-America at the Crossroads

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We are praying for America today at the crossroads of US 50 and US 65 in mid-America, Sedalia MO:

Father, send your Spirit across this nation from the west to the east and let your light shine from the north to the south. Let revival and a new awakening shake America once more. In Jesus name, Amen.

I am challenging everyone of you to designate a major crossroads in your city and to remember to pray for America and revival every time you pass through it. Our real hope for change is in Jesus regardless of the election results in November.                

-“See You At The Pole” 2016

Today is “See You At The Pole” Day 2016, when thousands of students gather around their flag poles at school to pray together for the nation, the schools, administrators, teachers, and fellow students. From the SYATP website:

SEE YOU AT THE POLE 2016
Wednesday, September 28
WE CRY OUT
A generation seeking Him!
Psalm 24:3–6clip_image002
Global Week of Student Prayer
Sunday, September 25 through Saturday, October 1, 2016

For the last 25 years, See You at the Pole has been about one simple act—prayer. SYATP is still about students uniting themselves in prayer before God interceding for their generation.
There are two opportunities to unite in prayer with your friends:

  • DAY: SEE YOU AT THE POLE day is on Wednesday, September 28, at 7:00 a.m. local time. All around the globe, in every time zone, students will be gathering at their flagpoles, praying for their school, friends, families, churches, and communities. SEE YOU AT THE POLE is a day committed to global unity in Christ and prayer for your generation.
  • WEEK: The GLOBAL WEEK OF STUDENT PRAYER (Sunday, September 25 through Saturday, October 1) encourages students to find new and unique ways, places, and times to pray throughout the week. Whether you attend PUBLIC SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOL, or HOME SCHOOL, gather your friends wherever and whenever and pray! The GLOBAL WEEK OF STUDENT PRAYER is dedicated to prayer and launching your on-campus Bible clubs, prayer strategies, and student ministries.

-2015 A Turning Point in America?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’’

America is Moving in 2015 But Which Way is it Going to Go?

Many of us have been praying and looking for revival and a new awakening in America and many of us have hopes that 2015 would see the beginning of a new move of God –a turning point to bring the nation back to God and his purposes.

Another Kind of Turning Point

In the midst of that real hope that the Holy Spirit has been guiding many of us to pray for is another reality that is rising up in America. An evil design that could bring a different kind of turning point in our country where our religious liberty and freedom are questioned and re-defined. Where churches are forced to decide between following the Bible or the increasingly secular culture.

If the trend continues like it has so far this year, it is not too difficult to see that conservative churches may find themselves as outcasts and receive real discrimination in the years to come with 2015 being an evil turning point. It is critical that intercessors and prayer warriors rise up now while there is yet day for the night may be descending quickly and take us all by surprise if we stand silent and motionless at this critical time.

Here’s a prophetic word that I found completely on point and one which confirms what I have recently been seeing in the early months of this year and have been concerned about. From Daniel K. Norris:

“2015 will demand believers to be resolute in their beliefs. The media and culture has found a voice of influence into the church and this year will begin to exercise that voice with a greater authority. Culture will seek to define what is and is not acceptable Christianity. Many will allow their faith to be shaken. Some will come into agreement. Many will choose to simply be silent. Very few will stand as a resolute voice. We must unashamedly declare truth and boldly display love. There will be many who disagree with you, but let them not be uncertain about your love for them.”

Read the whole article where he addresses the current trends that support what I am writing about. Evangelicals including Charismatics and Pentecostals are in danger of seeing major divisions in their churches and denominations/associations over homosexuality and same-sex marriage in the near future and this year could be the turning point in America and the American church one way or another.           

-Bonnke: “America Shall Be Saved”

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  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Richard Bonnke has been known best for his major evangelistic campaigns in Africa for the last 30 years or so. Now he is turning his efforts toward the USA with a new campaign called “American Shall be Saved” beginning in July:

Bonnke’s next stop is Miami, where he will preach to a crowd at the American Airlines arena on July 18-19. Over 200 churches across racial, denominational, cultural and even linguistic barriers have joined forces to help Bonnke witness Jesus to South Florida.

Here’s what He has to say about the new effort:

“I am scanning the skies for men and women who pray and weep for the salvation of America. As Bill Bright used to say, ‘Let’s leave our logos and egos.’ Let’s rally at the foot of the cross of Calvary and preach the Gospel of salvation to the nation,” Bonnke says. “The Holy Spirit will cooperate. God is pouring out His Spirit with glorious indifference to our differences! He said, ‘I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh.’ And it seems to me He pours Himself into the mold of any vessel.”

Response: A few years ago many of us were expecting revival and a new awakening to break out across all of North America. Instead we ended up with the big push for gay and LGBT rights including same-sex marriage which is beginning to trump religious liberty in the courts and culture all across America. Increasingly we are being told that religious freedom is now only Constitutionally assured within the four walls of an official place of worship.

Now Christians who believe in the authority of the Bible are increasingly being cast and misrepresented as ‘bigots,’ ‘haters’, and irrelevant folks who are on the ‘wrong side of history.’ At least that is what is happening in the dominant American culture on the West Coast where I live and in New England and within the main stream American media.

This turnaround has happened in a very short time. In 2009 at the inauguration of President Barack Obama evangelical pastors participated in giving the prayers but by 2013 we saw a pastor who had been invited to give a prayer hounded until he resigned over preaching a Biblical lesson which included homosexuality 18 years ago. Now conservative Christian business owners who do not want to participate in same-sex ceremonies are being sued and forced to either provide their services or be fined. Times are changing in America so much so that if the trend continues Bible believing will soon be considered ‘immoral’ by folks in the dominant American culture.

Point is, it really is time for Revival and for Bible believing Christian to stand up for their faith and refuse to go quietly into the night. One way is to join in campaigns like what Bonnke is initiating and particularly join him in prayer to change America for the better before it is too late.

We are in the middle of a battle and most American Christians don’t even realize it and yet the Gospel is going forth among the nations at an unprecedented pace and millions are coming to Christ every year. Also millions of Christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith and we are actually in the midst of a new age of martyrs though it is being ignored by most American Christians.

I do not believe that God is through with America but it is rapidly becoming a mission field which may see African pastors and Asian evangelists from China and Korea soon helping in a new push to save Americans. I believe that Bonnk’e effort is just the beginning.  May God really bless America once more.

-When The Foundations Are Being Destroyed?

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“When the Foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do?” –Palm 11:3

The very foundations of our country were shaken when 26 children and teachers were recently killed in Newtown, Conn. What is the real answer to the causes of events like this in our country. Is is really all about guns? 

In 2013 we are living in a culture where the foundations are being destroyed. What is our role? We now live in a country where  evil is now considered good and visa versa. What now can we say?

A couple of weeks ago a Christian preacher who was chosen to give the benediction at the inaugural was deemed unworthy and dismissed because he once preached a Biblical sermon against homosexuality. Also another evangelical pastor was sued for “crimes against humanity” for his anti-gay teaching. We now live in a world that is upside down- Gay is good and traditional Biblical teaching about homosexuality is bad.

Some in the media are now calling for the Bible to be changed and there is a serious ongoing discussion about doing away with prayers and the Bible when political leaders are sworn into office. Some actually now claim that the Bible is too ‘evil’ and full of ‘wrong teaching’ that offends 21th century cultural sensibilities. It also opposes a secular/progressive agenda for necessary change so must be eliminated. How can Bible believing Christians respond to all of this?

When the foundations are being destroyed it is time for believers to stand on the sure foundation of the Word of God and refused to be moved. It is also time to celebrate and rejoice and demonstrate the real blessings that we have received and continue to receive through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit sent by our Father in Heaven.

May His Kingdom break through in America in ways that can no longer be hidden or ignored and let us continue to stand on the one foundation that can never be destroyed in time or eternity.          

-Millions of Youth Pray for Spiritual Awakening

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From Charisma News:

Before the opening bell on Wednesday, millions of students from across the country gathered at their school’s flagpole to pray for their nation, their towns and cities, and their schools at the annual See You at the Pole (SYATP) prayer gathering.  …

The First Amendment guarantees students the right to pray on school grounds. During any noninstructional time—before or after school, in between classes, during the lunch hour or on the playing field—students may express their opinions verbally or in writing. Prayer is a form of speech, and therefore during noninstructional time, students have the constitutional right to pray individually or in groups.

<Read the whole article>

Response: Yesterday was the 22nd annual SYATP prayer rally and according to reports it is an event that continues to grow. This year the focus was upon spiritual awakening for America.

With a crucial election around the corner and world wide challenges to our Constitutional rights to free speech and religion it was more than timely to have millions of youth praying across America for our future and for revival.  Praise God- may those millions of prayers move heaven and earth and bring a new Awakening to a dry and thirsty land. may God bless America once more.  

-America Needs a Third Great Awakening or It’s Over?

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(united states currency seal: kevindean)

This is not a popular message among Christians in America but many leaders are beginning to sense a turn in history that America may not be able to recover from unless God brings on a Third Great Awakening in our nation.

Many see the economic problems that face our country and hope that they will be solved by merely electing a new president with exceptional business experience. Unfortunately, the choice before us is between a professing liberal Christian with a secular world view and a Mormon that shares our values but maybe not the Holy Spirit that is so needed in these trying times.

But what about the decline in our culture and the headlong charge towards same-sex marriage and the continuing secularization and the increasing demonization of Christianity in the public square? What about the very real decline in religious freedom in our nation? Pastors being arrested for holding Bible studies in their homes. Social change trumping the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. Secularists claiming that conservative Christians that stand up for traditional marriage and hold to Biblical teaching when it comes to homosexuality are ‘immoral’ unethical discriminatory bigots that need to be silenced and controlled. Liberal church leaders claiming that homosexuality is ordained by God and evangelicals who oppose it are actually opposing the teaching of Jesus to love one’s neighbor?

What about the upheavals in nature and changes in climate? Are they just happenstance or has God lifted some of his protection from our nation? The fact is that the problems facing America are greater than any one person or group of people will be able to solve. Without a new download from heaven I fear that America is headed for the dust bin of history along with other great world powers of the past that have seen their day and lost their power. Does this sound overly pessimistic? I hope it’s just that.

For a long time I have been convinced that a major revival in America was just around the corner and now I am really concerned that we may miss it at the very time when we need it the most. I am still convinced that revival will come to some areas, some churches, and some communities in our nation regardless. But it is a Third Great Awakening from coast to coast that is really needed to bring our nation back from the brink.              

-America of the Founders and Now

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Much has been made of the variety of beliefs held by the founders of this country but their words and convictions remain not only on the paper they penned these words on but also in the hearts of the people. America has always been a nation ‘under God’ and ‘freedom of religion’ has been a primary right of its citizens.

One only has to visit Washington DC and look at all of the messages etched in stone to realize how much faith in God has been as part of the American experiment and experience. Stroll into the Jefferson monument and view the different references he made to the Creator. Yet he is supposed to be the champion of ‘Separation of Church and State’ and progressive thought. 

We now live in a generation when some are challenging those rights and liberties in the name of ‘separation of church and state’. Some would even like to remove all vestiges of religion or faith from the public square. Every week we find new challenges to our religious liberties.

I have seen many changes over the course of my life when it comes to religion in the public square. When I started school in the 50’s every day began with a prayer and the pledge. Also, I can remember studying the Bible in elementary school and when it came to Christmas all of the traditional Christmas carols were naturally sung. Prayers were still given at my baccalaureate, commencement, and even before some of the football games in the 60’s. None of the public displays of faith seemed out of place then.

Now that is all gone from the public schools and really no way that it can be recovered.

Growing up, I can remember that every family went to some church or another on Sundays except for the next door neighbor who was a Seventh–Day Adventist and the Jewish family down the street who preferred Saturdays for their worship instead.

It had been much the same way in America when my parents grew up and my grand parents also. In fact my mother told me that the readers they used in school (1915-20)actually taught them how to read using Bible passages. How foreign that would be today in our current schools.

It was also a time when America rose up and took its place among the top countries of the world on many different levels. This country has been tremendously blessed by God.

If God is erased from the public square and discourse of America, then what will be the new basis and foundation of our freedoms? So much of what we have was actually built upon the foundation of Christian civilization that owed its very existence to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus and his disciples. What will be the new standard if any that assures the continuity of freedom in America if not the Creator?

Shall we be left to rely upon politicians and judges and the sifting sands of popular notions? Or will scriptural principles continue to light the way like this NT passage did?:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” –Galatians 3:28-29

All distinctions were done way in Christ and American society eventually has followed suit and provided equal justice and freedom for all.

What kind of America will my grandchildren and great grandchildren be living in? Will America continue to lead the world in freedom, commerce, and faith or will it decline into the dust pan of history?

I pray that Americans will continue to respect and worship God from whom all of our blessings and liberties flow.            

-The Family, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Future of America

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            (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the last several months there has been a dialogue going on in America concerning our direction and the future of this nation when it comes to the major building block of society- the family.

Sunday we celebrated motherhood but earlier in the week the topic of conversation was same-sex marriage as President Obama came out in support of it and ironically cited the teachings of Jesus and the Golden Rule as having a part in his decision.

In April one of the big topics on the political scene was a comment that was made by a Democratic operative that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life since all she ever did was stay at home and raise 5 boys. In March the big controversy revolved around contraceptives and abortives and whether the government would force insurance companies to pay for them -even self insured religious organizations who were opposed to their use. It really was a matter of freedom of religion but the mainstream media and one political party styled those who opposed that idea as being in a ‘war against women.’

However, the real war in America is against motherhood, parenthood, and God’s design for humanity and Creation itself. My question is this:

Can God continue to bless America the way we are going? I believe that the answer is no and that our very future is hanging in the balance.

Honoring God’s order and design of the family was important enough to be included in the 10 commandments as a requirement for those who were seeking his blessing:

Ex 20:11-12
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
ESV

This was also confirmed in the New Testament teaching on the family in Ephesians:

Eph 6:2-4
“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
ESV

Do you really think that we are really honoring God’s plan for mothers, fathers, and the family in America today? So many children are brought into the world with single parents or in households where the parents are not fully committed to each other in marriage. And now if that is not bad enough, marriage itself is being re-defined as including same-sex partners and families are being re-defined to include all of these different perversions. Not only that, but Christians who question this direction in our culture are being cast as bigots, homophobes, and hopelessly on the ‘wrong side of history.’

If we continue in this direction I am afraid that America will ultimately be on God’s wrong side of history.

Again, can we expect God to continue to bless America in the midst of this rebellion against his order in Creation? As long as we were a nation that honored God and followed his order in creation for marriage and the family we could expect his blessings and that our days would be long and prosperous in this land. But that is no longer the case .

How we need revival.                    

-A Call of Revival from the Past

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“In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope and the path of love toward our fellow men.”  FDR- Detroit, Michigan, October 2, 1932

Two weeks ago we were in Washington DC. While there we visited many of the more famous monuments. I could not believe how many ‘God’ references there are in DC Chiseled in stone and there for all to see the great religious heritage of our past.

While on the way to the Jefferson monument we walked through the huge FDR monument and were immediately taken back in time when America was far more ‘religious’ than today even in the midst of a depression and a war that was even more severe than what we are facing today.

I never considered FDR to be a very religious president until I read one quote after another calling Americans back to faith and hope in God in the midst of the incredible trouble faced by that generation economically and death and destruction of World War II. Not only that, but repeatedly calling Americans to join together in prayer. The ACLU would have fits with any president that made some of these statements today. But there they are, some of them chiseled in stone including the quote above.

When I read the quote above, the Holy Spirit immediately spoke to me and said that this statement contained the call of revival to America today. It is a Call of Faith and Hope in God, plus Love and Social Justice toward all humanity. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, but completely built upon the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and anchored in the Love of The Father.