Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Greetings
from Israel, before I head to the airport for home.
These
last 10 days in the Land of Israel were as usual – you never know who you are
going to meet. But then again, when the Lord lays out His plan, step by step,
and you walk in it, you know, “Yes, that was the Lord.”
As I consider some of
the more important aspects of this trip, I am grateful for the destination the
Lord had planned, and laid out day by day (there was a song like that…years
ago.) The people you stay with – along with their families and friends – and the
ones they interrelate alongside, make it more meaningful each time I am here.
Your love for them and desire to stand with them in these times grows in your
heart. You know it is part of the plan the Lord has for you. And for them.
Nissim and Hadassah Lerner, with Steve Martin
Being
with the ones we support through Love for
His People, such as the couple who have volunteered with Christian Friends
of Israel now for almost seven years (the accountant there knows the actual
length!) and the grandparents north of Jerusalem with 13 grandchildren living within
walking distance make it what it should be.
Patricia Solveson from Wisconsin, USA
Meeting the mural lady, Patricia Solveson, who incredibly painted the entire length and height of the cemetery where Derek
and Ruth Prince, Lance Lambert, and other men and women of God who are buried
there, who taught the Lord’s Word on the prophetic destination of the Jews in
this Land of theirs, and now have reached their eternal reward, was
amazing. She told me of the older Jewish man who would come to the
cemetery out of curiosity, and ask questions. “Why the Star of David on these
Christian headstones?” he inquired. By walking him through the biblical truth
laid out in dramatic colors on the wall, from Genesis to Revelation, he came to
know his Messiah too, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Katherine Joseph and Cindy Lou at CBN News Jerusalem
And now being able to say I have
met the faithful Christian and Messianic Jews who make up the CBN News staff,
who daily broadcast truth from the capital of Jerusalem to us living around the
world – these are part of the reason why I come. These are why so many
come. To be with the people of Israel.
Chris Mitchell - CBN News Middle East Chief Bureau
The
Lord is joining many to many, as He continues to lay it all out, fulfilling His eternal purposes and plans. Believing Jews
and believing Gentiles walking together, with Him bringing His Body ever closer to their
final destiny.
I will always stand with
Israel. My wife Laurie and I will join with those who do, from all the nations.
The Lord Jesus’ has given us the commitment, and the strength in Him, for this
purpose.
Jews and Gentiles together in Him - The God of Israel
I pray you are one counted among those who will also be there until the end.
I have been feeling the Lord saying "fire and favor" on families. The Lord is doing a DEEP work right now in the family unit. His Spirit is moving powerfully and bringing healing, restoration and freedom to families.
Last year, I had an encounter with the Lord where I saw the fire of God falling on houses and restoring family unit's and Jesus walking through houses bringing healing. When I felt the Lord begin to speak again on "fire and favor" on families, I asked Him for greater clarity.
I then heard the words "Now is the time for the DOUBLE PORTION." There have been breakthroughs that have begun in family units that began last year for many, but suddenly now there is a momentum in the Spirit that is happening in an acceleratory way. Where ground has begun to break, double portions are going to begin to manifest. Where there has been shame and dishonor in families, as the people of God have not given up and remained positioned, the Lord is doing a sudden work in families.
Time for a Double Portion
Many have felt like they were at the end of their rope with contending, praying and believing for breakthrough, healing and restoration of family, but I want to encourage you, not only is there breakthrough and healing in the atmosphere but it's time for a double portion of fire and favor of the Lord in family units. Don't stop crying out to the Lord. His heart is for family. His heart is for restoration and healing. Keep your heart in check before the Lord in the area of forgiveness and love. He is bringing healing to your heart!!
The fire of God is falling in exponential ways to bring a cleansing, a purifying, a strengthening, a refining and a sharpening. Passion is being reignited. As the people of God are crying out for their family units, where hurt, pain and issues have become so overwhelming and the focus of Jesus has been lost, He is taking His place again. He is taking His place again as the center. Revival is breaking out in families. It's time for a mass revival of the family unit on a corporate scale.
Marriages are being and are going to be restored suddenly. I saw "honeymoon" periods being restored in marriages. Do not give up seeking the Lord for your marriage. The Lord is bringing increase and strengthening to many good, strong marriages, and He is bringing healing, refreshing restoration and freedom to the marriages that have been struggling and broken as His people cry out.
I also saw many children holding keys. Many children are about to have encounters with the Lord that are going to be given keys to release healing, restoration, healing and impartations into families. Listen to what your children are hearing from the Lord, listen to the encounters that they are having, allow them to pray for you, for the Lord is using the children to bring significant impartations, atmospheric shifts and 'game changers."
Fresh Air and Refreshing
Favor is being released on family units that is going to release financial pressures, releasing heavy burdens and crippling circumstances. I saw the favor the Lord is releasing on family units bringing a "breath of fresh air and refreshing" over those family units that are being stressed, stretched and pressed on every side. The Lord is releasing surprise moves of His favor that is going to bring an "ease" upon many family units.
Don't give up contending for your family unit, for your marriages etc. The Lord is doing a deep, sudden work in the family unit and revival is and will increasingly break out in the family unit.
The Lord is doing this accelerated work in the family unit not only to bring breakthrough and healing to His people, but to move His people further forward and out into society as an example of how to do marriage and family well. The testimonies that come out of this season of seeing the Lord bring healing, refreshing, revival, strengthening and increase is going to see MANY broken families in society come into the Kingdom BECAUSE of your testimony.
Fire and favor is falling on the family unit! Keep crying out. He not only hears, He is moving on your behalf.
In this modern age of anxiety and unsettling images, fear seems to arrest the minds of many.
Based on what's being broadcast on television and social media, people are unsettled. Many envision atrocities that could afflict our families and unravel our quiet neighborhoods. Increasing unrest and suspicion grips the lives of multitudes.
I understand why. We live in an ever-plugged-in world of instant information and engagement. Every unfolding tragedy and crisis is presented to us in visceral video and sound bites. What once seemed far away, appears closer than ever.
I understand that being mindful of the world around us is essential. More importantly, as believers, we are called to carry the burdens of others and intercede for peace on the earth. No one who loves Jesus is given the freedom to disengage and ignore evil.
Yet, with all of that said, there's a line that cannot be crossed. Believers don't have the privilege of embracing fear. Whenever we're anxious, our incredible identity and calling is undermined. Christians simply cannot be world-changers if we're paralyzed by the fear of violence.
It may seem unnatural, but there should be an overwhelming freedom and joy - not trepidation. We shouldn't be anxious about anything. The trajectory of our lives should be shaped by the presence of God, not geo-politics. Those who love Jesus shouldn't fear man or be hesitant about where they stand - even as they take their final breath.
Even if a horrific event were to transpire, solace should be found in walking in the perfect love of Jesus.
The apostle John had the following to say about all this, "Perfect love casts out all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love" (1 John 4:18b).
Genuine citizens of the kingdom shouldn't be anxious about heaven or earth. Whether we live or whether we die, we're at peace. It's impossible to stop those who know the perfect love of God. Not even death can keep them from their destiny.
J.D. King, author and speaker, is the director of the World Revival Network.
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The answer for our nation may not be far from home.
In the spirit, as I began to hear families praying together, I sensed the Father saying: "I can hear the heart of America beginning to beat again and I can feel its pulse!"
I sense the real warfare over our nation is against the very core of any nation: the family! I have heard of many types of prayer alerts for our nation at this time, but I sense an urgent call from the throne room for "families to pray together at this critical time in our nation."
The decree that turned the nation of Israel back to God: "AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD." Joshua 24:15.
As Joshua was declaring to the nation of Israel, to choose life or death, he was proclaiming the importance of not only his personal choice, but also his heart for his family.
I believe Joshua's heart for every father and mother was for them to decree that their families would serve the Lord also. Was he sensing the power that families hold in influencing the whole nation from being destroyed? He believed if God could save him, God could save his family. And if God could save his family, He could also save the whole nation!
Could it be since the garden of Eden that the enemy well knows that families hold the hidden power to destroy his kingdom and deliver whole nations? Is it any wonder why he unleashes hell upon families?
I know many of you have been praying for your family also. Yet I am sensing an urgent call, as parents, to not only pray for our children, but to build an altar and call the family members together - to pray 'with' them.
I sense our sons and daughters hold the keys to some of our own breakthroughs that we, as parents, desperately need at this time. And, as parents, we hold some keys to our sons and daughters healings and miracles that are needed as well.
THE FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER AND HAS THE STAYING POWER TO UNDERGIRD A NATION!
Let's decree together: "As for me and my house and my nation, we will serve the Lord!"
Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The problem is that I’ve yet to meet a family that fits into Tolstoy’s tidy categories of “happy” and “unhappy.” The reality is far messier. Put tears and laughter, love and betrayal, fights and hugs into a blender and out will come a family. Even in homes where the walls are decorated with portraits of grinning moms and dads and kids, there’s usually a closet door that’s kept shut. Last week we were reminded of that, when the media flung open that door in the Duggar family home. And the skeletons came spilling out.
Josh Duggar, now twenty seven, the oldest son in TLC’s hit show, “19 Kids and Counting,” sexually abused five underage girls—four of them his sisters—when he was in his early teens. On the family’s Facebook page, Josh, his wife, and his parents have acknowledged this, as well as described how they addressed the abuse a dozen years ago when it occurred. Josh, who had been a lobbyist in Washington D.C. for the Family Research Council, has since resigned his position. And TLC will not be airing any episodes of “19 Kids and Counting” for the foreseeable future.
What happened within this family is many things—tragic and abusive, shameful and selfish, destructive and deceptive. It is all manner of evil, no matter how you look it. But there is one thing that it is surely not: it is not surprising. Not in the least. The only ones stunned by this revelation of abuse are most likely those who assume that the Duggar family image on their reality show does, in fact, accurately reflect reality. But there is no reason why this family’s secret should be shocking, especially to the Christian. The Duggars are not the pristine, ideal family that their television show portrays them as being. They never have been, nor will they ever be. Nor is any family. They are parents, sons, and daughters who have a civil war raging within each of them. It just so happens that Josh’s particular battles, and the pain he inflicted upon others as a result, have taken center stage.
Consider these words: “I don’t understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” These are the words of Paul, the one we’ve dubbed Saint Paul. He frankly admits that he’s anything but a model of moral perfection. “I do the very thing I hate,” he admits. He’s got a civil war raging inside him, too. He’s fully sinful in himself and fully righteous in Jesus Christ, all at the same time. He is what the Reformers called simul justus et peccator (simultaneously saint and sinner). What Paul’s particular struggles were, what those things he hated were, he doesn’t say. He doesn’t have to. He’s simply upfront about his condition—the fallen, curved-in-on-itself human condition.
As it was with Paul, so it is with the Duggars, and so it is with every Christian: each of us lugs around an old corrupt nature that we won’t shed this side of the grave. Of course, that nature rears its ugly head in different ways with each person, sometimes in ways that must be addressed with spiritual as well as psychological help. With Josh, sadly, it was through sexual abuse; with others it’s through addictions and greed and hate and selfishness of every kind. But one thing is certain: not just Josh but all of us harbor our demons. And the sinful nature within us is daily clawing its way out to manifest itself in ways great and small, public and private. Only liars and fools pretend otherwise.
The sooner we as individual Christians, as Christian families, and as churches present ourselves to the world that way, the better. Believers face more than petty allurements, make more than “mistakes.” We fail and fall in mega ways.
Dear world, do you struggle with alcohol or drug abuse? So do we believers. Dear world, has your family been wounded by infidelities? So have ours. Dear world, have your children hurt each other through sexual abuse? Yes, ours too.
Dear world, do your families members commit crimes and end up in prison? Ours too.
Dear world, do you have a closet full of skeletons? So do we Christians.
The greatest witness that Christians can present to the world is not their own morality, their ideal family, or their dream marriage, but their weaknesses and sins and failures, all of which have been atoned for by the crucified and resurrected Jesus. Our witness is never, “Look at how well we’re doing at being good,” but always, “Look at the good Savior who died for our evils.”
Here’s what happens inside the closed doors of Christian families: sinners live together in very close proximity. And you know what that means. Husbands who are righteous in Christ, but sinful in themselves, do and say mean and hurtful things to their wives. Wives who are righteous in Christ, but sinful in themselves, do and say mean and hurtful things to their husbands. Christian children mess up big time, rebel, and yes, sometimes sexually abuse others. We do terrible things. Tempers flare, eyes lust, tongues yell. In other words, sinners act the way sinners are. We are no better than the world is. Nor should we claim to be. We are far from perfect. We are by nature sinful and unclean. And because of that, we return, again and again, to the blood Christ shed that atones for our sins—the same blood, dear world, that has atoned for yours as well.
Christians families do not live on the mountaintop of morality but at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. In his shadow is shelter from the burning sun of iniquity. Whatever repercussions Josh may experience from what he’s done, he will find at the foot of the cross a God who does not punish him, but says, “I love you. I have forgiven you. My blood has made you whiter than snow.” If this seems scandalous, then you’re beginning to understand the grace of Christ. Christ’s love is a scandalous gift. He didn’t die for the not-so-sinful portion of humanity. He was crucified for all. He died for sexual abusers, murderers, gossips, hatemongers, adulterers, pornographers, and you—whoever you are, whatever skeletons may be piled in your family closet.
But there’s still more that Jesus did. Christ took upon himself the shame that others inflict upon innocent victims. He lived and died and rose again for the girls that Josh abused. The battered wife, the rape victim, the child whose bedtime lullaby was the screams of a drunk father—these who have been physically, emotionally, and psychologically harmed by the evils of others, they too find peace and wholeness in the battle-torn, broken body of the Son of God. He didn’t just die to forgive us for the wrongs we do, but to provide us with healing from the wrongs others do to us. For in Christ, the Spirit puts us into communion with a restoring God. He gives us the peace that passes understanding. Not the evil that others have done to us, but the good Christ has done for us, is what defines who we are. We are God’s sons and daughters. We are adopted into the family of a Father whose greatest joy is loving and embracing us as the dearest things in all creation to him.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have said, “We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family.” We would echo that prayer, and add to it. I would pray that as people watch their lives—and as they watch the life of my family as well—they would see families that boast only of their weaknesses, that do not deny their flaws, and that find peace and healing only in Jesus Christ.
We are all the Duggars. We are all dysfunctional sinners living in flawed families upheld by grace. There is only one who is perfect, the one who became our sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And in his wounds, bleeding with love, all of us find healing.
I have no desire to pile on with more comments about Josh Duggar, who appears to be a very serious and committed Christian and who has made no excuses for the sins of his youth and who deeply desires to make a positive impact for the Lord in the years ahead. I simply want to share some redemptive thoughts, supplementing some of the excellent statements made by others, including former governor Mike Huckabee and Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore.
1. Jesus really does change people. While critics of the Duggar family want to indict them (along with other evangelical Christians, especially those with large families) for Josh's actions, and while many seem ready to throw Josh under the bus, the fact is that while he did sin grievously, through repentance, faith and counseling, he became a new man. Jesus really does transform sinners.
How many of us did wicked things as teenagers? I was shooting heroin at the age of 15 and broke into some houses and even stole money from my own father before being radically converted at the age of 16. I was profane, filled with pride, anger and lust, yet the Lord had mercy on me and totally turned my life around.
Some of us continued to live like this into our adult years, only to find mercy and new life then, meaning that the transformation was even more dramatic.
For me, the first lesson from this story is this: Whoever you are, whatever you've done, there is hope in the Lord. As Mike Huckabee said, "'inexcusable' ... doesn't mean 'unforgivable.'"
As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
2. There's no excuse for sin, so own up to it. In today's culture, almost no one is guilty of anything. It's someone else's fault, someone else's responsibility, not our own. We're all victims, and the reason we do bad things is because someone else wronged us. Isn't that how we think today?
I've even heard athletes apologize for some really heinous actions by saying, "I'm not happy with the way things happened," rather than saying, "What I did was wrong and I have no excuses. Please forgive me. I'm seeking to get to the root of my problems and address them."
What a vast difference between the two attitudes.
As Proverbs states, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (28:13).
According to the accounts we've all heard, Josh confessed his sin to his parents as well as to the proper authorities, and as a family, they worked through the issues. Now, half a lifetime later (he's 27 and is married with four children), when confronted with a police report about his past, he did not minimize his sin nor did he excuse it. He also resigned from the fine Christian organization for whom he worked, not wanting to bring any negative attention to their work.
When I see someone respond like this, I am filled with hope. In fact, over the years, I've seen that people who committed uglier sins but took full responsibility and repented did far better than those who committed less serious sins and tried to sweep them under the rug.
3. Even godly families have kids who mess up badly. Nancy and I only had two kids, and we sought to be godly parents and set godly examples. Yet our older daughter went through a real period of rebellion in her teen years.
As parents, we felt miserable, and I would wonder what I was doing wrong.
Of course, we dealt with her rebellion head on and prayed like crazy for her to really encounter the Lord, but while it was happening, it was terribly deflating spiritually. What kind of father am I? How can I be so ineffective?
Today, we all laugh about those years, and our daughter, who is now 37 and is a devoted wife and mother, is so grateful for the way she was raised. (She and Nancy are the best of friends and are in constant contact.)
The fact that the Duggars, who successfully raised 19 children in the Lord (who can imagine that?), had to deal with one of their kids committing serious sexual sin at 14 should actually encourage other parents rather than discourage them. And perhaps, they can teach us today how this tragic incident helped them come together as a family and draw closer to the Lord.
4. Josh can be an ambassador on behalf of the abused, even helping the abusers, as well. While it can feel like your life is over when your past, largely private sins become public (how many of us would like for that to happen?), the fact is that Josh's future can be bright in the Lord.
He can call on others who are sinning to come clean and get help, using his own example redemptively. And he can encourage those who have been abused to realize that they are not guilty and should not feel shame, also encouraging churches to embrace those who come for help rather than making them feel as if there is something wrong with them.
Why should those who have suffered abuse be stigmatized? They should be our priority for healing and restoration.
5. We need to be careful how we judge. There are many fans of the Duggars who are upset with what they feel is a witch hunt against a godly family, representing one more attempt to remove them from reality TV. (Let me say without qualification that there is life after reality TV, and if the Duggars never do another broadcast, their lives can still be overwhelmingly blessed.)
But would we have had this same attitude of judgment if this was the child of a gay couple? Would we have said, "This proves that gay parents are no good!"?
I certainly believe that kids deserve a mom and a dad and that, optimally, they will do best with a mom and dad, but I don't indict all gay couples because of the failings of one of their kids
So, if you want to show mercy, be consistent. We can all fall into the trap of selective compassion.
6. There are consequences to our actions, but with God, our worst mistakes can become stepping stones to spiritual growth.
Most of us have done things we wish we could take back, and in some cases, the consequences of our bad choices and sinful actions last for decades. Yet with the Lord, no matter how great the stigma of our sin, if we will humble ourselves before Him, He can take those stumbling blocks and turn them into stepping stones, to the point that the worst things that ever happened to us become the best things that ever happened to us.
To the core of His being, God is a redeemer, and I'm personally praying and believing that for Josh Duggar and his entire family, God will turn this painful situation around for greater good.
