Sunday, July 20, 2008



"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

- Alexander Graham Bell

22 comments:

Erik said...

Hello Miracles on the Blog,

Sunday --- Got to continue with Miracles, since it is after Midnight, and no one else appears up !!!! What happened to (oldies will remember the early days of cable …’USA.. Up,,All Night’, or has everyone else been raptured and I am here because I watched USA,, Up all Night back then ?


Yes, Yes, Yes. In all of there that is, the exquisite beauty of the moment is unmatched. All of the senses firing in the moment, all the perception, all of the love, the peace, God, the Christ… The Holy Spirit.. you…me…everyone at once in The Celebration/ Expression that is always ongoing, through laughter and tears, singing & mourning, satisfaction & frustration – all and more equally sacred, blessed, alive!

It is fun!!! I have been reminded over and over of the fun of ALL of life again in these last few days. Last night was reminded through ‘Mama Mia!” with the music from ABBA, with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan (Great James Bond and can sing) . Life is created By God for us to most of all indulge in, live fully, skinned knees, beauty, heart full and heart cracks, those we love, those who we see ourselves in and those who show us ourselves through who they are. The beautiful mix of every ingredient, savory and sweet, for the continuous meal. Far more important than what can seem as the most amazing impartation, living it with never the understanding is Godspeed light years ahead of understanding without living it. Praise God we have all.

Miracles abound today, as I celebrated the day with a wonderful friend, we carried supplies to a friend, and enjoyed the day doing every, most important thing… giggling, eating, shopping, seeing new places, considering colors, tastes, flavors, new things, old things, singing , entertainment, praising God, talking of the ‘lightest’ issues and the ‘deepest’ all in the presence of God - experiencing each moment as the simple and awesome miracle it is. Watched again the movie ‘Defending Your Life’ , so in the flow of trusting and boldness in who we are. The distrust of God, our fear of who we are is what we block ourselves with, until we see it enough times, through Love, we plunge into it.

The miracle I know exists in every thing, moment, word, breath – living. Each experience is praise.

HS showed me something yesterday. 30, 60, 100 fold return. Grace is always available and dependable, it is 30 fold return. From Grace, We can change our mind about our own standing with God. That is the 60. We can fully cast ourselves, embrace, enjoy, laugh ------ see each giggle and tear as in God, that is transformation 100 fold return. (Tree of Life?) Peace that passes all understanding, with no degree necessary, no conferment, (although those are wonderful) just believe. … trust…live it all. Miraculous.

Erik said...

I almost feel bad blogging twice in a row, but I have no regrets. Had to say, after seeing Bishop's full post ,I might have to go buy a new pair of jeans, (if that mfgr produces men's jeans).

Perfect! A closed door is watched when we look back, and begin tasting the pillar of salt, rather than looking forward and salting. We salt the world,and our own lives at the same time.

I had an opportunity to speak to my self in the past tonight, which reminded me how much my future self is speaking to me today. I love being abe to encourage my past self, and can remember the feling of it then, and listening today from my future self talking to me tonight as I speak to a past self. Peace, 'It's better than OK, just keep going. As unclear as it looks now/then,it all becomes clear, take each step as you have/ are.

Fear not. Regret comes from fear of the future, fear neither the past or the future, know NOW there is no condemnation.

Anonymous said...

As the older I get, the more I realize, about the things that I can't do any thing about, that it's not worth the effort to even try.

Regrets? Are you kidding me? If I allowed my self to start digging them up... Well, I am not going to dig them up, 'cause, I mean think about it, no one can beat the living snout out of me about my regrets more than me. So why would I allow myself to go dig up a bunch of shi tooska (the things I wish I would have never done) in my past and beat me up with it? Nope, it aint happening.

Oh, and about the future, well it's kinda like this. Whenever something comes my way, I have to consider how I would file it.

Would it go in the regret file, a file that I am refusing to reconsider, which has been marked, "wasted time," or

Would it go into the worth it file,
the file that was for the things that I did that had worth, the kind of things that I could share and would edify.

These days I'm about choosing life, the kind that has "more abundantly" chasing after it.


NTL

Donald said...

No regrets. I don't really have any but this topic reminded me of something a dear friend of mine back in Alabama said one time.
He was the one that everybody wanted to be seen with, have at your party, etc. He was/is just a super cool guy.
Years ago he had some type of growth develop in his throat and had to have it surgically removed.
Prior to the surgery he was given a bleak report that it could be cancerous and if it was glandular related it could be quite serious.
Well that put all of us that thought he was the coolest thing in the world in the dumps.
We figured that he would be pretty much down and out about all of this and the next time he showed up at our gathering spot we figured we would sort of hold things down a little bit rather than be partying as usual.
Understand that this was a beer drankin', dope smoking crowd so I am going to make a direct quote and I don't want anyone to be too offended.
Our friend showed up and we were all serious acting and everything. We started discussing the diagnosis and how we really hated to hear about it.
He said and I'll always remember this, "Ah the hell with that diagnosis. If I don't make it all I can say is that life has been good and if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a damn thing! Now turn up that stereo and fire one up!"
He's still living and hasn't changed a bit. Well, I don't think he still smokes dope.

Anonymous said...

NO REGRETS....just lessons! We tend to move in the direction that we're focusing so looking forward and choosing LIFE!

My life has been one big MIRACLE after the other! Which I am oh so grateful!!! However, one of the greatest MIRACLES is that we are each divinely created for a specific purpose to 'CARRY A CANDLE' that only we can to help light the candles of those that have gone out and need some help!

Muah to all the candle lighters here! Your candles are burning brighly lighting up the darkness!

~Joy~Peace~Love~Smiles~Hugs

Crownjewel

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Good stuff, everyone...

The kids just left...returning to North Carolina...had a wonderful time with them this weekend...miss them already...

To those of you who attend CITN and were ITB today...what happened during the "offering" this morning?...

I don't know what was going on in the Spirit exactly, but whatever it was, it was cool...

...unusual anointing there today...

...anyone else think so?

Anonymous said...

Yep - offering thing ITB very cool - very Spirit-driven - Very God!

I am waging my own internal war against a mental mindset that leaves me bound to a world system of money - I am repenting into the Kingdom way of thinking about God's economy and God's system of provision. All the resources in the world are His and He allocates them as He sees fit. If I can continually tap into the God system of provision, then I can free myself from the world system of provision. It's challenging - but I am making significant progress. I have reached a point where I am really excited about the renewal and transformation I am growing through. He makes ALL things new!

It all ties into the "one Lord" concept - if He really is your one and only source then you can't make a formula out of how and what and when to give. You have to be Spirit-led in every decision (not the least of which is every financial decision).

God is in control of it all and He WANTS us to let Him move as He sees fit. My control and manipulation bears no fruit - His control and direction bears ALL fruit.

Thank you God for the all encompassing revelation you have given me to "FEAR NOT".

Ebony said...

I was there, and it was very cool, hard to describe, but "indescribable" seems to fit CITN perfectly. The word today was great Bishop. I only wish I had heard it 18 months ago during my anxiety attacks, but it just reminded me that even though I am what God says I am (well, calm, forgiven), if I tell myself something to the contrary more than I tell myself what He says I am (sick, unforgiven), I'll mutate into that. It's just like the song I sang in Sunday School "oh be careful little tongue what you say." And the blog for today is a word for me too. So here's to living well and with no regrets.

Son of Zadok said...

I just had to start laughing when the "offering" was being taken. Their was an outbreak of dancing here and their like pop corn getting going. In my spirit I could see the whole place just getting out of their seat and running down the aisles. You know one of those moves where the Spirit drops and everyone just enters into a Holy Ghost dance fest! It seems you all were really close to that. The energy was palpable, even streaming. Whatever it was it made me really happy and I loved it. Bishop I liked your moves as well, ha-ha. Although, when was the last time you danced like David danced? Oh and Pastor Debye; Your zeal is remarkable. I can tell you've got one thing on your mind during praise and that's giving God the glory! Thank you for your fire.

I said I'd ask this even though I feel funny doing so because I feel I know your heart, but I'll keep my word.

"If you disagree with me your just wrong, that's all"

Is that really how you feel Bishop? One of my friends who streamed for the first time today asked me about it.

Keep pressing in CITN. Greater things are still to be done in the city! Great and marvelous things which we've perceived not!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, so cool today ITB. I felt like my insides were doing flips. Never heard the song before but man!!! That's all I can say...Man!! I just wanted to stay in that song forever. It was like Gods encore to praise and worship. I felt like crying and laughing in a giddy kind of way all at the same time. An odd/unique bunch elecits an odd/unique presense I guess.

Bishop, thanks for the Word today. I needed it. It burned. I confess that I've been fearful - and I don't want to attract the thing I have been trying not to be fearful of. The Word brings truth, with hearing the truth brings a responsibility to change my thoughts/life accordingly. I can do it! -You're definitly raising a congregation that can have no excuses because of the absence of the lack of knowledge. I believe we really were taken to the next level of accountability over our words and attention. Thanks.

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Again, very cool stuff, people…thanks for the feedback…

SOZ, don’t know how exactly to answer the dancing question, but concerning the statement that your friend asked about, I suppose my answer would be that I was semi-serious when I said that.

By that I mean…and I think anyone who has ever listened to me more than once would have to know this…that I absolutely don’t claim to know it all, and that I am in a flow with many, many people who don’t agree with me on quite a few things. In fact, I say all the time that “the more I know, the less I know”, and I personally don’t know of another minister, anywhere, who is more tolerant of people who believe differently.

But in the context of what I was saying today, my point was about the importance of having confidence in the “part” that you know, even though, in the big picture, we all only “know in part”. More specifically, (and, again, you must consider the context in which it was said), I was talking today about not calling myself “controversial” any more, because, truth be told, I sincerely do not believe that I am. When, as a minister, you say you are controversial a lot, the overall implication is that you’re not sure that what you preach is right…and I do believe, deep down in my heart, that I am 100% right about my revelation of the Christ, and the manifestation of that Christ in the person of a completely triumphant Jesus. And I say that in all humility!

To minister effectively, you have to find the balance between being open and teachable, and still being able walk in the confidence in which Jesus walked concerning His teaching (a confidence, by the way, which many of his contemporaries considered to be blatant arrogance). It’s not easy to do, I assure you, but by the help of the Helper, I am finding a way to do it every day!

I hope your friend will stream again.

Peace.

Anonymous said...

Anon on May 19 said "It just seems to me, that a true move of the Spirit would show up in the offerings, too."

I am decreeing a ditto of today, soon and very soon.

NTL

I

Unknown said...

Pondering the "offering" this morning, I like SonofZ's popcorn analogy. I was thinking waves but popcorn is better.

A friend I was considering it with said it was like there was a crack in the wall and it kept getting bigger and bigger and will get bigger until the whole wall is down.

So when did it start? I think there was a sound of joy coming from your personification of the Word you were about to give and that "little change" you've been speaking about for the last few weeks happened, first in a few and then in more. It was the real JOY of giving that took hold and created the crack in the wall.

And like repentence getting easier and easier as its done, it is easier to have Joy in giving when you see or sense it and can know it when its there or not there.

Very, very cool it was--scratch that--it IS!

Anonymous said...

...what happened in the offering today?...destiny...

You often teach what the scriptures say...make a place and He will come...and He is TOO COOL!

Son of Zadok said...

Bishop, that was a very thoughtful answer. I'm amazed that with all the demands you have on yourself you would even take time to answer it. It wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest if you hadn't. And for myself, the fact that I've heard you almost twice a week since your anniversary service, well let me just say I have no doubt in your sincerity, humbleness, and graciousness.
However you did respond and that alone speaks volumes and will garner much respect from this young lady, not that you seek it.
But yeah I tell people about CITN all the time now. In fact I'd love to start making little 2 inch by 1 inch slips that some friends of mine and I could start hitting parking lot cars with. The church name, URL, and times of the services. Maybe I could fax you an idea sometime on paper. Are you open to that idea?
Again thanks for your response. I love you all. Your such a lifeline!

tracy said...

David said the offering was "unusual" today while streaming, felt a strong anointing . We hope it was overflowing!! Erik- you always tend to see the cup half full and make us do the same...Donald you are a trip, David wants to hang out with you. You are our kind of people. SOZ - tell your friend to search it out for himself - we did and Bish does not say that unless he is certain about something. I totally agree with the not saying you are controversial, that just puts a preconception in people's heads and people by nature are pessimistic. As far as no regrets....none here, any regret per say has been repented of , learned from and moved on.

Erik said...

Hello,

This is what I saw/experienced this morning, especially during the worship. I saw light/ energy waves of various colors, hard to describe them, the colors we know, but different. In bands, waves, they were intense, but without squinting. Large bands, and slim strings, dancing smoothly among itself, and also through each person, with flow from each person. None of it was bursting, but bright, differing in intensity (not that some were more than others, just different).

This was a merging, the waves from different sources, converging not in one point, but melding, and still unique. The colors did not bleed into each other, remaining intact, but fully entwined, not out of dependency, but choice.

The waves originated outside of all of us, and connected uniquely in each of us. Originated outside, and had a place within each. There was music, yes our songs and music, and other music – all complimenting, in unison, same key? I am not sure, but it was smooth, flowing, beautiful, and distinct.

It was choreographed out of desire, not plan, but fully intentional.

The words that kept repeating in my mind, as I found myself mouthing them

---- -We Believe You, We Trust You, We agree with You - who we are, with Your intention. We are here. Yes.

Son of Zadok said...

Hey see Avatar, it was Waves. Erik saw them. And all along I thought it was Popcorn , go figure!

Anonymous said...

Hey all

My mind has been bouncing off a lot of things today.
Offering can we say Mary Mary bring it home.

For the past couple of months I have been face with the mirror image of who I am.
A mirror image of what I do and why I do it.
One question came to mind today
Why do I do what I do?
Several other questions came to mind .
Why does the church do what it does?
Do we just come to church to be fed or do we come to church to learn how to feed?
Is church just a meeting place?
Is church just a place to get away from the everyday world?
Are we playing church or are we being the church?
Are we being community shakers or are we pew warmers?
Are we reaching out to others or are we wanting the church to take care of our wants and/or needs.
Do we really pray for those in need or do we let others do that deed?
Do we worship with our true heart or do we sit and count down the clock?
Do we really believe?
Do we really have faith?
Do we really know who we are?

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

Bishop
I have a similar story about Christina's accident But I would like to share that with you on another day. I don't want to share online.
Glad to see them home today. Praying for safe journey for them.

My mind is still bouncing .

Peace To All

Anonymous said...

Good night Blog :o),

Today was a long Sunday...much of it spent in the company of folks whose very presence is (unintentionally) a reminder of my past folly. There could be no greater close to this day than to take a few minutes to remind myself that I have NO REGRETS!

While many of my choices have served to make my way hard, I accept that God’s mercy has redeemed me and also my time. I recognize that my obedience would have been better than to have had to draw on Christ’s sacrifice to cover me but my life experiences are what they are. All the good, the bad and the really ugly things have worked together for my good.


Infact, the situations in my life where I have created the greatest messes are also the ones that have set me up for the greater revelation of the I AM...both in the heavenlies and in my own life. The colorful journey of my life has forced me to continuously come to understand more deeply who I am and more importantly who HE IS.


I hope to never be so far removed from the realities of the Egypt experiences in my life that yearn to return to them. I hope to never lose sight of how much Christ paid for my ticket to the promise land. I hope to always grasp the concept of God’s purpose being bigger than my plans. Through my own failures, I have learned to be more forgiving, to be more apt to rely on the strength of the Lord rather than dwell in the frailty of my weakness, to trust God more, to love more. I have learned that if I will just behold the Lamb, things will turn out okay.

I do not cry over my past, I smile that it happened. I am grateful for every relationship and every season. God is in the restoring business and He never wastes a perfectly good mistake. I understand why as Joseph recounted his past he was able to declare, “Surely I am in the place of God, what was meant for evil, He has turned into good.”

-shannon

Anonymous said...

Well, as the door of this past week closes, and a brand new week, with a brand new door starts to open, I pray that all good stuff is just as waiting to see us as we are waiting to see it. Peace to all my friends and Thank you Jesus...

NTL

Anonymous said...

I suppose I have many regrets when I look at things from where I am now; Hind site is 20 20 you know. I can see NOW how I could have done things differently and had a better outcome of many things. But then again I would not know this had I not underwent this experiences of poor judgment on my part. So when you look at it from this perspective, I have no regrets, seeing the necessity of these mistakes made into lessons of life to bring me to where I am NOW.

Peace,
Dennis