Tag Archives: Gifts of the Spirit

October 30, 2015 · 10:12 am

If We Just Ignore Gays, They’ll Go Away, Right? (Part 7)

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In a back and forth discussion, the Pharisees stated that Abraham was their father, but Jesus hit them right between the eyes when He said, “You are of your father the devil [Satan], and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning…and the father of lies.”

Let’s put on our thinking caps for a moment:

Did God create a murderer and a liar when He created Satan?

You [Satan] were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:15)

God created Satan as a perfect spirit being that was obviously given a free will of sorts. He eventually used his freedom to sin.

Plus, who could Satan have murdered when he was first created? Not God or the other angels who were also eternal spirit beings.  Man and other animals were not created as yet, leaving no one to murder at the time of Satan’s creation.

Thus, Jesus’ use of the words murderer from the beginning could not refer to when Satan was first created as a spirit being. But rather, it most likely referred to when the evil one sinned and became known as Satan. This probably happened sometime soon after Adam and Eve were created.

Jesus called Satan a murderer. Who did the evil one murder?

And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Without a gun, knife, or club, Satan murdered mankind by relying on God’s integrity to honor His word when he deceived Eve and caused Adam to rebel against God’s revealed word.

For your information: the deception by Satan did not negate Adam’s responsibility to obey God’s words because Romans 12:12 states that sin and death entered into the world through Adam and then spread to all men.

But still and all, we have to realize that the father of lies and the deceiver of mankind is a murderer.

(Continued in Part 8…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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October 29, 2015 · 9:08 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (10/29/2015)

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The vibrant sounds of Mozart’s Piano Concerto Number Seven swirled through the Beacon Hill mansion’s ballroom. The fifteen females seated around the grand piano, listening to the maestro, had proper Brahmin names like Cabot, Coolidge, Forbes, Lodge, or Shaw. Each traced her ancestry back to the earliest Puritan settlers of Boston. This blueblood lineage insured their invitation to the social tea, no nouveau riche Johnny-come-latelies were among the invitees.

When the pianist completed the piece, he stood and bowed. The women showed their appreciation with warm applause. One of the ladies put her white-gloved hands to her mouth and said, “Oh, I would just do anything to be able to play the piano like that.”

The maestro turned and stared at her. His eyes exploded with fire.

“No you wouldn’t,” he said.

The crowd collectively gasped. All felt sorry for the woman who had been openly rebuked by the man’s insensitive words.

As for the lady, she sat stunned, paralyzed by his harsh eyes, tears rolled down her cheeks. Then, as if she remembered her privileged pedigree, she mouthed three defiant words at the pianist: “Yes, I would.”

“No you wouldn’t,” he said again, leaning over the piano toward the lady.

“Because if you really meant what you said, you would have been willing to give up your youth, your teenage years, and eight to ten hours every day practicing on the piano. You see, there is a price to sit on this bench. I’ve been willing to pay it, and you have not!”

(Excerpt from Deceived Dead and Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, 2013, Amazon eBook)

My prayer for America:

Lord, raise up American believers that are willing to deny themselves, pick up their crosses daily, and follow You. And Lord, show me how to be one of them.  (Based on Luke 9:23)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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October 22, 2015 · 8:43 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (10/22/2015)

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Most people have seen the movie, Titanic, and its fictional love story about a poor boy, Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), and a rich girl, Rose (Kate Winslet), on an ill-fated ocean voyage. The movie won the 1997 Oscar for Best Picture. Its box-office sales of over $1.8 billion rank it as the second most successful movie of all time, behind Avatar.

Hollywood created its own fictional heroes for the movie script, but on April 14, 1912, there were many real heroes. One of them was named John Harper.

John Harper, a thirty-nine year old widower and a Baptist preacher, was traveling to Chicago aboard the R.M.S Titanic on its maiden voyage with his six-year old daughter, Nana. He was scheduled to preach some evangelistic meetings at the Moody Church.

At 11:40 p.m., the Titanic hit an iceberg on the starboard side of the ship. As soon as Harper realized the ship was going to sink, he took his daughter to a lifeboat and placed her aboard. “Nana, I’ll see you again someday,” he said to her.

Then, while flares lit up the sky, he marched up and down the decks yelling, “Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats!”

At 2:20 a.m., a rumble arose from deep within the ship as it broke in half. Hundreds of people, including Harper, jumped into the 28-degree (-2 C) water as the Titanic slipped into its watery grave.

As soon as Harper hit the surface, he frantically swam from one person to the next, leading them to Jesus before the people succumbed to the icy waters and hypothermia. He asked one young man who clutched a piece of wood, “Are you saved?” The young man answered that he was not.

Harper tried to convince the young man, but the man refused to listen. Harper took off his life jacket and threw it at the man. “Here then, you need this more than I do,” said Harper as he swam off to other people.

A few minutes later, Harper returned to the man and successfully led him to Christ. Then, Harper attempted to swim to other people, but the icy waters were too much for him. “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” he shouted before he sank under the waters.

Of the 1528 people that went into the icy waters that night, lifeboats rescued only six. One of them was the young man who later recounted how Harper had led him to Christ.

 

Harper wasted no time swimming around in the icy waters talking about his Baptist credentials or the five pillars of Calvinism. He asked one question: “Are you saved?” He acted on what was the most important need at that tragic moment on April 14, 1912. Today, like John Harper, we must focus our efforts on what’s needed now.

Yes, there are those who are crossing their fingers and praying for a national revival. And if the Lord sends one, hallelujah, thank You Jesus, I will join in. But I’ve listened to prophecies about a soon-coming revival, which will wash our nation clean of sin for the last thirty years. It hasn’t arrived as yet. So, do we keep walking down the same path for twenty-five or ten or five more years, hoping for a revival?

Not me! I’m jumping off this path and walking on a new one.

(Excerpt from New Wind Blowing by Larry Nevenhoven, 2013, an Amazon eBook)

My prayer for America today:

Lord, I pray that we believers lay down every one of our plans, our hopes, our dreams, our visions, our prophetic words for America, which have ensnared us, so that we can run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. (Based on Hebrews 12:1-2)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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October 21, 2015 · 1:46 pm

If We Just Ignore Gays, They’ll Go Away, Right? (Part 6)

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God looked at Adam and saw that he needed a helper, a person providing him assistance and support in good times or bad. The person that God created to help Adam was like him, but different. She was a woman.

Adam and Eve then became God’s pattern for humans. God blessed the first couple and gave them His plan for mankind —

“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over living thing that moves on earth. See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” (Genesis 1:28-29)

God’s plan for mankind was given to a couple: a husband (male) and wife (female) team, not to two men or two women. 

Satan also knew God’s plan for mankind. The evil one understood that if man and woman followed God’s plan, mankind would continue to be blessed forever and ever by God. Satan’s desires to be like the Most High and a god would then never happen. So, he had to do something to further his ambitions, but what?

From experience, Satan knew he could not defeat God, but he also knew that God would not put up with the sin of rebellion. His plan was simple: deceive Adam and Eve into rebelling against God.

“You will not surely die…you will be like God…” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Eve saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good for fruit, it was pleasant to her eyes, and she desired it. She took the fruit and ate it.

Adam watched Eve eat the fruit and noticed she didn’t die. He then ate the forbidden fruit, too.

Rebellion!

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2)

(Continued in Part 7…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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October 15, 2015 · 8:32 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (10/15/2015)

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The church at Antioch had just finished the meal when an elder, a man with stooped shoulders, pushed back his chair and stood up. He held up his hands for quiet and looked around at the group.

“Brothers and sisters, we have just received some good news from the church in Jerusalem. They’re sending someone to help us,” he said.

Everyone talked at once. The voices of the fifteen believers blended into a loud roar throughout the home’s one-room living area.

A deep booming voice shouted above the clamor, “Who are they sending? One of the apostles, like Peter or John?”

The group all spoke at once, agreeing with the man’s choices, but also giving their opinion on which of the two would be their personal favorites. There was an underlying fervor to see other believers and hear their testimonies.

The elder laughed and shook his head at the commotion. He motioned with his hands, quieting the assembly.

“No – not Peter or John. A man named Barnabas should be arriving in a few days. He’s a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. We will be blessed by his visit.”

Everyone sat quiet for a few moments. No one had heard of Barnabas.

One young believer leaned over to his dark haired wife.

“What do you think Barnabas will say?” he whispered.

 

A week later, Barnabas stood on the deck of the Roman merchant ship as it approached the wharf in Antioch. He saw ships with Italian olive oil being unloaded on one side of the harbor while other ships were being loaded with Syrian grain on another side. A Roman navy trireme sat anchored to a dock with its three tiers of oars out of the water. A cohort of Roman soldiers watched over the dock.

The three hundred mile cruise had been uneventful with no storms and only gentle breezes propelling the ship. But still, Barnabas appeared eager, almost antsy, to step onto dry land once again. He had spent the three-day trip, pacing back and forth on the galley’s deck, oblivious to everything around him. The other passengers smiled when he walked by, thinking an evil spirit tormented him. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

An inner desire consumed Barnabas about knowing a specific truth about the church at Antioch. His continued pleas to the Lord about the issue had been met with silence.

Shouts from the wharf interrupted his thoughts.

“Barnabas! Barnabas! Wave your hands at us so we can see you. We have come from the church to greet you.”

Barnabas saw three men waving at the ship and went to the ship’s fore rail and waved his arms.

“I’m Barnabas! It’s great to see you, my brothers!” he shouted.

After what seemed like hours, Barnabas disembarked and ran to the threesome. He hugged and greeted them. Introductions were made amid the noisy clamor of the docks.

Barnabas could not contain himself any longer. He looked at them, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?”

(Excerpt from Deceived Dead and Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, 2013, an Amazon eBook)

The above is a fictional story, but it agrees with Acts 8:14-17 and Acts 19:2-6.

So, if the early church needed the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need them now?

My prayer for America today:

Lord, I pray that American believers pursue love with eagerness, but that we also earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts, especially that we may prophesy. (Based on 1 Corinthians 14:1 Amplified Version)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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October 3, 2015 · 7:49 am

If We Just Ignore Gays, They’ll Go Away, Right? (Part 2)

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For two thousand years, Christians have agreed on at least one thing – we live in the last days. To go along with this belief, each generation of believers has hoped to see with our own eyes Christ arriving from heaven to whisk His bride off to the marriage supper of the Lamb. So far, this has not happened, but my generation remains as optimistic as ever that this will happen soon.

How can we remain so hopeful after all these years of it not happening yet?

The Lord wisely gave us a profound mystery to encourage us: marriage between a man and a woman.

The Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 5:22-33 how the husband and wife are to mirror Christ and the church. In marriage, the husband is supposed to love his wife like Christ loves His church (or bride) and the wife is to be submissive and loving like Christ’s bride.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. (Ephesians 5:31)

This verse has a natural meaning and a spiritual one. The natural meaning obviously refers to men and women leaving their parents, living together, joining together sexually, physically, financially, and in every way possible to become a inseparable union before God.

The spiritual meaning is that Christ Himself left His Father to come to earth to be the Second Adam, and to bring forth from His body a bride (the church), much like God brought forth Eve from Adam. Then Christ returned to His Father in heaven and will soon return in the fullness of time to hold fast to His bride forever.

There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul is referring to men, women, Christ, and the Church in these verses.

So, who else understands that we live in the last days and wants to pervert this profound mystery?

(Continued in Part 3…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)

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October 1, 2015 · 2:00 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (10/1/2015)

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Around 32 AD, Saul received a commission from the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and began to go to war against Christians. He invaded home churches, dragging men and women off to prison. All of the believers scattered throughout Judea and Samaria to avoid the persecution, that is, all except the apostles.

Why didn’t the Apostles flee, too?

Because Luke wrote both books, the storyline from the Book of Luke to the Book of Acts moves almost seamlessly together as if the two books were written as one. Luke records the words of Jesus in the Book of Luke —

“And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

And then —

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Apostles had been beaten, chained up, thrown into prison, and faced death threats before this outbreak of persecution. So, we have to assume that the Lord told the Apostles to remain in Jerusalem as His witnesses. They obeyed, performed their works there, and the Gospel continued to change lives.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, release Your anointed apostles on America’s cities. Send those who have seen You and are able to perform the signs of true apostles so that lives are radically changed in our cities. (Based on 1 Corinthians 9:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:12)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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September 26, 2015 · 2:15 pm

If We Just Ignore Gays, They’ll Go Away, Right? (Part 1)

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It had been a hot September Saturday at the Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership with heavy traffic from our advertisements. I worked late because of a used car delivery for a last-minute customer. The other salesmen had long since gone home, leaving just the sales manager and me to close up the place.

As I walked into the sales manager’s office to hand him the keys, a car with what appeared to be a middle-aged couple pulled onto the sales lot to look at used vehicles. Both stepped out of their car to check out one particular auto. They then looked toward the sales manager’s office as if to see whether sales people were still available for helping them.

That’s just dandy, I thought, now the sales manager is going to make me wait on those two people. I’m tired, hungry, and want to leave now.

“Larry,” said the sales manager, “if we just ignore them, they’ll go away.”

He turned off the lights and we left. His words ended up proving to be accurate because the couple drove off.

This is how most of us Christians have handled the American gay rights movement so far. 

And our results mirror our attitudes, in that, we almost always end up losing.

Admittedly, the gay rights movement’s ranks are not filled with a bunch of wimps. They are tough adversaries who understand how to pressure governments, politicians, corporations, major media outlets, churches, and whomever to win battles. They wield fear and threats like swords to cut down their foes.

Sadly, we Christians are not prepared for this type of warfare. We enjoy “nice” fights with scriptures lobbed back and forth like nerf ball grenades in a church sanctuary. The declared winner is the one with the most scriptures to justify his stance. Cake and coffee served afterward in the church basement.

Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news because this ain’t ever happening.

So, what can we believers do?

(Continued in Part 2)

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September 25, 2015 · 5:00 pm

“Are We There Yet?” (Part 3)

I have memorized and meditated on the following verses for weeks at a time, but I missed some major points. Maybe you have too?

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law [Torah] or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law [Torah] until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)

My thoughts have aways focused on the premise that Jesus fulfilled the Law [Torah] and since He lived in me, I no longer had to pay attention to the Law [Torah], right?

By faith and through the finished work of the cross, Jesus has fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law [Torah] for us believers, but still, have all things been accomplished in the Law [Torah] or the Prophets?

The answer is NO.

Speak to the people of Israel, saying, “On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Tabernacles [Sukkot] to the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:34)

The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the seven Jewish feasts, which include the Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost. Jesus fulfilled these Spring Feasts by being crucified as our Passover Lamb, by being our Bread of Life without sin [Unleavened Bread], by being resurrected as our First Fruits, and by giving us the Holy Spirit at the First Pentecost.

Why is the Feast of Tabernacles so important?

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. (Zechariah 14:16-17)

The above scriptures refer to the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on earth. Notice how every living person is required to go to Jerusalem and observe the Feast of Tabernacles and if they don’t observe the feast, they are cursed with no rain.

Maybe we should study the Fall Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

(Continued in Part 4…if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.

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September 24, 2015 · 9:44 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (9/24/2015)

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The prophet Jeremiah had faithfully prophesied his message of God’s judgment on Judah for over thirty years when a prophet named Hananiah stood up and spoke one day in the Temple –

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’s house…” (Jeremiah 28:2-3)

Jeremiah answered Hananiah by saying, “Hey, I hope you’re right, but my prophecies of judgment on Judah are in line with the words of the prophets who lived many years before us and who also spoke of wars and disasters and pestilence.”

Hananiah then reiterated his prophetic words about peace and prosperity for Judah.

Jeremiah listened to Hananiah and then walked away, but the Lord sent him back to the Temple where he confronted the prophet –

“Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie…Behold, [the Lord] will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.” (Jeremiah 28:15-16)

Hananiah died two months later.

Do we see the grace of God in this happening?

You see, when Hananiah died, God revealed to all of Judah which prophet spoke the Lord’s words. Then, the people of Judah had to decide whether they would obey or rebel against the Lord and His words.

Much the same thing is happening in America right now.

There are prophetic voices speaking of God showering our nation with blessings and a great revival while other prophetic voices are speaking of terrible disasters and extreme judgments soon hitting our nation. One of these prophetic groups has to be wrong!

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I ask that You make Yourself clear so that Your people can make decisions on how to prepare themselves for the future. (Based loosely on 1 Corinthians 14:8)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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