A New Creature. . . an Apostolic Pentecostal blog

The phone rings. . .You never know who is going to be on the other end of the line. It might be an elderly woman who has no family or friends. She is a repeat caller. Her log contains hundreds of entries. She calls every evening about this time to say goodnight before she goes to bed. She'll also call the first thing in the morning as she awakes, and several more times during the day. Television shows. . . jokes. . .fears. . . hopes. . . victories. . . setbacks. . .little happenings through the day. . .we are the receivers of modern anti-religious prayer. . .nameless. . . faceless. . .we know so much about her. We are strangers, unrelated and anonymous, but we are also her closest family and friends. We care when no one else does. . . It might be someone needing any of a multitude of questions answered. . . information on support groups, AA, NA, OEA, anger management classes, and on and on. Our card file was probably close to a foot thick. Hundreds upon hundreds of ...

Solomon our Golden Retriever pup It's been a very busy summer. I haven't gotten out into the wild places as much as usual. I miss that. About a month ago Jackie and I got a new puppy, a little golden retriever. He's the first golden boy (as Jackie likes to call him) we've ever had. Solomon is his name. Tonight I took him with me out to the little nature refuge near to my house. We've been out there a couple of times before, but tonight was a special time. We got there just in the golden hour, as photographers like to call it. The hour before sunset or the hour after sunrise, the light is warm and wonderful. We haven't had much rain in the past several weeks and in addition there was just a slight coolness to the air, so the mosquitoes were absent. I've had dogs for most of my life. . . this is a very special puppy. He is so very very smart, very mellow for such a young dog. . . He just has a wonderful personality. I really researched the type of ...

Marion/Harrison Street Terry Wallin and I had a great night tonight. We spent a while, as usual talking to Cigar Bob. He'll be coming to church again on Sunday. He was touched. He thought the service last Sunday was wonderful. We are trying to get Bob come clothes. He has been wearing the same clothes, without changing them for the almost 5 months that I have known him (and undoubtedly for far longer than that). I brought some clothing bought at Goodwill, over earlier in the week, but they were the wrong sizes. I've told Bob that when we get him some new clothes, we can pick up his dirty laundry on Thursday when we come by and drop off fresh things on Friday. I was over to Bob's earlier this week and his friend George (who is in his 90's) was laying on the porch, with completely soiled pants, from waist to ankle, from his urine, His hands were so covered with nicotine that they looked literally like they had been dipped in chocolate. I do not think he can hav...

Lately the Lord has been dealing with me about humility. I'm currently reading a book: Humility and Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. It is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it for everyone. The Original Sin The first occurrence of something in the Bible is usually significant. What about sin? What was the original sin? Many would consider it as the sin of Adam, but was that really the first? Wasn't there a sin that preceded Adam and Eve's? The Bible is not laid out in a strictly sequential order. Adam and Eve eat of the apple in Genesis chapter 3, and that surely is the first sin encountered reading the Bible from front to back, but there is another sin mentioned, which takes place prior to theirs: Isaiah 14:12-15 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne abov...

Marion/Harrison Street Terry Wallin and I walked and prayed in the Marion/Harrison Street neighborhood tonight. A good number of people were out. We talked and prayed with many people. Our first regular stop is always with Cigar Bob. He was very happy to see us after a week of our not coming by. We spent quite a long time talking with Bob. Sometimes he is very difficult to understand. I think I'm relating the following accurately, if there are mistakes blame my bad hearing and poor memory rather than Bob's telling. . . I really got him going tonight when I asked him how long he had lived on Marion Street. My impression is that this has been somewhat the center of Bob's universe for his entire life. He has spent time at other locations, but he has always come back to Marion Street. He told us how he was living a couple of doors to the east from his present apartment, in a big white house in 1949 when he was 27 years old. He came home from work late one afternoon. ...

Middlebury Street We had a great night tonight. I started out alone, but Melissa Wolfinger was able to join me for a short time, before having to leave to get ready for work. She was going to KIK (the old Accra Pac) for the late night shift tonight through Forge Staffing. That surely was a blessing. Let us keep her in our prayers for this job opportunity to continue. Stopped at Zoe and David's, a few doors from Life Tabernacle. Zoe and Cathy Maldonado (who lives right next to LTC) came to church Sunday. We talked a little about that. Zoe was quite intimidated by our speaking in tongues. She very much enjoyed the prayers, the worship service and preaching Sunday. Cathy and Zoe have a funeral home viewing tomorrow night, but plan on being at church on Sunday. David has skin cancer behind his ear and a number of tumors all over his head. He needs surgery. They can use our continued prayers. Talked and prayed with lots of people all up and down the street. Talked with seve...

I want to be simple and predicable. That is my goal, but it seems a distant and difficult destination. Aside from my desire, I continue to be complex and erratic. I am beyond myself. I wish only to serve one God, the God that is love, but I must admit that I do worship other gods and at times they reign within me. The god of selfishness, the god of lust, the god of pride. . .the god of depression. . .deceit, envy, greed, impatience, and anger. . . among a cloud of others unnamed. At times I ashamedly pay homage and tribute to them. . . I deny them with my lips, but their thrones and palaces continue to be found within my heart. Is it possible to simplify ones self? To simplify anything means to eliminate and consolidate. What am I? Or is maybe a better question, what am I not? Can I look at what I am not, and from that reflection, from that reverse image, can I gain insight?. . . I am not strong. I am not weak. I am not impatient. I am not patient. I am not hateful. I am not...

When I was on vacation I found at Goodwill a translation of the New Testament that I had never seen before. It is called, " The New Testament: An Expanded Translation ." It reminds me very much of the Amplified Bible translation, which I have enjoyed for several years, but this one is expanded based on the original Greek words and not on the English words. It also, as far as it would be intelligible, maintains the Greek word order and punctuation. Here is the verse that led to what I am writing tonight: KJV Matthew 3:7-8 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: AET But, having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who gave you a private, confidential hint that you should be fleeing from the wrath about to break at any moment? ...

Hello All, Last night was our monthly prayer walk. The first Saturday evening of each month we gather walk with candles, pray and talk with people on the streets. Many people have been so very busy with preparations for our Vacation Bible School which starts tomorrow, etc. that this was one of the smallest gatherings we've had. It was Brother & Sister Warren, their two boys, and myself last night. This night began our 6th year of prayer walks. August of 2003 was our first evening of men's prayer. Our beginning evening, a group of us prayed all night and as dawn broke there were maybe maybe 6 or 8 of us who headed down to Main Street and walked from the Post Office to the North Main Street bridge. I cannot remember whether the 10 Commandments monument had been moved from in front of the courthouse to its present North Main Street location by this time or not. But in any case, we walked and prayed this early morning for the city of Elkhart It was a wonderful night. W...