thousand more women and children, compounding the dilemma of the disciple’s while magnifying the power and authority of Christ. This event is one of only two which are detailed in all four of the gospel records, underscoring its importance and overwhelming impact upon the disciples of Christ. Here is the upshot of this unprecedented historic event:

Mar '19

Forever Young

Posted on Mar 6, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: boeredom, delight, joy, Lord's Suppper, monotony, new, repetion, routine, young

Mar '19

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. -LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, while living in Colorado, we were privileged to have a rather spectacular view of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains from our home. The photo above is the sight we would see every day from our front porch. The twin mountain peaks, Long’s and Meeker, were an incredible gift from God that we grew to love. Each new snowfall in the mountain range just west of our community of Longmont brought new and breathtaking beauty. It seemed that we just couldn’t get enough of this unique visual feast.

Mar '19

Courage to Be Different

Posted on Mar 3, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: church, conform, courage, different, holiness, peer pressure, sanctified, stand, testimony, unique

Mar '19

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness, into His wonderful light.”
-1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, nearly every aspect of our calendars is ordered around the rhythm of the school year. We even program much of our church calendar with sensitivity to what happens on our school campuses. Big yellow people movers, we call “school buses” (I used to drive one), keep us constantly alert and aware of the precious cargo they carry.

Feb '19

Always Prepared

Posted on Feb 12, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: alert, courage, danger, destruction, fear, hope, Jesus, prepared, ready, rescue, slavation

Feb '19

“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the One who sent us.
The night is coming, and then no one can work.”

-John 9:4 (NLT)

BEING CAUGHT UNPREPARED is a most uncomfortable and embarrassing situation and can be quite costly, or even deadly, depending on the nature of that situation. Yet knowing this, we still often find ourselves unprepared for many of the curve balls life throws at us.

Feb '19

Serve & Protect

Posted on Feb 5, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: danger, elder, first responder, oversee, protect, rescue, risk, salvation, save, serve

Feb '19

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care
serving as overseers, not because you must, but because you are willing
as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it
over those entrusted to but being examples to the flock.

-1 Peter 5:2-3

RECENTLY I WAS INVITED TO BECOME A PART of a team of pastors serving as chaplains for the

Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District and The Hillsboro Police Department. My responsibilities as a part of that team include being available to encourage and assist our community’s first responders in any way possible, especially in regard to spiritual and emotional support in times of intense trial or crisis.

Jan '19

Heal or Destroy

Posted on Jan 25, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: destroy, fire, heal, life, speech, tongue, wound

Jan '19

The tongue . . . is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.
It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire,
and is itself set on fire by hell. . . . No man can tame the tongue.
–James 3:6, 8

I LOVE A WARM FIRE IN THE WOOD STOVE on a cold winter day. There is nothing quite like it. Some of my fondest memories are centered around fireplaces, wood stoves, campfires and winter bonfires at sledding parties in Michigan as a young boy.

Fires are wonderful things when they are in the proper place and in a controlled environment. Useful tools and implements are forged in fire. Gold and silver are purified in fire. Cars run on the fiery heat of a combustion engine. But fires can also be devastatingly horrific—like forest fires.

Jan '19

Courage to Stand

Posted on Jan 15, 2019 in BLOG | Tags: conviction, courage, enemy, footing, solid ground, stand, strength of the Lord

Jan '19

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were
Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and
observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her
live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king
of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
-Exodus 1:15-17

WITH THE SNOW THAT CAME THIS PAST WEEKEND walking to the car at the head of our driveway has become rather risky business. To start with, the ground was not frozen when then snow came, so the lower few inches of snow were a little wet and slushy. After driving in and out of the driveway several times the snow is now quite packed down. With the daytime thaws and the nighttime freezes, it didn’t take long for the driveway to become treacherously uneven, icy and slippery.

Dec '18

Celebration of Light

Posted on Dec 4, 2018 in BLOG | Tags: celbration, Christmas, Jesus promise, light of the world, wonder

Dec '18

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
–Isaiah 9:2

CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON OF WONDER AND JOY, a time of promise and hope—a celebration of light. The Fall of Adam plunged mankind and all of Creation into spiritual darkness. It is only in The Promise of God that The Light mankind so desperately needs and longs for will be known.

Nov '18

At Just the Right Time

Posted on Nov 27, 2018 in BLOG | Tags: birth of Christ, Christmas, grace, plan, prophecy, redemption, sovereignty, time, timing

Nov '18

“But when the time set had fully come, God sent His son,
born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption to sonship.”
-Galatians 4:4-5

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED, TIMING IS EVERYTHING? Right place. Right time. Right circumstances. Right conditions. Whether you’re talking about getting just the right picture or that job promotion, timing is everything—or is it?

Jim’s Blog

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Subscribe to Blog via Email