Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

I watch enough forensics shows to know that the use of alternate light sources can reveal evidence unseen by the naked eye. DNA tests can reveal the identity of virtually any perpetrator. The entire science of forensics, from gas chromatography to scanning electron microscopes, make it hard to hide anything from criminologists. I also find it amazing that in the city of London there are thousands of video cameras on which all types of activity can be watched on virtually any street in the city. Undersea remote submarines equally amazing. They have ruined the myth of the Titanic and exposed the secrets of the Bermuda Triangle by finding ships that "supposedly" vanished. Those very mysteries, along with the illusions of Harry Houdini, intrigued me when I was in fourth grade. Even more intriguing is the NTSB as they reconstruct an entire airliner from a crash site. It is astounding how they seem to find all the pieces, let alone reassemble them! Have you ever thought about t...

I have to say, when I hear the term Jesus follower , I want to puke. It seems to be the new fad to replace the word "Christian" which means little Christ. I know this appears to be a biblical term, but is it really what we do as believers? I don't think so. In any case here are the verses from which this misconception comes from. Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me .” Mark 1:17 “Come, follow me ,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” If you read them in context, which is really the only way to read the Bible, these are aimed at folks that did not know Jesus personally. Not to mention that it was before the Holy Spirit was given, and following God was all that you could do. Following is in fact pre-salvation if you'd like to get technical about it. It was only later that Jesus said we need to believe John 6:35...

Well today was supposed to be the day that Jesus returned. It's not going to happen! He is coming back, but this is not the season. A lot of folks are concerned about who is going to Heaven  at the rapture, and according to Family Radio today is the day. I suppose by tomorrow, you'll know. The Bible says there is a great and mighty day of the Lord. However; before that day comes, Jesus said the following would take place and that these events are only birth pangs. Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars , but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation , and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Forget the fact that Jesus said the day and the hour are unknown! There are some that think that Christianity is hoax because Jesus never really liv...

I have finally distilled what it means to be a true Christian. I have read blogs on being spiritual and not religious , on the reasons why the Book isn't really the "book" , on being followers of Jesus , about the doctrine of universalism and been slammed in the comments over the years for being to narrow-minded about the path to salvation. Please allow me a short paragraph to sum up where I have been over the years. I mean there are nearly 600 posts on this blog and even I haven't read them all! We have discussed denominations , who gets to go Heaven , is there one true God , dead religion and host of other churcified topics. I have also challenged belief and faith . And today, I am going to tell you why I know what makes a true Christian! POWER! There are a million debates we could have. This whole mess started about a bajillion years ago when the earth was without form and void. There we see the adolescent God of the universe messing with the chemistr...

God's will, what is it for you? For the church? For the world? The basic plan for the Kingdom is to bring salvation to all mankind so that they can share in God's love for Jesus. We were created to be a witness to, and participate in this amazing love. The church has been chosen for this task. (Ephesians 4) But what about you and me, the individuals? How do we fit in the church in such a way that we fall into God's will and bear fruit? How is it that we do the work of God, be led by the Holy Spirit, and stay humble at the same time? God's will isn't all that simple some days, yet there is only one will for you, and one will for me. A few years ago I received and email linking to a pastoral sermon about what we could do for the pastor; how we could pray to make him a better servant of Christ. Now don't get me wrong, I want every pastor to be awesome, but I was bothered by the tone of how we could serve him. Certainly I do think we need to pray for our pastors...

Over the past few months, probably since Rob Bell's new book came out, I have been reading about what people believe, and don't believe about Christianity. In fact there is a lot blogarrhea about what part of the Bible is or isn't correct, authentic, or infallible yakity yak. I just shake my head at the myriad of opinions. It's like everyone is a religious pundit! Maybe you think I am one as well. The real questions are these: Is the Bible true, all of it? If not, which part is not true? Is there more than one interpretation for a given passage? Who has the correct theology? Certainly there are many more questions to be asked, but you see where I am going. How can we get out of this mess and become "true" disciples of Christ? It is not easy or it would have been done, and there would be no denominations. Is the splintering of the church and variety of thought OK with God? I don't think so. That is why we need Jesus! It is not enough to ...

Have you ever wondered what it was really like for the disciples to follow Jesus? Think about it, you leave your job, you drop everything, and go into full-time ministry. Most people I know, can't just leave their job and house and go into ministry. I also hate to call it ministry, because they actually became friends of Jesus; even Judas. Real ministry flows out of relationship. Jesus' insight, genuineness, warmth, and His can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it qualities were somehow very attractive. Of course, now we know why, but the disciples, they didn't. They had some sort of religious notion that there would be a messiah, a king greater than David - one that would rule and reign in Israel, defeating all their foes. Which is true, but the way that God carried it out, well it wasn't what they thought - not even close. How about you, do you have some sort of religious notion about church, about Jesus? I could write a hundred things about being religious, and I have...

John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement, used to say "everyone gets to play." What he meant was that the leadership wasn't going to be doing all the ministry. And that is a good thing because, in most denominations, the pastoral and overseeing authorities were really separated from the laity. They were the paid "holy men," often doing all the praying, all the teaching and all the administration and counseling too. Bigger churches just had more paid holy men to carry out the so called ministry of the church. When I was doing missions in Brazil, I found it really difficult to just be a regular guy, trying to do what I saw the Father doing. Everyone wanted to address me with some sort of title -- out respect for sure -- but I wasn't ordained at the time. The separation between me and them was perceived. Sure, I studied the Bible in a formal school... but really, who gives a flying epistle? Paul the apostle was a very well educated Jew, but he didn't...

Today it will have been five weeks since I was rushed to the ER with a heart attack. As I type this, it was only a few hours ago that I said "I am not the same as I was before." Something has changed.... My friend Joyce always tells it like it is on her blog:  Sounds of Hope . She's a trooper and has become the near pure fragrance of the Holy Spirit through a lot of refining; I have not. After some of her stories I just shake my head in amazement at that which a human can endure, especially one as kind and sensitive as she has become. Today I am going to imitate her a bit, and be real about the my Christian life. Faced with some challenges since my hospitalization, the biggest one being that I need to get back to work, I have been shaken. Interestingly I suppose that isn't actually the biggest hurdle. Before me still looms recovery, one that is far more complicated than I ever thought. I have been in denial about the seriousness of my con...

As I spend time recuperating at home from a viral myocarditis, I have rekindled my love of ice hockey; watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs sure beats Oprah and Ellen! I know, you are thinking what does this have to do with Jesus? I'll try to explain. Growing up in New England we have cold winters with frozen ponds from late November to early March, therefore;. hockey didn't require indoor facilities for which there were none in my town. We laced up a pair of department store skates, grabbed a hockey stick at the local hardware store and headed out the door. We used tree branches for goals, and protective padding was unheard of. During the 1970-71 season I saw the  New Haven Blades  play. It was their last year, and one of their last games. It was hard hitting, fast-paced game with a number of fights - truly exciting and inspiring! My brothers and I headed to the pond and imitated them as best we could. About the same time one the neighbors joined a "real" ho...

Ding dong, bin Laden is Dead! - anonymous Facebook post. This is not a patriotic post. It is not meant to catch the eye of up-to-the-minute news hounds. It is a blog about death, about hope and about Jesus. Of course Mr. bin Laden is a high-value news target, one which stole the spotlight from the royal wedding on cable news. Many of my Christian friends had opinions about the raid in Pakistan. Here are some nameless Facebook stati: Ah yes. Killing to show people that killing is wrong... I confess to taking pleasure in knowing the last thing that went through Bin Laden's head was an American made bullet. It is good to see young people in the streets celebrating a major victory for America. Cheers to the SEAL team, military, and intelligence agencies that brought down that terrible man! Knock, Knock who's there? The Navy SEALS! Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before...

I think that I have spent more time exposing my privates to strangers in the past month than I have in my entire lifetime. In fact I am feeling almost like a criminal. My dignity has gone out the window, and some of the medical procedures and exams are more embarrassing than that which which took place in the men's locker room in high school! First I'd like to make a disclaimer.  Tony C Today  seems to push the envelope which is a shock to my New England Puritan roots. I couldn't find the post in which he had a photo of the female reproductive tract - it was over the top. Today I am going to follow his lead as a more experienced Christian than I. If today's post offends your Christian sensibilities, please be sure to place part of the blame on him for leading me down this wayward path. I posted briefly on dignity a week or so ago, and the situation has only gotten worse. As a conservative, puritanical New Englander, we don't talk about a...