Another way to help bring heaven to earth

I just read about Katie's Helping Hand.

They help the families of kids with long term illness. Just another way to help out.

Click below to read more about Katie.

KATIE'S HELPING HAND

MC

Katie Vacanti-Mitchell, 16, leukemia survivor and creator of Katie’s Helping Hand, an advocacy group for families, will present a check to Cook Children’s Medical Center from her organization, which feeds parents of sick children.

At age 12, Katie was a brave young girl who, in the midst of her own life’s struggles, reached out to help those around her. While undergoing two years of intensive treatment for leukemia, Katie realized that parents with children who are suffering life-threatening illnesses have financial as well as emotional challenges. For her efforts, Katie Vacanti-Mitchell received the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Above and Beyond Citizen Honor award for the State of Tennessee in March.

New Skin By Johnny Reed

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Matthew 3:1&2
In those days there appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness (Desert) of Judea and saying, repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the Kingdom is at hand.

When John the Baptist came on the scene, he was a prophetic forerunner to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For years, I “knew” what the bible said about the Kingdom of God being at hand, but I didn’t “understand” what it really meant. My understanding of it came through the sport of boxing. When there is a title match announced, it is said “The title or championship belt is at hand or on the line!”

To the nation of Israel, this was a statement that was as an ax laid to the very root of who they were. They (Israel) had known for approximately 4,000 years that God Himself had chosen them to be the ones to reflect the Kingdom of God on the earth. Now they have this crazy prophetic dude out in the “desert” telling everyone including the Jews that there had been a gross misrepresentation about God and He was about to give it to people that would properly represent it. I believe that is only by the illumination of the Holy Spirit that we can understand exactly how this deeply stirred the indignation and wrath of the church.

Then, the next thing we see is a carpenters son saying that He is not only who “all” the past and present prophets had had prophesied about but that He is the Son of the Living God walking upon the earth. I think that we could all agree that Israel’s boat had not only sprung a leak but it was about to sink with only two choices and one of them would soon be the laughing stock of the nation. Either kill Jesus or repent. To them, repenting meant to count 4,000 years of their religious works as nothing but trash and then follow a thirty-year-old kid around town loving Gentiles. Therefore, there only option, which Jesus stomped on through His resurrection from the dead was to kill Him!

I have brought us through all of that to bring us to the point that we are in today. I believe that the church is in the same condition that it was 2,000 years ago. Israel was supposed to take the representation that God had given them and become one with the Gentiles. They refused and it was handed to us and we are at a prophetic point in history where God is asking us to count our works as nothing in order to move forward and know Him deeper than we ever imagined!!! We have come face to face with the same sin that Israel committed in misrepresenting the Kingdom. To some, this is Good News, but to others that same indignation is being kindled to kill the prophetic voice that is upon us.

It is amazing to me that even for the Jew that could be baptized in the name of the One that they killed still found if difficult to not worship with but to even sit down at the table and eat with a Gentile. What they had religiously separated themselves from is what God was now saying to be passionate about. For us today, we have religiously separated ourselves from not only the world but from one another in the church and called it ok.

Johnny Reed

Wall-E

At First glance this seems to be another kid movie, until you leave the theater and you are hit with many layers and levels of complexity. You realize that the story is Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, and loving each other. The story is timeless, thought provoking, and very deep. Attached is a link to an interview by the director and here is a quote from Andrew Stanton:

You could blame consumerism as one thing that's happening in this film, but there's a million other things we do that distract us from connecting to the person next to us and from furthering relationships, which is truly the point of living. So I came up with the idea that as WALL•E was picking up trash, it would have all these signs of humanity for him to rifle through, to get him interested in what humans were all about. I loved the idea of WALL•E finding something real. He was fascinated with the idea of living. And what's the point of living? Something real. He was a manmade object with something real inside him. And he found something real while surrounded by manmade objects. That just was poetic for me.

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Easter Eggs

Duck, Duck, Goose - or - Church, Church, Minister??

During our latest “Church out of the box” service at West Bay Marina, I couldn’t help but notice this comical sight. In order to appreciate it though, you’d have to know the personality of the goose leading this pack of ducks. In short, he’s downright mean. He’ll chase you for a bite of whatever may be in your hand. But if you turn to chase him, he’ll run away, like the playground bully who’s actually too fearful to fight.


He struts his stuff with his head up high, leading the little ducks that follow him around, and stealing their food. I’ve never once seen him in the company of another goose. But he has managed to find this group that allows him to be their leader whether they like him or not.


Not to dish out disrespect for any of God’s true, anointed leaders, but that arrogant goose reminds me of many of today’s preachers and pastors. They lead their followers, acting as if they are one of them. Yet they lead neither out of love nor care, but from a heart that is haughty with domination.


Much of today’s Christianity has meandered far from the path originally laid out by Christ’s founding church. What was formerly an entwined “community” where Christians met regularly to encourage one another in their faith is now simply what we call “congregations” – people that gather in the same building, with little more in common than the same leader.


What was once a participatory entity*, has now been reduced to little more than a show, with select individuals in charge and in sight. We even encourage this further with the structure that most church buildings have selected over the years – pews all facing a podium to highlight a selected individual.


What used to be a gathering where people were given the confidence to be authentic, with confessions, words of encouragement and prayer, has now become what we refer to as a “service” (as if we’re really serving God there) with a prearranged time schedule of rote events.


How did the church, one of the most brilliant ideas that God ever had, devolve to such depths? Surely Jesus was right when He told Peter that even the gates of Hell wouldn’t destroy His church. It still exists and always will, with its numbers increasing daily. However, over the centuries its gatherings have strayed far from their original, simplistic design. Most have become little more than ducks following an oppressive goose, rather than sheep being led by a devoted Shepherd.

I’ve just realized that it’s going to be difficult not to think of many churches and their pastors in the future whenever I see children playing the game, “Duck, Duck, Goose”.

*“Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” 1st Corinthians 14:26

Shelia

Get your own copy of Diary of a Believer, By Shelia Gibson

Diary of a Believer
Article by Al Maxey
A Quest to Break Free
from Religious Mediocrity

The great Irish playwright, novelist and poet, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), well-known for his biting wit, and also for his rather controversial lifestyle, observed, "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train" [The Importance of Being Earnest]. Diaries can be a fascinating read, for they give us insight into the innermost recesses of the very soul of another, and through their words we experience their joys as well as their sorrows, their hopes and fears, and their journey through life. Who, for example, has not been touched deeply by the moving diary of a young German-born Jewish girl by the name of Anne Frank (1929-1945) that documents her harrowing, horrific experiences while hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II?

As one reads through the inspired Scriptures, one will find evidence of what might be classified as personal journals or diaries. A few noted scholars of the biblical record, for example, see the book of Ecclesiastes as an extremely well-written journal of King Solomon's quest for that which brings ultimate meaning to life; a record of various pursuits, with accompanying personal observations as to whether or not these activities brought any happiness and/or fulfillment. He ends his journal with the conclusion that true contentment is to be found only in relationship with one's Creator. Some scholars also see the book of Acts as part personal diary of the physician Luke, especially in the famous "we sections" of this historical document which details some of the acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles as the church of Jesus Christ was formed, and as it expanded throughout the then known world. There are also those scholars who have suggested the Song of Solomon constitutes a beautiful, poetic, journal-like expression of intimacy between lovers. Indeed, at times one is almost tempted to feel guilty for sneaking a peek at this personal diary in which some extremely intimate thoughts are penned.

Nevertheless, in spite of all that has been written about them, pro and con, diaries and journals are here to stay. They provide an outlet for the thoughts and feelings of men, women and young people; a place where one may genuinely pour out one's very heart and soul. And, now and again, these intimate works are shared with the public ... and on rare occasion that sharing becomes memorable. Such has been the case with a diary that has recently been offered to the public by the woman who kept it. Her name is Sheila G. Gibson, and she was raised within an extremely legalistic wing of the Churches of Christ, an experience that truly challenged her personal well-being repeatedly and on a great many levels. In some ways it is a love story, and in other ways almost a horror story. Yet, ultimately, it is the journal of a courageous young woman whose faith would not be shackled or shattered by the rigid religiosity of the sect within which she was raised. It is a tale of triumph.

The title of her fabulous book is The Diary of a Believer. It is only 165 pages long, and very easy reading, but it will truly touch your heart. It may be purchased on Amazon.com, for those who prefer doing business online. Also, I would encourage you to check the web site devoted to this book [The Diary of a Believer] as well as Sheila's personal Blog Site. I'm pleased to have Sheila Gibson as a Reflections reader, and equally pleased to be able to take this opportunity to highly recommend her book to all of you. You really need to get a copy of this book and read it. It will "speak to you" as no other book has in a long time! On the back cover of the book it states: "The Diary of a Believer is the story of one believer's quest to break free from spiritual mediocrity in order to discover, know, and love the Lord described within the Holy Scriptures. It chronicles the journey that Sheila Gibson began as a young girl inside a common, traditional, Christian organization known as the Church of Christ. It explores the blueprints of religious patterns often used to seek Christ within that group of believers. It also reveals the disturbing lengths that some brethren will go to to protect those traditional formulas and doctrinal boundaries within the brotherhood."

In her Introduction, Sheila writes, "The Diary of a Believer chronicles the spiritual journey that I began in early childhood inside a fundamental Christian setting. It spans years in which I grossly misunderstood my own Creator and Lord as little more than a judge watching His children, awaiting our inevitable sin. Waiting not to redeem, but to punish, perhaps even with a hint of joy. ... The Diary of a Believer explores the blueprints commonly used to seek God through established religion, which often leaves its seekers doubting and unfulfilled in their faith. Formulas breed complacency, and complacency breeds mediocrity. Mediocre is what I found my own spiritual life to be until I began searching outside the spiritual fences erected long ago by well-intentioned, albeit misguided, brethren. ... The composition of this book was inspired by the desire to share what I've learned along my journey with my children, family and friends. But I also find it fitting for others who feel lost in the maze of Christian tradition. It's for those who've bought into the lie that says you must earn your salvation under the guidance of specific church doctrine." It's my strong belief you will all most definitely benefit from reading this book, and I urge you to get a copy.