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.
Do you want God to use you in mighty ways? How great is your desire to be His anointed instrument in setting captives free, healing and bringing Him glory?
I have said many times that I would rather have a greater anointing than anything. I suppose that is a God-honoring request, but I am not so sure. I want it so much that I cannot tell whether this desire is natural or spiritual. The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit that makes our gift function with ease. When I live within my anointing, my gift works without effort, but the moment I go outside my anointing, I find myself struggling.
God does not want us to struggle. He wants us to cast our anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7). But at least twice in his life Moses struggled. First, he was overwhelmed by people coming to him in droves to get his verdict on civil matters among the children of Israel. His wise father-in-law, Jethro, saw all that Moses was doing for the people and said to him,"What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself while all the people stand around you from morning until evening? ... What you are doing is not good. 18 You will surely wear yourself out, both you, and these people who are with you, for this thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it by yourself" (Exodus 18:14, 17-18). Jethro then advised Moses to designate authority to others - appointing capable men as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens - letting them handle the simple cases and Moses the more difficult (vv. 19-26).
The Transfer of Anointing
The second occasion was when the people complained about the food - pining for what they ate in Egypt and complaining that they now "never see anything but this manna!" Moses brought this to the Lord and told him he could not bear the burden of their constant complaining. Moses was then instructed to choose 70 elders.
God assured Moses that he would lighten his load: "I will take of the Spirit which is on you and will put it on them, and they will bear the burden of the people with you, and you will not bear it by yourself" (Numbers 11:17). After that the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke with Moses. God "took of the Spirit that was on him, and gave it to the seventy elders, and when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but did not do it again" (v. 25). However, two of them who had remained in the camp prophesied, and Joshua was upset. "My lord Moses, forbid them," he said to Moses. "Are you jealous for my sake?" he asked Joshua. "Oh, that all the people of the Lord were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!" (vv. 28-29).
Why would Moses want everybody to prophesy and all to have the Spirit on them? Because when one person is in leadership and sees people struggle with their maladies, he realizes he needs all the help he can get! Joshua had not yet inherited Moses' mantle and wrongly assumed that Moses wanted to be the head and center of everything. How wrong Joshua was. The transfer of anointing to others lightens the load of the one with whom the buck stops. When all the people have the Spirit on them, it will mean that the work of God functions with ease - and with no rival spirit in control.
We learn from this how God can take from our anointing and pass it on to others. We are not told that Moses laid hands on the 70 elders. The impression is given that God merely did it by Himself - taking from Moses' anointing and passing it on without Moses losing any measure of the Spirit in the process. This is the wonderful thing about Christian ministry; what we give away we keep.
Don't Keep the Holy Spirit to Yourself
Nothing would be more thrilling than God taking from one's ministry and passing it on to others. I have longed for the day that not only would my anointing change lives and increase their measure of the Holy Spirit but also even heal people's bodies under my preaching. But if we want to keep the Holy Spirit to ourselves, it is unlikely that God will use us much.
We also learn from this account that God does not want us to bear a heavy load. He knows how much we can bear and will step in - never too late, never too early, but always on time.
Ask the Lord today to give you an ever increasing anointing to operate under, and then for it to be transferred to many people for His honor and glory.
WATCH: Jonathan Cahn's Prophetic Warning About the Consequences of Bowing to the Spirit of Baal
The parallels between the children of Israel and modern-day America are more than uncanny, they're frightening.
"We, too, have profaned the sacred and made sacred the profane," Rabbi Jonathan Cahn said at the Washington Man of Prayer event.
And now, America has ignored all prophetic warnings and is invoking the judgment of God.
"If America should ever turn away from God and his ways, should ever disregard His eternal rules of order and right, then His blessings and the smiles of heaven will be removed from the land," Cahn says.
We're seeing the absence of blessings as the Supreme Court looks to redefine marriage, as religious freedoms are stripped from Christian business owners, as prominent Christian icons disregard a biblical foundation.
But there is hope. Watch the video to see how Cahn says we can appeal to heaven.
He grew up poor in the Philippines and went to work at an early age to support his mother after his parents separated. At 14 he began to fight, rising through the ranks to win 10 world titles. But the current WBO welterweight champion's bold profession of faith in Jesus Christ is what sets him apart.
"God has a purpose," he told Fox News. "He brought me back into His kingdom to use me to glorify His name, to let people know there is God who can raise the people from nothing to something."
Surprisingly, he and noted quarterback Tim Tebow grew up in the same town on the island of Mindanao, in the southern Philippines.
Dec 8, 2012; Las Vegas, Nevada; "Manny and Juan Manuel Marquez box during their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena." Credit: Joe Camporeale—USA TODAY Sports
Raised Roman Catholic, Manny strayed from the church as he rose to fame in his boxing career. "I went to church on Sunday, but from Monday through Saturday I was in the bar drinking," he toldCBN. "I was gambling. Careless words came out of my mouth. I committed adultery. I didn't care."
But one day he read a letter that gripped his heart. "I received a letter from my mother saying my sister stopped going to school because I stopped sending them the money. I cried, blaming myself for spending all the money on alcohol."
That same night in 2011, not long after his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, God visited Manny in a powerful dream. "I heard the voice of God in my dream. His voice was 10 times louder than thunder. He said to me, "My child, my child, why have you gone astray?" he recounted to CBN.
In the dream, which unfolded in a beautiful forest amid flowers, he also saw two angels, according to an interview with The Blaze. "When I heard the voice of God I felt like I died. ... I was in the middle of the forest and I was kneeling and praying with my face on the ground and then I saw a light, a very white light and I heard the voice."
He said the angels had "white, long, big wings" and said that God revealed to him "about the end of time."
"I felt I was melting when I heard the voice of God. It was the turning point in my life. God spoke to me and he told me what He wanted me to do and I had to follow (Him)."
For a while, Manny tried to ignore the dream. But one day he felt compelled to pick up the Bible and begin reading it for himself. "I forgot about that dream, but when I started reading the Bible, the first verse I read said that God talked to a man through dreams. I realized, wow, my dream was real," he told CBN.
As a result of the power of God's Word, the working of the Holy Spirit in his heart and the compelling dream, Manny surrendered his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
"I'm happy because I found the right way, salvation, born again," he told The Blaze. "We are required to be born again, all of us. Christ said unless we are born again we cannot enter the kingdom of God. So it's very important to me. Jesus Christ said: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' There is no other way. The only way is through Jesus."
"When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior, you have eternal life."
Many changes unfolded in his life as he began to follow Jesus, according to Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach. "Manny has made a lot of changes in his life. He's more disciplined in his life. He sold his nightclub. He doesn't drink anymore. He doesn't chase girls anymore. Him and his wife are getting along a lot better now, him and his family. He's become a much better person," Roach told the Wall Street Journal.
The most important thing to Manny has become his faith in Jesus. "When you have Jesus in your life, when you have God in your life, the things in this world are not important to your heart. What is important is God in your heart."
Manny stays in God's Word with daily Bible study. "Keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it and be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and satisfied," he told CBN. "When you keep the words of God in your mouth and your lips and your heart and your mind you will be guided by the Holy Spirit.'
Manny won a seat in the House of Representatives a few years ago, representing the province of Sarangani. He was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines. Some believe he may be a candidate for president of the Philippines one day.
"The Lord has blessed me [with] everything I have ... [my] political career and serving the Lord and being a boxer—and I believe God has a purpose," he told The Blaze. "It is behind my expectation and imagination. I think it's time to proclaim His name, not mine."
Christian Leaders Threaten Civil Disobedience if Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage
Gay marriage supporters rally outside the Supreme Court. (Reuters)
"We will not obey."
That's the blunt warning a group of prominent religious leaders is sending to the Supreme Court of the United States as they consider same-sex marriage.
"We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross that line," read a document titled, Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage. "We stand united together in defense of marriage. Make no mistake about our resolve."
"While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross," the pledge states.
The signees are a who's who of religious leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, National Religious Broadcasters president Jerry Johnson, Pastor John Hagee, and Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse.
The pledge was co-drafted by Deacon Keith Fournier, a Catholic deacon, and Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel. Also involved in the document were Rick Scarborough, the president of Vision America Action and James Dobson, the founder of Family Talk Radio.
"We're sending a warning to the Supreme Court and frankly any court that crosses the line on the issue of marriage," Staver told me.
He said that once same-sex marriage is elevated to the level of protected status—it will transform the face of society and will result in the "beginning of the end of Western Civilization."
"You are essentially saying that boys and girls don't need moms and dads—that moms and dads are irrelevant," Staver said. "Gender becomes pointless when government adopts same-sex marriage. It creates a genderless relationship out of a very gender-specific relationship. It says that it doesn't matter and that two moms or two dads are absolutely equivalent to a mom and a dad."
Dobson said the legalization of same-sex marriage could fracture the nation.
"The institution of marriage is fundamental and it must be defended," he told me. "It's the foundation for the entire culture. It's been in existence for 5,000 years. If you weaken it or if you undermine it—the entire superstructure can come down. We see it as that important."
And that means the possibility of Christians—people of faith—engaging in acts of civil disobedience.
"Yes, I'm talking about civil disobedience," Staver said. "I'm talking about resistance and I'm talking about peaceful resistance against unjust laws and unjust rulings."
That's quite a shocking statement. So I asked Mr. Staver to clarify his remarks.
"I'm calling for people to not recognize the legitimacy of that ruling because it's not grounded in the Rule of Law," he told me. "They need to resist that ruling in every way possible. In a peaceful way—they need to resist it as much as Martin Luther King Jr. resisted unjust laws in his time."
Scarborough said the pledge was meant to be forthright and clear.
"We're facing a real Constitutional crisis if the Supreme Court rules adversely from our perspective on same-sex marriage," he told me. For me there's no option. I'm going to choose to serve the Lord. And I think that thousands of other pastors will take that position and hundreds of thousands—if not millions of Christians."
Scarborough is urging pastors across the nation to sign the pledge.
He referenced the "outrageous penalties" being assessed against people of faith simply because they don't want to participate in a same-sex union.
An Oregon bakery is facing a $135,000 fine for refusing to make a cake for a lesbian wedding and a Washington State florist faces fines for refusing to participate in a gay wedding.
"Christians are being declared the lawbreakers when we are simply living by what we have always believed, and by a set of laws that the culture historically has agreed to," he said. "Right now the courts are changing the playing field and declaring that what the natural eye can see and natural law reveals is not truth. ... What will we do, and how will we respond?"
Dobson said there's no doubt that LGBT activists are targeting Christian business owners.
"For about 50 years the homosexual community has had as its goal to change the culture, to change the ideology and if necessary—to force people who don't agree by use of the courts," Dobson told me. "I think there's a collision here and we can all see it, and where it's going to go is anybody's guess—but it is serious."
To be clear—the men and women who courageously signed this pledge did so knowing the hell storm that is about to be unleashed on them—and their families.
"We have no choice," Staver told me. "We cannot compromise our clear biblical convictions, our religious convictions.
A 20-person delegation comprised of volunteers from Israel’s leading rescue organizations already has set up a field hospital and begun reaching out to earthquake victims in Nepal. Coordinated by IsraeLife and including representatives from United Hatzalah, Zaka and F.I.R.S.T., the rescue mission arrived on Monday and split up into two camps – one stationed in Kathmandu and the other in smaller villages in the periphery.
Dov Maisel, a member of joint delegation and United Hatzalah volunteer, explains conditions on the field. “Many communities have been utterly destroyed... their hospital or medical center is gone - they have nothing.” So far, the Israeli rescue team is treating injuries, pulling people out of rubble, rescuing victims from remote locations and consoling those facing grave tragedy.
"It is very difficult. After this kind of incident you have many wounded people who have nowhere to go - and they have fractures, an infected cut - all sorts of wounds... and they have no one treating them. Our mission is to help as many people as possible,” he said.
Eli Pollak, CEO of IsraeLife, said, “We decided to enlist the cooperation of the prominent Israeli emergency agencies in order to maximize the capabilities of the delegation, which is made up of experts in serving the needs of the disaster area. We are preparing for a long stay that will provide solutions to the Israelis living in Nepal and local residents.”
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It is no coincidence that so many of our Biblical heroes were shepherds, for this humble trade provided an abundance of time for quiet reflection, leading to an intimate relationship with the Lord. Today in the hills of the Land of Israel, a modern-day shepherd, Avraham Herzlich, has opened his grazing land for visitors to explore and learn about this Biblical way of life. His new interactive Shepherd's Tent attracted many visitors last year from around the world, but the tent was destroyed by severe winter weather. He now looks to rebuild and expand the site to facilitate a flow of expected groups and tours this coming year. You can take part in this building project and have your name in the Visitor's Center! There are many opportunities for everyone to be included, from sponsoring a wooden bench or picnic table, to "adopting" goats, and much more. With special gift options and progress reports, you'll be proud of your connection to the Holy Land.
The life of Avraham the modern Jewish shepherd is a lesson for all in maintaining faith despite hardship. He lost his daughter in a terror attack, and suffered the thievery of his entire flock of sheep by Arabs, yet Avraham continues to rebuild and stand firm in his love of the Land of Israel.
The US is mulling a drastic change to its approach to the two-state solution, and not in favor of Israel, a top US State Department official confirmed.
A meaningful verse from the Book of Kings is interwoven throughout this gorgeous print, in a form of art called micro-calligraphy. Just in time for Mother's Day, shower the one you love with this beautiful work of art from the Holy Land.
Today's beautiful photo by Yehoshua Halevi shows a herd of sheep at Nachal Prat, a refreshing stream of water that flows along part of the Judean desert.
Iam Lisa and I am from Jamaica, I am thankful for the opportunity to learn about Jerusalem and also pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Be Blessed and be a Blessing!
Thank you for the blessings you give me in your postings. I love G-d and His Chosen people, Judith from Australia.
Hundreds of Nepalese Christians died as their churches crashed down upon them when last week's devastating earthquake hit during their weekly worship services.
In Nepal, Christians worship on Saturday because it's a day off, while Sunday is a work day. Most services last until 12:30 in the afternoon meaning most were still in service when the quake hit at 11:56 AM.
"Many Christians were buried while they were worshiping on Sabbath and died," the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nepal, Umesh Pokharel said, according to an article by Christianity Today. (The article cited several sources, including: Adventist Review, AsiaNews, Global Mission Nepal, the Brethren in Christ Church, Mission Network News, the Assemblies of God, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Aid, and the Nepal Church of Christ.)
The CT article cites a Facebook post by a Brethren in Christ Church worker: "Although unclear some have reported 100 believers in a church in Kathmandu were worshipping on the 7th floor rented building was completely collapsed, some 40 bodies were taken out whereas others still missing."
About 80 people died when the Nepali Evangelical Church in Kapan oustide Kathmandu collapsed.
Seventeen bodies were discovered in the rubble of a rural church that was struck just as the service was ending, according to the IMB. The pastor reporteldy lost three family members in the tragedy.
Assemblies of God World Missions reports that three of its churches are totally destroyed and several lives lost.
Christian Aid said several churches had just let out ahead of the quake, including one in Kathmandu.
"Ten minutes earlier and everyone would still have been inside," said Christian Aid's South Asia director. "There would have certainly been many injuries, if not deaths."
Overall, approximately 500 Christians are feared dead.
A group of prominent Christian leaders are issuing a warning to the Supreme Court. If it legalizes gay marriage, they will not obey.
"We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross that line," read a document titled, "Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage." "We stand united together in defense of marriage. Make no mistake about our resolve."
The pledge goes on to state, "While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross."
The signees include Franklin Graham, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.
The pledge was co-drafted by Keith Fournier, a Catholic deacon, and Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel.
They're urging pastors across the nation to sign the pledge.
Do you want God to use you in mighty ways? How great is your desire to be His anointed instrument in setting captives free, healing and bringing Him glory?
