Category Archives: Inspirational

One of the reasons I don’t struggle with depression is that my parents were encouragers. They always believed in me, always patted me on the back, always told me I could get the job done. They still do this today, and both are in their mid-80’s and their little boy is now 63 years old.

For years, I took my parent’s role in shaping my character for granted… as in, don’t all parents do this?

My blinders were ripped off when I met Rick. All through his childhood years,  his mom said to him, “You’re worthless! You will never amount to anything!”

Over and over, she repeated this mantra, until they had the power of  prophetic words on his life. He ended up fulfilling her prophecies by spending seventeen years in prison for drugs and robberies.

Although Rick is a believer, he still struggles with the view his mother painted on his life’s canvass. He wonders how Father could love him, why Jesus would die for him and if Holy Spirit will really be his Helper. Rick agrees with the lament the Apostle Paul wrote, “O wretched man that I am!”

One time, I prayed for Rick and saw him sitting on a bunk in a prison cell. He was miserable and sad; and yet, the prison door was open. He just had to get up and walk out into his freedom, but he could not do it.

And to be honest, it”s easy for me to tell Rick that he just needs to trust a little more, believe a little more, pray a little more and study a little more,  and then, he would be free of his past. You know, like me, the one who had loving parents who always encouraged me.

His mom’s words have been millstones hanging around his neck, weighing him down in the sea of life.

But there is good news for Rick and others like him who have suffered from parental abuses. This is their season of deliverance. Jesus has heard their cries and is now sending an army of Elijah prophets and apostles who will fulfill the mandates of Micah 4:5-6

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers…

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s  a little of this and a little of that, all written  to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian jouneys.

Generally, Frank Viola’s books, such as Reimagining Church, Pagan Christianity, The Untold Story, Who Is Your Covering, Rethinking the Wineskin and others have been weighty books for me. I read them slowly with a marker in hand to underline important points. When I finished them, I used them for research only and did not reread them.

This is not the case with his new book, From Eternity To Here. It is a masterpiece. Well-written. Easy to read. Each page entices you to keep on reading, turning the pages and not quit doing so until it is finished. I look forward to reading it again. And again.

Why?

In the Introduction, Frank states that “the book contains three narratives, woven together, to tell the epic story of God’s ageless purpose.”

The first narrative relates “the story of a God who is an ageless romantic, driven by one consuming pursuit” – a Bride for His Son. The second is about God’s desire to have a family and a home.  And the third reveals the Son’s desire to have a visible expression on earth through His Body.

These narratives will challenge, inspire,  inflame and transform your love for Father and Jesus to a higher level. Not only that, it will regenerate your love for the brethren.

Here is one of my favorite quotes:

If you and I wish to know Christ, hear Christ, touch Christ, see Christ, enjoy Christ and experience Christ in fullness, we will find Him in a living, breathing expression of His body. For the church, as God has called it to be, is the visible image of the invisible Christ. The church is the presence of Christ today just as Christ is the presence of God.  As Dietrich Bonhoffer put it, the church properly functioning is “Christ in community.” (From Eternity To Here, pp. 279.)

As usual, Viola cites numerous scriptures and quotes from countless authors to back up his claims, but he does it in such a way that the story is not slowed down a bit. It moves along.

You can buy a copy at your local book store or purchase it at 33% discount for another week here.

From Eternity To Here …  paperback. 315 pages. Published by David C. Cook

I am reading Frank Viola’s new book, From Eternity to Here, and will write a book review when I’m finished.  But his article, What’s Wrong With the Gospel?, is a great read.

Honey hung up the phone. “Guess what?” she said. Too excited to wait for my reply, she blurted out, “Becky is going to pay for the disc jockey at our wedding. Isn’t that great?”

Her words were like ice water being poured over my spine. My holiness teachings jolted me into a catatonic stiffness.

Noticing my discomfort, she asked, “Don’t you want dancing at our wedding?”

Oh no, I thought. What do I do? My bride to be wants dancing at our wedding? Isn’t this what Israel did while Moses was up on the mountain? They rose up to play and dance (Exodus 32).

The Lord seems to love taking a sledge hammer and banging away at my rigid religious stances. It’s almost as if He concocts these situations just for me. I think part of His reason for doing it is that He wants to change me; and the other part is that it is so much fun for Him and Father. He delights in it.

What did I do? I prayed and studied the Bible.

The party and dance put on by the father for his prodigal son’s return in Luke 15:25 loosened me up a little bit. Yes, this was not a wedding, but at least, it was indicative of a joyful celebration.

Then, I meditated on Jesus’ first miracle: the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).

The six stone waterpots of water being turned into wine works out to about a gallon or so of wine for each guest. A gallon of wine each. A wedding feast. Music. Celebration. No matter how I hard I tried, I could not imagine Jesus sitting off to the side at a table with his disciples and not participating in the celebration. I believe He jumped in and kicked up His heels with the other celebrants.

We are now in the midst of March Madness, the NCAA basketball playoffs. The final four has even been dubbed “the Big Dance”, but I believe they’re absolutely wrong. The Big Dance will be the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.

If you’re wondering about me, I will be out on the floor, strutting my stuff with my Bridegroom, my Husband,  Jesus, the dancing Son of God. And you? What will you be doing?

…a time to mourn and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3:4)

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s  a little of this and a little of that, all written  to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian jouneys.

I admit to being out of touch on the Christian music scene. The only reason that I have even heard of this song is that Sissel, a classic singer, sang this on her CD. Then, I checked youtube and this really, really broke my heart.