Category Archives: Uncategorized

September 16, 2009 · 9:11 am

Swimming Upstream: “Want To Be A Peacemaker?”

division Throughout my Christian journey, I have failed often and made numerous mistakes. Some of my errors have been catastrophic in size.

But usually, after my failures, I have met people who felt led by the Lord to pray for me during my struggles.

I refer to these intercessors as peacemakers. It was their prayers, along with the grace of God, who prayed me through stormy seas into peaceful, calm waters on the other side of my problems. Without them, I have no doubts I would have ended upon the shoals and rocks, bloodied and destroyed.

Now, America is sailing through stormy waters which could easily scuttle our nation onto the trash heap of forgotten powers, such as Greece, the Roman Empire and the British Empire. To think otherwise and view our political situation as just “politics as usual” is naive and shortsighted.

When George Bush was President, the favor of God was upon him. Yes, he was hated by many; yes, he was victimized by the media; and yes, the church let him down with her faithless praying. But God’s favor bridges over what the enemy dishes out and where saints fail.

Our nation has had no terrorists attacks since September 11, 2001. Period. Enough said, okay?

Now, we have President Barack Obama who has thirty to forty percent of the nation idolizing him and the media bowing down before him. But unlike President Bush, Obama does not have the favor of God upon him.

And what good is man’s favor upon our elected leader when our nation is facing enemies who are backed by demonic powers? Zero! None! Nada! Zilch!

We Christians need to lay our ideological opinions down and begin praying with fervent love and passion for President Obama just as if he were our son. We need to shut our mouths and pray!

It’s a new day in America. And we can no longer depend on a few Houses of Prayer and individual intercessors to carry what is supposed to be a corporate burden for our nation’s welfare. To continue relying on just a few doing the work for all the rest of us will invariably result in dead bodies covering the streets of our cities.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)

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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September 4, 2009 · 7:46 am

Swimming Upstream: “What Was God Thinking About When He Brought Forth The Word of Faith Movement?”

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Was God having a bad day when He brought forth the Word of Faith movement?

After all, couldn’t He foresee the leaders would end up unleashing ridiculous prosperity teachings, “seed faith” phony baloney and “name it and claim it” professions which would smack sound biblical doctrine in the face?

And what about the TV and radio Word of Faith evangelists? Couldn’t God foresee these slick-talking hype mongers would end up wearing Rolexes, driving Mercedes, dressing in Armani suits and living in mansions? Why didn’t He squash them before they even arrived on the scene?

Without a doubt, the Word of Faith is the most criticized and most maligned movement by other Christians and the media over the last half century. Even now, the senate is checking over many of the ministries’ books, looking for misappropriated funds.

What was God thinking about when He brought forth the Word of Faith movement?

So, what do you think? What’s your thoughts on this?

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July 19, 2009 · 1:05 pm

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July 15, 2009 · 7:02 am

Swimming Upstream: “Breasts, Cleavage, Burkas and Christians”

A couple of years ago, I watched The Call for Nashville on a Christian TV network. It was a day-long event with Christians from all over America, praying, fasting and worshipping for a spiritual breakthrough in Nashville.

Well-known Christian leaders encouraged and exhorted Christians to live holy lives. Singers sang about a passionate love for Jesus and His holiness. Young people gave awesome testimonies about selling out to Jesus and living holy lives.

But ironically, what really caught my attention were the numerous female participants who wore low-neck tops, exposing cleavage and vast areas of their breasts to everyone.

Am I just an old fuddy-duddy for bringing this up? After all, it’s fashionable for women to be sexy and flaunt their merchandise, right? So, why shouldn’t Christian women do the same?

Well, what’s your thought on Christian women wearing low-neck tops, exposing vast amounts of cleavage and breasts? Is it okay to show a little, a moderate amount or who cares? Or should Christian women wear burkas and turtlenecks?

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June 22, 2009 · 7:13 am

Swimming Upstream: “Will America Return To The Good Old Days?”

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While sitting in the dentist’s office, I chatted with an elderly Christian lady.

“I’ve had a great life,” she said. “But with the direction America is now heading, I worry about the quality of lives my children and grandchildren will have in the future.”

I agreed and put my two cents into the conversation mix.

“Well, I’m praying for God’s mercy to fall on America so that my children and grandchildren will have lives like I had. You know, lives filled with happiness and prosperity,” she said, summing up her feelings.

The receptionist stepped into the waiting room, ending the conversation.

Okay, let’s say for discussion’s sake, her prayers along with millions of other like-minded Christians hit the middle of God’s bullseye on His throne-room prayer target. Lights flash. Bells ring. Sirens blare. Trumpets blast. Angels are dispatched.

Next, let’s say that President Obama, all the Senators, all the House Representatives, Vice President Joe Biden, Chris Matthews, Keith Obermann, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, George Soros, the MoveOn.org crew, Arianna Huffington and the Huffington Post gang, Jeremiah Wright and the whole New York Times news organization get saved. Gloriously and radically saved.

Also, let’s say that every church barrier in America is torn down. We Christians finally walk in unity, and actually love each other.

“Hallelujah!” you shout, standing on your feet, clapping your hands.

But now what?

Will America’s historical destiny return to pre-911 or pre-2008 election conditions?

Probably not.

You see, there’s a new wind blowing. Americans, especially us Christians, are not heading back to the good old days. The past is done. It’s over. Forget about it. Move on. It’s a new day in our nation.

Jesus is refining us Christians and reforming His Church. To achieve what He has in mind, a glorious Bride without spot or wrinkle, it will take pressure. Painful, extreme pressure. Much like the kind that turns lumps of coal into sparkling diamonds.

Where will this extreme pressure come from? Financial problems. Government problems. Church problems. Terrorism. And much more.

And guess what? The diamond making process takes time, lots of it.

So, if you want, you can utter prayers much like the elderly lady is praying. At least, you’re praying, right?

But if you want Your prayers to soar up through the roof of your house and touch heaven’s throne room, pray something like this:

Lord, build Your church in America so that the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

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June 16, 2009 · 2:14 pm

Just Joined The Twenty-First Century With Facebook

Just eleven years ago, we bought a computer and began sending emails. “Hey, Honey, we don’t need stamps anymore,” I proclaimed with an Illinois twang.

“Aw shucks,” she said, scratching her head. “Don’t that beat all? What will they think of next?”

Five years ago, in the midst of a tight presidential election, we discovered blogging. I signed up and wrote my first post. Then I hit publish.

“Sure hope nobody gets mad at me,” I said through clenched teeth with my fingers crossed.

“Aw shucks,” whispered Honey into my ear. “Ain’t nobody going to get mad at you! You’re too nice.”

Honey was wrong as lots of people disagreed with me over the years. As in lots of people.

But yesterday, I joined the Twenty-First Century. I opened an account on Facebook.

“Honey, you just gotta look at this,” I shouted. “I have friends. Two or three of them, I think.”

“Aw shucks,” she said. “Maybe, you oughta slow down for a spell. Let this new-fangled stuff settle a little bit before trying something new, huh?”

I grinned sheepishly and began searching for MySpace. And what’s this Podcast stuff all about, I thought to myself.

If you need a friend, check out my Facebook site. I need one, too.

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June 12, 2009 · 10:11 am

Swimming Upstream: “The Best Testimony Ever”

As a young Christian, when I was sharing my new-found faith with others, the only thing I could talk about was my testimony . The Bible and other Christian books were foreign to me.

So, over and over, I told how I met Jesus on a bathroom floor and how He had changed my life.

One time, I shared my testimony with another believer. His reply eventually became my favorite testimony of all time.

The forty-year old man shrugged his shoulders after listening to me. “Wow! What a testimony,” he said. Then, he added, “Mine is not much.”

“Really?” I asked with my chest puffed out, buttons popping off. “What’s yours?”

“Well, I gave my life to Jesus as a five-year old boy and have loved Him ever since; and I guess, that’s about it.” His eyes looked down as if he were embarrassed by his words.

At the time, I did not think much of his testimony. After all, he was not as big a redeemed sinner as me. I was the worst of the worse and he was this little five-year old boy. How much sin could he possibly have, right?

But as the months and years passed by, I realized his testimony was the best one I have ever heard. A young boy falls in love with Jesus and just keeps on faithfully walking with Him. Wow! How awesome!

We need to hear more testimonies like his.

And they overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)

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May 31, 2009 · 8:35 am

A Thingy That Works

Claire at One Passion One Devotion wrote a little snippet at the end of one of her posts. It was about this thingy called Condron.US. All we bloggers have to do is sign up; and then, more people may end up reading our posts.

So, far it has worked for me. Check it out for yourself.

Swimming Upstream: “Hate Crimes Legislation…Ho-Hum! Bring It On!”

“Oh no! The sky is falling!” said one Christian blog after another about the new Hate Crimes Prevention Act. “What shall we do? What shall we do?”

If you haven’t been paying attention, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 1913 which will provide federal money to train law enforcement officers to identify and criminally prosecute speech and thought offensive to homosexuals.

What does this mean? Specifically, it means that preachers and Christians will be not be able to legally open their mouths and say, “Homosexuality is a sin!”

Now, what if preachers and Christians ignore the law and speak up anyway, then what? They could end up paying fines or serving jail sentences!

So, what’s my take on H.R. 1913?

Ho-hum! Bring it on!

The Lord God of Hosts before whom I stand has not been caught off guard by H.R. 1913. He had a plan readied and set in place before these idiots even had a glimmering thought about this heinous bill.

And guess what?

This is a battle the governmental Ahab’s and Jezebel’s can never win. I repeat: this is a battle the governmental Ahab’s and Jezebel’s can never win.

Why?

The Lord hates sin…and loves homosexuals. In fact, the Lord loves homosexuals so much that He is willing to send an army to set them free. Not just any army, but rather, he is sending in His special forces…the hidden-away, unknown Elijah’s.

So, sit back. Relax. Grab some popcorn. The show is about to begin.

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February 16, 2009 · 7:12 pm

My Revelation From “Fox’s Book of Martyrs”

Jane at Across Walk wrote the following comment on the last Swimming Upstream:

I’ve been trudging through Fox’s Book of Martyrs. It’s been on the coffee table, the shelf in the bathroom and is currently traveling to and from the place of employment in the back seat. The constant echo as I read on and on is “put a face on it.” The ongoing, endless, bloody tortures, one right after another, risk redundancy and an ultimate emotional shutdown, chilling further reactionary heartbreak over each disembowelment, decapitation, sawing, boiling, broiling, and burning at the stake. The little voice repeats itself over and over in my mind — put a face on her. Put a face on him, someone you know, someone you love.

Jane’s mention of Fox’s Book of Martyrs reminded me of my personal struggle with it many years ago. As I read the book, I became squeamish about being burnt at the stake. It made me nauseous to think that this could happen to me.

It bothered me so much that I prayed to the Lord about it. “Lord, if Your desire for me is to be a martyr, I volunteer for it. Chop off my head. Shoot me. Poison me. Knife me. Drown me. Put me in boiling oil. Stone me. Drop me from the Empire State Building. But please Lord, don’t burn me at the stake. I’m not sure that I will be an effective martyr for You if that method is used on me.”

At the time of this prayer, I was working for a motel chain. Mostly I was a maintenance man, but a couple days a week, I delivered the “Meals on Wheels” for three senior citizen centers.

One day, I was removing a large pan of meat from an oven. As I turned to put it on the counter, the pan shifted in my hand and scalding water poured over my hand. One hundred and seventy-five degrees. Two cooks ran to help. One told me to put my hand under the water; and the other was poised to call an ambulance.

I did not move. I just stood there looking at my dripping wet hand. It was red. There was pain. But yet, the pain was only on the surface of the hand, not on the inner part of the hand. It was bearable. In fact, it did not bother me that much.

Eventually, the cook grabbed me and put my hand under the faucet. I did it more to calm her down than to relieve my pain. Within seconds, my hand was back to normal.

This experience quieted my fears about being burnt at the stake or any form of martydom. I believe there is a special grace placed on martyrs to endure the suffering and still be the effective witness that the Lord needs for the people watching on.

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