Camping Tips

I love to camp but do not get to do much this summer. Had one outing in 2008 so far. Probably will need to be content with that. Usually get to hunt this time of year, but it does not look good for that activity this year.

Anyway, here are some camping tips. Have not tried any of these yet, but some look interesting. Camping Tips
Get even with a bear who raids your food bag by kicking his favorite stump apart and eating all the ants.
Old socks can be made into high fiber beef jerky by smoking them over an open fire.
When smoking a fish, never inhale.
A hot rock placed in your sleeping bag will keep your feet warm. A hot enchilada works almost as well, but the cheese sticks between your toes.
The best backpacks are named for national parks or mountain ranges. Steer clear of those named for landfills.
Acupuncture was invented by a camper who found a porcupine in his sleeping bag.
While the Swiss Army Knife has been popular for years, the Swiss Navy Knife has remained largely unheard of. Its single blade functions as a tiny canoe paddle.
Effective January 1, 1997, you will actually have to enlist in the Swiss Army to get a Swiss Army Knife.

When using a public campground, a tuba placed on your picnic table will keep the campsites on either side vacant.
You’ll never be lost if you remember that moss always grows on the north side of your compass.
You can duplicate the warmth of a down-filled bedroll by climbing into a plastic garbage bag with several geese.
When camping, always wear a long-sleeved shirt. It gives you something to wipe your nose on.
You can compress the diameter of your rolled up sleeping bag by running over it with your car.
A two-man pup tent does not have enough room for two men and does not include a pup.
A potato baked in the coals for one hour makes an excellent side dish. A potato baked in the coals for three hours makes an excellent hockey puck.
You can start a fire without matches by eating Mexican food, then breathing on a pile of dry sticks.
The guitar of the noisy teenager at the next campsite makes excellent kindling.
Check the washing instructions before purchasing any apparel to be worn camping. Buy only those that read “Beat on a rock in stream.”
The sight of a bald eagle has thrilled campers for generations. The sight of a bald man, however, does absolutely nothing for the eagle.
It’s entirely possible to spend your whole vacation on a winding mountain road behind a large motor home.
In an emergency, a drawstring from a parka hood can be used to strangle a snoring tent mate.

The Trial of the Trail

Coal Lake

I discovered a beautiful little lake a few years back called Coal Lake. It is at about 4000' elevation in the Cascade Mountains on the West side. When I first discovered it, I was looking for the trail to North Lake and Independence Lake which start nearby. Coal Lake is not large but it is deep and cold, coming directly from snow pack most of the year. The drawback to Coal Lake when I first discovered it is that it is only 100' from the road. Therefore, it was overused and badly in need of rehabilitation.

And then came the rains of 2005. The rains washed out the road about 3 miles from the trail head, and I do not think there will be a repair of the wash out. It is rather major. In addition, since that time three more landslides have come down to cover the road. Now, it is a 3+ mile hike to this little beauty. Margaret, Annie and I tackled this one a few days back and totally enjoyed the experience. Most of the trail is old road, so it is easy to walk and easy on the feet (something which is becoming more of a priority these days).

As we approached the lake, we were in for a surprise. At that elevation on July 8 there was still a good bit of snow. A tent was pitched at the lake, so I am sure they enjoyed some chilly nights sitting on snow all night.

As I think back on this hike, there are several things that come to mind. Like a road that needs maintenance and care, our lives need to have routine maintenance. This road washed out because the culvert that allowed a small stream to pass under the road most of the year clogged up with debris and allowed a massive amount of rain to wash out the road. I like to take my Bible and sit down on a Saturday or Sunday morning when it is still early and quiet in the house and just read. For me, this time of reading is a time of cleansing and renewal. This is not my only reading time, but it is unique and a special time when routine maintainence is done on my soul. Taking a good recording of a special hymn or song that is rich with meaning also helps to fine tune my appetite for the Lord.

It will not be many years and this road, which was once the route of travel for log trucks and heavy equipment will be a single track through a thicket of young trees. They have already sprouted along the edge and show good signs of taking hold. Hikers will keep a path open if the three lakes continue to attract visitors. Left to itself, this road will eventually pass away and return to the condition of the land before the road was cut. If we are interested in keeping a spiritual life that is vibrant, we need to make regular paths to the Word, so that our time of neglect does not allow our lives to get overgrown with things that choke out the Word. Jesus spoke of that in a word picture when speaking of the story of the sower.

A small lake, which once was taken for granted by the many who passed by on the road is now appreciated as a destination and resting place by those who need to struggle to get there. Admittedly, the struggle is not great, but it is more than it was. I think we tend to appreciate more those things that we struggle for. Join with me in working hard at not neglecting the ones or things which we consider "easy" and in showing appreciation for the things God has put in our lives that come with effort.

I just got home from a long day at Home Depot. I was on my feet all day helping customers and loading block. My feet were tired this evening. But there was a sense of satisfaction that accompanied the tired feet. They showed that something had been accomplished. In a few days, that accomplishment will be rewarded with a check. There is something good about the struggle of accomplishment.

Grace Academy

I have accomplished something I never thought I could do. I have taught three Bible classes in a Christian school for nine months. Another new chapter in the life and ministry of Arlyn Ubben.

I was thinking that in the last few years, I have nearly completed my work for my doctorate, I have learned about real estate and have shown that I can do that work, I have tackled the field of teaching with good success and I have continued to develop my preaching through pulpit supply opportunities. I guess this " old dog" is still learning a few new tricks.

I have taught ninth graders about the Bible: it's origin, inspiration, transmission, translation, preservation, etc. Then we spent three quarters studying how to study the Bible. We used the text Living By The Book by Hendricks, an excellent book for college students and seminary level readers, but a bit much for the ninth grade. I developed worksheets for the students to follow which gave them much success in working through the technical material. I then walked the students through Habakkuk, Daniel 1 and 2, Romans 12: 1-2; and James 1 and 2. We had a great time as most of these students had never sat down and studied the Bible on their own for more than a few minutes before this class began.

The second class was a class on doctrine, taught to 10th grade students. We covered the doctrines of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Satan, Demons, Angels, Heaven, Man, Sin and Salvation. This was a great class and we got to go fairly deep in some of these doctrines. I had one Korean girl (exchange student) come to Christ this year as a result of the exposure to the gospel in school.

The third class was a study of Acts, focused on the doctrine of the church and missions. We have just spent a whole quarter on missions and the students have had their eyes opened. What a sheltered group we have, who have no concept of what God is doing throughout the rest of the world in evangelization. I wove in the doctrine of the church throughout this study. We did biographical studies on an apostle, an early church pastor, and a missionary throughout the year. One of the girls in the class became a Christian in November. She is an exchange student from Taiwan.

These classes have developed within me a hunger to continue teaching in depth. My church instruction has always lacked accountability and structure because of the nature of the pulpit and the Sunday school class. You cannot give tests on sermons. I have learned how to hold students accountable. Now, I would like to have an opportunity in the local church to develop some kind of accountability so that we can better promote James 1:22 - be doers of the Word, not hearers only.

It has been a great year. I have had some positive student and parent feedback.

One great story. I have had a 9th grader who is an interesting fellow. He is eager to do his work and participate in class. I do not think that he is great in his academic career - I do not know his grade average. All year long he has showed an eagerness in class and has worked his hardest. I gave a rather lengthy final exam, and when I was grading it the other night, I discovered that he missed only one question on the whole thing - and he quoted his Scripture verses perfectly - and earned the highest grade in the class. I was so excited for him. Today I called and talked to his mom, to tell her what her son had accomplished. She was glad that he was able to finish well and there were tears in her voice as she was so pleased to hear of his work. It is moments like this that make teaching a thrill - especially when we get to peak in and see a few of the results in our lifetime.

Will I teach again? I am talking with the school about a contract for the fall, but I am also talking with several churches about pastoral ministry, so the Lord will direct my steps as He has in the past to the exact place where he wants me. I have absolutely loved teaching; I miss preaching. Margaret is hoping to be able to teach again next year, and so we wait on the Lord to put these desires of our heart together in a way that glorifies Him.

Hunting and Ethics

First posted in 2006 under another blog title.

Hunting and Ethics

I was in for a hunting experience that I had desired for years. I was going to hunt elk with my dad. When I was a boy, dad and I would go on occasional hunts, usually for pheasant. I remember making the trip from Colorado Springs to eastern Colorado to hunt. Early morning, get out of bed, too tired to eat, drive a long way in the car, feel “travel woozy”, get to the hunting area and hope that by some chance with no dog you would be able to bag a bird or two. In those days, I never carried a shotgun, just a BB gun. It was fun to go with the men and watch them shoot. Especially fun was the day Mr. Pierce got all excited when a rooster pheasant flushed from under his feet. He pointed and shot - both barrels of that double-barreled 12 gauge went off at once- and the pheasant felt no pain. With half of its feathers left and weighing several ounces more with all of the shot it carried, that pheasant fell like a ton of bricks. Picking the shot out of the meat took the joy out of eating it.

On my thirteenth birthday, we went deer hunting with the Seanor family. I remember it well since it was the first time that I got to shoot a rifle. Of course it was a 30.06. As a young teen made up mostly of bone and skin, I was not prepared to receive the recoil effect of that 30-caliber bullet. My shoulder was sore the entire day and I could not even enjoy the thrill of the hunt. We bagged no deer or I would be writing about that rather than the sore shoulder.

This hunt was to be different. I was no longer a lanky 13-year-old teen along for the thrill of the hunt. I was 43 and dad was 70. Dad had two partners on the trip, Sam and Earl, both over 70 years of age (and both of whom were with us on the previous mentioned pheasant trip). I had with me my son Tim who was 16 at the time. I had lived in Oregon for 20 years before moving back to my boyhood home of Colorado Springs. During my years in Oregon, I had learned to hunt. I learned to hunt blacktail deer, elk, pheasant, quail, grouse, duck and goose. I had been successful in each of these game categories, although I did not consider myself expert in the field of hunting. I knew that of all the hunting, I enjoyed deer and elk the best. I was looking forward to my first Colorado hunt.

As is so often the case, the hunting grass is always greener on the other side of the fence . . . or state line. I had heard of Colorado big game hunting. I had heard of the success my dad and his buddies enjoyed in the place we were going. I had hoped that one year I would get to go along on this much-fabled excursion. I was ready to go!In Colorado, one can hunt for several species at the same time. In our party of 5 we had 3 tags for deer, one doe and two bucks, and five tags for elk, two cows and three bulls. It was a situation where we were looking forward to filling many tags and having great success. Before the hunt, we went over the rule: Everyone shoots and fills his own tag and not the tag of another. Besides being the law, it is a good hunting ethic.Elk hunting is a team sport. Everyone in the party is needed to find the elk and to pack it out when it is down. Because of this, many hunters apply the party rule to the killing of elk.

The scene goes like this: if one man sees a bull and two cows together and knows that there are tags in the party for all of those animals, he will try to shoot as many as he can even though his tag will be only for one animal. Then the whole party can go down and field dress the animals and pack them back to camp. Even though one person has done the shooting, everyone gets to benefit in the processing and possession of game. This process seems logical, but the state of Colorado, and most other states, enacted a law that prohibits this type of hunting activity. An ethical dilemma exists. Should the hunting party go by the knowledge of the law or by the inspection of the law? We knew that where we were back in the wilderness, no law enforcement officer was expected because of the remote location. We agreed to the rule, but I suspected an upcoming test in the hunt.

We arrived the day before the season opened. The first task was to set up the tent – the 16-foot army tent. Heavy canvass. Oil sealed canvass. Stinky canvass. Tent up, cots set, wood stove placed, tent organized and we were ready. We were hunting near Gunnison. We were camped within a mile of the Fossil Ridge Wilderness at an elevation of 10,000 feet. Over the previous 5 to 10 years, my dad and his buddies had become acquainted with this area for hunting and had done very well there. The elk they hunted were migratory. When the snows fell, the elk would cross a mountain range from South Park and come down to the Gunnison area for the winter. The terrain was like nothing I had ever hunted before. There were stands of quakies, aspen trees, thick as hair on a hog’s back. The trees were not very big in circumference, but numerous in bunches. Looking through a stand of these trees was difficult if not impossible, and walking through them was an experience. It is impossible to walk quietly through a stand of trees when the ground is covered with brittle and crackling leaves. Interspersed with the quakies were patches of “black timber”. These stands of pines and firs looked black. Hunting in these patches was better than in the quakies because there were lanes of vision that enabled the hunter to see if anything was moving.

Above these stands of timber were areas barren of trees. Timberline in that area is about 12,500 feet, and there was plenty of mountain above that. We were dependent on snow to drive the elk into our hunting area. We were hunting the third season in early November, so our chances of the snow were good. After camp was set up, we decided to take a walk into the wilderness so that I could get familiar with the lay of the land. The afternoon was wearing on and yet the day was bright and crisp. We had old snow on the ground in the trees, but the meadows were snow free. We knew that elk in the area would be “locals” that lived in these woods the year round. As we walked, I kept seeing deer tracks in the snow, but no elk tracks. This was curious to me because the experts told me that deer were rare in the wilderness area.

To find the deer, our party usually went south toward the sagebrush about a mile away. I could buy a buck tag if I wanted, but not to expect to fill it since bucks were scarce in this region. In our search, I noticed strips of black timber surrounded by great groves of quakies. Upon investigation, I found small streams flowing through these timber strips and lots of cover around. From my hunting experiences in Oregon, I knew that this had to be a great place for deer. However, I did not know if blacktail deer acted the same as Colorado mulies. I decided to walk through several of these timber strips. When I did, I found deer tracks along the edges and along the uphill portion of the timber. I remember thinking, “I’m here in the morning at first light for deer.”

The next morning we were up early and getting ready for the day. We started with a 4 star breakfast for sure. Scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, coffee or hot chocolate, bread and jam filled us up and got us in the right mood for the hunt. I had a short time in reading the Bible and prayer before going out, a habit I have formed over the years and really enjoy as I go into the woods. We developed a strategy for the day and for rendezvous. If one person got an animal, we would have fried liver and onions for dinner. I was going to be the one that provided dinner for that evening, I hoped. Our walk into the wilderness began before the first light of day. The sky was just starting to brighten in the east and the stars and planets of the night were shining brightly. The air was crisp – with a temperature of about 15 degrees. The weather was especially mild and we expected temperatures in the high 30’s by the afternoon. It was going to be a great day!

My dad and his buddies had a game plan all worked out. They would hunt together as they always had – separating and walking alone although in the same area. They talked carefully about the “benches”, the draws and hills around there as if they had lived there for years. They knew where they were, they knew the trails and ridges and creeks and they were at home. After one has hunted the same area for several years, he gets familiar and acquainted like an old friend. He is drawn to the old places like with a magnet. The hills and valleys become a welcome place. Each year they provide an enthusiastic greeting. After a year of not seeing each other, it is good to spend time together again. There is a settled feeling that only outdoorsmen are able to experience and express. I knew their feeling, the draw. I had seen them the year before when they returned from hunting vowing never to go back again because it was too long and too hard and too difficult. And then the hunting regulations come out and the pain is forgotten and the altitude and the weakness of the knees and heart is put aside and the memory of the experience and the call of the hills comes back and the plans are laid for the next hunt.

One thing that I want the reader to understand: the hunt is very little about killing wild game. It is comradeship with one’s hunting buddies, a oneness with God’s creation, an experience of walking with God in the outdoors, of having an intimate fellowship and experience with Him, of being led by God’s hand and of enjoying a part of life that many others do not understand.It involves clearing out the cobwebs from the mind after a year of business and city activity. Most hunters of big game are not highly successful. If success were the draw, hunting would probably fade away. The draw is a greater call and a greater impulse of life. There is value to being in the woods. Only in a hunting situation are one’s senses called on to look, to see, to hear and to feel to the intensity of the hunt. There is a heightened awareness that comes from intently looking for wild game and seeking to understand the tactics and habits of the quarry. There is a lot of study of animal biology that goes into hunting. There is the mastery of the terrain. The ability to be equipped and to survive in an area where man was not intended to live is a challenge. Taking a piece of paper with topographical lines and a compass and plotting a course and returning produces a confidence that is exhilarating. After a few years, that compass is built in to one’s senses and becomes a part of the equipment rather than a pocket piece. There is a heightened spirituality as one is in a place absent from the regular noise of life and able to listen and hear the voice of God in a new and intense way. The hunt is about the process, not about the end or the kill.

My son Tim and I split off from the rest of the group and headed to the black timber strips of the night before. We chose a point of entry and began to walk up hill within sight of each other. Our walk was slow and deliberate – lots of standing and looking between steps – “still hunting” they call it. The breeze was a crosswind that went from right to left. With that breeze, we were able to keep our eyes ahead and to the right for game that might be in the woods. We were in the quakies walking parallel to the timber strips. The snow in the trees made walking noisy. Each step was a crunch in the frozen blanket. After about 10 slow steps, I would stop and look. Each move and step was calculated. Turning my head slowly so as not to have much movement, I analyzed each lane of visibility between trees. Tim was doing the same thing up on the side of the ridge. He had been hunting with me for years, tagging along since he was 9. He had learned some great lessons in the woods and is a lover of the outdoors as I am. About 30 minutes after daylight, I saw movement on a trail up ahead.

I got into shooting position and froze. I watched as two does walked along, unconscious of our presence. They were moving quickly, probably spooked by other hunters. I was confident that we were in a good place. I kept watch over that area for some time and finally began to move again. It was not long before I crossed several trails in the snow. I realized that deer had been using this slope quite a lot in the last few days. I felt we were in a hotspot for deer. About 30 minutes later, I heard a noise off to the right. I looked and saw a deer coming toward me, barely visible through the quakies. As I looked for the head, I saw that it was a buck. My heart began to pound and I was trying to control my emotions. I waited as he walked toward me, hoping for a good shot through the thick trees. When he got 75 yards from me, he came into a clear spot and stopped to look around, his body quartered to me from left to right. I filled my scope with hair as I shot for the heart. The gun roared. I expected the buck to fall, but he turned and ran about 25 yards and stopped again. This time a neck shot put him down. My heart was racing. I had shot my first mule deer.

It wasn’t supposed to happen here. I called for Tim and he came running and joined me. We walked to the deer. He had run a few yards and went down in a heap. I could not believe my eyes. I had been used to smaller blacktail bucks and here I had a big mule deer down. He had a three-point rack, well balanced and proportional. The shot was a good one and had killed him right away and not ruined any meat. What had happened to the first shot? Upon examination of the body, I could see a wound, but it looked like a horn mark from another deer, not a bullet hole.

Tim and I marveled over the animal for a while. It takes me some moments to process the idea of having killed a magnificent animal. In life, the deer is majestic and beautiful. In death, a buck is awesome and I consider it a great gift. I hope I never lose that feeling. I field dressed the buck while Tim walked to a nearby shelf and sat, waiting to see if another animal might come by. In just a few minutes, we had a funny experience. A spike bull elk ran into the clearing between Tim and me. Since we were in an area where bulls had to have 3 antler points or more, he was safe from harm, but boy was he confused. He ran around in circles three times while we just stood and watched. Finally, he decided that this was not the place to be and ran off kicking up a great noise and flying branches.

It took a while to get this deer back to camp and hung in the tree for skinning. We were glad I shot it early in the day. While skinning the deer, my knife hit a hard object. It was the first slug that I shot, just under the skin and intact. The bullet had not expanded. It had lodged about 12 inches from the entry mark that I had noticed in the woods, but had traveled between the skin and the body before stopping. How a .30 caliber slug would do that and create no damage at all to the animal, I have no idea.

That night, we had liver and onions. We were grateful for the success of the hunt. Sam had shot a smaller buck and brought it in to camp late that evening, so we had two tags filled the first day, but no elk. In fact, Tim and I were the only ones to see an elk that day.Our elkless days were to continue the rest of the week. We heard very few shots during the day, indicating that nearby hunters were not having success either. We kept seeing deer in abundance, but no elk.

The last day of the trip, we decided to go to an area where I had seen numerous deer and see if Dad could get his doe. All five of us went together. Those of us who did not have doe tags would try to drive something to Dad and see if he could shoot it. We entered the woods and I began to see many tracks. After about 30 minutes of slow walking, I heard a noise ahead. I froze. There was a big doe staring at me through the aspen. I raised my rifle and looked at her through the scope. It was an easy shot. I could take her in the head and we could have Dad tag her. Then I began to have thoughts that stayed my finger. “You have Tim with you on this hunt. If you kill this deer, you will teach him by example that he does not need to abide by the rules. Is that what you want?” Another thought: “You can walk out of these woods with a doe and fill your Dad’s tag, or you can walk out of here with your integrity, but you can’t do both.”

I lowered my rifle and stared at the deer until it walked off. As quickly as I could I went and found my Dad and brought him to the spot to see if he could find the doe. We never found her and the tag went unfilled.On the way back to camp, we were telling stories of what we had seen. I heard the question, “Why didn’t you shoot?” It was not a question that expected an answer as much as it was intended to teach a lesson. It was a question that the asker had to deal with once in his life as well. My answer was, “I did not have permission to kill the doe.” I was never at peace as much as I was with that answer. I could have brought the doe in and everyone would have been glad for the extra animal. However, the price I would have had to pay would have been too great.

The Bible says: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:6-7 (NKJV) What a joy it was to reap the pleasures of everlasting life in my spirit rather than the corruption of the flesh through my rifle. I have faced more challenges in my integrity with a rifle in my hand than at any other time in my life. Integrity that takes a lifetime to build, but only a moment to give up. If surrendered, it is hard, sometimes impossible, to gain back. Knowing that one has faced a tough decision and has chosen the route of integrity is a great feeling. It rivals, even surpasses the joy of the hunt. It is not for the glory of the man, for there is no glory. The glory is for the Lord who changes the man and makes him a person that can consistently decide to do the deeds of integrity.

Perhaps a Spirit-filled hunter is a contradiction in terms in the minds of many. I would not want to be any other kind. I know that a man can pursue any avenue of life that does not contradict the Scripture and bring glory to God. I want to be a hunter that brings glory to God because I let Him work in me in all areas and avenues of life. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)

End of the Earthly Trail

I am writing a tribute today for a dear friend, Al Wright, who went home to be with Christ on January 2, 2008. He was a member of Berean Bible Fellowship, and we had just over two years together to get acquainted. His earthly trail is finished, but he lives in eternity with Christ.

Special memories

I spent a great deal of time with Al over the few years that I knew him. It was our habit to meet for donuts every week and spend an hour together talking. I learned many things about him, some of which I will share this morning.

He respected and honored his father. His father meant a great deal to Al, and though he was gone a lot in his work as a salesman, he instilled in Al some great values of work and industry that stayed with him all of his life.

He loved his country. We would often talk of the modern political scene. He was a conservative man who supported conservative candidates and was often flabbergasted about the state of mind of those with whom he disagreed.

Al would often talk of his military service in the US Army. He recalled with great detail the scenes of battle and the incidents that he lived through. He was proud of his service and spoke of working with General Mac Arthur, of serving in the Battle of the Bulge and of enduring the hardships of a good soldier. I was always amazed at his recall. So many men have come back from military service and buried their experiences in the depths of their minds.

Al loved his family. He would often talk with me about you and keep me up to date on what was going on in the family, even though I had not met most of you at that time. I know he prayed

Al loved his Savior. He talked often of his salvation, his early years with Christ and his continued devotion to the Savior. He loved being involved in church. Every time there was a meeting scheduled, he was there if he was physically able to be there. He prayed for the church, supported the pastor, and stuck with things through thick and thin.

He loved being involved with Gideon’s International. Gideon’s around the world are actively involved in distributing copies of God’s Word to as many as possible. He often told the story of the influence of the Word of God in his life before he was saved. It seems that in one of his tours of duty, he lived in the same barracks with a believer who had an active testimony. He would read the Bible out loud while Al was in the room. Al was not interested in the Bible at that time, but after a while he listened. He stated to me that it was the continual exposure to Scripture that softened his heart for the day and time of his personal response to God. God gave Al the blessing of meeting up with his Army buddy in the mall one day after Al was saved. They had a wonderful and tearful reunion as Al told the story of his salvation experience.

We each knew Al in a different way. As you have gathered together here today, it is appropriate for you to share a memory with us that would be an encouragement to the family that is gathered at this memorial service.






Al’s favorite Scriptures

In the weeks prior to Al’s death, I had the opportunity to meet with him many times and to share the Word of God with him. Today I will share with you two passages that lifted his spirits and encouraged his heart.

John 3:16 tells us the gospel message in a simple form. Al loved this verse. It spoke to him of the fact of God’s love for him while he was a sinner. He understood that as God gave His Son, Jesus Christ to the world to pay the penalty of death for sinners, Al was included in those for whom the price was paid. Al knew that he was a sinner, but he understood that he was a sinner saved by grace. So, on a particular day in his adult life, Al came to the place where he received the gift of grace from God according to His promise and believed by faith. Al understood that his faith in Christ was a gift from God and he took no boasting in his faith. Rather, he rejoiced in the assurance that because of that faith which he exercised in Christ he would not perish, but have everlasting life.

Although Al rejoiced in his salvation, there was one thing that bothered him and he mentioned it several times. He was bothered by the fact that he received Christ so late in life. I know his exhortation to us today would be: don’t wait as long as I did to receive Christ and serve Him.

Today we are at a memorial service and Al is no longer alive . . . on this earth. He has gone into the presence of Jesus Christ, according to the promise of God, and there he is as alive and vibrant as he ever was on earth – more so even. For you see, Al no longer has the physical limitations of a body that is suffering from the effects of Adam’s sin. He is freed from those constraints and sufferings. And that brings me to the second passage that I shared with Al that he loved.

II Corinthians 5 says: 1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. 4 Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. 11 It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.

While Al was on this earth, he was a vibrant and energetic man – and I first met him when he was 87. But in his last years, you could see the reality of this passage in his life. He was slowing down and things were not as easy as before. He appreciated it when his grandson, Jason, would mow his grass for him.

But today, this promise has been fulfilled in Al’s life. He is in the presence of Christ. His body is in the grave, awaiting the day of resurrection, but He is in the presence of Christ in a glorified body that God has prepared for him.

Al would want me to personalize these verses for you today, since you have come to honor him. He wants to see each of you in the presence of Christ some day.

Now, you can only get there through faith in Christ. You must believe that there is a holy God to whom you are accountable. You must understand that you are a sinner, prevented by your sin from ever standing in the presence of a holy God. You must know that God has prepared an answer to this problem by giving His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the death penalty for sin by dying on the cross. When He arose from the dead three days later and ascended to heaven, he demonstrated that the penalty was paid and that heaven was open to all who would believe. But you must turn, with your will, from your sin and receive the One who died and rose again to pay the penalty for your sin.

If Al were standing with me today on this platform, he would be sure to make this invitation: now is the day of salvation. Do not wait any longer to respond to the message of God’s grace and to receive His eternal promises.

A final verse that I leave with you today sums up Al’s Christian walk with God on this earth. II Timothy 2: 1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Al has finished his tour of duty on this earth for His Savior. He has appeared before him as a faithful man, completing what was entrusted to him.

As you consider the life of Al Wright with me today, I hope that you find in his testimony the challenge to be the faithful follower of Christ that he was.

The service was a moving memorial. Al's grandsons, Jason and Mitchell both spoke words from the heart that showed that Al truly was a godly influence for his family.

We were glad to have known Al and to be a part of his memorial tribute.