Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

For so many Christians in the US, I am hearing about dry times, desert times and lack. It would be easy to blame it all on Satan and say, he has robbed me, he has destroyed my life or in some cases, killed those I love. For we know from scripture that is his job. (John 10:10). However, if we look at the symbolic meaning of the desert in the Bible, we'll see that many times it is ordained by God, and serves a purpose for the true disciple of Jesus. If you are not a believer, you simply see life as the "good times" and the "bad times" with life fading to black in the end. It will only take a few moments for you to think of Bible characters that spent time in the desert. Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus; to name a few. Each one was there for a different purpose in God's plan. Job in his own way was also in a "desert," and when it comes to suffering, he is the most well known. But there are many others did that did not live the life of luxury...

As a resident of Hyannis for many years, Ted Kennedy was a neighbor of mine. I would see his limo around town from time to time. I would also see the limos of dignitaries and presidents en route to the compound-- Bill Clinton and Chris Dodd to name a couple. My friends rescued him one of the many times he ran Maya aground on the sand bar off Hyannisport. Some of the locals called him the Rum Faced @$#%$. Others sported bumper stickers that said, "He Can't Sail Either." Me, I photographed him in the 80's when he spoke at the NEA conference in Hyannis. I remember thinking about all the pain that he must have suffered with the murder of two brothers, the plane crash in Springfield and the incident at Chappaquiddick. I was five when brother John was gunned down in Dealey Plaza and I well remember sitting in 4th grade learning of Bobby's murder. I even knew guys in the Coast Guard that searched for John Juniors plane after it crashed in the North Atlantic. Of course th...

Have you heard the latest news? The president is coming to Martha's Vineyard for vacation. The Cape (Cape Cod) and the Islands (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) prepare for his arrival -- Cindy Sheehan is already there, God Bless her soul. Close by Ted Kennedy has asked the Democratic governor and legislature of the "Bluest" State, Massachusetts, to change the very same law they put in place to keep Republican Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican in the event John Kerry had won the '04 election. The change would allow the Democratic governor to appoint a speedy replacement (without a vote of the people as the law is now) for him [Ted] should his brain cancer consume his life-- in particular, so that the US Senate can have a Democratic vote during the highly publicized health-care debate. In other headlines there is the fallen Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford-- a Christian no less, and a has-been, the ex governor Elliot Spitzer; from New York. Sarah P...

This week I negotiated for the 4th family automobile. It's amazing how easy it gets-- and how comfortable I am doing it. I have decided that they count on the fact that you don't do this very often. The average person buys a car every three or four years. But I am not average-- not even close buying four in two months! The last Yari (plural of many Yaris) I bought, from a previously tortured salesman, in a town where they have a water ban because of a high bacteria count. He offered me a a bottle of water. "Has it been boiled, or do you save the tap water for customers you don't like?" He tried to smile. The thrill of the hunt has gone and now, buying a car is little more annoying than standing in line at the check out counter. We should be good for five or six years. I'm moving on. It looks like it is the season for moving on. For three years I have endured the local church-- and if you read some of my older blogs, you'll see that I put a lot of effort in...

I received an email from a fellow that I belong to a Facebook music group with. He basically said, "Why not just worship god-- what's all the noise about Jesus?" This blog is a response to that email. Keep in mind it's hard to answer any theological question without doing one or more of the following. -1 Agreeing that the Bible is the written and infallible word of God. -2 Answering the question intellectually. God knows there are a hundred denominations that interpret the Bible differently- or we'd all be the same denomination. The argument would have to be orderly, and pretty persuasive. -3 God would have to revel himself personally to you. If you are looking for a treatise on the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus, I suggest that you Google it. There are a lot of writers out there that have far more education then this suburban software geek. If you are looking for the reason that Christians think that the Bible is true, you will encounter hundreds of web page...

As my friendship with Tony C grows, I am jealous-- he just reached his 100th blog, and I am few behind for '09 anyway. Secretly, the more I write, the more I want to be like him. He's funny, relevant, and has the nerve to take his wife to Hooters. Well, he posted 10 issues that were important to him, and I thought I would do the same for my un-birthday celebration. But I needed to out do him, so I have 11. :) 1) Family - I think the greatest life one can have is to be part of a family with a mother and father, children and extended family. It is the model of the church in its fullness. It is great place to learn to love one another as He has loved us. 2) Parenting - I think kids need to be parented until they get married. They need to be taught how to dress, save, tithe, make friends, say no, have fun, work, serve God and be a friend. That's our job if we have kids. Even the kids of divorce need parents that teach. 3) Faith - It is essential that we see our faith in the li...

In the past few days I have received some emails from folks inquiring what I mean when I say I dislike religion, but love Jesus. What do I mean when I say a "living God?" It is interesting, so many have some sort of religious training and don't really like religion. That seems odd, don't you think? There's a Bible story that illustrates the problem with religion very well. Mark 1:21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law . Hmm... Jesus taught with authority, not as the teachers of the law. There's your sign, authority, not legalistic teaching of the rules. What was the authority that Jesus spoke in? He taught the Old Testament as if it was alive and personal. If you read the 5 or 6 verses and finish the story, you'll see that Jesus also displayed power, not just words. The...

A lot of people spend a lot of time talking about religious themes-- and a host of others avoid them like the plague. Like politics, whether or not we participate in religion, it will eventually affect our lives. The truth is that the folks that are elected vote for laws that affect us, whether we ever give them a thought. In the same way the principals of the Kingdom of God are at work as are the laws of physics. And Kingdom principals will continue to operate for eternity. So why is it that folks get all wound up about religion? Because they try to understand God with their mind. Even the most mature Christians step off into intellectual assents trying to make a case for a Biblical worldview. The living God, however; is not going to be understood by the human mind. Putting on the mind of Christ, memorizing Bible passages, and spouting scripture does not, in itself, make us a Christian. There is an amazing story in John chapter 4 , and it is worth reading even if you are not a bel...

This morning I woke up preaching in a dream-- it used to happen more often. I was at a church praying for sick people to be healed, for those without jobs to find them, and for those there with addictions for them to be broken. I read from 1 Corinthians and invited those with a word to come and share it, for those with a song to sing it, and for those with wisdom to give it. The Lord was so very alive and at work in His people-- it was extremely vivid. I remember asking people to stand up and to look around and see if the Lord impressed upon them any particular person in the sanctuary to remember it. Then I began to ask those that were moving to a new home or apartment soon to stand up. I solicited volunteers to help them. I asked those that needed babysitters to stand up, and asked this congregation to volunteer to do it. I asked those that were lonely to stand up, asking the brethren, "is there anyone here that can be a friend to these people?"-- and then I woke up. Hmmmm...

The other day I rounded a corner while taking an afternoon ride with my family, and saw a sign that I have never seen before: "Caution Church Ahead" Wow, I guess it must be a big church, and when they let out, there is a lot of traffic or something along those lines. Then I had this thought, is this church a safe place? The next morning I got up and was watching the news with my wife when they showed a clip from a police "dash cam." It was of a 7-year-old that had stolen his grandmother's car because he didn't want to go to church that morning. It seems a little odd that someone would be running from church, don't you think? I mean, isn't that where the answers are supposed to be? If you catalog your own experiences at church, how would you rate them? For some, church is a great place; they fit in, and seem to grow. For others, it is the last place on earth they'd like to be. Why is that? Are they too damaged to receive God's grace? For many...

As we grow in relationship with Christ, and begin to hear the voice of the Shepard, we may find ourselves deeply in love with Jesus. I did. As I began to experience God’s presence-- as I heard His voice and looked for His divine steps, I realized for the first time that I could fail Him. For so many years God was at my service, He was to meet MY needs. Sure, I also wanted Him to meet your needs, and those around me. But something was impersonal about the arrangement; even selfish and a bit childish. One day, I was praying and running errands in an old junky car that I was borrowing from a friend at church. I had been unemployed for about 6 months and I was just starting to get caught up. My new business was doing well too. As a company we were able to give and to be a blessing to our employees. That same morning, as I drove by a used car dealer not to far from my home, I saw a black 1988 BMW 325, and on the windshield was written $4999 in fluorescent yellow numbers. I heard the Lord sa...