A New Creature. . . an Apostolic Pentecostal blog

There is an old, probably ancient, saying that 'silence is golden'. . . Over the years, numbers of times I have wished at different times for silence in an atheistic plea to an unknown god. . . said those words in gratitude after the sick child finally fell asleep in my arms. . . in the stillness, in the precious like gold silence. Tension recedes, the air softens, muscles begin to relax. . . testing the depth of rest. Will the precarious sleep hold or will the misery and agony again break forth. . . little sounds unnoticed before, now appreciated, now magnified by their lack of competition. . . footsteps on the carpet, the creak of a loose floorboard, the dogs toenails clicking on the linoleum, a dripping faucet, the whispered ticking of a clock, even the gentle ever present sound of my heart beating softly steps into awareness after the cessation of a prolonged tension building noise. In perspective, seen from the distance of years gone by, the unbroken quiet of the long ...

Lord my Glory - Psalm 3:3 Psalms 3 1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory , and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. This is a compound name that has taken me some time to understand. I have been studying and meditating on this one for several days. A little while ago I awoke with my mind full of scriptures and ne...

It seems like I am getting bounced on every side the past few days about motives. Sunday afternoon Pastor Johnson spoke about worshipping for the wrong reasons. Not long before, I was speaking with a friend about a similar thing. My friend was saying about how in his past he has been one who greatly desired the spotlight and praise of others and how he is now fearful of doing things and being motivated by that desire and not the desire to glorify God. This week I am working on reading and recording the book of Matthew for my Mom on CD. In doing my reading and studying, I am struck by the life of Jesus. To my knowledge there is never. . . ever. . . ever any hint of Jesus doing anything for a less than holy and pure motive. We have four independent records of His life and never even a wisp of an indication that for three and a half years that He ever acted upon any selfish or sinful desire. To be honest with you I'm not sure that I can go three and a half waking hours withou...

Lord Saves - Psalm 20:9 Psalm 20 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; 2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; 3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah. 4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfill all thy counsel. 5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfill all thy petitions. 6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. 9 Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call. I love verse seven. I have a card made up for that verse that I hand out. Men and women in the jail get so caught up and worried about what a strict judge ...

Years ago a family member rented a lake cottage and invited all his children and grand children to spend a weeks vacation with him. I have such wonderful memories of that week, more than twenty years later it still ranks as one of the best weeks that I remember in my life. This summer Jackie and I decided to do the same thing with our family. We found a cottage to rent up on Wolf Lake , just east of Muskegon, Michigan. I made the arrangements in February. It seemed like a long wait from when we made our plans in the bitter cold of last February, but our wait finally ended last weekend. I asked my kids (they did not respond) and Jackie's three daughters and their families to come spend some time with us. Julia, Ryan, Jakub, and Allie drove up with Jackie and I last Saturday. They stayed until Monday. Jackie's youngest daughter Kim, and her oldest daughter Jenny and her three boys came on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday. Jackie and I were by ourselves from Wednesday afternoon u...

My mother had a stroke on May 1st. The doctors said that she would be a vegetable. . . I write these words a few days before Mother's Day 2007. This morning my sister and I met my Mom's doctor to discuss her future. I am appreciative of what he is trying to do. He wants us to begin thinking of things that we want to keep covered and out of sight. His experiences with similar cases, I am sure are valuable to him, but this is not a usually or a most often, this is not a past history, this is my Mom. She lies critically ill in a bed, unconscious, receiving her nourishment, and air through a tangled umbilical of hoses, lines and cords. We grasp at every positive hint. We make excuses for dark signs. This is our Mom. . . God made Eve from Adam's rib. I came from someplace deeper and much more intimate than a rib. I suspect (being an outsider to the mystery) that the tearing, the parting of birth is both physical and emotional. Birth being only the first wrenching separation in...

What does father mean? I like using the context of Bible usage to define words. I did a search on 'father' in the Bible, 1720 times is the word 'father' contained in scripture. Are fathers important in scripture? The word 'mother' is only found 329 times. To look at the contexts of the word 'mother' would be difficult this morning, to even scan the instances of the word 'father' is impossible. What is a father? There is such a broad range of meanings. At its minimum it requires only half a cell from a man's body. A sperm cell only has half the genetic material required for life. It is nothing on its own, but a little packet of DNA with a tail. That is all that is required for minimalist fatherhood. The woman's egg waits for this little insignificant spark of life to join with it, then the magic and wonder begins. From this beginning a new life is created totally within the mother's womb. Hidden from the world, isolated and independent...

Lord King Forever Psalms 10:16 The LORD is King forever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. The Lord is King forever. . . wow! We are so accustomed to exaggeration or hyperbole in everyday language, that when words are used literally in ways that are magnificent and grand in of themselves, their impact is lost upon us. The Lord is King forever. . . I will love you forever. . . It's going to take forever to get there in this traffic. . . It's been forever since I've had strawberry ice cream. We use forever in every day conversation in circumstances that are in no way forever. Even God in His Word sometimes over states illustrations for the purpose of emphasis: Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; This is God talking to Abraham after his offering of Issac on the altar. God uses two...