Category Archives: Red Letter Christians

This week, the Holy Spirit backed me into a corner. He showed me I was guilty of looking at the needs of people far away while overlooking those of nearby neighbors.

I was guilty. Thus, I repented.

Now, I’m prayer walking through the streets of my community which consists of about thirteen hundred homes, condos and apartments.

As you can see from the above picture, I rent a home in a beautiful Temecula community. There’s a large lake. A Olympic- sized pool. Spa. Walking trails. Playgrounds. Baseball diamonds. Picnic areas. Community house. It’s an elite area with mainly professionals living in it.

Most inhabitants work out,  staying in tip-top shape. Mothers push strollers while jogging and listening to their iPods. Dads belong to LA Fitness. Children wear GAP clothing. All seem to drive an Acura, BMW or Mercedes.

Why do they need prayer, right?

As I walk past homes, I pray in the spirit. Then, the Holy Spirit shows me how to pray for each area. And guess what?

My neighbors have the same problems that other people are struggling with. Finances. Marital problems. Children problems. Drugs. Drinking. Afflictions. Sin. And like me, they all need a greater revelation of Jesus.

I believe that I’m planting prayer seeds, and others will then come along and water these prayer seeds. But all in all, it will be God who gives the increase who will receive the glory. (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)

So, what about you? Do you need bifocals, too? Are you overlooking the prayer needs of your neighbors?

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 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.