final days forum

This Broken Vessel Restored Blog Tour with Paulette Harper

Final Days Forum helps to kick off a blog tour for author Paulette Harper who will discuss her new book, That Was Then,This Is Now,This Broken Vessel Restored on various blog, radio and podcast sites on the Web. Paulette's "Devotional Reflections from the Bible" on "The Woman with the Alabaster Flask" is today's featured post:

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.

And behold, a woman of the town who was an especially wicked sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment (perfume).

And standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with [her] tears; and she wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet [affectionately] and anointed them with the ointment (perfume). Luke 7:36-38 AMP

What a heartfelt story of redemption and gratefulness to God. As I reflected on what God has done to bring me to this point in my life, I find myself reminiscing on the state of my condition years ago. Broken, scared but restored, like this woman I had many things that needed forgiving. This beautiful woman received forgiveness from the Lord and her gratitude was shown by her anointing Christ with some costly perfume. Her attitude of thankfulness was expressed by her tears and the kissing of his feet. She affectionately kissed his feet. I believe this to mean that she was so thankful because Jesus did not reject her or even reflect on the fact of her previous lifestyle. She had much to be forgiven for, a prostitute, a lady of the night, an outcast as the Scripture described her.

This story is a true symbolism of how our attitudes must be when we approach a loving, forgiving and merciful God. This woman possessed something of great value and could have been used elsewhere, but she wanted to express her gratitude to Christ in a way only she knew how to do and with what she had in her possession. As we mediate on the state of our condition years ago, last week and even yesterday, know that God has not judged us according to our deeds but has forgiven us according to his character and nature.

What we have in our possession is our worship, praise and thankfulness to the One who would gladly receive all that we can give when it comes from a heart that has been forgiven of much. As I lay before my Father with tears rolling down my face, I was so grateful like this woman for my life that was restored and made whole through his unfailing love.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paulette Harper is an emerging Christian author making her debut with her first inspirational book, That Was Then, This Is Now, This Broken Vessel Restored, a compelling story of deception, heartache and ultimate victory. In 10 chapters she masterfully uncovers the hidden obstacles she faced as the “first lady” and how she eventually broke through those barriers.

A native of Pittsburg, CA, Paulette travels as an inspirational speaker and licensed minister teaching people how to overcome life’s unexpected experiences by delivering a strong message of hope.

Beyond her writing ability, she has a passion to lead people to a clear and precise understanding of how life challenges can become one’s ultimate source of victory by sharing solid, biblical principles that will enable people to find a way out of every trial so they can reach their God-given potential.

For more information about Paulette and her new release, visit: www.bvministry.org or watch the book trailer.

 

SHARE WITH US

In the comment section below, share a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God, for what He has done for you. We can never repay him for what he's done, but we can give him all the praise and glory.

To share your story and fellowship with others, we want to invite you to join the This Broken Vessel Restored Facebook Group.

Choose God's recovery plan

Bad news has become a constant. If you are still watching TV news, you can feel the stress of the nation. Jobless rates are soaring.  Prayer requests are piling up at church altars and online through e-mail and Twitter. The questions are real. Where is the relief when your marriage fails? What is the balm to ease worries about paying the bills? What direction do you take when your child goes "left"? How do you start over when you get laid off and you are only a few years from retirement?

In That was Then, This Is Now, This Broken Vessel Restored, author Paulette Harper offers insight about overcoming hard  times after surviving a broken marriage as a pastor's wife. She will be featured on Final Days Forum on Sunday, March 15, 2009 as part of "This Broken Vessel Restored Blog Tour."

Stop by and show Paulette some love for sharing her story with the world. Final Days Forum will post a devotional she created just for an appearance on this blog.

Here are excerpts from her new book:

"Can you imagine living in the midst of peace when others are not? When drama is present in the lives of your loved ones? When there is such disarray going on in the nations and the world? We must choose to live in this arena at all times in our lives, knowing that the Prince of Peace is living with us."


"For years I depended on man to provide what I needed in the area of finances, spiritual nourishment, and guidance. It was during my most difficult test that God began to show me that He would supply everything I needed to survive."

"I learned that my success and recovery had nothing to do with my bank account, investments, or my job; it was all centered on God manifesting who He wanted to be in my life. Provision was going to be made because of my relationship to the King. My welfare is a reflection of Him, and if I wasn't going to recover from my divorce, He wasn't going to look good. God wanted to be glorified in my life at all times."

Paulette chose God's recovery plan. She survived a painful season of life on his terms, not hers.

Judy Howard Ellis

Here is the schedule for "The Broken Vessel Restored Blog Tour" hosted by Tywebbin Creations:

Sunday, March 15th

• Paulette Harper
• Final Days Forum

Monday, March 16th

• Mari’s Morning Room
• Written Voices Podcast (podcast)
• Sister Circle Online Radio Show (7:00 pm EST)
• Black Authors Network (8:00 -10:00 pm EST)

Tuesday, March 17th

• Carla Y. Nix
• Linda Beed

Wednesday, March 18th

• The Master’s Vessel
• FIRST Wild Card Tours
• A Peek At My Bookshelf
• Loving Heart Mommy
• Laura Williams’ Musings
• A Joyful Heart Blog
• I Need to Read
• Window to My World

Thursday, March 19th

• Vanessa Richardson
• Victorious Cafe
• Inspiration Station (6:30 PM EST)

Friday, March 20th

• Dominique Watson
• Pam Perry

Saturday, March 21st

• Cookie Aisle
• Worth More Than Rubies (3:00 pm CST / 4:00 pm EST)

The passing of the past

Round the bend, originally uploaded by nugib.

When a girl I liked moved away from our neighborhood in East St. Louis, it was an early lesson about letting go. The girl was fun and sweet and from my viewpoint as a child, 24th Street seemed dimmer after she left. I couldn't stop her passing through my life and neither could she or our other neighborhood friend, who also did not want to see her go.

In life, there are many passings. And we mourn them. When both of my grandmothers died during the same summer after my college graduation, my family walked away from a life we once knew when we left Sunset Cemetery. We will see them again one day, but their time with us in the old way had passed.

When I once lost love, I had to re-orientate my sights to new dreams. When I changed jobs or relocated to other cities, I found my footing in new places. When new opportunities meant exchanging abundance for fewer material things, I learned simplicity. This is the captivating nature of letting go. New understanding is gained; freshly minted maturity is experienced; more profound empathy is shown.

One of the essentially paradoxical things about God is that he does not change in character, perspective, and ability, but his kingdom is anchored in constant change. He's always building, rebuilding, structuring, and restructuring. He's always loosening our moorings.

And we must not be offended by the King of Kings because he maneuvers in our lives this way. It's "craven fear" to do so. While writing this post I am reminded of the character in Hannah Hurnard's beloved book, Hind's Feet for High Places. Even the onery Craven Fear in Hurnard's story was transformed. May we allow God to lovingly guide us through these changes in life, no matter how painful, so that we also can be transformed.

Right now, America is experiencing a great passing of the past. That passing is more than acknowledging that a 720 FICO score and a decent down payment does not guarantee you a house. This passing of the past also is about more than who will occupy the White House in January. These are shadows reflecting the intense movements of heaven. Isaiah 43:19 is cited so often it sometimes seems cliche, but it is fitting here: Behold, God is doing a new thing. Will we not know it?

During this Jewish New Year, 5769, what we can't see is the extensive work of God. He's adjusting the perception of everyone to catch the expansive dream of the kingdom. He wants everyone to realize that kingdom-building  manifests in more ways  than overflowing church parking lots and television programs drawing millions of viewers. Indeed, the Father wants a great company, but they will likely resemble David's men, unlikely recruits who know their God and the demonstration of his power. 

These kingdom-seers display God's glory in the checkout line in the grocery store, and in the neighborhood business that gains a reputation for hiring as many people as possible instead of laying off workers to boost its bottom line. They are the small coterie of saints whose work among the incarcerated restores dozens upon dozens of families. Their labor is identified by miracles, not self-righteousness.

They don't fluctuate like the stock market when God carries them through one season and then the next with rapidity.  They travel his breakneck highways with joy.

Judy Howard Ellis
 

Link to Hannah Hurnard's book, courtesy of books.google.com; link to Isaiah passage courtesy of biblos.com; link to information about the Jewish New Year courtesy of http://joyofthetorah.org
link to David's men in 1 Samuel, courtesy of studylight.com

Jesus + 'The Bad Seed'

Oprah and author Eckhart Tolle, as I wrote yesterday, teach principles that view Jesus as a spiritual supplement. But many Christians live out the principle of Jesus-as-supplement every day.

We may have invited Christ into our lives and now have a relationship with the Father, but our self-efforts wither the vitality of the union. We inwardly believe lies about what Christ did for us. What the crucified and risen Jesus did was incomplete, so we tack on the same nefarious Jesus+X equation:

• Jesus+my efforts to be absolutely perfect=a good relationship with God.
• Jesus+my refusal to wear makeup =a good relationship with God.
• Jesus+my snubbing those who does not know Him= a good relationship with God.
• Jesus+my church attendance=a good relationship with God.
• Jesus+my cuss-free, drug-free, illicit-sex-free efforts= a good relationship with God.

You get the point. (Even people who think they know Christ practice such as equations, but let's concentrate now on those who really do.) Christians are God's own, but this devilish thinking reeks in the eyes of God. We do not take into account God the Father's commitment to make us whole. We ignore the work of the Holy Spirit to create wholeness in us a little bit every day.

Our efforts to reach perfection without relying completely on Jesus remind me of the pigtailed girl, Rhoda Penmark, in the 1956 film,"The Bad Seed."  Her outward perfection is jewel-hard, a manifestation of a polluted heart.

("The Bad Seed," courtesy of Shasta018 on YouTube.com.)

Rhoda's corrupted heart led her to kill others. When we believe the crucified and risen Jesus is not enough, that He is only a spiritual supplement, that we do not have to surrender to God's work in us to reach His standard of perfection, we cut off ourselves from heaven's bounty. For as Paul says in Galations, the life we live in the body, we must live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us.

The "perfection" we seek to obtain is merely bewitchment.

More tomorrow.

Film link courtesy of www.imdb.com.

Jesus, the perfect supplement?

Jesus Christ is the must-have supplement for today's made-to-order religious practices. He is used like a healing herb or a trace mineral. Mix a tablespoon of Jesus into your daily religious smoothie and you're good to go. Jesus flavors any religion, belief system, principle or spiritual practice on earth. He is the binding agent, the innocuous role model for perfectly executed belief.

He's a very cool additive only when you peel away the messy crucifixion, that blood-as-sacrifice-for-sin stuff, His statements about being the only way to God, and that wild notion about resurrecting bodily. But for those who prefer their Jesus tame, the Jesus who taught about blood and sin is passive aggressive and His Daddy is a cosmic control freak.

For example, the crucified and risen Jesus doesn't flow with Oprah and Eckhart Tolle, author of the "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose," and other self-made faith practices today. Faith is self-actualization, consciousness and an untethered spirituality that says: We have seen god and god is us.

(Courtesy of : lsim13 from YouTube.com.)

I'm a huge fan of Oprah and the way she embraces mass media to supply forums for a variety of people, interests, and ideas. Hosting a global webcast featuring Tolle is a brilliant use of today's technology and further proof that she is a master storyteller and entrepreneur. She has her fingertips on what matters so much to so many.

But "A New Earth" and other books that turn away from the crucified and risen Christ reveal not the greatest story ever told, but the greatest lie ever believed.

Long before Oprah became a beloved media personality, she was a person with a question. Oprah herself has said that when she heard a minister talk about a "jealous" God, she was disturbed by that description. The God she knew was loving, so how could God be jealous? Her question was real. Her curiousity was normal. Did anyone in her former Baptist church share with her about what a "jealous God" meant? Did one of the "mothers of the church" put her arms around her and explain the full story about the God of All Love?

Whether they did or not, Oprah's question was left to take unruly root.

More tomorrow about this.

Old-school faith and fasting

My spirit soared when I read in The Denver Post today about how volunteer security guard, Jeanne Assam, said she had just come off a three-day fast when the shootings occurred Sunday at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. She had been fasting and praying to God about whether she should return to her career in law enforcement.

"I was weak," The Post reported Assam saying. "And where I was weak, God made me strong. He filled me and he guided me and he protected me and many other people. And I'm honored that God chose me. I'm very honored."

When she confronted the 24-year-old shooter, Matthew Murray, Assam fired, bravely walking toward him, a witness told The Post in another story. A coroner's report said today her shots did not kill him, that the shooter ended his own life, but I wonder about the spiritual meaning behind that finding as well.

All day, the story has been about a security guard who relied on God and gained the courage to stop an attack in a church while other security personnel held back. The coroner's report could easily overshadow Assam's prayerful bravery, but in my mind, I won't let it.

Fasting is a high spiritual time for the believer and Assam no doubt had enjoyed the blessings of fellowship with the Father, so He had prepared her for what she would face on Sunday.

And that is mind-boggling deep to me.

Tolerating toxicity

The Bible talks about how God is a God of order. Another way to say that is: God doesn't do dysfunction.

It's amazing how we tolerate what should not be accepted, churning madly in twisted relationships and toiling in places far from where our passion abides. We squirm when others take leaps of faith we tremble at trying and nitpick those who appear more cowardly than us. We traffic in misery.

Toxicity is addictive. Weird, I know, but why else do we wallow in chaos instead of moving forward? If we grasped the depth of God's Emancipation Proclamation of Free Living, we wouldn't settle for under-the-radar-living. We would go everywhere He leads and do everything He asks.

Walking with God in the dark

Big stories about God and culture and religion and politics always make headlines.  They are part of our media-rich landscape -- like news of Britney Spears or the latest news from the Middle East.

For example, the Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue today prayed for rain to end his state's drought. Pope Benedict XVI  is coming to the U.S.  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is converting to Catholicism.

Public religious practice is always news.  Some shudder when religious form is made public and others delight in it. Either way, maybe private Christian practice needs a little publicity.  What are the stories about the moms and dads and siblings and students and construction workers and lawyers and babysitters and financial planners and secretaries who are walking with God?