Review: The Complete Guide To Dream Interpretation - by Marsha Trimble Dunstan

My latest review for Chosen Books (and maybe my last), from whom I receive a free copy, is about developing a solid spiritual approach to interpreting dreams. The author contends, and I agree, that although most dreams are the result of things going on in the body or the mind (or even from the evil one) certain dreams are "gifts from God" and as such we would do well to try to discern what God may saying to us. The first 40% of this book contains the author's views about the different ways dreams come to us, practical advice on how to go about understanding the scenes and symbolism in dreams from God and she does so using many real life examples of dreams had by her and others.

The last 60% is a reference manual which divides into categories different images that may be found in a God given dream. The author references Scripture for each one because that, along with prayer, seems to be the way the Holy Spirit likes in leading us to understanding what the Father is saying. These categories include General Symbols, Places, Body Parts, Animals and Creatures, Transportation, Colors, People and Beings, Numbers and Actions.

One interesting thing I found browsing through the manual is that many images have more than one meaning and that some images may have either a positive or a negative meaning. Thus as the author says at least a half a dozen times throughout, one must always approach dream interpreting with prayer and an ear open to the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Everyone should be able by prayer, searching the Scripture and listening to the Holy Spirit, to be able to figure out what God may be saying to them in a dream. But sometimes they need to hear from another who is more mature in this area. God will then use another person to confirm what the first person suspects. This book then should be seen, not as the last word about what a certain symbol may mean, but rather as a practical tool, a useful resource for both the individual as well as for the person who is lead by the Holy Spirit to grow and mature in this type of prophetic gift.

My Take On Immigration

Pausing from my current obsession with writing poetry I decided to make a few comments regarding our immigration policy.

First I must tell you up front that like most people I don't watch CNN or MSNBC, neither do I see the news on what use to be the three major networks, nor do I avail myself with New York Times articles or opinion. At one time there use to be a semblance of balanced reporting (MSNBC excepted) but no more and not in a long time. Now there is agenda driven reporting which is highly coordinated by the powers that be (usually taking their lead from the NY Times), this is reflected in most of the online news links (because Google, Twitter and Facebook executives are almost entirely in the Progressive camp), and in the last few years, although I would not have thought it possible, their outright bias has gotten 10 times worse.

So maybe I am a little bit behind on the curve in understanding that I hate children (especially darker skinned ones) and that the world as we know it might just end tomorrow when Trump sends in the brown shirts to destroy our democracy.

Let me then review a few things about the roots of the "crisis" that is going on regarding immigration.

One group does not have a monopoly over another on loving kids, families, the poor or the needy. Nor does any caring person want to see children "ripped from their mother's arms". We should all agree that every loving person "just wants to see something done about this". To say otherwise is the worst type of demagoguery, done for political purposes in an attempt to achieve another, bigger goal.  Even though I believe that atheistic Progressive social policies had and will have negative social consequences I am willing to believe that with the exception of the few at the top and behind the scenes the majority of people supporting those policies have true concern for the poor and needy.

All countries have laws and policies regarding immigration and have had so for hundreds of years. It has always been considered to be part of how each nation determines their own self interest. It is only in very recent history that there has been a call for what is known as open borders, or unlimited movement of peoples groups from one region to another. This is a Progressive idea, highly funded by a small group of international leaders (ultimately to enhance their own power and pocketbooks), designed to weaken national identities and to increase the scope and influence of each State and then to unite these States together. Part of the purpose here is income redistribution (because this is actually an idea for world Socialism), but that is too simple. In the end it is not about caring for the masses but in obtaining wealth which leads to the real goal - power - attained and maintained by the few. 

Our country's current immigration laws were proposed and passed by Democrats. When the game plan changed previous administrations chose to ignore enforcing those laws. The Obama administration found a loop hole in the law and started sending plane loads of children from certain Central American countries not accompanied by parents to be resettled here (I have talked with people who were involved in the process and they explained how these kids are trained to say the right things and that many other people are involved who were getting paid to do their part of the deal). The plan of course is to get these kids established and then have whole families follow later.

The Trump administration did not create new law but they are declared racist for trying to enforce them. And yes, President Trump does not do himself any favors by a lot of what he says and how he says it. Yet to focus on that is just a smokescreen to avoid having a logical and truthful conversation on our immigration policy. Apart from the memes you may have read, Conservatives that he represents are not against immigrants or immigration, no child of legal immigrants have or would have been taken from their parents and placed in special camps and there is no religious litmus test (except for the attempt for a temporary ban for specific national security reasons from certain Muslim countries) for immigrants.

Here are some things to consider and questions to ask.

Children were being separated from their parents at a greater pace under both Bush and Obama. Parents have been paying "coyotes" large sums of money to bring their children alone under great risk of harm, slavery or death to sneak them into the U.S. yet just this last week there has finally been a great outcry. Was that outcry prompted by true moral outrage or perhaps it was part of the media crisis of the week we have seen ever since Trump was elected? With unreported record growth in the economy and under reported record unemployment statistics and the historic movement concerning North Korea and dare I finally say it, the falling of the house of cards of corruption at the highest levels, could that have something to do with the timing? Excuse me for being cynical but there is something going on when it has been widely documented that over 90% of the coverage of President Trump and his administration by the tradition news outlets has been negative and here we have something, as bad as it is, not new but now a crisis.

If we forget open borders for a minute and instead talk about a more robust level of immigration then there should be reasonable discussion on the positives and negatives that will have on not only our economics but on the character of who we are as a nation with respect to laws, to our most cherished  traditions, to our sacred freedoms, to the future for our offspring and finally to being able to freely express our faith. These are being challenged every day on every front.

One last word. Congress at this time will not be able to pass reasonable immigration legislation. Progressives rule the top positions of the Democrat party and they control the purse strings for their party in Congress. No loyalty, no money for reelection. They have no desire to see a solution other than legalizing the 20 million illegals now in the country (they hope the majority will vote for their party) and having open or mostly open borders. To have this unsettled is to their advantage. There are Progressives in the Republican party as well, some very influential, and they also have no desire to see anything get done. Make no mistake about it, they and the international elites see President Trump as a clear and present danger to their bigger plans and they all hate him for it.

Dune Buggy Ride

Six open bench seats
although no one else sits with the driver

big wheels, raw but brightly painted metal
you feel as much as hear the engine's voice
rum, rum, RUMMMMM

and off we go down a two track sand path
through beech, hemlock, poplar and cherry
round a tight walled sandy curve then higher
turning right then left then down with arms high
sand making it's way into our mouths as we laugh

we work our way to the top of a mountain of sand
which overlooks Goshorn Lake, once twice it's size

winds began to fill it in at seven feet per year
until grasses planted on the dunes by University students
started taming a growing beast, who once set free
by the lumberjacks to rebuild Chicago after it's fire, buried
the bustling town of Singapore in only five years

from here we overlook seven hundred rolling acres
and should see on a clear day Lake Michigan to the West
with blue waters out for twenty-eight miles
but today a haze just off shore blocks our view

shade for us now is a clump of eight cottonwood trees
which ii is actually actually only one
it's base buried by hundreds of feet of fine white
each extension created new roots, now exposed

there is a dead branch with a round woodpecker hole
home to a mother finch feeding her babies
and not so happy that we are parked below

a turkey buzzard floats above in the stiff breeze
waiting for some small rodent or snake to make a mistake

memories are framed on the hot sand then we find our places
trekking wildly down into a hidden woods ten degrees cooler
then back to a shop that sells ice cream, post cards
and shows displays of lightening fried sand

The Prophetic Significance of Donald Trump

Let me start out by telling you a rambling Bible story.

A righteous guy named Abram is directed by God to leave his home town of Ur (in modern day Iraq) and travel to a new land. God directs him to walk the region North/South and East/West and promises Abram that any place his shoes touch would be given to him and his offspring for ever. God confirms this promise by making a covenant with Abram (whom God later renames Abraham) and He confirms the same covenant to Abraham's son Isaac and to Isaac's son Jacob.

Jacob has 12 sons, a famine comes to where they and their families are living, but because of God's grace and foreknowledge Joseph has gone before them and is now 2nd in rank of all Egypt. The entire family moves to the land of Goshen in Egypt and stay there for 430 years. By that time the people, now numbering over 2 million, are slaves of the Egyptians. Moses is raised up as their deliverer and begins leading his people back to the land promised by God.

Within a couple of months they reach the borders but cannot enter in because of unbelief. Thus the people spend 40 years wandering the desert. This is actually a time of spiritual preparation for them and God provides Moses with directions to build a portable wilderness tabernacle in which the Shikina glory of God resides in the Most Holy Place, just above the gold mercy seat of a box or ark which contains the broken tablets of the 10 commandments, Aaron's rod which budded and a jar containing mana that God provided as food for the people throughout their 40 years of wandering.

At the end of 40 years Joshua leads this people across the Jordan river and they begin the process of possessing what God had promised them. Ever since Jacob had 12 sons the people have identified themselves as 12 different tribes. Now each tribe (except for the priestly tribe of Levi who were given certain cities) was given an inheritance in the land but to receive it they first needed to eliminated the existing inhabitants. Tribes combined strength to do this, some were more successful than others and although they became a united nation they never ruled to the extent of what God had originally promised.

For hundreds of years the Hebrews were ruled by prophets and judges but they finally demanded that God give them a king like the other nations. To answer the people God gives them Saul, just what they want, a tall, good looking warrior. However, because these are God's chosen people and this is God's chosen land the battle has always been more spiritual than physical. There are actual giants in the land (physical as well as spiritual) and Saul quakes in his tent. God chooses David, the youngest son of Jesse, to defeat the giant Goliath and eventually David becomes king.

David is both a fighter and a worshiper and is passionate about God and God loves him and blesses him because of his passion, even though David has committed some serious sins. David defeats many of the enemies of the Hebrews and conquers the city of Jerusalem, making it the nation's capitol. The portable ark which was in the Most Holy place is still around and David asks God if he can build a permanent structure or temple to place it in. Because of the blood on his hands God says no but allows one of David's sons, Solomon, to build it.

Solomon does indeed construct the first Jewish temple and during his reign as king the Hebrew nation reaches its greatest extent, although still not to the promised borders. One problem with having a strong king with big building projects is that taxes and demands for laborers become oppressive. After Solomon dies the people petition the new king asking him to reduce the burden on them. Not listening to wise advice he increases the burdens and the nation splits in two. The 10 Northern tribes form what was known as Israel and the two Southern tribes where Jerusalem is located becomes known as Judea.

Although Judea has it's ups and downs spiritually many righteous people from the Northern tribes move to Judea because of the temple and in the North Israel becomes apostate, setting up a new center of worship that quickly becomes paganized. After some years Israel is defeated by the Assyrians and it's people are either killed or deported. Judea holds out much longer but it too eventually is defeated, Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed by the Babylonians who relocate any one of worth to their country.

One of the people deported is Daniel who later on becomes one of the chief rulers of Babylon. Like Joseph, God has given Daniel great wisdom and the ability to interpret dreams. One day he is reading from the prophet Jeremiah concerning the desolation of Jerusalem and notices that Jeremiah predicted both the captivity and the return of the Jewish people to their promised land. He prays and fasts to gain insight as to when the return might be and 21 days later the Archangel Michael (who is the protector of the Jewish nation and who had to fight a high ranking evil angel known as the Prince of Persia before he could deliver God's answer to Daniel) appears, giving Daniel a vision of 70 weeks of years.

Starting in Daniel 9:24 it says; Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.

Notice that it talks about "your people", (the Jews), "your holy city", (Jerusalem), and "the most holy place", which is where the ark of the covenant was located.

Then Daniel 9:25 goes on to say; So you are to know and discern that, from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the prince (Jesus) there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, it will be rebuilt again with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. The next verse says that then the Messiah will be cut off and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (the temple and the most holy place) and that prince (the Antichrist) will make a covenant with the many for one week (seven years). At the middle of the week he will stop the sacrifices and offerings (then literally all hell breaks loose).

Not much longer after Daniel's visit by Michael, the Babylon empire is conquered by the Medes and Persians (as foretold earlier by Daniel). A few years later their King Cyrus issues the prophesied decree allowing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem (and the territory of Judea) to rebuild the city. A remnant do return, first rebuilding the walls and eventually building another temple. Around 20 BC Herod the Great starts a massive seventy year project to make that temple one of the ancient wonders of the world.

The 69 weeks of years end in 32 or 33 AD on the same day Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Jewish leaders reject Him and have Him crucified (cut off). That is the end of my Bible story.

There is still one week (seven years) of the prophecy that has not yet been full filled and that is the period most people refer to as the Tribulation period. Prophecies tell us that Jesus will return at the end of the tribulation, defeat the forces gathered against Israel and the holy city Jerusalem and rule the nations from Jerusalem and at that time Israel will have the full extent of land as promised by God.

Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Roman legions (the people of the prince who is to come) in 70 AD. Most of the Jewish people are either killed or enslaved and scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Eventually Roman influence dies off and then later Islamic forces gain control around 700 AD, Crusaders retake the city around 1000 to 1100 then Muslim forces gain control again. The Ottoman Empire (centered in Turkey) then rules for 400 years until British forces in WWI gain control and finally in May of 1948 a Jewish nation emerges and takes as its name Israel.

In 1967 during a six day war Israel once again gains control of Jerusalem's holy sites although it still allows the presence of a Muslim mosque and their Dome of the Rock which was built over or very near the site of their two previous temples.

For the last week of years in Daniel's prophecy to occur there are some things that had to happen. First, there needed to be a Jewish nation where they were before and Jerusalem needed to be part of that.  Check. Second, there then needs to be a Jewish temple with the establishment of sacrifices and offerings. The Jewish religious leaders of our day have been working busily at this.

Several years ago they appointed for that purpose a religious body called the Sanhedrin (just like in Jesus day). People have been identified and chosen from the priestly line of Levi and been trained for temple service. Their priestly garments have been made, gold and silver bowls and other sacred temple objects have been made and a lot of other things along this same live have been gathered, designed, made or done.

The major sticking point of course is how to go about building a Jewish temple at or very near the current Muslim holy sites.

So now we finally get to the part about how Donald Trump fits into all of this.

The United States has always been Israel's closest friend since Israel's inception, although often a lukewarm one (as far back as the 1950's our State Department, because of oil politics, has had a pro-Arab stance).  Relations between our two countries hit a low point under the Obama administration (for a bunch of reasons, not least of which was the gift to Iran known as the Iran deal).

Then along comes Trump (who doesn't care what the State Department thinks) and he has shown a very positive attitude toward Israel. He has a personal connection in that daughter Ivanna married an orthodox Jewish guy and converted to his faith. He gets along well with Bibi. He pulls the US out of the Iran deal and not bowing to intense pressure from the rest of the world announces that the US would actually move it's embassy to Jerusalem and open on May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the modern nation of Israel.

In recognition of this and Israel's 70th anniversary the Jewish Sanhedrin issues a silver half shekiel temple coin with the image of Cyrus on one side and Trump on the other. In ancient times each Jewish person was required to pay an annual 1/2 shekiel temple tax. This means that today's orthodox Jews see Trump as being like the Cyrus who issued the decree to rebuild their city and temple.

This is interesting because when Trump was running for President I heard comments from several Christian leaders that they believed God told them that Trump would be like a modern day Cyrus. In other words it was not his current personal shortfalls or his past life style that concerned God but rather that here was a man who would further what God wanted for Israel as well as for our country.

At the embassy dedication the US placed a rectangular stone plaque there. There are 3 names on it.  The first is Donald Trump, the second, Michael Pence, and the third is David Friedman (the current US ambassador to Israel). A guy named Luis Vega pointed out an interesting word study about the names on this plaque.

Donald - a Scottish name meaning great chief or chief king and is identified with a line of Scottish kings.

Trump - to announce or proclaim, to rank above others

Michael - Hebrew meaning "who is like Elohim" (God). This is of course also the name of the archangel assigned to the nation of Israel who gave Daniel the vision of the 70 weeks of years.

Pence - Anglo-Saxon English, a geographic area which is elevated. Fences to pen in animals were located there so it could mean "hill that gathers herd".

David - Hebrew name meaning "beloved". This was also the name of the great Jewish King David who conquered and made Jerusalem the capitol. Jesus was from the line of David.

Friedman - From German, Swiss and French. "fried" means "peace", "man" means "man".

One way to express these names would be -

Great chief who ranks above others
Who is like God who on His holy hill will gather His herd
Beloved man of peace

Israel was reborn in 1948. This month was it's 70th birthday. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 AD. If we add 1948 years to 70 AD we get 2018 (fun fact).

There has to be a new temple built before Jesus returns at the end of the 70th week because the Antichrist desecrates it at the mid-point of the week. The Antichrist makes "a covenant with the many" marking the beginning of the last week. It is speculated that this is a deal in someway agreeable to the Muslim nations so the temple can be built again in Jerusalem, perhaps on or near the original site.

However this all works out, this I do know. By moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, thus officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Donald Trump has done something no one else did or probably could do. The ball is now rolling as well toward the rebuilding of the third Jewish temple and I believe this was God's timing and His doing.

The missing prophetic pieces are filling in quite rapidly. The end time alliance shown in the Ezekiel 38 referencing Gog and Magog now has all the partners together. Iran, Russia and Turkey's leaders have been meeting together and Turkey has recently pulled in the African portion to make it complete. If Iran keeps establishing bases in Syria then we are much closer to seeing the destruction of Damascus prophesied elsewhere. Saudi Arabia was not in the alliance of Ezekiel 38 and now we can see why. And French President Macron just announced a 10 nation military alliance composed of European countries (does the dark prince come from one of these countries?)

However, there still may be many more pieces left to place that we don't realize yet. Either way, keep looking up!

Review of - Possessing The Gates Of The Enemy

I have just finished reading the fourth edition of - Possessing The Gates Of The Enemy - by Cindy Jacobs, which deservedly is considered one of the classic books on intercessory prayer. Her original edition was first published in 1991 and Jacobs has both updated and included some new material for this latest version. The publishers (perhaps reflecting the type of language now used by some of the better know intercessory prayer ministries) have added a new subtitle - A Training Manual For Militant Intercession.

Intercessory prayer is when someone prays on behalf of another so that that person, group or region may experience what God desires for them. One of the most common descriptions of an intercessor would be that the person praying is "standing in the gap" for another, i.e. either calling out to God to move in a situation, binding the forces of evil that have been oppressing or declaring a freedom from bondages.

Including both Scripture and many personal examples, plus incorporating stories from others, Jacobs does a very thorough job of defining what intercessory prayer is and should be, what type of person does or should be involved doing it, how does the Holy Spirit operate in this area, what opposition does one encounter, how does one most effectively intercede for either a person, place or region and much more. There is a study guide in the back to help any small groups that might want to get together to read, discuss and better learn how to pray in this manner.       

This was my first time reading a book on intercessory prayer and I learned quite a bit, even though I have been praying and fasting for well over 45 years. Praying for long periods of time for someone or something until the victory is won has always be difficult for me and I was surprised to learn that there are many people who actually have a passion for this. They have long prayer lists and spend most free minutes in prayer interceding for someone else.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that sometimes people who intercede for others receive information from the Holy Spirit about who, what or how to pray. They might get a picture in their mind or a deep conviction about something and then they pray for that person or about that situation until the burden lifts. What's funny about this is to me is that there certainly must be a lot of people who are intercessors who are not active in the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, maybe they don't even believe the gifts are for today, and yet here they are experiencing prophetic revelation.

There are a couple things Jacobs brings up that I find a little hard to grasp or comprehend and the examples she provides are not backed up sufficiently. One example is that a group binds a certain evil spirit over a particular school district and the proof that the spirit has been bound is that average test scores went up the next year. I get the concept but I still have a lot of questions.

Thanks to Chosen Book Publishers who provided this wonderful book for me to review.

Stomp!

Note: This is a fun, stand up and get out of the pew type worship song. There is a word in the first line of each of the stanzas that has a very brief pause after it (just after "here" in line one). "Stomp!" means just that, stomp your foot. The octave goes up when singing the chorus (Oh glory glory) then drops down again to sing the next stanza.

Oh Lord our Lord here your people are before You
(Stomp!)
Yes we are gathered to exalt your name
(Stomp! Stomp!)
Your glory's brighter than a thousand sunsets
(Stomp!)
Your beauty's wonder we will all proclaim
(Stomp! Stomp!)

  Oh glory glory singing hallelujah
  (Stomp!)
  Oh glory glory to the King of Kings
  (Stomp! Stomp!)
  There is no other who is like you Jesus
  (Stomp!)
  Your mercies greater than all other things
  (Stomp! Stomp!)

Oh Lord our Lord see us marching as an army
(Stomp!)
Yes we are marching to exalt your name
(Stomp! Stomp!)
Your blood is stronger than all sins of darkness
(Stomp!)
You can make clean even the deepest stain
(Stomp! Stomp!)

  Oh glory glory singing hallelujah
  (Stomp!)
  All glory glory to the King of Kings
  (Stomp! Stomp!)
  There is no other who is like you Jesus
  (Stomp!)
  Your mercies greater than all other things
  (Stomp! Stomp!)

Oh Lord our Lord hey the victory is before us
(Stomp!)
Yes we are coming to exalt your name
(Stomp! Stomp!)
Your love goes higher than the tallest mountains
(Stomp!)
Your free the captives and you heal the lame
(Stomp! Stomp!)

  Oh glory glory singing hallelujah
  (Stomp!)
  Oh glory glory to the King of Kings
  (Stomp! Stomp!)
  There is no other who is like you Jesus
  (Stomp!)
  Your mercies greater than all other things
  (Stomp! Stomp!)
  Your mercies greater than all other things
  (Stomp!)

Review of - The Spiritual Gifts Handbook

The Spiritual Gifts Handbook was co-authored by Protestant Randy Clark and Catholic Mary Healy.

Clark is an author of 40 books and perhaps is best known for his leadership of The Toronto Blessing, which began in the 1990's and is considered one of the greatest spiritual revivals of our time. God placed a powerful spiritual mantel upon him to empower others to minister in the spiritual gifts. He continues to have an impactful world wide ministry.

Healy was involved early on in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal which began in 1967. I think she helped author the Life In The Spirit manual which was and maybe still is a powerful tool to lead Catholics to commit their lives to the Lordship of Jesus and to show them how to surrender their lives to the out flowing of His Holy Spirit. She is a professor of Scripture at a Catholic seminary, has authored other books and conducts healing meetings world wide as well.

It seems that the editors of Chosen, a division of Baker Books (from whom I received a copy to review) put these two together to write an instruction book about the spiritual gifts. In that regard they have done an adequate job covering most of the bases and the book is enriched by many personal accounts of the operation of the different gifts. To appeal to her Catholic audience Healy includes stories of historical instances of the operation of the spiritual gifts from various Catholic saints.

If my review were to end here I would give this four stars out of five. A person not familiar with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they are to operate personally and in community will learn a lot. Catholics in particular will be encouraged that the Catholic Church not only has a history of the operation of the spiritual gifts but that they are both for today and are for everyone, not just for famous saints or priests and nuns.

At this point however, from the perspective of one who came to know Jesus personally and was filled with the Holy Spirit through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in 1972 and then left the Catholic Church for doctrinal reasons 10 years later, I would like to go a little further and discuss one problem with the move of the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Church today.

It is my opinion that although the gifts of the Holy Spirit are recognized by the Catholic Church and many Catholics are now operating in those gifts, there exists in Catholicism substitutes for the Holy Spirit which either restrict or confuse ones understanding of Scripture, thus allowing for doctrinal errors to creep in. Doctrine among believers should not deny our fellowship with each other, but it does make it a lot more challenging.

In this book Mary Healy tells a story of a prophecy given by Ralph Martin at a large ecumenical conference held in Kansas City in 1977. She relates this as an example of how the Holy Spirit may use a prophetic word to bring conviction to the heart. In his prophetic word Martin repeats several times the phrase "The body of my Son is broken" which was of course a charge against disunity in the Body of Christ. People all over the stadium began weeping in response.

Well OK, it truly is a disgrace that Christians avoid having fellowship with each other and further even go out of their way to attack other believers who deviate even a little from their orthodoxy on a whole variety of issues, most of which are non-essential to salvation. As believers we should be united in our desire that the world hear the good news that Jesus in the way to salvation and that he has poured out His Holy Spirit in power in us to demonstrate His love and grace toward all who would run toward His open arms.

But let me tell you the rest of the story. The lay leadership of the Charismatic Renewal greatly desired this unity yet at the same time they had a tremendous desire to be seen as "good Catholics" in the eyes of their bishops. Although the renewal continues in the Catholic Church today the Kansas City conference marks both it's apex and it's ecumenical decline. In a nutshell here were the problems.

First, the Catholic Church is run by a huge bureaucracy that is resistant to change. Their natural desire is to absorb any spiritual movements, find them a comfortable place within the Church and then isolate that spiritual virus so it doesn't infect the doctrine of the Church or the comfort of those that run it. Thus the Renewal leadership's desire for acceptance by their Church also meant becoming less guided by the Holy Spirit. My guess is that this scenario doesn't just apply to the Catholic Church.

Second, an important part of Catholic tradition and teaching is devotion to Mary. The problem here is two fold. Catholicism ascribes to Mary powers and authority that Protestants believe rightly belonging to the Holy Spirit. And devotion to Mary is seen as an adoption of pagan beliefs and practice by the Catholic Church in it's early years, which was then greatly emphasized as a response to the modernization of society in it's later years. After Kansas City some of the early leaders in the Charismatic Renewal started to become more devoted to Mary, even going so far as to endorse what I personally believe are the demonic manifestations found in places like Medajugory. So how one views Mary does present a hurdle to fellowship.

It is good news that Randy Clark and Mary Healy were able to minister in power together for a month at healing conferences held in Brasil. The out flowing of the power of the Holy Spirit is less dependent on orthodoxy and more dependent on a person's willingness to yield to Him. I'm sure we all have barriers in our lives or doctrine that restrict the Spirit's moving. May this be the year we overcome them.