How cold can it get?

This global warming is killing me! It’s cold in Colorado Springs; we’re going through temperatures that have not been above 0 in the past 2 days. This cold spell started the evening of January 31 and continues today. I think we are above zero now and may even be above freezing tomorrow. It has been good to be able to ride out the cold spell at home without having to drag myself out to work every day.

Speaking of dragging myself to work, I worked for a large insurance company as a customer service representative for 21 years, recently retiring right after my 55th birthday (August 29); my last day was September 3rd, 2010. Since then I have devoted more time to the church as well as making up for some traveling that had been put off for many years because of the scheduling requirements of the job. For many years the job was steadily 40 hours a week, but in the past few years the job was 50-60 hours a week by necessity, so the church had essentially become a very part-time thing for me. I would throw together the Sunday studies and services on evenings and Saturdays as able. The church was very patient and understanding through that time. The pitfalls and perils of the bi-vocational pastor will be discussed more in future blogs, as the spiritual challenges faced by the “bi-vo” pastor are special and merit exploration.

Since I have retired I have had more time to dedicate to my pastoral duties, so I want to make the most of this time to get some things done on our building and catch up on my Bible studies. I am working on reediting my notes from the book of Daniel (presented in 2007 I think), and working on a new study guide for the last half of Exodus, the book of Leviticus and the book of Numbers. I have not taught on those books and want to be ready if there is the opportunity to teach on those little-studied books in the future.

I have been suffering through the ravages of a cold the past 3 weeks; the past two Sunday sermons I have labeled “Laryngitic Lessons.” We are currently studying Matthew 24-25 in church as part of our expository study on the book of Matthew which began in February of 2010. The Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24-25 gives the opportunity to present the events of the Tribulation Period prior to the Lord’s Second Advent. Of special mention by the Lord in this address was the need for all of us to be ready for His return. To study prophecy for the purpose of determining the timing of His coming is futile; to study prophecy in order to more intimately know the Lord is imperative. When we accepted Christ as our personal Savior we received eternal life. Since eternity involves the future, to have information regarding the future is related to our relationship with Him. The events that close this world and “life as we know it” are a part of knowing Him personally and therefore an important part of our Christian life. If the study of prophecy does not make us more holy in our daily Christian life, then we are not studying it properly. We study prophecy for today, not just to know the future.
Pastor Greg Chandler