Doug Van Pelt

Kemper Crabb

Kemper Crabb, who is a wonderful gift to the body of Christ, a great writer, and a swell friend, has asked me to interview him for the live DVD that he is recording tomorrow night in Houston, TX (at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Katy, TX to be exact... 281.392.3310). This should be fun. Every year or so he does this big production called "A Vigil Christmas" (or something like that). I'm so looking forward to it.

We just posted a cool new merch item in our store -- the "Pit Moves #5" large die-cut sticker. Check it out.

If anyone is ever nearby Austin, TX and wants to swing by the HM Ranch to pick up some free copies of past issues of HM to hand out as a promotion, let us know. If you're not going to be nearby but would be willing to cover the UPS freight charge to ship a box (of 80 to 100 copies), let me know. I can't promise that every request will get a box, but we'll consider each request.

Some of the issues that we've got extra copies of include:
120 (Dead Poetic)
119 (Underoath)
115 (Blindside)
111 (Comeback Kid)

Brother Cane

Last night in a home group (home church, cell group, life group, whatever anyone wants to call it) we were talking about "being strong and courageous" and how we could be "strong in the Word." The value of being grounded was brought up. I think this value is incredible and possibly underrated. The Bible defines someone that's not grounded as "being blown about by every wind of doctrine." I think of the character Kramer from the show Seinfeld. Every time this guy walked into the room he would emit laughter from the audience. Just looking at his crazed eyes and hair going everywhere made me laugh. His character had that "what is he up to now?" thing going on. As funny as he is, I don't think a lot of people want to be like him, known for being into something new all the time and never lasting with any one thing.

I think people value the person that is consistent. They try new things. They fail. Yet they aren't known as being "flighty" or "blown about by every wind of doctrine."

I think the keys to being "grounded in the Word" are reading the Bible and listening to/reading/sitting under a good teacher or teachers of the Word. Something about a good teacher can open up understanding of the Bible -- even some of those "difficult" parts. I know I've been excited about the Word when I was listening to teachings by James Robison, Chuck Smith, Dudley Hall, Jack Hayford, and others. Hearing someone that's excited about the Word and someone that has the ability to shed light on it is fun to listen to. The enthusiasm is contagious. And anything that'll encourage me to dig into the Word more is a benefit to me.

You've Won A 42" Plasma TV

That's right! Just by reading this blog, you have won a brand new 42" Panasonic Plasma TV!!! Sound too good to be true? That's because it is. Every free offer you see is this way (at least on the internet it is...). Remember those old, old people that used to tell us, "If it sounds too good to be true, it is." They were right! How did they ever know that the internet would lead to new lengths that salesmen would go to in order to make money, or did I mean "rip off" good people?

Ah well...
I'm reading Donald Miller's book, Searching For God Knows What, which (unlike Blue Like Jazz) seems to progress from chapter to chapter, and one of the chapters I finished last night was all about nudity. He talked about what the Garden of Eden must've been like. I like the way he's thought through the Garden. I, too, thought of the place as a relatively small oasis in the middle of Turkey, Iraq, or someplace around there. He explained how one river flowed out of the Garden that fed four huge rivers; so the Garden must've been a huge place. He likens it to a continent. Wow.

I happen to be reading Genesis 3 for this devotional thing here, and it is right in the middle of all the nakedness of the Garden of Eden. This serpent thing tricks Eve into eating the fruit, who gets Adam to eat it, and then they all blame each other when God comes calling. It's funny to hear God asking rhetorical questions, like, "Where are you?" And as soon as Adam says, "I was naked," God asks, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree...?" He knew exactly why Adam would be saying such a statement.

The serpent, Eve, Adam, and the ground were all cursed as a result of this failure to obey. God is talking to someone else, referring to an nebulous "us" when He states: "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So He banished Adam from the Garden. Man's relationship with God certainly took a turn for the worst.

Tracker Trucks, Mad Rats, Rector, Sims

Today (although it's Tuesday) is "Website Wednesday."
We figure that most people have the new issue in hand, and it's on store shelves, so it's time to post it online. We'll put some extra articles up, like a Stavesacre interview, an expanded Cornerstone Festival review, and the Summer Gadgets review.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done."
(Genesis 2)

I remember as a young boy or a young teen not being very fond of hard work. This, in effect, spoiled recreation for me a little bit. Something about a hard day's work even makes a Coca-Cola taste better. Putting out on the job, on the football field, at the skatepark -- whatever it is -- makes for better rest and relaxation. Because I had this attitude of not wanting to work but just lazy around all the time, I missed out on some character development and some rewards that hard work would have brought. I also might even find it harder to believe that God blessed the seventh day, making it holy.

God really wants us to kick back and chill on the Sabbath. It's actually a holy thing. It's cool that God Himself rested. He didn't do this because He was tired. He did it because He was finished! At least that's what I see in these Scriptures. That helps me understand what He's talking about when He brings up the "believer's rest" in the book of Hebrews. We are to enter a "Sabbath rest" in our spiritual walk with Christ. We can rest from our striving, our works for acceptance and forgiveness of sin because Jesus accomplished that work and He finished! We can take that mentality and rest in our souls, knowing that God's favor has now been given to us. We don't have to earn it.

Imagine if we had to earn God's favor. We could kill ourselves trying to. And think about how intense athletics are. You've got football coaches trying to outdo one another in film study and game preparation. You've got players training and lifting weights more than the next guy, trying to get an edge. Imagine if we were believing that we had to earn God's favor and we took it seriously. It could get very competitive and we'd probably end up maxing ourselves out trying in vain to accomplish something that's already been done and handed to us freely.

I love how military people show gratitude and respect. They often don't take their freedoms and liberty lightly, because they know a price was paid. That's the kind of respect and admiration and gratitude we should probably have for God and His mercy and grace. He's showed us so much kindness -- and with a price, a terribly high price.

I'm enjoying a DVD documentary on skater Christian Hosoi's life. I love seeing the old skate decks and gear on the screen. It brings back some great memories.

pfffft!

Am reading a new Don Miller book. It's new for me, old for everyone else. His surname for this one is Donald Miller. Maybe he feels more important, or maybe he's always gone as Donald and I just didn't notice. It's great stuff, as usual. It's called Searching For God Knows What. In it he talks about at one time wanting to learn, memorize, and be able to quote poetry. It was all to impress. But it got me to thinking. I want to write some more poetry. I had a great couple of lines come to me as I leaned back to sleep last night ... and those lines can't be found! My brain can't retrieve them just yet. Argggh! Thus underscores the wisdom of writing ideas down on a pad kept by the nightstand.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters..."

What does it mean that the earth was "formless?" The notes in my NIV Study Bible reference another use of this phrase in Jeremiah 4:23. Later on in Genesis 1, we see God separating the land and the water and creating the sky. This gave the earth "form," for sure. I wonder what the earth looked like in its "formless" state. Jeremiah's reference to the earth being formless was like it returning to its chaotic state, and without light.

I wonder if it is accurate to draw a parallel to us as individuals being "without form" until we invite God in to "take control" and "add form" to our lives, organizing us and helping us make sense of our lives and bring order...? Being "lost" and then found is like being out of order, confused, chaotic and then being organized, set straight, and set free. While chaos may seem like a sense of freedom, it is like a prison of being totally out of control and at the mercy of the world around us. Having order and a grounding -- a solid footing to walk on -- is truly like being set free from captivity.

Oh, if I haven't mentioned already, here's a link to some videopodcast interviews I did weekend before last at the Purple Door Festival. They're hosted by monsterpod.org

Robots Must Die!**

Had some fun times lately.

David Allen and his lovely wife and baby boy came to Austin last week and we met up for lunch. It was great seeing 'em. We had Tex Mex at one of our mutual favs, Taco Cabana. He's doing tattoo art now (real tats) and learning the craft. He shared with me some secrets of the trade, but I'm not gonna tell.
:?)

On Thursday my family and I went camping at Emma Long Park in Austin, which is a beautiful park on the Colorado River (I believe that's the Colorado that snakes its way through Austin). He had some delicious BBQ at The County Line. Very nice. Had good times. One of my daughters was baptized yesterday, as our church does something that's really cool (and I love to see churches do), which is having public baptisms.

** Those dadgum robots that search out places on the internet (like blogs or online articles) where they can leave "comments" and spam up a perfectly good website. The people that send these out are over-the-line and wrong. They should be spanked or have their computers taken away for a week (so they can think about what they did). The motivation they probably have is to try to boost their "google" status, and get more people to hit their website. But sending out their un-invited spam advertisements is beyond lame. If their product is so good, why do they have to use "trickery" to get people to pay attention? I wish I had a program to sniff out any robots that come to hmmag.com, track them down, and destroy them!
:?)

Driving in Denial

On the way to the airport last Friday morning (at around 5am), our car made a noise. My wife made mention of it, but I hoped it was just something I ran over that was spun up underneath the wheel well and long gone (kind of like in Bradley's poem: looooooonnngg gooooonnnneee). I turned down the soft Foo Fighters song on the stereo and listened. I was hoping it wasn't a flat. We were pressed for time. I drove on at the speed of 65 mph. The noise stayed with us. It got consistently louder. Finally, it was almost that "Wham!" of a blowout, as we had shredded the tire and were riding on the rims. I hope I didn't damage the rims. I was late for work today getting the tire replaced. We pulled over to an extra wide shoulder, my wife watched for oncoming traffic that might slam into us and end our lives in a flash while I speedily changed the flat. Maybe I should inquire if any NASCAR teams need a crew member. I was fast, man!

It was like I was driving to the airport in denial of the problem underneath me. I probably would've saved any potential rim damage if I would have pulled over and checked it out sooner. I hope I'm not living in denial in any areas of my life, hoping against hope that such and such isn't wrong. The problem can get worse that way.

That's my object lesson of the day. I've got to finish this next issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine. It's going to be a good one. What do you think I do -- sit around and blog all day?!

Purple Door Fest

We got back from the wonderful Purple Door Festival late last night (just past midnight), after flying from Baltimore to Houston to Austin. It was great being on an airplane with a lot of college students headed towards Austin. That is a fresh reminder of the fun atmosphere that is in Austin.

I was totally stoked by a few things from this trip:

1. I found some Jolt Blue Energy Drink at the Sheetz store in York, PA. I bought 9 cans of it and stowed 'em in my luggage.

2. I had a Roast Beef Sandwich from Roy Rogers Restaurant in the non-friendly Baltimore airport. It's been years since I bit into one of those. Yum.

3. A guy helping the festival really encouraged me (along with a lot of people there) about the good things that are done with HM Magazine. He was telling parents as they arrived, "If you love your kids, you'll go over and sign them up to get HM Magazine." Wow, what a loving encouragement for us!

So, I'm trying to get the new issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine done today. The last-minute article/interview with legendary drummer Jayson Sherlock came in. We hadn't heard from him for weeks, but decided to give him over the weekend to get his interview answers back, and sure enough he delivered. So, this should be a great issue. Plans are for it to be the first color cover in Heaven's Metal Fanzine history.

It's so early, Uncle Albert

Whew! I'm awake, showered, dressed, and ready to fly to Pennsylvania for the annual Purple Door Festival. Boy, am I tired! I wonder if it was for moments like these that God created the coffee bean and plant. Is that little boost of caffeine put here just so we can get going when sleep seems so fleeting?

Some might say, "It's hard to be spiritual with caffeine in your body," but I'm more with the crowd that would say, "It's hard to be spiritual without caffeine in your body!"

I'm really looking forward to this weekend's festivities and music. It'll be exciting to thumb through the brand new issue for about the third or fourth time, as a few copies arrived overnight yesterday morning. It looks really good! I'm stoked. It's funny -- I noticed that I made the same idiotic mistake again in this issue. In the last (Jul/Aug, #120) issue, there is the mysterious printing of the words "BY CHRIS TROUTMAN" printed over the dark background of the Tiffany Arbunkle photo in the Plumb spread. Very embarrassing, but fortunately hard to notice with the black ink and dark photo background. It was from using the same template as a previous issue's layout. Well, the T Bone Burnett layout in this issue, which was laid out for the last issue but canned due to lack of an interview opportunity, has the same problem in the black background of T Bone's photo. Oh my! How silly and careless!

Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!

Rees Howells is alive

The last chapter of Rees Howells, Intercessor tells of his last days on earth. He had a keen sense that his work on earth was done. He was rejoicing, "Glory, Hallelujah!" Those around him had the same awareness. He died on February 13, 1950, surrounded by friends that all felt the presence of God. Howells son soon gathered all the staff of the college and school together and asked them to rededicate their lives to carry through the vision and commission his father had laid down. They knew that not just any old son could take up the mantle of his father, but they also recognized that He was indwelt with the same Spirit of the Living God as his father. What a blessing to see passed down.

As Howells left this earth, I wonder what his entrance into eternity was like. I can imagine that a welcome of "Well done, my good and faithful servant" would be met by crumpled knees, tears of joy, and adoration towards the One saying those words. As much as this kind of behavior would rarely be seen towards an earthly king or world leader, I think it's probably the norm to those that meet Jesus in Heaven. Just to be recognized by Him would be exhilerating; but to be applauded and thanked would just be over-the-top and overwhelming. He really is so great that any service we do for Him is not even close to one-half of one percent of what He deserves. Never has the phrase "I'm not worthy" meant so much.

Your Light: More Heat or Light?

Chapter 36 of Rees Howells, Intercessor takes us back to 1941, when Howells and his college were praying daily about the war. Chief on their minds was the safety and protection of Palestine, for the future establishment of a place where God's people -- the Jews -- would have a homeland, which is where Jesus would return. It is amazing that this actually took place.

I can only imagine the great tension in the air as Hitler's forces attacked on many fronts. Four of the greatest prayer battles were about: the Nazi invasion of England; the battle for Alexandria; the battle of Moscow; and the attack on Stalingrad. General J.R.C. Fuller pointed out later that these four events spelled the doom of the Nazi's. What a "coincidence" that this group of believers labored in prayer over these events!? I think it not coincidence.

One account of the foiled attempts of the Nazi's in Alexandria explains their sudden surrender, when it looked like the British might break themselves. "1,100 men of the 90th LIght Panzer Division, the elite of the Afrika Korps, came stumbling across the barren sand with their hands in the air. Cracked and black with coagulated blood, their swollen tongues were protruding from their mouths." The Germans had 24 hours without water when they overran British defenses and found a 6-inch water pipe. They shot into it and began drinking like famished dogs. Little did they know at the time that this pipe had just been laid and was being tested (tested only with salt water, as fresh water was too precious for mere testing). The German army drank heavily of salt water, which ushered in the collapse of their bodies and their surrender. How crazy, random, and coincidental is that? The prayers of these people were passionate, desparate, and intense, asking God for a breakthrough ... and then this happens.

It's a controversial thing to think of God helping one side win a battle or a war. But would anyone in their right mind really stand up and make a case for God to perhaps be on the Nazi's side? So, while it's still a very heavy, serious, and tricky thing to pray for God's favor on one side of a conflict; it surely is true that one side may have the Almighty's blessing. One regime being so evil and wicked makes it slightly easier to choose sides.

xxx xxx xxx
long, meandering sidenote:
It's interesting to note one of Howells' comments about the lands he was sure would not fall to the enemy -- Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. It's so fascinating that all those lands have such biblical importance to them. A lot of people have some real questions about this war with Iraq that the US finds themselves in; but few would probably argue that the Taliban and the Islamic forces (that have openly cried for the destruction of America and who danced in the streets when the World Trade Center towers came down) could be considered friendly, blessed, and deserving of pampering, "soft love." Most of the liberal Democrats in the House and Senate favored going into Afganistan to destroy the Taliban. Christians calling a conflict like this a "holy war" scares the devil out of many journalists. Any reference to biblical language like "fighting the good fight" makes them believe that Christians will blindly kill people in a false delusion of "doing it for God." While this concern might be noble, I think the truth will find them out to be over-reactive and "trigger happy" (in the sense of concluding too early such and such conclusion concerning what spokes people for the church are saying). Knowing people's tendencies and inclinations can help leaders and spokespeople choose their words more carefully. Nobody wants to see so-called "spiritual people" make a rash decision and start a bloody war when it turns out they were wrong and those killed end up being killed under false pretence and delusion. That would be a tragedy. But it doesn't appear that the possibility of some conflict being "right" or "holy" or "blessed" is completely out of the question. Those that would rush into it and those that would discount it altogether are both in error (at least in my humble opinion).

What does this mean? Are we to equate Iraq with Nazi Germany? I don't think so. But it is some food for thought, isn't it? Jesus made some radical calls for our lifestyle, involving turning the other cheek to occupying forces/soldiers who asked you to carry their backpacks. This is true. But He did not call for an overthrow of these occupying (Roman) forces, even though His people were very tired of this occupation and sometimes inhuman treatment. Nor did He call for the abolishing of armies and the police force. Just like with the subject of fasting (which He assumes we will continue to do), His comments on their existence can lead us to make a reasonable assumption that these types of organizations are necessary and part of life. The wise person will be charged with making sure these powers are used with wisdom and discretion.

Sending out an S.O.S.

Howdy, folks. Today is my 14th Wedding Anniversary.

Last night I was locked out of the house for 3 hours. My wife went to see a movie, and the girls and I were going out for a walk to our mailbox with our dog. One rode roller blades, another a bicycle, and I hopped over the laser beam that guides the automatic garage door. I went over to the front door to see if both the deadbolt and door lock were locked and, sure enough, it was. It's amazing how fast 3 hours will pass by.

They say that Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding (but I think that maybe His calling of the disciples and they're coming/following was a miracle).

Religious people tried to trap Jesus with a question about marriage; to which He replied that people in the afterlife are neither married nor given in marriage.

Jesus taught that divorce was morally wrong (except for adultery) and that Moses permitted divorce simply because God's people had hard hearts. He quoted a couple verses from the Old Testament and added His own statement: "Haven't you read, that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate."

In the book of Job, God gives Satan permission to take/destroy everything of Job, but not to touch him. Satan has all his cattle, livestock, and even his children killed. It must be the "one flesh" principle that Satan did not or could not touch Job's wife, even though she was specifically left off the "exception list" (which only included Job himself). This is a good example of the "one flesh" principle.

What a mystery yet a blessing marriage is.

The storms of life and Illinois

Whew!
Usually I pen this blog thing in the morning -- first thing, right along with a cup of coffee. But today I jumped in after stopping by a stone/rock/gravel/concrete plant and loaded my little trailer up with "3/4 of a yard" of gravel and sand, so I could gravel up the walkway towards the front of the office. I hopped on the computer and looked for urgent emails, sped through the 30-something emails, then went outside to hoe up weeds, dig a trench for the border, and then started scooping sand over the path and then gravel on top. Took me 'til a little past noon to finish.

Kelly returned just before noon from her trip to Quincy, IL to interview the band Skillet for our next flip-cover story (along with Pillar). She got to spend some good time with the band and all went well until just about 30 minutes prior to the band's set time. A storm raged and cancelled the band's set. So Kelly was able to jet out of there and actually get some sleep before boarding a 6:30am flight back from St Louis to Austin (via Houston). I wonder what the boarding procedures are like after the scare in England recently.

My parents safely arrived back in Florida after visiting us and dropping our oldest daughter back home after a 2.5 week stay with her grandparents. I know she had a blast there.

Lord willing, I'll get my blog typed up early in the morning tomorrow.
:?)

The Ronald McDonald Steak House, Austin TX

I haven't eaten at this new restaurant in Austin yet, and I won't, because it doesn't exist. Perhaps I'll go to the McDonald's Chinese Garden next week, though.

The Last Days

Yesterday we celebrated Rand's departure, and we formed a band. We did a photo shoot, and then we recorded a few songs.

Crazy.

I think we even have a myspace page up. The song "Noise Is A Girl's Best Friend" is the best song, by far.

8 Essential Vitamins & Minerals

Wowie, zowie!
That cat's got soul.
He's the Rock that doesn't roll.

Reading Rees Howells, Intercessor and thinking about the context of the time it was written in still amazes me. History can be so fascinating if a good story teller is telling it. It's funny how we can look back in hindsight and say that Hitler was demon possessed and he had to be stopped. But the United States was "sitting out" of this war and not getting involved. It wasn't until we were bombed at Pearl Harbor that we sent troops and entered World War II. I'd like to find out more factors that were involved in getting us to participate in the defense of Europe.

I can only imagine the urgency and concern of people in England in 1940, as they were being bombed. There was concern about the college campus that Howells taught on. There were families and missionary children there. Much prayer was going on. Howells said some interesting things:

"The situation in the country because of air raids may become very serious. We have never walked this way before. The important thing is to find out where God is in this. When you are in danger every night, it takes you a long time to be sure that you are under God's protection. Can you say you are safe in the air raids? Has God told you? You may try to use the Word of God without having His power behind it. If God is going to deliver from this hell, there will have to be some power released. Unless you are sure of your own victory, you will never be able to pray for the deliverance of the country..."

I like that Howells doesn't throw out another formula, like the "Faith Movement" has subtly suggested: That you can use God's Word to get what you want. Even if you're praying for something good and claiming God's Word in prayer, it is still the awesome power of God that must show up and do this or that thing. Howells keeps the "formula" dependent upon an ongoing, living relationship with God. It's not mustering up our own faith and believing that something is going to happen. That is involved AFTER we find out what God wants to do. It involves knowing the God we are asking to move and do this or that. I love that and I believe that's the vital element in all things of faith -- keeping in relation with God Himself. I'm sure there's probably times where we venture out on our own and we claim the promises of God and He happens to want the same thing, too. But I believe the amazing and super effective things are revealed to the ones who are seeking Him and knowing Him and "walking" with Him on a daily basis.

It reminds me of that "scary prayer" that I've heard before:

"Good morning, God. What are You up to today? And how can I be a part of it?"

Two more chapters to go in this book; and only 44 days, 3 hours, 1 minute, and 30 seconds left 'til deadline.

"Hitler was Satan's agent..."

Rees Howells made some bold predictions that Hitler and Germany would be defeated. He published a book called, God Challenges The Dictators -- Doom of Nazis Predicted. This was published in December of 1939. He held on to those words through much hardship and setbacks on the battlefield. Great Britain was certainly on the brink of destruction at the hands of Germany. What a dark time in our world history. It's interesting to read of the struggles, doubts, fears, and hopes of the people that lived through that. I can't imagine the difficulties.

It's hard to hear the voice of doubt and derision when you take a stand for something. I am acutely aware of these voices and opinions when I communicate. I try to choose words that will not close the minds of a dissenter, but perhaps engage them thoughtfully. I can't imagine the weight of taking a stand that looks insane in a public way. That is even harder. Howells took such a stand with this book, making predictions that looked wrong and false as the battle raged on.

Praise God Nazi Germany fell. If Hitler would have succeeded, the darkness would have been great. Howells referred to a moment where Hitler became demon possessed, making note of an exact time that Hitler referred to where a spirit entered him. Very interesting.

Israel, oh blessed Israel

The thirty-third chapter of Rees Howells, Intercessor talks about the burden of the Jews that God put upon Howells' heart. They prayed and prayed for the Jewish people during the middle of World War II. One thing really kicked it into gear for him -- September 3, 1938, when Mussolini announced that all Jews must leave Italy within six months. They began to pray for these people to have a homeland to return to -- 4,000 years after the Abrahamic covenant.

Howells felt like the "age of the Gentiles" was coming to a close, and God would bring His people back to Israel to precipitate His Son's return.

I imagine that a lot of us look at Israel and the Israeli-Palestinean conflict with a strange lens. We were mostly born after 1948, when this nation came into being. We don't have the perspective that those alive during that time do. This official state came into being out of nothing.

I love a line out of The Hiding Place, where Mr. Ten Boom (a Christian) made a reference about Hitler's treatment of the Jews; how they had mistreaded "the apple of God's eye." Truly this is how God feels about those people.

Today this conflict rages on.

It's interesting to note that God gave Howells a message about the Arab people at this time.

"He said: 'God put me aside for some days to reveal the position of the Arabs. In Genesis 16:12, God says of Ishmael that 'he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.' This is the problem. Does God mean the Arabs to dwell with the Jews? Abraham loved Ishmael and wanted him to have the inheritance; and God, who means what He says, declared: 'I have blessed him.' The Arabs only worship the One God. Did God mean them to be blessed as well as the Jews? They will afford shelter to the Jews (Isaiah 21:13-15), and will be the first to come to Jerusalem to pay homage to the King (Isaiah 60:7). Just as we were only burdened for the Jews when we had to make intercession for them, so the Lord wanted us to have a concern for the Arabs also. They also are the sons of Abraham. Can the Holy Ghost bring in something which will break down the barrier between the Jews and Arabs that there may be a home and a blessing for both? Certainly the Arabs are the people of God, if they are to shield the Jews and live in those countries which are to escape out of the hand of the Beast.'" (Howells kept refering to Nazi Germany and Hitler's group as "the Beast."

Israel is a blessed country -- both then and now. It'll be interesting to see how things work out over there. I wonder what Howells would say about the Arab people today, or what he would say if he read the Q'ran. Can a people avowed to "wipe another country off the map" ever hope to have peace with that country? It's hard to figure out.

My fish tells me when to feed it

Rufus, the HM office fish (a male Beta) will make noise by jumping and twirling in a fast, tight circle, which lifts the gravel in the bottom of the fish bowl like a strong wind blowing leaves, and then he will swim in place and look at me. I think that's my cue to feed him. This usually only happens after I pass his normal feeding time -- my arrival in the morning. That's pretty funny.

Last night was a first: a record company sent me the new Slayer album. That has never happened before in 21 years of HM Magazine history. So my wife and I celebrated by going out to eat (at a Tex-Mex place, of course). It was a family-owned restaurant in Hutto called "El Poblanito." They serve a pretty good fajita. I had two fajitas left over that I took home in a "to go" box, but wouldn't you know it -- I left them at home today. But, of course, I jest about celebrating the arrival of a Slayer album. This is the very first Slayer album I've ever owned or received, though. I saw them in concert in the early 90s, and witnessed the most terrifying-looking moshpit in my life. They were flying around in that circle like richocheting projectiles. I imagine that more than a few people got hurt that night, but I don't know. I stayed plastered against the side wall, watching in awe.

"Heaven ablaze in our eyes"
I think the singer from HIM is a Christian waiting to happen.

Chapter 32 of Rees Howells, Intercessor tells of a "Visitation of the Spirit." This is a real-deal thing, and it must have been wonderful. Here's snippets of a brief report:

"The first outward sign that He was working in a new way was when one of the staff broke down inprayer, confessing her sense of need and crying to the Holy Spirit to meet her. THen we heard how the Holy Ghost had so manifested Himself in the glory of His Divine Person to some of the girl students that they wept before Him for hours -- broken at the corruption of their own hearts revealed in the light of His holiness. An awesome sense of God's nearness began to steal over the whole College. There was a solemn expectancy. We were reminded of the 120 in the Upper Room before the day of Pentecost. Like them, we only wanted to spend our time in prayer and supplication -- conscious that God's hand was upon us -- conscious that He was about to do something. God was there; yet we felt we were still waiting for Him to come. And in the days that followed, He came.

"We read the Acts afresh and found we were reading, not the acts of the apostles, but the acts of the Holy Ghost. The bodies of Peter and the others had become His temples. The Holy Ghost as a divine Person lived in the bodies of the apostles, even as the Savior had lived His earthly life in the body that was born in Bethlehem.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.

"Why had He manifested Himself to us in this way? He made that quite clear. It was because there was a work to be done in the world today that only He could do. No wonder the Master told His disciples not to move from Jerusalem until they had received 'the promise of the Father.' BUt when He had come, they would be His witnesses 'in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

It makes sense from a whole new angle what this passage is talking about. And the time of expectant prayer in the Upper Room makes sense. And it makes sense how the Lord wanted His followers to do something for Him, but not until they were empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit.

That is some amazing stuff.

I remember as a youngster being at a church retreat somewhere in the Northeast (probably Pennsylvania or Northern Virginia) and the Holy Spirit fell upon the room. I felt it. Some heavy yet light emotion, as if the air was electric. People were singing, and getting up and hugging the people around them, and weeping. Tears were flowing freely. It was an amazing sight. It touched me so. This experience sort of "haunted" me in a subtle way, because I had tasted just one drop of water, as it were, of what Heaven or life in the midst of God's presence must be like, and I could never forget that. I knew deep down inside, even in my most prodigal, wild, debaucherous years, that Christians were the happiest people on earth.

I've seen it. No bitterness or church people letting me down can erase that memory. I am so glad that I "came back to the Lord" as a prodigal son years later. I am grateful that there is a promise for more times like that. How I wish that the Holy Spirit would fall on our congregation in Austin, and it would turn into a situation where we all wanted to linger and stay in prayer and communion. I'm not sure what brings times like that; or what we can do to make the time and context more prone for that kind of visitation, or if it's all just God's surprise sovereignty acting towards us. People will say that "no revival happens that wasn't prayed in," and I believe that at face value; but perhaps it's not entirely true. Maybe it's 100% God's sovereignty. I'd think that expectant and prayerful hearts are the furtile soil that He would "farm" in, and that is probably our blueprint of preparation, but we can't dismiss the idea that He could come at any moment and revive His people and awaken parts of the world.

That would be some exciting stuff.

Mussolini was a weenie

In chapter 31 of Rees Howells, Intercessor, we read of another great prayer "stand-off" to help facilitate the spread of the Gospel to all nations. The Italian dictator invaded Ethiopia in World War II. They prayed fiercely for the capital not to be occupied. They were praying and fasting (sometimes breakfast being the exception, humorously noted in their journals). When the capital was occupied many in the college had thought they failed. Howells instructed them that a setback was sometimes a step to greater victory. Later on the Emporer of Ethiopia, whom they had prayed for, actually visited the college. His son-in-law stayed at the college and attended as a student later. The Emporer later wrote the following encouraging letter:

Haile Selassie I
Elect of God, Emperor of Ethiopia

It is with profound gratitude that I want to write to you today to thank you most heartily for all the kindness you have shown me during my visit to your Bible College last week. It is an inspiration to me to have seen all the wonderful things that the Lord has been leading you to do among those of your own people and those who have found a refuge in your country. I do pray that God in His grace will continue to bless this great work of His very richly.
Sincerely yours.

It is pretty darn cool when someone recognizes the work of God in another person. It is very cool when it's a world leader doing the recognizing. Although he/she is just a person/sinner like the rest of us, it is true that their influence can make a word or concept more well known pretty fast. God can accomplish any of this stuff via word of mouth, but sometimes He'll use the "quick route" and the spokespeople of an age will utter the words.

That's cool. It'll be neat to one day talk with Howells. For now, it's cool to read of his heart and lessons he learned.

The new issue is finished...

...at least our "pre-press" role is!
We turned all the files into the printer yesterday.

Today we went to Round Rock 8 to watch our post-deadline celebration movie (butchadolsonandmikekaplydidnot),
Pirates of the Caribbean.
It was so fun and entertaining.

I've designed an ad for the Vertical Music Festival today, but not sure what size they need, so I haven't sent it yet; and I've posted a couple of new banner ads on the site.
This week we'll figure out what's going to be in the next issue (Nov/Dec).