October 31st, 2008
… that it has been a year since our youngest child was born. Wild Child as he has been dubbed has grown like a weed over the past year. Just recently he has started walking and life has not been the same. So while the world will be celebrating Halloween we will be celebrating Wild Child’s first birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!!!
October 27th, 2008
October 23rd, 2008
On Sunday morning, May 6, 1962, at the largest Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, a sermon was preached on the text "Who Spake by The Prophets" (from the Nicene Creed).
This assistant clergyman at Grace Church, Providence, said among other things:
"In today’s ministry, there are just too many men who volunteer for the priesthood while leaving the mantel of prophecy gathering dust in some neglected back closet. This is done in most cases because it is 1) much safer, and 2) much easier. Do believe me that with the one exception of counseling and / or confession, the priestly office is easy. Any borderline defective who can read and manipulate his hands could celebrate Holy Communion. This is easy even when complicated by the embellishments of liturgical acrobatics sometimes staged to impress pageant addicts by those whom one of our college chaplains refers to as ‘a vast conglomeration of cassock-clutching, candle-counting, all-American altar boys.’
"But what of the present majority of churches where such is not the custom? Here often the prophetic office perishes in the real job description: calling for an emasculated pastor. What is wanted in too many churches is an amiable, dignified, machine oiling. King-of-cliches, who will keep the Holy Ghost ghostly, the preaching platitudinous and the spirit of the living Christ locked safely in the sacristy. What too many churches demand today is by no means a moral leader – but a round-collared, or plain-tied, country club manager. And I say this without the slightest intimation that there is anything intrinsically wrong with a country club – unless it and its leader are masquerading in the name of Jesus Christ and His Church. In this case, it is an abomination – as seen in the familiar doggerel:
Like a mighty country club moves the Church of God
Brothers, we are treading on the safest sod!
"This type of church certainly doesn’t want a clergyman who takes Christ and his life seriously. For the final and conclusive approbation of the prophetic ministry was in the fact that our Lord himself was a prophet – and so referred to himself more than once. He never once referred to himself as a priest (only the Epistle to the Hebrews did this in a heavenly sense). He never referred to any of His followers as priests and He did not select as His Apostles any of the priests who existed in His time. Furthermore, He exercised the prophetic ministry. For one thing, He injected politics into His pulpit – only they were called Pharisees and Sadducees rather than Democrats and Republicans. He denounced respectable clergy and He denounced the government. He ran roughshod over outmoded but very seriously cherished institutions such as the Sabbath and the dietary laws. Finally, He was materially injudicious enough to upset a big business – in cleansing the temple of its moneychangers. Hence, having lived like a prophet, He died like one.
"To most of the contemporary world – at least the few in the eastern Mediterranean who even heard of Him during His lifetime – He was a material failure; who became world-famous only after many years when the various guardians and chaplains of the status quo, seeing that they could not lick the movement, joined it. This is the primary example in defining one type of conservative as a person who worships liberals who have been dead a long, long time.
"What happens when the church loses its social consciousness? Karl Marx happens. Adolph Eichmann happens. Fidel Castro happens.
"I think of few fields in the ministry more important than counseling. Yet one of our greatest needs is to know the truth about ourselves – when supposedly ‘even your best friend won’t tell you.’ How can people be expected to receive or even seek out help from an ecclesiastical Dr. Doe who desecrates his pulpit with irrelevancy while dodging so many issues that he ought to be a mascot for one of the baseball teams in Los Angeles?"
October 21st, 2008
Hello,
I have a prayer request. Pray for my brother Darryl.
I have had a long evening and night. I took Darryl to the hospital this evening with some wild symptomology. In 1989 he was in an auto accident and has a sever brain injury from the accident. He began displaying partial paralysis in his left face, neck, shoulder, arm and torso. Along with this symptomology we also added a rapid change in vision over the last three weeks, a limp and stumbling, and slurred speech. Blood work and a CT Scan revealed nothing out of the ordinary. He has not had a stroke or heart attack.
Darryl literally has the front third of his brain missing and the rear is 1/4 is damaged from the rebound of the brain during the wreck. Tonight the neurologist told us that there is nothing that they can do for him at the hospital and for us to take him to some out patient tests later this week. His original neurologist told us that one day his brain would begin to "fall apart" and that we would finally lose him to the injury. He has out lived patients who are in longitudinal studies who have had the same injury. He has lived well past when he was supposed to live.
In His Grace,
Jimmie
Update:
Hey,
Updating a prayer requestion for my brother Darryl.
I just returned from a Dr. appointment with Darryl. His neurologist says that he would bet that Darryl had had at least 2 – 3 strokes in the last 10 weeks. Some of the basic diagnostic tests in the office demonstrated that Darryl has an appreciable change in this fine and gross motor skills as well as a dramatic change in this vision. He is also experiencing a change in his ability to differentiate signals sent to his brain from the optic nerve telling him which of his triple to quadruple visions is in fact the "Real" object.
I appreciate your prayers for him.
In His Grace,
Jimmie
October 21st, 2008
Over the past few weeks I have been thinking and praying about the direction that my ministry is going to take. This has been very difficult for me; as most people know I am not quite the same as other people. As I have told others, I am a square peg in a round hole world. If you tried to make me fit into the mold of the typical preacher, edges would be rounded off and I would lose part of who and what I am. I had a very tempting offer presented to me that fell through, at least for now, that started this introspection. The match in this ministry and how I have envisioned being able to work in a non-traditional ministry seemed to fit like a glove. The fact of the matter is that for the foreseeable future that door is closed and I am left with the question of “what now?”. While praying and seeking, the Lord led me to a familiar verse and sometimes those are the most comforting.
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.Isaiah 40:26-31
Verse 31 is my favorite verse in the Word and the basis for the title of my blog. It is also the answer to my question. I will wait upon the Lord and in His due time my Ministry will rise up as if on wings of eagles. If that is with the ministry my friend worked so tirelessly to get me involved in, then G_d will open those doors. If not, then G_d will open the doors to other opportunities. This is all I need to know and all I need to hold on to. These things are in His hands and He will place me where He needs me to be.
October 15th, 2008
I did not like going to moderating comments when I did. My belief in free exchange of idea and all, so I am going back to my original policy of open commenting, and I will update the commenting policy to reflect that. The commenter that put me in that position to moderate has left for now. I have a very good idea of who he is and I was trying to press him into revealing himself. As he is now incapable of commenting on a blog (lack of computer access where he is) I want to open things up again.
I only ask that you keep foul language to yourself and to be respectfull of others as if you were talking to them face to face. While I am a big boy and can handle more than the ocasional cuss word without being offended my children do read this blog and I prefer them not to be expossed to crude and profane things early in life. I take this seriously and will only warn twice and I consider the commenting policy to be the first warning. If the problem persists then that person will be banned forthwith.
October 13th, 2008
I do not often write reviews of books, but Summa Elvetica struck me as worthy of a review. It may come as a surprise to some but I like science fiction and fantasy novels. I really enjoy them when they have a Christian bent or worldview. So when I found out one of my favorite bloggers Vox Day was writing a new fantasy novel built around an analog of the catholic church I was excited. The book, which is now available for purchase, is published by a new publishing house called Marcher Lord Press is also available for free download from Vox’s site.
Because I am cash-strapped, I downloaded his free e-book version when it came out, and I got quickly engrossed in the vibrant world of men, dwarves, and elves he was creating. Others have compared it to The Hobbit or to The Lord of the Rings, but I am not sure I am willing to go that far yet, but I can see the promise in his writing. Unlike other novels of this sort, I liked that he engaged the mind as the story line was more of a thinking man’s story than the typical slash and burn kill fests that so many fantasy novels turn out to be. The “hero” in the story is a mild mannered intellectual who aspires to be a priest. He is from the pampered upper class of a society much like the Roman empire, and has all of the advantages of being so. He could quite frankly be someone you would learn to dislike if not for his apparent innocence, humble attitude, and seeming keen insight into what is transpiring around him. This is part of the brilliance of the authors writing. He is able to take you into the world of his characters and have you see through their eyes and truly be there with them in their adventures and follies. You get the feeling you are right there with them as part of the group and actively involved as a fellow adventurer in what appears to be a well thought out complex world.
The vibrant world and engrossing characters also happen to be the problem with this book. He has built a world so engrossing so inviting and it seems the story is just really getting started and then it is over. The ending is so abrupt it is jarring, almost as if he had to hurry and finish the book before his deadline. The final battle seemed more like a skirmish, a prelude to the war to come so to speak. I really did enjoy this book right up until the end where it just seemed to go flat. All in all I would recommend reading this book and I would encourage the author to build upon this world he has created. It has the potential to become like The Hobbit if he does write more stories based upon this world, but if it is left alone as a single book then I would say the story is incomplete and leaves you wanting for more and in the end unsatisfying in fulfilling that want.
October 7th, 2008
I have never been real happy with my profile under Eaglewood Ministries. To that end I have rewrote it and I am much happier with it. I am posting it here as well. Let me know what you think.
I am a home
schooling father and a dedicated follower of Yeshua whom most people know as
Jesus Christ. Several years ago I had an amazing encounter with the Holy One of
Israel. In that encounter he called upon me to be one of His prophets for this
age. His desire is for His children to come to fuller understanding of who He
is and how deep His love is for us.
I am probably the least
likely person anyone would think G_d would call upon to be one of His prophets
for this age. I am a father of 6 children one of whom is with Yeshua now. I
have no formal ministerial training, and I know Jehovah is requiring me to go
through unconventional means to obtain the knowledge I need to know to fulfill
His calling upon my life. Primarily I am to lean upon the Holy Spirit for
guidance and direction. I have never seen myself in a “typical” ministry such
as preaching in the typical church setting. I have always seen it as some kind
of teaching along the “wayside”. Reaching one person at a time and letting the
fire spread. I want to introduce people to a love of Yeshua that they never
dreamed possible, to go outside of the “box” and find where He is moving and
join Him. I can’t do that in a “typical” church setting before a crowd of people
in pews. If I am teaching outside of the box why would I want to stay confined
to the box? To that end I have always envisioned a ministry where I could let
people explore His majesty and wonder in the greatest cathedral ever created. Until
the time my physical ministry can come to fruition I am using this blog in the
hopes that there will be some who listen and hear His message of love,
reconciliation, and power. To learn to truly know what it means to fly on wings of
eagles.
October 3rd, 2008
Sometimes music says it better than words.
Yesterday I heard Your voice
Whispering through all the noise
I pretended I couldn’t hear You
But You kept on pursuing me
And You began to move in me
And I just couldn’t hide any more
I won’t fight You
Go ahead!
Take what You want to
Take what You need to
Don’t let me hold You back
Go ahead!
Do what You have to
Cuz I want to know You
Don’t let me hold You back
I’ll my wear heart out on my sleeve
If it brings You close to me
Help me leave the life I knew before You
Come inside, erase the shame
Call me by different name
I won’t be the same anymore
God, I trust You
Go ahead!
Take what You want to
Take what You need to
Don’t let me hold You back
Go ahead!
Do what You have to
Cuz I want to know You
Don’t let me hold You back
God, I was so wrong
To stay away so long
Oh, how I need You!
Go ahead!
Take what You want to
Take what You need to
Don’t let me hold You back
Go ahead!
Do what You have to
Cuz I want to know You
Don’t let me hold You back
By Fireflight
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October 2nd, 2008
