Turning the Tables Today, I want to encourage you with an excerpt from my book, Giants Will Fall. It is VERY appropriate in light of what is occurring in the Middle East. This is the season in which principalities that have ruled regions of the earth for centuries, even millennia, will be dethroned. I believe this will happen in Iran. Do not be intimidated by what is occurring; God will work it for His good and release many souls from satan’s hold. Pioneering Hebron “I’ve heard a word from God,” Chuck Pierce told me. I was excited. Chuck is a prophet, after all. What pearl of wisdom was he about to share with me? Directions for my future? A profound nugget of revelation? If nothing truly spiritual, perhaps at least something exciting, like who would win the Super Bowl. Don’t laugh - he’s done that before. I was expectant. We were in Israel, the place where Jesus had lived and ministered. Who knows what he had picked up from the revelation-filled airwaves of Jerusalem! “I heard Holy Spirit say, ‘I’m going to pioneer Hebron again,’” he stated with a great deal of confidence. I, in return, gave him a mix of “deer in headlights” and “you’ve got to be kidding” looks. “What does that mean?” I asked the prophet. “I don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t know? You’re a prophet, for crying out loud,” I reminded him. “Well, I heard Holy Spirit say it, but I don’t know what it means,” he stated. “It’s for you. He’ll tell you what it means.” Prophets can be annoying. I wasn’t completely surprised. Chuck has done this to me before. God will sometimes give him a word or phrase - just enough to entice me. I, then, have to study and discern for myself what it means. It must be a game God and prophets sometimes play with us normal folks. So I locked in on Hebron. The names of people and places in Old Testament times were important, their meanings often holding prophetic significance. Bethel, for example, where Abraham and Jacob had profound encounters with God, means “the house of God.” Jerusalem means “the city of peace or wholeness.” Hebron - the place Holy Spirit said He would pioneer again - means “friendship, league, confederacy, or federation.” Though the word itself doesn’t refer to a covenant, the concept is certainly there. “Hebron,” conveys the idea of covenantal friendship. Because of this, God made it the final resting place of Abraham, the covenantal friend of God (as well as other patriarchs). With this meaning in mind, Hebron became a picture of several things: As the highest city in Israel, it pictures “covenantal friendship” with God as our “highest” privilege. Hebron was the city from which King David first ruled as a King. Authority to rule is released as we walk in covenantal friendship with God. Later in Israel’s development, Hebron became one of its “Cities of Refuge.” These were cities structured and managed to protect individuals who had accidentally taken a person’s life. The individuals fled to a city of refuge in order to prevent a family member of the slain person from enacting revenge. It was inconvenient but better than vengeance killings. Later, the New Testament tells us these cities of refuge became types or pictures of Christ, who conquered death and to whom we “have fled for refuge” (Hebrews 6:18, KJV). Hebron, then, pictures the salvation, safety, and refuge we find in Christ. Satan hates geographical locations that have become meaningful to God and His people. When possible, he seeks to defile them, using perversions, violence, covenant-breaking, idolatry, and the shedding of innocent blood. Hebron, as a type of Christ and a picture of covenantal friendship with God, became a prime target, and in the four centuries between Abraham and Joshua, evil giants had overtaken the city. In fact, the greatest of all the Anakim (giants), Arba, made it his stronghold and renamed Hebron after himself: Kiriath-Arba, meaning “the city of Arba” (see Joshua 14:15). By the time the 12 spies of Israel were sent by Moses to check out the Promised Land, three more giants, direct descendants of Anak from whom the giants were spawned, had inherited Kiriath-arba/Hebron (see Numbers 13:22, 28, 33). This holy place, representing friendship and covenant with God, was now ruled by giants, a place of terror. It so terrified ten of the twelve spies, in fact, that they brought back an evil report of fear and unbelief to the rest of the nation. “There is no way we can take our promised land,” they stated. “The giants are simply too big and powerful.” Many Christians feel this way today: some giants/strongholds are just too big. Caleb, one of the 12 spies, was indignant. Seeing Arba and the other giants defiling this holy city and desecrating the final resting place of Abraham and other patriarchs, infuriated him. His response was to ask Moses for this very mountaintop city as his inheritance. “We can conquer these giants and their fortified cities, guys,” Caleb told the fearful Israelites, “and I’ll take the biggest.” Because of the Israelites’ fear and unbelief, however, Caleb had to wait for this opportunity. Forty-five years later, after 40 years of wilderness wandering by the unbelieving generation and another five years of war, it was time. Caleb, now 85 years old, said to Joshua, “Give me my mountain!” (Joshua 14:12). By asking for this mountain, this warrior was asking for more than a city; he was requesting the assignment of conquering the greatest stronghold of the giants. The great warrior did, indeed, conquer Kiriath-Arba and its giants; he then renamed it Hebron. In the words of my prophetic friend, he pioneered Hebron again! In that special place, Caleb enjoyed a covenantal friendship with God. He also paved the way for it to become David’s first capital and a picture of Christ, our Savior and Refuge. When Holy Spirit declared through Chuck that he was going to “pioneer Hebron again,” He was making an encouraging and wonderful announcement: “I am going to use My church to confront and de-throne spiritual giants/principalities ruling regions of the earth, transforming them into strongholds of life. They will transform spiritually dark cities and nations into places where covenantal friendship with God can be experienced, and from which the rule and authority of Christ can be seen again.” A New Era We are moving into a new era. The church will soon experience our finest and most productive season of harvesting souls. As I have stated, I believe we will see at least a billion people saved in the next few decades. Portions of the earth that have been ruled by evil spirits since Adam’s fall will be liberated. Let’s ask for our mountain! All that God does on earth is birthed through intercession. The praying Church is about to step into its highest authority and its greatest history-writing role. Pray with me: Father, raise up many in this hour who have hearts like Caleb. Please do so on every continent and in every nation. Make us warriors, fearless men and women who hate oppression and love You with tremendous passion. You have been training them; we are asking now for their release. They were born for such a time as THIS. They are Esthers, Deborahs, Joshuas, Elijahs. We ask for the Captain of the Lord’s host - Jesus, the Head of the church - to demonstrate that He is, indeed, a Man of war. May the same indignation that rose in Him when lucifer tried to take over Heaven rise up in Him now. May the same shout of triumph that resounded from the Cross - “It is finished!” - be heard in the spirit realm once again. May the One with fire in His eyes release His consuming fire against spiritual giants and rescue a billion souls! Father, we ask for the dethroning of the prince of Persia, the principality over Iran and much of the Middle East. We declare that the blood of Jesus has redeemed those living in that part of the earth. Through His blood and the authority of His name, we bind the demonic control and release the light of truth and power of the gospel to the people. Reverse satan’s plan and bring a record harvest to the region. In Yeshua’s name, Amen. Our decree: We decree that the war in the Middle East will be used by Yahweh to bring millions of people into covenantal friendship with Yeshua. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Much of today’s post was taken from my book Giants Will Fall.

We Will Reap, Not Retreat “One night a fierce desert storm struck with rain, hail, and a high wind. At daybreak, feeling sick and fearing what he might find, Samuel went to survey their loss. “The hail had beaten the garden into the ground; the house was partially unroofed; the henhouse had blown away and dead chickens were scattered about. Destruction and devastation were everywhere. “While standing dazed, evaluating the mess and wondering about the future, he heard a stirring in the lumber pile that was the remains of the henhouse. A rooster was climbing up, and continued until he had mounted the highest board in the pile. That old rooster was dripping wet, and most of his feathers were blown away. But as the sun came over the eastern horizon, he flapped his bony wings and proudly crowed.”(1) The rooster couldn’t help it - he was created to crow, announcing a new day, and he just had to do so. This is one of my all-time favorite stories regarding victory over adversity. I have placed it at the beginning of today’s post to assure you of my belief that, in spite of what occurs in this season, we will rise above all adversity and respond to the God-given DNA in us. Though the turmoil in the world will intensify for a time, we will overcome. War through Weakness The present turmoil in the earth would not be occurring had Trump been in the White House. Peace through strength has become war through weakness. As expected, an emboldened axis of evil - China, Russia, Iran, perhaps North Korea and others - saw in a mumbling, confused U.S. President and his foolish, leftist controllers the window they needed. Many warned of this, and, sadly, it has arrived. The weak and woke Biden administration, and those running things behind the scenes, bear responsibility for the death and destruction. Thousands of people in Ukraine and the Middle East have died as a result of their policies and decisions. This will get worse before it gets better. Of course, those who put them in power also share the responsibility, including many in the church. I don’t know who to give credit for the following statement seen on the sign of a local church, but it is apropos: “Too much sugar preaching leads to truth decay.” How true. It also sometimes leads to war, death and destruction. The gross deception of believing that addressing government policy and elections in the church is unbiblical and inappropriate, opened the door to ignorance and complacency in many believers. They were then susceptible to a dishonest media and corrupt politicians, resulting in many of them foolishly choosing personality over policy in the recent elections. Shockingly, they sided with abortionists and moral reprobates against Scripture, crossing the unfathomable line of actually voting for the propagators of evil. Surprisingly, many leaders still remain silent and their churches prayer-less. Ignorance, however, can no longer be pled; repentance and a change of direction is all that is left if they are to regain credibility. The Middle East War Meanwhile, it will take a miracle of major proportions to keep what is happening in the Middle East from becoming a world war. Speaking from my prayerful opinion, not inside information, the fighting will almost certainly become a much bloodier regional war, and the Middle East will look very different when it is over. After destroying Hamas, Israel will then destroy Hezbollah - if they are not forced to engage them sooner. Then they will seek to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities and their funding of terrorism - now being done with U.S. funds, by the way. All of this will be seen by Israel as their only possible way of survival. Somewhere in this process, it will almost certainly draw America, China, and Russia into the fighting. As I said in yesterday’s post, I mourn the fact that many innocent people will suffer, and others will die. I hastily add that I desperately hope I am wrong about this. But those behind the violence, the religious radicals in Iran and elsewhere, have no regard for innocent life. Nor do their proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. The destruction of Israel and America is their stated goal, and the loss of millions of other lives is not a deterrent. We must pray for the eyes of millions in that region to be opened, and for their salvation. Ultimately, satan and his demonic princes are behind the violence, and stopping the coming harvest is their ultimate aim. Hate the evil, but love and pray for the people. America We were told a great shaking is coming to America; this war is the beginning. We have already lost American lives; sadly, more will be lost. As I stated, we will likely be drawn into this war. At the very least, violence here in the U.S. is inevitable; it has, in fact, already begun and will escalate. Thousands of terrorists are already here, thanks to the Biden Administration’s asinine border policies, waiting for orders. No one with any credibility doubts this. Stay in faith, but fasten your seatbelts - this will be a turbulent season. When the recent prophetic warnings told us not to fear, I realized this meant the shaking in America would be significant. I had already felt this in my spirit and stated as much. BUT, please remember that Holy Spirit also assured us that if we obeyed His instructions, this would protect and anchor our nation. He also said the shaking would produce a reset of America, not our destruction. We did as He instructed, and God will do as He said. America shall be saved! Be strong, keep praying, and believe the Word of the Lord. We are not at the mercy of evil. We were born for this time, well able to possess the land. We will overcome, see revival, turn this nation around, and see the greatest worldwide harvest in history. God will intervene supernaturally here in America, and in the Middle East - He wants to see this harvest more than we do! This will be the church’s finest hour. Get ready to reap, not retreat! Pray with me: Father, we thank You for preparing us to overcome in this season, causing an incredible movement of prayer to take place. Thank You for a willing people that volunteered freely to cover the borders of America with prayer, decreeing again and again Your pre-planned purpose for America, Your Foreword. We know we are anchored securely - by Your angels, Your power and Your mercy. As war takes place now in the Middle East, and the shaking here in America unfolds, we declare that not only is our nation anchored, our faith is, as well. We are anchored to You, and we will be reset by You. We’ll partner with You in this season, praying and warring for Your purposes to be established throughout the earth. Through the church, Christ will see the great harvest He has planned and Holy Spirit has spoken of. It will not be stolen by satan and his kingdom. We are confident that, as You always do, You will turn the tables on hell and bring forth Your purposes. We pray now for the body of Christ, here in America and around the world. We pray for strength, protection, endurance, discernment, and bold fearlessness. Our trust is in You, and it will remain there. Your kingdom will expand, Your desires will be done, and we will participate in this outcome with faith and victory. This will be the finest hour of the glorious church Jesus is building. The gates of hell will not prevail. Our decree: We decree that Jesus has full authority on planet earth, rules an unshakable Kingdom, and is releasing this authority through His body, the church. Click on the link below to watch the full video. _____________________ As related in Craig Brian Larson, ed., 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), pp. 411- 412.

For God So Loved the World I am quite certain that God is intent on reaping a great harvest of people in the next few years. Actually, He is already doing so, but this will increase exponentially. This ingathering of souls will come from many nations. I am also quite certain that satan is very determined to stop this harvest through the unrest and violence in the Middle East, fomented by China, Russia, and Iran, through the prince of Persia (Daniel 10). Ancient Persia is modern-day Iran. As well as warring against the coming harvest, this principality in satan‘s kingdom hates Israel, whom his terrorists call the “little satan,” and America, whom they refer to as the “great satan.” The hatred is likely because these two nations have done more to redeem the world from satan’s control than any other nations: Israel gave the world Yeshua, the Savior; America has done more to preach the good news of His salvation and Kingdom than any other nation. Also, America stands in the way of ALL three of these nations and their plans. Satan’s Goals Realizing that God is preparing the earth for this great outpouring and harvest, the violence satan is implementing is designed to do the following three things: distract the church from this harvest season, and create such chaos in the 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 this distraction; if we stay focused, God will deal with number two, making sure the chaos is unsuccessful. The third goal of the enemy in the current violence and chaos, and one which often goes undetected, is to foster hatred and animosity between people groups, including on the part 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. Israel has every right to destroy Hamas, just as America had the right to attack Al Qaeda, the Talaban, and ISIS. 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. The only deterrent to their evil is to demonstrate that we are more powerful; peace only comes through strength. However, in this season, we must be very careful to direct our anger and rage at the evil perpetrators, not toward Middle Easterners and the Muslim world in general. I have great concerns regarding this. We must not make all Palestinians, Iranians, Syrians, Afghanis, Iraqis, Jordanians, the Lebanese, and others in the region the objects of our anger and disdain. This is so important. Many in these nations are our brothers and sisters. Millions of others, who do not yet know the Lord, will also be our spiritual family one day. I’m confident they’ll be part of the coming great harvest. We must be careful not to allow satan and his evil actions through terrorists and evil leaders to turn our hearts against them. 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 Many people in the Middle East are descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar, including most Palestinians. I become concerned when I hear sermons that speak evil and condescendingly of Ishmael. I feel that many Christians have a subscious, if not conscious, disdain for Ishmael and his descendants. However, God did not hate Ishmael; He loved him. Ishmael’s name means “God hears.”(1) He 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. Abraham agreed to it (Genesis 16:1-4). Ishmael was not the problem; the unbelief and consequent actions of Abraham and Sarah were the problem. Yes, Isaac was the son through whom Yahweh had decided 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. Many years ago, I, like many Americans, assumed all Palestinians were terrorists. Perhaps that’s because their name was part of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s name (the P.L.O.), which caused violence against Israel and was designated as a terrorist group in 1987.(2) Back then, I automatically lumped all Palestinians into this group. However, this is absolutely not true. Yes, it is true that many Palestinians have been taught to hate Israel, but not all of them do, and many do not support Hamas. Likewise, not all Lebanese support Hezbollah, nor do all Iranians support the violence promoted by extremists in Iran. In August of 2021, I reported that, according to Operation World, Afghanistan was the second fastest growing church in the world, right behind Iran. The Gospel Coalition reported at the time that most of the people being won to Christ in Afghanistan were reached by Iranians. Please remember that these and other Middle Eastern nations are increasingly ripe harvest fields; and that we have many “family members” in all of these nations. Lumping the roughly 50% of Palestians who do not support Hamas in with those who do, would be like lumping we in America who are pro-life in with abortionists. As we know all too well, evil is not always easy to stop in a nation. Though I support Israel’s right to defend herself from terrorists, and I know it is inevitable in a war such as this that innocents suffer and die, my heart still breaks over it. Some of the absolute best humans I have ever known are Palestinians. And I know them well, even pastoring them for a season. They despise terrorism and all terrorist organizations. They’re lovers of Yahweh, followers of Yeshua, and minister for Him selflessly throughout the Middle East. These beautiful people feed the poor, clothe the naked, provide for the homeless, and live a more pure expression of Christ than 99% of all American Christians I know. They now have friends and co-laborers who are suffering horrendously; some will die. They grieve for these innocent individuals, as do I. War is tragic. 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 - most of whom are NOT terrorists - as well as Muslims from other nations. They minister to thousands of refugees, feed starving families, give water to the thirsty - as Yahweh did for Hagar and Ishmael, educate children, and care for the sick and diseased. We must love and pray for them. I do. And remember, some terrorists can also be saved. Pray for their salvation, also. Thousands of Syrian, Afghani, Iranian, and other Middle Eastern believers, as well as African Christians in Muslim nations, are martyred for their faith every year. Please don’t refer to their nationalities as evil. And remember, many of them were once Muslims - Muslims that Jesus loved enough to die for, just as He did you and me. I hate terrorism, antisemitism and all racism. I want justice administered to those who recently raped, murdered, tortured, and kidnapped people in Israel. Their brutality is abhorrent, evil beyond words, and I defend Israel’s right to destroy them. But I do not hate their nation or 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 using this current evil to delay or stop God’s great harvest there. Pray for the salvation of a billion souls in the Middle East! Pray for the Jews, and pray for the Muslims. 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 as they work to create further unrest. Pray that innocent lives are protected during the current violence and war. Pray that God uses the evil there to open the eyes of millions of people. Pray that many visions and dreams revealing Christ would occur. Pray for the believers there, and that great signs and wonders will take place, confirming the gospel. Pray that many laborers are sent into that harvest field; pray for their protection. Pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pours out His Spirit in unprecedented 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. Save Ishmael and Isaac. We ask for the salvation of Jews and Muslims. We pray that China, Russia, Iran, and the prince of Persia do not succeed in turning the region into a river of blood, and that innocent lives are protected during the current violence and war. We ask that You use the evil there to open the eyes of millions of people. Give many visions and dreams revealing Christ. Release great signs and wonders to confirm the gospel. We ask that many laborers be sent into the harvest field of the Middle East, and we pray for their protection. We pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pour out His Spirit in unprecedented measure. And we pray for the body of Christ. We ask that the church be alert and protected from this demonic strategy to harden our hearts toward people in other nations. Cause it to fail. We ask You to awaken Your love and compassion in our hearts for all people, from every nation. Strengthen our brothers and sisters suffering in this part of the world. Pour out amazing grace. Supply for their needs; protect them. And do what You do so well, Yahweh - turn this evil back on the head of the serpent. Make him pay! Our decree: We declare that the plan of the evil one to stop the coming harvest will fail; God will make known His wisdom and strength through His Ekklesia to principalities and powers throughout all the world (Ephesians 3:10). 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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_Liberation_Organization

Keys to Praying for the Lost After yesterday's post on praying for prodigals, I felt I should follow it with this teaching. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; NASB) “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; NLT) Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us we have been given spiritual weapons, empowered by God, with which to demolish “strongholds” in people. The root word is echo, which means “to hold.” The form of the word used here, ochuroma,means “to hold strongly,”(1) thus, a stronghold. It is also the word for a castle, fortress, or prison. A foxhole or trench is hastily dug in a time of war to hold (echo) a position. I once toured a castle atop a mountain in Salzburg, Austria. From this impregnable fortress, someone had ruled the entire territory. That…is a stronghold! (Ochuroma). According to this word used in 2 Corinthians 10:4, unbelievers are prisoners, captives. This verse also tells us we have God-empowered weapons that can demolish these prisons. Verse five of 2 Corinthians 10 breaks down the stronghold into three distinct components, informing us of exactly what we must destroy with our spiritual weapons. This information is vital. The first portion of the stronghold mentioned is “human reasoning.” The Greek word (logismos) is not referring to individual thoughts, but to beliefs, reasonings, wisdom, logic.(2) Our English word “logic” is actually derived from this Greek root. Logismoi (plural) are the mindsets (opinions, beliefs, etc) we have NOW, resulting from the teaching, training, information, experiences, etc, we have received in the PAST. Before Adam’s sin, which was passed on to all of us, he and Eve procured their wisdom, logic, and beliefs from their Creator, God. We would have, as well, had the Fall not occurred. However, James 3:15 tells us unredeemed humans’ wisdom now originates from earthly knowledge, our human souls (intellect and emotions), and demonic influence. “Houston, we have a problem.” “Okay,” you might say, “but when an individual hears the truth, including the gospel, how do these logismoi veil or blind them from truly seeing, understanding, and believing?” It has to do with the way our human minds function. When information comes to us it is first filtered through our subconscious mind or memory, the home of our logismoi, our opinion center. This is involuntary, automatic, and occurs in a fraction of a second, before it even gets to the conscious mind where we then process it. Think about that! We already have an opinion before we even think about the information - yes, we’re opinionated! This means that when people hear the gospel, before they even have time to process it, the information is filtered through this subconscious mind. Unbelievers don’t hear a pure version of the gospel; they hear it after it has been filtered through what they already believe! For example, on an outreach to Mardi Gras a friend and I shared the gospel with a young girl who, as it turned out, had been horribly abused in the past. “God is love,” we told her. “He loves you so much He sent His Son to die for you.” She was not impressed. This wounded soul heard not only what we said, she also heard something else - from deep within, buried in her memory center. “Really?” She asked. “If He is love, why did He allow me to be so abused? Doesn’t seem like a loving God to me.” From the pain, her mind had formed a logismos - a belief - part of the stronghold now controlling her. Someone will need to intercede for her, tearing down this prison. When praying for the unsaved, ask Holy Spirit to show you the logismoi, the beliefs that control them, blinding them to the gospel. As He does, war against them, declaring, “In the name of the Jesus I tear down the stronghold of . . .” Then ask God to replace it with truth. Do this daily, it will likely take time. The second portion of the stronghold mentioned in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is pride, “proud obstacles.” The KJV uses “high thing” to translate the Greek word, hupsoma, which is actually the same root word for “Most High” God! One leading lexicon defines hupsoma as “all pride that rises up.”(3) This is a reference to the root of pride that came to the entire human race when Adam and Eve bought satan‘s lie that they could “be like God,” (Genesis 3:5). This had been Lucifer’s downfall, attempting to elevate himself as the Most High. He passed the same temptation on to our fore-parents, and when they bought the lie, his fallen nature was passed on, as well. Humankind now elevates “self” and its knowledge above God and His Word. We cannot change an unbeliever's nature; only the new birth can do this. We can, however, release the power of Holy Spirit to them, which will counter this dark root with revelation, the light of truth. His power and light are well able to do this, causing their proud heart to bow the knee to Christ’s Lordship. With this in mind, look at verse 5 again, this time from The Living Bible: “These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God, and change them into men whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.” What a promise! Regarding the third element comprising strongholds, the Lord tells us we can “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The word “thought” is noema, which also means plans, schemes, or plots.(4) It refers to spontaneous thoughts and temptations satan uses to control people, as well as to the ongoing schemes and plans he uses. God says we can stop these attacks! In our intercession for unbelievers, we must declare that none of satan’s plans to hold them captive will prosper. Bind his schemes and thoughts according to Matthew 16:18-19. Shield the person from satan’s lies and temptations; close the door to these things. Mary Smith of Maple Valley, Washington, had been praying for her brother, John, to be saved for approximately 12 years, with no results. Like most people, she prayed general prayers such as “Lord, come into his life,” or “Lord, reveal Yourself to him.” Mary didn’t realize there were other biblical instructions on how to pray for John. Her brother had major problems, including drugs, depression, and extreme anger. Early in 1995, Mary participated in a class I taught where I related these and other principles regarding praying for the lost. Mary shared them with her husband and their children, then they all began implementing them for John. Specifically, they prayed the following: That God would lift the veil off his mind, bringing revelation and enlightenment That Holy Spirit would hover over him and protect him That godly people would be placed in his pathway each day That everything exalting itself against the knowledge of God, specifically pride and rebellion, would be destroyed That all ungodly thought patterns (logismoi), would be destroyed That satan was bound from holding John captive through wicked thoughts and lies That the armor of God would be placed on him After two weeks of praying in this way, John overdosed on drugs. While in the hospital, “the Lord met him in a powerful way,” Mary said. “He cried out to God. The veil was definitely lifted and he received a revelation of God. He now understands the Word and responds to it. Confusion is gone! John separated himself from the world and his former friends. He is now pursuing God and Christian relationships. His focus is on pleasing God, knowing Him more, and is even considering one day being a missionary.” We have been given authority! We can turn unbelievers “from darkness to light and from the dominion of satan to God” (Acts 26:18). We are called to enforce and make effectual the freedom Christ procured. The unbeliever cannot war for his or herself; they cannot and will not overcome their internal prison of darkness - but we can do so for them! We must take our divinely powerful weapons and fight. The powers of darkness will resist, but “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses” (Nehemiah 4:14). Pray with me: Father, we thank You for Your heart to save. Thank You for loving us, even when we are still rebellious. Thank You for the Cross. Thank You for sending Jesus to redeem us. Thank You for Holy Spirit‘s work of making this sacrifice understood. We pray for prodigals and others who do not know You, that the revelation of Christ and His provision would be made real to them. We bind every belief system and thought pattern that blinds them to truth and deceives them. We release Holy Spirit’s power to overcome the root of pride in them, that which entered the human race at the fall. Cause them to bow their knee to Christ and His Lordship. We also ask that Holy Spirit’s power be released to their minds and hearts, drawing them to You. Send the right people to them, and separate them from those who are being used to influence them wrongly. We ask You for these things in Jesus' name, and we thank You for the answer. Amen. Our decree: We declare that every stronghold in the life of those we pray for will be torn down by the power of Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was adapted from my book Intercessory Prayer and my smaller book, How to Pray For Lost Loved Ones. 1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3794. 2. Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, p. 923. 3. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 851. 4. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3540.

Providence and Prodigals As we pray regarding the coming revival and harvest, many are saying it will begin with a great influx of prodigals returning to the Lord. Holy Spirit gave a series of dreams to my friend, Ken Malone, regarding this. In today’s post, I am sharing his summary and insights regarding the dreams. They will encourage you. Ken shares: “Over the last five years, I’ve had three dreams where the setting was a home Cheryl and I built in Providence, Alabama. We homesteaded the property, clearing the land, drilling a well, putting in a septic, planting crops, and building a home. We raised our children there for a short time; they all remember this property. “We moved from the home in 1984 to enter full-time ministry. Upon selling it, we never looked back…until I started dreaming about it! The First Dream “In 2018, I dreamed we returned to Alabama and re-purchased the property. In real life, the current owner’s mom and dad were good friends of ours when we lived there. They lived about a mile from us, attended the same church as us, and together, we helped birth the Charismatic Renewal in the region. I found it interesting that I would dream that we had re-purchased the land and home. “My wife, Cheryl, responded to the dream by saying, ‘That’s not a dream; that’s a nightmare.’ She wasn’t referring to the land, the home, or Alabama, but that moving from Florida and leaving our kids and grandkids would be a nightmare. “I pondered this dream for some time, asking Yahweh why He had given it to me. I knew it was from Holy Spirit, but didn’t know why. Alabama is not on my radar regarding ministry, only to visit family and friends. Second Dream “Then, on September 14, 2021, the day Pastor David Yonggi Cho from Seoul, South Korea, went home to our Lord, I dreamed about the property again. In this dream, we are owners of the home again. Cindy Jacobs, a prophet and friend from Texas, is with me in the backyard. Cindy is prophesying to prodigals and the emerging generation, actually calling out the names of many. One of them is my own child! I’m on my knees beside Cindy, with my face in the dirt, travailing in prayer for mine and every other child she mentions - a generation of prodigals, destined to return to our Father. “In the dream, I continue to pray, Cindy continues to prophesy. The travail becomes so intense that I am in physical pain, groaning and weeping. Cindy, it seems, doesn’t see me in these deep throes of intercession. It’s as if I am alone in this spiritual war for the prodigals. I have the thought, if she stops prophesying, maybe the intense travail will stop. Then I think, but children are born into the Kingdom through this type of intercession (Isaiah 66:8). “I need help. While praying, I cry out, ‘Can someone help me?’ “Nothing happens; no one comes to my aid. I cry out again, with a very loud and fierce voice, ‘Go get Dutch Sheets; I need his help.’ “Someone goes in the backdoor, and Dutch comes out of my house and kneels in the dirt beside me. In my intense intercession, I’m thinking, He’s going to help me pray, birthing this movement of the prodigals returning home. “Instead, Dutch places his hand on my back and says very strongly, ‘Finish this, Ken!’ (End of dream) “I wake up. After going back to sleep, I dream the same dream again! When I awaken from it the second time, I’m weeping. I start to wonder: Why this dream? Why did it happen in Providence, Alabama? I don’t understand. “In August of 2022, while visiting my mom, Cheryl and I drove by the house in Providence. ‘Lord,’ we asked, ‘are we to move back to Alabama?’ But we did not feel any pull towards returning, no leading from the Lord. In fact, Cheryl stated emphatically, ‘No, we are not to return.’ “I continued musing about these two dreams, one of them repeated. What’s going on here? What are You trying to show me, Lord? Then, in September of 2021, while thinking about the dream, Holy Spirit said, ‘Look at the definition of Providence.’ Here’s a portion of what I found: It’s a name our forefathers in America gave to Yahweh because of His divine care and direction of them. It also means to secure the future, to plan for the future. “Suddenly, I knew what Holy Spirit was saying, not only to me, but to all of us: We must secure the future of the coming generation, including the prodigals, through deep, groaning, and travailing intercession. A Third Dream “On October 17, 2023, I awaken from yet another dream where I’m again in our former home in Providence, Alabama. In this dream, I’m asleep in the master bedroom. I wake up and notice the room; it is just as we left it in 1984. It is a beautiful and crisp fall morning. I walk out the front door with a cup of coffee and breathe in the fresh morning air. (End of dream) “When I awakened from the dream, I said to Cheryl, ‘I had another dream last night.’ “She replied, ‘Don’t say it,’ knowing exactly what I was about to say before I said it. I told her anyway. “Here are a few takeaways from these dreams, some for me personally, others for all of us: The dreams impacted my heart for the prodigals. I believe they’ll be the first fruits of the revival coming to all the earth. I have been praying for them ever since. Through the repurchasing of the property in Providence (as my dream mentioned), Holy Spirit is saying, ‘Secure the future.’ Pray to the Lord of the Harvest and decree the return of our sons and daughters. I have a strong connection to the property and what I built there. Not the home, but the well of prayer - revival prayer - on the property. All the years we were there, I prayed daily for revival. God is releasing that well NOW. Dutch didn’t help me pray. Instead, as an apostolic father, he encouraged a son to finish what Holy Spirit was conceiving in and through him. Through the third dream, I believe Holy Spirit is bringing assurance, saying to me, ‘Rest in Me; I’m going to do this.’ The presence of Holy Spirit is in that home in Providence. I’m praying for the current owners to be impacted by His presence. Holy Spirit is brooding over Alabama. I also had a dream last year about Jefferson County, Alabama (I wrote about it; you can find it in my blog). All believers in Alabama should engage in travailing prayer for the Lord’s harvest in this state. I’m praying for you and your state. It amazes me how God uses the past to impact the future: ‘Repurchase the homestead.’ He said. ‘Secure the future of your sons and daughters.’ It’s time for the return of the prodigals. They will rediscover their identity as sons and daughters, walking in the Father’s nature and authority. Let’s build a homestead with our sons and daughters.” “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest. Ask Him to send laborers into the harvest fields of the prodigals. ‘Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:37-38 NASB) “The song titled “Warrior” by Mylon LeFevre is always in my heart: “Come on home to the Father, come on home to the Son. Come on home, the battle’s over, Christ has won. Come on home.”(1) “Pray for the prodigals.” Pray with me: Father, thank You for these dreams. You are calling the names of prodigals. Our prayers are part of this. We call their names as well, calling them home. We ask that Holy Spirit convict them, bring them to their senses, and guide their thoughts back to Father’s house. We ask for angels to accompany them wherever they go, protecting, guiding, and communicating Your thoughts to them. Give them dreams, visions, encounters. Lord of the harvest, send laborers to them. You know the voices they would listen to. You know the stories they need to hear. You know what circumstances would move them. We ask for these things to occur. Your word is eternal, alive; remind them of the Scriptures. Use the never-ending power in Scriptures they once heard, awakening its power in them now. We call it forth. We call an awakening of Your life in them. And we bind every demonic spirit controlling their thoughts, beliefs, appetites, and decisions. We break the power of deception, confusion, addiction, rejection, and anything else being used to control them. We loose them from demonic control of their will. We pray and declare these things in the name that secures and guarantees the answer, Jesus. Our decree: We declare our faith in the power of the gospel, and in Holy Spirit’s ability to draw the prodigals back to Him. They’re coming home. Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can find out more about Ken Malone at ForerunnerMinistries.org. https://genius.com/Mylon-lefevre-and-broken-heart-the-warrior-lyrics

The Divine Acceleration While speaking in Florida this past weekend, I was reminded of a word Chuck Pierce gave me a year or so ago. Occasionally, Holy Spirit uses Chuck to give me one sentence or phrase, in order to motivate me to search the Scriptures for greater revelation on the subject. This particular phrase was, “There will be a return to Gilgal.” I received revelation regarding this and taught a short series of posts on the subject. (You can find those here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.) Gilgal was the place Israel camped after Joshua led them in their crossing of the Jordan River, making it their headquarters for a season. The name means “rolling.” They named it this, not because of the Jordan River being rolled back; its flow was actually “cut off” miles upriver, not rolled back. They named the place Gilgal because it was there that God told Israel the reproach of their slavery in Egypt had been “rolled” off of them (Joshua 5:9). There are many extraordinary events associated with this crossing. While in Florida, however, I felt there was something in particular, a current word Holy Spirit had for me through this portion of Scripture: a NOW word. So I spoke on the subject, trusting the Lord to reveal it to me while I was speaking. Revelation often increases for me through the anointing that comes when preaching and teaching, and it did on this occasion. When the fresh word from the Lord came, it was simple but strong. It occurred when I mentioned the shift Israel was being required to make into a new season. Moses had died, being the last member of the previous generation that wasn’t permitted to possess the promised land. Joshua had become the new leader, and God told him it was now time to cross the Jordan and possess the land. This marked the end of a very long season of preparation, over 400 years. It started with a promise to one couple, Abraham and Sarah, and a 25-year wait for their promise of a son, Isaac. Isaac and Rebekah birthed Esau and Jacob. The process then continued through Jacob and his fathering of the 12 tribes. At that point, we are over 100 years into this long season/process. And then, Israel became slaves in Egypt for over 300 years! It wasn’t looking good. This lengthy and seemingly off-track process was being carried out in synchronization with another variable, something God referred to as “the iniquity of the Amorites becoming complete” (Genesis 15:16). Yahweh was going to give their land to Israel, Abraham’s seed, but only after the accumulated sin of those living there justified it. This would take four more centuries! Just think about that: God looks centuries ahead to when the Amorites’ sin will be full, and knows exactly when to start the process of creating the nation of Israel through Abraham. A four hundred-year plan, which will have to be carried out in and through sinful people, barrenness, unbelief, family treachery and betrayal, wars, and a long season of slavery (which it turns out was really to provide for Israel’s needs - see Genesis 46 and 47), and have to coincide with when the Amorite’s iniquity became full. That’s some pretty good planning and a lot of patience! But God accomplished it. Four hundred years of planning and coordination coming to its moment. And now He says to Joshua, “In three days, Israel is going to cross this Jordan to possess the land” (Joshua 1:11). Awesome! But why, after 400 years, are You now in such a hurry, Joshua may have been tempted to think. You’re a better planner than that, Yahweh. We’ve waited over 400 years - why the big rush now? It takes a while for an entire nation to pack for a move such as this. And the Jordan River is in flood stage, a mile wide and very deep! In a few weeks, it’ll only be 20 yards wide and waist-deep. It’s been four CENTURIES; surely a few more weeks won’t matter! Thankfully, if Joshua was tempted with these thoughts, he squelched them quickly and obeyed. If Yahweh says three days, then three days it is. And He must have a good reason. The Lord did have a good reason. He was on a prophetic timetable, would be painting a prophetic picture of the Cross through their crossing over, and was making certain that it coincided with the date He had chosen for Christ’s death. That’s why He said, after their crossing and celebration of Passover, “On that very day,” Israel ate the fruit of the land (Joshua 5:11). Not a day early; not a day late. God can not only plan ahead 400 years, He can plan ahead 4000 years…to the day! The planning of Christ being sacrificed for us began before Adam’s fall even occurred! As I pondered this account from Scripture last weekend while in Florida, the Lord focused my attention on the hastening of the pace in Joshua 1:11. He changed/shifted the time and season, as Daniel 2:20 tells us He does. God is never running late, but He IS in a hurry at times. And He was in Joshua 1. The Eternal Planner has His own reasons for doing so when He speeds things up. And in His infinite wisdom, He is doing so now. The Lord is hastening the pace of what is now unfolding now on earth, doing so to keep things in step with His plans. Everlasting God, Olam El, is not reacting to satan’s counter actions; He factored them into His plan thousands of years ago. He is simply working through the chaos, accomplishing His will. We must stay in step with Him, following Holy Spirit’s direction. This next year is critical for us. Huge. Just as we have been working with Him to birth the coming harvest, we must now finish well, church. I simply do not believe that as God looked ahead and planned this great worldwide harvest, He saw us as a generation that would put our hands to the plow and turn back. I don’t believe that in His foreknowledge, He saw us rejecting His offer, realizing He would have to use the next generation to reap this harvest. No. I believe the Lord saw us as the generation that would FINISH THIS ASSIGNMENT! Let’s do it. Pray with me: Father, You are magnificent, glorious, indescribable - too marvelous for words. There is no one like You. Your abilities are unfathomable, beyond human comprehension. We believe in Your power and ability, but we also believe in Your heart of love and mercy. We believe You when You say You love mercy, not judgment. Thank You for demonstrating this when You waited four centuries to take the land from the Canaanites, even though You knew the time would come when You would have to do so. Your patience is also amazing. And You have been patient with our nation, just as You have others. You have walked with us through 60-plus years of rebellion and spiritual death. Yet You have preserved us. Now, You are offering us restoration. We refuse to miss this opportunity. We will finish well. Give us revival in America. Give it also to the nations of the Earth. Let this outpouring be glorious, the biggest ever. A billion souls. Lead us as we finish the process in this very challenging season. Encourage the church, keep us focused, and remind us to not grow weary in our perseverance. We thank You for this. And once again, we ask You to hover in the U.S. Capitol building. Give us the Speaker of Your choice. We bind every demonic effort to keep this person from taking that seat. We open the door to them, according to Isaiah 22:22 and Matthew 16. And we ask for all of this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that we will finish the process of seeing America restored. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

God Has Other Plans Most of what I have to share today is not new, but it is a needed reminder and will help us keep in perspective what has been said prophetically regarding America’s future. It is important to properly synchronize the various words coming from prophetic voices in this season. The well-worn adage of having good news and bad news is certainly true in our time. Strong and encouraging words stating that America will be saved - and she will - abound. Usually, these words are accompanied by promises of revival, restoration, and reformation. This, too, I fully believe will occur. However, there are also warnings of shaking, violence, tsunamis of destruction, wars, and more. A proven prophetic voice with Morningstar Ministries, Chris Reed, recently released a troubling dream he received on October 8th regarding terrorism in America. Please listen to it if you have not yet done so (click here). These two above scenarios are indeed contrasting outlooks, but they are not contradictory. The coming shaking and restoration are two halves of the same unfolding reality. Most of the voices releasing words regarding the future actually state this in one way or another, telling us difficult times are coming but also that we will emerge with new strength and a great reformation. In Scriptures detailing Israel’s past, God often had to allow her to experience difficult circumstances in order to turn her back to His ways and purposes. It is also important to remember that those difficulties always came after God’s unheeded warnings; He faithfully sounded the alarm. Likewise, America, too, has been given numerous warnings, yet as a whole, has failed to return to Him. Drifting farther from the Father’s heart, which always dulls our spiritual eyes and ears, America has remained with the proverbial frog in the kettle, joining the denial-driven ostrich with our heads in the sand. Though this inability to receive correction and hear God’s warnings is, at times, unavoidable among those who don’t know Him, it is inexcusable in those who do. For decades now, a sleeping and egocentric - sometimes narcissistic - church has chosen pleasure over concern, comfort over confrontation, and watered-down messages over wake-up calls. Many Christians became too lazy or complacent even to vote, and numerous pastors were too afraid or deceived to challenge them, thereby keeping out of their pulpits the principles of righteous government established by God on the earth. This led to an ignorant church, many of whom insanely prioritized personality over policy, and slick political charisma over plain truth. Inconceivably, they actually preferred the murdering of babies in the womb and the mutilation of confused children to mean tweets. By doing so, these Christians joined with unbelievers in choosing a woke and weak America over strength, empty lies over bold truth, and radical “green new bankruptcy” over responsible and wise planning. Voting into power weak and corrupt leaders comes at a cost; the cost for America has been great, and when all is said and done, will prove to be historical. This naivety and deception started years ago, intensified greatly during the Obama years, and hit full speed when Biden was elected. That is when America reached the point that the recovery could no longer occur without the shaking. For years, I held out hope that revival would come without the shaking. I still believe it could have had the church awakened in time. Now, it is no longer possible. Yet God, in His mercy and for His plans, is going to save us, using the shaking to do so. Our enemies have seen America’s deep dive into insanity, naivety, weakness, corruption, and complacency, and realized they could now act. With our borders open, they could send in thousands of terrorists; with our senseless decisions causing a weak economy, they could outspend us militarily; through multiple wars in the world, they could deplete us militarily; and with foolish, cowardly, naive, and sometimes traitorous leaders, they could make their long-awaited moves. They are now beginning to act. Like it or not, Reagan was right: the only way to peace is through strength. (1) The good news - and there is good news - is that a remnant in the church HAS heard God’s warnings and risen in intercession, responding to God’s heart for redemption. We have obeyed His instructions. This will prove to have shortened the duration and severity of the shaking. America is anchored and covered with the blood of Yeshua and the oil of Holy Spirit. And, albeit not yet in the natural realm, in the spirit, we have reconnected to our Foreword - God’s decreed purpose for His book titled, “America.” As I have stated several times that our prayers are saving America, I have meant it very literally. They are also birthing the revival held in God’s redeeming heart. Do not yield to fear when the shaking intensifies, and challenges arise. Remain strong in faith, declaring the word of the Lord that God will use it to produce revival and transformation. He wants to see this great worldwide harvest reaped more than we do, and it will be! Do not forget this! China won’t stop it, nor will Russia, Iran, North Korea, or any terrorist organization. In America, Marxists won’t stop it, nor will leftists, evil politicians, liars in the media, indoctrinating educators, or demonic principalities and powers. The shaking will awaken us, God will revive us, and a 50-year plan of darkness will be overwhelmingly foiled by Holy Spirit’s activity here and around the world. Now, I must warn you: expect the pace of all this to speed up. With great anguish, I say that I believe the conflict in the Middle East will escalate. It was spawned by demons, and planned by Iran and her new allies to increase international unrest, not to help Gaza. Without a doubt, they knew that Israel - also without a doubt - would respond by eradicating Hamas. They also knew this would take the lives of many Palestinians, many of whom don’t even like Hamas. These despicable powers, however, don’t care about the Palestinians. They are using them as human shields and pawns. Their goal through the attack was to create more war and worldwide terrorism, producing Iran’s opportunity to destroy the “little” and “great satans” Israel and America. Russia and China see it as an opportunity to defeat the current most powerful nation so they can dominate the world. And satan sees it as a way to stop the great harvest. God has other plans! Stay aligned with God. In your love of Israel and hatred of evil, don’t fall prey to satan’s deception by aligning with HIS hating heart. God loves the Palestinians, Iranians, Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians, and other people of the Middle East. Yes, justice must absolutely be dealt to terrorists and perpetrators of evil, but we must pray that light, truth, and salvation be released to the masses. And though the violence there and elsewhere will continue for a time, pray for a minimal loss of innocent life and a supernaturally quick end to it. Persevere! Pray with me: Father, we are anchored to Your heart and hand, surrounded by angels, covered with the blood of Christ, and anointed with the oil of Holy Spirit. America, though she will be shaken, will survive and be revived. We are confident of this. We are also restored to the covenant made with You, which is also the purpose for which You made us. Though this has only been accomplished in the spiritual realm - not yet manifesting naturally - it is no less true and real. We birth Your plans and purposes in the spirit first, and then they manifest in the natural realm. We pray for courage to rise up in the hearts of Your people during this time. We pray for a strong, unwavering faith and confidence to be sustained in the Ekklesia. We are not those who put their hands to the plow and then turn back. We are not of those who miraculously leave Pharaoh’s labor camps, then fear the giants so much we want to go back. We are warriors. Overcomers. More than conquerors. We are constrained by love, sustained by faith, clean by the blood of Jesus, and anointed with the power of Holy Spirit. We are lovers of humankind, warring for their salvation and deliverance and armed with the gospel. Our greatest days are ahead, not behind, and by Your strength and grace, we will not fail. We do ask You to destroy evildoers, while protecting innocent life as much as possible, in this violent season. Thwart the bloodthirsty plans of the evil one. We also remember to pray for our government. We sense that this decision regarding the Speaker of the House of Representatives is very important. It is a part of the transformation and cleansing of our government. We need Your choice to be in that seat. We ask for this, and bind every attempt - through demonic persuasion, confusion, lies, and human agendas - to thwart it. Your kingdom will come, and Your will be done, in Jesus’ name! We ask all of these things in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that as Christ’s Ekklesia, we will represent His heart and plans in this hour of history. And we will do so with His love, authority, strength, anointing, and victory. Click on the link below to watch the full video. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/peace-through-strength

Step Forward There are those whom I believe the Lord speaks to clearly, sharing His heart - prophets who give us direction, teachings, and words from the Lord. My brother is one of those voices. After hundreds of hours of study, God has also given him an unusual ability to understand how angels operate in the spirit world, assisting us as we partner with God. Here is a word Tim recently shared: “We are in significant days, walking out the strategy of our Lord; it is imperative that we press in to hear what He is saying. The Ekklesia must accept the responsibility of engaging and decreeing His Word as we move into the next season. “I asked Holy Spirit recently to show me what He is currently speaking and He gave me a vision. In this vision I saw a map of the United States of America, along with many other nations of the world. As I looked at the map, I began to see a display of fireworks. Each one shot up into the sky in a streak of light and exploded. I heard the Lord say, ‘Today, we launch the strike force of the angel armies.’ I then began to see seraphim and government angels, along with other angel divisions, going forth on assignments. I realized the shooting fireworks had actually been angels of light. From each state and many other nations, I had seen angels shooting up in streaks of light. The explosions I saw were promises, prophetic words, dreams, visions, and declarations from believers. [End of vision] “After the vision the Lord said, ‘The angels of Lord Sabaoth are now launched to explode and activate. There will be explosions of promises, dreams, visions and prophetic words coming to pass. This is a Kingdom event for Ekklesias around the world. It is time for My Ekklesia to engage with me and declare what I say. Angels are activating to release an explosion of the Kingdom of God.’ “We have been told of a shaking that will begin to reset our nation; this vision and word is a revelation and confirmation that this significant breakthrough is coming. The responsibility of the Ekklesia at this time is to be bold and aggressively use our spiritual weapons. Prayers and decrees are weapons of warfare, mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). “Wars are never won through reticent effort. The King’s Ekklesia is being called to engage demonic agendas and stop them. We are being called to proceed against cultural, governmental and educational evils. The King’s command is for us to advance, not hide in fear, and follow Him into battle. “During this season, Holy Spirit is saying to us, as He did the prophet Jeremiah, ‘You have no reason to fear the people you speak to, for I am with you and will defend you. I will touch your mouth and give you My divine message! Look, I have placed My words in your mouth. You will know what to say. You will be My voice. This very day I appoint you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms. Your word - My word - will have the power to uproot and stamp out; it will destroy and upend. And then your word - My word - will rebuild and plant anew’ (Jeremiah 1:8-10, The Voice Translation). “God is going to use us, His Ekklesia, to upend and uproot by boldly declaring His words. Philippians 1:28 (NLT) says, ‘Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.’ “One of the greatest signs of defeat to our enemies is when we, the body of Christ, stand fearless and unintimidated. We must refuse to be bullied by our adversary; we know he is a defeated foe. “Recently, Holy Spirit spoke the following to me, ‘I have prepared and will now show the world the strength of the Lord of hosts. My strong arm will be seen overpowering and defeating the forever loser through a functioning Ekklesia. My Ekklesia will now enter a time of acceleration when prophetic words, promises, dreams and visions intersect their moment. I will activate the assignments I gave them. And as My Ekklesia engages in prayer, decrees and corresponding actions, functioning in My original intent and purpose for its being, it will connect to a supernatural moment. This is a moment I have planned, for revival and reformation. Strength will multiply. Doors will open. Changes will surge. Transformation of times will come. Crooked paths will straighten. Realignment to right ways will manifest. Restoration of paths of righteousness will be rebuilt. “‘Move forward into My moment. Move forward into your moment. My move, your move. My word, your word. My victory, Your victory! Engage with purpose into this moment. Engage the battle, says the Lord.’ “We must now be bold and fearless, not passive onlookers. We must live in the fear of the Lord, not the fear of man. Like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and countless other heroes of faith, we must shake off all passivity and stand strong. No bowing to Baal. No bowing to wickedness, perversion, mutilators of children, demon doctrines, government intimidation, insane ideas, lies, or antichrist agendas. We must embrace a true Kingdom of God mindset and a remnant warrior’s mentality. “We must remove all cowardice and passivity that acts as leaven and spreads. We cannot yield to an inappropriate acceptance of evil, calling it love; evil breeds loathsome oppression, cruelty, the destruction of families and children, and the annihilation of destinies. Sin never brings peaceful solutions; it kills, steals and destroys. King Jesus says it’s time to engage, battle and stand strong. “Ephesians 6:10-18 (NKJV) speaks of putting on the whole armor of God in order to stand against the wiles of the devil. This passage is timely for this current season in which we have been called to fight for the cause of Christ. “The word ‘against’ in verse 10 is the Greek word pro.(1) It actually means to ‘step forward.’ Our word for a professional, a ‘pro,’ comes from this Greek word. A pro is someone that is a step forward from others. The Ekklesia is being called to advance for the Kingdom of God. When you see principalities, step forward. When you see the powers of darkness, step forward. When you see the rulers of the darkness of this age, step forward. When you see spiritual wickedness in high places, step forward. “Holy Spirit is calling out to His Ekklesia: engage and step forward!” Let’s Pray with Tim: Lord, thank You for breathing truth, revelation and strategy to us. We pray that the season we have been contending, crying out and believing for would begin to unfold. We pray for a divine outpouring and infusion of heaven’s power, a power that can change everything. We ask for strength and great boldness. In Acts 2, Your power came from heaven and believers’ voices were amplified, allowing them to speak with Kingdom authority and governing language. Their authority went to a different level, and we are asking You to do this again. Cause the Ekklesia to step forward and reign supernaturally. Loose the explosion of promises, dreams, and visions that have now come to their divinely planned moments. May this be a time when we embrace what You say. We declare our faith and confidence is in You. We step forward for such a time as this. Cause Your Ekklesia to rise up and oppose evil, supernaturally upending the strategies of hell. We will not relent. We will be tenacious and bold for Your cause. We continue to pray regarding the situation in the Middle East. We ask for a quick end to this violence. We bind the prince of Persia’s/Iran’s efforts to steal, kill, and destroy. We break the power of this stronghold off the region, and loose the breath of God to the region. We declare the victory of Calvary over it. We declare that God has freed the descendents of Isaac and Ishmael from darkness and deception through the power of the blood of Jesus. Arise in that region, Lord, scatter Your enemies. Let Your light come and Your glory rise upon the people. We ask for angels to help bring the fruit of this. All of this we decree and ask in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen. Our decree: We decree the launching of angel armies throughout the world to bring the fulfillment of promises, dreams, visions and prophetic words. And we decree that the church will engage and step forward! Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s post was contributed by my brother, Tim. You can learn more about him at TimSheets.org James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4253.

The Unexpected Assignment Yesterday, I shared about the prince of Persia. I referenced a gathering this past weekend in Ohio where my brother, Tim Sheets, shared that he believes Holy Spirit is saying we are moving into a season of overthrowing demonic thrones of iniquity ruled by principalities. He also spoke of the highest-ranking angels (seraphim), such as Michael and Gabriel, being assigned to help us. As an example of a principality ruling a region, he mentioned the “prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:10-13, 20). Ancient Persia is modern-day Iran. Tim shared this on the day before the war in Israel began. The timing of what he shared was significant. I also said I believe the violence in the Middle East is being caused by this same principality Daniel and the archangel Michael dealt with in Daniel 10. The pain and suffering in Israel and Gaza is the direct influence of this spirit. Terrorist groups are his agents; hatred, pain, suffering, and oppression are his goals…and his methods. Today I want to give you a part two. While vacationing in the Smokey Mountains in 2004, I sensed a great increase in spiritual warfare over the government of America. Decisions were being made, that I knew would be very damaging for our nation. The burden on me was so great I knew I needed to go to Washington, D.C., and pray. Ceci and I decided we would cut our vacation short. She would go home to Colorado Springs (where we lived at the time), and I would catch a flight to Washington. She knows the assignment on my life and sensed the same urgency, so was fully supportive. Then, I received a series of confirmations. Ceci and I had decided to go to a musical show this final night. Just as we arrived, a friend and intercessor called. Ceci went inside to purchase our tickets and find our seats while I took the call. Our friend began… “One of the intercessors in the church had a dream about you last night, which I felt you should know about immediately. She dreamed she was attending a conference and went into an average-sized room for the first teaching session. A man was standing up front, ready to begin teaching; he had a large media screen behind him. As he started to teach, he paused, turned to this intercessor, and said, ‘Tell Dutch Sheets he must go up to 11 and 12.’ As he said this, the numbers 11 and 12 appeared on the screen behind him. “The scene changed in the dream, and she was in a different room for another session. The same man was there to teach, and again he looked at her before he began, saying, ‘Tell Dutch Sheets he must go up to 11 and 12.’ Again, the numbers appeared on the screen. This ended the dream.” While pondering the dream, I texted Ceci to find the location of our seats. “Row 12, seats 11 and 12,” she replied. After taking my seat, I stated the obvious: “I think God is talking to me!” I then related the dream to her. I immediately began asking the Lord what these numbers meant, even during the musical performance. Why was He saying I must go up to 11 and 12? Why would this be given to me on the eve of my trip to Washington to pray? Perhaps the answer is in the symbolic meaning of these numbers, I thought. In the Scriptures, the number 11 refers to transition. It can be a change of paradigms, locations, or other transitions. Because transition or change often creates a temporary season of disarray, it can also picture disorder. The number 12 is the number of government. Through the symbolism of these two numbers, I felt God was saying to me, “You must go up through the disorder (11) in the heavenlies, the spiritual realm, and exercise My kingdom government or rule (12).” I also thought that perhaps the numbers could be pointing to a specific Scripture, so I began looking up references with 11 and 12 in them. I felt drawn to Matthew 11:12: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” I contemplated this verse and felt God was telling me this was indeed an assignment involving spiritual warfare. I was also led to Revelation 12 and the spiritual warfare described there. The angel, Michael, along with other angels, was warring against satan. Verse 8 stood out: “No room was found any longer in the heavens for the dragon and his angels.” Though this passage is about a future battle, I felt Holy Spirit was using it to confirm that there was great warfare over D.C. I’m sure this is typically the case, but I felt it had intensified. While praying and considering this passage in Revelation 12, I received a call from another friend in Colorado who said, “I have been praying for you and felt led by the Holy Spirit to instruct you to read Daniel, chapter 10. I believe God wants to speak to you from this passage.” She knew nothing about what I was doing. As I read the chapter, I realized it also includes a story about Michael warring in the heavens, this time against a spirit referred to as the prince of Persia. We spoke of this passage and principality in yesterday’s post. Daniel was praying for Israel’s restoration, and God had dispatched angels with His answer. Demonic forces in the spiritual realm, however, led by this prince of Persia, were warring against the angels, hindering them from reaching him with the answer. God eventually sent Michael to help the angels break through to Daniel. While meditating on this, I was reminded of a prophetic word given to me a few months earlier. Jane Hamon, while speaking in our church, had prophesied that sometime in the near future, God was going to send the archangel Michael, to war over D.C., and I would go and partner with him. This was that. As a final encouragement and confirmation, the Lord led a member of Congress to call me just before I began the assignment. I explained what had transpired while on vacation, where I was, and what I was about to do. “Perhaps you’re supposed to pray for me and, from your position of governmental authority, commission me to this assignment,” I suggested. “I believe so,” this legislator said, “because you suddenly came to mind, and I felt a strong urge to call you immediately.” His prayer was powerful and added greatly to my confidence. I and three others who joined me had a powerful time of prayer in Washington, D.C. We bound the efforts of satan to control this situation, released many petitions and decrees, and commanded God’s kingdom rule to come and His will to be done in the coming days. We sensed great angelic activity, and KNEW Michael was there helping us. Our prayers were answered, and God’s will was accomplished. Pray with me: Father, our hearts break as we watch the pain and suffering taking place in Israel and Gaza. Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The principality over Iran, whom You called in Scripture the “prince of Persia,” loves to cause pain and suffering, just as the spirit of Baal does here in America. Many millions are under his control. You have told us that a great revival is coming to that part of the world, with hundreds of millions being saved. You love the descendants of Ishmael, just as You do those of Isaac. Jesus died for the entire world. We know the name Ishmael means “God hears,” and You do. We ask for a great outpouring of Holy Spirit to these descendants, just as we do for the Jews. Open the eyes of all, enabling them to see Yahweh, His Son, Yeshua, and understand the gospel. Save a billion of them! We know this is Your desire, and we also know You need our partnership. As Christ’s ambassadors on earth, we bind the influence of the prince of Persia over this region of the world, and declare that the shed blood of Jesus Christ has removed his right to rule there. We stand in the gap for the people, asking for their deliverance from this spirit’s influence, for the lifting of the veil from their spiritual eyes, and for a mighty release of the powerful gospel. We ask for laborers to be sent into this harvest field, and for angels to war against the demonic activity. End this war quickly. Send revival to Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and every other Muslim nation. And we ask this in the powerful name of Jesus, the Savior of the world. Amen. Our decree: We declare that Christ’s Kingdom is an ever-increasing and everlasting Kingdom. All nations belong to Him as His inheritance - ALL. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Portions of today’s post were adapted from my book Authority in Prayer.

The Prince of Persia Last weekend at a powerful gathering in Ohio, my brother, Tim, shared that he believed Holy Spirit was saying we are moving into a season of overthrowing demonic thrones of dominion, ruled by principalities. He also spoke of the highest-ranking angels (seraphim), such as Michael and Gabriel, being assigned to help us. As an example of a principality ruling a region, he mentioned the “prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:10-13, 20). Ancient Persia is modern-day Iran. We awakened the next morning to the news that Hamas, doubtlessly under the influence and support of Iran (Persia), had attacked Israel. I am not suggesting that this attack happened because of or to confirm his teaching, but I do believe God orchestrated the timing of Tim releasing this word just before it occurred. In that sense, it is an incredible confirmation. In the Scriptures, demonic violence was at times brought on by their reactions of anger, intimidation, trying to be preemptive, etc., to what God was doing in the spiritual realm. Herod killing the babies in Israel at the time of Christ’s birth is a prime example. “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.’ He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son.’ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.’” (Matthew 2:13-18 NASB) I believe the extraordinary unrest in the world at this time is indeed caused by demonic activity, arising from the threat they feel. I believe the prince of Persia mentioned in Daniel is behind all of the violence and war in Israel and Gaza. He is angry and worried. Satan and his demons hear the words coming from God regarding the great and eminent harvest. He sees the many people being saved in Iran, and the prophecies regarding millions that will be saved throughout the Muslim world and in Israel. He also realizes the Ekklesia has reached a level of maturity that will allow this dethroning of regional demonic thrones. His actions at this time are attempts to stop all of this preemptively. The praying church must stand against this resistance. We have been given authority to bind the activities of darkness in the spiritual realm, which then determines what occurs in the natural realm. Our prayers can absolutely be a part of stopping this evil activity in the Middle East. They can also influence the fruit of what has already occurred, and may yet occur before it ends. (I am not implying that our prayers can stop it immediately.) Let’s look at an example of this in Daniel. “Behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, ‘O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia....’ Then he said, ‘Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.’” (Daniel 10–13, 20) Israel had been taken captive by Babylon because of their sin, but Daniel realized from Jeremiah‘s prophecies that it was now time for restoration (Daniel 9:1-2). Being a man of passionate prayer, he had been interceding for Israel’s restoration for several days. As incredible as it sounds, the angel that appeared to Daniel said to him, “I was sent to you the first day you began to pray, but was opposed by a spirit, the prince of Persia.” (see reference above) God chose from the beginning to work on earth through humans, even at the cost of becoming one to redeem us. In this situation, He was working through the fasting, repentance, and prayers of Daniel. This man’s prayers were producing the restoration of Israel, which was being resisted by the principality ruling the region. As unusual as it sounds, the angel sent to answer Daniel’s prayers had been delayed for 21 days by the demonic resistance in the spiritual realm. God had to send His mighty angel, Michael, to deal with this demonic “prince of Persia” (now Iran). I believe the same type of warfare is taking place now in the Middle East, led by the same principality. We must persist, just like Daniel, until we see a breakthrough. I do believe this is a season when we can see the overthrowing of demonic thrones. And just as we are dethroning the spirit of Baal here in America, this prince of Iran must also be dethroned. This dethroning will result in the coming harvest - that’s what it’s about, as is the resistance. I feel sure we will see the same anger and a certain level of violence here in America. It is most likely part of the prophecied shaking. I do not know how severe this will become, but we will prevail over it, and God’s plans will not be stopped. We must remember that it is demonically inspired, therefore we must do our part to oppose it spiritually, even as the government and civil authorities deal with it naturally. “Wrestle” with the cause, not the people satan uses. This does not mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves and take other precautions; it simply means we must deal with the root cause as we do so. I will address this subject again tomorrow, but will say one more word regarding how we engage in this spiritual warfare. We must worship, exalting the Lord, not become preoccupied with demons. We must appeal to our heavenly Father through the victory accomplished by Christ. We must exercise Christ’s authority, commanding/decreeing His will as Holy Spirit directs us. And we must bind and forbid the plans and actions of the enemy through declaring God’s Word, also as Holy Spirit directs us - just as we have been doing. Our greatest weapon is the Word of God! Let’s do so now. Pray with us: Father, we have heard Holy Spirit address the coming harvest as “the harvest of the ages.” We believe it will be the greatest in all of history. Great spiritual breakthroughs will occur throughout the world as deception and darkness are broken over people. Demonic thrones will be dismantled, and the light of the gospel will be seen. Satan and his forces will attempt to stop this, but we know You have already planned for this, as well, and have determined how You will thwart him. We know Your angelic hosts will be part of the plan to stop him, and we ask for this help and support now. We ask You to stop satan’s plans that are at work in the Middle East and cause them to work for Your purposes. In the name of Jesus, we bind them now. Dethrone the prince of Iran, Father, and free millions of people from his hold. Then send revival to the entire region. We ask the same for America. Strengthen and lead us as we finish the process of dethroning Baal over America. We have covered this nation in prayer, as You said, and now the shaking can be used to reset us and move us into revival. Lead us as we pray, and lead our authorities as they deal with any and all evil that comes our way. We boldly command, as You instructed us, “Kingdom of Christ, come! Will of Christ, be done!” (Matthew 6:10). We declare that Jesus is Lord over all the earth. We declare that His blood has cleansed and set us free from satan’s dominion. We declare that through this shed blood and the covenant it gave us with Almighty God, we have the authority to represent Christ. We do so now, releasing His salvation into the Earth. Our decree: We decree that every throne in the heavens and on earth must bow to the authority of Christ. Click on the link below to watch the full video. Portions of today’s post were taken from my book Authority In Prayer.

Keep Your Faith Anchored As I prayed and processed with Holy Spirit what to share today, I felt He wanted me to steer this post toward faith and hope. We must continue to anchor ourselves to what God has said HE is doing at this time. In my book, The Power of Hope, I state that “Hope does in our hearts what seeds do in the earth. Without hope, life is sterile and unfruitful; dreams won’t be conceived; destinies won’t be realized. Hope is essential because it is the seed, the starting line, the genesis, and the launch pad. It is, in fact, the incubator where faith is birthed: ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for,’ God tells us (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). If there is no hope for the future, there will be no faith to face it - let alone build it. “Jeremiah 29:11 says: ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ Strong’s concordance tells us the word ‘hope’ in this verse is the word tiqvah. It has two meanings: ‘an expectancy,’ and ‘a cord, as an attachment.’(1) The second definition is especially fascinating. Hope connects us to our future.” In this same book, The Power of Hope, I share the following story of God encouraging my faith for America. May it bring you hope in this troubled time. “As I write this, I’m sitting on my back porch [2014 in Dallas, TX], drawing inspiration from an amazing picture of hope. It’s a tree in my backyard that I named The Hope Tree. I gave it that name because it used to be dead - or so the previous homeowners thought. “I remember talking with the former owner when we were considering purchasing the house. He told me that not only had the tree died, but he had cut it down. There was nothing left but a stump! It doesn’t get much deader than that! “‘Then I put in the sprinkler system,’ he said. ‘I placed one of the sprinkler heads next to the stump, and the tree grew back.’ “I stood next to him, looking at the tree. This was not a wannabe tree consisting of two or three small sprigs, mind you, but a complete tree. Immediately, I thought about the Scripture where God talks about this never-say-die kind of tree: ‘For there is hope for a tree when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water, it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant’ (Job 14:7-9). “Why had this passage from Job come to mind so quickly? Amazingly, in that season, I had been encouraging myself with these exact verses as I prayed for America. ‘You can revive America’s destiny and cause us to be great again, Lord,’ I prayed often. “You can imagine my shock and amazement as I looked at the tree before me, a perfect picture of the Scriptures I had been standing on. ‘Sold!’ I said. I hope Ceci likes the house because I’m buying it, I thought. That tree is now my daily reminder of the validity and power of audacious hope. “Many people in this season are looking for hope. Life can be difficult and, at times, brutal. The struggling economy is stealing jobs and destroying the dreams of many; diseases seem to have multiplied, ravaging the health of some and taking the lives of others; our kids cut themselves and shoot their classmates; our government is broken and refuses to reform; and the entire world, it seems, is filled with unrest and war. “Stumps abound…”(2) God has been faithful to give me anchor points over the years regarding His plans for America. And, of course, His plans for America are integrally joined to His plans for the world. It is easy to lose sight of these plans if we focus on the circumstances around us, especially when we see evil at today’s level. The anchor for faith in these times is the Word of God, what He has promised. When I stake my faith to His words, faith displaces fear. God Wants to Save! Do not underestimate the power of God’s love. He loved the world SO MUCH that He gave His only Son to save us. God sees the fallen earth through this lens of compassion. His passion is to redeem, not destroy. Hear Him say to Abraham, “Sure! I’ll spare the city for only ten!” (Genesis 18:32; my paraphrase). Revival to America and the world is not being wrestled from the hand of a hesitant God, but offered from His merciful heart. Most definitely, we live in an evil time, and the wickedness of some is hard to fathom. But DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO BLUR GOD’S HEART. Yes, He will shake down the wickedness, but He will also release His abounding grace. Anchor to this! When a demonized, evil, Herod killed the babies in Christ’s day, God did not abandon His plan and bring Jesus back to heaven. He stayed the course, and He will do so today. When His followers were murdered, burned at the stake, and fed to lions, God didn’t throw up His hands in frustration and destroy the planet. He stayed the course and allowed their blood to become seed He would use to turn the world upside down. It is appropriate to grieve in times like this. It is reasonable to experience righteous anger. But it is not okay to give up. Our Redeemer is on a mission, and He needs us to stay focused on that mission. Speak His words. Remind yourself of His promises. Worship. And stand! Pray with me: Father, we know how the story ends: You conquer evil once and for all, banish the serpent, and restore the earth. And we know how the story of this season will end: You will shake down evil and bring the greatest revival planet Earth has ever seen. You will NOT be outsmarted, out-maneuvered, or overcome. The worthy Lamb is the conquering Lion; the gentle Shepherd is the white horse Rider. He holds the keys, and He is the Supreme Judge. We are following Him. We represent Him and His victory at Calvary. We are His reaping force, His liberators, and we move in His authority. We bind every strategy of hell to stop this great harvest, confuse the church, and steal our faith-filled hope. We are and will continue to release living water to the “stump” called America, and this stump will grow into a tree once again. Then, we will release this living water as a river to the nations of the Earth, and entire nations will be saved and transformed. Nothing can stop this - it has already been decided. We speak revival into the Middle East. We send these words into the airwaves, the atmosphere of the earth today, and declare that they will accomplish everything You intend for them. Not one will return void, because we do so in the name of Jesus. We command a shaking into the strongholds of darkness in the Middle East and around the world. And we release the love and salvation of God to people there. We pray regarding the decision being made in our House of Representatives this week. As they meet today and as long as it may take, we ask You to choose the Speaker of the House. Give favor to this person, and great clarity to the Representatives. Silence voices of confusion. We ask for Your authority to rule completely over this decision; fill the room with angels. And we bind every effort of darkness to control this process and determine the outcome. All of this we ask in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that we, the Ekklesia, are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and this will not change. 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. 8616. Dutch Sheets, The Power of Hope (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2014).

The War in Israel Before I comment on the situation in Israel, I first want to share just a few thoughts from Dave Kubal from Intercessors For America regarding the Speaker of the House situation. As tragic and significant as the situation in Israel is, we must also remain focused on America, difficult though that may be. Supernatural Divide in D.C. (by Dave Kubal) “The battle we are watching in Washington, D.C., is a visual representation of what is happening in the supernatural. At this moment, there are forces attempting to retain control, and forces attempting to gain control. “Let me describe what’s happening in the natural. The nation was given an opportunity with this session of Congress to fight against the government’s woke agenda, its weaponization against private citizens, and bankrupt spending. The January fight for speaker was the obvious outworking of the political establishment. Congressman Kevin McCarthy was recognized as part of the establishment but wielded power because of his ability to raise and distribute $100 million. His popularity pushed him to the front. He made very specific promises to fight the woke agenda and pass a responsible budget. “Rep. McCarthy did not do what he promised. “He lost the support of many in his party. Most no longer trust him. This week there was a vote to vacate his position. It prevailed with nine Republican votes. Many more Republicans no longer wanted McCarthy to remain speaker, but they did not believe that this was the time to remove him. “When we deal with the spiritual realm, the natural will work out. This is an opportunity — a critical moment in our nation’s history. “Will we continue to allow our government to express and legislate values contrary to kingdom values? Will we allow our government to limit our freedoms? Will we empower a government with no control on spending — political spirits of control, spirits of excess loosing immorality, manipulative spirits using printed money — to dominate our lives? “Next week [this week], we will see our options to lead Congress from here. The candidates will represent the spiritual battle at hand. Likely candidates include: Congressman Steve Scalise: a huge ally to Speaker McCarthy, and one entrenched in the political establishment. “Congressman Jim Jordan: a relentless defender of our freedom. “Others may surface, and we must look for what agenda drives these representatives and for who is behind them. “Most of all, we must pray. The battle on Capitol Hill in D.C. is the outworking of the spiritual battle in our nation. When we take care of the spiritual realm, the natural realm will work out.”(1) Israel There is no need to recap the horrific details of what is occurring in Israel; most of us have seen information regarding little else for the past few days. It has been heartbreaking to see the animalistic cruelty of demonized terrorists as they rape, torture, and mutilate women and children. I speak not of Palestinians and Muslims in general, but of the Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian terrorists responsible for this inhuman barbarism. They are savage butchers. I want to focus, not on their actions, but on the bigger picture: how we got here, what it means regarding the future, how we should pray, etc. How We Got Here Elections, as they say, have consequences. I would add that naively, ignorantly, and foolishly electing antichrist, anti-Bible, globalist, woke, lying, leftist, and Marxist leaders, bent on transforming America into the same, has disastrous but predictable consequences. (Though the term “electing” is probably not completely accurate in this case.) One can only hope that pious, undiscerning Christians - who simply could not tolerate mean tweets and an immoral past, preferring instead, abortionists and leftists - are having second thoughts. What we have seen over the past three years was predictable. Why would a Biden administration, run by Obama and other globalist America haters, want a revived and strong America? Reversing most, if not all, of Trump’s sound policies on their first day in office, they picked up where they had left off, and even increased the pace of transforming America from being the greatest nation on earth into a weak and disrespected mess. A nation, by the way, which now needs a miracle to be restored. The Attack on Israel Tragically, the violence and bloodshed in Israel will continue. They have no choice but to eliminate once and for all the terrorist threats of Hamas, Hezbollah to the North, and perhaps Iran’s ability to fund and facilitate them. Iran and the terrorist leaders knew their provocation would demand this war. To Iran, the Palestinians, in general, are expendable pawns - always have been; they couldn’t care less about them. They want to force Israel to fight, hoping to destroy them, or at the very least, cause more of the world to turn against them. And unfortunately, multitudes of Palestinians, many of whom do not even support Hamas (some of them Christians!), will be sacrificed. What This Means in America Satan and those he controls hate not only Israel, but America. Thousands of terrorists are no doubt here now, due to Biden and the Dems’ open borders, waiting for the command to attack. They would be fools not to have come in, and we would be fools to think they’re not here. And those I listen to believe that they are, indeed, here. Many are especially concerned about cities with large numbers of those who have entered our country illegally, especially single young men. Terrorism could very well be the shaking we have been warned of, as could our involvement in a regional or world war. Yes, we have obeyed the Lord’s instructions for preserving our nation, and we will be preserved. But the words from the Lord did not say there would not be attacks or suffering. We were warned of a great shaking, but that our prayers would ensure America’s survival, salvation, and reset. Be convinced of this - I am. And do not yield to fear! Continue to pray for protection over your home and family daily; claim Psalm 91 for you and yours. Be vigilant. Beyond prayer for protection, stay focused on God’s plan to use this evil to prepare people and nations for harvest. He is always far ahead of satan and his plans. Continue to call forth the exposing of evil and the reaping of harvest. Do not allow your heart to become hardened to Muslim people in general, or Iranians and Palestinians in particular. Millions of them do not want these wars and the terrorism. Pray that they find out the truth of what is occurring - they hear only propaganda - and that they become more open to Christ and the gospel. I believe millions of them will be saved. Don’t forget that Paul, in his deception, martyred Stephen, but he later became one of the greatest followers of Christ in all of history. Pray for a great harvest in the Muslim world! And finally, pray for Israel! Pray that this evil attack be overcome quickly and supernaturally, that there will be a minimal loss of life, and that the plans of darkness backfire. Pray that their eyes will be opened to Yeshua. They, too, will experience a great great revival. Pray with me: Father, we come to You today with hearts that hurt, just as Yours no doubt does. The horrible grief and suffering taking place in Israel is heartbreaking. We ask You to help Israel overthrow these evil terrorists, and bring the suffering of all to a quick end. We also ask for the veil of deception to be broken off of millions of people in that part of the world, freeing them from spiritual darkness. Open their eyes to the light of the gospel of Yeshua. Let a powerful revival sweep through the Middle East. Continue to give dreams and visions to those in the Muslim world, showing them that Jesus is, indeed, the Son of God and their Savior. Show the Jews that He is their Messiah. And Lord, we pray for our nation. Thank You for so clearly warning us that we needed to pray prayers of covering, protection, and anchoring. We continue to ask for Your protection and declare that Psalm 91 will be our portion. We pray also for our government, that You would remove those who need to be removed in order for us to be safe and restored. Give us the leader we need in the House, but may Your changes go much deeper and broader. Give us once again a righteous government. We pray these things in Christ’s holy name, Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We decree that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound and is being released throughout the earth. Click on the link below to watch the full video. You can learn more about Dave Kubal and Intercessors For America at IFAPray.org. https://ifapray.org/blog/supernatural-divide-in-d-c/