Posts Tagged ‘Nancy Pelosi’
God Gets a Lap Dance on Saturday Night Live — Where are the Tears?
Political agendas instead of brokenness over souls have overtaken the American church.
“People are freaking out about your new video, where you ride down a stripper pole to Hell then twerk on the devil. Why are they upset?” (an actor portraying Brittany) Spears asks.
“Would you be able to give a lap dance to God, just to even things out?” Spears asks, before welcoming on a man with long white hair and tan robes. (An actor portraying) Lil Nas X leaps up and begins twerking in front of him for several seconds to the cheers of the audience.
This ET.com story has also been reported by most of the major news sources, and Christians are enraged.
“God” gets a lap dance on the eve of the most holy day of the year, Easter Sunday. Resurrection Day. The day when Jesus destroyed the shackles of sin and death, just three days after the most loving act in the history of mankind. Brutal torture and slaughter were what the mob wanted for the man who famously said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
THE RAGE OF CHRISTIANS
This article isn't really about yet another heinous Saturday Night Live skit, this one about new shoes introduced by Lil Nas X that are literally anointed with a drop of human blood. It's not about the blasphemy of SNL or Lil Nas X. Christian friends, it's about you and me.
Hatred, division, rage, finger pointing and shaming have been the calling cards for many Christians over the past year. Whether it's blood boiling over due to a supposed stolen election or unbridled agitation resulting from masks, lockdowns, vaccines and, as some would argue, violations of Constitutional rights, followers of Jesus are up in arms.
Sure, watching defiling wickedness overtake our nation should provoke a strong response from us. The last thing we need is comatose, apathetic Christians who presume lukewarm passivity to be equal to love and kindness. I agree that we need men and women of God to speak boldly on political and cultural issues that are destroying our nation. To remain silent from behind the pulpit on the far-left agendas that are killing America is enough to disqualify anyone from ministry. We need holy, anointed freedom fighters to emerge. However, it's critical to understand just what freedom we are fighting for. Yes, there's a battle for our nation, but too many have lost focus by identifying as American patriots ahead of Kingdom ambassadors. This war is a spiritual war.
If pastors would have vigilantly prepared the church for the end times, Christians would not have panicked when a virus emerged, churches were shuttered, persecution arrived, the election didn't go the way they wanted and government tyranny deprived them of the life they were used to.
Instead we have naturally minded, reactionary people scrambling to fight the oppression, demonize their enemies and blame all who have threatened their elusive American dream.
It's telling when American Christians presume God has promised freedom in our nation while forgetting freedom in Christ can be found in prisons, in Communist nations and anywhere other people remove natural freedoms from us.
The Bible guarantees perpetual national freedom literally nowhere from Genesis to Revelation. In fact, an argument for the opposite could more easily be made.
You might presume this famous verse about God's promise to prosper a nation would support an argument for perpetual national freedom:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)
However, you should back up one verse. National freedom won't come for seventy years:
““For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” (Jeremiah 29:10, ESV)
And these verses drive home the point:
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:12–14, ESV)
I might argue that America is closer to being sent into exile than it is stepping into promise.
Our response should be a hardcore turning to God, national repentance and a heart-wrenching cry for revival.
WHERE ARE THE TEARS?
@LilNasX
Mar 27
i spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the s**t y’all preached would happen to me because i was gay. so i hope u are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.
Lil Nas X sells out of 666 pairs of Satanic shoes, each containing a drop of human blood, and he reveals the reason for his provocative business venture: Christians.
Where are the tears? Where is the compassion? Where is the cry, “Father, forgive him, he knows not what he does?”
Where is the brokenness over lost souls and devastated hearts that have been seduced by the enemy of humankind? Do we understand both saved and lost share the same enemy? Those who don't know Christ are not our enemies, and we aren't theirs. It would be hard to believe that in today's volatile American culture however.
Instead, we are witnesses, many of us participants, in the war against any and all who oppose our “righteous” ideologies.
It's rare to find people crying out with passion for God to move on the hearts of people like Lil Nas X, President Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bill Maher, Whoopi Goldberg and others who are commonly in the sights of our holy sniper rifles.
Instead, we do in fact snipe. We pull the trigger time and again with our “righteous” banter in an attempt to out them, shame them, accuse them and bring correction to them. How our gossip could ever reap positive results is beyond me.
INTERCESSORS ARISE
When I call intercessors to arise, I'm speaking to every blood-bought Christian reading this. Intercessors aren't a special brand of Believer. We are all called to pray with fiery zeal for those who are targeted for eternal destruction by Satan.
The last year has revealed yet another angle of the ugly side of Christianity. It wrecks my heart that so few are exhibiting love for the lost. It's rare to find those who will put aside differences and truly fight the horde of hell for people God so deeply loves.
How can we expect those who have not had a genuine encounter with the Holy Spirit to ever buy into our brand of morality and values? It makes no sense, yet Christians are still enraged when people don't see things the way we do.
An intellectual or emotional affirmation of the truth of the Bible will never transform a human heart. Yes, they may engage positively at a logical or emotional level. Yes, they may try to understand our point of view. Most, however, will partially or fully reject a biblical worldview unless a supernatural, unmistakable, life-altering, soul-shocking invasion of God's glory floods into their being.
This is why I so passionately preach the need to live, walk, pray and move in the Spirit. We exist in an invisible world that only those with spiritual eyes can experience. We need the blind eyes of the lost and deceived opened to the abundant life of Jesus. Contend for this in determined prayer. Push back the enemy. Battle for souls. Love deeply. Weep for the wandering. Stand in the gap for those who mock God. Preach with anointing. Pursue a spirit of revival to overtake Hollywood, Washington, and, oh yeah, the church. Some good old fashioned repentance at an simple, holy altar, Christian, would be a good first step.
Photo Credit: “Satan (after Botticelli)” by Maxwell Hamilton is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Origionally published by The Stream.
Inches From Eternity: Tiger Woods Survives Terrifying Car Accident
Pray fiery prayers for Tiger Woods
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods is “lucky to be alive.” My heart goes out for Tiger Woods who was involved in a tragic car accident today. With the gut-wrenching death of Kobe Bryant not far behind us, news like this hits the raw, exposed nerves of our rattled nation. Of course, as so many are communicating, we must pray for Tiger right now. Yet, I’m suggesting our intercession go far beyond a petition for his physical healing.Fight @tigerwoods like the champion you are for your kids and the world. Love and prayers
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) February 23, 2021
Prayers up for @TigerWoods — Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) February 23, 2021
Fox Sports reports, “The sports community was rattled on Tuesday shortly after news broke that golf legend Tiger Woods was involved in a serious car wreck. Woods, 45, suffered “multiple leg injuries” after being involved in a “single-vehicle roll-over” collision on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes at around 7:12 a.m. local time, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and his agent Mark Steinberg.“Praying for @TigerWoods My thoughts are with you champ!
— Sugar Ray Leonard (@SugarRayLeonard) February 23, 2021
IT’S TIME FOR AWAKENING TO COME TO OUR NATION’S CELEBRITIES AND INFLUENCERS
I’m grieved in my spirit any time I hear reports like this. Just the other day I was watching a video of a celebrity dropping an F-bomb from her hospital room, clearly shaken as she was about go undergo major surgery. After a very short recovery period, she entered eternity. She was gone. Today she is very much alive and alert in her eternal home. I’m grieved at just where that may be. I wish I could express how deeply such news impacts me. News of Tiger’s accident today should make it vividly clear that we are all mere inches and moments away from our spirit leaving our body and either entering into God’s glorious presence — or into the maddening torments of hell. I don’t know where Tiger is spiritually, but if he isn’t zealously in love with Jesus and wildly surrendered to him, it must happen immediately. Tiger, if you are reading this, I implore you to grab hold of God’s hand as he draws you into his heart. His passion for you is immeasurable. Yes, prayer for physical healing is absolutely appropriate, and as Christians we know that God has quite a track record for stunning, miraculous, divine healings. He’s been delivering the shock and awe of his healing power for thousands of years. Yet, as incredible as a physical healing is, it lasts for but a time. We need to shift our focus from the temporal to the eternal. Every one of us will be living forever somewhere. One hundred years from now we will all be alive and alert either with God or with Satan. A million years later and we will be in the very same place. It’s a message that fewer and fewer preachers are sharing today, yet it’s critical truth that can’t be denied. Either heaven or hell awaits.REVIVAL IS OUR ONLY HOPE
This is the church’s greatest hour, an opportunity to rise up in fervent intercession and supernatural faith for a massive move of God in our nation. Literally and without any exaggeration, revival is America’s only hope. It’s time that we see heart-wrenching repentance overwhelm all of us. There’s no way we can expect our nation’s celebrities to hit their knees and surrender all to Jesus if the church doesn’t push back the enemy and go to battle for their souls. We have been called to live pure and holy lives, to embrace radical consecration, to go deep in God and to pave the way for culture-shocking, earth-shaking revival. I yearn for the day when we see celebrities overcome with emotion as they lift their hands in undone worship. I long to see Michael Jordan, Charlie Sheen, Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi, David Letterman, Adam Sandler, Tiger Woods and so many other influencers lifting their hands in passionate worship of Jesus as tears stream down their cheeks. I so deeply desire to see them free, alive and transformed by the overwhelming love of Jesus. Holy Spirit, move on them and bring an awakening to their souls!A REVELATION OF JESUS
When Jesus manifests in a person’s life, everything changes. Of course, after experiencing the glory of God in my own desperate life it troubles and saddens me beyond words when others reject such a great salvation. There is nothing that compares to knowing God. Nothing. Fame, fortune, power and the lusts of life are pathetically devoid of what only God can give. Encountering such a holy, omnipotent, supernatural entity that fills his days with thoughts of love for me results in rivers of tears and oceans of gratitude that no human words could ever express. If it hasn’t happened already, I so desire for Tiger Woods to know the lover of his soul, Jesus, like this. I want God to visit him, to transform him, to wash away the pain, to heal his body, to touch his heart and to overwhelm him with love. I pray the forgiveness of his heavenly Father will flood his soul as he gladfully surrenders all. A revelation of Jesus (not just knowledge about Jesus) will result in a never-ending tremble within. Something in the neighborhood of billions of pounds of despair, heartache, sin, fear and everything else that troubles mankind will dissipate in a split second at the moment we lift our hands, hit our knees and release control of our very short lives to God. This is what I pray happens for Tiger, Michael, Oprah and the rest. One second in the presence of God is all they need. The first second in the fires of hell, however, will result in nothing short of regret, hopelessness and terror. The thought of people saying no to Jesus rips at my soul. It’s time to be an outspoken, fiery, zealous and undignified worshiper of Jesus. Church, we must rise up in intercession. There are terrible accidents planned well in advance by the enemy. He wants to rip us to shreds. He’s bent on death and destruction. We can’t play games anymore. People are inches and moments from eternity. Let’s go to battle for their souls and see a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit hit Hollywood, the sports world, Nashville, Washington D.C. and our entire nation. Photo credit: “Tiger Woods driver” by TourProGolfClubs is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Originally posted by The Stream.Blaming, Shaming and Avoiding: How Christians are Mishandling the Current Political Crisis
Love and honor have been abandoned by too many in this volatile political season.
It’s been said the two topics we should avoid around the family reunion dinner table are politics and religion. Of course, I disagree, but the point is well taken. It’s nothing new that people tend to be more passionate about their political and spiritual positions than they are about guarding the hearts of the people they are debating with. Sadly this reality has reared it’s extremely ugly head again and again over the last year.HAVE WE FORGOTTEN THE THREE PRIMARY REASONS WE ARE ALIVE?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s not to debate politics and it’s not to save America.“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39, ESV)One: Love God. Two: Love people.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (John 13:35, ESV)Yes, there are many expressions of love including both tough and tender, but we need to understand that blaming and shaming our enemies are excluded. Anger expressed toward the liberal left will never win them to Jesus, which, by the way, is the third primary reason we are alive.
“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5, ESV)
WE ALSO CAN’T AVOID POLITICS
Preachers avoiding politics from behind the pulpit and keyboard is like a police officer refusing to confront crime. It makes no sense. The police are authorized to make arrests and Christians are authorized to tear down strongholds. We as Christians have been granted a level of spiritual authority that few will ever grasp. When culture is steeped in wickedness, we have no option but to expose the darkness.“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11, ESV)Unrighteous laws, widespread corruption, the darkness of immorality and national evils must be dealt with, and Christians are those who are most authorized to do so. Silence by passive preachers is a violation just as a fleshly, carnal response is. There’s a way to move in love and honor while bringing dangerous political and cultural agendas to light. To stay silent, for example, on the issue of abortion would be inexcusable. To spew venom toward those who affirm or even administer abortion would be equally inappropriate for followers of Jesus.
THE GREATER SIN
While avoiding the spiritual clash in today’s deeply wicked society is unfathomable, my opinion is that the greater sin is a wicked reaction guised in high-minded righteousness by Believers in Jesus. We must be aggressive with issues and tender towards people. My heart is broken over the lack of revival in Hollywood, Nashville and Washington D.C. I think about people like Nancy Pelosi, Jim Carrey, Ellen Degeneres,Taylor Swift, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alyssa Milano and hundreds of other influencers who are attacked non-stop by Christians because of their political positions. Will they feel love by our mean-spirited assaults of righteous indignation? No. I may write a separate article on this issue as it’s just wrecking my heart, but suffice it to say that I’m deeply grieved that so few celebrities and national leaders are falling in love with Jesus. Church, we are not handling their hearts well. Demonizing them will not win them.OUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER
Rude, snarky and unloving behavior among Christians thrives on social media. The moment a Christian is condescending and divisive on a Facebook thread is the moment their credibility is shot. While I understand we are living in a different era, there’s a part of me that yearns for yesteryear when yes sir’s and yes ma’am’s were indicative of respect in our culture. Today it’s normal for followers of Jesus to attack, shame and ridicule anybody who disagrees with their viewpoints, especially when it comes to politics and religion. Many are unteachable, stone-hearted, immovable and more in love with their ideals then the people they are dialoguing with. At the end of the day, I don’t care who the President is if we can’t discuss and debate with love and honor.THE BLAME GAME IS STRONG THIS YEAR
Possibly the best litmus test for spiritual health and maturity when it comes to politics and culture is blame. If we lash out and blame and accuse and attack others who believe differently than we do, we are not in a good place. The moment we blame is the moment we create unnecessary division. We need to stop blaming President Biden, President Trump, teachers, parents and others who, in our opinion, are opposing our personal agendas or beliefs, no matter how righteous those beliefs are.“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44, ESV)Don’t blame. Love. Pray. Don’t be an angry, complaining victim. Go low. Humble yourself. Serve. Contend for the souls of those who are making your life difficult. Again, be ruthless on issues, loving toward people. There’s a better way, friends. Being mean-spirited isn’t it. Blaming doesn’t help. Shaming is simply cruel. People are more valuable then positions and agendas. Our enemies should be blessed and prayed for more than our friends. The lyrics of a quirky and boldly honest bluegrass gospel song by Rhonda Vincent seem to fit here: Oh you don't love God If you don't love your neighbor If you gossip about him, if you never have mercy If he gets into trouble, and you don't try to help him Then you don't love your neighbor And you don't love God One more time, deal strongly with issues and go out of your way to make sure people feel the love of Jesus. As we do this, we can most certainly hate evil, love good and establish justice in our nation.
“Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate…” (Amos 5:15, ESV)You can submit a text or 60-second audio prayer for celebrities and influencers at www.prayerteam.tv. Photo credit: “Trump and Biden” by uwwvmzjh8 is marked with CC PDM 1.0 Originally published by The Stream.
Yes, Nancy Pelosi, Faith Trumps Science
The science argument has neutered much of the church's potent, supernatural message.
“(Nancy Peolosi) suggested that some government officials and members of Congress were anti-science because of their faith.” ~The Blaze
Nancy, I'm sorry I used a trigger word in the title (trump), but I had to jump at the chance to address something you said. You were dismayed by “faith oriented” members of Congress who put more stock in God's healing power than in man's scientific advances. As a leader in this Christian nation, I'm stunned that you would have such a viewpoint. Sadly, many Christians have adopted similar faithless ideologies, straying so far from the wonders of supernatural, miraculous, shock and awe faith toward a natural, godless version of spirituality (if such a thing were possible).
The bible calls it a form of godliness. The problem? This style of religion is devoid of power. It's atheistic at its roots, only dressed up to appear just superstitious enough to pass as spiritual.
We are in the last days, and this issue makes it onto a very sobering list:
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1–5, ESV)
Lovers of money. Proud. Arrogant. Heartless. Lovers of pleasure. To top it all off, an appearance of godliness and a denial of God's power.
Avoid such people.
As followers of Jesus, we should be living in the miraculous realm every moment of our lives. It's disheartening that so many professing Christians have fallen for the delusion that science is superior to faith. Scientific fact is the ultimate litmus test. If science proves something in Scripture to be wrong, then science is the clear victor. Nonsense.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MIRACULOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE?
People have attempted to use science to silence Christian zealots for centuries. Christians have stumbled over their own arguments by attempting to agree with the opposition. Their debate is fueled by the thesis that what is found in the Bible will always affirm science. They declare that biblical truth will always affirm scientific fact. This argument is doomed from the beginning.
From cover to cover in Scripture we see science defied. It's everywhere.
Jesus walked on water. Science defied.
Lazarus rose from the dead. Science defied.
A sea split in half. Science defied.
A paralytic walked. Science defied.
The sun stood still. Science defied.
Thousands fed with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. Science defied.
An iron axe head floated in water. Science defied.
And, the Savior of our world was conceived without his parents having sex. Thank God, science was defied.
WHERE ARE THE AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANS DURING THIS GLOBAL CRISIS?
In an article I wrote titled Christians are Being Embarrassed By The Coronavirus, I dealt with the mostly natural, scientific approach so many followers of Jesus have defaulted to:
Are you taking the opportunity to show the lost you are fearless, full of faith and joyful? Or do they sense your anxiety about coronavirus?
A crisis of faith has been exposed. Coronavirus is embarrassing the church.
Have you noticed any difference at all between the godless world and those who are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, the Healer? Bold decrees of faith, not confessions of fear and worry, should be exploding out of our mouths!
Instead, Christians are hiding in caves, running from the battle and trembling not in the fear of the Lord, but the fear of the enemy.
Sure, take precautions, but don’t cower. Don’t respond like the world. Don’t allow the enemy to impact your life. Live! Be free! You are covered by the blood of Jesus!
An unmoving devotion to belief, to faith, to confidence that supernatural, divine healing is our portion should be the mark of every Christian. Faith trumps science.
In fact, when we gain more confidence in vaccines and other medical measures than we do in God's desire and ability to heal, we set ourselves up for judgment.
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.” (2 Chronicles 16:12–13, ESV)
King Asa's devotion to doctors to the exclusion of God resulted in his judgment. Death.
To be fair, what Nancy said isn't completely untrue:
“People say around here sometimes, ‘I'm faith-oriented so I don't believe in science' and I said, ‘Well you can do both. Science is an answer to our prayers and our prayers have been answered with a vaccine,'”
To be clear, I doubt the people around her who live by faith actually said that they don't believe in science. Gravity is real. So are germs. So is medicine. Nobody would debate any of that. My guess is they were saying that faith trumps science. That is what I agree with, and apparently what Nancy disagrees with.
However, she did point out that both faith and science can work together. Scientific discovery can be the answer to prayer. I agree with that. What I disagree with is that faith must align with science. If our faith must come under submission to scientific fact, then we'd be nothing more than full blown athiests. A people who deny supernatural wonders whenever they contradict with scientific proof. These people are rejecting the power of God and the Bible commands us to have nothing to do with them.
NANCY, I IMPLORE YOU TO REPENT AND TO DISCOVER THE GLORIES OF SUPERNATURAL LIVING
By giving science and the natural realm more credence than the invisible realm, we imprison ourselves to its restrictions. This is a terrible, disappointing and powerless way to live.
When we live our lives not by sight, but by faith, everything changes in a moment! Miracles are common! The impossible becomes probable! The presence of the Holy Spirit radiates all around us!
We can't live like King Asa, running to the physicians, the scientists, the logical intellectuals in search for answers. Our first and continual focus must be on our omnipotent God and his plan to work miraculously in our lives. From that place we can certainly take advantage of natural remedies. But, our faith must be extreme and it must be in a God we cannot see and his abilities that are far greater than any scientist that has ever lived. Yes, Nancy, faith absolutely trumps science. Every day of the week.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5, ESV)
Photo credit: “Nancy Pelosi Introducing Obama in SF” by jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Originally published by The Stream.
2020: The Year Hate Made the World Go Round
Hate has become the emotion of choice for a lot of people this year – including a whole bunch of Christians.
It’s more evident than ever just how toxic our culture is. 2020 has been quite the litmus test for love and civility.
I was recently interviewed about a recent article I wrote for The Stream titled Is Today’s Prophetic Movement Fake News? In the midst of a discussion on the unhealthy nature of much of today’s prophetic movement, I noted that I’m concerned that the church has wasted the opportunity that 2020 has provided us. The church’s often volatile reactions to the pressures of this season have been telling. People from all sides, the left, the right, the saved and the lost have been spewing poisonous personal revelations about everything from masks to freedom to Trump to equality. No, there’s nothing wrong with holding to a strong opinion on important matters. We’d be socially dead if we didn’t. However, the moment we villainize, attack, shame, cancel and blacklist those who disagree with us is the moment our true, dark hearts are revealed.
WE WEREN’T READY FOR 2020, AND WE AREN’T READY FOR 2021
I wrote an article for Charisma Magazine on January, 2nd 2020, just as the year was beginning and well before true concern for COVID-19 had arrived. Few knew about the coming pestilence, or at least the severity of it. I re-read the article and got chills. The call was clear: adopt humility, fervent prayer and a radical devotion to holiness in our pursuit of Jesus as the plagues and pestilence visit us:
2020 is here. Does God have good plans for His true, remnant church? Sure. However, His true church isn't primarily concerned about that. Those aren't the words they want to hear. They are in tune with the assault of the spirit of the age, with the immorality in the land, with the abominations that both the world and the church are in alignment with and with possible judgment and wrath that can strike our nation if we don't turn. They are crying out for God to prophetically speak about this stuff. They want to be warned, and they want to share those warnings with the world.
I'm not saying the following passage is a prophetic word, but it sure is a much better exhortation than many I'm reading concerning the new year. I propose we do this:
“When I shut up the heaven and there is no rain, or when I command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence on My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer of this place (2 Chron. 7:13-15, MEV).
I’d encourage you to read the entire article here.
On December 19th, 2019, I posted to Facebook:
So much of “prophecy” today is utterly useless, a distraction and often dangerous as it leads the immature and those who can't discern into false hope and down wrong paths.
I don't know how often I read prophecies on Facebook that cause me to say, “My time was just wasted. I didn't need to know that, even if it is true.”
While so much of prophecy today is an embarrassment, we must respond to the true call of the Spirit of God in this hour. Humility, love, prayer and holiness are most certainly part of that call.
In the face of the greatest global chaos in any of our lifetimes, the church should have been leading the way by calling for solemn assemblies, heart-wrenching prayer meetings and whatever else must happen to see a move of God overtake us. Instead, too many have become enraged, offended and puffed up at political leaders for restricting their freedoms and shutting down the churches. Why? So they can get back to their tired, predictable and mostly powerless 90-minute karaoke sing-a-long’s and story telling sessions?
“Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.” (Joel 1:14–15, ESV)
Before you become unglued (yet again), allow me to make a point. I too have opinions and strong beliefs. I firmly believe the Bible out ranks our governmental officials. When God in his Word commands us to meet together, we meet together. We should do it safely and with wisdom, but, in my opinion, I am convinced that we should be gathering together. However, if we rise up in pride against supposed tyranny just so we, in a spirit of independence, can have our way (in the guise of protecting our Constitutional rights) then we have failed. Rebellion can never be a Christian’s weapon against our oppressors. Today we have companies of arrogant, spiritualized rebels, defying authority in the name of God, as God himself resists them.
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…” (1 Samuel 15:23, NKJV)
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6, ESV)
FIGHTS, ACCUSATIONS, DIVISION AND HATRED
2020 is the year of losing friends, or at least a time when we learned just who our true friends were.
Social media has allowed for the unleashing of all types of self-important proclamations. Don’t dare have an opposing opinion about masks, our President, racial issues, our freedoms, the Constitution or pretty much anything else unless you want to be assaulted in the comments. It’s disgusting. No matter how righteous your pursuit is, handling it without love, honor and respect will nullify it.
I’m stunned most every day at how rude blood-bought Christians can be, especially on social media. Have you not encountered the love and the fear of the Lord? I mean, really had an overwhelming encounter where our omnipotent, holy and all-consuming God laid you out? If not, I propose you cease all of your attempts at heroism in our social fabric and hit your knees. Cry out to God with raw, guttural groans. Repent. Yearn for his presence and his glory to saturate you. Ask for your hip to be taken out and for a tongue of fire to ignite over you. Honestly, little else matters.
That brings me to those of you who have had such encounters, yet you still don’t know how to love. Stop everything. Learn to love. I’m not talking about the sappy, passive, new age, beta-male style “kindness” that is being promoted (mostly by unbelievers) all over the world. In fact, check out one of my most popular articles, The Great Love Deception, to understand just what I mean and what I don’t mean when I mention the world love. False love is truly on the rise and we must expose it and promote true, biblically defined love.
From the article:
Philippians 1:9-10 (MSG) 9 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings 10 so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of…
We are to learn to love appropriately. This scripture is a critical exhortation! Why? It means there are inappropriate ways to love. There are deceptions that feel right, but are poor representations or even counterfeits of truth.
As God’s love begins to manifest in such amazing, deeper ways at the end of the age, we have to be aware that the enemy will work hard to redefine, misrepresent and twist true love. He has a castrated version to offer us.
I’ve run into several people, many who were once grounded Believers, who have bought into this supposed new revelation of love, and the stench is putrid. Supposedly Donald Trump is the candidate of arrogance, division and hatred while Joe Biden promotes humility, unity and love. People who wear masks are the poster children for true love while those who are anti-mask are selfish and hateful of others. Those who make such claims are delusional beyond belief. (On the contrary, those who refuse to wear masks when required and pout like children when pressed on the matter have no idea what love looks like either. Neither do those who cancel everyone in their lives who don’t support Donald Trump. I could go on and on.)
Love can (and often should) be very direct, unrelenting, unapologetic and aggressive. However, it must be done with grace, honor and respect. The alternative? Well, 2020 has taught us that anything from riots to destroying people’s lives when we disagree with them is on the table.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING
Yes, we as Believers are watching the world, and weeping. The vaccine has arrived, and now people are shaming whoever their political enemies are for being among the first to take it. It’s yet another opportunity for them to accuse their foes of killing grandma.
Both the left and the right, and Hollywood and Nashville, and every other sphere of influence in our nation have been guilty of hatred. The right assaults Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Alyssa Milano and many others on a daily basis. Of course, the left attacks with vengeance Donald Trump and anyone who even whispers a minute amount of support for him or his policies.
Yet, more sadly, the world is watching the church. And, with some notable exceptions, I believe the church has failed miserably this year.
Where is the anointing? The power? The undeniable, supernatural love? Too many of today’s Christians have chosen social justice over holy justice. We need an other-worldly move of God to absolutely crush our nation. Where are God’s people who are truly repentant (and repenting), who are rending their hearts, who are interceding for their enemies instead of bashing them?
Where are those who are more interested in the salvation of Washington D.C. and Hollywood then they are in campaigning for the restoration and protection of their personal freedoms? Are there any who, while still maintaining concern for the direction of our nation, will focus mostly on contending for their enemy’s souls?
Can you imagine what would happen if some of our nation’s influencers had a genuine, undeniable, supernatural, life-altering visit by a holy, burning God?
I suggest the following passage of Scripture would make an excellent focus of intercession for those who have yet to experience God in this way:
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,” (Revelation 1:12–17, ESV)
An encounter like that would fix, overnight, the tyranny in California and New York. It would change politics, media and the landscape of our entire nation in a moment.
More than fighting our oppressors, let’s truly pray with passion for them. Let the tears flow. Cry out. Pursue love. Go hard after legitimate revival. Start a revolution.
If you'd like to kick start your intercession, leave a 60-second prayer for Alyssa Milano at www.prayerteam.tv.
Photo credit: “File:9.12.15AlyssaMilanoByLuigiNovi1.jpg” by Luigi Novi is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Originally published by The Stream.
The Slam Dunk Answer to the Insanity of 2020
Why are so few talking about the one solution to the crisis and the chaos that can turn our nation?
As the never-ending election drama continues to play out, we are hearing from all sides a mix of opinions, solutions, emotions and irritations. Those on the right are exhibiting passion at a level our nation has never seen. The clear and obvious answer to society's ills is the reelection of their man, Donald Trump. The left has gone to great extents to protect our nation from the continued threat of mean tweets from the President. Their vision of a nation free from first amendment tyranny is within their grasp.WHY DO THEY ACT LIKE THAT?
Like many of you, I feel so grieved, perplexed and saddened when I watch the interactions of today's cultural influencers on television or on social media. It's deeply disturbing when their ungodly agendas are promoted and celebrated. My stomach turns every time abortion is defended, sexual deviance is promoted and wickedness is celebrated. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted:Katie Perry said:Abortion bans aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies.
They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women. From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, US religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology.
“I don't believe in a heaven or a hell or an old man sitting on a throne. I believe in a higher power bigger than me because that keeps me accountable.”Kathy Griffen, famous for holding a replica of Donald Trump's bloody, severed head in her hand, said this in 2007:
“A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. Suck it, Jesus! This award is my God now!”Social media dictators like Mark Zukerberg and Jack Dorsey are aggressively blocking Christian and right-leaning content. Joe Biden is determined to restore funding to Planned Parenthood and Kamala Harris voted against a bill that would limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The fact that millions of supposed Christians affirmed the brutality of child-killing by supporting pro-death candidates in this year's election simply doesn't register. It's as if that knowledge doesn't have a place to land in my intellect. Why? It doesn't make sense. As far as I'm concerned, Christians don't do that. I suppose a mean tweeter is more of a national irritant than those who unabashedly promote the right to slaughter children. We could talk about the perverse and casual sexuality that permeates social media, movies, television, music and marketing. People like Miley Cyrus are doing great damage to the wholesome, godly fabric of our nation. To me, she is still Hannah Montana. The abhorrent agenda of the political left merits discussion as does the legalization of heroin and cocaine in Oregon. Don Krahel said:
The Democrat Party has betrayed our Founding Fathers! The Democrat Party has betrayed God! To vote Democrat makes you complicit. The party of slavery is now the party of abortion. Jesus would not support their evil, anti-God agenda.As the stench of the demonic vomit that is hacked up all over our nation very minute of every day hits my nostrils, I remind myself why it happens. These cultural influencers who are exhibiting such defiling evil (usually while presuming their beliefs and behaviors are at least positive if not righteous) simply do not know Jesus. That's it. That is why they act like they do.
THE HOPE
Imagine Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Miley Cyrus, Mark Zukerberg or any of the other ungodly cultural influencers having a Damascus Road experience. Wow. Just think about it. Check out the condition of Saul's heart in the moments prior to fire from Heaven consuming him:“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” (Acts 9:1, ESV)We see this hateful, anti-Christian attitude at every turn we make in this nation (and the world). A threatening, murderous spirit is manifesting through many of today's infleuncers, and unless there is an undeniable, authentic, tangible and shocking invasion of God's glory into their souls, it will only get worse. Two verses later in Acts chapter nine we see the answer to society's wickedness:
“Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:3–5, ESV)Saul became Paul in a moment and he became one of Christianity's greatest and most important leaders. The very Word of God flowed through him in great measure as one of the most prominent divinely inspired human authors of the Bible. I propose Joe Biden, Lebron James, Ellen DeGeneres, Anthony Fauci, Nancy Pelosi, Megan Rapinoe, Harry Styles, Cardi B, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Billie Eilish, Johnny Depp and so many others can radically turn this nation, and fast. A dramatic, life-altering encounter with glory will do that. The shock and awe of the fire of the Holy Spirit will send them to their knees. These people can shake our nation out of the wicked slumber it's in into full blown revival. I'm thankful for God moving in the lives of influencers like Justin Bieber and Kanye West. Let's see God continue to invade Hollywood, Nashville and Washington D.C. with his love!