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.
A group of Orthodox rabbis have issued a public statement calling Christianity a gift to the world.
"We acknowledge that Christianity is neither an accident nor an error, but the willed divine outcome and gift to the nations," read the statement published by the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation in Israel.
This comes after nearly two millennia of mutual hostility and alienation between Jews and Christians.
The statement, titled "To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven: Toward a Partnership between Jews and Christians," has been signed by more than two dozen Orthodox rabbis so far, including those from the U.S. and the chief rabbis of two European countries.
It calls for cooperation between Jews and Christians to address the moral and religious challenges of our times.
"We seek to do the will of our Father in Heaven by accepting the hand offered to us by our Christian brothers and sisters. Jews and Christians must work together as partners to address the moral challenges of our era," the statement read.
While the group wants Jews and Christians to work together, it acknowledged the differences between the faiths.
"Our partnership in no way minimizes the ongoing differences between the two communities and two religions," the rabbis said. "We believe that G-d employs many messengers to reveal His truth, while we affirm the fundamental ethical obligations that all people have before G-d that Judaism has always taught through the universal Noahide covenant."
"Christians are fast disappearing from entire regions - most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East but also whole dioceses in Africa. In large part, this migration is the product of an ethnic cleansing motivated by religious hatred," the report says.
As a result of the persecution against Christians, a massive exodus is happening in parts of the Middle East, notably Syria and Iraq.
Christianity could disappear from Iraq within the next five years if the situation doesn't change, ACN's John Pontifex told CBN's George Thomas. Click to watch more.
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote a letter addressing the situation to introduce the ACN report to the House of Lords.
"No believer should have to live in fear, and this is why (the British) Government is committed to promoting religious freedom and tolerance at home and around the world," Cameron wrote.
"This report serves as a voice for the voiceless, from their prison cells and the places far from home where they have sought refuge," he said. "Now is not the time for silence. We must stand together and fight for a world where no one is persecuted because of what they believe."
ACN's report says Christians are now the most persecuted faith group in the world, citing the International Society for Human Rights 2012 report, which estimates that 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination were against Christians.
What is God's answer to the moral insanity of the world? Jesus the Messiah, crucified and risen. Jesus the Messiah, the Lord of all.
God's answer to human rebellion remains the same as it has always been: the cross of Christ. That must be the answer we proclaim to the world, without shame or doubt.
It is true that we are in the midst of an unprecedented moral and cultural decline in our nation, and it is true that there is no political or social solution that can turn the tide.
But it is also true that the world has been crazy since Adam's fall, in a constant state of alienation from the Lord (Eph. 2:1-3; remember that Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was guilty of fratricide, murdering his younger brother Abel).
Why should it surprise when sinners sin and when the ungodly commit godless acts? Why should it surprise us when the darkness resists the light?
John wrote that the whole world is under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), the god of this age, whom Paul tells us has blinded the minds of those who do not believe (2 Cor. 4:4).
Is it any wonder that the world hates God and His Word?
Certainly, it is right for us to be grieved over the sin of the world, and it is right for us, as children of light, to expose it (Eph. 5:11-14). But it is wrong for us to expect a political leader or party to turn America to God or even to expect the secular media to report righteously.
We alone have the antidote to our nation's moral malaise. We alone have the solution, and it is found in a person, the Lord Jesus, and in a message, the gospel. Transformation comes through Him.
Last month, on May 13, I devoted an entire two-hour broadcast on "The Line of Fire" to the theme, "Such Were Some of You," asking callers to share their testimonies, and the testimonies they shared were extraordinary, moving me to tears.
I also asked people to post a short note on Facebook, sharing what the Lord had delivered them from, and there too, the responses were overwhelming.
Janet posted, "Suicide at age 19. I will be turning 60 years old this month."
Delcio wrote, "All sort of vices, prostitution, porn, lies, killing myself or anybody else, ultimately Hell. In short, he saved me from my old self... (sinful and destructive nature)."
J. D. added, "Occultism, porn addiction, terrorizing women, writing violent music. He's our deliverer! Free 7 years now!"
Michael wrote, "Jesus saved me from heroin, a life of homosexuality, and hell. He saved me from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and one day the very presence of its existence. He saved me from self so that he could be magnified in me whether by life or by death."
Terry posted, "Drug dealing, pot smoking and growing, cocaine snorting, licentious lifestyle that had me bound for the eternal torments of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Other than that, I was a good ole boy according to the world's standards."
Natalie said, "He saved me from suicide, partying, gossip, drugs, and a completely lost mindset."
Thomas added, "Insanity; He has miraculously saved me from death 3 or 4 times."
And on and on it went, by the hundreds, as believers from every hellish and hopeless background called and posted with amazing testimonies of the grace of God.
What happens, then, when the numbers of those transformed by the gospel multiply and grow? What happens when the thousands become millions and the millions become tens of millions?
That's when we have a brand new Jesus Revolution, a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution that will rock this nation to its very foundations. It is the revolution America must have.
I'm all for proper political involvement and righteous social action, and these do play a role in cultural transformation. But that role is small compared with the role played by a fresh outpouring of the Spirit on the church accompanied by the preaching of the cross and resurrection, the message that is foolishness in the eyes of man but represents the very power of God in action.
That alone is the path to a national awakening, and without the fearless and compassionate proclamation of the gospel, there will not be a holy counterculture revolution, a pushing back of the tide of godlessness.
So let us seek God earnestly with prayer and fasting, knowing that revival comes from Him, let us conduct ourselves as true followers of Jesus, not being conformed to the pattern of this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), and let us share the good news about our Savior whenever and wherever we can: Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, rising from the dead to declare His victory, and ascending to the right hand of the Father. He is the Lord of all.
"Prophetic Alert: God Is Preparing the Nations of the World For
True Prophets Of God"
Kim Clement, Camarillo, CA
Prophesied on January 17th, 2015 - From The Den
We Are Giant Slayers!
Is this the end? No! I see light in the nations. I see the Jews returning to their land from all over the world. "Do not fear," says the Lord. "If you fear, they will know it. If you fear, your enemies will know it. Do you remember when the spies returned from the land and they said we are afraid for the giants are in the land. They said these words: They said, 'They saw us as grasshoppers, therefore we saw ourselves as grasshoppers. Therefore, they saw us as grasshoppers as well.'"
We are not grasshoppers! We are giant slayers. We are Davids of this world! We are Davids of this world! We don't see the giants; we see the slayed. We see a mighty army being raised up.
Arise in this meeting, O Lord. Speak to us and destroy the power of our enemies, I pray in the Name Yeshua!
God is Preparing the Nations for True Prophets
And the Spirit of the Lord told me, "It is impossible for the nations to conduct this kind of warfare without prophetic insight and wisdom."And so as He said those words to me, He said,"I am preparing the world, the nations of the world, I am preparing them for the prophets.You may say, 'Well, there are plenty of prophets around.'" (Photo by Jennifer Page "Victory Shield" via elijahshopper.com)
I want you to know that God is preparing the nations of the world for true prophets of God – not prophets that will prophesy the judgments that we continually hear about; God judging our nation and God judging America. We've heard that. Judgments will come and go; but what about the blessing of God that I have spoken about so many times?
God told me that it is time for true prophets to arise and offer an intelligence that is not available by the Secret Service, by the CIA, by MI5, 6 or 7.
I want you to know, it is not available. God is bringing to the fore, true prophets that will show the exact whereabouts; it's happened with me. I saw this; I even saw a person arising out of ISIS and prophesied it years ago that would have one eye that would be blinded. But actually, underneath all of that, he became a Believer.
It is my firm belief as I address you today, and I will prophesy it to the kings of the earth, that: God has purposed to raise out of this horrific movement of terrorism and hatred, strong Believers that will proclaim the name of Yeshua. If you truly believe that, say yes!
Are you seeing what I'm hearing? I'm hearing the sound of victory. I'm hearing the sound of a multitude of God's army that are preparing for a global awakening in the world right now – a move of the Spirit that is unprecedented; has never been seen or felt ever before.
God is Going to Deal with ISIS
God has purposed to confound this enemy like no other. Not Al-Qaeda; not one of them has ever been dealt with in the manner that God is going to deal with ISIS. Not only has ISIS come against God's people, but they have planned many other things in Canada. They're already present in the United States of America and in certain states. They're already present in Belgium and Germany. They're present in Turkey; they are present all over Europe as well. They are prepared for a huge battle.
However, when I was praying, I said to the Lord, "Open my eyes like You opened the eyes of Elisha." Suddenly my eyes were opened and I saw it. I saw thousands of angels gathered to fight this fight. Do you really believe that God's going to leave us alone? Do you really believe that God's going to do nothing about this terrible attack that's come against our children, against the children and the future?
They're not attacking the present; they are attacking the future. And when they attack the future, they are attacking Omega. When they attack the future, they are attacking the end, the last; they are attacking the One who is, who always will be, who has made a declaration that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
Canada will be protected. Colorado will be protected. New Mexico will be protected (in the United States, now). New York, over and over and over, will be protected. God will protect even Chicago even though He sniffs at it and there is a stench, is what He said to me. He said He will even protect the Capitol... He's going to do it over and over again as long as you and I pray with insight and not with fear. We act out of faith and not fear and unbelief.
If the enemy is doing so much, why would God sit and do nothing? No, He's not. There are conversions taking place. Nine groups will arise that will be dissatisfied with ISIS and they will even be worse and yet they will not plunder the righteous of the Lord. They will not touch them. There will be a few deaths here and there, but what they are planning will not happen.
As Long As the Church Prays, There Will Be Victory
There are many other states that God told me about."Even so because of My elect. Even because of My elect will I protect," says the Lord. This is a very big Prophetic Alert. I want you to listen.
Their names will be scrolled out... 1, 2, 3... 10, 20 of them at a time, as they are exposed. And one of the biggest leaders that has been in hiding shall cry out for help before the summer comes to this nation. They will say, "How could he have fallen so strongly?" Because, you see, God says, "I have put agents in their midst who will betray them and the betrayal shall hurt them so badly and pierce them so badly that they will cry out and scatter."
You've got to understand – God has a plan. Have you seen it?
Do you understand that He has young people that He's going to raise up – your young people, your grandchildren that He's going to raise up to be a voice in this nation and the nations of the earth.(Photo via flickr)
"England, watch out. England, watch out! Watch out who you align yourself with. Russia has stretched its hand out and it has said to the clergy and to the religious, 'Come, let us reason together, let us join our hearts together.' Pope Francis, watch out; watch out what you say, watch out what you do for I'm watching you as well. Even though I promised life to you, watch out, for you are also – there is also a spirit of betrayal that exists and speaks into your ear."
God is not pleased with religion yet we see from Russia, them stretching out their hand to shake. "What shaking is this?" says the Lord? "I will not allow it," for God says, "My Church is praying and as long as My Church prays, there will be victory," says the Lord.
Kim Clement: The life of Kim Clement is an expression that has defined "the prophet" for the modern era. This has made his journey unique; a journey that has taken his inspired message to schools and colleges, churches and synagogues, alleyways and prison cells. Kim's prophetic gift is a magnet that has drawn a broad audience, as he has whispered to kings and inspired prisoners; his path through life continues to be an exciting adventure.
His diverse and extemporaneous perspective has gained him notoriety that transcends culture, race and religion, placing him onto a world platform. He has performed at the Rose Bowl Stadium in California, Times Square in New York City, Mt. Carmel in Israel, and even the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Mike and I just traveled to Asia to teach in Korea and Hong Kong. We were scheduled to go to Korea two years ago to minister, but I cancelled to stay at my sister's side the weeks before she went to Heaven.
Asia is special to us, perhaps because we have been going since the early '90s. It is said that old friends are good friends, and while that is true, when one is in Christ, the bond goes much deeper; we begin to experience something the Bible reveals to us as Believers, and we become family.
Our first stop on the journey was Seoul, Korea. It is hard to describe this nation without intertwining the impact of the Gospel on the land; it has literally gone from what was known as the "Hermit Kingdom" to one of the most booming economies in the world. Korea is right up at the top with the leaders in the tech and automotive industries. One only has to drive down a street to realize the reformation principles placed in the nation through the education systems started by early missionaries have caused the nation to thrive.
A Recent Time of Mourning
As we landed at Inchon International Airport, my thoughts were on this amazing nation and their recent deep sorrow – a ferryboat sank with school children and resulted in around three hundred deaths. There are testimonies of text messages sent from young Christian students who gave up their life vests to other classmates. No doubt these stories will live for generations and keep their memories alive in the collective heart of the nation. Later in the trip, we were told this incident was the "Korean 911."
(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The spirit of mourning was palpable as we sat with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We knew we needed to bring comfort and hope, not only for their sakes, but also so the missions movement that is a huge part of the nation's destiny would not be slowed down. I knew that would actually dishonor those whose lives were tragically cut short.
Continuous Prayer with Repentance and Reconciliation
Pastor Hye Ja Kim and Young Dong of First Church worked tirelessly to prepare. They also spent hours in prayer. In fact, they have had 24 hours of prayer continually since I gave them a word about it in 1997.
Their youth had all-night prayer meetings to prepare and prayed around the building at Sejong, the university where we would meet. The campus is lovely with beautiful statues of Christ in different Biblical scenes.
Over four thousand attended the conference. The power of God was evident from the first night. The other speakers were Pastor Takimoto from Japan (he is 86 years old, the head of All Revival Koshien Mission, and an old friend), Jerome Ocampo of the JREV in the Philippines (a next generation leader who has mobilized more than 100,000 youth to pray for his nation), and Dutch Sheets.
Powerful times of reconciliation and repentance took place. Pastor Takimoto repented on behalf of the Japanese Church leaders who came to Korea during the Japanese Occupation and told the Korean Church leaders that it was okay to bow down to the Emperor of Japan and Amaterasu in the Shinto Shrines. The Japanese built them all over the country in order to spiritually control the nation. He also asked forgiveness from those whose ancestors were killed by the occupiers. There were many tears, especially from the older generation.
The Role of Korea
I preached prophetically on the role of Korea in God's end-time move. The conference theme was Prepare the Way. I gave what I see as three previous awakenings of the nation and spoke of another awakening still to come.
1. The 1907 Revival in Phong Yang: the start of the early morning prayer meetings 2. The Evangelism Movement sparked by Billy Graham's visit and Expo 3. The Charismatic Movement in the '60s 4. A fourth movement still to come that will be like a tsunami wave of people changing both Korea, with a Jesus People style movement, and the world, with a missions movement
On the last night Dutch preached on the heart of David and the identity of Korea; it was like a spiritual eruption took place as people threw off shackles of hopelessness and despair. A leader named Joshua, proclaiming the role of the Korean Church and its role as David to fight Goliath and as the tribe of Judah, declared, "We are not kittens; we are lions!"
(Photo via Pixabay)
Indeed, the sleeping Church awakened.
We caught an early morning flight to Hong Kong in order to have lunch with a good friend before the Empowered 21 Asia conference. Going to the meeting was like old home week for us. They had asked us to minister to the people, not on simple inspiration themes, but on that which would heal the generations.
I spoke on the theme of the spirit of Elijah and the Father's heart; the text was from Luke 1:17, and I spoke into the healing of orphan hearts among Asians. The power to heal broken hearts was manifested, and one could hear open weeping all over the center packed with 4,000 leaders from the continent of Asia and island nations such as Japan. I would say the majority of the participants had never heard their own fathers say, "I love you," in their entire lives, such tender, but powerful words.
My friend, Billy Wilson, the President of Oral Roberts University and the founder of Empowered 21, tag-teamed the message with his own message on the Father's heart, including his own personal testimony. We ministered together afterwards, and God's power and tender loving kindness swept the center from the top to the bottom.
I really believe many of the problems we have with fighting in the Church and competition between businesses and nations are symptoms of unhealed hearts from a lack of spiritual parenting.
Surely God was smiling from Heaven as He was able to wrap His loving arms around His children from the beautiful harbor city of Hong Kong. The Spirit of Elijah was released to heal generations from Asia that will have an impact to the ends of the earth.
Cindy Jacobs is a respected prophet who travels the world, ministering not only to crowds of people but to heads of nations. Her first calling is and always will be prophetic intercession. Each year she travels, and she has spoken on nearly every inhabited continent to tens of thousands. Yet, in her heart is the memory that Jesus left the ninety-and-nine to go to the one. Generals International is an international church movement, reforming the nations of the world back to a Biblical worldview. They are achieving societal transformation through intercession and the prophetic.
Cindy has authored seven books, loves to travel and speak, but one of her favorite past-times is spending time with her husband Mike and their children Daniel and Mary Madison, along with her five adorable grandchildren.
The world truly needs to see the real Jesus, and real believers. We are the ones called to show Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach, to the world. Let each of us do our part.
“…First gather up the tares and bind them in
bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn." Matthew 13:30
NAS
I have something for you
to think about, just in case it is true.
How would you live today
if you believed you were going to leave this planet tomorrow? Would you sit in
your comfy chair and wait out the next 24 hours? Would you run to the nearest
movie and watch one more action thriller, or play the DVR and view the make-believe
TV fairy tale?
Would you consider
writing a letter to a loved one, advising them of things to be on the lookout
for, so they wouldn’t possibly make the same mistakes you made while living?
Would you care about those who didn’t know what you know?
What you do, or how you
respond and act while living, certainly may depend on your perception of what has
been written, or has been spoken, into your life. We typically do that which we
believe, whether we realize it or not. That is the way it is.
If the enemy of our soul
wanted to deceive us, and spread a well-conceived thought that we would escape
most of the end of the age’s events because we were getting out before it all
happened, how would we respond to what is daily happening? Our care level would
be very low, for we would act upon the belief that we wouldn’t be here anyway
to experience it, along with those unfortunate ones who will.
What if the words Jesus
(Yeshua) spoke to His disciples, about the end of the age, would occur as simply as He said they would, and not
be twisted by preachers and teachers centuries later, arriving at conclusions
He didn’t actually say?
Let’s look at one
passage of Scripture, and just read it for what Jesus does say.
“Yeshua put before them
another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in
his field; but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among
the wheat, then went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain,
the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir,
didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy
has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull
them up?’
But he said, ‘No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot
some of the wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together until the
harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first
and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.’” Matthew
13:24-30 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)
If you read it as simply
as I do, then you too just read, “collect the weeds first”, right? But I
thought the “wheat” was gathered first, or so we all have been taught as happening
first, as being the truth.
So if, as Yeshua said,
the weeds are taken out of the
field first, doesn’t that imply that the wheat would be harvested, or taken
out, afterwards? Sounds like that to me, if I don’t try to twist it around
another way.
Sure, this is just one
passage. Granted many others have been, and still are, used to “prove” we are
going to be “raptured” (a word not even in the Bible) before the tribulation at
the harvest time.
Of course there are many pre-trib, mid-trib and post-trib
theorists who have expounded on Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments,
teaching what they believe is the way it will be. I tend to take Yeshua’s word simply
at His word.
What if the devil wanted
to use all this confusion to get believers to just sit by and wait for the
world to go to hell, because the rapture will occur to take us out beforehand anyway?
He would have a field day, now wouldn’t he?
But what if we just took
Jesus at HIS word, and do as He spoke to do, with one of His last commands, to “Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that
I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age." Matthew 28:19, NKJV
Should not we take a
different approach, that rather than waiting for the escape button to be pushed
from heaven, taking us out while the rest are “Left Behind”, that we aggressively go on the offensive, obey Yeshua’s
command, and take the Gospel message of discipleship to all the nations, knowing
He will be with us “even to the end of the age”?
I think so, and thus am
acting on HIS word.
Now think
on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People. Inc.
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.
In the churches I grew up in, all the crosses I saw were plain and empty—and usually painted white. We celebrated the fact that Jesus came off the cross and was raised from the dead on Resurrection Sunday. So I always considered the Catholic cross very odd because Jesus was still hanging there in bloody agony. Some people I knew even suggested that crucifixes should be avoided because they leave Jesus in perpetual death.
I’m not lobbying for anyone to wear a crucifix. But I do think we Protestants have at times been so fearful of Catholic doctrines that we minimized Jesus’ painful suffering. In the Gospels, plenty of time is spent describing the torture that led to Calvary and the pain Jesus suffered while nailed to a piece of wood. We should ponder what Jesus suffered if we ever hope to fathom the price He paid for our salvation.
Here are eight things we should think about during the days leading up to Easter:
1. He was betrayed by His disciple Judas. Jesus’ pain was not just physical. Can you imagine the sorrow He felt when one of His own trusted friends became the ultimate traitor? We aren’t exactly sure how to calculate the modern value of 30 pieces of silver, but many scholars suggest about $950. All the pain Jesus endured on Good Friday began the night before, when Judas took blood money to have his Master arrested.
Think about it: There’s a bit of Judas in all of us, and we all betrayed Jesus to get our own way. Yet He chose to forgive us!
2. He was abandoned by His other followers. We often focus on Peter’s denial of Jesus. But the Scriptures remind us that all of Jesus’ disciples “left Him and fled” after His arrest (Mark 14:50, NASB). Jesus had to suffer alone. All the men He had taught and invested in for three and a half years abandoned Him in His hour of need.
Think about it: Jesus paid it all. He accomplished His work of redemption without our help. But He forgave us for our denials!
3. He carried the burden of the sins of the world. Jesus’ greatest agony didn’t start on the cross. It began at Gethsemane, where God laid on His Son the sins of the world. Jesus agonized so intensely in those moments that He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Scholars say He probably developed a condition known as hematidrosis, in which blood is emitted through the sweat glands because of intense stress.
Think about it: Your sin was transferred to Jesus’ account, and He bore the punishment you deserved!
4. He was falsely accused and rejected by Jewish leaders. Can you imagine the heartache Jesus experienced when the very people He was sent to save spat in His face, blindfolded Him, cursed Him and accused Him of blasphemy? The Sanhedrin set up a kangaroo court and sentenced the Son of God to death.
Think about it: Jesus did not open His mouth in self-defense when He was falsely accused. Now, when Satan accuses you, Jesus argues your case and declares you not guilty!
5. He was mocked and abused by Roman guards. After Pilate caved into pressure from the Jews, Roman soldiers flogged Jesus with a whip, drove a crown of thorns into His scalp, beat His head with sticks and mockingly pretended to worship Him. The flogging alone—which would have involved leather cords with pieces of lead or bone attached—would have drained much of Jesus’ blood.
Think about it: Jesus could have called on angels to stop His torture—but He chose to endure the pain because He loved us!
6. He was crucified between two thieves. We cannot even fathom the pain of crucifixion. Metal spikes were driven into Jesus’ hands and feet, and He had to slide His mangled body up against the wood of the cross in order to catch His breath. And because it was the habit of Romans to crucify criminals naked, Jesus endured the ultimate shame. What's more, He hung on that crude cross next to two men who had been convicted of crimes—while He was completely innocent.
Think about it: We should have been on death row, not Jesus. But He took our place!
7. His body was pierced with a spear. Even after Jesus took His last breath, a soldier jabbed a spear up through the chest cavity—most likely to make sure Jesus was dead. John tells us that blood and water spilled out (John 19:34), evidence that the spear pierced the pericardium, the sac around the heart. Jesus’ heart was literally broken for us.
Think about it: Just as Adam’s side was opened to bring forth the first woman, Jesus’ side was opened to bring forth the church. His piercing produced a fountain of life for us!
8. He tasted death for all. This is the most horrible reality of the cross. Christ did not die metaphorically or symbolically. He died literally. The Son of God, who had never sinned—and who was least deserving of death—died so we could have life. His heart stopped beating, He stopped breathing and His spirit left Him. First Peter 3:18 says: “For Christ also died for sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.”
Think about it: Because Jesus died in our place, we no longer have to die. Eternal life is His free gift to us!
This Easter season, ponder the steps the Savior took from Gethsemane to Golgotha. Look at His nail-pierced hands and feet. Take a careful survey of His wondrous cross, and thank Him for hanging there six hours for you.
Note: If you know someone who doesn’t understand what Jesus did for them on the cross, please forward this article to them—and invite them to your church on Easter Sunday.
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at@leegrady. He is the author of The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and other books.
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And the Spirit of the Lord told me, "It is impossible for the nations to conduct this kind of warfare without prophetic insight and wisdom."And so as He said those words to me, He said,"I am preparing the world, the nations of the world, I am preparing them for the prophets.You may say, 'Well, there are plenty of prophets around.'" (Photo by Jennifer Page "Victory Shield" via elijahshopper.com)
However, when I was praying, I said to the Lord, "Open my eyes like You opened the eyes of Elisha." Suddenly my eyes were opened and I saw it. I saw thousands of angels gathered to fight this fight. Do you really believe that God's going to leave us alone? Do you really believe that God's going to do nothing about this terrible attack that's come against our children, against the children and the future? 
You've got to understand – God has a plan. Have you seen it?
Asia: The Missionary Wave
As we landed at Inchon International Airport, my thoughts were on this amazing nation and their recent deep sorrow – a ferryboat sank with school children and resulted in around three hundred deaths. There are testimonies of text messages sent from young Christian students who gave up their life vests to other classmates. No doubt these stories will live for generations and keep their memories alive in the collective heart of the nation. Later in the trip, we were told this incident was the "Korean 911." 
On the last night Dutch preached on the heart of David and the identity of Korea; it was like a spiritual eruption took place as people threw off shackles of hopelessness and despair. A leader named Joshua, proclaiming the role of the Korean Church and its role as David to fight Goliath and as the tribe of Judah, declared, "We are not kittens; we are lions!" 
