Richard Exley Ministries


The Deadly Descent
Posted on February 19, 2009

My heart is heavy as I prepare to write today’s blog. A national official in our denomination has resigned after confessing to having an inappropriate relationship with a member of the opposite sex, although there appears to have been no sexual misconduct. Unfortunately, he is just the last in a long line of colleagues and friends who have fallen prey to temptation and disqualified themselves for ministry, at least for a time.

Of course it is not just ministers who are susceptible to sexual temptation, we all are. And no one is more vulnerable than the man or woman who thinks it could never happen to them. The apostle Paul warns us about over confidence when he writes, “...if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

God is faithful to provide a way of escape, but we must act quickly. When we are first tempted the way of escape is broad and easy to find, but the longer we delay the narrower it becomes. We can still escape but the risks of yielding to temptation increase exponentially moment by moment. If you fail to take preventative action at the first hint of sexual temptation, you will nearly always succumb.  Not necessarily immediately, but in the end.

Category: February 2009

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The Perfect Storm
Posted on February 05, 2009

The temperature was hovering just above freezing and when it started raining on Tuesday morning, January 27th, I had an uneasy feeling. If it turned into freezing rain and we lost electrical power, things could get dicey. Heat would not be a problem as we have two wood burning stoves and plenty of firewood, but water and sewer would be a challenge. Without power neither our well nor our septic system would work. Hastily Brenda and I filled every container we had with drinking water and we filled the bathtub for good measure. By the time we finished, ice was forming on the trees and power lines. Shortly thereafter we lost electricity and telephone service. Since our cell phones don’t work at the cabin all means of communication was lost.

After the sun went down the three of us (Brenda’s eighty-three-year-old mother was staying with us) lit the kerosene lamps and played table games to the sound of the icy rain pinging on our metal roof. Occasional we heard what sounded like a rifle shot followed by the crash of a huge limb falling to the ground. Time and again we looked at each other and breathed a prayer for protection. Since our cabin was closely surrounded by a number of towering oak and hickory trees, the risk of having one of them fall on the cabin was very real.

After one final game we decided to call it quits. Brenda and her mother climbed the stairs to the loft while I banked the stove for the night and blew out the kerosene lamps.  The loft was toasty warm but it wouldn’t take long for it to cool down given the fact that the mercury was already in the teens and dropping.
Category: February 2009

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