Durocher's Blog

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?  Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Have you ever prayed for a 'hedge of protection'? Have you ever even heard there was a 'hedge of protection'? Lord help our unbelief I have prayed often for God to put a hedge of protection around me and/or my family. And I'm going to confess to you--I never really expected anything to happen.  And to further confess--I didn't think I would know what it looked like if it did happen... Something recently changed--and now--now I'm a believer.  I have followed Jesus now for nineteen years and each year my faith grows stronger and stronger.  Our doubt is destructive. Our doubt hurts us and it hurts others. I'm a pessimist. Pessimist is a polite way of saying you are a cynical doubter. But God God knows we doubt and God still loves us. He is faithful when we are no...

A good christian would never say she doesn't need Jesus and one certainly would not say he doesn't need the church. Right? But as the good little hypocrites that we are, we often say one thing and do something completely contrary. Just think of Peter, " Jesus, I'll die for you"!---"Who's Jesus? I don't even know the dude".  Cock-a-doodle doo. War and death Have you ever noticed the bonds that are created by war and death? In George Washington's farewell address he spends an inordinate amount of time explaining that this,(" You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together'), is a major reason for the success of the people's union. When the emotion wears off--the love will diminish. Think WWII "Victory garden". Where have all the Victory gardens gone? The Federalists spent a great deal of their arguments explaining that, " When the love fades--you will need a strong federal government to protect y...

What is success anyway? From Webster's dictionary: Success : 2 b: favorable or desired outcome Failure : 2 a: lack of success I have really felt like a failure lately. I use " lately " loosely--it's pretty much been my whole life, but that's another story. I have been unable to reach any " desired outcomes ". I reach lots of outcomes, but they never seem to be the ones I really desire. Part of that is simply a fear of failure at things that really matter.  Who's with me? But what is success anyway? Isn't it just screwing things up over and over again until you get it right? Learning from our mistakes? Gaining experience by doing it wrong?  Yes, yes and yes, but do we like the periods of screwing things up? Absolutely not! It sucks...  Here's the real question though: What if we actually do succeed, but we " succeed at things in life that don't really matter" ?  Or, as Stephen Covey put it ...

If you knew me you wouldn't like me The expert Do you know what makes someone an expert? An expert is someone who lives more than fifty miles from you and travels with a briefcase. We invite these experts to our church meetings, our businesses and other gatherings. We call them the "Guest speaker". What makes the "Guest speaker" an expert? Well, he lives more than fifty miles from his speaking venue and he shows up with a briefcase. Or maybe a backpack if he's a hipster. We even pay these experts to come and present their goods. Now, I'm not knocking paying knowledgeable people to come to teach others. This is a good thing. The danger comes in when the "Guest speaker" becomes more than someone who shares knowledge. Dare I say, they become an idol? We live in a star struck culture and the "experts" are not exempt. May I have your autograph? I heard one man who is definitely an "expert" say that s...

 I Think Jesus Has Left My Church? But Grandma, I think Jesus has left? Have you ever thought that your church's Christianity doesn't look like the Christianity in the bible? Do you think you believe Jesus, but something doesn't seem right at your church? Do you long for the vibrant faith of the first Christians? Does Grandma's faith seem real, but not many other's? Are you afraid to tell Grandma that Jesus might have moved on? Have you ever thought these thoughts? Or thoughts like them? If so, I don't think you are alone. I think many people ask these questions. Can Jesus leave? Will Jesus leave? Do you think Jesus would really leave? Is that even possible? I think it is not only possible, but I think it has happened to thousands upon thousands of church buildings around the world. Can you say, "dead church"?  Jesus leaves and man props up his building with programs, potlucks and a whole bunch of guilt and cond...

There is a great sin in the church. It is the greatest sin that any man has ever committed. I have not personally committed it; I'm just asking for a friend. Pride Have you heard of it? Maybe you've seen it. I know you've felt it. But have you committed it? Years ago I was sitting(again) with a friend. This friend, we'll call Billy, was a man who claimed he followed Jesus, but he was always getting drunk. We sat in the dark on his porch and talked--him drunk--me sober. He knew drunkenness was a sin, there was no denial on his part, but he kept doing it. As he condemned himself as a failure, I tried to help him understand an important truth. "Billy", I said, "The only difference between your drunkenness and my pride is the fact that other people can see yours. "Every time you get drunk a huge 'D' is embroidered on your shirt for all to see. You parade your sin through the town". Pride isn't like that. Pride is slick and ...

Cheers theme song "Making your way in the world today Takes everything you got Taking a break from all your worries It sure would help a lot Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name And they're always glad you came You want to be where you can see The troubles are all the same You want to be where everybody knows your name You want to go where people know The people are all the same You want to go where everybody knows your name" If you've never seen Cheers, you might not get much of what I'm about to say. You'll get the general idea, but not the comparison. But seriously? Who hasn't seen Cheers?! If you read the lyrics from the theme song, you'll get it. It really says it all. The theme song could really point, in all aspects, to Jesus and His church. The whole world longs for... Making your way in the world today Do not love the world or the things in the world. 1 John 2 ...

Gotcha! How's that for click-bait? Don't worry, I'm not going to do a boring lecture on bible translations. I wouldn't think it was boring, but most normal human beings would rather watch paint dry. And herein lies our problem. Most Christians never put any serious effort into understanding where the bible came from. And I'll tell you from experience, it's not that easy to research. There is so much garbage out there. Like the book in the picture above. It's absolute garbage and casts unnecessary doubt upon the word of God. It proclaims that ALL modern translations are from the devil. Grandma says it's the only  REAL bible Back in 2001, I was involved with fighting wild fires in Montana. I met a girl, Tracy, who worked for the forest service. She was not a Christian but was very interested to hear about Jesus. After many weeks working together, it was time to go home and I told her I would send her a bible and some other good books. ...

The day It was a hot August in 2003 in Richland Washington. I just finished night shift and was listening to a sermon on the radio on the drive home. The speaker asked, " When was the last time you bought flowers for your wife "? I thought it was a good question, so being the awesome husband that I am, I stopped and bought her a dozen roses. That morning she went for a pregnancy checkup. The next thing I knew we were at the hospital for a delivery! A month early! The previous month In my prayer time during the previous month I had come to realize that I was failing at mustering up compassion. I heard about it, and I read about it, but I couldn't develop the 'feeling' of compassion. I realized that I just might be the least compassionate person alive. I began to confess this to God and ask that He would " Give me compassion, because I can't seem to make it happen on my own ". I was about to learn a very valuable lesson. When God wants ...