And while I am talking about reading the Bible, let me say that there is not a right or wrong way to do it.  I keep a little book--some would call it a devotional book--on my kitchen counter.  It is dated for each day of the year, but it only has scriptures--no discussion or explanation.  On a subject.  Faith, Love,  Fear...etc.   It's short--my attention span is short as well.

I don't do devotions very well.  Some people find them inspiring.  Whatever you like, that's what you should do.  Some people want to start at the front of the Bible and read through from Genesis to Revelation--a portion at a time.  There are guides to doing that.  It is a very good plan.  But I always get bogged down in Numbers.  Like I said, my attention span is short.

Some people like to have a guide that goes through the Bible by subject.  That's a good plan as well.
But even though my "kitchen book" is by date and by subject, some days I don't read it.  I forget.  Or I go to Bible Study and read something there.  I would call myself a "spastic reader."  It works for me.  However, I definitely wouldn't recommend it.  Most people need a pattern, a disciplined method of reading, or they will "forget" it and forgetting becomes their habit.  Not good.  Most people need a "time" to do their Bible reading.  That's probably best.  A routine.

Like I said, there is no right or wrong way to do it.  Just do it.  Find a way that works for you and stick with it.  That's the key to reading.  Stick to it.  Make a habit.  Since I teach, I find myself reading passages that relate to the subject of the lesson I am preparing.  But inevitably, I find something I didn't know and start chasing rabbits.  And when I can't find what I want to know, I call Carolyn.  She's my backup theologian.  GC.  Google Carolyn.  She is an English, Drama major.  Taught for a zillion years, and a brilliant researcher.  She's my Biblical ace in the hole.

Everyone needs one.  When she and I get to talking about something in the Bible, we sometimes disagree.  Which is fabulous.  It makes me want to read more.  "As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens the countenance of his friend."  Proverbs 27:17  There is nothing better than having a Christian friend you can talk to.  Someone asked Carolyn what she and I talk about.  She said, "I have no idea."  That's the truth.  We talk about a zillion things.  Mostly nothing.  Sometimes, something.

Why don't people who say they have given their lives to Christ read the Bible?  I don't get it.  If you got a letter from a friend you would read it.  All that is necessary to be motivated to read the Bible, is to consider that John, Peter, Matthew, Paul, James, Luke, Mark, and Jude-- among others--are friends of ours.  They wrote us letters to read about exciting experiences that they had.  You've got mail!!!!!!

All of you like it when I write about Ken's exploits.  Those men wrote about the exploits of a man  named Jesus.  A man who changed the world and still changes the world.  The most famous man of all time. We like to hear about people's experiences.  Jesus' experiences are mind-blowing.

The Bible is so interesting.  And even though I have read it all a number of times--it's like everything else in my life--I forget.  And every time I read it I learn something new.  It is like a guide book for living in a way that comes out "right" in the end.  Living in a way that guarantees living forever.  And ever.  And it guarantees that we will find peace in our lives.

It is not a get rich book.  There are a number of famous TV preachers that promise that you will "Prosper" if you accept Christ.  Prosper financially.  They quote the prayer of Jabez as if it means we all will be rich.  The Bible doesn't teach that everybody that comes to Christ will prosper financially.   It promises that you will have what you need.

Jesus said, "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow.  They don's spin..yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If God clothes the grass which lives today and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you.  Don't worry about what you shall eat, or drink...the Father knows that you have need of these things." Luke 12:27-40

There is an evil power out there.  One who is trying to defeat you.  But when something goes wrong,  God will use it some way or another.  And he promises to be with us in our troubles.  He promises that nothing will ever happen that will be more than we can bear.  He is all powerful.  He will "deliver us from evil," is what the Lord's prayer says.  That's a good deal.  A perfect way out.  Go get your mail and read it.

I have been a member of a number of churches as we moved around.  I have been amazed at how many people "go to get," rather than "go to give."  Somewhere along the way, we have watered down what it means to be a Christian.  When you truly and sincerely come to Christ, you start a journey.  You have made a decision to agree that His will is your will.  And that you want to find out what that "will" is so that you can actually do it.

There seems to be a huge lack of personal responsibility for sharing Christ with the world.  And there is a tendency among church members to attend, listen, and leave.  With no concept of changing your life.  With no desire to grow.  With no desire to share the gospel.  And with a comfortable satisfaction that spreading the gospel is the preacher, staff, and teacher's job.

People get satisfied with the group they are in, and settle down for the duration.  Very few read their Bible.  Fewer still take the words of scripture as marching orders.   I don't blame them.  I blame us.  We have put "Doing church" in a capsule.  Come on Sunday, sing a song or two, listen to a sermon and go home.  We settle people into a rut.  God forbid that someone gets excited about anything.

And yet, the church is the body of Christ.  It is the best thing that we have going for fellowship with other Christians.  It is the best thing we have for helping us raise our children.  It is the best thing we have in times of trouble.  True Christian people are the best people in the world.  God's children.

But I fear we have lulled people into a sense of security as to how salvation becomes a fact in their lives.  We ask them to come forward.  To say they believe in Jesus.  And many times, that's it.  We baptize them and and they are left with a feeling of security that is not real.

I remember in 1954, our convention adopted a motto, "A million more in '54."  Which we got.  And never saw many of them again.  Saying that you believe in Jesus doesn't save you.  The devil himself believes in Jesus--that he is the Son of God.  That He rose from the dead.  But Satan doesn't give God his heart, his will or his allegiance.  You have to give yourself to Christ.  All of you.

We just need to take it all more seriously.  We have a job to do.  There is no Plan B.

Churches are funny things.  Instead of us doing the things that need doing, we hire people to tell us what to do.  Which is strange--because we have a book, the Bible, that already does that.  And the problem with hiring people to tell us what to do, is that every time we change the man at the top, (or woman, in some churches), we start all over with a new direction about how to do what we do.

Sunday I went to a meeting where there was a discussion about why people attend your church.  In a survey, less than 10 percent nation wide said it was the pastor.  Or the location.  Or the doctrine.  Or the programs.  Or the building.  Over 80% said they came because someone asked them to come.

People don't come to church just to learn about Jesus.  They come to connect with people.  People who are of a certain mind-set.  And they stay because they find a group of people who adopt them.  Take them into their group.  People who listen, and pray for their needs.  People who aren't judgmental, but are encouraging.  And in the process, hopefully, they find Christ.

And yet, we spend most of the money that the church receives on the things that attract people the least.  I believe that we could do a lot better by spending our money on connection groups led by people who know how to teach, but also know how to connect.  People want to connect.  They come looking for something.  And if we don't reach out and pull them into our fellowship, they will look for a church that does.

As a teacher, I have always picked one, sometimes two people to disciple each year.   Rarely two.  You can't pour yourself into everyone--because doing that kind of "caring" for someone takes a lot of your personal time.  Usually years.  It took Jesus three years to disciple the people he picked.  Generally,  everyone I chose actually chose me.  They wanted to learn.  It's not hard to figure out who might want to know more.  You "connect."

I think the churches--all denominations--in America would be able to spread the gospel in a better way if they taught people how to teach others to make disciples.  Reproduce yourself in like kind.  Double your impact.  Teach people how to make disciples.  Teach them how to go about doing that.  Jesus said, "As you are going, make disciples..." Matthew 28:19  

As long as I am on the subject of growing older, let me say that I've had to give up on perfection.  I have to hire so many things done, that I have had to accept that nobody is going to do what I want them to do the way I want them to do it.

So, for instance, instead of telling John--my gardner--to move a rock (he had just placed in the wrong place by the Koi pool) to the right or left a little bit, I have learned to say something like, "Do you think that rock needs to be moved over to the right a little?  Or do you like it where it is?  What do you think?"  Then sometimes he will humor me a bit without me having to say, "Move it."  Sometimes I have to accept where he has put it.   And live with it.  He is an exceptional worker--and I don't want to discourage him with my nit-picking.  However........

I'm a perfectionist.  After the cleaning ladies leave, I have to go around straightening pictures, moving do-dads back where they go, repositioning the dining room chairs so that they are lined up five inches from the edge of the table, etc., etc.  If you are OCD like me, you might as well give up on other people seeing what you are seeing.  You might as well accept that you are going to be straightening pictures, do-dads and so forth, for the rest of your life.

I guess I could just give up on it all.  But it's not in my nature.  I like to walk into a room and have everything in place.  Just so.  If something is out of order it is the first thing I see.  And I will be bugged until I fix it.  My chandelier wasn't exactly centered over the new dining room table--so I called Tony (who does all kinds of handiwork) to come move it 13 inches to the right.  Now, it all looks like it should, and I am happy.  On to the next project.

I've got one area that is a mess.  It is around my recliner.  Everything I need is within arm's reach.  Pens, stamps, fingernail clippers, tea cup, bills, envelopes, stapler, shredder, etc.   And I can clean it up in three minutes if company comes.  Which I seldom do.

My sister Lisa needs to come to see me again.  I've got things that I still need for her to hang on the wall.  She is the only one in the family who has the patience to deal with my obsessions.  Except for God.

It's Monday again.  Time is going by so fast.  Or maybe I am going so slow that it is rolling over me.  I can't seem to get anything done that needs to be done.  I feel like my days are like a dripping faucet. Drop at a time they evaporate.  At night when I go to bed, I can think of a million things I need to do the next day.  But when I wake up, I can't remember any of them.

Here's an example:  Saturday night, I remembered that I needed to reset the clock.  I had already gone to bed so I reminded myself that I needed to do it first thing Sunday morning.  Of course I forgot, and missed church.  I was lazing around reading the newspaper and looked at my watch.  It was 8:30 and I needed to get ready for 9:30 worship service.  And the same instant realized that it was really 9:30 already.

And last Tuesday, I was refilling my daily pill cases and thought, "I'll go ahead and take my pills while I'm doing this."  Which I had already taken.  Trust me, you don't want to double your potassium.  I got a rip-roaring headache, and every time I tried to walk I looked like I was drunk.

The big problem with all of that is that your children (and everybody else) think you are incompetent because you are getting old.  But the truth is, I've always been absent minded.  It's just that when you age, people attribute every stupid thing you do to your age.  I've always managed to do stupid stuff.

I do forget things quicker.  Which is a good thing.  Why hang on to things that bother you.  And I pace myself with the tasks that need to be done.  And I extrapolate parts of some of the things I know and put them into other things I know.  It makes sense to me.

Actually, I don't mind growing older.  There isn't as much stress.  I don't feel any pressure to do things I don't want to do.  And if I miss going somewhere I meant to go, well, I'll go next time.  "Grow old with me.  The best is yet to come."

In the book of Ecclesiastes, as the writer concludes, he says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, (of life):  Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."  So, every day I try to do just that--as I grow older.  It is a pretty good plan.

Ann (my cousin who lives in Edmond--that I grew up with in Pryor.) has been asking me to make a chicken pot pie.  I had done one a year ago and she kept raving about it, so I fixed one today.  Problem is, the reason it is so good is you bake the chicken uncovered until the skin is brown and crunchy.  And of course, it splatters all over the oven and smokes up the house.  And when you get through, the oven is a total disaster.

Then you bone the chicken, set it aside, and take the crunchy skin, fat, and bones and boil them until the broth is golden brown.  Store bought broth just doesn't cut it.  The flavor is in the crunchy skin.

But all that messy smoke from the oven permeates the house.  Ugh.  I don't think I will ever make another pot pie from scratch.  What a mess.  But, mmmmm.....it is delicious.  I've tried every store bought brand of chicken pot pie that is out there and can't even find a close second.

I seldom cook any more unless I invite people over to eat.  It's hard to cook for one person.  No, it's almost impossible to cook for one person.  And it's no fun to eat alone.

Living in America is such a blessing.  We can go to the grocery store and buy anything we want.  In season, or out of season.  We have a refrigerator.  A stove.  A microwave.  A dishwasher.  An oven.  Hot water.  Things are so easy that we forget to give thanks for all of these conveniences--that most of the world doesn't have.

One thing that I can cook for one person is lamb chops.  Another is Ahi tuna steak--which I love--topped with toasted sesame seeds browned in butter.  We have a specialty store in Edmond that will let you buy small portions of meat.  How blessed we are to have such choices.

"Give us this day our daily bread...."   And all the stuff that goes with it.  God is good.