Category Archives: Faith

March 12, 2010 · 7:56 am

The Death of Christian Influence on Politics in America (Part 9)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

To save time later, let’s get all of our excuses for Christianity’s lack of political influence out in the open here at the start.  And then, let’s have a coordinated crying session, okay?

1.  The mainstream media (newspapers, magazines and network television) is liberal and anti-Christian.

2. Hollywood is liberal and anti-Christian.

3.  The Judicial System and most of the other federal departments are liberal and anti-Christian.

3.  University professors are mostly liberal and anti-Christian.

4.  America’s elementary, middle and high school systems are mostly liberal and anti-Christian.

If you have other excuses, tack them on; then let’s begin boohooing and lamenting the hopeless situation we Christians are in.

“Oh no! Waa! Waa! How can we Christians win? It’s too hard! The cards are stacked against us! Woe is us!”

Do you feel better? I hope so.

Now, let’s check out how successful political activism has been for us Evangelical Christians, using Moral Majority’s 1979 platform as a guide:

Abortion. 50,000,000 dead babies with more being murdered everyday.

Traditional Family Values. Still under attack and losing ground in state by state, lawsuit by lawsuit and legislature by legislature battles.

National Defense. Approximately 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001, and future 911’s are looming on the near horizon with little real security provided by our state and federal governments.

Israel. Support for Israel is at its lowest level since 1949.

Except for the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Evangelical Christianity’s political activism efforts have been a dismal failure. Of course, there have been a few scattered minor victories here and there, but not enough to stem the tide of our nation’s plunge into a godless abyss.

There will be those who will shout that we Christians just need to “keep on keeping on.” Spend more money backing Christian political activist organizations. Spend more money backing supposed Christian-leaning candidates. Spend more money providing media advertisements and voter information guides for our Christian political ideals. Organize more Christians for political activism. Preach more political activism messages in our churches.

More! More! More! More! More! Always more and more of the same-o, same-o.

But isn’t the definition of lunacy – “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?”

And after thirty years of political activism by us Evangelical Christians, shouldn’t we admit we’re doing something wrong? We have lost our way.

So, what must we do?

(Continued in Part 10)

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March 11, 2010 · 6:54 am

I’d Like To Prophesy…But* (Part 5)

A Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

What is the price for rising above  entry level prophesying?

1. Faithfulness.

If you read my testimony, you will discover that a book, Power in Praise by Merlin Carouthers, played an important part in my salvation. Its simple instructions told me how to give my life to Jesus.

But also, the book suggested I ask the Lord for something called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had no clue what this phrase meant, but I figured, “In for a penny, in for a pound.”

So, I went back into the bathroom, closed the door, knelt in front of the sink and said, “Lord, whatever the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is, I’d like to have it, too.”

I got back up, went into the living room and continued reading. Honest, that’s all I did.

Fifty days later, to the day and almost the same exact hour,  I spoke in tongues while driving my car. My tongues, or prayer language, consisted of just four syllables, sort of had a do-re-me-fa-ring to it.

What good can come out of this silly stuff, I thought.

As soon as possible, I asked a friend, “What am I supposed to do with my prayer language?”

“Well, the Bible states that we are to pray without ceasing,” he said. He continued on, but the “without ceasing” attached itself to the walls of my brain.

Thus, I prayed all the time. If I was alone, I prayed aloud. If not, my tongue clickedy-clacked behind my teeth, “do, re, me, fa, do, re, me, fa, do, re, me, fa, etc.”

Now, do you have any idea how boring it is just praying four syllables for hours and hours on end? A whole bunch! But what did I know, right? After all,  I had only been saved two months, and before that, I was an agnostic.

I continued on and on until finally two months later, something broke within me. Out of my mouth gushed a prayer language without end. It was new. It was exciting. I was edified beyond belief.

And with the breakthrough in my prayer language came the unlocking of the other spiritual gifts in my life. Word of knowledge. Word of wisdom. Prophecy. Interpretations. Varieties of tongues. Healing. Working of miracles. Faith. Discerning of spirits. (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10)

Now, the only spiritual gift which I have any real control over is my prayer language. It is up to me to use it or not. All the other gifts are operated “as the Spirit wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11)

Okay, so what does all of this have to do with prophesying?

In Matthew 25: 14 – 30, Jesus told the parable about a man giving talents to his three servants. One received five, another two and the other just one.

The first two servants labored with their talents and doubled their values. The third servant did nothing with his talent because he was afraid of his master.

Jesus ended the parable by saying:

“Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness… (Matthew 25: 28-30)

This Kingdom of Heaven parable reminds us that we need to be faithful with the gifts (talents) He has given us. If like me, you are given just a small gift, labor with it. Work. Study. Use it. Don’t give up. Be faithful.

The Lord will eventually reward your faithfulness and raise you up to a new level.

(Continued in Part 6)

*I have used the word prophesy in a general sense to denote prophecy, words of knowledge and words of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10).

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March 9, 2010 · 8:29 am

I’d Like To Prophesy…But* (Part 4)

A Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

The Who’s Who List of socialites sat in the tea garden, listening to the internationally acclaimed concert pianist performing a Mozart concerto.

When the pianist finished, the ladies clapped their hands. Then, the pianist stood and bowed.

One lady, sitting near the  pianist, overcome by excitement and joy, gushed, “Oh, I would just give anything to play the piano like him. Just anything.”

The pianist pivoted around and stared at the lady. “No, you would not,” he said.

The crowd gasped at the man’s rebuke of one of New York’s most respected women. How dare he make such a disrespectful remark?

Tears streamed down the embarrassed lady’s face onto her Paris designer’s dress. In her hurt, she defiantly mouthed, “Yes, I would.”

The man stepped toward her. “No, you would not,” he proclaimed. “Because if you truly meant that, you would have given up your childhood and your teenage years practicing the piano. And even now, you would be willing to give up eight to ten hours everyday practicing so that you could play like me.”

He pointed toward her with his finger. “You see, there’s a price to sit on this bench. I’ve been willing to pay it and you haven’t!”

This story illustrates a truth, one that is especially true about the prophetic gifts.

But a fellow blogger made this interesting comment about prophesying in the original posting of Part 2 of this series:

How much Godly character did the ass have when God spoke through the animal’s mouth when the prophet would not?

To which I replied:

Perfect character is not a mandatory requirement for the spiritual gifts. But just like a soldier in the U.S. Army, there are different levels of marksmanship for our spiritual tools or weapons. Consider the spiritual gift levels to be akin to marksman, sharpshooter and expert.

To raise above the entry marksman level demands godliness and a continuing effort to be like Jesus…

The Body of Christ needs believers who are willing to pay the price so they rise above the entry grade of just giving low-level prophetic “bless me and you” words. We need sharpshooters and experts for what’s waiting ahead of us, just over the horizon.

So, what does the price involve, right?

(Continued in Part 5)

*I have used the word prophesy in a general sense to denote prophecy, words of knowledge and words of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10).

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March 8, 2010 · 8:36 am

The Death of Christianity’s Influence on Politics in America (Part 7)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

Adjacent to the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., is the Vietnam War Memorial. On its black granite walls are etched the names of 58,261 servicemen who died in the Vietnam War. The memorial stands as a tribute to the 2.7 million soldiers who served in the war and over three million people visit the site each year.

Sadly, there should be another black granite memorial for the American Church with these words etched on it:

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mark 3: 24-25)

The divisions in the American Church caused by the Vietnam War helped to produce another debacle, one which continues today: Abortion.

In December, 1971, Roe vs. Wade was first argued before the Supreme Court. Because the Court only had seven justices at the time, it was held over and argued again in October, 1972, in front of nine justices.

What else was going on during October, 1972? The Paris Peace Negotiations to end the Vietnam War.

In October, 1972, a major breakthrough came about in the peace negotiations. Dr. Henry Kissinger, U. S. Secretary of State, met with the head of the North Vietnamese delegation, Le Duc Tho, in private meetings, apart from the South Vietnamese delegation.

The North Vietnamese modified their demands and a preliminary agreement was consented to by both nations.  In the middle of October, 1971, Dr. Kissinger stood in front of television cameras and announced to the world, “Peace is at hand.”

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued its Roe vs. Wade decision. This landmark decision overturned almost every federal and state law that restricted abortion in America. From this date forward, a new war began with a vengeance. The killing of unborn babies via abortion.

On the day following the Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision, Dr. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho signed off on the Vietnam War treaty which was basically the same one they agreed to in October, 1971.

The leaders of the three delegations signed the peace treaty in a formal ceremony on January 27, 1973, at the  Majestic Hotel in Paris. The Vietnam War was over.

Is this just a coincidence that the Vietnam War and abortion are intertwined together?

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Jesus until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)

If ever there was an opportune time for Satan to score a major victory over the American Church, it was in 1972 and 1973. The Church was divided and its prophetic trumpets were powerless to sound the alarms of the soon coming deaths of millions of babies.

How did the Church finally react to this defeat?

(Continued in Part 8)

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March 6, 2010 · 7:47 am

I’d Like To Prophesy…But* (Part 3)

An Update Rerun Series

Click on following links for: Part 1 and Part 2.

What can we learn about the use of prophetic gifts from Jim Jones’ life?

For clarification, I see Jim Jones as a deceived Christian believer, not as an atheist as many have portrayed him. This belief is supported by the small pentecostal church which he attended as a youth, the Methodist superintendent who supported his ordination, the woman who prophesied to him and William Branham. All saw him as a believer with strong prophetic gifts. (See Part 2.)

An elder must not be a new Christian, because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, and the Devil will use that pride to make him fall. (1 Timothy 3:6, NLT)

Sadly, what seems to have happened to Jones has occurred over and over again throughout church history, and furthermore, still continues today. A man was  elevated not because of his godly character, but rather because of his spiritual gifts.

We can see it in Jones’ ministry as a young child-preacher, as a nineteen year-old student pastor and as a co-minister with William Branham, he was thought of as the man. A man who spoke for God. People were in awe of his prophetic gifts.

Now, this is not meant as a blanket excuse for Jones’ errors, but it should cause us to pause for a moment, and check ourselves. Do we admire spiritual gifts more than godly character?

If so, we need to repent.

Look at the qualifications for an overseer:

An overseer, then, must be above reproach…temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money…manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity…not a new convert…a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

In other words, an overseer is required to have a godly character. Did you notice that there is no mention of spiritual gifts as a requirement for being an overseer?

And by the way, what are the qualifications for the spiritual gifts to flow in a believer’s life?

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11)

The spiritual gifts are given to us believers by grace, and therefore, are not dependent on our works or character. It is His decision, not ours.

Jim Jones’ life and ministry illustrates an extreme example of how not to walk in the prophetic gifts. But what is the right way?

(Continued in Part 4)

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March 5, 2010 · 8:35 am

The Death of Christianity’s Influence on Politics in America (Part 6)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

What’s wrong with the right ditch?

For the Vietnam War, the right ditch was just as extreme as the left ditch. And sadly, it had a Christian counterpart in 1930’s Germany.

Looking back, it is hard to believe that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came to power through presidential appointments and elections. But even after winning the election in 1933, Hitler had only 43% of the vote. So, he was forced to build coalitions in order to govern Germany and to bring forth the perfect Aryan race he had envisioned for the nation.

Hitler and the Nazis understood the importance of calming Christian fears about his ungodly plans to build a Third Reich. Thus, the Nazis used the Bible to undermine Christian values.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Romans 13: 1-2)

The Nazis twisted Romans 13 into a justification for Christians blindly obeying the Nazi government in whatever they did. After all, the Nazis were established by God and resisting the governing authorities was a major sin.

Yes, there was fevent opposition to the Nazi’s twisted use of Romans 13 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemoller and other pastors. But their voices were muted as trumped up charges were brought against them and they were imprisoned.

Sadly, nearly one third of the Lutheran pastors jumped on board the Nazi bandwagon and backed their policies. This defection from the truth quelled most believers’ apprehensions about blindly obeying the Nazi government.

Then, as the changes became more and more radical and ungodly, German Christians were swept along in the undertow of their earlier decisions into deeper and deeper waters of blind obedience.

During the Vietnam War, much the same thing happened to a significant percentage of Christians who fell into the right ditch. They held tightly to Romans 13 and voiced slogans such as, “America, love it or leave it.”

By holding so tightly to Romans 13:1-2, Christians ignored the message of a subsequent verse:

For it [the government] is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. (Romans 13:4)

The government of a nation is supposed to minster good to its people, not evil. Thus, if a nation’s government heads in an ungodly direction, we are to react like Peter and the apostles did:

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

The Vietnam War acted like a sword to divide Christianity and set it up for future defeats.

(Continued in Part 7)

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March 4, 2010 · 8:04 am

I’d Like to Prophesy…But* (Part 2)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following link for earlier article article: Part 1.

How important is godly character for the operation of the prophetic gifts?

Over the years, I have done research on Jim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple and leader of Jonestown (Guyana) where over 900 people committed mass suicide on November 18, 1978.

Jones’  name, even today, evokes nervous twitches in us believers who are skeptical of over-the-top religious leaders.

But Jones’ life provides us with a few valuable lessons, especially for the prophetic gifts.

As a child, Jim Jones attended a small Pentecostal church in Indiana. His spiritual gifts were recognized by the church, and he became a child-preacher sensation. People came from all over to hear him.

His mother, Lynetta Putnam Jones, practiced spiritism. And when she discovered her son was involved in preaching and spiritual gifts, she promptly pulled him out of the church.

So, during Jones’  formative years, the young believer’s spiritual gifts and calling were heavily influenced by a wacky mom who was involved with demons and mediums. Certainly, not a healthy environment for a future man of God.

In the 1950’s, Jones was ordained by the Methodist Church as a student pastor. Then, at a state pastors’ convention, his life was forever changed. A woman speaker left the podium, walked down the aisle to Jones and said, “You are called to be a prophet. Go up to the microphone and prophesy.”

Jones was stunned by the woman’s words but followed her instructions. He proceeded to prophesy to everyone there, giving unbelievably accurate words of knowledge and words of wisdom. His ministry skyrocketed from that time forward.

Leaving the Methodists, Jones founded his own church called the Peoples Temple Christian Church Full Gospel in Indianapolis. Though William Branham recognized his calling and ministered with Jones at times, Jones felt tormented about continually giving prophetic words.

On the one hand, he knew the spiritual gifts worked like a magnet, drawing people and money to his church. But on the other hand, he had no desire to expend the time and energy in prayer, developing a solid foundation to shore up his prophetic gifts.

So, he cheated. He had members gather tidbits of information which he passed on as prophetic words of knowledge to hungry listeners. It worked. The crowds and finances kept flowing into his ministry.

It only gets worse from here on out in his ministry. Finally, at a service in his Peoples Temple of San Francisco, he threw the Bible on the floor and declared, “No longer will we pay attention to this Book. My words are more important.”

So, what can we learn about the use of the prophetic gifts from Jim Jones’ life?

(Continued in Part 3)

*I have used the word prophesy in a general sense to denote prophecy, words of knowledge and words of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10).

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March 3, 2010 · 7:22 am

The Death of Christianity’s Influence on Politics in America (Part 5)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

What’s wrong with the left ditch?

Now, there’s little doubt that America’s political and military leaders made a multitude of mistakes handling the Vietnam War. Countless books have been written on the subject.

And yes, the American Church as a whole sat on its prophetic trumpets and did little to proclaim that our leaders were steering the nation in wrong directions.

And yes,  the Body of Christ needs pacifists. We need every individual part working properly so the Body is being built up in love.

But we individual parts of the Body, pacifists and others, tend to wear blinders when we check out our agendas (political or otherwise) with the Bible, especially when fervent motions are involved.

Sadly, this is what I believe happened to the Christians who ended up in the left ditch during the Vietnam War.

The thinking that God hates all wars, Jesus is against all wars and all wars are sin is scripturally wrong from a New Testament viewpoint, and of course, from an Old Testament one.

Where did the first war occur? In heaven.

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war. (Revelation 12:7)

If the Lord is totally against war, why didn’t He have a peace conference with Satan? You know, just to clear the air and thereby listen to Satan and his group’s grievances. Maybe a compromise could have been worked out. But no, there was war!

What restrictions did Jesus place on the centurion when the soldier asked for a miracle for his servant? None.

And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment. (Matthew 8:13)

Most likely, the centurion had earned his rank in battles. And thus if war were sin, then Jesus would have said much the same thing He did to the woman caught in adultery and the man lowered down through the roof tiles. He would have first pardoned the soldier’s sin.

Did the man who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb mention war when he was asked what soldiers needed to do? No.

Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages. (Luke 3: 14)

Just think, John the Baptist said his words in front of numerous Jews who hated the Roman soldiers. Maybe some of the Jews had even lost relatives or friends in battles with the soldiers. Yet, not one word was mentioned about war.

Who leads the armies of heaven? Jesus.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. (Revelation 19:11)

How many times did Jesus mention war was a sin? Never. Zero. Nada. Zilch. To make war a sin, you have to extrapolate meanings out of a few verses and ignore hundreds of others throughout the Bible.

What about the early church? The first century church with Peter, John, James and Paul made no claims that war was sin. A hundred years later, Augustine came up with his Just War Theory but even he and the other church fathers did not oppose war in all circumstances.

There is absolutely no scriptural evidence that God hates all wars, Jesus is against all wars and all wars are sin. The Christians in the left ditch staked out an extreme position and were deceived.

So, what was wrong with the right ditch?

(Continued in Part 6)

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March 2, 2010 · 6:29 am

I’d Like To Prophesy…But* (Part 1)

A Rerun Updated 2009 Series

Is prophesying still important? Or is it old school Christianity? A relic from a past age, not worth digging up again.

Here is an experience of mine which made a difference in an unbeliever’s life:

Years ago, I worked for a maintenance supervisor whose every word dripped with bitterness and sarcasm. Nobody, including me, wanted to be around him. He was a downer, with a capital D.

But one day, I was stuck working with him on a small project. As usual, he was carrying on about the unfairness of this and that in his life. Blah. Blah. Blah.

For some reason, I turned toward him, and as I did, a prophetic word perched itself on the tip of my tongue. “It wasn’t your fault, you know?” I said, wondering where I was heading with such words.

“What?” he said.

“You know, back in Viet Nam, when the soldier died. It wasn’t your fault!”

He stopped working and stared at me. “Do you know what happened there?”

I shook my head.

He went on to explain how he had been a tank commander in Viet Nam. “I was a good commander and loved my men. They respected me,” he said.

Then, one day an infantryman asked for a ride back to base. He pointed to the rear of the tank and said, “Jump on, soldier.”

The pressures of being constantly on the lookout for booby traps and mines caused him to forget about the soldier. When he did look back sometime later in the trip, he noticed the soldier was missing. So, he turned the tank around.

Two miles later, he found the infantryman dead with his head cut off.  The supposition was the soldier fell asleep, rolled off the tank and was quickly discovered by the Viet Cong.

At a court martial inquiry, he  was found guilty. His career was over.

When he finished, the supervisor looked at me and asked, “So, who told you?”

“The Lord told me,” I said looking into his eyes. “And Jesus said, ‘It’s not your fault.’”

The man’s countenance glowed.

A week or so later, the man quit his supervisor’s job at the motel and started his own company. Whenever I saw him on the street after that, he would cut across in front of traffic just to shake my hand.

Did the man get saved and serve the Lord? I really don’t know as our lives eventually drifted apart. But I do know this: on that particular day, the man knew Jesus truly cared about him.

And guess what?

If you want, you can also give prophetic words to unbelievers, believers and whosoever as you journey through life. The Lord is looking for willing vessels to speak for Him.

Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

(Continued in Part 2)

*I have used the word prophesy in a general sense to denote prophecy, words of knowledge and words of wisdom (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10).

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March 1, 2010 · 7:58 am

The Death of Christianity’s Influence on Politics in America (Part 4)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1,  Part 2 and Part 3.

The anti-Vietnam War activists of the 1960’s understood the art of politics and marketing. They knew the fastest way to change America was not via the ballot box, but rather through the media, especially the TV news programs.

And almost all anti-Vietnam War marches and sit-ins were orchestrated with an eye toward the 6 PM national news programs. Catchy slogans, much like advertising jingos, were shouted by the participants. Some of their favorites:  “Hell no! We won’t go!” and “Make love, not war!” and “Draft beer, not boys!”

The TV news programs were more than eager to oblige the anti-Vietnam war activists. After all, TV news programs depend on advertising money, which depends on ratings, which depends on viewership, which usually depends on conflicts – and not happy news.

Thus, the national TV programs coupled bloody news footage from the Vietnam War with anti-Vietnam War activist events.

But the anti-Vietnam War activists also knew America was basically a Christian nation. So, they challenged Christians with an in-your-face marketing strategy. They used cut and paste Bible techniques, choosing certain verses which justified their stances, but overlooking others which did not.

“Jesus stated, ‘Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you,'” the anti-Vietnam War activists said. “Well, how can you do that if you are killing them in a war?”

The activists also said, “Jesus stated that we should not resist evil, but rather, turn the other cheek to our enemies. How can we obey Jesus if we are shooting them with guns? Shouldn’t we be turning our cheeks to them instead?”

Now, since the latter part of the Reformation, there have been pacifist streams in Christianity: Quakers, Brethren and Anabaptists. These groups have offshoots into today’s Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite communities and assemblies.

But the activists took their antiwar beliefs many steps past the pacifist beliefs of the aforementioned groups. The activists insinuated that God hated all wars. Jesus was against all wars. Thus, war was a sin. Period!

How did Christianity react to the messages spoken by the anti-Vietnam War activists?

A significant percentage of Christians marched into the left ditch along the balanced Biblical path while a significant percentage of other Christians marched into the right ditch. Both ditches are extreme Biblical views of Christianity without even taking into account the need for seeking the Lord’s opinion.

So, what was wrong with the left ditch?

(Continued in Part 5)

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