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Do Not Underestimate the Love of God Today’s post is not from Tim and Rachel‘s book Come Home, but is one final teaching regarding praying for prodigals or any who are unsaved. After sharing a few posts a while back regarding praying for prodigals, I received a letter from a person agonizing over a loved one who had died. They felt that this person died before receiving Christ, in spite of their faithful prayers. I want to say to everyone listening to or reading this post, never assume a person you were praying for did not make it to heaven. We do not know what occurred in the last moment before they crossed into eternity, as the following two stories will illustrate. The Scriptures tell us God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 KJV). We don't have to wonder about God’s desire or willingness regarding the lost; He could not make His will any clearer. The Lord wants every person to believe in Christ and be born again. "Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save" (Isaiah 59:1). Not only is God willing to save the lost, but He is fully capable of doing so. He has sufficient power and knows how to bend, shape, and change the perspective of unbelievers, bringing them to a revelation of the truth. Holy Spirit can break off of every satanic stronghold and bring them to a knowledge of the truth. Story Number One “While hitchhiking home, Roger Simms was picked up by an older gentleman in an expensive car. They talked about many things, including Mr. Hanover's business in Chicago. Roger felt a strong compulsion to share his faith but was apprehensive about witnessing to a wealthy businessman. Finally, nearing his destination, Roger spoke up. “‘Mr. Hanover,’ began Roger, ‘I want to share something very important with you.’ He explained the way of salvation and asked if Mr. Hanover would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger's astonishment, the businessman pulled over to the side of the road, bowed his head, wept, and prayed the prayer of salvation. He thanked Roger, saying, ‘This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.’ “Five years later, while in Chicago on a business trip, Roger went to Hanover Enterprises. The receptionist told him it would be impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but Mrs. Hanover was available. A little disappointed, he followed her into an office. “After exchanging greetings, Roger explained how Mr. Hanover had kindly given him a ride years ago. Suddenly interested, Mrs. Hanover asked when this had happened. When Roger told her it was on May 7, five years earlier, she asked if anything unusual had happened during his ride. “Roger hesitated, wondering if giving his witness had been a source of contention. But, feeling the prompting of the Lord, he told her that he had shared the gospel message and that her husband had accepted the Lord into his heart. “She began to sob uncontrollably. After a few minutes, she explained that she had thought her prayers for her husband's salvation had not been answered. After leaving Roger at his destination, Mr. Hanover had died that day in a horrible head-on collision.”(1) God is faithful. He knows how to unlock people’s hearts, convince them of their need and Christ’s provision, and when the time is right for them to be presented with the opportunity. And this certainly does not have to occur in a house of worship. God knows when to have hitchhikers travel home; He knows how to ensure unbelievers are driving the right road, at the right time, and how to motivate them to pick up the “evangelist.” God knows what He is doing! Don't miss the fact that Mrs. Hanover had been praying for her husband’s salvation. Our prayers release God’s power; never forget this. Don’t assume, just because you are not aware of a person’s conversion before their death, that it did not occur. If they were in an accident, they may have cried out to the Lord the moment they were dying. Even while unconscious or comatose, people can cry out in their hearts for salvation. Would the Lord cause a person’s spirit to linger in their body long enough for this to occur, in order to answer a prayer and get someone to heaven? Absolutely. Do not underestimate God’s love and grace. Story Number Two In my book, Intercessory Prayer, I tell the story of praying for a young girl in a coma, whom the Lord eventually healed. What I did not relate was the testimony of an elderly lady who, for a short time, shared her room in the nursing home. This lady was very old, and also in an unconscious state. In the 60 or 70 times I visited this young girl in the nursing home, this was the only person that ever shared a room with her; on all other occasions, she was in a room by herself. God placed the elderly lady there for a couple of weeks in order to get her to heaven. The young girl’s family had placed a radio in her room. (This will be meaningful in a moment.) At times, comatose individuals can hear what is going on around them; they just are not able to respond in any way. So, in case she could hear, they wanted music to be playing so she would not be lying there in silence all the time. The workers in the nursing home would often turn it to a country or a rock ‘n’ roll station. I, on the other hand, would turn it to soft music - not singing, just music - which was more peaceful and conducive to prayer. It was not a Christian station that played Christian music; just soft, peaceful music. On one visit, after praying for the young girl for an hour, I felt Holy Spirit leading me to share the gospel/good news of salvation with the unconscious elderly lady. I stepped next to her bed and said, “Ma’am, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I am going to assume that you can. And I don’t know if you have received Christ, but I’m going to assume you haven’t. I feel that I am to share with you how to be born again and then pray with you.” No response. I did so, then said aloud, “If you are hearing me and do not know the Lord, just pray these words with me in your heart.” I then prayed a prayer of salvation. The instant I said, “Amen” – not 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 20 seconds after, and not before I said amen - the song, Amazing Grace, began playing on the radio. The entire song, all the verses. I stood there between the two beds and began to weep. I raised my hands and worshiped as I listened to the entire song. I knew that the amazing grace of God had kept this lady alive, put her in this room, and led me to pray this prayer with her before she died, even while she was in this unconscious state. I then felt led to pray that her suffering would end, and she would go on to heaven. And I did so. A week later, when I returned, she was gone. Upon asking the workers where she was, they simply said, “She passed away.” Never underestimate the love and grace of God. Pray with me: Father, Your mercy is endless, enduring forever. You delight in releasing it. It is difficult for us to believe, at times, that You love someone more than we do; but You do. We anchor ourselves to this and choose to believe it. Use these two testimonies to assure individuals that You will do anything and everything to answer their prayer for someone’s salvation. We believe that, regardless of how far someone is from You in their heart, You are not far from them. Your love is endless and relentless. We ask for the salvation of every family member represented by those listening to or reading this today and agreeing with me. We ask You to do whatever is necessary to save or restore them, and one day take them to heaven. We bind every attack satan has launched against them through deception, addiction, pain, or any demonic influence. We declare his hold over them is broken, the eyes of their understanding will be enlightened, and they will come to their senses. They will believe in Christ and His redemption for them. We ask You for millions of salvations to occur around the world, a billion or more. We are thoroughly convinced the great harvest You have planned is coming, and we declare it: Your kingdom influence and dominion, come! Your will be created and done, in the name of Jesus! And we rejoice with You over the inevitability of this billion-soul harvest. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the Lord of the harvest WILL have His harvest! Click on the link below to watch the full video. Alice Gray, Stories for the Heart (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1996), pp. 225-257.

Come Home, Part 3 The following is from Come Home, a wonderful book written by my brother Tim Sheets, and his daughter Rachel Shafer. They share amazing revelation found in the story of the prodigal son, including something I’m quite sure you’ve never heard. The God Hug “There is a wind of Holy Spirit on this amazing parable of the prodigal son as if it’s being freshly told to us. It’s prophesying, I believe, into our moment right now, a phase of our Kingdom’s movement in this era. Jesus tells His disciples: ‘A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, “I want my share of your estate now before you die.” So, his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. ‘A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. ‘When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, “At home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.’” ‘So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” ‘But his father said to the servants, “Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.” So the party began. ‘Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. “Your brother is back,” he was told, “and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.” ‘The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, “All these years, I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time, you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!” ‘His father said to him, “Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” (Luke 15:11-32 NLT)’ “In this magnificent depiction of Father God’s heart, Jesus tells us that when the father saw his lost son off in the distance, he ran to him. He didn’t walk or stroll; he ran. The father was looking for his son to return. He was anticipating it, and when he saw him, he ran to him. It’s the only time Christ ever depicts Father God as running. “The great God of Heaven and Earth is not depicted here as sitting on the throne of the universe ruling and reigning, though most certainly He does. He is not depicted as standing before billions of angels and giving them orders, though He does. He is not depicted as riding a chariot of fire as the most awesome conquering warrior in all of time and eternity, though He is. He is not depicted as the great I Am leading people in great awesome deliverance and promised inheritance, though He is. He is portrayed as Father God, filled with unconditional love, running to welcome a lost child home. “There could be no greater or more graphic portrayal than the one Jesus gives us here. Religion and pharisaical ideas have portrayed Father God in a completely different way. “Religion says: ‘I messed up; my dad is going to kill me!’ “Sonship says: ‘I messed up; I need to call my dad.’ God Is Running “We are moving into an amazing era, and the world is going to see Father God run with a divine purpose: to bring lost sons and daughters home; to restore them, clean them up, and put new clothes on them. This is a present campaign being launched now by Holy Spirit. “In Luke 15:20 (KJV), Jesus used a word we need to focus on because it speaks to another awesome aspect of this campaign. He tells us that when the father saw his lost child coming, he ran to him and ‘fell on his neck,’ kissing him. “Fell on his neck,” as King James puts it, is the Greek word epipipto.(1) It would ring in the hearts of these disciples for the rest of their lives, becoming a common word in the early church. Its understanding gives such great hope. Epipipto means ‘to embrace someone in love, to hug someone in love, or to hug someone you love.’ Epipipto was called the ‘love embrace.’ Loving The Unclean “In Acts 10:44, Peter was at Cornelius’s house. Remember, Cornelius was a Gentile. He was Italian. The Jews had no dealings with Gentiles. They were prejudiced against them, considered them ‘unclean,’ and wouldn’t eat with or fellowship with them. Peter, at first, had refused to go to this home. “Then Holy Spirit gave Peter a vision in which he saw a sheet come down out of Heaven with all sorts of ‘unclean’ animals on it. Holy Spirit said, ‘Rise and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘I’m not going to do that; they are unclean.’ But Holy Spirit said, ‘Don’t you call common or unclean what I have cleaned.’ Through this vision and Holy Spirit’s admonition, Peter was willing to go to the home of Cornelius and declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. The Holy Spirit Hug “We are told that while Peter was doing so, Holy Spirit fell on them. ‘Fell on them’ is the word epipipto. Same word. While Peter was talking to them, God suddenly reached out in love and embraced these ‘unclean’ people. As they received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit hugged them. It was a baptism of love upon people who, up until that point, were considered to be unclean - nobodies, low-lives. “Because of this ‘hug,’ Gentiles like us were welcomed into Christianity, which changed the course of history. “Peter said, ‘It has happened to them just like it happened to us’ (Acts 11:15), a reference to Pentecost. What happened at Pentecost to Peter and those who had gathered in the Upper Room had now happened to the people of the house of Cornelius.” My Words And God is going to embrace millions in the hour with His healing hugs. I believe your prodigal will be one of them. Pick up a copy of this wonderful book and allow it to help you pray this into fruition. Tomorrow, I am going to finish this short series on praying for prodigals and the unsaved with a post I have written. I share two stories to let you know just how much God loves them. NEVER underestimate His love and grace. The testimonies will inspire and encourage you. Prayer and Decrees: “I decree Father is running to our sons and daughters. I declare a release of God’s love on this generation, reclaiming and redeeming what the enemy has tried to lock up. I decree that ‘God hugs’ are being released to prodigals, as well as those who have never known the Lord. I decree the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies are new every morning. I decree that as ‘God’s hugs’ are released, bruises the enemy has inflicted are removed and healed - spirit, soul, and body. I decree that the rich and pure love of God is reaching into our prodigals' innermost beings, healing them and restoring God’s original intention for their lives. I decree that God never ceases to gently and tenderly call my prodigal home. I decree that one touch from the Father changes everything.”(2) Today’s post was 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. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1968. Tim Sheets and Rachel Shafer, Come Home (Destiny Image Publishers: Shippensburg, PA, 2024), pp. 109-113, 122.

Come Home, Part 2 From the book Come Home, by Tim Sheets and Rachel Shafer, on praying for our prodigals: “‘Thus says the Lord: “Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for your work [raising of your children, prayer] will be rewarded,” says the Lord; “and your children will return from the enemy’s land. There is [confident] hope for your future,” says the Lord; “Your children will come back to their own country.” (Jeremiah 31:16-17 AMP)' “In the study and preparation for this book, we came across a powerful truth regarding the biblical illustration of the Prodigal Son. “Luke 15:20 (NKJV) says, concerning the prodigal son, ‘...when he was still a great way off, his father...had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.’ “Jewish history enlightens us as to why the father ran, and it is a stunning revelation. This man’s son had demanded his inheritance, wanting what he considered to be his now, rather than when his father died, as was the custom of the day. After receiving his portion, the son left his home, turning his back on the values he had been taught. He eventually lost everything, wasting it all on parties and prostitutes, and ended up working in a pigpen. The son broke his father’s heart, as well as breaking all the rules of the tight-knit community he had been brought up in. After he came to his senses, the son decided to return home. Luke 15:20 tells us his father saw his son when he was still a long way off and ran to him. “In those times, a Middle Eastern man never ran, because in order to do so, he would have to raise up his tunic so he wouldn’t trip, and in so doing would expose his bare legs. In that culture, it was considered humiliating and shameful for a man to show his bare legs. In addition, it was known that if a Jewish son lost his inheritance among Gentiles, and then returned home, the community would perform a ceremony called the kezazah, or a ‘ceremony of shame.’ “During this ceremony, they would break a large pot or pitcher in front of the son. As they smashed it into pieces, they would declare him to be cut off from his people, all ties broken, and he would no longer be welcome in the community. “This, then, brings us to the question: Why did the father run to his son, which also brought a level of shame to himself? In essence, the father was running to get to his son in order to extend grace before anyone else could get to him with the law. He wanted to extend love, acceptance, welcome, and hope before anyone else could take it away. He wanted his son welcomed, not ashamed with humiliation and rejection. “As onlookers watched the father run toward his son, reuniting, hugging, and kissing him, it would be apparent there would be no kezazah. Instead, there would be a homecoming party, a celebration of his restoration, which only the father could bring. No rejection—his father bore the shame and showed everyone that his son was welcomed home. “The application for us is fairly obvious. Our Father bore our sin and shame through Jesus. We can be forgiven and redeemed, and even our lost purpose and destiny can be restored. As we repent, He wipes the slate clean and gives us a fresh start. “God’s Promise: What He did for the prodigal son, He will do for you, and He will also do it for those for whom you are praying. Lost purpose will be recovered.” Tim and Rachel tell us later in the book that our Father not only welcomes the prodigal, taking their shame and refusing to treat them as outcasts, but He Himself will war for their salvation. “The prophet Isaiah gives us a great promise that I believe we need to embrace: “‘Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go? But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children,’ (Isaiah 49:24-25 NLT). “Several other words for ‘retrieved’ are gotten back, recovered, restored. Joel prophesied in Joel 2:25 (KJV) that the years the locust, cankerworm, caterpillar, and palmerworm have eaten, God was going to restore. These pests were grubworms that would eat the harvest. God was literally saying that He was going to restore His people’s lost harvests. How many harvests (prodigals) have we lost? Millions and millions, and that’s why we prophesy a billion souls are coming in. They’re going to be recovered. God is going to fight those who fight us, and He is going to save our children. “There are evil cultural warriors promoting iniquity and perversion in our society. Tyrants have sought to capture our children with confusing lies and distorted ideologies. There are those who think they are giants, too big for us to stop them from indoctrinating our children with demonic ideas, who are about to discover that God is at war with them. “They will soon realize they are contending with Almighty God, and they cannot beat Him. Our God is saying to us, ‘I will contend with those who contend with My people. I will fight those who fight you. I’m on your side, and I will defend your cause. I will take the plunder of war away from them, and I will deliver those who are held captive. I will save your children; I will rescue them.’ “The Hebrew word for ‘contend’ is ruwb,(1) and it means ‘to grapple, to defend, to grab someone by the hair of the head.’ It means ‘to fight with words, to fight physically, legal combat through laws,’ and it is sometimes used as the word in the Old Testament for ‘ambush.’ It sounds to me like God means business! “Perhaps that is why Jesus says in Matthew 18:6 (PassionTranslation), ‘If anyone abuses one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment he’s deserved.’ “The Hebrew word for ‘save’ in Isaiah 49 is yasha(2) and it means ‘to free, to avenge, to rescue, to save physically and soulishly.’ It was very interesting to me when I studied this word. Hebrew scholars say yasha was specifically pointed toward the healing of emotions, or it referenced healing for someone’s emotional state. “The coming generation has been traumatized these past few years. Fears have oppressed them. Covid and ridiculous lockdowns have affected so many of our children to the point that some of them are suffering from depression and are on drugs for that. Depression is plaguing hundreds of thousands of American children. “But God says, ‘I’m going to pour out My Spirit and change things. I’m going to avenge them, and I’m going to heal their emotions. I’m going to heal their souls. I’m going to fight those who teach them demon doctrine. I’m going to wrestle with those who lie to them, exploiting their innocence. I’m going to contend, and I’m going to save them.’” Let’s agree with Him! Our Prayer and Decree (from the book Come Home) I decree a Holy Spirit outpouring is beginning to move upon all flesh, upon our sons and daughters. I decree revivals will occur in hundreds of places where our young people gather, in all 50 states and nations of the world. I decree God is on our side, defending our cause and saving our children. I decree God is pouring out His Spirit and changing things. He is avenging our children and healing their emotions. I decree our sons and daughters are discovering that Father loves them, wants them, and is preparing a place for them. I decree that chains are falling off in Jesus’ name, and truth is revealed—and the truth is setting them free. I decree Romans 2:4, that God’s kindness leads to repentance.(3) 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. ____________________________ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 7378. Ibid. Ref. no. 3467. Tim Sheets and Rachel Shafer, Come Home (Destiny Image Publishers: Shippensburg, PA, 2024), pp. 27-29, 82-84, 91.

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

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. Shout to the Lord, written by Darlene Zschech, 1993. Published by Hillsong Music, Australia. https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/the-lyrics.aspx https://hymnary.org/text/a_mighty_fortress_is_our_god_a_bulwark https://www2.cbn.com/article/church/faith-our-fathers-spirituality-jamestown

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. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 5055 Ibid. Ref. no. 6213

Last night on the Flashpoint program, I shared about a dream sent to me from a friend. In the dream, I was at the U.S. Capitol singing a line from our National Anthem. Those of us on the program found it more than coincidental that a week after this dream, the bridge bearing the name of the anthem’s author was destroyed. (The dream did not mention the bridge.) I will share a post regarding this dream and my overall thoughts concerning it next week. Though the dream is significant, I do not feel it is appropriate to deviate from our posts regarding Christ’s Passion Week in order to address it. Again, we will do so next week. __________________________________________________________________________________ Gethsemane “Leaving there, He went, as He so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed Him. When they arrived at the place, He said, ‘Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.’” (Luke 22:39 MSG) “The place” spoken of by Luke was Gethsemane. It had become Christ’s favorite place of prayer; notice the phrase, “as He so often did.” This is how Judas, who had left the Last Supper early, knew where to take the soldiers to find Him. Christ would spend three hours there that night agonizing over the ordeal He was facing. During this time, He would wrestle with His natural, human desire for this cup of suffering to pass from Him: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The agony of these three hours was horrific, much worse than most people realize. Luke tells us Christ started this time of prayer on His knees. Matthew adds that He eventually fell on His face in agony. Mark added that He fell repeatedly. In other words, Christ would kneel, then eventually fall on His face. He would rise to His feet again, only to fall once more - first to His knees, then onto His face. At one point, the agony He was experiencing, as well as the knowledge of what was coming, became so intense that the capillaries in His face burst, and blood, mixed with sweat, oozed through the pores of His skin (Luke 22:44). This is a painful medical condition known as hematidrosis. “Doctors don't know exactly what triggers hematidrosis, in part because it's so rare. They think it could be related to the body's ‘fight or flight’ response… Sometimes, it seems to be caused by extreme distress or fear, such as facing death, torture, or severe ongoing abuse. It's probably where the term ‘sweating blood,’ meaning a great effort, comes from.”(1) “While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile.”(2) I believe our redemption was actually beginning at this point when the first drop of Christ’s blood was shed, even before He reached the Cross. Through a blending of the Gospel accounts, and with more in-depth definitions of the words chosen by Holy Spirit, we can gain a more complete picture of what Jesus truly experienced in the garden. When He “withdrew” from the disciples to pray by Himself (Luke 22:41), Luke uses a stronger word than the other Gospel writers, apospao,  which means “to tear away.”(3) Wuest [New Testament] translates it accordingly, “He tore himself away from them.” Probably more than any time in His life, Christ wanted the comfort of being with friends, yet He knew He would have to face this ordeal alone. We are told by Matthew and Mark that Yeshua became “sore amazed, exceedingly sorrowful, and very heavy” (Matthew 26.37-38; Mark 14:33-34 KJV). More literal definitions of the Greek words used give us poignant descriptions of what He was feeling: Sore amazed - ekthambeisthai: “to be exceedingly astonished, either with wonder or fear; to be in the grip of a shuddering horror.”(4) Exceedingly sorrowful - perilupus: “to be very sad, environed or surrounded with deep grief.”(5) Very heavy - ademonein: “to be troubled and in anguish, to be in a state of great anxiety; used of one who is rendered helpless, disoriented, agitated, and anguished by the threat of an approaching event.”(6) Wuest New Testament says Christ was “thoroughly alarmed” (Mark 14:33) and “entered a state of severe mental and emotional struggle to the point of death” (agonia) (Luke 22:44). Though Jesus knew in advance this trauma was coming, the intensity of it was even greater than what He had expected. Based on all of these definitions, the ordeal was alarming to Him, astonishing, disorienting, horrifying. Most of us don’t think of Christ as being capable of feeling these types of emotions. Yet, in His humanness, He could and did, allowing Himself to identify with us. Matthew also tells us Jesus was agonizing “to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). The word used demands that this be taken literally. Though death could never have overcome Christ before the time came for Him to “yield up” His spirit, nevertheless, His body was close to death. Again, I believe our redemption - specifically, taking the emotional wounds, rejections, and sorrows of the entire world upon Himself - began here in the garden of Gethsemane. Isaiah prophesied of Christ: “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5 NASB) Don’t waste a moment of Christ’s suffering for you. Everything He did was redemptive. Every second of suffering and abuse was for you and me, taking our place. Let it bring healing to every part of your soul that may be hurting. Jesus wants you healed from every form of abuse, rejection, betrayal, and loss. He paid for this! Receive it. After three hours of emotional agony, it was enough. God sent an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). Christ broke through into peace, and His spirit was now in complete control of every emotion. At this point, Judas came with soldiers and betrayed Christ with a kiss (kataphileo)(7). The word reveals that this was more than just the friendly kiss on the cheek (phileo),(8) a common greeting in many countries. The prefix kata(9) strengthens it, implying a stronger affection; perhaps he added a hug, or the kiss on the cheek lingered somewhat. That is why Jesus questioned Judas, “Are you betraying me with this type of affection, Judas?” (Luke 22:48). Christ then asks the soldiers, “Who are you seeking?” When they told Him, He simply said, “I AM” (John 18:4-5). Jesus did NOT say “I am He,” as most translations state. He spoke His God-name from throughout eternity: “I AM.” And the power of His words, of His name, knocked the soldiers backward onto the ground (verse 6). Christ is, indeed, Almighty God. At this point, Peter, perhaps emboldened by what happened to the soldiers, pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest. Jesus promptly touched Malchus and performed a creative miracle, healing his ear! (Luke 22:51) The great I AM, indeed! The Healer! The Great Physician! The Creator! And in this time of His suffering, the Savior is seen ministering to His enemies. At this point, Jesus was led away to be tried, beaten, and crucified. We will look at this tomorrow. Pray with me: Father, the agony You must have felt during Christ’s sufferings had to have been immeasurable. The temptation to answer His prayer, “Let this cup pass from Me,” must have been overwhelming. But You knew there was no other way to save us - our sins required a perfect, sinless substitute. You who spared not Your own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall You not also with Him, freely give us all things! (Romans 8:32). Thank You! And Jesus, words fail us. You, the Prince of Peace, suffered overwhelming mental anguish and emotional trauma for us. You allowed Yourself to feel the pressure until Your capillaries burst and Your skin oozed blood. Through this, You now give us unexplainable peace and unspeakable joy. We worship You today. We exalt You above all others. We love You from the depths of our hearts. May our incense of worship rise before You, bringing the pleasure You so deserve. As incredible as it sounds, we know we are the reward of Your suffering. Satisfy Your heart even more in this hour - send revival to the earth! Bring a billion souls into Your family in this coming revival. Your Father, who cannot lie, gave You the nations as Your inheritance. No one can take them from You. Holy Spirit, show the world just how wonderful this God-Man is. Open their eyes to His glory, His selfless love, His humility. Give them dreams about Him that awaken desire - a longing to know Him. Surely, there is no one like Him - give them a taste! Let not the wicked stop this. Ruin their plans, judge their strategies, thwart their efforts…and reveal this glorious Man. And in His name, we pray, Amen. Tomorrow, we will partake of communion together as we remember Good Friday, the day of Christ’s death. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hematidrosis-hematohidrosis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematidrosis This is a combined definition from these sources:  Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977. Vine, W.E. The Expanded Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1984. Zodhiates, Spiros, The Complete Word Study Dictionary. Iowa Falls, IA: Word Bible Publishers, 1992. Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid

I want to thank my friends who filled in for me on the posts this past week while I was taking a few days off. I was able to get some much-needed rest. The Humanness of Christ Christ actually began experiencing the emotional pressure of the Cross several weeks before it occurred. Many people fail to consider the true human-ness of Jesus, that He possessed real emotions and the ability to feel pain. In His earthly life, Christ experienced grief, sorrow, anger, and disappointment; He enjoyed friendships, knew joy and laughter, felt hunger and thirst, and grew tired and sleepy. Though fully God, Jesus was also fully human, but without the Adamic fallen nature. He had to be human in order to represent us as our legal substitute. As one who was truly human, Christ didn’t shift over into “God-mode” when things got tough, in order to not feel the pain or trauma. Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that “Although He existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Let Christ be human. As I stated above, weeks before the Cross, Christ began feeling the pressure. When He said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62), Jesus was thinking of Himself. The passage begins by saying, “Jesus let nothing distract Him from departing for Jerusalem because the time for Him to be lifted up drew near, and He was full of passion to complete His mission there,” ‭‭(Luke‬ ‭9:51‬ ‭TPT‬‬). Jesus knew that in Jerusalem, He would face arrest, torture, and agonizing death. But He set off firmly and unflinchingly, committed to finishing His mission. There would be no backing out; nothing would deter Him from accomplishing His purpose. Isaiah prophesied about this determination: “The Lord God has opened My ear; I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed,” (Isaiah 50:5-7 NASB). Christ knew this passage was speaking of Him and realized He was entering the season of its fulfillment. So He set His face like flint, put His hand to the plow, and turning toward Jerusalem, began what would become His final trek to that city. Traveling by foot and stopping along the way to minister and rest, the journey would take several weeks. Luke, in his gospel, reveals the humanness of Christ more than the other Gospel writers. Under Holy Spirit’s guidance, each Gospel writer had a different goal in his version of Christ’s life. This is why each man shared different (not contradictory) accounts of Christ’s works and teachings. Matthew, for example, wrote his Gospel to reveal Christ as the King of God’s Kingdom. Mark presented Him as a man of action, filled with power and under authority. John revealed Christ as truly God. Luke presented the humanness of Christ. As a man, He was qualified to be our substitute at the Cross. In revealing Christ’s humanness, Luke wants us to know that Jesus felt the pressure; from this point onward, it was building in the Son of Man. Eleven times after the above verse (9:51), Luke reminds us that Christ was journeying toward Jerusalem and, therefore, the Cross. He was focused on His mission and refused to be deterred. In Chapter 12, Luke quotes Him as saying, “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished” (verse 50). “Distressed” is the Greek word sunecho,(1) a very strong word meaning “to be held fast, like a prisoner.” It also means “to be confined, constrained, pressed together so as not to be able to move (like a city under siege);” figuratively, sunecho meant “to be in a mental state of anguish.” Kenneth Wuest’s expanded and very literal translation of the New Testament renders this verse: “I have an immersion by which I will be overwhelmed, and I am being hard pressed from every side until it be consummated.” In other words, though weeks out from the Cross at this point, the strain in Christ was already very intense! Jesus knew well of the coming suffering and was dreading it. The focus required in order to press onward to Jerusalem was so intense that it could be seen in His demeanor. In Luke 9:53, Christ was rejected by a Samaritan village “because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem.” Although there was great friction between Jews and Samaritans, Christ had earlier been accepted by a village in Samaria after ministering to “the woman at the well” (see John 4). On this occasion, however, the Samaritans would not receive Him. Why? They were offended because He couldn’t seem to take His focus off of Jerusalem. What did this look like? There must have been many pensive gazes, perhaps even grimaces, as Christ repeatedly turned His face toward Jerusalem…and the Cross. This preoccupation became so obvious that the Samaritans - rejected and looked down upon by the Jews - had finally had enough. Of course, they didn’t understand the reasons for His focus on Jerusalem. No one did. This was something Christ was having to endure alone. And with His face set like flint, He journeyed on - moving toward His destiny. “And He was passing through from one village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22). For several weeks the journey continued, the pressure building until Jesus rounded the last curve and crested the last hill. When the city at last came into view, He burst into tears. Christ’s emotions were now raw, sensitive, and bottled up. Like a pent-up dam that could take no more pressure, He released His emotions. Jesus loved this city; He loved the people. Yet, He knew Jerusalem would reject Him and be His place of death. In the future, it would also experience great devastation. As this mix of emotions erupted to the surface, Yeshua let it all out. And He did more than just cry. Again, quoting from Wuest’s New Testament, “...having caught sight of the city, He burst into tears, weeping audibly over it” (Luke 19:41). What a picture. And what must the disciples and those following Christ have thought as He “burst into tears” and sobbed? How often this man surprised and amazed them. Power, authority, humility, wisdom, intellect, love, and passion were all exhibited by the Son of Man. And they would soon see His anger. After composing Himself, Christ went directly to the Temple and drove out those who were selling their wares, making His “house of prayer...a robber’s den,” (Luke 19:45-46). This was indeed anger, but it was not a temporary loss of self-control. His actions were prophetic. The Temple was intended by God to picture us humans, created to be the dwelling place/temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). The defilement Jesus was seeing reminded Him of the defilement in us, which He was about to cleanse at the Cross, just days from then. He was demonstrating what He had come to do: cleanse His temple - US! And Christ was very intense about this. Spend some time this week reflecting on the passion of Christ. Journey through the week with Him. Thank Him for the price He paid. Worship Him not only as God the Creator, but also as Son of Man, the Redeemer. And please…let Him be human. Pray with me: Father, thank You for Your incredible love and commitment to us. Thank You for the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. You are amazing. We are deeply moved by being able to call You Abba, Papa. And Jesus, thank You for the incarnation - being willing to become one of us. Isaiah called You Immanuel, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). Daniel called You “son of man” (Daniel 7:13). Thank You for the tears. Thank You for the love. Thank You for the suffering and pain. Thank You for the Cross - thank You for dying. And, thank You for winning, for conquering death and the grave, for overcoming sin and its evil hold on us. Thank You for making Yahweh our Abba, for bringing us into the family, and for sharing Your throne with us. Manifest Yourself through us in this era, we pray. May the world see who You truly are, Yeshua, observing Your glory as the church You are building matures into the Ekklesia You envisioned. Continue to mature us into people worthy to bear Your name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that we have put our hand to the plow and will never look back. 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. 4912.

Introduction Much could be said of Jane Hamon. She and her husband, Tom, hear from Holy Spirit as clearly as anyone I know, and their words are filtered through a tremendous depth of biblical knowledge. As spiritual parents and apostolic leaders to many, their impact is huge, and they are in great demand around the world. Thank you, Jane, for being our friend and giving us your time today. Ceci and I thank you. You’ll enjoy hearing from Jane today. ______________________________________________________________________________ Victory Over Chaos It’s an honor to fill in for my dear friend, Dutch Sheets, as he takes a much-deserved break for his 70th birthday. Happy Birthday from the Hamon family, and may God refresh your body, soul, and spirit for all your future assignments. As I was seeking the Lord in this season, I heard Him say He is positioning the Ekklesia to experience victory over chaos and a time of recovery of all that has been stolen. It’s a time to focus on the victory ahead, not on the chaos that may be swirling around. It’s time to see the straight paths so we can speak to the crooked places and call the things that are not as though they are. It’s a time for fresh vision, to see the light that is invading darkness, to see how God sees, filled with hope and a future. We may not like the battle, but remember, there is no victory without a fight. Yes, I am afraid it’s going to be a wild ride: economic ups and downs, global instability, societal unrest, political manipulations, and a “the end justifies the means” mentality that skirts laws and defies principles. Yet in the midst of all this, there is an awakening taking place! People are waking up from their slumber, both in natural and spiritual things. Mindsets are changing, opening hearts to hear the gospel in a brand new way. The Kingdom of God will advance as revival continues to sweep college campuses, Hollywood, boardrooms, and yes, churches. Dark forces will try to inflame global conflict to stop this, but it’s not time for a World War III. It’s time for the church, the Ekklesia, to pray and decree God’s purposes. Back in August of 2020 the Lord gave me a word for the beginning years of this decade. He said, “Chaos is getting ready to increase.” (Yay! What an exciting word!). I knew Chaos was personified as a dragon named Rahab in Isaiah 51:9 which was an ancient god of chaos.(1) It represented evil of every kind at work in the earth, in people, and in the governments of nations. Chaos brings utter confusion, disorder, discord, and lawlessness. We have certainly seen chaos increase in the earth since 2020. The second thing God said was that He was going to use chaos to expose corruption, evil agendas, and secret deals being made to control the nations.  Basically, everything that can be shaken will be shaken so that which cannot be shaken will remain, but remember, we serve a Kingdom which cannot be shaken (see Hebrews 12:27-28). The shaking will be our making! Then the third thing He said was, “Then tell them: The God of Peace is rising.” He said this part three times for emphasis. Romans 16:20 declares, “The God of Peace will soon crush satan under your feet.” Isaiah 9:6-7 says one of the names of the coming Messiah would be Prince of Peace. The word peace is Shalom in Hebrew, which means peace, safety, prosperity, happiness, wholeness, favor, and rest.(2) Rabbinical scholars, however, look at the letters used to form this word and the pictures represented by those letters. In this case, the pictures give a deeper meaning to the word Shalom: Peace comes when you destroy the authority of chaos!(3) This is our assignment: to destroy the authority of every demonic force of chaos through the power of the victorious blood of Christ! We must pray against the evil agenda of the enemy to stir up chaos, however, God promises He will use the very things the enemy has meant for evil to turn for our good (see Genesis 50:20). For example, Joseph received prophetic dreams of leadership and government positioning then all hell broke loose against him. When this word came, he was just the son of a shepherd. His journey of trials, and yes, chaos, shaped him for his destiny. In Potiphar’s house, he learned leadership and agriculture. In the palace prison he learned government and how the palace operated. What was he going to need to assume his position as Pharaoh’s right hand? He would need knowledge of leadership, government, and agriculture. Your trials are actually preparing you for your destiny. Don’t waste the process with bitterness or anger.  Recognize God will cause all things to work for your good. Allow the peace of God to overthrow every kind of chaos in your life as the power of the God of Peace is made real. In Genesis 1:2, we are told in the beginning, the earth was without form and void.  The phrase without form indicates a state of chaos and confusion.(4) The enemy is trying to bring nations under the power of chaos, without form, by destroying societal norms regarding the nuclear family, gender, and by removing righteous foundations. How did God deal with this primordial chaos? He spoke into the chaos and said, “Let there be!” Let there be light. Let there be life. Let there be order. The Voice of the Lord confronts chaos. Divine Order confronts confusion. We are in a time when His voice is being released in power through the mouths of His people, to decree divine order into the chaos of this world. This year, God is concerned about things being set in order in His house. We recognize judgment begins in the house of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). While God is setting His house in order, we must also set our own houses in order. Reset your faith. Reset your vision. Renew your commitment to righteousness. This will be a time to not just set our house in order, but also set our mouths in order! When God spoke to Israel to cross in to take their promised land, all they could see were the giants. They spoke about the problem rather than the promise. But there were two, Joshua and Caleb, who saw the problem but chose instead to speak the promise. “We eat giants for our bread!” Speak the promise, not the problem! Interestingly, this is the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese lunar calendar. I believe it is a time to confront and defeat this demonic dragon of chaos, by releasing the Word of the Lord and His powerful decrees through our mouths.  Speak to the chaos and confusion, that which is out of order and lawless throughout the nations, and see this dragon, this leviathan, broken into pieces by the sword of the Lord that comes out of our mouths (see Isaiah 27:1). I hear the Lord say, “There a company of dragon slayers arising today. These are those who have looked death right in the eye and not given up, backed off, or been intimidated. They will operate with supernatural courage to confront chaos, confusion, and every emissary of lawlessness operating on the earth. Jesus, the ultimate dragon slayer, defeated death, hell, and the grave, paving the way for this new generation who will enforce his victory. Those who thought they would be broken by the harsh trials of the last season, yet held on to the Word of the Lord will prevail. I am waking up My people, reminding them of My prophetic promises and calling them to wage war by them, knowing My voice shatters the enemy every time (see Isaiah 30:31). So rise up, dragon slayers! Shake off all perceived defeat of the last season and rise into new authority and victory for the new day.” Pray with me: Lord, give me the courage of a dragon slayer. Fill my mouth with words of revelation and power and anoint me to confront chaos and confusion everywhere I go. Send an awakening in our land. Expose all corruption. Raise up your Ekklesia to release an increase of your government and peace by destroying the authority of chaos in our nation and in the earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Decree with me: The God of Peace is crushing satan under my feet! I decree divine order into every place of chaos, and crooked places are being made straight. I am a dragon slayer, in Jesus’ name! For more information, you might enjoy: Declarations for Breakthrough: Agreeing with the Voice of God, Chosen Books, Minneapolis, MN, 2021, or contact my website at JaneHamon.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. __________________________________________________________________________ Got Questions, https://www.gotquestions.org/cut-Rahab-in-pieces.html. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, 7999. Discipleship Development, https://developdisciples.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/shalom-definition.pdf. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database, 8414, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8414.htm.

Introduction I don’t need to tell you how much I love and respect today’s guest. His passion, integrity, wisdom, and revelation are unsurpassed. No one lives the messages he preaches more than my brother, Tim Sheets. A man after God’s heart, his pursuit of the Lord has given him a very weighty mantle. You will be inspired, encouraged, and enriched by Tim’s word today. Thanks, Tim, for sharing with us. _______________________________________________________________________________ The Covenant Healing Room Recently, Holy Spirit has given me several words, visions and dreams that will help us discern our times. We are moving into a supernatural, transformational and reformational era where the glory and power of the Lord is being amped up at much higher levels. Prophetic dreams, visions, prophecies and scriptures we have been decreeing are now accelerating. The Holy Spirit has consistently emphasized that healings and notable miracles are to be part of this era. They are coming in greater measure than at any other time in church history. This has occupied my spirit because the divine healing ministry is a part of my personal heritage. My roots go back to what is called “The Voice of Healing Movement,” a time when healing evangelists held healing and miracle meetings across our nation and many other nations. It was an amazing time, an inspirational time. All manner of sicknesses and diseases were healed, even incurable diseases where man is concerned, were healed by the power of God. Well-known ministers of that time were A.A. Allen, William Branham, Jack Coe, Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, and many, many others. When I was a boy, my dad also began to be used greatly in the healing ministry, conducting healing services. My brother Dutch and I regularly worked at the altars, and we saw the power of God manifest time after time. I have seen many miracles happen with my own eyes, including incurable diseases healed, blind eyes opened, and deaf ears restored. I have also seen a man, crippled and twisted in a wheelchair, unwind and his body completely realigned and restored. Over the years, I have received many prophetic words about releasing the healing and miracle heritage from my childhood, and I believe Holy Spirit is now accelerating this assignment. It is time for supernatural events to happen on the earth as was seen throughout the Scriptures. Notable miracles will now help change history as was seen in the Book of Acts. It is God’s will to heal. We are moving into days when notable miracles will accelerate through Kingdom Ekklesias. They will flow into towns, cities, regions, states and nations. It is time to believe for supernatural power of the living God to come into our churches. Believe for God possibilities. Believe for God action to start being released all around us. Believe for God manifestations. Believe for signs, wonders, miracles, and thousands and thousands of healings. In light of these recent words and visions that I have received, Holy Spirit has prompted me to pray for healings and miracles quite often. I asked the Lord one day to give me prophetic understanding concerning these dreams and visions and He gave me a very unique dream and a word that connects to notable miracles. In the dream I was in a very large room with what looked to be around a hundred people. All age groups were represented from young children to the elderly. I could see each individual very clearly. I looked over to one side, and I saw a blind man standing, holding a white cane. I looked around the room and saw people who were obviously deaf because they were using sign language. I saw other people with sores all over their bodies. The sores looked infected, and I knew it was some kind of skin disease or cancer. I saw others who were extremely sick and in the last stages of a deadly disease. I saw some who appeared to be stroke victims. They were paralyzed and dragging their leg or couldn’t use an arm. I saw a few others in wheelchairs. It was as if I was in a sick ward with people experiencing all sorts of sickness and diseases. I could see the hollow look in their eyes, the fear and the hopelessness that was written on their faces. I remember in the dream, I was feeling so bad and sad for them that I wanted to get out of the room because I didn’t want them to see me cry. I didn’t want to make it about me. At this point in the dream, I knew I was to walk across the hall to a room on the other side. When I walked into this room, it also had a hundred people or so inside of it. However, these people were completely different from the others. They were happy, they were joyous, laughing, and the absolute picture of health. They were energetic, filled with life, and interacting with one another. I obviously noticed the contrast between the two rooms. I stood there for a moment and a man walked up to me that I’ve never met before, but I instantly recognized him. (It was T.L. Osborn, who is now in heaven. He was one of the famous healing evangelists who moved in the healing and miracle ministry during the days of “The Voice of Healing Movement.” I’ve seen videos of his healing crusades where dozens of wheelchairs and crutches were left behind at the altar. Notable miracles happened through this great man.) The dream continued: He and another person walked up to me. T.L. Osborn asked me if I recognized the other man. I replied, “No sir, I don’t think I do.” Then, he brought someone else over to me and asked if I recognized him. Again I said, “No, Dr. Osborn, I don’t think I know him.” He continued bringing people to me and asking if I knew them, and I continued to reply that I did not. Then, Dr. Osborn beamed at me with his broad smile and asked me to look very closely at each person. So I did, but again, I said that I did not recognize them. He then said to me, “You were just in the room across the hall with these very same people.” He pointed to one person and said, “This is the one who had sores all over their body, and a part of their face was disfigured. He gestured to another person and said, “This person was the one in the wheelchair over against the wall.” He continued pointing out others, “This one was the stroke victim who could not move her arm. These people were the ones in the last stages of cancer who could barely stand. And remember this man? He said, he was the blind man with the white cane. Here are the children that you saw that were so sick and in such pain they could hardly move, let alone try to play.” One after the other he began to introduce me to these people so healthy and transformed that I did not recognize they were the same ones I had seen across the hall in desperate conditions. Then Dr. Osborn asked me if I knew what room I was in. To which I replied, “No, I just wanted out of the other room, so I came into this one.” He smiled broadly again and said, “This is the covenant healing room.” He pointed to a sign on the wall that read, “By Whose stripes we were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) End of Dream. We are now in a season of great, notable miracles. King Jesus is stepping to center stage, with His Ekklesia by His side, to magnify His magnificent healing covenant. He went to the whipping post, took stripes upon His back, and purchased a covenant right to our healing. Holy Spirit is clearly saying it is time to press into the miraculous healing realm and believe for notable miracles. Pray with me: Father God, activate the gift of the workings of miracles and the gift of healing across this world in Jesus’ Name. We decree the King is rising to release notable miracles. Loose healings and miracles throughout all 50 states and around the earth. Loose them in our homes. Loose them in our families. Show us how big and how great You are. Holy Spirit, pour out power from heaven to activate miracles in our midst. We agree with heaven’s plan. We believe whatever the need, You can take care of it. Release Your healing power in Jesus’ Name, Amen. Our decree: All of the words, visions, dreams, and prophecies will accomplish their assignment concerning God’s healing power in the earth realm! The breaker anointing is rising and we will see notable miracles, signs, and wonders manifested. Today’s post was contributed by Tim Sheets. You can learn more about Tim at  TimSheets.org. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Introduction There is no ministry in America more significant than Intercessors for America, and they’ve had no better leader than David Kubal. Kingdom-hearted to the core, Dave lives to see Christ glorified in our nation. Like his namesake, King David of old, Dave is giving his life to see God’s purposes fulfilled in our generation. Thank you, Dave; we appreciate you and your labors, and for giving of your valuable time to Give Him 15 today. _______________________________________________________________________________ Global Crescendo of Freedom: Will It Continue? The year 2024 is like no other year in human history; it is a year where there is a historic crescendo of global freedom. As we consider the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election, I believe we need to understand its importance in light of what God is doing around the globe. What do I mean? Fewer than 300 years ago, not a single country in the world allowed people the opportunity to elect those in authority over them. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States created the first nation ever to use a democratic process to choose the country’s leaders. Slowly, over time, this idea of freedom that our Founders championed crept across the globe. America is founded on the fact that God gives us our rights which impacted the way we choose leaders; the process of freedom was infectious, and it spread. By 1900, 25% of the world’s people were able to participate in selecting their leaders. One hundred years later, that percentage had grown to 50%. And over the last 20 years, even more growth has happened. Now, two-thirds — or 6 billion — of the world's 8 billion people help choose their leaders. Sixty-six countries will hold elections this year. Half of the world's population — that’s 4.1 billion people — will have an opportunity to participate in an election in their country thanks to the freedoms established by our Founding Fathers. This has never happened before in human history. It’s as if a global reset button is about to be pushed on half of the world’s population —a global freedom reboot. Will this global growth of freedom increase, or will global freedoms decrease? How should we focus our prayers for both the U.S. and the global elections? What are the three most important cultural elements to pray for? Secular research confirms what the Bible teaches. (CLICK this link https://ifapray.org/promo/world-elections-2024/ to download Intercessors for America’s Special Report “Unprecedented Shift in Global Power.”) GOOD GOVERNMENT Studies by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and Statista agree:  nations thrive when governments focus on reducing corruption, emphasizing the rule of law, and ensuring a trustworthy electoral process that generates the most satisfied and economically productive inhabitants. Good government is essential if nations are to thrive. THRIVING CHURCHES What is the single most important element for people to find fulfillment in their lives? Let’s look at a Pew Research study of over 25 nations. Actively religious people are 50% more likely to describe themselves as “very happy.” Do you catch that? Secular researchers are saying that people find the most fulfillment when they’re part of a faith community! That means that nations with religious liberty will necessarily thrive. Like Jesus said, He will build His Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So, as we consider praying for the increase of freedom worldwide, good government and religious liberty are important. One last consideration: TWO-PARENT FAMILIES What produces the most well-adjusted and economically successful people? The answer is found in numerous studies, including one by the American Enterprise Institute that concluded this: Children who grow up in a two-parent home are the most behaviorally adjusted and have the greatest economic success as adults. It’s not that children growing up in a one-parent home are doomed, but if a nation has a choice, it should always encourage two-parent households.(1) Good government; thriving faith communities; healthy two-parent families: For men and women of faith, this is no surprise. These studies illustrate truths found in God’s Word that have been known for centuries. In fact, good government, thriving faith communities, and healthy two-parent families sum up the three institutions God created to care for us. The biblical pattern of God’s design for government is first found in Exodus 18, when Moses set up a representative republic based upon law. Each tribe had leaders and judges, with Moses judging the most difficult issues. This is the genesis of the global freedoms we see today; the United States was the first representative republic after Israel, and it is patterned after Old Testament government. God created government to care for our civil lives. God created the Church to care for our spiritual lives. God created the family to care for our personal lives. Government, the Church, the family: At the core of every election across the globe this year, these will be on the ballot, one way or another. But some say, “Jesus is coming back. So, why should I care about my nation?“ To that objection, I say that every generation is entrusted with spreading the news of Christ’s kingdom. Let’s consider Matthew 24:12-14: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus himself tells His disciples that their generation will not pass until the unfolding of His second coming. This set in the hearts of His disciples that the second coming was imminent, and could even be in their lifetime. But really, we are watching His second coming unfold as He uses His church to spread His Kingdom. The disciples believed Christ’s second coming was imminent and so they shared the gospel with urgency. Most of the New Testament epistles record Paul’s journey sharing God’s Kingdom even with the governmental leaders of his day. If they had stopped spreading the gospel, or if any other generation had stopped, where would humanity be now? What if the Lord tarries another 10 years, 100 years, or 1,000 years, and it is said of our generation that the gospel died because we thought Christ was returning? We must have faith in Christ’s return and at the same time be salt and light to our generation. Some quote Matthew 24:12, which suggests the rise of evil will be unstoppable. So why try to influence the world or government? Let’s go back to Matthew 24:12: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Jesus says evil will increase as time goes on, but between that increase of evil and His physical second coming, the gospel will be preached to all nations. Evil will increase; the gospel will spread; then He comes back. That’s the pattern. The rise of evil is not the time to give up! Just the opposite: Now is the time for the good news of His kingdom to go to all nations. Salvation and freedom come through Christ. In a way, the rise of evil should encourage us. This is the environment where the goodness of God becomes clearest. For example, LGBTQ activists have fought for their right to legalize immorality. This has progressed to the point where states like California have passed laws protecting homosexual activity with minors — legalizing pedophilia. Evil becomes so gruesome that it highlights the goodness of God. The contrast between darkness and light brings into focus the need for God and for those moral absolutes of the timeless principles in the Bible. So, we return to Jesus' words to the disciples: Evil will increase, and then the gospel goes to the nations. This is the period we are in. I believe we’re in a critical time of God’s plan for the church that’s greater than any other in history. So, we go back to where we started. This year darkness has never been darker. Globalists have never been as well positioned to control nations. Yet, the freedom set in motion by our Founding Fathers — because of their understanding of biblical principles — is being seen this year in the greatest number of elections ever in the history of mankind. Now is not the time to stop praying. Now is not the time to stop acting. Just the opposite: Now is the time to assist God in this greatest period of the Church in history. We’re on the verge of seeing some incredible supernatural activity! Let’s pray: Father, we thank You for the increase of freedom across the world over the last nearly 250 years. We thank You that so many citizens of nations around the world will have the opportunity to participate in elections in 2024. We pray for a global shift of power in accordance with Your will and Your plan for each of the 66 nations holding elections this year. We pray for the three institutions that You created to care for us. We pray for good government that will enable us to live peaceful and godly lives and to share the gospel. We pray for the Church to be holy and bold and to be used by You to bring about Your purposes. We pray for strong, two-parent families that will raise children to become stable citizens of free nations. We pray, Lord, that You would stir up in us fervent prayer and faith for what You are planning to do across the world in 2024. Our decree: We decree that we are not those whose love will grow cold, but we are those who will stand firm to the end and will see the gospel go to all nations. Today’s post was shared by Dave Kubal from Intercessors for America. You can find out more about Dave at IFApray.org Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.aei.org/articles/it-takes-two/

Introduction No individuals have impacted their state (AZ) more than Hal and Cheryl Sacks. Their depth, revelation, incredible insights, and practical wisdom, ministered through sincere hearts and gentle spirits, make them irresistible to all they meet. Ceci and I love and admire them. Today, Cheryl is bringing a word of faith, encouragement, and instruction to us. Listen, apply it, and watch things change. _______________________________________________________________________________ The Power of Two or More How many believers does it take to ignite a revival? Maybe fewer than you think.  In fact, almost every revival recorded in history started with as few as two or three people praying together! From these humble beginnings, the seeds of revival multiplied into dozens and even hundreds of clusters of praying believers, until entire cities and nations were ablaze with the presence and power of God. Don’t get me wrong: massive prayer gatherings are vital and powerful! My husband, Hal, and I have participated in many of these. The most memorable was “The Call DC” in 2000 when more than 600,000 (mostly young people) gathered at the Washington, D.C., mall to pray for America. Hal once participated in an all-night prayer meeting in Kampala, Uganda, where intercessors filled 18 sports arenas throughout the city, calling out to God with one voice to send revival. In one coliseum alone, 20,000 people were praying. Hal described the sound of intercession as like the roar of a freight train. But how did these massive prayer gatherings and other historic, large-scale revivals begin? They started with “two or more” believers united in prayer, such as: The First Great Awakening (1727–1742), which was marked by multiple small clusters praying in cities, towns, and regions; The “Haystack Prayer Meeting” in the USA in 1806, which started with five Williams College students praying for revival—contributing significantly to the Second Great Awakening; The Businessman’s Revival (1857–1863), began with six men praying in a church in New York City and grew to 30, 60, then 300, then 2,500. News spread, and prayer groups sprang up from city to city, and country to country. Within a year, one million people were saved! What’s remarkable about these groups is how quickly they multiplied: In 1905, when American evangelist R.A. Torrey visited Australia, he witnessed 2,100 prayer cells with 20,000 people praying in homes. The meetings had an atmosphere of revival, and there was a remarkable harvest. The Hebrides Revival in Scotland (1949–1953), also known as the “Cottage Revival,” began with two sisters, Peggy and Christine Smith, ages 84 and 82, praying every night in their little cottage for revival to come to their island. At the time, churches were dead and practically empty. Not one young person attended church. It wasn’t long before others on the island joined Peggy and Christine in prayer each night from their cottages. The revival lasted four years, and 90 percent of the island was saved—especially the teenagers and young adults under 40. This pattern holds true in modern-day revivals as well. In our book, Fire on the Family Altar, Hal and I tell the story of our friend Chris, who traveled to Uganda to document stories of how revival began there. He had seen large stadium events attended by multiple thousands who gathered to worship and pray for their nation. At one gathering, President Yoweri Museveni proclaimed Uganda to be a Christian nation. When Chris interviewed Christians who had participated, they talked about how the revival had actually started in their homes. It became clear that family units praying together were the real foundation of the revival. People shared stories of how marriages were healed, prodigals came home, and family members were delivered from addictions. From their homes, the Ugandan Christians expanded their prayer clusters and invited Holy Spirit into their schools, workplaces, and every sector of life—even to the Bank of Uganda, the President’s office, and Parliament. And Now…It’s Happening Again! We are entering the beginning of a God-breathed, worldwide Great Awakening like never seen before—marked by a growing societal awakening and a desperation for the healing of our nation and the brokenness of her people. Already we are seeing believers responding to the call of God’s Spirit to pray for lost friends, colleagues, and fellow students. They are gathering in homes, churches, schools, and workplaces, crying out for Him to send conviction, healing, and transformation. This sense of calling is driven by Holy Spirit, not by any human. No one is organizing this. There is no template or formula for how these clusters of believers are forming—though it’s extraordinary how closely they resemble the practice of the early Church in the book of Acts, who worshiped, prayed, and fellowshipped from “house to house”! Believers emerged to share the gospel with boldness and in demonstration of Holy Spirit’s power to heal, save, and deliver. We see the same emphases developing in prayer clusters forming today: Families Praying “House to House” Praying with family and friends for revival in their households and nation, Opening their homes for other believers to join in fellowship, teaching, sharing meals, and prayer (Acts 2:42). Praying for Holy Spirit’s Power Praying to share the gospel with power, evidenced by healings, miracles, and deliverances, Praying by name for friends, family, and colleagues to know Christ and be set free. Becoming Watchmen and Gatekeepers Serving as spiritual gatekeepers for families, schools, cities, and the nation, Occupying and transforming the spheres for which they are praying. Clusters are forming in neighborhoods everywhere. Christians are intentionally getting to know their neighbors, reaching out to help elderly neighbors and single moms with home improvement projects, taking meals, and praying for those who are sick. Many who are being befriended, prayed for, and ministered to are accepting the Lord. For example, our friends Guy and Teri Chadwick began sharing a weekly “Taco Tuesday” meal with four other couples. The couples challenged one another to pray for revival in their individual homes every night at 8:00 p.m. Then, on Sunday afternoons, they all meet together to pray for revival in their city of Manhattan Beach and for the nation, often prayer-walking the neighborhood. Guy and Teri always include in their prayers that “not one family member or friend will miss the revival—they will all be saved and fervently serve the Lord.” One professor we know encourages her students to form clusters to pray for one another and for revival on the university campus. We heard of a city official who formed a cluster with her fitness trainer. They pray together every time she goes to the gym. The New Wine Is in “the Cluster!” You might notice that these prayer groups are unconventional. That’s why, rather than more familiar terms like “prayer groups” or “prayer cells,” I like the term “revival prayer clusters” when referring to the new thing the Lord is doing. The prophet Isaiah speaks of this when he declares, “‘Thus,’ says the Lord… ‘the new wine is in the cluster…’” (Isaiah 65:8 KJV). The emphasis here is on the cluster, not individual grapes. The grapes are not plucked individually, but must remain together to produce the new wine. New wine speaks of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. The Spirit of God is doing a new thing! No one needs to sit on the sidelines in this next great move of His Spirit. We can all actively PRAY FOR and BE THE REVIVAL! We can be part of producing the “new wine.” It’s as easy as calling a friend to start praying together or inviting your neighbor to coffee and seeing if there is a need you can meet or something for which you can pray. Remember Jesus’ words “…if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:19–20). What a powerful promise! Pray with me: Lord, let not one of Your disciples be found sitting on the sidelines of this emerging revival. We declare we will obey Your command to “go” share the gospel (Mark 16:15–20), and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18–20). We pray that we, Your Ecclesia, will be activated like the church in the book of Acts—to share the gospel in power and that thousands will be added to the church daily. Our decree: We decree that Your light in us will shine brightly so the world will see and give You glory! Cheryl Sacks is the author of six books, including Fire on the Family Altar, a guide to igniting revival in your home and nation (Amazon). You can learn more about Cheryl and Hal Sacks’ ministry at BridgeBuilders.net. Click on the link below to watch the full video.