April 2, 2024

Come Home, Part 1

My brother, Tim, and his daughter, Rachel Shafer, have just released a new and powerful book on praying for prodigals, Come Home. As they point out, prodigals aren’t found only in the ranks of our children; a prodigal in your world could be a spouse, brother or sister, mom or dad, perhaps even a friend. That being the case, we all know some.

A revival is coming that will bring millions of these wayward prodigals home to the Father. Come Home will help generate this, inspiring and encouraging your faith, as well as arming you with an understanding of how to pray for these individuals whom Jesus so loves. It also provides us with biblical decrees to declare over them daily, releasing the power of Holy Spirit and God’s Word.

Though I am going to share a few excerpts with which to encourage you, my intent is to accomplish more than that. As you listen to these short portions of the book, you will see its value. I hope you order one and use its powerful and moving insights. If you do, it will prove to be one of the best investments you ever make.

Today’s portion of Come Home is the honest, heartfelt testimony of a mom who, like many of you, knows the pain and heartbreak of watching one you love turn away from Jesus. But she is now contending for her prodigal child, confident that she will come home. I’m beginning with this story because I want you to know you’re not alone, and that you can arise from your pain into overcoming faith.

A Testimony

“I never thought I would find myself writing something like this. 

“My husband and I raised our children in church. We were there for every service. They attended Sunday school, Bible clubs, VBS, youth meetings, camps, and any other activity the church offered. We started them out in Christian preschool and elementary school. At home, I planned fun activities that often included Christian or moral lessons. At a very young age, both children accepted Jesus as their Savior. We were thrilled. Life was good. We had succeeded as Christian parents. Our kids were saved; they were going to Heaven. We did it! 

“Until... my world fell apart. 

“One of my children (married now, with children of her own) dropped a bombshell into our lives. She no longer considered herself a Christian. At this writing, she and her husband are no longer serving the Lord or raising their kids in the church. Even typing this, I am feeling all the emotions this revelation caused when she first told me this: sadness, disappointment, anger, fear, embarrassment. I find myself cycling in and out of these emotions on a regular basis. I also cycle in and out of hope that they’ll come to their senses and return to the God of their childhood (both she and her husband were raised in church).

“I’ve had the sleepless nights, the tear-stained pillow, the muffled sobbing as I’ve prayed and pleaded with God to somehow miraculously turn this around. I’ve been angry at God, as if it’s His fault. After all, I did everything right, didn’t I? I raised them right! How did this happen?! 

“Now, I’m watching from afar as they live a life clearly not centered on God or the church. We’re not estranged; we’re still a close family. But it’s awkward now. They don’t want to hear about God. I’m finding myself censoring my comments, suppressing my true feelings, withholding comments such as, ‘I’ll be praying for you,’ or ‘God’s got this.’ 

“I would have to say that fear is one of the biggest emotions I’m experiencing. Fear that they’ll never turn back to God. Fear that my grandchildren will never be saved. Fear that I’ll die before it ever happens. I’m always wondering if I should leave a note for after my death, pleading with them to accept Jesus so we’ll meet again in Heaven. Thoughts like these can cause one to go down a dangerous path, because I KNOW that I shouldn’t be fearful. I remind myself that God pursued me when I was a teenager, and He’s still in the pursuing business. 

“I know the Scriptures. I know that God died for my daughter. I know I did my due diligence in raising her. I know God has a plan and a purpose for her and her family. I know I’m not the Savior; He is. I know God hasn’t given me a spirit of fear; I know that’s from the enemy. But when in a desperate situation, when deep in the battle, when you find yourself weary and growing faint, losing hope, you need help!

“That’s where this book comes in. I don’t need to be sobbing into my pillow and losing hope. I need to stand up and face the enemy. I need the words to decree that my daughter WILL return to the Lord! That the devil is a LIAR! That no weapon formed against my daughter and her family will prosper! I remind myself of these words in Ephesians 3:20-21 (MSG): 

‘God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.’

“I remind myself that this is exactly how I came to know the Lord as a teenager, while attending a revival in a small storefront church. Holy Spirit began gently speaking into my heart during one of the services, and I couldn’t run to the altar fast enough to give my heart to Jesus. I have to believe that He is working in my daughter's and her family’s hearts, as well. It is not up to me to save them, but it IS up to me to pray and decree! 

“Our words matter. The Bible is full of good promises for us and for our prodigals. I’m ready to face the enemy and take back what has been stolen from me, and what he has stolen from my daughter and her family. The devil CANNOT and WILL NOT have my family. Even though my daughter is grown and no longer living in our household, I have always quoted and dwelled upon this verse: 

‘As for me and my family, we’ll worship God,’ (Joshua 24:15 MSG). 

“I also think about what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy concerning Timothy’s faith: 

‘That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you!’ (2 Timothy 1:5 MSG) 

“I remind myself that my husband and I dedicated our children to the Lord; we raised them in the fear and knowledge of Him, and we (all of us!) WILL worship the Lord. We have passed down our faith, and we refuse to let the enemy steal our children and grandchildren. They belong to God!”(1)

You, too, can rise up in faith and authority, and see your prodigal/s return to the Father. This book will help you do so.

Pray with me:

Father, we and the prodigals we love are not at the mercy of demons, sin, deception, or the pigpens these things generate. We and those we love are at YOUR mercy, which is always now (“new every morning”), inexhaustible, never-ending, and something You delight in releasing. Our faith is anchored in this and cannot be dislodged. Your word is true and forever settled.

We agree now that discouragement will be broken off of our brothers and sisters, condemnation will be wiped away, and faith will arise. Grant favor to this book and use it to replace fear and wavering with unyielding faith. Use the truth it contains to set many free, and the principles and decrees it provides to bring untold numbers of prodigals home. 

And we pray even now for tomorrow’s pastors who are today in pigpens. We pray for the future worship leaders who are currently singing of perversion and sin, and for the next generation of righteous moms and dads who are still doing drugs and living in perversion. Your power can and will break satan’s deception and influence, Father, and since You desire to do so, we will accept nothing less. We pray all this in Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Our decree:

We decree that millions of prodigals are going to come home.

Portions of today’s post were taken from Tim and Rachel’s book Come Home. You can find this book here or at TimSheets.org.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. Tim Sheets and Rachel Shafer, Come Home (Destiny Image Publishers: Shippensburg, PA, 2024) pp. 61-64. 

April 1, 2024

The Star-Spangled Banner Dream

Our friend, Gina Gholston, was given the following dream on March 16, 2024.

The Dream

“In the dream I saw Dutch Sheets on the steps that lead up to the United States Capitol Building. I knew he had been in very intense intercession for the nation. He was weeping, overcome with deep travail.

“He had an electric guitar ready to play, though there was no amplifier. Standing beside him was a man with a silver trumpet positioned to his lips. I felt that this ‘man’ was an angel.

“Then it was as if Dutch was overcome with a wave of revelation. He knew that until the eyes of the American people were opened to SEE truth, change could not come to the nation. At that moment, the anointing of Holy Spirit overtook him, and he began to shout loudly with incredible passion and authority:

‘I DECLARE THAT A “SEEING ANOINTING” GOES OUT OVER THIS LAND TO BREAK THE “SPELL” OF DELUSION! THE LORD IS OPENING THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY WILL SEE!’

“As the last word left his mouth, he strummed the guitar, and the angel beside him blew a long, continuous blast on the silver trumpet; they did so in the key of C. The two instruments combined into one sound. Though there was no amplifier, the sound was louder than if the instruments had been connected to an amplifier. It was supernatural!

“Then, Dutch repeatedly sang just one line from The Star Spangled Banner: ‘O, say, can you SEE?’ When he sang the word ‘see,’ it began to echo: ‘O, say, can you SEE? . . . SEE! . . . SEE! . . . SEE!’ Over and over, he sang that one phrase. It became more than a question; the echoing word became a command, sent out over the nation.

“Each time he sang the phrase and the word ‘see’ echoed, it would catch up with the echo from the previous release . . . becoming a never-ending echo of this powerful command throughout the nation: See! See! See! . . .

“Then, the note of C being strummed on the guitar and blown from the trumpet combined to create a visible movement, like ripples fanning out. The ripples looked somewhat like an old, hand-held fan that could be opened up to make a 360-degree circular fan. They merged with and carried the echoes of the command, ‘SEE,’ and wrapped around the Capitol building. I don’t know how to adequately articulate this, but it was as if the music and the echoing word, ‘SEE,’ combined to become a visible, swirling wind of sound.

“Then a massive choir, which I believe was comprised of angels, suddenly formed completely around the Capitol. This choir began to loudly sing the chorus of the song, Shout to the Lord:

‘Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing, “Power and majesty, praise to the King! Mountains bow down, and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands. Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.’(1)

“There was something important and powerful about the last line of this song: 

‘Nothing compares to the PROMISE I have in You.’ It felt as though the promise had something to do with the covenantal promises God has made concerning America.

“When the choir finished the chorus, Dutch, still in the deep throes of travail, said again, ‘I DECLARE THAT A “SEEING ANOINTING” GOES OUT OVER THIS LAND TO BREAK THE “SPELL” OF DELUSION! THE LORD IS OPENING THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY WILL SEE!’ Then, this was all repeated: he strummed the guitar, the angel blew the trumpet, Dutch sang the phrase, ‘O, say, can you SEE,’ the echoes continued, and the choir sang. Their words continued to act as whirlwinds, pushing the sound waves of the ‘C’ chord and the command, ‘SEE,’ in every direction, reverberating across the nation.

“This was all repeated over and over.” End of dream.

My Thoughts

This dream was received by Gina and sent to me a week before the Francis Scott Key bridge was struck and destroyed. Key, as most everyone now knows, penned the words of our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.(2) It seems very unlikely that the dream, the song, the message it was used to communicate, and the destruction of the bridge bearing the author’s name are not connected/related.

The uses of silver trumpets (not the shofar) in Scripture are given in Numbers 10:1-10. In summary, since they did not have modern technology, the silver trumpets were used to coordinate the movements of the large encampment of Israelites. The movement could be to assemble or to travel. And, they were used for sounding an alarm for battle (verse 9): “When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and be saved from your enemies.” This is what I feel is the purpose of the silver trumpet in the dream. 

If America is to remain “the land of the free,” as our anthem states, its citizens must have the “delusion” broken over them. This delusion was caused by a “spell,” obviously referring to its demonic roots. This deception could apply to several areas: morality, justice, government (the declaration was made at the Capitol, and the sound first encircled it), marriage, education, media, and more. Most definitely, it refers to America’s need for - and relationship with - God, including our founding and destiny, which He oversaw. This delusion must be broken off of our nation, enabling us to see clearly once again. 

The dream clearly states that God IS breaking this delusion off of America, and using the church, the Ekklesia, to do so. We must continue to pray and decree the “promises” of God’s Word, along with Holy Spirit’s prophetic words, over our nation. As we do so, the Scriptures - and the dream - assure us that angels will aid us, carrying the power of our prayers and decrees across our nation. The wind or breath of God will also carry and empower these prayers.

Prayer For Our Waterways and Structures

It is necessary and important to point out that we were warned to pray against attacks against our water-related structures and ports in a previous dream given to Gina (Click here to read). Believable reports are circulating that the destruction of this bridge could have been accomplished through a cyber attack being used to control the barge. The purpose of such an attack is obvious: The effects of this bridge collapse will cost Americans billions of dollars; the barge was loaded with hazardous materials, which will create many problems; and the cleanup and repair will take YEARS, not months. This is very, very serious.

We may never know if it actually was an attack – I question whether or not our current government would admit this. However, whether it was an attack or an accident, prayer can protect from both. We must take the warning we received more seriously, and pray diligently over our water supply, waterways, bridges, dams, and ports. Destruction of these supplies and structures could literally cripple our nation. And we know that Biden‘s policies have allowed more than a million “unknowns,” illegal aliens that came into our nation as “gottaways.” We have been warned that there are likely thousands of terrorists and/or spies currently in our nation. 

We must continue to repent for America’s sins and rejection of the Lord, pray diligently for restoration, and declare the promises of God over our nation. The shaking has begun and will continue, but we have been told it is redemptive - it will tear down evil structures and awaken Americans to our need for God. And we must ask for the wind of Holy Spirit to blow, bringing a true and sweeping revival. This will remove deception and restore, God’s protection. 

The Lord says that America will SEE and shall be saved! Believe it and declare it.

Pray with me:

Father, evil forces are at work to destroy America. As the great hymn (A Mighty Fortress) says, “Still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate.”(3) But the hymn also reminds us that “The right Man” - Jesus - will give us victory. We know He has conquered the authority of hell and is King over all the earth. We will continue to war from this place of victory and authority, and with the help and leadership of Holy Spirit.

We stand in Yeshua’s authority and declare over America: A “SEEING ANOINTING” NOW GOES OUT OVER THIS LAND TO BREAK THE “SPELL” OF DELUSION! THE LORD IS OPENING THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY WILL SEE!

We declare Your stated purpose that “The gospel will go forth from these shores, not only to this land, but, to all the nations of the earth” (spoken by Robert Hunt at Cape Henry in 1607).(4) And we declare that America is being cleansed of her sin, rejection of God, and strongholds of darkness. America shall be saved! 

Our decree:

We decree that a “seeing anointing” goes out over this land to break the “spell” of delusion! The Lord is opening the eyes of people so they will see!

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. Shout to the Lord, written by Darlene Zschech, 1993. Published by Hillsong Music, Australia.

2. https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/the-lyrics.aspx

3. https://hymnary.org/text/a_mighty_fortress_is_our_god_a_bulwark 

4. https://www2.cbn.com/article/church/faith-our-fathers-spirituality-jamestown 

March 29, 2024

We will be taking communion together at the end of today's post. 

Holy Friday

Good Friday, called this because of an ancient usage of the word “good” as a synonym for holy. (In the same way that the Holy Bible at times is called the “Good Book.”) Holy Friday, indeed.

From Gethsemane, Messiah was led to a mock trial, after which He was beaten mercilessly with a cat-o-nine-tails. This procedure was so brutal that some recipients didn’t survive it. The leather cords, tipped with sharp metal, tore at the flesh of the victim, not only cutting, but ripping off pieces of flesh. The beating, with its nine cords, delivered 39 times, made a total of 351 lashes. This was barbaric and brutal, not only lacerating the back, but wrapping around to the front of the victim’s body, including the face. It is hard to describe this lashing without being too graphic for most readers. The depiction of the horrific damage in The Passion movie is no exaggeration. Suffice it to say that when finished, the victim was often unrecognizable.

The soldiers also beat Christ with their fists and spat on His face. To mock Him as “the King of the Jews,” a crown made of thorns was placed on His head and pressed into His skin, causing great pain and more loss of blood. When the ordeal was finished, Messiah was so mangled and covered with spittle and blood that He literally was unrecognizable. Isaiah said, “Many people were shocked [astonished; appalled] when they saw Him. His appearance was so damaged [disfigured; marred] He did not look like a man; His form was so changed they could barely tell He was human” (Isaiah 52:14 The Expanded Bible). The added punishments and torture, much more than the average victim of crucifixion was afflicted with, can only be explained as the fury of hell, trying to snuff out the life of the Son of God.

Yeshua received this for you and me. Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 tell us it was through this beating that we are healed. Place your faith for healing in this substitutionary sacrifice today.

Christ was then led to His crucifixion. There are several prophetic references or pictures in the Old Testament pointing to the Cross. One passage of extreme importance is Deuteronomy 21: 22-23, which references one who experienced death by hanging on a tree as being “cursed.” It is abundantly clear from Galatians 3:13 that this verse refers to Jesus hanging on the “tree,” taking our curse. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’”

Yeshua’s crucifixion took place at Golgotha, “the place of the skull.” God, millennia before, had ordained that this would be the place and, with the forces of nature, carved the international symbol of death onto the hillside. This also was the location of Isaac’s interrupted sacrifice (Genesis 22), which pictured the Cross. Like Isaac, we were spared, and God Himself provided the sacrifice. “Then Abraham looked up [lifted his eyes] and saw a male sheep [ram] caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep, offering it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved [in the place of his son]. So Abraham named that place The Lord Provides [or Sees; Hebrew: Yahweh Yireh]. Even today, people say, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided [or seen]’” (Genesis 22:13-14; The Expanded Bible). In this chosen place, high on a hill so all could see the Passover Lamb bearing our sin, suffering, and shame, God provided the sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus carried His own Cross, though He was able to carry it only part of the way. It was actually the crossbeam that He carried. When He arrived at the place of crucifixion, He was first tied and nailed with spikes to this crosspiece, which contained a hole in the center, enabling it to slide down onto the permanent upright post. After a victim was tied and nailed to this portion, it was lifted and placed onto the top of the vertical section, whereupon it would fall down and slam into place. This is often when dislocations would occur in the crucified person, as the crosspiece slammed down, and stopped. And indeed, we know this occurred with Christ, as was prophesied of Him in Psalm 22:14. The sliding down of the crosspiece is also why the spikes were placed at the bottom of the hands where they joined the wrist; this placement would sustain more weight. It’s also why the victim was tied to the crossbeam. If they were not secured in this way, they would often be torn loose.

Yeshua hung on the Cross for six hours in this emaciated state. While there, He spoke seven times. Time does not permit me to comment on each of them, but they are all significant. Halfway through the ordeal, at noon, the sun disappeared, and the sky grew dark (Luke 23:44-45). This was a fulfillment of Amos 8:9-10: “‘It will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord God, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight. Then I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins, And baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.’” Surely this is a prophetic picture of the Light of the World being snuffed out for us. 

It was at the end of the three hours that Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46-47; Mark 15:34) He was quoting from Psalm 22, which is a detailed prophecy of the Cross. Christ was crying out in anguish because, for the first time in all of eternity, He was experiencing separation from His Father. It is also the only record we have of Him addressing God as anything other than Father.

Christ had taken our sins upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53.5). Most scholars agree that when this occurred, He bore our separation from the Father, who could no longer look upon Him. Though Jesus no doubt knew this would occur, the actual experience was more than He could endure, and cried out in anguish. It is worth noting that Christ never cried out during the beatings, scourging, thorns, spikes, or dislocations - only when this separation occurred from His Father, as He bore our sin.

Finally, it was enough. The price had been paid. Christ made His final two statements. The first, “It is finished,” I have written of before in the GH15 posts. This was not a quiet statement referencing His death, but a loud declaration by Christ, also a quote from Psalm 22:3. This decree was one word in Greek (tetelestai)(1) and also in the Hebrew of Psalm 22 (asah).(2) Using the literal meaning of these words, Christ was declaring that He had fully accomplished His assignment, paid our debt in full, and was bringing forth the new creation!

Yeshua then released His spirit to the Father. Death did not take Him, He “yielded up His Spirit” (Matthew 27:50). It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The priests in the Temple were performing their customary duties when, at the very moment Jesus yielded up His Spirit, the veil in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). The purpose of this veil had been to separate humans from the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God on earth. With this symbolic act, God was declaring that the separation caused by our sin was gone, and we could now draw near to Him, entering His presence once again!

Why don’t you spend some time with Him today? He would like that.

Pray with me:

Thank You, Father, for the Cross. Thank You for sending Christ to be our substitute. Thank You for placing our sins upon Him in order to bring us back into Your family. Thank You for enduring the lashes, the wounds, the crown of thorns, and the separation, for surely it was agonizing for You, as well as for Yeshua.

And thank You, Jesus, for Your heart of humility and love. You are the Son of Man and Son of God. Through Your sacrifice and our faith in it, You have made us sons and daughters of the Most High. We are so grateful. Now, by faith, we appropriate all of the cleansing power of Your shed blood, and the healing virtue that flows from every wound You suffered. By Your stripes, we are healed!

As we prayed yesterday, we do again today: for the glory of Your name and the pleasure of Your heart, send revival to earth. Save a billion or more people in this great revival. Your Father promised You the nations of the earth as Your inheritance - reap them now.

And in remembrance of You and what You did for us on Calvary, we partake of the Communion Meal. We take the bread, which was Your body, broken for us - a price paid so we could be healed. [Pause; eat the bread] 

We take the cup, a representation of Your blood, spilled for us, the price paid for our redemption from sin. We give You thanks today, Jesus. We give You thanks. [Drink the juice]

Our decree:

We decree that the Lamb who was slain has overcome and will forever reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 5055

2. Ibid. Ref. no. 6213