A New Creature. . . an Apostolic Pentecostal blog

Heat is not life A white raging inferno owns no warmth The yellow searing sun wavers not Movement is not life A crystal river knows only the lowest way to the sea The blue wind blows every flag Respiration is not life A ruby crowned mountain exhales with no lung The brown nail inhales air for decay Healing is life A wound restored with the mercy of fresh pink skin The rebirth of awareness after the despair of black confusion Change is life A breaking of free fall toward gray gloom and despair The swimming against the tide into golden light of forgiveness and grace Creation is life A seed sprouting into the green tenderness of growth The two join as one in the purple mystery of a new soul's beginning God is heat. . . God is movement. . . God is respiration. . . God is healing. . . God is change. . . God is creation. . . God is my life. . . Thank you my God. . . Thank you my Lord. . . I give thanks. . . Dave

If we had some power to perform miracles at our command and could take away alcohol and illicit drugs from our society our jails would have hugely excessive capacity.  It would be close to the truth to say that we could immediately close 3 out of every 4 prisons.  I've seen figures showing that alcohol alone accounts for close to half of all incarcerations in penal institutions.  It is not only drinking while driving that puts people in jail, but it is the things that people do while intoxicated that end them up in prison.  Domestic violence, sexual crimes of all kinds, robberies, assaults, financial troubles, failed businesses, failed marriages, child support arrearages and on and on all have their roots in many cases in the abuse of alcohol.  For many years, I was a suicide hotline worker.  It was huge the percentage of our calls that had as a foundational component, the abuse of alcohol.  It was not often that the one who had the...

John 8:31-36 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  (32)  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  (33)  They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?  (34)  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.  (35)  And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever.  (36)  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I'm reading a book about death:  The Grace in Dying .  I found this book at Goodwill (a shop which sells used goods) a few days ago.  It is written by a lady who works in a hospice and has been intimately involved in the final days of many hundreds of people.  There is much in this book that I would not have written, there is surely much tha...

Lord Is With You - Judges 6:12 ( H5973  ) Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him,  The LORD is with thee , thou mighty man of valor . The Hebrew word used here, "eem" is a common preposition used over 900 times, translated into English as "with", but the common never remains that way when used in conjunction with the Lord.  In this passage the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and announces to him that he will be used to save his people: Judges 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? Gideon does not believe.  Gideon does not understand that the Lord is with him.  God's plan is very thorough.  There are no surprises to God.  Gideon claims weakness: Judges 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. But th...

I'm about 75% sure that I'm going to get back into keeping bees.  About 25 years ago I had bee hives.  I got my start in that unusual little hobby by a gentle giant of a man, Milt Fair.  He gave me my first bee hive.  In hindsight, I think he was the first Spirit filled person, by that I mean the first person who spoke in tongues, whom I had ever known.  I'm not sure of that, but I'm pretty convinced he was.  He was a man of great personal faith.  His faith ruled his life.  He was a very large man, an extra-ordinarily gentle man.  He died about 10 or 12 years ago.  I think he knew that I did not believe in God.  I'm not really sure if he knew, but in any case I thought of him as a very good friend.  It's not hard for me to imagine him praying for me.  He died well before I came to know God. . .Someday I'll know. . .Someday I'll ask him. . .Anyway, he gave me my first bee hive and I just loved it.  It was so enjoyable keeping bees.  I learned so much.  I ...

I've been in the midst of my twice yearly spring/fall episodic depression.  This fall installment started early.  It is typically arriving in October.  This year it arrived somewhere in the middle of September.  I can only ever detect its coming in hindsight.  It dawns upon me like some dark day. I am very much in the depths right now, maybe as low as I have ever gone.  It is difficult to do anything.  Getting out of bed and going to work is a victory maybe unknown to most.  I prayed today for God to make a way for me to go on an extended road trip.  I greatly desire to be carried in the close womb of a car driving down the road for hour upon hour.  Buckled tightly in the seat, gripping the steering wheel with steely hands, as the long miles pass beneath the wheels of my rolling ark of salvation. . . cruise control set, all I have to do is to keep the car upon the road as I meditate and pray. Those who know me, know me as one passionate about life and as giving myself fully to anyt...

Tonight I was getting ready for our monthly church services at the Elkhart County Jail.  I was praying for the Lord to give me words in case I was called to speak.  In my minds eye, an image blossomed of two African boys standing next to one another.  Looking like brothers, they are dressed in loin cloths and little else.  The older one had something, a bead, maybe a small piece of carved wood hanging from a cord around his neck.    The older one is maybe seven years old or so and the other at least two or three years younger.  Their bellies are grossly distorted in the classic form of dire hunger.  Their arms and legs, impossibly frail, cannot seem to support even their malignantly thin bodies.  It's not a static picture.  Flies are buzzing, their noses run. . .Their eyes pierce me. . . I don't know.  I don't understand.  Why are you showing me this Lord?  What does this picture mean?  A small voice in my head r...