PERSONAL PROPHECY

If you've been around Pentecostal churches much, I'm sure you've heard some bizzare prophecies. I well remember a young man with the gift (?) of a fluid tongue prophesying to me one night. He foretold that I should write, write, and write; that I was going to be a writer in great demand; that I would write series of books; that I would buy a Victorian house, care for unwanted girls, and use their stories as a basis for my writings. That's been a good many years ago and none of these prophecies have come true. Nor has the prophecy he told my then pastor's wife come true. He proclaimed she would have a baby within a year. She is now well past child-bearing age and still has no children.

But is there such a thing as a true personal prophetic prophecy? Yes, there is -- but there is also Scriptural guideline for such. I Corinthians 14:3 states, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." The Living Bible paraphrase explains it more clearly. "But one who prophesies, preaching the messages of God, is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them." Notice, in both translations, the purpose of a true prophecy. First of all, it will edify the believer, helping him to grow in the Lord. Secondly, the exhortation will encourage the believer. And thirdly, the prophecy will comfort the believer, confirming what he already senses in his spirit that God is doing in his life. Be leery of anything else, of those prophecies that promise wealth, fame, a new car, a trip abroad, etc., etc.

Every week, one misguided sister would ask the young man I spoke about above, "Do you have a word for me?" You know, I want to hear from God on my own, not just through others.

I once attended a revival that was widely advertised. The small building was packed, and people came from out-of-state. But the Word was not preached; lives were not changed. The entire time was devoted to personal prophecies about trips, vacations, jobs, etc. I can't help but wonder how much God was glorified by all the excitement, and believe me, there was excitement a plenty!

May I relate another personal incident? I had had a biopsy for possible cancer, but in my spirit felt that I did not have the dreaded big C. The day before I was to return to the doctor for results of the biopsy (it was a Sunday), a strange gentleman from out-of-state visited our church. He did not know me nor did the people of the church know I had had a biopsy. At the close of prayer time that morning, this brother walked up to me and told me not to fear whatever the doctors might say, that I did not nor ever would have cancer! He confirmed what I already felt in my spirit and his propecy was also a comfort to me. It also edified me and helped my faith grow in the Lord. In addition, it encouraged the faith of the other believers who heard this prophecy when I testified the following week that the prophecy had, indeed, come to pass.

Yes, I believe in personal prophecy so long as it is in keeping with Scripture. It's the wild and bizzare prophecies that are my pet peeve!

Preacher's Kid
P.S. Perhaps you are beginning to get a glimpse of why I originally thought of entitling my book on Pet Peeves (if I ever got it written) "Pentecostal Pet Peeves!" But then, who would publish such a volume?

NUGGETS OF TRUTH #3

Still religion, like still water, is the first to freeze.

The reason some people have so little heart in their Christianity is because they have so little Christianity in their heart.

I don't know who wrote the following poem, so I can't give credit to the author. But I sure do like the poem!

I dreamed Death came the other night,
And Heaven's gate swung wide;
With kindly grace an angel
Ushered me inside.
And there to my astonishment
Stood folks I'd known on earth--
Some I'd judged and labelled
"Unfit," or "little worth."
Indignant words rose to my lips
But never were set free.
For every face showed stunned surpise--
No one expected me!

Preacher's Kid

MORE NUGGETS OF TRUTH

Grace is everything for nothing for those who don't deserve anything.

Grace is God giving the desire and power to respond to every life situation according to the will of God.

God' grace will never take you where it cannot keep you.

Fear is a form of worship. Whatever you fear you are bowing down before and making it God.

Fear is faith in reverse.

Fear is faith perverted.

Definition of fear:
F ake
E vidence
A ppearing
R eal

If you magnify your problems, your problems control you. If you magnify God, God controls your problems.

It's hard for some people to get mind over mattress on Sunday mornings.

In these days of electricity most everything around the house is run by switches except the children.

The church is full of willing people -- half are willing to work and half are willing to let them.

Preacher's Kid

NUGGETS OF TRUTH

My newest Pet Peeve is those people who call you by phone but only let it ring three times before they hang up! Sorry, but Senior Citizens can't move that fast! However, since that topic is not appropriate for this blog, I'll give you a break from my Pet Peeves (betcha you're delighted to hear that!) and list some Nuggets of truth I found written on the front pages of my Bible -- gathered through the years from various sermons I've heard!

A good diplomat is one who tells you to go to h--- and has you looking forward to the trip!

Sacrifice is the ecstasy of giving the best we have to the One we love the most.

Bologna -- the Greek word for much of our modern-day teaching.

Definition of the Bible:

Basic
Instruction
Before
Leaving
Earth

God blesses whom He possesses.

Deliverance from sin is not deliverance from human nature.

Many people try to function without the unction.

Bitterness is the poison you drink while you wait for the other person to die.

More tomorrow!

Preacher's Kid

WON'T YOU HOLD MY HAND?

No doubt you've seen programs on television where people have been "slain in the Spirit" en masse! Again, is there any Scriptural background for that? One incident does come to mind, and that is in John 18 when the officers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Verse 6 tells us they went backwards and fell to the ground. But there is no record they were "holding hands" when that occurred. On the other hand, any time I've witnessed a mass "slaying in the Spirit," the people have been instructed to "hold hands" so the slaying could occur.

I was once in a meeting conducted by a well-known televangelist who often performed such mass slayings. He had the people on one side of the auditorium hold hands, then waved his hand toward them and they fell back in their seats by the hundreds! Our side of the auditorium was next. Same scenario. We, too, were told to hold hands; and as the evangelist supposedly "threw" the Holy Spirit at us, our group fell backwards also. Most of them did, that is. I remained standing even though the people on both sides of me went down. Of course, I was pulled in both directions, but somehow remained upright! The couple on my right (who happened to be my pastor and his wife), laughed excitedly and said, "Whoa!" So now I'm asking, Is that all there is to be slain in the Spirit -- just "Whoa" and a laugh of surprise?

You know, I have several questions for such a phenomenon. First of all, what is the purpose of a mass "slaying?" Has anyone's life been changed? Has anyone seen a vision? Has the experience drawn anyone closer to the Lord? Or is it just something to boast and reminisce about?

And why the holding of hands? Is the Lord unable to slay an entire group of people without their holding hands? If people are holding hands, naturally when the first person goes down, he's going to pull the person beside him down, too! If you watch such demonstrations closely, you'll notice that the people don't fall down simultaneously. The slaying starts at the front of the group and proceeds to the back like falling dominoes or an ocean wave.

Well, when I receive answers to some of my questions, perhaps I'll scratch "mass slaying" off my list of Pet Peeves! In the meantime, be careful about holding hands!!!

Preacher's Kid

SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT

In my years of "church hopping," I've been exposed to both holiness and Pentecostal doctines. One friend remarked, "You've seen the best of both worlds." I thought to myself, "Yeah, and I've seen the WORST of both worlds!"

Pentecostals, of course, believe in and practice being "slain in the Spirit". Is there any Scriptural evidence for such a practice? How about the time in Acts 9 when Saul of Tarsus had his first encounter with the Lord and fell under the power?

And I must say that there is nothing sweeter and more real than being slain in the Spirit when it is of God. I'm speaking from personal experience. But if it's of man, well, that's a different story and constitutes one of my Pet Peeves.

I'm talking about those well-meaning individuals who exert pressure on the person for whom they are praying and push and shove them to the ground. I quickly learned in Pentecostal services to stand with one foot ahead of the other when I was in a prayer line. This gave me leverage to resist being forced to the ground. "Oh," someone says, "but that is resisting the Holy Spirit." I beg to differ. That is simply resisting misguided individuals operating in the flesh!

I remember Charlotte (not her real name). My girl friend used to let Charlotte push her to the ground just to get rid of her! Other times I've watched Charlotte and this same friend in a tug-of-war to see which one would give up first! What a farce! No wonder it's one of my Pet Peeves.

And what are we teaching our children? I've watched preschool kids laugh and play while in the prayer line and then suddenly get serious when someone begins to pray for them. I've seen them throw back their heads so far they lost their balance and naturally fell down. I've seen other youngsters crumple to the floor the moment someone comes towards them because that is what they think they are supposed to do.

One gal said, "I let myself be pushed to the floor just to have a quiet time with the Lord." Is that the only time she can find for a quiet chat with her Savior? Is that truly being slain in the Spirit?

I could go on and on with this Pet Peeve. But I'll save the rest of my diatribe for tomorrow's blog!

Preacher's Kid

IS SMOKING A SIN?

Oh, Boy! Am I gonna get in hot water on this one!

I also got into hot water a number of years ago when I worked in City Court and chided one of the police officers for his use of "coffin nails." "Your judgmental attitude," he calmly replied, "is just as bad, if not worse, than my use of 'coffin nails.' I've read the Bible through several times and found nothing about smoking!"

That was just the beginning of a futile argument in which neither of us won! My rebuttal was, "The Bible may not mention smoking, per se, but it does speak about not harming our bodies." Bill grinned sardonically as he glanced at the junk food spread out all around my typewriter. "And I don't suppose overeating and eating junk food harms the body of a self-righteous bigot." He gave a meaningful glance at my overweight frame much to my chagrin!

(I had no idea that Bill was a professing Christian. Nor did I realize that in a few years I would be attending the same church he attended, that we would be a brother and sister in the Lord! And, yes, he did eventually overcome his habit of smoking! Don't you dare ask me if I've overcome the overeating and junk food syndrome!)

In the intervening twenty-five years, I've mellowed, believe it or not. For me, it WOULD be a sin to smoke. But who am I to force my beliefs on others? As we said in a recent blog on judging, if God doesn't judge, but reserves all judgment to the Son, who in the world do I think I am to judge my brother or sister? Since then, I've met several Christians who smoke. Some have been able to overcome their habit, while others have tried but have been unable to quit. Why, I don't know. I'm not going to make excuses for them, but neither am I going to judge them! They're answerable to the Lord, not me!

But one of my Pet Peeves is to see and hear self-righteous people point fingers at and condemn those who have been unable to stop their habit of smoking.

Apparently I've had no better success with my overeating. For just yesterday the doctor urged me to seriously consider taking off at least ten, but preferably twenty pounds of weight!

How much weight do you need to lose? Or do you need to lose a judgmental attitude?

Preacher's Kid

HEY, THAT'S A PERIOD . . .

. . . and you only use periods AT THE END of a sentence!

Yep, putting a period before the end of a sentence, especially in a Biblical quotation, is one of my Pet Peeves! Periods, you know, are a stop sign!

Should you ask someone to quote Ephesians 3:20 without looking it up, they would probably come back with, "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" P-E-R-I-O-D! (Ephesians 3:20 is my favorite Bible verse -- no doubt that's why it's one of my Pet Peeves when people put a period where, in reality, there is none!)

Now, if you check that quote against the written word, you'll notice there is no period after the phrase "ask or think." Nope, there's just a comma there while the remainder of the verse qualifies the first part: "according to the power that worketh in us." In other words, the Lord is limited -- yes, I said "limited" -- in what He can do for us by "the power that worketh in us!"

That raises the question of just what power is working in us, any way? Romans 8:9 answers that question very plainly. "But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, IF SO BE THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELL IN YOU. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

Wow! That says it all. If you don't have the Spirit of Christ, you're not a child of God. And if you ARE a Christian, the Spirit of God dwells in you. So what is the power that is working in us as Christians? It's the Spirit of God, the same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead. (See Romans 8:11.) And that's one powerful Spirit!!!

Now, let's put those verses in Romans 8:9 and 11 with Ephesians 3:20. If we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, then and only then is God free to do "exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think."

And if you really want to soar to the heavenlies, ask yourself what all your thought processes can come up with! No matter what you can think of, God can do that and "exceedingly abundantly ABOVE" all that!

So don't be guilty of putting a period where there is none, either in this verse or any other Scripture.

Preacher's Kid
P.S. This also applies to Romans 8:28 that we talked about yesterday! Don't quote "All things work together for good" P-E-R-I-O-D! All things work together for good "to those who are called according to His purpose!"

WHAT IS GOD'S PURPOSE?

I'm talking about Romans 8:28, now -- a Scripture that nearly everyone can quote. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

Now, where, are you asking, can you possibly find a Pet Peeve in that well-known and honored verse? I guess my Pet Peeve isn't with the verse itself; it's with the people who stop with that verse and never go on to the next verse for continuity of thought!

Suppose you quoted that verse to someone and they came back at you, "Yes, but what IS His purpose for ME?" How would you answer? Or would you start tripping over your tongue to find an appropriate answer?

Know what? If you wouldn't stop with verse 28 but go on and quote verse 29, you'd have your answer! And therein lies my Pet Peeve.

What does verse 29 say? "For them he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son . . ." And there's your answer -- God's purpose is for His children to be conformed to the image of Christ!

While you're at it, ask yourself, "How well do I reflect the image of Christ in all I say and do?" Any room for improvement?

Preacher's Kid

WHO'S THE REAL JUDGE?

John 5:22 says,"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

To be absolutely honest, I've done my sharing of judging other people. Then one day I ran across the above verse which hit me right in my solar plexus and stuck there! Now my attitude toward such people who do the same thing is: Who made them a judge of other people, anyhow? Only I soothe my uncharitable attitude by excusing it as another of my many and varied Pet Peeves!!! (An attitude is one thing -- a Pet Peeve is something else, of course!!!)

My erstwhile judgmental attitude really reared its head when women started wearing pant suits to church! Eventually, however, I adopted the same practice. I thought I finally had my attitude -- no, my Pet Peeve -- under control until our lady pastor showed up in pants on the platform one Sunday! Then I had to face my attitude of judgmentalism -- I mean, my Pet Peeve -- all over again!

An acquaintance of mine once told me how she used to play in the church orchestra. At least she did until a new, young Christian showed up in the orchestra wearing a wedding ring! (Christians, she felt, shouldn't wear jewelry, not even a wedding ring!) To show her disapproval (she said she was taking her stand for the right!) she stopped playing in the band. Although she didn't explain why she suddenly dropped out of band, her attitude must have somehow rubbed off onto the new Christian until he, too, dropped out of the orchestra, and out of church, also! I will say my friend wondered if the enemy used her judgmental attitude to hurt a new-born Christian, even to the point of his leaving his new-found faith.

All I can say is, if God, Himself, judges no man, who in the world do I think I am that I can judge others? A bitter pill to swallow, and an even more difficult lesson to learn.

How about you?

Preacher's Kid

SUBMITTING COMES FIRST

One of my Pet Peeves is hearing James 4:7 misquoted -- well, not so much misquoted as not quoted in its entirety.

Frequently we hear well-meaning Christians glibly quote "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." That's all well and good. But let's not forget the first part of that verse which really has a strong bearing on the effectiveness of that popular command to resist the Adversary!

Quoted in its entirety James 4:7 reads, "Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Submitting ourselves to God indicates that we are in a right relationship with the Lord in all areas of our lives. I'm not talking about being perfect. I'm simply talking about obedience to the Lord in all things to the best of our ability. Then, and only then, are we in position to effectively resist the enemy. Then, and only then, are we in position to usurp our God-given authority over circumstances, sickness, disease and demons as authorized in Luke 9:1.

Trying to resist the devil without first submitting to God is useless. Satan is not dumb. He knows whether or not our surrender is real, whether or not it is complete. And if not, he just laughs at us when we try to come against him. But when our submission is genuine, we can confidently claim the promise in James 4:7, boldly resist the powers of darkness and confidently expect them to flee!

Have you checked your submission status lately?

Preacher's Kid

PLAYING GOD

I referred to someone trying to "play God" in my last blog day before yesterday, I believe. And "playing God" is another of my Pet Peeves! I guess I'm really referring to those people who try to force their personal convictions and their personal agenda on others.

You, like me, probably get a lot of emails that, while good in themselves, even cute, even sharing a friendship message in them, drive me up a wall. They're the ones that close by telling you to send them on to seven people in seven minutes. If you do, something good will happen to you. Maybe you'll hear from a friend you haven't seen for a long time, or you'll get an unexpected phone call, or you'll have bad luck if you don't! So far as I'm concerned, that isn't even Scriptural! And I generally do NOT forward them.

If the underlying message is outstanding, I might break down and forward such messages -- BUT after I hit the Forward key, I delete that part of the message that tells me I have to do thus and so and have only so many minutes in which to do it! I see "red" when I receive a message like that!

I remember one young preacher saying that he ate three meals a day to keep his physical body in shape; therefore, he felt he should read three chapters a day in the Bible to keep his spiritual body in shape. He even preached that from the pulpit and insinuated that's what his congregation should do! Now, if that's what he feels the Lord wants him to do, fine and dandy. But don't make the mistake of saying that every Christian should do likewise. What about those people who eat only two meals a day -- and that's me! Does that mean I must read two chapters daily? Or what about the diabetics who eat six small meals a day. Must they read six chapters a day?

Right now my husband and I don't even read one complete chapter a day. Instead we study a subject and read and discuss Scriptures all through the Bible on that particular subject. Other times we DO read complete chapters.

I know of one church whose members won't wear anything that is red -- they think the color is too loud and attracts attention to themselves. If an individual has a personal conviction along that line, OK. But an entire church? I've asked an acquaintance who follows that restriction why God made the beautiful, showy red flowers if it's wrong to wear red? Why does He give us the red sunrises and the red sunsets? Why the red in the rainbow? But the only answer I've received is a shrug of the shoulders and a sheepish "I don't know."

And there are those who say a Christian woman shouldn't wear clothes made from denim as that is a material for men! I'm not talking about an individual, but a group of individuals where the idea has been passed along from one to another. Nor do they approve of women wearing anything made from the material used in men's T-shirts for the same reason! They must all wear silky unmentionables, then -- but I suppose I shouldn't mention something that personal! Give me a break!

I could give more examples, but I think you get the idea. Stick to your God-given convictions (but be sure they are God-given and not man-made) but don't force your personal beliefs (especially when they're not Biblically-based) on others!

So dont send me emails saying I HAVE to forward something within so many minutes!

Glad to get that Pet Peeve off my chest!

Preacher's Kid

HOW LOUD IS LOUD?

"God wants you loud, Lois," said Marlene and proceeded to lecture me on how the Lord would do great and mighty things through my life if I would only be loud. He would bless me abundantly and use me mightily, but I'd have to get loud! My somewhat uncharitable (and unspoken) thought was, "Sister, who made you God to tell me what I should do?" Never did Marlene quote Scripture to back up her questionable theory. She couldn't, of course, because nowhere does the Word uphold her philosophy.

Again I'm talking about prayer. I was accustomed in earlier years to church services where everybody prayed at the top of their lungs at the same time until one could hardly hear the person who was called upon to lead in prayer. I always thought that a leader was someone whom we should follow. But how can we follow someone when we can't hear them? When surrounded by a myriad of voices, which one do you follow? The noise in these services was so deafening it almost bordered on confusion, and we know that I Cor. 14:33 says that "God is not the author of confusion."

By the same token I was in a prayer meeting not too long ago where the people were taking turns praying rather than praying in unison. I have no problem with that. But they had their heads buried in their arms and were praying so softly they couldn't be heard. I was afraid to take my turn praying lest I began praying before the others were finished! That, too, is another of my Pet Peeves!

The Bible talks about people agreeing in prayer. But how can you agree if you can't hear -- whether because of being too loud or too soft? I thought that in corporate prayer one should lift up his brother or sister by following their prayer, praying the same thing, and thereby agreeing with them.

Maybe you think I'm nitpicking. Maybe you think I'm holding a grudge. No, I forgave Marlene years ago for trying to play God. I simply can't swallow the idea that God wants me loud!!!

Maybe this is one of those areas we mentioned before where God wants His children to be well-rounded Christians -- well-rounded in all things, even in prayer.

Preacher's Kid

SILENT PRAYER? SILENT PRAISE?

Have you ever heard someone voice the fact -- though it's not really a fact, for a fact is something that is true! But have you ever heard somone say that praise cannot be praise unless it's vocal? Or prayer is not truly prayer unless one prays aloud?

Whoa! That comes under the class of Pet Peeves in my book! Wrong doctrine, really!

First of all, I'd like some Scripture to back up those claims. The Scripture that comes to my mind right off the bat is Isaiah 59:1. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." Prayer and Praise does not have to be vocal for the Lord to hear! How many silent prayers are lifted in the middle of the night from sick beds in hospitals? Do you think the Lord hears them? Of course, He does!

Granted, there is a time for public prayer; there is a time for public praise. But have you ever experienced the blessed peace and presence of the Lord when you've lifted your heart in silent prayer, or even in silent praise to Him?

Contrary to my husband, it's difficult for me to fall asleep at night. Rex is "sawing logs", on the other hand, almost before he hits the pillow! If I haven't fallen asleep within an hour of going to bed, I'm very likely to get up, slip out to my easy chair and read until I can't hold my eyes open. Or I may stop at my husband's computer before I even reach my La-Z-Boy and play computer games for an hour or more! (Guess it's no wonder I don't get up until late in the mornings -- just one of the perks of being a senior citizen!) But most nights, before I get up, I spend time in prayer. And I'm not praying aloud, either, especially with Rex trying to sleep! Does God hear those prayers? Absolutely!

Other times, when Mother Nature beckons to me in the middle of the night (and again when I do get up in the mornings), I often find my spirit breaking out in silent praise and thanksgiving. Does God hear those praises? Without a doubt!

So if you're laboring under the misconception that prayer and praise must be vocal before it wings its way heavenward, throw that concept aside now, once and for all. Or am I the only one who's ever heard someone make such preposterous claims? (I do have a tendency to draw peculiar people to me!!!)

And do read Psalm 63. Especially verses 5 and 6: "(M)y mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips, When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." Webster says that "meditate" is to reflect and contemplate IN THE MIND". And you betcha God hears!

Preacher's Kid