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History’s Divine Orchestrator We are in the Hebrew month of Nisan, “the first month of the year” on God’s calendar (Exodus 12:2). This is when the Genesis creation occurred, as well as the Cross–the “new creation.” Consequently, it is considered the month of creation, of redemption, and of miracles. It is also considered “the month of speech,” for it is when God said,  “Let there be…” (Genesis 1). In past posts, I have summarized many events that occurred throughout history during this month, and which symbolized redemption and new beginnings. [ Link 1  and Link 2 ] If you have not read these previous two posts, I highly recommend that you do so; they will give greater context for today’s post, which is about seven events that took place in history on the 17th day of Nisan, the day Christ rose from the dead, which we believers celebrated yesterday. In Scripture, the number 17 represents “complete victory, overcoming the enemy” (1)  and “the perfection of God’s divine order.” (2) Here are the seven events that occurred on Nisan 17, the seventh being the resurrection of Christ. The first six picture our redemption and Christ’s resurrection. Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. (Genesis 8:4) The Israelites entered Egypt to survive a severe famine and lived there for 430 years. (Genesis 46; Exodus 12:40-41) Israel crossed the Red Sea in the Exodus on Nisan 17, 430 years to the very day from when they entered Egypt. (Exodus 12:40-41) After crossing the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership, Israel ate the fruit of the promised land for the first time on this day. God had told them they would spend 40 years in the wilderness because of their unbelief (Numbers 14:34). On the 40th anniversary of their crossing the Red Sea - “on that very day”  – they ate the first fruits of Canaan. (Joshua 5:10-11) King Hezekiah, in his reformation, rededicated and reopened the cleansed temple that had been defiled (2 Chronicles 29:1-28), which, of course, pictured our cleansing and becoming God’s “temple.” After Queen Esther led a three-day fast, the tables were turned on wicked Haman, (of Persia, present day Iran), and he was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. (Esther 7:10) Jesus rose from the dead. (Luke 22:1-8) We don’t have time in one post to look at each of these events in detail. But it is inconceivable, apart from divine causation, that these events all occurred on the same day in history, Nisan 17. One article said the odds against it are about 1 in 784 quadrillion (1 in 783,864,876,960,000,000, to be exact!). (3)  Think about the flood, followed by Noah’s Ark coming to rest ON THE SAME DAY Jesus rose from the dead. “Thousands of years before the Resurrection, God engineered history to point toward the pinnacle event of salvation. Just as the ancient judgment ended on the day the ark touched the ground, so the judgment of the restored world ended on the same day of the year, when the tomb could not hold [Jesus].” (4) What, other than the omniscient mind and omnipotent power of God, could produce such a feat? The exact amount of rain had to fall; the weather patterns had to cause enough water to evaporate, causing the Ark to touch ground  ON THAT DAY,  which would later become Resurrection Day! Causing Israel to leave the land of Egypt ON THE EXACT SAME DAY,  430 years after they entered, is just a bit mind-boggling also. As you think about just how incredible that is, remember that God had to orchestrate all the events leading up to it occurring at the exact right time. He orchestrated Moses’ birth and rescue. He had to encounter Moses at the burning bush well in advance to overcome his insecurities and get him back to Egypt. He had to calculate the timing of all the plagues, factoring in how long the Egyptians would take to give their answers. He had to time how long it would take the thousands of Israelites to pack and journey to the Red Sea. Then he had to roll back the Red Sea at exactly the right time for them to cross out of Egypt – ON THE EXACT DAY they had entered it 430 years earlier! Then there is that Nisan 17, just after Joshua had led Israel across the Jordan and into the promised land. They ate the first fruits of the land  ON THAT DAY , and began the seven-day conquest of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:5). That means that the day Joshua met Jesus, “the Captain of the host of the Lord” (Joshua 5:13), was THE EXACT SAME DAY hundreds of years later that “ The Captain ” stepped onto earth’s battlefield, conquerred death and emerged from the tomb. Did you get that?  ON THE VERY DAY!  This might be a good place to pause and remind yourself that God can do what He says. If He can take out Haman on the very day He would rise from the dead a few centuries later, He can deal with all that Haman’s bosses, satan and the Prince of Persia, sends your way. (Feel free to pause the video and run around the room for a few minutes, if necessary.) Nisan 17 – Resurrection Day – was yesterday. As you move forward, remember – in the face of all adversity and difficulty – that Pharaoh was destroyed, Jericho fell, Haman was hanged, satan is defeated, and the tomb is empty. Your “Captain” won the war, and He will take care of you. Pray with me: Father, You are Creator and Redeemer, well able to save and redeem. Christ our Savior, Healer, Deliverer, and conquering King, will not fail us; He will do all He has promised. In this “month of miracles,” we ask You to release another wave of Your mighty redemptive power, bringing victory and new beginnings throughout the earth. In this “month of speech,” we declare that we will experience breakthroughs, salvations, miracles, the return of prodigals, and the great awakening You have promised. Lives will be saved, and America shall be saved. And millions around the world will be saved. As we move forward, we will celebrate the victory of the Cross and Resurrection every day, doing so with a new and fresh revelation of our salvation and Your desire to save. You love to save and redeem, not destroy. You love to bless, not curse. You are the Giver, not the taker. And you are our Father. Our decree: We have crossed from spiritual death to abundant life, and with grateful hearts will eat the fruit of our salvation. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/17.html#google_vignette . Ethelbert W. Bullinger, D. D., Number in Scripture  (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications), p. 258. https://servantofmessiah.org/nissan-17th/   Ibid.

For those who would like to participate, will be taking communion together at the end of today’s post.  Passion Week: Good Friday Today is Good Friday, called this because of an ancient usage of the word “good” as a synonym for holy. (In the same way that the Holy Bible at times is called the “Good Book.”) Holy Friday, indeed. From Gethsemane, Messiah was led to a mock trial, after which He was beaten mercilessly with a cat-o’-nine-tails. This procedure was so brutal that some victims didn’t survive it. The leather cords, tipped with sharp metal, tore at the flesh of the victim, ripping off pieces of flesh. The whip, with its nine cords, delivered 39 times, made a total of 351 lashes. This was barbaric and brutal, not only lacerating the back, but the cords wrapped around to the front of the victim’s body, including the face. It is hard to describe this lashing without being too graphic for most readers. The depiction of the horrific damage in The Passion movie is no exaggeration. Suffice it to say that when finished, the victim was often unrecognizable. The soldiers also beat Christ with their fists and spat on His face. To mock Him as “the King of the Jews,” a crown made of thorns was placed on His head and pressed into His skin, causing great pain and more loss of blood. When the ordeal was finished, Jesus was so mangled and covered with spittle and blood that He literally was unrecognizable. Isaiah said, “Many people were shocked [astonished; appalled] when they saw Him. His appearance was so damaged [disfigured; marred] He did not look like a man; His form was so changed they could barely tell He was human ” (Isaiah 52:14 The Expanded Bible). The added punishments and torture, much more than the typical victim of crucifixion was afflicted with, can only be explained as the fury of hell. Yeshua endured this for you and me. Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 tell us it was this beating that purchased our healing. Place your faith for healing in this substitutionary sacrifice today. Christ was then led to His crucifixion. There are several prophetic references and/or occurrences in the Old Testament pointing to the Cross. One passage of extreme importance is Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which references one who experienced death by hanging on a tree as being “cursed.” It is abundantly clear from Galatians 3:13 that this verse refers to Jesus hanging on the “tree,” taking our curse. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Yeshua’s crucifixion took place at Golgotha, which means “the place of the skull.” God, millennia before, had ordained that this would be the place and, with the forces of nature, carved the international symbol of death onto the hillside. This was also the location of Isaac’s interrupted sacrifice (Genesis 22), which pictured the Cross. Like Isaac, we were spared, and God Himself provided the sacrifice.  “Then Abraham looked up [lifted his eyes] and saw a male sheep [ram] caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep, offering it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved [in the place of his son]. So Abraham named that place The Lord Provides [or Sees; Hebrew: Yahweh Yireh]. Even today, people say, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided [or seen]’” (Genesis 22:13-14; The Expanded Bible). In this chosen place, high on a hill so all could see the Passover Lamb bearing our sin, suffering, and shame, God provided the sacrifice for our sins. Jesus carried His own Cross, though He was able to carry it only part of the way. It was actually the crossbeam that He carried. When He arrived at the place of crucifixion, He was first tied and nailed with spikes to this crosspiece, which contained a hole in the center, enabling it to slide down onto the permanent upright post. After a victim was tied and nailed to this portion, it was lifted and placed onto the top of the vertical section, whereupon it would fall down and slam into place. This is often when dislocations would occur in the crucified person–as the crosspiece slammed down, and stopped. And indeed, we know this occurred with Christ, as was prophesied of Him in Psalm 22:14. The sliding down of the crosspiece is also why the spikes were placed at the bottom of the hands where they joined the wrist; this placement would sustain more weight. It’s also why the victim was tied to the crossbeam. If they were not secured in this way, they would often be torn loose. Yeshua hung on the Cross for six hours in this emaciated state. While there, He spoke seven times. Time does not permit me to comment on each, but they are all significant. Halfway through the ordeal, at noon, the sun disappeared, and the sky grew dark (Luke 23:44-45). This was a fulfillment of Amos 8:9-10: “‘It will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord God, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight. Then I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.’” Surely this is a prophetic picture of the Light of the World being snuffed out for us.  It was at the end of the three hours of darkness that Jesus cried out,  “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”  (Matthew 27:46-47; Mark 15:34). He was quoting from Psalm 22, which is a detailed prophecy of the Cross. Christ was crying out in anguish because, for the first time in all of eternity, He was experiencing separation from His Father. It is also the only record we have of Him addressing God as anything other than Father. Christ took our sins upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:5). Most scholars agree that when this occurred, He bore our separation from the Father. Though Jesus no doubt knew this would occur, the actual experience was more than He could endure, and cried out in anguish. It is worth noting that Christ never cried out during the beatings, scourging, thorns, spikes, or dislocations - only when this separation occurred from His Father, as He bore our sin. Finally, it was enough. The price had been paid. Christ made His final two statements. The first,  “It is finished, ” I have written of before in the GH15 posts. This was not a quiet statement referencing His death, but a loud declaration by Christ, also a quote from Psalm 22:31. This decree was one word in Greek (tetelestai ) (1)  (John 19:30) and also in the Hebrew of Psalm 22 ( asah ). (2)  Using the literal meaning of these words, Christ was declaring that He had fully accomplished His assignment, paid our debt in full, and was bringing forth the new creation! Yeshua then released His spirit to the Father. Death did not take Him; He “yielded up His Spirit ”  (Matthew 27:50). It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The priests in the Temple were performing their customary duties when, at the very moment Jesus yielded up His Spirit , the veil in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). The purpose of this veil had been to separate humans from the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God on earth. With this symbolic act, God was declaring that the separation caused by our sin was removed, and we could now draw near to Him, entering His presence once again! Why don’t you spend some additional time with Him today? He would like that. Pray with me: Thank You, Father, for the Cross and the pain it caused You. Thank You for sending Christ to be our substitute. Thank You for placing our sins upon Him in order to bring us back into Your family. Thank You for allowing the lashes, the wounds, the crown of thorns, and the separation, for surely it was agonizing for You, as well as for Yeshua. And thank You, Jesus, for Your heart of humility and love. You are both Son of Man and Son of God. Through Your sacrifice and our faith in it, You have made us sons and daughters of the Most High. We are so grateful. Now, by faith, we appropriate all of the cleansing power of Your shed blood, and the healing virtue that flows from every wound You suffered. By Your stripes, we are healed! And in remembrance of You and what You did for us on Calvary, we partake of the Communion Meal. We take the bread, which represents Your body, broken for us - a price paid so we can be restored. [Pause; eat the bread]  We take the cup, a representation of Your blood, spilled for us, the price paid for our redemption from sin. We give You thanks today, Jesus. We give You thanks. [Drink the cup] Click on the link below to watch the full video. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 5055. Ibid. Ref. no. 6213.

Passion Week: Redemption Began In Gethsemane “Leaving there, He went, as He so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed Him. When they arrived at the place, He said, ‘Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.’”   (Luke 22:39 MSG) “The place” spoken of by Luke was Gethsemane. It had become Christ’s favorite place of prayer in Jerusalem; notice the phrase, “as He so often did.” This is how Judas, who had left the last supper early to betray Christ, knew where to take the soldiers to find Him. Christ would spend three hours there that night agonizing over the ordeal He was facing. During this time, He would wrestle with His natural, human desire for this cup of suffering to pass from Him:  “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s request was genuine; He knew what He was facing that night and the next day. The agony of these three hours was horrific, much worse than most people realize. Luke tells us Christ started this time of prayer on His knees. Matthew adds that He eventually fell on His face in agony. Mark added that He fell repeatedly.  In other words, Christ would kneel, then fall on His face. He would rise to His feet again, only to fall once more - first to His knees, then onto His face. At one point, the agony of what He was experiencing, as well as the knowledge of what was coming, became so great that the capillaries in His face burst, and blood mixed with sweat oozed through the pores of His skin (Luke 22:44). This is a painful medical condition known as hematidrosis. “Doctors don’t know exactly what triggers hematidrosis, in part because it's so rare. They think it could be related to the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response… Sometimes it seems to be caused by extreme distress or fear, such as facing death, torture, or severe ongoing abuse. It’s probably where the phrase  ‘sweating blood,’ meaning fear and trepidation, comes from.” (1) “While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile.” (2)  Many scholars believe our redemption was actually beginning here when Christ’s blood began to be shed, even before His beatings and crucifixion began. Through a blending of the gospel accounts, and with more in-depth definitions of the words chosen by Holy Spirit to describe this ordeal in the garden, we can gain a more complete picture of what Jesus truly experienced. When He “withdrew” from the disciples to pray by Himself (Luke 22:41), Luke uses a stronger word than the other Gospel writers, apospao,   which means “to tear away.” (3)  Wuest translates it accordingly, “He tore himself away from them.” Probably more than any time in His life, Christ wanted the comfort of being with friends, yet He knew He would have to face this ordeal alone. We are told by Matthew and Mark that Yeshua became “sore amazed, exceedingly sorrowful and very heavy” in His mind and emotions (Matthew 26:37-38; Mark 14:33-34 KJV). Literal definitions of the Greek words used give us poignant descriptions of what He was feeling:  Ademonein: “to be troubled and in anguish, to be in a state of great anxiety; used of one who is rendered helpless, disoriented, agitated, and anguished by the threat of an approaching event.” (4)  Perilupus: “to be very sad, environed or surrounded with deep grief.” (5)  Ekthambeisthai: “to be exceedingly astonished, either with wonder or fear; to be in the grip of a shuddering horror.” (6) Wuest says Christ was “thoroughly alarmed.” Though He knew in advance this trauma was coming, the intensity of it was even greater than what He had expected. Based on these definitions, it was alarming to Him! Astonishing.   Disorienting.   Horrifying.  Matthew tells us Jesus was agonizing “to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). The word used demands that this be taken literally. Though death could never have taken Christ before the time came for Him to yield up His spirit, in a strictly physical sense, here in the garden, His body was close to death. Again, I believe our redemption began here in the garden of Gethsemane. It was here that Christ began taking our wounds, rejections, and sorrows on Himself, as Isaiah prophesied of the Savior: “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging, we are healed.”  (Isaiah 53:3-5 NASB) Don’t waste a moment of Christ’s suffering for you. Everything He did was redemptive. Every second of suffering and abuse was for you and me, taking our place. Let it bring healing to every part of your soul that may be hurting. Jesus wants you healed from every form of abuse, rejection, betrayal, and loss. He paid for this! Receive it. After three hours of agony, Christ prevailed. He broke through into peace, and His spirit was now in complete control of every emotion. At this point, Judas came with soldiers and betrayed Christ with a kiss, kataphileo (7) . The word reveals that this was more than just a friendly kiss on the cheek (phileo) (8) ,  a common greeting in many countries. The prefix kata (9)  strengthens it, implying a stronger affection, perhaps with a hug or a lingering kiss on the cheek. That is why Jesus questioned him, “Are you betraying me with [this type of affection], Judas?”  (Luke 22:48) Christ then asks the soldiers,  “Who are you seeking?” When they told Him, He simply said, “I AM”  (John 18:4-5). Jesus did NOT say “I am He,” as most translations state. He spoke His God-name from throughout eternity: “I AM.” And the power of His words, of His name, knocked the soldiers backward onto the ground (verse 6). Christ is, indeed, Almighty God. At this point, Peter, perhaps emboldened by what happened to the soldiers, pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest. Jesus promptly touched Malchus and healed his ear! (Luke 22:51) The great I AM, indeed! The Healer! The Great Physician! The Creator! And in this time of His suffering, the Savior is seen ministering to His enemies. At this point, Jesus was led away to be tried, beaten, and crucified. We will look at this tomorrow. Pray with me: FATHER, the agony You must have felt during Christ’s sufferings had to have been immeasurable. The temptation to answer His prayer,  “Let this cup pass from Me,” must have been overwhelming. But You knew there was no other way to save us - our sins required a perfect, sinless substitute. “ You who spared not Your own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall You not also with Him, freely give us all things!” (Romans 8:32). Thank You! And JESUS, words fail us. You, the Prince of Peace, suffered overwhelming mental anguish and emotional trauma for us. You allowed Yourself to feel the pressure until Your capillaries burst and Your skin oozed blood. Through this, You now give us unexplainable peace and unspeakable joy. We worship You today, exalting You above all others. We love You from the depths of our hearts. May our incense of worship rise before You, bringing the pleasure You so deserve. As incredible as it sounds, we are the reward of Your suffering. Let this “reward” satisfy Your heart even more in this hour - send revival to the earth! Bring a billion souls into Your family in this coming revival. Your Father, who cannot lie, gave You the nations as Your inheritance. No one can take them from You. HOLY SPIRIT, show the world just how wonderful this God-Man is. Open their eyes to His glory, His selfless love, His humility. Give them dreams about Him that awaken desire - a longing to know Him. Surely, there is no one like Him - give them a taste! Let not the wicked stop this. Ruin their plans, judge their strategies, thwart their efforts…and reveal this glorious Man.  And in His name, we pray, Amen. Tomorrow we will have communion together as we remember Good Friday, the day of Christ’s death. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hematidrosis-hematohidrosis .  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematidrosis .  This is a combined definition from these sources:  Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977. Vine, W.E. The Expanded Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words . Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1984. Zodhiates, Spiros, The Complete Word Study Dictionary . Iowa Falls, IA: Word Bible Publishers, 1992. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid

Introduction Thank you for your prayers during the past couple of days. Ceci and her family are doing well, and her precious mother was honored well in her Memorial and Celebration Service.  Passion Week: The Alabaster Box During the week of Christ’s Passion, we are told the story of a woman anointing Christ’s head and feet with very expensive ointment. (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8) “Now Jesus was in Bethany, in the home of Simon, a man Jesus had healed of leprosy. And as He was reclining at the table, a woman came into the house, with an alabaster flask filled with the highest quality of fragrant and expensive oil. She came to Jesus, and with a gesture of extreme devotion, she broke the flask and poured out the precious oil over His head. But some were highly indignant when they saw this, and they complained to one another, saying, ‘What a total waste! It could have been sold for a great sum, and the money could have benefited the poor.’ So they scolded her harshly. Jesus said to them, ‘Leave her alone! Why are you so critical of this woman? She has honored me with this beautiful act of kindness. You will always have the poor, whom you can help whenever you want, but you will not always have Me. When she poured the fragrant oil over Me, she was preparing My body in advance of My burial. She has done all that she could to honor Me. I promise you that as this wonderful gospel spreads all over the world, the story of her lavish devotion to Me will be mentioned in memory of her.’” (‭‭Mark‬ ‭14:3-9‬ ‭TPT‬‬) This oil was very expensive, worth a year’s wages based on the average income of the day. We know from John’s account (John 12:1-8) that this was done by the same Mary who sat at Christ’s feet, mesmerized by His words, in Luke 10:38-42. She was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. The timing of Mary’s offering was just days before His death, and Jesus said she was anointing Him for His burial. Whether Mary had grasped the reality of His words about His imminent death and resurrection, or whether Jesus was simply applying the offering in that light, is unclear. Two things we do know: It was a very costly offering from Mary, and it was precious to the Lord. “Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall be spoken of in memory of her,”  He stated (Matthew 26:13). Some speculate that the scent of this powerful perfume would have lingered in Christ’s hair for several days. Did the fragrance help sustain Him as He agonized in Gethsemane? Perhaps the sweet aroma comforted Him even through the torturous six hours on the Cross. Never underestimate the fragrance of your worship. Others in the room thought Mary’s offering to be a waste. Some actually scolded her (Mark 14:5). I know the feeling. When I canceled all other activities for three months in the church I pastored in Colorado Springs, lavishing ninety days of 24/7 worship on the Lord, I, too, was criticized. One influential Christian leader in our city rebuked me, calling the ninety days of worship “a complete waste of time.” It’s interesting just how much perspectives can differ. For me, those three months remain among the most meaningful days of my life. They were my alabaster box of costly perfume, the most lavish offering I’ve had the honor of giving Christ. For the person who rebuked me, they were a complete waste of time. Never allow others’ lack of revelation to cheapen your offering. Like Mary, give Christ your best. Others may mock your sacrifice of time, money, or possessions, but go ahead and “waste” it on Him. Some will rebuke/scold you, as they did Mary, calling your passionate praise too radical, but pour out your offering in spite of their ridicule. Still others will label your extravagant worship as excessive religious zeal. Don’t let their misguided criticism deter you - pour out your costly perfume! The list of Christ’s followers in the room as Mary anointed Jesus was quite the “who’s who.” The twelve disciples were present. You’d think they would have understood that Jesus was more than worth this offering, but they were too practical: “It should have been given to the poor,” was their protest. Christ’s thoughts? “Go ahead and anoint Me; there will be ample time to care for the poor after I’m gone.” Simon, the former leper whom Christ had healed, was present. This was actually his home. One might think his new skin, replaced appendages, and restored life would, in his mind, merit the “wasting” of some costly perfume on Jesus. Evidently not - he didn’t come to Mary’s defense. And then there was Lazarus, Mary’s brother, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. He had been dead so long that he stank. Surely he would see the validity of his sister’s costly perfume sacrifice. But no, Lazarus didn’t come to her defense, either. Could it be that the others’ familiarity with Christ had lessened their wonder of Him, their awe? We don’t know. They certainly didn’t come to Mary’s defense. We do know that only one worshiper that day had the love and revelation necessary to anoint the Savior. How sadly typical. So many miss opportunities to lavish affection on Him. It is not uncommon for me to see church attendees waste opportunities to break their alabaster box of love and pour it on the Master. They’ve been in His presence so often, sang so many songs, and prayed so many prayers that the experience just isn’t quite worth what it used to be. So, they give Him token praise and watered-down worship. Cheap perfume. I doubt if the fragrance of their praise makes it past Sunday lunch. But while the others that day wasted an opportunity to comfort God–what an amazing thought–Mary poured out her costly perfume. And its fragrance sustained Him through Gethsemane, the beatings, mocking, lashing, spittle, spikes, dislocations, and thorns. Don’t allow another day to go by without becoming one of the “fragrance creators.” Let nothing deter you. Your alabaster box is your heart; your love and worship are the perfume. Break it open and pour it out. At the scent of your offering, He’ll meet with you. And He’ll cherish your worship, just as He did Mary’s. Pray with me: Father, thank You for including Mary’s story in Your Holy Book. We are impressed and motivated by her example, yes. But just as importantly, we are awed by Christ’s moving acceptance and appreciation of it. May we always give Him our best today. May the fragrance of worship ascend to Him daily from our hearts and lives. And may You, Abba, always find the sweet fragrance of worship ascending to Your throne. We love You very much. Jesus, thank You for Your amazing, unfathomable humility. We will never know just how much You humbled Yourself to serve us as You did. You became human, touchable, breakable. Your love is unmatched. We worship You today with our hearts, hands, offerings, and words. We are so grateful to be partakers of Your life, righteousness, strength, healing, and wholeness. We continue to pray for the turning of our nation and for our government to be transformed. Change those who can be changed; replace the others. You are the God of salvation; bring it to this land. And we wholeheartedly include other nations in this prayer - send revival throughout the earth. Work Your divine purposes in the Middle East. End the efforts of terrorists and bring a great harvest in the region.  We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: We are passionate worshipers of our great God, a nd we will break our alabaster box, giving Him all our love and honor. Click here to watch/hear Cece Winans perform the song,  The Alabaster Box . This is one of our favorites. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Pre-post statement: Ceci’s 96 year old mom went to heaven this past Thursday. Today she is celebrating in heaven and we are joining her here on earth. Because of out of town funeral arrangements and being with family, there will not be new Give Him 15 posts on Monday and Tuesday. We have selected a few popular posts from the past to share with you. We appreciate your prayers during this time. Have You Been Found? When Christ was preparing His original twelve world-changing pioneers, He made the cost clear to them:  “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues.”  (Matthew 10:16-17)  “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’”  (Matthew 16:24-25)  What price did these first disciples eventually pay to partner with Christ? Were Christ's words simply symbolic, not to be taken literally? Surely, He wouldn't actually ask His followers to lay down their lives, would He? History answers these questions: Andrew was crucified.  Bartholomew was crucified.  James was stoned to death.  James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded.  John was tortured and banished to the uninhabited island of Patmos.  Peter was crucified upside down.  Philip was crucified upside down.  Thomas was martyred in India.  The Apostle Paul and John the Baptist, not part of the original twelve disciples but two of Christ's early leaders, were beheaded.  To be a true disciple of Christ – and nation-changers – we must be willing to lay down our lives. This mindset should permeate and influence all we do and live for. And if we are to see America saved, it is one of the non-negotiables: no cost is too great. William Wilberforce, who led the efforts to eradicate slavery from Great Britain, understood and demonstrated this. In the great movie about his life, Amazing Grace , based on the outstanding book by Eric Metaxas bearing the same name, Wilberforce’s butler surprised him in a moment of private prayer. When asked if he had found God, Wilberforce's poignant reply was, “I think He found me.” (1) Indeed, God “found” Wilberforce, who became so joined to His heart and desires that no price was too great for the cause. This reformer’s passion to see the ending of slavery caused him stomach ailments, nightmares, ridicule, and four decades  of tireless work. Days before Wilberforce’s death, however, the decisive vote came to eliminate slavery from England. Amazingly, when the law became formal three days after the vote, Wilberforce's spirit left this world! Thomas Buxton, a personal friend and member of the House of Commons at the time, said of him, “The day which was the termination of his labors was the termination of his life.” (2) Have you been found? Does the cause of Christ possess you? When God led the early settlers to this land – He was obviously involved in the process – they came with hearts willing to pay whatever price the dream would cost. A part of their stated cause was, “For the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” (3)  These pioneers arrived on a cramped and dirty ship in sloshing water filled with human waste and vomit. Ill-prepared for the trials of this new land, including a brutal winter, more than half would perish before the end of their first summer. These settlers weren't failures, however. Planting a cross on the beach at Cape Henry and dedicating this land to the gospel and the glory of God, they created a holy and enduring legacy. Heaven still honors the trail they blazed and the prayers they prayed. Buried in the soil of freedom, they became a vital part of the heritage we now enjoy. Pioneers all, their legacies live. The price they paid to create an international outpost for the gospel created a debt for those who followed, including us today. The debt we Americans owe is not only to preserve freedom, but also to preserve this land as a light of truth – a beacon, a city on a hill – to all other nations. If we pay our debt today, the difficult trail we blaze back to our destiny will become the glorious path our children walk tomorrow. America was formed with the blood, sweat, and tears of many price-paying pioneers. When John Adams was elected as a Boston delegate in 1770, he knew it was considered treason to the King of England; Adams believed the decision would cost him everything. He informed his wife Abigail, “I have accepted a seat in the House of Representatives, and thereby have consented to my own ruin…” (4) How many today would accept a seat in Congress if they knew it could cost them everything? Adams wasn't finished with his declaration, however. After informing Abigail that he had consented to his own ruin, this patriot pioneer continued, “...to your ruin, and the ruin of our children. I give you this warning, that you may prepare your mind for your fate.” (5) Incredible. But Adams, like Wilberforce, had been found! His love of liberty and belief that God was raising up the United States of America meant that, to him, no price was too great to pay. How did Abigail feel about this? Betrayed? Horrified? Did she threaten to leave him? Not even close. She, too, had been found. According to Adams, Abigail burst into tears and cried out, “Well, I am willing in this cause to run all risks with you, and be ruined with you, if you are ruined.” (6) At the signing of the Declaration of Independence a few years later, Adams, along with his fellow signers, again accepted the potential and probable cost of freedom: “For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” (7) Adams would later state to Abigail, “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means.” (8) Some accuse me of inappropriately marrying the love of God and country, but I too, have been found; it is my love for God and His cause on the earth that fuels my passion for seeing America restored . Like Adams and our other Founding Fathers, I realize God chose to raise up this nation as part of His plan to redeem the human race. America wasn’t established solely for Americans. Partnering with God in His great dream is our privilege and destiny. For this, no cost is too great. Let’s cry out for another generation who will lose their lives to find His; believers who will accept their debt to the cross and pay any price necessary to lead America back to the old road. “Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried-and-true road. Then take it.” (Jeremiah 6:16, MSG) Pray with me: Father, we are grateful for those in the great cloud of witnesses who have paid such high prices for our freedom and Your cause. We are humbled by the sacrifices so many of them have made. We ask You to forgive us in the American church for watering down, even abandoning, our commitment to You and Your cause. Forgive us for preaching watered-down messages, a human-centered gospel, and an absent-from-the-culture theology. We agree in intercession today that hearts in the church will be awakened. Passion for You and Your Kingdom will outweigh our devotion to self. Revival has begun, and millions will give their hearts to You; millions more will have their first love restored, and the church will rediscover her voice. You are worth our full devotion. Heal our broken nation. Lead us back to the old road of truth, integrity, righteousness, and common sense. Lead us back to servanthood, loving our neighbors, and the golden rule. Give us leaders who love and honor You and Your ways. Deliver us from evil rulers. We ask You for this in Christ’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the purpose of God for America will not be lost - the recovery has begun! Portions of today’s devotional were taken from my book The Way Back . (9) Click on the link below to watch the full video. Apted, Michael, director. Amazing Grace . Roadside Attractions, 2006. Dyer, Steven G., Transforming a Nation: How England Turned Back to God in the Eighteenth Century. Can it Happen in America?  Steven J. Dyer, 2010. p. 54.  “Mayflower Compact: 1620.” Avalon Project ,     https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp . Accessed 16 July 2024. Bennett, William J. Our sacred honor: Words of advice from the Founders in stories, letters, poems, and speeches . Simon & Schuster, 1997. p. 40.  Ibid.  Ibid.  Ibid., p.64.  Ibid. Sheets, Dutch. The Way Back: Break Out of the Status Quo and Find the Wild in You . Dutch Sheets Ministries, 2016. pp. 33-37.

Pre-post statement: Ceci’s 96 year old mom went to heaven this past Thursday. Today she is celebrating in heaven and we are joining her here on earth. Because of out of town funeral arrangements and being with family, there will not be new Give Him 15 posts on Monday and Tuesday. We have selected a few popular posts from the past to share with you. We appreciate your prayers during this time. Passion Week: The Man, Christ Jesus We are entering the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, often referred to as The Passion Week. Christ actually began experiencing the emotional pressure of what was coming several weeks before the Cross occurred. Most people fail to consider that Jesus was truly human, with real emotions and the ability to feel pain. He experienced grief, sorrow, anger, and disappointment, enjoyed friendships, knew joy and laughter, felt hunger and thirst, grew tired and sleepy. Though fully God, Jesus was also human, but without the Adamic fallen nature. He had to be in order to represent us as a legal substitute. As one who was truly human, Christ didn’t simply flip over into God mode when things got tough in order to not experience the pain or trauma. Philippians 2:6-7 tell us that  “although He existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”  Let Christ be human. As I stated above, weeks before the Cross Christ began feeling the pressure. When He said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”  (Luke 9:62), Jesus was thinking of Himself. The passage begins by saying,  “Jesus let nothing distract him from departing for Jerusalem because the time for him to be lifted up drew near, and he was full of passion to complete his mission there.”  ‭‭(Luke‬ ‭9:51‬ ‭TPT‬‬) Jesus knew that in Jerusalem He would face arrest, torture, and agonizing death. But He set off firmly and unflinchingly, committed to finishing His mission. There would be no backing out, and nothing would deter Him from accomplishing His purpose. Isaiah prophesied this determination:  “The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed”  (Isaiah 50:5-7 NASB). Christ knew this passage was speaking of Him and realized He was entering the season of its fulfillment. So He set His face like flint, put His hand to the plow, and turned toward Jerusalem, beginning what would become His final trek to this city. Traveling by foot and stopping along the way to minister and rest, the journey would take several weeks. Luke, in his gospel, reveals the humanness of Christ more than the other Gospel writers. Under Holy Spirit’s guidance, each Gospel writer had a different goal in his writing. This is why each man shared different (not contradictory) accounts of Christ’s works and teachings. Matthew, for example, wrote his Gospel primarily to the Jews; he was, therefore, revealing Christ as the King of God’s Kingdom. Mark wrote to Romans; hence, he wrote of Jesus as a man of action, filled with power and under authority. John wrote to all humankind, presenting Him as truly God. Luke was writing primarily to Gentiles and Greeks; he presented the humanness of Christ - He was truly a man and, therefore, qualified to be our substitute at the Cross. In revealing Christ’s humanness, Luke wants us to know that from this point onward, the pressure began building in the Son of Man. Jesus was having to remain very focused in order to deal with this pressure. Eleven times after the above verse (9:51), Luke mentions that Christ was journeying toward Jerusalem and, therefore, the Cross. He was focused on the mission and would not waver. In Chapter 12, Luke quotes Him as saying,  “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished”  (verse 50). “Distressed” is the Greek word sunecho (Strongs 4912) , a very strong word meaning “to be held fast, like a prisoner.” It also means “to be confined, constrained, pressed together so as to not be able to move (like a city under siege);” figuratively, sunecho  meant “to be in a mental state of anguish.” Kenneth Wuest’s expanded and very literal translation of the New Testament renders this verse:  “I have an immersion by which I will be overwhelmed, and I am being hard pressed from every side until it be consummated.” In other words, though weeks out from the Cross, the strain in Christ was already very intense! Jesus knew what was about to occur and was dreading it. The focus required in order to press on toward Jerusalem was so intense that it could be seen on His countenance. In Luke 9:53, Christ was rejected by a Samaritan village “Because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem.” Although there was great friction between Jews and Samaritans, Christ had earlier been accepted by a village in Samaria after ministering to “the woman at the well” (see John 4). On this occasion, however, they would not receive Him. Why? They were offended because He couldn’t seem to take His focus off Jerusalem. What did this look like? There must have been many pensive gazes, perhaps even some grimaces, as Christ kept turning His face toward Jerusalem and the Cross. This became so obvious that the Samaritans, who were rejected and looked down upon by the Jews, had finally had enough. Of course, they didn’t understand. Noone did. This was something Christ was having to endure alone. And with His face set like flint, He journeyed on - moving toward His destiny.  “And He was passing through from one village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem”  (Luke 13:22). For several weeks, the journey continued, and the pressure built until Jesus rounded the last curve and crested the last hill. When the city came into view, He burst into tears. Christ’s emotions were now raw, sensitive, and bottled up. Like a pent-up dam that could take no more pressure, He released His emotions. Jesus loved this city; He loved the people. Yet He knew Jerusalem would reject Him and, in the future, experience great devastation. As this mix of emotions erupted to the surface, Yeshua let it all out. And He did more than cry. Again, quoting from Wuest’s New Testament,  “...having caught sight of the city, He burst into tears, weeping audibly over it”  (Luke 19:41). What a picture. And what must the disciples and those following Christ have thought as He “burst into tears” and sobbed? How often this man surprised and amazed them. Power, authority, humility, wisdom, intellect, love and yes, passion were all exhibited by the Son of Man. And they would soon see His anger. After composing Himself, Christ went directly to the Temple and drove out those who were selling their wares, making His “house of prayer...a robber’s den,”  (Luke 19:45-46). This was indeed anger, but it wasn’t a temporary loss of self-control. The Temple was intended by God to picture us humans, created to be the dwelling place/temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). The defilement Jesus was seeing reminded Him of the defilement in us, which He was about to cleanse at the Cross, just days from then. He was demonstrating what He had come to do: cleanse His temple - US! And Christ was intense about it. Spend some time this week reflecting on the passion of Christ. Journey through the week with Him. Thank Him for the price He paid. Worship Him not only as God, the Creator, but also as Son of Man, the Redeemer. And let Him be human. Pray with me: Father, thank You for Your incredible love and commitment to us. Thank You for the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. You are amazing. We are deeply moved by being able to call You Abba, Papa. And Jesus, thank You for the incarnation - being willing to become one of us. Isaiah called You Immanuel, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). Daniel called You “son of man” (Daniel 7:13). Thank You for the tears. Thank You for the love. Thank You for the suffering and pain. Thank You for the Cross - thank You for dying. And thank You for winning, for conquering death and the grave, for overcoming sin and its evil hold on us. Thank You for sharing Abba with us. Thank You for sharing Your throne with us. Manifest Yourself through us in this era, we pray. May the world see who You are, Yeshua, and Your glory as the church You are building matures into the Ekklesia You envisioned. Continue to mature us into people worthy of bearing Your name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that the sufferings of Christ were not in vain, and His blood will never lose its power. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

Palm Sunday: The Sound of the King We are living in a “kairos”  moment - a window of time where heaven is intersecting with earth in a profound way. To help us understand where we are going, we can look back at one of the most strategic and prophetic demonstrations in world history: the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21; Mark 11; John 12). This wasn’t just a parade. It wasn’t a “PR” campaign for a new rabbi. It was a prophetic act of war and a legal claim to a throne. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, He wasn’t just fulfilling a nice sentiment; He was carrying out a blueprint written in heaven before the foundations of the world. A King, but Not as They Expected In the ancient world, symbolism was very important to rulers, just as it is today. When Jesus approached Jerusalem, He chose His “ride” carefully. He didn’t come on a warhorse. In the culture of His day, a king returning from a conquest would ride a stallion, signaling “I have subdued my enemy.” But a king coming in peace, or coming to offer a covenant, rode a young donkey. By choosing the colt, Jesus was making a dual declaration: I am your King. I am coming as the Prince of Peace to serve and to save, not to slaughter. The people were shouting “Hosanna!” which literally means, “Save us now!” They were looking for a political insurgent to break the back of Roman tyranny. But Jesus was looking at a much older, much darker tyranny - the spirit of death and the legal claim of sin over humanity. He wasn’t just entering a city; He was entering the “courtroom of heaven” to finalize the greatest legal victory in history. Old Testament Pictures There is an old rhyme regarding the Scriptures: the New  is in the  Old  contained, and the Old  is in the  New explained. This moment was the “Amen” to centuries of prophetic promises. The most direct Old Testament “picture” we have of it is found in Zechariah 9:9:  “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” God had given Israel an unmistakable sign to look for, telling them exactly what the arrival of the Messiah would look like. When Jesus crested the Mount of Olives on that donkey, it was a physical manifestation of a 500-year-old word. It was God saying, “I keep My promises.” The Selection of the Lamb There is another striking prophetic layer here. The Triumphant Entry occurred on the 10th of the month of Nisan. According to the Law of Moses in Exodus 12, this was the exact day on which each Israelite household was commanded to choose its Passover lamb. They would take the lamb into their home for four days to inspect it for blemishes before it was sacrificed. As the people were bringing their literal lambs into their homes in Jerusalem, the Lamb of God was walking into His “home” - the Temple. For four days, the Pharisees and Sadducees “inspected” Him with questions and traps, only to find no blemish in Him. He was the perfect sacrifice, entering the city at the exact moment the clock of destiny struck twelve. Why We Celebrate Today So, why does this matter for us in the 21st century? Why should we wave palm branches and talk about this on Palm Sunday? 1. It is a Celebration of Christ’s Governmental Authority Palm Sunday is a reminder that Jesus is the rightful King of the nations. The palm branches weren’t just pretty decorations; they were symbols of victory and national identity. When we celebrate today, we are declaring that Jesus has the right to rule our families, our cities, and our nation. We are joining our voices with those of old, saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:19)! 2. It Reminds Us to Discern the Times One of the saddest verses in the Bible is when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem shortly after this entry, saying they  “did not recognize the time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44). Celebrating Palm Sunday and other biblical occurrences reminds us to keep our spiritual senses sharp. We don’t want to be like the religious elite who were so stuck in their traditions that they missed God standing right in front of them! We celebrate what Christ did then, to stay in alignment with what Holy Spirit is doing now. 3. It Prepares Us for Christ’s Second Entry Finally, we celebrate because this first “humble” entry was the precursor to a second “glorious” entry. The first time, He came on a donkey. The next time, the Bible says He’s coming on a white horse (Revelation 19). His eyes will be like flames of fire, and on His thigh will be written: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”  (verses 12-19). Palm Sunday is our “rehearsal.” We are practicing the atmosphere of heaven, and we are seeding the earth with the praise that will one day rise from all creation to greet our King when He returns to take His place over all the earth. A Call to Alignment Don’t let this Palm Sunday just be another “religious holiday” where you grab a piece of greenery and go to lunch. Use this day to reset your “watchman” stance. Ask yourself: Is Jesus truly my King inwardly? Have I laid down my “garments” - my reputation, my agenda, my will - at His feet so He can ride on them? When we shout “Hosanna,” we aren’t just asking for salvation; we are acknowledging His Lordship. We are saying, “Lord, rule in our day! Bring your Kingdom alignment to the earth!” Let’s be people who know the sound of our King. Let’s be people who don’t just watch the parade, but who clear the way for His glory to enter our generation. Pray with me: Father, we come before You today in the mighty Name of Jesus, the King of Glory. We thank You that You are the Architect of Time and that nothing in our lives - and nothing in our nation - is a surprise to You. Just as You instructed the disciples to go and untie the colt because “The Lord has need of it,”  we ask that You would untie and loose prophetic destinies in our lives today. We repent for the instances when we have been like the religious leaders - blind to the times of our visitations from You. We ask for “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” what the Spirit is saying to the Ekklesia in this hour. Lord, we lay down our “garments” - our own reputations, our own agendas, and our own comfort - at Your feet. We make a highway for You to ride into our families, our cities, and our government. Let the “Hosanna” roar rise up in us again. Not just as a song, but as a legal demand for Your Kingdom to be established on the earth. We welcome You, Lion of Judah, to take Your seat of authority over every mountain of influence in our nation. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Our decree: Based on the authority of the Word of God and the finished work of Jesus, our King, make the following declarations over your life: I decree that Jesus Christ is the rightful Lord and Governor over my life, my household, and my nation. I decree that every “closed gate” in my life must now lift up its head, for the King of Glory is coming in (Psalm 24). I decree that the “religious spirit” that seeks to silence the praise of the church is broken; my voice will not be silenced, and my worship will clear the way for His presence. I decree that just as Jesus entered Jerusalem to fulfill the Law, His Kingdom is now entering my situation to bring divine order and justice. I decree that I am in alignment with the “Kairos”  time of God, and I will not miss the day of my visitation. I decree that the “Peace” of the King - the Shalom that destroys the authority of chaos - is now ruling in my heart and my home. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

The Hinge that Turns the Door of History Several years back, I was visiting with a pastor in his office after speaking for him at a conference. I’m sure I spoke on some aspect of prayer, applying it prophetically to the nation and encouraging the people to intercede. I probably also led in some passionate prayer. He said to me, “You are called to the remnant, aren’t you?” I really didn’t know what he was implying, but He didn’t seem critical when he said it, although I’ve never been invited back! I strive never to adopt an elitist mindset, but I do believe God has raised up a praying element of the church in America, of which I am part. It is true that God sometimes uses a smaller segment of the body of Christ to accomplish things for the majority. If you look throughout the Word, you’ll see that when darkness seems to be at its peak, God often doesn’t look for a massive, polished army to turn the tide. He looks for a “remnant”—a small, consecrated group of people who have refused to bow their knee to the spirit of the age. The Power of the Few In the economy of the Kingdom, God is never intimidated by numbers. In fact, He sometimes prefers the smaller number. Think about Gideon. He started with 32,000 men, but God whittled that number down to 300. Why? Because the heart of the remnant was more valuable to God than the size of the army (Judges 6-8). The Remnant Strategy Historically, the remnant has, at times, been God’s “Plan A.” Noah and his family were a remnant that preserved the human race. Elijah felt alone, but God reminded him that there was a remnant of 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. The early church began as a small upper-room remnant that eventually turned the world upside down. The remnant often functions as a spiritual seed. You don’t need a whole forest to start a new season; you just need a few seeds that are willing to die to their own agendas so that the life of God can spring forth.  A Modern-Day Watchman America is certainly in a “Gideon moment.” God has called a remnant to rise up and take their place on the wall as watchmen. This isn’t about being part of a “special club”; it’s about a deep, sacrificial commitment to see God’s purposes established on the earth. This group is characterized by a “Holy Spirit tenacity.” They don’t give up when the culture shifts; they dig their heels in and appeal to the Supreme Judge of the universe. When the remnant prays, they aren’t just tossing “bless me” prayers toward the ceiling. They are releasing the decrees of heaven, and using the “keys of the Kingdom” to bind and loose. This small, focused group becomes a "strike force" in the spirit, breaking open the way for a great awakening. God has been raising up a people who are “ekklesia-minded”—those who understand their legislative authority in the spirit. In sewing terms, a remnant isn’t just a leftover piece of fabric; it is a “representative sample” that carries the DNA of the whole. When a remnant stands in the gap for a nation, they aren’t just praying for themselves; they are anchoring a nation back to its original intent. We are living in a day when the “remnant” is being mobilized. If you feel like a lone voice in your family, your workplace, or your city, don’t be discouraged. You are part of God’s hidden reserve. He is about to use the small thing to confound the mighty. Maintain your position, stand in the gap, and watch what the Lord will do through a people who simply refuse to quit. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”  (2 Chronicles 16:9) Remember, when we make decrees, we aren’t trying to convince God to do something; we are releasing His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We are moving from petition only to governmental decrees. Keep standing in that authority. Remember, God doesn’t need a crowd to shift the atmosphere—He just needs hearts that refuse to back down. A remnant is often the hinge that turns the door of history. Stay on the wall, watchman! Remember, you’re not just a person with a prayer; you’re a legislator with a mandate. Your voice is the instrument that releases the “sound” of heaven into your earthly circumstances. Make the following declaration with me today, and also let it be our prayer: In the name of Jesus, and by the authority of the finished work of the Cross: I take my seat in heavenly places as a member of God’s Ekklesia (Ephesians 2:6). I recognize that I am not an observer; I am a legal representative of the Kingdom of light, called for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). I decree that the “Key of David” is active in my life, my family, and my nation. What this key has opened, no man or demon can shut; what this key has shut, no power of darkness can open (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7). I bind and forbid every strategy of the enemy intended to cause delay, division, or distraction. I command the “squatter’s rights” of the enemy over my territory to be evicted by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11). I loose and permit the plans of heaven to manifest. I call for the “divine recovery” of everything the enemy has stolen from me. I decree that the hidden reserves of God are being activated now. I declare that I am part of a “Gideon company.” Though we may be few, we are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). I align my heart with the remnant across this globe to release a sound of victory that shifts the atmosphere of my city and nation. I announce that a great awakening is not just coming—it has begun, birthed through the prayers and decrees of the Ekklesia. I occupy my position on the wall as a watchman, and I will not be silent until God’s righteousness is seen in my land. Amen. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

“Deceivers Who Teach Clever Lies” Many spiritual leaders have been silenced by their caution of not being influenced by a political spirit. In their desire to stay out of politics,  they stay out of  policies. Consequently, those who should have the loudest voices regarding the moral issues of our day are largely silent, allowing the political spirit they despise to win. Ironic, isn’t it? I, too, have worked diligently over the years to avoid being overtaken by a political spirit. Though none of us are perfect, I have never allowed the deciding issue on any cause to be a political party. I vote and speak out based on which policy and or candidate aligns most closely with my biblical values. Avoiding a political spirit does not mean we must muzzle ourselves on issues or against what those in a particular political party are doing. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love.”  Refusing to speak the truth is NOT love. The previous verse tells us why we MUST speak truth:  “And then our immaturity will end! And we will not be easily shaken by trouble, nor led astray by novel teachings or by false doctrines of deceivers who teach clever lies” (Ephesians 4:14). With this in mind, I must say that many in the Democratic Party have become anti-Christ and anti-American: a turn toward Marxism and socialism; an acceptance of globalism and its demand for loss of national identity and freedom; an opposition to biblical ideals and morality, accompanied by a dishonor - if not hatred - of God; an insatiable lust for power and wealth; these and more have defiled the party to a point of moral decay and deception perhaps beyond repair. Intellectual ideas and debate will not reform this party, for much of the decay is heart-related. Transformation must always precede reformation.  Democrats’ “sanctuary city” policies, meaning they will not turn a criminal over to ICE for deportation, have caused multiple murders and rapes around the nation. They would rather protect criminal illegal aliens than protect American citizens. Their latest victim was 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a student at Loyola University in Chicago, who was shot and killed by Biden’s illegal alien, Jose Medina-Medina.  Medina was allowed into our nation by Biden in 2023, arrested shortly thereafter for shoplifting, and released back onto the street by Democrat policies, enabling him to kill this innocent young lady. It took Illinois Governor Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson four days before they were shamed into making a lame statement. Why? They don’t care. The potential of votes to keep them in power is more important than this young lady’s life. This is also why Democrats fight so desperately against the SAVE Act and to defund ICE. Chicago alderwoman Maria Hadden blamed the shooting on the young students being at the “wrong place” at the “wrong time.” “Gorman’s family said in a statement that they were ‘gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime.’  “‘When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real,’ the family said in a statement. ‘And in our case, they are permanent. This case must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of both state and federal law. There can be no gaps, no shortcuts, and no second chances that put others at risk. Accountability must be complete.’ “An attorney representing Gorman’s family also released a statement, saying in part, ‘Sheridan was 18. She had her entire life ahead of her - her education, her future, her family, the countless lives she would have touched. All of that was taken in a moment, and there is no way to repair that loss.’” (1) Tragedies such as these continue to repeat themselves, yet the policies that allow them remain. The possibility of 20 million votes is just too much to lose. Regarding another Democrat policy, the refusal to fund DHS, conservative political commentator Benny Johnson says: “I spoke with over a dozen TSA agents today. None of them have been paid in 2 months. Here’s what they told me: ‘I had to sell my car to pay my mortgage.’ ‘I work 12-hour shifts and don’t see my kids. Now I can’t even afford to buy my family dinner.’ ‘I’m going to have to quit this month and find another job.’ ‘My wife had to go back to work.’ ‘I can’t afford basic groceries.’ ‘I have no more savings left.’ ‘This makes no sense. ICE is funded through 2030. Democrats are just punishing us.’ “One thing became clear after today: Democrats targeting TSA is morally depraved. It hurts passengers and law enforcement alike. Politicians should NOT be able to destroy innocent people’s lives to score cheap political theater points. Democrats are evil for this. They just want to see Americans suffer to protect illegals and illegal voting.” (2) I do not consider allowing illegal entry into our nation, murdering innocent young girls, and destroying the livelihoods of hard-working Americans as political issues. They are moral issues caused by unprincipled, power-hungry, and immoral politicians.  What can be done about this injustice when so many Americans seem to be blinded to it, kept in the dark by a lying media? I remind you of the words of John Locke, echoed by George Washington on a flag:  “And where the body of the people or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and has no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven…” (3) Only God’s power, released through a third great awakening, can save and transform our nation. Only appealing to heaven can produce this. Let’s appeal for it now.   Pray with me: Father, John Locke considered You the ultimate arbiter of justice. We agree with this; Your Word tells us justice is one of the foundations of Your throne. We here in America have given evil and corruption a foothold. This is now so entrenched that we could never eradicate it without Your supernatural help. We have repented, and now we appeal to heaven. We appeal to You for our third great awakening, which will remove unrighteousness and corruption in our government. This revival will restore truth, conscience, integrity, and honor for You and Your ways. We ask that this awakening intensifies and quickly removes evil indoctrination from our schools, replacing it with true learning, common sense, respect, and integrity. We ask that our corrupted media be totally exposed and lose its credibility. Awaken the American people to their lies and distorted reporting. And awaken the church. Give spiritual leaders in America both the desire and moral strength to stand  for  truth and against  evil. Help them see that speaking out on important issues of life and morality, even in the context of government, is not politics. Help the American church reclaim its voice once again and become the pillar of truth You need her to be. We appeal for these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: As ambassadors of Christ, we will speak the truth in love, protecting Americans from “deceivers who teach clever lies.”  ( Ephesians 4:14-15) Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/sheridan-gormans-family-releases-statement-after-her-shocking-murder-gravely-disappointed-by-101774341175854.html   https://www.instagram.com/p/DWRMaknAAC2/?igsh=MTNra2tvd2R0cnQ5bA%3D%3D  Information collected from an Instagram post by @bennyjohnson 3/24/2026. Laslett, Peter. “Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43.” Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Books Division ,   https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html . Accessed 2 February 2021.

Appealing to Heaven: Making A Difference In yesterday’s post , I talked about the Appeal To Heaven flag. America’s Founders believed so much in the power of prayer that they commissioned a flag to fly throughout the nation during the War of Independence as a reminder. And they believed that God answered their prayers, giving them victory. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon is credited as saying, “…prayer moves the hand that moves the world.” (1) Does a sovereign, all-powerful God really need our involvement to accomplish His will on earth? Is prayer really necessary? Most people in America, including pastors, do not believe prayer is truly necessary in order for God to accomplish His purposes on earth. One need only attend a typical church service to know this. If pastors believed prayer impacted nations and shaped history, they would make time for it in their services…more than just over the offerings, messages, and the dismissal of the saints.  No sincere and caring person - which I believe most pastors are - would refuse to do something they believed could change nations and make the world better, safer, more peaceful, etc. They don’t give time in their services for prayer because they don’t actually believe it accomplishes anything other than connecting people to God devotionally, which people can do at home. Contrary to Christ’s wishes, the vast majority of churches are anything but houses of prayer (see Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). My purpose today, however, is not to convince you that prayer causes the hand of God to move. You most likely believe that, or you wouldn’t be reading or listening to my posts. It is simply to remind you of this and to encourage you that your prayers are making a difference. Nations are being impacted, lives are changing, and eternal destinies are being shaped because you are praying. Our appeals to heaven bring revival, release healing, and produce breakthroughs. Strongholds come down when we pray. I agree with E. M. Bounds when he said: “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil... The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon earth. God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer.” (2) Though God is sovereign and all-powerful, Scripture clearly tells us that He limited Himself, concerning the affairs of earth, to working through human beings. Is this not the story woven throughout the Scriptures: God and humans, for better or worse, doing it together? God needing faithful men and women?  God needing a nation through whom to bring the Messiah into the world? God needing prophets? God needing judges? God needing a human Messiah? God needing human hands to heal, human voices to speak, and human feet to go? Doesn’t He need us to ask and decree for His Kingdom to come, His will to be done (see Matthew 6:10)? Surely He wouldn’t want us to waste our time asking for something that was going to happen anyway, would He? Didn’t He tell us to ask for our daily bread (see Matthew 6:11)? And yet, He knows our needs before we even ask. Didn’t He tell us to ask that laborers be sent into the harvest (see Matthew 9:38)? But, doesn’t the Lord of the harvest want that more than we do? Didn’t Paul say, “Pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)? Wasn’t God already planning to do this? Are not these things God’s will? Why, then, are we supposed to ask Him for something He already wants to do if it’s not that our asking somehow releases Him to do it? In 606 BC, Israel had been taken captive by another nation because of its sin. Jeremiah had prophesied the timing and duration of this. Years later, in Daniel 9, we’re told that while reading the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel realized it was time for Israel’s captivity to end. Jeremiah had not only prophesied the captivity, of which Daniel was a part, but also its duration: 70 years. At this point, Daniel did something very different from what most of us would do. When we receive a promise of revival, deliverance, healing, restoration, etc., we tend to passively wait for its fulfillment— but not Daniel. He knew better. Somehow, he knew God needed his involvement, as he said, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). God heard his prayers, and the restoration occurred.  Paul E. Billhelmer said:  “Daniel evidently realized that intercession had a part to play in bringing the prophecy to pass. God had made the prophecy. When it was time for its fulfillment, He did not fulfill it arbitrarily outside of His program of prayer. He sought for a man upon whose heart He could lay a burden of intercession.... As always, God made the decision in heaven. A man was called upon to enforce that decision on earth through intercession and faith.” (3) The late C. Peter Wagner agreed with this when he stated: “We must understand that our sovereign God has, for His own reasons, so designed this world that much of what is truly His will He makes contingent on the attitudes and actions of human beings. He allows humans to make decisions that can influence history....” (4) Never forget, friend: appeals to heaven change the earth. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for the progress being made to defeat evil here in America and around the world. You are using many people to accomplish these things, including President Trump, but we give You the glory. You are empowering their efforts. We ask for continued favor upon the efforts of the righteous, and failure to those who promote evil and violence. Although we know there is much more change needed, thank You for answering prayers regarding the Presidency, Congress, and judicial system of America. We ask for these breakthroughs to continue. We also thank You for the victories in the Middle East. We ask for the total destruction of “the prince of Persia’s” control over the region ( Daniel 10 ), and the greatest revival in the region’s history. Bring freedom to the people of Iran and release a great revival there, but also use them to facilitate revival throughout the entire Middle East. And we continue to ask for revival in America. Give great strategy and favor, especially to those working to produce revival among the youth and young adults of our nation. Cause the revival that has begun among this age group to continue and multiply exponentially. Raise them up as the greatest army of reformers the world has ever seen. Once again, we thank You for all the breakthroughs we are seeing and ask that this continue. And we ask all of this in Yeshua’s name, amen. Our decree: We decree that appealing to heaven is the believer’s right and America’s heritage. Today’s post was adapted from one of the chapters in my book, Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/559908-prayer-bends-the-omnipotence-of-heaven-to-your-desire-prayer   Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne  (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975), p. 51. Ibid., p. 107. C. Peter Wagner, Confronting the Powers  (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1996), p. 242.

A Flag Reborn I was first introduced to the Appeal to Heaven flag in May of 2013. I was the Executive Director of a Bible College, and it was my responsibility to choose the commencement speaker. I chose one of my spiritual sons, not because he’s a great preacher, but because he isn’t a preacher at all! Will Ostan is a military man, a JAG attorney (at the time, now retired) for a branch of our Special Forces. I chose a soldier as our commencement speaker because I wanted our graduates to know they did not have to be pastors or preachers to be used by God. At the end of his commencement address, however, Will threw me a bit of a curve. “I believe the Lord has asked me to give a special gift to Papa Dutch,” he said. I wasn’t sure I liked this, not wanting the emphasis to shift from the graduates to me. But he had the microphone - what could I do but trust him? “Before I give you the gift,” he said, “I need to explain the history behind it. It’s a replica of a flag displayed by George Washington and America’s Founding Fathers. This flag was actually used before the Stars and Stripes existed. In many ways, it is the banner under which America was born,” he explained. This fact does nothing to dishonor “Old Glory” - I display her proudly and still tear up during the Pledge of Allegiance. Nonetheless, the symbolism of this earlier flag is extremely important. “This banner has the phrase ‘An Appeal To Heaven’ across the top,” he continued, “a phrase our Founders took from the writings of John Locke, an influential English philosopher from the mid-1600s. Locke wrote a series of papers on ‘Natural Laws,’ stating that human rights originated with God, not with government.” (1) Locke made the case that when people had done everything humanly possible to experience those God-given rights and failed in doing so, there remained an option: “And where the body of the people or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven…” (2) Will continued, “Locke’s phrase, ‘appeal to heaven,’ connotes that when all resources and the ability to attain justice on earth are exhausted, an appeal to earth’s ultimate Judge is the final recourse. This concept would become a foundational philosophy in American society, alluded to even in the Declaration of Independence.” (3) George Washington and his contemporaries used the appeal-to-heaven phrase in America’s cause for freedom from Britain’s tyranny. Having exhausted all other avenues to experience the liberty they so desired, the colonists realized their only hope for freedom was in declaring complete independence from Britain. Yet with Britain’s great military, weaponry, and wealth, contrasted by the colonists’ dire lack of these resources, any military attempt to break free from British rule was preposterous, even laughable. Laughable, that is, unless Almighty God intervened. The stance of the colonists was simple; their right to freedom came from God; He would help them. “We will appeal to heaven!” they declared. And a flag was born. From the days of the pilgrims, godly men and women have believed Almighty God was involved in the birth of our nation. They also felt that if a nation chose to partner with and honor God, it would experience His favor and blessing in extraordinary ways. Washington and the colonial dreamers agreed. They believed the Sovereign was, indeed, birthing “a city [nation] set on a hill that can’t be hidden...a light to the world,” (Matthew 5:14). They no doubt knew of John Winthrop, a leader of the Puritans’ Massachusetts Bay Colony, using this verse in his 1630 speech on board the Arbella  to describe what he believed God wanted to build in America. (4) They knew of the planting of the cross at Cape Henry in 1607, and of the ensuing prayer meeting dedicating the land to God’s glory. They had read the Mayflower Compact of 1620, stating the voyage was made “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith….” (5) Would God honor these events and prayers? Even more importantly, was He inspiring these actions? Was America God’s dream as well as theirs? They believed the answer to these questions was a resounding “YES.”  The pilgrims absolutely believed America had a God-given destiny, and our Founding Fathers did, as well. Throughout our history, America’s presidents and leaders have also reiterated this belief. John F. Kennedy referenced Matthew 5:14 and Winthrop’s famous speech, as did Ronald Reagan and more than a dozen other U.S. Presidents. (6) Though modern-day revisionists try to rewrite and remove this from our history, the truth will always silence their lies. General George Washington, leader of the American Revolution, obviously believed in this divine plan. He commissioned several ships for the Revolutionary War efforts and, highlighting their dependence on providential help, each vessel was to fly under the Appeal to Heaven banner, also known as the Pine Tree Flag. (7) The flag’s popularity spread and was soon flying throughout the colonies, as well as being adopted as the flag of the Massachusetts state Navy. It became the symbol of these colonists’ unwavering spirit of liberty, as well as a clear statement of where they placed their faith. Do you find it enlightening, as I do, that America was born under a banner of prayer? And that 230 years later, God would bring that dusty old banner out of hiding in order to serve as a stark reminder that our strength alone did not birth this nation? We were birthed by the hand of God. And we were born not just for our personal blessing and freedom; we were created to represent Christ throughout the world. In our now spiritually weakened state, America’s only hope is to appeal to Him again. Just as we were no match for the military power controlling us in that day, in our own strength, we are no match for the spiritual powers controlling us now. But that which birthed us then is rebirthing us now: an appeal to heaven. Pray with me: Father, the way in which You raised America up as a voice in the earth is indeed remarkable. You did so knowing You would need her to be a trumpet of the gospel to the ends of the earth.  It is incredibly significant that we were born under a movement of prayer, that it was through appealing to You that our freedom was produced. And now You have brought this flag, the Appeal To Heaven flag, out of retirement. We hear what You are saying through this, and we are appealing again. As we do, we are confident You will once again free us from oppression. America shall be saved. And so, Lord, we appeal to You for revival in America. We pray for Your church, the Ekklesia, to rise to the glorious level You speak of in Scripture: a worthy bride for You and an expression of Your authority in the earth. Make us an Ekklesia that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. And we know that Your Ekklesia, the church, isn’t a building, but rather is Your people. We are Your church everywhere we go. So we pray for Your church in the White House, in Congress, and on the Bench. Use them mightily in these government buildings. Remind them that You are with them always, and they represent You in all they do. Give them wisdom, understanding, and Your strong anointing to accomplish Your will. All these appeals we make in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.  Our decree: We decree that the appeal to heaven will be heard...and will succeed! Portions of today’s devotional were taken from my book   An Appeal to Heaven  and can also be found in our Volume 1 devotional, Give Him 15: An Appeal to Heaven . You can find both books on our website: DutchSheets.org . Click on the link below to watch the full video. Laslett, Peter. “Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43.” Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Books Division , https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html . Accessed 2 February 2021. Ibid. “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives.” National Archives , 8 June 2022, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript . Accessed 2 August 2022. John, Winthrop. A Model of Christianity . Sermon. 1630. Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation."  Manuscript: 1630-1650. Van Engen, Abram C. Van Engen. City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism . Yale University Press, 2020. Report of the Proceedings of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at the Thirtieth Meeting, Held at Toledo, Ohio, October 26-17, 1898 . F. W. Freeman, 1899, p. 80.

Harvest in the Middle East I am quite certain that God is intent on reaping a great spiritual harvest in many nations over the next few years. This has already begun, but will increase exponentially. I am also quite certain that satan is determined to stop this harvest, in part, through ungodly governments. Leaders in China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and other nations throughout the earth are influenced by principalities and powers. As well as wanting to stop the coming harvest, satan‘s kingdom has profound hatred for Israel and America. This hatred is likely because these two nations have played such significant roles in redeeming the world from satan’s control: Israel gave the world Yeshua, the Savior; and America was raised up to preach the good news of Christ’s salvation and Kingdom. Satan’s Goals In an attempt to oppose God’s great outpouring and harvest, satan is, among other things, attempting to do the following: Distract the church from seeing and working toward this harvest season, and Create such chaos on earth that it becomes difficult to reach people and nations with the gospel. (We, the church, must make certain that we do NOT fall prey to the distraction; if we stay focused, God will deal with number two, making sure the chaos is unsuccessful.) The third goal of the enemy, and one which often goes undetected, is to foster hatred and animosity between nationalities/people groups, including in the hearts of Christians. This, too, is designed to fight the great ingathering of souls. We must not fall into this trap. It is appropriate, of course, to hate evil (Romans 12:9). Terrorist groups around the world should be destroyed, and evil rulers should be brought to justice whenever possible. It is necessary to destroy the evil regime in Iran, just as it was necessary for the Allies to destroy the Nazis in World War II. The perpetrators of evil throughout the world must always be dealt with ruthlessly, depriving them of their ability to harm others. The only deterrent to their evil is to demonstrate that we are more powerful than them; peace comes through strength. However, in this season, we must be very careful to direct our anger and rage at the perpetrators, not the people of Russia, China, North Korea, and predominantly Muslim nations throughout the world. Specifically, we must not make Iranians, Syrians, the Lebanese, and Palestinians the objects of our anger and disdain. This is very important. Many people in these nations only want peace and freedom; some are actually our brothers and sisters in the faith. Millions of them who do not yet know the Lord will become part of our spiritual family one day. I’m confident that the Middle East will be a large part of the coming great harvest; perhaps the largest. Iran is currently experiencing the greatest harvest of any nation on earth. We must be careful not to allow satan, through terrorists and evil leaders, to turn our hearts against the people there.  I don’t need to remind you that Jesus loves the people of these nations as much as He does you and me. Christ said, “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only son…” (John 3:16). Yahweh loves the entire world - all of it - and Jesus died to save them all. Ishmael Most people in the Middle East are descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar. I become concerned when I hear Christians speak evil and condescendingly of Ishmael, including and especially in sermons. I feel that many Christians have a subconscious, if not conscious, disdain for Ishmael and his descendants. However, God did not hate Ishmael; He loved him! Ishmael’s name actually means “God hears.” (1) Yahweh cared for him and his mother, Hagar, rescuing them when they became outcasts (Genesis 21:19). He also gave them promises regarding their future (Genesis 21:17-21). Remember, it was not Hagar’s idea to have a child through Abraham; it was Sarah’s, and Abraham agreed to it (Genesis 16:1-4). Yes, Isaac was the son through whom Yahweh had determined to bring the Messiah, and He refused to renege on that decision. However, God did not - and does not - hate Ishmael or his descendants. He loves them. Though I support destroying the evil regime in Iran, I know it is inevitable in a war such as this that innocents will suffer and die. My heart breaks over this. Some of the absolute best humans I have ever known are from the Middle East. And I know them well, having even pastored some of them for a season. These believers are lovers of Yahweh, followers of Yeshua, and minister for Him selflessly throughout the Middle East. They feed the poor, clothe the naked, provide for the homeless, educate children, care for the sick and diseased, and frankly, live a more pure expression of Christ than most American-born Christians I know. I have preached in the churches of Jordanian believers who pay a great price for their love of Christ, far more than any American Christian I know. At the risk of imprisonment, they are reaching other Jordanian Muslims for Christ, as well as Muslims from other nations.  Thousands of Syrian, Afghan, Iranian, and other Middle Eastern believers, as well as African Christians in Muslim nations, are martyred for their faith every year. And remember, many of them were once Muslims - Muslims that Jesus loved enough to die for, just as He did you and me. I abhor terrorism, antisemitism, and all racism. I want justice administered to those who rape, kill, torture, and oppress, regardless of where they are. But I do not hate the nations they come from, and certainly not their nationality. I love the people in all the Middle Eastern nations, and want to reach them with the gospel. I refuse to allow satan and his cohorts to succeed in causing hatred and delaying God’s great harvest. In Conclusion Pray not only for Israel, but for the salvation of Muslims in the Middle East! Pray that the prince of Persia does not succeed in turning the region into a river of blood. Pray that China and Russia do not succeed in creating further unrest around the world. Pray that innocent lives are protected during the current violence and war. Pray that God uses the evil in Iran to open the eyes of millions of people. Pray that many visions and dreams revealing Christ would occur. Pray for the believers there - for strength, protection, and that great signs and wonders will take place through them, confirming the gospel. Pray that many laborers are sent into those harvest fields, and pray for their protection. Pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pours out His Spirit in full measure. In fact, let’s pray these very things now. Pray with me: Father, we ask for the salvation of a billion souls in the Middle East. We ask for the salvation of Jews…and of Muslims. We pray that China, Russia, Iran, and evil principalities such as the prince of Persia do not succeed in turning the region into a river of blood. We ask that innocent lives be protected during the current violence and war. We ask that You open the eyes of millions of people to the gospel. Give many visions and dreams, release great signs and wonders to confirm the gospel. We ask that many anointed laborers be sent into the harvest fields of the Middle East, and we pray for their protection. We pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pours out His Spirit in unprecedented measure. And we pray for the body of Christ here in America. We ask that the church be alert and protected from the demonic strategy to harden our hearts toward people in other nations. Cause this to fail. We ask You to awaken in us Your love and compassion for all people, from every nation. And do what You do so well, Yahweh - turn evil back on the head of the serpent. Make him pay! In Yeshua’s name we pray, amen.  Our decree: The Scriptures state that God will make known His wisdom to principalities and powers through the Ekklesia (Ephesians 3:10). We agree with this declaration and call forth the fulfillment in the world today. Click on the link below to watch the full video. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no.  3458.