Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

Last night I was impressed with the topic at our Thursday night group. "What is church?" Wow, you get all kinds of answers. It is a place of redemption, love, hope, "not a building", people, institution.. and the list goes on. I guess I would ask the inverse, what is the church expected to be that it is not? Well, it is not a building, not a social club, not a political machine... I am sure you can think of some others. If we look at church history, and we should. We'll see that the 1st century church was comprised of communal living and small home churches with occasional services held in synagogues. In truth the persecution of the early church caused it to be primarily underground in many respects.... or the parishioners would be stoned to death, fed to the lions, forced to burn to death on an iron chair over hot coals... it was ugly, very ugly. So, why did the early Christians claim faith in the face of torture and death? I would say because church was not a ...

This morning I heard a local political analyst talking about his perception of government and the church. I guess it's true, talking about politics and religion are fodder for heated debate. In the argot of political correctness, it seems that there have misperceptions regarding the church. It doesn't surprise me that people don't trust the government... just the thought of what is "spun" our way can make you sick. It seems that most of it is a position that benefits a certain group whether it makes sense or not. What puzzled me was the stone cold analysis of the church according to this man. He said, and I quote, "Those in the church are loving until it comes to homosexuals and the sexually abused (referring the the clergy sexual abuse scandal here in Massachusetts.)." Wow! Do we have a long way to go or what? How are we going to fix that? I have to say that I am so stunned that I don't really have much of an answer. I do think that this man, A) onl...

Wow, I was watching Dr. Phil and he did a segment on "What are you thinking!" He had two Christian guests on. The first was a famous evangelical Christian talking about deliverance. I was a little concerned; casting out demons can be pretty scary to the average onlooker. Generally Christians get a bad rap in the media, sometimes for good reason, but most times not. I don't personally think that Phil McGraw is all that spiritual. For him to have a Charismatic/Pentecostal minister on for some good reason was a stretch for me. He can be very condescending at times. I was interested to see if he was actually going to listen. My other concern was the Christian-ese culture that looks pretty stupid to the outsider. Dr. Phil didn't seem that "impressed" that with Bob Larson ... he didn't' say there was going to be a link on his web site like he does for other promoted guests. I do believe people think that Larson looks for demons under every rock. I think th...

This week I was reminded of how the prophetic gift works (the working of the Holy Spirit). I have a friend that I talk to a least a few times a month, and have from quite a few years. We don't see each other often, but God seems to have a purpose in this relationship. And God seems to give me knowledge of certain situations in his life. I find it enriching and fascinating what God has done over the years as we have talked, prayed and thought of each other. I know there are some readers that don't believe people actually hear directly from God; I have gotten a few e-mails. What I find interesting is this: I am very certain one of the skeptics has been to a psychic. They told me they were dually impressed that the medium knew exactly how many children they had given birth to. The truth is this, even this person believes in supernatural "hearing". However; what I find funny is that once you wrap the word Jesus, or church around that type of hearing, then people want to c...

Dancing, jumping, shouting, slamming and moshing, that's what you do at a rock concert. From Aerosmith to 50 Cent, music is as popular now as it ever was. And with personal musical devices, it isn't slowing down anytime soon. Music, it seems to define generation after generation. I remember in Kindergarten listening to the Beatles new 45, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Then there was Woodstock, Southern Rock... then I lost track for a few years. Thanks be to God for Classic Rock radio! So how is it that rock and roll has gained a place with Christians? After all the term "rock and roll" originally was a slang term for sex, not something you hear a lot about in church. Can God use rock for the Rock? Before I answer let me say this, you can find hundreds of web sites that proclaim rock and roll is the "Devil's Music." You'll also find a generation of young people that grew up in the church that listen to "Christian Rock", along with thos...

Well, as I predicted yesterday the initial reports about he the shooter were incorrect. It appears that he was living in the US for about 15 years. He was from South Korea, not China! As with every horrific incident, the media finds some know-it-all that can find a reason to pound a drum for some reason or other. Meanwhile, the Blacksburg community and the entire US stand by trying to make sense of the senseless. If you watched the scenes from the service that took place last night; the familiar melody of "Amazing Grace" was hauntingly appropriate... you probably shed a tear. Maybe you heard one student say, "There is nothing to say, to do so would be dishonest." Profound... and hopefully the media will heed his advice. At this point, I don't think there is a lot to to say. There are families and friends of the victims, as well as those who were witness to the incident, that are shattered emotionally by this atrocity. They need prayers, comfort, council, peace a...

As the news spread about the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech. I am always amazed at the commentators. I don't know if they make this up, or some fool writes it for them. This morning I heard one commenting on why this happened. Before I tell you what he said, I want to qualify my comments. First of all it is honorific, sad and tragic when lives are lost for no reason. There was no cause, no reason for such a violent act. Provoked or not, I can't imagine what this young man was thinking. Second, don't compare it to war, where acts of aggression and viable threats perpetrate a forceful response from a country, not an individual. Third, I don't know why God allows these types of tragic events to happen, but I have a couple of clues. A - He is looking at all of eternity, not just this day, this week-- or even this life time. He is aware of the value of earthly human life I am sure. B - God is sovereign and our ways are not His ways. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will ...

Today I heard two stories that blow my little mind. First there was the artist that created "My Sweet Lord", an anatomically correct version of Jesus... just in time for Easter. The other was the man that sits quarantined in jail with a nearly untreatable strain of tuberculosis because he refused to wear a "germ" mask. Both stories cited free speech and personal civil rights as reasons for being in the controversial positions they find themselves in. Let's take a look at each incident separately. The man that created the alleged "offensive sculpture" has a right to create anything that he wants to. This America not Iraq. So why are people freaking out over this so called sacrilege? If we view it morally, then there are lots of immoral statues and paintings on display in public places. How many high school students have not seen Michelangelo's David in class? If we view it as anti-Christian then we need to see where this artist is in terms of salvat...

My wife and I were joking recently about bending the rules. She had inadvertently made herself a ham sandwich for lunch on Friday during lent. For her, being raised in the Catholic church, she enjoys participating in Lenten fasting in which everything but fish is not permissible for consumption on Fridays. I quickly Googled "pig fish" and found the following link. PIG FISH As if some how ham could ever be legal on a Lenten Friday! Most churches have lots of rules. Actually every religion seems to have a set of rules. Rules are not bad or good in themselves. Biblically rules were described in two ways, those mandated by God; laws, and those mandated by men; customs. Godly laws were created to show what is right and what is wrong. More so, they highlight our inability to do them perfectly. There is no one that has ever obeyed God's laws perfectly except Jesus. Thus the whole reason for grace and salvation through Jesus. That part that makes me chuckle is the customs. Custo...