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.
Israel’s left-wing newspaper Ha’aretz, which advocates acquiescing to most Arab demands in return for peace, has this week been hosting its first “Israel Conference on Peace,” coincidently scheduled for the same week Palestinian terrorists are pounding the Jewish state with missiles.
Somewhat sidestepping present realities, Tuesday’s keynote speaker largely blamed Israel for the lack of peace in the region.
Phillip Gordon is a special assistant to US President Barack Obama and coordinates policy regarding the Middle East. In his assessment, which is shared by the Arab world, it is Israel’s “occupation” of the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria that is creating the regional instability.
“Israel confronts an undeniable reality: It cannot maintain military control of another people indefinitely. Doing so is not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recurring instability,” Gordon insisted.
The American continued: “How will Israel remain democratic and Jewish if it attempts to govern the millions of Palestinian Arabs who live in the West Bank? How will it have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation and allow for Palestinian sovereignty, security and dignity?”
In other words, Gordon believes that if only Israel would meet Palestinian demands, as hisHa’aretz hosts often recommend, peace and coexistence would reign in the Holy Land.
Like many of the Ha’aretz writers, Gordon conveniently ignored the fact that prior to 1967, Israel did not control Judea and Samaria, but still faced at least as many terror threats as it does today, in addition to several full-scale military invasions by its neighbors.
Nor did Gordan address the fact that prior to the US-brokered “Oslo” peace process that imposed Yasser Arafat’s PLO on both Israel and the local Palestinian population, there was far less tension between Arabs and Jews, even in the so-called “occupied” territories.
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The Spirit Says 'A Great Awakening Is Coming to This Nation'
(iStock Photo/juanestey)
When I kicked off a preaching series at a local church, the senior pastor charged me with bringing a word about politics.
I knew it would be a hard word because the body of Christ is divided over Democrats and Republicans, as well as many of the political issues they stand for.
As I ticked down some of the harsh realities we've come to face over the last several years, most of the congregation was eerily silent. I read and report on these issues every day, but it dawned on me that many don't follow the state of the union as closely. The looks on their faces revealed that they hadn't previously heard much of what I was saying.
Here's some of what I shared about the slide our nation has taken in the past several years:
Our deficit has increased more than $4 trillion, causing the first-ever downgrade in the U.S. credit rating.
Our nation has become more racially divided instead of more unified. According to a Newsweek poll, nearly 60 percent of Americans are now convinced that race relations have either deteriorated or stagnated over the past four years.
Our military strategy now eliminates the ability to actively fight two major wars at once. Our military has become much weaker while world threats have grown greater.
Abortions are on the rise, according to the Guttmacher Institute, with 1.21 million baby murders in 2008 alone.
Violent crimes are on the rise for the first time in 20 years, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The economy remains weak more than three years after economists declared the recession ended.
U.S. poverty is on track to climb to levels unseen in about 50 years, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s, according to the U.S. Census.
The Prophesied Great Awakening
I submit to you that our nation is in natural and spiritual crisis and it will take an intervention from God to avoid disaster. Although "man" can't solve the problems in our nation, electing leadership that will guide America using biblical principals rather than leadership that defies biblical principles in the name of change speaks volumes to heaven.
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 wife once said, "If God doesn't judge America He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." I never wanted to believe that. But now I do. I can see it. God has removed His hand of protection at times because He loves us and hopes we'll wake up. Clearly, we haven't woken up yet.
On April 21, 2007, the Lord woke me up at midnight and I sensed Him offering this prophetic word:
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?
Please, Please Wake Up!
That was more than 7 years ago! There is hope for America. I believe the remnant is rising. But it has certainly gotten darker in this nation and, again, I fear God's judgment may come if we continue to stand by in silence while abortions, same-sex marriage and other sin rages in our land.
The church—AKA the sleeping giant—needs to wake up. If the church were being the church, we wouldn't have all these problems. Of course, these problems didn't just start four years ago. There's been a gradual decline in morality in this nation since prayer was removed from schools in 1962. Abortion was legalized in 1973. Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004. And plenty of wickedness has taken place in between and since.
What if we all lived the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle? The Sermon on the Mount speaks against murder, which is what abortion really is. The Sermon on the Mount speaks against sexual immorality, which includes homosexuality. The Sermon on the Mount speaks against divorce. But the church is largely ignoring the Sermon on the Mount's Christianity 101 lessons. 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!
At the same time, the Sermon on the Mount speaks to giving to the needy, prayer and fasting. I can't prove it with hard numbers, but I submit to you that it's likely that most Christians aren't giving to the poor. It's probable that most Christians aren't praying for our nation. I'm sure most Christians aren't fasting. We really aren't the salt and the light. And that's why it's getting darker.
Adding insult to this injurious lifestyle, some Christians declare that the prayer rallies and solemn assemblies don't make a difference. I believe the greatest sin of the church is prayerlessness. The government of the world happens in the prayer rooms. Yet we're too busy feeding our souls on worldly entertainment to meet God at the altar.
Our nation is in crisis. It has grown darker over the past five years. It will continue growing darker until we turn back to God as a nation. The good news is when we do, we'll see a Great Awakening and many souls will come into the kingdom. I'm blowing the trumpet. I'm sounding the alarm. There is hope for America, and that hope lies in the body of Christ rising up to do as Jesus commanded: Occupy until I come.
Jennifer LeClaireis news editor at Charisma. She is also director of IHOP Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
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With these words, the innkeeper Rachav proves to be one of history’s first Gentile Zionists. She recognizes that God has given the Land of Israel to the Jewish people and pledges to protect the spies that Joshua had sent, assisting the Israelites in settling the Promised Land. Israel is fortunate today to have millions of Christian Zionists who proudly repeat Rachav’s words, “I know that God has given you the Land.” Israel's national blood bank needs your support to be ready for emergencies.
World Jewish Congress leader Ronald Lauder told a gathering of Israel's Christian allies that he would continue to speak out against the oppression engulfing Christians in the Mideast.
After 2,000 years of Replacement Theology, the existence of devout Christians who support the Jewish State of Israel is a mind-blowing reality. Both Jews and Christians involved in this world should not take this support for granted.
The USA and Israel are joined by their foundations of ethics and faith in God. Celebrate the connection between these two countries proudly, by covering your iPhone in this special case.
Yesterday's photo featured a roaring Sa'ars Fall in the Golan Heights of Northern Israel. The waterfalls are best visited in the winter or spring when the water and snow from Mount Hermon are still making their descent to the Sea of Galilee.
I love receiving your emails. They seem to add to my faith. Thank you, Martha P.
Good morning - I look forward to Israel 365 every morning with great anticipation. The pictures are wonderful, I have been to Israel once and long to return someday, and I am trying to learn Hebrew so it is great to practice along with your texts. Thanks so much, love it, love it, love it. Keith
A bank teller in Kentucky claims she was fired from her job for telling customers, "Have a blessed day."
Polly Neace wished customers at U.S. Bank in Walton, Kentucky, well with those words of blessing for more than two years.
She said she never had anyone complain about the saying, which she said she was inspired to adopt when someone said the phrase to her in 2009.
"I mean, in my opinion, I don't think there's any better way to have a blessed day," she explained in an interview with Fox News.
But Neace said she was told she could no longer say the phrase anymore and was later fired after working at the bank for 24 years.
Neace filed a lawsuit against her former employers saying she was discriminated against because of her religious beliefs.
But U.S. Bank disputes that claim.
The bank said that several customers had complained about Neace referencing the religious phrase.
It also claims that Neace asked a customer about taking the Lord's name in vain and proceeded to talk to that customer about salvation.
But Neace said that was an unrelated incident and that the customer didn't complain.
In a statement U.S. Bank said, "We hold our employees to high ethical standards when interacting with customers and co-workers...we believe that this lawsuit is without merit and the fact presented in future legal proceedings will justify our actions."
A Kurdish man living in Malmö, Sweden was beaten and seriously injured this week by a gang of local Muslims who took offense at the Israeli flag displayed in his apartment window.
Ismail Aryan Babak told local media that he has had the Israeli flag and a Kurdish flag in his window for two years, but only recently faced trouble over his support for the Jewish state and his disdain for the Iranian regime.
Babak said that twice rocks were thrown through his windows. When he went down to the street after the last incident, he was confronted by at least 10 youths, most wielding iron rods and glass bottles. After demanding to know why he placed an Israeli flag in his window, the youths severely beat Babak.
Police are still searching for the suspects.
A fellow Kurd living in Sweden reached out to Israel Today, stressing that like Babak, he, too, views Israelis as “my brothers. I regard them as important as my own people.”
Identifying himself as Hajir, this brave young man said it is important for Israelis to know that “we support them. Today, I am going to hang an Israeli flag in my window. I am risking my life in doing so, but it is for a greater cause.”
There is growing speculation that the current unrest across the Middle East could result in the Kurds of northern Syria and Iraq finally establishing a sovereign state of their own. That prospect is very appealing to Israel, as most Kurds, like these two men in Sweden, are friendly toward Israel, and a Kurdish state would certainly be an ally.
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God said it - just believe it…is a phrase I saw on a bumper sticker years ago. The goal of the bumper sticker was to evoke childlike faith. However, it did just the opposite in my mind. I remember thinking to myself, "easier said than done." You see, when your house is falling down, your health is failing, and your finances are dwindling it's hard to keep believing. In moments like these we may even wonder, "What did God say?" Or even worse, "Did He really mean it? Is it really so?" This is something humanity has wrestled with from the beginning of time.
The Intentions of God's Heart
In Genesis 1, we have the first record of God speaking. At the head of all things, God's Spirit was hovering over the face of confusion, the waters of chaos, circling over the darkness, brooding over it. Then suddenly God spoke the intentions of His heart and as you know, what He said came to pass bringing order out of chaos.
Everything God said/says, past, present, and future will come to pass and has the power to bring order out of chaos. Yet, since the beginning, the slippery serpent has been messing with the minds of God's kids attempting to pluck the seed, "His words" right out of our hearts with one simple question, "Did God really say? Did God really 'amar?" (see Gen 3:1) It is the classic deception from the enemy of our souls because he knows that God's word has the power to calm our chaos.
However, the very word that the serpent uses to stumble us with, "Did God really 'amar/say," is actually the chief cornerstone to our house of faith. Let me show you what I mean.
The Hebrew word for say/said is 'Amar. (Strong's #559) It's a root word that is found nearly 5000 times in the bible. 'Amar is spelled: aleph, mem, resh. These three little letters are found three times in the book of Ezra and have brought order and peace to my own moments of darkness, chaos, and confusion.
Now, Ezra didn't use this word to explain something God said, no it's way better than that. Ezra uses this word to define the lambs that were brought to the restored Temple for sacrifice. "And whatever they need - young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem - let it be given them day by day without fail." (Ezra 6:9) The word here for "lambs" is 'immar (Strong's #563) which comes from the Aramaic root "amar (strong's #560) in the sense of bringing forth and is connected to the root we have been studying, 'amar (Strong's #559). The Word of God Stands Up for Itself
Are you still tracking with me? It's easy to get confused.
The bottom line of this word search is that the Word of God stands up for itself and it cannot deny itself. It supports and confirms itself. It's all hidden right within His word. This is the mortar that will hold our house of hope together when the devil is trying to get us to doubt the fullness of God's intentions, to doubt what God said. This isn't just a type and shadow this is a truth that is inscribed in the Word of God forever, in His own Holy language!
Jesus Christ is both the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and the Word of God made flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14). He is the total message from God's heart to ours. The Holy Spirit is still hovering today bringing forth/ reminding us of all that Jesus said (see John 14). That which God utters into the darkness, void, chaos and confusion in our lives has the power to bring forth order and perfection.
Why did Ezra choose to use this word? Only the Spirit of God knows but Scripture reveals that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (see Ephesians 6:17). Therefore, I'm going to use it as a sword to cut through the lies of the enemy.
The Word that God has spoken, His promises, do not change. God is the same yesterday today and forever and His blood - the very blood of the Lamb, still speaks. Let's choose to listen to His voice and believe what He says. Amen and Amen.
'Harbinger' Author Reveals Prophetic Seven-Year Biblical Pattern in America's History
Do the Sabbath years coincide with important American events? (Flickr/Loco Steve)
Best-selling author Jonathan Cahn is releasing a mind-blowing new book that delves deeper into one of the primary mysteries of the New York Times best-seller The Harbinger. Titled The Mystery of the Shemitah, this insightful book gives readers essential information about the biblical patterns and prophesies that are revealing themselves in America today.
In The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn introduced readers to the Shemitah and how it related to the 9/11 attacks and the collapses that America experienced in 2001 and 2008. The Shemitah (shmee-TA), or Sabbath year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the land of Israel. Understanding this seven-year pattern is essential for understanding the prophecies and mysteries of the Bible that are still applicable today.
But that isn't where it ends. In The Mystery of the Shemitah (September 2014) Cahn reveals his research on patterns throughout the history of America that line up with the Shemitah. Readers will discover:
How the Great Depression and other economic events fit into the Shemitah
How the pattern of sevens predicted 9/11 to the exact hour
How the World Trade Center was conceived, started, finished, and destroyed in Shemitah years
How the rise—and possibly the fall—of America can be linked to the year of the Shemitah
With more than 1.6 million copies sold and over 110 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, The Harbinger has been a publishing phenomenon. Published on January 3, 2012, The Harbinger debuted on the New York Times best-seller list on its first week of release. Maintaining momentum through media appearances, enthusiastic readership and even a viral video taken at the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast which was viewed more than 500,000 times, Cahn's first book has become a catalyst for spiritual growth and part of national discourse in the United States.
"…Do not be afraid; only believe."
