Ending And Beginning Right Here And Now

Where, When, And How To Begin Again?

Preparing For The Journey

Planning For The Future

Sorting Out The Past

Standing On The Opposite Shore

Merry Christ Mass To All, And To All A Goodnight!

Twas The Night Before Christ Mass

Troubled Water Under The Bridge

Bridge Over Troubled Water

NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD

The scrip tells us that the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life have nothing to do with God. Sounds to me that it just might have something to do with the unclean thing we need to stop touching, as we come out from THEM, whoever they are.

COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM

The scrip that keeps rolling over in my mind is the one that tells us to "Separate yourselves, come out from among them, and touch not the unclean thing". Who are the them and what is the unclean thing, and why are we still touching it. But' if we will pursue understanding and obey the instruction the very next words tell us, "and I will be a Father unto you".

WRESTLING WITH FEELINGS BELOW MY THOUGHTS

Today has been a very strange day of wrestling with feelings below the surface of the waters where you normally float the boat of your thoughts. My thoughts are so dispersed I barely have a raft let alone a boat.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

We always have our own little parade here in South Norfolk Historic District of Chesapeake, Virginia. We only had two bands today, but at least one of them was local Bagpipers. We also had a lot of great antique cars, and also the Khedive in their mini-cars, and Veterans in past military vehicles. The one disappointing thing was I was the only person who seemed to remember we are supposed to stand and put our hand over our heart when the colors, containing that Grand Old Flag passed by. Watched "1776" on Antenna TV, watched "Liberty Or Death" on WHRO. We need the spirit and oratory of Patrick Henry in dealing with our contemporary issues, which assail us with a war of disarming subversions rather than open armed confrontation.

FOURTH OF JULY EVE

Okey Dokey

ANOTHER DAY

UNDER THE GUN

Tick Tock

ENCOURAGING WORD

Just when you thought there were no answers, God makes a connection with someone who makes sense again.

STAYING ALIVE

Trying to keep up with all the nonsense in the medical community. They need to take their jobs more seriously.

THUNDER AND LIGHTENING

We've been having a lot of rain here in the last couple of days, and it includes thunder and lightenings, which remind me how ignorant most folks seem to be about the declared facts of scripture concerning them. Thunder is not the reverberation of God bowling; or Henry Hudson and his crew, as noted in Rip Van Winkle. In Job we are told lightening is the echo of God's voice commanding the weather to be turned about, and the flash of lightening is actually the angelic messenger who is made a flame of fire, announcing within that flash... "here I am Lord doing that which you instructed me". Science teaches us that lightening does indeed flash from the ground upwards, and we can infer it is following the line traveled by the angel to meet the need at the destination giving all the glory back to the Source.

THE GRACE OF GOD

Whenever we run out of answers for the issues in our lives, then we cast our care upon Christ and receive His grace. The scriptures have a great deal to say on the matter, but we always seem to prefer those verses that give us practical things to do, rather than rest in Him. It is basic human nature. But, remember, "if you go around trying to establish your own righteousness, then you come out from being under the Grace of God".

JUST BROKE UP A DRUG DEAL ON MY STREET

Today was the first day I was finally able to drive my mini-van, Chrysler Town & Country, even a short distance since my Open Heart Surgery. The AC is not working for one problem, so I had to roll down the windows to compensate for the 82 degree heat, but I heard a strange sound on the passenger's side and that window would not role up again. When I looked closer I realized someone had tried to break into the van, probably while I was in the hospital. When I tried to take off the inside door panel, it was a complete mess, and even more obvious how hard they had tried. Since there was a thunder storm coming, and the crack of lightening was already nearby, I looked inside the house for some plastic and duct tape to cover the window. Reasonably satisfied with my handiwork, I went back inside to have dinner.

Later on after having watched The Bachelorette to learn just how foolish American dating rituals can become when viewed in an absurd consolidated and neologistical venue, I realized my van was not really secure. So I decided to go back outside and see what I could do, maybe pull the battery and put it into a safe place. When I opened the front door, I saw three teenage black males standing at the end of my van having a heated discussion. I waited a few moments to see if they were casing my van for later, but they didn't seem all that interested, so I went outside to confront them. "What's up players! Now you don't look all that bad." Then I explained to them about someone trying to jack my car and that I was just checking on anyone suspicious, so this was not a good place for them to be hanging out. They didn't seem in any hurry to move away, and they were clearly upset that I said they didn't look all that bad, but they were also in no hurry to confront me despite giving me some passive aggressive attitude. Just then another young man road up on a bicycle... the mule. There were eight more guys coming down the street, so I was standing right in the middle of a drug deal. The kid on the bicycle pulled the drugs out of his pocket to let them know he was holding, and seemed to be wondering what they were waiting on. He must have thought I looked like an acceptable part of the tableau, since I've been growing my hair and beard since my first heart attack back in February, and none of these kids knew what to do with or about my presence, like Jesus walking through crowds of people untouched. The other eight guys were crossing over onto the final two hundred feet down my block, when my three concomitants finally decided to wave off the mule and shortly walk away from me as their apoplexy wore off. Probably unwise, as police have told me before when I helped close two drug houses and ran all the foot traffic and prostitutes off what a City Council meeting referred to as The Corridor of Crime, I announced my renewed presence to this next generation of drug dealer wannabees, "You need to remember that this street belongs to me and Jesus, and I've already closed down two houses." The leader of the other eight young toughs started strutting forward, and loudly demanded, "What did he say?" I immediately wondered if God was going to give the strength of Samson to a guy who was still under doctor's orders not to lift anything more than five or ten pounds if I can help it. I was still quite aware of the ten inch scar and the sternum just below being held together with bailing wire for the next six month until it heals, as the surgeon said, like any other broken bone, although I still think he used a chain saw; and worse, I had left my Big Red Heart Shaped Pillow Inside the house, which I still usually carry in public so I don't get hurt when somebody bumps into me in a store, or better yet, helps them see me coming, That would have made the moment even more completely surreal for everyone involved. I definitely did not see myself throwing a punch, since it hurts to even do my stretching exercises in slow motion. But as I watched after the Three Amigos, not able to hear what they said, even the other eight compagneros turned around and walked away. They were kind of like the Indians, who never mess with the crazy man, who has been touched by the Great Spirit.

I went inside and retrieved my phone to call 911, once I realized they were all headed down the street to a specific house only a block and a half away. I came back out through the garage door so I could remain in the shadows as much as possible, but eventually as I spoke to the dispatcher I moved out to lean against my van to see what more details I might notice to offer. The next thing I know there are more kids headed in the direction of the party drug connection, girls as young as 15-16, and some older males. Everyone was on their cell phone talking, or texting others, and beginning to fill the street in front of the house. The crowd seemed to disappear inside and just then I saw the first police squad car come around the corner. What I wouldn't give for a new camera, since mine was broken a while back, after I took the other daylight pictures of a drug deal I called in, which was eventually busted. It's posted on my Facebook page. You all can feel free to raise me some money to get one with a telescopic lens and infrared night vision. So anyways after the police passed by the block, everyone started to come out in the yard and street again, and they sent a lookout down to the corner of my block. He was tall thin black male with short hair wearing a mostly red woven shirt. Walked away after a bit, but circled behind a house and came back out. Then an older black male maybe in his thirties, but hard to tell with a crackhead, came riding on a bike up from behind and stared hard at me before turning right at the next corner onto Jackson Street. Then I decided to go back into the shadows but told the dispatcher to send an officer to me. Two police cars eventually showed up and I retold the story for them, and they stopped some folks in the street and told me to go inside for my safety.

Sitting here writing, now at the end of my story, I'm aware that I got a few mosquito bites out there, but that's nothing, and almost unnoticeable, compared to the constant pain of the ten inch scar in the middle of my chest. The surgeon referred me for Pain management, but nobody will touch me until my Medicaid kicks in to the game, if ever, and they suggest out of pocket, but I spent my last cash to cover the rent for this last month, which is probably what makes my street so costly and dear to me, so I intend to continue using my pain to leverage my courage, until the next outcome.

Remember! This street belongs to me and Jesus.

MISSED THE OTHER NIGHT

HAVE TO CATCH UP LATER EVEN WITH A SIMPLE THOUGHT

TREE TRUNCATED

Do not let the thorny bush say to the King of the Cedars of Lebanon, "I want your daughter for my wife". If more guys knew and respected the truth of this scripture the world would be a much better place, and if the daughters realized and respected who they really are then there would be less divorce. he needs you more than you need him.

ANOTHER DAY

Another day almost slipped away unnoticed... "If a tree falls alone in the woods, does anyone hear?"

FRIDAY 2, June 24

Who jacked up my computer? Do I have a Virus? Did the provider fail? We'll see!

FRIDAY June 24

Computer is freaked out for second day but at least I will reserve the space today

ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK = ASK

I've always been amazed why it would not be more logical to say, "Seek, Knock, and then Ask". But I finally realized Jesus was trying to tell men to do the one thing they never do while traveling, "Ask for directions".

SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Whenever there is a breakdown or divergence in your life and you begin to wonder how to get there from here in your life, there is a simple answer... Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.

HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING

When the scripture says, "His mercies are new every morning", that means that no matter how bad we mess up the day before, God gives us another chance every morning, and deals with our issues in a new and adapted way to fit the circumstances. We didn't figure it out the day before, and so we try something new the next day, and He still adapts not only to our past failure but also to our present misadventure. We're always on the learning curve.

FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Trying to solve the problem of faith is in itself an evidence of faith. Other than drawing this conclusion, this scripture drives me crazy every time I encounter and try to invoke it, as something which might be inherent in me, because there is really nothing there. The scripture says, "Hope doesn't have the thing hoped for, and so you have to hope against hope for the thing hoped for". So we have to become the enemy of hope because it stands in the way of obtaining to faith, but we are using the very thing we are fighting against in order to win. What's that all about? We try to quote the scripture as if it was something exalted and enobling, but it becomes degrading as long as we continue to hope and do not believe, and have nothing to show for all our hoping, but not doing anything else, except the thing we're supposed to believe, only it's not working, so why do we keep hoping. I really want to know where it says in scripture  exactly how long we need to wait before it becomes God's problem rather than ours. TO BE CONTINUED...

CALL UPON ME

If we will "draw nigh unto God", then we will eventually get close enough to call upon Him, and this is possible as an act of faith, if we believe his words, "Call upon me and I will hear you." Jesus said, "Father, I know that you hear me always, but I say this aloud for their sake that hear me." If we pray in secret He will reward us openly with knowing He hears us always, also; but we must remember to speak aloud for the benefit of others, as well.

DRAW NEAR UNTO ME

My thought for the day, my process and experience, are reflected in the words, "Draw nigh unto me, and I will draw nigh unto you". The creation needs to always remember the Creator as the source of all true felicite in life, and the companion, as "guide of my youth".

FATHER'S DAY

Too busy being nostalgic about my own Dad, and the flood of memories, to write much of anything now. Every father is a complete Hero, every single day he goes to work and pays the bills, whether he sometimes complains or not, as long as he never walks away. By the time we are mature enough to figure it out there is never enough time to appropriately thank him. Whenever I have a memory, I post it on the Wall of my heavenly blog. Instead of Facebook take some extra time to visit your Gracebook. "God's word is forever settled in the heavens", and your thanks is the best kind of graffiti on all those "mansions".

CRASH GO THE CHARIOTS

Just when you think nothing else can happen to keep you from the blog, there is a sudden power surge and my computer crashes. I spent the last few days trying to find someone to help me get it up and running. There was a little green light still on right next to the start switch, but no luck. I pulled the plug from the computer side of the line as I usually do, but still nothing. So I kept calling around for a rescuer. Then I was sitting there complacent after a couple of days, and suddenly had another thought. Why not disconnect the cable from the wall side? There was no logic to the idea, but I did it, and ... suddenly I was back in business. Go figure!

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE

There is actually one other thing on my mind today. It is the declaration in the passage of scripture from Ecclesiastes that "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor". If you are still single, then you need to give this instruction some serious consideration. Elsewhere, God tells us to both "glorify and enjoy Him, forever". And, until your life is being shared with someone else you are still limiting your full enjoyment of your life within his Creation. God created us male and female for that very reason. We are "coheirs of the grace of life".

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Praise God! I found my way back down here two days in a row. Maybe I can finally get back in the swing of things, and find my center again for writing. At the moment I can't really think of a scripture to redirect me, but no sooner do I honestly confess my weakness then I am renewed in my spirit, and hear the answer. "There shall be a voice behind you in the way (you should be going), saying, This is the Way, (return and) walk in it, again." That's my best paraphrase of the KJV.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Greetings Beloved. For those of you who have actually been following this blog at all, or simply chance upon it now, and wonder why it looks as if I've been so terribly inconsistent, I hate to say that the problem is worse, or at least more embarrassing, than I care to admit, except to benefit you. If you ever decide to set up a blog on here, then make sure you know exactly what the protocol is to get into and out of it. Write things down in a safe and readily accessible place, which is not on your computer. It seemed simple enough, but I had created the problem in part for myself by having more than one blog and thinking I needed a different email source to access each of them. So then I found myself having to sign in and out of all these emails to access each of the different blogs. When I finally began to have a problem, I did the protocol exactly as I knew it, but it just didn't want to work for me. I kept trying it regularly, but no success. I've never been very good at the whole "HELP" system they provide, offering common problems and solutions, which probably works just fine, but perplexes me more than anything else. I was at a complete loss, until this morning. I did the same thing I thought I had always done, but this time it worked. Now I'm almost afraid to leave and be potentially locked out again. But now you know what's up, if you see another gap in my blogging. I wish you well with your own blogging experience; and remember, the most redemptive part of the experience is that this one is free. Blessings!

WALKING WITH PROPHETIC PURPOSE

This is the title of the series of messages my pastor Mark Stafford has most recently been preaching on Wednesday evenings at our church, Light Of Life Christian Center. It is an almost inexhaustable subject of which ought to say some things in retrospect at some point in time, but right now this is just another thought as a place holder until I can get back up to speed again.

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS 6

Proverbs 6 (JTM)




1My son, if you are surety for your friend,

if you have stricken your hand with a stranger,



2You are snared with the words of your mouth,

you are taken with the words of your mouth.



3Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself,

when you are come into the hand of your friend;

go, humble yourself, and make sure your friend.



4Give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.



5Deliver yourself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,

and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.



6Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:



7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,



8Provideth her meat in the summer,

and gathers her food in the harvest.



9How long will you sleep, O sluggard?

when will you arise out of your sleep?



10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to sleep:



11So shall your poverty come as one that travels,

and your want as an armed man.



12A naughty person,

a wicked man, walks with a froward mouth.



13He winks with his eyes,

he speaks with his feet,

he teaches with his fingers;



14Frowardness is in his heart,

he devises mischief continually;

he sows discord.



15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;

suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.



16These six things doth the LORD hate:

yea, seven are an abomination unto him:



(1) A proud look,

(2) A lying tongue,

(3) Hands that shed innocent blood

(4) An heart that devises wicked imaginations

(5) Feet that be swift in running to mischief

(6) A false witness that speaks lies

(7) He that sows discord among brethren.



20My son, keep thy father’s commandment,

and forsake not the law of your mother:



21Bind them continually upon your heart,

and tie them about your neck.



22When you go, it shall lead you;

when you sleep, it shall keep you;

and when you awake, it shall talk with you.



23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light;

and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:



24To keep you from the evil woman,

from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.



25Lust not after her beauty in your heart;

neither let her take you with her eyelids.

26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread:

and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.



27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?



28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?



29So he that goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

whosoever touches her shall not be innocent.



30Men do not despise a thief,

if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;



31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;

he shall give all the substance of his house.



32But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding:

he that doeth it destroys his own soul.



33A wound and dishonor shall he get;

and his reproach shall not be wiped away.



34For jealousy is the rage of a man:

therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.



35He will not regard any ransom;

neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.

TRUE GRIT

Today, my sister, Patricia Ann Devers, suprised me with a premature Birthday outing to the Cinema Cafe to see the movie, True Grit. Patsy Ann and I had watched the original movie while growing up, with John Wayne, Kim Darby, and The Rhinestone Cowboy, whose name I'll remember later and replace here. The original was toughminded and all about people with grit stepping up to difficult situations and getting things done, but managed to be redemptive on some level and endearing in the presentation of it's leading characters, and subsequently more believable.

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS CHAPTER 5

Proverbs 5




























1My son, attend unto my wisdom,









and bow your ear to my understanding:





















2That you may regard discretion,









and that your lips may keep knowledge.





















3For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb,









and her mouth is smoother than oil:





















4But her end is bitter as wormwood,









sharp as a two-edged sword.





















5Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.





















6Lest you should ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable,









that you can not know them.





















7Hear me now therefore, O you children,









and depart not from the words of my mouth.





















8Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:





















9Lest you give your honour unto others,









and your years unto the cruel:





















10Lest strangers be filled with your wealth;









and your labours be in the house of a stranger;





















11And you mourn at the last, when your flesh









and your body are consumed,





















12And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;





















13And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,









nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!





















14I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.





















15Drink waters out of your own cistern,









and running waters out of your own well.





















16Let your fountains be dispersed abroad,









and rivers of waters in the streets.





















17Let them be only your own,









and not strangers’ with you.





















18Let you fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of your youth.





















19Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe;









let her breasts satisfy you at all times;









and be you ravished always with her love.





















20And why will you, my son, be ravished with a strange woman,









and embrace the bosom of a stranger?





















21For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,









and he ponders all his goings.





















22His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,









and he shall be held with the cords of his sins.





















23He shall die without instruction;









and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

REDEEMING THE TIME

Today, I've been mostly concerned with the thoughts of how best to make use of my time. The scripture tells us to "Redeem the time because the days are evil". Probably more so now than when those words were first written. Most recently I have been turning off my television more often. I have friends who agree that we leave it on for background noise even if we are not watching anything in particular. The problem is that any constant companion seems to make demands of their own on our time in some way shape or form, as when commercials become louder than the show in order to be sure we are listening on a different level and will sublimate what they are trying to sell to us. What if God who is often speaking in a still small voice is unwilling to compete for your attention with the monotonous voices of our times?

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS CHAPTER 4

Proverbs 4




1Hear, you children, the instruction of a father,

and attend to know understanding.



2For I give you good doctrine,

forsake you not my law.



3For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved

in the sight of my mother.



4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words:

keep my commandments, and live.



5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not;

neither decline from the words of my mouth.



6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve you:

love her, and she shall keep thee.



7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:

and with all your getting get understanding.



8Exalt her, and she shall promote you:

she shall bring you to honour, when you do embrace her.



9She shall give to your head an ornament of grace:

a crown of glory shall she deliver to you.



10Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

and the years of your life shall be many.



11I have taught you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in right paths.



12When you go, your steps shall not be straitened;

and when you run, you shall not stumble.



13Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

keep her; for she is your life.



14Enter not into the path of the wicked,

and go not in the way of evil men.



15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.



16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief;

and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.



17For they eat the bread of wickedness,

and drink the wine of violence.



18But the path of the just is as the shining light,

that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.



19The way of the wicked is as darkness:

they know not at what they stumble.



20My son, attend to my words;

incline thine ear unto my sayings.



21Let them not depart from your eyes;

keep them in the midst of your heart.



22For they are life unto those that find them,

and health to all their flesh.



23Keep your heart with all diligence;

for out of it are the issues of life.



24Put away from you a froward mouth,

and perverse lips put far from you.



25Let thine eyes look right on,

and let your eyelids look straight before you.



26Ponder the path of your feet,

and let all your ways be established.



27Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left:

remove your foot from evil.

RENEWING YOUR MIND

The scripture tells us we need to renew our minds daily, and if we would start doing that on a regular basis during the mundane seasons of our lives, then it would not be such a stretch to renew your mind, and thereby everything else that pertains to our lives, when we suffer a serious loss of thoughts, fellings, focus, and desire.

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS CHAPTER 3

Proverbs 3




1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:



2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to you.



3Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about your neck;

write them upon the table of your heart:



4So shall you find favor and good understanding

in the sight of God and man.



5Trust in the LORD with all your heart;

and lean not unto your own understanding.



6In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct your paths.



7Be not wise in your own eyes:

fear the LORD, and depart from evil.



8It shall be health to your navel,

and marrow to your bones.



9Honour the LORD with your substance,

and with the firstfruits of all your increase:



10So shall your barns be filled with plenty,

and your presses shall burst out with new wine.



11My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;

neither be weary of his correction:



12For whom the LORD loves he corrects;

even as a father the son in whom he delights.



13Happy is the man that finds wisdom,

and the man that gets understanding.



14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

and the gain thereof than fine gold.



15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire

are not to be compared unto her.



16Length of days is in her right hand;

and in her left hand riches and honour.



17Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.



18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:

and happy is every one that retains her.



19The LORD by wisdom has founded the earth;

by understanding has he established the heavens.



20By his knowledge the depths are broken up,

and the clouds drop down the dew.



21My son, let them not depart from your eyes:

keep sound wisdom and discretion:



22So shall they be life unto your soul,

and grace to your neck.



23Then shall you walk in your way safely,

and thy foot shall not stumble.



24When thou lie down, you shall not be afraid:

yea, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet.



25Be not afraid of sudden fear,

neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes.



26For the LORD shall be your confidence,

and shall keep your foot from being taken.

27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,

when it is in the power of your hand to do it.



28Say not unto your neighbor, Go, and come again,

and to morrow I will give; when you have it by you (now).



29Devise not evil against your neighbor,

seeing he dwells securely by you.



30Strive not with a man without cause,

if he has done you no harm.



31Envy (you) not the oppressor,

and choose none of his ways.



32For the froward is abomination to the LORD:

but his secret is with the righteous.



33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked:

but he blesses the habitation of the just.



34Surely he scorns the scorners:

but he gives grace unto the lowly.



35The wise shall inherit glory:

but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

TRANSFORMERS: NOT THE MOVIE

I've been sitting here watching "Transformers:The Movie". I had the option of watching "House", which is more familiar and convenient in a sense, because it continues in the genre we know and love where men try to outsmart one another while outsmarting diseases and more often outsmart themselves before they accomplish anything else, because they finally see their own vulnerability and looking at themselves differently allows them to see everything else around them differently and rework the equations differentlt than had ever seemed possible before. So what about you? What are you looking at in the same old way that is keeping you from making any real progress in your life?

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS CHAPTER 2

Proverbs 2

1My son, if you will receive my words,

and hide my commandments with you;

2So that you incline your ear unto wisdom,

and apply your heart to understanding;

3Yea, if you cry after knowledge,

and lift up your voice for understanding;

4If you seek her as silver,

and search for her as for hid treasures;

5Then shall you understand the fear of the LORD,

and find the knowledge of God.

6For the LORD gives wisdom:

out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

7He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous:

he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

8He keeps the paths of judgment,

and preserves the way of his saints.

9Then shall you understand righteousness,

and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

10When wisdom enters into your heart,

and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul;

11Discretion shall preserve you,

understanding shall keep you:

12To deliver you from the way of the evil man,

from the man that speaks froward things;

13Who leave the paths of uprightness,

to walk in the ways of darkness;

14Who rejoice to do evil,

and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15Whose ways are crooked,

and they froward in their paths:

16To deliver you from the strange woman,

even from the stranger which flatters with her words;

17Which forsakes the guide of her youth,

and forgets the covenant of her God.

18For her house inclines unto death,

and her paths unto the dead.

19None that go unto her return again,

neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20That you may walk in the way of good men,

and keep the paths of the righteous.

21For the upright shall dwell in the land,

and the perfect shall remain in it.

22But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth,

and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

APRIL FOOLS' DAY - 2011

Following my heart attack and now that I am back at work writing, which for me seems now to be as breathing, after gasping for air in my mind to voice all those things I had never said and might never say, unless I became more serious about the writing rather than just the thinking of those thoughts, I have decided to try to set forth more than at the first, making use of both the well studied as well as the more spontaneous opportunity of this blog. So whether or not the page is filled it shall yet be there to return to and pursue to an eventual conclusion, as the "miles to go before I sleep".

So what now shall we conclude about April Fools' Day, beyond the fact the correctly placed apostrophe persuades us there are more than one of kith and kin, and "misery loving company" is well assuaged of all common solace, that "there is no temptation nor sin which has overtaken us, but that which is common to man", and at tmes unto even better men than we ourselves vainly profess to be. What can history find here, beyond the limitations of our blindly accepted tradition, that all these celebrations into which we were born unawares by the entitlements of camaraderie always were and always will be both extant, profligate, and continuous in their regularly ransomed perpetuity, both then and now, as if Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, on every new forboding of opportunity was once more springing full grown from the head of Zeus, as a split decision, so even the "double-minded" god is unstable in all "our" ways?

PROVERBIALLY SPEAKING - PROVERBS CHAPTER 1

I've always enjoyed reading the King James Version of the Bible, because of it's literary and poetical qualities. I enjoy quoting it, and using "thee" and "thou", for the lyrical quality, which for me flows liltingly off the tongue, and gives the word a surreal quality, being expressly the voice of God, as if set apart from common speech, and elevated to a sacred difference. But I've realized over the years that not everyone shares this sense and sensibility of the text as literature. The average man, not common man, but regular guy, just wants to hear something practical, that relates to his everyday life, as the word from God who is ready, willing, an able to meet him right where he is here and now. So I have been letting go of my prejudice in favor of my brother's need, and learning to revise my quotations to more contemporary speech. I had a wonderful expectation when they first announced there was going to be a New King James Version, and I thought it was going to meet this need, but I was quickly and completely disappointed shortly after someone gave me a copy as a birthday present. During that same week, I was looking for a passage of scripture I had previously studied, and I could not find what I had read before. I realized the purveyors of  the NKJV had also presumptuosly taken it upon themselves to change not just the style of the language but also the words that were being used. Every word has a denotation which is the primary definition, and when we use that word as our source of reference we are also able to access all the attendant connotations to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as He guides us into all truth. But when we replace a connotation for the denotation, that connotation does not support an adequate context to differentiate the subtleties of nuance God intends for us to experience. I read the passage over again a number of times and still I did not hear within my spirit the same interpretation as at the first, but when I finally returned to the original KJV there it was again, precisely rendered and consistentlt directive to the truth in which I had trusted. So in doing this study of the Book of Proverbs as a beginning place, I have attempted to quite simply change "thee" and "thou" to our modern "you", and replace "-eth" with "s". I have also tried to break up the phrases into their reasonable segments to facilitate our understanding as "rightly dividing" the Word into it's component parts. It is in the experimental stages so I will greatly appreciate your responses to the experience, although even a majority may not dissuade me from the personal efficacy it affords me. Thank you.


Proverbs 1




1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

2To know wisdom and instruction;

to perceive the words of understanding;

3To receive the instruction of wisdom,

justice, and judgment, and equity;

4To give subtlety to the simple,

to the young man knowledge and discretion.

5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;

and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;

the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8My son, hear the instruction of thy father,

and forsake not the law of thy mother:

9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,

and chains about thy neck.

10My son, if sinners entice thee,

consent thou not.

11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,

let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

12Let us swallow them up alive as the grave;


and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13We shall find all precious substance,

we shall fill our houses with spoil:

14Cast in thy lot among us;

let us all have one purse:

15My son, walk not thou in the way with them;

refrain thy foot from their path:

16For their feet run to evil,

and make haste to shed blood.

17Surely in vain the net is spread

in the sight of any bird.

18And they lay wait for their own blood;

they lurk privily for their own lives.

19So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;

which takes away the life of the owners thereof.


20Wisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets:

21She cries in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates:

in the city she utters her words, saying,

22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?

and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,

I will make known my words unto you.

24Because I have called, and ye refused;

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

25But ye have set at nought all my counsel,

and would none of my reproof:

26I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when your fear cometh;

27When your fear cometh as desolation,

and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind;

when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;

they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

29For that they hated knowledge,

and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,

and be filled with their own devices.

32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them,

and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

33But whoso hearkens unto me shall dwell safely,


and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

SERIOUS AS A HEART ATTACK

During the last few months of 2010; September, October, November, until the snow began to fly and I decided to hibernate a little, I had been working out at least three times a week, usually every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at Ballys Total Fitness. I had made a decision to push the limits this time around by doing some serious Body Building, rather than simply an exercise routine, which ranged from two to three hours of pumping iron in a total body workout. Over the course of those three months, I increased the weight I was using in every category by 100%, even amazing myself. As for results, I have a favorite anecdote. I was walking out front of the house to get my mail, and it was an unusualy warm day common hear in Hampton Roads, Virginia, so I didn't bother to put a shirt on. I heard the voice of a black sister driving by and pulling up to the stop sign loudly exclaiming, "White Boy, you need to put your shirt on before you make me have an accident, or just get whiplash from looking!" I had arrived at my goal before I even realized, although I pretended not to hear for the moment. It was an important landmark in my life, but not as serious as a heart attack.

When the snow started falling shortly after, I had no problem taking a break from the gym, rather than going out in a car with a blown heater. During the first storm, I decided to get out and shovel the walks like we always used to do in my hometown, Newport, Rhode Island. I think it was actually required by law there. I was amazed at my capacity to first clean off the cars and shovel out the driveway and then even shovel back from the gate to the back steps, which was my normal access. I had started the chore by going out of the garage door so I could take some pristine pictures without leaving footprints. I just kept going like the energizer bunny, and even shoveled out a neighbor who had recently been a stroke victim, so his caregiver would be able to reach him. Then I went inside, ate lunch, and took a nap. When I woke up an hour later, I was thinking there was more than enough snow to build a snowman for the first time in years. I got ready and started out the door, only to discover it was not only snowing again, but had already recovered all the work I had done, and was within an inch of making it look as if I had done nothing at all. "Virginia Is For Lovers", but not lovers of snow. I remember one year when it was 70 degrees for the last two weeks in March, and just when we thought we were having an early thaw, it snowed six inches on April Fools' Day. God has a sense of humor. Job also says, "He turns about the weather, so we will consider His works, and not just our own." If I didn't say, this time around was already twelve inches, when I shoveled out the first time, and a total of nineteen inches by the time it was over. But I was excited about being in such good shape, even though I was wise enough to just settle in and wait for the second downfall to melt on it's own.

WAIT UPON THE LORD

WAIT I SAY! LET PATIENCE HAVE IT'S PERFECT WORK IN YOU.

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS But, until then, Selah... Think about it!

How good are you at waiting upon the Lord?

"By faith and patience we inherit the promises."

WHAT LED THE WAY TO YOU?

God maintains the ultimate Lost & Found department. He even told the Jews, "If you find something along the way, no matter how valuable, leave it right where you found it, because the owner will eventually come back looking for it." It seems the French are the only ones to take Him seriously, and even improved on the idea. However the tradition might have developed with them, it seems the French will logically move what they find to the nearest eye level location, and leave it there for you, now making it easier to find; often with a note, just to follow up, make a new friend, or in case there might be a reward; but it is the thought of not surreptitiously stealing from you that counts. Viva La France! Of course, there might be times when taking it to the police department is a better option, as the place we are most accustomed nowadays to look for lost valuables. If we are willing to do this for one another despite the inconvenience, then take a moment and ask yourselves, "How much more will God, Our Father, be involved in every detail of helping you find what is yours, and also help what is yours to find you?" When you were lost, even from yourself, "What led the way to you?"

I'm Rev. John McFarland, and I'm excited to welcome you once again to the Wonderful Counselor experience of prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment for your life, which is in modern terms, your "spiritual life coach".

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

WORK IN PROGRESS But until then, Selah... "Think about it!"


Q&A - What do you have to say?

CHILDREN IN WHOM IS NO FAITH

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith has nothing to do with a nice feeling you have about a seemingly good idea you dreamed up on your own, or heard from someone else, who seemed like a really sincere person. It also has nothing to do with what you think you used to know about the word of God, but you eventually let slip away from you. You might have some sort of belief, but not necessarily have the faith of God

Deuteronomy 32:18-20
Of the Rock that birthed you, you are unmindful, and you have forgotten God that formed you.And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

The very first use of a word translated as faith in the Old Testament is here presented to us in what is called the Via Negativa, which is a Latin term, meaning “The Negative Way”. It is the use of a negative statement as a teaching device to demonstrate a positive truth by showing the difference through dramatic contrast. A positive statement would simply tell us the benefits of having, exercising, and maintaining faith in our lives, but the negative statement used in this passage shows us the dark side of what happens to those who neglect or abandon faith. It is equally important to recognize the consequences of doubt and unbelief, which then makes the pursuit, not only of faith, but of sound faith, a thing to be desired. In the Garden of Eden, there was no active faith being required of Adam and Eve to believe God for what they had never experienced before, but rather simply to maintain a passive trust, in lieu of faith, concerning what was forbidden to them. Adam and Eve were already abiding in the full benefit of God’s blessings, never having experienced less, and therefore had no “knowledge of good and evil”. In the scriptures leading into our subject, Israel has experienced God’s miraculous blessings in the Wilderness for forty years, while transitioning into a completely new generation, also not being required to exercise personal faith for any of their blessings. So God now calls Israel by the endearment Jeshurun, meaning “one expected to go straight on”: as continuing in the reality of that blessedness, fully recognizing the source; only they become a disappointment, and forget the true source of their blessings. It is not enough for us to espouse some nebulous and personally contrived beliefs, but our faith must be “rooted and grounded” in the specific promises of a definitive source, which is to say (Romans 10:17), “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”, or we really have nothing more than presumption. Jeshurun, or Israel, is still at this point under the original blessing of Jehovah God, but have redirected what ought to be an abiding faith, into the worship of other completely false and strange gods. Are you giving credit for any of your own blessings to the wrong source?

15But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: you are waxen fat, you have grown thick, you are covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. 17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

There are two problems being set forth and addressed here. They have not only forsaken the God who created them, but also the Rock of their salvation. We are all created and initially blessed by God, “who makes the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust”, but God has also chosen Israel for his redemption. They are being blessed apart from the other nations, no longer under the curse of the law. Romans tells us, concerning all men, In the day of their visitation, when they knew God, the Creator, they did not glorify Him as God, but rather became vain in their imaginations, worshipping false gods, fashioned after created things.

In the wilderness they left behind the Egyptian gods, but no sooner do they enter Canaan, the Promised Land, than they begin to adopt and worship those new gods.

WORK IN PROGRESS Sleep Deprived Blogger

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST

Building Your House Upon The Rock, as Followers Of Christ, first of all requires a blueprint approved by the three member Planning Board: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since the Church has been "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets", we have a long tradition of proven architecture and expertise from which to draw. But those fundamental requirements of our foundation always remain the same. We also need to employ a "wise master builder" to organize the project, along with a "master of assemblies" to oversee every detail of the construction, so we can guarantee our complete success. Do you have your Permits? Will you be ready for your Inspections?

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I'm Rev. John McFarland, and I'm excited to welcome you once again to the Wonderful Counselor experience of prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment for your life, which is in modern terms, your "spiritual life coach".

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

When Nehemiah was called by God to restore Jerusalem, the first thing he did was seek and obtain written permission from the King, not only for lawful passage to survey the problems and undertake the work, but also to engage others for the resources necessary to build and restore the Holy City. We also have our marching orders from the King!

Hebrews 6
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us then go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.

The foundation of our Christian faith has been directly set forth in Hebrews 6:1-3, and plainly declared to be “the principles of the doctrine of Christ.” If we really need a systematic theology, as others advocate and develop, then let us make use of God’s system, presented here, as being those proper designations, or necessary assignments, of the Holy Spirit. Whether articulated as rudimental proposition, fundamental requirement, elemental criterion, prototypical guide, touchstone, benchmark, or just the basic ideas, I am persuaded any doctrinal issues may be readily subsumed within the context of their simple outline, which is further confirmed to be the foundation, by the perfectly clear admonition and instruction, about “not laying again the foundation”, these principles comprise.

Repentance From Dead Works

Faith Towards God

The Doctrine Of Baptisms

The Laying On Of Hands

Resurrection Of The Dead

Eternal Judgment

But, before we begin to examine the scriptures, which explain and develop these principles, we need to consider exactly what is meant by “the doctrine of Christ”. It is something more specific than the standardized definitions we might find in dictionaries, as this rendering from The American Heritage Dictionary will help us to understand by comparison, as we search out a uniquely spiritual definition.

Doctrine (noun):
1. A religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma.
2. A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent.
3. A statement of official government policy, especially in foreign affairs.
4. Archaic - Something taught, a teaching.

What you just read is a rather simplistic and sterile definition. But Moses had a completely different take on doctrine, because he had encountered the Living Word. During the upcoming year, I pray your eyes will be opened to see what Moses saw in every blade of grass crowned with a dewdrop of glory, declaring the real doctrine of Christ, as "the hidden things of God, are revealed in the things which are made"..

Deuteronomy 32

Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers bestow upon the grass. Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Q&A - What do you have to say?

OUR WONDERFUL COUNSELOR APOSTOLIC MANIFESTO

Following an unprecedented evening of spontaneous prophetic ministry at a certain church, I returned home still caught up in the afterglow of the anointing. As I began to journal the events; including the prophecies, which were as fresh in my mind as the moment I received and gave them; I was led of the Holy Spirit to look more definitively into a certain scripture, which I had always believed in the past was spiritually descriptive of an apostolic experience of such events. I had not simply prophesied, but my prophesying had by direct declaration released others to prophesy, most of whom had never prophesied before. There seemed to be a hidden reservoir of anointing from which I was drawing upon to disperse to others, which was now about to be explained.

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I'm Rev. John McFarland, and I'm excited to welcome you once again to the Wonderful Counselor experience of prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment for your life, which is in modern terms, your "spiritual life coach".

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:11, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established”. I was led by the Holy Spirit to do a Greek word study of all these words and their associated roots in this passage of scripture in order to develop a working understanding of the entire scope of what the apostle was conveying to the hearers by this declaration of his intention toward them. Every word has a denotation, which is the most commonly applied meaning, or interpretation, as we translate from one language to another; but every word also has, more or less numerous, connotations based upon their emerging application and correspondence to other words when used in the comparative descriptions of ongoing generative experiences. So while the denotations appear at first to be a simple declaration, the connotations open up a vast horizen of expectation to the hearer in the original language, as paraphrased here. The Holy Spirit was now about to release my full understanding into a new dimension, as I submitted to doing this word study. This was to become an Apostolic Manifesto to introduce our ministry to others. “Manifesto” is defined as “a public declaration of one’s principles, policies, and intentions, especially of a political nature”. There is most definitely a politic of the Kingdom of God, however unique, which declares in Isaiah 9:6,7 that “the government shall be upon His shoulder”, and “of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end", both "to order it and to establish it with justice and judgment.” There needs to be an apostolic accountability of "principles, policies, and intentions" by which we can measure ourselves and set a standard to judge the integrity of others. As my father used to proclaim, "I say what I mean, and I do what I say". This is what our Wonderful Counselor ministry offers you...

 APOSTOLIC MANIFESTO

"I Dote Upon, And Earnestly

Desire, Lawful Entitlement And

Servant Guardianship Of You,

In A Relationship Of Both

Direction And Distribution;

Accompanying You, By Close

Proximity And Participation,

From The Point Of Origin

Forward To The Destination;

Allowing Me To Impart,

Give Over, And Share My Gift

With You; Until I Fully Transfer,

Sequence, And Set In Order

A Divinely Supernatural

Regenerate Endowment

Of The Holy Spirit,

Sufficient To Replenish You

To The Point Of Jubilation;

By Being Resolutely Turned,

Redirected, And Confirmed:

Fully Established, And

Steadfastly Settled.”

During the course of this upcoming year, as I edit the book inspired by this experience, we will begin posting excerpts of the principles gleaned here, which you can already begin to meditate upon for yourself; since the Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons, when we "ask for wisdom, and doubt not." What does it mean for us to "dote upon", and "earnestly desire", in a biblical context? What is "lawful entitlement", and what is not? Are you presently experiencing "servant gaurdianship" in your life, or is someone usurping false authority over you? We hope to soon answer all the questions inspired by the words of our Apostolic Manifesto. Of course, these are things apostles have been doing for generations, even without having a definitive explanation; so we have no desire to steal anyone's thunder, but rather increase the flash of your lightenings.

Q&A - What do you have to say?

BUILDING YOUR HOUSE UPON THE ROCK

Whenever we consider the concept, and the reality, of laying a foundation in our lives, there is always one parable, which immediately comes to mind. It is known by almost everyone who has ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if only in passing, as the most common and now almost euphemistic teaching; since it has become a universal, cultural, and literary byword for the fact and claim of the gospel story upon history, especially by those hoping to relegate the claim of the gospel upon their lives. But, nevertheless, it still equates, and forever establishes, Jesus as the actual Rock, or bedrock, of our salvation.

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I'm Rev. John McFarland, and I'm excited to welcome you once again to the Wonderful Counselor experience of prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment for your life, which is in modern terms, your "spiritual life coach".

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

MATTHEW 7
24 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

This instruction is given, first of all, to every one of us individually, concerning our own souls, but must then be further applied to our collective relationship into the Church, symbolized by the extended house, and household of God, metaphor.

Jesus makes authoritative claims for his sayings by presenting them to us simply as matter of fact statements. These sayings were immediately recognized by the people, as being authoritative in comparison to the vain philosophical debate of the scribes. We’re told the people were astonished at his doctrine. All the sayings of Jesus, as the Living Word, are now indisputable sound doctrine of the Church.

This teaching in paraphrase tells us the following things:
1. The wise man will build his house upon the solid rock of Jesus’ sayings.
2. The foolish man builds his house upon the shifting sand of his own ideas.
3. Times of testing are going to come upon every one of us, sooner or later.
4. A house built upon the rock will stand, but those built upon sand will not.

What sayings of Jesus, or other scriptures, do we then need to hear and obey to build our house; and household of faith, the Church; upon the Rock of his truth, rather than the sand of our own ideologies and imaginations, no matter how well intentioned? That is going to be one of the recurring themes we explore together during this upcoming year, as we learn how to "Be Followers Of Christ".

Q&A - What do you have to say?

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION - BE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST

Since our blogs are designed to have followers, there is an absolutely perfect correlation between having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and his first instruction to us..."Follow me!" Thereafter, the most important reaffirmation of our faith in Him, and our relationships to one another, are the words of the apostle Paul, saying, "Be ye followers of me, as I am also of Christ". My own father used to say to me, "Do as I say, not as I do". Fortunately for me, his actions most often spoke even louder than his words, and made all the difference in my life for the good. Who are you following? How are you following? And, more importantly, who is following after you?

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I'm Rev. John McFarland, and I'm excited to welcome you once again to the Wonderful Counselor experience of prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment for your life, which is in modern terms, your "spiritual life coach".

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

Jesus called disciples to follow him in a great many different ways, always appropriate to their own present circumstances. The most familiar are Peter and Andrew, James and John, two sets of brothers, who were already working the family business as fishermen. "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!" We are further told, "they immediately left their nets and followed Him". Have you heard God's call upon your own life, and what are you doing to follow Christ? You might be surprised to learn the ongoing answer, since the Holy Spirit, who "leads us into all truth", shall also "gently lead those that are with young". Are you pregnant with a thought you have never brought to birth, and yet you have always carried the seed within you? Like a mother knitting booties, and doing a myriad other things to prepare the nursery as she awaits her due date, so our natural lives also reflect the nature of our spiritual calling.

I have a friend, Janne Chambers Etz, who became my BFF, “Best Friend Forever”, before they ever created the term, who is also quite naturally the first follower of my blog, at least to admit by posting it openly. I’m the second follower of my blog, since you really ought to reread what you have written, take it to heart, and put it into practice. The reason Janne became my friend, as she has always explained, “You remembered my name right from the start”. That was a really interesting surprise to me, because I never remember names without asking two or three times. Of course, Janne was immediately my friend, because she made more practical sense than anyone else around me. She is a complete barometer for any humidity of pretension in her presence, and immediately taught me to get over myself, simply with a smile, and some gently lilting and disarming laughter. If you walk away from her, then you are definitely not a candidate for any immediate change in your life: toward becoming more open, honest, and transparent.

Janne is a designer of wire jewelry, and has her own business, Contemporary Concepts, located at the Cocoa Village in Cocoa, Florida, also available to you online. She works with gold and silver, the same way Jesus works with us. Of course, the Holy Spirit does the refining part in our lives, turning up the heat until all the dross is purged, and then draws out the purified substance; but He uses us to twist and turn those wire threads of one another’s issues, as impressions and eventualities, into an intricate adornment helping reveal who we really are; since “a man is known by his friends”, and the affect they have on you. If Janne were to ask me, and now she doesn’t have to, then I’d tell her prophetically, God has called you to be an “artificer” and facilitator of expressions of personal inner beauty: by not only creating, but also bestowing those “ornaments of grace” into the lives of others.

Women often adorn themselves with jewelry to make more than a simple fashion statement. Their choices become icons to reveal themselves to others, and Janne's aesthetic designs can definitely help any woman realize and subtly present her heart. Of course, we are told biblically that less is more; only we need to not only allow for, and not criticize, what we personally might regard as excess; but also celebrate with them, what someone might need to garner for themselves in order to reveal themselves to themselves, and us, as they transition from "glory to glory" in their life experience. "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves."

A worthwhile question to always ask is... "Are you wearing your jewelry, or is your jewelry wearing you?" Otherwise, Janne has not only made some rings for me, but also provided bracelets, necklaces, and earrings for the women I have known during different seasons of my life, all commemorating stories we still share from time to time; when we laugh together, or she helps me commiserate, over my still being single. I said all that to say this. If our New Year's Resolution is to be even more serious Followers of Christ, then we need to have our eyes opened to see how we have already been following Him, even before we realize his full calling upon our lives. The apostle Paul said some interesting things about this process. "When it pleased God to reveal Himself in me." "Know you not how it is that Christ is at work in you?" "I stretch myself beyond myself to apprehend that for which I have been apprehended by God, not as if I had already apprehended, but I press on for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Right now, you might not clearly know how Christ is at work in you, or has been in the past, but there is a specific time when He will completely reveal the fulfillment of the preparations of your heart and perhaps even a redirection in your life, both to you and others around you. So, until then, feel free to get on out there and buy yourself some new "bling" to help commemorate this moment in your life. I'm sure Janne will be really happy to see you! More importantly. Who do you know who also might need an "ornament of grace" bestowed upon them by you to speak a blessing into their lives?

Hey, Mom... "I just called to say I love you. I just called to say how much I care. I just called to say I love you, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart." That's the song I always used to sing to her when I called, and I still sing it whenever my heart stirs me. Somehow, when she passed away, our family decided to give me her jewelry box; and upon opening it, I realized why. The music played, and the tiny ballerina began to dance, spinning gracefully above her treasure trove of memories, and mine. There was every little trinket and token I had given to her during our lives together. I can imagine Mom, and every other mother, pausing every time they open their jewelry box in search of something to wear, also fondly touching upon and renewing those "ornaments of grace" to her heart. That's why she's always late for your night out. So stop all your complaining, and let's make some special memories right from the outset, during New Year 2011. Call your Mom, and your Dad, or just give a "shout out" to your BFF. Hey, Janne!



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NEW YEAR 2011 – BEWARE THE WRONG LEAVEN

Having written what I did the other day, nevertheless, I recognize it is a great literary device, especially in our contemporary times, to create a sound-byte to capture the readers attention; which we also called a “blurb”, when I worked as a newspaper reporter, although I obviously prefer to freelance.

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I’m Rev. John McFarland, and I’m excited to welcome you to our new blog, and invite you to a further experience of Wonderful Counselor’s prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment, as we enlarge our borders to be able to effectually meet your needs during this upcoming year.

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

It was never my intention to disparage any of those other ministers, who are already inclined to aphorize their pronouncements, but simply to challenge and set in order the misconception that our New Year rises, or falls, based upon a solitary singsong thought. There are indeed microcosms of what we will all experience in our lives, always popping up to speak to us by God’s renewing design. “There will be a voice behind you in the way, saying, this the way, come back here and walk in it, again.” But I am frustrated with the temptation to those other voices, who might then, howbeit unwittingly, usurp ownership of the concept for their own purposes, or make merchandise of us, surreptitiously. If there is a common thread for us to share in hearing God’s voice, it is still subject to the apostolic injunction, that we do these things, “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith you stand”. Our God is interested in both “the thought and the intent of the heart”, so we should also use our best discernment concerning these things. Do we seek after the convenient rhyme, along with those who twist the scripture every which a way until some explanation finally fits, since there are only limited possibilities in our vocabulary? Remember! “There are some who wrestle scripture out of context to their own destruction.” Let us diligently pursue God for the full measure of His own answers, and only then create a mnemonic device, simply to remind us?

This morning, as I pondered over what I had already written in my last blog, I also wondered if there might not actually be some appropriate "tag line" for what we need to remember and always consider first throughout this New Year: as relates to my previous explanation of the symbolism of the number "eleven" in Biblical Numerology. Scarcely having taken thought, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Beware the wrong leaven!” "Leaven" most definitely rhymes with "eleven". In fact I cannot think of another recourse than to use the word “heaven”, as if one might only say, “In 2011… We’re Closer To Heaven.” That doesn’t really work for me, since we are ever closer to heaven on one level or another. So, casting about in my mind for a scripture confirmation, I was immediately quickened to remember those most obvious words of Jesus, already warning us, “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees.” This immediately answers for what I have written above concerning “the thought and intent of the heart”, not only in others, but also ourselves. As William Shakespeare wrote, “the fault lies not in our stars, but rather within ourselves”. We are not controlled by some usurping destiny, but suffer most often based upon the bad decisions of our own willfulness. I pray you will not be deceived into accepting even the right "thought", if it comes along with or from the wrong "intention", during this New Year 2011, since even the subtle wrong "intention", as the wrong leaven, will still defile the "thought", as risen bread, in some unexpected way, shape, or form. It really does make a difference, as dramatic to the “Bread of Life” we commonly share, as is the effect of the least little bit of leaven to the formulary increase of any natural dough into it’s final composite. "Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

What do you know about the Pharisees, and their Scribes? The Scribes always seemed to be there taking notes, and even asking some of the questions, like a newspaper reporter, just in case a Pharisee said anything that actually sounded as if it might be spiritual, or at least spiritual sounding enough for the Sanhedrin to spin later on? Doctors, or spin doctors? How do we tell the difference? They were all once upstaged by a twelve year old boy. Forget about it. We’re only dealing with them trying to be religiously profound to enlarge their phylacteries, which becomes like covering yourself in “post-it notes” with each one of them containing a scripture verse you memorized for all to now see. Jesus describes everything they did as simply “creating vain traditions of men that make the commandments of God of no effect”. Sounding good, and looking good, but only becoming like “whited sepulchers, filled with dead men’s bones". "They place heavy burdens on others, but will not lift a single finger to help anyone bear them.”  "These are no shepherds, who not only do not feed the sheep, but also kill the ones who are fed (by God)." Definitely something wrong with this picture. Imagine suddenly realizing exactly how many things you’ve been carrying around with you that are completely ineffectual in your life when finally put to the test, because you were unwittingly following after the cult of personality, rather than receiving the simplicity of the truth of God’s word. “Awake, all of you who still sleep, and put on Christ.”

New Year 2011? Beware the wrong leaven! Whether this year finds you adding 10+1=11, or subtracting 12-1=11, you still need to do the math for yourself. Reduce the leaven, or increase the leaven, but beware the wrong leaven. We are here, "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith you stand". This is our leaven. So feel free to contact us for prophetic ministry with confidence.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 - SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Happy New Year 2011… What does that mean to you? There is always some expectation of change with the coming of each New Year. That’s the reason we make resolutions about things in our lives we hope to change with a little more focus and effort. But, we still need to always remember the words of Jesus, declaring, “Without me you can do nothing”.

Greetings Beloved, In the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I’m Rev. John McFarland, and I’m excited to welcome you to our new blog, and invite you to a further experience of Wonderful Counselor’s prophetic outreach ministry and apostolic empowerment, as we enlarge our borders to be able to effectually meet your needs during New Year 2011.

During this coming year, our vision is to help you understand what is involved in entering into a relationship with Christ, that enlarges your own expectation, to eventually hear Him also declare, “You can say what you will have, and it shall be done unto you”. That always amazes me, no matter how often I hear it, and then forget it, probably when I most need it. Then I find myself swimming up stream again, trying to lay hold upon the reality of it in my life. In younger days, along the Kangamangus Highway, below her namesake mountains in New Hampshire, there were waterfalls and rapids where I put this to the test. I had been training to be an Olympic swimmer, but here I was held to a complete standstill by the raw elements. I needed to have something else inside of me that I didn’t already possess; whether focus, knowledge, or fundamental strength. Again those words echoed through my heart and mind, “Without me you can do nothing!” He is the Vine, and we are the branches. We need to remember, there is a Written Word, that leads us to The Living Word, but between these two focal points we find an experience that leads us to understand, “It is the engrafted Word that saves your soul”. What are you willing to allow God to graft into your life in this coming year. That means He needs to first cut something away, making a wound, to allow the life-giving sap to begin to flow. It never hurts to become a little less “sappy” from the outset. Then He places the new graft, which is the branch of the specific fruit and fruitfulness you want to produce in your life, and binds it in the place of your loss; binding it tightly, so you cannot pick at the scab, no matter how much you are itching to see the result. You must patiently endure the process, since “It is by faith and patience we inherit the promises of God”. If you will faithfully follow our blog throughout the upcoming year, I am certain you will receive something new and lasting in your life, not only to benefit you, but also share with others.

Now, approaching the New Year, there are usually pop-prognosticators, whether considered right or wrong, by the reasonableness of their pronouncements to fit the signs of the times. But, somehow, I’ve missed their singsong sound-bytes during this past season, and so I have no idea what the sense and sensibility of their rhymes might be. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, it seems you need to rhyme the number of the year with a one or two word encapsulation of what God intends to do during that upcoming year. Of course, there is a scriptural mandate for understanding the signs of the times, but not for judging the accuracy of any inclination by this limitation as an explanation. Try saying that five times fast. "That, that, that, that, that!" Not as bad as you initially thought? Rev. Jesse Jackson would have been proud of me for the syncopation of my alliteration, "inclination, limitation, explanation"; so you certainly will not forget my point anytime soon, and actually had a momentary fun break in the offing. Now, when studying screenwriting, you learn that the writer is depending on your imagination to supply the “back-story” about the lives of the characters: filling in your own details about their past, and anything else not being said. When we accept the singsong sound-byte, there is nothing necessarily new being ventured by the prophet, or gained by the people, as simply attaching all of our old assumptions, without any real ongoing and developing explanation. Whatever happened to the declaration, “Behold, the Lord is doing something new in the earth!” God is always doing something new, ever moving toward an expected end, and building on a firm foundation. What can we expect from the New Year 2011? I’m not going to give you static self-justifying answers, that will allow you to become lazy, presumptuous, and dependent upon what you think a "buzz-word" might mean to your life, or make it easy for you to submit, without "proving all things", to a pseudo-spiritual collective unconscious, with the emphasis on unconscious. Instead, I’m going to provide you with an optical lens, a looking glass, to help you see the issues in your own life, and understand your way as changes come and go. We always quote “without an open vision the people perish”, but neglect what follows, which I always paraphrase as “if you put one foot in front of the other, doing what you know to do, you will arrive at your intended destination all the same”; although it might be a longer journey. So you should be looking forward to face and understand the New Year 2011 through the following looking glass, as refracted by Biblical Numerology.

Happy New Year 2011… What about the number “eleven”? If ten is the number that references the perfection of divine order, then eleven adds something to it. Only, what it adds, actually subverts and takes away from that perfection, by creating an imbalance. It is an odd number, rather than even, and there is always something left over, or left out, to distract us. So then, if twelve is the number of divine government, then eleven falls short of it. Whether we regard it as being 10+1=11 or 12-1=11, we are faced with a number which is marked by disorder, imperfection, disorganization, and disintegration. When Judas betrayed Christ, we are told the remaining eleven apostles immediately cast lots to replace him and restore their governance, from those 500 other disciples who had also been with them from the beginning, as witnesses to the full testimony of the Divine Incarnation. In New Year 2011, you are going to need a backup plan for people and provisions coming and going in your lives, as you wrestle between the issues of divine order and divine government, since you can maintain order in your lives, businesses, and ministries, without exercising the full powers or receiving the full benefits of your proper government. This is going to be a year of both planned and unexpected transitions for us all. Make sure you maintain the quality and quantity of those replacements, despite any added cost for the moment, so you are not found to fall short inopportunely. Also, looking to prosper and increase, you will be tempted to add one to your ten to make up eleven, just for the increase, not realizing the spiritual disparity. Take your time to be sure the one is the right one, or you will suffer more lack from the one distracting, than you can redeem through a little more self-effort on your own part. For some, there will be a different temptation to cut corners financially by eliminating one from their eleven, hoping to return to the divine order signified by ten, rather than realize the divine government of twelve just might be your next best move. This year, what you already have established in your lives is a more sure way to prosperity; at least in the sense of maintaining continuity, despite any temporary setbacks, or stagnation; as we are all faced with this threat of disorder and divestment. "The adversary of our souls still comes for nothing but to steal, kill, and destroy." Of course, all these things are in a "type and shadow", not referring to the exact numbers in your experience, but to your circumstance and expectation of addition or loss. You will need to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct you in how to use His spiritual "slide-rule" to equate your own unique position and circumstances. So now you have the lens of your new focus for 2011, “study to show yourself approved” for everything else you need; and feel free to contact us, either to reveal or confirm your “open vision”.

When I began my Wonderful Counselor radio program a few years ago, the station manager told me I needed a tag-line for the broadcast: something that explains what the ministry is all about. That night when I was working on the next show, I simply asked the Holy Spirit, “What are we doing here?” He replied…

“I Am Here To Call You Forth Into God’s Kairos Time:

To Confirm And Accelerate Your Heavenly Vision,

To Declare And Reveal Your Windows Of Opportunity;

To Open Doors To Your Future,

Which Can Never Again Be Closed;

And Close Doors To Your Past,

Which Can Never Again Be Opened."

Yea, and Amen.

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