My father died in 1987 and in 1990 I became president of the family company.  At the end of 1991, my wife was fed up with my behavior and let me know how destructive my behavior was to our family, 3 weeks later my cousin’s son Tommy was tragically killed and at that funeral Tommy’s uncle Scott proclaimed from the pulpit many things about Tommy and the Lord Jesus Christ, then with confidence said to the audience “either you are on God’s team or your not and only you know the difference”.  I knew I was not on God’s team, and thought what if that was my child in the casket; I had not even taken my family to church, where would they be?”

After attending a bible study for a few months in 1992, God’s written Word was changing my heart and I received God’s free gift of eternal life.  Life has continued to be filled with opportunities and difficulty which provide a life of adventure, trial and tribulation.  The journey is epic and heroic at times for which I am grateful.

Today I live a life that, as much as possible, is centered on God; loving my wife as Christ loves the church, providing for my family, being a neighbor that cares, enjoying leisure time with others that include the hobbies of spear fishing, diving, desert riding, camping, backpacking, skiing, snowmobile touring, enjoying being a fan of sports teams Ducks and Angels, and enjoying church fellowship; evangelism and worship at La Palma Christian Church.  Kathy and I still have our roots in ranching and we own farms in Iowa with Angus cattle.  The profession that I choose in managing and owning a family business has provided a platform to touch many lives and enabled me to evangelize those who do not know God and to disciple those who do know God.  All of these areas provide the ability to enjoy the journey with God in amazing ways.

As interested as I am in sharing my story is as interested as I am in you.  The most important question I can ask of someone is: “Have you received the free gift of eternal life?”  I encourage you to consider what the bible says about five things: 1) eternal life is a free gift; it is neither earned nor deserved Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 2) men/women/children are sinful-and cannot save themselves. 3) God is merciful and just; God is love and loves each person He has created while He must punish sin 4) God solved this condition in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus according to the gospel of John is eternal and He is fully God and fully man-John 1:1 and 14 state “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”…and this we have a freewill choice to believe (the 4 points I have mentioned) by 5) faith.  Faith as defined by a transfer of trust, not just belief…but transferring trust. The book of James says even “the demons believe and shutter” therefore it is so important to believe and transfer your trust by faith from yourself and your good efforts to trusting in Jesus Christ alone and His atoning death on the Cross to provide the free gift of eternal life with Him.  To receive the free gift it requires a surrendered heart and praying a prayer by faith to trust in Jesus.

If you have chosen to pray this prayer, welcome to the family of God!  After you have prayed this prayer it is so important to have a lifestyle that will complement your decision to walk with Jesus Christ.  That lifestyle includes: prayer, reading God’s Word, fellowship, worship, and discipleship.

The lifestyle you choose will make a difference!  May I be of encouragement to choose wisely!

It is with gratitude that I love others, live a life of victory, and know that I can humbly walk with God.  May He richly bless you!

Hap Kellogg
April 16, 2008

Ministry Links

http://www.fcci.org Fellowship of Companies for Christ International

http://www.crosssearch.com/ Cross Search, Search Engine

http://www.crossdaily.com/ Cross Daily, Search Engine

HAP's FAVORITES:

http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/odb/odb.shtml Our Daily Bread, devotional

http://www.pocketpower.org/ The Pocket Testament League, witnessing tools

http://www.blueletterbible.org/ Blue Letter Bible, online Bibles & study tools

http://www.probullridingoutreach.com/ Pro Bull Riding Outreach, Evangelism

http://www.answersingenesis.org/ Answers in Genesis, Apologetics, Creationism

http://www.icr.org/ Institute for Creation Research, Apologetics, Creationism

http://www.leaderu.com/ Leadership University , Apologetics, General

http://www.beyondbelief.com/ Beyond Belief, Apologetics, General

http://www.aclj.org/ American Center for Law & Justice, Law

http://www.family.org/ Focus on the Family, addressing issues that effect Christian families