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November 19, 2025

Introduction As our friend Gina Gholston participated in the recent days of praise, the Lord gave her a word for us. You will find it encouraging! The title of Gina’s post is:

The Fruit of Our Praise For the past several days, in obedience to the prophetic word of the Lord from Chuck Pierce, we released our praise to God in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Praise is a powerful thing. It’s a weapon that shifts the atmosphere. It also shifts our focus from ourselves to our Heavenly Father. True praise provokes a fresh awareness of God, and when we think on Him and recall His goodness, it ignites hope and awakening within our own lives.

One morning this past week, as I was praising the Lord, Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance an actual event that I witnessed many years ago. I wrote about this event in my latest book, so I picked it up and read the story. As I read those words and remembered that event, my praise went to another level and another decibel! And in that moment of high and sincere praise, I heard the Lord say, “Divine intervention has been activated. Through your praise, the shield of faith has been raised, and you will now see an undeniable deflection of the fiery darts of the enemy. What has been intended for evil will now be turned for good. This will result in testimony after testimony of My power and goodness, evoking an awakening to an awareness of Me that will bring the nation back to life!”

What an encouraging word! It reveals that our praise doesn’t just give us access to God, it gives God access to us because He comes where He is acknowledged . . . and where He is, there is life!

Now, here is the testimony of the event the Lord reminded me of that morning.

Several years ago, I was privileged to be part of a missionary work team assigned to build a home for a pastor and his family. It was an incredible project that actually became supernatural! God enabled our small team to build that house from the concrete slab to a near-completed home in just ten days. While it was a hard, laborious task, it was also a joy to work with this amazing team and watch the project come to completion, one task at a time. My friend and assistant, Darlene, was also on this trip. And while we are by no means professional carpenters, we were so honored to work alongside and assist those who were.

One part of the building we were helping with was framing the home’s interior walls. With power tools and pneumatic nail guns, the framing was going pretty quickly. Darlene was assisting one of the carpenters, who was using the nail gun. She was holding the wall studs in place as he was nailing them.

As they worked on one wall, they were in a squatting position, and the carpenter using the nail gun was facing Darlene as she held the board being nailed. Somehow, the nail gun jerked just as he was pulling the trigger, and the nail missed the board and hit Darlene directly on her knee. Nail guns have a high-pressure force that can shoot a nail several feet and still penetrate the tip of the nail into a board. Darlene was right in front of the gun, just inches away, when the trigger was pulled. When the nail launched and hit her knee, it was one of those moments when everything seemed to stand still as we helplessly watched the event unfold. It all happened so quickly, and there was absolutely no denying what should have happened.

But God!

The end result should have been a nail blasting into and causing severe damage to Darlene’s knee, but instead, the end result was an amazing testimony of God’s protection! Despite the tremendous pressure driving the nail forward, the Lord supernaturally deflected it. It simply tapped and bounced off her knee and fell to the ground—not even leaving a mark on her!

Our God is awesome! He is almighty! When we remember His greatness, we cannot help but release our praises to Him! In the light of our awakened awareness of Him, confident faith arises, impacting our prayers and decrees. Our ability to walk and work with Him also increases as He works through us to change things once thought impossible. I am reminded of a line from an old song that says, “God specializes in things thought impossible. He can do what no other power can do!”(1)

The atmosphere of this nation is now filled with a swirl of sincere praises that have flowed from hearts and lips declaring the goodness of our great God! Our focus is on Him, and our faith in Him is ignited within us. He has been good. He is good! He is great, and He is greatly to be praised!

Our shouts of praise have captured the attention of Heaven. Heaven is responding to our sound. God is pleased, and He has come to inhabit our praises. Divine intervention has been activated to extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy. God is turning things in our favor. His favor surrounds us like a shield that deflects the enemy’s evil intentions. God is putting His finger on some things, as the word from Chuck declared, and hell’s agenda is losing its grip on this nation. Testimony after testimony of Yahweh’s power, intervention, and goodness is being proclaimed, and the words of our testimonies are awakening the nation to an undeniable awareness of our mighty God. He inhabits our praises, and under the weight and reality of His abiding presence, life is being restored!

Our combined prayer and decree:

Father, You are great, and You are greatly to be praised. We recall Your goodness, and our hearts can’t help but release shouts of praise and thanksgiving to You. O, how great is Your faithfulness! We turn our eyes upon You, and we find hope! Your love and favor surround us like a shield that deflects the fiery darts of our adversaries. Snares that have been crafted and meant for our downfall are being broken and destroyed. You, O, Lord, have enabled us to rise with overcoming power by the blood of Jesus and the words of our testimonies. Our shouts of praise will not be silenced! We lift our voices loud and strong to worship You, and You rush in like a mighty wind, the Ruach of Yahweh, to bring our nation back to life! Amen!

You have come to inhabit our praises. Your divine intervention has been activated, and we will now see an undeniable deflection of the fiery darts of the enemy. What has been intended for evil will now be turned for good. Testimony after testimony of Your power and goodness will continue to rise and evoke an awakening, an awareness of You that will bring the nation back to life!

Today’s post was contributed by our friend Gina Gholston. Portions were taken from Gina’s book, Along the Journey. You can find out more about Gina at GinaGholston.com

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

1.) Oscar C. Eliason, Got Any Rivers, 1931; copyrighted 1945 by Singspiration Music (ASCAP); Brentwood, TN.

November 18, 2025

Introduction Last week, I shared with you a prophetic word given to Chuck Pierce, which instructed us to offer praise to God three times a day for a week. The word said this would release God’s judgments against lies that have held America captive. You can read Chuck’s prophetic word here. The seven days ended Sunday, but many of us who heard about and started the weeklong process after it began are continuing for a few more days, simply to honor the Lord and “contribute” our week of praise.

Following up on Chuck’s word, I wrote two posts last week on the power of praise, and more importantly, why it is so powerful. I did so again yesterday and will continue this theme through tomorrow. The title of today’s post is:

The Priority “Firsts” can be good or bad. First place is usually good, as are first-class and first-rate. First-degree is usually bad, as is the need for first aid, and the first half, and the first baseman can be either. While thinking about this, I recalled several of my firsts, along with a one- or two-word thought concerning each of them. Here are ten:

First major-league baseball game attended (awe)
First day of school (intimidated)
First car (junk)
First date with Ceci (priceless)
First time seeing both daughters (love)
First dirty diaper change (nausea)
First sermon (nice try)

Compiling a few of my “firsts” was fun. Some were extremely important, others only memorable. The same would be true with yours. There is one first, however, that is essential and that all of us must keep number one. Jesus referred to it as our “first love.” When writing to the Ephesian church, He said, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

The Greek word translated “first” in this passage is protos, meaning “foremost in time, place, order, or importance.”(1) Since it would be illogical to assume Christ had been the first person each of them loved, it seems reasonable to conclude He was using the word in the sense of importance. “You have abandoned the love that should be your number one priority,” was His obvious meaning.

The root word for protos is pro, meaning “superior to” or “in front of”; and yes, protos is where we get our word professional, or its shortened form, pro. A professional is one who excels in a particular field. I used to play golf; Scotty Scheffler does, as well. But there’s a big difference between us: He’s a pro, I’m an amateur. Watching each of us swing a golf club once would leave no doubt as to the difference.

Shopping is another activity performed by both pros and amateurs. I shop occasionally - when God is punishing me for speeding or some other serious offense. I’m an amateur shopper and have no desire to ever be anything but an amateur. Ceci, on the other hand, is a pro. And as is fitting, she enjoys it. We both do what we enjoy: I watch a football game, she shops. Life is good.

Placing the literal definitions of pro and protos into the context of Revelation 2:4 makes clear what Jesus was saying: Relationship with Him should be “in front of” or “superior to” all others. He wants to be our “priority” love. Christ told us elsewhere that loving God is the first of all the other commandments (Matthew 22:37-38).

This begs the question of why - why does God demand to be first? Is He narcissistic or egocentric, demanding that we make Him the center of attention? Or, is God insecure, in need of our affirmation? The obvious answer to both of these questions is a resounding “NO!” The Lord is self-confident and self-assured, and yet this confidence is filtered through the utmost humility. He has neither pride nor insecurity issues. Why then does He demand to be number one? Because He wants us to be fulfilled. Complete. Satisfied.

The reason God must be first in our lives is profound in both its simplicity and importance: The very purpose for the creation of humans was relationship with God. We were made to be one in spirit with Him, joined together spiritually like a husband and wife. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Our union with Him completes us. There is a place in the heart of every human God made only for Himself. Period. If we don’t get this right, the pieces won’t fit. Nothing else can fill this void, including other people, money, pleasure, or accomplishments. And certainly not religion; we weren’t created to connect with a system or organization, but a person. God understands this, of course, and for our benefit, reminds us of His love for us and our need for Him.

Before correcting the church at Ephesus Jesus told them: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false: and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3).

What believer wouldn't be pleased to hear such praise? Yet Christ makes it clear that these accomplishments are not the heart of the matter. A good performance can't replace intimacy with Him. If this misconception is allowed to control us, our good works will devolve into meaningless religion - every time - satisfying neither God nor us. Our “performance” must flow out from a relationship with Him; never replace or be equated to it.

It is also important to understand that our first (priority) love is not based on emotions or feelings. It would be unrealistic to think we can maintain the same level of emotional excitement that typically occurs when we first meet Christ. Such a sustained emotional high is not a reasonable expectation in any relationship, whether it be with your spouse, a friend, or the Lord.

If Christ is currently number one in your life and you are enjoying the pleasure of His company, treasure it. Let nothing come between the two of you. But if you, like the church of Ephesus, have allowed other things to take priority over your relationship with Him, reprioritize. Make Him protos again - superior to all else. And if you have never yet discovered Christ as your first-love soul mate, well, get ready to find out why you exist.

Amazing joys await you.

Pray with me:

Holy Spirit, search our hearts and show us where we’ve failed to ascribe to our Father, to Jesus, and to You the highest place. Reveal to us the ways in which we have compromised our commitment to You, forsaking our first love. Thank You for tenderly drawing our wayward hearts back to the priority of loving You and receiving Your love. Without Your loving leadership, we are incomplete. May nothing else replace the pleasure of Your company.

Father, our nation once honored You first. But like the Ephesians, works, wealth, and pleasure crowded You out. For most Americans, You’re not even a distant second. However, from Your Word and from history, we know this can change. Smoldering embers can blaze again, cold hearts can burn with passion, and prodigals can run into the arms of love-sick fathers. With Your power and love, even dry, dead bones can live again. Breathe once again on this apostate nation. In Christ’s name, we pray, Amen.

Our decree:

We declare that America is returning to her first love; a harvest of lovers is coming, and Jesus will be prioritized above all!

Today’s post was taken from my book The Pleasure of His Company and published by Baker Books.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

James Strong, The New Strong’s exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4413.

November 17, 2025

Introduction

Last week, I shared a prophetic word given to Chuck Pierce, which instructed us to offer praise to God three times a day for a week. The word said this would release God’s judgments against lies that have held America captive. You can read Chuck’s prophetic word here. The seven days ended yesterday, but many of us who heard about and started the weeklong process after it began are continuing for a few more days, simply to honor the Lord and “contribute” our week of praise.

Following up on Chuck’s word, I wrote two posts last week on the power of praise, and more importantly, why it is so powerful. I will continue this theme through Wednesday. The title of today’s post is:

Earth-Shaking Praise In today’s post, I would like to highlight two biblical accounts that illustrate the power of praise. The first is from 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. In this passage, Judah was about to be invaded by a great multitude of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites (vs. 1-2). Judah’s king, Jehoshaphat, called for prayer. “We don’t know what to do,” he said to the Lord, “but our eyes are on You” (v. 12).

The Lord’s response to Jehoshaphat and Judah was that this battle was not theirs, but His; they would not even need to fight. Just put their trust in Him and His prophets, and they would succeed (verses 14-20). When it came time for the battle, Judah was told to simply offer praise to the Lord (v. 21). They obeyed, sending a choir ahead of their army. The choir sang, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (v. 21).

The praise brought the presence of the Lord, and as we saw when Jesus walked the earth, God’s presence has a very unsettling effect on demonic forces. When Yeshua showed up, demons screamed and cried out for mercy. Here in 2 Chronicles, God’s enemies became so disoriented and confused that they began to fight and kill one another (v. 22-23)! The passage says God “ambushed” them. The Hebrew word used means “to lurk, or lie in wait.” I love it! God was “lurking” in the atmosphere waiting for Judah’s praise to usher Him onto the battlefield. And just to make sure we make this connection, the Lord began verse 22 with the words, “And when they began singing and praising.”

I am confident that as we have been praising and worshiping over these past few days, God has been setting ambushes against those who oppose Him in Washington, D.C. He was “lurking” in the heavenly realm over our nation’s capital, just waiting for our praise to invite Him in. Praise attracts God’s presence, and His presence routs the enemy.

Paul and Silas Acts 16 gives us another powerful illustration of this. It’s the fairly well-known story of Paul and Silas praising God in their prison cell, which resulted in an earthquake that caused their deliverance. When recounted, the emphasis is almost always on their miraculous deliverance. However, the chapter and account are about SO MUCH MORE than just their deliverance.

It begins with Paul and his missionary team traveling and preaching the gospel in different regions. When they started to go in several different directions to different cities, Holy Spirit repeatedly stopped them. He finally gave Paul a dream or night vision: “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (verse 9).

The team obeyed, going to Philippi, and a remarkable series of events transpired. They led an influential businesswoman named Lydia to the Lord. They then cast out a spirit of divination from a slave-girl who brought great profit to her masters through her fortune-telling. Her masters were angry and had Paul and Silas beaten, thrown in jail, and put in stocks. At midnight, these two battered and bloody warriors began singing hymns of praise to God. The Lord heard their praise, and always enjoying the company of His kids, rushed to Philippi and into this jail cell. In His haste, it seems the Lord landed a little too hard! The earth shook, the chains broke loose, and all the prisoners were freed! Rather than fleeing, however, they decided to lead the jailer and his family to Christ and baptize them. It would seem that revival broke out in Philippi, and the Philippian church became one of the Lord’s key strongholds in the region.

As I mentioned earlier, it is clear that this passage is about so much more than these apostles’ great deliverance. God had a bigger plan. Lydia was the first convert in Europe, and Philippi was the first church established on the European continent. Let that sink in: the gospel was invading a new continent! These events became earth-shaking, quite literally.

And it was all born of praise. Not just the praise that occurred in the jail cell, by the way. Lydia, we are told, was “a worshiper of God” (v. 14). Even though she had not yet heard the gospel regarding the Messiah and therefore had not yet been born again, she was a devout Jewish worshiper of Yahweh. Perhaps it was her worship that created the vision inviting Paul to Macedonia! One thing is certain: praise and worship played a significant role in the gospel’s breakthrough into Europe.

Last week, when God told us to praise Him, and that this would create breakthrough in Washington, D.C., there is ample biblical evidence of the word’s validity, as you can see. Keep it up. Praise Him, and as you do, ask Him to invade our nation’s capital, ambush His enemies, and shake it with His mighty power.

When Chuck sent me this word last week, he included Jeremiah 49:16, saying the verse indicated God’s intentions against His enemies in D.C. Chuck actually sent it to me from two translations:

“‘Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,’ says the LORD.” (NKJV)

“‘Your capacity to terrorize has deceived you and made you arrogant. You make your home in the rocky crags and seize the top of the mountain; but even if you build your nest high as an eagle’s, from there I will drag you down,’ says ADONAI.” (AMP)

And, so be it!

Pray with me:

As our prayer and decree today, let’s use praise from the great hymn written by Martin Luthur, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

“A mighty Fortress is our God, a Bulwark never failing.

Our Helper He amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe.

His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate.

On earth is not His equal.

“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing. 

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He! 

Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same. 

And He must win the battle.

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us. We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. 

One little word shall fell him.

“That word above all earthly powers, No thanks to them, abideth. 

The Spirit and the gifts are ours, through Him who with us sideth. 

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. 

The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still.

His Kingdom is forever!”(1)

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://hymnary.org/text/a_mighty_fortress_is_our_god_a_bulwark

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