Time

I'm thinking about time today.

Time. What is time? Is it merely a picosecond, one millionth of one millionth of a second, or one minute or 24 hours or a year? No, it must be more.

It is measurable to be sure, but is it not immeasurable, also? How can eternity past be measured? And eternity future? Can it be simply defined in terms of months and years? I think not.

"In the beginning God." He divided the light from the darkness. He created the sun and moon to divide the day from the night and established seasons, days, and years.

There is no beginning with God. He is "I Am." He is not defined nor restricted by time. He is the "Ancient of Days" and "Everlasting God" but He is not gray-haired or in need of Botox. He is my God, but He is also the God of generations past and future.

God works in time and out of time: "In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son"; "Suddenly, a voice came from heaven saying..." and "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven" on the day of Pentecost.

God is never out of rhythm, so He is always in time.

I'm not always in time. Many times I am late. Innumerable times I have said to Genelle, "I'll be home in a minute" or "I'll be home shortly", but my minute or my shortly are greatly elongated and after 33 years she has adjusted, more or less, to my definition of time.

I do however, want to be in time with God and His timing. I do not want to miss the day of His visitation!

The airlines and Amtrak have timetables, but rarely do they meet them. They don't seem to be bound by time.

For the most part we are bound by time and space. Though we may loose track of time, time has not lost track. The sun did stand still for Joshua, but, I doubt if time dragged for him on that day of battle.

For a year now Mom has not been bound by time as we know it. She is in heaven's time zone. 365 days have gone so quickly, but some days and nights have been so long for Dad.

I wonder, how long has this year seemed for Mom?

But even in heaven Mom is waiting - waiting for the resurrection of her body on that glorious day of Christ's appearing and waiting for a new heaven and new earth in which to dwell. She graced earth for 86 years, and my life for over half of those years, but there is no end to her participating in the plans of God.

And so, on this day, the 1st anniversary of Mom's death, I'm thinking about time, and heaven, and God, and eternity, and daily life, and redeeming the time, and living life well...and about Mom.

Florence Bloom

March 16, 1921 - May 31, 2007

Crossing Over and Commissioned

Last Sunday we crossed over from Community Church to Gateway Fellowship. We believe our new name is prophetic of who God has called us to be. In April, Sandy and DeeAnn hosted InSync 2 in Wichita where Chuck Pierce prophesied there would be eight gateway cities in Kansas. Since they were unnamed, and due to our location, we prophetically decree that Oakley is one of those cities. Amen!



Genelle and I were also commissioned by Apostles Sandy and DeeAnn. If you look closely in the picture you can see Sandy holding a beautiful sword that she and DeeAnn gave to us. A new anointing was released and old mindsets were cut off.

What a glorious time we had in the presence of the Lord Jesus.


Gateway Fellowship is, by faith, going to a new level in God. We invite you to come along with us in this wonderful journey of impacting our 55 mile area, and the nations, with the life-transforming, life-giving good news of Jesus Christ.


PrairieParson
JB

Spiritual Warfare and the Commissioning of Gateway Fellowship

Sunday, May 4 and Monday the 5th are very significant, history making days in the life of Gateway Fellowship. Gateway Fellowship will be commissioned. For 63 years we have been known as Community Church. But this is the dawn of a new day, a time of crossing over; a time of crossing from the old into the new.

In addition to Gateway Fellowship being commissioned, Genelle and I will be commissioned as well. Personally and corporately, we are aligning with Sandy Newman and DeeAnn Ward and PowerGrid Network. It is an honor to be spiritually aligned with this apostolic/prophetic team and network. We have known Sandy and DeeAnn for 15-20 years.

You are invited to walk through this new door with us. The schedule is Sunday at 10:15 AM and Monday at 7 PM. We are located in Oakley, KS at the corner of 2nd & Sunrise.

I have compiled a list of ten spiritual strongholds that I believe need bound and displaced. Monday night I believe the Lord would have us bind the strongman, in the Name of the Man who is Stronger, and in His authority, so that the Kingdom of God can powerfully advance in our 55 mile area.

The list is not all-inclusive, it is just a list I have felt led to name and come against. Some are regional in scope, and some are listed with our local church in mind. The ten are:

1. The spirit of addiction
2. The spirit of poverty
3. The spirit of immorality
4. The spirit of small mindedness
5. The spirit of mediocrity
6. The spirit of failure. (This is the spirit that manifests itself in our church as "1 step forward and 2 steps back")
7. The spirit of disappointment. (This spirit manifests itself in unfulfilled and broken dreams. It is closly related to the spirit of failure.)
8. The spirit of spiritual apathy and slumbering
9. The spirit of consumerism. (Society and the body of Christ has been infiltrated by this powerful principality.)
10. The spirit of cultural Christianity. (I personally believe this is the strongman over the prairie. Everyone is a "Christian" because they were born here on the prairie.)

Your prayer of agreement that these spirits are bound and that the opposite Spirit of the Lord is released is greatly desired.

PrairieParson
JB

Nice N' Icee

This profitable family business, owned by Genelle and myself, is for sale. Our Icee's are delicious. Some call them snow cones, but any one of our 47 flavors are much more delicious than a regular, plain old snow cone. Make no mistake, they are good and this business can make you money!

Everything you need is included:

• 8' x16' dual axle air conditioned concession trailer with four sinks; hot water heater; mini-refrigerator; small chest freezer and much more
• Two ice shavers
• Sno_Block ice maker that makes 20, 12# blocks of solid ice at a time
• Water purification system with 80 gallon holding tank
• Large chest freezer full of ice
• 100+ glass fifth bottles
• 32 oz. concentrate dispenser containers
• 10 gallon mixing tank for syrup
• 2 very large ice chests
• 47 flavor concentrates
  
• Cups; ice bags; spoons; gloves; ticket books
• Pourers; night caps; ice picks and more

Contact me for more information.

PrairieParson
JB

Some Thoughts On Ten Questions

A few days ago in a blog I asked ten questions inspired by Pastor Brian Zahnd. Below are a few thoughts concerning some of those questions.

• Salvation is more than walking the isle, saying a prayer, or getting your ticket to heaven. It is a personal experience, but it is not private. Our salvation is a shared salvation. Therefore, this journey called the Christian life was never designed by God to be done alone.
  
• Spiritual formation, being conformed to image of Christ, is to be our goal, and it cannot be done alone.
  
• Christianity is a journey, not merely a destination.
• We are saved into the Kingdom of God and saved out of the kingdom of darkness. Therefore, we are saved from something and into something. Believers were added to the church; the community of saints. The church is not a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.
  
• I am coming to the conclusion that it is more important to know how to live; to be ready to live, than being ready to die. Jesus' offer is one of life, not just escaping to heaven when we die. I think we have missed it. We have been so enamored with trying to get people ready to die, we have forgotten that people want to know how to live their life. I think we need a paradigm shift in our thinking concerning evangelism.
  

PrairieParson
JB

I Love Fridays

Our son Kyle blogged that he loves Tuesday's because that's when he goes to his favorite coffee shop with his laptop and works.

Why do I love Fridays? I am a bi-vocational pastor and I don't work most Fridays at my "tent-making" job. I get to come into my office, drink a cup of coffee - albeit Floggers, not Starbucks, study, catch-up on e-mails, and do a myriad of other things.

I love Fridays! and Sundays when the called out ones of Gateway Fellowship gather to worship on the prairie.

PrairieParson
JB

Gateway to the Supernatural

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come... suddenly there came a sound from heaven... then there appeared flames of fire... and they all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in languages they had never learned." Acts 2:1-4

Unusual events, to be sure, these were. The wind and fire were never repeated in the book of Acts, but the same cannot be said of speaking in tongues. It has not ceased like some would believe. Throughout Acts, the Epistles, and today, people continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in a language - earthly or heavenly - that is unlearned.

Tongues was first introduced, prophetically, by the prophet Isaiah. (Isa. 28:11) We know that because Paul quotes Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 14:21 in reference to speaking in tongues.

Today, like in Acts 2, tongues can be perplexing, confusing, or even mocked. Now, I would not do that if I were you!
"Now therefore, do not be mockers, lest your bonds be made strong." (Isa. 28:22)

Peter said, "We're not drunk! This is what Joel prophesied." Think with me for a minute. Can you imagine Mary, the mother of our Lord, being drunk? I can't! She was there you know. In the upper room. On Pentecost. She was one of the 120. Mary was not Roman Catholic, she was a Pentecostal! Hey, if this tongues thing is good enough and necessary for Mary, Peter, James, John, and Paul - it is necessary for me, and you.

Since the Azusa Street outpouring of the Holy Spirit 102 years ago in Los Angeles - the "later rain" as prophesied by Joel - the Pentecostal experience has became a global outpouring. It is so great that without a doubt it has become the largest spiritual movement in history. Truly, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh." I am so privileged to be a participant in what God is doing on the earth today!

Have you been filled with Holy Spirit in Acts 2 fashion? If not, you can be. Ask. You will receive, and a whole new dimension will opened to you; for being baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues is the gateway to the supernatural.

PrairieParson
JB