The Lord apprehended this silly twenty year old (me) from the 'world' back on Januatry 4th, 1975. I started going to an Assembly of God church right away, so the gifts of the Spirit and the teaching thereof were with me right from my spiritual beginning. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit three weeks after my conversion, and my hunger and thirst for Christ really took off. I wanted to learn as much about my new Savior as I possibly could, and I was in the Word often. Me- this brand new christian, just desiring to soak up all that was available to me from the Lord. Most believers will relate to what I'm saying. Those of you who were involved in Shekinah Fellowship way back when will CERTAINLY relate, because you in particular were privy to an incredible phenomenon that not all believers were blessed enough to have witnessed. You all experienced the increible power of the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way, first-hand...

I was among the fortunate ones to have witnessed this Glory shortly after my salvation, having gone down to the Los Angeles area (where I'd previously lived) from the northwest to visit family and friends, and finding my way to Angelus Temple to see Brant Baker and Shekinah Fellowship. Brant and Shekinah also came up to the Seattle area a year later for a number of meetings, so I was especially blessed by the continued moving of God in the world in the present, by His Spirit. It is something that has stayed with me ever since.....

After a few years though, I began to listen to some very good, very learned, and respected radio teachers who, for a time, had me rethinking my whole Pentacostal experience. Now, I've shared a bit of this in a previous post which I entitled, "Confessions of a Gift Despiser", and I don't want to repeat it all here (please look it up in the margin and read it), but I feel that there's more for me to share than I did in that particular post, which just touched on the subject. Incredibly, I slowly began to allow myself to believe that God had moved, that He had already spoken, and that the gifts of His Spirit were for a previous generation, one that did not have the completed canon, and that since we now have His complete Word, there was no more need for the 'gifts', especially since I'd seen so many fleshly abuses of those gifts....

As I shared in my previous post, after a few more years (despite being in the Word a lot), I began to become lonely for His wonderful Presence, I started pining for that 'reality', that intimacy, and eventually moved back in my heart to where I belonged...

It amazes me now that I could have ever have turned away from His supernatural moving among and upon His people today, in THIS VERY HOUR, yet I did. I now know that the Lord used this entire protracted experience to show me how I must- how WE ALL must- continue see king the very presence of the Lord, that we must ACTIVELY 'covet the best gifts' (I Corinthians 12:31), for He, the ultimate Gift, is the giver of these wonderful and necessary gifts. Now, I know for a fact that even some former Shekinah Fellowship members have let go of what they once knew as reality and deemed precious- I know because I've corresponded with them. Yet I can fully relate- if I hadn't gone through this whole thing myself, I would have thought that walking away from the belief in this Present Glorious Holy Ghost Power was impossible! Well it's not, and as believers who genuinely desire for God to continue moving in and through us, we absolutely MUST continue to cultivate this supernatural relationhip, to seek HIM and all that He has for us....

He hasn't gone anywhere- He's still here- and because of that fact, His gifts are still here- tongues, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits- DO WE NOT NEED THESE TODAY?...

Don't settle for the dry, brains-only, academic brand of Christianity. That only satisfies the mind- you might do well on a test or quiz, you may win a blue ribbon- but you're spirit won't be moved at all. You can't have a relationship with book learning, or with your great knowledge of the original Greek text. These things are fine, but don't neglect HIS desire to move and do what He desires to fully do in you. If you already have, then return to Him! There's so much more of Him than we know! He waits for us...

En Agape,
pastor Jim