Our Pastor

We love our Pastor and his family.

Last week when it was Dillon's turn to pray for a meal, he said, "Dear God, Thank you for this food and for our wonderful Pastor that You've given us. In Jesus name, Amen."

He has also said that Pastor is his hero. Pastor has mentioned to me too that when he tries to shake hands with Dillon, he runs and gives him a hug instead.

Awhile back, we were at Cracker Barrel with my mom and dad, and my dad was asking Alia as he often does, "Who's the prettiest girl in Montana?"

Alia said that she thought it was her, but looked doubtful.

Jordan piped up and said, "Poppa, I know who the prettiest girl in Montana is."

We all waited with bated breath to see what he was going to say. It's common knowledge that he has a crush on Heather, so we all fully expected to hear her name. Instead he said, "It's Mrs. Benton."

I asked him if he thought that because Pastor had said that at some point, and he said, "No, that's just what I think."

I wish you could have heard the way he said it. He was just stating the facts, plain and simple. (chuckle)

Pastor Benton has been such a rock to our family this past week. He was at the trial every day, and it was as if through him we could see God Himself was there. Just knowing that he was praying for us meant so much. Mrs. Benton attended the first day, and then Kyle came the second and third days. Besides them, there were only two or three other people there that I knew personally. But there were about 12 to 15 people there each day in all.

Last night Pastor preached on "The Danger of Rejecting God's Authority". Basically it was about how our country has rejected the authority of God's Word, and how corrupt the government is as a result.

God is already judging our country. Hurricane Katrina was orchestrated by God. When it was gathering speed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 U.S. forces were dragging Israelis from their homes and businesses in the Gaza strip. People in New Orleans were getting ready for Mardi Gras, and they had dubbed that year the "Homosexual Mardi Gras". This year the fires in Southern California were just as devastating as Hurricane Katrina. 3,000 homes valued at one million dollars each were destroyed. Arnold Schwarzenegger was signing a pro-homosexual education bill into effect that introduced co-ed bathrooms, cross dressing allowances, and homosexual education in public schools. It was 20 pages long.

Christians are tolerating this. They are afraid to stand against the hard things of our day. God does not tolerate sin. We may think that we're getting away with it, but "be sure your sin will find you out", and "what a man soweth, that shall he also reap". God doesn't lie. He is holy, and His anger is just and fierce. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. God says 365 times in His Word not to fear. We are to fear nothing and no one except Him. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God". Things are only going to get worse. God is sovereign and He is in full control. He says, "You just watch what I'm going to do." This battle is against God, and He has the upper hand. America is going to find out the hard way that He is still on the throne. Hang on to your hats folks, it ain't gonna be pretty.

It is wonderful to have a Pastor who isn't afraid to preach the truth. We greatly admire his courage to stand on what is right even when it's not popular. His humility, faith, courage, and passion for souls make him the type of man I am thankful to have my son look up to as a hero.

God continues to work, and how humbled and grateful I am for His loving hand on our lives. This past Saturday Josh was able to lead one more soul to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and another person received full assurance of their salvation. A man at the trial that has been helping my mom and dad so generously this past year has said that my parent's have been key in changing his life forever. He found himself singing "On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand" in the shower and it's been over 20 years since he's been right with God. We give Him all the honor and glory He is so deserving of in all these things and are unspeakably excited to see what He's going to do next. I know I've been saying that a lot, but it's true.

Thank you all for being "here" and so faithful to check for updates. I've had more hits on my blog this past week than ever before. It's such an encouragement! Thank you also to those of you who leave comments. They are always such a blessing to me.