My Purpose

I am Pastor Dean, a follower of Jesus Christ who seeks to make Him known to those who do not yet know Him, and to make Him better known to those who do. God is love and His mercy is still freely available, though we humans are now living in the last days of earth’s sojourn under sin. How important then that you who desire eternal life should be living according to the love of God and the faith of Jesus. My purpose is to help you better understand what it means to live under grace while preparing to meet Jesus when He comes again.

The Sun Has Come Out

The Sun has come out this morning, and what a difference it makes on the human psyche. On me. Since returning home on Sunday from our recent camping adventure on Jekyll Island, we faced a Monday and a Tuesday of clouds, cold and rain. The gloominess of clouds can poorly affect my mood. Yet, I thought about the spiritual nature of man, and how some conditions of human relations can poorly affect your spiritual nature. So it happened that I found myself writing a short word called, “He Has A Way.” My previous and very brief post. For I know that in all things, and in all conditions that God certainly has a way to lift the human spirit through His abundant mercy and His perfect grace which He offers freely to all. To you! You just need to be willing to ask Jesus into your heart, and learn how to hear God’s voice speaking to you.

How can you hear God’s voice? Well, God speaks to me through His word, the Bible. And through the pages of the Bible He brings the promise of life. True life. Real life. A life that was meant to be, from the beginning of creation, before sin. If you read His word, and ask Him in humble prayer, He will also speak to you. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is the Invisible Presence of God, of who Jesus said, “… but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7b-8).

Yes, the Holy Spirit is given to those who are willing to receive Jesus into their hearts and thus, willing to obey Him. Consider what Jesus offers you when He says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:15-18).

Do you desire to be set free from the entanglements of sin? Jesus gives you this promise: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV)

What good effect do these words of Jesus have on your own spirit? Are you beginning to hear His voice speaking to you?

Yes, the Sun has come out today, note the picture I took from my backyard deck overlooking the lake. Certainly the sun’s rays gleaming through the wisps of water vapor and reflecting on the lake below paints a much cheerier portrait in my mind, than yesterday’s gloomy day. In a similar way, if you allow Jesus access into your heart, your mind, He who is the Son of Righteousness will paint a beautiful portrait in you. That is my prayer for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

He Has A Way

Today, it’s cloudy again. I have just returned home from a camping trip where we finally had sunshine. Pretty much a week of sunshine with only one day of rain. Where was that? you ask, because for the first two months of 2021, it has been clouds, cold and rainstorms. Yet there we were, camping on Jekyll Island, and God blessed our week with sunshine and warmer temperatures. Finally!

Alas, to be back from vacation and today it’s clouds and rain again. Seems to me that has been the case spiritually speaking for not a few of you. What can you do when the clouds of discouragement never seem to give you a break? I have only one sure answer—lean on the Lord. In everything you do, lean on Him. Lean on Jesus who knows your pain. He has a way to lift you above the morass of despair through the help of His perfect grace. More on that later. Until then, my prayer for you is that you will open your heart to lean on Jesus.

Introduction to Me

I am a follower of Jesus Christ who seeks to make Him known to those who do not yet know Him, and to make Him better known to those who do. Thus, God has led me throughout my life of now over 6 decades. I have been married to and in love with the same woman for over 38 years and we have children and grandchildren whom I also love. That does not mean my family has not been through trials. We human beings certainly know how to test and even hurt those we love. But, God Himself also knows the challenges, the trials and even the fickleness of human love. Yet, Jesus has demonstrated that God’s love is sure and secure, faithful to the very end. So, yes, I love because God is love. And, I seek to make the love of God known as it should be. I am a pastor, a preacher and a teacher of God’s word, the Bible. Before I became a preacher, I was a public school teacher, and before that I worked at various jobs including, painting, construction, ambulance EMT, parts assembler, and even a paperboy back in the day. In school I played trumpet in the band, was a track and cross country runner, enjoyed most subjects including History, English and Science, and yet, after graduating from high school, I struggled to find my path. Perhaps you can identify? I did not graduate with my Bachelor’s degree until I was 26 years old. And yet, from an early age I knew that God was a God of love, and that He had a plan for me, if I would just be open to His leading. God has brought me through many trials, and has always been there to pick me up when I had fallen or been discouraged. And now, I hope to write in such a way to attract others to this God of love. By the way, I also enjoy camping, reading and outdoor activities, especially strolls on the beach, or hiking a mountain trail. My favorite places on earth are Sequoia National Park because of the Giant Sequoia trees, Yosemite National Park, and the jewel of Georgia known as Jekyll Island. I could tell you more; but hopefully, as you read my posts you will learn more about the God whom I love.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.