The other night a good friend asked me how the Website was going. I don’t know why, but I gave a brief, but thorough, explanation from beginning to end. So, with those thoughts still fresh on my mind, I thought I would compose my First Real Blog Post for the Website. Yes, I know I have plenty of stuff already recorded on various topics, but apart from the One Year Bible and the Music posts, most were composed rapidly with the purpose of filling out the Website. Anyway, if you have a few minutes to pull up a chair and listen to my tale I’d appreciate it! For the last year this has pretty much been the main focus of my life.
From the night I was converted and wanted to be “that guy” on the stage sharing the Gospel, until a few years ago, “The Ministry” was a preeminent drive in my life. It seemed to be behind most, if not all, of my major decisions. For instance, my desire to move my family all the way from California to here in West Michigan, where we have lived the past 30 years, had its roots in it. Yes, the Church was exactly what our family needed and had been looking for, and yes, they had contemplated starting up a School which my wife was deeply interested in for the children she homeschooled each day, but they offered me a chance to pursue “The Ministry”!
A couple of years before we arrived, the Church had established what they called “The Saturday School of Theology”. It was a One Day a Week, 1st and 2nd year Seminary School, that allowed working men an opportunity to take classes that fit into a normal schedule. You just gave up your Saturdays and a lot of evenings of study in order to do so. For me, it was the perfect Scenario; for my family, not so much. I had to give up “a lot” of spare time that normally I would have devoted to them. But that’s neither here nor there right now, but some of the background to my story. And as life continued on, and the demands of a family with 6 kids continued, “The Ministry” Door never opened and I settled in as a Computer Tech and focused on my family! But the Hunger never died.
Fast forward 25 years, and that desire to be in “The Ministry” began to be tempered with a realistic view of it. Getting to know several Pastors, over several years, and involved with several Churches, I began to see the realities of the Day to Day role of the Pastor. And though that did not completely remove my longing for it, did allow me to investigate closer what those desires might actually be pointing at. I began to consider “the Root” of those desires. Much of it was birthed out of a deep desire to, not just see “the Lost” saved, but even more so, “the Deceived” saved. What do I mean by “the Deceived”? I’m glad you asked!
As I read through the Bible each year, one passage in particular would grip me unlike any other; Matthew 7:21-23. This is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus has been instructing “His Disciples”, which is very important. He has warned them about the 2 Gates and the 2 Roads; that they need to go through “The Narrow Gate” and take “The Narrow Road”; To avoid the “Wide Gate” and the “Wide Road”. But notice those two critical adjectives; Few and Many. Few are on the Road to Life, and, Many are on the Road to Destruction. As He continues, we then have those Verses in 7:21-23. Look at what He says:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Notice that Adjective describing those on that day? Many! MANY!!! The Same Word. Those traveling on that Broad Road, Many! Those at the Gate of Heaven wanting to come in, Many! Then it suddenly hit me. Those on that Broad Road “are not” representative of “The World”, or “The Ungodly”; Sinners in the sense that they have “no interest” in God or Salvation. These are those who think, expect, and anticipate hearing, “Welcome In”. But instead, what do they hear? “Depart From Me”!
So, this Great Burden for the “Deceived” began to grip me more and more. I saw my desire change from wanting to be a Pastor (preaching, teaching, and leading a Church), to that of an Evangelist where my preaching would be directed to The Lost, especially those that might think they “are saved”. I envisioned going from Church to Church, scheduling a Service where Young People, their Friends, and anyone that the Church would want present to hear “The Gospel” preached. This was the direction I was focused on now and saw in the Near Future of retirement, the means to be able to accomplish it. Then the Car Crash happened!
As some know, the Concussion I had from the Accident was quite severe. Post Concussion Syndrome, and the Issues that arise from it, has become a battle I fight each day. My Cognitive abilities required for Preaching or Teaching were now so eroded I had to shelve that whole desire. I found myself incapable of remembering a Name, Thing, or Event while talking to those around me. I sometimes found myself unable to string together coherent thoughts. But those Desires to reach this Group within our Culture had not. Though I knew I was not capable to Speak, I could Write. Hence, Blogging as a means to reach them began to develop.
So, about 2 years ago, I began to investigate the whole concept of Blogging. I began reading articles and exploring that whole world. I began researching successful Blogs by both Christian and secular Authors, considering the different Platforms used, the whole world of Website Development, Hosting, etc. and thought this might work. I started visiting YouTube sites that showed everything you ever wanted to know about “this world” (and more!) and saturated myself in a Learning Mode so that I could One Day create my own Website. That all began to take shape last year with my Test Site, which some of you may have seen. I spent as much time as I could gathering Material from others that I deeply loved and respected, and then wrote as much as I could on a regular basis (One Year Bible Posts) to see if this would work for me. I believe it has.
Well, there it is; My Website Journey and the impetus behind it. That explains why so many of my daily Facebook postings were geared toward the Lost; toward the Deceived. It was my desire to reach them, no matter what the subject, with The Gospel; even a Daily Bible Reading platform! I hope none of you felt like I was directing them toward you. I wasn’t. My hope was that YOU, that had read them, would understand my motive and direction and want to support me. The Truth be told, I’ve felt very Alone in this, which is hard when Depression is a big part of my PCS battles. But I finally got to the point where I am doing this for God’s Glory, regardless of who sees it or is interested, and hope to keep my focus there. It’s not been easy, but I am committed to this Work!
And at the same time, there will be Material geared toward Believers, both young and mature alike. The Articles I will be writing will cover a wide variety of Topics (see the Articles Menu on the Website) that will hopefully appeal to most of my friends. Take Music as an example. If you have seen my posts over the years, you know I have a great love of Music, and in various degrees. For those of you that did not know, I owned and operated 2 Christian Bookstores and sold a Ton of Music during that time, and was intimately connected with it. Several of you encouraged me to pursue this effort, so my plan is to write about the Artists and Bands, and, include their Music from my YouTube Channel.
If this has resonated with you, I would ask a favor. We all know that without God’s Help, this is a fruitless effort and waste of time. But if God blesses it, can be a great resource to those that would use it. So first off, PLEASE PRAY! And I don’t mean “just now”, but an ongoing effort to remember this Endeavor, this Work, this Outreach; because that is how I view it. Second, that you would either send the link to the Website (https://priuscrash.com)via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Email, with an encouragement to check it out. Maybe even a Follow Up in a couple of weeks. Third, that you might visit it on a regular basis and check it out yourself. Really, there will be stuff that you might enjoy, if not now, in time. Perhaps even be an Editor-at-large for me and notify me of mistakes and errors. A couple of people have already helped me immensely with this!
Thank you for taking time to read this. I hope that it makes more sense now and that you might join me in one of the ways above. God bless you today and the days ahead!
Well done, John. And I mean WELL DONE. Very profession. I see no sloppiness, amateur graphics, or the like. I like the Capitalization of Stuff for emphasis. But mostly, your writing comes across like a conversation. Not pedantic, nor Super Instructional. Keep up the Good Work.
Blessings, Richard
Love you brother, may God be praised in you in whatever way He deems best. He promises it will happen…
Thank you John, for sharing from your heart. 😊
I’m enjoying your website, John. Lots of excellent truth on which to meditate. It’s easy to use and I appreciate being able to scroll thru all articles as well as jumping to next or previous. I like how you share posts to “introduce” the teachers. The pictures are beautiful. I appreciate your insight on the scriptures. I’ll be back to listen to the hymns and to MLJ sermons! Got ’em bookmarked. I use my RSS Reader app to get notified of your posts. Praying for you. God bless your faithful service, brother.
Brother, what you are doing is a blessing. And I will add this to my morning prayer for you, and continue in prayer for you, Laurie, and your family.
You have been a blessing many times in my life. I remember sitting on the carpet of your living room decades ago, listening to “Sheep may Safely Graze” and hearing you ask me “Paul, what if I were to tell you that you had nothing to do with your salvation?” You introduced me to pure soteriology and after a hugely difficult pride adjustment I’ve made other gains by the grace of God.
One of those other things was you sharing Credenda Agenda with me. After what, 20years?, I live here in Moscow, Idaho and listen to Douglas Wilson sermon’s every Sunday, he being, for those who don’t know, the former editor.
Those articles, for many homeless years, lifted me and were my source for exegesis and cultural comment that I craved.
If, beside prayer, I can be any help I will try.
What I saw was that the “deceived”, to me, are basically the “woke church”. If you are reaching out to them and you want them to be attracted to what you write maybe I can keep in touch to help some way. My heart is especially with those who sit in pews as homosexuals that are feted, coddled and made to feel approved and even superior. I have sinned that way in the past and might have some insights.
I thank God for you brother.
Paul
I enjoyed re-reading your introductory articles on your past and why you are pursuing this ministry. I have added your name to my prayer list and will be praying for God to bless you with good health and guidance as you write.
Thank you Sally. I can’t tell you how much that means to me! I can always use Prayer, but now even more so!
I had no idea of the depth of your past ordeals , John . Here we coulda been sitting down at Ch Filet talking about stuff that really would have been more meaningful when connected with this first part . Glad you got it up and running . I’d encourage you to do more of that kind of writing. It’s an encouragement to me .
No problem. I enjoyed our time regardless of the topic. Thanks for your kind words!
John,
I would like to have a CD copy of Rick Foster’s album Hymns For Classic Guitar (1978). Can you please convert this album to CD format?
Thanks,
Guido
How about contacting David Hollandsworth? That’s where I got my copy. davhol57@gmail.com
Thank you, John, for revealing your burden for ministering to the deceived and for your love for and dedication to reading the scriptures! I always appreciate your daily thoughts and encouragements!
You’re quite welcome!
I just literally read this scripture and thought that if only a few find THE WAY, what a heartbreaking for those that miss out! May this burden drive me to my knees and wake us up to action to share the gospel.🙏🏼
Amen!