Judgment or Awakening? My Response to America's Great Fall - Jennifer LeClaire

Judgment or Awakening? My Response to America's Great Fall

6/29/2015 JENNIFER LECLARIE  charisma news

The Supreme Court voted to overturn a ban on gay marriage, causing a massive ripple effect. (Reuters)

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit, a new podcast from Charisma. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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When I learned the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage I went into what you might call spiritual shock. I almost felt like someone had died. Someone didn't, but something did. True liberty and justice for all. I am grieving right now over the false freedom that was birthed out of a false equality movement. I am mourning because true freedom and true equality have been replaced by a counterfeit crusade that truly sets no one free. I am weeping because America has fallen and many in the church are being caught up in the Great Falling Away.

A line in the sand was long ago drawn. Our tyrannical government crossed that line on June 26, 2015. When five Supreme Court justices trampled state rights they knew all too well Christian rights would be trampled along with them. Call it a betrayal of our Constitution. Call it an anti-Christ agenda. Call it an assault on religious freedom. It's all that and more.

See, crossing this line in the name of equality was a spiritual assault on every believer who calls on the name of Jesus. This isn't about allowing gays to get married. No, not really. While I stand against gay marriage, it's not the letter of the law that concerns me most. It the spirit behind the law that truly grieves me. This ruling will open the floodgates to a tsunami of perversion in the land. Pedophiles now want the same rights as same-sex couples. But that's the topic of another column.

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Of course, we wrestle not against flesh and blood (see Eph. 6:12). Our nemesis here is essentially the spirit of the world (see 1 Cor. 2:12). The church opened the door to the spirit of the world long ago, as is evidenced by the adultery, child molestation, financial improprieties and other scandals running rampant in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, we've discovered it's not so easy to shut the door. High-profile pastors and entire denominations are capitulating to the popular opinion on gay marriage. As Charisma Media founder Steve Strang so aptly wrote, it's time to stand up and be counted.

I would say that persecution is coming except that it's already here. Bakeries, bed and breakfasts, pizza shops and farmers are being sued for refusing to accommodate gay weddings. Public officials are being fired for standing for the truth and military chaplains are being told they cannot pray in the name of Jesus. As the saying goes, you ain't seen nothing yet.

So what is my response to America's great fall? Will we see a great judgment as so many are saying in this hour? Or will we see a great awakening that spills over into the nations of the earth? This is my response: I am grieving, but I will not fear. I am mourning, but I will not compromise. I am weeping, but I know joy will come in the morning and that joy will strengthen my hope. All is not lost. Yes, we deserve judgment, but I am still believing for mercy. If Jesus gave Jezebel and Nineveh a space to repent, there is still hope for America. And faith is the substance of things hoped for. So I hope and I believe that it will be just as the Lord told me. The Holy Spirit woke me up after midnight on April 21, 2007—long before I ever discerned the need for a Great Awakening—and told me this:

There is a great awakening coming to this nation. For I have heard your cries and I long to heal your land. I am a covenant God and I will not forget the covenant I made with your Founding Forefathers. Yes, there will be a shaking, but the foundations will not crack and they will not crumble. Only those things which can be shaken will be shaken that the sin in the land may be laid bare.

Repentance. I require repentance from My people who have through the generations allowed the enemy to take ground in this nation. I require repentance for the abortions and for the prayerlessness. I require repentance for the apathy and for the idolatry. You shall have no other Gods before me. I am indeed the God of America.

Yes, there is a great awakening coming to this nation. I am the Author of it and I will bring it to pass. Just turn from your wicked ways and humble yourselves. Stand in the gap and make up the hedge. I am the Lord and I am a Warrior. I will not leave or forsake this country. I will fight through you and with you to regain what has been lost.

Be encouraged now because as you go forth boldly with My Word and My Spirit there will be the sound of truth and it will prevail in the land. Speak boldly and clearly and watch as the mighty men arise to take their positions on the wall and in the churches and in the marketplaces. For I am raising up deliverers and reformers in this generation who will not shrink back at the challenge that is coming in the days ahead.

Yes, it will grow darker before My light shines brightly from this nation again. But the light has not been extinguished and will not be extinguished. The time to rise up is now. I am calling you to war. I am calling you to repentance. I am calling you to My side. I am the captain of the hosts. I am calling you to victory. I am calling you to destiny. Will you answer?

I believe this so much that I've set my heart labor for it with everything in me until I see it come to pass. I wrote a book on the topic that released almost eight years to the day after I received that prophetic word. In The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening, I included thoughts and perspectives from the likes of Franklin Graham, Reinhard Bonnke, Greg Laurie, Dr. Michael Brown, the late Steve Hill and many others and we're all agreeing for a spiritual awakening.

I have to keep believing even in the midst of a raging spiritual war. I believe America as we know it died last Friday but I believe America can be born again. Like Winston Churchill said during World War II when the situation looked dire, "Never, never, never, never give up."

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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"The Parable of the Sand Bucket" - Dr. Theresa Phillips

"The Parable of the Sand Bucket"

Dr. Theresa Phillips, Saint Charles, IL

The Elijah List

While in prayer recently, I sensed the SHIFT coming...or I thought. We have all heard about it, but somehow I sensed it has already begun, or did it?

I heard the Lord's voice say, "I know the sorrows, the defeats, the accusers, and the battles you are facing and have been in. BUT, be of good cheer, I overcame these obstacles of the world."

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

I became quiet, and I then simply and honestly said, "Lord, I do love that, BUT that has not changed anything. I'm still in this battle, and I FEEL NO RELEASE."

Silence engulfed the room. Had I offended Jesus? Had I sinned? All this keeps coming at me...why the silent treatment? I wanted to weep and realized I was.

Suddenly I felt a presence. It came in subtly, perhaps always there. But suddenly I felt it. Then I looked up and saw a swirling in the air to my left. I know the presence was strong enough to be seen and felt, and for that I became thankful.

I was still needing HIM to help me. I WAS HURTING deeply. Anyone else feel like this?

Then I had a vision. I saw what looked like a child's hand shovel that one would play with in the sand, and the bucket. (Photo via Pixabay)

Then, I heard this: "Put the sand in the bucket." So, I began to do so. I could feel the warm sand. The sun had been beating down on the sand a long time; it was baked by the sun.

While I was filling this bucket, the Lord spoke to me again: "Theresa."

"Yes, Lord."

"I know your pain."

I didn't answer.

"Do you see the sand?"

"Yes, Lord, I do."

"Look past the bucket." I did; the beach was ahead of me. "Those grains of sand are representing the trials the people of the world had been suffering. I'm showing you how much has been suffering all over the world." (Photo via Pixabay)

I was feeling a bit small, and waiting for the rebuke. It never came. What came was astonishing...and so needed.

Then He said, "Theresa."

"Yes, Lord."

"See your bucket?"

"Yes, Jesus, I do!"

"Can you count the grains of sand?"

"No, Jesus, I cannot."

"Well, My child, I can. I know exactly how many grains are in the bucket."

"Thank You, Lord."

"Theresa, the bucket is in My hand. Fear not; I am with you!"

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

"I am carrying your pain to My Father, and I will not let one grain of sand fall. NOT ONE! Because I care for you, and I want you to know you can trust Me, for I value you!" (Photo via Pixabay)

Now I was in tears of joy and fear. The legalistic side of me was about to repent, when He spoke my name clearly, "Theresa."

"Yes, Lord!"

"No fear. Thank you for asking for My help. I live to make intercession for you."

"Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:25

One begins to whimper like a small child when comforted...and I was doing just that. The Comforter had come. Holy Spirit showed me that while many are in the same battles, mine were just as important as anyone else's. I had been loved by the Lover of my soul. He lives...

Then He spoke again: "Now, Theresa, go strengthen your brethren. Tell them I have their buckets too. They need to know this too."

Then this Scripture flooded my heart:

"Simon, Simon, behold, satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).

I was being sifted, NOT shifted as I was thinking. Perhaps you are too! (Photo by T.K. Naliaka via Wikimedia Commons)

Then I began to understand... Is it possible many of us have not seen the victory as we hear many are saying we already have? Could the process not be completed? 

We are being refined, and we are being prepared for what may come. Our bucket may not be full, and so on.

In the meantime, I have chosen to desire to give strength to the weary, hope to the broken, and love to the hated. I guess I'm singing, "To be like Jesus...to be like Jesus," that's all I ask is to be like Him (song by Sovereign Grace Music, 2009).

I offer this word from a position of grace, because it is by grace one is saved. He knows us...and He is doing something for us: He is interceding for us to the Father, for no one can come to the Father but by Him.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

Thank You, Jesus! Thank You! Thank You!

Dr. Theresa Phillips
Global Prophetic Voice

Email:GlobalProphetic@aol.com
Website: GlobalPropheticVoice.com

Dr Theresa Phillips is an ordained apostle under Dr. Renny McLean of Global Glory Ministries. She is Senior Pastor and founder of Praise Ministries Church and Christian Seminary in St. Charles, Illinois. She has served there for 24 years. Her ministry spans 28 years, seeing many signs and wonders, including eight risen from the dead. She has authored eight books, recorded one album, and is often commissioned to write poetry. 

Her knowledge of God's glory and His ever-advancing monarchy of Heaven is known by many. She is a regular contributor to the Elijah List and she is also the editor of GlobalPropheticVoice.com, an online publication of prophecy and prophetic glory. Theresa often moves in the prophetic gifts and word of knowledge.

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Will the 'Sleeping Giant' Wake Up? - Jennifer LeClaire

Will the 'Sleeping Giant' Wake Up?

6/28/2015 JENNIFER LECLAIRE  charisma magazine

An appeal to Heaven has been made for the church in America to wake up.

When Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's book The Harbinger hit the New York Times best-seller list the week it released in print, I believe the sleeping giant called the church started waking up.

A prophetic warning to the American masses about God's impending judgment on the nation, The Harbinger connects undeniable dots between what has happened in the United States since the terrorist attacks in 2001—including a housing market bust and banking industry collapse that led to a $700 billion government bailout to prop up financial institutions and auto manufacturers—and Israel's fate after it turned away from Jehovah God. Although written as a fictional narrative, the book details how nine signs hidden in recent events reveal God's progressive judgment on America.

Here's the message in a nutshell: Cahn believes the Holy Spirit showed him that events such as 9/11, the collapse of Wall Street, and the Great Recession occurred because God lifted some of His hedge of protection from around America. He is certain God is trying to get our attention. He is convinced that God is warning the nation to turn back to Him and used nine harbingers, or prophetic signs, to shake us up and wake us up. The Harbinger may anger some; it may scare others. It caused some to fall to their knees in repentance, and it caused others to cry out in intercession.

The release of The Harbinger is what you could call a "kairos moment"—a supreme moment in time when God sent a prophet with a "you need to hear this and repent" message to America. Notice I say "to America"—not just the church in America. Cahn's message about an ancient mystery that holds the secret to America's future transcended the Christian market to become a mainstream phenomenon that, at the time of this writing, is still on the New York Times best-seller list nearly three years later.

The book—and the clear proof of God's discipline on our nation—changed my theology. Until 2012 I did not believe God sent judgment on nations in the New Testament age. I reasoned that if God was going to judge any nation, He would start with places like the Netherlands, with cities like Amsterdam and its infamous Red Light District that hosts all manner of immorality. But the founders of the Netherlands didn't make and break a covenant with God.

I believe America as a nation is reaping what we've sown. I believe that where there is unfettered sin, there is ultimately death (Rom. 6:23). And although some rightly argue that many nations are more sinful and anti-God than the United States, consider this: to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). As a world power, the United States has done much good. But our nation's Christian foundations are shaking. The seven major influencers of our society—the economy, government, family, spirituality, education, media and arts—are shaping an idolatrous New Age culture.

I submit to you that our nation is in natural and spiritual crisis, and it will take a divine intervention to avert disaster. Although "man" can't solve the problems in our nation, electing leaders who will guide the United States using biblical principles rather than those who defy biblical principles in the name of change speaks volumes to heaven. Politicians can't fix what's broken, but politicians who pray to the One who can will receive His wisdom to right the ship.

If we don't make a drastic shift in this nation, I believe there's no way to escape God's judgment. Billy Graham's late wife, Ruth, once said, "If God doesn't judge America He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." Again, I never wanted to believe that. But now I do. I can see it. God has moved some of our hedge of protection because He loves us and hopes we'll wake up. We haven't woken up yet—but clearly there is an awakening afoot.

There is hope for America. The church—"sleeping giant"—needs to wake up. If the church were being the church, we wouldn't have so many problems in our nation. The church looks, thinks, and acts too much like the world. Christians are having abortions. Christians are committing adultery. Christians are fornicating. Christians are getting divorced. Lord, help us!

I believe time is short for America to repent before we see stronger manifestations of God's discipline on this nation, but at the same time I have never been more hopeful. I believe that we are on a cusp of a Third Great Awakening even now.

Let's wake up to the realities our nation is facing, but let it also fill you with hope, and let that hope give substance to your faith to pray and take action as you agree with God's plan for America to wake up in this hour. 

Adapted from The Next Great Move of God by Jennifer LeClaire, copyright 2015, published by Charisma House. Even as America is in a spiritual crisis and on the verge of God's judgment, there is an appeal to heaven for a Third Great Awakening; a revival like no other and a turning back to God as never before. Pockets of revival are breaking out across the country. This book serves as a means to fan the fires of revival and to equip you to sustain it. To order your copy clickhere.

Prayer Power for the Week of June 29, 2015

As you prepare to celebrate Independence Day the end of this week, and amid all the festivities, cookouts, fellowship with friends, family and fireworks, pray for America. Pray for our leaders and ask God to raise up more godly leaders to fill upcoming vacancies through the election process. Pray for the families that lost loved ones through violent crimes. Pray that revival would sweep the nation and eradicate all forms of hate except that which perpetuates ungodliness. Remember Israel and the persecuted church, and ask the Lord to use you to help fulfill His purposes in these last days (Rom. 6:23; Luke 12:48; 1 Tim 2:1-4).

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What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision? - Joel Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg

What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision? Four key things to consider. by joelcrosenberg

The latest polls show nearly 60% of Americans support the legalization of same-sex marriage. (graphic credit: Five-Thirty-Eight)

(Washington, D.C.) -- What are the implications of the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on Friday to make same-sex marriage a Constitutionally-protected civil right? Is the Court's decision to change the definition of marriage really such a big deal, or are Christians hyperventilating over the issue for nothing?

Unfortunately, yes, this is a very big deal, and it puts America on a perilous path. Unless we change course soon, this could accelerate the nation's judgment andimplosion.

Let me walk through four key things Christians ought consider at this critical time.

First, the Supreme Court is overreaching its Constitutional authority, and is thus undermining its own legitimacy and pouring gasoline on a highly-politicized issue that will deeply divide Americans for years to come.

If the Constitution even mentioned the word "marriage," the Court might theoretically have the right to address the subject. But the word is never mentioned in the text. Thus, the Framers of the Constitution never intended the federal government to define or regulate marriage. The 10th Amendment plainly states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." So the issue must be left to the people and the States.

The 14th Amendment does not provide the Court the authority to redefine marriage and cannot be used to create a Constitutional right to a same-sex marriage. "In 1972, in a moment of lucidity, the Supreme Court rejected a 14th Amendment-based appeal on gay marriage," notes a legal scholar at George Mason University. "The case sprang to life when a gay man attempted to obtain a marriage license in Minnesota. The Supreme Court of Minnesota rejected all of the Constitutional arguments made by the Plaintiff. The U.S. Supreme Court found a 'want of federal jurisdiction' in rejecting the appeal."

Tragically, by overreaching its Constitutional authority, the current Court is undermining its own legitimacy. It is also taking an already-incendiary cultural issue and throwing gasoline on a growing political fire.

Second, the Court's ruling forces 320 million Americans to embrace overnight a radical reengineering of the entire social compact of marriage that even some of the nation's most liberal political leaders strongly opposed just a few years ago.

For more than 5,000 years, Judeo-Christian civilization has been built on the definition of marriage as one man and one woman in a sacred compact before God, creating a family that can bear children and raise them with the loving care of a father and a mother. Now, five unelected Justices of the Court are undermining the fundamental building block of healthy, stable Western civilization with no idea what the down-stream implications and ramifications will be.

Until recently, even some of America's most liberal political leaders were opposed to this radical social experiment. "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage," then-Senator Barack Obama said on MTV during the 2008 presidential campaign. "Marriage has historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman," said Hillary Clinton in 1999, explaining why she supported the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (with a one-man-one-woman definition of marriage) that was signed into law by her husband, President Bill Clinton. Obviously, both President Obama and Mrs. Clinton have since changed their positions. In doing so, they and the five Supreme Court Justices who back their position are now putting people who still hold the position they once professed to hold in the position of being attacked as "bigots" and "haters" and "civil rights violators."

Third, the Court's ruling opens the door for a frontal and massive assault on religious liberty. Christians all over the country who hold to the Biblical definition of marriage are beginning to be taken to court and fined -- some are even in danger of losing their businesses and their homes -- if they do not agree to bake cakes for same-sex weddings, or cater such weddings, or take photographs at such weddings, and so forth. Other Americans are being subjected to government-mandated "sensitivity training" for not helping homosexuals celebrate their lifestyle. Still other Americans are being fired from their jobs for holding and teaching the Biblical principles of marriage.

For example, "the owners of an Oregon bakery learned [in April] that there is a severe price to pay for following their Christian faith," reported the New York Post. "A judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) recommended a lesbian couple should receive $135,000 in damages for their emotional suffering after Sweet Cakes by Melissa refused to make them a wedding cake. As a result – Aaron and Melissa Klein could lose everything they own — including their home." (For some other examples, seehere, here, here, here and here.)

The assaults on religious freedoms that are happening with growing frequency at the local and state level could now explode at the national level. The First Amendment to the Constitution plainly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." But the Court's ruling seems to put the un-enumerated "civil right" of a same-sex marriage above the enumerated right of religious freedom. Thus, the ruling now appears to give the federal government the power to force Christians, Jews and other religious people to embrace, sanction, support and serve same-sex marriage ceremonies -- and embrace and support, or at least not oppose, homosexual marriage and lifestyles -- or risk being sued or prosecuted for federal civil rights violations.

The Obama administration's top lawyer, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., was asked directly by Justice Samuel Alito during oral arguments in the latest same-sex marriage case whether Christian colleges and universities and other religious institutions who oppose gay marriage could lose their federal tax exempt status by continuing to teach Biblical marriage. Verrilli's answer was as troubling as it was revealing."You know, ­­I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue," said Verrilli. "I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is – it is going to be an issue.” This suggests the federal government could soon try to force religious schools, churches and other institutions to actively support homosexual marriage or risk severe civil and possibly criminal sanctions. 

Those Christians who say, "Let's live and let live -- just let homosexuals marry whomever they want and don't make such a big deal of this issue," are, unfortunately, being naïve. Many in the homosexual community -- certainly the gay political activists -- are not content with the mere legalization of same-sex marriage. They want to force the rest of the country to embrace and support them. Thus, they and their supporters in Washington will likely move aggressively to criminalize the Biblical definition of marriage and to severely penalize those who teach and follow it.

Fourth and most troubling, the Court has acted in direct and brazen defiance of the Word of God -- and as painful as it is for me to say it, this will likely accelerate us towards judgment if America does not soon change course.

God, not government, created marriage. Indeed, God defined marriage in the very first book of the Bible (Genesis 2:23-24) as a sacred union between one man and one woman. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ reaffirmed this Biblical definition of marriage. Jesus said, "'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginningmade them male and female, and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" (Matthew 19:4-6)

Nevertheless, five unelected Justices have willfully moved to redefine what the Lord God Almighty Himself ordained. At the same time, nearly 60% of Americans tell pollsters that they support the legalization of same-sex marriage, up from about 12% in 1988 (and up sharply just in the past few years). Thus, while these five Justices bear much responsibility, they are acting in the will of nearly six-out-of-ten Americans.

Tragically, this is not the first time the Court has gotten a major policy issue wrong, or the first time it has acted in defiance of the Word of God. In 1973, the Court ruled in theRoe v. Wade abortion case that Americans had a Constitutionally-protected right to murder their unborn children. This was a morally unconscionably decision which has led directly to the death of more than 57 million children as well as terrible emotional and spiritual pain and suffering for millions of women. The Court's decision to undermine Biblical marriage and attack religious liberty will also lead to great sadness and suffering, not freedom and joy as its supporters contend.

The members of the Supreme Court have forgotten they are not truly the highest or "supreme" court in the land. There is a higher authority, and there is a grave cost to defying the Supreme Judge of the universe.

In Romans 1:18-32, the Apostle Paul warns societies that turn away from God and His Word. Three times in this passage, the Apostle warns that God will allow societies that rebellious against Him to slide deep into heterosexual and homosexual sin, along with many other sinful practices. Indeed, God vows to turn such societies over to debauchery if they will not repent, and He warns that such societies will, in time, face judgment and the "wrath of God."

These are some of the reasons I wrote the non-fiction book, Implosion, in 2012, because I'm deeply concerned that we are on a fast-track towards judgment unless we repent and radically change course. And as I wrote in the book, it is the responsibility of those who love God and follow the Bible to lovingly and clearly explain to individuals, societies and entire nations what God says in the Bible, what He offers mankind, and what He requires of us, and the grave consequences of refusing to listen to or obey the Lord and His Word. It is not our job to force people to obey Christ, or to be unkind or angry towards those who deny Him. Rather, it is our job to "hold fast the faithful Word," even to a society that won't listen.

How then should Christians respond to the latest developments?

The Court's latest decision must not lead Christians to anger or hatred or violence.

Rather:

1. Let us be moved to brokenness before God, to deep repentance and to ceaseless prayer -- many Americans don't take God and His Word seriously because they don't see Christians taking God and His Word seriously; for this and much else we need to repent and ask God to show mercy us and forgive us.
2. Let us plead with our Father in heaven to pour out His Holy Spirit and grant us a massive spiritual revival within the Church that will draw us back to a close walk with Christ and faithful obedience to the Word of God.
3. Let us keep become far more faithful to teach and preach the Word of God, the "whole counsel of God," and clearly and lovingly explain to all people the Gospel -- the Good News of God's love and forgiveness for all who will turn to Christ -- and not be intimidated into silence.
4. Let us plead with the Lord to grant a Great Awakening to America at large -- as we preach (and live) the Gospel, let us pray that God chooses to move so powerfully that millions of lost, unsaved people repent and turn to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and Redeemer of their lives, marriages and families.
5. Let us always be gracious and kind to those who disagree with us (on the marriage issue and/or other Biblical issues), constantly seeking to obey Christ's command to "love your neighbor" and to "pray for those who persecute you."

Here are some other excellent resources and suggestions as we enter this dark period in our nation's history:

• Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist leader, has published an excellent op-ed in theWashington Post discussing how Christians should respond. I hope you will read it and share it with others. "Why the church should neither cave nor panic about the decision on gay marriage," by Russell Moore.
• Pastor John MacArthur has also written an excellent article with suggestions for fellow pastors on how to address the latest developments. I hope you will read this, also, and share it with others. "An Open Letter" to pastors, by John MacArthur.
• Dozens of evangelical Christian pastors and leaders have published "An Evangelical Declaration On Marriage" that I would further commend to your attention.

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joelcrosenberg | June 27, 2015 at 6:09 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3jq

As Families Began Praying Together, I Heard The Heart Of America Begin To Beat Again! - Bill Yount

As Families Began Praying Together, I Heard The Heart Of America Begin To Beat Again!

Posted: 26 Jun 2015 

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!"

Blessings,
Bill Yount

Vatican Signs Treaty with 'State of Palestine'

By John Waage

CBN News Sr. Editor

Saturday, June 27, 2015

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For the first time, the Vatican on Friday signed a treaty with the Palestinians, naming the entity the "State of Palestine" rather than the Palestinian Liberation Organization.  Israel strongly criticized the action.

The document governs the activities of the Catholic Church in areas of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.  The Vatican officially recognized a Palestinian state two years ago.

Israel's Foreign Ministry called the text of the treaty "one-sided" and expressed regret.

"This hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the PA (Palestinian Authority) to return to direct negotiations with Israel," the ministry said in a statement.

"We also regret the one-sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem," it continued.  "Israel cannot accept the unilateral determinations in the agreement which do not take into account Israel's essential interests and the special historic status of the Jewish people in Jerusalem."

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotevely warned, "Any attempt by the Palestinians, or any other actor to undermine our historic right to Jerusalem and our country will be met by staunch opposition by us."

Meeting with his Palestinian counterpart in a ceremony in Rome, Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Gallegher signed and sealed the treaty.

Vatican officials say the document signed Friday reflect's the church's support of a "two-state solution" to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. 

No mention was made about Hamas, the terror group which entered into a unity government with the Palestinian Authority and calls in its charter for Israel's destruction.

Christian events in Jerusalem only if city's rabbis approve

Monday, June 29, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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Christians , Jerusalem

As thousands of Christians attended a conference at the Payis Arena last month, haredi ultra-Orthodox officials expressed their anger at the Municipality and the management of the Payis Arena for allowing a Christian organization to hold a conference at the venue last month. The event was eventually held as planned, despite the haredi outcry, due to legal issues involved in calling off the already approved event.

A protest by ultra-Orthodox followers was held which defined the event as a "major show of forced conversion," with the haredi media asserted that the event was aimed at convincing Jews to join Christianity with the help of missionaries who had arrived in Israel for that very purpose. There were a few arrests as the protesters ignored police directives and resorted to violence.

The Jerusalem Municipality decided to give in to the haredi demand concerning any future events and has agreed to consult the city's rabbis before approving and issuing permits for any future Christian event that may include "missionary activity".

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