Gathered Around the Fire

Social Distancing for the Church  began a long long time ago.   In the Puritan age, it was thought that to remain true to God, one must remove themself from all exposure to the world.  By creating this physical distance from the world, it was hoped it would maintain a spiritual purity.  The church has traditionally programmed its members to remove themselves from any engagement in the 'secular' world.  'Come out from among them and be ye separate'  Advised to avoid worldly situations, to remain pure.  In doing so we have abdicated our role in being 'salt' in the world. And in so doing we have let non-believers redefine the institutions of culture, to cast their vision and their agenda for the Seven Mountains of Influence removing God from them.  Family - We caved in and let our cultur e redefine marriage and family . And that redefinition has since crept back into our churches. Isolation does not produce purity.  Family  Marriage Discipl...

THE CRY FOR JUSTICE in the streets...  I had a thought this morning Friday, June 5th as some friends came together for weekly conversation and prayer.  It was this phrase from the protesters in Minneapolis... NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.  Against the backdrop of high-level politicians 'concern' for transmission of COVID-19, and their decision to keep people inside their homes and limit social engagement, we now see thousands of people on the streets and in the park's standing and marching shoulder-to-shoulder across the cities of America. Lifting up their voices in a cry for Justice. Justice has been a prophetic theme voiced for the last five years. Jerame Nelson in October 2015 at the prophetic conference a call for Justice.  There are three forces - at work right now in the streets of America!  Grassroots reaction to police brutality - Blacks and Whites alike are  crying out for justice . Professional Activists - Posters, bull horns, chants, pushing their poli...

IN THE BIBLE  EGYPT   WAS ALWAYS A SYMBOL OF THE WORLD.  Specifically, a symbol of  depending  on natural resources, natural understanding, and looking for natural solutions to spiritual problems.  You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt , on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So  is  Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 2 Kings 18:21 King  Sennacherib Because the sovereign ruler of Egypt would not release God's people to worship. outside of Egypt.  The 10 plagues came to Egypt in the first days of the year leading up to Passover. Each plague the God of Israel sent to uncover the powerlessness of one of the gods of EGYPT. They could not deliver on the expectations of their worshippers.  Egypt's 10 gods - Egypt's 10 plagues  Hapi - 'water bearer' 'giver of life ' - Water turned to blood 7 days .  Geb , (god) of the earth. -  Lice from the dust   ...

WHO KNEW? = PRAYER FOR COVID-19 HOT SPOTS BEFORE THEY WERE HOT SPOTS.  The following page is my notes written during the Prophetic Round Table in Belle Plaine, MN on Jan 20, 2020. I found this on my computer on May 21, 2020. I was amazed to see the last two phrases which were a prayer we prayed at the end of that night.  Prophetic Round Table 1-20-2020 Belle Plain, MN  The Two Silver trumpets hammered out of a single block of Silver – Numbers 10:1-10 The  Lord  spoke to Moses:   “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to summon the community and have the camps set out.    When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting.     However, if(only) one is sounded, only the leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans, are to gather before you. “When you sound short blasts , the camps pitched on the east are to set out.    When you sound short blasts a secon...

  ARE YOU CONTAGIOUS?  WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH WHAT COMES OUT? What you say, reveals the overflow of your heartfelt emotions. What is flowing out of your mouth? That's what is in your heart! What you speak, you bring to life, you grant power to what you say. What comes out of your mouth is contagious. Is it FAITH OR is it FEAR? If your heart is full of FAITH then you have no need to 'mask' your heartfelt thoughts. If your heart is full of FEAR you need to cover your mouth Let your voice be like a trumpet! Read these Scriptures out loud   as declarations. Do it right now!   D o it  often to 'sanitize ' your heart  and cleanse your lips. I have Love!   I have Joy!   I have Peace!  I have Long-suffering.   I have Goodness.   I have Gentleness.   I have Meekness.   I have Faithfulness.  I have Self-control .    Gal 5:22-23 I ca...

DOES POPULATION DENSITY HELP DETERMINE WHERE TO REOPEN AMERICA? The last time I looked at NYC - Manhattan has a population density of over 66,000 persons per sq. mi. and Corona - Queens neighborhood has a density of 216,000/sq. mi. I compared that extreme to the state of Alaska with a population density of only 1 person per sq. mi.   My point was that  'one-size-fits-all' guidelines or restrictions do not ensure health and safety nationally and they do not work at the state level either. In my native Minnesota, the BIG city of St. Paul where our governor lives the population density is 5,818/sq. mi. Similarly,  Minneapolis has 7,019 persons per sq. mi. In contrast, Cooke County has a density of 3.72 persons per sq. mi. and Lake of the Woods County has 3.1 persons per sq. mi. That is a ratio greater than 2000:1!  (7,019:3.1 = 2,264:1) How could anyone imagine that one-size solutions would fit all the counties of Minnesota? People who live in the nine c...

MY PLAN TO OPEN AMERICA - or at least open Minnesota A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH DOES NOT MAKE SENSE? BUT I GUESS NO ONE 'BACK EAST' CAN SEE IT! Consider this... Where do the Power Brokers live and work? They live in really BIG Cities like NYC, D.C., - Manhattan has 66,940 people/sq. mi. or about 641 sq. ft. per person * - Corona, Queens, NYC  is the densest  neighborhood , at  216,000 residents/sq.mi.  or only 129 sq. ft./person. Including all the outside spaces.  Living there would be like living totally within my small bedroom which is 10' 9" x 12' = 129 sq. ft. or only 1/4 of the apartment shown below.   New York City neighborhood population map. 600 square feet of space  Senator Schumer Mayor Belosio, ABC,  MSNBC,  CNN,   FOX News  WSJ,  NY TIMES,  etc. etc. etc.  Power Brokers also live In BIG cities like Washington D.C. with 10,298 people per sq. mi. or only 2,700 s...