I have been blogging now for over 12 years. I never imagined I would still be blogging in 2021. A lot has changed in those years and in my own personal journey. But in my retirement, I am grateful for having a blog site. It has given me an outlet for my spiritual motivation, which is to be that of a “truth teller.” I have spent many hours in the prophets, seeking discernment for our day. It has not been an easy journey, given my temperament and insecurities. Yet it seems I cannot escape the call. My continuous prayer has been, “Lord, help me understand what you are saying to your church through the voice of the prophets.”
A special word for me has been Amos 3:8, “The lion has roared – who will fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” I realize there are others much more qualified than me to share God’s word to his church through the prophets. Yet I sense I must respond to the call to be a watchman on the wall. “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Is. 62:6-7).
Little did I realize that ten years after I began “The Wildman Journey,” I would be led to embrace the role of a “watchman.” But my spiritual journey has formed this role in me. It is a hidden ministry that finds expression mainly in this blog. In the fourth quarter of my life, the “truth teller” role seems to give me a focus for ministry.
I have no idea how many readers out there in the blogosphere pay attention to my blog. But at this stage of blogging, I find myself simply thankful to the Lord for giving me this outlet as a ministry. I am just a 79-year-old Lutheran monk living with his wonderful bride (my nun) of 55 years in our monastic cell in a senior living complex in northern Minnesota – and my “soul mate” and others seem to confirm my calling.
I firmly believe God is raising up prophetic voices to address the contemporary church. As for myself, I sense a greater clarity in applying the Word of God found in the Old Testament prophets to our day. I humbly pray that I may speak the truth, so that others will see Jesus amid the confusion of our day. “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).
As I pray and continue to read the prophets, I identify with the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “…His word is in my heart like a fire, and fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9).
I am the least likely follower of Jesus to take up the mantle of a “truth teller,” with a burden to give expression to the voice of the prophets and the state of the church in today’s culture. So how much I will write about the prophets is an open question for me. It will be a work in progress. I write today simply to inform you of my struggle with this call. But I have learned this principle over years of ministry: when a man leans into his calling before God, he will be fulfilled and energized spiritually. It will have its difficulties, but obedience has its own rewards.
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