Shot three times by the Nazis in Poland, Bernard Fleischer was down for the count. But just as he was about to be finished off, the German soldier’s gun froze.

Assuming he’d die anyway, the soldier left Bernard in a barn. Bernard survived and later joined the Jewish resistance movement. Decades later, his son and grandson are perpetuating his Holocaust legacy in the boxing ring.

This past weekend junior welterweight Dustin “The White Tiger” Fleischer faced Ira Frank at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Beach Haven, New Jersey—with his father, Phil Fleischer, as his lead cornerman for the first time. Dustin says it is his grandfather’s message that gives him strength.

Specifically, he wants to be the answer to the trivia question, “Who is the first world champion boxer to be the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor?”

“It helps me bring a message, helps give my career more of a meaning. Especially when it comes to my heritage and my religion,” Dustin Fleischer, 25, tells .

“I just kind of knew he had his grandfather’s strength in him,” says Phil Fleischer. “There was something about those two. They just kind of clicked.”

In his will, Bernard Fleischer left Dustin his Star of David necklace, which Dustin wears while he walks into the ring every time he fights, in addition to sporting a Star of David on his trunks.

“I actually wanted it, but he gave it to his grandson,” Phil quips regarding the necklace.

Dustin—5-foot-9, 140 pounds—recalls getting picked on because his mother dressed him up in bow ties and suspenders. He responded by learning martial arts from age 5 and boxing four years later, following in the footsteps of his father. 

He thrived, compiling an amateur boxing record of 112-18 and qualifying for the Olympic Trials for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He lived in the U.S. Olympic training camp at 15. 

“A lot of people thought Dustin could be the one. A lot of people were very high on Dustin about making this (Olympic) team,” Phil recalled.

Dustin, however, came down with mononucleosis and got sidetracked.

“When he came back (from the Olympic camp), he was very depressed, but he learned something from it,” Phil says. “He said, ‘Dad, all my life I pushed for this, but I’ve got to have something else in my life in case I ever get hurt with boxing, so I’m going to finish up my education, and once I finish school I will then turn pro.'”

Indeed, Dustin earned a degree in transportation and worked for his father’s trucking company to help the business during the economic recession. All the while, he kept us his boxing skills and would eventually be signed earlier this year by Roc Nation Sports, part of the consortium of entertainment-related entities owned by the rapper Jay Z. 

On Jan. 9, 2015, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the inaugural “throne boxing” event hosted by Roc Nation Sports, Dustin made his professional debut—scoring a second-round technical knockout victory over Frank Jordan. Soon after the fight, Roc Nation Sports signed him to an exclusive promotional agreement.

“It feels like everything happens for a reason,” Dustin says of his journey to the pros since falling short of the Olympic team. “I couldn’t ask for anything more—the age I turned pro, the people that I’m with. My career is just moving the way I pictured it would move.”

Roc Nation “will only sign a certain level of fighter, and to be at that level is definitely a confidence-booster,” he says. Dustin doesn’t work directly with Jay Z, but has met him.

“The way he talks is just kind of like I pictured him … He talks as cool as he raps, really,” Dustin says.

Within the world of boxing, Dustin says he seeks to emulate the heart of Timothy Bradley, the smarts of Terence Crawford, and the longevity of Floyd Mayweather. 

“There really has never been a fighter who’s been able to stay that dominant throughout all the years he’s been boxing and really not have a scratch on him,” Dustin says of Mayweather. “You’ve really got to admire that as a boxer.”

Dustin has never been to Israel, but says he regularly follows Israel news websites and wishes to partake in a boxing match in the Jewish state one day. 

Bernard Fleischer died seven years ago, but the late Holocaust survivor would have most certainly beamed with pride at the father-son team entering the ring last weekend. By the way, he won that bout.

“This is one step in Jewish history, and we’ll keep rolling from there,” Phil says. {eoa}

For more information on boxer Dustin Fleischer, follow him on Facebook, @TheWhiteTigerDustinFleischer, or Instagram and Twitter, @dustinfleischer.

For the original article, visit .

I just finished reading a nauseating New York Times article I found on MSN today. I’m troubled, mad and even a bit indignant. Before I start a fast-paced and impulsive rant, you would do well to read the article I’m referring to.

The headline is “U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies’ Abuse of Boys” and it’s as bad as it sounds. You should read it yourself, but here’s an executive summary. I will do my best to get the facts right:

*In some Afghan circles, it is a sign of prestige to keep young boys as sex slaves.

*Some of the Afghan officers that we (the U.S. military) helped put into power are practicing this tradition. It sometimes even happens on U.S. military installations.

*Because the U.S. mission is to “fight the Taliban” and not to “stop molestation,” our military men and women have been instructed to turn a blind eye to the practice.

*A few U.S. soldiers have been reprimanded for trying to protect children.

To all of this I want to scream: “We are better than this!”

When I was a young sociology student in college, I started to buy into a form of cultural relativism. This is the belief that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture. In other words, we can’t judge another’s beliefs and practices because what they do might work in their culture.

It took me about two semesters to shake that nonsense out of my head. However, that is just the kind of drivel that allows injustices like this to happen in a part of the world where Americans are putting their lives at stake.

I know that there are very complex diplomatic issues to consider, but if we can’t at the very least agree that protecting the young from harm is a core value of our mission, then what are we doing over there? If we cannot say to those whom we are arming and training, “This is wrong and you cannot do this on our watch,” then we are trading one evil (The Taliban) for another (a child abuser that we support.) Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

The Christian roots of America are far better than the Islamic roots of the Middle East.

The conditions of the human heart that would allow a culture (even a small portion of it) to allow this absolutely floors me. There are those who argue that all religions are the same … that Christianity and Islam are about the same. Those people are wrong. While one may find that the laws in the holy texts of these two religions are rooted in similar principles, the fruit they bear is radically different.

America is not a Christian nation. We are too free for that. But most would agree that our values and way of life are rooted in what I presumed was a universal standard of right and wrong. Caring for the weak and protecting the innocent is hard-wired into our culture. This must be, to some extent, a reflection of our Christian heritage.

While we assume that this is normal around the world, there are plenty of Muslim nations who don’t operate that way. On a trip to the Middle East, I saw Muslim women treated as third-class citizens. I read articles in official Muslim publications about how women who are raped are always to blame (and how their murder is permitted). I have even read recent news reports of Muslim nations denying entry to Syrian refugees, as in: “None of you are welcome here.” All the while, Europe (and hopefully America) are finding a way.

While Islam and Christianity have similar “laws,” the fruit of our lives could not be more opposite. How many hospitals in developing nations are there because of Islamic relief work? (I’ve never seen one … if you know a stat on this, I’d be happy to publish it.) How many world-hunger programs (not in the Middle East) are sponsored by Muslims? This is a religion with laws to obey but without a fundamental directive to change the corrupt nature of the human heart. My Christian faith is better than that.

I want to believe that our nation is better than that too. While America is not a Christian nation, our culture believes that protecting the innocent is a non-negotiable. That includes children who are sexually abused. (I know the Catholic Church has had some struggles with this in the past; it appears that they are striving to right those wrongs.) We should demand this same standard from our allies, even if it disrupts their culture. I pray that our country would support our soldiers when they try to hold these people accountable for the actions. Support them. Don’t punish them.

We should send our troops into dangerous places not just to protect U.S. interests but to project fundamental values of right and wrong. If we can’t work to change hearts and minds, we are allowing evil to continue. And we are better than that.

At least I thought we were.

Barrett Johnson leads a national parachurch family ministry and blogs at . He recently released his second book, Your Imperfect and Normal Family.

Biblical Basis for the Voice of the Lord:

God still speaks today! Are you listening? What are you hearing?

While we agree that the canon of Scripture is closed, we believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He did before He continues to do. One of these ongoing activities is that of “communication.” The Holy Spirit wants to speak to each of us personally. 

Man lives by the ever-proceeding word of the Lord. Take a look at this Old Testament verse quoted by Jesus in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 8:3 states, “He humbled you and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.“
 
Matthew 4:4 states, “But He (Jesus) answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”‘”

With this in mind, let take a look at seven decrees I sense the Holy Spirit is asking us to align with in this New Hebrew Year and Beyond. 

7 Decrees for 5776 and Beyond!

1. My Word is alive and active. This phrase of course comes from Hebrews 4:12. But recently I had a visitation where the “glory of the Lord” appeared in my living room from floor to ceiling as a cylinder of His presence, and amber colors swirled around. A DNA ladder appeared in its midst as the entire element was rotating. Then a voice came from the pillar and stated, “My Word is alive and active!” I heard it over and over, again and again.

There is life in the Bible. It is the only book that when you read it—it reads you! Meditate on the Word. Love the Scriptures. God’s plan, purposes and ways are taught in this precious will be a revival of the Word of God!

2. It is a time of apostolic motion. We have entered into the second apostolic age of the church. We are living the “Convergence of the Ages” and the “Days of Acceleration.” Bishop Bill Hamon of Christian International calls this period “The Day of the Saints.”

It is now a time of apostolic motion. I did not say “apostolic succession.” Batons of leadership and stewardship are being passed from one generation to another in this coming year. But it does require one generation to graduate to heaven for this occur as if often the past typical model. No! There are new things for these seasoned leaders graduate into and thus there is the necessity to empower the next generation to lead. It is truly a time of the joining of the generations.

3. The art of interpreting signs and wonders goes to a higher level. A spirit of fear has been cultivated by well-meaning leaders and many believers by misinterpreting and overevaluating the present “signs of the times.” Thank God we are at least learning to read the signs and are no longer ignoring them! This is a step forward. But there is a wave of confusion that could come upon different sectors of the body of Christ as predicted, and thus expected, “economic melt downs” and other despairing reports are not occurring as stated. But God has a remedy!
 
Out of necessity and calling, a higher level of discernment and wisdom for properly interpreting the signs of the times will now increase. It is time to go higher like Joseph did (see Gen. 37:18-19 to 46:27-28). God will deliver us from misery Christianity and escapism into glorious eschatology.

4. It is the end of 500 years of the Great Reformation and the beginning of the Great Transformation. Historians usually date the start of the Protestant Reformation to the 1517 publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” Add 500 years to this and it is the year 2017. So as we turn the corner into the year 2016, it is the hinge of the close of a 500-year history of the Great Reformation. But a hinge on a door is for both opening and closing. We are turning the corner into the beginning of the Great Transformation of the church. The Fourth Wave of the Holy Spirit in modern church history has already begun. 

5. The release of “divine intelligence” for hope solutions. I have also recently experienced a realm of what I understand to be called “divine intelligence.” The lives of Joseph, Daniel and Solomon are scriptural examples of this for us. God gave them “divine insight” or “divine understanding” or one translation calls it “divine intelligence.” This includes the gifts of the Holy Spirit but blends this with the New Testament understandings of “having the mind of Christ.” 

I believe it is a release of the seven attributes of the Spirit of God as recorded in Isaiah 11:1-3 and twice in the book of Revelation. It would be the Spirit of wisdom, understanding and counsel. Hope solutions are being released in this hour and in the coming years to bring heaven’s solutions to difficult problems in the earth realm. It is time for hope solutions!

6. The beginning of a fresh move of the Holy Spirit among the “nomads” of the earth! While I was in worship, I was shown a vision of an unusual movement of the Holy Spirit that is beginning among nomads or the displaced peoples of the earth. I saw them on a pilgrimage, leaving everything behind as they are seeking refuge in the natural. But they will find their refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Tens of thousands of Muslims will come to faith in Jesus as their one true God! Angels, healings, miracles and appearances of the Lord Jesus Himself will appear to these nomadic peoples scattered across the face of the earth.

Right after I had this open vision, it was confirmed in the news the next day that there are 57 million nomads wandering the face of the earth. God will be calling some to go and be like “Holy Spirit gypsies” among them; loving them, singing with them and praying for them. It is a new field ripe unto harvest!

7. It is the beginning of a great harvest. Yes, we are crossing the threshold unto a fresh release of laborers empowered by the Holy Spirit for such a time as this. Believers will be “sent ones” into the fields of the harvest.

Seer-prophet Bob Jones declared in 1983 that three signs would occur to let us know that the beginning of the great 1 billion-soul harvest had begun. Bob declared:

1. Abortion would be perfected by a pill. (No one thought Bob knew what he was talking about at the time. But for years now, we have had the “day-after” pill.)
2. The U.S. government and other governments of the world would embrace the gay agenda in their court systems. (This was confirmed by the recent U.S. Supreme ruling embracing same-sex marriage.);
3. Laborers in the rice fields of China would watch 24/7 worship on unplugged television sets on their wrists. (This is an obvious statement concerning smart watches and other similar inventions.)

While I do not rejoice in these signs coming to pass, I do move into redemptive interpretation and declare, “These are the beginning of the days of a great harvest!”

We see in part, know in part and speak in part. I trust these parts will be used to encourage you. Please note that these seven declarations need to be prayed into being, and birthed into their mature fulfillment. Will you join me in that task?

Procrastination is the devil’s best friend. The devil knows that delayed obedience is disobedience. The devil knows “tomorrow” never comes.

Many people have missed salvation not because they rejected it, but because the devil convinced them to just put it off for a little while. He convinced young people that they have plenty of time. He convinced others to wait because of relationships or pet sins they were not ready to forsake. The devil knows there will never be a more perfect opportunity to follow Jesus than when He calls.

Have you ever heard someone quote the verse that says, “Today is the day of salvation?” Actually there is no such verse in the Bible. Second Corinthians 6:2 actually says, “Now is the day of salvation” (emphasis added). To say “today is the day” is not urgent time is now!

If a person is drowning, he doesn’t need to be rescued sometime today. He needs to be rescued now! When Jesus calls, He doesn’t mean “get back to Me sometime today.” He means answer now! Don’t procrastinate! Don’t wait! Respond immediately, forsake everything that holds you back and follow Jesus! Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Let me take a moment to especially address those who have the evangelistic calling as I do. Jesus said to that young man in Luke 9:60, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But you go and preach the kingdom of God.” When it comes to God’s will for your life, this matter of answering God’s call is especially urgent for those who have been called to preach the gospel.

Imagine that you are a doctor. In fact, you are the best doctor in the whole country, and there is a deadly plague sweeping through. All around you people are dying left and right. You are the only one who knows how to cure the disease. You are the only one who has the vaccine. You are rushing to the hospital to save hundreds of patients who are on their deathbeds when someone on the side of the road calls out, “Hey, you. Come over here and help us bury these dead bodies.” You would reply, “I’m sorry. I cannot help you. I’m too busy saving lives to bury bodies.”

My friend, we have the most critical of all mandates. All around us people are perishing by the millions. We have the answer for the plague of sin and death. “Little children, it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18, NIV). The need could not be more urgent, and the time could not be more appropriate. There are a lot of good causes that need someone’s attention, but none are more important than the call to preach the gospel. We need to let someone else do the “good” things while we stay focused on the most important thing—winning souls! We are not called to bury the dead—we are called to raise the dead!

Note: This Bible study was taken from Chapter 14 of Daniel Kolenda’s book, Live Before You Die. 

Daniel Kolenda is a missionary evangelist who has led more than 10 million people to Christ face to face through massive, open-air evangelistic campaigns in some of the most dangerous, difficult and remote locations on earth. He is president and CEO of Christ for All Nations and hosts an internationally syndicated television program.

Have you had a chance to see any of the blood moons that have decorated the heavens over the past year?

Blood moons are a somewhat common. What’s rare is so many of them appearing so close together forming what’s called a tetrad.

CBN’s Erick Stakelbeck first reported on blood moons more than a year ago and his story went viral. It’s been viewed more than a million times.

We wondered why Erick decided to cover blood moons andwhy he thinks so many people are interested.

Historically blood moon tetrads have coincided with major events for Israel and the Jewish people.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Erick says. “Fasten your seat belts.”

Don’t miss this Beltway Buzz Video Short with Erick Stakelbeck discussing blood moons.

Editorial note: The Bible says “now we see through a glass, dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12), indicating that looking at the future is never clear. We at Charisma Media feel that prophecies from respected leaders should be considered and discerned even though they sometimes disagree with what others are seeing.

By Jon Jones

Over the next several years, the world is going to experience upheaval, turmoil and extremely hard times in governments, economies throughout the world and in geophysical realms. These things will not come all at once, but will come upon the earth similar to a boxing match.

In the first rounds of most boxing matches, the blows delivered by each fighter are absorbed. However, eventually a blow comes that, because of the previous blows, will cause a fighter to fall to the mat.  

During a fight there are times of reprieve. We have been experiencing a reprieve and will experience more of those times in the future. Eventually, the ability of the fighter to absorb the punches diminishes and the final punch is delivered, resulting in a knockout.  

For many years now, our country has been able to absorb numerous punches, but we are now entering the later rounds of the match. Punches that were absorbed in the early rounds are about to come again. This time, those punches will not be as easily absorbed. America is about to be knocked down to the mat. 

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes to the believers, fulfilling what Jesus said in John 16:7-11. In Acts 2:14, Following this encounter with the Holy Spirit, we find Peter speaking to the people, explaining what is happening. Peter refers back to a prophetic word by the prophet Joel, speaking of a time when God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh.  

At the time of Joel’s writing, the Holy Spirit would rest upon a few men or women who would then prophesy, declaring things God had revealed to them about people, nations, armies, weather, famines and other things. This passage establishes that we are in the last days and, when His Spirit is poured out on us today, we can receive revelation from God.  

This revelation can come in the form of a predictive warning, direction regarding decisions and many other things. However, the most important result of prophecy is described in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4. Here we find Paul explaining that his “message and preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”  

Prophecy is a physical manifestation of a spiritual gift confirming to the hearer the message of Jesus and the cross. It demonstrates the reality of a sovereign God who interacts and communicates with His creation, which separates Christianity from all other religions.  

In 1 Corinthians 14, we find examples of how prophecy is used in combination with the preaching of the gospel. In summary, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:2, this is about Jesus Christ. Based on this foundation, I would like to share some things that have been revealed to me regarding what is coming in the near future.  

We Prophesy in Part

Scripture is clear that prophetic revelation coming from a single individual will not paint the full picture. First Corinthians 13:9 says, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” Prophetic words have three parts: revelation (prophetic word), interpretation (meaning of the revelation) and application (what, if any, action should be taken and when, or if this should take place).

We are also told in 1 Corinthians 14:29 that we should “let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.” These revelations should be considered prayerfully and brought before the Lord for discernment.

On June 24, 2013, I had a dream that I titled “The Redo of 2008.” The dream revealed to me that our country was going to experience economic troubles similar to what happened in 2008. The difference is that the intensity and depth of the troubles will be greater and affect more people.

During the crash of 2008, there were many people who did not immediately feel the effects of the crash. Unless you were an investor in the markets or an employee who lost a job, life may not have been much different than before the crash. This time it will be different. While there will still be some who will not be affected, many more will feel the effects of the economic challenges that lay ahead.

I also believe that the “Redo of 2008” will carry over into other areas to include political, governmental and geophysical events. Many of the mistakes and actions to solve the problems that took place in 2008 will be attempted again. But unlike last time, those solutions will not be as effective.

On May 3, 2015, I had a dream that I titled “The Unprepared and the Unaffected.” The dream revealed that during the next phase all economic classes would experience varying degrees of hardship. Some will notice little change and will be in a position to help others, while some who could have prepared did not and will need help.

I want to stress that the fall of 2015 will only be the beginning of economic turmoil. The economic shifting that is coming will continue to increase and intensify, eventually affecting the entire world in the years to come. As was illustrated in the boxing analogy, there will be short periods of reprieve, but we are entering into a historical time that will result in great change for people throughout the world.

The Doors of August 2015 through January 2016

On April 5, 2015, I had a prophetic vision that I will share with you just as I received it. While some of the things revealed seem to have an obvious fulfillment, other aspects are open to interpretation.  

In the vision, I found myself in a long hallway with many doors. Each door represented a month of the year beginning in August of 2015 through January 2016. When I opened the door, I was able to get a picture of what life was like during that time for people in the U.S.

The first door I came to had August written on it. I opened the door and when I looked inside there were people walking around, talking and living life. I got the sense that everything seemed normal.  

The next door had September written on it. When I opened the door, at first everything seemed to be normal. But then I began to see dollar bills falling from the ceiling. It was as though the beginning of the month was normal, but something happened that caused things to change.  

The next door had October written on it. I opened the door and saw people who were crying and very upset. I sensed that they were upset because of what had happened in the previous month.   

The next door had November written on it. When I attempted to open the door it was locked. It is possible that, in the near future, what is behind this door could be revealed.  

The next door had December written on it. When I opened the door I saw rioting and looting taking place in a large city. The people were angry and very upset, but I didn’t know why.

The final door in the hallway had January written on it. When I opened the door I saw extreme violence and killing that looked like war. I could not tell where this was taking place, but I saw U.S. soldiers fighting.

The months have an obvious progression of intensity, but I am not sure that they are all related. Keep in mind that these are like windows into the future and could represent isolated events that are unrelated. Not everyone will be affected by what is coming, but many will.

How Do We Respond?

We have to answer the question: “How do we respond?” We must decide if we should make changes in our lives, and ultimately that decision is different for everyone. The most important thing we can do is align our thinking with the reality of who God is in our lives and then look at all things through that perspective.

If you read this and fear rises in your heart, remember this truth: Our God is greater, our God is stronger and He is more than able to sustain us and carry us through any storm. Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), is greater than anything we will face here on earth. He will provide for our all our needs, both physical and spiritual, according to His riches in glory.  

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, power to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:14-21).

Jon Jones of Gadsden, Alabama, is a successful businessman who has ministered numerous times in Ukraine. For years he was nondenominational but now is a part of a Vineyard Church. He originally gave this word on July 8, 2015, and called it “What I See Coming to the U.S. This Fall 2015.”  

He says this about himself: “Prophetically, I am what some refer to as a ‘seer.’ I do not consider myself to be a ‘prophet’ and would disagree with anyone who might try to label me as such. I have been receiving prophetic words, visions and dreams for over 20 years. I do not have a ministry organization nor have I felt called to start one or make it my primary profession. I have the ability to interpret dreams and have taught dream interpretation classes at churches in other countries and in my local church. Over the past several years, I have begun receiving revelation about things that are coming to our country and the world.”

I do believe in alignment and accountability. The Bible teaches alignment, which is the concept of coming alongside, but not over, others.

Alignment is also a Biblical word. It’s used several times in the New Testament. “For the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, …” (Eph. 4:12).

This word equipping is “katartizo” in the Greek and it means “alignment or to put a thing in its proper position”. The purpose of the five-fold ministry is to align you or position you for the work of the ministry. Alignment increases your authority to function in Christ’s kingdom.

When we are aligned properly, several truths emerge:

1. Relationship abounds with those with whom we are aligned.

2. Authority goes off the charts: “Two are better than one, because there is a good reward for their labor together. For if they fall, then one will help up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has no one to help him up. Also if two lie down together, then they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm by himself? And if someone might overpower another by himself, two together can withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:9-12, MEV).

3. Accountability sharpens our lives and keeps us out of error. Accountability is a Biblical concept and much needed in the church today. Accountability produces sons and daughters. Lack of accountability produces Ishmaels in your life. Ishmael was the illegitimate son of Abraham. He was a son of the flesh not a son of promise. This son of the flesh came about because Abraham and Sarah refused to be accountable to God. (see Gal. 4:22-31). Accountability is voluntary. Acting with accountability, or the lack of, reveals the issues of our heart.

4. Godly counsel from those we submit to can keep us moving forward in the Lord. I cherish the counsel I receive from those I submit to. They have brought into my life: prophetic words, direction, instruction, affirmation, godly counsel, friendship and correction. Where no counsel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14, MEV).

Ken Malone is an ordained minister and the founder of Forerunner School and Ministry in Champions Gate, Florida. He serves on the board of Dutch Sheets Ministries and is the apostolic coordinator for the Florida Alliance for Reformation, which is a part of the United States Alliance for Reformation.

When World War I broke out, new military technologies were brought to the battlefields. Tragically, military leaders continued to use outdated strategies leading to catastrophic outcomes.

Open-field charges of enemy position may have worked in the 19th century, but in the new era of the machine gun, it was a disaster. War became more complex and new fighting techniques needed to be adopted.

Our world continues to change every day requiring us to adapt, particularly with technology. One of the biggest dangers to marriages is in the area of sexual temptation. It leads to relational issues and, too often, failed marriages.

This has been true throughout history. However, changing definitions of appropriate clothing and the emerging media-saturated culture filled with sexually charged images have made the battlefield more complex.

Recently, All Pro Dad Founder Mark Merrill spoke with Steve Arterburn, author of Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time. Mr. Arterburn has counseled numerous men and women on this issue on the front lines. He shared with us some important ways of fighting temptation that will lead to more fulfilling relationships.

Here’s how to win the battle:

Building Restraint

Fighting temptation starts by building the discipline of restraint. Those who desire to resist sexual temptation must possess the ability to deny themselves instant pleasures. That ability doesn’t just appear, it needs to be built. Think about it like training for a marathon. No one can run twenty-six miles without doing many smaller distance runs that lead up to it. Eventually, muscles and endurance are strengthened for the longer runs. Building up the ability to resist sexual temptation starts with practicing small denials.

Consistent small acts of discipline become habits that form strong character.

Control Your Eyes

Images you view will form a photo album or video library in your brain. The more time you spend looking at something the more those pictures become vividly clear and permanent. That library profoundly affects our feelings and attitudes, particularly about our spouses. It becomes easy to compare them to the images we house. Practice the discipline of bouncing your eyes away from things that awaken sexual desire apart from your spouse. Reserve those looks for what belongs to you—your wife. Looking solely to her to awaken those desires will increase your wife’s attractiveness in your mind make it easier to connect.

Protect the Mind

There are thoughts, images, and ideas that will enter our minds. When they do, we have a decision to make. We can either continue to think about them or escort them out. The problem occurs when we get a tempting or potentially destructive thought that we nurture rather than eliminate. If there are things that enter your mind that don’t belong there, practice the discipline of stopping the thought process and changing it to something else. Perhaps shift the focus again to your spouse, God, or other things that are right to think about.

Be Open and Honest

Finally, it’s easy to justify something that is happening inside your head. The problem is that those attitudes never stop in the inside. They eventually find their way to the surface in attitudes of discontentment and coldness with a spouse. Even if those attitudes are ever so slight, they push couples in a direction of disconnection. First, be honest with yourself about the impact of giving in to sexual temptation.

Next, find a friend or group of guys that you can be open with about how you are doing in building these disciplines. Give them authority to hold you accountable to living a higher standard and provide them with the same encouragement. We were never meant to do this alone.

If you would like to listen to the interview of Steve Arterburn by All Pro Dad Founder Mark Merrill, click here.

BJ Foster is the Content Manager for All Pro Dad and a married father of two. For the original article, visit .

A 6-year-old girl gives some wisdom to her parents who want a divorce. Listen to her reasoning on what divorce can create for the world.