Burn the Ships In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés set sail for Mexico with 11 ships and between 600 and 700 men. His goal was to conquer the Aztecs and establish a Spanish settlement. The Aztecs were a very cruel people and performed thousands of human sacrifices to their gods every year. They also captured and possessed many slaves. Their population upon Cortés’ arrival was approximately five million. Mathematically, the odds were stacked against Cortés and his men by a ratio of 7,541 to 1. Two previous expeditions had failed, yet he succeeded and conquered much of the South American continent. What Cortés did at the beginning of this endeavor is the stuff of legends. Some say the actions were a result of his men becoming so intimidated by the odds and hardships that they decided to give up and go home. Others say Cortés didn’t even wait for that to occur before taking this drastic measure. Either way, Cortés left no doubt that they were staying. “Burn the ships!” he commanded his officers. Cortés removed the option, turning the mission into an all-or-nothing proposition.(1) In the 1990s, Steven Curtis Chapman released a song about this action of Cortés, comparing it to the Christian faith. Our entire family loved the song. I’ll provide a link for you to be able to listen to it at the end of today’s post. Here is the first verse and chorus: “In the spring of 1519, a Spanish fleet set sail Cortés told his sailors this mission must not fail On the eastern shore of Mexico, they landed with great dreams But the hardships of the new world make them restless and weak Quietly they whispered, ‘Let's sail back to the life we knew’ But the one who led them there was saying "Burn the ships we're here to stay There's no way we could go back Now that we've come this far by faith Burn the ships we've passed the point of no return Our life is here so let the ships burn and burn." Life gives us many opportunities to burn the ships. The ships aren’t physical, of course, but are in our minds and hearts. We are saying, “I’ve made my decision, there is no reversing it. I’m not going back.” We may remove the option of returning to bad habits. Or we close the door to the pain of yesterday’s losses. We move on from setbacks, hope deferred, failed dreams. And we burn the ships of retreat to our old life of sin. We must also burn the ships at times when we set our sails toward great endeavors and dreams. Along the way, we will always be met with adversity, detours, and failures. The best way to keep from giving up is to enter the sanctum of our hearts at the onset and remove the option. Our Founding Fathers were burning the ships when they signed their names to the Declaration of Independence: When they pledged their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor;”(2) when Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death”(3) when Lewis Morris said, “Damn the consequences, give me the pen,”(4) they were all burning the ships. When Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand to the plow and turning back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” He was saying, “Burn the ship.” When He became a microscopic seed and was planted in the womb of a virgin teenager, Christ burned the ship. When Johann Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann, two young Moravian Brethren from Herrnhut, Germany, were called in 1732 to minister to the African slaves on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix in the Danish West Indies, they were told they would not be allowed to do such a thing. So Dober and Nitschmann sold themselves to a slave owner and boarded a ship bound for the West Indies.(5) As the ship pulled away from the docks, they called out to their loved ones on shore, "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!" When they sold themselves to preach the gospel to an oppressed people, they were burning the ships. The generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt failed to burn the ships. When times got tough they said to Moses, “We want to go back to Egypt.” Only Joshua and Caleb had burned their ships. (see Numbers 14:4) Esther burned the ship when deciding she would risk all for her Jewish family. “If I perish, I perish,” she said. Then she broke protocol, approached the king, and saved a nation! (see Esther 4:16) When William Wallace said, “Every man dies, not every man really lives…they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!”(6) he was burning the ship. When God imparted his heart for America to me in 2000; when He showed me His great need for a strong America, loyal to Him; when He made it clear to me that America’s destiny, given by Him, was to trumpet the gospel of the Kingdom to all the nations of the earth; when He and I wept together for three and a half hours over her fallen condition; when I accepted the mantle to see her return to Him through a third great awakening…I burned the ship. Revival in America is not optional. Intercession to birth it isn’t, either. Some who have prayed in the past have given up. They have gone back to passivity and complacency. We must count the cost, commit to the cause, and determine that we will see this assignment through to a restored and revived America. Pray with me: Father, Thank You for Your determination to redeem us. Lord Jesus, we thank You for persevering through the incarnation, Cross, and punishment for our sins. Thank You for burning the ships. Likewise, we pledge our allegiance to You and Your cause around the world. Indeed, may You receive the reward of Your suffering. Father, we ask for an infusion of new strength and determination to see America revived and transformed. May we be found faithful to serve Your purpose in our generation. We thank You for the incredible calling You have on this nation. We are so, so sorry we have rejected it and turned from You. We have trampled under-foot the blood of Your Son. Cleanse us, we pray. We appeal to You, just as our Founders did, deliver us from the strongholds of evil that have us bound. Give us a fresh start. Cause the fires of revival to burn in our nation as they never have before. We pray for the children, youth, and young adults of America. We have allowed filth and lies to be poured into our nation for six decades. This caused such severe spiritual decay and loss of truth that most of this young generation has seen no true representation of You. They have been fed lies and deception. They need Your powerful intervention and rescue. Come and save them! We pray for these revival fires, the river of Your Spirit and the wind of awakening to be released throughout the world. Send revival to Asia. Pour out Your spirit in the Middle East. Send revival to Europe, as well. We pray especially for Ukraine. Deliver them from the oppressor, and retaliate against the evil with an earth-shaking revival. We ask for this, in Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that we will never turn back, we will never give up on seeing America saved. And America SHALL be saved. You can listen to Steven Curtis Chapman’s Burn the Ships here. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ____________________________________________ https://www.livescience.com/39238-hernan-cortes-conqueror-of-the-aztecs.html https://www.americanheritage.com/we-mutually-pledge-each-other-our-lives-our-fortunes-and-our-sacred-honor https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death/ https://constitutingamerica.org/90day-dcin-lewis-morris-major-general-new-york-militia-delegate-second-continental-congress-signer-declaration-of-independence-guest-essayist-tom-hand/ https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/missionaries-against-terrible-odds https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/william_wallace_185156

Hello, thank you so much for joining us again today. As you can see, we are still out of town. Ceci is improving gradually each day and we really appreciate your prayers. We are unable to fly at this point, so we rented an RV and are driving back to South Carolina. Until we get there, of course, we cannot get to the studio and do a normal 15. But we have chosen two of our most liked Pleasure of His Company posts, which we did a few months ago, to show you again. We will be replaying those. I know you will enjoy them and I will see you on Monday. Thank you for joining us. The Search I have many great memories of times with the three ladies in my life: Ceci, my wife; my older daughter, Sarah; and Hannah, my younger. The pleasure of their company has always been special to me. Of the thousands of memorable days I’ve spent with Ceci, one exciting excursion on a beautiful Saturday in the spring of ‘77 stands out. We had gone to picturesque White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas, where we enjoyed a wonderful picnic. Ceci cooked some of her great fried chicken and prepared potato salad for the occasion. After eating, we sat on a blanket not far from the lake - the setting was absolutely perfect - and enjoyed some pleasant conversation. She had brought along her guitar, and we enjoyed singing a few worship songs; the presence of Holy Spirit was sweet. In this beautiful setting, on this beautiful day, totally mesmerized by this beautiful lady, I asked her to marry me. Finding me irresistible, she said yes. Of the memories made with Sarah, her wedding is certainly one of the preeminent. I recall the pride and satisfaction I felt when she and I danced at her reception. Actually, as you might have guessed from reading yesterday’s post, shifting my weight from one foot to the other while holding her hand and shoulder was about as creative as the dancing got. But that didn’t matter. The important part was looking into her eyes, telling her how beautiful she was and how proud her mother and I were. I spent a fortune that day. “Thank you, Daddy,” was all the return I needed. In regards to Hannah, I love to recall the camping trip she and I embarked on several years ago. We found a beautiful spot on a stream in Colorado and spent the weekend enjoying nature and nature’s God. As we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park one morning, a park with views that rival anything in the world, we were also listening to beautiful worship songs she and I love. I’ll never forget the tears that flowed down Hannah’s cheeks at one point as she marveled at God’s majesty and reveled in His love. Happy tears. Peaceful tears. “I’m in love with God and He’s in love with me” tears. What was it that made those days so memorable for me? With Ceci, was it a lake, a guitar, a blanket, and some good food? Of course not; those were simply adornments that created helpful ambiance. With Sarah, was it the uniqueness and joy of a celebrative wedding atmosphere? Not really. I’ve been to many weddings that hold no such memories for me. With Hannah was it the beauty and majesty of the Colorado Rockies? As amazing as they are, and as much as they “garnished” the day, it wasn’t the mountains. It was the company. Sparkling eyes, smiles, embraces, laughter, happy tears, and hearts I connected with at a deep level - these made the memories special. It was the lady, not the lake; the girl I was dancing with, not the dance; the passenger, not the drive. Whom you’re with matters most in life. I’ve made some great memories with God, just as I have with my three ladies. He and I have laughed and cried together; and yes, we’ve danced a time or two. We have sat, walked, ridden, and bicycled in each other’s company. I’ve crawled up in His lap and napped, sang Him songs, and watched a few movies with Him. He is more than a “being” to me. He’s a companion. Not making His acquaintance would have been life’s greatest injustice. Does He feel the same way about us? Of course, He does. God loves being with us. Consider the following invitation: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20 KJV). The Almighty, the Creator, the Everlasting God of heaven and earth requests the pleasure of your company tonight for dinner. What a thought! Do you, like me, find it interesting that He knocks on the door? I suppose God could simply knock it down. Or just walk through it! But that would be an intrusion, and God doesn’t want to intrude into your space; He wants to be invited in. Like anyone, He wants to be celebrated, not tolerated. The word sup in this verse is not a generic word that refers to eating. This is the word in biblical times for the main evening meal. The Jewish new day began in the evening, at sunset. At this evening meal, the family would gather to discuss the day’s events, and the new day would begin and be planned. Jesus is saying to us in this verse, “Let me into your world. Let’s dine, fellowship, and plan the day.” We must learn to commune with the Lord as a real person and on a personal level. Hearing and discerning God’s voice is not a gift, but rather a learned art. When you take the time to wait and listen, you learn to allow God into your thinking. His thoughts become yours. In this verse, the Lord said, “If any man hears my voice . . .” The obvious insinuation is that our actions, not His, will determine whether or not we hear from Him. Again, sensitivity is learned and developed. Like the frequencies on a radio, our minds and hearts must tune in. One of my employees a few years back related the following humorous episode about listening. While my sister-in-law was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner and planning for various family and church activities, her young daughter continued to talk to her about many different important things in her life, to which her mother would periodically respond, “Uh-huh.” Finally, wanting to do something to make this more of a two-sided conversation, the little girl tugged on her mother’s arm to get her full attention. Once she knew her mother was really listening, she said, “Mom, why don’t you talk for a while now, and I’ll say Uh-huh.”1 I can’t help but wonder how often God is knocking and calling, only to find us so busy we really aren’t listening. He will never treat us this way. You’ll never find Him so busy with others or so distracted running the universe that He feigns attentiveness to you, mumbling “uh-huh” while actually thinking about something else. He has plenty of undistracted time for you, and He wants some in return. The Scriptures tell us that God is searching for this kind of relationship. From the moment we were separated from Him by Adam’s sin, He began the search. “Where are you?” He called to Adam and Eve as they hid from Him (Genesis 3:9). We’re told that His eyes “move to and fro” throughout the earth looking for those whose hearts are fully His (2 Chronicles 16:9). One of my favorite Bible stories as a young kid was about a man named Zaccheus. He was a tax collector and had become wealthy, most likely by defrauding people, charging them more than they actually owed. Somehow this man had become enamored with Jesus, so much so that he climbed a tree to get a good look at Him as He passed through his village. Jesus wanted Zaccheus to get more than a look, however; He invited Himself over for dinner! “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). Jesus knocked and Zaccheus opened. The visit was obviously impactful. It always is when Jesus comes over for dinner. “Lord, half of my possessions I’ll give to the poor,” he promised before the meeting ended, “and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8). When challenged as to why He would be the guest of a man who was a “sinner,” Jesus merely referenced His searching heart. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost,” (v. 10, italics mine). He simply has an insatiable desire to eat and fellowship with friends, family, and seekers. Jesus was on a mission then; He’s on the same mission now. He wants some conversation with you. The next time He knocks, open the door. Make your house one of the regular stops for His searching eyes. Let no distraction, hesitation, or slumbering soul be found within you. May your heart always remain an open door to Jesus, as you seek to mature in the art of discerning His knock and voice. As His eyes search this world for a surrendered heart with which to commune, may His gaze rest upon you. Welcome Him to sit at the supper table of your soul to dine and dialogue with you. He would love to receive the pleasure of your company today. Pray with me: Father, it’s time we made memories with You. Your thoughts toward us are prized by You. We want to be able to say the same about You. Forgive us for making You an impersonal God, an unloving Father. Adam hid from You, fearing Your heart toward his weaknesses. Yet, You pursued him. And You pursued us, and we thank You! Now we cast aside the lies that have said You are mean, cruel, judgmental, impossible to please. We accept You as Abba, Papa, and we want to make some memories. We want to walk with You, talk with You, and dream with You. Today we dream with You of the billion kids-to-be of Yours, our brothers and sisters-to-be. We call them home to Abba. We break off of them the bondages of idolatry, addiction, pride, rebellion, and pain. We free them in the name of Jesus! We release angel armies to gather them in. We declare that the gospel of the kingdom has in it the power of God and that this glorious gospel is about to go forth in tidal waves around the world. Millions will know Your love! They will kiss the Son and find the missing piece of their heart. Lord of the Harvest, send laborers. Release them NOW! Our decree: We decree this will not be stopped! Abba is coming for His inheritance! Today’s post was taken from my book The Pleasure of His Company. 1. Dutch Sheets, Watchman Prayer (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 47. Click the link below to watch the full video:

God’s Call to Men My good friend Ken Malone recently sent me a dream. The dream is regarding a fresh call by Holy Spirit to men. There have been powerful moves of God involving men in America’s past such as Full Gospel Business Men’s Association in the 1970s and Promise Keepers in the 1990s. Both of these movements were powerfully used by the Lord. It is time for another. Just as in dreams you have heard me mention in past GH15 posts, I am in Ken’s dream. God is not saying I am to lead the movement spoken of in the dream. As a leader in the prayer movement, I represent calling men to prayer. Ken shares: “On August 24, 2021, the Lord gave me a dream. I believe it is for now as we birth a third great awakening in America. “In the dream, my wife, Cheryl, and I are attending a service where Dutch Sheets will be speaking. We enter the building, and I quickly discern that the spiritual atmosphere does not feel conducive to a move of God or revival. Something isn’t right. As we move further into the facility, we see that Dutch is sitting in the middle of the right hand section of the room. This is unusual since speakers are typically seated on the front row. Cheryl and I then find a seat next to Dutch and begin a conversation with him. Two retired pastors are leading worship as the service begins. It is music from an older type of worship, very much an old wineskin. The spiritual climate moves from bad to worse. The service is lifeless and needs to shift! “The time comes for Dutch to speak. As he approaches to receive the microphone, one of the worship leaders refuses to hand it over. What is typically a smooth transition has now become a ‘tug of war.’ That which is retired and lifeless - the old - tries to hold onto control. The former does not want to give way to the new. Finally, Dutch wrestles the mic from the worship leader’s hand. The battle is both physical and spiritual! As he takes the microphone, the spiritual atmosphere begins to change. “Dutch lifts the hand-held mic and before he can even speak, Holy Spirit manifests in a powerful way. In the service, there are one hundred men - two from each state. As the Spirit of the Lord manifests, every man in the house falls to the floor, laying prostrate before God. They begin weeping and travailing in birthing prayer for their state and also for the nation. The cry of each man is deep, and the groans and travail are intense like one might hear when a woman gives birth. This groaning, however, was truly born of the Spirit. Holy Spirit was calling men to give birth to the greatest move of God in America’s history. “Dutch then begins to identify each man and their state. He comes to me and says, ‘I know this man; he is Ken Malone from Florida.’ The travail continues as each man remains on the floor, unable to move. Prayers are being released that will shift the nation. I realize in the dream that Yahweh’s approval is on each of them as they have abandoned their desires and embraced His. Each man’s wife was standing beside her husband as he prayed. I knew these women were watching over their spouses to make sure nothing interfered with their intercession. “I then heard the Lord say, ‘I’m calling MEN to birth revival in this nation through prayer. This is the game-changer.’ “Several scriptures came to me: ‘A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.’ (Isaiah 66:6-8 NASB) “From Jeremiah 30:6 (NASB): ‘Ask now, and see if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?’ “And Psalm 42:7 (NASB): ‘Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.’” The dream ends. Ken continues to share: “I awoke weeping for America. I fell asleep again, and the dream continued. I was travailing again for my state and for America. When I awoke the second time, my body was shaking as I wept deeply for our nation. The second dream ended. “I am grateful for the men and women who have led the current prayer movement across America. However, over the years, most of our prayer gatherings have consisted primarily of faithful women who have answered the call of intercession. I’m so thankful for them, and for the few men who have joined them. We are where we are because of the faithful crying out to Yahweh on behalf of our great nation. “However, there is a call from heaven today to the hearts of men, a call for male prayer warriors to also arise. It is a cry for men to become raw and passionate before the Lord in their dedication and commitment to Him. Holy Spirit desires for men to groan and travail in prayer for America. Nations can shift and turn to our Lord through the birthing prayer of not only women, but also men. “As I have shared this dream, many men have answered the call to prayer. I have found that men do want to pray and intercede. There is a deep desire within their hearts to help birth a third great awakening in this nation that will surpass both the first and second great awakenings. “I have also seen that men are waiting to be led; they must be led by other strong men. Iron sharpens iron (see Psalm 27:17). Many men are yet untrained in prayer but are passionate warriors. These men have become fed up with the current state of America and want to do their part to see change. When trained and properly led, their intercession becomes fervent, without the filters of religion. They must be taught and empowered, then encouraged to do this work of intercession. We need to encourage men to become unrestrained prayer warriors! Religion and demonic powers have worked hard to keep MEN out of the seats of authority assigned to them by our Heavenly Father, but many are ready to go to battle for their families, cities, states, and nation. “In the dream, religion wanted to restrain and hold back God’s power. Second Timothy 3:5 tells us that many pretend to have a respect for God but want nothing to do with his power. This must change. “In the dream, each wife was watching (being a watchman) over her husband. They refused to allow anything to interfere with their husbands hearing and fulfilling the call Holy Spirit was bringing them. Not only were they guarding their husbands, but they were in complete agreement with this travailing prayer, and with them becoming spiritual leaders for their household and nation. “I am calling on men to appeal to heaven in prayer, travail, and intercession for this nation. I believe that through them, Yahweh can bring great change to America!” Pray with me: Father, as men, we boldly come face to face with You. We turn our hearts toward Your desire for America to return to You. We commit today that we will answer this call of intercession. Connect us with other men who have no agenda except to make Jesus king over their lives. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen. Our decree: As men, we determine to fight through prayer. We will not be bogged down by the restraints of religion. Father, we decree that we will answer the call in this era. We will fight in prayer. We declare that America will not die! We declare that You, Father, will remember Your covenant with our country and will have mercy on us! We decree that hearts will be turned to You and You will save America! We decree today that Your Kingdom is coming and Your will is being done! Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was contributed by Ken Malone. You can find out more about Ken here.

Mercy in the Midst of the Shaking I was recently pondering why certain things in our nation can be so obvious to some and not to others. I get that some people are simply uninformed and ignorant. Also, I realize that others have been propagandized and deceived - they actually believe the foolish ideologies and dogmas of the left. This seemed easy to comprehend. But I was wondering how the very educated and seemingly smart individuals in government, media, and education could be so blind to the effects of their decisions. Consider the following examples: Our border crisis: no honest person could believe it is healthy for a nation to not have secure borders. With our open borders: human trafficking is now rampant; rapes are common; children come in by the thousands without adult care; terrorists, criminals, and gang members come in by the hundreds, probably thousands; fentanyl and other drugs flow into our nation by the truckload - 100,000 people (mostly young people) were killed in the past year by overdoses… all in order for the left to increase their voter base. This is unconscionable. Inflation: The economic situation is out of control and will get worse before it gets better. Gas prices will continue to skyrocket and food prices will, as well. Shortages will continue and increase. This is all avoidable but, unfortunately, the left’s hatred of fossil fuels trumps the suffering their ideology is creating. A recent report I saw from the farming industry stated emphatically that the current food shortages and price increases are nothing compared to what is coming. Crime: I knew before I even heard of “the summer of rage” being called for by the radical left, that the violence was coming. Fasten your seatbelts - it is going to get ugly. And liberal DA’s around the nation refuse to prosecute criminals and anarchists. Mandates: Any honest person could see how the mandates of the past two years were hurting people more than helping them, especially our children. Lives were lost, mental problems were caused, financial devastation was incurred, and damage to the development of our children - mentally, emotionally, and physically - was staggering. It will take years for all of the negative effects to be fully understood. In spite of all this, the left was unmoved. Transgenderism: The immorality we allowed into America over the past 50 years has now devolved into moronic thinking. The assertion that preschoolers should be taught that they can change or choose their own gender is, quite frankly, depraved and unthinkable. Government: out of control, corrupt and inept. No explanation needed. While pondering those things, and asking myself the question, “Why can’t these people see what they are doing to our nation?” the answer became obvious. They can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt - they do see it. The thought then occurred to me, “When people double down on stupid, it is not always stupidity. Sometimes it is intentional.” The highly educated and intelligent people making these decisions know exactly what they are doing. It is all intended to give them more control, keep them in power, and reshape America as a weaker, non-Christian, socialist and globalist nation. And sadly, many of those who actually do believe the insanity are willfully ignorant. The following verses are applicable: “They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.’” (Job 21:14) “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 7:11-12) “For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15) “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” (Romans 1:28) “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." (Ephesians 4:17-19) I have good news and bad news to share. First, the bad: This is going to get worse before it gets better. Contrary to what some think, faith is not denying the existence of facts and reality, it is the refusal to accept them as the final verdict: Faith is a strong conviction that God is not at the mercy of facts, evil and destructive circumstances. It is an unshakable confidence that these things can be changed through prayer, God’s power, and faith in His word. Why do I believe things will get worse before they get better? Because Americans - including the church - allowed unrighteous, ungodly, and unprincipled people to be placed in power and their tenure isn’t over. What we now have, we allowed. Past wake-up calls over the last couple of decades went unheeded and now we are reaping the whirlwind. The merciful shaking - caused by our rejection of God and truth - will serve its purpose of exposing evil and awakening our nation. Now, the good news: God has NOT given up on America. He is NOT finished with this nation being a voice for Him throughout the earth. He WILL send the great awakening we often speak of and turn this nation around. The greatest harvest in history IS coming and WILL NOT be stopped. America will play an important role. He has CHOSEN to use us, and He will - not exclusively, but we will play a significant role. Because of this, I am confident America shall be saved! My counsel to the remnant Ekklesia in this season is: do not waiver in your faith, persevere in your prayers and obedience, and keep your focus on the Lord and what He is doing. Isaiah 26.3-4 (AMP) tells us: “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character] Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner], For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].” Be strong, church! We always triumph in Christ. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for Your great mercy. America has, in a most blatant way, rejected You, Your Son, and Your ways. We have no one to blame for our problems but ourselves - we’re reaping the wages of sin. However, the condition we are experiencing is why revival comes. Common sense alone tells us that revival comes because people need it, not because they are healthy and filled with life. We are confident in Your love. We are confident that You love to save. We are confident that Your mercy triumphs over judgment. We are confident that heaven rejoices over one lost soul coming to Christ. We are confident that You love the world - that’s why You sent Your Son. We are confident that no shaking can damage or hinder Your kingdom. And we are confident that America shall be saved and returned to her role as a voice for You on the earth. As Christ taught us, we command forth Your kingdom rule and will on earth, as it is in heaven! Amen. Our decree: We decree that good will overcome evil, and the ever-increasing Kingdom of Christ is moving into its finest hour (see Isaiah 9:6-7). Click on the link below to watch the full video.

The Power of Vision When the challenges of daily life press in, it can be difficult to hold on to truth and hope. Trusting God for His provision sometimes becomes challenging and downright tough. Right now we all are touched by high food prices and skyrocketing gas prices. When we read the news, we continue to see opportunities to allow our trust to wain, and if we’re not careful, hopelessness washes over us. When despair tries to crush us, that’s when we must tell ourselves the truth: God’s Word is true; He is faithful; He’s a good Father, He never fails. We must also possess and maintain vision for what we know is God’s desire for us and for America. Sometimes we have to re-evaluate our hearts, where we spend our time and money, and make sure we are still focused. Proverbs 29:18 (NKJV) says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The Amplified Translation says, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish.” We must receive and maintain God-birthed vision now - vision that will motivate us to faith and action. Vision is a life-changer, a rearranger. Its hunger can be insatiable, a motivating force creating energy and energizing creativity. Vision moves us from mere mental assent to physical action. It separates the doer from the hearer only, the disciple from the convert, and excellence from mediocrity. It is also what separates a reaped harvest from a ripe harvest (see Matthew 9:37). People change careers due to Holy Spirit-generated vision. Some have walked away from ease and comfort, others earthly fame as this awesome force of heaven moved into their lives. It can mess things up, alter lifestyles, rock the boat. Visionaries rarely go with the flow - they create it. I remember hearing Wayne Myers, a well-known missionary to Mexico, speak in the first missions conference I ever attended. I was single at the time and still living at home, 22 or 23 years old. The first night the host church ended up with about a third of my bank account for their missions program. The second night they got another third. You guessed it: The last night I gave the rest. If there had been a fourth night, I’d have been walking home - I’d have sown my car! There was no manipulation: Wayne didn’t coerce me to give them money. No one pressured me. What happened? Some of the all-consuming, all-encompassing vision he has for reaching the world with the gospel was imparted to me - the impossible-to-explain, you-just-have-to-experience-it, Holy Ghost osmosis which sometimes happens. I’ve given to missions ever since. I remember when I received vision to minister to those devastated by pain and suffering. It was 1976, February 10, to be exact. The country was Guatemala, the village was San Pedro, the setting was a food line. I was a server, dishing soup to hungry women and children who had lost everything the previous week in an earthquake that killed 30,000 people and left a million homeless. I vividly recall dishing soup into cans, bottles, jars (whole or broken), and whatever else people could find to hold a little soup. I also remember looking at the last lady in line - a mother holding her 2 or 3-year-old child, who likely hadn’t eaten in days, and telling her there was “no mas” (no more). Things got all messed up in my life at that moment! I could no longer look the other way and pretend not to see the needs of suffering humanity. I had looked into hungry eyes…hopeless eyes…haunting eyes. Plans were changed, spending habits altered, and priorities rearranged. Vision had come to me. Things have never been quite the same since. Oh, for spiritual eyes NOW to see the potential harvest! For ears to hear the word of the Lord. For insights to understand the times! God is speaking a clear word to those who are listening. Can you feel the breeze of Pentecost picking up? No, it’s not yet the rushing, mighty wind, but the breeze is beginning to blow. I feel it when I pray, worship, and commune with Father. I feel it as I traverse this country trumpeting a wake-up call. From Ezekiel 37: 1-10 (Amplified Bible): “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. And He caused me to pass round about among them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley or plain, and behold, they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know! Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath and spirit to enter you, and you shall live; And I will lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin, and I will put breath and spirit in you, and you [dry bones] shall live; and you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service]. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise and behold, a shaking and trembling and a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked and behold, there were sinews upon [the bones] and flesh came upon them and skin covered them over, but there was no breath or spirit in them. Then said He to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath and spirit, son of man, and say to the breath and spirit, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath and spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath and spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.” I hear the Father asking, “Can America’s dry bones live?” He wants to awaken faith in us. If we will hear and obey, the God of the wind will be unleashed. I, as Elijah did, hear the “sound of abundance of rain” (I Kings 18:41, KJV). The sound isn’t yet thunder - don’t expect it to be that loud. It is a gentle rumbling in the distance. But it is ominous. It is the voice of the Lord. If we can only hear that sound - just as Elijah did - the strongholds of Baal will be overthrown! Woe to the Ahabs and Jezebels of our day! Our God is about to answer by fire (cleansing). And just as Israel did, the people will say, “The Lord, He is God” (revelation and repentance), and the rains will come - the rains of revival. Pray with me: Bring vision to Your people, Father. Finish Your cleansing work and let the fire fall. Then release Your wind. Breathe on us again…intensely! May we in America turn to You with all our hearts. Let the rains come. We're dry and thirsty. Let the river of life flow with great force to all the earth. Bring a mighty flood! In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen. Our decree: We decree that America’s bones shall live again and we shall be saved! Click on the link below to watch the full video.

The War for Our Children I have been and continue to be especially burdened for our children. The left is trying to propagandize them at such a young age now, it is truly appalling. Though we genuinely love and pray for these individuals, we must also pray against and work to stop their agenda. According to Blaze Media, “A North Carolina preschool teacher used LGBTQ-themed flashcards to instruct students — one card apparently shows a pregnant man, WTCD TV reported. The teacher has resigned…The flashcards — apparently used to teach colors to students — reportedly were found in a preschool classroom at Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina, the station said.” [1] Then there is the new Barbie doll. According to The Daily Signal, “It’s no longer just Barbie and Ken. Mattel has created a transgender Barbie in the likeness of actor Laverne Cox, a biological male who identifies as a female. Cox, who gained notoriety in the Netflix series ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ worked with Mattel to design the doll. “‘It’s been a dream for years to work with Barbie to create my own doll,’ Cox said in a statement. ‘I can’t wait for fans to find my doll on shelves and have the opportunity to add a Barbie doll modeled after a transgender person to their collection.’”[2] As you know, I asked several friends to record Give Him 15 posts for me to use while we were on vacation recently. Some were kind enough to send me more than one recording, so I ended up with three or four extras. My plan was to save them for a few weeks or months from now. However, I feel this subject is so urgent, that I have decided to use the following excellent post by Cheryl Sacks today. It spells out the critical need for us to pray for our kids. Here is what Cheryl had to say: “Noah Webster, the historic American patriot and originator of the classic Merriam-Webster Dictionary, has been called ‘the Father of American Scholarship and Education.’ He said this: “‘The education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention. . . [For it] lays the foundations on which both law and gospel rest for success.’ “What would Noah Webster think, I wonder, if he were to show up in America today? I believe he would be shocked and saddened beyond belief. “Here in 2022, our education system and its children are under moral and intellectual assault like never before. While this has been going on for some time behind the scenes, the COVID-19 pandemic, which had children distance-learning across the kitchen table, brought to the spotlight shocking revelations. Parents discovered that instead of being taught the basics — reading, writing, and arithmetic — their kids are being fed lessons on highly divisive topics of questionable academic benefit. All the while, less than half of graduating seniors can proficiently read or even complete math problems.[3] “The shortage of schoolteachers, counselors, and support staff since schools reopened to in-person learning, is compounding the problem and having a dramatic negative impact on the quality of our students’ education. “Not only is America’s education system lacking a focus on academic results, many, if not most, textbooks have been drastically revised to present a new view of America and world history, and the history of humanity. Much of the teaching directs students’ spirits and intellects away from the Lord and toward ungodly and destructive philosophies and worldviews. “One example is that for 150 years the founders of our country were described in textbooks as devout Christians who actively practiced their faith even in their roles in government. Today our Christian heritage is disappearing from textbooks and the nation’s founding is being reframed as one solely rooted in racism and exploitation. The valiant fight of our forefathers, who gave up everything to secure our religious freedom, is no longer celebrated. Students are being groomed to hate rather than love our nation.[4] “Science is presented as a system of knowledge that excludes God. Fewer and fewer Americans believe in a clear and distinct right or wrong, and often our public schools are reinforcing these new norms as ‘progressive,’ ‘just,’ and ‘inclusive.’ “In sex education classes, for example, our children as young as kindergarten are being taught about marriage, identity, and sexuality ‘norms’ that are outside of God’s biblical plan. Sexuality, once an educational responsibility of parents, has moved not just into the mainstream of education, but to the extreme. “Our schoolchildren are being exposed to pressure to accept and embrace transgenderism. Some schools have been bringing in ‘Drag Queens’ to teach students about alternative lifestyles, calling them “models of diversity.” These individuals teach, entertain, and educate kids about being transgender. LGBTQ+ curriculums are being taught in public schools across the nation, and one program has even come to be known as ‘Drag Queen Story Time.’ [5] “At a middle school in Massachusetts, the school principal allowed her staff members to meet secretly with an 11-year-old girl interested in becoming a boy and her 12-year-old brother interested in becoming a girl. A teacher who knew the parents notified them immediately—and was promptly fired for violating the privacy rights of the minor students by alerting the parents. “In a recent similar incident, a school nurse in Connecticut was fired for disclosing that teachers were giving gender blockers to pre-teen students—behind their parents’ backs![6] “In Delaware, one school district’s curriculum includes the book Jacob’s New Dress for K-3 students. The text is included as part of the district’s Social Emotional Learning curriculum, which teaches progressive social ideology on race and gender to primary students.[7] “At a middle school in California, two teachers stalked students online to help identify students they felt would ‘benefit’ from attending the school’s LGBTQ club. They recruited a 12-year-old student without telling the student’s parents. The teachers who used the internet to find vulnerable children to mentor into becoming transgender did not lose their jobs or suffer suspension, even after parents brought the issue to the school board’s attention. “The angry parents in these situations have learned that punishment evades public school perpetrators because powerful institutions support them in their immorality—the U.S. Department of Education and the National Education Association are two chief supporters of this ideology.[8] “It is no surprise that student sexual activity, pregnancies, pornography, STDs, gender dysphoria, and homosexuality continue to explode in our young people. It is probably fair to say this is the most sexually confused and conflicted generation our society has ever seen. Our students are being pressured into sexual activity at younger and younger ages, by peers, the culture and media, and now even by the schools themselves as graphic sex-ed courses push their way into more and more districts. “We must pray for our children, our teachers, and our school boards and also vote, run for office, and speak up that this destructive agenda does not make its way into the curricula of our local schools—and, where it has been implemented in districts, that it will be exposed and removed. “You and I, as godly parents and leaders, and members of the Body of Christ, must both raise up the next generation in God’s Truth and come alongside them in fervent prayer—standing in the gap to defeat the enemy’s schemes of deception, division, secularism, immorality, and perversion. “Our children need our prayers for protection and purity, and the preservation of their innocence. Schoolteachers and administrators need wisdom and courage to push back against immoral guidelines and curricula that promote these ideologies and behaviors. Legislators, too, need wisdom and courage to prevail when legislation comes through asking for a vote on promoting these programs. “It’s time for us to stand with this generation, interceding for the preservation of their destinies. It is time to reclaim a generation!” Pray with me: Lord, we ask that You shine Your light upon our schools and drive out all darkness, spiritual blindness, perversion of truth, and hostility toward You and Your truth. We pray that all attempts to use curricula in our schools as a way to disciple our young people in humanism, moral relativism, and other godless ideologies would be stopped. We ask for teachers and school boards to select curricula that preserve our godly heritage as a nation and honor You. Father, when teachers and students are confronted with subject matter that goes against their biblical worldview, we call upon You to give them courage. Lord, we recognize we do not battle against mere flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers in heavenly places. It is evident that there is a spiritual agenda to destroy the innocence and purity of our children, corrupt them, and lead them down the wrong path with regard to their God-given sexuality and identity. God, as we face these enemy forces that would lead our students into deception and sexual sin, we declare that You have promised to preserve the godly inheritance of parents and our nation—and that heritage is our children. We take authority in Jesus’ name over every wicked spirit that brings these messages of division, corruption, perversion, and immorality to our precious children. This day, we ask for Your deliverance for our schools and our children from these enemy forces. We pray all deception and efforts made in secrecy to influence and corrupt our children would be exposed, brought into the light, and defeated, in Jesus’ name. Lord, we pray for our children, that Your Spirit would fill them with a desire and value for truth and purity. Give them the courage to stand strong against peer pressure and the lies of the enemy and our culture. Help them turn from the path of death to life, in Jesus’ name. Our decree: We decree that our children will recognize, embrace, and walk in Your truth, and that they will fulfill the purpose and destiny to which You have called them. We decree that a young generation of revivalists and reformers like Joseph, Daniel, and Esther will arise! Cheryl Sacks is the best-selling author of The Prayer Saturated book series: The Prayer Saturated Church, Prayer-Saturated Kids, and The Prayer Saturated Family—How to Change the Atmosphere in Your Home through Prayer. Her newest book, Reclaim a Generation, 21 Days of Prayer for Schools, will be available soon at ReclaimAGeneration.com. You can learn more about Cheryl and her husband Hal’s work at PrayerSaturated.life and BridgeBuilders.net Click on the link below to watch the full video. [1]https://www.theblaze.com/news/preschool-teacher-resigns-lgbtq-flashcards [2]https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/06/02/why-mattels-transgender-barbie-poses-harm-to-kids/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell&mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGEwvB_2PB8qxsTa_LMZzMsAcE8kj-rx4jG0_bOKAFUUhK9VAAcS4U88xRwGzcMOArOTtov_UNKUf3JXLXCQjiMKXG3qjgjxBnY9FcHUpP0tmEc6rdZ [3]https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/09/09/low-literacy-levels-among-us-adults-could-be-costing-the-economy-22-trillion-a-year/. [4] https://www.parentsrightsined.org/drag-queen-ed.html. Accessed 27 February 2022. [5]https://nationalfile.com/school-nurse-was-fired-for-revealing-that-teachers-were-secretly-giving-students-puberty-blockers/ [6] https://nationalfile.com/k-3-sel-curriculum-in-delaware-county-includes-jacobs-new-dress/ [7] The U.S. DOE secured COVID-19 money and distributed the money to the states under a program called the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER). A significant portion of the $122 billion is designated for “mental health support,” including guidelines for supporting specifically Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, or Questioning (LGBTQ2+) youth. [8]https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/2021-Fall_CSSO-Letter_COVID-19-Relief.pdf. Accessed 27 February 2022.

The Revival Mantle (part 3) In Tuesday’s post, I shared the first of two connected dreams received by Gina Gholston. The first dream occurred in July, 2021, and ended with the phrase: “To Be Continued.” In a moment, I will share the second dream. The setting in the first dream was Wales. Evan Roberts, one of the leaders of the Welsh revival, was handing our generation the mantle he and others had carried in that great outpouring. During the dream, it grew into a much larger mantle in order to produce broader results. In the end, those who received it were transported by Holy Spirit back to America. If you have not read the dream, I strongly recommend that you pause and look at Tuesday‘s post. It will encourage you and give context. Describing the second dream, Gina says: “On May 21, 2022, I dreamed that Pastors Paul and Kim Owens (pastors in Arizona; they were also with Gina in the first dream), a couple of other people (whose identities I can’t recall), my assistant, Darlene, and I were at Fields of the Wood near Murphy, NC. This is the location where we ‘landed’ at the end of the Revival Mantle Dream I had on July 5, 2021. “We were sitting near the gift shop, all facing outward, toward the parking area and the pond located there. We had come to this place on a prayer assignment, and were now sitting, reflecting on the day. We were also praying, ‘Lord, what do we do now?’ As we prayed this, a car pulled up in the parking lot and parked close to where we were sitting. A few young people exited the car and went scurrying off to the gift shop. The passenger door opened and an elderly lady got out of the car. We could see that she was very emaciated, skin and bones. She was very weak, frail and could barely walk on her own. I ran over to help her. “She said, ‘Thank you, honey.’ “I replied to her, ‘Come and sit with us.’ “I led her up to where we were sitting. She was dressed in very nice clothes with a long-sleeved, jacket-type shirt, and I saw that she had on very thick wool socks with no shoes. This was unusual since it was very hot that day. I asked if she was cold. “She said, almost in tears, ‘O, yes, I am really cold. I just can’t seem to get warm.’ “I responded, ‘Well, we have this mantle, and if you’ll sit down here, I’ll cover you up. It’s very heavy, so we can’t put much of it on you - there’s no way you could hold up under the entire weight of it. But we can wrap you up in the corner of it.’ “Kim and Darlene helped me take part of the mantle and wrap it around the lady. As soon as we did, she said, ‘Wow! What is this?’ “Then the three of us looked at one another as a revelation hit us, ‘It’s the mantle of REVIV-AL!’ [revive all] “I said to the lady, ‘This is the mantle of revival, and it revives.’ “She said, ‘I feel it! I feel it!’ “We watched as, right before our eyes, strength and life came into this lady. Her body filled out and was completely restored. She began smiling and glowing with peace and joy. We sat with her, rejoicing over her miracle. After a while she left, and we all sat there looking at one another in amazement, wondering, ‘What just happened?’ We were shocked! “Then the Lord spoke - AUDIBLY! We all heard His voice. ‘I gave you the mantle, now I’m going to show you what to do with it. It’s not just to be worn and talked about because of its beauty. There is purpose for this mantle, and there is purpose for My placing of it on you. You must learn how to use it for My purposes. This is My answer to your question, “What do we do now?” You must learn how to use the mantle.’ “Suddenly, people began coming to us, telling us of various problems, health issues, or other situations they were dealing with. We would listen, then sit them down at the table and wrap them in the mantle. “One young couple was weeping due to severe marital problems. We wrapped them in the corner of the mantle and they were both healed, delivered of emotional issues, and their marriage was restored. “Another man came on crutches. He had undergone knee surgery and something had gone wrong, permanently damaging his knee. We wrapped him in the mantle and, instantly, he was healed. “Some who came were not believers. They had witnessed what was happening, approached us, and asked what was going on. We would tell them about Jesus and His power to heal, deliver, and save. Then we would wrap them in the mantle, and they would be gloriously saved and instantly baptized in the Holy Ghost. We could literally see a physical transformation as the joy of the Lord would overtake their entire countenance. “Over and over people came. We only used the corner of the mantle to cover them because we knew the full weight of it would be too great for them. Yet, there was so much power in just the corner of it that everyone who came, supernaturally received what they had need of. They all rejoiced and gave glory to God. “Throughout the dream, God kept speaking to us audibly, saying, ‘This is the mantle of REVIV-AL. It’s purpose is to revive, to make alive again, to bring change. It is not for looks or show, and it’s not for the exaltation of those who wear it. There’s a purpose in My putting the mantle on you, and now I’m going to teach you how to use it for My purpose.’ “We were all so happy. We kept rejoicing, looking at each other in complete amazement and excitement for all we were witnessing. And we knew the fruit of the mantle was only beginning. (End of dream.) “When I woke from this dream, I was literally sobbing! It was so real - it felt as if I had literally been there. I was just wrecked by the presence of God as I realized this was the continuation of last July’s dream. God is going to teach us how to use the mantle to reveal His power and make Him known.” What we see as delay is sometimes God preparing us for what is coming. It is a season of training, instruction, and preparation. He has been preparing His Ekklesia for this great revival. We will release His authority, yes, but also His love and mercy. Prepare! Wrap yourself in His presence so He can wrap you in His mantle - the mantle of revival. This is coming! Pray with me: Father, thank You for Your great love and compassion. You sent Christ, our Messiah, because You loved the world so much (John 3:16). Jesus came to destroy the works of darkness (1 John 3:8), and we are called to enforce His victory, in His name (Mark 16:15-20; Matthew 16:18-19). We know You are mantling us now for another phase of this. As we draw near to You, You will draw near to us, and You are bringing a big mantle with You. Wrap us in it! Clothe us with Yourself! And Lord, we continue to pray for peace and healing to those who have recently suffered such incredible loss, be it Uvalde, Buffalo, those in other nations such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, and elsewhere. Comfort them. But most of all send a sweeping revival to save their eternal spirits. We thank You for Your promise that America shall be saved. We know this revival will be the catalyst for that to occur. We also know, however, that evil leaders must be removed, and lovers of righteousness and truth replace them. We ask for this to take place in government, education, media, and every strata of society. And we ask all of these things in the name of Yeshua, amen. Our decree: We decree that our God, who is love, is coming to love the hurting and judge evil. One more thing: Before ending today’s post, I’d like to also share another fruit of this great Welsh Revival. As a young man, the great leader and intercessor, Rees Howells, was greatly impacted by the outpouring. In 1924, Rees established The Bible College of Wales in Swansea. In its now-famous prayer room (The Blue Room), many believe that his and the students’ prayers actually helped to win World War II. However, after Howells’ death, the Bible College fell into disrepair and eventually closed. A pastor whose life had been remarkedly touched by the teachings of Rees Howells, along with his congregation in Singapore (Pastor Tuck Yang and Cornerstone Community Church), raised the funds to rebuild and reopen The Bible College of Wales. Now, once again, they host students from around the world to study the Word and drink from the wells of revival and prayer (for a three-month term). Their purpose is “to train and equip those who have a call to ministry in the church, marketplace, or in cross-cultural missions.” I have visited and taught in this amazing school. The BCW recently graduated their 13th class, and are slated to begin another in the Fall of 2022. If interested, you can find out more about The Bible College of Wales here. To find out more about Gina Gholston click here. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

The Welsh Revival (The Revival Mantle part 2) In yesterday's post, I shared the first of two connected dreams received by Gina Gholston. The first dream was in July 2021 and ended with the phrase: “To Be Continued.” Part 2 was received a week ago; I will share that dream with you tomorrow. The setting in the first dream was Wales. Evan Roberts, one of the leaders of the Welsh revival, was handing our generation the mantle he had carried in that great outpouring. During the dream, it grew into a much larger mantle in order to produce broader results. In the end, those who received it were transported by Holy Spirit back to America. If you have not read the dream, I would strongly recommend that you pause and look at Tuesday‘s post. It will encourage you tremendously. By highlighting this awakening, Holy Spirit is not telling us He will replicate exactly what happened in the Welsh awakening. Nor are we to seek Evan Roberts’ mantle of revival. Holy Spirit owns and dispenses mantles. We seek God, not people. Nor are we to try and duplicate or copy what Holy Spirit did in the past. We can, however, be inspired and instructed by it. And also, by honoring what Holy Spirit did then, as well as the efforts of those He used, we can drink from the same well of power and anointing. By using this revival as a picture of what He is about to do, God is saying to our generation, “I am about to bring forth an earth-shaking, nation-changing outpouring of my Holy Spirit. It will produce great deliverances, salvations, healings, and societal transformation.” The Welsh Revival I feel that today, before sharing the sequel dream tomorrow, I should relate some facts regarding the Welsh revival; they will be helpful and encouraging. The visitation of the Holy Spirit in Wales in 1904-1905 was widespread and felt everywhere. It truly was a revival where God, in answer to prayer, poured out His presence unilaterally, and without focus on any one leader. The services were full, packed to the brim with people, hungry to receive from the Lord. The Welsh love to sing and this revival was sometimes called The Singing Revival. The Bible College of Wales shares: “The singing would segue into intercession as loud cries of ‘mercy’ rose to heaven like incense. All over the country, testimonies of hardened souls receiving salvation and lives being changed were heard. The impact of the Lord’s hand was evident. Stories of courts abandoned due to a lack of crime and bars shutting down were commonplace. Entertainment, such as football matches, lacked attendance as people were so hungry for His presence. Sales of pocket Testaments were snapped up as people hungered for the Bread of Life. “A story was told of how the horses in the mines were confused because they had been driven by men using profanity and kicks, but those disappeared. The Revival so seized the nation that the Western Mail in Cardiff published ‘Revival Editions.’ How often does one see religious news take front page in a national and secular newspaper? In these editions, revival news superseded current affairs, and testimonies replaced tabloids, telling of how the Welsh were more interested in God and His kingdom than the affairs of this world. The back of the paper even contained a hymn and a summary of the number of conversions to date.”(1) Amazing! Evan Roberts was one of the leaders of this revival. Revival-library.org tells us: “The great turning point in his [Roberts] life was when he visited a meeting at Blaenannerch where Seth Joshua was preaching. He was perhaps the most powerful preacher in Wales at the time and was holding evangelistic meetings throughout the nation. In one meeting, Roberts heard the evangelist pray ‘Lord, bend us’ and the words stuck to his heart and mind. The Holy Spirit said to Evan, ‘That’s what you need.’ He knew he had to consecrate himself to God before the Spirit would come through his ministry. “The next day he felt as if he was bursting inside in the chapel meeting. ‘I felt a living power pervading my bosom. It took my breath away and my legs trembled exceedingly. This living power became stronger and stronger as each one prayed, until I felt it would tear me apart. I fell on my knees with my arms over the seat in front of me. My face was bathed in perspiration, and the tears flowed in streams. I cried out, “Bend me, bend me!!” It was God’s commending love which bent me… what a wave of peace flooded my bosom…. I was filled with compassion for those who must bend at the judgment, and I wept. Following that, the salvation of the human soul was solemnly impressed on me. I felt ablaze with the desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of the Saviour.’ “The revival started in the South and a few days later broke out in the North, as well; within a few weeks, it had spread to all parts of Wales like a prairie fire. People began to flock to the church buildings. Sometimes all the churches in one town would be filled with people, for up to 24 hours a day. In some places there was preaching, in others, there was just singing and testimonies, in still others just people being led to pray out loud. “The national employment was primarily in the coal mines. These were places of terrible ungodliness, with much swearing, blaspheming, and gambling. But now, services were held hundreds of feet under the earth. Sometimes 300 men would gather to hear the reading of Scripture, sing hymns, and offer prayers. “Of the revival’s results, one of the most marvelous effects was upon the courts of justice throughout Wales. Criminal calendars were reduced to a minimum. Lists of convictions dwindled to nothing. Judges had, instead of the usual long lists of cases awaiting trial, blank sheets of paper, without a single name. “One newspaper report said: ‘Truly God has visited His people in Wales. It is not a question of one town being awakened, but of the whole Principality being on fire. Police courts are idle, family feuds pacified, old-standing debts paid, the family altar re-erected, and Bible study becomes a passion. This is the finger of God. Not only does it hold a large place in the religious weeklies, but the chief Cardiff journals give columns to the Revival each day, and some of the principal London papers give a full column every morning.’ “But above all, there were the converts, 100’s of them! After a very few weeks, there were 10,000, and after a couple of months, there were 30,000. When 6 months had passed there were over 70,000 new Christians and after 9 months the figure leapt to around 100,000 new converts. “Soon the revival spread to other places in South Wales. Teams of young people assisted preachers like Roberts, Sydney Evans, Seth Joshua, Joseph Jenkins, and R. B. Jones. The revival then took hold in North Wales. Within six months 100,000 had come to Christ! “The Welsh Revival was soon the main topic of conversation throughout the Christian world. Wherever the news went it seemed to cause passionate prayer and began to ignite revival fires everywhere. Christians across Great Britain turned to prayer and church membership increased throughout the land. “In Scandinavia, a current revival was fanned into a mighty blaze, as a result of the Welsh Revival. Germany was similarly affected as the flame spread across Europe. Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Balkans, and Russia experienced awakenings. “The United States felt the after-shock of the Welsh Revival in almost every place. Prayer, conviction, and conversion spontaneously occurred, resulting in unusual church growth. In 1906 the modern Pentecostal Movement was born on Azusa Street, in Los Angeles, after a succession of local revivals through 1905. News of the Welsh Revival had encouraged more prayer and suddenly the Holy Spirit descended. Daily meetings were held for the next three years. Visitors flocked there to catch the power of the Spirit and they were not disappointed. No one could have imagined that this was the beginning of the greatest and most effective missionary movement the world had ever seen. “Almost no country in the world was excluded from the effects of this incredible revival. Almost every nation, on each continent, received new power from heaven, and a new passion for prayer and the lost. Hundreds of thousands came to the Lord.”(2) Pray with me: Father, we thank You for Your Spirit of grace and mercy. You are good, all the time. We thank You for what You did in the Welsh Revival and the subsequent outpourings of Holy Spirit it spawned. It truly was used to impact the world. And now You speak of another, larger outpouring. You say You are mantling Your people with the gifts, anointings, and power necessary to accomplish this. We ask for that. We also pray the prayer of Evan Roberts, “Bend us. Bend our wills to Yours, and our hearts toward the lost and broken.” Send the fires of revival throughout the earth!!! In Christ’s name, Amen. Our decree: We decree that the greatest revival in all of history has begun and will explode on the earth. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ____________________________________________ https://www.bcwales.org/1904-welsh-revival https://www.revival-library.org/revival_histories/evangelical/1900/welsh_revival_1904.shtml

The Revival Mantle (part 1) We have all been digesting the horrific information regarding the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. This, combined with the other significant challenges America now faces, can erode hope and attack our faith if we are not careful. With that in mind, I want to share two dreams today, tomorrow, and Thursday, which will be an incredible encouragement to you. They are related/sequel dreams, given to our friend Gina Gholston, the first one in July of last year and the sequel just last week. Allow them to encourage your heart and mind. Gina says: “July 5, 2021, I dreamed I was with a group of people visiting a place of great significance in revival history. We arrived at the old church, built of grayish/white stone, and stepped inside. [Gina then describes the church in great detail.] “We thought we were alone, but began to hear a man’s voice ringing out from behind the pulpit. Though we could not see the man, as the dreamer of this dream I could see that he was on his knees with his right hand lifted toward heaven; he was in deep, travailing prayer - so intense, so full of passion and sincerity! It was as though he was being emptied out with every word. As he spoke, he would rock back and forth on his knees, with his hand lifted the whole time. His face was red because of the extreme intensity of his prayer. Four or five times he repeated this same prayer: ‘Alas, this cross that I must bear, ’tis not a task for me. Its weight is light, for my delight is to do all that You ask of me! I’m turning now . . . to see Your face; ’tis all that matters to me! I lift mine eyes; Lord, hear my cry. SHOW ME YOUR GLORY!’ “As he prayed, it was as though an electrical current could be tangibly felt; we were all brought to tears as the weightiness of the presence of God completely filled the room. Our group reverently walked to our left and sat down on a pew, not wanting to disturb the man. “I don’t have words to explain this, but the whole atmosphere filled with the pleasure of God. I wish I were able to adequately articulate how it felt! We could feel that God was so pleased with this man and his prayer. The feeling of God’s pleasure was almost tangible. “As he continued to pray, we were all sobbing, overcome by the presence of the Lord, and the man heard us. He arose from his knees and walked toward the pulpit. I noticed that he was a tall, young man, and had on clothing from the early 1900s. He leaned over the pulpit and saw us there. With his elbows on the pulpit and his face resting in his hands, the man gazed at us and said, with deep emotion, almost in a whisper, ‘You came! You’re here!’ “He then stood up straight, and we saw that he was cloaked, not with natural clothing, but with what appeared to be a type of robe. The robe was very thick, bulky, and long, touching the floor, old, and extremely heavy. He then said to us, ‘I have been waiting for you!’ He put his hand on the robe, and said, ‘I wore this for my time, and it was all that I desired! It was all that I desired!’ “I was almost afraid to speak, but I reverently asked, ‘What is it?’ “He answered with such respect for it, ‘It’s the mantle of revival!’ “I then asked, ‘Who are you?’ “He said, ‘That is not important. What is important is that you came to get this mantle. You have been sent here for this purpose.’ “We had thought we were there just to see the building, but we now understood we had been deliberately and supernaturally brought there by God to receive this mantle. This realization was overwhelming to each one of us. “The young man then began telling us stories about the mantle— how he had received it, and stories of the experiences he had in his time while carrying it. We then realized this mantle was the ‘cross’ he was so intently speaking about in his prayer. Though heavy, it had not been a burden for him, but rather the greatest joy of his life! “As he spoke to us, we noticed that the mantle, which was still on him, was supernaturally growing, extending with every word he spoke, and filling up the stage. He said, ‘In my time, I cried out to God and asked for at least 100,000 souls to be touched and changed by Holy Spirit’s power. In your time, however, it must be much greater.’ The mantle continued to grow, and he continued to speak, giving us instruction and revelation about this mantle. He was doing so because it was being passed to us so we would carry it for our era. “As we listened in awe to what he was saying, the full realization hit us that we were going to carry this mantle, and we all looked at each other with a look that said, ‘We can’t carry that! It’s too heavy! It’s too big!’ We were amazed that he was still able to stand under the weight of it as he spoke. I was so overcome by the magnitude of what was happening I was sobbing. Getting up off the pew, I stepped into an aisle and fell to my knees. Everyone did. Knowing we had been sent by God to receive this mantle, I asked the question we were all thinking: ‘How can we carry it? It’s SO big!’ Naturally speaking, this seemed impossible! “The man responded, ‘You cannot wear this mantle and look forward or around you. If you do, it will be misused and torn; it will become cumbersome and even wearisome for you. You must ever look upward and be completely enthralled by the Lord. Focus on Him! Pursue Him! Long for Him! And soon the weight of the mantle will be absorbed by the passion in your heart for more of Him.’ “He then said, with profound joy, ‘Now . . . it’s your time to carry the mantle!’ “In unison, still weeping, we said, ‘We receive it! We don’t completely know how, but we receive it!’ Then, out of the depths of our beings, we began to pray the same prayer the man had been praying at the beginning of the dream. It became the cry of each of our hearts: ‘Alas, this cross that I must bear ’tis not a task for me. Its weight is light, for my delight, is to do all that You ask of me! I’m turning now to see Your face, ’tis all that matters to me! I lift mine eyes; Lord, hear my cry. SHOW ME YOUR GLORY!’ “The man stepped down from the pulpit, back onto the stage, and was gone. (I do not know who the man was, but I believe it was Evan Roberts, a young man who was instrumental in the great Welsh revival that took place in the early 1900s. And I feel that Moriah Chapel in Wales, where the revival began, was the church where we stood.) “Still on our knees, releasing the intense prayer that had now become our prayer, the mantle was lifted from the stage and placed on us. It covered us, and was now big enough to fill the entire church! As it covered us, the mantle became a glider, lifted us up and began transporting us. We were carried by the mantle over the ocean, then over land and mountains. We landed, facing west. “With the mantle still covering us, we all knew we were in the mountains of North Carolina, at the location where Holy Spirit came upon a small group of men in the late 1800s and early 1900s (now called Fields of the Wood). [You can read more about this location and a prayer journey Gina led there by using this link. Her insights are excellent and would be very beneficial.] These men later launched the Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy denominations. Out in front of us, in the span of about twenty feet in width, we saw white stones making up letters, approximately four feet tall, spelling the words: ‘TO BE CONTINUED.’” End of the dream. I will share information regarding the Welsh revival in tomorrow’s post. This incredible outpouring was one of the greatest revivals in all of church history, impacting the entire nation. Her dream ended with: “TO BE CONTINUED.” Thursday, I will share Gina‘s profound sequel dream. Pray with me: Father, thank You so much for this amazing and encouraging dream. When the enemy tries to erode our faith, You are faithful to sustain us with encouraging prophetic words, dreams, and revelation from Scripture. We are confident that even as shaking intensifies, as evil increases, grace will increase more than the evil and bring revival to America and the world (Matthew 24:12; Romans 5:20; Isaiah 9:6-7). Thank You! We say with our friends in the dream, “We receive this mantle of revival. And our focus, passion, and affection will remain upward, stayed on You.” Cause this mantle to become huge and heavy, filled with Your incredible glory and power. May it transform hundreds of millions of people and many nations around the world. We know this is Your passion and You will accomplish it. We ask for this in the wonderful, powerful name of Jesus, and fully expect it to occur We also continue to intercede for those grieving in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, NY. Bring Your peace and comfort to them in this horrific time. We also pray for Ukraine - deliver and restore them. Break the power of evil there. Remover Putin. And we pray for Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the surrounding nations. Send deliverance and revival, we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the mantle of revival is increasing and being imparted to many at this time. Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can find out more about Gina Gholston by going to her website here.

This Loss Will Not Go Unanswered - Memorial Day 2022 It is great to be back with you for GH15. Ceci and I enjoyed a wonderful time of rest and refreshing. I want to thank my friends who filled in so effectively for me while we were away. I know you enjoyed their deep insights and great thoughts. The immeasurable tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, occurred while I was gone. There are no words to express the sadness and grief I feel for those involved. I, like many, am heartbroken and angry. We have been, and will continue to pray for the families and this city. On this Memorial Day, we take time to remember those who have given their lives defending our nation. It is a special day and one we honor with sobriety and hearts overflowing with gratitude. I asked our dear friend, Major William Ostan (retired), to share some thoughts with us on this important day. As always, Will does so with great poignancy. Here are Will’s thoughts: “I have a love/hate relationship with Memorial Day, as I’ve found that the memories of the war-dead both inspire and haunt the living. There are many awful sights, sounds, and smells seared into my soul from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I cannot shake them, though I’ve tried countless times. I’ve been restored through counseling sessions, but life - through simple, random circumstances - presents constant reminders of the indelible events experienced in a combat zone. “This is especially true during Memorial Day weekend, as it’s the time set apart to reflect on the high price paid by the Fallen. In contrast to Veterans Day, where we honor the brave men and women still living among us who have served and sacrificed in the name of freedom, Memorial Day is for those who have paid the ultimate price. Though physically no longer among us, their legacies are still echoing in eternity. We are intentional to pause and honor these warriors for giving the ‘last full measure of devotion.’[1] “I hate that they are gone, as well as the terrible pain caused by their absence - especially for Gold Star families - but I love that their heroic deeds inspire us to live lives of purpose in their honor. Many servicemen and women will tell you they can still feel the presence of comrades they’ve lost to war through the recounting of their courageous acts. The impact of their sacrifice lives on, prompting a response from those who will listen. If we speak the names of the Fallen, they will never be forgotten. “I’ll never forget the memorial services at Kandahar Airfield during my time as an Army JAG attorney, assigned to a Special Operations Task Force comprised of Army Green Berets and Navy SEALs. During any combat deployment, whenever a warrior is killed in action, a ‘ramp ceremony’ is held, no matter the time of day or night the death occurs. When the call goes out across the battlefield, everyone stops whatever they’re doing and attends the memorial service, even if they haven’t slept in days and it’s zero dark thirty. We celebrate that warrior’s life, and we salute the coffin as it is conveyed up the ramp into the C-130 aircraft that will take the deceased home for their final flight. It is a solemn act of remembrance, full of honor. “The memory of these ramp ceremonies causes me to ask, ‘Am I living my life in a way that’s worthy of the sacrifices made by the Fallen? The brothers and sisters from my units in Iraq and Afghanistan who are no longer with us, would they be proud of me? Or would they be ashamed?’[2] “In this spirit, across America and around the world, thousands of people today will complete a workout called ‘The Murph,’[3] in honor of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy.,[4] Lieutenant Murphy was a Navy SEAL, who willingly gave his life during an operation gone bad, in order that his fellow SEALs could live. His valorous acts of heroism,[5] for which President George W. Bush awarded him the Medal of Honor,[6] speak louder than any words ever could – inspiring those of us who remain to ensure that the Fallen will never have died in vain. “On July 8th, 2005, Commodore Pete Van Hooser spoke at a memorial service for Lieutenant Murphy and the other fallen members of SEAL Team Ten. His speech is extremely moving, especially when he concludes by saying, ‘This loss will not go unanswered. It is always humbling to be in the presence of warriors.’ [7] “The sentiment ‘this loss will not go unanswered’ strikes me as such a perfect description of the death of Jesus Christ. The greatest injustice ever witnessed by creation did not go unanswered, as Jesus rose from the grave three days later, thereby making a way for us to be with Him for eternity. Furthermore, thousands of years after Jesus commanded His followers to ‘go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,’[8] we are now God’s answer to reach the modern world with the gospel. “You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who loves America more than I do. I am an ardent patriot who bleeds red, white, and blue. However, I realize fighting for America pales in comparison to advancing the cause of Christ. Therefore, we also look to the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ referenced in Hebrews 12:1 to draw strength from their stories. We must be willing to ‘pay any price and bear any burden’[9] to advance Christ’s Kingdom, as we follow the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.’[10] “Major Dick Winters, of Band of Brothers fame, when asked by his granddaughter if he was a hero, answered, ‘No, but I served in the company of heroes.’[11] On this Memorial Day, may we always remember and never forget that we are in the company of heroes and warriors as we stay on mission for Christ, to make His kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.” Pray with me: Heavenly Father, we thank You for the lives of the men and women who have fought and died to protect liberty. You know their names, their unseen acts of courage, and their final resting place. You grasp the significance of a life laid down for others, and how their absence impacts those left grieving and remembering. Father, would You comfort those who mourn, and help each of us know how we must respond, so those losses do not go unanswered. And as we reflect on the most significant sacrifice - that of Your one and only Son - empower us to live our lives in a manner worthy of the calling we have received. And Father, we also pray for those affected by the tragedy in Texas. We ask You to comfort those who have lost family members, and help the entire community deal with the overwhelming shock and grief. Our nation has opened the door to such incredible violence and bloodshed. We ask You to cleanse our land and deliver us from this. Revive us, we pray. And we pray all of this in Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We will be a people who remember the lives of the Fallen and live in such a way that honors their sacrifice.[12] Bio: William J. Ostan is a medically retired U.S. Army Major and combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the Founder and President of Arc of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for wounded warriors still on active duty. Will is currently spearheading the Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights (H.R. 6043) in Congress. You can find out more about his story at www.arcofjusticeusa.org Click on the link below to watch the full video. [1] This is a phrase from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. [2] These questions are like the ones that the surviving Soldier “Private Ryan” asks his family in an extraordinarily inspiring scene at the end of the movie Saving Private Ryan. [3] https://themurphchallenge.com [4] Author Dick Couch describes Murph in the following way, “A combat leader lives, and sometimes dies, by his ability to balance two often mutually exclusive duties: he must accomplish his mission and he must take care of his men…we do know this: Mike Murphy did all in his power to accomplish his mission. When that became impossible, he did all in his power to take care of his men. In the face of impossible odds and mortally wounded, he fought and led until the moment he was killed.” SEAL of Honor: Operation Red Wings and the Life of LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN, page XIII, quoting Dick Couch, SEAL (BUD/S) Class 45, UDT 22/SEAL Team One. [5] “Valor is a gift. Those having it never know for sure whether they have it till the test comes. And those having it in one test never know for sure if they will have it when the next test comes.” Carl Sandburg, American poet. SEAL of Honor: Operation Red Wings and the Life of LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN, page XIV. [6] “In his final act of bravery, he committed to engaging the enemy until he was mortally wounded, gallantly giving his life for the cause of freedom. By his selfless leadership, courageous actions, and extraordinary devotion to duty, Lieutenant Murphy reflected great credit upon him and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.” President George W. Bush, at the White House Medal of Honor presentation ceremony on October 22, 2007. [7] The entire speech is recorded in Gary Williams’ book SEAL of Honor: Operation Red Wings and the Life of LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN pages 176-179. The book and movie Lone Survivor describe the unbelievable bravery and heroic exploits of Murph and his SEAL Team Ten teammates during the early years of the war in Afghanistan. [8] “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 ESV. [9] “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. This much we pledge – and more.” John F. Kennedy, Presidential Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961. [10] Ephesians 4:1 ESV. [11] SEAL of Honor: Operation Red Wings and the Life of LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN, page XIII. [12] With any loss, comes grief and remembrance, often accompanied by reflections on how we can carry on the memory of the ones who are gone. When I remember the warriors who fought and died for a cause they believed in, I realize that I must look at my own life to determine how to live in such a way that gives eternal meaning and purpose to their sacrifice.

DSM has been blessed with a wonderful, hard-working, and loyal team. Ceci and I are going to do a staff retreat with them, then she and I will take a much-needed vacation. I have asked some of my close friends and associates - many being regular contributors to the Give Him 15 posts - to fill in during this time. You will recognize most of the names; and I’ve thrown in one or two whom perhaps you haven’t heard from. You’re going to love the insights from all of them - this will be a wonderful smorgasbord! Enjoy! Sing Yourself a Prophecy - Kelsey Bohlender I want to talk about our heart’s cry to hear from God, and how sometimes, that word is already written somewhere in our history. Recently, my husband Randy had a dream where he was sitting in a prophetic meeting, weeping because he was so hungry to hear from God. He literally woke up from the dream and moved to the recliner where he fell asleep and dreamed it again. I think we can all relate to that hunger at some level. The truth is, we don’t always get a prophetic word when we want it. Sometimes, the Word of the Lord lingers in our past, and comes alive again when we pull it into the moment. Sometimes we have to sing a song of remembrance to direct our hearts to stand steady, like Moses and Miriam did in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 14, God’s people are in a bad spot, hedged in by the Red Sea and the Egyptian army coming to annihilate them. Moses declared that if they stood firm, they would see the salvation of the Lord, and that the Egyptians they saw today would never be seen again. He was right. God split the sea, the Hebrew people walked through on dry land, and the water swallowed up the pursuing army…but the story was far from over. They wouldn’t face this enemy again, but the future was full of other obstacles. In light of God’s powerful deliverance - the desert road before them, and the questions already bubbling of “what next, Moses” - he chose a curious path of leadership. He didn’t make an inspiring speech, he didn’t call a town hall meeting to discuss options. He chose to sing...about what God had done, what He was doing, and what He was about to do. Perhaps his voice was a little shaky at first, like ours is when we start to sing, but you can almost hear it growing stronger as he recounts what had just happened. The Song of Moses – from Exodus 15: “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” As he recounted God’s faithful deliverance, his voice turned from remembering to worshiping: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Having established what He had done in the past and honoring who He was in the present, Moses found himself prophesying about days to come: “​​In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength, You will guide them to Your holy dwelling. The nations will hear and tremble…” What brilliant strategy, to sing! Although we love music, my husband, Randy, and I are not particularly musical. Even so, there have been times in seeking the Lord where in lieu of a prophetic word or specific divine direction, we have sung ourselves into the prophetic, and those songs have become the declaration that showed us what God was about to do. Years ago, Randy felt called to go to an event called “Burning Man” as a prophetic witness. “Burning Man” is an eclectic arts festival in the remote desert of Black Rock City, Nevada. For over 20 years, up to 80,000 people have gathered on a dry lake-bed for a week each summer, where they create art and celebrate debauchery beyond the reach of the law, all centered around a 70-foot tall effigy of a man built out of wood. At the end of the week, they light the Burning Man on fire, throw much of their art into the flames, and spend the night dancing around the man. Randy says it’s basically a church picnic if you replace the potato salad and lemonade with acid-laced brownies and vodka. We had never done ministry in this sort of context, and we were a little nervous. Nervous enough to know we needed to hear from God. Nervous enough to fast. We were not experienced in fasting, but we were hungrier for God than we were for food, so we jumped in, fasting for forty days and meeting regularly with others to pray and ask, “Have you heard anything from the Lord?” I wish I could tell you we heard from Him immediately, but I’ll be honest - we didn’t. Even so, we weren’t discouraged. If He wasn’t ready to talk, we were - and we told Him of how He had faithfully moved in the past. Around the 30th day of the fast, the Lord began to speak to us. It was faint at first, and we listened closely. We started getting a vision for what could happen in the desert and we heard a word - rain. Randy and four of his friends loaded an RV with 5,000 bottles of water to give away, and I gathered a small group to pray for the team. Having sensed the word “rain,” we asked a lady who worshipped the Lord with interpretive dance, to help us create a dance that would glorify God for His provision of rain. Miriam and the Israelite ladies danced after the Red Sea crossing, thanking God for victory; we felt led to do it in advance. Our dancing worshipper jumped on it and before you knew it, we were praying and worshipping with the dance nightly, asking the Lord to send rain in the desert. Even WE thought we were a little crazy, but sensed the pleasure of the Lord on it. Randy disappeared into the desert, beyond cell coverage, and for days we worshipped and danced before the Lord, praying for rain, not really sure what was happening. In the desert, Randy and his team were finding great favor. People were very open, not only to receiving a free bottle of water, but also to prayer, hearing about the love of Jesus. The team also prophesied a lot about rain. They had t-shirts printed with a raindrop encircling the Burning Man logo and referred to it as Soaking Man. People laughed. At the end of the week, Randy called me from his cell phone having just gotten a signal. He excitedly told of all that God had done in the desert. Then his voice cracked and he said, “It’s...it’s raining.” I about dropped the phone as I shouted back, “What?!” He said, “It’s raining. We are driving south and a huge rainstorm has rolled in. It’s raining in the desert!” They drove through the night across the United States and by late the next day headlines read, “Thousands leave Burning Man early because of the rain.” That weekend, September 2, 2000, we traveled to Washington, DC for an event, TheCall DC. I brought my little crew of dancing ladies and the night before the event we thought, “We should worship with our dance and ask God to send rain again!” We found an empty hotel ballroom and there, in the nation’s capital, we danced and worshiped and celebrated the rain that had sprung from His word to us, believing for the rain of revival to burst forth on our nation. Maybe that’s why it was especially sweet the next day, with 400,000 people on The Mall in DC, as the last worship leader began to play, a soft rain started to fall. It was like God added His own amen to our prophetic journey. In the midst of seeming darkness encroaching on our land, the word of the Lord is “SING!” Recount His faithfulness. Birthed in revival, America’s founding was sandwiched between the first and second great awakenings. Remember His miraculous deeds. A great outpouring of His Spirit in Topeka, Kansas in 1901 led to the Azusa Street Revival, then decades later healing revivals and stadiums being filled. It is not too late for revival in America. It is not too late for rain in the seeming desert. We might be at a Red Sea moment, but let’s turn from staring at the enemy, look to the sea, engage our faith, and sing of the Promised Land ahead! If you’re hungry to hear from the Lord, follow the example of Moses and Miriam. Declare what He has done until history unfolds into praise, and when praise breaks out, the word of the Lord will follow and you’ll find yourself prophesying. Pray with me: Father, You are the God who parts the Red Sea, and the God who sends rain in the desert. You empowered Moses with a song for the generations to remember Your power and Your greatness. You have spoken through the stories of our lives and You continue to write those stories today. We join our voices and sing the song of Your faithful deliverance. When we don’t hear a clear word, we will sing one – the Lord is great and greatly to be praised, He is good and His mercy endures forever! In Christ name we pray, amen. Our decree: We decree You will bring rain to the desert places and America shall be saved! Today’s post was contributed by Kelsey Bohlender, Executive Director of Zoe’s House Adoption Agency. You can find out more about Kelsey here. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

The Victory Meal I have been asked if I would be willing to lead in a time of Communion on a Give Him 15 post, as we join Matt Lockett and Lou Engle in prayer and Communion regarding the Dobbs abortion case. I felt this was a great idea. There are many places in scripture we could look to as a jumping-off point to talk about “the Lord’s Table,” as some call Communion. I want to use Genesis 14:17-24. This is a very significant, amazing, and important passage, filled with prophetic pictures of our redemption. I will move slowly as I read the post, in order to make sure you track with me. Though I provide several references, I won’t read them. Let’s begin by reading four of the verses, 17-20: “Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.’ And he gave him a tenth of everything” (NASV). This is the first mention of “bread and wine” spoken of together in Scripture, and they wouldn’t be mentioned again until the night before the Cross. As such, it is an obvious prophetic picture of Christ’s last supper with His disciples. How else do we know this? Follow me carefully. Melchizedek was a type or picture of Christ (Psalm 110; Hebrews 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-10); we are represented by Abraham, our father of faith (Romans 3:27-4:25). Melchizedek was a Canaanite, a race of people under a curse (Genesis 9:25 - “Cursed be Canaan”). As king over a cursed race of people, bestowing a blessing on Abraham, Melchizedek pictures Christ “having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13)…that “the blessing of Abraham might come to” us (verse 14). As mentioned, to show that this occurrence with Melchizedek and Abraham did indeed picture our redemption while at the Last Supper, Christ departed from the traditional meal - and for the first time since Genesis 14 - gave the disciples “bread and wine.” Also, it is imperative to note that the bread and wine meal in Genesis 14 was a celebration of victory following Abraham’s defeat of unrighteous leaders attempting to steal his family and inheritance. This was a victory meal! But it represented so much more than just Abraham’s victory that day. In the passage and for the first time in Scripture, God refers to Himself as the “Most High God” 4 times, and “possessor of heaven and earth” twice. This was a declaration that satan, who had tried to become the “most high” through his rebellion in heaven (see Isaiah 14:14), had not only failed in taking over heaven, but he would not become the possessor of earth, either. God was declaring, “satan couldn’t have heaven, he can’t have the human race and he won’t have earth! I will redeem the earth and My family!” Amazing. When Christ gave the disciples the bread and wine at the Last Supper telling them these elements represented His body and blood, He was celebrating victory in advance. He knew, of course, the price He was about to pay; but He also knew He would win. And when we partake of communion, yes, we should remember the horrible price Jesus paid to redeem us; but we should also remember that it represents the greatest victory in the history of creation. Satan was defeated, the curse was broken, and we were restored into blessing - redeemed back into the family of God. Christ’s blood on the mercy seat of heaven is still the guarantee of this new covenant. Because of His blood, we can ask for mercy. We can ask that America be delivered from the curse associated with the shedding of innocent blood, and appeal to heaven for deliverance from this disgraceful evil. We can ask that through His mercy, God moves strongly over the Supreme Court of America, speaking in whatever way necessary to at least five Justices, motivating them to reverse Roe v. Wade. And we can ask for the cleansing and healing of our land. Father, as we take the bread together in a moment, we remember the broken body of Jesus, sacrificed for our healing and restoration. We thank You, Jesus, for becoming one of us, the Son of Man, to bring us back into Your family. You are the Bread of Life and as we partake of this bread today, it reminds us that we are to partake continually of Your life. Eat the bread. (Feel free to pause the video for a moment or two if you would like, and spend time in personal prayer and Communion with Him.) And now, as we drink the wine, we honor and place our faith fully in the shed blood of Jesus for the remission of our sins. We also remember that His blood does more than cleanse us of sin; it also makes us new creations in Christ Jesus. We are born again. We celebrate this great victory over sin and the curse. We receive health, wholeness, and salvation as we do this today. And we decree that through the blood of Christ, satan is forever defeated. Drink the juice. (Again, feel free to pause and take any amount of time you would like, to spend personal time with Him.) And now, Father, we ask for victory in this recent Supreme Court case. We ask You to break the curse of Roe v. Wade off of America. Let this decision be the beginning of the end of abortion in America. We thank You for this, again, doing all in the name of Christ. Amen. We decree that the power of Christ’s redemption is greater than the power of sin and death. Click on the link below to watch the full video.