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Showing posts from June, 2018

Obeying God vs. Man

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Burger King once used the advertising slogan, “Sometimes, you gotta break the rules.” If you’re truly living for the Lord, He will occasionally lead you to do things that may seem risky and go against man-made laws. Sometimes I have evangelized in shopping malls even though security people will try to stop that because they consider it “ soliciting .” A recent exchange of emails with a Facebook friend about illegal immigration reminded me of a situation that happened fifteen years ago. In April 2003, I flew to Berlin to share the gospel in Germany. Originally I was scheduled to fly back to the U. S. a month later but opted not to despite my return ticket classified “non-refundable.” The Lord told me my leaving Germany then would be in His permissive will but not His perfect will. Eventually, He led me to visit other European nations. By September I was in Spain and perceived it was time to come home. One day I went to the Madrid airport hoping the airline would let me u...

Boasting in the Lord

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When you step out to fulfill the Great Commission, be prepared for some Christians who will challenge your motives. A former Facebook friend I never met personally once wrote accusations against me on my wall based on erroneous information. I emailed a message to him offering to discuss his concerns privately. Instead, he posted another public comment “warning” other people about me.  Sadly, another Facebook friend I had been ministering to chose to believe this man’s lies. Before I could email her an explanation, she blocked me after sending a message complaining about my “boast posting” (referring to my evangelism reports). This is how Satan can use believers to “sow discord among the brethren” , which the Lord hates! (Proverbs 6:19) The dictionary defines boast as “talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements.” It’s not wrong for a believer to testify what the Lord has done through him as long as He gets the glory. Psalm 34:2 says, “My soul sh...

Real Ramadan

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Every year Muslims observe Ramadan. One dictionary defines it as “the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset.” Muslims believe the Quran was revealed to Muhammad during Ramadan, which is referred to as the “best of times.” Because Islam follows a lunar calendar, the dates of Ramadan change every year. For 2018 it began on the evening of Tuesday, May 15 and ends this Thursday evening (June 14). For nearly two decades the White House has hosted Ramadan dinners. President Trump had one this past Wednesday after skipping it for 2017. I’ve even seen some churches displaying signs wishing their Muslim neighbors a “blessed Ramadan.” Certainly, I’m in favor of reaching out to non-Christians. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” However, I have a problem with encouraging religious practices contrary to the word of God. Would you tell a Muslim t...

Why I Like Jesse Duplantis

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Ministers experience enough persecution from worldly people who don’t care at all about the things of God. It’s sadder when attacks come from within the body of Christ. Three years ago, Creflo Dollar was heavily criticized for launching an aborted fundraising campaign to acquire a multi-million dollar jet. Now evangelist Jesse Duplantis is receiving similar flak for his intent on obtaining a Falcon 7X for his ministry. Previously in this blog, I addressed the issue of preachers with planes . In this article, I want to share my experiences with Jesse’s ministry. The first time I heard of Jesse Duplantis was in late 1992. A friend encouraged me to watch Jesse as a guest speaker on Kenneth Copeland’s “Believer’s Voice of Victory” program. What I saw was a preacher I could definitely relate to. Like myself, Jesse used to work in the secular music business. I was also drawn to Jesse’s outgoing personality and sense of humor. He didn’t come across as a stuffed shirt but someone who lo...