Tag Archives: Christianity

May 20, 2023 · 7:51 am

Larry’s Testimony

In 1985, my life smashed into a brick wall. I needed thousands of dollars to start a publishing company and bail my family out of debt. My sources were all maxed out and the hope level in my reservoir was hovering at empty. I was finished.

The only untouched asset I had was a $125,000 life insurance policy. So, my solution seemed obvious: suicide.

As for taking my life, I had no problems with it because I was an agnostic. No God equals no problems with eternal judgment, right? It wasn’t personal, just a business solution for my family and me.

My plan was uncomplicated. I figured on enjoying one last weekend with my family and then committing suicide on that Monday evening.

Thus, on May 20, 1985, I spent the day finishing up loose ends. Then, for some reason, I stopped at an insurance agent’s office. Although we knew each other, Bill and I were not intimate friends and had never really talked to each other before that day.

Bill invited me into his office. We discussed baseball. Then in the middle of our conversation, he stared at me and said, “You’re thinking about committing suicide, aren’t you?”

His words hit me like a sledgehammer. How did he know? I told no one. It was my secret $125,000 payday. I was speechless. As I sat there, a vision played across my mind about my car ramming into a viaduct and killing me.

I wept and although I tried to regain my composure, I could not. “How did you know?” I asked.

“Oh,” said Bill, “the Lord told me while we were talking to each other.”

His words shattered my unbelief. God was alive and He cared about me. We continued talking and he finally gave me a book to read: Power in Praise by Merlin Carothers.

When I arrived home, I began reading the book. After a few pages, I walked into the bathroom, closed the door and knelt in front of the sink. Looking into the mirror, I prayed, “Jesus, I’ve tried everything else and nothing has worked. I guess I’ll give You a try.”

Instantly, I was changed. Fear and shame were no longer a part of me, but instead, joy and hope filled my heart. Bowing and worshipping my new King, I promised to never let go of His hand.

If my story were a fictional Hollywood movie, perhaps it would resemble It’s A Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart would play me and Donna Reed my wife. The angel would get his wings and everyone would live happily ever after. The end.

But sadly, my life has not been a work of fiction. It has been a day to day journey, filled with a few good experiences, but also many mistakes, false starts and failures. Divorce. Loss of friends. Numerous firings from sales positions. Low-paying jobs. Poverty. Rejection. Loneliness. Not exactly, a picture perfect Christian life.

And yet, it has been in the deepest valleys where the Lord has truly revealed Himself to me. It was there He became my loving Father and I learned His grace was sufficient for me.

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Filed under Inspirational, Praise, Salvation, Testimony

Tagged as Christianity, Salvation, Testimony

February 4, 2023 · 12:54 pm

What’s Wrong with the Parable of the Fig Tree Prophecy?

³²“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! ³⁴Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:32-35 NKJ)

Numerous Bible teachers, including Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel Church network, and Hal Lindsey, author of The Late Great Planet Earth, have interpreted Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:32-34 as a prophecy about Israel.

Their collective prophetic teachings state that the budding of the fig tree in verse 32 refers to Israel becoming a nation in 1948. The people born in 1948 and the years afterward would then be the generation that would see the return of the Lord. Each teacher figured a generation was forty years.

Thus, 1988 was the projected year of Jesus’ return, but alas, Jesus did not return as prophesied.

Rather than admitting their error, Smith, Lindsey and most of the other Bible teachers stated that their mistake was not in their premise about Israel, but rather in their assuming a generation was forty years long. They decided a Biblical generation was really seventy years. 2018 was supposed to be the new predicted year for the return of Jesus.

And when Jesus did not return in 2018, these teachers doubled down again and stated a Biblical generation was eighty years. Therefore, these teachers are betting 2028 is the year when Jesus will return.

Will a hundred years be the next guess for these teachers?

Okay! Let’s do some checking for ourselves.

²⁹Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.³⁰When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Luke 21:29-33 NKJ)

The fig tree parable is presented in Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31 and Luke 21:29-33. All three are similar except Luke states, “Look at the fig tree, and all of the trees.”

By adding the words – and all of the trees – Luke removed the emphasis on fig trees and placed it on the rest of the words Jesus spoke in the four verses. And what was Jesus referring to in the four verses? All of the prophetic words He spoke in Matthew 24:4-31.

The Apostle Paul had a similar problem with the Church in Thessalonica in that they were confused about when the Lord would return. He answered their fears by writing:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NKJ)

Paul listed two things had to happen before Jesus returned:

1. Christians falling away from their faith (the great apostasy).

2. The antichrist is revealed to everyone.

Did Jesus mention the falling away of believers and the revealing of the antichrist in His Matthew 24 discourse?

And at that time many [believers] will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. (Matthew 24:10 NASB)

Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation [antichrist] which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand (Matthew 24:15)

The Apostle Paul’s words agree with the prophetic words spoken by Jesus in Matthew 24.

So, it looks to me like we need to lay our easy-peasy formulas down and follow what Jesus said:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42 NKJ)

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Filed under Antichrist, Day of the Lord, Falling Away, jesus

Tagged as Christianity, Falling Away, Prophecy, Return of the Lord, The Parable of the Fig Tree

August 5, 2022 · 10:10 am

Imagine Heaven

I am presently reading Imagine Heaven for the second time. It is even a bigger blessing this time than it was on my first reading.

To date, this book has had 9,240 customer reviews with 95% being five-star and four-star reviews. I would guess that most of these reviews have come from Christians like me, who want to know more about heaven. As one man said, “If we don’t think rightly about heaven, we won’t think about it at all.”

The author presents over a hundred stories about various Near-Death Experiences and all are worth reading, but this one really grabbed my heart:

“Before her Near-Death Experience, the concept of God as a loving Father made no sense to Crystal. Why didn’t He protect her at age three when the sexual abuse began? Why did He let other men abuse her if He loved her? Why would He allow all the pain and suffering and chaos from her father leaving, an abusive stepfather, and a partying mother who left her with questionable company? By age nine, doubts about God’s love or existence had a stranglehold on her…” (Excerpt from Imagine Heaven)

Crystal gave her life to Jesus at nine years of age and was baptized. She stated, “I felt like my soul had been scrubbed.”

But sadly, the feeling didn’t last because the sexual abuse in her life continued. The shame, hurt, and anger felt like it was her identity. She blamed herself for the abuse she suffered.

A pregnancy. An abortion. Affairs with married men. A failed marriage. An unsuccessful suicide attempt.

At age thirty-three, Crystal went to the hospital for pancreatitis. Due to complications, she died for nine minutes and found herself in heaven.

“Crystal always assumed her experience of Heaven would be different. She had imagined herself asking God a barrage of questions… Crystal says,

“I wanted to know why He didn’t love me. Or why He let bad things happen. And yet, as I stood in front of Him in heaven and faced Him, I fell to my knees and raised my hands. The question I called out to Him was, ‘Why didn’t I do more for You?’ Because in an instant, He revealed His true self to me, which is love…” (Excerpt from Imagine Heaven)

You can read the details about the book and more excerpts here.

Hey, the book does not replace Scripture, but it does add light for our thinking on heaven. Burke does a thorough job of using the Bible to explain the various stories.

I recommend Imagine Heaven for everyone, even unbelievers.

The book is available as a Kindle book, hardback, paperback and an audio version.

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Filed under book review, Christianity

Tagged as Book Review, Christianity, Kingdom of God

March 12, 2022 · 10:39 am

Jesus, Baseball and a Bat

All new Christians need an inner desire to be the best believers they can be for our King and the Kingdom of God. This must be a part of our spiritual makeup. The driving force for our desires must be the Holy Spirit. As far as our natural bodies, they will resist all efforts by the Holy Spirit and attempt to weave fleshly attitudes and pride into our spiritual makeups, thereby weakening them.

One of the Holy Spirit’s main jobs in our lives is to separate the chaff in us from thew spiritual wheat as we walk with the Lord.

In a perfect vacuum, the Holy Spirit would successfully guide and help us put down all of our fleshly desires, especially pride and lust. We would be overcomers in every situation. Yet, none of us live in a perfect vacuum, we live on earth, which is controlled by the god of this world − Satan.

I had a simple dream as a young believer, which should have helped me in understanding my walk with the Lord.

In it, I stood outside a major league baseball stadium, but all of the entrance gates were locked shut. The crowd inside the stadium roared for its favorite teams. The excitement stirred me to hunger for being a part of the action.

I banged on the gate with both hands. The gate finally opened and I entered, not to sit in the grandstands with the crowd, but instead, I was escorted onto the playing field to be a member of Jesus’ team.

There I stood in the outfield, wearing a new white home team uniform with a baseball hat on my head and a glove on my left hand. I looked around at the beautiful green grass, the reddish infield dirt and the gigantic stadium. It was such an exhilarating feeling, knowing I was a member of the team.

Then, like a little boy, I took off running around the outfield. Here and there, helter-skelter, I didn’t care what others thought and ran around the outfield in my excitement, kicking up my heels. I noticed numerous other players in the outfield, doing much the same thing. We all ran around, waving our hands in the air and yelling like a bunch of sugar intoxicated kids.

Now, mind you, the game was going on.

A baseball would fly or bounce into the outfield every so often, but because we were all just aimlessly running around, we couldn’t catch any of them. The best we could do was chase after a ball and wait for it to stop rolling. One of us would pick it up and toss it back toward the infield to a waiting infielder. We outfielders then reverted back to aimlessly running around.

The team somehow promoted me into the dugout to be used for offensive purposes. I was no longer dressed in a glorious white uniform, but instead, I was a wooden baseball bat, hanging on a bat rack with numerous other ones.

A bat, I thought. I’m just a bat! All of my preparation and training has prepared me to be just a wooden bat. How can this be important?

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the score tied, Jesus readied Himself to bat. He walked over to the rack and chose me as His bat. He walked up to the plate with me in His hands.

The pitcher, Satan, threw a hundred miles per hour fastball on the first pitch to Jesus. The Lord timed the pitch perfectly and smashed it high over the center field fence. He hit a walk-off, game winning home run.

Jesus headed for first base on His home run trot and tossed me − His bat − into the dirt. The crowd stood, cheering and praising Jesus for the victory, but as for me, I laid there, doing nothing and saying nothing.

A batboy came, picked me up and placed me back on the bat rack, waiting to be used sometime in the future by Jesus again.

This simple dream reveals a game within a game whereby we believers move from immaturity to maturity, ending in deaths to our own selfish desires. We are then used by the Lord Jesus to defeat the purposes of Satan.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)

(Excerpt from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, an Amazon eBook.

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Filed under Christianity, Dream, Prophecy

Tagged as Christianity, Dream, Prophecy

February 21, 2022 · 4:25 am

Free eBook Copy of “A Black River”

Advertising blurb:

“I had a vision that showed a black river flowing out of America’s inner cities, filled with black apostles and prophets. Their moral characters were at a level never before witnessed in America.

“No longer would believers have to gaze back at John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Billy Graham or whomever for examples of godly men because these black apostles and prophets would raise the bar of godliness to a level approaching the character of Jesus… This is the generation of men that America has been longing to see. (Excerpt from Chapter 13 of “A Black River”)

God is never late, but He sure misses lots of opportunities to be early. This is especially true for Black Americans who have suffered through four hundred years of oppression and discrimination while chasing the American dream. The years have all merged themselves together into one long day of weary hopelessness.

But now at last, hope arises. The same God who looked upon Israel’s captivity in Egypt, is looking down on the Black Americans living in our nation’s inner cities and is preparing to act.

How? What? Why?

“A Black River” is one of the most important ebooks published in 2021, especially for those believers hungering for revival.

To receive your free eBook copy, just go here.

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Revival of the Spiritual Gifts, Especially Speaking in Tongues

I recently gave a ride to a married couple. We talked about various subjects, with one of them being our Christian faith.

“Where do you attend church?” I asked.

“Assembly of God,” he replied.

“A charismatic church,” I said.

“Well, they aren’t into that so much anymore,” he replied.

His answer reminded me of what an Assembly of God pastor proclaimed to me almost thirty years ago: “I belong to a Pentecostal denomination that is almost embarrassed of its heritage – speaking in tongues.”

The Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ and other Pentecostal churches have their roots in the Azusa Street Revival (1906 to 1913). It was during that revival that a black pastor named William Seymour taught on the gifts on the Holy Spirit. He watched thousands of believers being baptized in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and eventually going into all of the world to introduce others to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Most believers, then and now, do not have problems with the gifts of healing, prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, working of miracles and so forth, but there is one gift that carries a heavy stigma with it: speaking in tongues.

Does it make sense to speak in a mysterious language, not understood by other men, and only understood by God? No! It defies logic!

And yet, the early apostles felt every believer needed it:

The Apostle Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2)

If the believers answered Paul negatively, what did the apostle do? He prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit:

And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. (Acts 19:6)

“No matter how noble, persuasive, or convincing the argument, the decision to exclude the Baptism of the Holy Spirit from the life of the church is a decision conceived in hell. Omitting this Baptism was a masterstroke of Satan. He knew this was the most destructive deception possible. It created lukewarm Christians.” (Mario Murillo)

I believe the Lord will soon pour out His Spirit on men and women like He did at the first Pentecost, almost two thousand years ago.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. (Acts 2:4)

This move of the Holy Spirit will totally shake up the Body of Christ. Believers will leave their present churches and seek ones that will allow them to use their gifts. This revival will make the Charismatic Revival of the 1970s and 1980s look small by comparison. It will be a spiritual tsunami!

“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” (Hebrews 12:26)

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Filed under Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Speaking in tongues

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Speaking in tongues

December 5, 2021 · 10:46 am

My Cherished Friend Died on Monday. I’m Numb!

Mice

The best way to compare Tony and me would be to say we’re formed from two different molds. Both of us are committed followers of Jesus, believe in grace to the nth degree and pray often about everything. Yet, I’m more of a hammer looking for a nail to smash while he is more of a teddy bear searching for hurting souls to smother with his love.

One cold morning, Tony and I sat drinking coffee in an old farmhouse we rented. I looked toward my left and saw the world’s fattest mouse sitting in the middle of the linoleum floor. It taunted me with its fearlessness.

“Tony, look at that mouse. We need to kill it,” I said, pointing toward the varmint.

“Oh brother, we can’t do that,” he said. “That is God’s creation and all creatures shall praise the Lord. We need to capture it and then release it outside.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I will not allow you to kill that precious creature.”

Herman the mouse coexisted with us until Tony came up with a method to capture it. How he was planning on doing this, I don’t know, because life interrupted Tony’s plans. His girlfriend, Janelle, stopped for a visit on the next evening. Tony explained about Herman and how he protected the helpless little fellow from mean, nasty Larry.

Janelle reacted by running to the front door.

“I’m not coming back again until that mouse is gone. I hate mice!” she proclaimed before leaving.

Tony walked into the living room where I sat on the sofa.

“What’s your plan now?” I asked.

“We’re going to kill the little sucker!”

Herman died in a trap the next day. His mouse girlfriend, Helen, suffered the same fate the following day. Traps were readied for God’s little furry creatures from that time forward.

Hunger

“I’m mad at you,” Tony said, looking up at me as I walked into the living room.

“Why?” I asked.

“We don’t have any food in the house because God is working on you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Of course, it doesn’t make sense, but I’m hungry and you’re the only person I can get mad at right now.”

KNOCK! KNOCK!

I walked to the front door and opened it. Three friends stood on the old farmhouse’s front porch.

“Come in,” I said, leading them into the living room.

They removed their coats and sat down on chairs. One of them explained the reason they had stopped to visit us. They needed prayer.

We began praising the Lord and singing songs. The presence of the Lord fell upon us. Then, Tony and I prayed for each of them. They left after a short time of fellowship.

“I’m still hungry and mad at you,” said Tony as soon as their car left the driveway.

Rick and his wife stopped to see us a few minutes later. They walked into the living room carrying sacks of McDonalds. Each had a quarter pounder, French fries, and a milkshake. They proceeded to eat their food in front of us while we watched. All the while we talked about what was happening in our lives.

They finally left.

“I’m really, really mad at you now,” said Tony.

Five minutes passed before another knock rapped on the front door. Rick stood on the porch as I opened the door.

“Brother, the Lord spoke to me to give this to you,” he said, handing me a fifty-dollar bill. He gave me a hug and left.

“Now, I’m mad at you because it’s too late to go out and eat,” said Tony, heading toward his bedroom.

(Excepts from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who.)

The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity. (President U. S. Grant)

Tony and I lived together before I met Carol and married her and then after our marriage, Tony and his wife, Janelle, lived with us. This happened over a period of two and half to three years back in the late 1990s. We were friends who loved each other and the Lord.

Now fast forward to the worst phone call I have ever had, which happened on Thursday night when I spoke to Janelle and learned that Tony had died from a massive heart attack. I wept, but a numbness hit me that has still not left me.

At 75 years of age, I am sure there will be more phone calls like this in the future as other friends pass away. But I doubt if any of them will ever hurt more than this one.

I miss Tony, my cherished friend.

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Filed under Christianity, Death

Tagged as Christianity, Death, Grief

October 17, 2021 · 10:06 am

Why are our healing prayers so ineffective?

The female pastor walked to the pulpit and began her eulogy for my friend Brad. I have no idea what she said because the Lord chose that moment to speak to me.

I felt Him whisper to my heart:

“My church is a bunch of nice losers. They lay their hands on the sick and pray for them, but when they die, they aren’t mad at all. They don’t check themselves out to see what happened or what they may have done wrong with their prayers and actions. They accept defeats and don’t think any more about them.

“Now, Major League baseball teams are all filled with good players. Each player has to be one of the best in the world to make it to the Major Leagues. Losing teams have good players on their rosters, too. But after a while, losing teams’ players don’t mind losing because after all, they still receive their Major League paychecks and bonuses.

“But winning Major League baseball teams are different. They hate losing and will do anything and whatever it takes to win. They hate losing.

“I want My church to hate losing!”

This time the grief, which hit me, measured a ten on the Richter Scale. (Excerpt from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who)

These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” (Mark 16:17-18)

I have prayed for numerous sick people in the last few years. What have been the results? Many have died and others have continued on in their ailments. I’m not exactly a ringing endorsement for the truths of Mark 16:18.

Finally, I am fed up and angry about my efforts!

You see, I mirrored what the Church as a whole has been doing. Like them, I’ve gone through all of the traditional motions. Anointing the sick with oil. Laying hands on them. And tossing prayers out there for their healing. Maybe even fasting a little. But I failed to ask myself some tough questions: why are the sick still dying after my prayers? Why are they still ailing and crippled? What am I doing wrong?

I have become like the losing Major League baseball teams. I didn’t hate losing…until now.

Recently, I sought the Lord on what I was doing wrong.

The Lord showed me that my healing efforts were centered on the hope that one of my gifts – gift of healing, gift of faith or the gift of working of miracles – would show up and the sick person would be healed right then and there on the spot.

Yes, I have seen healing miracles through these gifts over the years, but to be honest, these gifts have not been consistently working through me in the last few years. And from my observations, these gifts haven’t been working that well in the Church as a whole.

You see, the Church and I have been guilty of trying to walk in the gifts used by Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, William Branham, Jack Coe, Paul Cain, A. A. Allen and others during the healing revival of the 1940s and 1950s. But the problem is that healing revival is over and the next healing revival has not arrived here as yet. We are living in the in-between time period.

So, what changes am I planning on doing in the future?

But Jesus turned around and when He saw her, He said, “Be of good cheer, your faith has made you well…(Matthew 9:22)

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well… (Mark 10:52)

And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)

This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul looked at him intently and saw that he had faith to be made well (Acts 14:9 NASB)

I plan on giving a short teaching to each person that I pray for. Something like this:

“Listen, I am going to anoint you with oil and lay my hands on you according to James 5:14- 15 which states that my prayer of faith will heal you. Do you believe that? If you are instantly healed, we will both rejoice.

“But if you aren’t instantly healed, do not despair because instant healing is not always the Lord’s way. Instead, it will probably be through your faith. My anointing you with oil and praying a prayer of faith will be your point of contact to activate your faith in the Lord for your healing. Our belief is that the Lord will eventually say to you, ‘Your faith has made you well.’

“Do you believe that?”

Healing by faith works. We need to learn how to walk in it and also teach people how to receive their healing through faith.

Our unfulfilled promises from God may be our parachutes during America’s freefall into calamity if we only…

“You have six months to a year to live. Not much can be done for you. Sorry!” proclaimed a surgeon to his cancer patient.

None of us ever want to hear these words, but Glen, a close friend of mine did hear those words just a few days ago.

What Glen did after hearing the surgeon’s message was a game changer for him and can be a valuable lesson for all of us.

In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” (2 Kings 20:1 NASB)

King Hezekiah was the King of Judah who did what was right in the sight of the Lord, much like King David did. He would have been about 39 years old when Isaiah prophesied these words to him.

Isaiah was one of the most accurate prophets in all of the Bible. So, his message was a death sentence to Hezekiah. It would have been understandable for Hezekiah to give up, lie down and await his impending death.

But Hezekiah did not do that!

Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Please, Lord, just remember…and Hezekiah wept profusely. (2 Kings 20:2-3 NASB)

King Hezekiah humbled himself and asked the Lord to remember his journey with Him.

His prayer was answered almost immediately.

“Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you…And I will add fifteen years to your life… (2 Kings 20:5-6 NASB)

By putting the Lord in remembrance, King Hezekiah added fifteen years to his life. Not bad, right?

What did Glen do?

Glen’s first words were: “That’s the doctor’s report, not God’s report!”

Then, Glen reminded the Lord of his near-death experience with COVID in January of this year. Glen was in the hospital for over a week, hovering close to death, but it was at this time that the Lord spoke to him, giving him insights and promises for his life. Glen wrote pages of stuff about his experience.

“God is not going to allow me to die after speaking to me in January,” Glen proclaimed.

What Hezekiah did and what Glen did and is doing, we can do the same!

If you are like me, we have promises from the Lord that are not fulfilled as yet. So, we can remind the Lord of His promises for our lives. It’s up to Him to make His promises come to pass, not us.

And trust me on this: God will bankrupt heaven – if He needs to do so – to fulfill His promises for our lives. COVID, other diseases and pestilences, famines, earthquakes and whatever are nothing compared to His faithfulness.

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon…and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus…then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, according to Your word…” (Luke 2:25-29 NASB)

God will make our crooked ways straight for our lives if we walk with Him and remind Him of His words, just as He did for King Hezekiah and Simeon and Glen.

“I’m Mad as Hell and I’m not Going to Take it Anymore!”

(“Network” (1976 movie starring Peter Finch as Howard Beale.)

A few weeks ago, I had a vivid dream in which I saw Americans struggling with today’s COVID issues. Masks. Six-foot distancing. Vaccines. Possible vaccine passports. All of us felt so frustrated with the foolishness and hype attached to these issues. We just wanted to return to normal.

But next in the dream, I saw new strains of COVID hitting our nation. The foolishness and hype ramped itself up again with new government mandates as politicians hoped to remain in control of each outbreak. Everything happened quickly but the politicians always seemed to answer all questions with: “Let’s follow the science.”

Then, in the dream, new plagues and pestilences hit America.

No longer were a mere 1 – 2% of the people dying from the diseases, but now, 10 – 20% were dying. Pharmaceutical companies, scientists, the media and politicians threw their hands in the air. They no longer had answers. Chaos and hysteric pandemonium reigned throughout America!

I felt so overwhelmed in the dream. There seemed to be no hope.

The dream finally ended.

Maybe your first thoughts upon reading about my dream is: “God wouldn’t allow that to happen! He’s a God of love. This guy must have had a bad pizza experience.”

And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people…. (2 Chronicles 36:15 NKJ)

Like many of you, I am frustrated with the administration, our governments and the media. I feel – with rare exceptions – these institutions have mishandled COVID 19 and its various strains.

But at the same time, I also realize the Lord God Almighty has allowed the administration, various governments and the media to be set in place for this time period. This is the hand we are dealt with by the Lord and how we play it out may well determine the life and death outcomes for many people. Maybe even our children and grandchildren!

So, at the very least, pray about my dream and ask the Lord for discernment.

If you feel the Lord has told you to ignore the warning, God bless you.

If you believe my dream is a warning from the Lord, then you have two options:

#1. Accept this dream as a warning, but then do nothing to prepare yourself and your loved ones. (The five foolish virgins.)

#2. Accept this dream as a warning, and then prepare yourselves through prayer, fasting and studying the Word. (The five wise virgins.)

My first bit of advice is: don’t waste your time being angry at the administration, our governments or the media. Forgive them and pray for them. Channel your energy and passion into seeking the Lord.

(More on this in the future, but if you missed my article on being political dropouts, you can read it here.)

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Tagged as Christianity, End-Times, Pestilences, Prophecy