A New Creature. . . an Apostolic Pentecostal blog

We are praying and walking up and down the streets of our city. I am posting these reports of what happens on our evenings of street ministry. I bought a Radio Flyer Wagon to pull along behind us as we walk. That is kind of our trademark for people to recognize us by. Terry Wallin and I handed out fliers last night. It was very cool, cold really is the word for it and not too surprisingly not very many people were out, but we were able to speak and pray with a few. There was a little group of 3 junior high & high school aged girls walking on the sidewalk who we talked to. They said their mother had been wanting to speak with us, but that she didn't get home for a while. Terry and I went back to their house a little while later and she was laying down and not available. I think she may call the church. Terry ran into a nephew that he had never met before. He was asking for prayer for a situation in his life and mentioned a name that Terry recognized as a common relative th...

I related to you, how I ran into a fellow Randy and his wife Joanne, that I went to school with while we were handing out fliers in the neighborhood last Tuesday night and how they were having a candlelight vigil on preventing child abuse at the civic plaza. I had planned on going down there after the revival service to offer support and possibly pray with the people for healing, etc. Well my sister called me Friday, my sister Sue who has been to both of Josh Herring's revival meetings this week, my sister Sue whom God is doing a great work in her life. . . She calls me and tells me that Jenny our cousin works in the cafeteria at Central High School and somehow was having a conversation with a lady that she worked with about the upcoming vigil for preventing child abuse. This lady was the organizer of that event. Her name was Joanne and her speaker fro CAPS, Child Abuse Prevention Services had canceled at the last minute. Somehow my name came up, the fellow she had just met d...

We are praying and walking up and down the streets of our city. I am posting these reports of what happens on our evenings of street ministry. I bought a Radio Flyer Wagon to pull along behind us as we walk. That is kind of our trademark for people to recognize us by. We had a wonderful evening tonight. Terry Wallin, Kyle, Ed, & Ruby Kilgore and myself handed out both the usual weekly fliers and Revival announcements that Ruby created for the revival this week. I think it was so good having a lady, Ruby in particular along, I surely appreciated Terry and Ed and Kyle, but so many ladies talked with Ruby. Many were just mesmerized by her hair. She was wearing it just straight down and she was able to give such a wonderful testimony about it. We anointed and prayed with numbers of people. We anointed and prayed over quite a number of prayer cloths for people who had different requests. The neighborhood flier has the church number on it. We were able to tell people that Ruby wa...

Luke 9:49-50 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. (50) And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. Luke 11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. I had a quiet evening last night. Jackie, my wife, was on her way back from a conference in another city. I was listening to my audio Bible, as I tied the cords and strung beads for the door hangers of the little tracts that we pass out to the neighborhood around the church. I heard these verses from Luke read in succession over a period of fifteen minutes or so. These verses have rested in the back of my mind, for some time now, under a large question mark. They have seemed to me to be a contradiction. I did not know how to understand these two verses. How can we have on the one hand a statement: he that is not against us is for us . . . and on the other...

I hand out these little fliers each week in the neighborhood surrounding our church. Here is the front side of the flier for April, 29, 2008. 1. Love is patient, 2. love is kind. 3. It does not envy, 4. It does not boast, 5. It is not proud. 6. It is not rude, 7. It is not self-seeking, 8. It is not easily angered, 9. It keeps no record of wrongs. 10. Love does not delight in evil 11. But rejoices with the truth. 12. It always protects, 13. Always trusts, 14. Always hopes, 15. Always perseveres. 16. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I hand out these little fliers each week in the neighborhood surrounding our church. Here is the back side of the flier for April, 29, 2008. That was the title of a famous Country & Western song from years ago. Lots of truth in those words. We look for love in lots of places. . . we are depressed & disappointed when we do not find it. Everyone needs to be loved, but perfect love always escapes us. There is only One who will love me in spite of all my ugliness. It took me years of bad choices to find Him. I tried all the wrong things & all the wrong places. I wanted joy & happiness. I hungered for true love. I didn’t find it in drugs. I didn’t find it in alcohol. I didn’t find it in one night stands. All those things gave a momentary pleasure, but afterwards each left me feeling emptier, lonelier & more despairing than before. . . I now have a lasting joy, a deep satisfaction & pleasure that never leaves me feeling hollow, hung-over, & misused. ...

I chose as the name for my blog: anewcreature .blogspot.com What does it mean to be made into a new creature? One of the most significant verses of the Bible for me is: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. I was 44 years old and a committed atheist when I walked into a church service that first Sunday of June of 2000. I came merely to thank them for their prayers for me during my heart surgery a couple of weeks previously. I wanted to thank these perfect strangers for taking time out of their day to pray for me. I did not understand, but I wanted to thank them for caring for me. What I saw in that church created a hunger in me, for what they had. More things transpired over the next few weeks and months, but that morning, that day. . . I began upon a road of change that continues undiminished to this day almost eight years later. I had much sin in my life. I thought myself a good...

Lessons from the Parables of Jesus. . . Jesus did much of His teaching in the form of parables. He came up with little stories to illustrate the points he was trying to get across. Peter had a question about a teaching parable that Jesus gave in the immediately preceding verses and here in this passage Jesus explains what He meant. Here is Jesus explanation of the parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants: Luke 12:41-48 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be ...

We are praying and walking up and down the streets of our city. I am posting these reports of what happens on our evenings of street ministry. I bought a Radio Flyer Wagon to pull along behind us as we walk. That is kind of our trademark for people to recognize us by. Terry Wallin and I had a good night tonight handing out fliers. We talked to lots of people, nothing really too spectacular. Lots and lots of kids wanted Bible verse cards. I handed out around a 100 little cards in addition to the approx. 250 fliers. We talked to a big number of teenage kids. A number of people were waiting for us to come by. One lady in particular went out of her way to approach us in the apartments on Prairie and Middlebury street. She wanted the latest flier. She said that she hangs them up in her apartment. I told one lady in the apartments we would be praying for her. She gladly took the flier and Bible verse cards. She said that she knew that she needed Jesus in her life so much. I asked...

Luke 12:1-3 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (2) For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. (3) Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. I love to make homemade bread. My grandfather was the butler and my grandmother the cook for Eli Lily, the owner of Lily pharmaceutical company. One of my grandfather's daily tasks was to make fresh homemade bread for Mr. Lily. When I was a young man, my grandfather gave me the recipe that he used for his homemade bread that he brought to Mr. Lily's table and he also gave me little tips on how to make good homemade bread and how to make certain that it turned o...

We are praying and walking up and down the streets of our city. I am posting these reports of what happens on our evenings of street ministry. I bought a Radio Flyer Wagon to pull along behind us as we walk. That is kind of our trademark for people to recognize us by. Hello All, Terry & I had a great night tonight. I think we probably spoke with 50 people. I did 250 fliers this week, a few more than usual. I think that will be my normal number from now on. We hit the Middlebury Street area that we always do, but also for a change went quite deep all around the Aspenwald/Monroe Street Areas. The weather was very pleasant and lots and lots of people were out. I really could use some help if anyone has any ideas, I would like something to give the grade school age kids, like a little flier or comic story book or something. I was surprised in the Prairie street apartments at the numbers of young children whom I gave Bible verse cards to who said that they were going to LTC. Tha...

Praying, talking to God is a good thing. It would be foolish to argue that talking to God was ever wrong, but the way that I have seen this sinner's prayer used is not a good thing at all. I minister at a jail and on one occasion I saw a man after giving his talk ask the room full of men if any were ready to accept Jesus into their hearts. Hands were raised and then this man led the group of men in the sinner's prayer. Everything was fine up to this point, but then he said (This is as close to a quote as I can make it): "I know that you are murderers, rapists, child molesters, drug dealers and wife beaters. And I know that you will continue to rape, deal drugs, murder, molest and beat your wives, but now you know with 100% certainty that you are going to heaven." That is no exaggeration, that is no distortion. . . those are the words that this man said. He then quoted: Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift ...

Only Jesus can forgive sins: Luke 5:20-24 Going to heaven rather than hell: Revelation 20:11-15 Having a peace within us that is not available in any other way: Philippians 4:7 God is with us always, whatever we go through: saiah 43:2 He provides for our needs: Matthew 6:28-34 No matter what we face, it is going to work out in the end: Romans 8:28 We have power: Acts 1:8 He answers our prayers: 1 John 3:22 Our relationship with God is the closest, most loving relationship we can have: Proverbs 18:24 Our lives are now filled with good things ~ love, joy, peace. . .: Galatians 5:22 Living for God is not about being religious. It is not about following a bunch of rules and being able to congratulate yourself on how good you are and how bad everyone else is. It is above everything else, a love affair with Jesus. . . a life long loving relationship with someone who knows every hidden thing about you and loves you anyway. And as a result of that relationship, having the power to live yo...

2. Esau ate the bowl of bean soup. . . Here is the second article in my series on eating in the Bible. . . Genesis 25:29-34 KJV And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name calledEdom . 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. NIV Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. ) Jacob replied, "First se...

A young innocent girl: Luke 1:26-34 Wise men: Matthew 2:1-12 Shepherds: Luke 2:8-20 A fisherman: Luke 5:1-8 A ruler of the Jews: John 3:1-21 A woman doing her daily chores: John 4:6-39 A dead man: John 11:1-44 A betrayer: Matthew 27:3-5 A thief: Luke 23:32:44 An unbeliever: Acts 9:1-20 What does it mean to be a Christian? Many many people call themselves Christians because they believe that Jesus died for their sins. Is that belief enough? Is it only that belief that is necessary to save us from our sins? What did Jesus say? Go to the book of Matthew in the Bible chapter 7 verses 21-23. Jesus is talking here. Jesus says that simply knowing who He is, is not enough. He must know who you are. The way that He will recognize who you are will be by your actions, not by your beliefs. For someone to be your Lord, you must submit to them. They must be your ruler. You show that they are your ruler by doing what they say. For Jesus to be your Lord, you must do the things that He say...

We are praying and walking up and down the streets of our city. I am posting these reports of what happens on our evenings of street ministry. I bought a Radio Flyer Wagon to pull along behind us. That is kind of our trademark for people to recognize us by. Terry Wallin and I handed out fliers in the neighborhood last night. There was a very bitterly cold strong wind for the first good while that we walked. Eventually it diminished, but as you might expect we talked to fewer people than the week before. We actually spoke to maybe 10-20 people. Several very gratifying occurrences, a few houses ahead of us I saw one lady carrying several grocery bags into her entryway. She waited for us to get to her door. When we got to her apartment, she greeted us and held her hand out, knowing who we were and what we were doing. . . :). . . she wanted a flier and a card. We ran into a couple of friends from Terry's past life. On separate ends of Middlebury Street we met and talked with th...