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Showing posts from April, 2018

Core Values

Core Values Unending Love – God's love endures forever (Ps. 136), is unquenchable (Song of Songs 8:7), and nothing can separate us from His love (Rom. 8:39). Love is valued more than even faith and hope (1 Cor. 13:13), more than personal preference or culture (1 Cor. 9:19; Rom. 14:21). Our love for Him and others is dependent upon His initial love for us (1 John 4:19), as a by-product of Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and not our own effort. We depend upon Him to create and manifest His genuine, sincere (Rom. 12:9), unpretentious love through us for all people, even our enemies (John 3:16; Matt. 5:44) but especially the Body of Christ (Gal. 6:10). We seek to explore the unending boundaries of His love, not presuming to think to have understood it or experienced it fully (Eph. 3:17-18).  We seek to be motivated and compelled by love (2 Cor. 5:14), rather than guilt, fear, or control. His perfect love casts out all fear, even a fear of judgment (1 John 4:17-18). Because of H

Revolutionize the Medical Industry

These are things that I think about: What would the medical industry look like if doctors and medical businesses were rewarded and given incentives for curing people of illnesses? what if their profits were driven to encourage them to find cures in the quickest way possible instead of being held in Shackles by the pharmaceutical industry? what if they were paid less whenever a treatment they prescribe did not work? What if oncologists weren't given Kickbacks for every time they prescribe chemotherapy? Would we find a cure for cancer? Would we find a cure for AIDS? What cures are already available that aren't being administered because it's less profitable for the doctor or for the pharmaceutical industry? What if every conflict of interest was removed and doctors were given full license to practice what they were meant to do... to help people be well and in their best health? What would birth and natal care look like there wasn't such a financial ince

Science and Young Earth Creationism

Young Earth Creationists are the more learned and well-informed than most of their humanistic colleagues.  They have to be.  Because not only do they have to scientifically investigate the universe from a Biblical world-view, they must also do “double-duty” to understand the perspective of those who don't agree with a Young Earth perspective.  They seek to find answers to the same questions, but have to use more critical thinking skills and disect biased views which intentionally exclude intelligent design, God or the historical record of the Bible as a probability.  Their colleagues, however, have tunnel vision.  No one is forcing them to study another perspective, so they most-often do not and will not.  Not only do they not understand an Intelligent-design or Young Earth perspective, they fearfully and militantly try to shut it down, quite Orwellianly.  I personally don't know any Christians who forbid their kids to seek to understand an evolutionists perspective, even if th

Millennials and the Church

The older generations need to under-gird and support millennial voices that have wisdom, instead of just throwing a prejudicial, blanket accusation over a group of people. There are voices in the Depression and War generation that I would never listen to, voices in the Boomer generation that are misleading, voices in the Generation X that are absolutely foolish, and of course voices in the millennial generation that should not be followed. But we need to find Jesus' wisdom and nature that exists in His followers, and seek unity inside of Him instead of just casting blame. I can't speak for other millennials. I can only speak for myself, because, frankly, I don't know that my perspective of Jesus/spirituality is very consistent with other people my age (I was born in 1980). Most young people my age don't pursue a love relationship or obedience to Jesus. Most of them haven't placed their careers, friendships, finances, and life literally on the line to follow Hi

The 7 Mountains Mandate and the Gospel

Our core mission is always the Gospel -- the message of Christ's love, compassion, forgiveness, and grace. We aren't toting the law around (even American law) in order to pin people just on what they've done wrong. "Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." This is especially true in the areas in which we are currently praying. If our message is not full of grace and seasoned with salt, they will only feel condemnation, shame, and not see the Savior. Our prayers should ultimately be for the salvation of everyone, for them to be confronted by His goodness that leads to repentance. The Church is beginning to understand that they have a multi-faceted mission, one which also includes being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) in the culture around us -- in arts and entertainment, business, education, government, media, the Church and family. This is ultimately for the sake of the Gospel and eternity

Vulnerable versus Susceptible

Maybe I mean to ask, how do you know when you are being vulnerable in a healthy way as opposed to being susceptible in an unhealthy way?   D iscretion, is an art I am still mastering. I'm not sure I have a full answer to my question either, it's just a question that I've been asking lately. When I look at the life of Jesus I see that there are times when he was extremely vulnerable to the poin t where some people would question whether he was being vulnerable to a fault --which of course he wasn't.  He just seems to take things farther than most of us are willing to consciously make ourselves go. and yet at other times he wouldn't leave himself unguarded for even an inch...as it says, He "didn't entrust himself to any man, because he knew what was in their hearts".  When I look at his life I see that it came down to trusting what the Father had clearly spoken to him, because wherever he leads us he will guard us and protect us. Or else lead u

The Passion in Jerusalem - Life from the Dead

The Passion in Jerusalem Life from the Dead In childhood, the years melt in my memory of the annual Passion Week: Easter egg hunts, eating chocolate bunnies and hard-boiled eggs. I recall waking up to don our Sunday best, going to Church early for “Sunrise Service” with huge breakfasts and hymns about the Resurrection. Later in life, two years studying and living in Israel changed my life. I grew up in rural Montana. Having lived in other cities, like San Francisco, Jerusalem was not an ordinary urban environment. Touring Jerusalem was one thing; living here was different. As I gazed upon the faces of orthodox Jews and security guards in our area, Jerusalem seemed ominous and tense. Getting shoved stepping on the bus shouldn't be common place. As time waxed on living there, my own spirit tightened; I could feel spiritual darkness around me. We approached Passover – a remembrance of the Exodus for the Jews, and an extension of this for Messianics: the c

Of World and Heaven - Earth Day Poem

Of World and Heaven We are stewards, guardians of a vast domain. Wild, unexplored, unknown, untamed. To everything, a season. And time for everything. Have we died more than lived, hated More than loved? Broken down, more than built, Cast away, more than gathered, Lost, more than found, Cast away more than treasured? Weeped, more than laughed, Mourned, more than danced, Warred, more than peaced, Loved less, more than chanced? Silenced, more than listened, Plucked up more than sown, Killed, more than healed, Rent, more than sewn. Conquered the earth without replenishing, Wasted what in hunt and gathering. Do we care about others again, Considering our children's kin? We are stewards, guardians, the damage -- done. The task insurmountable, impossibly undone. With face in the dirt, we invoke the Creator: Heaven come down, heal our land. Remove our guilt, and hear us, Transform us, make us new. Produce

Poetical Memoirs of Jerusalem

Memoirs of Jerusalem Suicide Bombing Have you ever walked down the streets of old Jerusalem, and wondered if some Arab's gonna jump yo' bum, 'cause you're America, and there's a war going on, And seen the blood flowin' and carcasses rotting of the scraps of meat left from the butcher's cleaver, and the devil whispers in your ear, "you'll be like one of these." And felt betrayal of the family and the friends you know, and some because the love was growing cold, was never really there you know? And been torn by religious abuse and emotional scandilation of greedy covetous 'Christians' And just wanted to die, and almost succeeded, just wanted to die, 'cause this life is torture, just wanted to die, from disappointment beating, just wanted to die. Have you ever had the ride you take to work blow up! just blow-up! and you just missed it Blow up! 'cause it hadn't quite reac

Love to Love Life

Loving Life Every Spring I meditate about new life, about resurrection. I seek to find how the living Christ is rolling away stones in my life and making what once was dead alive again. Every year I believe God confronts all humanity with this story. Some question the reality of the resurrection. The best answer I've discovered isn't found in archaeology, historical records, or even intelligent design; it's undeniably, powerfully hidden in living people who have been transformed and are being changed by a living Christ. “ Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen." (Luke 24:5,6, WEB) Witnessing this real evolution and metamorphosis still leaves everyone with a choice: to believe or not to believe. When people's understanding about God is challenged by God, some people change their understanding; other people change their god. Some have never understood the ancient prophecy that He gave to every culture on earth:

In the Power of the Tongue

In the Power of the Tongue Some say that with every death in your life there is a birth. With every closure, there is a new beginning. I want to say that I don't believe them -- not that this hasn't happened to me. Today I found out that my sister had her first child – a baby girl: 8 lbs. 11 oz, 20 ½ inches. I also found out today that our friend in Canada also miscarried. This isn't her first miscarriage. Such a mix of emotions. The reason I don't want to believe them is that I believe life is stronger than death, that good is stronger than evil and that death is evil -- at least that death wasn't something that was meant to be. I can see this in nature. I collect seeds. I planted some marigolds and poppies last year. They grew up all summer long, and I collected the seeds as each flower faded. In the end I had a multiplication of seeds - hundreds more than I had in the beginning. What once was a small packet of seeds is now a whole Ziploc fu

Journeys in the Middle East and Europe

The Church and Missionary Work in the Middle East and Europe Table of Contents 1. Questioning Doctrine - the author begins to question teachings and biases he had embraced growing up, with regards to dancing, music, and other teachings 2. A Stubborn People - outlining specifics of the hardness of religion and social conflict that exists in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews 3. Divine Protection - depicts actual events and circumstances which threatened the author's life and those of his friends 4. Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing - explains the dangers that exist within modern higher education, including Christian education 5. Words of Knowledge - the author encounters supernatural acts of God, through people who understand secrets of his heart 6. The Struggle for Freedom - demonstrates God's work with young people in Israel 7. Believing and Yet Believing Again - the author encounters difficult and trying circumstances with regards to a pas