The journey to the finished product of a book seems so far away for me at this stage. The Lord keeps taking me up to and thru many steps to tell the story HE wants to tell. In the process I am becoming extremely fortunate to develop friends. Meeting fascinating brothers and sisters that are walking with their eyes and ears open.



One such individual that I would like to count as a friend is a Native American Scholar named Robert Francis. Over the last 8 years I have sporadically had the opportunity to read some of his writing. His perspective of the Kingdom of God is remarkably similar to mine. Of course, I have only come to this understanding of the Kingdom after listening to Robert, and many other Native American Christians over the last 10 years. So I guess the proper way to say what I just said is that my perspective is remarkably similar to his. Or, maybe that the process of TRUELY listening to the heart of those you want to understand, and taking the time to be patient, is the best way to learn that person's heart.



Here is a small portion from the first chapter of Robert's book; "Theologies of Freedom, are those theologies that encourage harmony - the same harmony (Unity in Diversity) that is the very nature of Creator as mirrored in Creation.....



Theologies of Freedom (the need for the Church to be INCLUSIVE versus EXCLUSIVE) encourage recognition of giftedness and choseness as well as neediness of all peoples (one's own as well as others). The encourage the understanding that there is no place where Creator is not already made known through Creator-Offspring, no place where Creator-Spirit does not already move. In regard to the sharing of good news, Theologies of Freedom encourage an attitude of watching and listening first for the good news already there. They encourage an expectation of seeing Creator-Offspring's presence already evident in every aspect of Creation, including each and every human people and culture."



The more I research history the more I come to the understanding that when Father God/Creator-Spirit moved people to the lands that He wanted them to live on, each people group retained a memory of Him. Some were better able to retain that memory than others, which has resulted in the corruption of that image in many cultures over the world. But, it is there....the modern church has just lost the ability (realization) to look for Him in a culture different than ours, to see Him dressed in the clothes that makes Him at home there in that Tribe or Culture. If we looked we would find Him.



This is the goal of my book to resurrect that image in as many cultures as I can. To show that fingerprint as it was revealed long ago. That will show that there is Redemptive Value in every culture of the world.

Beyond Amazing

Last Sunday my friend Bob LeDuc and I went on our Sunday Afternoon prayer time. Sometimes when it is sunny we walk, but this Sunday it was raining and we prayer drove. It was a good time of prayer.

We have a special historical place on Humboldt Road that we have been praying at called Hog Springs. The Lord has shown us that this is a place of restoration that we can pray from, so we have. With all of the recent rains we are praying that the spring itself would overflow.

Besides praying we have had many good talks about Our Lord. This Sunday it hit me again how wonderful it is to have such a GOOD God as our Creator. I had this overwhelming thought about how mankind over the years has tried to "Control" God. Some people call this putting God in a Box. Bob and I agreed that this is due to people being somewhat afraid of what they cannot control. But, for myself I find great comfort in my inability to control God. Why would I want to control God? If I could control Him .....would He be God?

This is the train of logic that God exclaims in the Psalms, and alludes to in Romans, when He says that the Creation is evidence enough that He exists. And, throughout history some men have come to this conclusion naturally without any kind of help. Take for example the Inca and their understanding of the Creator, who they call Viracocha. Don Richardson wrote in "Eternity in their Hearts", that;

"Pachacuti, king of the Incas from 1438 to 1471, restored one of the temples of the god worshipped by all his people - the sun. But he began to have doubts. He noted that a mere cloud could dim the 'god.' The sun did nothing but the same thing over and over, acting more like a laborer than a god. His observations brought the conclusion that the sun is neither universal, nor perfect, nor all-powerful. In Inca tradition there was a vague memory of Viracocha, the omnipotent Creator. Pachacuti's own father had had a dream in which Viracocha reminded him that he truly was the Creator of all things.

Deciding that the Creator, not the sun, was worthy of worship, Pachacuti met with the sun priests. He told them that the Creator is supreme and uncreated. He made all spirits and all peoples by his word. He manifests himself as a trinity when he wishes but otherwise he is surrounded only by archangels and heavenly warriors. He warms the world through his created sun. He brings peace and order. He is in His own being blessed and He has pity on people's wretchedness. He allone judges and forgives and enables pople to overcome their evil tendencies. From now on, Pachacuti commanded the aristocracy, the sun was to be regarded, like humanity, as created and that prayer was to be directed to Viracocha with awe and humility." (http://net-burst.net/hot/pagans.htm)

It makes me feel Loved that The Untamed Uncontrollable Magnificent God that Created ALL things has control of my Life.

After all, If He is for me....who can be against me.

Be Blessed in your weakness for He is your strength.

APPLES FROM OAK TREES

Monday's are not normally very interesting for me. I guess I have allowed the cliche of "Bad" Mondays to have a place in my life. But, today was different. As, I try to practice the presence of God, to intentionally be aware of the Holy Spirit's supernatural orchestrations during the day; I find myself catching things easier than before.

Today, one of those "orchestrations" seem related to, or to define, the Holy Spirit guided renaisance of the arts. The following message from Mary Medford (who is part of the Carolina Strategic Prayer Alliance) sparked a "Connect-the-Dots" moment and brought together ideas from last week into an exciting picture.

In the message below Mary is calling us to check our hearts and cast off old soul-ties and generational influences. It is a very simple and basic reality check about what we allow to influence our hearts. I sense that this is a Pre-Requisite for our ability to be used as vehicles for the renaisance.

The Power of SoundBy Mary Medford

In light of Michael Jackson’s recent death, the Spirit of God has shown us the extent and influence his “sound” has had over the nations of the world. His sound was such that it won Jackson relationship with nations. He had an international sound. His sound was likened to that of a Pied Piper – where the Piper’s sound attracted and drew many (even the rats, so the legend goes!). Michael Jackson’s sound was the sound of the 70’s to the 90’s. His sound resonated in many of our spirits, and throughout the world. This is how powerful “sound” and movement could be to our spirits.

With the passing on of Michael Jackson, I sense that the Lord is saying that now is the time for the sound of the Lord to arise within us, and for the Body of Christ to create a new corporate sound as a result to take further dominion over the heavenly places!

To do this, we need to examine what we have listened to and agreed with. If one is not careful with what one listens to, one could quickly agree with a sound that is not from the Spirit of the Lord, by giving ear and sight to it, and letting it appeal to and take residence in our flesh.

For example, at times my ears hear the music of the 70’s and 80’s at the gym I frequent. I personally have had to recently renounce and break any agreement that I have made with music with an impure spirit and sound. I particularly have had to do this after a gym workout so as to stop the sound from resonating in my spirit afterwards!

To do this, the Lord showed me the following strategy at our weekly prayer meeting this morning: The Lord says this:

“You must break the power of the sound from the world from your DNA, and break any agreement that you have made with the sound of the world, for this sound for many of you has hindered the new sound of the Spirit of God from arising within you. This is important for this season, as it has been my desire to birth a “new sound” within you. For some, the sound of the world is so loud, that it is difficult to hear the sound of the Lord. Ask Me to bring up memories of the past songs and sounds from the world that you have agreed with and allowed to penetrate and entertain your spirit and your DNA. When I allow them to surface, repent, renounce and break any agreement and soul tie that you have made with the spirit behind the sound; and command it to leave you in My Name; and break the memory of the sound itself. In addition, break the generational transference of this sound to your generational lines. Afterwards ask for the new sound from heaven to penetrate your DNA and the DNA of your sons and daughters; and watch and listen for the sound of the Lord to erupt in your spirit in a new way.”


This morning as I was getting ready for work. The song "Lucy in the Sky(with diamonds)" just popped into my head. And, kind of absent mindedly I started whispering the words to it......as much as I can remember them anyway. Then I caught myself and stopped, and asked myself what that was all about. It was a quick and passing thought. But later, at my office when I saw this from Mary, it drew my attention to the battleground of our minds....especially, how that is influenced by the arts.

One of the Dots that came together after I read Mary's message was a Word Bev Knudsen gave during prayer, that I feel describes the unique nature of How God will put His Signature on this coming move of the Holy Spirit. Bev had a vision of a very large Oak Tree. And, the Oak Tree had all kinds of different fruit hanging from it's branches. I remember saying to myself, "Wow! Apples from Oak Trees".

Then this morning when I replied to Mary in N. Carolina, it hit me why this is important. The Holy Spirit connected the dots!

In virtually every move of God throughout history, the enemy has always counterfieted the move, by birthing false religions and sects, amongst other things. I believe the move this time will be such that 1) The arts will lead this move, 2) the move will be of such a unique and Holy Genesis of such Holiness and Purity that it cannot be counterfieted by the enemy without bearing fruit for His Kingdom.

I also believe that it is a visual of the fruitfulness of the believer as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Walking with the Holy Spirit, we are not restricted to ONE type of fruit in our lives. Thus it will be that musician's will write, painters will act, dancers will sculpt, etc. The crossover in the Arts will produce Colors, Sounds, Stories, Dances, Songs, that will spark whole new genre's in their respective disciplines. Kind of like discovering a 5th Taste, which I read about recently called "Umami" http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/08/24/fourth-taste-receptor-identified/.

All of these will impact the senses and evoke a powerful understanding of Christ, sparking conversion and further inspired artistic endeavor.

For the last year or so there has been a discussion about the Arts in Christianity at our church here in Chico California. This discussion in it's most basic sense has been one about a break-out of excellence in the arts.

My good friend Mary Lou Lim has been at the forefront of this discussion and heads up a project at Neighborhood Church called "The Eden Project". Mary Lou is a worship leader, and was leading the worship last night for our Prayer time. Normally, we pray over her before things get started. And, as I was praying for her I sensed that The Lord was "Magnifying" the idea behind the Eden Project.

So after praying the two of us talked about that sense and that she was getting the same sense that the project was supposed to be an on-going thing and not a finite project. So after thinking for a moment I said, "Ok, what is the word for a revolution in the arts?" Sometimes I find it difficult to put to words that which I feel in my heart. But, after a couple of seconds, the word Renaisance popped up.

That is the discussion for today. The impending Renaisance in Art, inspired by the Holy Spirit. I almost said, "Christian Art". But, I am not sure that I want to put that box around this. Let' s just say that this is Art inspired by the Holy Spirit. And, since the Holy Spirit can do just about anything He wants with this, I don't want to limit this to a Religious concept.

At first I began to see this as a Chico Neighborhood Church phenomena, but later when we prayed over Mary Lou, I understood this to be part of something way bigger. I am sure that there are many other congregations experiencing this undeniable Creative Impulse. So this is not just a Neighborhood Church of Chico thing.

It is a inevitable consequence of the Radical Infilling of the Holy Spirit upon a Creative population. The closer we come to walking in the fullness of the Power of the Holy Spirit; artistic endeavor becomes a natural by product of the Creative Spirit.

So as I prayed I began to realize that Our Lord is bringing a Renaisance of Creative Arts as another vehicle for the world to recognize His Love. Art, Music, Writing, Drama, Dance, all will be transformed as we become overwhelmed by that passionate urge to create thru the Holy Spirit.

I don't want to presume that I have any authority to change things associated with the Eden Project, but I did write down something that sounded, labeled the sense that we have been getting about the "Longer Term" nature of this Renaisance. That "The Eden Movement" - From Project to Renaisance.

This morning as I woke up, something that I have thought about before came back and hit me again.

I have been working on where my book is going with the PatchWork Quilt idea. The basic idea is that the Quilt represents what the Body looks like in Heaven. Many tribes & tongues all together worshipping the Creator and His Son and the Holy Spirit.

Then it hit me again in a one sentence phrase. "If you are uncomfortable with people of color now, you will struggle in Heaven!"

Unity depends on Jesus's ONE Command, that we love one another. But, I think that most people take that to mean, that they love those that they like, or are like them. We all know that that is a false, self serving, and fearful understanding. But, it seems to have been the standard throughout history.

Now, Jesus told us "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35. How do we interpret that now? We think that applies to our own kind, our own denomination, our families.

If we are to make any kind of significant impact on the Great Commission, especially in light of the Islamic challenge, the Body of Christ must be unified. Or, we will not have the kind of effect that God intends. So that command to love one another, is a call to UNITY. Unity between Races, Tribes, Tongues, Denominations, Cultures. Note that I did not say RELIGIONS.
This is an absolute non-negotiable from Jesus. It is His ONLY Command to us. He is telling us to GET IT TOGETHER people! (pun intended)

In light of this understanding, how do we continue to approach this problem? How do we bring such diversity together? Personally, I don't think that the process neccessarily has to result in a homogenization of cultures into this bland same-ness. I think it is all about allowing the Holy Spirit to change our discernment/perspective on Heavenly Beauty. To see the Body's Diversity thru HIS Eyes. Then Unity becomes more about Unity of Purpose thru cooperation, than about changing Identity to fit an intellectual concept. A brutal concept that requires God's Unique Indigenous Designs to conform or die.

Yesterday was Father's Day. It started out with an outdoor church service that was held on our "Island". This is a small piece of land that sits in between two channels of an irrigation ditch called edgar slough or comanche creek. Besides being a little chilly at the start of the service (9AM) it was a glorious morning. I truely believe that our congregation is maturing into an extremely dynamic and diverse bunch of power filled Holy Spirit driven God Chasers!

Then later at home I had the rest of the day to myself.

I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things. I play online war games.

Oh My!! You might say. That isn't very spiritual!

Well, those of you that know me, know that I have been involved with a Christian Gaming Ministry now for at least 5 or 6 years. Some people fly fish....I play games online. And, I am pretty good at it. Not great, just good.

But, the thing I enjoy about this is that while I am playing against people from all over the world in the computer server, I get to talk about Jesus. Almost every day that I am in there, someone raises a question or decides they want to mock God. So it is always a challenge, but never boring. There are ample opportunities to minister to hurting people thru this medium.

Yesterday, there was one conversation that stood out from the rest. Someone raised the question about "Why it is harder for some to hear the Truth about God?" Initially, I suggested that certain "Personalities" found it easier to accept what Jesus had done than others. For instance some phlegmatic types I could see being very easy going about it and calmly accepting that Jesus was exactly who HE says HE is. Where, some more combative personalities might fight and question and doubt.

Then it occurred to me that often it is a life that is experiencing large amounts of pain and desperation that hears the Love and Grace of Jesus's message and run's like a thirsty creature towards life giving water. That often God allows pain in our lives to help us find Him.

Then this morning I thought of a simple prayer for all of us. If pain is good both as a warning sign physically, and spiritually. Then perhaps a prayer that asks God for the "Right Amount" of pain to produce the optimum fruit in our lives is appropriate. Wow! Praying for pain in our lives?!? Am I nuts?

Or, is it wisdom to acknowledge that we cannot avoid the pain in the first place? That to ask to be allowed to be exempt from pain....just because we are Christians is selfish? After all, the Word does say that we will have trials and tribulations just like anyone else. Kind of God's way of saying...."Get over it" everyone has the same opportunities to respond to suffering. Everyone, will have their share of reality in life.

It is what you do with it that makes the difference. For instance, our congregation is an example. There has been ALOT of pain over the last 20 years. There have been many people who's expectations of what "Church" should be have been challenged; to say the least. We have gone from a very inward looking organization to a dynamic group of outward looking people that expect to see God ACTUALLY move in power, changing lives, healing wounds, creating infectious passionate life! Life that is bleeding into every corner of our society changing everything in it's path.

So my prayer for you is this. May you have the perfect amount of Trials & Tribulations in your life, that will produce the growth and maturity neccessary to bring you into your Destiny. Don't run from adversity! Run towards it!

This post today will be dedicated to describing why my blog is called the PatchWorks. It used to be labeled "Truth Conquers". But, when I think about it, that label was attached, for lack of anything better to call it.

The PatchWorks is the name for a vision of a PatchWork Quilt that was given to me by Our Lord. And, He has been developing it over the last 4 or 5 years. On a very basic level the Quilt is a metaphor for the incredible diversity of Heaven. On Earth that diversity is represented by the tribes and cultures that God created. God loves Diversity! He loves the differences of His Children. Think about it, what do you see when you imagine Heaven? Lots of different people and colors and cultural beauty.

Unfortuneately, the history of mankind is more reflective of the fear of diversity that has resulted in an unbroken tragedy of warfare and injustice between all cultures since the beginning of recorded history. Thus, historical research, cultural and worship style validity, artistic expression along the themes of restoration, reconciliation, indigenous theological concepts, are all valid themes for discussion or expression. And, is by no means is an exclusive list, as I imagine I have left out a great deal.

This blog will be devoted to illustrating the PatchWorks in life as reflected by our Lord's Prayer, "Here on Earth as it is in Heaven". The PatchWorks is a place where all the various Remnants will come together in Love, to complement each other in the process of becoming that Unified Quilt of comfort. To explore the validity of the various "Patches" and what it means to bring those Patches/Remnants together into that Quilt; what unifies the various Patches.

As Faith epitimized in the person of Melchezidek is evident in 90% of all indigenous culutres. This concept brings validity to many primal cultural expressions of worship of the Creator. So that validity is not something to be questioned in my opinion and I will explore this to some extent as I move forward.

My one hope is that I can be "itentionally" positive and guided by the concept of inclusive grace. This can only be done if empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is extremely easy to discover what is wrong with any culture. It is the process of finding points of excellence that can be shared or borrowed that we become the Patchwork Quilt that God is making us into. The colorful comforter, the birthing blanket of excellence, the prophetic mantle of healing, this is a picture of the unified tribes of heaven.

What follows is an Artistic picture of the Quilt in short story format. It is a story called Patches:

Patches

Maggie, a very talented seamstress, woke early and was struggling to go back to sleep. Trying to get comfortable, thoughts about life and lack of business ran rampant through her mind. "Lord," Maggie prayed. "How will I ever pay my bills? All I know is sewing, I wouldn't know what else to do."

Resigned to being awake, Maggie sat up and stared at the blinds, the grey lines growing lighter as the sun began it's slow pounce on the day. Then another light appeared, growing slowly until it became evident that there was someone in the room. There stood a man, or what looked like a man, radiating warmth and light. His smile was joyful, causing Maggie to smile back.

"Your prayers are being answered", he announced. "You have a new assignment, or a sewing job if you care to think of it that way." Sitting down on the end of the bed, he held out a small stack of patches. "The Lord has chosen you to sew these patches into a quilt. More are coming. Be confident as He has confidence in you." With that he stood up, smiled,and was gone.

Her alarm clock showing 6:37 a.m., Maggie crawled out of the sheets, sat in the middle of her bed and picked up the patches. Each one was different and was neatly stacked, one upon the other. They were all sizes, and made of all kinds of fabrics, and as she sat back and placed the pile on her lap, a wonderful fragrance arose from them.

As Maggie lifted the first patch to look closely at the pattern, she found herself standing outside at a place she had visited a long time ago as a college student. She was at the Mountain of Patrick, the Croach Patrick in Ireland. She could smell the earth and the grass, and the land itself seemed to be moving under her feet. It was intoxicating! But when she put down the patch, she was suddenly back on her bed.

Intrigued, Maggie picked up the next patch and was standing on a beach, somewhere warm and humid, with the gentle fragrance of flowers highlighting a small thatched church. Next, she was standing in a Hopi Pueblo looking out over a ceremonial Kiva, a heat mirage distorting the canyon below. Then she was standing on the steps of a mist-enshrouded pagoda, looking over a mountain-side terrace layered with rice fields, the coolness of the air causing goose bumps to rise on her skin.

Back on her bed, pushing aside her many questions about the patches, Maggie quickly dressed, made a cup of tea and sat down at her sewing machine; the desire to create had taken over. As she sewed, each patch evoked images in Maggie's mind of a myriad of sacred places. She knew in her heart which patch went where and which thread would hold it in it's perfect place. A passion rose up within her as she began to see God's heart for each of these specific locatiosns. Each patch representing a tribe or tongue, and their redemptive colors, patterns, and purposes.

Maggie worked carefully using different colors and thicknesses of thread to connect the patches. At various moments the doorbell would announce a messenger bringing another fragrant package of patches. Each messenger carried a joyful presence, and an encouraging word. Late on the second day, the last messenger brought a large package of batting. The material seemed like a blend of very high quality silk and cotton, but it was softer and lighter, feeling like a caress against her skin.

After three intense days, Maggie finished the quilting. Her home was flooded with ancient aromas, the essence of thousands of lands and forgotten cultures. The quilt was beautiful, thick, and very large. She drew it around herself and was instantly filled with peace.

As Maggie rested in the quilt, the first messenger once again quietly appeared, kneeling before her. He reached out and touched the quilt saying, "This is the mantle of the Spirit of Unity. It is a picture of the Bride, a birthing blanket for creative miracles. Your destiny is to share this quilt and bring the impartation of unity to the Bride." Then he was gone, leaving Maggie to wonder about God's purpose in picking her to sew the Quilt.

Suddenly, Maggie's thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell, and there stood an old customer with an armload of work.