A Psalm of Relief... (Sing to the tune of "Oh, God You heard me?!")

"What a difference a day makes. I cried out to You, at my ropes end, and You answered.  From my dark pit of gloom, You jumped in with me, cared for me and pulled me out to safe light.

I thought You were away from me, but You were there with me.  I can't believe how You have answered my prayers. I withdrew, but You pursued.  I got angry and quiet, yet You sang soothingly soft to me.  In my despair, You lifted my chin, looked me in the eyes, smiled at me, saying no words, but speaking volumes of comfort to me.

Now my soul hopes.  Now my spirit smiles.  Now my heart laughs again, and my stinging cheeks soaked from saline saturated sorrows are soothed and refreshed as though cool sunny, spring rains have rinsed them and refreshed them. 

My doubts turned to humbled confidence that You have me.  My fears are relieved as You flip on the light switch showing me that my monsters aren't real.  You sit at my bedside until I drift off to sound sleep.  You rest me.

You come along side me.  You take the load I'm carrying from off my shoulders and onto Yours.  You give me a cool drink that refreshes my parched throat of weariness.  You sit with me.  You enjoy a good movie with me as we sit worry free on my couch.  You laugh with me and take my mind from any troubles I see.  You are there for me.

My silence is turned to joyous, robust singing without care of pitch or tone because my heart is forming the notes and not my well thought out mouth.  I'm not worried at my inability to sing well... I'm just elated that now I can sing.

Ah, you refresh me!  You reclaim my soul from Hell.  You chase away my Enemy and I am safe.

You heard; You came; You loved... You conquered all."

 

 

 

The Third Great Awakening...

Billy Graham just released an open letter to America expressing his heartache over our moral decline.  In it he says this:

Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of ... Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).

I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.

Dr. Graham goes on to say,

Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.

My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.

I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation.

 The saddest aspect of this letter is found in his statement, "The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance." You may wonder how can this be the saddest portion of the letter?  Doesn't it seem that this is the portion of our greatest hope?

It is so terribly sad to me because the American people WILL NOT repent, and God has seen this.  We are so wealthy and unconcerned that, like Sodom and Gomorrah, we won't repent either and God will have to act justly against us bringing us to a  place of nothingness.  It will be His greatest act of mercy in actuality because left in our present state there can be no salvation without repentance.  He will cause us to see Him and to turn from our wickedness and this will be our ultimate salvation.

Joel C. Rosenberg's book "Implosion" documents the declining morality of America.  Our society is riddled daily with scandal after scandal, and violence after violence.  They keep coming in greater and greater proportions; one larger and more sickly grandiose than the scandal previous.  Most of our practiced and accepted immorality is no longer on our radar as being reprehensible.  It has become the accepted. It has, sadly, become the American way.

The fact that America won't repent, however doesn't mean that you can't.  It is entirely possible and needed that you and I repent, walk holy and upright before our Lord despite the status quo of our nation.  In every judgment that God has been forced to extend, He has always reserved for Himself a people who are carrying on His way and purpose and who have His heart.

In the instance of Noah, he preserved all who would heed His call to repentance as Noah built the ark of salvation from the impending judgment.  This resulted in only Noah's family being rescued while the world mocked him.  When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for the reasons listed above, he rescued Lot's family only from the flames, despite the promise that if Abraham could find just 10 righteous men the cities would be preserved.  In Jeremiah's day, he promised to rebuild Israel after 70 years of captivity in Babylon all the while Jeremiah contended with lying prophets who said, "this judgment can't happen to us."  The same will be for us.  Neither will we change our lifestyles to repent and turn to the Lord.  We are secure in our comforts, sinfulness and unconcern.

Even though America will be judged severely to bring us to a place where we'll return to God, He will preserve His people.  Our hearts need to be inclined to Him now.  Our spirits must be prepared for that which is to come, whenever it is to come and however it is to come.  We can't quite know the when and where, but the Lord's Spirit is speaking and stressing to those that will hear Him that judgment is inevitable and will come.  Call out on the Lord and we will be saved!

The Third Great Awakening that both Billy Graham and Joel Rosenberg are calling for will happen, but sadly, it seems, it won't come until after we've been humbled.  If we'll now humble ourselves, and judge ourselves, He won't have to do it when He pours out His justice on the rest of a rebellious, godless nation. We can be the preserved people, if we'll turn to Him now and repent of our ways and call on His Name, Jesus.

Don't be ashamed of the gospel and let's preach it wherever there is an ear to hear.  To God be all glory. May He help us all now and in the times to come.

CNBC Artilce "How Close Are We to a New Great Depression?"

I'm posting this news article just as it appears on the CNBC website.  It's a very important read to instill and reaffirm in our minds that the coming economic collapse isn't just doomsday rhetoric being spouted by zealous religious "eschamaniacs" (phrase coined for those obsessed with end time prophesies, who get out of hand with their predictions and guessing on what things mean).

Real economist really believe, not only that economic collapse is probable in the next few years, but the collapse is inevitable.  The goal is not to be an alarmist claiming the "sky is falling" when in fact it is not, but to help us be aware and to spiritually prepare for when it does happen.  God is calling us to be a strong, stable church, grounded in Him and depending on Him for times of crisis that are coming upon us in this nation. Be spiritually ready.  Rely on Christ always and above all.  -Jeremy Hitt

The risk of a new depression — a sustained, severe recession — has struck fear into the heart of markets and driven monetary policy in developed economies since the current financial crisis began.

“We’re in a very unfortunate position to be here,” Richard Duncan, author of The New Depression, warned on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Monday.

“When we broke the link between money and gold, this removed all constraints on credit creation. This explosion of credit created the world we live in, but it now seems that credit cannot expand any further because the private sector is incapable of repaying the debt it has already, and if credit begins to contract, there’s a very real danger that we will collapse into a new Great Depression,” he argued.

“If this credit bubble pops, the depression could be so severe that I don’t think our civilization could survive it.”

The explosion in cheap credit has been widely blamed for the global financial crisis, but the debate about how to fix the problem continues.

In the past few years, central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve , the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have pumped liquidity into their financial systems through a number of ways, including quantitative easing and the ECB’s long-term refinancing operation (LTRO).

“We could keep deferring the depression, but that could just encourage the bad guys. If you do this, you possibly do more harm than good,” Roger Nightingale, economist and strategist at RND Associates, told CNBC Monday.

“You can defer, but not prevent.”

Nightingale argued that previous credit booms, for example in Japan in the 1980s, have led to sustained recessions.

RELATED LINKS

• Is a Europe-Only Recession in the Cards?
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• A Global Recession? The Warning Signs Are Everywhere

“When you throw money into the system at a rate much in excess of the requirements of the real economy, you’re trying to get people to borrow and spend, but the good guys out there won’t because they’re too cautious. It’s the bad guys who come in, the malefactors,” he said.

“When the central banks realize what is going on and raise interest rates, it flings the world economy into depression.”

The ideas of Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who argued that monetary policy should constantly expand, informed some of the Fed’s response to the crisis.

“Policymakers really believe that if we allow credit to contract, we will reach a new Depression,” Duncan said.

“The increase in government debt is making total debt grow, otherwise we would already have collapsed in to a debt-deflation death spiral. This creates great perils, but also tremendous opportunities.”

Duncan argues that governments in the developed world should borrow “massive” amounts of money at the current low interest rates to invest in new technologies like renewable energy and genetic engineering.

“Even if this is wasted, at least we could enjoy this civilization for another ten years before it collapses,” he said.

His views counter those of economists who believe that governments should focus on cutting their debt, particularly where repayments on that debt are threatening to reach unsustainable levels, like in Greece.

© 2012 CNBC.com

David Wilkerson

I learned yesterday evening, as did most, that Pastor David Wilkerson of Times Square Church in New York City was killed in a car accident. 

I very much respected this man as a minister who cared deeply about God's holiness being admonished and upheld in Christian living.  He preached of grace and mercy and great salvation and was a Watchman on the walls of this nation.  He was unafraid to call us out in our sins against God as a nation, but he was just as equally quick and unafraid to point us to our salvation and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

His family and church is grieving their loss today, but I'm sure - as their testimony would have it - that "[they] are comforted by knowing that Pastor David has been enjoying the full presence of the Lord for more than a day now."

Concerning dying... D.L. Moody said it this way, "Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I was born of the flesh in 1837, I was born of the spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit shall live forever."

Coming Calamity...

I've gotten several comments from a reader of my blog (I didn't know I had any of those!) who was asking some questions about the posts I made about some dreams that I had a couple of years ago about coming calamity to our nation.  Since those few posts, and David Wilkerson's "Urgent Warning", with exception of the looming recession, it seems we've been business as usual in America.  Nothing so far has happened.  No calamity.  No collapse.  No decimated city.  And no further dreams or words of wisdom or knowledge or messages from God have come concerning this. Things have been quiet.

I'm no "wrath monger" so to me this is a good thing, especially to my human sensibilities because who in their right mind wants to see wrath from God?  If there are any out there, then we have no clear understanding or fear of the terrible God that exists.  Wrath isn't nice.  Wrath from such a cosmic deity as God would be the most unthinkable, terrible thing that could ever happen to a people group in any time in our human existence.  Francis Chan wrote in "Crazy Love" (and I'll paraphrase), that if our mind is the size of a soda can and God is countless vast oceans, then how do we think we can understand Him by what little water we can scoop into our can?

The silence makes me even question what I saw "in the light".  Did I really dream something from God or am I taking it that way?  Was God really speaking to me, or did I just assume those were spiritual dreams?  One wise person said, "It's easy to doubt in the dark what you saw in the light."  Which is so true.  I had no doubts what I saw at the time, but time and distance from the dreams makes it harder to hold onto especially when those dreams and sensings aren't fresh and have grown stale with age.

So what do we do???

I'm glad you asked...

First, we recognize that the problem of our distance from God is real.  We must see the ways in which we hold more tightly to this temporary world than we do His eternal kingdom. This causes us not to regard Him so highly in all aspects of our lives.

Once we recognize this, then we should pray and turn away from our clutches of this world by letting go of the things we hold more closely to our hearts than Him.  We should ask Him to help us through out our inhibitions that keep us from proclaiming Christ Jesus to our neighbors out of fear for what they may think of us.  We must learn to love those who are in love with this world and see every one as the one Jesus died for.

Second, we should prepare our hearts for whatever God's will may be.  When we try to figure out the details of such things, especially where details weren't given in prophecies, dreams, etc., we run the risk of missing God's plan because it doesn't match our imaginings or our own plan and how we see things.  Remember, He is the author of such things and if we desire to know what the author means then we should ask Him and not guess.  If He is silent, then we shouldn't make things up according to our own understandings.  Look, we don't have to be in control of every situation.  He apparently doesn't want us knowing everything so we will trust in Him instead of our own devising of how to get ourselves out of the mess we're in.  We are only capable, apart from Him, of messing things up not making them better.

And, lastly, we shouldn't despise prophetic utterances.  I have a tendency to do this even though it seems that I've written things under God's anointing that would be labeled as such.  The scriptures teach us to not despise prophecy but try everything according to the Spirit.  I'm on no ego trip, so if I've missed it then I'll be the first to admit my error and ask God to forgive me and receive my stoning under His grace.  My intentions were to report His word not to manufacture His word.  This isn't a confession that I have missed it.  Jeremiah preached for 39 years before God performed what Jeremiah was speaking for Him.  Our trust is in the Lord, and to quote Jim Elliot, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot not keep to gain what he can never lose."  When our life is given to Him completely, it's then our life has never been more sure.

I'm resigned to wait upon the Lord, teach my family to honor God in Christ with all of our hearts and live to bring Him glory upon this Earth.  Great is His faithfulness forever.

Correction to Blog Post, "Heed Wilkerson's Warning"...

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I blew it – but the warning still holds

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Posted: March 17, 2009
1:00 am Eastern
© 2010 
I blew it. I was wrong, and I'm sorry.
Despite the fact that multiple people told me they read about Times Square Church members making sandwiches prior to Sept. 11, 2001, in the Times Square Newsletter – and the fact that when a staff member of mine called the church he got someone who answered the phone who confirmed it, saying they knew "exactly" what we were talking about, that information was wrong.
There were sandwiches. There were lots of them. But they were not made prior to Sept. 11, according to the officials at Times Square Church I talked with Thursday (who were unavailable at my deadline last week). WND has already added an editor's correction to my column, but, while the sequence of the sandwiches was incorrect, the rest of the story was confirmed to be true.
I'm very sorry for the misinformation about the timing of the event. This is what their official spokesperson told a Faith2Action staff member when he called:

Beginning in July 2001, during one of the services, a strong presence of God came in and there were times of silence before the Lord ... times when the entire congregation was silent before the Lord. … They canceled the church's schedule of activities, and kept the regular services/sermons ... but it all changed into what they described as a heavy burden. They didn't know what was going to happen, but they knew NYC was in trouble, and that they needed to pray, and that's what they did.
The day the planes hit the towers, they knew that was what they were sensing, and they were quickly able to mobilize to help people. They grabbed supplies and vans and headed for the site. They made it past all of the check points, right to Ground Zero, where only the military and official emergency personnel were allowed to go. They were able to share the Gospel with many at the site including victims and rescue workers.

While many were still in shock, Times Square Church, because they were prepared, helped to coordinate those who wanted to help from around the world. According to the Oct. 29, 2001, Times Square Church Pulpit Series newsletter (World Challenge, Inc insert), Times Square Church Pastor Carter Conlon presented a check for $350,000 to the New York firefighters, and another check for $350,000 was given to the local police for the widows and children of 9/11.

I wish I could say that because I was wrong on the sandwiches detail the rest of Pastor David Wilkerson's warning was also invalid, but I don't believe that is the case. Please read below and come to your own conclusions.
I've attached the blog where Pastor Wilkerson's original warning of "an earth-shattering calamity … about to happen" was posted. Several other postings have been made since the March 7 warning I wrote about.
At the end of this column, I've included four links to sermons from Dr. Wilkerson, which I believe apply to where we are right now. This excerpt is from his Sept. 16, 2001, message entitled, "The Towers Have Fallen, but We Missed the Message":

I've sent you prophets and watchmen. You've been warned over and again. I prospered you above all nations. I endured your worship of gold and silver. I endured your shameless sensuality. I endured your mockery, your continuous shedding of innocent blood and murdering of babies. I've endured your timeless efforts to eradicate my name, even from your history books. Now I've stricken in hopes of saving you, that you would repent and turn from your wicked ways so that I could heal your land, and I will destroy your enemies.
Now folks, show me where that's not scriptural. Prove to me from God's word that He will not judge America as He's judged Sodom, Rome, Greece and now Russia.
I just returned from Russia a few months ago and walking through St. Petersburg and Moscow. I was shocked at the total depression. The average wage is $50 a month. Nothing but broken down infrastructures. Everywhere men are lying on the streets drunk on cheap vodka. Drug addicts everywhere now. Such devastation.
I broke down in front of the ministers and wept and wailed.
We met at a hockey arena in Moscow because they tried to rule God out of their society. They went down the same road we're going down and God said, "That's enough." Russia is under severe judgment. He's turned it into a Third World nation.
Here's the message from the prophet Ezekiel.
"Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed. Make you a new heart, a new spirit, for why would you die, O house of Israel? I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, says the Lord God. Wherefore turn yourselves and live."

I'm with you – I don't want a calamity to come. I don't want judgment to fall during my lifetime. I hate reading this stuff. But it's now coming from so many sources, so many watchmen on the wall, that we can no longer ignore it.
The only way I know to avoid it is to get on our knees and repent. To follow the checklist God gave us in 2 Chronicles 7:14: 1) humble, 2) pray, 3) seek God's face, and 4) turn from our wicked ways. If we don't follow that very clear warning directly from God Himself, I'm afraid that the calamity Wilkerson spoke of will, in fact, approach us quickly – regardless of when any sandwiches were made.

The Manhattan Declaration...

A few weeks ago I blogged about the Manhattan Declaration. Today I signed it.

Certain documents have their way of immortalizing a moment in history. The Nicenes had their creed; Luther had his 95 thesis and the United States has its Declaration of Independence.

Twenty-first century Christians now have the Manhattan Declaration.

This declaration is a statement of Christian conscience; it is a line drawn in the sand that declares Christian unity on three subjects that are marks of rebellion against God in this society. It is a statement that we will stand up to any governmental law, and will pay any price to not concede to the slide of this post-Christian culture. These three topics are:

1. The Sanctity of Human Life...
2. The dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife...
3. The rights of conscience and religious liberty...

This declaration is an effort of Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians and their leaders who have crossed the chasm of difference of opinion and practice to make an unified statement of belief and righteousness.

Go to the Manhattan Declaration website and read the declaration. If you agree with this declaration, then sign it and make the statement not only with electronic pen but with heart and life to never compromise this great faith for this lost society, all to the glorifying of God in our mortal bodies.

Ezekiel 34: 1-6 - False Pastor's Be Warned...

I wrote the following message last week and have held it until I was more certain that it could be shared. It is inspired from Ezekiel 34: 1-6 and is a warning to False-Pastors:

Destruction to you "Shepherd-Leaders" who make yourselves fat from the meat of the sheep of which you are supposed to protect! You have exploited them for too long feeding your greed and leaving them exposed as prey and vulnerable. Guess what? It's you now who I'm going to expose for the wolves you are. Guess what? It is now you who will be made vulnerable and I will be the predator that strips your skin from the bones! I will devour you with My crushing jaws and show you what it is like. You shepherds were supposed to be the protectors of my sheep, but you have become their exploiters. Not any longer! I'm putting an end to your greed. "You drink their milk, make clothes from their wool, you roast the lambs, and don't feed or protect them." Well not anymore! I am now their shepherd and will shadow over them with my protection. They will eat from grasses not trampled under your feet, but that which is lush and green and supplied by Me. I will fight off their attackers and thieves; I will care for them with My life as you should have. They will find peace and drink from cool streams. I am the Great Shepherd; no need any longer to fear little sheep, for I will gather you back into my protective fold. Sheep, my little lambs, consider yourselves rescued! My fold is safe for you unlike the folds of the murderous shepherds who think you exist for their benefit. You are My sheep. I've purchased you. These exploitative shepherds are seeing their end. I am seeing to it!

Inspired from Ezekiel 34: 1-6 (The Message)... November 13th, 2009

Ezekiel 33:33... They will realize...

I've been staved from writing for some time now. There seems to be no sense of inspiration and the last posting seemed forced. I've contemplated the articles written about the coming judgment that, for some, burn with force and passion only to grow faint and then the fire dies to only a flicker; then becomes only a small pencil-line of smoke. Then the smoke becomes blown by the winds of distraction, forcing our thoughts away from the warnings back to the mentality that brought us to where we are in the first place.

The messages are questioned as is the custom for these things. Judgment on these types of things can falter - as once was the case for me... daily questioning, "Have I heard; have I heard?" These questions have faded into statements, "I have heard; I have heard;" but for most, the questions remain.

I had some inspiration concerning the titled text, Ezekiel 33:33.

The church continues to disembowel itself, cutting from its torso the very "guts" it was formed with. Today in Birmingham, Alabama a preacher stands on the witness stand before judge and jury defending a crooked, wicked politician bought off like Judas only this time it's with 60 new suits fresh for the ministry of the saints. A church in Mobile, Alabama is suing Jefferson county and Birmingham city officials because a judge ruled this week that "charity" bingo is illegal, and this church is upset that its sugar-daddy has been done away with because it receives kick-backs from these establishments. These happen to only be two stories of the day.... One would not be hard-pressed to find further where the church has lost its compass and has bought into the world's way of doing things.

The church is in trouble; we are in trouble and turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the corruption we buy into as well. We're sold out to this planet having revoked our own citizenship to that city not built with human hands. We ignore the warnings of coming judgment because it doesn't fit our popular gospel. We are blind and naked and alone and we cannot see it because part of the package we've bought into is the self-delusions this society (the Enemy) creates in our view of ourselves. We no longer see what is right because we no longer chose to do what is right.

America was built as a bastion of hope to a persecuted people. We framed laws and built a nation based on a moral superseding law that comes from a Divine knowledge that has been shared with us so that there can be unity in diversity... from many people, one. This was based on the knowledge that our government cannot be sustained apart from the Source - God - from which life and justice flow. Now our government seeks to be the Source - god - giving us all that we want and need so as to depend upon it as the all-in-all and the church has jumped on board; Christians have jumped on board with a secular mentality that thinks "the government can take care of the poor, that's not my department."

America has rejected it's partnership with Divinity in being a bastion of hope for the nations, and a friend to sinners - it itself has become the sinner. Judgment therefore is coming and God has warned us so that we would not be caught off our guards and so that those of us who need to repent can and have ample time to do so. God takes no delight from the death of the wicked, but the other side to that coin is that God cannot allow sin to continue unchecked.

Ezekiel 33:33 says, "So when it comes to pass--as surely it will--then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst."

This text isn't so much about the vindication of the prophet than it is about the "they" who will realize that God has moved in justice and mercy. All will realize that He is God when these things come to pass... the key is to realize it and heed the warnings that have been given by His watchmen before they do come to pass. Otherwise one might find themselves the subject of the judgment.

God asks us to turn toward Him, trust in Him, lean on Him and He gives us the power needed to do so completely. He hasn't required something of us that we can not give, however it is often something we won't give... everything. The person who finds his life here loses his life there; the person that loses his life here (giving everything) finds his life there.

To quote the missionary martyr Jim Elliot, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he can never lose." Some will find this statement to be absolute truth, but only too late.

Soon these things are going to happen - and it's going to happen! Are you prepared? Are you trusting Him?

Lying Sermons... From Ezekiel 12: 17-13:8...

I've held the following message since July 20th, 2009. Yesterday while reading again in Ezekiel - the same book from where this message was inspired - I was reminded of this message and the question came to me as recorded in Ezekiel chapter 22: 1-5, "Son of man are you going to judge this bloody city or not?" After prayer, I've decided to share this despite my own personal insecurities, which was the reason that I held this in the first place.

The Enemy battles us by any means necessary and so he capitalized on my weakness of not wanting to offend or come off as one of those "weird doom-sayers". The work of His will, however, is inconsequential to our feelings or weaknesses. Where we are weak He is strong.

We as believers give up our rights to our lives and to this world. The great delusion that Satan propagates to the Church is that we are a people of rights. We have rights to nothing pertaining to ourselves and this life. We are not our own and have been bought with a price. The freedom we receive in Christ is the freedom to do His bidding here upon the Earth... we are free to serve the Master.

Lying Sermons

Shake and tremble church; eat your food nervously in fear and drink your water in terror. God declares: The judgment that I've appointed isn't for some far off day that never comes. Everything will not continue business as usual. Time is almost up and every warning that I have spoken through my servants is about to come true! "False alarms and easy going preaching is about to be a thing of the past for my church!" You lying preachers proclaim that everyone will be alright as long as they cling to their religion and to your system. Well, their religion is false. Your system is false. Everything won't be alright! I am shaking every pretense from your religion that says you can continue to host your weekly services and your assemblies acting 'Holy' all because you showed up and graced a service with your presence. Then you sit there without caring for the truth or the poor and lost. You are only there for a show or a benefit for yourselves. All you really care about is yourselves. Well, soon you will be the show. Soon all that I've warned of will happen and your flimsy self-religion will fall like paper walls and be scattered in the storms of my judgment. You soon will see that I am God! No more doing whatever it is that you want that is inconsistent of my character then pretending to be Holy on Sunday. I will expose everything that is hidden. The sins you commit behind locked doors, well, I will kick open those doors and I'm starting first with the church - my people. You fair weather preachers, so shy from offending, I'm going to offend you first. It's because of you my people are not warned. You've learned to craft sermons with skill, but know nothing of being in my presence or bringing a word and message from me. You call it that, but it's nothing more than a lying sermon sent from your shallow understanding of the way you think my word works. There are no formulas or witch-craft potions that you conjure up to invoke my favor or blessing. I am the Lord God! It's my business to be me and remain in my nature to bless and heal. I bless those according to my favor and loving kindness. I do not jump for you like the dog you treat me like - not needing me until you need me. You lying preachers who preach smooth sayings inoculate my people from the terror and judgment that is coming, you haven't lifted a finger to repair and prepare my people for what is about to happen. You will be among the ruins of a system that has failed you. The people will demand from you answers for why weren't warned and why you said everything will be okay and now it is not. Your lying sermons that once you thought held your kingdoms together is now the very thing that tears it apart. You will soon realize that I alone am God! My judgment is soon and I would warn you to repent but you won't. You don't even realize this message is for you, but you soon will. All that I have spoken I will do. I will open your eyes to who I Am. I'm through with your lying sermons that are nothing more than clever marketing for a crowd not interested in right living.

Inspired when reading Ezekiel 12: 17-13:8... .

"All That I Have Said I Will Do..."

On June 9th, I received a message from God through the scriptures, Isaiah 32: 9-20. I've held this for a while and felt compelled to release it today. I had for a time, lost the message within the message... I focused on the wrong part trying to figure it out a certain aspect - timing - that was distracting from what God wished to say.

The same day that I received this message from the Lord, I received an email outlining another specific prophecy given 4 days or so prior to what I received. It has never failed that when God has impressed something upon me, that another confirming message follows. It was a message from a pastor named Darren Smith. I don't know Darren, but several things in the message confirmed to me that this was from the Lord as well. It was to me a confirming sign that the below message is from the Lord too.

I'm young in this and struggle in whether or not something is from the Lord or if it's just my fancying... So, God graciously obliges my struggle with a gentle urging that He has spoken and I should share.

I questioned the nature of the message God had revealed to me because of a specific phrase, "In just over a year from now, you'll be shaken out of your lazy lives" (Isaiah 32:10 The Message). At first it seemed that a specific timing was being given as to when the judgment would take place, so this caused caution in me. I had a trusted spiritual leader examine and give insight to the prophecy, or message, and learned that this doesn't necessarily mean a literal year, although it still could, be could most likely be a metaphor for "in a very short time." For instance, an "hour" in the Bible often means a time or span of time and not necessarily a literal hour. Keep this in mind when reading the message, and don't get so caught up with the timing issue as I did and miss the message(s). It is not the message. One of the most important messages comes in the most subtle of phrases, "All that I have said, I will do."

Here is the message as I received it on June 9th, 2009:

"Doom to you, oh nation for your end has come. Weeping and wailing will be your produce, for I move against you to humble you before myself. You have not returned to me though I have called you. I've waited patiently for your return that will not come until I strike you down. It is you who have forced My hand against yourselves. Oh, how I would have loved to be your God and for you to be My people, but you wouldn't have it. No, you preferred to chase your own gods, those you created from your own works. You wouldn't listen to me though I warned you and warned you. You openly mock those I've sent with the message rather choosing to gather unto yourselves false teachers who speak smooth sayings - these I have NOT sent! They have built for themselves empires on the hopes of the poor and those who are heavy burdened. They have not shown My little ones My love and good news. Now they have called on themselves destruction. I will make an ash heap out of their so-called hallowed halls. Their empires will dirty the feet of my tramplings, as I alone am the champion of the weak whom these false teachers have preyed upon. This will be the lot of all those who seek their way. I will stand over them and mock their efforts with my knee firmly thrust into their throats. The weight of my glory will silence their sinful mouths and the poor will laugh at their folly. I will have no super stars represent me, they only represent themselves. I am now their enemy.

In just a little over a year from now, they'll all be shaken out of their lazy lives. All that I have said I will do. My wrath is kindled against this nation and it will burn in fury. In calamity and chaos I will strike you and the world will see your fall. They will laugh at the embarrassment that you've become, oh Great Nation. Who is so decadent now? You will fill your glasses with tears and drink their sorrows. I have warned you but you made Me your joke; I am nothing more than a punchline to you as well as my people whom you mock. You think you are so wise with your opinions and acts of fake kindness, but I see your hearts. The good things that you do are for your own benefit. You only care for your appearance, but I am going to mar your appearance. You will be un-recognizable as a man. My fists will break your face and your wealth will disappear in an hour. It is I who has picked this fight with you now and you will be destroyed.

The righteous need not worry. For I am your sustainer. This is not a lesson they need to learn, for the righteous know in whom they have believed. Take courage for I am your champion. I will defend you. My judgment is reserved not for you, oh righteous, but for the wicked. Keep trusting me. I will not fail you, nor have I ever failed you. My records are sure, look to them for I will sustain the righteous as I always have. I am coming quickly... do not despair little ones.

The Lord's message as received from Isaiah 32.

Salvation In Judgment... Salvation is for Today!

One of God's revealed plans in the coming judgment - other than what is obvious... judgment - is Salvation. God has revealed time and again that He is the One sustaining and upholding the righteous.

David Wilkerson has preached recently that the "Righteous Will Never Be Ashamed". Pastor Roger Daniel has preached a message given to him by God called entitled, "Remember Goshen." Some months ago I blogged a message from God entitled "Reassure the Righteous". And, yet another sermon preached, again, by David Wilkerson "A Song Will Arise". The messages all express God's message that the righteous will be saved in judgment, and that only in the "deep places of God" will we find this salvation.

We know from God, as well, that everything that can be shaken will be shaken shortly. But, in the midst of all the terrible messages of judgment, wrath, chaos, calamity, terror, shaking and collapse one message remains - a central message as an end to all messages of judgment - that God is moving in Salvation! We that are hearing God's warning messages are looking to the day when a great out pouring of His Spirit is to occur. We see Salvation coming after the pronounced judgment, which is true. However, in reading Isaiah 46:12-13 (The Message) see what the Lord is saying to us as well:

"Now listen to me: You're a hardheaded bunch and hard to help. I'm ready to help you RIGHT NOW. Deliverance is not a long-range plan. Salvation isn't on hold. I'm putting salvation to work in Zion NOW, and glory in Israel."

Did you see it? I hope so... I put in bold face type and capitalization! Salvation from God is now!!! Not tomorrow... not after judgment. Today is the day of the Lord; today is the day of Salvation. And, in the day that we find ourselves - the world, the wicked - in the throws of God's terrible wrath, that day will also be the day of Salvation!

So, saints - righteous ones - today is the day! Salvation is now! Don't look forward in terrible dread; know that God has carried you as a baby, He has carried you as a child and as His word declares in Isaiah, "[He] will carry you when you are old and gray headed (46:3-4)." Terrible days may be ahead, but Salvation is now and to come, just as it has always been.

Lift up your heads, Saints! For the God of Salvation is with us... today!

No Prayer in the White House

Thursday May 7th marks the annual National Day of Prayer. According to a White House statement, president Barack Obama will not host a prayer event as has been the tradition of W. for the past eight years. Presidents H.W. Bush as well as Reagan also held events to commemorate the National Day of prayer, but not this administration. They will mark the day but not observe it.

Here's the thing... President Obama isn't the first president to ever campaign as a Christian and then run an administration that reflects everything but Christian moral values. The Cross has become a campaign vehicle that politicians ride because it provides a key component to electability... Christian votes. Even if in decline, Christianity is still the predominate faith group in America. So, if one lusts for the power of the highest office in the land it must be through the channels of the church. Although, this too is decreasing because the definition of "Christian" has become muddled. Anyone who shows up to Mass on Easter or darkens the door of a church for the annual Christmas cantata claim Christianity today. Therefore, it has become ever so increasingly easy to campaign without flying a flag of Christianity over ones campaign because Christians have lost their identity.

Soon America is going to be devastated by total economic collapse and a terrorist attack, or multiple attacks. When the country is standing in the smoke and ruins of secular failure to whom will they turn? Will the administration then seek God? They will seek Him yet not be able to find Him.

One day this administration will seek a National Day of prayer borne from ruined and failed ideology, as will all of America's politicians who have repeatedly forgotten our Maker and pressed their Mammon driven doctrines. A sad day is coming... Prophets ready your pens when you will write dirges for the passing of such a nation and people as this.

God's Warning Over Easy... Sunny Side Up...

It's becoming ever so apparent that the church wants God to speak to us. We want to hear His voice... we just want Him to say what we want. We want a puppet god on strings.

We want to hear the voice of the Lord as long as He is telling us what we want to hear. As long as He is making us prosper, as long as our material things are protected and He promises to keep us just as we are, then, yes! of course we want to hear from Him.

Who wouldn't, right?

The problem that arises is when God speaks to the church and it's a message we wish not to hear. When God speaks through pastors and prophets words that are NOT smooth or sweet, then we turn deaf ears.

We want a god with a message that fits perfectly into the play lists of our iPods - something we can pull up and listen to while we work out. We want a message that pumps us up and doesn't make us want to flee from sin. We want His message, we just want it "over easy, sunny side up..." - just the way we like it.

God's Spirit is moving and warning the church that judgment is about to take place. At our church this past Sunday, God spoke a terrible message to the congregation that dealt with our inability to really hear His message. We hear it, but we don't really believe it.

God is speaking and He is warning those that will listen - and those who will not - that He is about to move in calamity over this nation. We are going to see a disruption to our way of life... no, we are going to see the end of our way of life and see it very nearly. But, we would rather rush on about through our day as though the storms are not really approaching. What we want is for God to say, "Ah, forget it... I'm too apathetic to really do what I intended to do. You guys can keep living it up in your sinful self-worship services on Sunday. Ah, forget it... the rich can keep profiting from the poor. I'll turn a blind eye to your wickedness." That's what we really want, right? Well, that's not what we say out loud, but that's what we really want.

Where is our hunger for justice and righteousness? We don't have a hunger for these things! We crave the gods of this world. We are starving for the gods of this world to visit us in further prosperity and peace, so that we can forget our Creator.

God has posted the warning signs. Can the church read? Can we heed the warnings from our loving God? Really only time will tell.

"And, yes, I'll have God's warning over easy, sunny side up. Oh, and can you bring milk with that?"

Reassure the Righteous...

God-of-the-Angel-Armies says,

"Reassure the righteous that their good living will pay off. But doom to the wicked! Disaster! Everything they did will be done to them." Isaiah 3:10-11

This, again, is from The Message version of the Bible - Eugene Peterson.

When reading Isaiah from the beginning this scripture seems out of place to me. For 64 verses God declares that He has had it with the nation of Israel. He rails against them for their lawlessness, their immorality, their pagan worship of tree groves and - for a long rant - against their egos. Isaiah, I'm finding, is an uncanny parallel between Israel that God judged severely and America that God's hand of judgment is moving against even now.

The accusations hurled at unfaithful Israel, even seem pale in comparison to what is happening in America. God even accuses them of leaving justice after having been a nation once known for being fair to all people. Sound familiar? Once we were a nation... that loved the True God.

Then, however, there is this oddly placed verse (Isaiah 3:10). In the middle of God's rant against the nation of Israel, He stops in a breath and says, "Reassure the righteous...".

Isn't God amazing? Further in Isaiah the Watchmen see a person walking in crimson stained robes. The depiction is as one having finished treading grapes for wine and the clothes they are wearing are stained by squished grapes. The Watchmen ask, "Who goes there?" And, the Lord reveals that it is He. When they ask why His robes are stained as such Eugene Peterson answers from the biblical account like this,

"...I trampled the people. Their blood spurted all over me - all my clothes were soaked with blood." Isaiah 63:3-6

We see a God of wrath... a God fed up... a God on fire! Yet He takes the time to instruct Isaiah to comfort and reassure the righteous that their good living will pay off.

God's vengeance is soon coming. His wrath has been held in and it's about to erupt forth spewing fire all across our nation. Yet, in His wrath, God wants His children to know that it is He who protects them. Be assured YOU RIGHTEOUS God is in control. God gets no delight in judgment and has been patient, but enough is enough. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies will strike in furious vengeance and He will not allow His message to be missed by those being judged. He will also not allow the message of reassurance be missed either. His wrath is not in conflict with His love. He maintains both in harmony.

The sad thing is that those being judged could have been preserved. We could have not had to suffer the terrible fury of our Lord. Repentance and turning to God is still an option if the call will not fall on def ears. But, righteous be reassured, His hand will preserve you.

Beyond the Stuff...

Stuff consumes our attention so severely that the thought of losing our stuff simply terrifies humanity.

What is stuff, though? Houses? Cars? Clothes? Boats? These things are really an extension of an image we want to uphold. We really want others to see our material things and think, "Man, that guy is successful!" Or, "Wow, they really have it together!" We place tremendous value on peoples' perception of who they think we are that we work slave and worship at the feet of the god Mammon. We forget completely the One true God that created the universe by breath. A little more impressive than a house...

There is a prayer that consumes my journal. Actually, there are two. I find myself often saturated in these prayers and I go to them very often. I found myself here again this morning.

First, and in no particular order of importance, is that I walk uprightly before the Lord. I'm consumed with this prayer and most of the time, looking at my life, this prayer seems to bounce off the ceiling. I prayed this morning that if God answers any of my prayers let it be this one. I asked Him to answer this prayer in such a way that a cosmic conversation happens. That God would take notice and say to those beings that worship around His throne, "Now there's one who 'gets it'! There's one who has forsaken this life even though he is surrounded by Mammon worshipers... he only bows his knee to Me." I want that conversation to take place ever before I hear Christ say, "Well done faithful servant! Enter!"

Beyond the stuff... this is all that matters. Beyond the stuff - that we are so consumed to pray to preserve - let us pray for an upright walk! We have a bit of responsibility in this prayer, however. We have to determine our walk to be such. We have to turn our worship from Mammon, repent and be God-worshipers. He gives us the power to be obedient, but we must obey.

The second prayer is for my children. I pray that they be saturated with the power of God's Spirit from today until forever when they stand bathed in His presence. This is a prayer beyond the stuff. If I'm requited to two requests to be granted in all my life, then these are it. Nothing is more important. Earning enough money to purchase Mammon's trinkets and losing time to teach my children the way of worship to God alone is the lost way... the way leading to destruction.

I don't think they allow boats on the lake of fire, do they? Then why work our life at the cost of stuff and lose that which is most dear?

The question has to be asked, "Are things (stuff) wrong?" No, of course not. But the pursuit of happiness can be when happiness is rooted in this world's system and they go from tools to sacrifices made to Mammon. We are appalled and our stomachs are turned when we read how Israel reduced itself to offering their own infant children in the fires to the god Moleck. But, we perhaps burn our children to Mammon every day in our pursuit of this life and it's stuff. We become too busy teaching them the importance of travel ball, vacations and the good life and do not instill in them the proper importance of worshiping in community where we are united by God's Spirit. We burn our children to Mammon, so go easy on the Israelites of pre-Babylon. We are the "Christians" of pre-judged America.

Find life beyond the stuff...

"If it's hard for a rich person to enter Heaven, then why do we work so hard to be rich?" - Todd Agnew

Bittersweet Symphony... The Inevitability of Judgment

I was praying this morning and I asked God this question, "Is Your coming judgment inevitable?"

As of late our church has entered a season of prayer for the coming judgment that God is outlining for America. I've written about this in the last few weeks of what God has been revealing. It doesn't seem to be a pretty picture at all in the onset. The messages are saturate with judgment and calamity. There are dreams of decimated cities and fire and chaos. Rioting because of our selfish society is coming and a full out economic collapse is on our horizon. So, our prayers are the prayers of Habakkuk, "Remember mercy in judgment."

My prayers have been turned to pray for mercy more than anything. And in praying for mercy my heart went naturally to this question, "Is Your judgment inevitable?" God has answered my prayer. His answer is "Yes." His judgment is inevitable. It is coming and it will happen just as He has revealed. His answer came with an explanation, which is something we don't always get. Does God need to explain Himself? Certainly not. But, in this He wants to. He wants to explain why this judgment is upon us. Have you ever jerked a child up and punished them without explaining to them why they are being punished? If you have, the punishment was wasted. The punishment serves the purpose of teaching and often it is a result of lessons we chose not to learn. We force the corrective hand out of continually "not listening" to the teaching.

The coming judgment of God is bittersweet.

It is sweet because God is the One doing the judging. If ever I'm to be judged let it be by an all knowing judge who can rightly discern the evidence against me. Let it be a judge also who loves me and won't sacrifice mercy for emotion, but One who is able to judge perfectly. Most likely the only fair trial anyone will ever receive.

It is sweet because humility and holiness is His desired outcome for us. If this is His desire for us, and we become more intimate with Him and we are corrected to His path and are "right-ed" then what can be more sweet than being so close to such a Deity? The outcome is then sweet. There is nothing more desirable in this world's existence than to walk closely with Him and to be a friend of our cosmic Creator.

However, the judgment is also bitter. It is bitter because God takes no delight in judging sinners. We are forcing God's hand into something that is not delightful to Him. This judgment would be avoidable if we just repent and turn from the ways of this wicked world. He would spare us the judgment if we would repent. Think of Nineveh. The judgment is inevitable because America will not repent. We are too comfortable in the warm bed of Mammon. We won't leave this god's bed of pleasure.

I remember in 1990 as a small boy at an international church meeting of our denomination that there was of course a squabble going on in the church that had the church divided down the middle. The Holy Spirit issued a strong ardent warning to repent and turn to Him. The warning was so final and severe that it shut the meeting of 10,000 up completely and there was silence all across the place. The sense quickly became that God was referring not to "us" but to "them". God wanted "them" to repent. That was the sense on both sides of the issue. It stroked each sides righteous indignation with the other half of the argument. The attitude was "See! God wants 'them' to repent." As a much older boy, I see that God was referring to "both" sides of the argument. His attention was far from the issue at hand and was fixed upon the rebellious heart of the church at large. He had a lot more on His table of important issues that we were completely segregated from. Business as usual for us...

America will not repent and change her ways. She must be humbled by God's compulsion. He has been trying to get us to repent for decades and we've completely ignored Him. Repenting to us has always been for the "other guy", never ourselves. We are so blinded by the worship of our gods - as my pastor put it yesterday, we are so comfortable with them that they have become the new normal - that we can't see that we are the ones polishing the idol for our Sunday morning worship service.

The judgment is inevitable because our refusal to repent is unwavering. God please temper wrath with mercy since it's on its way.

Distinguished From the World...

Lately, the seemingly dire news of impending calamity - storms driven by the hand of God - have been voiced with great emphasis in the last week. I started posting last week what God began dealing with me about two years ago, then two days after my first post David Wilkerson felt compelled to send out an urgent message of coming calamity - something he has been voicing for decades now.

Our church has resigned to prayer every Sunday evening with surprisingly large numbers in attendance for our Sunday evening - now prayer - services. This says that people are heeding the warnings given by God's Spirit. Our pastor has been speaking at length on the warnings that have been received by him from the Spirit as well and encouraging the congregation to repent, turn to God and pray. This is the spiritual preparation that must be made now.

Last night in my reading a verse of scripture leaped out at me having the signature of the Spirit on them:

Exodus 11: 6-7
6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath not been, nor shall be any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that Jehovah doth make a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel.

Two things I noticed in the text immediately:

1. "A great cry... " (bolded above) such as there hasn't been in Egypt ever before.
2. Jehovah makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel.
   

This seemed to parallel what is about to take place in America in the very near future. When God pours out His wrath on our nation a cry is going to go up throughout all of America. It's going to be as such as has never before been felt in any American catastrophe. The Great Depression won't match it, Pearl Harbor won't match it and September 11th won't match it. What I've received from the Spirit is that this will be a permanent crippling of America; to state it more accurately, a complete collapse is coming. Unthinkable, right?

How can this great country ever not exist in the capacity it has always existed?

It will cease to exist because it has ceased to call on God for it's guidance and salvation. This country has resigned itself to the murder of millions of pre-born babies a year. This country has resigned itself to the "struggle" for gay rights and the redefining of God's most basic and original institutions - marriage. The rich profit from the poor. The church does the same. As the church goes, so goes the country. And, we would all - maybe all - agree that the church has, well, gone... .

But, the second thing that seemed to leap out at me was the statement, "Jehovah doth make a distinction between Egypt and Israel." In the text, God was raining judgment down upon Egypt. And, just before the tenth plague where the first born would be killed, God makes this statement to Moses. He was going to show open distinction between His people and the people of Egypt. God is going to make this distinction as well in the coming calamity.

While America is being judged, God is going to miraculously distinguish His people from the people of America being judged. What a statement of His Kingdom! What a hopeful statement for those of us who are called by His Name and have not ceased to walk in His ways. It will be those who have not bowed to worship the gods of America - namely Mammon - but who have been faithful to our Lord that He will preserve. This should send shock waves, however, through the church. The church that has made Christ the sideshow and Mammon the headlining act! God has instructed us to not tear up the tares for the wheat might be pulled up as well. He said in essence "leave the sifting to Me".

This sifting is beginning. The church must make sure individually that they know in whom they have believe and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which has been committed to Him against the day of judgment. If we truly follow Christ, then protection from the calamity is ours. God's hand of provision will be upon us. This doesn't mean we won't suffer any loss of stuff, but it does mean that the thing most valuable, given to Him, are never in danger at all. He will preserve us to be a peaceful beacon in the time of chaos and calamity. People will want to know how we are getting along when their world has fallen apart. God will save the small group of people who haven't bowed and succumbed to this society to be the pointing compass to Christ. Though calamity is on the horizon, so is revival. As Wilkerson has stated a song is going to rise out of this. A song to God most High will rise from the ashes!

Search your heart, repent and begin to pray that God tempers wrath with mercy. To God be all glory. Our hope is in Him alone.

A Pastor's Response to an Urgent Warning

The below text comes from David Wilkerson's blog

Friday, March 13, 2009
A PASTOR’S RESPONSE TO “AN URGENT WARNING”
By Gary Wilkerson

It is the task of a true prophet to warn. We have recently heard such a clear warning of perilous days just ahead of us. The prophet is like a man who comes to warn a shepherd that ravenous wolves are approaching.

It then becomes the shepherd’s task to appropriately discern the warning and to guide those in his care to a place of wisdom and security. I am not a prophet. I am a local pastor. I must ask myself what I am to do in light of hearing the warning from God. What should I say to those under my pastoral care?

First, I want my people to clearly hear the word. What is it saying and what is it not saying. Some have heard of fires and looting and their hearts are filled with fear. I am to assure my people that God is always completely in control. God is sovereign. Nothing takes place outside of his notice and counsel, and all things happen for his ultimate, highest glory. Even in the most troubling of times, our God knows exactly what he is doing.

Second, I want those I serve to know two things concerning God’s wrath. First, some leaders in the church have sadly fallen into the deception that there is no such thing as the wrath of God. Roman 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Some act in ungodly ways, others are ungodly by their suppressing the truth of God’s wrath. Some leaders reduce, ignore and even ridicule anyone who reminds them of the certainty of God’s wrath. Romans 2:5 also tells us clearly that the wrath of God is toward those whose hearts are hard and impenitent. This leads to the second element of understanding God’s wrath. It is never, ever, ever poured out on the children of God. In I John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins.” The word propitiation means “wrath quencher.” What marvelous grace, what redemption! God’s wrath at my rebellion and sin has been quenched on the Cross of Christ. Hard times come; rain falls even on the just but wrath does not.

Last, I am obligated to guide the flock given to me with loving-kindness and soberness. If a wolf or a storm is coming, I as a shepherd must know the conditions of my flock. Are any sitting on the fence? Warn them that this is no time for compromise or close affiliation with the world. Partying in the house of an Egyptian on the night of the Passover is definitely not a good idea. This is a time to stay close to the Chief Shepherd. This is also an opportunity for us to call out to those outside the gate. Jesus is the Door and has opened his heart. His cry it that all flee from wrath to come. More than shrinking behind a double-locked door or fleeing to a rural farm, this is a call from Jesus to move your life into the sheepfold.

When a prophet comes with a message of warning, often people want the prophet to give them specific advice about what to do in response. At times, God gives the prophet a word, but more often it is up to the shepherd, and even more so, up to every man of God to take the word into account for his own family. Just as a pastor has stewardship of the church, a man of God is to give an account of his own family. When one comes to warn that wolves are coming, it is not always his responsibility to tell them what to do. We can hear from God. Joseph heard God say to store up food for the season to come (Genesis 41). Moses heard God say to receive gifts from the Egyptians for their journey (Exodus12). We as well can hear from God for our situation. Sheep do hear the Shepherd’s voice.

Jesus—in this hour, in this storm—will not only guide his people and comfort his flock but will also give them boldness, confidence and a heart to serve those troubled by the afflictions. A prophet once came to Paul and prophesied that if he went to Jerusalem he would be bound and put in prison. The prophet was faithful to give his word; it was up to Paul to hear from God how to deal with that warning. Paul, after hearing the prophecy, still decided to go to Jerusalem—willing to risk his life for the gospel (Acts 21). Some will hear and stay in a place of safety; others will hear and go to a place to serve. Some churches are positioned in cities that will need their spiritual strength and compassion. Perhaps the wisdom of Paul in Ephesians 5:15-18 speaks most to what we need, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

News Post... "Heed Wilkerson's Warning"

Heed Wilkerson's warning
The author is a commentator for WorldNetDaily.com
Posted: March 10, 2009
3:02 pm Eastern © 2009

When I was a kid, I read about David Wilkerson who took to Gospel to the gangs of New York. I even saw the movie "The Cross and the Switchblade" that was made about him. Many know about that, but most don't know what happened in his church just eight years ago.

In the fall of 2001, Pastor David Wilkerson, of Times Square Church in New York City, was warned by God that a calamity was coming. For six weeks they felt an intense burden and enormous heaviness. A critical need for intercession was so profound that Pastor Wilkerson canceled everything on the church calendar – mission's conferences, youth events and every guest speaker.

For six weeks, there wasn't a sermon. Instead, there was intercession for our nation with weeping and repentance. They knew something was coming and that something was bad. And that something was soon. So they prayed. And prayed … and prayed.

[This portion of the original post has been removed due to errors in the reporting from World Net Daily.com. See correction article here from the commentator.]

By morning they had about 2,000 sandwiches. At 8:46 a.m. the first plane hit the World Trade Center and Times Square Church was ready to feed and minister to rescue workers and victims of our nation's worst attack.
See full article here.