A Post Election Prayer

November 5, 2008

Heavenly Father, we recognize that You are God, creator of the universe, all powerful, all knowing, all loving. We know our country is in Your hands. Your Word says “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings.” (Daniel 2:21). Likewise, Your servant Paul wrote in Romans 9:17, “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.’”

Father we accept the results of this election trusting that You are in control and You know what is best for us. We trust that Your will is being carried out through all those who have been brought to power and that You will hold each one accountable for how they use the power that You have entrusted to them.

As Your church, we accept these results. If they are Your punishment for our failure to be Your salt and light in our community, for our allowing our society to turn from Your ways, we humbly accept Your punishment, knowing that You are just and we deserve much worse. Please forgive Your pastors who have been tickling the ears of congregations with flowery speech that is full of “feel good” messages but void of Your purifying truth. May Your Holy Spirit convict us to preach Your Word from now on.

If this be Your way of waking up Christ’s sleeping church and getting us actively involved in the political process again, as our founding fathers were, we heed Your call. May Your Holy Spirit stir the fires of revival in our hearts such that we can no longer sit idly by and watch our Christian nation turn away from You. Forgive us Father for tolerating the perversion of our country. Forgive us of our complacency. Revive us again as in the days of old. Make us soldiers again in Your mighty army.

If this be the sign of the beginning of the end times, we eagerly await the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Give us strength to endure what we must endure, the courage to fight the good fight, and accept Your will for the church in America.

Father, it is our prayer, that though we may not like the results of this election, we accept them as Your will. Whether it be for our chastisement, our awakening, the first trumpet blast, or a combination, we trust You with our life, with our families, and with our nation. Because, in reality, they are not ours at all, they are Yours. We humbly yield to You and Your sovereign will in all things.

Father, we now move forward and offer a prayer of blessing on our newly elected officials.  May You watch over them, protect them, and guide them in the way You would have them lead us, Your nation.

We pray all this in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior,

Amen.

May this prayer bring you and your family comfort and courage in this post election time.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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Rustic Morning

October 13, 2008

I felt very rustic this morning.  We woke up to a 19 degree morning here in beautiful Norwood, CO.  No snow yet even though it was predicted for Sunday.  I got up around 5:30 a.m. and lit a fire in the wood stove.  It didn’t take long to get the house nice and toasty.

The pinon pine trees have been bursting with cones loaded with pine nuts this year.  For the past few weeks we’ve been having fun collecting them by the cans full.  This morning, once I got the fire going in the wood stove, I decided to use the heat for more than just warmth.  I put some pine nuts on a cookie sheet and set it on the wood stove.  In about 10 minutes we had delicious roasted pine nuts.  They smelled so good roasting on the stove.  It reminded me of the Christmas song, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”

God has provided us with a free, healthy snack and we are stocking up for the winter.  Hopefully this time next week we’ll be stocking the freezer with fresh deer meat, enough to get us through another year.

God continues to provide for us at Norwood Christian Ranch (www.NorwoodChristianRanch.com) allowing us to provide a nice, quiet place for pastors, missionaries and their families to stay.  For the last three weeks we have had at least one family visiting with us.  A family of three just arrived this evening.  The are missionaries to France.

Just another rustic morning in beautiful Norwood, CO.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

P.S.  October is Pastor Appreciation Month.  Check out www.NorwoodChristianRanch.com for a great gift idea for your pastor.

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Fireproof Your Marriage

October 2, 2008

On Sunday a group from Norwood Christian Church went to Montrose to watch the movie Fireproof starring Kirk Cameron. It is an excellent move, a must see for all married couples regardless of how long you have been married or how good (or bad) your relationship is. Several key points are made in the movie that can help every marriage. I’ll touch on a couple of them here.

The first point has to do with the word “fireproof.” When something is fireproof that does not mean that a fire won’t come. It means when a fire does come the item can survive it. We strive to make our marriage fireproof so when the fires come – financial struggles, illness, bitterness, addictions – the marriage is strong enough to withstand it and not burn to the ground.

Is your marriage fireproof or is it flammable? Here are some signs of a flammable marriage:

· Either party cares more about themselves than their spouse.

· Either party sees winning an argument as more important than their spouse’s feelings.

· Arguments over little things escalate into a laundry list of past wrongs done by the other party with each one trying to outdo the other.

· Either party retains their own identity after marriage (signs that the two are not one flesh). Examples: separate bank accounts, referring to paychecks as “my money” and “your money”, wife keeps her last name or hyphenates her old name with his, cars or homes in separate names, secrecy over financial affairs, separate P.O. boxes, etc.

· Either party finds fulfillment in “stuff” rather than being content and fulfilled in the relationship with their spouse. When you see your spouse as a hindrance or obstacle keeping you from getting what you want: money, a boat, truck, clothes, furniture, or whatever “stuff” you think will make you happy.

· Either party does not have a true, loving relationship with Jesus.

What does it take to make a marriage fireproof? That is the next point.

The second and most important point I got out of the movie is that in order to make a marriage fireproof it must be built on the right foundation and the right attitude. Marriage must be built on a foundation of love, not lust, not emotions, not physical attraction, and not sex. Marriage must be built on a foundation of love. Now that may seem obvious, but bear with me.

The love I am talking about has nothing to do with the couple. The foundation of a fireproof marriage is not built on love between a man and a woman. The foundation of a fireproof marriage begins with having a love relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is the source of all love. Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love to us. Jesus is God’s love gift to us.

We cannot truly love someone else unless we are tapped into the source of true love, God, through His Son, Jesus. Marriage is modeled after God. God is triune, that means there are three “persons” in the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three separate, yet all three one.

Marriage is meant to be triune as well. There are three “persons” involved in marriage. Most people, especially non-Christians, view marriage as involving only two people, a man and a woman. But true, godly marriage involves three: a man and a woman united in a covenant with God. A godly marriage is built on the man’s and woman’s mutual love relationship with God. It is the inclusion of God in the marriage that makes the man and woman one flesh. It is the power of God’s Holy Spirit that makes the marriage fireproof.

Think of the Holy Spirit as the “Super Glue” that holds a marriage together. Jesus, speaking about marriage in Matthew 19:4-6 said, “…Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

It is God who joins a man and a woman together in marriage. Love is the foundation upon which a fireproof marriage must be built, but it is not the love between the man and woman, it is the love that each of them has for God. You cannot give what you do not have. If you do not have true love in your life, you cannot give your spouse true love. True love is not found in the world. True love only comes from God.

Once you have experienced the love of God in your life, then and only then, can you love your spouse as yourself, and put their needs above your own needs and wants. That is the attitude of a fireproof marriage, loving your spouse as yourself, because you are one flesh, and looking out for their best interest ahead of yourself.

To make your marriage fireproof, you must have a relationship with God that is real and personal. That relationship only comes through giving your life over to the Lord, Jesus Christ. A marriage built on anything less is going to have a difficult time ahead.

Serving Christ and His loving family,

Pastor Ken

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Relationships and Modest Chickens

August 15, 2008

I can’t believe it worked! We have raised chickens for years and I have never heard of this before. After a long, cold winter we expected our 23 chickens to pick up their egg laying production with the longer, warmer days of spring and summer. Well, they didn’t.

So my wife, Chris, started researching a solution to this problem. It was either do something to get those birds to start laying, or into the stew pot they’d go. We don’t need 23 extra mouths to feed if they are not going to produce food for us.

Chris was taking care of a friend’s chickens and noticed that she had curtains on her nesting boxes. When Chris asked why she had curtains on the nesting boxes her friend replied, “If I were a chicken I’d want some privacy when I was laying an egg.”

I laughed when Chris told me she was going to give it a try. I sarcastically said, “So you think we have modest chickens who will lay more if they have pretty privacy curtains on their boxes?”

She said, “What can it hurt? We aren’t getting very many eggs now without the curtains.”

I quipped, “Okay, but if the curtains don’t work it’s curtains for those birds!”

So up went the curtains, and to our surprise, up went the egg production. I guess we do have modest chickens after all.

Our modest chickens and their curtains are an example to all of us of how to relate with others. We would do well to try to put ourselves inside the head of the person we are trying to relate with. As parents, before we are too quick to judge or get upset with our children we should try to see life from their perspective. Like Chris’ friend reasoned, “If I were a chicken…” we should reason, “If I was my child in this situation, what would I be thinking?” If we do that, maybe we will be a little more understanding the next time our child does something that brings us to the edge of our sanity.

This approach also works in our relationship with our spouse. We all agree that men and women are different, yet we continue to try to figure out one another from our own point of view. If husbands would try to think like their wives a little more and wives would try to see things from a man’s perspective, we would all get along a bit better.

We may never agree with the way the other thinks, but at least we would understand why our wife is always late or our husband is more interested in watching sports than in listening to his wife share her struggles with the kids that day.

So if you are having problems understanding or relating to someone, remember our modest chickens. If you were that person, what would you like to do, what would you be thinking? Then maybe this understanding will help you proceed with actions that will help build up the relationship instead of tearing it down. It was worth the effort to give our chickens a little privacy. They got their privacy, and we get the eggs. I’d much rather have the eggs from happy chickens than chew on an old bird.

How about you? Are you getting eggs or tough old birds from your relationships? Maybe it’s time to stop seeing things from your own perspective and see things through someone else’s eyes.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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North American Christian Convention

July 17, 2008

We had a great time at NACC in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. It is always an encouragement to meet together with thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ. The worship services are so uplifting and the messages so inspiring. I came back energized and ready to continue the battle of seeking and saving the lost.

It is important for Christians to take time away to be re-energized and refocused. It’s easy to get distracted by the day to day demands of life and lose our focus on what is really important. I encourage everyone to take time away. Find a Christian retreat - mens retreat, womans retreat, family retreat, parent-child retreat, etc. - or just find a quite place to get away for a couple days to reconnect with the Lord and allow Him to re-direct your path and your priorities.

One of the primary weapons the enemy uses against us is to bombard us with stuff to take up our time, to keep us busy on less important things (although he makes them seem vital at the moment). Our best defense against busyness is a day of rest. In fact, God commands us to take a day off every 7 days.

We would all do well to heed our creator’s instructions. So take a break and get re-energized and reconnected with the Lord.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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Family Vacation

July 9, 2008

We’re traveling back home from the North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati taking a much needed time out with the family. We spent the 4th of July weekend in Brunswick, OH at my Uncle Dave and Aunt Judy Gray’s house. On Sunday there was a big Gray family surprise party for my Uncle Gerard and Aunt Liz’s 50th wedding anniversary. 52 people were there. I got to visit with uncles, aunts, and cousins I haven’t seen in 20 - 30 years. We had a great time!

We are now taking our time working our way back home to Colorado. We spent time in beautiful Amish country in Ohio. The corn fields and wheat fields are quite a sight to see.

We then drove down into West Virginia, a state I had never been to before. Everything is so green! More farm land, lots of corn there, too.

We pushed hard yesterday through Kentucky to get to Missouri so we’ll have time to do some sightseeing today. We crossed the Mississippi yesterday. It is still showing signs of all the flooding the past few weeks. What an awesome sight.

Last night we ate at Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, MO. It is the “home of the throwed rolls.” With a slogan like that we just had to stop and see it! Sure enough, the waiters push around a cart full of hot rolls and holler out “hot rolls!” If you want a roll you wave your hand and they throw one to you. They are hot so once you catch them you have to quickly put it on your plate. Boy were they good! The meal servings were huge and delicious (and not on my diet).

Today we are off to the Springfield, MO area to visit a Civil War battlefield then on to Carthage to see the Precious Moments chapel. On the way to Springfield we’re going to go through West Plains and Caulfield where we used to live and Gainsville to show the kids the church where Chris and I got married.

We’re having a great time!

Ken

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Creation Museum

June 30, 2008

We’re in the Cincinnati area for the North American Christian Convention (NACC). We have an exhibit booth this year promoting Norwood Christian Ranch. I got to the convention hall first thing this morning to set up our display booth. Everything went well and I was back at the hotel by 9:30 a.m. That gave us the rest of the day to take a family trip we have been planning for a long time.

After years of eager anticipation today we finally got to visit the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY. It was everything I hoped for and more. Answers In Genesis has done a fantastic job in creating a high caliber museum that rivals any secular venue. Entertaining and education for the children and intellectually challenging and fun for adults. It’s part amusement park part museum and all biblically based.

I was also pleased to see large crowds there. People continue to come to the museum in large numbers proving that while the media continues to tell us we live in a post-Christian nation, Christians are still alive and well in the US and will continue to support bible based ministries that proclaim the truth.

I you are in the Cincinnati area, or if you are looking for a great family vacation worth a few days drive to get to, I highly recommend you spend a couple days at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. Check out the museum website at www.CreationMuseum.org

Tomorrow the NACC begins. We look forward to getting the word out about Norwood Christian Ranch, attending some great sessions and hearing inspirational, motivating speakers. If you are at the convention look for us at booth 225.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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Families Working Together

June 19, 2008

What a week we are having here at Norwood Christian Ranch. A workgroup of 18 people from Milford Christian Church in Milford Missouri are here to help us with some much needed repairs. They have wasted no time knocking out the many projects we disparately needed done.

They have reshingled part of the main building where the existing shingles were pealing up and at risk of blowing off, causing leaks. The new roof looks great!

They replaced sinks and counter tops in the dining hall. The counter tops are gorgeous!  Last month they sent funds to buy a new stove for the dining hall kitchen.  The new stove and new counter tops really give the kitchen a much needed face lift.

They have painted all the decks and much of the main building where the old paint was dried and pealing off.

They even got some firewood cut and split.

Those items were all on their “to do” list when they arrived. Not only have they enthusiastically taken care of those items with great care and pride of work, but they jumped in and took care of some “emergency repairs” that they hadn’t planned on.

They completely replumbed the kitchen and laundry room sinks that had become clogged. The clog was so bad that we could not run the washing machine, dishwasher, or us the main kitchen sink. The old pipes had sagged under the floor causing food particles, soap, and grease to build up and become hard as a rock.

They added an electrical outlet in the kitchen to make it easier to plug in the refrigerator and dishwasher. The outlet looks like it was put in when the building was first built.

Their first night here the baseboard heaters broke causing the rooms to overheat. They got them disconnected for us so they will no longer be a problem for other guests.

When they started removing old paint on the back side of the main building they discovered that the wood, which was very thin paneling to begin with, was deteriorated so badly that it needed to be replaced. This is the part of the office with southern exposure so it is subjected to direct sunlight year round. The sun had taken its tole one the thin wood. So they jumped right in and replaced the whole back side of the main building, including the threshold to the office door which had fallen apart.

It has been such a blessing to us having them here. It would have taken my family years to get all these project completed. They were able to knock them out in three days. What blessed us most was seeing families working together. Little ones as young as 2 and 3 years old, teens, and adults all working together as a team. We have heard no complaining or bickering. They are here on a mission of love and they are showing love not only to our family and the ministry of Norwood Christian Ranch, but also to one another.

A huge “thank you” goes out to the workgroup from Milford Christian Church:

Pastor Cliff Hazzard, daughter Caddie, son Nathan and grand son Tristin, Norman & Rhonda Schipull, Dennis & Nancy Gariss, sons Nick & Isaac and daughter Natalie, Travis & Crystal Milam and their daughters Sadie, Jasmine, Rylee & Averi, and Jim Bayless.

What a blessing you have been to us!!! The love of Christ was evident in the work you did and the attitude in which you carried out you mission here at Norwood Christian Ranch. You have been encouragement to us as we strive to serve Christian families around the country.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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What a Blessed Day!

June 16, 2008

I had a wonderful Father’s Day! It began with my meeting Jim Hohnberger. Jim is the founder of Empowered Living Ministries (www.EmpoweredLivingMinistries.org) and the author of many Christian books including Escape to God. I read Escape to God a few months ago and felt an instant bond with Jim. This book is about Jim’s journey from non-believer, to being a “religious” man, to truly walking with God in all areas of his life.

When I read his book I could not believe the similarities in our lives. In fact, when I finished reading the book I said to Chris, “You have got to read this. This guy is living our life, but he is doing it right!” I felt such a bond with Jim that I longed to meet him some day and compare life experiences.

Well, about a month after reading the book, Ron Gabbett, the friend who loaned me the book and told me I had to read it, informed me that Jim was going to be in our area speaking at a nearby camp. Ron asked if it would be alright if he invited Jim to speak at church. Alright? I told him it was more than alright. I asked him to please do whatever he could to get Jim here.

Jim agreed to come speak to our little church. His message was such a blessing. After service we had Jim and Michael, the camp instructor, and Ron and his friend Ann over for lunch. We had the opportunity to share our hearts and experiences with one another for a few hours. What a blessing. Jim offered me words of encouragement as we continue the ministry of Norwood Christian Ranch (www.NorwoodChristianRanch.com) and how we might take it to the next level of ministering to pastors and missionaries and Christian families.

Jim is such a wonderful man of God. I felt like I had known him my whole life because God has had us on such similar journeys.

After Jim left we went out to Miramonte Reservoir with our dear friends, the Parkers, to do some fishing. The weather and the fishing were good and we had a nice, relaxing time on the water in the Parker’s boat. We came back with five fish and some funny fishing stories about “the ones that got away.”

All in all it was an excellent way to spend Father’s Day.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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Being a Father Worthy of Honor

June 16, 2008

God has commanded children to “honor your father and mother.” This commandment is put on children regardless of the type of parents they have. The commandment does not say, “Honor your father as long as he is worthy of honor” or “Honor your good, God-fearing father.” Children are to honor their father no matter what, whether the father is worthy of honor or not.

According to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language, honor mean:

“To revere; to respect; to treat with deference and submission, and perform relative duties to.”

As fathers we can make it easy for our children or difficult for our children to obey God by honoring us. We make it difficult for them when we provoke them to wrath by constantly getting on their case for what they do wrong, by being disengaged from their life, by being too busy with our own selfish pursuits to invest time in their life to guide and direct them into a God-honoring life of their own.

We make it easier for them when we encourage them when we catch them doing something right. We make it easier for them when we “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), when we turn our hearts to them as a major priority in our life (Malachi 4:6), and when we walk as the spiritual leader of the home that God has called us to be (Deuteronomy 6:6-8).

A father’s life is not an easy one. We have so many responsibilities, so many distractions that pull our time in all different directions. It is difficult to keep life in balance. It takes effort to set priorities and jealously guard family time from all the other things that are constantly trying to turn our hearts away from our children.

Fathers, we are called by God to be provider, protector, and priest. In contrast, we are called by the world be spenders what we do not have, leave our children in the hands of the government, and let our children decide for themselves what religion is right for them, if any.

Notice that God’s calling is focused on our relationship with others. A provider provides for the welfare of others, in this case, for our family. A protector provides protection for others. A priest builds up other’s relationship with God. A father’s calling is to be focused on others not ourselves. God wants the father’s heart turned toward his children (Malachi 4:6).

The world’s calling is focused on self. “It’s your money, spend it on yourself because you’re worth it” is what the world tells us. “Protect yourself because nobody else will.” The only priest the world wants you to be is a priest of tolerance of godless beliefs and self indulgence.

How are we to live a life worthy of honor? By being a man of God in all areas of our life. By turning the focus off of ourself and onto the family God has entrusted to our care. Let me encourage you to make it a priority to be provider, protector, and priest in your home. Allow God to turn your heart to your children and you will be amazed at how quickly they turn their hearts to you. It is easy for a child to honor a father with whom their heart is engaged.

Live the life God has called you to. Walk as the example of Christ in your home for your children and you will truly be a father worthy of honor from your children.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

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