welcome

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Please scroll to the bottom of page to read the notice if you are coming from the European Union...

Monday, November 30, 2009


Interesting links:
So I'm driving home for thanksgiving when all of a sudden I see this...
After watching this video, I have a hard time caring about the Swiss minaret ban. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakir_Naikhttp://www.wikiislam.com/wiki/Rebuttals_to_Zakir_Naik#Other_Religions_Under_Islam Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to kill cancer cells, including glioblastomas, which in my line of work (neurosurgery) is practically a death sentence.

Vietnam Pretext













Palin's Bus Hoax - The Daily Beast Slow to load right now.









This Is How They Cheer At Baseball Games in Korea watch!
Are fans more into baseball in Korea than we are in the US?


Amazing on the Floor Backwards Basketball Shot (Video) watch!
Trick shots like the one are a dime a dozen in an empty gym and this basket took place during an actual game.

The Web Discloses Inconvenient Climate Truths
The world cannot trust scientists who abuse their power.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanks To God
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines...Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength...." Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 1 John 3:1

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15

“...thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:12-14

"Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:56-58

[No compromise:] “... with his windows open toward Jerusalem, [Daniel] knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. ... So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions.” Daniel 6:10, 16

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ." 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

“...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ....” Ephesians 5:18-20

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15

"We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven..." Colossians 1:3-5

"Therefore I will give thanks to You... and sing praises to Your name.” Psalm 18:49

“...and David said:
'Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory,The victory and the majesty;For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all.In Your hand is power and might;In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.'"
1 Chronicles 29:10-13

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.” Psalm 92:1-2

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works! ...
Remember His marvelous works which He has done."
Psalm 105:1-5

"...give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands....” Psalm 106:1-3

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Pastor Tilson and I have, over a period of time, discussed work and the parameters surrounding work as Christians.

We know that even the first created man, Adam, had to work even before he was positionally in a state of sin.

From a Rabbi perspective...

One interesting part of the story of the Garden of Eden is that we are told, “…G-d planted a garden in Eden… and placed there the man whom He had formed,” (2:8) and later, “G-d took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to guard it,” (2:15).

Why are we told that Adam was placed twice? Every word (and indeed every letter) in the Torah is important; there is no superfluous information. The issue is in the translation of the Hebrew.

In reality, the first time we are told that Adam was “placed”, and the second time we are told that G-d “rested” him in the Garden. What’s the difference? When you place something somewhere, you are putting that object in a temporary location; a place where it doesn’t necessarily belong. However, when you rest something somewhere, you are putting it in its home. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, but he didn’t belong, so G-d removed him, and then rested him in the Garden later. Why would He do this?

In the first case, Adam had no purpose, but in the second case, he was rested there in order to work and guard the Garden. In order to be a human being, you have to have a purpose. If you don’t have a purpose, a goal in life to accomplish something meaningful, then you are a stranger in the world and don’t belong.

So did G-d make a mistake by placing Adam in the Garden the first time? No, G-d wanted Adam to see for himself that he needed a purpose. So what was Adam’s purpose, and by correlation, what is our purpose today?

To understand Adam’s purpose, we have to understand the environment he was in. What was the Garden of Eden? It was paradise. What is paradise?

Our vision of paradise is to have a complete lack of responsibility: We envision sitting in a hammock, on a beautiful beach, with a nice cool breeze, a cold drink in our hand, watching a perpetual sunset, without a care in the world.

The Torah vision of paradise is much different. While the Garden of Eden certainly looked like the paradise of our imagination, it also gave Adam a purpose, and that is the real aspect of paradise.

Without a purpose, our vision of paradise would get awfully boring, awfully quickly: think about all those depressed millionaires in the world, or about the fact that the rate of suicide in middle class teenagers in Los Angeles is significantly higher than that of teenagers in Afghanistan.

The spirit of the Protestant work ethic is captured in the Swiss-Germans' saying Arbeit macht frei. "Arbeit macht frei" is an old German and Swiss-German peasant saying meaning "work liberates" or "work shall make you free". It is part of the concept of the Protestant work ethic.

English translations of this phrase vary, and include "To each his own" and "Everyone gets what they deserve."

The Protestant have an idea that "Idle hands are the devil's workshop". They taught that man is to keep busy in order to keep from doing evil.

They also sought to better their community by teaching and exhorting that work is good. It brought about economic prosperity. In this, they found support in Proverbs 10.4 (Septuagint) which says "Poverty brings a man low: but the hands of the vigorous makes rich". Again, Proverbs 6.6 attacks those who are lazy:

"(6) Go to the ant, O sluggard; and see and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he. (7) For whereas he has no husbandry, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master (8) he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. Or go the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom. (9) how long wilt thou lie, O sluggard? and when wilt thou awake out of sleep?

They endeavored to impart a work ethic that encapsulated work as both materially and spiritually beneficial. Laziness is a sin and not proper to Christian character. Work was seen as both occupying a person's time to prevent him from sinning, a boon to the economic well-being of the family and society, and as a necessary consequence due to original sin.

Of course there are those who have been chosen for the work of the ministry by God. Unfortunately there are also those who have chosen themselves for the work of the ministry and have a desire to live off the work of others to live the 'good life.'

Be discerning when you give of the fruit of your own labors to others who are in 'the ministry.' But DO give to those who are actually working in the ministry. By doing so we share in their blessing.

I distribute my 'love offerings' as I sense the Holy Spirit's prompting in a given direction. I love to help the truly needy, and yes, I do give to the homeless when I have the leading that there is a genuine need represented in front of me.

If I did not work I would have nothing to offer of the fruit of my labors. I would actually find myself in a position to need the fruit of others labors. In my state we give out 118 million dollars a year on average to those in need.

Work is good. Man was intended to work.

True ministry to others is work. I love work!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A More Sure Word of Prophecy

Nothing can be more sure than the written Word of God. But when the assurance of that word becomes specifically emphasized prophetically, it becomes a more personalized sure word of prophecy. The Holy Spirit may use a word of knowledge to shine a spotlight on something very specific in an individual’s life, or group. “And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth (1 Corinthians 14:25).

The deeds of the heart are revealed through revelation knowledge that may or may not have a thing to do with the Word of God as it relates to Christianity at large, or to the historic Christian faith. A mental approach to spiritual truth has the tendency to generalize all Biblical truth making it void of any specific personal immediate power.

The doctrine of cessation is one of the common names for this type of reasoning. It places all revelation knowledge back in time, somewhere other than now. Rather than using the Bible to test truth, it is used to make void the power of God for today.

The Word made flesh is deity, but the Bible is not. You may know the Bible, but the Bible does not know you. The corporation or company that you work for is probably not listed in the Bible; the town you live in, the type of car you drive, your doctor’s name, these are all not found in the Bible.

The Bible without the Spirit can become as an idol to those who worship and deify it. When Hezekiah, king of Judah was twenty five years old, “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan” (2 Kings 18:40).

Nehushtan means a brazen thing, just a thing of brass; a name of contempt given to the serpent Moses had made. Can you imagine how the religious community of his day must have been in an uproar when this young man attacked their holy artifact and smashed it.

We must remember that the Bible is only a book that contains the written word. The word was not written to be contained, but rather proclaimed. The Word of God is a living word and will not be restrained by the canonization of it. The revelation is complete within the cannon of scripture, but the unveiling of all truth is yet to be revealed. God will not be put in a box, even when the cover says HOLY BIBLE.

You can memorize the whole Bible and still be starving for a word from God. That is why God sends His word in many forms. One of the clearest, yet largely abandoned practices, is to receive personal ministry from the prophets.

The prophets speak and then we test what they say by the written word. The apostle Paul said, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29). When a word from God is personalized, it becomes a more sure word that shines into our hearts. If there is any dark place in our hearts it will expose that darkness. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Peter had a more sure word because he heard it for himself. He said, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”

A word of prophecy or call to the ministry becomes ‘A More Sure Word of Prophecy’ when it is spoken directly to you and you’ve heard it for yourself.

Pastor Tilson Shumate

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Agenda 21 explained very well. Including implications it will have on humanity. Opinions within the video come in some cases from those that were in on the negotiations. Truly an interesting watch.



This next video highlights the connection between the environmental movement and those who are striving to bring about a new system of control to the world.


What is AGENDA 21 and Sustainable Development? Michael Shaw in this next video is an attorney and owns The Liberty Garden, a nature retreat that specializes in native California plants. He explains how the Federal, State and Local governments are using collectivization to usurp our rights under the Declaration of Independence. He also tells us how to prepare for the possibility of the crumbling of the American fiat money system. When you understand the goals of AGENDA 21 and Sustainable Development, you can expose it and rid it from your community.


As a young man I used to sit cross legged on the floor of Pink's Drugs reading comic books on Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa reading the comic books.


As a young man I used to sit cross legged on the floor of Pink's Drugs reading comic books on Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa reading the comic books. 


I couldn't buy them so I sat there while the old men were in the back room with their 'bookie."

When I could buy them I would wait until I had three and then go over to the old book store on 18th st by Lion's Park and trade them in for one comic book that I hadn't read yet. Sgt Nick Fury and the Green Lantern along with Thor were among my favorite ones.

"The Telegraph reports that Professor Carol Tilley, a professor of library and information science at the University of Illinois, says that comics are just as sophisticated as other forms of reading, children benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other kinds of books, and that there is evidence that comics increase children's vocabulary and instill a love of reading.

 A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from people who think that kids are just looking at the pictures and not putting them together with the words,' says Tilley.

But you could easily make some of the same criticisms of picture books – that kids are just looking at pictures, and not at the words.'

Tilley says that some of the condescension toward comics as a medium may come from the connotations that the name itself evokes but that the distinct comic book aesthetic — frames, thought and speech bubbles, motion lines, to name a few — has been co-opted by children's books, creating a hybrid format."

"Science Daily reports findings from a new study which suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, long before their first babble or coo, and are able to memorize sounds from the external world by the last trimester of pregnancy, with a particular sensitivity to melody contour in both music and language.

Newborns prefer their mother's voice over other voices and perceive the emotional content of messages conveyed via intonation contours in maternal speech (a.k.a. 'motherese').

The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their fetal life, within the last trimester of gestation,' said Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg in Germany.

 Wermke's team recorded and analyzed the cries of 60 healthy newborns, 30 born into French-speaking families and 30 born into German-speaking families, when they were three to five days old.

 The recordings of 2,500 cries as mothers changed babies' diapers, readied babies for feeding or otherwise interacted with the youngsters show an extremely early impact of native language, with analysis revealing clear differences in the shape of the newborns' cry melodies, based on their mother tongue."

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Hey Shekinah Fellowship: Noah Biorkman is a 5 y.o. boy who is dying of cancer. His family is celebrating Christmas next week as he may not live to see it this year. All he wants is Christmas cards. Lets try and see how many we can get to him. His address is:

1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, Mi 48178

This is a true story:

Christians...you know what to do...

God is asking the Impossible From Jonah

God Is Asking The Impossible From Jonah

And we have to realize that what God asks is always impossible from the human standpoint and according to man's judgment. Jonah had very good reasons to refuse and flee.

Anything is better than certain death at Nineveh. Jonah will not accept the impossible from Almighty God. He judges as the world judges. And he does not take into account the fact that he is engaged in an adventure in which it is no longer possible to judge thus and that decisions taken according to the reasoning of the world will lead nowhere and solve nothing.
It is true folly to go to Nineveh in Jonah's way of thinking, that great city which was always in arms against God and His people. To begin with, he would have to make a tremendous journey across the dry desert: about 750 miles on foot. This was the first difficulty.

Then he would arrive at a very large city with far more than 120,000 inhabitants, and he would be quite alone there. This people was a traditional foe of Israel. Jehovah was sending a man to preach repentance to the conquerors. The most cruel people of antiquity.

It was the people which scorched its enemies alive to decorate its walls and pyramids with their skin. It was the place of human pride which allies itself with demons and rejects God. It was the world fast closed against God. Spiritually this was what Nineveh represented. Opposed to God, this city was necessarily opposed to His people.

God orders Jonah to go to the very place he could not go...a light among the darkness. In sum, Nineveh is the 'world' in the theological sense.

Jonah sets off in a direction which is precise opposite of that indicated by God. He can no longer live his life where he is. He must leave, and do so as a fugitive. He flees, the text says. He has a bad conscience and flees like Adam and Cain. He knows that there is no justice for him and that the only solution is to put a barrier between himself and God. He flees "away from the presence of the Lord."

Jonah knew perfectly well that Yahweh is a God who owns the earth. And yet he flees abroad where there are other gods. Jonah breaks with the people which God has chosen. He no longer wants to belong to the chosen people. He prefers to follow other gods rather than the Living God.
He snaps all that which humanly binds him to his living God to end the whole affair. He chooses to damn himself. This is the meaning of fleeing from the face of the Lord. It seems preferable to obedience, so impossible is the order.

To achieve damnation he pays. He pays his passage. The story of Jonah is indeed the story of all of us. What sacrifices are we not ready to make to be far from the face of God, unable as we are to accept that it is God Himself who fulfills His impossible will!

Jonah flees from the presence of God, goes down into the interior of the ship and sleeps. The point is that he refuses even to contemplate this storm. He refuses to see it except as a natural phenomenon about which he can do nothing. He will not see in it God's act, God's appeal, God's pointer. He prefers to know nothing about it. He continues to flee by plunging into unconsciousness in order not to know that it comes from God.

When all the world is in danger, the man who flees from the Word of God seals himself off in his solitude, willing neither to see nor hear anything of what others are doing. He sleeps...

Jonah, like some Christians, is asleep. Lost in the slumber of their activities, their good works, their theology, 'their' communities, perhaps skirting reality. Reality of Gods true calling over them.

When the church is ready to play its part in the world's adventure- and why it is sent- it truly awakens to its destiny. Powerful things happen against all odds. The pagans do not know what the adventure is all about. Jonah does. Christians share the same knowledge.
Christians see how God awakens Jonah...Jonah who is not the least bit interested. God is not playing a game. Jonah did not want to carry salvation to Nineveh. So thusly the storm. God respect man's freedom and yet He makes him fulfill in spite of himself the role assigned to him in God's design.

Today's Christians are resistant to preaching the evangelical message to the world around them. They are asleep as far as this is concerned. Evangelism is God's job they say. I am not called to evangelism they say. Jonah is guilty. Jonah did not want to do God's will. A storm followed Jonah, a storm will perhaps follow us sleeping Christians.

Matthew 5:13
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.



A Witness
I was there. I saw it all happen.

I had a friend from the North Country, and his name was Stephen; and because he proclaimed Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, he was led to the market~place and stoned...
And when Stephen fell to earth he outstretched his arms as if he would die as his Master had died. His arms were spread like wings ready for flight. And when the last gleam of light was fading from his eyes, with my own eyes I saw a smile upon his lips.
It was a smile like the breath that comes before the end of winter for a pledge and a promise of spring.

How shall I describe it?

It seemed that Stephen was saying, "If I should go to another world, and other men should lead me to another market~place to stone me, even then I would proclaim Him for the truth which was in Him, and for that same truth which is in me now."
And I noticed that there was a man standing near, and looking with pleasure upon the stoning of Stephen.

His name was Saul of Tarsus, and it was he who had yielded Stephen to the priests and the Romans and the crowd, for stoning.
Saul was bald of head and short of stature. His shoulders were crooked and his features ill~sorted; and I liked him not.

I had been told that he is now preaching Jesus from the house tops. It is hard to believe.
But the grave halts not Jesus' walking to the enemies' camp to tame and take captive those who had opposed Him.
Still I do not like that man of Tarsus, though I have been told that after Stephen's death he was tamed and conquered on the road to Damascus. But his head is too large for his heart to be that of a true disciple.

And yet perhaps I am mistaken. I often mistake.
When you think that you are right, you could be wrong. And when you think that you are wrong, you could be right...
BEHOLD I WILL DO A NEW THING

Thus says the Lord, "I will do a new thing." On the day of Pentecost no one knew what to expect. They had no idea that tongues of fire would appear over their heads, and that a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind would fill the house where they were sitting.

A spiritual awakening is about to take place, but no one really knows how it will be. Amos 3:7 indicates that revelation knowledge precedes any move of God’s Spirit. The early disciples knew to wait in Jerusalem. They knew when and where to be gathered and that they would receive power after the Holy Ghost came upon them, but they didn’t know how it would happen.

The Lord lets us know when He is about to do something mighty, but it’s always a wonder when He does. The mysterious ways of God are his to determine and his to reveal.

Modern day Christianity thinks they have it all worked out and that God must act accordingly. A new thing! It’s unlike any other manna that we have ever tasted before. My eyes are wide open in expectation. All we can do is yield, surrender and be pliable.
Rejoice and sing, be glad.

Even the softest pure heart is a heart of stone compared to what God desires to create within his church. The closer I come to him, the more I find that I know nothing. Nothing at all, as taught in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

A new thing is about to happen. It cannot be figured out. Greek words have no bearing on how it will happen or where it will happen. Doctrinal differences whether simple or complex will not detour it. Mark 13:37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."

Pastor Tilson Shumate
Jonah's Storm

Jonah 1:1-3

1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

The Word had only to come to Jonah for his situation to be genuinely and totally changed even though he himself was not yet changed. hat was it that changed, according to the text?
We take note first that this Word which manifests Almighty God's choice or election is not just an intimation of this election. It is not a kind of announcement which makes known God's decision and which contributes to our own personal satisfaction, our personal joy, our edification, and our peace.

This Word makes known to Jonah that he has been chosen for a specific purpose. God's election is never a choice which stops with the choice. When God picks out a man and speaks to him, it is to engage him in a work, an action.

No where in Scripture do we find indeterminate or purely mystical vocation. No where do we find general election, for example, election to be a Christian 'grosso modo,' to fufill the will of God at large. When God addresses a man He does not merely give singularity to the man; He also particularizes His will for him.

There is, of course, a general will of God which in some sort applies to all of us. But election does not consist in knowledge of this general will. It is enlistment in a precise action, a specific work.

If God chooses a man, it is in order that He may serve in the work God has undertaken. It is in the measure that he does serve thus that his true election is made known and that it becomes more clear and certain for him. We cannot be content, then, with Christian virtues; vocation presupposes taking part in a work. There is no election apart from taking part in this way.

Moreover, when Almighty God has chosen a man who has a function to discharge, he never goes back on this. The man who is thus enlisted willy~nilly in God's action remains a chosen man even though he refuses and flees to a far away island. The fact that Jonah flees is by no means unique. On the contrary, one might say that all men, when they become aware of this call, begin by refusing and fleeing.

But God's choice persists. He has chosen for a precise action, and so long as this is not performed God pursues man. This is true of all the men of the Bible, including Jonah.

In reality, spiritual reality, it is much too simple to think that God offers His grace to man and man accepts or refuses. When God has graciously chosen a man His grace continues even though the man does not do what God has decided. On the other hand, this persistence of election, of which Jonah is an extraordinary example; which is connected with the fact that Almighty God chooses for a specific action, does not entail a negation of man's will.

God pursues this man, conducts him through his whole life, in order to bring about the consent of this man's will to what God has decided. We see this in God's dealings with Jonah (us).

On each occasion man can refuse and on each occasion God begins again until man has finally chosen to accept. It can thus be said that by this Word man is both more free and also less free than in the presence of a human order.

He is more free because he is detached by this Word even from social contingencies; he must break with the world. That is what we find with Jonah. No matter whether he decides to obey or to flee, there is a rupture with his daily life, his background, his country.

Henceforth he is separated from others. The matter is so important that everything which previously shaped the life of this man humanly and sociologically fades from the scene. He is in a situation such as no human order could present to him.

Anything that might impel him to obey according to the world has lost its value and weight for him. But he is also enlisted in an action which he has not chosen and cannot avoid. He is pursued by a devouring love which wants him totally, in the ardor of his own converted heart. He is pursued by the unweary patience which will use every means to bring it about finally that this man yields to God's reason.
And the adventure in which man is obliged to stake everything in a freedom which is given, but given only for this adventure, seems to extraordinarily important for God. In some sense God engages himself in the work in which he engages man.

Everything circles around the man who has been chosen. A tempest is unleashed. The storm is only there for Jonah. Science can never explain it as a natural event. Jonah teaches us that this storm, whose physical causes are the same as those of all other storms, is there only for Jonah and because of Jonah.

It does have other effects. It sweeps the coasts, disperses fish, causes ships to founder. But its purpose is to smash inflexible Jonah. Thus the elements and many men, especially the sailors, are engaged in the adventure of Jonah with him and because of him. One sees here the weight and seriousness of the call and vocation.

God thinks His choice so important, and takes the one elected so seriously, that He brings nature into play to see that this man fulfills his vocation. This does not mean that we have to inquire into the spiritual meaning of every event. But we have to realise that these events, in spite of their rational appearance, are on effect part of the formidable accomplishment of the work of God. Simply an instrument of God's work. But in the face of the tempest, Jonah sleeps.
Are you sleeping my friend?

In the word's of Lonnie Frisbee, "Don't run, give up fasssst. God always wins..."

Monday, November 02, 2009

Jonah 1:1-3

1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Jonah is chosen by God to take His Word to Nineveh. Certainly not for human reasons was Jonah chosen. All we know is there was 'wickedness' so great that it came up before the personal presence of God Almighty. We are shown in the story of Jonah that he was not specifically qualified for the work by character, piety, or virtues. God never calls qualified men, He makes men qualified whom He chooses. Everything begins the moment God decides to choose. Thusly the story begins when the Word of God Almighty is revealed to Jonah.

Recall when the Word of the Lord first came to you? Recall the power and might displayed to you personally when God's living (Rema) Word first came to you? Everything was frozen in time as you realized that God Almighty was addressing you from eternity.

We usually see the translation "The Word of the Lord came to...," but in fact the Hebrew simply says "is." The Word of God is. It is for Jonah and to him. It is for you and I and to us. This shows clearly that the Word is not just words.

1 Corinthians 2:3-5

3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

It is a power which exists and manifests itself. This is why, when the Word is thus revealed to a man, he is not at all in the situation we always imagine: a subordinate receiving orders from a superior; a subordinate who ought to fulfill the order, though this is just a collection of words, which certainly aims at action, and is backed by social sanctions, but which is not itself an action so that in large measure the subordinate is free: he may obey or disobey.

The Word of God, however, is not at all like this. It is power and not just discourse. It transforms what it touches. It cannot be anything but creative and salvic. It never fails to take effect.

A human order, when not obeyed, is without effect, but God's Word always attains its end. In fact this is one of the main lessons of the Book of Jonah. The Word effects God's decision after all kinds of detours and complications which arise because God takes into account and respect's man's decisions too.

When the Word intervenes in a situation, it changes that situation. When it comes on a man, it changes that man even if he refuses to listen. This goes beyond mere obedience. The Word enlists man in an adventure into which he carries all those around him and which may be a controversy with God.

This Word is addressed to an individual man. This Word was addressed to you individually. In effect it is always specific. It is not general truth which any man might grasp and understand with no particular action on God's part. God is first the God of an individual man. Election and vocation relate to an individual and not a crowd, not mankind, not man in general.

We know nothing about the one thus chosen and designated. The Bible does not think it necessary to give us this information. We know almost nothing about Jonah, his family, village, or person. He is a stranger to us. He begins to be important only when the Word of the Lord is on him. We are like that too.

He becomes personal at this moment. Before he no doubt had the worth of any man. He was an individual. Perhaps he was very important. But his destiny was fixed. He was subject to destiny. Now he is taken from the ranks. He achieves singularity. He masters destiny. He is called to change history for himself and others.

Are we who have been called by the Word of Almighty God not unlike this man?

This does not imply individualism. Jonah is a member of the chosen people. The Word he is given is part of the covenant. Jonah belongs to the people of God and this Word integrates him the more closely into the people of God. Throughout his adventure he is alone: alone in face of God and in face of death and in face of Nineveh.

But in his solitude, whether aware of it or not, he belongs to the cloud of witnesses, to the 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal, to the remnant of Israel. In fact Jonah represents the whole people of Israel, and if he is quite alone he still represents the whole people, both Israel and the Church. This is why God cannot rest content with his individual and arbitrary decision. when Jonah turns his back and flees, it is not just Jonah who is at stake but the whole Church and the world. God cannot let him go. If this man is not independent of God it is because of the world to which he is sent.

The Word had only to come to Jonah for his situation to be genuinely and totally changed even though he himself was not yet changed. What was it that changed, according to the text?

We note first that this Word which manifests God's choice or election is not just an intimation of this election. It is not a kind of announcement which makes known God's decision and which contributes to our personal satisfaction, our personal joy, our edification, and our peace. This Word makes known to Jonah that he has been chosen for a purpose.

God's election is never a choice which stops with the choice. When God Almighty picks out a man and speaks to him, it is to engage him in a work, an action. Nowhere in Scripture do we find indeterminate or purely ambiguous vocation. Nowhere do we find general election to fulfill the will of God at large. No.

When God addresses a man He does not merely give singularity to the man; He also particularizes His will to him. There is of course a general will of God which in some sort applies to all of us. But election does not consist in knowledge of this general will. It is enlistment in a precise action, a specific work.

If God chooses a man, it is in order that he may serve in the work God has undertaken. It is in the measure that he does serve thus that his true election is made known and that it becomes more clear and certain for him. You know your election and your calling.

We cannot be content, then, with Christian virtues; vocation presupposes taking a part in the work. There is no election apart from taking part in this way.

Moreover, when God has chosen a man who has a function to discharge, He never goes back on this. The man who is thus enlisted willy~nilly in God's action remains a chosen man even though he refuses and flees. The fact that Jonah flees is by no means unique.

On the contrary, one might say that all men, when they become aware of this call, begin by refusing and fleeing. But God's choice persists. He has chosen for a precise action, and so long as this is not performed God Almighty pursues man. This is true of all the men of the Bible, including Jonah and you and I.

Ok, so in spiritual reality it is much too simple to think that god offers His grace to man and man accepts or refuses. When God has graciously chosen a man His grace continues even though the man does not do what God has decided. On the other hand, this persistence of election, of which Jonah is an extraordinary example (Which is connected with the fact that God Almighty chooses for a specific action), does not entail a negation of man's will.

God pursues this man, conducts him through his whole life, in order to bring about the consent of this man's will to what God has decided. We see this in the details of God's dealings with Jonah.

In the word's of Lonnie Frisbee, "Don't run, give up fasssst. God always wins..."
American Church History 101

Like all major revivals and awakenings, the stirrings of the Spirit began with prayer in a tense situation in 1857. Gold, banks, railroads, and industrial plants had hearkened the golden age of American prosperity. "The great panic which broke out in Wall Street, October 12, 1857, was the handwriting on the wall. . . . Banks failed, business houses closed, railroads went into bankruptcy, and all business was at a standstill." Out of this chairos situation, the Lord was about to move powerfully on America again.

His move was a spontaneous, ecumenical, lay-led prayer meeting movement led by an unknown inner city missionary in New York. Daily prayer meetings swept over New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and New England. Then the prayer fever swept into the South and west to Texas. Prayer for the nation, its leaders, and personal concerns were the rage and immediately reaped a harvest of souls in the North, continuing to win people to Christ later in the South.

Sunday, November 01, 2009


After having visited several churches on Kauai I can plainly say that Satan has a stronghold grip on this island.
*
The accepted, open practice of idolatry is common, and very subtle. No where else in the world do Christians tolerate and even participate with the god’s of nature as they do in the Hawaiian Islands.
*
The charm of Hawaiian style worship with torches, calm music and worshipful dance are offered to a variety of god’s. We think of India or Indonesia as having many false god’s, but compared to the ratio of god’s per person, I would venture to say that the Hawaiian Islands have them beat by a long shot.
*
They have earth blessings from the gods of nature; the god of the sun and the god of the moon, rain god’s and rainbow god’s. Everything that is beautiful and plentiful is thought to come from the god’s, the ocean and the waves, warm sunshine and sunsets, seafood, coconuts, bananas, you name it and they have a god for it. The praise all goes to the god’s.
*
On Kauai, the principalities and powers of spiritual wickedness are like having Halloween all year long with a different mask.
*
Aside from the blatant worship of false god’s, most of the churches seem to have some little detail that flavors their own unique brand of religion. They all seem preoccupied with polishing there own golden image of why they are so exclusive. One church had strict dress code issues and said that I needed long pants to enter their sanctuary; another stressed that Saturday was the day of worship. Each time that our conversation revealed that I was not in compliance with their specialty, I felt instantly dropped; politely dropped, but nevertheless completely and in a moments time, precisely dropped. Good fellowship became nominal at best, when they started in talking about whatever their golden calf happened to be.

After attending a very strange church service, I was pleasantly asked by one of the elders if I had been baptized in the name of Jesus. I said, “Oh yes”, and he smiled with enthusiasm, giving me the right hand of fellowship. Then I remembered the words of my pastor Lonnie Frisbee saying, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” I never really thought about “how” I was baptized. I, unsuspecting of his religious flair, said “Come to think of it, my pastor baptized me in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” It was as if this elders firm hand shake went to a weak dead fish hand shake when he found out how I was baptized. The fellowship was broken, and I was dropped.

I am beginning to learn why the Lord sent me to the outskirts of the body of Christ, the hem of His garment. Main stream Christianity flows inward to themselves and becomes stagnant. They murky up the water. The rivers of living water that Jesus spoke of flow out of the church and remain crystal clear. That is when the signs and wonders and miracles become unrestricted and people get healed. The river of God has many tributaries that lead out of the main stream into remote places. God calls them “The Outskirts of the Body of Christ.” The authority is in the hem.

Pastor Tilson Shumate

Shekinah Fellowship#links#links

Just In Case You Missed This Very Important Post...
Shekinah Fellowship#links#links