Category Archives: Prophecy

June 8, 2009 · 12:15 pm

Swimming Upstream: “Satan’s Waterloo”

How do armies figure out battle strategies? They study past battle tactics of their foes; and then construct plans to defeat these tactics.

Warfare rule #1: know your enemy.

At the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), Napoleon faced an allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon’s army was largely manned and staffed with veteran soldiers who had voluntarily returned to fight under the tri-colours. They were tough, confidant fighters.

Wellington admitted his allied group was “an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced-Staff.” Not exactly, a morale boosting statement, right?

As the battle raged back and forth, the pivotal moment arrived. The battle and future of Europe hung in the balance. Napoleon knew it was time for his best men to be thrown into the battle – the Old Guard. This group of veterans had never known defeat. Just their appearance on a battlefield was enough to send their foes into a hasty retreat.

But yet, Wellington knew his enemy.

He had 1,500 British soldiers hidden away, lying down on the side of a hill, waiting for this exact moment. As the Old Guard approached, the soldiers stood up and fired point-blank volleys into the midst of the oncoming French soldiers. The Old Guard was devastated. Though the Old Guard bravely tried to rally, the battle was lost; and history was forever changed.

At this precise time in America and throughout Western civilization, it looks bad for the Church. Division, confusion, apathy, lethargy and compromise reign in the Church’s midst. Satan is walking toward the victor’s podium.

But don’t lose heart! Jesus knows the enemy.

The Lord God of Hosts has been telling a group of hidden-away prophetic soldiers for years, “Wait. Don’t do anything. Just wait.” Over and over, He has held these battle-ready soldiers back from the fight.

Now, He is sending out new orders to these hidden-away soldiers. “Stand up and fire.”

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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June 6, 2009 · 9:01 am

A Pirate’s Prayer

Francis Drake, Privateer made a comment on one of my posts which contained a nugget of pure gold…a prayer by the Elizabethan pirate, Sir Francis Drake:

“Disturb us Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little. When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us Lord, to dare more boldly. To venture on wider seas. Where storms will show your mastery; Where, losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; And to push into the future, in strength, courage, hope and love.” (SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 1577)

Amen.

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June 5, 2009 · 9:21 am

Swimming Upstream: “Religious Rules Bug Me!”

A few months ago, I was invited to read and give my opinion on a post written at a web site. The subject of the post was prophets and prophecy.

It was a well-written article…except one sentence disturbed me:

“God does not send lone-wolf prophets into cities anymore, but rather, He dispatches prophetic teams to work with the churches of that city.”

Not being the timid sort, I pointed out the sentence and stated that it was not scriptural. (Keep in mind, this was a long, long article, and I disagreed with one sentence. And actually, I only disagreed with the phrase – God does not send lone-wolf prophets anymore.

Now, one would have thought I had blasphemed the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit with the reactions my comment received. A major author and other writers joined in the discussion, pointing out the error of my thinking.

“God is a team player. He works with churches and not outside of their areas of authority. The only exception would be if the churches of the city are rebellious and disobedient,” they declared in comment after comment.

I disagreed with their conclusions. There were no scriptures to back up their statements. None. Zilch. Zero. My personal belief is that God is Boss! Period.

And if God decides to send one person – or a herd of people – to proclaim His words to the citizens of a city, it’s His choice, not ours. He’s the Big Guy. The Boss. The Lord God Almighty.

God does not have to work within our religious rules or systems, but we need to work within His agenda if we want see changes in our nation.

But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it – lest you even be found to fight against God. (Acts 5:39)

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June 3, 2009 · 8:36 am

Swimming Upstream: “A Two-Front War Is Unwinnable For America!”

Looking back at the 2008 Elections, I really did not think the Lord would have us Christians fighting a two-front war.

Now, by using the phrase two-front war, I’m not referring to its normal usage: warfare taking place simultaneously at two geographical positions. This strategic maneuver forces a combatant to split its armies, and thus reduces its odds of success.

But instead, I was referring to a two-front spiritual war. On the one front fighting us Christians are Satan and his forces.

Who do you think is backing the Islamic jihadists? Whose backing the homosexual agenda? Or abortion? Or national debt? Or illegal aliens? Or the dumbing-down of our children by school systems?

Hello! Is anyone home? Satan is behind these attacks.

Okay, so why do you think Satan has boldly gone on the offense against America? Maybe, he has inside info, right? What is it?

Satan knows that God is opposing America on a second front. That’s right! We Christians are caught in a cross-fire between Satan who hates us and God who loves us.

And guess what?

Though it looks like we believers should mount all-out efforts against Islamic terrorism, homosexuality, abortion, illegal aliens, national debt and the dumbing-down of our children by school systems, we better drop everything and seek God.

We need to know why God is opposing us. Is it our national sins? Or corporate church sins? Or personal sins?

If we Christians don’t find out the answers to why God is opposing America, our nation is doomed. Period.

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

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May 22, 2009 · 7:44 am

Swimming Upstream: “Grace Is Not Fair!”

Early in our marriage, Honey and I faced some tough circumstances. Answers were needed…as in now.

I did what I normally do when there are problems: I crawled out of bed early in the morning and sought the Lord. An hour passed. Two hours passed. Three hours passed. And yet, I heard no answers from heaven.

A little before 8 a.m., Honey awakened and walked into the living room. She was wearing pajamas and yawning, stretching her arms in the air. After slumbering over to the coffee pot and pouring herself coffee, she came over to the sofa where I was praying.

“Oh sweetheart,” she said, “I had the best night’s sleep and the greatest dream. Do you want to hear it?”

I nodded. She told me her dream.

And of course, her dream was the answer we needed from heaven for our problems.

Now, is this the only example of my seeking the Lord for hours and Honey seemingly spending little time doing that, but yet, somehow, the Lord favors her with the answers? Oh no! Of course not! I have dozens of examples.

It seems unfair, right? And it is, until you factor in the Lord’s grace.

The measure of grace on my life for prayer and seeking the Lord is different than what Honey has. Period.

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…(Romans 12:3)

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May 20, 2009 · 2:17 pm

Awesome Quote About Christian Maturity

I read this quote in Post Charismatic, a book which I may review sometime:

If there is anything that characterizes Christian maturity, it is the willingness to become a beginner again for Jesus Christ. It is the willingness to put your hand in His hand and say, “I’m scared to death, but I’ll go with You. You’re the pearl of great price.” (John Wimber)

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May 20, 2009 · 9:49 am

Swimming Upstream: “Sometimes The Lord Is Quiet…So Just Wait”

Right now, in my life, the Lord is quiet. Very quiet.

I don’t think it’s a sin problem on my part; or that it’s a lack of my seeking Him. How can I be sure, right? I have peace in my spirit; there is no churning restlessness within me. Just peace.

Why is the Lord quiet? Over the years, I have learned that when He is quiet, He is about to do something in my life. Maybe change or rearrange something within me. His quietness is sort of like the still before a storm.

Does this mean my life is in perfect shape … with no problems? Oh heavens no! Everything is up in the air. There are loose ends all over the place. Disaster awaits us just ahead if He doesn’t answer our prayers, but what’s new, right?

And yet, He is quiet.

So, what do I do?

Be still, and know that I am God… (Psalm 46:10)

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May 18, 2009 · 8:19 am

Swimming Upstream: “What About The Apostle Peter’s Wife?”

What do you think the Apostle Peter’s wife said when he came home and told her he was dropping everything and following a man named Jesus?

Maybe, something like: “Are you nuts? What about the fishing business? Who is going to run it? And what about my mother? And me? You can’t be serious, right? We’ll starve, won’t we?”

Now, we Christians read scripture and gloss over facts without ever putting our brains in gear. We just assume the Prince of Peace waved His magic wand over Peter’s household and everything fell in place. All nice, neat and tidy. Right?

Maybe, when Jesus healed her mother (Mark 1:30-31), it helped convince Peter’s wife. And also, the other healings at Peter’s house that evening (Mark 1: 32-33) probably helped some, too.

But my guess is that Peter and his wife struggled with his apostolic calling. As in STRUGGLED!!

After all, they were humans just like us, and guess what? We humans who are married struggle with whatever calling the Lord has placed on us versus what our mates expect from us.

Jump to the back of the book of Mark to where Peter denied Jesus (Mark 14:72). Try to imagine how Peter’s wife handled the Crucifixion and Peter’s self-destruction.

Maybe, she said things like, “I told you so. Didn’t I? But no, you wouldn’t listen, would you? You believed everything He said, didn’t you? Now, look at yourself!”

But out of all their possible struggles over Peter’s apostolic calling, we can eventually be encouraged:

Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? (1 Cor. 9:5)

Peter’s wife joined him in his apostolic ministry.

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May 15, 2009 · 9:05 am

Swimming Upstream: “Who’s True Confessions!”

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Okay. Okay. So you want the truth, huh? We’ll, it ain’t pretty, but here it is:

You see, I’ve been a pizza delivery driver for the last eighteen months. That’s right!

I know. I know. My about states I am a businessman, real estate agent, dreamer and more. And also, my web site lists a bunch of glamorous sounding jobs that I’ve held in the past. Repeat: the past.

But right now, I’m a pizza delivery driver. Period.

And you might as well know the whole truth, okay? That is, if you can handle it.

I don’t listen to Hillsong Worship music while I’m driving my truck on pizza deliveries. In fact, no Christian music at all.

“Oh no!” you are probably ranting at this very moment. “What pagan stuff do you listen to on your MP3?”

Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Yo Yo Ma, Sissel, il Divo, Irish Tenors, Mario Frangoulis, Placido Domingo…and a smidge (an itsy-bitsy smidge) of Bob Seger (Like a Rock), Neil Diamond (Pretty Amazing Grace) and Allison Krause (Gone, Gone, Gone).

There you have it. Whew! I feel better. What about you?

And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)

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May 13, 2009 · 10:35 am

Swimming Upstream: “New Davids Replacing Old Sauls”

Did you know David was King Saul’s armorbearer before David fought Goliath?

So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. (1 Samuel 16:21)

Not only did David strum his harp for Saul when the king was distressed, but David was also Saul’s personal servant or amorbearer. Now, this brings up an interesting question?

How come King Saul loved David when the lad was a peon, but hated David when he became a national hero?

In 1 Samuel 9:2, it states that Saul was the most handsome and tallest man in all of Israel. He looked good! He looked like a warrior! He probably even had a deep, booming voice!

And yet, when it was Saul’s duty to fight Goliath on the battlefield, he cowered and stayed away, and allowed a fifteen-year old youth to be his combat substitute.

Then afterward, how did Saul treat the victorious hero?

So Saul eyed David from that day forward. And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit came upon Saul…So David played music with his hand, as at other times, but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall with it”…(1 Samuel 18:9-11)

So, how is this relevant for us today?

Every David that the Lord is raising up to fight the Goliaths who are ruling over cities, inner cities and regions in America needs to remember spiritual truths do not change.They remain the same down through history.

So, these Davids (spiritual warriors) should expect to fight principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts (Eph. 6:12), as well as taking on the Sauls of our generation at the same time. Many of these Sauls will be respected church leaders.

Sounds exciting, right?

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