CHARISMATICA

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We have posted about this several times and noted in the past that many Muslims come to Christ through dreams and visions of Him during Ramadan.

Here is the latest report from Charisma:

”Evangelists Say Muslims Coming to Christ at Historic Rate”

Evangelists working in the Middle East say that Muslims are currently coming to Christ at a rate that has never been experienced before in spite of all of the increased persecution that new Christians are experiencing. Read the article it is really encouraging.            *Top 

(Image by wallyg via Flickr)

There is major shaking going on economically and politically in the World. We are in the midst of a major re-alignment of World power and leadership.

Just today came the word that China had passed Japan as having the 2nd largest economy behind the USA. Meanwhile the USA is in decline and many are predicting that China will pass up the United States before the decade is finished.

Also today came the word from a number of different sources that it would be best if Israel attacked Iran in the next 3 days before their Nuclear plant comes on line. Otherwise the fallout could affect the entire region. Time to obviously pray for the leaders of Israel and the USA.

Meanwhile the Church itself is going through a major shaking. In America there are signs that unless we have a major revival Christians will become a minority in this country in one generation. I believe that revival is in the works. However a small revival would not be enough to reverse the trend. Therefore the church should be praying for a move of God that goes way beyond all of our greatest expectations.

Here’s a word from Barbara Yoder that is basically telling us not to fear the shaking but to go with it:  “There Is a Rumbling in the Earth!”

I found the following parts right on and particularly helpful:

There is a rumbling in the earth. God is rumbling you out of mindsets, positions, identity, locations, relationships, bondages, fears.  …

There is a rumbling that has already started in the heavens. But the Lord would declare to you that the rumbling is also now on earth under the feet of leaders, for He is calling us out of the old, out of the past, out of that which would trap us in nonproductivity and irrelevancy, to reposition us for the future. And we will not only look spiritually different, we will not look the same physically—the way we have in the past—for we have entered a season of massive change.

"Fear not the rumbling, for I will shake you out of the systems and paradigms that have held the church captive and I will cause you to be poured out in a whole new way to the world. I am shaking the church and I am shaking the world. The rumbling will not soon disappear, until it has accomplished its full work to shake the church and to shake the world. For I will have a meeting place with My people, and what is left when the rumbling is done will be a people who release the kingdom of God on earth. And the church will be poured out into the world." (See Hebrews 12.)

<Read the whole message>            *Top

When Ramadan begins tomorrow (Wednesday August 11) many Christians will be praying for Muslims to find Christ.

It is becoming more and more common in the last several years to hear about Muslims seeing visions and dreams of Jesus and converting to Christianity during the 30 days of Ramadan.

Also it is a great time to remember Christians living under persecution in Muslim dominated countries. During Ramadan the Christians are subjected to even more pressure and persecution than at any other time during the year.

In fact Open Doors Ministries has developed the

30-day Ramadan Prayer Calendar.

Each day is specific to a country on the organization’s World Watch List—a ranking of 50 countries where the persecution of Christians is most severe.

Also, millions of Christians from around the world will be supporting a prayer campaign initially launched by YWAM:

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

Check out these sites and participate. You may not be able to go to the Middle East as a missionary but your prayers can get there and make a real difference.

Wow. Ted Haggard is in the midst of starting a new church. Here is one of the comments he made to his new congregation:

"Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football.  Ted Haggard needs to be leading a church”

Really?

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal that has since gone ‘viral’ on the Internet he said:

“I over-repented”

-For his extra-marital relationship with male escort Mike Jones and using drugs?

Exactly what does that mean? Does that mean that he should have kept on pastoring anyway? Seems to be implying that. What about the Biblical requirements for Christian leaders?

I truly believe that grace trumps judgment when repentance is present. But ‘over-repentance’? –never heard of it.

What do you think out there? Does Ted belong back in the pulpit? The four pastors who were supervising Haggard’s recovery do not think so:

"we cannot endorse his return to vocational ministry."

Also, it seems rather lame to me to start a new church in the same community where his old church is. Particularly after he agreed to leave the area and his old church supported him and his family with that stipulation for a couple of years. Why not start over some place else where a new church and pastor are actually needed?  

I know that in the dominate American culture today sin is no longer recognized. However this doesn’t even pass the ‘smell test’ among unbelievers. It isn’t the sin that bothers most of those folks but the hypocrisy of it all.

But what ever happened to an understanding of sin in the church? Sadly in the American church today so many seem to be going the way of the culture with the only caveat being that everyone makes mistakes but Grace covers it all and once saved always saved? Now this applies to a fallen pastor also? 200 folks in his new congregation seem to think so.            *Top

One scripture verse in particular (actually just part of one) keeps coming up at our Marketplace prayer Group at VCC Laguna Niguel:

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” -2 Chron. 20:12

The statement was part of a prayer given by King Jehoshaphat as the entire nation of Judah gathered in Jerusalem with a vast enemy army on the way threatening to annihilate them.

Some of us are going through major difficulties lately. It might be in our businesses, our families and marriage, our finances, or our health. Sometimes there really seems to be very little hope when we look at all of the facts and view the mess in front of us. The enemy seems to be reaching out and trying to defeat Christians on all fronts lately and some of us have several battle raging all at once and it seems so much completely out of control.

It really is time to take our eyes off of the problems and focus upon the Lord. Only then can miracles happen.

Recently I faced a family problem with one of my adult children that was completely out of my control and one that I had no answers for at all. All I could do is pray, respond in the best way I could, and turn it over to the Lord. Believe me turning it completely over was one of the hardest things I have ever done. All I could do was focus on the Lord and cry out to him.

One week later it was resolved at least for now and it is a miracle as far as I am concerned.

In the midst of the battle it is never easy to take your focus off of the very real problems in front of you. However, sometimes no matter how smart we are and how many resources we personally have there is just no way for us to win.

We might as well learn to put our focus on the one that is unlimited and wants to bless his children. Particularly when we have no answers and don’t know what to do. It is time for miracles. Time to put our eyes and focus upon the only one that can really save us.              *Top

Wednesday morning at the Marketplace Prayer Group at VCC Laguna Niguel, Pastor Mike Hudgins reminded us that we should be praying for President Obama and his administration.

Lately I must confess that I have forgotten all about praying for the President. In fact most of what I have been saying about him lately is not all that pleasant or edifying.

I did sign up and commit to pray for the new President for the first six months and followed through but after that..well let’s just say that I can’t remember the last time I really prayed for him and his family.

Pastor Mike reminded us that the President and his key advisers were making decisions for better or worse that affect all of us — the entire country and even the world. We are in the midst of a major recession and the world is getting more dangerous as we speak. We really should be praying for our leaders to receive wisdom from the Lord and pray that they pay attention to it. Not only that, but they make the right decisions in spite of themselves.

Our best President ever would be having difficulties right now in our present state and …well anyway it is time to pray.

Then Pastor Mike reminded us that we should be praying for our state leaders. I almost want to draw the line with the ‘Govenator’ but the State of California is nearly bankrupt and many key businesses are leaving the state because of the over-the-top corporate taxes and regulations.

Therefore out of self interest it is important to pray for my least favorite governor and state legislators. Maybe they can finally come up with a new budget before the summer is over.       *Top

Christopher Hitchens the journalist, author, and atheist crusader has been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.

Should Christians pray for his recovery?

Yes.

First of all we should respect the teaching of Jesus:

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.” –Luke 6:27-28

<<Read the rest on my Answers blog>>

Earthquakes, Wars, natural catastrophes, signs in the heavens above, rumors of war, the whole earth in confusion, leaders calling for a ‘new world’ order, and everyone seems to be against Israel.

Could we really be in the ‘end times’? I hear this question being posed over and over again by Christian friends lately.

When I was younger I was totally convinced that we were in the ‘end times’ and that Jesus would be coming back very soon. I can remember being especially excited over those prospects after reading Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth in 1973. I was convinced at the time and still am that the reestablishment of the Jewish nation of Israel in 1948 was a major end time sign.

Over the next 15 years I read everything that came off the presses having to do with the End Times and Eschatology. PreMil, PostMil, AMil, PreTrib, PostTrib, MidTrib, and PreWrath—I studied it all with as open a mind as I could without letting my brains fall out. In the process I came away with the realization that I could find something missing and sometimes something down right wrong in every book and every eschatological tradition.

If I was forced to pick I would probably lean toward a PreMil-PreWrath approach but most of the time I like to say that I am PanMil and PanTrib—I am going to wait and see how it all ‘pans out’.

Fact is at the end of time when we look back at the final events, every single scripture and prophecy will be completely fulfilled and it won’t be necessary to stretch a thing when it comes to hermeneutics or Bible interpretation.

The only thing that I have studied more than eschatology is hermeneutics and that is why I am super sensitive to the ways many ‘prophecy’ writers run ruff shod over even basic rules of Biblical interpretation.

I have come to believe (and I have stated it before) that when it comes to the end times every single book printed regardless of the tradition has one thing in common—they are all wrong somewhere and lack something. Not only that—if I wrote a book on this subject I would be wrong also on some point or another.

This doesn’t mean that reading books on this subject is a waste of time. Many are valuable and it is important to become conversant with the basic issues and gain an understanding of the possible end time signs. However, I have come to believe that Lord has made it all somewhat cloudy in the scriptures on purpose except for the basic events. The timing and sequence is where there is the greatest disparity between the different traditional schemas.

I have come to believe that the last will be like the first. The last generation will be caught by surprise and be somewhat unprepared for the way the final events happen just like folks were not ready in the first century for a Messiah that came as a poor baby in a stable and went on to become a sacrificing servant cursed and killed on a Roman cross.

Not one ‘prophecy’ teacher in the first century was looking for that sequence of events and a ‘suffering servant’ Messiah. Also I believe that not one prophecy teacher in the end generation will have it completely nailed down either. I do believe however that the reestablishment of ‘prophetical ministry’ in the church will be helpful in preparing many for the events to come.

So, are we really in the end of the ‘end times’? I don’t know, maybe. It sure seems to be stacking up that way!

Next Post: More on the End Times

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As the economy is continuing on a downturn, many churches are experiencing financial difficulties. Even some of the larger churches are letting some of their associate pastors go.

In the Mid-West there are all sorts of churches right now in small towns who do not have full-time pastors or share theirs with several other congregations.

Here’s an article talking about the fact that many pastors are now bi-vocational and have a 2nd job to pay the bills:

More Pastors Are Working Two Jobs

We have become so use to the fact that ‘Pastor’ is an occupation in this country and in the West that we don’t remember that it hasn’t always been that way nor maybe will it be in the future. After all the Apostle Paul made tents. Not only that, but in many 3rd world countries including China and especially in Muslim nations where the churches meet in homes the pastors nearly all work other jobs.

Fact is, if the church becomes persecuted in the West and in America and has to go underground, guess what—only the apostate churches will probably have paid clergy. Something to think about even though in the present context it seems rather unlikely to ever happen.

Read the back of the book and you’ll see that at some point everything changes. With all of the earthquakes and natural disasters lately and all of the world-wide political and economic changes happening right now who knows what the political and cultural context will be like in the near future. Many world leaders including some of our own are pushing for some kind of new World order economically and politically.

Pastors and leaders will continue to be called by the Holy Spirit to the ministry but in the future pastors may need to be prepared to be self-supporting far more than they are now in America.              *Top

The 4th of July 2010, a great day to celebrate and to pray for the future of America.

Today’s Prayer

Gracious Father, as we approach our nation’s Independence Day, we give  You thanks for the Guidance You gave to our founders, and for the way You have blessed this country with so much.

As a people, Lord, urge us to return to You, to seek Your face, to repent of our sins, and to rely each day upon You.

You have promised to bless the nations where You are Lord. We desire that for America. Grant us a revival, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

(From: The Presidential Prayer Team)