Category Archives: Prophecy

March 13, 2009 · 4:39 am

Swimming Upstream: “Ever Wonder Why God Saved You?”

Six months after my salvation, I wondered, why did the Lord save me?

If you’ve read my testimony you’d know that I was an agnostic, and my salvation happened on the day that I was planning on committing suicide. Agnosticism plus suicide does not usually equal personal salvation unless the individual is somehow seeking after truth. And I wasn’t. I was seeking $50,000 for my publishing company. Period.

Why did the Lord save me?

This question really bugged me and I did what the Bible said to do: I asked the Lord and kept on asking. And asking. And asking.

Finally, one morning the Lord spoke to my heart. “I saved you because Mabel Raddemacher prayed and prayed for the stuttering twelve year-old boy who attended Bible Camp.”

Mabel Raddemacher, I thought to myself. Wasn’t she the religious nut that everyone made fun of? Stuttering? That was me. But twelve years old? Then I remembered what happened.

I attended Bible Camp as a twelve year-old boy. Like most kids, I liked the baseball and swimming parts of the camp, but was not overly enthused about the religious side. Then on the last night, we had a special bonfire where kids could give their lives to the Lord. I mumbled some words aloud, but in my mind I said, “I don’t want You Jesus. And I don’t ever want what these weak Christians have. Never!”

So, there you have it. I was an agnostic. I sought to commit suicide. I had rejected the gospel. I was not seeking the truth. And yet, the Lord swept all of my negatives aside and listened to the prayers of a godly woman.

How unbelievably wonderful is grace! How great is our Lord! And thank you Mabel Raddemacher.

…the effective prayer of a righteous man (or woman) can accomplish much. (James 5:16)

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 jouneys.

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March 12, 2009 · 6:25 am

The Bear

bear_bryant

When the best football coaches are mentioned, Paul William “Bear” Bryant (1913 – 1983) is usually at the top of the list. His coaching status, even today, is considered legendary. 323 college football victories. 6 national championships. 13 Southeastern Conference titles.

But for me, I like his quotes best of all:

“The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren’t being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country’s future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.”

“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

“It’s not the dog in the fight that counts, it’s the fight in the dog.” (For more, see here.)

And if you’re interested in whether or not he was a Christian, read here.

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March 11, 2009 · 6:27 am

Swimming Upstream: “Dreaming Big? Plan On Dying First!”

Burt Prelutsky said, “I don’t pay for other people’s ideas. I steal them.” So, with that in mind, the idea for this article was gently swiped from Stuff Christians Like #506. Kudos to Burt and Prodigal John!

About fifteen years ago, I began everyday by praying something like this: “Father, send me. Place me on a street corner preaching the gospel in LA or Rwanda or somewhere, but send me.”

After a while, a prophetess showed up at my place and proclaimed, “The Lord doesn’t want you asking to be sent out preaching for the next thirty days. Instead, He has something else for you to do first. Then, you can ask again.”

I obeyed the prophecy and sought the Lord on what He wanted me to do. It seemed He wanted me to be a painting contractor.

And within thirty days, I was in the biggest trial of my life. One that destroyed my reputation, my finances, and me. I lost all of my friends and my ministry. Like Job, I spent the days weeping and bemoaning my birth. The only thing that kept me going was the understanding that the Father loved me and His grace. The following verse became my hope:

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)

Now, after all these years, I know what the Lord actually meant when the prophetess said, “He has something else for you to do first.” He wanted me to die first; and He had the perfect plan to achieve His desire for me.

I’d like to say that I died easily. No mess. No fuss. No bother. But it was a slow, agonizing death. When death happened in part of me, another part would be revived and attempted to climb out of the grave. Then, that part would be dealt with by the Lord. All of this took time. Lots of it.

And yet, this morning, I finally obeyed the second part of the prophecy. “Lord, send me.”

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March 9, 2009 · 6:29 am

Swimming Upstream: “Laughter. Try It!”

Okay, the economy looks bad and jobs are shaky. And maybe our 401’s and our home values are in the toilet. But let me ask, can you still laugh? Because if you can, all is not lost.

A joyful heart is good medicine. But a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)

Try reading this. And this.

Abraham Lincoln said, “With the fearful strain that is on me day and night, if I did not laugh I should die.”

And lastly, in the words of the noted Jewish philosopher, Allen Stewart Konigsberg aka Woody Allen: “I’m thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out my nose.”

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March 7, 2009 · 8:13 am

Prognosis For Our Future: Walk in Faith or Wallow in Bitterness

I absolutely believe that we American Christians are living in the best time ever. For us, this is the season the prophet Daniel spoke about:

Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11: 32)

If you continue reading past this verse in Daniel, you will notice the prophet foresaw bad things happening to us believers. Some will fall by the sword. Some will be burned to death. Some will end up in captivity. Some will be plundered. This will continue many days; and all of this will happen to purge and purify us.

Now, you have a decision to make.

Will you walk in faith and be that mighty person of God? Being strong. Doing great exploits. Allowing God to purge and purify us.

Or will you be like Lot’s wife and look back at what America was, and not where it is? Let me say, nostalgia sucks! It will pull you into bitterness and defile you.You can not relive the past; it’s gone. And we need to move on.

Like the Apostle Paul stated:

…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ( Philippians 3:13-14)

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March 7, 2009 · 6:47 am

Do You Love Israel?

If you have a love for Israel, Yeshua Israel is a must-read site, especially the news videos. Shani Ferguson presents an Israeli’s viewpoint without media hype.

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March 7, 2009 · 6:36 am

How To Live With Less

All of us need heroes who we can try to model our lives after. Mark and Christine Pedder are two such people. Check out Mark’s blog and read Home Again.

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March 6, 2009 · 8:44 am

Need Encouragement?

I stumbled over this last night and it is awesome. The email letter is from Tyler Perry. Now, don’t just look at it and decide it’s too long because it is worth reading!

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March 6, 2009 · 7:53 am

Swimming Upstream: “Rebellion in the Ranks!”

A recent phone conversation between Honey and me:

“What is your problem?” Honey said. “You can’t ignore Obama and let America slide down the drain. What about our children and grandchildren? I’m angry!”

“Honey, what are you going to do to stop President Obama?” I countered.

“Well, I’m going to read and listen, then write to politicians and newspapers. Make my voice heard,” she said.

“Good luck. The trail up that mountain is filled with bones of people who tried to win one for the Gipper.”

“Okay, Mister Smarty Pants,” she said, “what are you planning on doing?”

“Wait on God. Then, when He speaks, I’ll build His kingdom,” I replied.

A loud sigh. “Lord, I’m married to a man with his head in the sand!” She paused to add emphasis to her next point. “So, why build God’s kingdom now when nobody seems to care about God?”

“Ah, this is the perfect time. People have their guards down; their hearts are exposed. Some are angry about one issue or the other. Others are losing hope. We just need some groups like the early Salvation Army and leaders like William Booth to come forth. Then, the gospel can invade cities. It’ll be great!!”

“Yeah, right!” she said. “How can you and I be so different, yet still get along?”

“I’m praying God will change you,” I said.

“Funny that you say that because I’m praying the same for you,” she replied. “But I love you.”

“Honey, I love you.”

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March 4, 2009 · 8:03 am

Swimming Upstream: “What Do Gays Want?”

For the last three weeks, I have been helping our son remodel his newly purchased townhouse in America’s Finest City – San Diego. Scraping ceilings. Ripping out walls. Building stuff. Fixing drywall issues. Painting. Laying tile. While here, I have been visiting a Starbucks in Hillcrest which is sort of a mini-San Francisco city in that it is heavily populated with gays.

Yesterday, I forgot to bring a book with me so I picked up a gay newspaper. As I read it, I discovered what gays really want. And guess what? They want the same things that you and I do: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That’s why they are pushing so hard in the political arena for gay marriages, hate crimes, minority rights, etc. They want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Now, let’s suppose they achieve every one of their goals. Happy days for gays? No, not at all. They will still be imprisoned by the cruel spirit of slavery and will not experience the life-giving spirit of adoption which can only come from Abba Father. How sad!

So, this is my prayer:

Father, send the Spirit of the Lord to anoint men to preach the gospel to gay communities. Let these men proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to their blind eyes, to set free these oppressed ones, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord for them.

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