Sunday, January 27, 2013

Excerpts from a memo written by Bishop Carlton Pearson ~ Italics mine.


Do What you did before and Trust the Process . . . God is rebuilding His Temple!

Howard Thurman wrote, "Don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it. What the world needs is people who have come alive".

Many have forgotten what makes them come alive, or what used to do so and does so no longer. A change indeed has begun and many are waking up to this reality. A curve in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to make the turn.

John 6:12, after more than 5000 people had been miraculously fed, Jesus is recorded to have instructed his disciples to "Gather up the fragments (leftovers) that none be lost." These are instructions given by Jesus after he had performed undoubtedly one of the most incredible and phenomenal miracles in his 3 1/2 years of ministry on the earth. He did so twice. 

Sometimes the Universe will use your past as a rehearsal for your future. ~ *Do what you did before and Trust the Process!  ~ God is rebuilding His Temple!

I've had some immensely profound moments and memories in ministry in my nearly 60 years on the planet and I am now feeling like Jesus may have felt after having fed so many hungry people both naturally and spiritually in ministry as I consider and even concentrate on the fragments; those precious and still valuable leftovers in and of ministry that once spiritually fed the multitudes and promises to do so again in much greater and more radically inclusive numbers.

I know what it feels like to experience the sense of fragmentation and be treated like a useless leftover that should be discarded, disregarded and thrown away, but I also know what it feels like to be gathered up again, or to gather myself and soul up again, so as not to be lost or forfeited. Gifts and callings are irrevocable.

Think of your own fragments: the pieces, parts and particles that have been bruised, broken and scattered throughout your life; broken dreams, fragmented relationships, a torn or tattered vision of a life you thought could have been but isn't. Gather them up! Jesus is showing us that every piece, every crumb is valuable and should not be lost, passed over or discarded.  Every experience you've had, everything you've been through, everything you thought was lost or was too far gone to retrieve, was necessary to make you not only the person you are today, but the person you were created, purposed and are indeed destined to be. So gather all those precious and pressured fragments up that none and nothing be lost.

Do what you did before and Trust the Process. Follow your Joy! ~ God is rebuilding His Temple!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

~ For Sanctity of Life Sunday ~


To All Children 
who never had the chance to follow Your JOY . . .

... And the Old Man Became As A Little Child . . .
by
Madeliene L'Engle

He could not sleep.
The tomb was dark, and the stone heavy that sealed it.
He could not sleep for all the innocent blood he had seen shed.
He was an old man.  Too old for fears.
Not yet young enough for sleep.  He waited and watched.
Thrice he had spoken to him who had been sealed
within the tomb, thrice had the old man spoken,
he who was a disciple, but not one of the twelve,
older, gentler in all ways,
and tired, worn with time and experience and the shedding of blood.
He came from Capernaum
and after that his son
who touched the edge of death
was drawn back from the pit
and made whole,
the old man returned to Jesus and said,
"O thou, who hast today been the consolation of my household,
wast also its desolation.
Because of you my first born son died
in that great shedding of innocent blood.
Nevertheless, I believe
though I know not what
or how or why
for it has not been revealed to me,
I only know that one manchild was slain
and one made to live."

And the second time he spoke
when the Lord kept the children beside him
and suffered them not to be taken away:
"These are the ones left us,
but where, Lord, is the kingdom of heaven?
Where, Lord, are the others?
What of them? What of them?
And he wept.

And the third time he spoke
when the Lord turned to Jerusalem
and laughter turned to steel
and he moved gravely
towards the hour that was prepared
and the bitterness of the cup:
then the old man said,
"All your years you have lived
under the burden of their blood.
Their life was the price of yours.
Have you borne the knowledge and the cost?
During those times
when you have gone silent in the midst of laughter
have you remembered all the innocence
slaughtered that you might be with us now?
When you have gone up into the mountain apart to pray,
have you remembered that their lives were cut down
for your life, and so ours?
Rachel's screams still shatter the silence
and I cannot sleep at night for remembering
Do you ever forget your children that sleep?
When will you bring them out of the sides of the earth
and show mercy unto them?
I cannot sleep.
But because I have already tasted of the cup
I cannot turn from you now.
I, who live, praise you.
Can those who have gone before you into the pit
celebrate you or hope for your truth?
Tell me, tell me ~ For I am an old man
and lost in the dark clouds of ignorance.
Nevertheless, Blessed is he
who thou has chosen and taken, O Lord."

He did not speak again.

But he was there when the rocks were rent,
the veil of the temple torn in twain,
the sun blackened by clouds,
the earth quaked with darkness,

the sky was white and utterly empty.
The city gasped with loss.

Then, out of the silence,
the Lord went
bearing the marks of nails and spear
moving swiftly through the darkness
into the yawning night of the pit.
There he sought first not as one supposed
For Moses or Elias
but for the children
who had been waiting for him.
So, seeking, he was met
by three Holy Children
the Young Men
burning bright
transforming the fire into dew as they cried:
"Blessed art thou, O Lord God forevermore."
And all the children came running
and offering to him their blood
and singing: "With sevenfold heat
did the Chaldean tyrant in his rage
cause the furnace to be heated
for the Godly ones
who wiped our blood like tears
when we were thrust here
lost and unknowing.
The Holy Three
waited here to receive us
and to teach us to sing your coming
forasmuch as thou art pitiful
So they held his hand
and gave him their kisses and their blood
and, laughing, led him by the dragon
who could not bear their innocence
and thrashed with his tail
so that the pit trembled with rage.
But even his roaring could not drown out their song:
"For unto Thee are due all glory, honor, and worship,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever,
and unto the ages of ages, Amen."

And the Holy children were round about him,
The Holy Innocence and the Holy Three.
They walked through the darkness of the fiery furnace
and the dragon could see their brightness,
yea, he saw four walkers loose
walking in the midst of the fire and having no hurt
and the form of the fourth was like the Son of God.

And He saw the Son of God move through hell
and he heard the Holy Children sing:
"Meet is it that we should magnify thee,
the life-giver
who has stretched out thy hands on the cross
and hast shattered the dominion of the enemy.
Blessed are thou, O Lord God, forevermore.
O Jesus, God and Savior,
who did take upon thee Adam's sin
and did taste of death
(the cup was bitter)
thou hast come again to Adam
O compassionate one
for thou only art good
and lovest mankind,
Blessed art thou, O Lord God, forevermore."

So hell has shriven
while the holy children, singing
transformed the flames to dew,
and the gates of heaven opened.

Then, by the empty tomb,
the old man slept.


Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Transcendent Life



Francis Frangipane:
The Transcendent Life
Francis FrangipaneTypically when I remind Christians that their core destiny is Christlikeness, most nod, affirming the general truthfulness of my statement. However, I can tell that they really do not believe becoming Christlike is the reason they exist. If they did, they would have a plan. They would be in obvious pursuit of their transformation.

Yet, when people think of their destiny, they often first think of something they will do for God, a task that involves the visible demonstration of a unique gift or ministry function. But neither our gifts nor a specific calling represent the core reality of our destiny. It is not what we do for the Lord but what we become to Him that matters. It is this inner surrender of the heart, this deliberate turning of our soul Godward, that defines our true progress.

Our responsibilities and gifts may be as varied as the seasons of our lives – and certainly we should spend time attending to them. But I am speaking of the deeper reality that must develop within us: becoming like Christ.
I am sixty-six years old. During my life I have served God in a variety of tasks. Yet whether I was church planting or selling computers, doing odd jobs or starting a training school, I never confused my calling with my destiny. Becoming like Jesus is why we exist.
Your Life Focus
The sad fact is we have seen ministry leaders whose gifts and callings were so powerful, so captivating, that they seemed capable of bringing Heaven itself to earth. Then, to our shock, we discovered later that these very same individuals were secretly in the grip of the most disgraceful sins. How could such things occur? When our primary goal is the development of our gifts or calling rather than our character, we become increasingly vulnerable to satanic deception.

You see, a time will come when, in increasing degrees, we begin to master our gifts. We learn how to preach and prophesy effectively; we can minister in perfect pitch in song or praise. We even master the tears of sincerity in our altar calls and ministry. Outwardly our spirituality is convincing, yet inwardly our soul is bored with our staged, religious performance. The challenge of our calling is gone. No one discerns our inner decline, not even our closest friends. In that state of mind, a door swings open to the world of the flesh. Scripture says,"Desire fulfilled is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12).

The life that sustains us – that should ultimately fill us – is not drawn from seeking our calling but seeking the Caller Himself. This was Paul's goal when he passionately wrote,"That I may know Him." This "being conformed to His death"was the "one thing" Paul said he truly focused on (Philippians 3:10, 13). Paul lived a transcendent life that unfolded "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Beloved, God created man to be "in the image and likeness of God" (Genesis 1:27 AMP). The image of God is Christ, and it is our conformity to Christ that fulfills the purpose of our existence. We do not need crowds to see us perform nor applause to affirm our ministry. When we pursue the image of Christ, we possess the meaning of life.

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane

Email: francis1@frangipane.org

Francis Frangipane is the founder of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has traveled throughout the world ministering to thousands of pastors and intercessors from many backgrounds. Francis' heartfelt prayer is to see established in every city Christlike pastors and intercessors, united before God, revealing the love of Christ to their communities. Since 1985, he has written fourteen books plus a number of study booklets. Over the past decades, Francis has served on a number of other ministry boards. However, in recent years he has gradually resigned from these various boards. As of June 2009, he has also retired from his position as senior pastor of River of Life Ministries. In this more simplified life, Frangipane is devoting himself to prayer and the ministry of God's Word.