Today is May 1st the release of the most anticipated book by Frank Viola “God’s Favorite Place on Earth”. If you would like to find out more concerning this book then please go to this link

In celebration of release week and as a way to say thank you for supporting this book by buying it between May 1st and May 7th Frank will be giving away 25 free gifts. Check out the link above for more info on those.

Why buy the book during release week. The simple reason is in the publishing world when a book does really well on the release week it gets more publicity and can reach more people. Of course some will think he is just trying to promote himself and make more money in sales. But the truth is when you have a burning message that you feel will benefit all Christians then you want it to reach as many people as possible. Besides did I say he was giving away 25 free gifts as a way of saying thank you for helping me get the word out? Also, Frank uses the proceeds from his books to support ministry not for his own financial gain.

So there you have it folks. Pick up a copy today. In fact I am going right now to Amazon to get my copy.

This is a book review for “Evolution’s Purpose – An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Story of Our Origins”. The author of “Evolution’s Purpose” Steve McIntosh is a very interesting and genuine person having been an executive at Celestial Seasonings, a lawyer with a large and prominent law firm, an olympic level bicyclist and founder and owner of his own successful company Now and Zen. He approaches the Theory of evolution with a very thorough understanding and applies it holistically. He argues in Evolution’s Purpose very succinctly the various aspects of Integral Philosophy and how it gives meaning to Evolution. He argues that there is hope and attempts to draw a middle line between dogmatic evolutionist’s and dogmatic religionists. He gives some airplay to arguments to his points yet maintains a steady course in laying out his thesis. This book would be beneficial for those who are well versed in Evolutionary theory and Integral Philosophy or are interested in Integral philosophy as a way to give meaning to Evolution. In grappling such a heavy subject McIntosh’s book remains interesting and thought provoking. Apparently McIntosh espouses Panentheism and has a strong affinity toward Jesus Christ. He did not grow up in a religious home or mindset and thus claims no particular religious affiliation. Perhaps this has freed him to think so deeply on this subject. Evolution’s Purpose is an interesting and sometimes difficult read.

Thanks to Speakeasy for this book. This review was given in accordance to its terms however much past the deadline.

I received this book “Water from an Ancient Well” as an e-book to review for being a part of SpeakEasy. I must say I wasn’t sure what to expect when starting this book but very quickly realized that it had a depth that was true to the subject matter. The author does an excellent job in leading the reader along the shores of the ancient land introducing us to the ancient Celts. The further along you read the deeper you find yourself in the ancient world of the Celtic Christians who truly knew Christ in all things. If I were to describe in one word the ancient Celtic Christians it would be “aware”.

“Water from an Ancient Well”, is refreshing in the sense that it is very much Christ centered. You will get some history of the ancient Celts – from there influences, outlook on life, to there everyday awareness of the presence of Christ. Every part of there day was used as a way to turn to the Lord. The subtitle of the book is Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life and the author does a tremendous job gleaning from the life of the Celtic Christians and presenting practical applications for our modern lives today.

I am finding more and more how different groups of Christians throughout the years from various traditions have made valuable contributions to the body of Christ. We as the body of Christ would be wise to receive from the still fresh and rich supply of Christ that springs forth from the testimony of the lives of the Celtic saints. The author Kenneth McIntosh does an excellent job making that testimony accessible and practical to us today.

Although this book is more than a devotional I found it to be similar in depth and content as “Practicing the Presence” by Brother Lawrence, “Letters of a Modern Mystic” by Frank Laubach and “Longing for God” by Richard J Foster as well as other similar writings.

Let me also say I really enjoyed this book because it showed how the Celtic Christians lived and breathed Christ as their life. They saw Christ in all things and all things pointed to Christ. I have found this to be the most liberating reality to know Christ as my life and not just a part of my life. This book shows what that looks like and looked like in the lives of the Celts and how we can experience that ourselves today.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Think on that, reflect on the love the Father has for everyone of us.

For if Abraham could take His son of promise and offer him up to the Lord out of trust, love and obedience then how much more could the Heavenly Father give His Son in Whom all things rested. That seed, His life which contains all the promises of God, having been laid down and buried came bursting forth with resurrection power from God. Whether noticeable at times or not it will one day consume all things, reveal all things. In your life this begins in you, His life is in you. When as Abraham you trust the Lord by laying down your life in trust, love and obedience recognizing that you, your old man, your old identity was crucified and buried with Him and that you have been raised to new life then you will see the promise of the Father, who is the Son, glorified in and through you. You may not see it but His life is in you.

Therefore fix your eyes on Jesus, within, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Eat of Him the nectar of life and all these things will be added to you. You need not care, be worried or overwhelmed by the daily affairs of this life. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. He is our faithfulness. Look to and feed from His life today.

I leave you with a song titled “There’s a Man in the Glory”

There’s a Man in the glory whose life is in me
He is pure and He’s holy, triumphant and free
He is wise and He’s loving – How tender is He!
His life in the glory, my life must be!
His life in the glory, my life must be!

There’s a Man in the glory whose life is in me
He overcame Satan; from bondage He’s free
In life He is reigning – how kingly is He!
His life in the glory, my life must be!
His life in the glory, my life must be!

There’s a Man in the glory whose life is in me
In Him is no sickness – no weakness has He
He is strong and in vigor – how mighty is He!
His life in the glory, my life must be!
His life in the glory, my life must be!

There’s a Man in the glory whose life is in me
His peace is abiding – how kingly is He!
He is joyful and radiant, expecting to see
His life in the glory lived out in me!
His life in the glory lived out in me!

Saints, He is in us and His life is victorious. Turn to Him and know that He is for you and not against you!

I would like to point your attention to two interviews conducted by Frank Viola with N.T. Wright and Scot McKnight. Why have these two men written seemingly controversial books yet while doing so have lifted our eyes to a crisper view of Jesus and the gospel of His kingdom?

N.T. Wright Interview: “Simply Jesus” & Wright Responds to Critics

Click this link to read the unedited interview:

Or go here http://frankviola.org/2012/01/23/ntwright

Scot McKnight Interview: “The King Jesus Gospel” & McKnight Responds to Critics

Click this link to read the unedited interview:

Or go here http://frankviola.org/2012/02/08/scotmcknight

…

Today a wonderful sister in the Lord Carrie Walters wrote the 7th post in the series “What I Have Learned in Organic Church Life” titled Christ is My Source of Worth. This is an excellent addition to this series.

I would also like to bring your attention to a blog post that was written on the blog Hands Wide Open titled Community life in the body of Christ: Viewing shame, vulnerability, and worthiness in light of Him

There is a video of a TED talk posted on it with some amazing commentary that I believe will bless you richly. I will also post the video HERE

I believe that as we truly receive the fact that we are worthy of the love of God then we will allow our walls to crumble down. When we see that He spilled His blood for us because of His love for us and that our worthiness is based on Him and His view of us then we will fully enter into the life and relationship with Him He has intended from the beginning.

TED Talk

Here is my contribution to the series on “What I have learned in Organic Church Life”. I admit I have a lot of things I would like to write about but haven’t taken the time to sit down and formulate my thoughts. I thank God for deadlines because they are a tool to overcome procrastination.

I wanted to write on the topic of spiritual warfare but not in the conventional sense. My burden is what we believe about the Lordship of Christ and the reality of His indwelling Life becomes an everyday practical reality that we live out among the saints.

I am keenly aware that God is concerned with our hearts more than our outward actions. He is concerned about the condition and attitude of our hearts towards Him and towards one another. When our hearts are in tune with His indwelling life there is a fullness of peace, love and power that is expressed through us for the edification of others and ourselves in the Lord. I am not going to go into depth about that here but will save it for the next blog post.

Some of what the next blog post will be about is how we are distracted from the Lord and the most effective way to overcome the wiles of the enemy which is to turn to the Lord and magnify Him. But that needs to be expounded on. Also, I will touch on how one of the strategies of the enemy is to cause the love of God in us to grow cold toward Christ and especially toward others. This cold love breaks down relationships and community. One powerful thing I have learned while living in fellowship with other saints, rubbing shoulders with brothers and sisters in Christ is that Christ is the solution. That to turn to Christ is the answer. There is a dear brother in Christ who recently wrote an article about that very thing which you can read here.
 

Here is the first paragraph of a post I wrote a while back concerning what I have learned in Organic Church Life titled:

The Christianity I Have Come to Know

The Christianity I have come to know is all about Christ. The Christianity I knew was all about me and what I could do for Christ. On the outside they may look the same but at the source they are much different. The life of a Christian is a life of deep fellowship and relationship with Christ and His body. Now that we see Christ as our life (singular and plural) He is to be the center (source) instead of ourselves.

Continue reading…

A group of saints that I share community life with and meet under the headship of Christ with have decided to share some of what we have learned while meeting outside of the traditional institutional church setting. We are doing this with a collaborative blog series titled “What I Have Learned in Organic Church” This series started today and will continue every Wednesday for the next month or so.

An introduction to the series is here.

The first post is here.

I’ll be posting an article on Febuary 15th on this blog concerning a new perspective on spiritual warfare in light of living by Christ’s life within community.

Listed below are other bloggers who are participating and well worth following:

R.C. Babione

Brigette Babione

Nathan Burgman

Jackie Dukes

Marc Hardy

Mark Lake

Tobias Valdez

Carrie Walters

I will be sharing a link for each post in the blog series here. Hope you enjoy it and are able to learn something more of the Lord.

I am realizing there is no hope for me to understand and know all the mysteries of our faith, to have every angle understood properly or to be the end all be all for spiritual truth and understanding. Instead I am realizing that to truly know the living Lord Jesus Christ who has made his abode within my being, who by His spirit has caused me to be joined with Him in oneness. To know Him truly who is love and to so flow with His life and love within offering no resistance to His expression. There is no more room for me independently of Him, no more need to be right or wrong, just found in Him abiding with Him and living by Him, living from Him, from unity with Him expressing His love. As Paul said if I understand all mysteries or do great things, etc… and have not love or and live not by the indwelling life of Christ, then I have nothing. I no longer need to attain to anything, nothing else matters but to know Him.

One of the most important issues in our hearts that must be addressed is forgiveness.

This is a copy of an article written by Francis Frangipane of Frangipane.org copied here by permission. Please read prayerfully.

Bitterness in the Garden of Our Hearts
By Francis Frangipane

“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15).

It is impossible to pass through this world without being struck by injustice or heartache. Unless we process our struggles in Christ, a single wounding of our soul can create a deep bitterness within us, poisoning our very existence. In my forty-plus years of ministry, I have known far too many Christians who have perfected the art of looking polite, while living inwardly with an angry, cynical or resentful spirit. They have swallowed the poison of bitterness and they are dying spiritually because of it. The problem is that, as Christians, we know it is wrong to react with open anger toward people. However, rather than truly forgiving and surrendering that injustice to God, we suppress our anger. Anger is a result of perceived injustice. Suppressed anger always degrades into bitterness, which is, in reality, unfulfilled revenge.

Embittered People

The Bible not only provides the biographies of heroes of our faith, but it also documents the lives of common people, individuals who experienced the same kind of heartaches as we do. Some overcame wounding or loss and subsequent bitterness, while others became examples to avoid.

Consider Naomi from the book of Ruth. A famine in Israel led Naomi’s family to migrate to Moab. Without family or friends to support her, as aliens in a foreign land, Naomi then suffered the loss of her husband; his death was followed by the death of her two grown sons. When Naomi returned to Israel with Ruth, her daughter-in-law, she announced to those who knew her, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20).

The name Naomi means “pleasant.” We can imagine that when Naomi was dedicated to God as an infant, her parents prayed that her name would forecast her future. Now, however, the very opposite had occurred. Naomi was deeply embittered by her loss, to the extreme of blaming “the Almighty” for dealing “very bitterly” with her.

If you have ever listened to a bitter person, there is nothing “pleasant” about them. Yes, we should weep with those who weep, yet a bitter soul is a spirit trapped in a time warp; they live in the memory of their pain. Several years ago I met a woman who had suffered a difficult divorce. I talked with her every six months or so for two years, and each time we talked she said exactly the same negative things about her ex-husband. Although she was divorced from him, she was now married to a bitter spirit that held her captive to her heartache.

An embittered soul is one that continually blames someone else for their situation. For Naomi, her bitterness was actually focused towards God. She was angry that He allowed hardship and loss in her life. “The Lord has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:21). In effect she was saying, My sorrow is God’s fault.

Contrast her life with that of Job’s first encounter with loss (Job 1:1-22). Job lost his children and possessions, yet he bowed and worshiped: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

How we handle sorrow reveals the depth of our worship of God. When life cuts us, do we bleed bitterness or worship? Job bowed and drew close to God. Naomi withdrew and talked about the Lord with her back to Him. I have dear friends who lost their only son when he was a teenager. In the midst of their heartache, they have become examples to everyone of true worship. Over the years, their pain actually purified and deepened their worship; their suffering made them more compassionate toward the suffering of others (See 2 Cor. 1:3-4). I also know others who have suffered the sudden loss of a loved one and, within weeks, withdrew from God and became embittered. Adversity does not perfect character; it reveals character. It exposes what is happening inside of us.

Poisoned

In ancient times mankind experimented with vegetation, seeking to learn which plants were edible and which were poisonous. In his search, he discovered that, generally speaking, if a plant or fruit was sweet, it was usually safe to eat; bitter plants, man discovered, would either sicken or kill. Likewise, the bitter experiences of life, if we ingest them into our spirits, can become a spiritual poison that destroys our hopeful expectations and attitudes. Such an experience may enter your soul via a relational wound or injustice; it can begin through a major disappointment or loss. However, once bitterness enters the human soul, like ink spreading in a glass of water, it can darken every aspect of our existence.

Indeed, not only can bitterness ruin our lives, Hebrews warns that a root of bitterness can “defile many” (Heb. 12:15 NIV). A spiritual root of bitterness is a hidden, unresolved anger that is buried beneath the surface of our lives. Outwardly, we look “properly Christian” until we begin to discuss with others the situation where someone hurt us. As we speak, that root “springs up” and it defiles others. If you haven’t dealt with your bitterness, beware when you speak to others, lest you defile them with your words. If you are listening to an embittered person, take heed that the spirit of bitterness is not being transferred to your life as well!

Neglect

In Genesis we find another bitter soul in Esau, the brother of Jacob. Esau had foolishly bargained away his inheritance when he was young and then lost his father’s blessing when he was old. When Esau discovered he had lost both to his brother Jacob, the Bible tells us he “cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry” (Gen. 27:34).

To lose something through our laziness or neglect can create bitterness of soul. Additionally, to have someone deceive us and take what was rightfully ours is equally as destructive. I know people who were lazy and did not esteem their education. Today they are bitter employees working for minimum wage. I also know young, unwed mothers who let deceitful boys steal their virginity, which later also embittered them. Even spiritual people can find themselves suffering with bitterness caused by neglect. I know a pastor who was so devoted to his ministry, he consistently neglected his wife. She finally divorced him. Cry and plead with her as he would, he suffered the bitter loss of his wife, the emotional estrangement of his kids, and the respect of his church.

Esau’s loss made him very bitter. Yet, have we, like Esau, lost the more valuable elements of life because of our neglect? Have others received blessings that were earmarked for us, and has that loss created bitterness within us? May the Lord reveal to us these roots of bitterness that, like time-released poison, are quietly killing us.

God desires to return to us our ability to love and laugh again. Let us, therefore, sincerely approach the throne of God’s grace and ask Him to show us the garden of our hearts. Yes, and let us see if our souls are truly free of the root of bitterness.