Tag Archives: Spiritual warfare

July 6, 2015 · 8:33 am

Will God Judge America (Part 6)

dolly-335

 

We Americans expect spiritual John Waynes to arrive on white horses during our nation’s worst times and rescue us from imminent disasters. This has often happened in the 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 some 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 endorsed 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 into the lead heading 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 an $85 billion bailout loan for AIG. Financial news swirled out of control until the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was enacted, which then 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. President Obama eventually won with a landslide victory 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.”

Lee’s words have haunted me over the last two years. Was he correct?

There’s no doubt in my mind 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 better 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)

 

Why did Jesus prophesy Jerusalem’s death warrant on the first Palm Sunday?

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

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

Yes, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but He is also the stumbling stone and a rock of offense, whereupon people and nations stumble, falling to their doom.

Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when a Roman army under General Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, killing over a million Jews in the process.

 

It’s now my sincere belief that the 2008 Financial Crisis was a plumb line event, which the Lord allowed to happen to discover how America measured up to Him.

Was America looking straight up to Him and His ways or was the nation tilted off center, leaning in another direction? What did the plumb line event reveal to the Judge?

Lou Engle, leader of the Call, stated it best: “In this election, we have bowed our knees to Baal and chosen prosperity over posterity.”

I agree with Engle and believe our nation failed the test. And I sincerely believe the Judge has signed America’s death warrant. It’s just a matter of time until the execution is carried out.

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

(An excerpt from New Wind Blowing by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook, published in 2008)

 

I wrote New Wind Blowing almost seven years ago, just after the historic election of an African-American man to the presidency of America. I believed then that we Americans could not repent enough to stop a massive Judgment of God from hitting America. Today, I believe it even more.

Maybe you disagree and even believe God will send us revival instead of His judgment. I hope you’re right, but can anyone really hope America will listen to a new generation of prophets who will speak messages of repentance?

I myself hold little hope this will happen and intend to spend little time on such an effort. 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 Amplified Bible)

No doubt, the appointed course of the race that is set before us will not be an easy one and we must prepare ourselves for it. (An excerpt from New Wind Blowing)

(Conclusion. The full series can be read by clicking on Teaching Series above or here.)

2 Comments

Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Judgment, Kingdom of God, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 4, 2015 · 10:13 am

Will God Judge America? (Part 4)

dolly-335

 

If it were possible to develop a software to erase part of American history, I would suggest the time period to be scrubbed would be from 1961 to April 30, 1975: the Vietnam War.

President Kennedy’s suffered a disastrous meeting with Soviet Premiere Soviet Nikita Khrushchev in 1961. Afterward Kennedy told James Reston of the New York Times:

“Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place.”

From then on, America’s participation in the Vietnam War snowballed. Kennedy increased America’s military presence by twenty times and was instrumental in calling for the overthrow and assassination of South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 revealed the lies, deceptions, and corruption in the handling of America’s role in the Vietnam War. President Kennedy, President Johnson, President Nixon, Secretary of Defense McNamara, General Taylor, General Westmoreland, and countless other names were shown to be less than pillars of integrity.

All of the lies, deceptions, and corruption resulted in 58,307 dead and over 150,000 wounded U.S. soldiers. The bitterness and division caused by the Vietnam War in America still continue today in the political arena, society, and the Church.

Ah, there’s another side to all of this!

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 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. The landmark decision overturned almost every federal and state law restricting abortion in our nation. From that 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 then died of a sudden heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973, the day the Roe versus Wade decision 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 don’t believe so.

Our intervention in the Vietnam War was built on lies, deceits, corruption, financial waste, and promises made, but not kept.

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.

(Excerpt from New Wind Blowing by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook, published 2008.)

Our lies, deceits, and corruption caused the deaths of a million and a half to two million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians during the Vietnam War. And then, we broke our promises to South Vietnam after forcing them to sign a peace treaty with North Vietnam, resulting in another three to four million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians being slaughtered by the Communists.

I believe one of the major sins that has caused the plague of God’s Judgments to fall on Americas are the lies and deceits we foisted on South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos during the Vietnam War.

If I’m correct, what can we do? And will it be enough to stop even worse judgments from happening to us?

(Continued in Part 5)

2 Comments

Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Judgment, Kingdom of God, Prayer, spiritual warfare, vietnam

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 3, 2015 · 8:01 am

Will God Judge America? (Part 3)

dolly-335

 

Israel made quick work of conquering Jericho. Then, it was off to fight a little dot on the map named Ai, but the army of Ai proved to be a formidable foe. The Amorites killed thirty-six soldiers and forced the Israelite forces to retreat from the hills.

The defeat melted the Israelites’ courage.

Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, didn’t call a staff meeting and rake his generals and field commanders over the coals for their inept combat skills. That would have been a waste of time because Israel’s success depended on the Lord. Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth in front of the Ark of the Lord, along with the other leaders of Israel. They humbled themselves and put dust on their heads.

“Why, O Lord, have You allowed this to happen to us? What shall I say about our defeat? What will You do for Your great name?” cried Joshua before the Ark.

The Lord replied:

“Israel has sinned and they have transgressed My covenant which I have commanded them…Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” (Joshua 7:11, 12)

Joshua aggressively searched for the sin in Israel’s midst and radically removed it. The Lord then helped Israel turn Ai into a heap of rubble.

So, how does this scriptural example compare to the actions of American Christians in reference to abortion, illegal immigration, terrorism, national debt, and so forth?

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

2 Chronicles 7:14 is one of the most mentioned scriptures in America since January 22, 1973, the day Roe vs. Wade became law. Every Evangelical preacher and ministry leader has proclaimed the verse over and over again to their followers as if it were the answer for America’s problems, but is it really the answer?

No, not the way we have used it!

Yes, the scripture is a divinely inspired verse for believers. And yes, we are supposed to humble ourselves and pray, but we’ve omitted an important part of the verse: seeking His face. We need to seek Him and ask the same questions that Joshua asked: “Why, O Lord, have You allowed this to happen to America? What shall we say about our defeat? What will You do for Your great name?”

Why did God allow this to happen to America? Why? Why? Why?

To add even more insult to our wounds, Norma McCorvey (aka Jane Roe) is now a Christian and has admitted to perjuring herself in the Roe vs. Wade case. Her lawyers fabricated the figure of 10,000 female deaths each year due to botched abortions, The number was less than 100. Plus, the pro-abortion Supreme Court justices (especially William O. Douglas), knew they had no constitutional precedent, and thus plotted to “finesse” the issue.”

Roe versus Wade became the law of the land because of lies and deceptions by the plaintiffs and the Supreme Court Justices.

So, why did God allow abortion and the other judgments to fall on America? What horrible sin have we committed that has led to 60,000,000 aborted babies?

(Continued in Part 4)

8 Comments

Filed under America, Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 2, 2015 · 8:41 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (7/2/2015)

two cats 8

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on a donkey heading to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover. His journey was a short one which began in the neighboring town of Bethphage.

The road was crowded with people. His disciples. Pharisees and scribes. And thousands of pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora.

For Passover, Jerusalem’s normal population of 120,000 swelled to nearly a million people as Jews from all over the Middle East returned to observe the feast. It was a profitable event for Jewish merchants, much like Christmas for today’s retail merchants.

As Jesus rode along, His disciples began praising God, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. Blessed is the King.”

In the midst of the hubbub and excitement, Jesus paused 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.

So, when Jesus stopped and wept at the overlook, the people would have hushed and anticipated a historic speech. Then, He said:

“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes…because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:42, 44-b)

Too late! Jesus wept because it was too late to save Jerusalem from God’s Judgment, which happened forty years later.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, send the Holy Spirit to American believers to open our hearts up to the love of Your truth so that we will be saved from our deceptions and lies. (Based on 2 Thessalonians 2:10)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

2 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Church, Fasting, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 1, 2015 · 8:09 am

Will God Judge America (Part 2)

dolly-335

 

Jesus spoke these words to the Jews of His day, but He could have just as well spoken them to today’s Americans:

“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:14-15)

I realize we American Bible-believing Christians have our danders up over the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling regarding same-sex marriages. It’s now the law of the land and legal in all fifty states. And, of course, we Bible believers are talking about the Judgment of God – à la Sodom and Gomorrah style.

But is this true? Will the Judgment of God fall on America sometime in the near future?

I don’t believe so — because I believe it is already happening now.

You see, I believe the first extreme Judgment of God fell on America on January 22, 1973, the day the Supreme Court settled the Roe Versus Wade case by stating that abortion was a fundamental right of American women. Since then over 60 million babies have been aborted.

Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb… (Deuteronomy 28:18)

And then there’s illegal immigration with over 30 million illegal aliens entering America since 1973.

The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. (Deuteronomy 28:43)

And forty-four percent of our national debt is owed to foreign nations and foreign banks.

They [Foreigners] will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail! (Deuteronomy 28:44)

And we’re at war with terrorists organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda.

The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. (Deuteronomy 28:49-50)

And we Americans are unemployed and losing our jobs to foreigners.

Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. (Deuteronomy 28:17)

And our cities have major problems.

Cursed shall you be in the city… (Deuteronomy 28:16)

And our leaders are confused and we’re frustrated with them.

The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do…(Deuteronomy 28: 20)

And California has a historic four-year drought, which affects everyone in America.

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder…(Deuteronomy 28:24)

And on and on it goes.

We’re wringing our hands and worried about the Judgment of God maybe hitting America, but in fact, we’ve been living under the curses and Judgments of God for over forty years. It’s just that we’ve been dull-minded, with our ears and eyes closed to the spiritual facts.

Our failure is that we believers have not asked the single, most important  question of the Lord.

(Continued in Part 3)

8 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Judgment, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 30, 2015 · 7:29 am

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (6/30/2015)

Children's Church markpeddar.wordpress.com

Children’s Church
markpeddar.wordpress.com

In Asia, over 2.5 million children – as young as 4 years old – are enslaved in the sex trade as prostitutes. Half of the total is located in the world’s largest democracy, India.

The reasons for such high numbers include poverty, drugs, lack of morals, political corruption, and huge profits for the brothels and pimps. Murder and accidental death rates are high for the child prostitutes, as are suicides, and very few trafficking victims are ever rescued or escape.

As hopeless and as horrendous as these facts are, we can make a difference through our prayers and fasts.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, You said that if we prayed and fasted, You would hear our voices on high. So, Lord, I ask that You honor Your words spoken through Isaiah that the chains of wickedness enslaving the child prostitutes in Asia are broken and that these oppressed children are set free right now, in Jesus’ name. (Based on Isaiah 58)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

4 Comments

Filed under Asia, Christianity, Church, Fasting, Kingdom of God, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

June 28, 2015 · 7:17 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

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 …

Blessings to you this day dear brothers and sisters.  May His glory be in your midst.
“I was glad when they said to me, Let us go unto the house of The Lord.  Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!  Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together.  Where the tribes go up, the tribes of The Lord, to the Testimony of Israel to give thanks to the Name of the Lord for throes are set there for judgment.  The thrones of the house of David.  ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.  Peace be within your palaces.’  For the sake of my brethren and companions I will now say ‘Peace be in You.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.” Psalm 122 A song of Ascents.

The “songs of Ascents” are literally the songs that were sung as the tribes made their way up to Jerusalem for the 3 feasts (Passover, Shavuot or weeks or Pentecost, and Sukkot or feast of tabernacles) that contain the command for all of the men of Israel to come up and worship here. They were to bring their offerings and to give thanks and be blessed.  These songs are STILL sung today, both traditionally and even in music heard on the radio. And yes, as people still make their way up to Jerusalem during the feasts.

As I read this Psalm this morning as part of my regular devotions I thought first about Jerusalem being built as a “city that is compacted together.” I blurted out, “Why, Lord, did you bring me of all people to a city so compacted together when You made me one who longs for the quiet places?”

Yep, feeling low today.  I still haven’t been feeling well and even missed kehila (our fellowship) last night. Indeed a rare event for me.

But His answer came quickly and without rebuke: “Write…tell them…see, hear, tell them…for I’m building My temple even here…My body is being built into a holy temple fit for My Presence…be My eyes and ears and witness for what I AM doing.”

“For the sake of my brethren and companions I will now say ‘Peace be in You.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”

I thought about His body here (His house according to scripture), thinking of each face and of each one’s struggles.  It isn’t easy being part of His body here and it can be lonely, although we are “a city compacted together,” we are also busy busy bees and very much spread out one from another.

Then I thought of each of you and those who I am NOT in contact with, but whom I have loved over the years, parts of His body, being built together for His glory into heavenly Jerusalem. Never an easy walk. For if we are truly being built together, we are being chiseled away and dropped deep into the Refiners fire.

So, enough of feeling low!  Repent, brush it off and get busy doing what He told me to do and leave the rest to Him.

What DO my eyes and ears see here in Jerusalem at this time?

I imagine that most of you are pretty caught up in your own rapidly moving events during this world changing time.  Well, yesterday a 25 year old Israeli was killed and another wounded as they returned from a hike.  A Palestinian stopped them to ask for help, but after asking if they were Jewish he fired at point blank range.  And just now a soldier was stabbed in the neck at the Old City’s Damascus Gate not too far from here.  He is reported as fighting for his life.

The Iranian deal that our government has cried out against (to the irritation of the rest of the world) is looming before us.  The boycott, divest, sanction movement against Israel has also forced itself into our daily reality as it is growing as an aggressive cancer worldwide.  It really has become rather alarming in that it somehow legitimized the ugliest forms of anti-semitism, seemingly dead or at least stifled since WWII.

We are again inundated with weighty dignitaries from all over Europe seeking to and threatening to apply all sorts of pressure to impose a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, restoring the indefensible ’67 borders, releasing prisoners, dividing Jerusalem and so forth.  The Syrian war – so sad! – inches ever closer to us and the tension between the US leadership and the Israeli leadership continues to approach freezing levels. Plus, it’s Ramadan.

Not the most encouraging news.

I was thinking of that as I read a different portion in the scriptures this morning: John 7:42-53.

At one point the Pharisees quote the scriptures concerning the place of Messiah’s birth, but they did not apparently know that He had been born in Bethlehem.  Later, they said, with Nicodemus present, “Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on Him?” Although in several places as I read John it has already said that some of the leaders believed, but kept it quiet.

It made me think, really with trembling, that WE KNOW NOTHING except by THE DISCERNMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!  It seems to me that The Lord has made us in a way that we CAN not discern His way BUT by The Spirit AND The Word working TOGETHER in our lives.

I’m saying this because as The Lord reminds me to be a witness to what I see, even that has to be weighed in the Light of His Word by His Spirit.  The more I read The Word I wonder how I could have missed for so many years the centrality of His plans and purposes concerning the Jews and Israel in His heart.  I DID miss it however, until He, by His Spirit, began planting a God-given hunger in me until He could speak more and more clearly and make me a better follower of Him.

But even in that, I don’t claim to have the entire picture: just the part that He has given me.  Part of my part is to beg anyone who listens to me to SEEK HIS SPIRIT WITH HIS WORD.  I’m pretty sure that you all know this and do it, and I’m probably as annoying as Netanyahu is when constantly says that the Iranian deal is a bad one. But it just seems to me that as the days get more and more dangerous, we need His discernment more and more.  I hear so many who seem to be off on bunny-trails. May we major in Knowing Him and trust Him to lead us by His Spirit into all Truth; AND TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE TRUTH THAT WE HAVE.

So, Jerusalem is compacted together.  Ha!

I came home from work on Thursday to see that the city had, for some reason TOTALLY unknown to me, lobbed off the large leafy limbs of the one tree in front of our apartment that thankfully had blocked my view (and somewhat muffled the noise) of the train, the traffic and the buildings.  I was NOT happy!

There at the foot of the trunk laid a huge pile of greenery that I had DELIGHTED in. Possibly the thing that I enjoyed most about our apartment.  I loved watching the birds right in front of my face as I looked out of the window or the balcony (merapeset), and they enjoyed me.  Now there it was: our apartment, naked to the sight of everyone as the train stopped in front. My mouth fell open.

I wailed to my husband when I walked in the house, “WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO ME?”

“Huh?” he answered. “Who did what to you?”  He hadn’t noticed.  Different priorities.

‘Oh Lord, You have my attention!  It’s noisy!  It’s even LESS pretty here!  So, here I am…Your servant… Yours to do with as You wish.  Get glory…and HELP ME TO MEAN THAT”

As if to mock my prayer the dying branches laid in an ugly pile below my window. He answers prayer, but in His time.  He brought us here for His purposes, and not for my comfort.

So, enough thoughts and comments.  God bless you and encourage you in Him.  I send my love,

Your sister J

2 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Church, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

June 26, 2015 · 9:17 am

Do We Still Cast Out Demons (Part 2)

dolly sad

 

Put on your Bible thinking caps for a moment, okay?

How many demons did Abraham cast out of people during his many journeys? How many demons did Moses cast out? Or Joshua? Or King David? Or Elijah? Or Elisha? Or Isaiah? Or Jeremiah? Or Ezekiel? Or Daniel?

And what about John the Baptist?

For he [John the Baptist] will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15)

Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet that was born under the Law, and even though John was filled with the Holy Spirit, he never cast out one demon during his twelve to eighteen months of ministry.

The angel Gabriel even talked with John’s father, Zacharias, about the special son that Elizabeth was going to give birth to, and said:

“He [John the Baptist] will go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)

But yet, with all the power that heaven invested in John the Baptist, he did not cast out one demon. Not one!

So, why did John the Baptist fail to cast out demons? And why did all of the Old Testament heroes of the faith fail to cast out demons?

(Continued in Part 3)

4 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Church, Deliverance, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 25, 2015 · 12:37 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (6/25/2015)

Dolly 77

The biggest struggle that most of us Christians face each day is our fear of men. We most certainly don’t want other people to ridicule us for our Christian beliefs and then suffer any consequences for holding onto these beliefs.

We desire both the praises of men and the praises of God, but there’s a problem with this type of thinking.

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. (Proverbs 29:25)

The Hebrew word mowqesh is translated into the English word snare. The Hebrew word picture for mowqesh suggests a noose lying on the ground waiting for an animal to step into it and be caught.

Today, I prayed:

Lord, help us American believers to reckon ourselves dead to the sin of the fear of man and alive to the righteousness of of God in Christ so that we do not allow this foul sin to reign in our mortal bodies and to obey its lusts. (Based on Romans 6:11-12)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

6 Comments

Filed under Christianity, Church, Fasting, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

June 23, 2015 · 2:02 pm

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (6/23/2015)

Don Bosco Slum in Manila markpedder.wordpress.co

Don Bosco Slum in Manila
markpedder.wordpress.co

In 1892, at the age of twenty-seven, John Hyde departed by ship for India to preach in the Punjab region. After being at sea for a few days, Hyde remembered a letter from a family friend. He opened it and read: “I shall not cease praying for you, dear John, until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The letter angered Hyde because he felt he had everything he needed. He crumpled it up and tossed it on the deck. A few minutes later, he humbled himself and asked the Lord to fill him with the Holy Spirit, no matter what it might cost him.

At that moment, John Hyde became Praying John Hyde.

His fruitlessness and discouragment drove Praying John Hyde to spend days and nights fasting and praying for India and its people. At the end of seven years, he had one solid convert. His missionary friends considered him crazy, a fanatic, and unsuccessful, but Hyde paid no attention to them. He continued to pray and fast.

Praying John Hyde is now recognized as an Apostle of Prayer because he saw thousands of converts and revival break out in the second half of his twenty-year ministry as a missionary to India.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Today, I prayed:

Lord, I ask that every discouraged minister and preacher in Asia be filled with Your Holy Spirit so that they will not grow weary in doing good for You. (Based on Acts 9:17 and  Galatians 6:9)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

2 Comments

Filed under 10/40 Window, Asia, Christianity, Church, Fasting, India, Kingdom of God, Manilla Slums, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Tagged as , , , , , ,