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.
Pastor Jim and Lori discuss the topics covered in the book Future War, written by special guest Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis.
Quotes
And the church sets people free. Jesus died to set us free. – Pastor Jim
I think what America needs is we don’t need any more professional politicians. -Pastor Jim
Washington is an evil place. Washington is very political. You’re either over here or you’re over here. – Lt Col Robert Maginnis
I see politicians that I really don’t like, because they’re so focused on their ideology and their party, and they’re not focused on the best interest of the American people. – Lt Col Robert Maginnis
We have a responsibility, it means we have to vote. We participate in our government by voting. – Lt Col Robert Maginnis
Scriptures
Jeremiah 29:11 MEV For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Matthew 24:9 MEV “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
John 8:36 NIV So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Exodus 20:13 KJV Thou shalt not kill.
Matthew 24:3 MEV As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24:14 MEV And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Join us on the new C-Pop podcast where Taylor and Jessilyn discuss, debate and sometimes deride pop culture with a strong sense of humor and a focus on Christ. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
"I just remember when I woke up each morning, I would smell incense seeping into my room. And there were statues of Buddhas. ... "
This was a normal day in the life of young Alex Chu. His parents were devout Buddhists and trained their children in the family religion.
"I wanted to honor my parents. However, there was never a personal relationship with any of the Buddhas. It was always at a distance."
Religion wasn't the only obligation that put him under pressure.
"Accomplishments, ambitions and achievements were essentially the non-negotiables, that which we strive for. My dad was very successful academically and professionally having two doctorates, including one from Harvard. Living in his footsteps was quite a bit challenging growing up. My mom always told me that she loved me. And my dad often times would love me by telling me that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. "
Alex lived up to his parents' expectations and followed the Buddhist customs—but there was a cost.
"The pressure made me feel like I'm only OK if I get straight A's or if I'm at the top of my class. The feedback that I would receive often times from my studies would be, 'Oh, you got a 99 percent on this test. Well, it should've been 100.' That was just the way in which they would motivate to do better. And that was pretty customary for a lot of Asian-Americans growing up."
As he got older, he started to question his faith.
"And it wasn't probably till high school until I started to think on my own, and not only question my own faith, but am I going to take what the media says, what we hear on TV and watch as truth? Or am I going to be able to think on my own?"
Alex would eventually find the truth in college—but not in a religion or philosophy class. He witnessed it through the Christians in his dorm.
"They seemed very tightknit, very friendly. But even more so, there was a lot of joy on their faces. They didn't seem to have a lot pressure on them."
And he discovered something even more compelling.
"The unconditional love that is preached in the Christian faith. The relationship with God that you can have is something that was a surprise to me in many ways."
In his second year, he asked one of the guys if he could go with him to an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meeting.
"For the first time, I heard about the grace of God."
But feelings alone weren't enough to convince Alex to abandon his parents' faith. He needed rational answers to his many questions.
"The problem of evil, or why does evil still exist in the world? I wondered about the historical reliability of Scripture and the inspiration of Scripture as well."
His decision hinged on the most important question of all.
"Who is Jesus, and is He who He says He is?"
So Alex joined a Bible study to find out.
"Well, what impressed me about Jesus in the Gospels was the authority with which He spoke, but also just the love that He had and compassion for all people. And so I had to discern that based off of how Jesus interacted in Scripture and His claims, and as I reflected upon it, I came to that conclusion that he was indeed the Son of God. And at that moment, I also prayed a personal prayer to God. And I was completely convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for my sins that I may have life eternally with Him. "
Now, Alex had to tell his parents he had become a Christian. It took years, but eventually they accepted his decision. After college, Alex worked as an engineer before he answered God's call to go to seminary. He also married Michelle, a Christian, and today he and Michelle are busy raising three children.
"As an Asian-American that was always trying to seek approval and achieve things, it's meant everything to me to recognize that He loves me unconditionally and offers an eternal life with Him."
Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
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A desperate friend recently contacted me because he was worried that his son might be under the influence of a Christian ministry with questionable doctrines. The leader of the ministry preaches that any church that doesn't experience regular healings isn't following the true Jesus—and he suggests that only his small congregation has an inside track with God. Thankfully, my friend's son discerned something was off track.
Satan loves to pull Christians into unhealthy extremes. And immature Christian leaders sometimes allow youthful pride, greed or insecurity to suck them into toxic spirituality. The result is always a trail of wounded people. In my years of ministry, I've learned there are several clear signs that a ministry has veered away from the truth and into deception. Here are the most obvious:
1. Lack of spiritual accountability. Healthy leaders know they need to surround themselves with mentors and advisers who can question them if they step out of line. Proverbs 11:14 says: "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." But if you are following a teacher, prophet or apostle who has not submitted himself to any form of accountability, you are asking for trouble. Never align yourself with a Lone Ranger, no matter how fiery his sermons are. He will likely lead you off a cliff.
2. Overemphasis on money. You'd think we would have learned this by now, after so many American charlatans have conned people out of their life savings to build their mansions. But the charismatic church today is still vulnerable to the extremes of financial shenanigans. Godly leaders always call people to fund the work of the church and gospel outreach; unhealthy leaders, on the contrary, manipulate people in order to line their own pockets. Don't be charmed when a preacher makes outlandish promises about what will happen if you give to him.
3. An elitist attitude. All believers in Jesus are part of the body of Christ. Yet Christians who experience certain gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit are sometimes tempted to think they are superior. If they aren't careful, this subtle spiritual pride can morph into a dangerous elitism. Suddenly they are God's favorites, with special access to revelation that no one else knows and authority that no one else has.
Some ministries today claim to have inside information about end-times prophecy and the return of Jesus. In some cases they convince people to store up food and even guns to prepare for Armageddon. Back in the 1980s, a preacher named Charles Meade convinced many people to follow him to Florida, where his church taught that only those who aligned themselves with Meade's group would survive the last days. Don't let anyone suck you into this kind of cultic mindset.
4. A spirit of control among followers. A mature leader knows the members of his church don't belong to him. But there are insecure and untrained pastors who use manipulation and threats to keep their members loyal. True pastors don't have to constantly teach on spiritual authority to win their support of their flocks; but a controlling leader constantly emphasizes that he is in charge, and he demands total submission. This mindset can lead to serious spiritual abuse.
5. Constant talk of miracles with no documentation. There is a great hunger today in the body of Christ for the miraculous—and faith is rising for healing, prophecy and the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power. But in the rush to see God's power displayed, some people fall into the trap of hyping, sensationalizing or even faking miracles to get attention. This never bears good fruit.
In 2008, thousands of people traveled to Lakeland, Florida, to witness a "revival" that was supposedly marked by nightly miracles. Yet many of the healings (and even resurrections) that were announced from the pulpit were never verified—and the whole thing abruptly ended when the evangelist leading those meetings admitted to adultery. I hope we learned our lesson from Lakeland. God help us from ever repeating that tragedy.
6. Strange revelations that lack biblical basis. The apostle Paul warned us long ago that waves of deception would affect the church. "For the time will come when people will no longer endure sound doctrine ... they will turn their ears away from the truth ... " (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Never follow a preacher who claims "inside information" from God that no one else knows. Don't be mesmerized by his teachings—even if he claims that an angel gave him this information, or that he received it in a supernatural vision.
The test of truth is not how spooky spiritual something sounds, but whether it is in line with God's Word. Many false prophets can say, "God showed me this," but they are lying if their message contradicts Scripture. If something sounds really off when you hear it, don't ignore your gut feelings.
Don't be deceived. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been equipped with an internal alarm system that will warn you about any unhealthy teaching or ministry. Listen to the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). He can give you the discernment to know the difference between truth and error.
J. Lee Gradyis the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.
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Get to know the Holy Spirit and how to interact with Him on a daily basis. Learn to enter God's presence and hear His voice clearly for yourself! Go deeper in your faith with Life in the Spirit and change your life and destiny. Are you ready to start your journey?
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Just in case anyone forgot, the American government does not like Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and would never intentionally buy anythingfrom those who do.
This week, the American Embassy in Tel Aviv apologized for unwittingly including bottles of wine from a “settler” winery in gift baskets sent out ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
One of the recipients of those baskets was the ultra-leftist organization Peace Now, which made a stink over receiving wine made by filthy Jewish settlers.
The wine in question came from the Zion Winery located in Mishor Adumim, the industrial area of the large Jerusalem suburb of Ma’aleh Adumim.
Like the rest of the so-called “West Bank,” Peace Now views Ma’aleh Adumim as occupied Palestinian territory, and the American government agrees.
US Embassy officials explained that they bought the gift baskets “ready made” and did not directly choose the wine that was included. The Americans stressed that Washington’s official position regarding Jewish “settlements” had not changed.
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This past Sunday I woke up early, very early. Not by choice, but because I was very jet lagged from my recent speaking tour in the U.S.
I turned on the news to see what happened overnight. Both the international English cable news and Hebrew Israeli news were reporting live on the terrorist bombing in New York. I was shocked, and my thoughts and prayers turned to the residents and law enforcement professionals.
Throughout the broadcast, I kept hearing sound of traffic, heavy vehicles, and sirens. They sounded close to home, but I wrote it off due to my exhaustion as background noise from the live broadcasts in New York.
I was glued to the TV and news happening 6,000 miles away. Then I got the SMS from the security department in our town (Efrat, Israel). What was unfolding in front of me on TV, and in my front yard, was surreal. But you probably only heard about the news from New York.
Setting the stage for what was happening in my neighborhood, it had been a weekend of lots of violence in Israel. There were several stabbings and car rammings that continued into the new week for five days straight, as of this writing.
As I slept, under the cover of darkness, a Palestinian Arab terrorist was spotted entering my town from his adjacent town. Overnight, led by our volunteer rapid response security team and many soldiers, a manhunt began to find the intruder. I got wind of this all around 5:00 a.m. Residents were instructed to stay indoors until further notice. About an hour later, reports started coming in that the terrorist was found and shot. "Neutralized."
The terrorist was found in a neighbor's yard where he surprised a soldier, stabbing and critically wounding him. Twenty minutes later, dozens of neighbors would have passed that exact spot, many casually on foot, not quite awake yet, heading off to the early morning prayer service at my synagogue. Despite the soldier's serious wounds, a much greater potential tragedy was avoided. A miracle.
However, to be sure we were all safe, dozens of soldiers fanned out across my neighborhood, literally going door to door, looking under and behind anything and everything, to make sure that the one terrorist didn't hurt anyone previously, and that there weren't more terrorists. We were all still on lockdown.
About an hour after that, as my oldest daughter was getting anxious that she was going to miss her ride to school an hour away, we got the all-clear. I drove her to her ride, and saw dozens more soldiers and military vehicles up the block blanketing our neighborhood. She made it and things started getting back to normal.
After the all clear, neighbors started coming out of their houses, talking together and comparing thoughts. It reminded me of the time a rocket from Gaza landed across the valley from our homes in the 2014 Gaza war, and resembled the Munchkins slowly coming out after Dorothy's house landed in Munchkin Land, killing the Wicked Witch.
We got the all-clear in time to get all the other kids to school, though they were understandably scared to walk to the bus. As I drove them, my 11-year-old son said he was nervous. I tried to calm him with the parental, "everything will be OK." But how could he not be nervous? And how could I be sure it would be OK?
I was glad that he articulated it because overcoming fear like this requires first being able to affirm it. Many Israeli children carry traumas like these with them, so it was important to start the dialogue. Hopefully the increased security presence at all the schools that day was something that brought comfort, not something creating more fear and stress.
After taking him to the bus, I brought a cake to the soldiers still in our neighborhood. It was a really good one left over from our Shabbat. But it was morning, they had been up all night, and they needed and certainly deserved it more than I did. They spent the night watching my back figuratively, and I gave it to them to say thanks, and as to watch my waistline.
Now everything is back to "normal"—almost. The sounds of the heavy military vehicles and sirens were replaced by sounds of kids in the street and adults driving car pool and going to work. The one sound missing was that of the din of the heavy machinery grinding down the ancient Judean Mountains across the valley, excavating new neighborhoods in our town.
No Palestinian Arab workers were allowed in town that day. But by the next day, everything was back to normal with hundreds of Arab men carrying heavy tools coming to work right up the block.
Later in the day, I realized that while the incident in our town was relatively minor, it comes in the context of yet another increased wave of violence, leaving many Israelis hurt, some severely. Looking at this through my son's eyes, I realized that our children carry a great burden.
My son's response was normal. But then I wondered about his friend whose father died, and thousands of others who've lost a parent or sibling due to terror or other tragedy. I understood how the trauma of listening to the news or reading the morning paper could inflict a sense of fear and insecurity that adds to the trauma they have already suffered. Regular violence compounds deep-seeded trauma.
I developed a new appreciation for the work I do every day with The Koby Mandell Foundation, kobymandell.org, to heal the invisible scars of women and children who have lost a loved one. Healing from grief is not a finite process. Grief doesn't just stop.
And even when one is recovering, a stabbing in the Judean Mountains far away can open the wounds and set back the healing process. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to do what I do because the renewed and ongoing potential for terror attacks in Israel remains a daily reality.
Organizations like The Koby Mandell Foundation are all the more critical when terror is in the news, even when it's quiet, or the terror attacks just aren't reported, because even invisible scars never quite go away.
Jonathan Feldsteinwas born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for charismanews.com's Standing With Israel. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.
Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.
Wednesday, Donald Trump met with pastors at the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, church of his friend and supporter, pastor Darrell Scott.
There were a lot of headline-grabbing moments—particularly one in which the pastors laid hands on and prayed for the Republican presidential nominee and another when he expressed concern over the previous night's shooting of an African-American man in Tulsa, Okla.—but you wouldn't know that by scanning the headlines. No, the mainstream media instead focused on a slip-of-the-tongue and a lie.
Don King introduces Donald Trump
While introducing Trump, former boxing promoter Don King was sharing a story that related to the subject of the event—better racial relations—when he mentioned advice he once gave to Michael Jackson. As he noted as he was relating the story, he told the audience he had originally used the "N-word," but replaced it in the church setting with "negro."
Except one time, when he briefly used the N-word before correcting himself.
The audience let out a collective groan, followed by a brief chuckle. Almost immediately, the liberal mainstream media put out the narrative that Trump laughed at a racially insensitive comment from a convicted murderer.
The video, however, tells a different story.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.
Patrons of the upscale New York City restaurant Harry Cipriani had their evening out rudely disturbed when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in town for the UN General Assembly, decided to dine there with his wife, Sarah, on Tuesday.
A number of other celebrities were at the restaurant at the time. An eyewitness told Page Six that 20 agents from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) arrived before Netanyahu to secure the premises and take up positions around the restaurant. The Israeli leader arrived shortly after with an additional 20 bodyguards.
Harry Cipriani only seats about 100 people.
Those who witnessed the affair were somewhat bemused by the fact that 20 bodyguards accompanied Netanyahu to the bathroom midway through his meal.
Less amusing was how the Israeli agents took control of the restaurant and the hotel in which it is located, subjecting all who entered to pat-downs and metal detectors.
“He must be the most protected man in the world right now,” one eyewitness told Page Six.
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WATCH: Obama: Israel cannot ‘permanently occupy, settle Palestinian land’
I am really grateful for social media. When President Obama uttered these ridiculous and historically inaccurate words, I was able to quickly go to Facebook and challenge them. By morning the video had been seen over 2,600 times and shared over 100 times. Still, that is nowhere near the reach that the President has, but we do what we can.
I have studied the Israeli Palestinian conflict intensely since 1989 and the fact is that there is no such thing as Palestinian lands. Secondly, the only reason Israel controls the West Bank is because of the aggressive and billegerant actions of the surrounding nations. Had Jordan not attacked Israel during the Six-Day-War, we would never have taken the Old City of Jerusalem or the West Bank. And now that we have it as a buffer zone against our enemies why in the world would we give it back? Ron Cantor Messiah's Mandate Watch the video.