Crisis

These days everyone is talking about “the crisis”. Or may be better THE CRISIS. Or T H E C R I S I S.

Are there bigger fonts available?

Now, what strikes me is how many different things “crisis” could mean to different people. Consider the following:

# In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"
# Every year 15 million children die of hunger
# The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.
# 3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day.
# In 1997 alone, the lives of at least 300,000 young children were saved by vitamin A supplementation programmes in developing countries.
# Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death
# About 183 million children weigh less than they should for their age
# To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year.
# The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.
# Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger
# It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.

Do you still think you are being impacted by the CRISIS? Take time TO BE THANKFUL! Wait, here’s a better one: why not be thankful ALL THE TIME!

Quick lesson in redistributing wealth

On my way to lunch recently, I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama; I need the money."

I laughed.

In a restaurant my server had on an "Obama 08" tie. Again I laughed. Just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came, I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Barack-Obama-redistribution-of-wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need—the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful. At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment, I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

—A. Hart, Forest Park, as reported by http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/print/chi-1029vplettersbriefsoct29,0,6696548.story

“I am the Lord, I change not.”

It is well for us that, amidst all the variableness of life, there is One whom change cannot affect; One whose heart can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no furrows. All things else have changed—all things are changing. The sun itself grows dim with age; the world is waxing old; the folding up of the worn-out vesture has commenced; the heavens and earth must soon pass away; they shall perish, they shall wax old as doth a garment; but there is One who only hath immortality, of whose years there is no end, and in whose person there is no change. The delight which the mariner feels, when, after having been tossed about for many a day, he steps again upon the solid shore, is the satisfaction of a Christian when, amidst all the changes of this troublous life, he rests the foot of his faith upon this truth—“I am the Lord, I change not.” [C.H. Spurgeon]

When our hearts become hardened

"They hearts were hardened" (Mark 7:52)

The disciples weren't getting the teaching of Jesus. It wasn't because they lacked the intellecual faculties. The blockage was in their hearts.

Are there parts of the Word you don't seem to grasp? The key is in your heart, not your head.

Don't get discouraged! Keep pressing in!

Even when it seems your heart is betraying you and is turning to other things, choose to come back to the Lord and trust him. Revelation will keep flowing. The Father is still on the throne!

Rejecting God's purpose, easier than we think

But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. (Luke 7:30)

I find the above verse, as well as verse 29 of the same chapter to be one of the most amazing statements in the New Testament. It shows us how different are God's ways from the popular ideas of people of what they think God should be like.

Why was it necessary for God to send John the Baptist to Israel before Christ? The baptizer challenged all people and made it so much more difficult for the religious experts of the day to join the crowd.

How do we reconcile Paul's statement that God desires all people to come to know Him (1 Tim. 2:4)? Didn't God want the religious class to come to know salvation in Christ? Was he trying to "get them"?

I don't think so. Christ died for all people, those who loved him and praised him and those who rejected him and hated him. So great is the love of the Lord, that he decided to die for all regardless of whether they would receive his grace or not.
God haters will be lost eternally. There is a very disturbing list in Revelation 21:8 that clearly shows there will be those who will end up in eternal damnation.

Was it a waste for Jesus to die for them?

Certainly not! God's love is not measured by "percentage of efficiency" the same way we would measure a commercial product or service.
That's why the Lord always prepares those He is sending his message to. John the Baptizer prepared people's hearts for Jesus' hard-hitting message. John challenged people to come to the water and receive a baptism they had never seen before. The Pharisees missed their opportunity to take a step of humility and prepare their hearts for what was to come.

By rejecting the baptism of John, they missed an opportunity to soften their hearts and receive God's purpose for them.

God help us to discern the times when He sends our way people or circumstances to prepare us for His voice. If we harden ourselves to those who are sent to prepare us, we'll end up rejecting His purpose for our lives. It's easier than we think.

Sounds scary?

It's true, the Gospel is not for the weak hearted.

The corrupt Bulgarian government reaching for scapegoats from past

The corruption of the present Bulgarian President and government have
been the main topic of most Bulgarian related news in the last couple
of weeks, not to mention months. The process that began already in the
beginning of this year reached its culmination last week when a
comission of the European Union dealing with corruption, reported that
Bulgaria has done nothing to stop corruption. The president of the
Balkan nation, formerly a Communist satelite, has been linked to mafia
bosses who sponsored his election campaign.

Prime minister Stanishev, who is the grandson of one of the high
ranking functioners of the former Communist party, has been completely
passive in curbing corruption as well.

As a result of its fact finding mission and the corruption related
scandals surrounding the Bulgarian government, the EU has suspended
hundreds of millions of euros Bugaria was supposed to receive in the
process of upgrading its infrastructure.

Public discontent has been growing.

So what does the Bulgarian governent do? They deny all charges, they
blame everyone but themselves and finally, they are presenting to the
Bulgarian people an alternative scapegoat for their discontent. The
scapegoat are once again the "sects".

This is not a new tactic. Back in 1994, when the former (also
socialist/communist) government became mired in scandals of
corruption, the "anti-sect" campaign was used to distract the general
public from the real problems of society.

All of a sudden, as if at the comand of some invisible, all-present
director, the government, the media and all sorts of "experts" have
begun to sound the alarm of the imminent danger of "the sects". The
"sects" are basically everything and anything the authors of the paid
publications decide to throw in the mix. The sects are Muslim
fundamentalists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, weird cults,
protestant churches, Scientology and every imaginable strange
religious grouping.

That's right, protestant churches are right in the mix. What you read
above is exactly how one of these "articles" in the Bulgarian
newspapers might have listed Evangical churches. These articles and
interviews with "experts" then end up in the hands of members of
Parliament, who later end up voting based on the emotional stir the
materials produce in the readers.

The stories are the same through the years: the sects kidnap kids,
brain wash them, may be sacrifice them, manipulate their members in
order to take their money, etc. In other words, think nazism,
obedience to the leader, total destruction of personalities, etc, etc.

The new "anti-sect" campaign of the Bulgarian government and
mainstream media is officially on! Starting this week, the government
has cracked down on non-profit organizations who supposedly operate in
the country as a front for illegal, radical Muslim groups. Such groups
may even exist, we don't know. No real information and facts have been
released, only official government authored statements, which reassure
society of the progress the authorities are making in the fight
against the dangerous sects.

At the same time, the national newspaper Telegraph is releasing
tomorrow (August 1st), an interview with Desyslava Panayotova, one of
the "experts" the mainstream media has been promoting in the last
year. In her interview, among other things, the "expert" Orthodox
theologian takes direct shots at Breakthrough (Prelom) Christian
Center and pastor George Bakalov (myself). It's obvious that the
purpose of this interview is to trigger the old stereotypes from the
90's in which the mainstream, government dominated media was able to
typecast myself and our church as some sort of sociopaths. The purpose
of the propagandists of the nationalist dominated media and ultra-
Orthodox, anti-West lobbies, is once again to discredit me, our church
and with that as many other Protestants as they can. They have watched
us become active in society, addressing some of the hottest issues of
the day such as the moral decline of the family, the failure of the
governemnt in areas such as education, the fight against the
legalization of prostitution, our work with refugees and ethnic
minorities, religious freedom and many more.

The pundits of the state sponsored anti-sect campaign know that if
they fail to discredit us through their lies and propaganda, it won't
be long before we gain a permanent place and may be even a leading
role in the social discourse.

The good news is that we are not the naive youths we were 15 years
ago. We will not sit around and watch the lapdogs of nationalism bark
under the wrong tree, diverting the attention of society from the real
thieves of the day.

We will respond in every way possible - through the media, by lawsuits
and extensive work against the propagandists.

The warfare has begun, it's payday!

Confessions of one almost divorced man

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you.

She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know What I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man!

That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage.

But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; I had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew.

I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house,

30% shares of my company and the car. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly.

Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release.

The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table.

I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because

I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing.

I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me,

but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a months time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy.

Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd.

No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day,

we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset.

I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest.. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse.

I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman

who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by.

Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one.

Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me; she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart.

Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway.

Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step.

Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door.

I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs.

Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head.

Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote: 'I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart'

The small details of our lives are what really matter in a relationship.

It is not the mansion, the car, the property, the bank balance that matters. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you, but if you do, you just might save a marriage.

Relationships are made not to exploit, not to be broken.

We teach some by what we say We teach some more by what we do But we teach most by what we are

You don't get to choose how you are going to die, or when, but, you can decide how you are going to live, here and now.

Remember: people will forget what you said ... people will forget what you did ... but people will never forget how you made them feel ...

MY NOTE: Did you like this story? Do forward it to a man who is in a troubled marriage, it may make them think twice before making a stupid decision.

From Aruba

Howdy, friends! This post is from Aruba. This is a very exciting trip, you can learn more about it at www.gohbn.com and also from www.GodBlessAruba.com

Today is the National Day of Prayer for Aruba! The event starts at 4:30 pm (EST), so if you want, you can actually watch the live webcast at www.GodBlessAruba.com

I'm here with John Isleib, Esteban Antonio and a whole team of friends of Ishwar Daranyani, who have come from different places, some as far as South Africa. Ishwar is the President of the God Bless Aruba foundation and this is the second year this event is being held.

Yesterday John and I were interviewed on one of the main radio stations here in Aruba. Tonight we will have the Prime Minister of Aruba address the nation at this event, which will also be broadcast live on TV and radio. I will have the privilege of speaking after him and then lead the people in a solemn prayer to God for the sake of Aruba and her people.

Here you can see some pictures we took from yesterday and also from this morning at the beach, where I went to spend time with the Lord!

Richard Dawkins exposed in lies, believes we have a soul?

In a recent exchange between Richard Dawkins and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the famed atheist professor was exposed in flat out lying. For 11 years Rabbi Shmuley Boteach ran an organization called the L'Chaim Society, which was one of the largest student organizations in the university's history. The society hosted debates with guests such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Prof. Steven Hawking and Elie Wiesel. 

Rabbi Boteach has been recognized as the most influential rabbi in North America by "Newsweek" magazine, among many others. 

Dawkins publicly denied he had ever participated in debates organized by the rabbi, tried to discredit the rabbi and said his speaking style was similar to Hitler's. 

This triggered a public exchange between the two, which has drawn the attention of a large international audience. 

Rabbi Boteach ends up exposing Dawkins in his deliberate lies, providing video material proving the author of "The God Delusion" did indeed take part in the debates he said he didn't remember. 

"Are you, perhaps, in the habit of fantasizing about debates that never took place?", writes Dawkins. "That is a particularly bold untruth. Our debate, which took place at St. Catherine's College, Oxford, on Oct. 23, 1996, attracted hundreds of students and featured, on the atheist side, Prof. Dawkins and chemistry Prof. Peter Atkins, and on the religion side, me and Prof. Keith Ward, Oxford's Regius Professor of Divinity. Student president Josh Wine was in the chair," the rabbi rebutted.

"In a vote at the end of the debate as to how many students had changed their minds after hearing the arguments, Dawkin's side was defeated and religion prevailed, which might account for his selective memory," he wrote. 

Then Dawkins replies: "If we really did have a debate in St. Catherine's I am happy to apologize for forgetting it, although I don't think it is much to apologize for. I hope you will look in your heart and decide whether there is anything you should be apologizing for."

Wait, did you read this carefully? "Look into your heart??"

Richard Dawkins appeals to someone to look into their heart? Ladies and gentlemen, correct me if I'm wrong, but what heart is Dawkins talking about? Surely he doesn't mean the physical heart. Then the only 'heart' left to talk about would be the heart we all have come to know as the inner man, the real person on the inside of us, the immaterial reality the Bible refers to as spirit or soul. How does this tie in with the theory of evolution? If Dawkins is such an intelligent and well-argumented atheist, why doesn't he stick to his convictions all the time? Why appealing to someone to look into their 'heart', when Dawkins doesn't believe in anything that's not of material and physical reality? 

Rabbi Boteach points out well that evolutionists don't believe in love. They explain 'love' as some chemical reaction of the brain, all aimed at causing people to procreate. Why talk about the heart then? 

What is the heart, Mr Dawkins? Can you measure it, test in in a lab or show us some empirical evidence that 'the heart' exists? And if it doesn't, why do you use the language of people of faith, who do believe in internal spiritual realities such as the soul and external spiritual realities such as God Himself? 

Clearly, the professor is a hypocrite, who makes himself look very humane and cultured by asking his opponent to look into their 'heart', whilst promoting his Darwinian brand of militant atheism, aimed at people of faith, who find it natural to speak the language of the soul. 

It seems to me that the highly lauded professor is loosing credibility faster than you can say "what a farce".  Accusing the rabbi of sounding like Hitler (does this sound to you like Hitler?), denying his participation and loss at debates that clearly took place and ultimately, using double talk and sounding like a humane, moral person, who speaks of the heart, while betraying his own completely heartless atheistic convictions according to which we are all just a species only a little higher than ap this es. 

For more on the topic, check out the original WND article, which inspired me to pen this commentary. 

Watch clips of the Rabbi Shmuley presentation. Clip 1 and Clip 2.   

George Bakalov

http://gohbn.com/index.php?id=1000465935897311905

Expelled is a must see

We managed to organize ourselves tonight and actually go and see Expelled. Wow, Ben Stein and the crew have done a great job! I loved the funny black and white inserts.

The atheist scientists who tried to argue against God sounded laughable. Dawkins is particularly annoying and just plain pathetic in his dramatic, arrogance. He also contradicts himself a lot, which shouldn't surprise us.

Let's hope people go and see the movie to make it a success and let's hope Expelled has marked the beginning of a new era of challenging the unjustified dominance of the ridiculous Darwinian THEORY! Did I emphasize well enough on the fact it's STILL ONLY A THEORY?

It's just beyond me how in only 150 years the spirit of atheism has managed to changed so fundamentally the philosophical paradigm and the moral foundation of society in general and in science in particular.

With so many prominent scientists in history and even today, who have professed faith in God Almighty, it's astounding to see how militant atheism has taken dominion all over the place.

Does this make you laugh? Or cringe?

I decided to post this instead of my awfully irregular Friday
devotional.

When I saw this funny picture, it really made me laugh! It made me
think of all the time when Wanda and I will talk about something and
even argue and I would think: "Gee, how can you think like that?"
And then, all of a sudden she will say exactly the same thing: "George,
how can you think like that?"

Isn't God the one who made us different? I don't know if "MAN" is as
simple as this pictures portrays him to be, but there is a point
there. Unfortunately, some people don't know how to laugh at our
differences and they choose to abort their destiny by charting for
themselves an easy way out. So I realize this picture may not be so
funny or even easy for some people to look at.

Well, if that's you, I feel for you. And I pray God directs your steps
in his paths of righteousness.

For the rest of us, just look at it! It may actually help you laugh at
yourself instead of making some stupid things!

Facebook attack

Well, it seems like Facebook is winning! I've had a MySpace page for a while, but became totally disgusted with all the spam on Myspace. Facebook on the other hand can actually be fun. Not only that, but it will allow me to blog in one centralized place since it mirrors my main personal blog. Only problem? Too many requests, messages and notifications can be distracting. So I'm setting some rules in my mail box and will be checking Facebook only when I decide, not when the flood of notifications comes in.

To check out my personal blog, go to www.georgebakalov.net

Olympic torture

I'm sitting at the NWA airport lounge here at Gatwick airport, waiting
for my flight to Minnesota.

Sky News is broadcasting live the ceremony of the lighting of the
olympic torch. For me it's a real tor-ture to watch the pathetic show
of modern paganism. Ladies dressed in ancient Greek dress carry around
bowls filled with flames, waiving them to the sky as in offering a
sacrifice to the imaginery gods of their scripted pseudo religious
ritual.

A pro-Tibet protester breaks through security drawing attention to
himself. All is not peaceful at mount Olympus.

Reciting paganistic mantras of humanistic hodge-podge poetry, the
pseudo oracle of the Olympic Committee reaches out to a small cage
and brings out a white pigeon. She passes the torch and an olive
branch to what looks like an athlete.

The pigeon is released. The athlete bowes his head and takes off. The
crowd is clapping. The pigeon is released. It's over. For the next few
months the media will have one more non-consequential thing to talk
about. The only interesting moment appears to be the upcoming passing
of the torch through Tibet in June, when hopefully the media will
remember to remind the world of the tortures of freedom loving people
in China, including the oppression of Tibet.

Another pro-Tibet protester dashes through security roaming around
being chased by police. I wonder if the "gods" from the International
Olympic Committee will strike the unbelieving infidel with a thunder
of fines and other administrative measures aimed at restoring peace
on earth.

Dealing with negativism

REVELATION: In this world bad news trumps good news. And before you
get religious on me and start telling how great is God and how we're
winning, consider this: the whole news media industry is based on the
premise that bad news sells better than good news. This of course only
proves the fallen nature of mankind. For those who know the Word of
God, the core revelation that counters this perverse trend is found in
Phil. 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever
is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -
think about such things." (TNIV)

OBSERVATION: Many years ago I had to face the fact that I'm a negative
thinker. At that time I was in Bible School and every day after school
we had Prayer School. We had instructors who taught on prayer and also
led us in corporate prayer and intercession. One of these afternoons,
while in the presence of the Lord, the Holy Spirit showed me the
condition of my mind. In fact I realized that it was more like a
subtle layer of thinking pattern working in me, running parallel to
the thought process I was aware of. If you had asked me whether I was
a negative thinker, I would have told you no, based on the thought
process I was aware of. But somewhere there was lingering a repeated
thought pattern which I now can only describe as "negative."

I had to ask myself and the Lord, how did this pattern end up being
there? I had to face up to the fact I had allowed the enviroment
around me, the spirit of this world, to establish itself in my mind
through negative thinking in my subconciousness. When you have a
negative subconcious thinking, you tend to believe bad news easier
than good news. You tend to expect the worst easier than the best,
both when it comes to people and circumstances. Needless to say, my
deliverance has been crucial to me, to say the least. After all,
that's what I do - work with people and circumstances. By the grace of
God, I have been able to experience a deep "reset" in my subconcious
mind, to where now I'm a determined "positivist", if there was one.
That doesn't mean I don't get down sometimes or that occassionally I
don't wrestle with negativism. Gladly to say, those are the
exceptions, not the rule. I've allowed Phil. 4:8 to become the
dominant mechanism of thinking in my mind.

IMPLICATION: Negativism may be good for the news media industry, but
it's incredibly unhealthy for you. It will set you on the wrong course
in life. It will deform your relationship with God and people. Go to
the mirror of God's Word! Allow the Holy Spirit to bring to light
whatever negativism your subconcious mind may still harbour. Replace
fear with faith. Train your mind to think along the lines of Phil.
4:8. Your eyes will begin to "open" to a whole different realm of
living. Best of all, our loving Father stands by your side to warrant
the word He has spoken over you. You're not a fool, taking lightly the
sad reality around you. You're a smart believer, who has peaked beyond
the shoulder of this visible realm and has discovered you have all the
reasons to trust God and what He says about you, your future and
everything around you.

Changed into a different person?

The month of February was a different month for me. As my closest friends in ministry already know, few days before February 1st, I felt the Lord led me to unplug from all ministry and business activity and take the month off to fast, pray and seek the Lord. 

So how did I fare? That's an open answer. Because only time will tell. The simple answer is, I had fantastic moments with God, powerful experiences and fresh revelation of Jesus. I can even say I've fallen in love with Him all over again. I've made some quality decisions about the way I'm going to live and work in the future. Decisions that were probably long overdue. But I'll be careful to say I'm changed into a different person (I can hear my wife saying here "...and you should be" :) 

You see, looking at the Scriptures, the idea of being "changed" is a rather serious proposition. Let me explain, it may do you some good, too....

The whole month of February the Holy Spirit led me to a new place of intimacy with Jesus. He's more real to me now that He has ever been before. Remember, we believe in a God we can't see with our natural senses, even though we can see plainly the handiwork of His awesome creation. But we still worship a God who is a Spirit (John 4:24). Moreover, we, his creation, are also spirits who have a soul and live in a physical body. So we can't see Him, who is a Spirit, but guess what, we can't even see people, who are spirits, too. We can discern people's spirits and motives, but we can't see them with our plain, physical eyesight. One day we shall be revealed in fulness when we are glorified with Jesus at His coming. (1John 3:1-2) But while in our earthly vessels, we remain limited to who are appear to be based on our physical features, way of presenting ourselves, etc. 

Now what does change have to do with this? 

First of all, when Jesus came, he called people to repentance, which really means a change of mind, change of direction, change of allegiance. So change is a huge theme in the New Testament. The word repentance of course is a rape victim of the spirit of religion and may be, just may be, a new generation of believers can bring a new life to this concept some time soon. 

See, that's why I'm careful in declaring "I'm changed!" I feel changed, I feel like a different person, but...I'm reminded of another fellow who was changed into a different person, only to slip back into being his own rotten self faster than you can say "who was that". 

I'm referring to the tragic figure of Saul, the infamous first king of Israel. Prophet Samuel pours oil over Saul, kisses him (a seal of sonship and covenant) and gives him a powerful promise: you will be changed into a different person (1 Sam. 10:6)

So he did. Saul finds himself among the prophets, the Spirit of God comes upon him and he is turned into a different man. For a moment, that is. 

You see, Saul never retained this change. He failed to capture the promise of this experience. This was his divine moment and he failed. How do we know? Time showed it. Saul began his journey in God in the company of prophets, but ended it up in the company of compromisers. He never really remained changed. Just like so many Christians today. We begin well, we start by having powerful experiences with Jesus, we're dramatically changed into a different person so that everyone takes notice. But with time we cool off. Our inner person, our inner spirit begins to decay and yet we fail to take notice and come back to the Source of our salvation. 

I don't know what you might need in order to reverse such process, if indeed it's in motion already. I know I had to take a month off and come back to the centrality of Jesus in my life. I experienced some powerful emotional release and healing, some physical manifestations of God's power, some awesome revelations. 

But whether I will allow retain the spiritual substance of these experiences, is a completely open question, which only time will tell. I will strive to remain changed. I will apply all willpower and will trust God to keep me in this new place of devotion I've found myself in. But here I stand before Him and everyone else and am the first to admit and make myself vulnerable - I may fail! I may slip back into being overly busy and drifting away from the intimate fellowship of the Spirit. I may end up my journey in the company of compromisers. Sounds like a scary admission? I prefer to look at it as refreshingly honest. 

I'll end with a quote from Keith Green's song "The grace by which I stand": 

"And how I wish it had been explained that as you're growing, you must remember, that nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand in Jesus" 

PS: If you can ignore the corny graphics, you can hear the song here.

Or here, if you really don't want to deal with the corny graphics :)

Lady O's reinvention crusade

So, I visit Merriam Webster online to check on a word and their interpretation in comparison to Encyclopedia Britannica and I see this entry on how Oprah Winfrey has invented a new word. That's right! The big lady "O" is not only determined to change the way women feel but she will also try to reinvent the English language. I wonder if in supporting the other big "O", the freshmen senator from Illinois, Osama, excuse me, Obama, she is not positioning herself to reinvent America itself. Who knows, Barak Hussein may even appoint her a special advisor. May be on matters related to the reinvention of the English language?

Look, I'm OK with Oprah, as long as she just keeps doing her show every day and keeps having Tom Cruise on, so we can see the sequel of that erratic behavior scene. But when folks like Oprah start trying to reinvent the English language, America as we know it and bunch of other things as we know them, I start feeling uneasy. Why, you might ask.

Well, check it out: the word Oprah came up with is "shlumpadinka"! No, you read right! SHLUMPADINKA! According to the Merriam Webster people, lady O started to use the word on her live show back in 1997 and she has been using it since. First it was SHLUMPA and DINKA. Now she has combined the two and the new modified version is SHLUMPADINKA. Imagine 20-30 years from now kids in Germany learning English: "Alright and now let's learn the word shlumpadinka!" SHLUMPA-what? This sounds like a bad word coming from some backward village in the Czech Republic or Poland. What's going on here?

So, here it is folks. Down in Texas you may end up going places where you're going nowhere if you don't speak Spanish. Others are introducing ridiculous new words instead of encouraging people how to enrich their already poor vocabulary. Take this from a Bulgarian born who thinks Oprah is not much more than a slick poseur. Now that's word you can actually use in public, if you learn what it means, that is!

Justice and power

Psa. 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;

Mercy and truth go before Your face

Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.

—Blaise Pascal

REVELATION: God's love is inseparable from his justice. For some reason this concept is so hard for our post-modern generation to grasp. This is a direct result of the failure of men to be men (i.e. Chirst-like), men to represent spirituality (in most churches women are more than men) and men to be real fathers, who model love and justice to their families, including their children. 

OBSERVATION: For most of us who profess to have a covenant relationship with Jesus it shouldn't be hard to grasp the idea that justice continues to be part of such relationship. And yet, after 18 years of ministry, I'm amazed at how many believers juggle in their minds the ideas of justice and love as if wondering which one to choose to believe. Does God love me? How then He can could be so demanding and expect all these things from me? It seems that way too many people have a hard time having a biblically balanced view of God. A view which integrates his justice and his love in a holistic paternal experience. 

IMPLICATION: To know the Father, the Son and the Spirit as both loving and just is a must. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Heb. 4:16 is a beautiful picture of the throne of God. The same throne we read of in Psalm 89:14, if I might add. A throne upon which sits one who watches over us, who loves us and yet upholds the whole word by the power of his word. 

Get out of your father's house

"The Lord said to Abram:

Leave your land, your relatives and your father's home. Go to the land I will show you." Gen. 12:1 (God's Word Translation)

REVELATION: No matter how wonderful or how terrible was the family you came from, God has a better, greater and in fact a unique plan for your life! But it comes with the price tag of obedience, the struggle to discover what it is and the input of energy to bring it to life. .

OBSERVATION: Have you noticed how many people's lives never leave the orbit of their parent's legacy? Without realizing it, so many of us seem to be "magically" tied to what our families represent or used to represent. It seems to be an easy thing for our carnal nature to follow patterns established by our family or the culture and spirit it represented. 

Abram came from a good family. A detailed study of Ur of the Chaldeans will show you that there in Ur were tribes and clans who decended from Shem and worshipped Yahweh, not the God's of the Chaldeans. Tara began the journey out of Ur. Abraham finished it. There was more than Tara he had to get away from. He had to mark a new level, a new beginning and a new territory. He had to go farther. 

It's a sad thing to say but way too many people today try to run away from what their families represented. They try to do it on their own strenght and they get into even more despair and confusion. Sometimes it's pride that stops us from opening up to the Father and seeking His purpose and timing for our new beginnings. 

IMPLICATION: The Lord's true calling will lead you to a higher and better place than anything your family ever knew. Don't write yourself off just because you are like your parents in so many ways! And if you are comparing yourself with a parent or parents who were over-achievers, do realize you have a UNIQUE role in the Kingdom of God! None of their qualities or achievements can substitute for what the Lord has called you to do. There are no formulas for success, only never quit seeking God's superb vision for your life. When He shows you your new patterns, new seasons and new territory, just do it and do what it takes to get there! 

Satan hates us, God is faithful!

Jan. 15/2008 I took this picture from the airplane on our flight from London to Minneapolis. Under this weather system was all the rain, winds and overall nastiness we encountered upon landing from Sofia. At 30,000 feet of course, things look very captivating and surreal.


If you've followed my blog, you know I traveled on a ministry trip to Bulgaria with Jennifer and Emilie. We left on December 19th and came back January 15th.

What a trip this was!

It's hard to believe 18 days went by so fast. May be I should have been doing what Chris did on his last trip to the Philippines and send updates every day or every other day so I don't have so much to write about at the end of a trip. But again, I don't get to go to such exotic places and do such exotic things so I don't think daily updates on a trip like mine would be that intriguing for anyone.

In fact, I won't get into an actual update even now. Instead, I'll share with you the most "exciting" part of our trip, which has already made it an unforgettable kind of a trip.

First of all, Jennifer, Emilie and I were praying hard to be able to leave Sofia on time so we can make our connecting in London. The problem was that every day since Friday last week Sofia airport was being shut down almost every day due to heavy fog and apparently the lack of equipment land control needs to guide the aircrafts at landing.

On Tuesday, all was well and we were able to leave Sofia without any problem with only 30 minute delay. We had to fly to London Gatwick and there transfer to our flight to Minneapolis.

Some 20-30 minutes before the expected landing, while approaching London, we noticed the weather was really bad. Heavy rain and very strong winds caused the airplane to go through some turbulence. The closer we were getting to Gatwick Airport, the worst the winds were getting.

We started dropping sharply. At one point I calculated 3 drops in a matter of one minute. It felt like the lower we were going in descent, the stronger the winds were getting. I began to pray quietly.

For 17 years of active air travel I have covered close to 2 million miles among the different airlines. My wife and I have flown through many bad weather conditions and have always prayed for safety.

But on Tuesday this was the worst experience and by far the most dangerous one. I have never been in an airplane which felt so much out of control. Another reason we could feel everything really well was that the girls and I were seated on the last row in the back. You can feel everything back there.

The plane was jerking to the left and to the right, dropping and then going up again. We could feel the power of the winds, which made the airplane feel so light and vulnerable.

Still, the captain was bent on landing.

By that time, with only minutes left before our planned landing, other passengers around us were throwing up and were getting really nervous. The pilot had turned off the air conditioning since he needed all the power to navigate the aircraft through the winds. It was very hot and unpleasant.

He kept descending.

By this time we were praying louder and louder. The three men in front of us, all at different times, turned their heads back to look at us but we could care less. We were praying in English and in tongues and it didn't matter to us who was looking at us.

The girls and I were holding hands. I started commanding Satan to back off this aircraft. I could believe the pilot was trying to land in such conditions and kept saying out loud: "What is he doing? He can't land this airplane. He shouldn't even try to land in this condition!" Then I started to simply command in the spirit: "Do not land! You can't land this airplane. Get away from here. Go up! In Jesus' Name!"

Wе were coming really close to the runway. I had a terrible feeling in my stomach. It felt just like the other two times when I was in a major car accident. I was totally aware of what was going on, and not in fear, but just this awful awareness we were heading toward something terrible. I told the girls to bend forward, out their heads down and wrap their hands around their legs. The pilot never said anything through the speaker system but I was ready for an emergency landing. The airplane was still jerking to the left and the right.

I knew if he tried to land, it will start spinning out of control.

And then, all of a sudden, at a distance of some 30 feet in the air above the runway, he changed his mind and with full speed started taking the airplane to a higher altitude.

I was relieved. I knew that either the pilot himself or someone at the tower on the ground had made a last minute decision which was also the proof that it was too dangerous to land.

The airplane circled around for another 20 minutes and finally lined up for landing again at the same runway. The weather was only may be 10% better than before. The aircraft was still unstable. Everything felt like a surreal repeat of what had just happened 10 minutes ago. We kept praying. The wind was still beating hard against the airplane and the pilot was struggling to maintain the position he needed for landing.

We finally landed and relieved passengers began clapping, as if to salute the captain for his skill. I, on the other hand was thinking: "Never again with this airline!". I realize wether conditions were mostly to blame, but I also felt that what we had just gone through was not only the result of a bad weather, but also the way the captain was handling it. I knew he was really close to making a big mistake the first time he was about to land.

As we were walking out of the airplane, we could see quite a few people, most of them women, visibly shaken and disturbed, wiping tears from their faces and being comforted by their travel companions.

It was a weird feeling hearing of another airplane's emergency landing at Heathrow airport. We sometimes think: "Oh, it couldn't happen to me!" but unfortunately it could, especially given we live in this confused, dysfunctional world, where so much depends on machines and people. In Heaven it will all work God's way. But while still here on earth, we have a warfare to fight, we have a spiritual conflict to deal with.

Satan hates us but God is with us! Even though we were never really in fear, we went through this experience sensing real danger and calling on the Lord as if our life depended on it. I kept thinking of Jennifer and Emilie the whole time and was so blessed to see them being strong in prayer and calling on God in this tough situation. They are so special, such blessing!

And I want to thank all those of our friends who had prayed and are praying for our well being. Several friends shared they had been prompted to pray for our flight right around the same time all this was going on.

Thank you everyone, your prayers make a huge difference!

George Bakalov