Category Archives: Prayer

I was rereading an article by Paul Cain in a 1992 issue of The Morning Star.  It was entitled, The Annointing vs. Respectability.

Cain states that in every move of the Spirit, there are four stigmas attached to the anointing:

Stigma #1. Embarrassment. This stigma is not tolerable for those who are self-seeking and pretenders. After all, who really wants to be embarrassed, right?

Stigma #2. Being Misunderstood. When we take up our crosses, we too must accept being misunderstood if we are to carry out the very purposes of God. Those who insist on being understood most likely will separate themselves from the anointing.

Stigma #3. The Occasional Requirement to be Set Aside. Are we willing to look like nothing for a season until God makes something out of nothing? Are we willing to wait, like God is willing to wait, for His name to be vindicated? Jesus will be vindicated for eternity; and it is better to wait for eternity to vidicate us than insist on it in this life.

Stigma #4. Being Defenseless. It is embarrassing and awkward when you cannot defend yourself, when you know that you are right about something, but God does not allow you to defend yourself because He has a higher purpose.

Cain’s article causes me to search myself and count the costs. Do I really want to embrace the mess and look foolish in this new move of the Spirit? Do I want to be misunderstood by those people I love and have fellowshipped with over the years?

Sometimes, my answer is an absolute yes. Sometimes, it’s a definite maybe. And sometimes, it’s just “wait and see.”

But what about you, which do you want respectability or the anointing?

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.

“I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life,” said George Burns (1896 – 1996).

Who can forget George Burns’  Oh, God! movie; it  was hilarious. But his witty quote about the future captures what we Christians should be planning and praying for:

as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17)

It does not take spiritual eyes to look at our present church scene and see problems galore. Division. Doctrinal disagreements. Political schisms. Gay rights. Abortion. Helping the poor. Racism. Etc. Etc. Etc.

What happens in the future depends on what we Christians do now, not on how we react when the future arrives. Our faith. Our prayers. Our actions. All of this determines what the church will be in the future.

So, what do you see for the church five years from now?

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.

Oral Roberts once said, “Many of my friends tire me out and wear me down, but my enemies make me stronger. I need more enemies!”

Maybe, Roberts’ take on enemies is accurate. Maybe, we need to embrace our foes.

So, what do you think, should we appreciate our enemies? Our political ones? The enemies of our faith? Or whatever?

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.

Dreams can be really weird, right? Well, a few days ago, I had a bizarre one.

In it, I was driving a sporty car, possibly a SAAB. It had a five speed manual transmission and plenty of horsepower.

I was driving the auto on a paved highway through what looked like a large parking lot. It seemed to be at a large airport, but not like any we have here in California (or probably anywhere else for that matter.) There were no ramps or fences or tollgates. Just lots of parked cars right off the highway, and rows of them as far as I could see on both sides of the highway.

Plus, there was lots of snow and ice everywhere. On the road. On the parked cars. On the parking lot.

As I drove down the highway, I stepped on the gas which caused me to spin out of control on some ice. I was going sideways, backward, forward and spinning around. I downshifted and did my best to dodge oncoming traffic and avoid the parked cars on the sides of the road.

Because everything was happening so fast, I had no time to panic or worry. I just reacted and was caught up in the action, weaving through possible mishaps.

Then, the auto straightened itself out and I resumed driving on the highway. Up ahead, I saw a stop sign and knew that I was going to take a right turn on a road which angled through some more parked cars off to the right.

As I approached the stop sign, I saw a snow-covered opening between some parked cars. It looked like a perfect shortcut which would save me a few seconds of time getting onto the next road.

I turned into the opening. Then, plop! The car fell into a snow pit. The top of my car’s roof was level with the pavement. I wasn’t hurt, but I realized this was going to take lots of time before I was back on the road again. In fact, I felt like I needed a heavy-duty crane to lift me out of the pit.

End of dream. I woke up.

Sadly, I did not pay a lot of attention to this dream. I just wrote a note to myself: don’t take shortcuts. But now, I have doubts about my conclusion on the dream and its interpretation.

So, help me out. What do you think the dream means and what’s the interpretation of it?

P.S. Don’t be bashful. Jump in and write something. This is a good way to exercise your gifts…and help me at the same time.

In the movie, The Bucket List, two terminally ill men write out on a sheet of paper a list of dreams and fantasies each would like to do before he kicks the bucket (or dies). Because one of the two men is wealthy, the two are able to live out their bucket lists’ dreams.

The two men leap from planes, drive race cars, eat caviar, motorcycle on the Great Wall of China, get tattoos, eat at a world famous restaurant and do other wild things before they kick the bucket.

Now, I have learned a long time ago that the Lord does not mind me enjoying myself while I walk on the earth. Yes, my citizenship is in heaven, yes I have a love for the church, yes I have a burden for the poor, but it’s okay to enjoy a fine meal or a movie or whatever. It’s just a matter of my wants and dreams being within His plans for my life.

So, what’s on your bucket list?

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.

Ask us Christians if we love our neighbors and you will instantly hear our rousing  knee-jerk response: “Yes. Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes and more.”

After all, we all know how Jesus summarized the Law by stating believers should love God and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

And who hasn’t heard the story of the Good Samaritan at least a thousand-zillion times ad infinitum.

We know all of this stuff; it’s Basic Christianity 101. Tickle our ears, give us something new, right?

But do we really love our neighbors?

This is a question I ask myself often. You see, for me, it’s easy to care about the poor and hurting in Asia and Africa or the inner cities of America or even the gays in San Francisco. These are burdens the Lord has placed on my heart.

But I struggle with loving the guy next door or the fellow down the street. After all, can’t I fulfill Jesus’ words by just tossing them a warm “howdy” every once in a while?

And yet, I’m wondering if my Christianity isn’t what the Apostle James termed dead faith.

Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)

Do we really love our neighbors? If so, how far do we have to stretch out our love to them? With prayers? With fasting? With our pocketbooks? With our fellowship, even though we don’t like or agree with them? With hospitality? Where does this love end?

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.

Something happened after September 11, 2001, something very different from what is happening now. Do you know what it was?

Out of fear for themselves, their family and their country, people flocked into churches to pray.

How long did this unusual phenomenon last? Until the fear passed. Then, it was back to normal ho-hum Christianity.

Eight years later, America is now led by a President who stated during his campaign over and over again, “I am a Christian who prays everyday to Jesus.” Not only that, President Obama often made visits to churches where he stood in a pulpit, quoted Bible verses and sounded like a Baptist preacher.

But now, after six months in office, President Obama seems to be opposing Christian virtues with his anti-Israel/pro-Palestine initiatives, his income redistribution, his Obamacare,  his greater emphasis on abortion and many other programs.

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

What do you think? Is President Obama a tool of God to get us Christians back on our knees praying? If so,  how long will it take before we get the message?

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.

We American Christians  love our homes. They are our refuge away from the outside world and the storms of life. Just open the door, walk inside, close the door; and there you are, in your own private castle.

This is the one piece of real estate where you can do what you want, when you want, with whom you want and how you want to do it, without any other eyes or ears checking on you.

But what if?

Today, the American economy is teetering on the edge of calamity with an overwhelming debt load crushing the life out of it. And at the same time, our political Mad Hatters, not being satisfied, are adding more and more debt each week.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. (Proverbs 22:7)

Guess who America’s chief lenders are? China and other foreign countries.

What if these foreign nations quit buying our T-Bills and other lending notes? Then, overnight, our economy would make the Great Depression look like the golden years. Jobs would be instantly lost. Homes and cars would be repossessed. People would be desperate.

So, are you ready to invite other families to live in your home with you? Are you ready to share your food, your autos, your computers, your bathrooms, your bedrooms, your finances and your whole life (almost every intimate detail on good days and bad) for an unforeseeable amount of time…maybe even  forever?

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