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Franklin Graham says God will judge President Obama. (Reuters)
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Franklin Graham doesn't shy away from bold political statements—and he often disagrees with the Obama administration's moves.
Graham, though, does agree with at least one thing Obama said recently. Unfortunately, Obama being right is all wrong for Bible-believing Americans.
"President Barack Obama was right about one thing in the speech he gave at a Gay Pride event he hosted in the White House yesterday. He said, 'There has been an incredible shift in attitudes across the country.'"
Graham agrees, but he's quick to note that it's definitely not a shift for the good of America. The shift in attitudes to which Obama referred, he noted, is the moral decline we are seeing manifest daily around us.
"Accepting wrong as right—accepting sin as something to be proud of," Graham said. "Yes, that's definitely a shift. Should we be surprised that he thanked the LGBT community for all that they had helped him accomplish during his time as president?"
Obama went on to say, "A lot of what we've accomplished over these last 6 1/2 years has been because of you." The president also proudly pointed out that there were two states where gay marriage was legal when he took office, but now there are 37.
Graham's conclusion: "The president is leading this nation on a sinful course, and God will judge him and us as a nation if we don't repent."
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1 Big Reason Spiritual People Are Leaving Churches
Spirit-filled people are leaving churches for this one reason. (Flickr)
"And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
A solid and stable friend of mine has left three churches in the last decade. She attended all of them for a period of time and then left.
In the first church, the pastor stopped having guest ministers in and the church began to dry up.
In the second church, there was a small stirring of the Spirit for awhile, but then the church turned to the seeker friendly philosophy and tongues were confined to the back room.
In the third church, again it was alright for some time, but then the leadership began to move in a different direction and incorporate modern church growth principles and Madison Avenue tactics that grieved the Holy Spirit, and everything changed. Soon greasy doctrines slid into the church. She had no choice but to leave again.
To those really seeking to encounter God, soon the fancy stage, the bright lights, the cool bands, and the video screens, just become white noise to them. They want Spirit and fire.
There was a season in Catherine Booth's life, the wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth, where she visited different churches in her area "looking for burning words".
Smith Wigglesworth had a similar experience where the Spirit kept telling him to come out of dead works and dead churches. He continued to move with God throughout his entire life.
One day a youth leader made an appointment with his pastor to discuss the implementation of a new program for the young people. The pastor, a deeply spiritual man, listened patiently. After the young man finished talking, the pastor responded with these words: "Mom (his wife) and I have found over the years that prayer, the Word, and moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit have always got the job done."
Think about these examples. The same thing is happening today. When pastors and church leaders fail to follow the plan of God some people leave because they are not being spiritually fed and fulfilled. Sometimes they cannot even articulate the reason they are leaving. They may tell you it's because of the music, or the preaching, or the youth and children's programs, but the underground reason may be because they are not encountering God any more.
I've read articles and exit polls about the many reasons people leave their churches, but most of them are surface reasons. They make it so complex and complicated causing more pastors and church leaders to continue re-hashing over the many ideas they could implement to increase their numbers. But is that what it's really about? The numbers? The Catholics have numbers; the Muslims have numbers; the Mormons have numbers. I would rather have 300 hungry-for-God people than 3,000 who want to be entertained.
Think about the many revivals throughout church history. Think about the ministers God has used to pioneer some of those revivals. It was the presence and power of God in these meetings and on these ministers that drew the people. Throughout history people have always craved the supernatural. I know that the local church also caters to people's natural lives and natural needs, and cannot be run like a revival. But the people also need continual renewals and re-fillings of the Holy Spirit.
If the presence and power of God are in manifestation and people still leave, what of it? Do you really want those kind of people in your church? Conversely, I know many spiritual people who are exiting their churches for lack of rain. They are not leaving due to offense or pride. They are not backsliding and leaving God, but they are leaving deadness, lightness, and superficiality. There is a cry in God's people for the waters of the Spirit and fresh new wine.
"My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." (Ps. 63:2-3)
It is amazing what leaders can build and do without God, especially right here in America. But that doesn't mean that God's stamp of approval is on what you are building or doing. Divine power can only manifest when there is an end to self-sufficiency. If you become lukewarm and stop hungering and thirsting for the Spirit you will become a disappointment to God. I don't care how big of a building or how many people attend your church.
I love the local church. I love pastors who truly lay down their lives for the people they serve. I believe the local church to be the hope of the world. But God wants to move. He has a plan. He has a purpose. And if we don't line up with it He has no choice but to move where He finds His people and His leaders hungering for His presence and power.
I have a pastor friend who is leading a thriving church. The adults, the youth, and the children are on fire there. He has several guest speakers and at least two revivals every year. There is an expression in his church of a diversity of the Holy Spirit's ministries and manifestations that is rare today. He is a man of love and prayer and he listens to the Lord. By today's standards he is unconventional in that he refuses to compromise prayer, the Word, and the moving of the Holy Spirit and implement the newest church growth programs or the latest fads.
This church has constant revival because there is liberty in the Spirit for the Lord to do what He wants to do. This church is producing spiritual people and not clock watchers and time servers.
Pentecostal meetings use to be called the gate of heaven because of all the manifestations of the Spirit and power of God they had. Testimonies of changed lives were frequent. These churches were known for tongues and power. One of the big reasons we are not seeing the power and the glory of God in many of our churches today is because we don't pray in tongues long enough until the Holy Spirit can take hold with us and give birth to these things.
Oh, people of God! Oh, ministers of the Lord! May we come to the end of our own wisdom, strength, and sufficiency!
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
The apostle Paul was careful to place the focus of the people he ministered to on the power of God and not on the wisdom of men. He did not want to bring attention to his own persuasive words or enticing speech. He did not want people to place their confidence on man's ability, or charisma and personality. There was nothing in his ministry that was natural. With fear and trembling he sought to make Christ manifest everywhere he went.
Too many churches have lost the glory because their pastors and ministry leaders live too much in the natural. Get back in the Spirit. May we fall on our face and pray, and let the Spirit of God have His way.
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
Bert M. Farias, revivalist and founder of Holy Fire Ministries, is the author of several books including The Real Spirit of Revival and the newly released My Son, My Son—a beautiful father-son memoir co-written with his son Daniel for the purpose of training up a holy generation. He ministers inter-denominationally and cross-culturally in nations, churches, conferences, crusades, on the streets, and in homes. He and his wife also host The Holy Ghost Forum—a school of the Spirit. Follow him at Bert Farias and Holy Fire Ministries on Facebook or @Bertfarias1 on Twitter.
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The Ohio Senate passed a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks. (Flickr)
Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
The Ohio Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, following the passage of a similar ban by the Wisconsin Senate this month.
The legislation, which passed 23-9, contains a narrow exception for medical emergencies, but not for rape or incest. It would now go to the House, which, like the Senate, is dominated by Republicans.
Fourteen states have laws banning 20-week abortions, according to NARAL, an abortion rights advocacy group.
The ban passed by the Wisconsin state Senate, which must go before the House there, makes an exception if the mother is suffering from a medical emergency.
Supporters of the Ohio bill cited evidence that fetuses can feel pain as early as seven and a half weeks.
"Not only do they feel pain but they feel it more intensely," said state Senator Jay Hottinger, a Republican.
The legislation challenges the fetal viability limit on abortions commonly triggered at 24 weeks by the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
State Senator Charleta Tavares, a Democrat, argued in voting against the bill that medical experts agree on pain-capability, stating that the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose a 20-week ban on abortions.
The bill was backed by Ohio Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, which called the 20-week ban "the new pro-life 'litmus test' for Republican presidential contenders."
Both Ohio Governor John Kasich and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker are possible Republican presidential contenders.
Ohio Right to Life spokeswoman Katherine Franklin said she expects the House to take up the bill in the fall.
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In this episode of Prophetic Perspectives, Rick shares several encounters with the Lord in which he was given specific instructions to "keep going." Each time he was told this, storms were imminent. Rick shares how he was protected and able to stay the course and gives insight into the recent storms in Texas.
Prophecy: I See a Great Wave of Glory Hitting the Globe
Prayer is a key to birth and sustain revival. (Lightstock )
The hubs are arising! This is the word that has been burning in my spirit. The Lord is igniting the flames of revival fire in various regions of the earth.
I was in prayer seeking God about His plans for the nations when suddenly a vision erupted in my spirit. I saw light springing forth from various places in the world. As I looked I could see this all over the globe. I literally saw a network of lit up places all connected (it looked like some type of digital map).
I began to ask the Lord: what am I seeing? He spoke to me that these are global revival Hubs. Each hub is a strategic place of outpouring. As the Lord continued to reveal to me His plans for revival centers and hubs He showed me that they would function differently than what I would typically perceive as a revival center.
The hubs are not only called to be places of revival and outpouring but also of equipping and advancing. Radical moves of the Spirit and hosting the presence of God are only part of the call of these emerging centers. These must also be places that teach, activate and equip the body of Christ for last days harvest and every member active!
I see a great wave of glory coming upon the Hubs! The Hubs will carry different expressions of revival in this hour yet each is vital to the plans of The Father. We must be very cautious not to attempt to create a cookie-cutter pattern for the revival centers and Hubs that are being established.
The revival hubs are called to embrace partnership between the apostolic and prophetic. The apostolic anointing is a building and governing anointing. The hubs carry a mandate for regional revival, equipping and activation! The prophetic anointing reveals.
In order for transformation to unfold and revival to be released there must be divine revelation. A hub is a place of continuing refreshing and outpouring. It is not just a place that enjoys a seasonal outpouring. This is an expression of the apostolic mandate to build places of presence and power! These are also places of prayer and intimacy.
"This is the discovery of a paradigm that will unleash a global harvest as my plans and purposes are fulfilled in the earth," says The Lord. "I'm building the foundation for revival and revival centers, it is not the work of man but the ordination of my spirit."
The Father is placing men & women in particular places to dig deep wells of revival and refreshing for a region. He is establishing ministries that will serve as a HUB of revival in their territory. These HUBS are places of divine outpouring and awakening led by radical revivalists whose heart's cry is to see a great awakening. The agenda of the hour is not just building another ministry but to release the spiritual destiny of a region and host the presence of God in a way that brings radical transformation to the lives of people.
Here are 8 characteristics of revival hubs:
1. Marked by hunger. It is the hungry that will press in and invite an outpouring in a region.
2. Digging wells that will not only bless the hub but also the region and beyond!
3. Will face opposition as the well gets deeper and the transforming presence of God grows in the hub.
4. Presence driven. The revival hubs and those who lead them place great emphasis and value upon the presence of God.
5. Prayer fueled. Prayer is key to birth and sustain revival.
6. Release the sounds of heaven. Revival HUBS are impacted by revival worship. God is birthing new sounds for a new move. There is no room for performance driven worship in these hubs. The worship that is coming forth draws people deeper into encounter.
7. Known for miracles & power. Revival hubs are places of supernatural power where bodies are healed, live changed and miracles released.
8. Places of fathering and equipping. The emerging move is an apostolic and prophetic driven revival. The hubs that God is raising up birth and establish spiritual sons & daughters. As the move of God continues, training is key to raise up a generation that releases the Kingdom.
Let me leave you with this Scripture: Isaiah 55:1, "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."
Ryan LeStrangehas been preaching the gospel for more than half of his life. As a young man, God led him to leave his home and travel to Tennessee to study and train under Dr. Norvel Hayes, who later became his spiritual father. Pastor Ryan shares the apostolic call of Dr. Hayes to establish churches, ministries and Bible colleges, and to train leaders in the body of Christ. Ryan hosts a weekly television show on God TV called Power4Today. Ryan is the apostle and leader of Impact International Apostolic Fellowship, a network of churches and ministries around the world with a single vision to birth revival. He has founded two Bible colleges, served as an associate pastor and traveled as an evangelist. Visit him online atryanlestrange.com.
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Major League baseball great and former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera came to Israel along with his family for their first visit to the Jewish state.
Rivera joined Israel's Tourism Minister Yariv Leven for a firsthand look at Jerusalem's Tower of David Museum in the heart of the old city.
"The reason why I'm here is I wanted to know I read so much in the Bible, I wanted to know the history of Israel. You know, I read in the Bible, I wanted to see it with my own eyes. I couldn't come when I was playing baseball. So this is the time to come and thank God for the opportunity," Rivera said.
The Tower of David houses a section of Herod's palace, built 2,000 years ago. Part of the museum is also likely the site of the trial of Jesus.
The future hall of famer, who saved more games than anyone else in Major League history, is also a strong Christian. He told CBN News what it means for him to be in the Holy Land.
"Amazing. Amazing. The impression has been something that is breathtaking. Amazing," he said. "Read about, again reading in the Bible and walking and seeing and being able to touch it -- can't describe it. Can't describe it. Have no words for it."
Rivera will be attending Israel's baseball association summer tournament. The association hopes to build state of the art baseball and softball fields throughout Israel.
Draw close and know that I AM your God and that I have everything under control. There isn't anything that you face that I have not orchestrated for the good of you, your family, and My kingdom. Everything works together for your good if you have placed Me first in your life, if you have loved Me with all your mind, soul and spirit, and that you strive to love your neighbor as yourself.
Do good to those who strive to harm you for this will pour out coals of fiery conviction upon their hearts. Overcome evil with good for there is no other way they will respond, for they lack love. They lack the strength to draw close to Me on their own. They have only known lack and depravity from birth. They have never known of My love so you need to be that bit of life that they have never experienced.
Die out to the flesh and allow My spirit to flow through to touch the lost, to raise the spiritual dead, to open blind eyes so that they can see the way, the truth and the life. For yes, this is the day of a great outpouring of My spirit. Many will come unto Me and run away from the evil in their lives.
Before you Turned to Me
Remember where you were before you turned your life to Me? Yes, you were at the bottom of the barrel. You knew nothing but what you needed to endure the night, the darkness of your life, whether it was food, or drink, drugs, or sex. They were all gods to you, but there came a day when the Light came on, and you saw the true state of your life, and you saw that there was an escape. Yes, be that escape for others so they can be set free.
Yes, this is the hour of desperation for many in the world and also the church. Many are crying out but don't know how to be set free. Be the light for them at the end of the tunnel. Be to them the fresh air that they need, that breath of life, the fresh water to quench their thirst. Yes, be to them all that I gave My life for them to have.
Let Me use your hands to heal, your feet to go to those places where they are, your eyes so that they can see Me. Yes, be to them all that I gave My life for them to have. And above all this is the day of a great outpouring of signs, wonders, and miracles; those like the day when I split the Red Sea for I will deliver multitudes into My fold.
I have planted a bumper crop of seed of those who gave their lives for Me, and in return multitudes will come to Me out of the ground they will come. They are the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. So remain still and know that I Am God and that I have a work to do and through you, says your God.
The Prophetic Significance Behind Confederate Flag Backlash
People gather to protest the Confederate flag. (Reuters)
Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit, a new podcast from Charisma. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
The Civil War ended in 1865 but the Confederate Flag is still flying proudly today in many southern communities. The red-white-and-blue banner is a symbol of both rebellion and racism that serves as a painful reminder of our nation's history.
Indeed, Ku Klux Klan members still display these flags in their front yards in small southern towns and many retailers sell stickers, T-shirts, bathing suits, earrings, dog suits and other merchandise donning the emblem. The latter is changing in the twinkling of an eye.
Unfortunately, it took a massacre for our nation to wake up to the deep-seated division that the Confederate flag still symbolizes. Less than a week since Dylann Roof, who posed with the Confederate flag online, opened fire on Christians at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.—and less than two seeks after a stadium prayer event called The Response was held there to pray for our nation—backlash against the flag is reached a fevered pitch.
This Flag Does Not Represent America
"It's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds," Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, told a news conference in the state capital, which is about 100 miles from the Charleston shooting that left nine African-American believers dead. "The flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state."
Walmart and Sears are putting an end to the sale of products bearing the Confederate flag. Target appears to be taking the same measure. Amazon and eBay are still selling the merchandise sporting the emblem but industry watchers are expecting retailers en mass to put the end to promoting the sale of the rebel flag in the days ahead.
What, then, is the prophetic significance of the sudden and growing rebel flag backlash? My friend Tammie Southerland, founder of Frontline Ministries who lives in Greenwood, SC, pointed out that the flag has been a major point of contention in South Carolina for a long time.
"To the black community it represents oppression and is a reminder that the South fought to keep slavery. That alone should cause us to consider the need to remove it, for if our brother hurts so should we. But the removal is even more powerful that we realize!"
Southerland offered a quick history lesson: South Carolina pioneered the 1860 Secession. The word "secession" essentially means division. Noteworthy is the fact that revival was sweeping the nation at the very same time that South Carolina signed secession papers in Charleston. In an instant, America went from revival to war. The Civil War raged and revival went underground.
Church Pierce's Prophecy
"Chuck Pierce released a prophetic word in 2005 that revealed the reason South Carolina remained in ugly cycles of division—both in the church and beyond—is because we had not repented of the heart of the secession," Southerland recounts.
"But, he prophesied, if we would come together in the 12 most populated cities, including the port cities, gathering the five-fold ministry in prayer and intercession, we would break the spiritual repercussions of pioneering secession—and through South Carolina an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and revival would be released! This would pioneer a movement of unity and a message of Jesus like America had never heard! The Lord said we would be called a state of 'intercession' instead of a state of 'secession' or rebellion and division!"
According to Southerland, many believers in South Carolina took that prophecy to heart and have been waging war with that prophetic word—praying it through in intercession. For Southerland's part, she has been preaching and declaring this prophetic word as she's held "Fire on the Altar" meetings—unity-focused mobile 24-hour presence-driven prayer, worship and revival gatherings—across the Carolinas and beyond.
"Press into the heart of the Father and get this prophetic understanding," Southerland urges. "This is amazing! It is happening and Charleston has been the tragic catalyst to bring an outward act exemplifying the heart of unity."
Pockets of true revival are breaking out across America. Want to know more about the next great move of God? Click here to see Jennifer LeClaire's new book, featuring Dutch Sheets, Reinhard Bonnke, Jonathan Cahn, Billy Graham and others.
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No fewer than 150 million Europeans believe that Israel is an apartheid state, and many even equate the Israeli government with the Nazi regime. This worrying data regarding a rise in anti-Semitism was recently debated at the Knesset’s Immigration and Diaspora Committee together with foreign ambassadors.
“It’s not just about anti-Semitism, but a Jew-phobia with the intention of demonizing Israel,” explained renowned author and educator Prof. Gustavo Daniel Perednik. “Foreign governments, which claim to fight anti-Semitism in their countries, are actually partners in a blood libel against Israel.”
American activist and former head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, noted that as delegitimization of Israel escalates, those who are identified with the Jewish state come under attack. “Israel must constantly grapple with hostility, which aims to destroy its right to exist,” Foxman told the Knesset.
The phenomenon is growing on university campuses, even as traditionally supportive Protestant churches start to join the anti-Israel boycott and the Obama Administration threatens to stop backing Israel at the UN.
The deputies of both the German and British embassies in Tel Aviv, Monika Iversen and Rob Dixon, respectively, both told the committee that the situation was no better in their countries, where a significant rise in anti-Semitism was registered over the past two years.
Dutch Ambassador Caspar Veldkamp concurred, and stressed that his country rejects any boycotts of the Jewish state.
Gidon Bachar, head of the department charged with fighting anti-Semitism in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, noted with interest that anti-Semitism was most pronounced in democratic countries. “Political statements promising to combat anti-Semitism are important, but without enforcement by the government nothing will change,” Bachar insisted. “We have to intervene, because the Jewish communities in Europe have lost confidence in the European governments.”
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The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was the scene of various biblical events. From David's escape from the clutches of his son Absalom, to the story of the "Good Samaritan" and even trips that Jesus made including one when he healed the blind man Bartimaeus.
Watch the biblical accounts come to life with this docu-video including intriguing drone footage.
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Draw close and know that I AM your God and that I have everything under control. There isn't anything that you face that I have not orchestrated for the good of you, your family, and My kingdom. Everything works together for your good if you have placed Me first in your life, if you have loved Me with all your mind, soul and spirit, and that you strive to love your neighbor as yourself.
