What Does Your Future Hold?

by Mac Hammond 

Did you know that you have a great cloud of witnesses cheering you on as you go about your life on earth? Hebrews 12:1 says:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us… (KJV).

When Christians die, their spirits go on to be with the Lord, and they become part of this great cloud of witnesses. Part of the definition for the word “witnesses” implies agreement and exhortation. These witnesses are not only very much aware of the unfolding plan of God on the earth, they know what’s happening in your life and are cheering you on from the grandstand of heaven, adding the power of their agreement to the course you’re running in this life.

One thing these witnesses cannot do yet is step into their eternal calling of ruling and reigning with the Lord because that requires a physical body. In order to fulfill this calling across the vastness of a universal creation that is temporal and physical, we have to have a physical body.

Angels can’t do what we do as human beings because they don’t have physical bodies. They can only legally function in this world as ministers to the heirs of salvation, which is their calling. The same is true with demons; they can’t do things in this earth without first possessing a biological life form through which to find expression. That’s the way God created this universe.

God Will Anoint You For Battle

s we all know, and as we explained to you in our article titled, “Trials and Tribulations – The Testing of Your Faith,” most people in this life will have to face a certain amount of trials and tribulations, and this includes every single Christian.

In the above article, we give you all of the main verses from the Bible as to why this has to occur even to Christians who are fully serving the Lord and walking in His perfect will for their lives.

In this article I want to point out and highlight for you, that even though we all have to go through a certain amount of trials and tribulations in this life, God will still be with you and help you get through each storm cloud that will come into your life. God will not leave you, forsake you, or turn His back on you just because you have fallen into the middle of a severe trial.

Prophecy Over New America 2013 And Beyond

Redesign, Realign, Rebuild and Restore America

Read This Timely, Prophetic Word for America!

Partners and Friends,

I received this prophetic Word from another ministry and wanted to share it with you. Email me your thoughts at partnerservices@mcwe.com.

The Church in America has assumed there has been a systematic power shift from God’s House to the White House. The enemy has had the Church deceived to believe this lie, forcing them to accept a place of defeat in the spirit realm.

This is further compounded by the Church’s divisive line around political ideologies and personalities. The Church has taken their basic human right to choose who they are to vote for into the self-agenda and humanistic realm.

Twenty Building Blocks Of Vision

1.     A vision begins as a concern.

As a pastor, you probably have a vision of great revival for your city. But it began as a concern for souls, then it grew into a burden for souls. It grew till it consumed your thoughts. This is the birthplace of vision. God has placed that vision there.

2.     A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.

When God speaks to you, he may not be giving you a vision for the immediate.  God’s timing is not our timing. When David was anointed king, he did not take the throne for many years.  He went through many hardships before he finally became king.

3.     Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.

The Bible says that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. Begin to pray for the right people and opportunities to be brought into your life...God will order your steps.

Portable Praise

Psalm 98:4–9

Making a joyful noise to the Lord sounds good and right, doesn’t it? It’s a no-brainer—so much so that it’s easy not to engage our brains all that actively over a praise passage. We’re inspired and uplifted when we read such words. Our gait may even be livelier and our gaze focused higher for a while afterward.

The trouble is, our days are often characterized by an operative word other than praise. Despite our best intentions, that word too easily morphs into busyness. Author Cynthia Heald reflects on this issue:

One day when I was reading Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest, I was struck by his insight about a rather obscure and easily overlooked verse in Genesis: “[From there he (Abram) went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD.]” Chambers writes, “Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. 

The Bible Verse No Guy Enjoys Reading

J. LEE GRADY

 

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Deuteronomy 23:1 is painful—but it shows us that God wants to heal the wounds of the masculine soul.

I’d never heard a sermon on Deuteronomy 23:1 until last month, when my Puerto Rican friend Luis Roig had the courage to read the text out loud to a group of men in Florida. When he did, one guy gasped and fell on the floor. Several others laughed nervously, and we all drew our knees together and groaned.

The Holman translation says it this way: “No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord’s assembly.”

Ouch!

Please pardon the graphic language, but older translations just aren’t clear. The King James Version says, “He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.” That’s putting it mildly!

Fear of What's Next

by Max Lucado

"I am going away" ( John 14:28).

Imagine their shock when they heard Jesus say those words. He spoke them on the night of the Passover celebration, Thursday evening, in the Upper Room. Christ and his friends had just enjoyed a calm dinner in the midst of a chaotic week. They had reason for optimism: Jesus' popularity was soaring. Opportunities were increasing. In three short years the crowds had lifted Christ to their shoulders . . . he was the hope of the common man.

And now this? Jesus said, "I am going away." The announcement stunned them. When Jesus explained, "You know the way to where I am going," Thomas, with no small dose of exasperation, replied, "No, we don't know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ( John 14:4-5 NLT).

Impossible is a Dirty Word!

by Barbie Breathitt

We need to remove 'impossible' and 'can’t' from our vocabulary. With God, through prayer, supplications and proper planning all things are possible! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! Christ instructs us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Dynamic people make plans and follow their dreams. Imaginative thinking promotes resourceful planning, which leads to great acts and success. The Bible calls it ‘the greater works.’ We were created to do the impossible, to be spectacular, not average or mediocre. 

When God gives us an idea or a powerful dream there is a way to do it. Anything is possible! We can facilitate it if we believe. Faith and belief enables us to look past limitations into the realm of creative possibilities. Confidently putting our dreams into action helps us grow. Positive discussions, brainstorming and measures cause dreams to come alive. But, procrastination causes fear and doubt to grow. When doors of opportunity present themselves, knock on them; if they open take the first step and walk into the new. Always move forward towards the future. Once we begin to advance its easy to continue, just accelerate the momentum.

Myth: “If I’m a good Christian, then nothing bad will happen to me.”

Genesis 50:20

This isn’t what I asked for, thank you. I want my old life back.

The one where my parents were the perfect couple. Where I was the only one among my friends whose parents were still together. And seemingly still in love.

The one where I was voted most likely to succeed and everyone, right or wrong, envied my life because it seemed so perfect. And I believed it was.

I want to go back to the times when I knew You were involved in my life. The ones where I prayed and You answered. I talked to You, and You listened. The times when I knew You were alive. Loving. And on my side.

I want the life where all I had to do was show up for class, and I got good grades. Name a job opening, and I landed it squarely. Speak my needs, and my husband moved heaven and earth to meet them.

Make Advent More than "The Christmas Season"

Many of us make the four
weeks leading up to Christmas
into something it's not.

For the longest time, I thought "Advent" was just a fancy word for "the Christmas season," a holier, maybe more spiritual-sounding word for an otherwise hectic and overly-commercialized holiday stretch between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. What I've discovered in the past few years of observing Advent is it's not just a different word; it's an entirely different approach.

Let me explain. Advent as a season is meant to make the journey toward Christmas full of meaning; it's meant to put us in touch with our deepest longings and greatest hopes; it's meant to teach us to bring all our desires together on one object: Christ. While "Christmas" as a season (properly) begins on Dec. 25 and goes 12 days (yes, there's a song about that!) until Jan. 6, Advent is all about the build-up to it. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and takes us right up to the glorious celebration of the incarnation.

God Sees You!

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 

 Luke 1:26-27

Late last year, I had the privilege of going to the Holy Land. It was my second trip, and it was so meaningful. One afternoon, we made the trip to Nazareth, a very busy, Islamic city today … but a very, very, very small Jewish community at the time of Christ, perhaps as low as 35 families. 

In fact, Nazareth was so small, forgotten, and disrespected that Nathanael even said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). (I believe we know the answer to that one.)

The Queen James Bible and ‘Homophobic’ Interpretations

MICHAEL BROWN

 

 

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The Queen James Bible (queenjamesbible.com)

In case you haven’t heard the news, there is a new edition of the King James Bible that rewrites eight key verses that speak against homosexual practice. It’s called the Queen James Bible (I kid you not), and the editors state that, “We edited those eight verses in a way that makes homophobic interpretations impossible.”

Yes, you can now practice homosexuality and read your Bible without feeling condemned, although you still have to deal with the hundreds of verses affirming only heterosexual marriage and family (including one of the Ten Commandments that says, “Honor your father and mother” rather than, “Honor your father and father”).

Don't Just Sit There...Arise!

"Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city's gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die.... So they arose." (2 Kings 7:3,5, The Amplified Bible)

No matter how bad the problem is you may be facing today, no matter how far under the circumstances you may be, in 24 hours you can be back on top!

"Oh, Brother Copeland, that would be impossible!"

That's what the Samaritans thought in 2 Kings 7. Their land was being ravaged by famine. Enemy troops had surrounded them and cut off all source of supply. Mothers were eating their own children just to survive.

The Heavens Declare

Our Daily Bread 

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. —Psalm 19:1

You don’t have to gaze long at the night sky to marvel at the wonder of God’s awe-inspiring handiwork. The massive stretch of galaxies and the cloudy mass of our own Milky Way remind us of the spectacular creation and the sustaining work of Jesus by whom it is all held together (Col. 1:16-17). It’s as though all of us have front-row seats in the theater of God’s creative power.

MORE TO FOLLOW . . . grace upon grace . . .

At the end of the day, a weary child is cradled comfortably at the lap of his loving father.  The thrills and cares of the day spin off from his mind as he fights his heavy eyelids.  He runs his tender fingers at the face of his father, gathers himself together and draws his lips closer to his father’s right ear.  

    Then he smiles as he whispers almost inaudibly, his hands feeling the sturdy arms and shoulders of his father.  The father smiles and nods repeatedly, responding with that usual reassuring voice.  

    The child’s voice faded into silence as he drifts off to a peaceful sleep. He had his fill of today’s delights – but he has his cares and desires for tomorrow.  His sleep is undisturbed as he had confided everything in his heart to his father.

Debunked Doomsday Predictions and the Preparation that Really Matters

James Emery White

According to the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, Dec. 21, 2012, is the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle.

What might be called a “New Age” interpretation is that this date will inaugurate a new era marked by massive spiritual transformation.

Or it will bring the catastrophic end of the world.

As in the arrival of the next solar maximum, Earth being swallowed by a black hole at the center of the galaxy or the collision with another planet.

Stick to Your Calling

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God.... Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (2 Timothy 1:6,9)

Are you doing what God called you to do?

If you haven't ever thought about it before, that may sound like an odd question to you. You may be tempted to shrug it off and say, "Oh, I'm not really called to do anything. I'm not a pastor or a teacher or a minister of any kind...I guess I'm just what you might call a little finger on the Body of Christ."

Unshakable Things

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken, may remain” (Hebrews 12:27).

In this present evil world, there are many pressures that would tend to shake our faith. Paul would exhort persecuted believers “that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled” by such things, but rather to “stand fast” in the truths God has taught them (II Thessalonians 2:2,15).

The “hope set before us . . . we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:18,19). The “word” to which our text refers is from Haggai 2:5–7: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come,” who will establish “a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Hebrews 12:28).

The Earth Made New Again

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And He built His sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He hath established for ever” (Psalm 78:69).

There are a number of passages in the Bible which state unequivocally that the earth, in some form, is going to continue eternally. “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

However, this present earth and its atmospheric heavens must first be purged of all the age-long effects of sin and the curse, which now affect the very elements (or “dust of the earth”). 

Shaking The Earth Terribly

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:19).

Ever since the convulsions of the Flood, the earth’s crust has been in a state of instability, causing earthquakes from time to time all around the world.

But there are earthquakes yet to come which will exceed anything ever yet experienced. The earthquake prophesied in our text was also predicted in Revelation. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; . . . and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And . . . (they) hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from . . . the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:12-16).