Monthly Archives: February 2009

February 11, 2009 · 7:05 am

Swimming Upstream: “Following God…No Matter Where”

What if the Lord asked you to go to what looks like a garbage dump and minister to some of the poorest and neediest people in the world, would you go? No doubt, a tough question for most of us. One, we hope the Lord would never ask.

But Mark and Christine Pedder were asked just that, and they said, “Yes.”

The following is taken from Mark’s blog:

Mark and Christine Pedder, two Aussies living and working one of the largest slums in Asia, BASECO.

Around 60 acres of reclaimed land, with an estimated 16,000 families living on it in abject poverty. The average family size is mum, dad and 4-6 children, with extremes where families have more than 10 children. The largest family we personally know has 21 living children, our neighbor has 18. So even if you do the lowest possible estimate of our slum population, we have more than 100,000 people living in our slum.

Poverty, the poorest of the poor, disease, sickness, rubbish, lack of clean water, no sewerage, occassional pirated electricity… (See here)

Tired of reading, check out these photos and have your heart crushed. Mark’s blog. And their ministry.

One of my biggest fears is that one day soon I will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. There I will watch Jesus set a torch to all of my so-called works. What will the fire reveal? I fear there will be nothing but ashes left from my man-made wood, hay and straw works. Nothing else. No gold, silver or precious jewels. Then, how will I will spend my eternity in heaven? Will I always lament my lost opportunities? Or is there enough grace to cover my shame?

Mark and Christine have challenged me with an opportunity. Now, what am I going to do with it?

Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s a little of this and a little of that, all written to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian jouneys.

Raising People From The Dead – Are You Silly?

For those Red Letter Christians who really, really want to obey what Jesus said:

And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10: 7-8)

Now, if you think that raising the dead is no longer happening, then you need to check out Dave Hogan of Freedom Ministries. His ministry has over 400 people raised from the dead.

And for the rest of us, what’s our problem? Huh?

4 Comments

Filed under America, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, church planting, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Prophecy, Red Letter Christians, reformation, Spirituality, vietnam

February 10, 2009 · 9:41 am

Are Pulpits At Fault For America’s Present Dilemma?

We are sick, and the pulpits are largely at fault. It is certainly not because we lack great pulpiteers, personalities and promoters. What, then, is the root problem? Or, like the old commercial of a national fast food franchise, “Where’s the beef?”
Pastors must get back to putting the call to make disciples and teach the people “all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20) ahead of church as usual. Preach the unvarnished Word of God rather than telling stories salted with a few Scriptures. Will it empty some pews? Undoubtedly. Will it make you more popular and a pop icon? Most likely not. Will it restore the power of God to the church and bring healing to our land? It always has.
We are at a point where thousands of pastors across America must take the challenge, honestly assess whether we are accepting the full mandate in every area shown above and providing the “offensive” leadership that the church so desperately needs. The cost of not doing so can already be measured in broken lives and a weak nation. (Dave Welch)

Are pulpits at fault for America’s present dilemma? Yes.

Do I agree with the analysis by Dave Welch? No, absolutely not.

What’s my suggestion? Burn the pulpits. Sell the churches. Give the money to charity. Start a reformation. Begin anew.

6 Comments

Filed under Abortion, African-American, America, black people, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, church planting, Election 2008, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Politics, Prayer, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Prophecy, Race, reformation, Religion, Sarah Palin, Spirituality, vietnam

February 9, 2009 · 10:05 am

Swimming Upstream “Persecution Brings Power”

Do you want a powerful Church? Most believers would answer, “Amen, brother. Bring on the power.”

Are you willing to pray for the power to fall upon the Church? Once again, most believers would nod their heads and answer, “Amen. Amen. Let’s do it.”

Now, what if I tell you that in order to have a powerful Church, we’ll need heavy persecution; then how many of you are willing to pray for heavy persecution to fall upon the Church? This is probably where most believers head for the doors. Some might even throw a few choice words over their backs as they leave, such as, “Don’t you know that Jesus is the Prince of Peace?”

Well, I have good news for everyone. We don’t have to pray for heavy persecution to fall upon the Church. Why? It’s already here.

“Where? And how?” you ask with a raised, skeptical eyebrow.

President Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Senate and Congress are right now in the process of heaping persecution on the Church. It’ll be camouflaged as types of religious fairness doctrines or hate-speech crimes, all to protect innocents from us mean Christians. But understand this, there will be penalties for disobeying these laws and mandates.

So, if you are still wondering why President Obama won the election, think of it like this. Jesus is building His Church. A little of this. A little of that. And whole lot of power to hold it together in unity.

The Church patronized is the Church paralyzed, therefore, the Church in peril. The Church persecuted is the Church prayerful, and therefore powerful. (G. Campbell Morgan)

3 Comments

Filed under Abortion, African-American, America, black people, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, church planting, Election 2008, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Politics, Prayer, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Prophecy, Race, reformation, Religion, Spirituality, vietnam

February 8, 2009 · 10:47 am

Are There Any Restrooms in Heaven?

Let’s say that we’re at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Mozart and Beethoven are playing duets on Hamburg Seinway Concert Grand pianos. Dancers from the Royal Dutch Ballet and other notable troops are performing their step-ball-change routines amid leaps and pirouettes.

The hors D’oeuvres – onion brie en Croutes, Spanokopita, spinach filo and potato puffs (all Kosher) – are tastier than manna and honey. And the wine, Chateau Lafite Rothschild bordeaux is out of this world.

But because wine has always gone through my urinary system much like water through a sieve, I need to go now! Not later. This is an emergency. Then, it dawns on me. I’m in heaven. Are there any restrooms in heaven?

Okay. Okay. In a world filled with hunger, terrorism and economic woes, this may be a bit of trivial tripe. Who really worries whether or not there are restrooms in heaven, right? Well, maybe nobody else worries, but I do. You know, I’m not big on wearing Depend products throughout eternity. It just doesn’t sound very holy to me.

So, does anyone know for sure if there are restrooms in heaven? Or at the very least, porta potties?

2 Comments

Filed under Abortion, African-American, America, black people, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, church planting, Election 2008, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, humor, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Politics, Prayer, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Prophecy, Race, reformation, Spirituality

February 6, 2009 · 9:24 am

Swimming Upstream: “Bye Bye Mysteries”

In frustration, I blurted, “Lord, walking with You is so complicated.”

“No, it’s not,” the Holy Spirit spoke to me heart, “it’s very simple. Just ask, believe, and repent and change when I show you. That’s all you’re required to do. ”

Pretty hard to argue with the Lord’s reasoning, right?

Just recently, I confessed that I read mysteries. And if I had to guess how many sleuth novels I’ve read over the last 4 to 5 years, I’d say somewhere between 300 and 350. As you can see, I really enjoyed reading them

Well, no more mysteries for me. Why?

The other day, I picked up the novel I was reading and I felt something. There was no voice. No thought process. I just knew that the grace which I had for reading mystery novels had lifted off me and gone bye bye. To continue reading more mystery novels would be an act of disobedience on my part.

I told Honey the news. “So, won’t you miss reading them, huh?” she asked.

“No. Absolutely not,” I said without blinking an eye.

So, how could I walk away from something I enjoyed so much, without looking back or at least finishing the novel that I was in the middle of?

I fear the Lord. Period.

And my fear of the Lord came through some awful experiences that I never, ever, never, ever want to go through again. I would rather die first!

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

1 Comment

Filed under America, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, church planting, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Prayer, Prophecy, reformation, Religion, Spirituality, vietnam

February 5, 2009 · 10:45 am

The Writing of “New Wind Blowing (Part 3)

new-wind2

Click on following for earlier article: Part 1 and Part 2 .

Admittedly, I struggle with writing prophetic articles; I really do. Maybe other writers can breeze right along with what they feel the Lord wants them to say, but I can not. Every word and every sentence is an agonizing experience for me.

As one prophetic teacher stated, “All prophetic revelations have three possible sources: God, Satan or our own creative flesh. And often, prophetic revelations are a mixture of all three.”

Sadly, I struggle with all three sources when I write.

In my first draft of New Wind Blowing which appeared in late October, 2008, on www.larrywho.com. The core revelation of the e-Booklet concerning abortion, the Vietnam War and Governor Sarah Palin remained the same as in the updated version which now appears on the site. But the main difference was that I included a prophetic word stating that John McCain would win the presidency.

When Senator Obama won the election, I rewrote New Wind Blowing. This became draft #2 which omitted the McCain stuff and dealt with abortion, the Vietnam War and Governor Palin.

Draft #2 became obsolete in January, 2009, when the Lord had me study Deuteronomy 28 again. This time, I discovered that illegal aliens, terrorists and our nation’s financial problems are also judgments from God because of our Vietnam War sins. (See New Wind Blowing, Chapter 2.)

Thus, the New Wind Blowing which now appears on www.larrywho.com is in fact Draft #3, not the original version.

So, why even mention all of this, right?

I truly believe that New Wind Blowing has needed revelations for the Body of Christ. And if I am correct, the Lord will open doors for these revelations, despite all of my mistakes. My faith is in His ability to lead me and not in my puny ability to follow Him.

But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:21)

The Writing of “New Wind Blowing” (Part 2)

new-wind1

Click on following for earlier article: Part 1.

Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Party’s Vice Presidential candidate, gave her speech at the Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008. Just days after her speech, I had the revelation that a new prophetic wind was blowing out of heaven and across America with new anointing, authority and revelations for the Body of Christ.

I felt that the new wind was triggered by Palin’s arrival on the national scene. It’s not that she is the Grand Poobah of this new spiritual movement, but instead, she is a spiritual sign for all to see. (See New Wind Blowing, chapter 3, page 20).

With the new wind, I received the revelation that abortion is a judgment from God caused by our treacherous handling of the Vietnam War, especially our broken promises and lies to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. (See New Wind Blowing, chapter 4, page 22.)

Maybe, your first thought is, no way! God would not allow 50,000,000 babies to die just because we messed up in Vietnam.You’re nuts!

But remember this: our nation’s sin causes judgment to come upon our nation. It’s our sin that does it. Not God. He is not responsible. We are. We have to take the responsibility for our sins, and then repent of them.

But it shall come about, if you will not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:15)

The writer of Deuteronomy used the word curses to describe what would happen if a nation disobeyed God. We would now use the word judgments instead of that word.

Look at verse 18 of Chapter 28:

Cursed shall be the offspring of your body…

The offspring (children, babies, pregnancies) are cursed if we sin against God. Therefore, abortion is a curse, or a judgment of God against a national sin. (See New Wind Blowing, chapter 2.)

I realize that this is the exactly opposite of what you have been taught. You’ve always heard that judgment would fall on America because of our willful sin of abortion; and I’m saying that judgment is already here in the form of abortion. And we need to repent of a different national sin to rid us of abortion.

If I’m correct, then we have been heading in the wrong direction for years. Read the booklet. Download it. It’s free. (New Wind Blowing.)

Tomorrow, I will list my mistakes in the writing of the booklet.

(Continued in Part 3.)

1 Comment

February 4, 2009 · 9:27 am

Swimming Upstream: “The Question: How?” “The Answer: Men.”

“Would you pray for my husband? He doesn’t like coming to church with me.”

In my twenty-three years of being a Christian, I’ve heard the above statement made by wives (or girlfriends) hundreds of times. Why? Most men don’t like going to churches. They find it boring.

In fact, a recent study revealed that only one in three men attend church on any given Sunday in our nation. And of those men that do attend, a majority do so only to placate a wife or family.

Pretty sad, right?

Actually, not really.

What?

I believe the Lord has called Christian men to leave the traditional church system and start something new. Home churches. Churches in businesses. Churches in Starbucks. Churches outside the four walls of the traditional church. Churches where men can be apostolic pioneers rather than gelded pew sitters.

And what most critics have labeled as apathy by men is not really true at all. But instead, it is a divine dissatisfaction sowed into the hearts of men by the Holy Spirit.

This dissatisfaction will be used by the Lord to bring about reformation in just a matter of years, rather than over a long period of decades and decades.

So, Lord, bring forth dissatisfied men who are hungry for You and Your kingdom. Amen.
Swimming Upstream appears at this blog site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s a little of this and a little of that, all written to encourage and exhort believers in their Christian jouneys.

2 Comments

Filed under America, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, Emergent Church, Faith, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Prayer, Prophecy, reformation, Religion, Spirituality, vietnam

February 3, 2009 · 2:55 pm

The Writing of “New Wind Blowing” (Part 1)

new-wind

I was not seeking it, did not ask for it, and when I received the revelation for New Wind Blowing, I tried to pray it onto someone else. Someone like Billy Graham or Franklin Graham or Rick Warren. A person who had the ears of millions of people rather than an unknown sixty year-old guy like me.

It all began with me having a hair cut in a barber shop just down the street from work. Now to be honest, when it came to barbers, I was not picky. Most winked at my bald pate and asked, “How do you want it cut?”

I usually smiled back at them. “A number two will do,” I’d say. They’d set their trimmers for a quarter inch; and buzz, buzz, I was done and out of there.

So, when I entered the barber shop the first time, there were three barbers working on customers. The first available one was a mid-thirties woman named Belinda. We chatted a little and she told me that she was Vietnamese. I gave no thought to her cultural background as being important to me one way or another. It was a barber shop conversation, just two ships passing each other in the night. But over the next six months – as my hair was being cut – she told me her story.

When Belinda was ten years old, South Vietnam was falling apart. The Americans had left. The Communists were taking over the government. Her dad decided that Belinda, her younger brother and the mother would take a boat to a safer country, Malaysia. At the last second, there was not enough room for all three of them. So, only Belinda and her brother left Vietnam.

boatpeople-3

Somehow, the boat arrived in Malaysia. There, little Belinda learned that being ashore was not the safest place for a little girl. She had to fight off robbers and rapists, all the while watching over her little brother. They survived by hiding in the jungle forests.

Then, after a few months, the two came to America. But even this had its dark side for her with the problems she suffered in a foster family.

A few years later, Belinda and her brother were reunited with her mother when she arrived in America. Her father was forced to stay in Vietnam.

No matter how hard I tried after hearing her story, I could not get it out of my mind. I could not pray it away. It gripped my heart to think that a little girl had suffered so much. It seemed so unfair.

Out of my struggles, I wrote this article on May 2, 2008.

(Continued in Part 2)

2 Comments

Filed under Abortion, African-American, America, black people, Christian Conservative, Christianity, Christians, Church, Election 2008, Emergent Church, Gifts of the Spirit, God, Home Church, Inspirational, Kingdom of God, morality, Politics, Prayer, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Prophecy, Race, reformation, Religion, Sarah Palin, Spirituality, vietnam