Direct Lines!

What is a Pentecostal Christian? Have you ever heard of a “Holy Roller”?   You know one of those people who go to a church where they swing from chandlers, jump pews, and shout in church.   Oh and they “speak in tongues”.   Well, indeed I have!   I am one of those “Pentecostal Christians”. I want to give you an opportunity to know about Pentecostals from a Pentecostal perspective.   My purpose is not to be defensive about my beliefs or offensive towards anyone with opposing beliefs.   So here goes! The word “Pentecost” was associated with a feast that was associated with the harvest time in ancient Israel.   The word actually means ‘fifty” and it was a feast that happened fifty days after the Passover.   The Priests would wave the first sheaves of wheat in celebration of the anticipated harvest. The observance of this feast gave the Jews an opportunity to declare their faith and trust in God to give them the strength to bring the full harvest in and to give them abunda

To be or not to be? To be or not to be? Is that the question? Many people ask "who am I"? As a grown man I ask "what will I be when I grow up? If you are like me you like to have something to look forward to! We are human beings but we often identify ourselves as "human doings"! We are always doing something so we can be "something else." I have a friend who loves to remind me that "it takes a big dog to weigh a ton"! Being the analytical person that I am I have to look for the deeper meaning! Why did the dog have a need to weigh a ton? Why couldn't he be satisfied to be a little dog that weighed whatever he was created to weigh? What is that dog going to do with himself after he gets that big? To be a ton or not to be a ton? Why does it matter? When I grow up am I going to be the big dog doing the big dog stuff or am I going to be the contented dog; doing what I enjoy because I enjoy being who I am! To enjoy is to "joy in&qu

Why? The city is in flames!   Our wives and kids are hostages. We are a laughingstock to our enemies!   We followed this David and this is what we get!   (1 Samuel 30) Why?             My wives and children are either dead or they are slaves!   My men are talking about stoning me and my own king wants to separate my head from my shoulders!   Why?             These were the “somebody has done me wrong” songs sang by David and his “about to break up” band! It is a common song that most of us can relate to.   Most of us have taken a turn at writing our own verses to the dirge!             Why didn’t you bring my sister home?   My three year old asked me that in December of 1988 when my wife and I came home with empty arms after the stillbirth of our daughter Rachael.   It was easy to dismiss questions like, “why is grass green”, or “why is the sky blue?”   This question, however, was impossible to ignore because it was also my question!             We had lost a future !   We h