Category Archives: Red Letter Christians

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)

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 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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May 11, 2009 · 9:20 am

Swimming Upstream: “”Here’s The Rest of the Story”

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey on WLS Radio every morning before I went to school. So, borrowing on his theme, this article tells The Rest of The Story for my Mother’s Day article:

A week before Officer Fred Cannon stopped Mom for speeding, a confrontation between him and her had occurred in his office at the town jail. The occasion? Three other boys and myself were accused of overturning an outhouse on Halloween.

You have to understand that this scene did not take place in an interrogation room at LAPD with a good-cop, bad-cop routine attempting to break apart a gangbanger’s alibi. It took place in a small, stuffy police office in the middle of a town with a population of 1,150 people.

The accused – us four boys – sat on wooden chairs lined up in front of Officer Cannon’s desk. Our parents stood directly behind us. Cannon sat in a swivel chair behind his desk. A bright light shone over his left shoulder into our faces. No other lights were on.

Cannon laid out our despicable crime to everybody. He summed up by adding, “I know these boys are seniors in high school. They have high hopes of playing basketball on the school team this winter. But who knows? A crime like this could make them ineligible. What do you parents think?”

“Officer Cannon, whatever you decide, I’ll back you,” said one parent. Two other sets of parents nodded in agreement.

Cannon turned toward my parents. “What about the Nevenhoven’s?”

Mom glared at him. “Freddie, this is so stupid. I don’t really care what you do. We’re going square dancing!”

Mom and Dad turned around and left. The door slammed behind them.

The other three sets of parents began laughing. The accused – including me – laughed so hard we almost fall out of our chairs. The meeting ended moments later.

So,where’s the scriptural principle in all of this, right?

A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word. (Proverbs 15:23)

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May 8, 2009 · 12:42 pm

Swimming Upstream: “Ouch!That hurts!”

There are times when God’s words do not comfort [us], they sting! This is because we want God on our side. However, He has no side but His own! To be truly comforted, we must see our situation from God’s angle. Comfort will come not by understanding God’s perspective, but by adjusting to it. Real comfort comes through submission. (Graham Cooke, Permission Granted)

Ouch! That hurts!