So here's a great link and blog from a strong Evangelical Mom who lived through an abusive relationship:

In her words:

I don’t consider myself brave at all…just desparate. I was desparate to be there to watch my kids grow up; desparate to end the abuse cycle with me so they do not continue the pattern.

If you know of anyone who can benefit from my story or if you want some very interesting reading, try http://oinvu4uraqt.blogspot.com.

It is a blog I created called AWESOME (stands for Abused Women Everywhere Speak Out Make Examples).

I attended Bible Temple/City Bible from when I was one week old until I was 16.

I went to their Christian school every weekday from 1st to 10th grades…and I never heard about domestic violence. I think it is time we prepare our Christian youth and not shelter them so much.

A recent commenter posted this link to a book by Frank Damazio and Richard Brott:

Biblical Principles for Building a Successful Business: 8 Critical Principles You Must Know to Survive!

You can tell it is Frank's book, because of the number 8. The guy can't write a book, sermon or seminar without including a number. Which is fine, when the numbers are under 10. But I remember a couple of rough sermons when I was in High School. He'd start out with 12 Steps for Living a Better Life, and I'd look at my watch, and whisper to my brothers, "Someone pass the communion grape-juice, this is going to be a long one."

Without looking, I bet that one of them includes "giving to your local church." Come on. You know it is.

Secondly, could someone let me know what successful business Frank has ever run?  Oh right. City Bible Church. I forgot.

Congratulations Dick Iverson, your family started up a local church to minister to the community and your protege turned it into a business venture. Nice choice. With that kind of insight, you could make draft picks for the Knicks.

I have family members that have started businesses and the nearest I can tell, the one principle that makes it successful is Working Hard. The second principle is Working Harder. And then if you're lucky, it's successful.

In fact, regarding the issue of "seducing spirits", a full gospel minister argued that this is why transsexuals feel that their true sexual identity differs from their biological structure — they say Trans people are being "seduced" by the devil — and while they may be sincere in what they feel is their true identity, they are "believing the lie" of the devil.  Nothing of the kind!  In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.  In their ignorance, these folk THEMSELVES are the ones who "believe a lie" when they misuse scripture to condemn Trans people! 

Last Sunday I attended a downtown street ministry church.  I do not attend there regularly.  However, I enjoy worshipping there once in a while.  The pastor is a fine man — very loving.  Unlike two large full gospel churches (the names of which I won't mention), this pastor welcomes all people.  And he preaches good sound Biblical doctrine — I thoroughly enjoy his teaching ministry.   He does not obsess on the subject of homosexuality — yet, once in a while, he'll interject a remark on the subject with which I disagree.  All in all, he does possess a heart full of love.  (Again, I want to remind you — just because a preacher/teacher may say something with which you disagree, don't rob yourself of the blessing of the many things that they teach with which you DO agree).  And remember, transsexuality is the most misunderstood subject there is.   More than once, over the years, I have had to pray: "Father forgive them for they know not what they are talking about". 

At any rate, in opening his sermon on prayer, the street ministry pastor commented briefly on the openly homosexual Episcopal Priest who became a Bishop in his denomination.  (He interjected the comment:  "Now I am not against Gay people — here we welcome ALL people)".  He also mentioned the author of The DaVinci Code.  With both people he quoted them as saying "after much prayer", and then said:  "God doesn't hear their prayers."  With that statement I strenuously and strongly and totally DISAGREE.  (The rest of his sermon about praying within the boundaries of scripture was excellent). 

In 1987 The Rev. Freda Smith, pastor of MCC-Sacramento, had an AIDS prayer vigil and invited pastors from all over the city to join in.  A full gospel pastor declined the invitation from the open Lesbian pastor, by saying: "God does not hear your prayers". 

My hetereosexual sister, Teresa, has a strong ministry of prayer.  In March 2005, when I was near death on a hospital bed, she came in every day and prayed over me. (Many others from all over America also prayed for me)  It was Teresa's prayers that got me into an affordable housing building that has a lengthy waiting list.  When sharing this with my hairdresser, I said:  "God hears my sister's prayers."  He responded by saying: "God hears everybody's prayers."  Now to that comment I definitely agree. There are, however, people with a particular ministry of prayer.  One Biblical example of this can be found in James 5:17 & 18.

Psalms 66:18 - KJV - says:  "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."  Two other translations:  "He would not have listened if I had not confessed my sins." (Living Bible) (LB); and "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Revised Standard).  When one holds on to unforgiveness, and is obsessed with negative thoughts and emotions, they themselves BLOCK the effectiveness of their prayers.  Jesus gives an excellent example of this in Matthew 6:14, 15: You can research the many translations of scriptures on this Sermon on the Mount passage, and they all say the same exact thing.  Here I choose the Living Bible: "Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, God will not forgive you."  This truth is exemplifed in what is called The Lord's Prayer — "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."  (Matthew 6:12, Revised Standard). 

You can mix in a metaphysical truth to this — the old adage — WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND.  You reap what you sow.  Chickens come home to roost.  With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.  Scripture is jam packed with this teaching. You are judged in the same way you judge others.  You do negative things — you get negative results.  It is that simple.  The power of prayer is effective within the boundaries of "right and wrong".  You cannot expect good things by doing wrong.  And you think bad/negative things, you get results in kind. 

The prayers of the Lesbian pastor, the Episcopal Bishop, and the DaVinci Code author — do NOT fall in the category of Psalms 66:18.  Actually, this passage does not end with the 18th verse — verse 19 continues: "but God certainly HAS heard" (LB).

When The Rev. Freda Smith, and the MCC-Sacramento congregation conducted an AIDS vigil — God heard AND answered! 

When the homosexual Episcopal Bishop prayed for guidance in accepting this position within his church — God heard AND answered!

When the DaVinci Code author prayed — God heard AND answered! 

When The Rev. Troy Perry, and thousands of Gay Christians all over the world prayed for me when I was at death's door — God heard AND answered! 

When two Pastors, and a layperson, from Portland Foursquare Church prayed for me as I lay on a hospital bed — God heard AND answered!

And when, over the past 20 years, The Rev. Troy Perry laid hands on his long-term partner in a same-sex marriage, God heard AND answered.  Today, his partner has HIV, yet it has become non-detectable — he has gone from 40 pills a day to only 2. 

God hears and answers the prayers of all people — know that!  It matters not if you are Heteresexual, Homosexual, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans — God responds to the since heart-felt cry of a righteous person.  James 5:16.  For anyone to say God does not hear the prayers of someone because of their sexuality is the epitomy of ignorance and bigotry.  The street ministry pastor made his comment out of ignorance — this particular person is not bigoted. 

And so my closing this week is most appropriate — ALWAYS REMEMBER, THERE'S SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU, WHO IS WITH YOU WHENEVER YOU PRAY.  And that One is Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of God, ever living the make intercession for us, the One who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, the One who understands and cares.  Know that!

  I have recently had the pleasure of getting to know a wonderful woman by the name of Sister Paula. We have been getting together for lunch the last few weeks and just spending time learning more and more about each other.

Sister Paula has also had a long running cable access show (20 years), she's been interviewed on numerous national programs including The Daily Show, Strange Universe and Joan Rivers as well as appearing on the BBC. During the ‘80's and much of the ‘90's she had a regular nightclub act at the legendary Portland venue Darcelle XV, and she has lived as a trans-gendered woman since 1963. What a life.

Here's an excerpt from her latest blog:

The day started early morning with my regular Sunday morning radio pastor.  It was the most negative sermon I have heard in the 50 years I have listened to the program. 

Then, while sitting at the sidewalk table, enjoying some coffee, a man in a blazing red T-shirt walked up and started yelling at me and spewing hatred and venom.  His T-shirt proclaimed: "God hates fags".  (Attributing his own hatred to God)!  I just sat there and smiled, saying nothing;  and as he walked away, the wonderful song I have known since 6 years old, "Jesus Loves Me" came to mind.  The comforting presence of the Holy Spirit surrounded me.

Oh, did I mention she was a preacher?

Yes, Sister Paula is full of knowledge from the Bible and can quote more scriptures than most ordained pastors I know.  At the same time she will entertain you with bits from her show at Darcell's. Every time we meet I leave with a new quote that will stay with me forever.  She once said "If two people agree on everything, there ain't no need for one of them". How true.

Last week she told me she had always wanted to go visit City Bible Church, but the bus doesn't go all the way up the hill and she just doesn't have the strength to make the walk. I told her if she really wants to go to let me know… I'd be happy to go with her.

Who do you think would get more evil glares?

To read more about Sister Paula go to http://www.sisterpaula.org/.

I was flipping through this Summer's In Community Magazine from City Bible Church, and I came across an interesting testimonial titled MIRACLE!:

I wanted to come the illegal way but my brother stopped me. My family told me to apply for a visa and a passport.  I knew that someone my age would have a hard time getting a visa. I had nothing that immigration requires; no money, no house, no car and no lands. For one year my family encouraged me to at least try. 

The day I applied for a visa I was given an appointment and along with 21 other people we were taken on a bus to another town, four hours away, where we would actually apply. I shared a seat with another woman who was older than me and whose parents had everything since they owned a business in the city. She asked me, “What do you have?” I answered simply ”I have only my father’s passport, I am going to school and I just want to visit my sister during the Christmas holiday.” The woman did not give me much hope as she said “You are wasting your money and time in applying because you don’t have anything they request.” 

When I arrived for my appointment there were 3 different windows with people taking the applications. There was one man at a window who was repeatedly saying to each applicant “NO, NO, NO.” I continued to wait and when it was my turn to go to a window, it was the window of the “mean” man.

 I motioned to the woman behind me to go ahead, but he was too quick and I had to step up to his window. “Hi, how are you” said the man. “Fine, thank you” I replied. “Why do you want to go to the States?’ he asked. “I want to go see my sister” I answered. “What do your parents do?” was his next question. I said “They are farmers.” “Do you go to school?” was his final inquiry. “Yes” I answered as I pulled out my papers to prove I was a student. The man did not even look at the papers! “Okay, study hard, have a merry Christmas, go and wait in the waiting room for a receipt to get your visa,” were his instructions. When I received my receipt I was told that my visa would arrive in the mail in three weeks, a TEN YEAR VISA! Out of the 21 people riding on the bus that day only 2 people were granted visas. 

The 28 year old lady who I shared a seat with on the ride down was given only a 6 month visa. When the bus driver overheard that I was given a ten year visa he demanded “Show it to me!”

I'm not sure why this story stuck with me, but for some reason I am happy for this kid. It's good to see that God is helping Canadians get into this country legally.

Here is a nice story from reader Arcane Warrior. Apparently, there is a direct correlation between the number of comments AW writes and the size of his heart.

A member of AW's church was having trouble paying her rent and so the church came to her rescue. Here's AW's comment:

We just saw the last person to the door. The lady needed $442 to pay back rent and another $377 for rent on the 1st. The church gave $150 which we presented to her tonight. We had 23 attend our group tonight (much larger than the norm). We presented the need. $789 was collected from the group.

Grand total $939.

The money was deposited with the church and the check for $789 will be made out to her trailer park. She will be covered until August when the trailer gets paid off and frees up some cash flow. It was a risk for the group, but most were appreciative of the opportunity to give. I am glad we took the risk and listened to the Lord.

Thank God for the body of Christ.

Praise the Lord.

For those who have been asking, this is What Jesus Would Do.

I apologize for the lack of posts. But my hand has just about healed. Anyway, there hasn't been much to post in the way of interesting links. However, I did find a funny video from Inspirational Comedian Judson Laippley on youtube.com called:

The Evolution of Dance

It's the alltime favorite video on youtube, so I apologize to all those who have seen this before. But I just caught it, and it totally made me laugh at loud.

Anyway, thank you so much for your patience, and we'll try to get back to more serious religious themes next week.  

Long time reader and occasional blogger, Jack, listened to Frank Damazio's latest Father's Day sermon: Here's what Jack thought:

I've been listening to Frank's 6/18/06 father's day sermon … it spends the first 16-18 minutes going over a host of broad-brush stereo types about all the different kinds of *bad* father's – how it affects the family and kids, etc.

Assuming men attend CBC with their wives and kids, why on earth would FD speak so negatively of fathers, and not positively for the sake of the fathers who are there? 

Why preach that crap to fathers who obviously are setting a good example by their church attendance, etc.?  

And then at about 26 minutes or so, Frank starts talking about himself as the exemplary father - how many basketball games he watched of his kids … does he have any examples of great
fathers besides himself?

It reminds me of a certain parable about the pharisse who prayed "thank you God that I am not like that sinner over there …"

…I'm just finding it hard to believe that people go there Sunday after Sunday to listen to that kind of broad-brush  psycho-babble blather and self-promotion that Frank is peddling. Where was Jesus in that sermon?

Where were the scripture references? Was that supposed to be a teaching type of message?

Yuck!

This is actually a common criticism of Pastor Frank. His Father's Day Sermons always rip on the fathers in the audience. It makes me wonder about his relationship with his own father.

Everybody's buddy, Arcane Warrior, recently sent me this email.

I am attaching the link to a pdf version of a flyer I reveiced in the mail. It is called Seminars4Worship. On this 2 day seminar, I can learn a lot of new stuff about how to worship. If I act now, I can go to this conference for only $195. If I am an alumni, (meaning that I have gone before I assume) then the cost is $99. If I wait, I pay $249.

But wait, here's the good part. If I want to get the "Go Deeper" package, the cost jumps to $499. Granted, I will get one Integrity Worship Institute Class for free if I pay this amount.

I am losing heart.

Here's the link:

http://www.seminars4worship.com/images/S4W-web-broch-021606.pdf

If that seminar doesn't interest you try http://www.cmtc.org/. According to the brochure I received "If you are ready for increase you MUST attend this event". For only $119 (workbook not included) you will learn how to keep your money from the IRS.

Remember "GOD CANNOT AND WILL NOT BLESS A MESS" (apparently they don't consider being born a sinner a "MESS" and salvation a "BLESSING", but with all the new tithe laws who can blame them).

So I sliced my finger up real good in the dishwasher this morning. (JP stop reading. I don't want you to faint) I was reaching into the silverware bin, didn't see a huge knife sticking out of it and cut my finger so bad it required 6 stitches. It was my fault as I had loaded the dishwasher. And thus, the lesson as always: I'm an idiot. However, it also means my posting will be light the next week or so while I wait for my hand to recover.

On a bright note, I did get to spend 5 hours in the emergency room waiting for a doctor to stitch me up. Which meant I watched the entire Italy/US Soccer match in the lobby of the Georgetown University Hospital with several other badly injured guys. After about the third hour of waiting, one of my new soccer buddies from Costa Rica told me that if I wanted, we could just go across the street to a bar, buy a bottle of Vodka and he would stitch me up himself. I thanked him profusely for his generosity but told him that I was quite happy to contine waiting for a doctor.  I also switched seats and alerted the psychiatric ward to a possible loon masquerading as a Doctor in the emergency room.