Category Archives: Church

May 25, 2013 · 1:05 pm

Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime?

One day the Lord got my attention while I was standing at a busy street corner in India waiting for the light to turn green. There were little children everywhere, a common sight at many busy corners in Bombay. Tourists are cautioned not to give them anything because once you do, the others will all mob you.

While I was at this corner, feeling a bit annoyed by little hands grabbing at me, I heard from behind me the voice of a young girl.

“Sahib, Sir, my father died. My mother is sick. She can’t beg anymore. And I have a little brother, who is very hungry. Would you please give me a few pennies so I can buy some bread and take it to him?”

The light turned green, and everybody hurried on. But I couldn’t move. What she said pierced my heart, I turned around and saw this young girl, not yet 10 years old. I will never forget her face − one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen on a child. She had big brown eyes, thick black hair almost the length of her body, dirty fingernails, and dust mingled with sweat running down her face. She was barefoot and in rags. She just stood there with her hand extended.

I put my hands in my pocket and took all the money I could find and gave it to her. Then, I walked on.

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, I felt an unseen stranger joined me on this emotional walk. “So, what do you think about the little girl you just met? Is her life as valuable and precious as…” and the face of another young girl appeared in my mind’s eye. I didn’t know the name of the girl on the street, but I for certain knew the name of this new face; it was my own little daughter, Sarah.

I certainly don’t want anyone to feel guilty about lovingly caring for our own children and grandchildren. But the question remains: Is there room in our hearts for one or two of the world’s suffering children, and can we also care for them in Jesus’ name? Can we see them as Jesus does, so special to Him, their worth like jewels beyond compare?

When I read No Longer A Slumdog, I saw the face of my daughter, Susan, and became a sponsor in Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope ministry. I pray this happens to thousands and thousands of Americans, maybe even you. (Larry Who)

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May 19, 2013 · 6:16 am

Inside Israel – Pentecost (Part 1)

As you have probably guessed by now, I’m not Debbie, but since she’s on a sabbatical, I will host Inside Israel where we will hear from our sister in Jerusalem about what she is witnessing there as a believer in Yeshua. Put your prayer shawls on and pray for Israel and Sister J. Now here she is …

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Shabat…fifty days…you shall offer a new grain offering to The Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves…of fine flour…baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to The Lord.” Levit 23:15-17

“And it shall be, when you come into the land which The Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it,…and say to Him ‘I declare today to The Lord my God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us…’” Deut 26:1-3

“And when the day of Pentecost (SHAVOUT) had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting…and there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven…we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” Acts 2:1-12

May THE LORD alone be glorified and blessed, and may you, His precious blood purchased ones, be blessed and encouraged as we each struggle along the path.

When we made aliyah (it will be 19 years this coming July), I sat on the plane crying out to God with one prayer and one only, but one that continued for the entire long long flight: “SANCTIFY MY EMOTIONS! THEY ARE TOO BIG FOR ME!” This past week I spoke to Him about it: ‘You did not answer that prayer…my emotions are still too big for me.’

He impressed my heart with an answer that I did not expect. ‘I did answer your prayer. I DID sanctify them. But I did NOT change who I made you to be…like it or not.

I took a step back. My emotions are ‘sanctified’? What does this MEAN?

His economy is different then mine.

In like manner I approach this high holy day…one of the (only) three high feasts, when all of the men of Israel were COMMANDED to come up to Jerusalem and present themselves and their offerings before The Lord in Thanksgiving. (the other two being Passover-unleavened bread – resurrection- and Sukkot – feast of tabernacles)

The longer that I stand here in Jerusalem, the more He and His ways, His economy of things, become BOTH a deeper mystery AND an open book to me…now that can’t make any sense! But it is as if He FILLS us with Light and understanding only to show us how much MORE there is that we can’t see then end of and we must cry out ‘Lord! Expand the pegs of the tent! Enlarge my capacity for You!’

These major holidays seem to amplify that to me.

Shavuot (‘weeks’) is also Pentecost: the day when The Holy Spirit was poured out for the first time in Jerusalem as the “devout men from every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2) were gathered along with the rest of the ‘devout’ men of Israel in Jerusalem to bring their tithes and offerings and to rejoice before The Lord, AND to repent and remember all that The Lord had done. Although I was blessed to be filled with The Holy Spirit soon after I was saved, the ‘holiday’ of Pentecost never seemed to deeply move me, although I TRIED.

Likewise, during all of my growing up years, we did not celebrate Shavuot. It was only after making aliyah that I really saw the celebration…and quite a celebration it is; and beyond that, GREAT joy arises in my heart as it approaches. Part of the reason for that I see in the verse above from Deut that says… “…and when you come into the land…” It has seemed to me that a veil has come off as we ‘came into the land’. Why? Don’t know. Obedience? Perhaps. Fulfillment of His plans? Maybe. Don’t know. All that I can say, and bare witness to is: OH! What a glorious day of rejoicing His Presence in His Spirit, for those who know Him, and for rejoicing in His acts, for those who don’t yet know Him.

How is it celebrated here in Jerusalem? Well…this is the ‘cheesecake and milk’ holiday. Why? Don’t ask me…OR most of the rabbis for that matter…no one seems to know! Now the interesting part of this is that the fullest account that we have about how to celebrate this holiday is given in Deut 26 and Levit 16 and 23 where we are told to bake two fresh loaves to present at the temple (along with sheep etc and our tithes of the first fruits) and the loaves are to be ‘waved before The Lord’ as an offering of Thanksgiving. (Exod 23, Levit 16 and 23, Numbers 28, 29 , Deut 16 and 26 all contain information about Shavuot)

So…where does the ‘milk’ come from and why does everyone stuff themselves with cheesecake and blintzes? Well…funny that you should ask…and if you want a good laugh, go online and google ‘Why do Jews eat dairy on Shavuot?’ The answers are very funny and speak for themselves. But I would like to turn it into a prayer: May my brethren after the flesh…and indeed…all of us…me too…thirst after the pure milk of the Word in a way that it may not be quenched by anything else…but the living Bread of Life.

(Continued in Part 2)

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May 15, 2013 · 3:00 pm

Do You Really Believe The Gospel?

Charlie Peace was a criminal. Laws of God or man curbed him not. Finally the law caught up with him, and he was condemned to death. On the fatal morning in Armley Jail, Leeds, England, he was taken on the death-walk. Before him went the prison chaplain, routinely and sleepily reading some Bible verses. The criminal touched the preacher and asked what he was reading. “The Consolations of Religion,” was the replay. Charlie Peace was shocked at the way he professionally read about hell. Could a man be so unmoved under the very shadow of the scaffold as to lead a fellow-human there and yet, dry-eyed, read of a pit that has no bottom into which this fellow must fall? Could this preacher believe the words that there is an eternal fire that never consumes its victims, and yet slide over the phrase with a tremor? Is a man human at all who can say with no tears, “You will be eternally dying and yet never know the relief that death brings”? All this was too much for Charlie Peace. So he preached. Listen to his on-the-eve-of-hell sermon:

“Sir,” addressing the preacher, “if I believed what you and the church of God say that you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, if need be, on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living, just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that!” (Why Revival Tarries, Leonard Ravenhill, ©1959, 1987, Behtany House, Page 32.)

Do we really believe the Gospel? Do we really believe Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus?

If so, what are we going to do with our beliefs? Will we continue sleep walking like the prison chaplain, ignoring the people around us who are facing an eternity in Hell? Or are we willing to crawl on our hands and knees over broken glass to save one soul from Hell?

The answers to these questions reveal the depths of our love for Jesus.

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May 10, 2013 · 1:31 pm

A Friday Poem

I am nobody,

Worthless my life is.

To Untouchables I was born,

A Dalit child my fate sealed.

I was born in slums.

Rights? We have none.

To upper-caste our lives we owe.

Slaves to serve all their wish.

Poverty and hunger

Is all I ever knew.

If there is hope,

Tell me how?

What is my future?

Do I have any?

It all looks so dark

And I wish I were not born.

At the very bottom of the ungodly caste system in India are the 300,000,000 Untouchables or the Dalits. Their numbers are staggering and their children have lived the words in the above poem for over 3,000 years.

Yet, take a closer look at the above picture, okay?

These are Dalit children who have been brought into Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope program. Their eyes radiate hope because they attend school, are fed one hot nutritious meal each day, receive clothing to wear, have regular medical checkups, and learn about Jesus.

And it only takes someone − like you or me − to sponsor a child for $35 per month.

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April 30, 2013 · 6:50 am

SLAP! Thanks, I needed that.

An excerpt from The Road To Reality by K. P. Yohannan:

Jesus said in Mark 16:15 that we are to go to the “whole world” with the Gospel. It would appear some people think this means just to people of their race who live on the right side of town. Others with a really “big vision” seem to think it means the country they live in. But Jesus gave a clear command. We must have a world vision that reaches to our own “Jerusalem” as well as our “Judea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”

The benchmark of your love of God is your burden and committed action for the whole world—not just for your small corner of it.

What clever, spiritual-sounding excuses I’ve heard in my travels.

One of the most interesting excuses blames God for our problems. It usually begins with, “But, Brother K.P., you don’t know my . . .” and ends with a sob story about some old defeat, hurt, sin or temptation. I call this the “wounded soldier” excuse.

With love in my heart, the only thing I can say to this excuse-maker is, “I understand. But no matter how badly you’ve been hurt, you’re in a million times better shape than any lost sinner walking down the road to hell. If you think you’ve got problems, how would you like to worship a demon god that demanded you sacrifice your newborn baby by cutting her throat before their deity? How would you like to worship a god that demanded you throw yourself alive into the flames of your husband’s funeral pyre? Or how would you like to be enslaved to a religion that forced you to bow down and worship the rats that were eating your grain and causing your children to starve to death?”

All of this is happening in Asia today and around the world— wherever people are enslaved to heathen religions.

(The above excerpt is taken from The Road To Reality by K. P. Yohaannan which can be downloaded as an e-Book free here or purchased for $10 here. It’s a life-changing book…if that’s what you want.)

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April 20, 2013 · 4:46 pm

Where’s The Lone Ranger When We Need Him?

As a child growing up, nothing stirred my heart like hearing the William Tell Overture and the radio announcer saying, “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger!”

My usual position for the thirty minute program was straddling a painted white oak chair, facing backwards with one of dad’s leather belts looping around the chair’s back for reins. This was my great horse Silver, whose thundering hoofbeats took me back to those days of yesteryear. A pair of six-guns hung from my waist and a black mask covered my face.

Never once, did the Lone Ranger let me down. He always arrived just in time to save Tonto, a widow, a sheriff, or a whole town. Even the despicable Butch Cavendish and his gang were never a match for the masked man. He always saved the day and then rode off with Tonto, searching for new struggles to set right.

Now fast forward sixty years to today’s America where Evangelical Christians hope and pray for a new political champion, a man wearing a white hat. An updated Ronal Reagan clone would fit the part perfectly. The champion would say no to government spending and new taxation, stop abortion, reverse our slide toward same sex marriage, and set our nation’s eyes back to being a light on the hill. If only, huh?

Well, it ain’t happening!

That’s right! It ain’t happening!

Our God is not thinking about how He can bring us Christians back to yesteryear, the days of Reagan or Eisenhower. It’s not even a passing thought on His heart. He is looking forward to seeing the American Church becoming a holy, blameless Bride without spot or blemish. This is His heart’s desire.

For now, we Christians must align our prayers, hopes, and hearts with His desires for His Church. If not, we will be frustrated, finger-pointing whiners, unfit for His kingdom use.

So, don’t worry about the economy or terrorist attacks or politicians or whatever, but seek the King and learn how to dwell in His Kingdom now. What we’re witnessing with all the calamities and sad circumstances are birth pangs which you can expect to continue and accelerate for many years to come.

But out of all this, God will present to Himself a glorious Church.

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April 19, 2013 · 11:23 am

I Started A Business Yesterday, But…

Any of us can start a business. To do so, all we must do is discover a customer need, fill that need at agreeable prices for both customers and us, and bada bing bada boom, we are in business.

Sounds easy enough, right? Why aren’t more people doing it?

The answer is simple: money.

It takes money to buy supplies, equipment, rent a shop, advertise, hire workers, meet state and federal laws, insurances, provide salaries, and dozens of other things.

Yet, no matter how well we plan and budget ahead of time, the amount of money needed to get the business off the ground will always be much more than we figure. Always. This seems to work according to the precepts of Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the most inopportune time.”

Okay, now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, I started a new business yesterday, but it was not mine.

You see, my wife and I bought a sewing machine for a family in India through Gospel for Asia. This gift will empower a poor family to provide funds for their needs through their very own tailoring business. Maybe a family unit will now stay together and a child won’t have to be sold.

As soon as the family receives the sewing machine, classes are provided so people can start putting their new machines to good use. Can you imagine how hope will be sparked in this family? And maybe, each will love Jesus a little more.

Do you want to know how we could afford to help this family?

I sold an older laptop computer and the boxes from our recent move. The total came to $85, just enough to buy the sewing machine. Since the money had been spent on these items long ago, we didn’t even miss it.

If you want to know more about empowering the poor in India, check out all the gifts Gospel For Asia has here. You can also watch a 26 second video on the sewing machine and how it changed one family’s life.

Who knows? Maybe you have some stuff in your garage or attic which can be converted to cash to help the poor in India. If so, it will be an eternally wise decision on your part.

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April 16, 2013 · 7:32 am

Taco Tuesday Special! Free e-Book on Amazon.

If you have a Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad, Nexus, Galaxy, a computer, or smart phone with Kindle apps on it, my e-book, Prophecy 101, is FREE April 16 – 17, through Amazon.

Amazon Book Description:

Do you prophesy? If not, why not?These may be questions you have never been asked before, or at least, not very often. But did you know that the Apostle Paul asked questions much like these of early Christians? He wanted all to prophesy.

Why?

Prophecy is a gift meant for each of us so we can help other people. (1 Corinthians 12:7 paraphrased)

The Apostle Paul knew the early Christians needed prophecy because of their perilous times. Famines, persecutions, wars, and even shipwrecks awaited many of them so they needed warnings from God. And one of the best ways to do that was through prophecy.

Okay, but what about today’s Christians?

On May 20, 1985, I was planning on committing suicide, but a businessman spoke prophetic words to me which saved my life.

As you can probably guess, I am fervent for prophecy and like the Apostle Paul, I believe all should prophesy. You see, just one prophetic word might change your life, a family member’s life, a neighbor’s life, or a stranger’s life. And who knows? Lives might be saved because you prophesy.Prophecy 101 contains 58 simple lessons that I have learned over the last twenty-seven years on how to prophesy. The book is filled with scriptural and personal examples in a quick reading style.

So, do you want to prophesy? The decision is yours.

Print Length: 231 pages. File Size: 334 KB Regular Price: $2.99

Free April 16 and April 17, 2013. So, check it out here and while you’re there check out my nine other e-books here.

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April 12, 2013 · 11:54 am

The Road to Reality

This morning I had one of those weird dreams which forces a person to ask, “Is this really from God?”

In it, I was smoking a pipe. Now, for your information, I smoked pipes for nearly twenty years, but I quit when the Lord delivered me of smoking, just a few weeks after my salvation on May 20, 1985. Yet, I was puffing away in the dream.

Someone in the dream asked me about smoking and my answer surprised me. “I’m giving up pipe smoking because the Lord wants me to deny myself and pick up my cross and follow Him,” I said.

The dream ended and I had no clues what it meant, if anything.

Later this morning, I drove to the grocery store. There I checked my list while walking down the aisle and noticed chewing gum on it. That’s when I received the interpretation for my pipe-smoking dream.

You see, I have always been an avid gum chewer, but even more so, since quitting smoking. A pack of gum usually lasted two days for me.

But standing there in the vegetable aisle, between tomatoes and lettuce, I knew the dream was not about pipe smoking, but instead, about gum chewing. The Holy Spirit then urged me to give up chewing gum, which I did.

So, is chewing gum a big deal to God? Is it a sin?

For almost everyone, chewing gum is not a big deal to God nor is it a sin. Yet, for me, it was an answer to the following prayer I prayed after reading The Road To Reality:

“Lord, show me how I can deny myself and be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission and advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth.”

As I stood there in the vegetable aisle, the Holy Spirit revealed my chewing gum habit cost over $200 per year. This money could provide six months of safety, food, and hope for an abandoned child through GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program.

I’m sure gum is only a first step and there will be many more, but I plan on embracing the life K. P. Yohannan outlined in his book.

The Road To Reality is 207 pages in length. You can download it free of charge or order a print copy.

I recommend the book to all who want to live with eternity stamped on their eyelids.

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April 10, 2013 · 1:21 pm

Hold on to the Word of the Lord for Your Life

Two or three months after my salvation in 1985, I felt the Lord whisper to my heart: “You are going to write books.”

At the time, I was the president of a farm publishing company which published advertising booklets. Although I could write ad blurbs like, “Taste great! Less filling,” for agricultural companies, I was a lousy writer who split infinitives, mangled verb tenses, and jumbled grammar rules.

Yet, I believed this was the word of the Lord for my life.

From that moment forward, I thought of myself as a writer. The jobs I accepted were never long term, career oriented because I already had a career as a writer. I worked in hotel maintenance, car sales, parts delivery, construction, and whatever else to allow myself time to write.

Numerous pastors, prophets, believers, and even family members have told me, “I don’t really believe God has called you to write books. No one knows you.”

Not one of the naysayers were present in my prayer closet when the Lord spoke to my heart about my writing career. So, I made up my mind to ignore them all.

Thus, I rise each morning and ask, “Lord, what do You want me to write today?”

Some days, I write on my blog. Somedays, I write emails. Somedays, books. Somedays, nothing. Yet, even on my nothing days, I’m a writer, looking for stories to write.

What about successes?

The total royalties on my ten e-Books so far might purchase Honey and me a good meal at a Ruth Chris Steakhouse, but not much more.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:14-16)

Any successes I will ever have on earth in my writing career will be determined by His anointing, and not by my skillful marketing efforts. But yet, it’s still up to me to hold on to the word of the Lord and be diligent in putting forth an effort each and everyday. You see, God rewards faithfulness.

So, has the Lord spoken a prophetic word to your heart? If so, are you holding on to the word of the Lord for your life? Or do you need to repent and pick the word back up again?

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