a new book Hometown Prophet

Being the Original NonProfitProphet, a book titled Hometown Prophet was sure to get my attention. Its by Jeff Fulmer of Tennessee and is a work of fiction centered around the central character "Peter" who is kind of drifting in life, has had some letdowns, and has returned home to live with his mother and is beating himself up about his seemingly "Loser" life. Not wanting to give the book away, he begans to have a series of "visions" or "dreams" that come true, but sometimes being a prophet (don't I know it) is tough work. *See Bible for how they were mostly treated, stoned, fed to lions, etc. Being a prophet involves being a truth teller, even if the truth isn't what people really want to hear. Though this book centers more on prophetic dreams that come true, a lot of the job of a prophet is to see through the politics, the haze, the B.S. as we call it here in the States, and call it like it is. And this character plays the part of the relunctant prophet because it is tough, and who really wants to be that guy? There is good character development, it is relevant to hot topics of the day concerning immigration, environment, pastorial egos and church politics, differing styles of religion, a love angle, and is written well enough where it keeps you engaged in the story for the entire 300plus pages. My wife even read this book and she typically does not read my books. It needed a little editorial work as there were several places where the wrong words were left in or double typed that was a bit distracting, but overall I would recommend this book as a good read, not terribly taxing on the brain, but gives a good story. It is a fairly believable story that could just possibly happen in the present day - even though modern day prophets (like myself) are seeminly rare. If you read it, let me know your thoughts. ~npp

So God Is Love? eeeh sorta

"I Love You So Much I don't Want to See you get Hurt!". These words were spoken by a father to a seven year old son who was attempting to climb outside of his two-story home by way of window ledge and got stuck, hanging on with his little boy hands to the wooden frame of the window. The panicked father grabbed the boy by the arms and pulled him in with such force the boy landed across the room. The father stated the above and walked out of the room, visibly shaken and trying to regain his composure. Much is said of our Heavenly Father loving us. "God is Love" is used alot. Its a passage from 1 John 4:8 and other references throughout the scriptures and there is no doubt that this is true. What seems to be lost in translation for us today is just what does this Love mean? How are we defining that Love? The question bears some thoughtfulness. Another very popular passage is John 3:16 which every kid learns at Vacation Bible School or Sunday School or wherever, and I would imagine that even non-church folks have heard it somewhere "For God so Loved the world that ....". yes. I left off the last part on purpose. Because God loved the world so much what? The what is...He did something. "God as Love" isn't a state of being as much as a state of purpose or action. When we love something we do things to show it through some action, whether that be saying it, buying flowers for our special someone, endulging in their interests when it isn't ours, spending time, and many other things. Sometimes our demonstration of love is different. We tell our children "NO" in certain circumstances because we know from experience that some behaviors are injurious. We teach them at an early age to look both ways before crossing a street. To not touch a hot stove top. To bundle up when dressing for a cold day. God isn't much different with his children. As the story above illustrates, God Loves Us So Much he doesn't want to see us get hurt. Beat up. Harm ourselves. Make bad life choices that He knows are not in our best interests. Not look both ways when crossing the street. Engaging in behaviors that have life long consequences in both the physical as well as mental realm. And as children, we often rebel against this Love. This Love that infringes upon our self-determination that we know best for us. We do not like being told that certain behaviors are not pleasing to God because it is pleasing to us. Our hedonistic desires compell us to be self pleasure seeking. As a child, we have all engaged in behavior that we were told not to by our parents or grandparents because they knew of the dangers that we were not aware of, or chose to ignore. Many times we were caught doing so, or by injuring ourselves our parents found out. I am reminded of that iconic scene in the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie finally does get his Red Ryder BB Gun for christmas from his father (against his mother's wishes). As stated throughout the movie, when Ralphie would say he wanted one for christmas, everyone's response was "you'll shoot your eye out". And of course he almost does. Did his dad let him almost shoot his eye out? of course not. His father loved him so much he wanted to see his Son happy and bought him the gun anyway. Sometimes Love involves risks. Sometimes it has consequences. But it is not stagnant. It is action. Lately it seems that we have confused Love with something that is more akin to a vaste space of limitless acceptance where we are no longer responsible for ourselves or others. A place where guidance and wisdom is viewed as judgement. A place where long held and time trusted value systems are no longer regarded as relevant. A place where christians are no longer allowed to engage the culture. Where it is no longer okay to tell a child to look both ways before crossing the street without having to explain why. We are doing a disservice to our world with this approach. People are getting hurt. They are lost in a sea of secular culture that debases human relationships to their lowest of levels. A culture that promotes the famous Nike marketing of "just do it" without considering the consequences for the person or the collatoral damage the actions have on others. There are healhty boundaries that we are aware of but are becoming increasingly silent about for fear of being lambasted by those who do not wish to hear. It is sad to see that little boy hanging onto the window frame with his tiny little boy hands...and no father coming to his rescue. ~npp

and I saw Jesus just briefly...

it happened. right here in my little neck of the woods. I saw Jesus. Briefly. Given my numerous years on the planet I think brief is a good descriptor. but still... i saw him. my post before this one about ChristMAS I mentioned the lawsuit against the small texas town by anti-religious/atheists folks. well here's an update. The person in his 60s who brought the lawsuit had to drop it due to medical expenses he started incurring due to an illness/disease that is causing him to go blind. And he drives a taxi for a living. Yes, can't work. Can't afford a lawsuit. Can't afford the operation that will help his condition. Now some of you reading this have already had the thought that God was at work here. Nope. Not yet. But its coming...keep reading. One sweet little church member of this community saw a news report about this man and went to her pastor...to find out what they could do.... for this athiest... who had filed a lawsuit against them....who was going blind. Then started taking up donations to pay for his surgery for him. And they sent him the money. A bunch of christians showed love to a person. A love thy enemy kind of deal. A pray for those who persecute you scenario. Love thy neighbor as thyself. now you got it... Jesus had showed up. However briefly on the timeline of humanity in my small area of the world, Jesus showed up in the form of his followers and carried out the christianity that He had intended. The athiest could not believe it. He said for the first time in his life for he and his also athiest wife, christians treated him like the thought their bible said they were supposed to. His previous encounters with "christians" had not seemed very "christlike" it appears. He still doesn't believe in God, but somehow he now has a different opinion of what a christian might actually be.... jesus on earth. however briefly. ~npp

Please take the MAS out of Christmas

It is this time of year when I start seeing the slogan "Don't take CHRIST out of Christmas" and "It's not XMAS its CHRISTmas" on social media sites, bumper stickers, signs in yards and other places.
There is also a fight in my area over a nativity scene that is on display on the lawn of a court house, placed there by a nonprofit group and not the government, and some anti-religious organization from a state way up north wants it removed and is threatening legal action. The people of this small community are upset about it as it is attacking their fundamental belief system, years of tradition, and quiet frankly its Yankees sticking their nose in something that doesn't concern them.
We in the South really don't get Yankee thought processes (we actually question if they exist) and I guess Yankees don't get us either. I am constantly amazed with folks who fight so hard against something they don't believe in. A little twisted if you ask me. I don't believe in the Easter Bunny but I really don't care if you do. I'm not going to protest your easter egg hunt.
Their leader was quoted as saying all the normal propaganda about church/state endorsement blah blah blah. I wish these folks would do a little historical fact finding before running with the KoolAide mantra. If someone would take the historical background of what and why the 1st Amend was written, as people should take the historical and cultural climate into consideration when reading the Bible, they would understand this a little better and maybe chill out. Probably not going to happen. What do folks think we are celebrating with the Christmas holidays anyway? It IS a religious holiday. I bet they take the day off for it. It is historically the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child (yes, the church co-opted a pagan holidaybut still), so if that is the case whats the harm of displaying a scene depicting the misrepresented birth nativity story?
I wonder if these folks exchange gifts with people during the holidays. So far it is still known as christmas presents and not yet politically correct terminology of "holiday gifts". Do they know by doing this they are recreating the story of the gifts brought to the christ child?
So I'm starting another movement. Lets take the MAS out of Christmas. The MAS is all that hoopla that goes with the holiday. The tremendous amounts of commercialism. The steady stream of sales papers, tv ads, and newspaper inserts that inundate us with STUFF we MUST have and THINGS they will LOVE. Materialism. Consumerism. An industry based upon a simple story of gift presentations to the Christ Child in the new testament. Lets do away with the buying something for uncle Ralph because we have to. Lets not convince our kids that Christmas is all about THEM and give them the latest gadget that they do not need. Lets do away with the materialism that causes so much sadness for the have nots when flaunted in front of them by the haves. Lets do away with the ridiculously priced items that really says how much you love someone (insert a big diamond ring or the latest Xbox or whatever) when we have people who are wondering how they are going to feed their children, much less give them gifts.
Yes. Lets take the MAS out of Christmas. Lets just have the CHRIST.
Lets see what He would think about all of this ChistMAS stuff.
Oh....who am I kidding. ~npp

GET IN THERE MAVERICK!

One of my favorite movies from my impressionable teenage years was TOP GUN with Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan and other notable actors. Reflective of the times we lived in the movie centers around a Navy fighter pilot Maverick (Tom Cruise) who struggles with ghosts from his past and feels he has many things to prove. He is good and pushes the envelope in his flying to tempt the fates and thumb his nose at danger. He feels immortal, invincible, and on more than one occassion places himself and others in danger because he feels he can come out on Top. Cheat Death.
He cannot. In the blink of an eye, a routine fighter plane move exercise move turns deadly and he looses his best friend "Goose" after having to eject from the F14.
Mavericks world just turned on him and he is left with a sense of deep sorrow and guilt, second guessing himself and his whole apprach to flying.

And it cripples him.

Life is like that scene for many of us. As I reflect on my early childhood years, it seems as if I was a spectator in this thing called life, secure in my own little bubble and watching the world move around me in its busyness and routine. I did not have to concern myself with the cares of the day as I had parents who did that for me. I was simply allowed to exist. Of course as we grow older we start taking a more active part in life and all the responsibilities that come along with that. We learn a few things in school, apply them in a job, start relationships and have families, finance mortgages and auto loans, get involved with civic functions or church or politics or all of the above, and before we know it we are fully involved in life. Not sure how that all happened but we are in no longer merely observing it hapenning around us, but are fully involved in the dog fight.

and to be fully involved means taking risks. and like Maverick sometimes those risks are very costly to us and knocks us down for a while. We know longer carry that fighter pilot swagger we once had, and approach life a little more cautiously, a little less vulnerable to lessen the inevitable pain we will more than likely feel again at some point. To soften the blows of a hardened world that, with one mistake in a routine exercise in your day, is waiting to deal you a blow that'll take your wings and keep you grounded.

A later scene has Maverick with a new copilot and they are ordered to the Mediteranian Sea to help other American pilots who are engaged with enemy pilots in a dogfight. As they launch from the aircraft carrier and proceed to the dogfight Maverick is aware of the ghosts that haunt him. He is rehearsing life in his head. As they approach the dogfight from a distance they can see the mayhem and manuevering of all of the engaged aircraft and Maverick decides to not engage. He sees the ugliness and decides not to risk it, leaving his comrades in peril and certain death as they are outnumbered. Mavericks copilot starts yelling over the intercom "GET IN THERE MAVERICK" over and over and finally Maverick decides that its worth the risk and enters the fight, and of course comes out on top.

Often we've been attacked and hurt and wounded so deeply that we would prefer to "set this one out" or not engage. Its too risky. We prefer to watch from the sidelines. We may even gear up but set on the bench the whole time. Our fear of whatever is debilitating.

My encouragement for you today if you find yourself in this place is to slowly re-engage. Life is meant to be lived, not observed. Yes doing so may make you open to more risks in life, you may find yourself in a few scary situations, you may feel vulnerable... But you may also feel ALIVE, LOVED, and maybe, just maybe, will get a little of that swagger back in your walk.

GET IN THERE MAVERICK! (or whatever cool pilot name you have for yourself)
~npp

The Day I Shook the Gates of Heaven

I can still remember the darkness of the place overall with its woodgrain paneling and illuminated beer signs that doubled as a clock or a Marlboro adverstisement. The smell of cheap aftershaves like AquaVelva and Old Spice and Black Leather intermingled with the cigarette smoke and bar drinks. For a quarter, an old jukebox would spin three of your favorite Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings or Red Sovine songs that were on the top of the charts in the early 1970s. There was a pool table centered in the small open area of the local VFW hall where I spent many of my childhood days hanging out with my father, who was a member and local commander of the place.
If you are not familiar with VFW halls, they are where Veterans of Foreign Wars came to hang out after serving their country in a designated war zone. These were guys and gals who had seen some bad stuff, participated in it, and was the recepient of all that war had to offer them in return. Some were disable, some were now alcoholics, others just came back to their little towns changed in some form or fashion, and came to the VFW hall to hang out with others who had similar experiences.
And as with any place you have lots of folks, you inevitable get the jerks, egoists and outright assholes of society mystically blended. Including church, work, school, whatever your social gathering is, you know what I mean. One of my favorite old Far Side comics strips showed God as a chef (apron and hat complete) with the world in his left had (as if he had just created it) and with his right hand holding a salt shaker over it in a sprinkling fashion (the salt shaker said JERKS) and the caption read "and just too make it interesting...".
I was probably around 8 years old, hanging out in this environment with my father. I never did feel comfortable there. Ever. It felt strangely at odds with most everything I felt inside. A stark contrast from the beautiful church with stained glass windows, tall white columns, beautiful portraits of scenes from Jesus' life and parables that we attended on sundays and cleaned during the week for extra money. I always felt comfortable, and in some respects, in the presence of the Almighty there. Where one place blared old country music and laughter and coarse language the other provided reflection and quiet and wisdom.
One evening my father came home from the VFW hall extremely angry, I guess fighting mad would be the word. Some drunk had gotten in his face at the VFW and basically challenged his manhood or something (which was a common scenario there...i learned at an early age to instantly drop and get under the pool table when a fight would break out). My dad came home telling this to my mom who was trying to calm him down, and the more he talked the madder he got. I then heard these words from my Dad "I'm going back there to settle this" and he walked out of the front door with my mom pleading with him not too.
and I ran.
I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me.
Ran to the back bedroom. to the small bathroom and shut the door and fell to my knees in front of the porcelain toilet and prayed like I had never prayed before. Little boy hands clasped together tightly and eyes shut so hard they hurt. I felt it. I felt myself praying so hard that I shook the gates of heavan. If God cannot hear the pleading prayers of a scared eight year old, then something in the heavens is wrong.
and then I heard something. It sounded like my mom opening the front door a minute or so later. It was my dad. he was coming back in. He told mom that as he was getting in his car something told him to stop and go back in the house. And he was no longer really mad about it. Still angry about the asshole who treated him that way, but not mad enough to go shrink to that fellows level.
and I was amazed.
I knew then, as I do know, that God actually heard and honored my prayer. Some may call it coincidence or chalk it up to being an eight year old who also believed in Santa Clause at the time, but I know within me that it was God. There have only been two or three times in my life I have had the experience where I was honestly begging god with everything i had thru prayer for something and I knew without a doubt He heard me and answered.
It is truly amazing to experience that. Too literally shake the gates of heaven and feel the response of the Almighty is humbling. Of course I still pray about this or that and it seems rather routine, and I'm not really sure my expectations are that each one will receive the same fanfare as my earlier experiences. And I'm not sure they should.
But sometime, somewhere and some point in your life, you will find yourself running as fast as you can to that safe little place where you will poor your heart and soul out to the living God, begging and pleading. Here's hoping that you Shake The Gates of Heaven. ~npp

so what would you be doing

A headline in today's newspaper simply asked "If you knew the world was ending tomorrow, what would you do?". Supposedly another apocalyptic group thinks the world will end tomorrow, which if true will play havoc with my romantic intentions for the weekend, not too mention my retirement plans.
I really have no idea how these folks come up with this stuff. End of the World. Doomsday. Armageddon. The Rapture. Judgement Day. whatever. I guess it makes good headlines and gives people something to think about. Their mortality.
Sure, the possibility exists that it could all come to a halt tomorrow, and with my luck I'll probably be standing is some check out line that has the little flashing light on waiting for a supervisor... well you know what I mean. Or it could happen before I finish this senten.... (LOL)
You just never know. And know one else does either. Since the days of Jesus somebody has been thinking the end of the world is near. The disciples thought they would see it before they passed away. Didn't happen. People thought that the Civil War, The Great Depression, WWI and II and Hitler and whatever else was the end of the world. Nope, still here folks.
and its doubtful it will all come to a halt tomorrow either. so if your mortgage payment is due Monday, I would suggest mailing it off today.
So back to the headline. What would you be doing if this were the last day? My hope is that if you are a christian, that you would be doing whatever it is that you are doing at this exact moment. Or any moment. Every moment.
Loving others. Being a plus positive in this world. Making a difference. I hope that your answer is nothing out of the ordinary because it was ordinary people that Jesus asked to follow him. Nothing special was required.
Its like the parable of the 10 virgins and the lamps, we should always live as if the return of Jesus was imminent. Not in fear, but in anticipation. And not idly or passively awaiting either, but in serving. In being in relationship with one another.
I don't know if it will happen today or tomorrow or my lifetime or a thousand years or a million years from now, and frankly I don't care one way or another.
Jesus said only the father knows the day and time, so who am I to worry about it.
So what would I be doing? Exactly this.
Enjoy. ~npp