This is Part 1 of a new prophetic teaching series using Youtube videos as the media vehicle rather than writing on a WordPress blog. So far, the learning curve is a lot more than I expected, but then again, we old dogs still may be able to learn new tricks after all.
Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Politics, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare, Videos
How prepared are we Americans for calamities and terrorists’ attacks?
Probably about the same as the ones Jesus described in His passage about the return of the Son of Man —
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all. And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-29)
We American believers do not have to live a “business as usual” life and then be caught by terrible surprises. We are sons of light and sons of the day. We are not supposed to be destined for wrath, but for His salvation.
My prayer today:
Lord, awaken us American believers out of our spiritual indifference so that we are alert, sober-minded, self-controlled, calm, wise, and prepared for the days ahead. (Based on 1 Thessalonians 5:6 Amplified)
What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?
Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.
Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
ffoz.org/discover/publications/one-new-man.html
Will Christ return this year during the Fall Feasts? Or next year? Or the year after? Or five years from now? Or ten years? Or twenty? I don’t know, but I do believe we are living in an important time period on God’s calendar. So, we need to be in tune with His will and His purposes now.
My prayer today:
Lord, I pray that You will unite all things in heaven and all things on earth in You preparing us for the one new man to come forth in the Body of Christ. (Based on Ephesians 1:10)
Join with me on Tuesday’s to pray and fast for the one new man to finally come forth in the Body of Christ.
…that he might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15)
“Roy, where’s your shadow?” the Massey Harris farm tractor salesman asked Dad.
With the salesman’s words, I received a nickname, which stayed with me for quite a few years. I was Dad’s shadow, his tag along little boy who traveled with him when he drove his truck to town, a neighbor’s place, Uncle Bob’s farm, the Haldane Elevator, or wherever.
My nickname carried with it unique benefits because Dad was a softie. I could always squeeze a dime out of his billfold. Ten cents may not seem like a fortune today, but it was enough to buy an ice-cold Nehi Cream Soda and a Baby Ruth at Donaldson’s Grocery Store in Haldane, Illinois, or a Pepsi and a handful of peanuts at Gentry’s Farm Implement in Polo.
As his shadow, I watched Dad climb Gene Bolen’s and Matt DeWall’s silos up to the top each year so a new crop of corn silage could be stored in them. He was the fearless neighborhood Spiderman, unafraid of heights. I also stood nearby when Dad helped Lawrence Zumdahl, Walter Paul, and Doc Link with their farm projects. Dad always found time to help neighbors and drink a cup of coffee at their kitchen tables afterward.
“Black, please, no cream or sugar,” he answered when asked how he drank his coffee.
Dad put his shadow to work for the first time at six years of age. I drove an Allis Chalmers WD tractor, which pulled the hayfork loaded with bales into the barn. It was an easy task. All I had to do was pay attention and push in the hand clutch when he waved at me.
But as youngsters often do, my mind wandered here and there, causing me to stop early a few too many times. Dad then laid down the law.
“From now on, you watch me. If you don’t see me waving at you, keep going, even if you end up in the apple orchard. Do you understand?”
The firmness of his voice alerted me to the importance of obeying his commandments.
All went well for a few hours until Mom showed up and talked with Dad while he worked. The hayfork load of bales moved upward and into the barn. I continued driving the tractor, waiting for his wave, but he continued talking with Mom. I drove past all of my earlier stopping points and headed for the orchard. He finally waved and I stopped.
He ran toward me with a red face and held his faded green hat in a huge hand.
“Sonny, I am so mad…but it’s not your fault…it’s mine. But I’m so mad! You pulled the door out of the back of the barn with the hayforks. I’m so mad, but it’s not your fault. Honest, Sonny, it’s not your fault!”
He stood there next to the tractor tire, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in his anger, yet careful not to hurt my feelings. He helped me off the tractor and gave me a hug. All was well between Dad and his shadow, even though his barn door needed repairs right away.
This is how Dad always treated me because he loved his little shadow.
(Excerpt from my memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who, by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2014, Amazon eBook)
The last words I spoke to Dad were said at the Freeport Nursing Home on May 1, 2010, the evening before he died: “Dad, you’re the greatest father in the whole world. I love you.”
Filed under Christianity, Church, Fathers Day, Kingdom of God
The maturity level of most American believers is so shallow that if one describes 911 or Katrina as possible judgments of the Lord, we become offended and are quick to lash out with out tongues. “How dare you say something like that! Who do you think you are? A prophet? If so, you’re a false one,” we shout in unison.
The tumult continues until the person who has voiced such ridiculous beliefs is cowed back into his little box or his reputation shredded to pieces. This is what happened to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson when they voiced their beliefs about 911.
What does the Bible state?
Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it? (Amos 3:6)
We believers declare the Lord as the sovereign King over America, but when a 911 or a Katrina occurs, we quickly wrestle the divine scepter out of His grasp and place it in the hands of someone else.
But why do we assume the Lord, who is also our Judge, would not chastise America? Didn’t He use enemies and calamities to chastise Israel all throughout the Old Testament? Shouldn’t we expect to be treated the same as God’s chosen people?
Our immaturity resembles that of Jerusalem and Judah when Jeremiah prophesied to them −
Thus says, the Lord: “When men fall, do they rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 8:4-7)
Maybe it’s time for us to grow up before it’s too late.
(Excerpt from Common Sense 2016 by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2016, Amazon eBook)
My prayer today:
Lord, reveal our hearts to us American believers and show us what we have done or failed to do that has contributed to the problems in our nation today.
What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?
Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.
Filed under Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, Judgment, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
ffoz.org/discover/publications/one-new-man.html
Why does Satan so passionately despise the Jews? For one things, it is a reflection of his hatred for God. The Jews are God’s chosen people! By hurting them he seeks to hurt the Lord and take revenge for his own sentence of death. His effort to annihilate the Jews is also an attempt to discredit the Lord, since He has sworn in His word that they will never be destroyed. If Israel ceases to exist as a distinct people, then God did not, or could not, keep His promise. That would mean that He was powerless or that He lied!
But there is another reason the devil despises the Jews: The salvation of Israel means the return of Jesus, the resurrection of the righteous, the revival of the Church and the resurrection of the Church and the restoration of the earth. The fulfillment of the Jews’ destiny will seal the devil’s doom. Yes, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20)…and he is beginning to squirm. The time to favor Israel is upon us and Satan is quaking with fear. The countdown has begun.
(Excerpt from Our Hands Are Stained With Blood by Dr. Michael L. Brown, Destiny Image, ©1992 – Michael L. Brown, pp. 163 – 164)
My prayer for today:
Lord, raise up believers who have spiritual eyes and ears, like Daniel did for Jeremiah’s prophecy, so that these believers will fast and pray, knowing it is the season for the Jew and Gentile to become the one new man in Christ Jesus. (Based on Daniel 9:2 and Ephesians 2:15)
Join with me on Tuesday’s to pray and fast for the one new man to finally come forth in the Body of Christ.
…that he might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15)
Filed under Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
The Shuk in Jerusalem
Once again, it’s time to hear from our sister in Jerusalem about what she is witnessing there as a believer in Yeshua. Put your prayer shawls on and pray for Israel and Sister J. Now here she is —
Shalom Brothers and Sisters,
I greet you with thanksgiving that we are “one loaf of bread” together before Him, for His purposes and glory, sisters and brothers, family, in this together to encourage one another all the way home. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be edified.
Today is Shavuot, called Pentecost in the New Testament and in the English “Old Testament” translated as Feast of Weeks. It is one of the three holidays when all men of Israel are COMMANDED to come up to the temple, NOT EMPTY HANDED, and to bring an offering and rejoice before God. The other two “Pilgrim Feasts” are Passover and Sukkot. Of the three holidays, the least is written about Shavuot, and what IS written could cause one to scratch their head. and say, “Huh?” It acts like a minor holiday and yet GOD called it one of the three MAJOR ones, so it is wisdom to listen to and hear HIM.
The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) were all songs that were sung (and still are) by the children of Israel as they made the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem from north, south, east and west, up the trails toward the temple mount. Undoubtedly Yeshua (Jesus) and his family sang them as they came up to Jerusalem for Passover as is recorded in Luke 2:41-52. Of course, there WAS no New Covenant yet, so He was brought up according to the Old Covenant, as were his disciples, who later added their writings.
Because there are so few scriptures, I have written them out in full for you at the end of this letter, beginning with Acts 2, because I have found that God does NOTHING in a shallow manner. It is all in seed form, and we do well to wait for the ripe fruit.
So, what IS Shavuot basically? Well, it seems to me that it is “the joyful offering to God of the first fruits in the place that HE has set.” This is an act of obedience. The temple is not here. Of course it also wasn’t yet built when He first set this commandment. The first fruits and grain, two loaves of bread made with the new grain, the best with joy. These words are familiar to us and I find Shavuot a wonderful time to examine my own heart, How much of my joyful offering is rote or flesh. But the first fruits, our first love…Ah ha! What an opportunity to refresh, revive, examine, and offer again our all and best.
BUT HOW IS IT CELEBRATED HERE?
Now, THAT is a good question, because it sure has taken its twists and turns over the years.
Milk! It’s the dairy holiday. We make tons of cheesecake, cheese blintzes, quiche, and more exotic foods. We eat dairy and dress in white. Why? No one knows.
There is a second modern tradition that is evolving into something interesting though. For years there has been a tradition for religious Jews to stay up all night and the following day to study the Torah. But mostly Mishna and Talmud (the commentaries on the scriptures written by the sages, so the students study and argue concerning the interpretations of the rabbis).
Over the past few years, many secular study groups have been rising up spontaneously throughout the country with young and old reading the scriptures for themselves and discussing them. This is exciting to me. People seeking answers outside of the mainstream rabbinical framework. The scriptures promise us that hungry hearts seeking Him will indeed find Him.
Several days ago the following article appeared in our local newspaper Israel h’Yom:
THE BIBLE IS SPREADING ONCE AGAIN by: Dr. Gabi Avital
Over the Shavuot holiday, synagogues and places of Torah study will fill up with worshippers and those eager to learn. Many, even those considered secular, will try to maintain the growing tradition of studying Torah throughout the night.
This spectacular display goes completely against the academic predictions from more than 60 years ago. For example, Prof. Zvi Adar’s “The Educational Values of the Bible” states that “past generations did not speak about the Bible, but they lived in its ways, whereas we, who speak highly of it every day, live outside of it, and so it too is outside of us.”
Later in the book, Adar proposes another approach, a humanistic one — according to which mankind is at the center and God is pushed to the sidelines — to teaching the Bible and adapting it to the nation in Zion. The central reasoning: “The decline of traditional religion in the world as a whole, and in Israel in particular, has also led to the decline of the religious objective for teaching the Bible.”
His reasoning is not completely unfounded. Europe underwent deep secularization, the influence of which is evident in every poll and study, including among Bible researchers and students in the Holy Land. What has happened to the Bible since the early years of the state? What was the result of the painful experience of creating a melting pot of people? Was the Bible also crushed in the mix? As the places of Torah study were only beginning to internalize the depth of the impact the Holocaust had on yeshivas and religious institutions, the academic community took the lead.
The scientists made “critical commentaries” about the Bible. They compared it to the Code of Hammurabi and the Epic of Gilgamesh; dismantled it into verifiable passages; took over its soul with an enlightened scientific spirit; wrote articles, and attended conferences. And yet some say it is precisely because of this that the Biblical Studies departments at the universities emptied out.
However, among the “ignorant,” those who see the Bible as a holy book, the situation is the exact opposite of what the concerned academics are claiming. Bible study is growing and flourishing like spring flowers in a year blessed with rain. Young Israelis are learning Bible verses and passages by heart; the International Bible Contest is taken seriously, and each Shabbat people are reading the weekly Torah portion.
And why is this? From the moment that the future of the Bible was “deposited” into the hands of academia, its fate was sealed: The science that forced its way into Bible research wiped out its soul. Those who remove the soul — that is, God — from the Bible are left with a confusing, violent and irrelevant book. Biblical researchers from academia and the secular seminaries have decided that we must first read the “criticism of the text” and only later a verse on love or social justice. They do not realize that the Bible is not a “biblical text.” It includes some elements of a history book, but that is not the heart of it. The Bible is the foundation of the Jewish people’s soul. The Bible and the Talmud, the Mishnah and the
are amazing creations that any nation would be proud of.
Ahead of Shavuot, the holiday during which we celebrate receiving the Torah, it seems that the Bible is not as scary as people think. Recognition that the Bible is also the foundation of international support for the existence of the sole Jewish state is becoming more and more apparent. The archaeological finds are growing in number and contributing to the verification of events that took place in this land in past generations. More and more people are refusing to believe that the people of Israel are nothing more than a wandering tribe. The spread of the Bible is no longer just a theoretical concept.” (this was in our secular newspaper on the 9th of June)
The scriptures for Shavuot:
Acts 2:1-43
LEVITICUS 23:9-14
NUMBERS 28:26-30
DEUTERONOMY 16:9-12
DEUTERONOMY 16:9-12
May we each be found IN HIM ALONE…With our eyes fixed upon Him…for His glory.
Lovingly,
your sister J
Filed under Christians, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
There’s no doubt Jeremiah’s prophecies had a positive effect on King Josiah of Judah, especially Jeremiah’s prophetic words reminding the Israelites of God’s covenant with them:
Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God…” (Jeremiah 11:3-5)
Jeremiah first spoke this prophecy in Jerusalem sometime during 622 BC. The prophet then traveled from town to town throughout the land speaking the prophecy to the whole nation. Everyone heard the prophecy.
The priests went to a prophetess named Huldah who confirmed the words of Zephaniah and Jeremiah that God’s wrath would be poured out on Jerusalem, destroying the city. Huldah also added:
“Because your [Josiah’s] heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants…Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace…” (2 Kings 35:27-28)
King Josiah renewed the covenant with the Lord and removed all of the abominations that belonged to the children of Israel.
A revival then broke out and continued for twelve years. Judah observed all of the Lord’s feasts and followed the Lord.
Now, wouldn’t you think that everyone would have been happy with Jeremiah’s covenant prophecy and his other prophetic words? Because after all they were confirmed and helped restore Judah’s position before God’s throne.
(Continued in Part 9…if you’re interested, the full series to date may be seen here.)
Filed under Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
For 3.3 million Americans, the holy month of Ramadan began on June 6 and will continue through July 5. The month-long fast and celebration commemorates the time when Allah handed the Koran, the holy book of Islam, to Prophet Muhammad.
The Muslims are allowed two meals per day. One before sunrise called suhoor and one after sunset, which is called iftar. The most pious Muslims do not even drink water during the daylight hours. All are expected to fast except the elderly, the young, and the sick.
My prayers for today:
Lord, I pray that You use this Ramadan fast as a time to open the eyes of Muslims, so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place for those sanctified by faith in You. (Based on Acts 26:18)
What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?
Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.
Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
Today’s American believers are crying out to God for Him to send a revival to America, hoping a move of His Spirit will change our nation’s rush toward the abyss. The recent outpouring of the Spirit in West Virginia among high school students has given many a glimmer of hope, but what will happen if God sends a major revival? Will it end America’s problems with sin?
Hey, just so you know: I’m all for revival and any move of the Spirit that God wants to pour out on America. Revive us, O Lord!
But let’s open our eyes and understand that revivals tend to be shallow works in the Body of Christ. People just have to put up their sails and blow along on the winds of the Holy Spirit. They don’t have to work much to be around the presence of God. People get saved. Many renew their faith in Christ. Miracles happen. New revelations become everyday occurrences. And so forth.
Yet, what has usually happened after the revival fires have burned out?
In the Businessmen’s Revival of 1857, six percent of America’s total population – or one million people – were converted to Christ. But even with this, the Civil War began just three years later. The deep roots of sin were not dealt with in the revival and six hundred thousand men died.
The Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 touched almost every person in Wales. Bars were closed. Jail cells emptied. Miners no longer swore in the workplace. Churches were open twenty-four hours each day to handle the crowds. Two years later, everything returned back to the former ways.
The Azusa Street Revival of 1906-1912 restored the spiritual gifts to the Body of Christ, but it also tore down the racial walls. Blacks and whites, led by Pastor William Seymour, worshipped God side by side. Yet, when the revival ended, blacks and whites separated once again into black churches and white churches.
God has a divine purpose in His revivals and moves of the Spirit, but it never replaces the individual believer’s responsibility to make godly choices, pursue holiness, grow in sanctification, and seek the Lord with a whole heart. This is what Jesus referred to when He said:
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23 NLT)
Jeremiah discovered this important lesson as the revival fires ebbed.
(Continued in Part 8…if you’re interested, the full series to date may be seen here.)
Filed under Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prophecy, spiritual warfare
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Larry Who 