I'll Be Back!* **

In my opinion, the last two or three days on this blog have been the best, yet. There certainly has been a lot of activity here…

One reason that I’ve been so engaged in the last few hours is that we’re taking a family vacation next week, and I’m going to put the blog on hold until we get back. I’ve been pouring a lot into the dialogue before I leave because I’m going to miss it – and all of you – but I need to take a break from everything for a minute. I know that there is a setting I could put the blog on where the comments would be on auto-post, but I’d rather not do that for several reasons. While I’m gone, please use the CITN blog to keep the conversation going.

I will be at church tomorrow (live), and I’ve got a great word for you. In the meantime, you can go ahead and post, and can continue until early Sunday evening.

I’ll be back later today.

_________________________

*Later...


Hey bloggers,

I was going to post this, but I’ll just give you the site and you can go and read it there for yourself. Pastor Greg Crawford is a good brother and friend of mine…a real blessing to me and to the ministry. I guess you would say that he is unofficially part of Now Ministries (many of you know him from Body Builders). Anyway, I had breakfast with him last week when he was coming through town and he shared this word with me about Isaac sowing in famine. I think it’s a good word for all of us right now. Go to www.gregcrawford.net and read it (Go Not Down to Egypt) and tell me what you think…

I know we've been all about Egypt lately (I still believe that there is corn there), but this is a story for a different purpose and paradigm...

_____________________


**Sunday

Thanks for the feedback from today...Happy 4th of July...see you in a few days...













Love you all...

All kidding aside, I want to give God a praise for what happened in N. Korea today. In case you don't know, they blew up a 60-foot cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility, dramatically destroying the most obvious symbol of their recent nuclear proliferation. The tower isn't too technically significant--North Korea could easily build another one--but its destruction is the nation's latest step back from the brink of nuclear confrontation with the United States and its allies.

I don't say a lot about our president. I was taught that if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all. But today I am rejoicing that something like this happened on his watch, and I will gladly give him props for being a part of the peace process. It's certainly better than hearing him call NK part of the "Axis of Evil". Kim recently prophesied that Bush wouldn't leave office in disgrace...I don't know...it was just nice to hear about this today.

Peace on earth, good will toward men...

????

Hey bloggers,

What can I say? I have some things to share with you, so check back later today...

Peace

Thursday Thanks

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6, 7 – NLT)


Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's peace shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6, 7 – AMP)


Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

(Philippians 4:6, 7 – The Message)

Finish this sentence: "Today I am thankful for…"

Bishop Jim Earl Swilley

Hey bloggers,

This obviously isn't my article for today, I just need to post these variations on my name, including my middle name (which I really don't use, professionally, any more) for the sake of visibility and accessibility on the search engines:

Bishop Jim Swilley; Bishop Jim E. Swilley; Bishop Jim Earl Swilley; “Bishop” Jim Earl Swilley; “bishop” Jim Earl Swilley; Jim Swilley; Jim E. Swilley; Jim Earl Swilley; Bishop Jim Swilley blog; Bishop Jim E. Swilley blog; Bishop Jim Earl Swilley blog; “Bishop” Jim Earl Swilley blog; “bishop” Jim Earl Swilley blog
Jim Swilley blog; Jim E. Swilley blog; Jim Earl Swilley blog; bloginthenow; BLOGINTHENOW; Church In The Now; CITN

Decree It!

You shall also decide and decree a thing and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God’s favor] shall shine upon your ways. (Job 22:28 AMP)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I know that life is a series of decisions and choices and I am making good and right choices for my life today. Everything that I am presently doing will either benefit my present or my future, so I choose to do things that will help me in the long run and will complement the big picture.

Today I will be willing to make decisions that bring me temporary discomfort in the present, if I know that they will pay off for me in the future. Today’s decisions are tomorrow’s realities, and I plan to have a very good tomorrow!

Today I will remember that destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice, so I will listen and think and meditate and pray, being careful and wise with the power of my will.

Today I will create events and change circumstances with my decisions, knowing that the people in my life respond to the decisions that I make. I am not alone in my life; my life affects and influences others and so do my decisions. The quality of my decisions will determine the quality of my relationships, so I will think before I act, and I will act responsibly.

Today I will remember that God deals with me according to my decisions, and He acknowledges my decrees as the Apostle and High Priest of my confession.

Today I will express my desires and dreams by my decisions and will dedicate myself to the discipline of being diligent enough to dare to make them come true!

Today I will walk in the Spirit, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Even though I understand the power that I have over my own destiny, I will always acknowledge that it is not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit. I will trust God with my life today, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to make good decisions and to decree them in faith today.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

All Things Are Possible!

Hey bloggers,

I posted something else earlier, but it really wasn't what I wanted to say today. Let's try this, instead...
















"What we already know is in the past. What we have yet to discover is the future. Always make your questions bigger than your answers, and you'll keep drawing yourself into a bigger future with new possibilities."
- Gary Ryan Blair


"Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly, you are doing the impossible."
- St. Francis of Assisi


"Dreams hold no boundaries when it comes to the possibilities that life brings..."
- Angelica


"When the heart is enlivened again, it feels like the sun coming out after a week of rainy days. There is hope in the heart that chases the clouds away. Hope is a higher heart frequency and as you begin to reconnect with your heart, hope is waiting to show you new possibilities and arrest the downward spiral of grief and loneliness. It becomes a matter of how soon you want the sun to shine. Listening to the still, small voice in your heart will make hope into a reality."
- Sara Paddison



"We all have possibilities we do not know about. We can do things we do not even dream we can do!"
- Dale Carnegie


"One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride."
- Richard Bolles


"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
- Walt Disney


Have an awesome day...

Crown Him Lord of All!

Here are the complete lyrics to the great hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!, written in 1779 (Words: Edward Perronet/Music: Oliver Holden). Most hymn books only contain four of the ten verses that were originally written, but no other song more aptly combines the concepts of worship in relation to reconciliation than does this beautiful classic.




All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David’s Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!!
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!!
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Let EVERY KINDRED, EVERY TRIBE ON THIS TERRESTRIAL BALL
To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!
To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him LORD OF ALL!

Let EVERY TRIBE AND EVERY TONGUE BEFORE HIM PROSTRATE FALL,
And SHOUT IN UNIVERSAL SONG the crowned Lord of all.
And SHOUT IN UNIVERSAL SONG the crowned Lord of all.

John Rippon added this verse in 1787:

O THAT, WITH YONDER SACRED THRONG, WE AT HIS FEET MAY FALL,
JOIN IN THE EVERLASTING SONG, AND CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL!
JOIN IN THE EVERLASTING SONG, AND CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL!!!

In The Mouth of 2 or 3 Witnesses

Today I will be ministering on the knowledge of the Lord filling all the earth as the waters cover the sea. In light of that, here are some unexpected witnesses to the word of reconciliation. I referred to most of them in SOTBIII, but I wanted to honor them here again today...


FINIS J. DAKE

In each dispensation, God has a definite and different immediate purpose, all working toward the ultimate purpose of ridding the universe of all rebellion, so that all free moral agents will be willingly and eternally subject to God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost, as originally planned, with God all in all forever.

– Finis Dake, “Notes on Genesis” in Dake's Annotated Reference Bible




HANNAH HURNARD

How could the Bible possibly speak of the perfect victory of God our Creator who loves righteousness and cannot bear evil, if that victory really means that He cannot bring His own creatures at last to hate evil as He hates it, but must confirm multitudes, indeed the majority of them, in their choice of evil for ever and ever?...What sort of victory is it to be able only to subdue evil and prevent it harming any but those who choose it, and to be unable to bring human souls to abominate it and desire to forsake it, so that the evil itself ceases to exist?

– Hannah Hurnard, author of Hinds’ Feet On High Places


JOHN G. LAKE

In 1 Corinthians 15, we read of the consummation of His purpose – that is, the finality, the conclusion of that purpose – when Jesus Himself having subjected all things unto Himself is Himself also subjected unto the Father, that God may be all in all. There will not be a dissenting voice nor rebellious heart. The will of God has been received and, as a result of the will of God having been received, there is no longer a necessity for a Savior, and Jesus Christ in His capacity of Savior of the world has been completed. His mission is completed.–

- John G. Lake, The Habitation of God (p 183)

I want to encourage you, beloved. The Word of God portrays a time and conception of the purpose of Jesus Christ when the world, being redeemed unto Christ, no longer needs the redeeming merit of the Savior. So Jesus, having subjected all things unto Himself, is Himself also subjected unto the Father, that God may be all in all. God is not all in all, and never will be all in all, until the will of God rules in the heart of every man, in the soul of every man, until the redemption of Jesus Christ in its great and ultimate purpose becomes a reality, a finality.–

- John G. Lake, The Habitation of God (p 184)

The Spirit of the Lord says within my soul, that the kingly nature of the Son of God is purposed to be revealed in the nature of every man, that Christ’s kingliness may be prevalent in all the world and govern the heart of every man, even as it governs the heart of those who know Him and have entered.

– John G. Lake, Reality (p 122)

The Spirit of the Lord speaks within my soul and says, “Within the breast of every man is the divine image of God (living God), in whose image and likeness he was made, that sin is a perversion and sickness an imposter, and that the grace and power of God through the Holy Ghost delivers man from all bondage and darkness, and man in all his nature rises into union and communion with God and becomes one with Him in the truest sense.”

– John G. Lake, Reality (p 124)

...I believe the triumph of the Christ began at the cross and ends only when THE RACE, like Himself, has received from God the father, through Him, the grace, power and glory of God that makes them sons of God like Himself. It is a long way between the cross of Calvary and the throne of God, but that is the way that Jesus traveled and that is the course for every other soul of man.

– John G. Lake, The Second Crowning (p 203)

Christianity, bless God, is the ringing triumph that began on the morning of the Resurrection and ends when THE RACE of man has come to the understanding, knowledge and consciousness of God Himself.

– John G. Lake, The Second Crowning (p 204)

The Spirit of the Lord says within my soul that the universal sound of praise in which angels and men, all creatures in the earth, the sea, and the sky will eventually join, comes because the consciousness of the overcoming Christ has dawned upon them and possessed their soul.

– John G. Lake, As He Is, So Are We In This World (p 60)


CATHERINE MARSHALL

...Nothing can be lost that is not first owned. Just as a parent is compelled by civil law to be responsible for his family and his property, so the Creator – by His own divine law – is compelled to take care of the children He has created. And that means not only caring for the good children, but for the bad ones and lost ones as well. So the word lost came to be for Mrs. Smith, a term of greatest comfort. If a person is a “lost sinner” it only means that he is temporarily separated from the Good Shepherd who owns him. The Shepherd is bound by all duties of ownership to go after all those who are lost until they are found.

– Catherine Marshall, Beyond Ourselves (p 42-43)


WATCHMAN NEE

The aim of redemption is to let Christ have the pre-eminence in all things. In order to have this first place in all things, Christ must first have the pre-eminence in us. And why? Because we are the first fruits of all creation (James 1:18). After we are in subjection to Christ, all other things will follow in subjection....

– Watchman Nee, God's Plan and the Overcomers

God created all things and mankind for the sake of manifesting His glory. Today, believers are manifesting little somethings of Christ. But one day, all things shall manifest Christ because the whole universe shall be filled with Him. In creating all things, God desires that all things will manifest Christ.

– Watchman Nee, God's Plan and the Overcomers

God...held council with His Son even before the foundation of the world so as to have His Son come down and go to the cross in order to reconcile all things back to himself, rescue fallen mankind, and resolve the rebellion of Satan.

– Watchman Nee, God's Plan and the Overcomers





HANNAH WHITALL SMITH

I began to feel that the salvation in which I had been rejoicing was, after all, a very limited and a very selfish salvation and, as such, unworthy of the Creator who had declared so emphatically that His “tender mercies are over all His works,” and above all unworthy of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world for the sole and single purpose of saving the world. I could not believe that His life and death for us could be meant to fall so far short of remedying the evil that He came on purpose to remedy, and I felt that it must be impossible that there could be any short-coming in the salvation He had provided. The Bible says, “As in Adam all die – even so in Christ should all be made alive.” As was the first, even so was the second. The “all” in one case could not in fairness mean less than the “all” in the other. I saw therefore that the remedy must necessarily be equal to the disease; the salvation must be as universal as the fall.

– Hannah Whitall Smith, author of The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life