I wish you could have known him.  His name was William “Bill” Lambertson.  He was born and raised in a small town amid the wheat fields of north central Kansas.  Bill was a rare combination of athlete and musician.  He lettered in several sports in school and could play about any instrument he could lay his hands on. He was also gifted with a winning personality, an extraordinarily kind spirit, and a great sense of humor. 

Leaving the farm life behind, Bill entered the ministry and pastored churches in Kansas and Idaho.  In between pastorates, he and his equally talented wife, June, and their two daughters traveled the evangelistic road as “The Musical Lambertsons.”  I still have the publicity picture of this family surrounded by a dozen or more instruments, all of which they played in their services.

Eventually, the two daughters married and moved away.  But Bill and June kept traveling and preaching and playing their music.  They ministered mostly in small to mid-size churches.  The size of the congregation didn’t matter.  They faithfully served no matter how many people were in attendance.

Shortly before their deaths, I had the privilege of leading in prayer at the service honoring their fifty-year anniversary of ordination in the Assemblies of God (and that doesn’t include the years spent earlier in the Wesleyan denomination!)  Then June quietly slipped away in 1997, and a few years later Bill made his journey to the home of the Lord.

I wish you could have known him.  You would have liked him.  I loved him because he was my grandfather and one of my heroes.  Grandpa Bill was a hero to me not because he pastored a large church, or preached to massive crowds in evangelistic crusades, or wrote and recorded gospel music.  He never did any of those things.  But he was a hero to me all the same because of the person he was: loving, caring, kind, and faithful.

In May we are going through a series on heroes.  We all have them.  We all can be one.  What may surprise you as we go through the series is how some of the most unlikely people in the Bible ended up being heroes.  In light of that, I have named the series: Unlikely Heroes.

The series starts in May.  In the meantime, why not write a letter or make a call to one of your heroes to thank them for the impact they’ve made on your life.  And then live in such a way that others can look to you as a person who made a difference in their lives.   

Pastor Todd Weston

A wise man once said, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning” (Ecc. 7:8).  The It’s Time initiative began well and ended even better.  It finished strong this past Sunday with faith commitments of approximately $440,000!  We are only $60,000 away from meeting our goal of $500,000.  We’re almost there!

Actually, the It’s Time initiative isn’t over.  We’ve just moved from phase one to phase two. We have now entered the miraculous stage as we begin to act on the commitments made.  Now we get to see all the amazing ways God is going to provide.

After making his commitment, one of our members sent me this text, “Surgeon General Warning:  Caution!  Pledging what you don’t have and have no clue where it will come from might cause restlessness, heart palpitations, panic attacks, headaches, anxiety, muscle cramps, tightness in chest, and insomnia.  If you have experienced such symptoms, don’t consult your doctor.  These may be signs that you are allowing God to stretch your tent stakes (Isaiah 54:20).”

No doubt there are those still prayerfully considering their response to It’s Time.  If you have not yet made a commitment I encourage you to join Sheri and me, along with the others of the RLA family, and as God directs you fill out the commitment card that was sent to you in the mail and hand it in.  (If you happened to lose your card others are available at church.)

For those who turned in commitments, congratulations on letting God stretch your tent stakes!  I encourage you to start this miracle in process now by bringing your first offering right away.  Sheri and I have determined we are going to start our It’s Time giving this Easter Sunday in honor of the Lord’s resurrection.  It’s as we step out in faith and begin to take action that the miracle begins. 

As you give on your commitment over the next twelve months be sure to identify your gift by marking the giving envelop for IT’s TIME.  You can also give online at www.riveroflife.ag.  Just go to the “GIVE” link and click on IT’s TIME.  

I thank God for everyone in our church family.  I am happy that we are part of the RLA family and are living the miracle together!

Pastor Todd Weston

A father with a big need approached Jesus with a question, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).  This man’s son was in trouble.  Big trouble!  So he came to the Lord wondering in his heart if Jesus could help, and if so, would he?  Jesus turned the issue around by answering the man’s question with a question, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:22).  It wasn’t a matter of Jesus’ ability to help but of the father’s ability to believe.

God’s ability and desire to help are never in question.  That God would not care to help is unthinkable for 1 Peter 5:7 states, “He cares for you.”  That He would want to help but lack the ability is equally unimaginable for Ephesians 3:20 declares that God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.”

God’s concern and ability are not on trial.  The question always comes back to us and our willingness to exercise faith, “If you can believe.”

Over the past several weeks we have talked about the financial needs facing RLA concerning the mortgage debt.  Like the father in the story we have looked to Jesus saying, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  It is certainly understood that we need the Lord’s help!  But I believe He turns the issue around and says to us, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  

As we approach this Palm Sunday and our commitment to the IT’S TIME initiative, what are you willing to believe God for?  What are you willing to believe that He can do through you?  This past Sunday night our leadership team of about forty people took the first step of faith by pledging over $140,000!  Remember, our goal is at least $500,000 raised over the next twelve months.  We are already 28% of the way there!  If 10% of RLA has already committed 28% of the amount needed, imagine what the remaining 90% of the church can do this week!

Jesus said, “If you can believe.”  The “if” in the statement says we have a choice.  As we approach this commitment Sunday, choose to exercise faith.  Choose to believe for, ”all things are possible to him who believes.”  

Pastor Todd Weston