Important Message from John Mulinde

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Personal God - Archimandrite Sophrony

I AM THAT I AM. Yes, indeed, it is He Who is Being. He alone truly lives. Everything summoned from the abyss of non-being exists solely by His will. My individual life, down to the smallest detail, comes uniquely from Him. He fills the soul, binding her ever more intimately to Himself. Conscious contact with Him stamps a man for ever. Such a man will not now depart from the God of love Whom he has come to know. His mind is reborn. Hitherto he was inclined to see everywhere determined natural processes; now he begins to apprehend all things in the light of Person.

Knowledge of the Personal God bears an intrinsically personal character. Like recognises like. There is an end to the deadly tedium of the impersonal. The earth, the whole universe, proclaims Him: 'heaven and earth praise him, the sea, and everything that moveth therein' (Ps. 69:34). And lo, He Himself seeks to be with us, to impart to us the abundance of His life (cf. John 10:10). And we for our part thirst for this gift.

The soul knows but cannot contain Him, and therin lies her pain. Our days are filled with longing to penetrate into the Divine sphere with every fiber of our being.

From His Life is Mine by Archimandrite Sophrony

Finger of God

Finger of God began as a short film about God's miraculous power. I had no budget, no script, and no idea what this movie was ultimately going to look like. I teach storytelling and film at a University in Chicago, and here I was breaking all of my own rules.

But that's where I found myself, and I quickly discovered that God is an incredible film producer. He funded the whole film (I never had to ask for money), took me around the world, and introduced me to some truly incredible people.

So what is the film about? Well, now that it's finished, I can finally answer that question. On the surface it is about the miraculous. I originally thought I was making a film that simply tried to capture miracles on tape. But as the story progressed, things began to change.

At its core, it is about the heart of God. It's about how He views us, and how He is desperate for a relationship with us. Along the way, He places his finger on our lives, touches us deeply, heals us, shows His creativity, and generally surprises us with every move He makes.

The film's international cast includes a wide variety of people, ministries, and personalities. But just to whet your appetite, here is a partial list of some of the things you will see and hear about in this film:

Manna in the Pentagon
African children who perform miracles every day
Incredibly rare footage of the Chinese underground church
Eastern European Gypsies radically changed by God's power
Amazing stories of the miraculous
Hundreds raised from the dead
Gemstones appearing out of thin air
Saddaam Hussein's old palace is now a church
And much, much more.

-Darren Wilson, Director

Pentecostal Catholics

[This is a repost from Pastor Terry's Blog originally posted Wednesday, 3/10/10.]

Today's post will mean more if you read yesterday's post first. I shared how two events were occurring simultaneously on the same day – January 1, 1901: In Rome, the Pope was leading a prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and in Topeka, Kansas, the Holy Spirit was being poured out on a group of protestant Bible College students. The Catholic church didn't experience its own Pentecost until 1967, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on students at Duquesne University. Shortly afterwards, a similar event occurred at Notre Dame. From these initial sparks the Charismatic Renewal spread throughout the Catholic Church.

NOW, FOR THE REST OF THE STORY: Today, in Topeka, Kansas, on the very spot where once stood that Bible College, now stands a Roman Catholic Church – a charismatic Catholic church! Since 1967 more than 5,000 Catholics have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues at this church! My professor, Dr. Vinson Synan, spoke there for a week of meetings in the late 1980's and led 120 Catholics into Spirit Baptism that week. While there he took the priest to the foundation stones of the Bible College, where the rectory now stands, and told him the story of the 1901 outpouring on that spot. The Charismatic Renewal is continuing and increasing, especially in developing nations, and among all kinds of people. Truly, God is pouring out His Spirit "on all flesh" (Joel 2:28).

TOMORROW – I'll talk about the Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Protestant Churches.

Repost from Pastor Terry's Blog.

Pentecostals and Catholics

[This is a repost from Pastor Terry's Blog originally posted Tuesday, 3/9/10.]

I want to tell you a true story every student of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement knows well:

On January 1, 1901, at a small Bible College in Topeka Kansas, a student named Agnes Ozman received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This event sparked a revival that has since spread all over the world and has come to be known as the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. Today, over 600 million Christians worldwide speak in tongues or identify with those who do.

But blessings always carry hidden dangers. In this case, Pentecostals face the subtle temptation to think that God is only moving among us and people like us. Such exclusivism not only indicates spiritual pride, it manifests plain old ignorance. Let me tell you another story few Pentecostals/Charismatics know.

In 1897, in Lucca, Italy, a Roman Catholic nun by the name of Elena Guerra, wrote to Pope Leo XIII, asking him to proclaim nine days of prayer to the Holy Spirit, beseeching Him to come again, just as He came at Pentecost. The Pope complied and went a step further. He called Catholics to a new appreciation for the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. All over the world millions of Catholics began focusing on the Holy Spirit as never before. The Pope also proclaimed the coming twentieth century the "Century of the Holy Spirit." On January 1, 1901, He led prayer for this at the Vatican, and even led the faithful in singing "Come Holy Spirit."

Think about that. On the same day the Pope was singing, "Come Holy Spirit" at the Vatican in Rome, Agnes Ozman was receiving the Baptism in the Spirit at Topeka, Kansas! God was working simultaneously in two very different groups of people – and neither group was aware of the other. That's just like God! He's bigger than the little boxes we tend to put Him in.

But there's another part of this story that makes it even more exciting. God answered the prayers of those Catholics in another way that went far beyond Topeka, Kansas. DON'T MISS TOMORROW'S POST. I'm going to share "THE REST OF THE STORY."

Repost from Pastor Terry's Blog.