Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

Some days I just love what Jesus can do to change a person. Look what's happened to the guitarist on Hang on Sloopy , Free Ride and Rock 'n Roll Hoochie Coo.

I have a friend that used to say, "Some folks are so earthly minded, they are no heavenly good." There are also some folks that became so heavenly minded, that they were no earthly good. The point is simply that our focus can't always be on the day-to-day, and it can't be 100% religious either. If you read the Bible, you'll find that when persecution came to Jerusalem, many Christians fled the city. In the process, Christianity spread throughout the known world. Persecution was a way of life, or so it seems. During the first few centuries, until the time of Constantine, it was not just tough to be a Christian, but deadly. Christians were fed to the lions, burned at the stake and set afire on iron chairs; brutal and agonizing torture. We have read about Joan d'Arc and others like her. And then there are the more modern day martyrs in places like India , Turkey and many other places as well. What did these martyrs have in common that was worth being tortured ...

John 10:4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." NAS In the late 1990's, as my little ministry grew, I was invited to attend a lot to meetings, and occasionally speak at some of them. One night I decide to take my preteen and teenage girls to a Acquire the Fire meeting a local church where I had preached three or four times. The multi-media presentation was very cool! The kids were really engaged in the music and the Gospel movie. It was powerful to see the death of Jesus on the cross (years before the Mel Gibson movie). Everyone seemed to be weeping and they did an altar call. Most of the kids went forward to receive Jesus or make a new commitment. Both of my girls went forward. The young woman, who was the speaker, asked anyone that was released to pray for others by this church, to come forward and pray for the kids. I started to walk forward and I was abruptly stopped by my friend Holy Spirit. I r...

If you are a Christian, then you've been a disobedient one. I am no different. In the late 1990s I was having a personal revival. I attended a lot conferences, prayed, wrote, ministered and went to church. It was very important for me to include my family as much as possible. My heart’s desire was to minister with them at my side. I often think of Dave, Joyce Meyer‘s husband sitting there in the front row being, her biggest cheerleader. I was invited to preach in VT and I set a date. A few days before I was supposed to go, I called and cancelled. I had wanted my family to go, and it was in a bit of disarray at the time. That Sunday I went to my church and prayed before the service. After about two songs, I was just over come by the spirit of God. There I lay on the floor between two rows of chairs, my family on either side of me. The music ended, and I couldn't seem to get up. Twenty or so minutes passed, and I finally heard the voice of God, “Why are you here David? You are su...

Today the USA had a historic first. We'll see how it all turns out as decisions are made. I had already written many things, but a friend of mine beat me to it. His post is excellent and is far deeper reaching than mine would have been, take a look Did God Elect Barrak Obama?

This morning I awoke to more snow. It is the sequel to "Winter I" that was all about subzero temperatures just yesterday. I used my very cool Snow-Joe to clear the walk and the driveway and brushed off the cars for the three drivers at my home. I got in the shower and in the midst, I lost all motivation to drive 30 or 40 minutes in the snow to church. I asked God, what should I do? I decided that the answer to my prayer was that it wasn't important to be there today. And no one was upset! Wow, what is going on? A few minutes ago, I decided put on some worship and look at one of the blogs that I follow "Cruciformity"-- and there it was. "Sometimes taking a day off for a real Sabbath is healthy for the soul. And it's productive." Excellent blog mate! I also had a brief discussion with my wife about our nearly eight years of church history together. We have survived the "sin police," we have been "niced to death," we have been ...

The last few days I have had my fairly regular phone calls, with some of the guys from my men's group-- yakking about the little things that make up our mostly quiet lives. Kids, concerts, church, health, the cold weather, challenges at work, at home and in our spiritual lives... it is really the glue that relationship is made of. In less than a week, three out of four of us have lost someone that we were close to at one point in life. Most of them were friends from church. But one was a lifelong friend of one of my "guys." Every human being deals with grief in our own way. It is part of who we are-- life experiences, temperament and the depth of relationship we have with God. More importantly we are challenged in our faith when people that are close to us die. And for me it always makes me think about missed opportunities. Even as a Christian on the road to Heaven, I wonder what was down some of those paths along the way? What if I had started saving $5 a week when I was...

Over the many years I have spent in, and around church, I have heard the word disciple used many times. Its meaning is as varied as the denominations is was spoken in. "Those that follow Jesus," "Born Again believers," "the crew that became the 12 apostles," and people that had passed a basic class in Christian doctrine or Catechism. I have heard it preached about using the Greek definitions from "learner" (not expert), "follower," and even "witness," to pull out the meaning and depth of the word. But no one has left me with a distinct impression of what a true disciple is, and how we make one. Sometimes is is easier to define a word by what it is not. Discipleship is not about having a spiritual bellhop in the heavenlies at our beckoned call. It is not following a pastor, teacher, denomination, church doctrine or program. If these things are in sync with God, then great. For the better part of 30 years, I have listened to a b...

I think we'd all agree, that the continuum of supernatural entities ranges from the hell of Satan's fiery inferno, to the city of Light and precious stones called Heaven. As Christians we can confidently say anything that God instructs us to do is not sin. We can also confidently say that anything that He instructs us not to do, is sin. We also know from reading Paul's epistles, that not everything in itself is evil. Between sin and not sin is realm I like to call "not sin, not God." Certain things are sin for sure, we're not going there. What about stuff that just is? Like playing guitar, golf, hiking, board games and other types of hobbies or pass times? I haven't even added TV or mindlessly surfing the Internet. Paul said Romans 14:20 NAS Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. This is really the verse that allows us to have the freedom to do all things...

Isn't church supposed to have nice people? Do you know any good people? Do you think that we should be tolerant of others? Does Christianity make your life easy? Stay tuned for the answers. I am amazed every day when people present the Gospel as if it is people being nice, to other people, for the sake of getting those people saved. The Gospel, or good news is not just getting saved! The Gospel is an eternal relationship with God; starting with receiving Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord. It is much more than the recognition of our sinfulness and need for a forgiver! That is simply the "door" to this spiritual and profound relationship with a supernatural God. The Bible speaks of this relationship as the deep calling deep! Salvation is living the Kingdom life here on earth and on into eternity. Let me say that nice is not even in the Bible. So, if being nice is on your list of positive, personal attributes, it is no big deal to God. Yes, I know love is kind, but only ...

I don't know about you, but I am tired of canned biblical teachings. How to do this, and how to do that like a real Christian. After 35 years it seems a bit trite... even my own writing. I am no longer enamored by the revelation of another man. I need to hear from Heaven, and now is good! What makes is even more urgent, is that fact that since I started to write this blog a day or so ago, three people have died. One a woman younger than me with two children; 23 and 21. Another, a hero of mine in the faith, Jill Austin, and the husband of another sister in Christ. I believe he was also younger than I am. Aren't you hungry for more than a simple "get through the week" sermon, and some Jesus music on Sunday morning? I am! I want to hear from Heaven. I have been meditating on this verse for some time now. Matthew 5;16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Where are the good works? I guess what...

As a Christian, most of us want to grow in faith, or do we? Have we received a series of teachings or done Bible studies that put God in a box? As a Christian, I have had pastors tell me that certain Bible passages were difficult. Here are a couple of examples: Matthew 27:51-53 (NKJ) 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. This text in Matthew is authentic, and as much as I have researched, I have never found it contested. For that reason it has simply been avoided. Honestly, I have heard more preaching about Lazarus' grave clothes. Why? Because the verse about Lazarus gives us a wonderful illustration of the work that Jesus does in salvation. All while avoiding the obvious message. Lazarus came to l...

As Christians, we may not have ever been taught about, or experienced a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. We all have been encouraged to have a personal relationship with Jesus by praying, reading the Word and going to church. He is our savior, friend, forgiver and strength. We are often taught of the role of the Father as Creator, Judge, the One who is slow to anger, and the One that knows the date for the end of the age. What is puzzling to me is this, for some reason the church global, often excludes the role of the Holy Spirit and rarely teaches us to have a relationship with Him. Experiencing the Holy Spirit as the manifest presence of Jesus here on earth, should be part of our daily activities and spiritual life. So what is the difference between having a personal relationship with Jesus, and one with the Holy Spirit? There is not a difference per se. However; understanding the relationship between the persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are essential to a full a...

Many Christians seem to fall into three groups when it comes to the level in which God is allowed to act in their lives. The first group doesn’t believe that God will act personally on their behalf, therefore; they can’t expect anything from Him. This type of faith is characterized by this sort of belief system. “We should be glad with salvation and try to be good until that last day.” “If miracles happen, it is purely by chance.” The second group gives lip service to that fact that God does miracles and heals the sick, but deep down they do not have faith that He will do something especially for them. In some cases this is unworthiness at work. They will often use excuses like these: someone else “deserves it more,” or “needs it more” than I do. “God would heal someone with cancer before He’d heal someone with a cold.” Theologically they believe that God can, but do not have faith that He will. The third group seems have some sense of entitlement to the miracle and healing hand of God...

In my enthusiasm for the Holy Spirit - the witness of Jesus on earth -- I just couldn't contain myself. I somehow rounded up a bunch of friends from the local evangelical church and invited them to one of the conference meetings. They were nice folks, loving, but always struggling. By there own admission, they were saved, but each one confessed that they didn't seem to be going anywhere with God. Religion for them was boring and bit dry. They had been told that tongues were of the devil, and that any worship of the Holy Spirit and not about Jesus, was a cult. “Do you believe God?” shouted a loud and fiery preacher from the platform; right in the midst of worship. There was such a sense of the need to repent, that I hit my knees as soon as I found a seat. Closing my eyes, I quietly cried out, “God forgive me, God forgive me! Oh Jesus, please forgive me.” I wasn't looking around me—it was me and the Lord right then. A few minutes later, when I felt a release, I stood to my fe...