The following is an excerpt from an upcoming novel:
The drive to meet Pastor Rick took me past the Temecula Valley High School baseball field where our son, Cole, played shortstop for the Golden Bears during his four years there. Cole was a good player, but that wasn’t the reason I always thanked the Lord for His mercy when I drove by the field. It was because of a special miracle the Lord did twenty-eight years earlier during a state playoff game.
On that particular day, the Golden Bears were playing the Norco High School Cougars. The pitcher for the Cougars was Carson Riley, a left-hander, who threw around ninety-five miles per hour and was a solid major league prospect.
Cole stood in the right side of the batter’s box to lead off the seventh inning. Riley’s first pitch was a fastball, which tailed inside and hit Cole in the middle of his chest, knocking him to the ground. He laid motionless on the ground.
The three coaches for Temecula Valley rushed to him. One of them took out a cell phone and made a call.
Jane and I were sitting in the bleachers above the dugout on the first base side of the field. I grabbed Jane’s hand. “Honey, we need to go out there. Cole’s in danger,” I said.
We stood up and hurried to field.
Jim Dawson, the head coach for the Golden Bears, looked up as we approached home plate. “Dylan, he’s not breathing. I phoned for an ambulance. It should be here in four minutes,” he said.
Jane and I dropped to our knees and began praying. She prayed in tongues while I placed my hand on his chest.
“Father, You gave me a promise when Cole was born that He would preach the gospel and do miracles in Your name. When You made that promise, You looked into the future and saw this day. And yet, You still made that promise to me. I am not leaving until You honor Your promise and Cole stands up, totally healed in Jesus’ name. You did it for Elijah when he prayed for the widow’s son and I’m asking You to do the same thing for Cole, right now,” I prayed.
Coach Dawson grabbed my shoulders. “Dylan, let’s wait for the ambulance,” he whispered.
I shook his hands off me. “Let go of me,” I shouted. “God is doing a miracle here.”
Dawson released his grasp and wandered off. A siren could be heard pulling into the school’s parking lot.
“Father, I didn’t ask You to give me that promise for Cole. You did it on Your own. So, I’m asking You to honor Your promise, in Jesus’ name,” I prayed again and again.
“What’s happening here?” asked a paramedic, rushing toward us with a stretcher.
Cole’s green eyes fluttered and opened. He looked into my eyes. “Dad,” he whispered, “I met Jesus. He said I had to come back to life because of your prayers.”
My son was totally healed and wanted to stay in the ballgame, but of course, the two paramedics insisted on him riding in the ambulance to Temecula Valley Hospital. Jane and I followed them in our SUV.
All of the tests on Cole proved to be negative. The Lord had healed him.
Cole graduated from high school two weeks later and now lives in San Diego with his wife Allyson and their two daughters, Mia and Madison.
If I drove by the baseball field a hundred times in any one day, I always thanked the Lord for His gracious miracle every time. I always wanted Him to know how much I appreciated what He did for our family on that day.
A little more than thirty-five years ago, I was the treasurer of the St. Edmond’s high school athletic boosters’ club and made an error, causing a financial problem in the boosters’ checking account. I prayed and asked the Lord for His help before calling the bank.
I phoned and explained the problem to a bank officer. She quickly told me the error would be handled and the funds restored into the checking account. I was so excited by how easily it worked out.
“Oh Lord, You care about small things, too,” I said aloud after hanging up.
“I care about all things,” said an audible voice.
I jumped off the stool and bowed down on the kitchen’s tile floor. Tears streamed down my face. I shook, wondering what would happen to me because the voice seemed so loud and so holy. I stayed in that position of reverence for several minutes.
This was the only time I have heard the audible voice of God in my thirty-nine years of walking with Him. Yet, I am still amazed at His response to my simple prayer. Maybe God wants to be invited into every part of our lives, even the mundane and the ordinary parts..
Now, I want to contrast the above situation with a recent problem that I had concerning a bad tire on the car I drove for U*B*E*R share rides. The problem nagged at me in the middle of the night. I eventually went downstairs an hour earlier than my usual waking time to seek the presence of the Lord.
“Lord, You are my refuge and my fortress; in You, I trust. So, help me in this situation,” I cried out to the Lord.
After waiting on the Lord, I felt the Holy Spirit speak Jeremiah 12:5 to my heart: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”
The Lord rebuked me!
He let me know that if I couldn’t trust Him with my life’s issues in today’s America, how would I be able to trust Him when major calamities hit our nation in the near future. Ouch!
And yet, His rebuke settled my heart. I was freed from my doubts and fears.
“Prayer is not about getting God to agree with our answers for our problems, but it’s about positioning us to stand with God and His answers for our circumstances,” said Tyler Staton, the head of the 24/7 Prayer Movement in America.
How can these two contrasting prayers prepare us for prayers of healing the sick and raising the dead?
Harvard’s Spangler Auditorium was filled to capacity. A few people stood at the back of the auditorium, but the fire marshals limited the number to a hundred standing-room-only people. Fortunately, the event was also live-streamed to the whole Harvard community.
The Harvard Crimson labeled the debate: “A Black firebrand professor debates a stuffy white Christian dean on white supremacy in the Church.”
The Black firebrand professor was Dr. Isaiah Rashad, head of racial conflict in America and author of four books, dealing with white supremacy. His scheduled opponent was Dean Jonathan D. Edwards from the Dallas Theological Seminary.
The curtain went up, revealing a podium at center stage with three people sitting behind it: one Black man, one Asian woman and one white man. The woman stood up and walked to the podium.
“Good evening,” she said. “My name is Dr. Clara Chung. I will be the moderator for this debate. I first want to announce a change in the debate. Dean Edwards tested positive for COVID this afternoon and offers his regrets for not being able to be here. The East Coast Vice President for Business Men’s Fellowship and owner of eight restaurants – Harvey Whitman – has graciously offered to take Dean Edwards’ place.”
She paused to check her notes.
“The rules for the debate are simple because there really aren’t any, except each must treat his opponent with the highest respect. Thus, they have the freedom to roam wherever they choose in their dialogues. Each may make an opening statement, not to exceed thirty minutes. After that, it will be an open debate format.
“Because of a coin flip, Dr. Rashad will speak first.” She turned around toward the two men behind her. “Dr. Rashad, the podium is yours. “
Dr. Chung sat down while Dr. Rashad walked to the podium. Rashad looked more like an athlete than an academic with broad shoulders and long cornrow braided hair. His muscular arms bulged inside his tailored black sport coat.
“Thank you, Dr. Chung,” said Dr. Rashad. “And a big thank you to Harvard University for putting on this debate during black history month. I am proud to be a part of Harvard’s faculty, knowing our university desires to be at the forefront of racial changes in America.”
He stood at the podium with the microphone in his hand.
“In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘The most segregated hour in this nation is Sunday at 11:00 am. Interestingly enough, a few months before King’s statement, a Gallup poll showed that one in seven Americans believed there was a biblical basis for the separation of races.
“Does anyone seriously believe anything much has changed over the last sixty years?”
Rashad wove the sad American Church narrative from our nation’s early slavery beginnings to the present time. Over and over again, he pointed out how white supremacist attitudes fueled skepticism and resistance to true peace between the races.
“Today’s white Evangelicals are more concerned with checking all of the right boxes without considering that true repentance means more than just saying, ‘We’re sorry.’ It means being willing to walk through the valley of transformation so that both races arrive at true reconciliation, even if that takes twenty to thirty years or more. It’s only then we will see a lasting peace.”
Dr. Rashad looked at his watch, nodded his head to the audience and walked back to his seat.
Dr. Chung walked to the podium.
“Mr. Whitman,” she said, “it is your turn.”
Whitman stood up and slowly walked to the podium.
If the outcome of the debate depended on looks and charisma, Harvey Whitman was at a decided disadvantage. Short, bald, ten pounds overweight and a meek manner certainly did not play well on most stages, especially following someone like Rashad.
Whitman picked up the handheld wireless microphone and walked back and forth across the front of the stage with his head down and his eyes almost closed. He said nothing for a few minutes. The crowd moved restlessly in their seats.
Then, he stopped and spoke. “Dr. Rashad accurately laid out the problems facing the American Church with its racial issues. I only disagree with him on one point – that it will take twenty to thirty years to work through these problems. And I will prove him wrong in the next twenty minutes.”
He stopped walking and looked toward the crowd to the left of him. He pointed with his left hand.
“Right over there, about twenty rows from the front, is a young woman named Tina Andrews. Tina, would you please stand up? Don’t be shy! The Lord has something for you.”
A young black woman stood up.
The crowd gasped. How could this man know Tina’s name?
Whitman paid no attention to the crowd and said, “I feel that Lord has just shown me that you received some bad news yesterday. Is that correct??
Tears dripped down her face as she nodded her head.
“The Lord is going to heal you of cervical cancer right now in Jesus’ name.”
The woman screamed and fell over backwards into her chair.
Whitman moved to the center of the stage and pointed into the crowd.
“Denzel Martin, stand up.”
No one obeyed his command. The crowd looked around.
“Okay, that would be Denzel Martin at 227 Eighth Avenue, Apartment 2. Do you want me to give out your phone number, too?
A black man stood up, shaking his head.
Once again, the crowd gasped and murmured aloud, wondering how he knew Denzel.
“You just flunked your vision test to be a pilot in the Air Force, right?” Whitman said.
The man nodded his head.
“The Lord is going to heal your eyes right now in Jesus’ name.”
The black man fell over backwards into his chair.
“Denzel, go have your eyes rechecked tomorrow. They will be better than 20/20.”
Whitman called out the names of eight more people over the following fifteen minutes. He accurately told them their problems and then prayed for their healings.
“Has everyone noticed that I have only prayed for black people tonight?” said Whitman. “Okay, have any of these black people cared about my skin color? No! They were just happy that someone was able to walk in the spiritual gifts to help them out of some major problems in their lives.”
Whitman walked to the front of the stage and looked at the crowd with blazing eyes.
“We can debate. We can talk. We can write. We can do all of this and more, but this will take years to unravel all of our racial problems. Or we can learn how to walk in the gifts of the Spirit and do miracles for each other. If we learn how to do this, it will break down whatever barriers are holding us back in a short period of time. Do you realize this is what Jesus did? Shouldn’t we do the same?”
Dr. Rashad walked over and hugged Whitman.
(Just so everyone knows: I modeled Harvey Whitman’s spiritual gifts on the ministries of William Branham. This was first published in November, 2021.)
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19 NLT)
Even if Mary said the exact words spoken by the angel Gabriel to explain her chosen vessel status to bear the Messiah, it would have been a mind-boggling concept for Joseph to accept. No virgin had ever bore a child in the history of the world. Not once!
We don’t know for sure, but it had to be a tense conversation between the two of them.
As he considered this [the divorce], an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:20-21 NLT)
Joseph’s dream was so powerful and convincing that he did not even go to his local synagogue to search scriptures and talk over his dilemma with any leaders. His dream turned his life into a big “Yes, Lord.”
This revelation came about because of a chance meeting with a young Christian lady. I gave her a personal prophecy about her calling and future destiny. She laughed and replied, “No way! I could never do that.”
Usually, I don’t reply when a person disagrees with a personal prophecy I give them, except to say something like, “If I’m wrong, forgive me.”
Yet this time, I said, “You’re just one vision away from accepting this word for your life.”
“Oh, that’s profound,” she said.
Hmm! I wonder how many believers in America are just one vision away from walking in their callings.
“In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men [and women] will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17 NLT)
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective… (Hebrews 4:12a AMP)
The Bible contains 1,817 predictive prophecies. To date, approximately one half of them have been fulfilled. The remaining ones are expected to be fulfilled during the End-Times. Given God’s omniscience, He will always be 100% accurate.
Now, think about an Isaiah or Daniel or Zechariah or another prophet speaking an End-Times prophecy over 2,000 years ago. The words were spoken and written down for future reference. Yet, these are not just dead words penned on a scroll, but are living, powerful time-bombs awaiting their appointed times to explode forth in fulfilment.
Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word. (Psalm 103:20 NASB)
Who makes sure the Bible’s prophecies are fulfilled at the exact time specified by the Lord?
I believe God’s angels are assigned this task. Somehow, these chosen angels can hear the DNA guidelines within the prophetic words and know when the prophecies need to be fulfilled.
In 2 Kings 19:32-34, Isaiah spoke a powerful prophecy to King Hezekiah of Judah that the Assyrians would not come into Jerusalem or even shoot one arrow at the city and that the Assyrian army would retreat back to Assyria.
These are only a few examples of angels carrying out God’s prophetic words.
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 NASB)
Now, don’t go thinking that Michael uses a metal sword or a spear to restrain Satan from pushing his Antichrist agenda ahead of time. No, not at all! Michael uses the prophetic words of the Bible as his sword. And he probably tosses in a few, “The Lord rebuke you!” in Satan’s direction every so often.
Okay, I will hang my hat on Michael as the restrainer.
Rosie was the supposed female winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon in a record time of 2:31:56. Her posted time was the third fastest for a female in the history of marathons. (A marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards of grueling uphill, downhill road races, usually through urban areas.)
But upon inspection, Rosie had not passed through any of the checkpoints along the marathon route. She somehow skipped most of the race and reentered the marathon from a crowd of people only a half mile before the finish line.
Rosie was disqualified. The second-place finisher – Jacqueline Gareau – was declared the winner in a time of 2:34:38.
Checkpoints!
Does God have checkpoints for His redemption narrative intertwined in scriptures from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation?
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5 ESV)
How did God hold off messiah imposters from appearing on the scene, trying to take the place of Jesus before the fullness of time had come?
Prophecies!
God’s checkpoints for His redemption narrative in Scripture are prophecies.
Some of the prophecies Jesus had to fulfill at His first coming include:
1. Born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14)
2. Born into the lineage of King David (2 Samuel 7:12)
3. Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
4. Called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1)
5. Born into the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)
6. Live in Galilee and be called a Nazarene (Isaiah 9:1-2)
7. Massacre of children at Jesus’ birth (Jeremiah 31:15)
Neither man nor Satan could have figured out or fulfilled the above seven prophecies ahead of time. Only God through His omniscience and His power could fulfill these prophecies.
Okay, what about Jesus’ second coming? Who or what is restraining the Antichrist?
Judson Cornwall (1924 – 2005) was a noted preacher, pastor and prolific author of over 50 books, some of which are considered classics today.
Cornwall was invited to be the main speaker for a graduation ceremony at Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. He concluded his speech by saying, “Let me offer you some advice. Don’t go directly from this ceremony into fulltime ministry or to being a church pastor. Take three or four or five years off. Get a job and work in the market place. Discover the problems normal people struggle with every day. You will learn how to better relate to your congregations and how to help them. And all the while, the Holy Spirit will change you. So, do your congregations a favor, get a job.”
The result of Cornwall’s wise advice was that Elim Bible Institute never invited him to speak again at their college.
*******
Four months after Vice President Mike Pence eulogized Ravi Zacharias as “the greatest apologist of this century,” Zacharias’ reputation began falling apart. Three women who worked at two spas he co-owned in the Atlanta area came forth, alleging sexual harassment and abuse by Zacharias.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) hired a law firm to investigate Zacharias. Their 12-page report contained findings far worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Two hundred contacts of female massage therapists with photos, some in the nude, were on Zacharias’ cell phones. A trail of misuse of RZIM funds to fund his sexual escapades in the US, India, Thailand and Malaysia was uncovered.
The law firm’s best estimates were that Zacharias’ sexual escapades had happened over the ten-year period leading up to just a few months before his death.
She said Zacharias “made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received” and, as with other victims, “called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God,” the report says. Zacharias warned the woman—a fellow believer—if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.
Was Ravi Zacharias ever possessed by the demon? No, but he was heavily deceived.
Maybe if Ravi Zacharias’ path would have crossed with Judson Cornwall, maybe Zacharias would have listened to the wise advice. But this did not happen because Zacharias moved from high school graduation, to emigrating to Canada, to Bible school, to marriage, to studying for his Masters of Divinity and then working in fulltime ministry. He never worked a normal job.
Thus, no friends talked with him after a church service, asking to pray for him so that he could be delivered from the demon.
Why have I mentioned Zacharias not having a normal job? Is this really that important?
Once Zacharias stepped into a pulpit of a traditional church, his gifting elevated him far above the people sitting in the pews before him. The congregation could no longer talk to him on an equal basis.
Can you imagine confronting Ravi Zacharias about his demon and his need for deliverance after a pulpit appearance? I can’t imagine that ending well, can you?
The biggest chasm in the traditional church system is between the pulpit and the pews. Seldom is there a bridge between the two.
I’ve used Ravi Zacharias in my article for a few reasons. One, he is dead; and two, there is so much info available about him.
But I have done some checking on other sexual abuse scandals, almost every pastor and leader has followed Zacharias’ example. Could these scandals have been avoided by deliverance from a demon at an earlier age? Maybe.
The comedian Flip Wilson used to joke, “The devil made me do it!”
In the early months of 2020, I learned that one of my heroes of the faith, Ravi Zacharias, was suffering from a rare cancer – sarcoma. The article asked for prayers for him because without divine intervention, he was only expected to live a couple of weeks.
I prayed for Zacharias and even tried to negotiate with God. “Lord, I am willing to take Ravi’s sickness in my body so that he can be healed and live to touch millions more people.”
My negotiations and prayers were not heeded because Ravi Zacharias died on May 19, 2020. He was seventy-four years old when he died which was my age also. (I was born in February and he was born in March.)
A few months later, I was shocked to learn that Zacharias was not the man of God I thought he was.
******
Ravi Zacharias was born on March 26, 1946, in Madras, India. He grew up in the Delhi area and was fluent in both English and Hindi.
“Because I live, you will live also” were the words that sliced through Ravi’s skepticism. Ravi committed his life to Christ and prayed, “Jesus if you are the One who gives life as it is meant to be, I want it. Please get me out of this hospital bed well, and I promise I will leave no stone unturned in my pursuit of truth.”
Soon after, Ravi and his parents emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he received his undergraduate degree from Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University) in 1972. He furthered his education with a Masters of Divinity from Trinity International University and also studied in Cambridge, England, at a Church of England theological school.
Ravi first evangelized U. S. soldiers and Viet Cong prisoners in Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Then, he packed his bags and traveled the globe. In August, 1984, he founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in Toronto, with his goal to be a “classical evangelist in the arena of the intellectually resistant.” The ministry was later moved to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
As an apologist for Christianity, Ravi argued that a coherent worldview must be able to satisfactorily answer four questions: that of origin, meaning of life, morality and destiny. He said that while every major religion makes exclusive claims about truth, the Christian faith is unique in its ability to answer all four of these questions.
Ravi wrote more than thirty books and hosted two radio programs, all while traveling the world to fulfill his calling. He touched millions of people through his ministry, including mine.
Vice President Mike Pence called Ravi “the greatest apologist of this century” at his funeral which was watched live by 1.2 million people. Tim Tebow and other luminaries spoke of their admiration for Ravi. Whitehouse spokesman, Kayleigh McEnany, summed up what many felt about Ravi: “He made us feel that we didn’t need to check our brains at the door to be a Christian.”
And yet, he had a secret life which exploded onto the public scene only weeks after his death.
Let no one deceive you by any means; for the 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)
As one scholar wrote: “Paul’s letters are like listening to a phone conversation and hearing only one side of the conversation. You have to guess what the other side is saying from the info you have received.”
So, Paul emphatically answered their questions by stating that two events had to occur before the Lord returned: (1) the great falling away or apostasy and (2) the revealing of the Antichrist.
Okay, many have felt that the falling away has already taken place. They point out the many pastors and leaders who have left Christianity as examples of the “falling away.” But these are only a few drips compared to what Paul experienced when “all of Asia turned away from Him and his gospel.”
And yet, Paul did not state that the turning away of Phygellus, Hermogenes, Demas and all of Asia fulfilled his words about the “great falling away.” Instead, he encouraged Timothy to continue preaching the word!
A few years ago, I felt the Lord say to my heart: “Fifty to seventy percent of American believers could fall away in the great apostasy. Warn your children and grandchildren and others to prepare themselves for this upcoming time period.”
Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. ((Proverbs 23:17-18)
How can we prepare ourselves for this chaotic upcoming event?
As I wrote in my last blog post, I believe the fear of the Lord will be the dividing line between those who fall away and those who continue to walk with the Lord.
Thus, we can pray for ourselves, our loved ones and others the following prayer:
Father, in Jesus’ name, help us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, help us to depart from evil and do good, help us to seek Your peace and pursue it all the days of our lives. And help us to never envy sinners and also to be zealous for the fear of the Lord. (Based on Psalm 34:13-14 and Proverbs 23:17)
Remember: Jesus and Paul gave us advance warnings to help us through this event. We do not have to become a part of the falling away. We can set our hearts to fear the Lord all of our days here on earth.
On an afternoon in 1995, I sat alone in my apartment, reading a biography about the healing and faith pioneer, John G. Lake. As I turned the pages and read how God continually provided for Lake’s needs, it dawned on me — “My life really sucks right now! Where was the God who was supposed to be my Provider?”
At the time, I owed thousands of dollars to numerous creditors, most of my friends had dropped me like a hot potato, the woman who I thought would be my wife didn’t want to see me and my kitchen cupboard was bare. I was lonely, broke, hungry and angry.
I laid the book down and stood up. “God if You’re such a big God,” I said, “how come You can’t help me with my problems right now? Maybe Your arm is not as strong as it was a hundred years ago. Is that Your problem?”
I sat down, quite satisfied with the way I confronted God. I picked up the book to continue my reading.
Then, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit burst into the room in His holiness and power. His fearful Presence blanketed me. I dropped the book and fell on my knees. “O Lord, don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Forgive me! Forgive me! Please don’t kill me!” I said over and over again.
In the midst of my plea bargaining, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. “If I wanted to, I could deliver you from all of your problems in one day.”
“O Lord,” I whispered, “I believe You and will never doubt You again.”
The Holy Spirit’s heavy presence eventually lifted off me.
By mercy and love, truth and fidelity [to God and man—not by sacrificial offerings], iniquity is purged out of the heart, and by the reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord men depart from and avoid evil.(Proverbs 16:6 AMP)
A coworker used to say about certain job situations: “That will put the fear of the Lord into you.” Then, he would laugh.
In his mind, the fear of the Lord was always fearful and life threatening.
And to be honest, the fear of the Lord does contain dread and a terrible fear within it, but that is only in part. Because the fear of the Lord also contains within it a deep reverence and awe for our majestic Creator. A reverence so strong that one would never, ever want to offend God.
Recently, the Lord spoke to my heart: “In the End-Times, the fear of the Lord will be the dividing line between those who fall away and those who continue to walk with the Lord.”
Here’s my prayer:
Father, in Jesus’ name, help us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, help us to depart from evil and do good, help us to seek Your peace and pursue it all the days of our lives. And help us to never envy sinners and to be zealous for the fear of the Lord. (Based on Psalm 34:13-14 and Proverbs 23:17)
Larry Who 