Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Prophecy: 'There Will Soon Be an Explosion of My Power!' | Protect Your Marriage From Divorce With These 4 Vital Keys | God's Blueprint...CHARSMA

Prophetic Insight newsletter
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
   
Prophecy: 'There Will Soon Be an Explosion of My Power!'

I said to the Lord on Sunday morning, "The gunshots we are hearing daily on the news are so grieving." The Lord said, "There will soon be an explosion of My power that will be heard around the world that will bring salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. This explosion will interrupt news reporters and the media."

What I sense I am seeing is only a part of what this explosion will do.

A great light will accompany this explosion, piercing gross darkness in the hearts of men. This explosive power will blow the scales off the eyes of the Jewish people, and they will run like prodigals to the mountain of the Lord. The sound of a shofar will roar like a lion, calling them home.

This great light will penetrate war zones, releasing the angel armies to war with heaven's most powerful weapon: God's love. I heard that familiar voice conversing with terrorists saying, "Why do you persecute Me?" (see Acts 9:4). Some angels were causing guns to jam and bullets to disappear, as a light brighter than the sun brought instant healing to their hateful hearts.

Certain areas of war zones became "fields of altars" as many blinded by the light were crying out, "Lord, what would You have me to do?" Many were surrendering to the Lord on the battlefield.

'Miraculous Testimonies' Surrounding Soldiers on the Battlefield

Angels were protecting some of these soldiers until the light broke through. Some died in battle. read more 
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Monday, December 14, 2015

Single Moms - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Single Moms

Now Think On This
Steve Martin

“He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19, NKJV)

Over the years I have always been amazed at the strength, character, and the sheer determination that comes forth from the heart of a single mom towards her children. Especially those women that have been left behind with small children, with little or no income from the father or husband. My heart has gone out to them many times, trying to give wisdom and support in whatever manner or level of assistance that was necessary and appropriate. But I know I never personally did enough.
From the beginning it has always been in the heart of God the Father to have each and every person in a family. Beginning with Adam and Eve, He desired that together a man and a woman, as husband and wife, would bring forth children, and share in the responsibility of provision and full support until the children reached adulthood. They were to instruct their offspring in the ways of the Lord, and then watch them raise their own family at the proper time.
Far too often, primarily because of death, divorce, or a one-night stand leaving the girl with no man around, many teenagers and young women have been left all alone to raise the child/children. It is a very tough job. Only they know just how tough it is, as loneliness, despair and discouragement abound.
There are many who have chosen not to depend solely on the government, but instead are working one or two jobs, or more, to pay the rent, buy the food, keep the kids clothed and warm, while making sure they are getting a good education. It all weighs very heavily on them daily. If there is no extended family around, or a church that understands their role to assist them, it is very overbearing. Tragically, we as believers have far too often left it up to the government to provide support and provision for them.
I don’t have all the answers. But I do know that our Lord has a tremendous heart for these single moms, and the kids that they daily lay down their life for. I believe He has gifted people in His body to be there for them. I do hope those ones take every opportunity, with the Lord’s grace and provision, to do so, while the rest of us help hold up their arms also.
If you are a single mom, I pray you will be comforted, cared for, and given the love you need and desire, as much as you have given out already for your kids.
And I pray the Body of Jesus Christ will rise up and have you in the family you are meant to be joined with, in the larger family of our Lord.
With His love and comfort,

Steve Martin
Love For His People, Inc.


P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

We sure could use your help to bless the families we do in Israel, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and the hurting ones here in the USA. Please give out of the abundance you have been given.

In May, 2016, my wife Laurie and I will be traveling to Israel to spend time with our friends. We support them in word and deed. We have our plane tickets in hand. We love Israel.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People. If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 
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Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)
Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  
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Now Think On This - In the year of our Lord 12.14.15 - #220 –“Single Moms
 – Monday at 6:45 pm in Charlotte, NC.


All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Happy Anniversary: Breaking the Generational Curse of Divorce - SHAWN A. AKERS CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Me and Patty, December 5, 1997.

Patty and me, Dec. 5, 1997. (Shawn and Patty Akers)

Get Out of the Boat, with Shawn Akers

Happy Anniversary: Breaking the Generational Curse of Divorce





Divorce is a generational curse that has haunted my family lineage. It takes more than two hands to count the couples on both sides—at least the ones of which I'm aware—who have been through the divorce ringer.
And yes, I can be counted among them.
But that is why I thank God every day for my wife, Patty. God has allowed us to break the generational curse of divorce on our family and bury it.
Patty is an incredible gift from God, and I'm tremendously grateful for her patience, her love and even her courage to put up with a wretch like me all of these years. It is my second marriage, and it has lasted for 18 years as of Saturday, Dec. 5. Where has the time gone?
I realize what many of you out there may be thinking. 1) By being divorced, you are breaking God's laws and committing adultery. Our readers have had a field day with this subject in past posts on charismamag.com, and I would hazard a guess that this one will draw a great deal of discussion as well. 2) How did you break the generational curse when you have been divorced yourself?
So, let me address both of the above thoughts:
First, indeed I am well aware of Matthew 5:31-32, when Jesus said, "It was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."
Indeed, Jesus never wavered on that point. There is no other scriptural reference to an acceptable divorce, save one. In 1 Corinthians 7:15-16, Paul writes, "But if the unbeliever departs, let that one depart. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called us to peace. ... For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?"
Despite my efforts for more than a year to keep our marriage together, my ex-wife told me in no uncertain terms—in a letter no less—that she wanted a divorce. At the time of our divorce, I suspected my ex-wife had duped me for five years about her faith in Christ. I have since learned from her family that my suspicions weren't unfounded.
Therefore, I "let the unbeliever depart." I was not bound in my case. That has since been confirmed in my heart not only by God, but also by evangelist Jimmy Evans, who, along with his wife, have headed the marriage ministry of Marriage Today for nearly 35 years.
Most likely, my only alternative to preserve the marriage would have been to deny Christ. That would have been much worse than a divorce.
This brings me question No. 2, "How did you break the generational curse when you have been divorced yourself?" Several years ago, Patty and I participated in a deliverance ministry at our church called The Cleansing Stream. It is an eight-week series of classes that prepares and disciples participants to receive healing and deliverance.
During the final weekend retreat, both Patty and I, through the power of the Holy Spirit, broke the generational curse of divorce in our families. It is an ugly word and situation that our children, Rachel and Joshua, won't ever have to endure. We trust in God's wondrous promises.
For help in breaking generational curses, read this great article from marriage ministry pastor Larry Huch.
I am far from perfect. Because of my behavior, there are many times Patty could have demanded my departure from our home. But thank God that Patty has put up with me and that God has transformed me so much in our 18 years together. Our marriage has been prophesied over—that it continually will be bent and stretched—sometimes to the limit—but that it will never break. I revel in that prophecy.
I know many people who suffer through the same generational curse. But it doesn't have to be that way, and we do not have to put up with Satan's lies and deceptions about our marriages. On our charismamag.com site, there are many great articles by strong ministry leaders in both the Spirit-Led Woman and New Man sections that can help bolster your marriage and fight for it, even in the hard times. Please peruse both sections and read the great wisdom put forth from these ministry leaders.
So Saturday isn't simply another anniversary for an "old married couple" such as Patty and me. It is a celebration of longevity and the celebration of a continually broken generational curse that will never again haunt my family. I may not be an expert on marriage, but 18 years is a long time and I might have learned a thing or two.
Thank you, Patty, for your love and patience, and for being such a wonderful wife. You need to hear that more often; and you will. Through God's grace, our life together will keep getting better and better each year. Happy Anniversary, babe.
And praise You, Jesus, for broken generational curses.
"As the bird by flitting, as the swallow by flying, so the curse without cause will not alight (will have no effect)" (Prov. 26:2).
And as I always like to say, "there is that." 
Shawn A. Akers is the online managing editor at Charisma Media. He is a published poet and published a story about Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR Chicken Soup for the Soul. You can read his blog here. To sign up for his newsletter, "Step Out of the Boat," and other Charisma newsletters, click here. You can also listen to his podcasts, the Javelin Sports Show, on the Charisma Podcast Network.
For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!
NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Friday, November 6, 2015

Suicidal and 'Deep in Sin,' Nickelodeon Star Reveals How He Found Faith - TROY ANDERSON, CHARISMA NEWS

A photo of Kel Mitchell

Kel Mitchell tells PEOPLE his journey to faith. (YouTube)


Suicidal and 'Deep in Sin,' Nickelodeon Star Reveals How He Found Faith





In 2004, former Nickelodeon teen star Kel Mitchell says his life was falling apart as his marriage to Tyisha Hampton was ending.
"I felt like I'd hit a wall," Mitchell, 37, told PEOPLE. "I was like, 'Okay. I need to figure out what I need to do in my life.'"
While dealing with his divorce, Mitchell says he had encountered a "confusion moment" in his life.
"I have been through so many ups and downs in my life," Mitchell wrote on hisblog. "Suicidal, divorce, drug and alcohol usage, deep in sin, dealing with the loss of loved ones to gang violence, debt, hurt, pain, vanity, lust, heartbreak, feeling LOST looking for answers."
At that time, the former star of Nickelodeon's All That says he decided to return to the faith he learned while growing up on the South Side of Chicago where his grandfather was a pastor.
"I was trying to figure it all out on my own. But what I needed to do was turn to Him," says Mitchell, who now stars in the new Nickelodeon sitcom Game Shakers. "Once I found that clarity with Christ, I knew everything would work out."
Today, Mitchell says he's found "peace" thanks to God.
"I enjoy living this life," Mitchell says. "I don't let things frustrate or worry me anymore. I don't do that because I have peace in my heart. I have God."

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!
NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Marriage Is the Economic Stimulus We Need

Marriage Is the Economic 
Stimulus We Need
This may be a surprising statement from a bleary-eyed, number-crunching economist, but the best anti-poverty program in America may not be tax cuts or debt reduction or regulatory relief, but rather that old-fashioned institution called marriage.

It turns out that poverty rates are very low among intact families and prevalent among homes without a father. Children who grow up in single-parent households are much more likely to face economic trouble as adults.

Those who cheer divorce as a form of women's liberation, or who say that stigmatizing out-of-wedlock births is just right-wing sermonizing, just don't get this intertwined connection between two-parent households and economic success. Socio-cultural factors like the decline of marriage are leading causes of the wealth gap and the stubborn poverty trap in many low income neighborhoods.

For more economic insight, check out more of Stephen Moore's articles on CBN News here.



This isn't to say that kids who grow up in broken homes can't succeed - millions heroically do. It doesn't mean that every marriage was meant to be - many times divorce is the only option. But what is irrefutable is that marriage with a devoted husband and wife in the home is a far better social program than food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, or even all of them combined.

This conclusion is made clear by a new eye-opening and sometimes depressing report called the Index of Culture and Opportunity by my colleagues at the Heritage Foundation. It's conclusion: "We have to reshape our culture before we can ever hope to make a big dent in the number of poor households."

Some of the cultural indicators are going in a positive direction; others have taken a decidely negative course.

First, the good news: violent crime is down. So is the number of abortions.

But in other ways we are ripping our families and our society apart. Consider these statistics on family breakup.

"From 2001 to 2011, the marriage rate dropped by 10.3 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, or 22.8 percent. Since the 1960s, it has fallen by about 50 percent."

According to one of the report's scholars, W. Bradford Wilcox, "only about half of the nation's adults are cur­rently married, and about half of the nation's children will spend some time outside an intact, married home."

This is a form of child abuse. And those numbers are much higher in low income communities. In some cities like Detroit and Newark two of every three children are born out of wedlock. Name a government program that can take the place of a father.

This troubling trend appears to be a road block to the American Dream. One study by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues, finds that when it comes to what is preveninng the economic upward mobility of poor children, "the strongest and most robust predic­tor is the fraction of children with single parents."

It's also true and often overlooked that family breakup creates a statistical illusion that we are making less economic progress than we actually are. For example, if a married couple earns $80,000, but then ends up in divorce, there are now two households earning $40,000. So it appears the economy is slipping and average household income is falling. But in fact what has slipped is the culture.

Meanwhile, birth rates are falling and falling. In only two of the last 40 years have birth rates exceeded replacement level fertility of 2.1 kids per couple.

Who will take care of and finance the retirement of the near 80 milllion baby boomers? Thank goodness for immigration. The population bomb that was once famously worried about by scholars like Paul Ehrlish has become a population fizzle.

Most economists agree that the sharp decline in the share of Americans between ages 18 to 64 that are working is a major economic hindrance. This isn't just happening by chance but rather as a result of policy and cultural changes.

Welfare households, the report finds, are much more likely to have no one working at all and so the assistance becomes a substitute for work. The value of work is denigrated in our modern society and welfare has been elevated. Millions of jobs are there for the taking if the unemployed and underemployed go out and obtain useful skills.

But our culture too often frowns upon Americans doing what are regarded as grimy, blue collar jobs - even though they can pay $60,000 to $100,000 a year. This may explain why it is so hard to get a plumber or carpenter or any kind of handyman these days.

We also seem to disparage the idea of young people, especially teens, working. We parents spoil our kids - and I'm no less guilty than others - with leisure and money. And many millennials have to come to think that to pull them away from the television or computer or Gameboy screen is an offense that is reportable to child protective services.

But this new report reminds us of the obvious: that there is dignity, character building, and self-sufficiency in all forms of labor.

One of my favorite scenes in a recent movie is in Cinderella Man, when during the depths of the Great Depression, James Bradock, played by Russell Crowe, is forced as a last resort to take a welfare payment from the government to feed his family. His sense of shame is clearly evident. Then, when he wins some prize fights and gets back on his feet, he goes back to the welfare office and returns all the taxpayer money he took in his hour of need.

Who does that today? It is now the opposite. The Obama administration runs television and radio ads assuring welfare recipients they should feel no shame whatsoever in taking a hand out and even tells them that the more they live off the expense of someone else (taxpayers), the better it is for the economy. Liberals are trying to bend the culture in a subversive direction and given that last year we had 47 million on food stamps, the Left is succeeding.

We economists bury ourselves in the data and the formulas to try to devise policy recommendations to make the economy grow faster and raise the living standards of workers and families. It's humbling to realize how much of our nation's economic success is based on a culture of virtue. Do the right thing, as Spike Lee would put it.

To save our economy from a path of decline we need to start with a personal and national commitment to sturdy families, strong parents, and a reemergence of the Protestant work ethic. That shouldn't be so hard.

 is chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and an economics contributor to CBN.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Iranian Woman Shares Journey of Faith in Jerusalem

Iranian Woman Shares Journey of Faith 

in Jerusalem

Thursday, May 22, 2014 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY
A British-based Iranian woman brought up as a devoted Muslim has told a conference in Jerusalem how she became a Christian after an encounter with the God of the Bible.
She heard His voice as she watched a movie about Jesus, and later responded to His personal invitation spelt out in the Book of Revelation.
At the time Esther Esfahani was in the midst of divorce proceedings against her husband because he had become a Christian, but they were subsequently reconciled and her entire family is now following Jesus.
[Editor's Note: We have not used her real name for security reasons as the Iranian government not only persecutes Christians but has also vowed to destroy Israel.]
Esther was addressing a conference in Jerusalem called At the Crossroads aimed at deepening bonds of reconciliation between Arab and other Muslim-background Christians and Jewish followers of Jesus.
Delegates arrived from all over the Middle East and beyond - some at risk to their lives - to sample the hospitality of their Jewish brothers and be shown around some of the Holy Land sites.
Shortly after moving to England some years ago, Esther started a coffee shop and took on some Christian staff. But she left strict instructions that they were not to talk about their faith.
On her day off, Esther's husband, who worked elsewhere, took care of the shop, and one day she noticed a book about Christianity on top of the dishes. It turned out that her husband had decided to follow Jesus.
Speaking in Farsi, translated by her sister, she said: "I had this idea that if you're a Muslim and you accept another religion something bad will happen to you."
Two weeks later she saw a Bible in the shop. "I got so angry I kicked out the Christian staff and initiated divorce proceedings against my husband - we had been married 19 years."
She wasn't just a committed follower of Islam; she had actually taught the Koran. In Esther's own words:
"So I told him I could not be with him any longer if he was now a Christian. But the angrier I became, the calmer he grew. He was being so kind.
"So to prove Islam is better I started to read more of the Koran and wrote down what was either good or interesting. But then I discovered things that weren't so good, like all this about cutting hands and taking multiple wives. So I decided not to read it anymore, but still wanted to divorce my husband.
"So I went to inform my sister about this, only to find that she too had become a Christian! And a little later, when my husband was away, she suggested we watch a movie together.
"It was all about Jesus, and I was so angry that people opposed him when he had done so many good things.
"Then suddenly I heard a voice saying: 'You are just the same! You are watching this, but cannot believe it.' I looked around to see who was speaking, but there was no-one there.
"I subsequently got quite depressed because I didn't have any kind of relationship with God and after all these years was suffering at the hands of my husband.
"So when my sister took a shower, I secretly picked up her Bible and started to read it. Eventually I prayed: 'If you're real and alive, can you start speaking to me as you speak to them?'
"And that evening I opened the Bible at random (as Muslims do with the Koran) and it fell open at Revelation (the last book of the New Testament). My eyes were drawn to the words of Jesus, which said: 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.' (Rev 3.20)
"I was so afraid I was shaking. So I closed the book, but then opened it again at the very same place, at which point I just fell down and said, 'OK, you are God; I want to accept you!'
"Next day I was crying when I called my husband, who at first misunderstood as he pleaded for me to give him another chance. But I told him that, when he came home, I wanted to read the Bible with him and together commit our way to Jesus.
"By this time he too was crying as he thanked God for answering his prayers.
"When he returned, my heart had been totally changed and I was in love with my husband. My two sons noticed the difference in our lives and how Jesus had brought peace out of conflict, and now all our family are serving God in church."
Esther finished by praying for all Iranians and believes the gift of God her family has experienced is also available to all Muslims.
PHOTO CREDIT: Carino Casas, Christ Church


Charles Gardner is author of Israel the ChosenHe recently reported live from At the Crossroads in Jerusalem. His previous reports can be found here:
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