Marvelous Faithfulness of God

Sunday on my way back from Indiana fellowshipped at the Victoria House, a bimonthly gathering of brethren facilitated by George B. Our discussion centered around the feeding of the thousands by Jesus, the faith required of the disciples, and the theme of forgiveness.
On Monday recuperated from the 2,100+ mile trip. Wednesday morning walked with our brother Matt W, looking ahead to the future. God has confirmed to me that I am not to try to get into a property at this time.
Last night met with Steve L from Maine for the first time in about five years. What a wonderful testimony of what God has done in his life. Although sometimes I bemoan the reality of learning things the hard way through painful personal experience, it seems that that is how God works much of the time. I am so thankful for the depth of wisdom and maturity and love evident in this brother's life & look forward to refreshing fellowship in the future.
Also had an opportunity to sit in on part of our brother Tom H's teaching on interactive, participatory gatherings.
Also spoke to Mark K from IN. Am so thankful to God to learn that he is out of the hospital doing well physically & spiritually.
Deeply gratified with my fellowship with our brother Gary. We are very slowly working our way through Romans, but receiving & learning more by not rushing it. I am thrilled that he is becoming a "workman that need not be ashamed, one who correctly handles the word of truth." ( 2 Timothy 2:15)

Contradiction?

As I continue to travel around the body of Christ in the U. S., I find myself wanting to ask any number of people the following question. Does the Holy Spirit contradict Himself? I suspect most Christians would regard this as a no-brainer. Of course He doesn't. Yet I find a growing number of believers who live their lives in a way that says He does. What do i mean? I believe it is the Holy Spirit that changes the Bible from words on a page no different from any other ancient writing into the Word of God. Verses such as 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Hebrews 4:12, John 6:63 and many others support this understanding. If in truth the Bible is inspired by God, then it is inerrant and authoritative. In turn the Bible says that it is the Holy Spirit that reveals the truth of the Word of God to us as John 14:26, 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 attest. Yet far too many "Christians" seem allergic to either the Bible or Biblical teaching.
I should not be surprised by this because the Bible predicts it. "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV)
I find many people who claim to receive something from the Holy Spirit that either do not realize nor care that the Bible says something completely different. Hence my question. Does the Holy Spirit contradict Himself?
For those interested in a clear, concise explanation of the current housing collapse and resultant economic woes, I suggest Thomas Sowell's book, "The Housing Boom and Bust."
P.S. Indiana hot sauce is ketchup (according to Mark K) see last post)

Indiana Hot Sauce

Many years ago a brother named Mark asked me to serve as the best man at his wedding. After wards we lost touch for about 25 years, in which he and his wife had four children. About five years ago we regained communication, via e-mail and phone. Monday of this week he called me from Indiana to ask my help in starting a house church. Tuesday morning I drove out of Boston early, ending up that evening in western PA at my friend Miller's home. He took me out to dinner, and we had good fellowship. Our brother Stephen called from Mississippi. Later we prayed together.
Wednesday finished the thousand mile trek to southern Indiana & saw Mark for the first time in thirty years. God has revived him, using an adult daughter, Mary, as a catalyst. Thursday morning took him into a wound clinic to get his injured foot looked at, and they admitted him. I'm thankful for the time we spent together. Please pray for his physical recovery (he may lose the foot) & continued spiritual revival.
Courtesy of our brother Ron, with an assist from Bob G, met a new friend Steve, in Cincinnati. He is a gifted, generous brother who desires to be ahead of the curve spiritually. In his mid thirties, he has a heart to see the generations come together to encourage one another. I am thankful to have met him.
Tonight I have come to Rob & Shalom's home & greeted their infant son John, an active little fellow.

Who is Sufficient for these Things?

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us speaks the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance of life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV) As I come towards the completion of my third week in E. Boston I feel entirely inadequate for the ministry of reconciliation He has called me to in this place. God has given me tons of time, knowledge, grace- I need Him to do anything. (cf. John 15:5)
Very thankful for the oppty. to go with Steve & Donna to the Worchester housing projects yesterday to minister. Many people were not home, ill or sleeping but we did get to enter three apts. Encouraged and prayed with several sisters and witnessed to a young man who had suffered severe childhood abuse.
Today had the pleasure of gathering with my "home" house church. What a precious group of saints. Worshiped without our usual facilitators, taught against Universalism,fellowshipped around the Lord's Supper, and prayed for both physical and spiritual healing in the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank God for Marcio & Jana's hospitality.

Universalism

Have completed reading a detailed refutation of Universalism, titled "All dogs go to Heaven, don't they?" by Maurice Smith. Am very thankful for all the hard scholarly work that our brother did, delving into Universalism- the idea that everyone ends up in eternal bliss with God (Heaven), and its many variants, including its first cousin, Annihilationism, the idea that people's existence comes to an end, either at the point of physical death, or thereafter. Aside from the practical issues of why the NT places so much emphasis on preaching the gospel if everyone is going to get "saved" anyway, and the inevitable moral anarchy that results if people can get away with their sin, the big problem for Universalists is that there are so many Bible references to eternal conscious punishment, many from Jesus himself. A brief sampling includes Isa. 66:22-24, Daniel 12:2, Matt. 7:13-14, cf. Luke 13:22-30, Matt 24:41ff, Luke 16:19-31, 2 Thess 1:6-10, Jude 7, and Rev. 20:10-15.
In other news, spent time with my friend Russ on Tuesday evening. Thanks for the nice dinner and the fellowship, bro. Thursday met with the bi-weekly brothers group. Thankful to God for their perseverance and the seriousness of their faith through severe trials.
Am praying about returning to full time employment in order to purchase a property to use as a base of operations for outreach to the community. May God's will be done.

Visiting

Have completed another round of visits to brethren in NH, ME & MA. Thursday evening had the privilege of visiting a couple in Sharon named Mike & Heidi, and two of their friends, Mary Pat & Rowland. Mike & Heidi have just come out of a traditional church situation, and were very interested in the house church approach. They asked questions about pastors, giving, baptisms, interactive meetings etc. It is a wonderful blessing for me to have the opportunity to respond to these and other inquiries, and suggest Scripturally based approaches to them. As with others I am delighted to do as much or as little as they wish in helping them get started, should the Lord lead them in that direction.
Saturday morning drove up to the Kittery area to spend time with Chuck & Carolyn. A blessing to reconnect with them after a year's abscence. I had the privilege of gathering with them for a year about seven years ago. They are experiencing "growing pains," what to do when the group grows too large to fit in a house. I believe the Holy Spirit wants to plant the necessity of multiplication in the spiritual DNA of every group. Like so many other things, this is much easier in theory than practice.
In the afternoon visited with Tom, Shelley and their family in NH. Solid fellowship and mutual encouragement. God has used them in many ways since their arrival in the Granite State. Am amazed at the people to whom God has given the ability to work with their hands. Even though I did a manual trade for 27 years, I am one of the least "handy" people of modern times. Tom & his son Forrest are rebuilding a gutted house.
Two hours drive on Sunday morning brought me to a group new to me, in Whitinsville, MA. In distinction to a "house" church, they consider themselves a "cell" church, although they are not organizationally connected to a larger entity. I was impressed by the seriousness of their faith, and the intentionality of their approach. One nice touch was the public responsive reading of the Nicene Creed, which they do on occasion.

Friendship

Thank you, God, for the friends that you give us. Got together this morning with a friend named Gary, who I've known for about five years. We have little in common- he is scientific, athletic, musical, a generation younger, and very good at drawing people out by asking them questions and showing interest, while I'm not any of those things. The real thing we have in common is a love for our Lord Jesus Christ. What a joy to see that suffice. My experience is that friends are hard to make and easy to lose. "The sweetness of one's friend comes from his earnest counsel." (Prove. 27:9b)
Tuesday evening I met with a new friend named Bob. He is a thinker, joyful, compassionate, with a genuine desire to reach out to those who don't know Christ. (Why is that so rare?)
Yesterday read a book by someone who will probably never be a friend in this life- we'll have to wait for the next. His name is Francis Chan, a S. California mega church pastor whose book, "Crazy Love" presents the balance between the unbelievable love of God, and the utter necessity of giving one's life completely to Him.
Am quartered in E. Boston now, and am praying for the "son of peace," (Luke 10), and whether God wishes me to purchase property here to serve as a base of operations for ministry. As Eli said to the young boy Samuel, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:9)

From the Milwaukee Airport

Restored to health, survived 100 degree, high humidity weather (rare for Boston)& enjoyed dinner and fellowship with our brother Doug. God has blessed him with a younger Hispanic brother to work with in Chelsea. They do open air preaching & ministry every Saturday.
Jetted off to a house/simple church conference in the Lone Star state way too early Friday morning. (Up at 3:20 AM) Began at 1PM with a talk by Wayne J. He stated he was not a conference speaker kind of guy yet seemed to have no difficulty doing it. As I reflect back on the weekend from the vantage point of a layover in Milwaukee en route to Boston I guess I am no longer a conference kind of guy. Apparently I misunderstood the theme ( I had understood it to be about regional equipping teams- something i am very passionate about) Made a concerted effort to interact with people, not expecting them to seek me out. About one hundred and fifty attendees. Although a sprinkling had come from overseas (Africa/Australia/Britain/Malaysia) the majority were from the region. Did exchange cards with six or seven people but the reality is that I have a regional focus, and no one seemed to have any interest in New England, save one couple from Dorchester. Those leading seem to have all been former pastors/seminarians etc. One questions whether this is healthy. In short, to go that far just doesn't seem worth the time, money and energy.