I’m a wimpy witnesser. I’ll admit it! When it comes to sharing my faith, I sometimes don’t have a lot of courage. As an example, consider yesterday:

On Friday, I walked over to the shopping mall near the church to get some food. I got my tray of food and began looking for a place to sit in the crowded food court. Failing to find a table where I could sit alone, I got permission from an older guy to sit at the table that he was sitting at. I sat down, pulled out my iPhone, had the blessing for my food, and played around on my phone while I ate. After a bit, I got to thinking that it might be good if I were to converse with the guy sitting across from me and maybe have a chance to witness a bit to him. But in many ways, I didn’t really want to do that. I sort of wanted to stay more in my comfort zone and eat my food and play a game on my phone. But as I thought about it, I came up with a way to potentially open up a bit of a conversation with him that could possibly turn to talk of religion. It was a bit longer before I finally brought myself to talk to him. I started out by mentioning something about the place being crowded at lunch time. He asked if I worked around there, or something like that. I let him know that I was a pastor at a church nearby. He asked what church, and I let him know that it is a Seventh-day Adventist church. We talked briefly about other stuff, and then he came back to the topic of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He seemed to be aware that Seventh-day Adventists have church on Saturday, and asked about why we have church on Saturday instead of Sunday. I briefly attempted to answer his question.

I am sure thankful that I started a conversation with him and was able to at least share a little bit of what I believe with him. Hopefully the Holy Spirit is able to use that conversation to plant a spiritual seed. But why do I sometimes seem to dread speaking with strangers about my faith? Why am I sometimes such a wimpy witnesser? God has done so much for me. Why should I be wimpy when it comes to speaking up on His behalf? Hopefully I will allow God to strengthen me and use me to share His message of love and truth from time to time with people that I come in contact with. After all, He has promised to be there for me as I partake in the work of making disciples for Him.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18–20 ESV)

Scripture quotation is from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV® ), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Several days ago, OakTree Software released the Accordance app for iOS devices. I have had Accordance Bible software for Mac OSX for some time. But it is nice to have many of the modules that I own now accessible on my iPhone. The software is definitely still a work in progress. There is plenty of room for improvement. But I think it is a good app with amazing potential. If you are needing/wanting a good Bible app for your iOS device, let me encourage you to check out the Accordance Bible app in the iOS App Store. The app is free and allows you to use several good basic Bible translations and tools for free.

Below is a simple video overview of the app in action on an iPad (maybe someday I will have an iPad to use this app on ).

Well, here it is Remembrance/Veterans Day 2010. This is a day when we can remember those who have braved the horrors of war to help allow us to continue living in relative freedom. It is a day to be thankful for those who have risked their very lives for the cause of freedom and a day to remember those who have actually given their lives for the cause of freedom. Thank you to all those who have served or are serving in the military. Thank you to the families who have had to deal with separation from (and even loss of) a loved one who has served in the military. What a sacrifice for freedom! Hopefully we remember throughout the year to be thankful for the veterans who have fought for freedom, and not just on November 11.

May we also remember the One who gave His life so that we can have ultimate freedom - eternal life - if we truly accept it!

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NLT).*

* Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Photo of “Dovey” - taken by Brent Wilson

This past Sunday Cherié and I were at the park in town when we came across a young Mourning Dove in the grass. He/she appeared to have been injured or something. We ended up bringing it home. It lived with us for several days, spending most of its time in a cardboard box. Cherié would feed it with an eye dropper. She took it outside one day, and another day both of us were outside with it. Sometimes it would make the cutest little bird sound. I started calling it “Dovey.” On Thursday I did some research online about taking care of wild birds. It appears that it is generally best to not bring them home. They are better off in their own environment. So I don’t necessarily recommend doing what we did. There may have been a better solution to “Dovey’s” predicament. It is apparently also illegal to care for wildlife without a permit or license or something like that. On Thursday afternoon, I arranged to take “Dovey” to the local State Wildlife office. Depending on the maturity and condition of “Dovey,” they were going to either send him/her overnight to some greenway place in Pueblo or take it to a safe spot in this area to turn it loose back into the wild. It was kind of sad to take “Dovey” and drop it off. But I also knew that it would be better for “Dovey” to be taken care of by knowledgeable people and reintroduced back into the wild. After I dropped “Dovey” off, I guess one of the state guys checked him/her out. It sounded like “Dovey” was old enough or mature enough that they were going to simply reintroduce it into the wild in a safe spot. I kind of miss the cute little guy, and I certainly hope that “Dovey” is doing okay out in the big world. I know that God cares about even little birds like “Dovey.” Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26 NIV).* Just like God takes care of me and cares for me, I know that He also cares for “Dovey.” I hope and pray that “Dovey” has a happy and good life. I look forward to heaven where birds like “Dovey” won’t get hurt. That will be one awesome place!

* Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

From now on, please click here to view an album of trip photos.

This report is for Wednesday, when we headed up to Maine and visited some sites that had to do with Ellen White. We first went to the Gorham area, where Ellen  Harmon was born and lived for a short time after being married to James White. We stopped by the traditional site of her birth. But it is now known that she was not born there. We also drove by the home that her parents later lived and where James and Ellen White stayed for a short time after being married. We also drove by near the location where the Harmon family may have lived when Ellen was born (the home is no longer standing). We went to a cemetery where Ellen’s twin sister (Elizabeth) is buried next to her husband. Then we headed to Portland, Maine. It was here that Ellen lived for awhile with her family. We saw several sights that were connected with the Harmon family, including the following: site of Harmon home, probable site of Ellen’s accident, site of Beethoven Hall where Ellen heard William Miller speak, and the approximate location where Ellen was baptized. Portland is also the home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We drove by his house as well. We then headed to the Portland Head Lighthouse (see photo above), where we ate our sack lunches and spent some time enjoying the beauty. We then headed up to Poland, Maine where the Harmon family lived for a time. We went to the home of Ellen’s sister where Ellen White spent some time. We went to Topsham as well, where Stockbridge Howland lived and where the White’s lived for a period of time. It is also the place where the White’s son, Henry, died. His funeral was held in a Baptist church that we also saw. Then it was on to Old Country Buffet before heading back to the hotel.