Apostle David Johndrow - Fire And Grace

I have an online buddy and last year we had a chat about some denominational differences. It wasn't a debate, but a sincere conversation about what the Bible says, and what man has added to it. In the midst there were questions about religious practice. A denomination is simply an emphasis on certain biblical truths; often "colored" by a culture, a religious experience, or a move of God. The truth is there are lots of denominations . We have many expressions of Christianity in the US , and also some cults which seem Christian on the outside but reject the central truth that Jesus taught: Jesus is God. A cult is defined as any so-called Christian organization that denies the divinity of Christ - Jesus is/was/always has been God. I am not going to try to answer the age old question regarding theology: "Who's right?" (I am writing this blog because I think I am!) Please keep an open mind and explore the links. In the end, you will be challenged in your own...

-7 Missed Opportunities and Overlooked Treasures - I find it interesting that the church often says one thing, and does another. Quite a few years ago John Wimber discovered that evangelical churches claimed that bringing folks to salvation in Jesus was there main mission. He then asked the question, how's business? The truth was that most churches claiming to be evangelical were in fact, not seeing regular salvations! When John looked closely at what churches were spending time and money doing, salvation was often near the bottom of the list. For a church to be effective, it needs godly vision, solid priorities and dedicated leaders. Too often the church can get so filled up with programs that it can easily miss what God wants to do. Every church needs to be part of the local community. Churches are not meant to cloister the saints in some sort of secret society. Every community has needs. Within those needs are opportunities for the church to make an impact for the Kingd...

Can you answer this question: do you fit into the body of Christ, and feel as if God is using you? It is not two questions, but one. If you fit in the body of Christ, He will be using you. If you are not being used , and you are attending church, there is a problem. If God is only using you outside the church, there is also a problem. 1 Cor 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. The body is not made up of believers (saints) all having the same sort of gifting, anymore than a body is made up of folks that all have the same personality traits. In the body of Christ, there are two classes of gifts. 1 Cor 12:5 There are different kinds of service , but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working , but the same God works all of them in all men. Most church folks are tuned into service, but when it comes to the "kinds of working", some f...

I don't think a blog can teach you to prophesy anymore than I believe that you will be born again just because you read the Bible. I do believe that there are some prerequisites or steps that you can follow if your heart is for the things of God, that should help you get in the ballpark. I can assure you that everyone that prophesies by the Spirit of God (as opposed to being a diviner for the Devil) fills these requirements. - One must be born again - truly born again. (John 3:16, Rom 10-9-10) - One must be filled with the Holy Spirit. I suppose there is some debate about this, and when and how it happens. I believe that sometimes it happens when we are born again, and other times it is a separate experience. No one doubts that Paul was converted on the Road to Damascus. (Acts 9:3-8) Paul, however; received the filling of the Holy Spirit at a later date. (Paul was born again after the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (Acts 2, ...

As I thought about prophecy in the church, I realized the two major barriers to incorporating it and the other gifts into our everyday life, are unbelief and fear. Unbelief is a big problem for many Christians – not just in prophecy! It comes from a number of sources, but ultimately it is the devil trying to tell us that God is not able to do what He says He will in the Scriptures. We often take the doubting Thomas story to the extreme. Trust me, if you were Thomas, you’d have much more faith than the average American Christian. You may remember the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. John 11:16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. We all know how the story ends. Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus. How about you, have you seen someone raised from the dead – I don’t mean revived at the hospital, but...

This is the last blog in my little series about the church. If we are going to solve problems, then some folks need to get motivated to do something different. Maybe that's you! The first "something" we need to do is get some vision from the Lord about how to go deeper and become more effective. But before we get all spiritual about this, don't you think there are some verses that we could make our own; mediating on them, and then putting them into action? Here are two that are paramount in turning around the "mother ship" we call church. Matthew 5:42-44 (NIV)  42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.  43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Do I really need to list the enemies of God and the church which includes you? Take a ride through Galatians Chapter 5 . And church, ...

No, I am not talking about the White House. Easter is here when people celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, not just from the dead, but to His long awaited place in Heaven and in hope of his return. Who cares really? For many years I have heard the joke, C & E Christians (Christmas & Easter). I wonder why that is funny and true? I don't believe that it is a special sin not to attend on these two holidays. Although I believe that Christians should be better taught about what they believe, I would much rather see them doing 1/10th of what they already know! Topics such as "what goes on in Heaven?", the "End Times" and the biblical meaning of Easter aren't as relevant to the troops on the ground. Once we understand the hope of Heaven , can't we move on to walking in our destiny until the end of our days? The Easter message is central to the Christian faith. If Jesus was not resurrected after being crucified, then there is no Christianity - next top...

For the church to be effective in carrying out the task of making disciples, it must come to some common ground, or we will not be unified. In the first century there were Jewish and Gentile believers. Even those two distinct groups were divided into followers of the different apostles. There were those that followed Paul and those that followed Apollos. It almost seems division was inevitable. 1 Corinthians 1:12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas (Peter)"; still another, "I follow Christ." 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? Paul certainly understood the problem with immature believers that would follow a man, not Christ himself. What about you? Are you following Christ or a man? How do you know? You can usually separate these folks out when a pastor leaves and a new one comes. Some try to follow the pastor to...

Christians are an interesting group of folks. When they think of ministry, they are more likely to think of it as an occupation or vocation -- plumber, pastor, or car thief. As believers we often assume that because many ministers go to school for a masters degree in divinity - M-Div in the business, that they have lots of answers for us in negotiating the treacherously narrow path known as the will of God. This is not always the case. In truth, when we look at the early church, we do not see this type of education in any of the apostles but Paul. As a Pharisee he was the only one that was formally educated in the scriptures. I doubt that he took homiletics, pastoral counseling or classes on exegetic principals. And like any human, before he had an experience with a living God, he was legalistic about the Scriptures even using them to decree death - sound familiar? After the experience on the road to Damascus, Paul became revelatory - the latter being of God. The scriptures could not ...

This morning I was awake around 3 am. I just wasn't feeling that well -- having a coughing fit, which finally subsided. I had left the bedroom window open even though it was cold and rainy. And outside in the darkness, I could hear the rain falling on the saturated ground. If you listen carefully, rain makes a different sound when it falls on dry ground, then it does on a rain soaked lawn. There is something captivating about the sound of rain -- even the words in Portuguese "som da chuva" and "faz chover" (make it rain) have a meaning beyond the words, don't you think? Our beloved Holy Spirit is often symbolized by water-- falling water, the rain, the river-- a cool refreshing drink -- the ocean; deep calling deep -- our spirit longs for His. Please forgive my out-there-ed-ness as I ponder my early morning moment, which now seems like a dream. As I listened to the rain fall, I thought of Noah as the flood came and rain fell forty days. What was it like to w...

Division and disagreement in the church is nothing new, but it sure ain't God's fault. For awhile it seemed like the most popular church planting model was a resentment and coffee pot! As I discussed in the blog "The Great Divide ", there needs to be a way to reconcile the opposing views by inserting the will God over everything else. This is not an intellectual endeavor, but a spiritual one. However; division in the church is historical. 1 Corinthians 3:3 For you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? There are more divisions in church then there are denominations! It's still not God's fault. The central problem lies with human nature-- but hey, aren't we supposed to control that with the Spirit? In the US Army, AIT is an acronym for "advanced individual training"... but for the purpose of this blog, it means, "attitude, integrity and teaching." That is h...

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...

This blog is not about Christmas, even though it was just yesterday that we enjoyed family, friends, food, more food and gifts! Today's blog is aimed at the believer. It may be beneficial for leaders, but it is for the average Christian wondering what they might do to serve God in a Supernatural way. For many years, I heave heard that spiritual gifts were contained in three passages of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11 and Romans 12. I am going to gracefully disagree with lumping them all together. I believe that each list has a distinct purpose in serving God, and the Body of Christ. For this blog, I am going to focus on just the ones listed here: 1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom , to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to...

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 ...