Category Archives: Inspirational

September 5, 2009 · 8:22 am

Skippidity Do Da Day

Does God know how to use humor to encourage us?

My wife, Honey, has worked as a designer and furniture sales person in a local store for the last eight years. In that time, she has been one of the top sales people in the nation. Her shelves are lined with trophies, and she has won trips to wonderful places.

But the good times ended three years ago when the housing market hit the skids in Southern California. Since then, it has been a down hill plunge for furniture sales.

This morning, Honey’s store begins liquidation sales that will run for sixty days or so. And if you know anything about furniture store liquidation sales, it’s not what you would call a designer’s paradise. It’s more of shark feeding frenzy.

Honey was hoping to skip out on the liquidation sale, but she felt the Lord wanted her to stay. The hours will be long. The customers will be pushy. And sales people will be fighting over customers. Yuck! Yuck! Double yuck!

So, for the last three days, Honey has been moping about with the old “woe is me, goodbye cruel world, but I have to obey God” attitude written all over his face.

However, this morning the Lord gave me a short prophetic dream of the following song for Honey:

To say the least, Honey was touched by the promises offered her in the song. As the psalmist wrote:

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

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September 4, 2009 · 7:46 am

Swimming Upstream: “What Was God Thinking About When He Brought Forth The Word of Faith Movement?”

faith_rm

Was God having a bad day when He brought forth the Word of Faith movement?

After all, couldn’t He foresee the leaders would end up unleashing ridiculous prosperity teachings, “seed faith” phony baloney and “name it and claim it” professions which would smack sound biblical doctrine in the face?

And what about the TV and radio Word of Faith evangelists? Couldn’t God foresee these slick-talking hype mongers would end up wearing Rolexes, driving Mercedes, dressing in Armani suits and living in mansions? Why didn’t He squash them before they even arrived on the scene?

Without a doubt, the Word of Faith is the most criticized and most maligned movement by other Christians and the media over the last half century. Even now, the senate is checking over many of the ministries’ books, looking for misappropriated funds.

What was God thinking about when He brought forth the Word of Faith movement?

So, what do you think? What’s your thoughts on this?

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 journeys.

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July 4, 2009 · 7:07 am

Proud To Be an American

A Civil War officer had disobeyed an order. “I believe I’ll sit down,” said Secretary Stanton, “and give that man a piece of my mind.”

“Do so,” said President Abraham Lincoln, ” write him now while you have it in your mind. Make it sharp. Cut him all up.”

Secretary Stanton did not need a second invitation. He left and returned later with a “bone-crusher” of a letter that he read to the President.

“That’s right,” said Lincoln. “That’s a good one.”

“Whom can I send it by?” asked the Secretary.

“Send it!” replied Lincoln, ” send it! Why don’t send it all. Tear it up. You have freed your mind on the subject, and that’s all that is necessary. Tear it up. You never want to send such letters. I never do.” (The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, 1994, Barnes & Nobel Books)

I’m proud to be an American.

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July 3, 2009 · 9:22 am

Swimming Upstream: “NUTS!”

Anthony_McAuliffe

The improbable happened on December 16, 1945, as German panzer forces and infantrymen surprised Allied forces in what is now called the Battle of the Bulge.

It ended up being the largest battle fought by American forces in World War II with over 600,000 troops involved. The Americans lost 81,000 troops killed, wounded or captured, and the Germans lost 100,000.

Two days into the battle, the 101st Airborne at Bastogne was completely surrounded and cut off by the Germans. Medical supplies and personnel had been captured. Food was scarce. Ammo was limited to ten rounds per gun per day. There was little hope for survival.

The German commander von Luttwitz sent the Americans a surrender ultamatum. To which, General Anthony McAuliffe sent back a single word reply: “NUTS!”

The 101st held off the German assault, and their stubborn refusal to surrender helped turn defeat into victory for the Allied forces.

So, in remembrance of the grit displayed by General McAuliffe, I declare the following on the eve of our Independence Day, 2009:

To our Federal Government, who desires us Christians to sit down, keep quiet, pay soaring taxes, accept “Hate Crimes” legislation and act like lemmings on the way to a free-fall dive into the ocean, I say, “NUTS!”

To cities, like San Francisco, who declare Christianity guilty of “Hate Crimes” because we believe homosexuality and abortion are sins, I say, “NUTS!”

To the media, who states that America is a “Post-Christian” nation, I say, “NUTS!”

To all the African-American church leaders, who have sold out their callings for thirty pieces of silver to President Obama and his loony administration, I say, “NUTS!”

To all the churches, who would rather have peace through compromise than unity via a messy reformation, I say, “NUTS!”

To every Islamic Jihaddist, who believes Allah is mightier than Jesus, I say, “NUTS!”

And to all the Christians, who are wavering now, or may be wavering sometime in the future, I say:

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…(Joshua 24:14)

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June 27, 2009 · 8:38 am

I’d Like to Prophesy…But* (Part 2)

shy2 Click on following link for Part 1.

How important is godly character for operating 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. His 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 ministered with Jones at times, Jones felt tormented about continually giving prophecies.

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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June 26, 2009 · 9:42 am

Swimming Upstream: “Why Me?”

“O Lord, why me? Why not call Bill instead of me? He has his act together, while mine is a rotten mess,” I said to the Lord one year after my salvation (1986).

The reasoning behind the prayer was simple: my life looked like Dresden after its fire-bombing in WWII. My marriage. My family. My career. My friends. My plans. Boom! Bang! Crack! Smash! All shredded to pieces.

I was the imperfect testimony of a man who loved Jesus. Whatever I tried to do failed to help at all. I was a mess!

The only positive asset on my side of the ledger was the Lord. His presence descended upon me every morning during prayer for forty-five minutes or so. It was so awesome that I wanted to live with Him there.

But sadly, His presence always lifted. Then, I had to get off my knees and walk through my problems which were unavoidable and seemingly insurmountable.

And yet, through it all, I hungered for the next time His presence would envelope me. I wanted to be with Him, my best Friend and Lover.

Maybe I was a mess. Maybe my family was ashamed of me. Maybe all my friends had left me. Maybe I was the biggest failure in the history of the world. Maybe all this was true and more.

But still, Jesus liked to spend time with me.

The Lord eventually answered my “Why me?” prayer. He said in so many words, “I called you, not him. Get over it.”

If I had to walk on every bad road, and through every pig sty and dung hill of my life again, I would do it without hesitation if I knew His presence awaited me somewhere ahead. He’s worth it.

Who when he found found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:46)

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June 24, 2009 · 8:54 am

Swimming Upstream: “What If All Pastors Are Removed?”

calvary What if Hate Crimes’ legislation were enacted which removed all pastors from their positions of church authority? Maybe, even imprisoned them in some remote spots of Canada. Then what?

Would Christianity float belly up and die? What would Christians do? Just sit and stare at empty pulpits Sunday after Sunday, hoping things would somehow revert back to earlier times.

History has given us a clear example of what could happen if such a calamity occurred.

In 1949, when Mao Zedong and his communist thugs took over China, they sent every missionary home, especially American ones. They executed a large percentage of the native-born pastors and church leaders, and sent the others to be reeducated at reform camps (fancy term for prisons).

So, in effect there were no pastors. Christianity as we Westerners know it did not exist in China at all. It was wiped out.

What happened?

The Lord raised up new leaders. Ones who had not been seminary trained. Ones who had few (if any) Bibles, but who knew and depended on Him. These leaders reshaped Christianity into the house church format which is now so vibrant and alive in China today.

How effective were the new leaders?

It is estimated there were 500,000 Christians in China at the time Mao took over the nation. Today’s estimates range up to 130 million believers, with more being added everyday.

We Western Christians need to remember who builds the Church and who leads it.

And Jesus is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)

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June 20, 2009 · 8:33 am

A Slave’s Awesome Answered Prayer

This story was told by Kenneth Hagin in one of his books. It still makes me tear up when I think about it:

In the 1850’s, a slave woman watched in agony as her husband was led to the auction block. She knew her husband would be sold to another plantation and they would never see each other again. Life without him would be horrible, she thought.

As she stood there, she prayed, “Lord, if I could help You right now as easily as You can help me, I would.”

As the slave husband slowly trudged up to the auctioneer, a young boy in the audience turned to his father. “Dad, could I have ten dollars to buy a slave?” he asked.

“Sure, son,” said his father, knowing that each slave would sell for hundreds of dollars. He handed his son the money.

“Let’s begin the bidding on this young, strong slave,” said the auctioneer. “Who’ll start it off?”

The young boy raised his hand. “I’ll bid ten dollars,” he said in a loud voice.

The crowd turned to look at the young boy and laughed in unison at the ridiculousness of the boy’s bid. Each shook his head.

And yet, there were no other bids. The boy’s bid bought the slave husband.

The young boy walked to the cashier, paid his money, signed the papers and took possession of his slave.

Then, he took the slave husband over to the wife and said, “Here, you can have him. He’s yours.”

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22)

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June 17, 2009 · 9:22 am

Swimming Upstream: “Is God Really A Good God?”

In a back and forth conversation, I finally sighed and said, “I know God is a good Father.”

“Oh yeah,” she spit out, “then where was He when my dad raped me? Can you answer that?”

Tough question, right?

And what’s really tough is that the person is a Christian. But yet, the person has always struggled with believing God loves her… and that He really is a good God.

This is not a unique situation. In fact, a large percentage of Christians have had terrible things happen to them which hinder their relationships with the Father. They may attend great churches. They may know the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit. They may say all the right things at the right time. They may even wear picture-perfect Christian smiles on their public faces.

But yet, in their heart of hearts, they don’t really believe God is a good God or that He loves them. For after all, why did He allow my dad to rape me? Or my baby to die? Or my spouse to reject me? Or why am I hungry? Or why am I penniless?

Sometimes, there are just no easy answers for why terrible things happen to people. A book or ministry may help a little bit, but let’s be honest, okay?

These believers need a first-hand revelation from the throne of God that the Father is head over heels in love with them. That He absolutely, positively loves each one of them.

And guess what?

Without the help of a ministry or church, the Father is going to reveal Himself and His love through dreams, visions and divine appearances to countless thousands of such hurting people.

One moment, they will have nagging doubts about the Father; and the next, they will be testimonies of the Father’s goodness and lovingkindness.

It will be a sovereign move of deliverance straight out of the Father’s heart.

For thus says the Lord: “… I will seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. (Ezekiel 34:11-12)

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June 15, 2009 · 9:23 am

Swimming Upstream: “How Does This ‘Just Love-Em’ Stuff Work?”

My head hurts from the biblical logic displayed at various Christian anti-war sites.

Invariably, this mantra is repeated over and over: “Love your enemies. Just love-em.”

Sounds great, right? But what about this very possible scenario?

Let’s say, you have just bought a new rifle and some ammunition at a sporting goods store for a planned hunting trip to Alaska. As you walk through the mall toward your auto, you hear AK-47 shots being fired. You sneak behind a pillar, and peak around at the mall lobby.

There you see a terrorist shooting innocent shoppers. Bodies are lying on the floor. People are pleading for their lives. What do you do?

Do you unwrap your rifle, load some shells in it and then, shoot the sucker? Or do you just stand there oozing love-waves all over the terrorist?

Jesus did say, “Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44)”, but He also said, “Love your neighbors as yourself (Mark 12:31).”

And in this case, your neighbors are being killed by your enemy. So, which verse, will you obey?

A possible spiritual dilemma?

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was any place found for them in heaven any longer. (Revelation 12: 7-8)

Notice how the Lord handled His enemy, the one He called a murderer and a destroyer. There was no peace conference to air Satan’s complaints. There was no compromise or excuses accepted. Instead, there was an all-out war.

Now, to be honest, each believer has to decide on his own what he will do if this type of situation ever arises, but I know what I”ll do.

I’ll load the rifle’s chamber with shells, look down the sights and squeeze the trigger.

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