Everything Necessary

Outrageous, unusual, and frightening concept though it is, this 1924 Layat had everything necessary to be classified as an automobile.  Most prominent was the propeller shield, laminated propeller, propeller boss, and airfoil-shaped metal strut at the front of the vehicle.  Behind the propeller, an 8 bhp (brake horsepower) motor built by Scorpion powered the car.  A teardrop plywood fuselage gave it the shape of an airplane without wings.  Mounted on a rigid front axle and a steering cabane at the tail the two-seater body resembled a small plane with 3 sets of double windows and a door with four panes of glass set in a square at the front.  Note the lack of any safety regarding that huge wooden propeller and the added danger of steering it from the back wheels at high speeds.  Propeller driven by the flat twin engine this vehicle could reach the frightening speed of 106 mph in a bone-jarring ride.

On the other hand, the vehicle to the right is modern and also has everything necessary to classify it as an automobile.  Okay!  So it looks like somebody farted in a smart car!  Maybe it was conceived by a professional bowler!  It is a three-wheel vehicle, also steered from the rear, has no reverse gear, and if necessary, one can roll it home if it stalls!  Funny!  Both of these vehicles look very different, operate differently, but serve the same purpose.  They are transportation, as ridiculous as their design may be, unique to their creator, and able to fulfill each one's purpose.

Everything God created serves its Creator in fulfilling a unique purpose.  Peter expressed the same thought to us in his second letter, chapter 1, verses 2-7.  He outlines quite clearly a course by which each of us can fulfill our divinely appointed purpose in His Kingdom.  Note how he introduces this simple lesson:  "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."  In our world we often live as if there is no peace, choosing to move at a pace so hurried we miss the daily blessings God sends our way because our attention is focused on too many things at once.  Yet Peter begins by bringing us to an abrupt halt to appreciate what we have in the Lord.

 "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."  Wow!  What a beginning!  Life can be confusing if we take our focus off of the Lord.  In Him we have everything necessary pertaining to life and godliness.  I love that!  I'm called!  I have a purpose!  It is unique to me as I serve my Lord and Savior!  My purpose is to live a godly life as He directs.  If I try to live a godly life that is directed by someone else I end up like the child in this picture.  I've got the tools, but I don't have the power to make them work!

"For by these (His own glory and excellence) He has granted to me His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them I might become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."  Remember the parable about the man who sought a pearl of great price, and when he found it he sold everything he had to purchase it?  His gift is His precious and magnificent promises!  I can change, if I allow Him to change me.  I partake of the divine nature!  And when I do, with diligence, I can fulfill my purpose in His Kingdom!

  The mill pictured on the right needs the waterwheel to turn it, and the waterwheel needs the stream running into the river to turn it.  Simple and beautiful this illustration reminds us that with His power to move and motivate we can do whatever He wants us to do.  So, applying all diligence in my faith I allow Him to "supply moral excellence, knowledge from that moral excellence, self control from that knowledge, perseverance and godliness produce brotherly kindness, and brotherly kindness produces love.  Simple!

Left is a YJ engine from a 1966 Bonneville.  This one was bored, balanced, and blueprinted, given a turbo charger, and now produces 575 bhp!  Talk about power.  Yet it serves no purpose at all if it is not mounted in the car and allowed to be used for what it was designed for.  Many believers today take their engines out of their cars, put them on stands, polish them, and admire them, but never use them.  Always tinkering with the engine it never actually serves its purpose.  In other words, we're good at speaking the right words, but not so good at actually doing the right things.  That is sin!  No!  Peter meant for us to use everything the Lord has given us!  How often I fall short of that!  I have everything necessary pertaining to life and godliness, but instead of choosing to live and be godly, I fall back into the death from which I was rescued.  Take my advice friends.  Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you!  I will do my best by His grace and power.

Hibernation

Great googlie mooglies!  It seems I've been in hibernation!  If so, I'm awake early in the season!  Ahem!  Actually, I've been occupied with trying to get my books published, the Thanksgiving and Christmas season at work and at home, and haven't budgeted any time to my blog.  To even the casual observer it should be obvious that the hustle and bustle of this season has taken its toll.  This season the toll was a pleasant exhaustion from totally enjoyable pursuits!

Gail Possert of Grace Resource Center worked closely with me to put together our POWER Plus curriculum for our pilot program in 2013.  It began on January 2.  We are hoping that this 12-week class will impact the lives of our students and help them develop the skills and attitudes they will need to move forward in positive ways toward a better life.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings we have their undivided attention for three hours to encourage, strengthen, and challenge them to reach further and higher than ever before toward success.

Christmas!  Serena was home for Christmas and the Bennett clan got together several times for joyous celebration.  We even found the time to have a family photo shoot!  This is a photo I will cherish.  God has blessed me with a wonderful family!  We get along, love each other very much, and like being together.  Even better, we love the Lord.  My sons, daughter, and daughters-in-law have conducted themselves in such a way that I am deeply moved by their walk with God, and find it quite easy to sing praises to the Lord for His lovingkindness in blessing me with such a wonderful family.

Especially fun this Christmas was Serena's humor.  Cathy made little name cards to put on our plates to indicate where we should sit around the table.  Unable to resist her creative urges Serena edited them.  Her plate card read:  Serena (n):  1. Awesome  2. The favorite.  My plate card read:  Bill (n):  1. Father, musician, writer, faithfully committed to God and family  2. Lover of Pepsi and Ford; hater of Mac computers 3. Has an awesome daughter.  Cathy's plate card read:  Cathy (n):  1. An amazingly wise woman of God.  A wonderful mother, mother-in-law, Maga, and friend  2. Bearer of two demon spawn and an angelic daughter.  Jeremy's card read:  Jeremy (n):  1. A creative father, husband and artist who paints his world with ingenuity, individuality and dedication  2. Has an awesome sister  3. Not the favorite.  Jeff's card was much the same, with the notation that he was not the favorite child.  Savanna and Tawny both had cards that said they had an awesome sister-in-law, (not each other).  She is so creative in her humor.  We all enjoyed her humor.

We missed Savanna's mom and dad, Mark and Celecia, and Tawny's mom and dad, Ruben and Debbie Badano this Christmas.  Our thoughts were with both those families and though we didn't get together for Christmas the kids managed to fit them into their busy schedules.  Family is important.  When your kids get married, you get the added benefit of extended families.  God has blessed us with an amazing extended family that we love and enjoy whenever we get together.  Pictured here are Mark and Celecia at Bristol's birthday party in September of 2011.

At Grace Resource Center over a thousand people gathered for our Graceful Christmas celebration.  Debbie Badano, Luke Badano, and Tawny Bennett joined me in singing Christmas favorites.  Luke and Tawny played the guitar and I played the keyboard.  We had a great time singing for the crowds.  Santa and Mrs. Clause were there to greet the kids and we turned our dining hall into a toy store so each child could enter and pick a toy for Christmas.  Everyone on staff at Grace pitched in to make this the best Graceful Christmas ever!  I got to work closely with Lynda Elmes, our event coordinator in planning and putting everything together for the event.  Her tireless efforts, and the efforts of the other staff members, made this a very blessed Christmas event I will cherish for many years in my heart.

So now I'm out of hibernation and will be sharing some of my thoughts once again in this blog.  My turtles are in semi-hibernation mode, not eating much, and not moving much as they await the return of warm weather when I can put them out in the sun again.  I'm sure they send their greetings as well.  My hope for all of you reading this is that you will have a blessed new year and experience a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ in 2013.

Christmas! A Season for Rejoicing!

In the background is the tree, presents stacked neatly beneath, beautiful sunshine outside the door, and the turtle tank where they can enjoy the sun.  These are merely background items!  Christmas isn't about trees, decorations, lights, or toys!  Christmas is about the greatest gift ever given!  For those of you who are reading this blog for the first time, I'll give you a hint:  What does Christmas mean?  Christ + mas = Christ's day, or Jesus' birthday!  He is the greatest gift ever given, and He is the reason for the season!  How I rejoice at the knowledge that God loved me enough to send His beloved Son, Jesus.  So look at the picture again.  What's in the foreground?  The most beautiful woman in the world (my beloved wife, Cathy), and one of the most precious gifts, our grandson.  She is holding him because she loves him.  Love is what this season is about!

My son Jeremy was our firstborn.  He's pictured here holding his son Eldon, named after Grandpa Eldon Lehman, a true man of God and follower of Jesus, who is with the Lord now.  The very notion of spending time with these two is a treasure!  That's what Christmas is about.  Had there been a Grinch in our house who took all the gifts, tree, decorations, and food, we still would have met together to celebrate the birthday of Jesus!  That's what Christmas is about!  We give each other gifts to celebrate this most wonderful gift from the Lord.  Gifts are an expression of love.  Yet gifts are not necessary to have a memorable Christmas.  They are superfluous.  The love behind the gift is what is important.  As God expressed amazing love in sending Jesus we express love in words and actions that demonstrate that we do love each other.  I can remember a Christmas eve when Cathy and I spent those hours huddled under an electric blanket during a Pennsylvania winter because we had no heat in the house.  That fact detracted nothing from our joyous celebration!

And there was so much more!  Jeff, our second son, and Serena our daughter were all together with us for Christmas.  Cathy and I are so blessed!  Our sons and daughter follow Jesus.  They like each other!  (I wasn't sure that would be true as they were growing up!)  We all have a healthy loving relationship with each other.  So when Christmas comes around it is a time for us to get together, because we all follow Jesus, and celebrate His birthday.  He is central to all our lives!  And though you cannot see Him, He was and is present with us every day.  That is what makes Christmas special!  The greatest gift is eternal.  Most of the gifts we gave were not eternal.  But one is! It is the gift of love.

Jeff married Tawny, on the left, and Jeremy married Savanna on the right.  Little Bristol is Jeremy and Savanna's oldest.  For a moment consider this amazing gift.  God gave us two wonderful daughters-in-law, both incredibly beautiful women, both followers of Jesus.  And together those two families have given us three grandchildren!  How precious is that?  I watch them as parents and I often think:  "Thank You, Lord, for giving me such wonderful sons, and daughters-in-law, who follow You, and will raise their children in the fear and wisdom of God!"  If I died today my legacy is secure.  I loved my wife, loved and raised three children, and somehow, through all the mistakes and failures, shortcomings, and weaknesses, God allowed me to see them grow up to follow Jesus.  My sons married women who follow Jesus.  My daughter's faith is strong and her walk with God constantly surprises and inspires me.  I had nothing to do with any of that!  It was all Jesus, the most wonderful gift ever given!  How could I not celebrate with a full heart at Christmas.

I love this photo.  One of the reasons is because my sons are good friends.  They do things together.  Both seek each other out and both depend on the other's expertise.  Both are husbands of stay-at-home moms.  Both love their wives with the same depth of love that I love Cathy.  And they love their kids.

Pictured to the right is another photo I love.  Cathy and Serena are such good friends.  Here they are examining some jewelry together in Santa Barbara at the arts and crafts festival held on the beach each weekend.  Serena is smart, like her mom, and passionate and funny, like her dad.  She amazes me constantly.  Always she will be my little girl.  But I am aware of the incredible adult she has become.  In one of my most difficult and trying moments in life she wrote a letter that helped me to find my way through a dark and frightening time.  Although I have not fully recovered from the trauma of that time, the words she wrote stay with me.  They reflect God's love.  That's what Christmas is all about!

Hey!  That's me!  Age 7!  I knew Jesus then, and was following Him.  I had no idea that this little boy would one day grow up, marry a lovely woman, have three children, and watch them grow up following Jesus, see the boys marry lovely women, and have children of their own.  Back then I wanted to be a minister and swim in the lake in the summer, and play in the snow and on the ice in the winter.  All the promise of this future was there.  But it did not reside in this little boy!  The promise resided in Jesus!  Jesus made it all happen, and sustains it today and forever!  That's what Christmas is all about.  Just like today, Christmas was all about Jesus and the greatest gift ever given.  It was fun!  Excitement could be seen in the decorations and preparations for family.

Don't get lost in the Christmas of a godless generation!  It's not about commercialism, or materialism, or selfishness!  Christmas is about Jesus, the greatest gift ever given!  Instead find ways to serve and give to others.  Bless lives while you rejoice in the real meaning of Christmas.  Be like the dear man of God who began the Santa Clause tradition!  Niklaus went about the poorest homes in his city (in Holland) and put toys and food in the wooden shoes kept on the front porches.  Look what St. Nick has become, how a materialistic and narcissistic culture has changed his image.  Forget all that!  Remember the birth in Bethlehem, the angels singing to the shepherds, announcing the Lord Jesus.  Remember the love of an awesome God who provided for our salvation.  Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!  Jesus, I love You.  Bunch, I love you.  Bennett, Badano, and Winder family, I love you!  Merry Christmas!  Happy birthday, Jesus!

Proverbs 1:20-33

Desert Tortoise

Occasionally we see these amazing turtles here in the Antelope Valley, especially up near Red Rock Canyon and between California City and Ridgecrest.  It is only the encroachment of man that has threatened them in the last 200 years, and they are now an endangered species.  This is another example of how mankind can foolishly interact with nature, when a much more suitable and thoughtful approach could have been taken.  We are all like that, acting first, and thinking later about how to fix what we've done.  Although they are an endangered species there is no shortage of land for them and with care we can help them repopulate.  Unfortunately our help is neither timely nor well thought out.

Solomon begins this section of the first chapter with interesting words.  However, before we look at those words we need to understand something about wisdom.  In our world there are many who think themselves wise.  Anyone who thinks he or she is wise is not.  You and I don't possess great wisdom in and of ourselves!  There is one person who is all-knowing or omniscient.  His name is God, and He is the God of the Bible.  In Him alone is wisdom, and any wisdom you or I may obtain must come from Him.  That is a humbling thought, and keeps us from the snare of this world.

How many in their own wisdom have proclaimed that they have the answers we are all seeking?  Too many.  Yet we continue making the same mistakes, the same blunders, acting out our foolishness time and time again when we do things our way.  Only God's way offers the answers we seek.

Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings:  "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity?  And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?

Proverbs   1:20-22 NASB

Solomon is quite clear in his rather uncomplimentary description of us.  It is truly naive to think that we can know anything apart from God.  He is the Author of knowledge.  God is Truth.  Apart from Him there is no knowledge or truth.  You and I have certainly seen that in my generation.  In America the truth of God has been exchanged for a lie and the results have been chaos and anarchy.  Reason has been lost in the philosophy of materialism.  Let me show you.

When I graduated from high school 99% of the students who began high school completed it.  The biggest problems teachers had were students running in the halls and chewing gum in class.  I could count on the fingers of one hand the "bad" kids in my grade.  There were perhaps one, maybe two girls who were sexually active.  Today, in Los Angeles County, less than 50% of students graduate from high school.  80% of the students or more are sexually active.  Teachers worry about students carrying guns and knives to school, and murders on campus.  Why?  What changed?  In 1962 we took prayer out of the schools, and in 1963 we took the ten commandments out of schools.  Our nation turned its back on God and His truth and we are reaping the results today.  In 1950 3 in 100,000 people had a sexually transmitted disease in America.  Today one out of three has a STD.  We threw away wisdom and knowledge and in our arrogance said that we had the answers.  In my book the results prove that we (note that I am including myself because I am just as prone to turn my back on His knowledge as anyone else) don't have answers.  Only God does.

So Solomon's words now begin to hammer home the message:

"Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.  Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel, and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you.  Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD.  They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof.  So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices.  For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.  But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil."

Proverbs 1:23-33 NASB

Wow!  As you look at the highlights you'll notice that I used different colors.  Green is always something directly from or about the Lord.  Orange is always something that is contrary to God's will.  Yellow is about our actions.  Red is a key thought or result.

God cries out to His beloved children to listen, to repent (turn to my reproof), and He will make His wisdom ours.  Notice how accurate Solomon is in regards to our response to that call.  I have a problem listening.  So do you.  Remember that.  This is something we have to work on daily.

God's response to our refusal to listen is frightening.  This is the same truth that is communicated in Romans 1:18-32.  Children, hear me.  We will not like God's truth all the time.  Most of the time it will reveal our shortcomings.  Do not suppress the truth by continuing in wrong behavior!  That way leads to calamity, distress, and anguish.  Always.  Until we actually repent (turn to His reproof, turn away from our sinfulness) our prayers will go unanswered.  Even worse, we will be satiated with our own devices!  That way leads to excess.  All addictions come from this root!  Beware!

Empty Tortoise Shell

Being naive of God's truth is the path to death and destruction.  Don't miss that.  Those last two lines should echo in our minds every time we are ready to ignore God and His truth.  Going our own way will ultimate leave us empty and dead.  Just like this empty shell on the right, we will find that our lives have no substance, nothing worthy or good.  The last verse is like a cool breeze on a hot day.  If we listen to God we will live securely.  We will be at ease from the dread of evil.

That doesn't mean we won't struggle.  Life is a struggle in a sinful and broken world.  But our struggles won't consume us or overwhelm us.  And that doesn't mean we won't feel overwhelmed.  I've felt overwhelmed by many things, but feelings aren't facts.  Feeling overwhelmed and being overwhelmed are two different things.  I have the confidence that if I follow the Lord and live by His wisdom I will be safe, even if I'm facing death.

I am not ashamed of the good news from God's Word, or of His wisdom.  It is powerful and offers salvation to all who believe.  In His Word He reveals His righteousness, and when I see that, I have faith.  The righteous man lives by faith.  Trust the Lord my beloved grandchildren.  Trust Him with all your heart.

Proverbs 1:8-19

False Map Turtle

I've never been very good about listening, especially when it comes to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.  The voice of wisdom, the Holy Spirit softly speaking, is often lost in the cacophony of my own evil thoughts and the evil around me.  Before we even begin to think about this I want to make one thing crystal clear.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  Genesis 6:5 NASB

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11 NASB

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men.  Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives.  Afterwards they go to the dead.  Ecclesiastes 9:3 NASB

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?  Jeremiah 17:9 NASB

My heart, because of my sinfulness, is wicked beyond my imagination AND I CAN'T SEE IT!  Unless I can look at things through God's eyes, I will always be blinded by my on sin!  Sin tricks me into believing that I'm good, that everything is okay, that I am right where I should be!  Evil shouts that message at me all the time.  Yet only when I tune out all the noise and listen to the still, small voice of God will I be able to see clearly who and what I am.  I am a sinner undone, saved by Grace.

Like the False Map Turtle pictured above, I can look just like all the other Map Turtles in my own eyes, until I am willing to look closely!

Map Turtle

Believe it!  Mom and Dad have been there!  Do you really think you're the only person going through the stuff you're going through?

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.  I Corinthians 10:13 NASB

This is why Solomon begins this section with a caution:  Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  (v. 8)  He doesn't leave us there, but describes what that instruction and teaching becomes:  Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck. (v. 9)  I certainly wasn't a perfect Dad!  Far from it!  But I loved my children.  So instead of teaching them from my wisdom (though I sometimes made that mistake and had to apologize for it) but tried to teach them from Scripture.  To do that I had to walk the talk, and that was never easy for me.  It's not easy for them either, nor will it be easy for you.

Do not be deceived:  "Bad company corrupts good morals."  I Corinthians 15:33 NASB

Please understand that sinners will always entice you!  That's why Solomon speaks to us as a father here.  "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent."  Why do sinners want others along?  Probably because it eases the guilt if they can say "everybody's doing it!"  Verse 10 is a warning.  Don't go along with them.  As you read the next verses you may think that the example is extreme.  It isn't!  It's the truth!

If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; we shall find all kinds of precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with spoil; throw in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse."  (vs. 11-14)

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.  James 1:13-16 NASB

Sin carries with it the stench of death!  Don't be deceived.  Sin is NEVER fun!  It can NEVER fulfill anything.  It can only bring DEATH!

That's why Solomon continues:  My son, do not walk in the way with them.  Keep your feet from their path, for their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood.  Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.  So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; it takes away the life of its possessors.  (vs. 15-19)

Mom and Dad have been there!  They may not always be right, but the teaching they give through the Word of God is always right and true.  I'm sure my children learned some bad habits from me, but I'm also sure they learned that I believe God's Word is true, and I try to follow it.

At the beginning of this lesson in Proverbs I mentioned that I'm not very good at listening.  None of us are.  We have to work at it.  If you are in the Word of God every single day He will speak to you.  Please, beloved grandchildren, above all else be students of the Word of God.  In these blessed pages you will find everything you need pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  (II Peter 1:3)

I love you.