20 QUESTIONS

Please answer one, some, or all...


1. How often do you visit this blog site?

2. Do you think that this site detracts from or competes with the CITN website and blog in any way?

3. If you are a repeat visitor here, what makes you keep coming back?

4. How do you think that the current format and style compares to the first one?

5. Did you have a favorite article from the original BLOGINTHENOW, and if so, what was it?

6. Do you think that there was a topic covered in the first incarnation of this site that should not have been discussed?

7. In the original “You Asked For It!” series, (“Does Bishop Jim Swilley Preach the Gospel of Inclusion?”...“Is Bishop Jim Swilley a New Age preacher?”, etc.), was there a question that you would have liked to have had answered that was not covered?

8. Do you think that this blog site should have been maintained in its original format, regardless of any questionable reaction that it may have been receiving?

9. Are you a member of Church In The Now?

10. Are you a part of CITN’s cyber-congregation, and if so, in what part of the world do you live?

11. Is this blog your very first introduction to Church In The Now and/or Bishop Jim Swilley, and if so, how did you connect with it?

12. What is your favorite song on the playlist?

13. Is there a song that you would like to see added to the playlist, and if so, what is it?

14. Have you learned anything from this blog site, and if so, what have you learned?

15. How does BLOGINTHENOW compare with other similar sites that you have seen?

16. What motivates you to post comments?

17. Do you think that this blog site is an asset to Church In The Now, and if so, why?

18. How does regular participation in the blog enhance your sense of the necessity for community?

19. Is there a topic that you would like to see discussed here?

20. How has BLOGINTHENOW best served you?

Thanks for your participation!

A Blessing for Bloggers!

Recently, I posted a blessing on my daily web-column called One On One on the CITN site that really seemed to release something powerful into the atmosphere, and greatly affected those who received it. Today I want to adapt that same blessing into one that will be applicable to those of you who are a part of what is happening here every day at this site…


…In the name that is above every other name, I want to command a blessing on you today, whoever you are…just because you logged on here…because I am thinking about how appreciative I am for all of you who participate in BLOGINTHENOW in any capacity…for all that this cyber-community is NOW…for all that it is becoming…as each one of you bloggers “comes out of the tent” and “looks up and counts the stars”, I believe that you are moving beyond old limitations today…and by the Christ that is being revealed in you as individuals and as a network, I say that you are allowing yourself to express His nature freely and creatively in the earth, and in cyberspace…

…I speak a blessing of grace over those of you who are currently in transition in your life, whether you came to this site intentionally for inspiration, or just happened upon it as you were surfing the web…remember that life is about change, and so I say, in faith, that you are able to adapt easily to the new...and I also would like to add that I don’t believe you came to this site by accident…

…I prophecy over you that you are able to choose to allow all your experiences to be joyous and loving today…that you are really able to embrace, once and for all, that all things are working together for your good…that the Lord is perfecting that which concerns you…that something really good is about to happen to you, if for no other reason than that you logged on here today…

…Walk in the Spirit today, and as you manifest the peace that passes understanding, relax into the flow of life and let it provide all that you need easily and comfortably...Jesus said that to those who have, more will be given, and I say that you “have”…

…I bless you to forgive yourself and others…you are logged onto BLOGINTHENOW…it’s all about the NOW!…so release the past and move forward with love in your heart...go fearlessly into the next “glory” with a VISION for a brighter future…and if you happened to log on to this site to be critical or antagonistic in any way, I forgive you…and if you have written and posted unkind or untrue things about me on the internet, I forgive you, too…and if you are someone in my life whose reputation and online publicity has negatively affected my reputation, I forgive you, as well…I speak life and light to every broken relationship, and I release the mercy of God to flow right through cyber-space, right through your computer, and right into your heart!

…Know that God loves you just like you are, so you have permission to love and approve of yourself, and to be at peace with His plan for your life, and with your own feelings…stand tall and free today because you are not just a part of a cyber-community…you are part of a MOVEMENT…

…BLOGINTHENOW bloggers (or “Bloggers In The Now”), you are strong…great in number…capable…a loving and lovable segment of the Body of Christ…free…giving…united…active…powerful...

…the revelation knowledge that you post here today and in the future is going to be awesome…there will continue to be a free expression of love and synergy on this site…and you will receive a word from the Lord through the expressions of other bloggers that will enable you to enjoy your life as you allow the Holy Spirit to flow through every part of it…

…I am enthusiastic about this blog site…every part of it…I love seeing this vision of communication and restoration unfold every day of my life…each day gets better and filled with more energy, vitality and passion, article by article, post by post…

…I extend my love to all the citizens of this “cyber-city set on a hill”…you are being led by the Spirit today, so accept Divine guidance, trust the process of life, and believe that you are always safe, secure and protected in the Secret Place of the Most High...rest securely knowing that my God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus…only right action is taking place in your life today, and all details take care of themselves…

…Be blessed today and every day…visit here often, whether you agree with the things I say here or not…I may not always publish your posts for various reasons, but your opinion is still valuable to me, and I appreciate you even taking the time to participate, whatever your motive…

...if you live in the metropolitan Atlanta area and are looking for a spiritual home, please come visit us at Church In The Now…if you live somewhere else in the world, become part of our cyber-congregation at www.churchinthenow.org, and if you are already a part of the miracle that is CITN, know that I love you more than I can say!

Live and move and have your being in Him today…and again I say, BE BLESSED!

Who Do Men Say That I Am?

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. – Napoleon



Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardour of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old. – Fyodor Dostoyevsky



A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. – Mahatma Gandhi



I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history. – H. G. Wells



Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair. – Blaise Pascal



As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene...No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. – Albert Einstein




I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure, Jesus Christ. – Fidel Castro




Here is a Man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that contemporary society would consider a sign of greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing of this world, only the power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him, another betrayed Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on Earth—His coat. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race, the greatest source of guidance and divine inspiration. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life!—Jesus! - Dr. James Allan Francis



Who do you say that He is?

GOOD NEWS!

First, I want to say that it's a great day to be alive! And I also want to say that I love the synergy of this blog, and the great cyber-environment that we are all creating here together...a place where different kinds of people can connect, knowing that the gospel will be embraced and celebrated here every day. More than anything else, I want to be a steward of that gospel...the authentic gospel...the definition of which is simply: the GOOD NEWS. The true, eternal gospel of God is positive, proactive and life-affirming, which is why I never want to be labeled as someone who doesn’t believe in something, or who is “against” a particular doctrine. I cannot reconcile that kind of negative posturing with the constructive nature and life-giving essence that is required of genuine and effective gospel preaching. My gospel is the one that Jesus espoused...the one that is symbolized by the simple structure of the cross...a structure consisting of just a vertical beam and a horizontal beam, representing two basic tenets: "LOVE GOD"..."LOVE OTHERS".

One reason that I changed the format of this blog a few days ago, is that after I wrote some articles to defend my personal reputation and the reputation of my ministry and immediate family, and to answer some theological questions, I realized that all I really want to do is to bless and help people, and to bring them together in a loving atmosphere, and to speak light into the darkness. On a personal note, it was important to me that those who acknowledge my ministry (whether they agree with it or not) at least realize that my theology is organic to me. It is not the result of any outside influence on my thinking, and it is nothing new to me – the things that I wrote about in the previous incarnation of this blog are things that I have seen in the Scriptures for many years. But I think that I've made that point now, whatever my motives and reasons may have been, and I am at peace about it.

Paul said: "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9 - NKJV)

Unfortunately, that trend that Paul saw beginning to happen in his own lifetime...the drifting away from the basic, uncomplicated, two-part gospel, and the moving toward an unnecessarily complicated "different gospel"...has now evolved into a rigidly, over-organized, religious "Christianism", made up of hundreds and hundreds of denominations and camps, all basically at odds with one another, and severely divided over their beliefs and doctrines. The allowance and acceptance of the "different gospel" that Paul warned the Galatians about, has created an infrastructure of adherents who are generally hostile and antagonistic toward one another, and are preoccupied with proving each other wrong. The Bible is used by them as a weapon, and, as a result, they basically preach everything BUT Love God/Love Others!

I am a minister, and in that capacity I do care about, on some level, what people think of me and my preaching. But I have officially opted out of "the system". I understand the concept of contending for the faith...but, at the end of the day, I really am only a believer...and I believe in a good God – a God who is love – revealed through a strong, victorious Jesus...a conquering Last Adam who is much more powerful and successful than the first one was or ever could be. I believe in an effective atonement, a finished work on the cross, and in the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit in the earth. I believe that God so loved the world that He gave His Son to redeem it, and that when that world finally sees how wonderful that firstborn Son really is...when they know that their Redeemer lives...then every knee will willingly bow to Him and every tongue will openly confess that He is Lord! In a word, I believe in loving God, and in loving my neighbor as I love myself.

If anyone needs more than that, they are free to explore their own spiritual journey. But, as for me and my house, I/we don't need a different gospel, or another gospel...the original one is just fine with me/us, thank you very much...and my/our gospel is still nothing more or less than the GOOD NEWS! My prayer for you today is that GOOD NEWS will be the theme of this day, all day today. Enjoy your salvation! Enjoy your life! Enjoy your day! God loves you, and that's enough...and that's GOOD NEWS!

March Forth!!!

“It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... Who, at
the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who,
at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat"

- Theodore Roosevelt


I love this T. Roosevelt quote, and have used it in at least one, maybe two, of my books because I so appreciate, and want to encourage, people who are “in the arena”…people who keep going, no matter what. Proverbs 24:16 says that a righteous man may fall seven times (the number of infinity), but he always gets back up again. Getting up…moving forward…pressing on…refusing to quit…today, on this date in particular, I celebrate all of these concepts and ideas.

In the introductory conversation with my first college room-mate as we were moving into the dorm, I asked him when his birthday was, and he said, “I will tell you the date and you will never forget it, because it is March 4th, and it sounds like the command to “March forth!”…and he was right…that was 32 years ago, and I have never forgotten it. I’m sure that I’ll call him later today to wish him a happy birthday, as I have done every March 4th in the last three decades, because I always remember the play on words of this date.

We have been singing…and singing and singing…this really great song at CITN for the last two Sundays called Moving Forward, written by Israel Houghton, and the worship leader from my cousin-in-law’s church, Ricardo Sanchez (that would be Jentezen Franklin, Pastor of Free Chapel Worship Center in Gainesville, GA).

If you haven’t heard it, you may not be able to grasp the power of it by just reading the lyrics, but here they are, anyway. The song is very timely for me and for us right now.

Moving Forward
By: I. Houghton & R. Sanchez

Chorus –
I’m not going back, I’m moving ahead
I’m here to declare to you my past is over
In You, old things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ, I’m moving, moving forward.

V. 1.
What a moment You have brought me to.
Such a freedom I have found in You, You’re the healer
Who makes all things new, Yeah, yeah, yeah

V. 2.
You have risen with all power in Your hands
You have given me a second chance
Hallelujah, hallelujah, yeah, yeah yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

…Not going back, I’m moving ahead
I’m here to declare to you my past is over
In You, old things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ, I’m moving, moving forward

Forward…forward…forward…forward…forward

You make all things new
Yes, You make all things new and
I will follow You forward…

The term “surrendered my life to Christ” probably means many different things to each of my readers, but the main point of the song, to me, is the concept of moving forward (or “marching forth”), and that idea has universal appeal, regardless of your theology. I personally love the part of the song when it just keeps repeating “You make all things new, yes, you make all things new…” It gives me great joy to sing those words over and over again! We can move forward (march forth), because He makes all things new!

My devotional book A Year In The Now is currently sold out (we’re about to publish a fourth edition with a new cover and a foreword by Dr. Kelley Varner) but each day’s reading is posted on the CITN site. We don’t, however, post the poems that I wrote for each of the months, so for those of you who have the book, go read the poem for March. It’s one of my personal favorites, and it’s all about the newness of spring and the possibilities that come with it.

Three things before I go…(1) Debye is the Pastor of the Day at the State Legislature today, which is very cool (I’m always so proud of her)…(2) For those of you who are ministers connected with me in any way, don’t forget that Body Builders is tomorrow at 10 AM in the CITN café (if you don’t know what Body Builders is, go to the CITN website and check it out…(3) For those of you who miss the earlier, edgier stuff that was on this site, you can still find basically all of the original articles and comments online in cached form. If you’re interested I can tell you how to find them…

But most importantly, whatever you are going through today, don’t move in reverse…there’s empowerment in simple determination and perseverance. So don’t quit…MARCH FORTH!!!

Practicing "The Jacob Principle"

A big THANK-YOU to those of you who have blogged on the CITN site to give your positive feedback about the word that I gave yesterday…whether you were ITB, or whether you were logged on to stream the service from wherever you live in the world, it is always great to hear from you, and it is especially gratifying to hear that so many of you “got it”!

I’m not at all sure that I am finished with the teaching on “The Jacob Principle”…we’ll see…when you are in a certain flow of revelation, the more that you say about your subject, the more you have to say about it. Lately, it seems like so much happens in the course of a week that I never really know from one Sunday to the next where the most abundant green pastures will be for my flock.

But I must say that this whole series has been a pleasure to preach…not only is it exciting for me just to talk about the concepts of visualization, it is really something extra special when I can literally see the message being confirmed at CITN, week by week!

As I sit here writing this, CNN is on in the background (I love CNN!), and they are doing a news special about this coming Tuesday’s very important Presidential Primaries (our entire household is very engaged and interested in all things political, so we watch a lot of news)…and as I listen and type at the same time, I am once again struck by how different things are in the presidential race landscape than was predicted just a few months ago.

It’s looking more and more like the race is probably going to come down to Obama vs. McCain, but until fairly recently, all of the political pundits and pollsters were convinced it was a shoo-in that '08 would be all about Clinton vs. Guliani! The names Obama and Huckabee were virtually unknown, and, I can’t remember if he said that the Lord told him to do this or not, but Pat Robertson endorsed Guliani because he said that Hilary was inevitable as the Democratic candidate, and that Rudy was the only one who could beat her. Boy, was he wrong on both counts!

My point in saying that is this…we are living in a time when ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, and you can NEVER SAY NEVER! In my lifetime, I don’t remember a presidential race like this one…and not just because the candidates include a woman and an African-American for the first time. So many twists and turns have occurred that it’s nearly impossible to get a feel for what is for sure going to happen in November. For the Dems, Obama is leading on many levels, and yet Clinton is still not entirely out of the race. And for the G.O.P., McCain seems to be the winner, and yet Mike Huckabee is like the Ever-Ready Bunny who just keeps going and going and going! I think I know what’s going to happen this coming Tuesday, but, honestly, I can’t be sure any more! We’ll all just have to wait and see.

But whatever happens, you have to admit that there’s something really different about this race and about this year. As I said a few articles ago…2008 is UNCOMMON! I believe that it is uncommon for all of us…and I expect God to do exceedingly, abundantly more than I can ask or think in it, according to the power that works in me!

In light of all that, I want to encourage you to continue to climb the ladder/stairway into your own personal heaven. Keep moving up…step by step…rung by rung…glory by glory…until you have that paradigm shift that causes you to say, with Jacob, “How awesome is THIS place! The Lord was here all the time, and I didn’t know it!” Remember that God says, “SEE, I am doing a new thing…will you not PERCEIVE it?!"

When you are in the process of a steady climb, it's sometimes hard to see how far you've come...literally, the PROCESS obscures the PROGRESS...but when you open your spiritual eyes, you can perceive that you really are developing a state of mind that will make all things new! If you haven't heard this series, you can order it from www.churchinthenow.org...if you have heard it, tell me what part of it has most resonated with you.

The Glass is Half-Full!

Hey, I don’t know if any of you saw the really funny post that I had up for a couple of hours last night with the SNL clip of “Debbie Downer” on it, but I decided to take it off of the site. I had downloaded the video from Google Video, and it looked great, but I forgot that downloaded vids link up to other clips from their host site, and I wasn’t sure what the clip that I put on the page might potentially lead to. I didn’t want to worry about the possibility of inadvertently posting something inappropriate, so I went the safe route and just removed it. It's a very funny clip, though (it's the one where the family is at Disney World), and it's easy to find online.

But the point of the article was about choosing the positive over the negative...going the Joshua and Caleb route, instead of taking the path of the 10 negative spies. All twelve of them were telling the truth about what they saw in Canaan, but they had different realities because they all had different perceptions.

I explored this concept in my book 20/20 Vision: Changing Your Life by Changing the Way You See Things (the book that they interviewed me about on Streaming Faith last week). Dr. Mark Chironna wrote the preface to the book, and it has a really cool workbook that accompanies it which several churches have used (and are currently using) to teach their congregations about vison and perception and creating reality. Even a church in Uganda that is doing great work in the area of AIDS prevention just started using it, which I'm really excited about.

I'll probably touch on some of this subject today in our service at CITN (as I did last week) while I finish up the series on "The Jacob Principle". If you'd like to hear it but don't live in the area, you can stream the service live at 10:00 AM EST. Just log onto www.churchinthenow.org and follow the instructions.

Is the glass half-empty? Yes, it is. Is the glass half-full? Yes it is. Parallel realities can and do exist...which one do you see for your life?