Are You Ministering or Doing Magic?

Here's a little something from an old school friend that I thought some of you might like. Thanks for the post Jon Leatherwood. Hope things are going good for ya. Anyways, here it is:


Act 8:9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.
Act 8:10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great."
Act 8:11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
Act 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
Act 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
Act 8:15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
Act 8:16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 8:17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Act 8:18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,
Act 8:19 saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Act 8:20 But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
Act 8:21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
Act 8:22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
Act 8:23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." Act 8:24 And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

Last Sunday I was sitting in church, and the man who was calling for the offering said “If you put in 5 dollars, you’ll get 50 dollars worth of blessing!” Prosperity Gospel garbage that is rather popular in many parts of Africa, including Liberia. I decided to look at a story of someone in the Bible trying to buy a blessing; trying to buy the Holy Spirit. So I remembered this story and have read it several times this week. There are several points that intrigue me. First of all, these people believed in Christ, were baptized, but had not yet had the Spirit of the Lord fall on them. This was precipitated by the prayers of the apostles. Hmm. I believe in Christ, I have been baptized with water, but the Spirit of the Lord falling on me? I don’t remember that… I don’t remember anyone praying over me for that either. I want that. I have wanted that, but I have sought it in the wrong way. It was then that I realized that I was like Simon the Magician.

I have seen the power of the Spirit of God, in my parents and others, and have wanted that power to be displayed in me. So I tried different ways to get it. I tried going to a Christian college, spent thousands of dollars, looking, I believe, for the power of the Spirit of God, but not finding it. I found academia, knowledge, but little heart, and no Spirit power. I am like Simon the Magician. I’ve tried to buy a gift. ‘Will this end? It goes on and on, over, and over and over again. Keep spinning around I know that it won’t stop, till step down from this for good.’ That is a line from what has been my favorite song for 6 years, Sick Cycle Carousel by Lifehouse.

It is a song about trying… Trying, and failing to buy a gift. What was Simon’s motive in wanting to buy this gift? To have the power, so that he could lay hands on others and they might receive the Holy Spirit too. Is that so wrong? Simon wanted to pray for people and have them receive the Holy Spirit. It sounds to me like he wanted to people to be saved! I want to be filled with the Spirit and used by the Spirit, to the glory of God and for the salvation of souls too!

Simon wanted to be used by God, but I think that he was also interested in his own glory. He wanted the power of God so that he, Simon, would be glorified as well. I too find this pride in my heart. May God have mercy. Peter said to ‘repent of this wickedness and pray that, if possible, you might be forgiven for the intent of your heart. You are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.’ I cry out to you, my brothers and sisters, in the words of Simon the Magician “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what [Peter has] said may come upon me.”

Confessions of an Audiophile. . . Seal

Before I start with this one, I must add that this review is coming from someone who doesn't generally listen to soul music. Don't get me wrong, I like the stuff; I actually really enjoy listening to it to unwind, but I don't actually own a lot of it other than maybe a cheap Wal-mart mix CD (3.99 sampler addition).

For me, I generally gravitate to the heavy, like As I Lay Dying, or some Thornley to rock out to. But the last year or so I have been discovering some truly wonderful mellow music (i.e. Arron Espe BUY HIS STUFF!!!!)

Also, before this album the only thing a knew about Seal was his song 'kiss from a rose' (I still cringed every time I think of Batman forever) and that he is married to Heidi Klum. That's about it. So when I stumbled across a special with David Foster and Seal on TV, it sounded pretty good, so I thought I would give it a chance (and I got the album for Christmas, so bonus!)

One thing you need to know when you get this album: Seal can flat out sing! So be prepared to be blown away. His vocals on the first track 'A Change Is Gonna Come' are strong and emotional. In fact, with only a couple of exceptions the album is pretty emotional from his vocal range, from raspy low end to sweet falsetto, this is some good easy listening.

Now I know some people are going to read this review and think I know nothing about music, and they are partly right: I know almost nothing about soul music and its origins, but I know talent when I hear it. I have never heard the original versions of these songs by James Brown, Sam Cooke, or Al Green (of course I have heard 'Stand by Me' and 'people get ready', but I like Seals interpretations of these as well), so I have no comparison. As far as listening, I will add it to my collection of mellow music, and get rid of that Wal-mart sampler. . . 2.5 out of 5.

Back and Bionic. . .

Well, after directing a play, holidays, and surgery are now complete, I'm back baby! There will be more to follow, but I wanted to just check in. So, the wedding is coming up in June, so We are going on with those plans, and school is back in session, so I'm catching up on stuff I had to do while laid up with surgery (who knew how tiring it would be just to get to work. . . All those stairs? I mean come on!!) Anyway, I'll be back soon (possibly tomorrow) with an update of some sorts. Have had stuff brewing in the old noggin', so something is sure to come out. Whether it's good or not, well, that's for you to decide. Until then, this is The JonoVision signing off. . .

The Story of an . . . Engagement. . .

Well, a month has past, and it is time to let you all in on how the engagement happened. (since many of you are asking me about it in one way or another) I won't go into great detail, but I will go over the basics. We had looked at rings a few months before hand, and having remembered what Jessica liked, I went to a gold smith to see what we could do. I ended up getting everything she had talked about for a reasonable price, so I went with it (for all you single guys; gold smiths are a lot cheaper than you might think!).

So since I had the ring taken care of (quite a bit in advance actually) I went about finding a good way to propose. I didn't want to be over the top, but wanted to find a good way that would be memorable for us as well as meaningful. So, I set about finishing/adding to a scrapbook that I had started of our relationship. ( I had given her a similar one for Christmas) and planning the day. The day came months later in September.

We went to Fundy National Park, and went hiking for a bit, enjoying the scenery and nature in general. Later on, we had a picnic that I had prepared for the day. It started raining at fundy, so we went back to my place for the picnic to a room that I had setup in case of rain (always be prepared!)

After the picnic, I gave her the scrapbook, and at the end I had added a story I wrote about our relationship. I thought she would enjoy it because she loves reading, and it would be personal as well. I had written the ending asking her if she would marry me. when she got to the last page, I didn't wait for her to read it, and asked her. She said yes, after the shock wore off. There you have it. That's the story. So now we are going through the process of planning a wedding, which is huge in and of itself. I hope I don't lose my sanity over this. Oh well, at least we have lots of time. We have set a date in June for the wedding here in Moncton. Well thats all for now folks. Have a good one!

"Religion (the law) is for those trying to stay out of hell, spirituality (the spirit of the law) is for those of us who have already been there"

Engagement Time!!!

As some of you may or may not know, this weekend seen the long anticipated (by me anyway) engagement of Jessica and myself. Because, after all, I wasn't busy enough already with directing and writing a play. (just kidding). To say that I am happy would be a gross understatement. We are looking towards June as a possible time frame, so there is still plenty of time, but I figured since a lot of my friends read this blog, that I would make this posting so all of you out there could know what's going on. I won't post many details at this moment, but if you would like to know them, feel free to add a comment or email me. I'm sure I will be adding more here as my life begins to get busier, so tune in regularly for updates.

And This One Ranted All The Way Home. . .

It's that time of year again when things get busy, and with it comes good news and bad news.

Good News - My script is being used for the Christmas Nativity this year.

Bad News - My script is being used for the Christmas Nativity this year.

Okay, so it isn't that bad of news, but it is a lot more work than I anticipated. I also need to decide whether or not I want to direct it. On top of all of this (with Casting call starting tonight) I have yet to find out when I have to have surgery on my leg (sometime this month I think), which could throw a major wrench into the mix.

But then again, who wants to be bored? Not that my life is ever boring. Far from it. I have great friends, a beautiful girlfriend (who I always wish I could spend more time with) and enjoy my job immensely. That said, it is still easy to get too involved and overburden oneself.

But I digress. To be honest, the whole script writing thing has been a great experience, and has been more of a stress reliever than a stress maker, and I assume so would the directing part. (even though it would take up a lot of time).

So the long and the short of it is this. I still have no idea what I am going to do and what I am not going to do. Either way, there will probably be a lot of caffeine involved in the next few months. . .