Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

Love, it makes your heart flutter, the world go 'round and a host of country singers millionaires! It's pretty popular on Google too, with 2,390,000,000 pages found! That's not quite the Federal deficit, but it's still huge. Contrast that to a search for "Jesus" with just 264,000 pages found. Jesus had a lot to say about love, and based on the Google queries, there is a boat load of other information out there. Do you suppose that some of it could be wrong? Here are a couple of verses that I rarely hear about in song; which are pretty well known. 1 John 4:8 "God is love." 1 Peter 4:8 "Love covers a multitude of sin." The favorite seems to be one that we have heard at every Christian wedding, and it is so popular that I have heard it at non-Christian weddings. 1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoke...

My folks used to say, you can never have too many friends. They were wrong. The Bible says Psalms 18:24 "A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I wonder how many friends is good? And, who is the friend that sticks closer than a brother? If it is Jesus, do we need other friends? I often ponder the things that I see go on in church. I am not looking for the negative, but I am looking for teaching that helps us put on the "mind of Christ" and find a deeper more meaningful relationship with Jesus and His people. There are lots of teachings out there. From the the debates ranging from the origin of the earth to the end of the age. I guess that it is awesome that someone really cares about stuff like cherubim and seraphim . I am not even saying that I don't care about those things. It is just not at the top of my list. What is important is that we engage both God, and a relationship with His people, while attr...

Do you even wonder what God is actually in the business of? What does He really want? In the past few weeks I have had a number of conversations with long time Christians. Oh yes, and not to mentioned that I have stirred up a few religious spirits with my recent postings on this blog. It seems that no matter what perspective I try to point out, someone not only opposes it, but they offer some standard denominational argument. Every sentence starts with "we need more of ______!" Or worse, "we need less of _______!" First, I am not against denominations. I am against theology that keeps us from an awesome and supernatural God. The problem is that most of us have been taught "somewhere." That somewhere is usually the place where we came to faith, while giving us the foundational teachings that support that faith. And, that is how it works. We are taught, we believe it and hopefully go and "do" it. The problem with teaching is that it really has no v...

Everyone is getting a "bump" these days. The presidential poles, the stock market and me, as a result of the construction, on my commute to the citadel of the money changers each day. A bump is an increase, well except for drop off on to the freshly grooved and planed pavement on the way to work. Much of our life is "gauged," as we turn the ebb an flow of every day life in to chunks. It is life without highs nor lows. Then we spend our time looking for the "bump." It could be cash, a vacation, a hoped for raise or promotion. Most of us us are looking for something to give us a boost. For some, things are so tough that they are simply hoping that things don't get any worse. I often think about the church and how we look for a bump there to get us through the week. You know, something to turn our week into a memorable chunk. We can be so Sunday focused that we look for our weekly infusion to get though the week. In some ways that is good. Church should b...

About a year ago I went and test drove a few cars. While I was looking, I just decided that I should take a spin in some of the more exotic 2-seaters. After all, I can always look for a used Honda some other time, right? What's the big attraction for me? I guess they have always been exciting and I simply decided that this was my opportunity for a little fun. They were cars that I have always wanted to own, but I haven't been able to afford. As I looked past the Estimated MPG window stickers(which was 12 on the 427R Mustang!) into the luxurious and sporty cockpits, I was in another world. In the end, I was impressed with the Corvette, an American automotive legend. The Crossfire, well that was underwhelming to say the least. I really liked the Mustang which I now own. It is amazing how the Mustang and Corvette have come of age in 50 or so years. It appears to have taken a long time for the automakers to return to their roots in some of the long standing classics such as the T-B...

This week Sarah Palin was called a game changer for the 'bump" she gave McCain in the election polls. Tom Brady of the Patriots is out for the season. That changes things for his 3-time Super Bowl winning team. I would call that a game changer too. Christians come in many different flavors from Catholics to Word of Faith believers. We have a wide variety of potential experiences in the mainstream church. And within the churches believing in the triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), we have different theologies including Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic beliefs. Some find diversity in the church good, and others are looking for unity. There are others that are so certain of their own theology that they separate themselves from others. Some times it is hard to see that we have salvation in Jesus in common. Real faith is based on the relationship, not the religion. What does all that have to do with game changers? Well, the church has had many game changers since the ...

Have you sat down and thought about your life for a few minutes recently? Have you looked at the church, your friends, your folks, your job, or your waistline and thought damn? If you are like me, you do a life evaluation every so often... and as you get older they get closer together. I remember thinking at 20, that half my life was over. Some people are content to go about their business until a crisis happens... maybe not 9/11, but that is a good example. An event like that changes the way that we live our lives. Do you ever find yourself looking back with sadness or pain? I am not saying that every one does, but how will you feel after the honeymoon is over, the vacation ends, or you don't get promoted? Maybe you've sat down with yourself, or with a significant other, and made a plan and it's working. You are on your way to happiness or some sort. Hmmm... Sure, most of us have some things back there that we are not proud of. I am not talking about those moments that com...

I guess that I still find it funny that Christians and non-Christians have strong opinions about national and local leadership. Some think that the church should control politics; a Christian nation, and others think that candidates should never be mentioned in church. (I know, you can lose your 501C3 status.) I remember when I first heard about the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition. It kind of bothered me. It may not be the same reasons that it bothers others, but it certainly mattered to me. I am always concerned about the perception of the church... especially by non-Christians. We are not of this world, but we have to live in it-- and being salt and light isn't easy. Our job is not to judge, but to live a godly life as a witness to others. If we take a quick look at Jesus, he didn't seem to be all that worried about the Romans who occupied Israel at the time, but more about the "whitewashed tombs" called the Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day). E...

Since the beginning, the existence of the tree has not been the problem, it's the fruit on the tree that is either tasteful and life-giving, or bitter and poisonous. As it was for Adam and Eve, so it is for those of us that are taught each week from the pulpit, read religious literature and watch televangelists. The Bible does not ask us to debate our religion (we will need to reason with others at times), but to be a witness and proclaim (not browbeat) our fellow man with the Gospel. This Gospel will be accompanied by demonstrations of God's power (Mark 16:17). We can only judge by the fruit using the spirit. I see people judge the church all day long. Listen to Bill Mahr some day, he couldn't be better at pointing out hypocrisy in the church while being sooo very wrong about salvation. I recently had a good discussion with a long-time friend about a particular minister that claims to be certain things. The core of our discussion was centered around the issue of spiritual ...