Category Archives: Christianity

May 10, 2019 · 6:32 am

Friday’s End-Times Bible Studies (Part 8)

There is an underlying story between the Book of Genesis and the Book of Revelation. That story revolves around God’s love for humans and how determined God is to redeem them.

In Genesis Chapter One, the first man –Adam – was created in God’s image and was given dominion over all of the earth.  Adam was created to walk and fellowship with God and then rule the earth as God’s ambassador. This was Adam’s birthright and therefore all of mankind’s birthright through Adam.

But soon, Eve was deceived by Satan and then Adam committed sin by rebelling against God’s commandment about not eating fruit from the tree of knowledge and evil. Adam’s sin cost him his birthright and therefore all of mankind’s birthright at the same time.

With his sin, Satan usurped Adam’s (and our) birthright and became the ruler of this world and the god of this age.

But here’s the good news: God created the heavens and earth. He also created the laws by which Satan and mankind must follow, concerning birthrights. These laws allow a male relative to buy back a birthright.

Now, all of mankind since Adam would have qualified as male relatives, but the male kinsman redeemer had to be without sin because of Adam’s sin of rebellion. This disqualified every man except one: Jesus, who is the last Adam.

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. (Revelation 5:1)

The scroll is a legal document because only these were written on both sides. I believe it is Adam’s lost birthright, the title deed to the earth. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the only Man who will be found worthy to open the seven seals so that the scroll will be totally opened.

In simplistic terms, I believe the opening of the seven seal judgments by the Lamb of God (Jesus) and then the resultant seven trumpet judgments are the acts our Kinsman Redeemer must perform to buy back the earth from Satan.

At the seventh trumpet, loud voices in heaven will proclaim:

The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

Question: Who sets the buy back terms for a birthright to be redeemed by a kinsman?

Answer: The owner of the birthright.

Thus, Satan set the terms by which the seven seal judgments and seven trumpet judgments are required to buy back what Adam lost in the Garden of Eden.

(Continued in Part 9…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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May 9, 2019 · 3:12 am

Prayers for Godly Leaders to Arise in America (5/9/2019)

 

Quite a few years ago, Carol and I attended Metro Christian Fellowship in Kansas City, at which the senior pastor was Mike Bickle. Today, Bickle oversees the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC).

Mike Bickle is a dynamic teacher, but what I remember most about him was what he did on the Sundays when he didn’t bring a message to the congregation of 3,500 people. He helped park cars in the parking lot. Rain, snow, sunshine or whatever, he was out there directing traffic.

Bickle’s teachings have blessed me, but none of them have changed my life as much as seeing him standing out there in that parking lot.

My prayer today:

Lord, raise up servant leaders in America who are willing to humble themselves and wash other believers’ feet just like You did as an example for Your disciples. (Based on John 13:3-17)

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for the Body of Christ in America.

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May 8, 2019 · 3:11 am

A Story about my Mother

Dad and mom

On May 11, 2014, my sister Linda phoned. “Larry, Mom is not doing very well. Maybe you’d better fly home as soon as possible.”

I made reservations to fly back to Freeport, Illinois, as soon as I hung up.

Now, let me set the stage here:

My mom had celebrated her ninetieth birthday just four months earlier. She had lived in the Stephenson Counting Nursing Home for four years. She could not walk, suffered from advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and arthritis, but yet, she still enjoyed watching TV, reading, and talking with whomever stuck a head inside her room. She had just suffered from a severe pneumonia/COPD infection and had spent nine days in the Freeport Hospital.

I lived in Temecula, California. My sister, Linda, and her husband, Dennis, lived a few miles from the nursing home on the outskirts of Freeport. Before retirement, Linda had been the head of nursing at the nursing home for over thirty years.  So, she knew the staff at the nursing home quite well and carefully watched over Mom’s daily care.

After I made the flight reservations, I slid off my desk chair and bowed my knees on the floor.

“Lord, I have believed for a long time that Mom gave her life to You at a Lowell Lundstrom Crusade in Polo, Illinois, many years ago. She never told me that, but I believed the vision You gave me about her conversion. If I am wrong, then You need to tell me because You are the Redeemer and love her more than I do.”

I remained on my knees for forty-five minutes or so.  The Lord spoke some words to my heart for Mom.

I flew back to Illinois the next morning. Linda met me in Rockford and drove me to Freeport in her red Chevrolet. Because it was still early, I drove Linda’s car to the nursing home to see Mom.

I walked into Room 242. Mom was asleep and I sat down on a chair at the foot of her bed. I read a book. A few minutes later, she stirred and saw me.

“Son, how was your flight?” she asked.

“Okay.”

I stood up and kissed her. Then, I sat down again.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“Better.”

We small talked about her stay in the hospital and how she hated being there. Then, I spoke the words that the Lord gave me for her.

“What did you think when you went into the hospital?

“Well, you know…”

“No, I don’t know. What did you think?”

“I did not think I would ever leave the hospital again.”

“You thought you were going to die?”

“Yes.”

“Mom, if I could, I would change places with you right now. You could have the years remaining in my life and I would take the little bit of time you have left in your life. Heaven is that great and I’d like to be there right now with Dad and Grandma and the others.”

“Oh, Larry, you wouldn’t do that!”

“Yes, I would. Heaven is that great a place.”

Mom looked at me for a moment.

“Larry, is heaven that good? Is that really so?”

Our conversation changed. We never again talked about heaven or death.

I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law home for a week. Each day, I spent hours with Mom, feeding her and doing whatever she wanted. We enjoyed our time together.

As I left her room for the last time, she said, “Larry, I love you.”

“Mom, I love you. You’re the greatest.”

When I left for California, I thought maybe she had dodged another bullet and would last a few years, but a month later, the Lord spoke to my heart.

“I am taking your mom home.”

Two days later, Linda phoned to tell me that Mom passed away that morning.

Once again, I want to remind everyone that the Lord spoke to me ahead of time about taking my mom home because of our friendship. It had nothing to do with my being a prophetic voice. Anyone can have this type of relationship with the Lord. All you have to do is spend quality time with Him.

(Taken from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2014, Amazon eBook)

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May 6, 2019 · 3:14 am

Has God Given Up On Geezers?

canstockphoto8794144

 

“Honey, the Lord told me on the way home tonight how blessed I should feel to have a godly husband like you,” said Carol as we slipped into bed at the end of a long weekday.

“That may be true, but I’m going to shoot Fern,” I said looking at the ceiling.

“Sweetheart, what?” she said, her green eyes blinking in unbelief.

“After I shoot her, I might hang her by the neck, and then drop her over a steep cliff.”

“Dear, that’s not like you at all. You wouldn’t hurt anyone, especially my mom.”

“After today, I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things. I just might shoot her right between the eyes.”

We rolled over and fell to sleep.

This conversation actually took place in Glidden, Iowa, when Carol and I stayed at her mom’s five-acre farm. Fern was seventy-eight years old at the time, but don’t go thinking her age caused her to be a weak link in the local farming scene. Nothing could have been further from the truth. If anything, she still resembled a pioneer woman ready to hitch up a Conestoga wagon with a pair of oxen and head over the Rockies to Oregon.

Everything had been great between Fern and me up until that week. Her humor and intelligence made her a joy to be around, but all of the warm fuzzies ended when sweet corn season arrived.

Now, let me set the stage, okay?

The late July temperatures hovered near one hundred degrees with the humidity approaching tropical rainforest levels. No air conditioning. Ten zillion, pesty, ornery farm flies, and two acres of sweet corn. Carol worked for a company in Carroll, Iowa, and I had just finished detasseling corn for a hybrid seed corn company.

“Larry, would you like to help harvest some sweet corn?” asked Fern one morning.

“Sure, of course,” I said, not foreseeing any problems.

The next four days were an absolute “hell on earth” for me. The heat, humidity, and flies took their toll, but what pushed me over the edge were Fern’s drill sergeant’s tactics.

“Do this. Don’t do that. Be careful. Watch out. Grab this. Let go. It’s not that hot outside. Can’t you go a little faster? What’s wrong with you?”

She counted the number of pints of corn already done on the fourth day.

“We’ve already done one hundred and twenty pints so far, which is a record for me, but I know we can do at least two hundred pints, maybe even more.”

Her eyes gleamed with the possibilities of being listed in the Guinness World Recordsand the Prairie Farmer. That night I spouted off to Carol about offing her mom.

The next morning, I crept out of bed at an early hour and tiptoed down to the family room. There I dropped to my knees on the carpet.

“Lord, what’s my problem? Why do I want to shoot a sweet, seventy-eight year old lady?” I prayed.

The Lord spoke to my heart after a long while: “You’ve given up on senior citizens. You think they just want to collect their social security checks and sit on porches, taking it easy until they die. You don’t believe I will use them in a move of My Spirit in America.” Then, He added, “I haven’t given up on them and neither should you. Repent of your attitudes.”

I repented before the Lord that morning.

Fern Fielder, a great mother-in-law (1920 to 2008).

(Taken from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2014, Amazon eBook)

 

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May 3, 2019 · 7:50 am

Friday’s End-Times Bible Study (Part 7)

And there will be famines, pestilences,and earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:7)

A Reuters News article stated that the government of North Korea has cut back the daily food allowances for 10.1 million of its citizens to eleven ounces per day, which will be mostly rice and no protein. This amounts to less than 300 calories per day. A starvation diet.

Can we attribute this famine to being a part of the “last days” Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:7?

Maybe. But North Korea had a famine fifteen or twenty years ago which killed three million of its citizens. This nation’s main problem is its repressive ungodly Communist government. Probably not really a “last days” event as such.

Now, we Americans don’t think of a famine ever happening to our nation like the one which North Korea is undergoing right now. But that’s a terrible mistake on our part.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:6)

When the third seal is opened as stated in the above verse, famine will hit the whole earth. This is going to happen! Don’t close your eyes and hope it won’t! Don’t even waste your time trying to pray it away. It will happen!

And if you look ahead to Revelation 6:7-8 when the fourth seal is opened, a fourth of the earth will be killed by the sword, hunger and by beasts. Hungry people will fight for food and so will hungry beasts.

Two billion dead people (figuring 8 billion on the earth at the beginning of the Tribulation).

What can we do ahead of time?

Store up water and food? Probably a waste of time unless we can store up enough food for all of our neighbors, too. Why? Because we have to love our neighbors like ourselves.

Here’s what I suggest:

Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalm 41:1-3)

Give to the poor and needy now. Store up these good works for the days ahead. You will be blessed for doing it.

(Continued in Part 8…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.

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May 2, 2019 · 3:13 am

Prayers for America (5/2/2019)

Today is the National Day of Prayer. This year’s theme is “Love one Another.”

I had a nighttime vision a few years back where I was taken to a prison cell in North Korea. There in a small cell was a naked young Christian lady. She had been beaten, repeatedly raped by prison guards, and was starving. The prison cell was freezing cold and she had no blankets or cot to sleep on. She sat huddling herself on the cold cement floor, weeping  her heart out.

The vision was so real that I could feel the cold and the same fear she felt. As I looked on, I wondered why I was there. What could I do?

Then, the Holy Spirit spoke to me: “Will you trade places with her?”

The first thought to hit my head — If I trade places with her, no one will ever hear of me again. My wife won’t know what happened to me nor my children nor my grandchildren nor anyone. All of my hopes and plans will end in this cell. My life will be over forever.

Yet, I knew the Holy Spirit was waiting for an answer. I couldn’t postpone it forever.

Finally, I said, “Yes, Lord, I’ll trade places with her.”

The vision instantly ended.

But my first thoughts still haunt me. You see, I cared more about my personal welfare than about hers. That was not love.

Paul the apostle spoke about his love for the Jews, the ones who were his main enemies:

For my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters, I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. (Romans 9:3)

You see, Paul was willing to spend a lifetime in Hell if it would save his Jewish brothers and sisters. That’s the same love Jesus showed us on the cross. It’s called agape love.

My prayer today:

Lord, pour out Your Spirit on us American believers so that we no longer seek our own welfare but the welfare of our neighbors and countrymen even if it means our deaths.

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for the Body of Christ in America.

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May 1, 2019 · 3:07 am

Thou Shalt Not Eat Sweets

“In two decades, I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.” (Erma Bombeck)

Since I graduated from college in 1968, I have struggled with my waistline. The only times I haven’t struggled was when I jogged five miles each day or was a painting contractor, climbing ladders. My times without struggling would amount to maybe six or seven years out of my fifty-one years since college.

My biggest problem has always been sweets — cookies, pies, cakes, donuts, ice cream, peanut butter, jams, jellies, ketchup, honey, muffins, cinnamon rolls, pastries, chocolate covered peanuts, M&Ms, Snickers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and whatever else.

“Larry, would you like some ice cream with your pie?” 

“Yes, ma’am, and could you pour some hot fudge syrup over it, too?”

After I gave my life to Jesus Christ in 1985, I became an avid reader of the Bible. This opened my eyes to some disturbing verses about gluttony and overeating.

Oh dear! What should I do with these verses?

In a way, I ignored them.

But what I really did was justified my bad eating habits to myself.

You see, my Christian walk has been one long trial after another. Marital separation. Divorce. Loss of friends. Fired from five consecutive sales jobs. Minimum wage jobs by the dozens with not enough money to pay bills. Marriage to a wonderful woman, but still not enough money to pay bills. Moving thirty-five times to nine different states and numerous cities. And so forth.

So, I allowed sweets to become one of my comforters.

“Well, you know, God knows my heart!”

Just so you know: the Holy Spirit has been working on my poor eating habits during my whole thirty-four years of walking with the Lord. And at the same time, I was crying out to Him for His help because sweets had a stranglehold on me.

Then, we moved to Gilbert, Arizona.

We moved without much money in the bank, but this wasn’t unusual because all of our other moves followed this same pattern. Our hope has always been in Him and for Him to speak to us and show us what to do.

After spending time in prayer, it seemed that we needed to sell an item on eBay. We listed the item and sold it for a great price. Both of us prayed over the item and shipped it off to the buyer.

But then disaster happened!

The item was damaged in shipment and the buyer refused it. Because of an eBay glitch, we did not purchase insurance for the product. The refund to the buyer drained our bank account.

We were devastated!

When something like this happens, I always seek the Lord on why He allowed it to occur. Hey, we prayed! Our faith was in Him! Satan is a weakling compared to God! So, what happened?

While waiting on the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: “Your gluttony opened a door for Satan to rob you.”

The fear of the Lord came upon me. I repented and meant it this time with all of my heart for the first time ever.

The Holy Spirit eventually let me know that this was my last chance. If I didn’t change my eating habits, I would not be able to fulfill His destiny for my life because bad health would soon derail my walk with Him.

Can others learn from my testimony?

My advice for those who have longstanding issues, whether it’s gluttony, porn, drugs, alcohol, lust, pride or whatever: keep crying out to the Lord for Him to help you. Plus keep professing that you want Him to be Lord over every area of your life. Do both of these, not just one or the other.

I guarantee He will eventually show up and set you free. How He does it will be up to Him and not you.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom… (Proverbs 9:10)

I now eat lots of fruits and vegetables…and no sweets!

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April 30, 2019 · 7:31 am

Prayers for Businessmen (4/30/2019)

What’s our number one goal as Christian businessmen in the marketplace?

To be the next Bill Gates? Or Steve Jobs? Or Jeff Bezos? Or John D. Rockefeller? Or Henry Ford? Or whomever?

No, absolutely not!

Our number one goal is to wholeheartedly follow Jesus. Anything less than this and we should consider ourselves unsuccessful.

You see, when we stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ, Jesus won’t look at our bank accounts or our business successes in the marketplace, He will only look at one thing: did we deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Him.

We businessmen should look at ourselves in the mirror and make up our minds now. Will we will go 100% for Jesus and His ways? Or are we going to sell ourselves out to the world system and its ways? Halfway and lukewarm doesn’t work with Jesus. It’s either all-in or all-out!

Do you remember Demas?

Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica… (2 Timothy 4:10)

Maybe Demas was a businessman. Maybe he enjoyed attending businessmen’s breakfasts and giving his testimony about how the Lord had prospered him. But there came a point in time, when he had to choose to be all-in or all-out. His decision is forever written down for all to see.

One day, the books for our lives will be opened for everyone to see the real us. Nothing will be hidden. We will then have to live for all of eternity with what’s written after our names, just like Demas.

My prayer today:

Lord, bring every businessman to a decision point right now about denying ourselves, picking up our cross daily and following You. Then, pour out Your grace on us so we can answer, “Yes,” and then follow You all the days of our lives.

Join us on Tuesdays to fast and pray for American men in the workplace.

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April 29, 2019 · 7:30 am

A Simple Prayer

praying

 

Some people can be asked to pray by someone and then they pray for ten minutes without ever thinking or stuttering and stammering. And then there’s people like me. Maybe you, too.

If the Holy Spirit fuels my prayer, it might sound like heaven walked into the room and spoke through me. Now, this would be great if it happened all of the time, but sadly, it doesn’t occur often enough.

So what does an average believer like me do, right?

I do my best to memorize Bible verses. You see, one of these verses will usually fit into a prayer of some type for most any occasion. And after all, what could be better than praying God’s Word to God for Him to handle the situation I am praying about, right?

One of my favorite prayers:

Lord, I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to (name or names) the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of (his, her or their) understanding being enlightened; that (he, she or they) may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. In Jesus’ name, amen. (Based on Ephesians 1:17-20)

PS If you’re not good at memorizing verses, open your Bible and use it as your prayer book. God won’t care and the people won’t know. All will be blessed though.

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April 26, 2019 · 6:47 am

Friday’s End-Times Bible Study (Part 6)

 

How do we know the tribulation will last seven years?

27 And he [Antichrist] shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator. (Daniel 9:27 AMP)

This is one of the few verses that most End-Times theologians and scholars agree upon. Their thinking is that the word “week” refers to a week of years, or seven years. It was an old Hebrew phrase used in that time period, obviously not a modern English one.

What’s also important is the phrase “in the midst of the week.” There are numerous verses to back this up in the Old and New Testaments —

But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.(Revelation 11:2)

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he [Antichrist] was given authority to continue for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5)

Forty-two months is three and a half years. Matthew refers to this time period as the Great Tribulation because it will be much rougher than the first half of the tribulation.

Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 use the number “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” to describe this three and a half year period. If we divide 1260 by 30 days in a Jewish month, we will end up with forty-two months or three and a half years.

Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14 use the phrase “time, times and half a time.” Once again, this is an old Hebrew phrase with a “time” equaling one year, “times” equaling two years and “half a time” equaling six months. Altogether, they add up to forty-two months or three and a half years.

So, there we have the reasoning for a seven year tribulation time period.

(Continued in Part 7…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.

 

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