Author Archives: oneminuteministry

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth. Who have upheld His justice and righteousness, seek humility.

God woke me up at 3:30 this morning, he used a barking dog and coyotes to rise me from bed and draw me to quiet time with him. I am preaching this weekend at Trackside, and I knew God was wanting me to use this time for preparation, so I prayed for direction, and he led me to this prophetic book. I honestly kind of sighed in fear, for I remembered how tough it is to read the details of God’s judgement, yet as I studied and saw God weave his sermon, I felt the direction was sure. He even caught my attention with the Experiencing God devotional before me, blending the prideful example perfectly as only God can do. I am always amazed at how the examples lie before us of God’s intimacy with us, communion with the Creator of the universe, to his creation still mired in sin and struggling each day. The mercy and grace he bestows upon us is immeasurable, yet there is proof to anyone who questions him at many levels, if they would only humble themselves such as the scripture above.

I am not smart enough to explain or much less understand myself eschatology, the timeline of end times as we know it, the changes when Jesus returns to judge sin and restore his creation. I do have enough smarts to see the signs before us that align with Bible prophecy, pointing us to the Day. Our world, even down to our nation is in dire need of repentance. Our nation mocks God with our liberal laws that condone murder and homosexuality even into the churches. Zephaniah addresses that in his day too, even the leaders and priests of his day were corrupt and leading people astray. 1:4-5 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear to Milcom. In study you find even the references to the once great Solomon, and his fall from grace to the gods of his countless wives, a direct disobedience to God by even taking those wives.

God is likely using our corrupt leaders in all walks of life to prepare our nation for judgement, the evidence of how God does exactly that fill the whole Old Testament. God’s ways are not our ways, his thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), but we must trust him even with times such as these. We must seek God early, we must seek God with a humble repentant heart, asking him for forgiveness and guidance. The more we seek God through humility, the more likely we are to be that remnant he always preserves throughout the whole Old Testament also.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

I sat on my front porch seeking peace and quiet with God before six am this morning, only to be angered by the traffic in a hurry to go somewhere. I came in to my secret place and searched “stress” on my Bible app, the list of help seemed endless. Stress has been around since sin entered the world, and the Bible and Jesus knew we would struggle with it too. I believe I am writing to try and help some of my stress; I could go down many roads; mental strains, physical pains, depression and anxiety, fading memory and mental capacity, regrets, and the toll the last couple months have brought with seeing my parents both fade before my very eyes with Alzheimers. I have got to figure our how to process it, how much to share, how to be the strong one, many “hows” for a guy who fixes things, solves problems and plans for a living. Stress is something I know way too much about.

Jesus was spending his last moments with his disciples, the last hours with them before he was to be arrested and crucified. He was conducting his last ministry with those he had invested so much into, before their whole world was turned upside down. He prayed for them, he petitioned God to be with them and protect them from Satan, he even mentioned you as someone who comes to faith as a result of their future ministries. Jesus knew what they were about to face, the stress of their lives until they joined him in Heaven, so he prayed for them. He told them of the gift from God coming, the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in every believer, and gift that was better than Jesus himself. You conscious, your gut feelings, that knowledge of right and wrong, the One who leads you each day, is God living inside of you, speaking to you, if you will listen. John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

I really don’t know what this blog’s form or content will be this season of writing. I am sure it will be my life filtered through my faith as before. I do not know it will take the form of a devotional, but a means to share my walk through this stressful season. From my own personal struggles with aging, and to see two God fearing parents change before your eyes is hard to process in so many ways. What it reminds me of scares me, from the things I saw in India. I am so blessed to know they are headed to Heaven when they leave here, and in that I have the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Psalms 63:1 Ok God, you are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirst you you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

I am trying to return to writing here, a place where God worked and changed me years ago. I need to look back to see when this 1MM (one minute ministry) started, but I know I have written over 1,200 the last time I looked. This was a place where I filtered my life through my faith, I guess a combination of a blog and faith blended together. Sometimes a full devotional, sometimes a venting post, sometimes a place to try and express what God wanted me to say. It was a LONG season, one I knew why it ended and changed, but one I hope to return to starting today. I need a place to try to put into words my life, my struggles, my mountaintops, my questions, my walk with God as a man trying to live a better life for him.

I have continued to spend time with God almost every morning when I awake, but it turned into online excerpts, VOTD (verses of the day), social media posts, and just smaller pieces instead of diligent study in his written Word. I used to arise 430-500am and have quality time in all my different Bible translations, commentaries and other study material; I miss THAT. There is something different about God’s written Word, highlighted and underlined, full of dates and notes as a look back. Our Bibles can become priceless mementos of our walks with God. I am going to use my newest translation (NASB) as I walk this new season with God. My favorite NKJV is put aside from the last ten years, it is so special to me, that I almost protect it, using it more sparingly that I did the last ten years.

If you choose to follow my blog, this ministry in a new season, I hope that God encourages you to pursue him too. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. That verse changed my life and started this 1MM, showed me how to start my day with God before all the world distractions come at us. This world in the big picture is far from God, the need for you personally to draw closer to him is likely greater than ever. It all starts today, when you make a change and seek him early too.

Ecclesiastes 5:18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.20 For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

I have been in business for 30 years this year, continuing the company that dad started for me in 1992. AG Comfort has played the role of provision for my family, my sisters, and many others through these decades of business. It has been a roller-coaster, a tough learning experience, and I would do things much differently with what I have learned. But, I have also learned to be content with what I have, and now I see the joy of this stage of my career. I find myself investing myself in two young men as my dad did me, one of which is my oldest son showing interest in the industry. I am not pursuing growth, not chasing the American Dream of riches, but more the riches of time invested with each other. We have an incredible year planned together, and Lord willing, one we will look back on later in life as a highlight of our time together. The gift of time together is priceless, one that cannot be obtained with 80 hour weeks and increased profit margins, for your heart will never be satisfied, always striving for more money. Nobody’s tombstone ever says they wished they had worked more.

Most scholars believe it was Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes; the wisest man who ever live, one whom God gave wisdom and riches, yet he spends time in the book looking for the answer to life. He pens many times in this book that things are “the vanity of vanities, and chasing after the wind.” Would not it be as simple as the reflections of wasted time? Would not it be showing us that all our efforts into these pursuits of riches, of things (stuff) that we think will make us happy, of how they never satisfy our longing for happiness? Solomon even pens that folly (wasting time) was a vanity of vanities. Our deepest needs are for love, and happiness is a byproduct of that desire. You cannot find true love and not find happiness also. That is where God fulfills the desire within you, a desire he placed within you at the creation of you.

Solomon’s closing summary statement in Ecclesiastes is so simple. 12:13 When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person. When we come to realize who God is, the author and sustainer of all creation, and that he desires an intimacy with us (his creation), the grace of that realization changes our lives forever. We see the joy in each day, the gifts from the Father of Lights from above, all that is good in the world comes from God. We begin to see the value of time invested in others, the value of sharing our faith with others, that time pays eternal dividends exponentially better than any earthly investment ever conceived. Find time to read your Bible, find time to share your faith, find time to tell someone you love them, and show them by investing your time with them.

Jeremiah 29:13 An you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

What was my New Year’s resolution, what change am I desiring to make? In Mike Anderson’s dictionary, a resolution is the desire to make a change, a synonym of repentance, the desire to change one’s heart. Many of us spend a holiday weekend making ourselves promises to lose weight, work out, stop smoking, less phone time, go to church, the list is endless and personal, but we try to come up with ways to self-motivate. My resolution, that I never made, is one to return to very early mornings with God, quality time spent, not lying in bed surfing social media and just online Bible apps; I desire to return to diligent study in God’s written Word and commentaries. This past year my eyes have gotten pulled downward much more to a worldly focus, the stresses and strains of it have taken a toll on me mentally. I need to follow the writings of Paul in Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Satan’s power is peaking in the chaos being promoted before us every day, his desire is to take our eyes off the promises that God gives us throughout the Bible.

As so many of you know, dirt bike racing has been a huge part of my life for over half my life. When we returned to racing about five years ago, God opened a door into Trackside Ministry, a means to openly share my faith at the racetrack. Men started Trackside Ministries at a local series over 10 years ago, and it has grown into multiple series over recent years. We have been blessed financially with donations that allow us to freely distribute Bibles and devotionals at every race. The Bible tells us that “God’s Word will never return void” (Isaiah 55:11), and I believe God can and will do a work in his timing, with every Bible and devotional that leaves our Free table at each race. Can you imagine the day someone is at their bottom, and reaches for the Bible someone gave them at a dirtbike race? Can you imagine the children that their love for God grows because of the bedtime bible stories they picked up with the cool race stickers? (Kid’s stuff always goes quickly and is special to witness.)

By God’s design, this country boy who loves to race dirt bikes, will find myself in a pulpit in the middle of nowhere USA, for over forty weekends Lord willing in 2022. They are outdoor services that happen in farmers’ fields, on the MX track, many times muddy, and sometimes wet. We may have just a few people, or be blessed by looking for more chairs and racers riding up on dirt bikes. I even got fed smores by the nearby campfire just before this weekend’s service. My plea in this is your prayers, for Satan is angered at us taking God’s Word to those not in church on Sunday, he doesn’t want us to be bold with our faith and shout it over speakers for all to hear at the track. My resolution is to get closer to God this year, and then to be used by God to help you do the same thing, then you can do the same thing for someone in your circle of influence too.

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 

I talked to a brother in the faith this week, someone with very different paths growing up, yet God put the city streets and the farmer together for a short time at a church in downtown Charlotte. We just gelled, it made no sense, yet we laughed and shared faith and testimonies. We walked the city streets knocking on doors and I saw the boldness of an evangelist in him. Facebook keeps us in touch, and I was able to help him out this week when he was in a bind. We talked about swallowing our pride, and the humbling of doing so before God, and how that was a big part of both our testimonies. I still struggle greatly with pride, every single day. God has went to great lengths to humble me physically, yet I still stick my chest out and press forward, even as hands tremble like only those close to me know. God opened my eyes to the “beggers” at our intersections, opened my eyes where I had a hardened heart for so many years. Who am I to roll up the windows and display a hardened Christian heart towards some that has been humbled by God too?

John was known as the one whom Jesus loved; there was a special relationship between Jesus and John. John wrote so much about love in all his epistles and the gospel of John. When you look at the passage above, you see the “look what Jesus did for you” in verse seventeen; you see the “do you not understand?” in John’s plea. How can we not sacrifice to any degree in honor of the One who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us? If we say that we love Jesus, why can we not put actions to the words? James writes about it much also. 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  God is going to ask us to give an account for all our lives, the sins and the faith we proclaimed. What will be our reply?

This world is rapidly moving away from everything the Bible and Christianity stand for. Truth is lost, salvation is universal, self worth is praised, and punishment is withheld so as not to offend. Right and wrong have become blurred, and the hate for the Christian who stands on biblical values will increasingly become condemned. John 15:17 These things I command you, that you love one another. 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The next time you see someone in need, reach out and lend a helping hand, you might be entertaining and angel unknowingly. That guy blowing his horn behind you might be touched by God in a way you can’t imagine, and they might get humbled too. God works in mysterious ways to grow his kingdom, and a smile on your face in this world of fear will cover a multitude of sins.

Matthew 24: But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

I reached out yesterday to the “three amigos”, my three-fold chord of Godly influence in my life for over 10 years. God used these two men greatly, even unto this day to continue to keep my focus on Christ. I texted them of how I had envisioned a much different life than I found myself now in my early fifties, disappointed in so many things in my life right now. There really is not an area of my life that I am not trying to hide the depth of my struggles. Work dominates so much of my life, and I even had to make the decision to sell the nicest truck I have ever had to capitalize on the financial side of market and business plans in the downsizing of our company. Satan has slammed me with “failure and unqualified” attacks all year, and many of them are somewhat true. The mental strains that I endure I hide behind Sunday smiles and all along I am weeping inside. The attacks of anxiety and depression from my enemy are vicious, and come in waves directly related to any spiritual high I have had sharing my faith. This is the spiritual warfare that Paul writes about through most of his epistles.

I came away encouraged from a talk with Derrick, he is the godliest man I know, and we are real with each other above all else. So many of us are struggling in these days we are living in. Satan and his minions power is peaking; he has powerful people in so many places, governments, lawyers, pulpits, media, friends, no place is safe from his influence except your faith in God and holding dear to what the scripture teaches. False prophets will emerge rapidly in the coming days and years as I believe we are entering this season of birth pangs. As we have learned over the past year, things don’t make sense any more, people believe anything they are told and being lead astray. Panic happens overnight, and can be over anything from a virus, to gas, to toilet paper. People are showing how easily they can be lead astray by the Anti-Christ in what has happened over the past year. Matthew 5:4 Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.”

I am not smart enough to explain eschatology (view of end-times) to you, nor dumb enough to predict when Jesus Christ will return. I am smart enough to tell you to open your eyes and pay attention to what is going on around you, and compare it to what the Bible says and what biblical pastors are teaching about these days. EVERYTHING points to the rapid return of Jesus Christ, the point in history that changes history eternally! When you no longer have had a chance to plan your eternity, when you wished you had spent your time here earning heavenly rewards, when you could have shared your faith with someone close to you, when you could have played a very small part in God’s plans for eternal paradise with those you love and he chooses. WHY would you not open your Bible and pray for God to help you understand what is going on? All these problems, all these things we see going on in our crazy world are really small when it comes to spending eternity in Heaven or Hell. It is going to be at one place or another, and it really was just a truck anyway.

Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” for I did not come to call the righeous, but sinners, to repentance.

Where have I been? I have written over 1,200 entires since 2012, and in the early season of blogging I never missed a single day, but life changes and I have seen this ministry outpost change also. This WordPress server changed the simplicity of how it operated, but now I am determined to re-learn the new format. God has really been pressing on me to write again, more than just social media quick excerpts, but “more to the story.” This has always been an avenue for me to share my life filtered through my faith. I always seek to share both the highs and lows of my life, to be real and not fake, to let you know I struggle just like you, but I seek God through all my struggles for strength and wisdom, and praise when standing on those mountaintops!

How well do you know me? Do you know I lived most of my life in rebellion to God? Sex, drugs, rock & roll were my lifestyle, living a life pursuing my idols and all the pleasures this world could provide. I hang my head in shame for the life I lived for over 20 years, and the grave sins I committed against God. He got ahold of my heart, really grabbed my heart in my early 40’s, and began the process of sanctification, the purging of sin that lasts until we take our last breath. I have fell back into many struggles through the years, and seen God’s mercy and grace countless times through them. “He will never leave nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 These times that we are living in have elevated all of our struggles. My struggles with anxiety and depression have truly become evil, tormenting my mind to the point I knew not what to do on many occasions. If it were not for my faith, and my family, my story could be much different.

I truly believe we are living in the last days before Jesus returns to judge sin. I truly believe those that are trying to live as disciples of Jesus Christ are being persecuted in the seen and the unseen, I also think both of these will get much worse in the coming days and years. We are seeing Satan’s power peaking before his final and ultimate fall. There is no time greater than today, than right now to get right with God. The time is now to repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first time he came is was to provide the way to be forgiven from sin; the next time he comes it is as a righteous Judge to condemn those still in sin. Don’t be silent with God…….

John 8:45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

I guess I am as guilty as the next person, never thinking my world could change as much as I have seen it change in 2020. I was just going along daily in my own little world, it even reminds me of how the Bible speaks of when the flood came in the Old Testament, and the return of Jesus in the New Testament. I wasn’t ready for my freedoms to be taken away, a panic to set in, and to see corruption on a political scale such as I had only learned about in history class as a boy. We are living history on a large scale, life altering events that may be taught to generations to come, with an unknown outcome yet to be seen. This world event has brought change that most current generations have not experienced, and it will never go back to as it was before, the new normal will not be the old way of life.

Jesus brought about that level of change 2000 years ago. A little “nobody” carpenters son became known to many as God himself, as the Messiah, as the great healer and comforter that taught with authority as never seen before. He transformed the world with his words, all the while showing his power through his miracles of biblical proportion. He always spoke the truth, never shied away from the fear of offending, never worried what others thought of him, because he knew their hearts towards him. He set the example for his disciples to see, of how to follow God’s initiative, to join God where he is already working, and to have faith in God’s provision in any circumstance. We must have the faith as Jesus, for he has given us the Holy Spirit to be with us, to abide in us and guide our way, just as he testified of God to the Jews. 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

I have never seen such division, from large national scales down to our homes and personal lives. I have struggled personally on a large scale in many ways this year, and I know many others who have also. There seems to be nothing untouched, nothing sacred, not even the church is what is was less than a year ago, separated in many ways. Truth seems lost, people believing and following the seemingly unbelievable, it just isn’t making sense. The perfect description from Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! The great call in these tumultuous times is to draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. We may be living these days that seems so bad, because Jesus is coming soon to judge the world’s sin. He will come as a thief in the night, and we must be prepared, because we surely were not for 2020.

He is much different

Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. 26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

I ain’t no different from you; I wonder a lot on how much I should share of my personal life for many reasons, but I also believe in filtering my life through my faith, how I deal with the highs and lows in relation to my core beliefs. Many preachers do not share for many reasons, I think it makes them appear lofty, and sadly anyone we elevate other than Christ will fall. This year for me has been elevated greatly in my struggles with anxiety and depression; I see and know of many that would say the same thing when honest. My heath physically and mentally have been slipping, one effecting the other, a battle over who begins the struggle many times. My body is aging and reaping what I have sown working and playing hard for 52 years. My mind is the battlefield of good and evil, the good in me looses the war many times to the sin in me, and that is the engine that drives the battles of anxiety and depression. If it were not for my faith, were not for the love of my family, my story could easily be a very sad one.

There is great simplicity in the Proverb that Solomon wrote above. Some that battle anxiety don’t battle depression, and the same vice-versa. Many do ride the high of anxiety, and then followed by a relative dive into depression, that is the roller-coaster I write of much. So what is the “good word” he speaks of? It easily is seemingly answered in the following verse. It comes from the people you surround yourself with. If you run with the dredges of society, they will only tear you down, never lift you up. Those who you surround yourself with, even early in life, determine the path of your life and your journey on it. When we look deeper at the passage, you can see why I go to the Bible for the “good word.” It is how I battle my demons, with the armor of God. It is where I go when I don’t know where to go, where I humble myself and plea for help. So many times any struggles we may face are a way God gets our attention, shows us our need for him, uses the evil for good in a way we cannot understand. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

I learned yesterday of a high school friend who had died unexpectedly. It of course causes us to reflect more about life when it is someone our age, someone we have known for years, someone we have made memories with, God uses these things to get our attention too. If there is anything I can ever share with you, I am an open book. I have lived the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll lifestyle, worshipped idols, and seen Gods grace and mercy on incredible scales. If you want to know more about me, let me tell you about Jesus. He is much different from me and you.