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March 12, 2011 · 8:19 am

From the Darkness of Islam to the Light of Jesus Christ

The following is a testimony by Shania Christian, a friend of mine on Facebook. She offers it freely to anyone who will share it with others. I have not altered her words or changed her grammar because it is so powerful to read. You will be blessed by her words which shout the victory of Jesus.

I was born in Somalia, an Islamic country, to Muslim parents. I did get Quran lessons as a child and I always believed that Islam was the one true religion; I used to pray 5 times a day and fast Ramadan but I never had relationship with Allah. He was far away from me and I did not know if I was going to go to heaven or hell. I had heard that the prophet said most women go to hell and that thought frightened me. I used to always ask my mother as a teenager what women get when they go to heaven as I had heard men get 72 virgins and she responded with “women don’t get anything. As long as I’m in heaven, I don’t mind.” I thought it wasn’t fair that men got something and women didn’t so it made me question Islam from a very young age. Though, you couldn’t question too much because people would say you’re not a true Muslim so you just had to accept the little to no answer you got.

I came to Europe as a teenage and started to dress more religiously with the hijab but I always felt empty in my heart. I was still scared about death and the torture in the grave because I did not have any insurance of salvation in Islam. My only plan was to save money so I could go to Hajj to wash away my sin so then maybe that way Allah will forgive me and I could possibly go to heaven.

When I heard about 9/11, I thought they weren’t good Muslims and followers of the Quran since I only thought that Islam was peaceful. At 2005, a friend of mine accidently sent me a video of the beheading of an American man in Iraq. I didn’t know what it was but I watched it and what I saw was horrific and so shocking. I had never seen anything like that in my whole life and I didn’t understand why they were doing it. I noticed that the man who was beheading the innocent man had a Quran in one hand which he was reciting and a huge knife in the other. On their forehead, they had some cloth that had “there is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his messenger” on it.

That night, I couldn’t stop crying and being sick. I couldn’t sleep. I was shaking. My mind was full of questions. I thought “how could these people who are followers of Allah do this disgusting and terrifying action in Allah’s name?” Before I tried to desperately go to sleep, for the first time, I spoke to Allah directly instead of praying in Arabic like how I usually pray. I asked “how can I follow you? Are you okay with people doing this in your name? Is this right, the beheading of a human?” After that, I finally went to sleep and dreamt.

I didn’t used to dream as frequently as I do now. If I did, I didn’t remember the dream when I woke up but that night, I had a dream. I was standing in front of my house and I saw a light quickly fly past me. I looked up at the sky and saw a shining man that was made out of clouds come from Heaven. He shouted, with a loud voice, to come to him. Everybody suddenly froze and started to bow down to him and started worshipping him. We were all saying “you’re my God, you’re my God”. Nobody was driving a car, nobody was walking, and nobody was running. Everybody was worshipping and bowing down to the shining man from Heaven. In the morning, when I woke up, I thought it was Allah. I didn’t know who it was. Though, I still felt happiness in my heart.

The second night, I asked Allah “was that you in my dream or prophet Muhammed? I want to follow you”. Then, I had another dream. This time my mother brought the Quran with her and put it on my knees and told me to read it. Every time I tried to read it, I just kept saying “Jesus said I’m the way, the life, the truth. No man comes to the Father except through me”. She became very angry and frustrated and she just said “go and bring me some food”. Everything I tried to serve her just turned into cross shapes. She went and got some of my family angrily since she found out that I’m not a Muslim. When they came, they had sticks and wanted to hit me or kill me. Before the door opened, strangely, the shining man returned to my rescue and grabbed me and we flew through walls. We arrived at a beautiful place that looked like a painting. It was full of flowers and peace and harmony. He told me “you are safe with me here”. He pointed to a place that looked burn and was full of darkness and said that they’re over there and that they can’t get here. I woke up filled with happiness and joy and my dream confirmed to me that it wasn’t Allah or Muhammed and instead Jesus Christ.

I started researching on the internet about this man called Jesus and if he’s the only way to Heaven. I came across some very helpful websites and the more I read about him, the more I became interested. I found the Bible on the internet and I was so amazed that what I told my mother in my dream was in the Bible and was this verse: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. It was amazing how I had never read a Bible and that God made me say it in my dream and I found it in the Bible. Even the way that Jesus came back in my dream is how it is written in the Bible. The verse that touched my heart wasJohn 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. I never knew God would love me so much that he would pay for my sins through Jesus Christ, His Son. I didn’t know that I can’t go to heaven through my own good deed (like what Islam states) and there’s nothing I can do to save myself except to accept Jesus the gift of God like the scriptures say: Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”

So I decided straight away to give my heart to Jesus as my Lord and Saviour but the real problem started now.

I told my husband that I decided to follow Jesus and at first he was a bit shocked. He argued with me for a bit because he couldn’t understand why I suddenly became a Christian but I told him it was over a period of time filled with dreams from God and confirmations. He said ‘I love you for who you are, not what you believe’ and I cried because I didn’t expect him to accept me but he did. Though, there was a condition: for my kids not to become Christians.

My younger sister decided to come over to stay with us and we were all very pleased. I hadn’t seen my sister in so long and we had long chats and catch up sessions… Then, she found my Bible. She asked me what it was and why I had it and I told her it was a Bible and I’m a Christian. She was so shocked and started shouting at me about not being her sister anymore and I begged her not to tell the rest of my family yet but she did. I got dozens of phone calls and meetings with my sisters, brothers and even my own mum. At first they tried to convert me back to being a Muslim. When that didn’t work, they told me they weren’t related to me anymore. They also threatened me and they even told my husband to take my kids and leave, but he defended me. He was on my side and told them to leave us alone. My husband was surprised at how quickly my own family turned against me. After that, we moved to a different country in Europe. The Islamic religion states that if someone leaves the religion, kill them or behead them. I was so upset. I had lost my whole family because of Jesus. But I wasn’t just going to give up and leave Christianity. Mar 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

I started going to the church and also met people on the internet that were in the same situation as me. God gave me many friends that I would never replace.

My son who was 11 and my daughter who was 12 had been exploring Christianity at this point and becoming more and more interested in Jesus. We used to watch films and Christian channels about Jesus whilst my husband was at work and my kids had fallen in love. After a month or two, both of them gave their lives to Jesus and decided to follow him. This is where the trouble began.

One night, my son had forgotten that my husband was sitting in the same room as him and he asked if he could come to Church with me. My husband became very angry. He said: “you are a Muslim, and you’re going to stay Muslim. Therefore you’re not allowed to go to Church.” After that, my kids informed my husband that they we’re both Christians and in love with Jesus. Not only that, my daughter said, and I’ll never forget this, “I’m a Christian, dad, please don’t leave, we love you… But Jesus said whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven and I don’t want that dad…” That night, he was very upset and furious, shouting and crying saying he’d leave in the morning, feeling like he’s the only Muslim in the house and we were all crying, begging him not to leave.

He decided to sleep downstairs on the sofa and me and my kids slept in my room where we engaged in intense prayer for most of the night. We asked God for my husband to accept us all and to stay. The Holy Spirit really was there and we were all shaking and crying. When we woke up, my husband said “I don’t know what happened to me, but I’m not going to go. I’ll accept you as Christians, and your children can go to the church with you, starting this week” and our prayer had been answered! Praise the Lord! Me and my children got baptised in 2008.

My husband left Islam in 2009 and joined us at church. He was just believing in God but not having a proper relationship. He had grown more and more interested in Christianity… He wanted to know more about the Lord, so now, he comes with us every Sunday to Church and we are praying that he’ll accept Jesus into his heart soon and get baptised by God’s will! Please pray for him. Please pray for all of us for God to protect us against my family who want to kill us because we left the cult they call “ISLAM”. 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for reading my testimony. God bless you.

17/11/10 UPDATE: Dear Friends and especially those who prayed for my husband… This week has been absolutely wonderful!! Thanks to all your prayers, MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN SAVED! Praise God! Hallelujah! Glory to God! Thank you Jesus!! Thank you to everyone again. Please continue to pray for him to become stronger in Christ and to become a witness for all somali people and everybody all over the world! In Jesus’ Mighty name, Amennnn!

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March 7, 2011 · 9:18 am

November 4, 2008: The Day America’s Death Warrant Was Signed (Conclusion)

 

As I wrote in Part 2, if my revelations about the Vietnam War and America’s Death Warrant are accurate, why should we Christians even care about America’s sins? Why not just give up and move to Switzerland or Brazil?

Let’s study the example of the early Jerusalem church.

Jesus prophesied the Death Warrant for Jerusalem in 30 A.D. The early church reacted to the prophecy by preaching and living the gospel of the kingdom of God, and also reminding Jerusalem of its errors.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2: 36)

You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. (Acts 7:51)

 

After Stephen’s death in 35 A.D., many Christians fled Jerusalem, but the apostles remained and continued preaching and advancing the kingdom of God. Even Herod’s cruel harassment of the church in 45 A.D. did not diminish the church’s presence in the city and it continued to prosper in the midst of on-again and off-again persecutions for the next twenty years.

Now, Luke’s account of the gospel was written in 60 A.D.  His info came from eyewitnesses, probably the apostles. Thus, we know that Jesus’ Death Warrant prophecy was still resonating in the church at this time – almost thirty years later.

Then in 67 A.D., a Christian gave a prophetic word to the Jerusalem church. It reminded everyone of Jesus’ Death Warrant prophecy and warned of Jerusalem’s upcoming devastation. The prophecy also advised all believers to flee the city.

By 69 A.D., all Christians heeded the prophecy and left Jerusalem. So, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., no believers perished in the siege.

We Christians need to follow the example of the early church. Like them, we are, first of all, citizens of the kingdom of God. Our American citizenships are secondary and temporary in comparison to our kingdom of God citizenships.

Our orders do not come from a president, a governor or a mayor, but instead from a King. Whether we stay or leave a city should depend on Him, not our personal fears or whims. And if we are staying, we need to heed the words of Jesus in His parable:

“…Do business till I come.” (Luke 19:13 NKJ)

If we choose to stay, then we need to help reduce the pain and impact of the Lord’s upcoming judgments against America so that all can run with endurance the race set before us.

What do I believe the Lord wants us Christians to do?

First, the Vietnam War was a divisive conflict for America. On the one side were the doves, or anti-war groups, and opposing them were the hawks, or pro-war groups. The divisiveness from this war has continued into today’s America, and even into the Body of Christ.

So, we believers must check our hearts to see if we harbor any bitterness against America as a whole or against anti-war or pro-war groups. If we discover bitterness in our hearts, this sin must be dealt with at the cross of Jesus Christ and forgiveness received.

Second, we Christians need to repent of our selfishness regarding the Vietnam War. We have only cared about the pain inflicted upon us Americans and not the anguish suffered by the people of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao.

Third, we Christians need to ask the Lord to raise up men, women and groups who will go to the Southeast Asian immigrants in our communities and ask forgiveness for America’s broken promises to their native countries. Some Christians may even be asked by the Lord to travel as His ambassadors to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to ask forgiveness of the people there.

Fourth, Christians need to stand in the gap and make financial intercession for our nation’s failure to keep its promises of aid to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the 1970’s. This can be accomplished by giving gifts of money to the poor and needy in these countries, many of whom are still suffering from America’s broken promises.

Will this be tough to do? Yes, of course it will be, but when has repentance ever been easy to swallow?

If you believe that this is the will of the Lord for you, then maybe you ought to meditate on the words of a 19th century preacher:

The man whose little sermon is “repent” sets himself against his age, and will for the time being be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man – “off with his head!” You had better not try to preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven. (Joseph Parker, 1830 – 1902)

 

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,  Part 5 and Part 6.

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February 23, 2011 · 6:50 am

November 4, 2008: The Day America’s Death Warrant Was Signed (Part 6)

Roe versus Wade was first argued before the Supreme Court on December, 13, 1971, before only seven justices. Two justices, William Rehnquist and Lewis Powell, joined the court in January, 1972. Because of this, Roe versus Wade was reargued in front of the full Supreme Court on October 11, 1972.

What else was going on in October, 1972? The Paris Peace Negotiations to end the Vietnam War.

America’s involvement in Vietnam began in the 1950’s under President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration with a few military advisers and some financial aid. The next president, John Kennedy, escalated America’s role by increasing the number of servicemen in Vietnam by twenty fold. In addition, President Kennedy helped plan a coup which resulted in the assassination of the president of South Vietnam.

Then in August, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson pushed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution through a joint session of Congress. This resolution allowed the president to conduct military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war. From this point on, the little conflict became a major war with hundreds of thousands of Americans involved in it.

Finally, in May, 1968, peace talks began when President Johnson sent a delegation to meet with North Vietnam in Paris. The talks continued with the newly elected president, Richard Nixon, and his chief negotiator, Dr. Henry Kissinger. For three years, the main hang-up for the North Vietnamese was their insistence that America needed to remove President Theiu from power in South Vietnam and replace him with a person more acceptable to the Communist regime in North Vietnam. The U.S. refused to concede this point.

On October 8, 1972, a major breakthrough came in secret negotiations between Dr. Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. North Vietnam modified their demands. Ten days later, a final draft was drawn up and Dr. Kissinger announced, “Peace is at hand.”

President Theiu of South Vietnam was not even informed about the secret negotiations. When he read the final draft, he was furious and felt that America had sold out his nation to North Vietnam. He refused to accept it, but Nixon and Kissinger twisted Theiu’s arm and made promises of continued support and financial aid to South Vietnam. In the end, President Theiu was forced to accept the peace agreement.

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued its Roe versus Wade decision. This landmark decision overturned almost every federal and state law that restricted abortion in our nation. From this date on, the war against babies began with a vengeance.

On the following day, Dr. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho signed off on the Viet Nam peace treaty, which was almost identical to the final draft agreed to in October, 1972. Then, on January 27, 1973, the leaders of the formal delegations signed the agreement at the Majestic Hotel in Paris.

What were the political outcomes for the three principal architects of the Vietnam War?

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

President Lyndon Johnson fled the presidential office in shame after just one term. He died of a sudden heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973, the day that Roe versus Wade was announced by the Supreme Court.

Also, in January, 1973, the five men who broke into the Democratic National Office at the Watergate complex were tried and convicted. The mushrooming Watergate scandal and cover-up eventually drove President Richard Nixon out of office in disgrace on August 9, 1974.

Were these just coincidences? I do not believe so.

President Theiu’s concerns about the secret agreement reached between Dr. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho proved accurate. America exchanged prisoners with the North Vietnamese and withdrew from Southeast Asia. North Vietnam ignored the treaty. And then, America failed to keep its promises to South Vietnam, not even one of them.

The aftermath of America’s lies and broken promises concerning the peace treaty resulted in a bloodbath. Millions were slaughtered in South Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos by the Communists. Hundreds of thousands of others – men, women, children and babies – fled South Viet Nam in crowded boats. A large percentage of these boat people perished at sea. Those that survived the boat trips were met by thieves, killers and rapists when they landed in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

I sincerely believe that America’s sin which has opened the doors for God’s judgment of abortion to fall upon our nation was our government’s treacherous handling of the Vietnam War, especially in dealing with South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Our broken promises and lies have resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent people whose blood have cried out to a just God.

So, what must we do?

(Continued in Part 6)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

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February 16, 2011 · 8:12 am

November 4, 2008: The Day America’s Death Warrant Was Signed (Part 3)

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 and its box office sales of over $1.8 billion ranks it as the second most successful movie of all time, behind Avatar.

Hollywood created its own heroes for the movie script, but on April 14, 1912, there undoubtedly were many 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. The Moody Church had scheduled him to preach some evangelistic meetings.

At 11:40 PM, 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, placed her aboard and said, “Nana, I’ll see you again someday.”

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 AM, 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 was clinging to a piece of wood, “Are you saved?” The young man answered that he was not.

Harper tried to convince the young man, but he 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, only six were rescued by lifeboats. One of them was this young man who later recounted how Harper had led him to Christ.

Few of us will be thrust into the same circumstances as John Harper was on that fateful night. But still, we need to open our spiritual eyes and really see where our neighbors, family and friends are spiritually at right now.

Visualize each of them frantically attempting to swim in dark, churning waters with 15 million pounds on his back. Do you think any will survive? Don’t be ridiculous, right? Yet, this is the approximate weight of fifty million aborted babies, which is one of our most hideous national sins. Plus, you then need to add a few pounds for the weight of each person’s own sins.

Now, if you could ask each of the struggling swimmers which weight they would first want removed from their backs, what do you think they would say? Probably something like, “If you help remove the fifteen million pounds, I might listen to you about the other weights. Please help me!”

…strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus…(Hebrews 12: 1-2)

Like John Harper, we need to focus ourselves on what’s needed now. He did not waste time swimming around in the icy waters talking about his Baptist credentials nor 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, and we must do the same 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 these prophecies about a soon-coming revival which will wash our nation clean of sin for the last twenty-five 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.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24: 37-39)

I believe the most important need at this point in America’s history is for us to intercede, fast and do acts of mercy for our national sins. And that means, we need to open up the wounds of the Vietnam War.

(Continued in Part 4)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1 and Part 2.

[1] The Titanic’s Last Hero: Story About John Harper, Moody Adams, Olive Press (1997).

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February 14, 2011 · 7:11 am

November 4, 2008: The Day America’s Death Warrant Was Signed (Part 2)

If my revelation that America’s death warrant has already been signed by the Judge, then why should we even care about our national sins? After all, the nation will perish no matter what we attempt, right? So why not just give up and move to Australia or Brazil?

In his day, the prophet, Jeremiah, was torn by the same revelations that we American Christians now face. Not only that, his commitment to the Lord was pushed to its limits by the adverse conditions he struggled through. He was not allowed to marry, to attend feasts, to go to the Temple or to proclaim his own prophecies. Cruel beatings, imprisonment and extreme persecution marked the last twenty years of his prophetic ministry to Judah.

But yet, Jeremiah faithfully prophesied over and over again that Jerusalem (the chosen City of God with its holy Temple) and Judah could save itself only by surrendering to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Let’s place Jeremiah’s prophetic words into a more modern context. What if David Ben-Gurion (Israel’s first prime minister) had traveled to his native Poland and Germany in 1939? What if after talking with the Nazi leaders, he declared, “We Jews can trust Hitler. Don’t worry about being relocated to Auschwitz, Belzec and Treblinka. These camps will be safe havens for us Jews,” what would Polish and German Jews have thought of Ben-Gurion?

Certainly not much, considering Hitler’s many writings on the Jewish problem and his Final Solution comments. And Nebuchadnezzar, like Hitler, was a cruel despot who saw nothing wrong with slaughtering innocent people if it benefitted his empire agenda.

So, you can imagine the horrors the Jews felt when Jeremiah spoke his “Thus says the Lord of Hosts” messages about surrendering to the cruel Babylonian army. They considered his words as acts of treason.

But even after Jeremiah definitely knew the Lord was determined to destroy Jerusalem and Judah, he continued to plead for the Jews to repent. Why? What did it matter? After all, the Lord was going to destroy Jerusalem and Judah anyway, right?

At one time I will suddenly speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it; and if [the people of] that nation concerning which I have spoken turn from their evil, I will relent and reverse My decision concerning the evil that I thought to do to them. (Jeremiah 18: 7-8 AMP)

Jeremiah knew God’s heart. He understood God is first and foremost a Redeemer who loves people and that His deepest desire is for people to turn away from sin and walk in His ways. In addition, Jeremiah most likely studied the words of Joel who prophesied about the day of the Lord, but also declared hope for nations who had received a death warrant notice from God:

Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met.] Who knows but what He will turn, revoke your sentence [of evil], and leave a blessing behind Him [giving you the means with which to serve Him], even a cereal or meal offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a fast [a day of restraint and humility]; call a solemn assembly. (Joel 2:13-15 AMP)

So, Jeremiah held onto hope that the people of Judah would repent and return to God with all their hearts. Then, if they met the conditions of genuine repentance, maybe God would revoke the death warrant pronounced against Judah.

But Judah’s heart was hardened. The nation no longer trusted God to be their Savior and only a few people believed the words of Jeremiah. Thus only a few people surrendered to the Babylonians and were saved. The rest were either slaughtered or taken to Babylonia.

What about America? Can our nation possibly repent enough so that the death warrant against America may be removed by God?

Yes, but it would have to be a Nineveh type of extreme repentance whereby the highest leaders down to the least among us would have to repent and humble ourselves before God. You see, our nation has a high level of accountability before God. Our money is stamped with the words: “In God We Trust.” Our pledge to the flag states, “One nation under God.” Our leaders place their hands on Bibles when they are sworn into office.  Plus, America has received countless warnings from men of God about divine judgments, but these men have been rebuked and ignored.

So, America has absolutely no excuse before the throne of God. We are guilty!

Although it is possible America could repent enough to please God, I hold no hope that this will ever happen.  Instead, I believe we Christians need to:

…strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus…(Hebrews 12: 1-2 AMP)

We Christians need to prepare ourselves for the dark days lying ahead so that we can be the Body of Christ reaching out to our neighbors, family and friends.

What do we need to do?

(Continued in Part 3)

Click on following link for earlier article: Part 1.

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February 7, 2011 · 7:29 am

November 4, 2008: The Day America’s Death Warrant Was Signed (Part 1)

We American Christians have come to expect spiritual John Waynes to arrive during our nation’s worst times and rescue us from imminent disasters. This has often happened in times past when men like John Wesley, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham and others have called America away from the spiritual abyss.

So, is there still balm in Gilead for America?

Let’s look back at the events of the 2008 presidential election.

At the Democratic Convention in Denver (August 25 – 28, 2008), the party selected the two most radical pro-abortion candidates in the history of America as its standard bearers: Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joseph Biden. Both were Planned Parenthood poster candidates.

The Republicans countered at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota (September 1 – 4,2008) with two pro-life candidates in Senator John McCain and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Governor Palin’s refusal to abort her son, Trig, a Down Syndrome baby, focused America’s eyes on the abortion issue.

Soon after the Republican convention, the polling data showed a dead even race between Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin. This was a remarkable comeback for McCain who had lagged behind Obama in the double digit percentage range for weeks.

McCain/Palin finally inched ahead going into the second week of the month.

Then, on September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. The following day, the Federal Reserve authorized a $85 billion bailout loan to AIG. Financial news swirled out of control until the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was enacted, which established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

With the bad economic news, Obama/Biden surged back into the lead and McCain/Palin wilted on the campaign trail. Obama eventually won in a landslide on election night.

Spike Lee, film director and producer, later declared, “God Himself ordained the financial crisis to happen when it did in order to propel Barack Obama to victory.”

For the last two years, Spike Lee’s words have haunted me. Were Lee’s words accurate?

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Lord could have held back the financial crisis until after the presidential election, but He didn’t. Why not? I wondered. After all, if the financial crisis had not hit, McCain could have been elected president and the Supreme Court’s balance could have been shifted to the right by now with a good chance of Roe versus Wade being overturned sometime in the near future.

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. (Luke 19: 41-44)

In the midst of the hubbub and excitement on that first Palm Sunday, Jesus paused on His journey to Jerusalem at a spot on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple. This was the exact spot where Jews throughout history had mourned and wept over the Temple.

When Jesus stopped and wept at the overlook, the people probably hushed, anticipating a historic speech, but what they heard shocked them. The Prophet, their long awaited King David, prophesied the above words which trumpeted the death of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Why did Jesus prophesy Jerusalem’s and the Temple’s death warrant?

…because you did not recognize the day of your visitation. (Luke 19:44)

The Greek word episkope in verse 44 is translated into our English word visitation. Yet, episkope does not imply a visitor stopping by for a friendly visit. Its true meaning suggests God the Judge would visit a nation, examining the people to determine whether they would be blessed or cursed.

Yes, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but also He is the stumbling stone and a rock of offense whereby people and nations stumble and fall to their doom. (Jesus’ prophesy was fulfilled in 70 AD when a Roman army under General Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and killed over a million Jews.)

It’s now my sincere belief that the 2008 Financial Crisis was a plumb line event the Lord sent to discover how America measured up. So, was America squarely looking up to Him and His ways or tilted off center? What did the plumb line event reveal to the Lord?

Lou Engle stated it best:

In this election, we have bowed our knee to Baal and chosen prosperity over posterity. (See full article here.)

Sad words, but true. Our nation failed the test, and like Jerusalem and the Temple on that first Palm Sunday, America’s death warrant has been signed by the Judge. It’s just a matter of time until the execution is carried out.

Sadly, in retrospect, Spike Lee’s words proved to be accurate.

(Continued in Part 2)


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September 21, 2010 · 6:48 am

Say It Ain’t So, Joe!

I am going to take some time off from blogging because I need to refuel my batteries and finish some other projects. I should be back blogging soon, but until them, you can still follow along with my life on Facebook, or if you need to, send me an email.

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September 13, 2010 · 7:40 am

Elijah, Come Out of Your Cave! Now! (Part 7)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

On Monday, May 20, 1985, about 3:30 in the afternoon, I gave my life to Jesus. The next morning, I phoned someone and asked what I should do. He told me to read the Bible, beginning with Matthew. I followed his directions.

A few months later, I heard another person say that believers should pray and ask the Lord what we should study. This then became my Bible study method, which I still follow even today.

But it wasn’t long before I noticed something about my Bible studies: most of my time was spent reading Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the other prophets. Over and over, I studied these books.

Then, I purchased the The Elijah Task by John Sanford (1977). At the time, this was the only book written about prophets and their callings. The basic premise of the book is that the Lord is going to release an army of Elijah-type prophets into the earth, proclaiming repentance with power and anointing.

Since the 1980’s, there have been countless other books, prophecies and even songs (Days of Elijah) declaring the coming of this army of Elijah-type prophets. Many Christians are now looking for these prophets to soon arrive on the scene.

But where are believers looking for these Elijah-type of prophets to be raised up at? In the traditional churches, specifically the Pentecostal and Charismatic ones.

“What’s wrong with that thinking?” you proclaim.

Our five examples of Elijah-type of prophets (Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist and the Two Witnesses) have one thing in common which sets them apart from all of the other prophets. You see, not one of them was raised in the traditional religious system of his time. Not one was accountable to a religious hierarchy, such as a priest or a pastor. Not one of them.

They were all unknowns, raised up in the wildernesses and deserts of their day, away from the religious systems.

“Wait a second!” you say, “where should we look for the Elijah-type of prophets? And why would the Lord do it this way?”

(Continued in Part 8)

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July 2, 2010 · 7:56 am

God, FaceBook and Me

A 4th of July Departure from the Norm

David Wilkerson once visited Basilea Schlink (1904 – 2001) in Darmstadt, Germany. As Wilkerson walked into her office, he was knocked to the floor by the presence of God which surrounded Schlink. While on the floor, Wilkerson realized, “This is a mighty woman of God.”

Throughout Schlink’s life, she stressed the importance of repentance, reconciliation and prayer. She herself normally prayed eight to ten hours per day, and then in her off time, she wrote numerous books and founded a Sisterhood based on prayer.

In one of her books, she wrote how she visited the Louvre in Paris. And as she walked through the museum and looked at timeless works of art, such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and others, Schlink could not enjoy herself. She felt guilty by the time she was wasting.

After all, Schlink was not praying or studying the Bible or writing or advancing the kingdom of God, but instead, she was walking around, looking at works done by men. And the works, for the most part, were not even created for the glory of God.

Not only could Schlink not enjoy herself, but she found herself looking down her nose at other believers who did not feel and act the same way as she did. She cruelly judged them according to her own personal standards.

Then, one day, while Schlink prayed, some Bible verses touched her heart.

But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves; I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. (John 17: 13 – 15)

A powerful revelation dawned upon Basilea Schlink: the Lord wanted her to enjoy life. It was okay to enjoy artistic works and music created by men because, after all, these men were created by the Creator for His good pleasure. And also, it was okay to laugh and have fun in her life because there was great joy in doing so.

Sadly, I, too, have been there, done that and bought the tee-shirt, just like Basilea Schlink. I’ve looked down my religious nose at others who did not act like me. Now, I cry out daily to be set free of these and other judgmental attitudes.

Well, what about God, FaceBook and Me, huh?

I purposely use FaceBook as a meeting place, much like a coffee shop, to talk with  family and friends. And believe it or not, when I’m with family and friends,  I don’t speak Christianese. I tell jokes and have fun.

So, if you ever add me to your FaceBook friend’s list, don’t expect me to spout many Bible verses or prophecies, okay? That’s what this blog is for.

Or at least, that is my way of thinking.

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June 28, 2010 · 8:38 am

Thank God for Women, But… (Part 7)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He could have schmoozed the “good ol’ boy network” to help His ministry along. But Jesus performed two early acts which quickly set Him apart from the religious system and its leaders.

The first occurred in Cana:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  (John 2: 1-5)

Jesus and His disciples (probably Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel) traveled a couple of days journey to Cana. There they attended a wedding, along with His mother, Mary.

Now, at the time,  Jewish weddings were feasts which lasted up to a whole week. The married couples and their families were expected to provide food and refreshments for all of the guests.

Because no mention was made of Joseph, we must assume that Mary was a widow at the time.

But who told Mary about the wine problem?

Unlike today’s Western cultures, the Jewish society of Jesus’ day was largely a gender-divided system. And just like in the Temple, women were expected to congregate with other women at weddings, apart from the men. This was especially true for widows.

So, if Mary knew about the lack of wine, she heard it from a woman. Possibly, the bridegroom’s mother or the bride’s mother or even the bride.

Thus, Mary sought a solution from Jesus for the problem which was being discussed amongst the women.

Mary walked over to Jesus who was congregated with the men and mentioned the wine problem to Him. He addressed her in an unusual way. He used the Jewish word, gyne, which is translated into our English word, woman, to address Mary. He did not address her with the common Jewish word for mother, or meter.

Why did Jesus use the word, woman, instead of mother, when He addressed Mary?

Remember: Jesus was the living Word in the flesh. If anyone understood the importance of the commandment to honor a mother, it was Jesus.

So, we must infer that Jesus used the word, woman, for an important purpose, okay?

What was His purpose for doing so?

I believe that Jesus used the word, woman, to let every female know forever that He performed the wine miracle, not because the person was His mother. But rather, because the person (a woman) asked Him.

With this first sign, Jesus announced to everyone: “Women are just as important as men to Me and have an equal standing before Me.”

(Continued in Part 8)

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