Oh, to take back some of the sarcastic, judgmental words I have said in the past! Maybe you can relate. But it simply isn’t that easy. If we have slandered someone, repeated gossip, judged someone or made cutting, sarcastic comments, we need to recognize those words for what they are: sin that requires repentance and the seeking of forgiveness.

The Lord forgives; others may not. Reconciliation takes two people. Our gossip and judgments may do serious harm to someone and their reputation. Even if they forgive us, the residue of the damage remains. That damage will take a long time to fade away or be made right. Negative words—especially criticism, judgment and gossip—also cause collateral damage. When others hear these damaging words, they’re influenced in a negative way. They’re also hurt by our negative words about their friends and loved ones. Negative words travel far and fast.

Sarcasm, complaining and negative words have been a deep part of my life at times. I have been very sarcastic and critical during different seasons. As I became sensitized to my words during a word fast, I more quickly recognized and repented of my sinful words when they came out. For instance, one time on my way to church I made a very sarcastic comment to my wife.

Later in the day I brought it up and asked her to forgive me. She remarked, “I didn’t notice it. It’s such a natural part of your life and conversations.” I told her right there and then, “The Lord is working in my life, and this is going to change.”

Does it need to change in your life too?

Notice the word reckless. Words are so powerful and yet used recklessly by so many. Our caustic words can resemble a person carrying around a razor-sharp, double-edged sword thrust in the air, cutting people indiscriminately.

Contrast this wholesale wounding of others to the tongue of a wise person described in the half of Proverbs 12:18: “… but the tongue of the wise is health.” What do those healing words look like? They are gentle, encouraging, full of appropriate praise and gracious. They are spoken in due season, at just the right moment.

My personal experience is that the further we go into this forty-day word fast, the more sensitive we become toward negative words—in particular those coming out of our own mouths.

Let me encourage you to pray that the Lord give you the strength and wisdom to seek forgiveness from those you harm with your words and to forgive those who harm you with theirs.

Adapted from The 40 Day Word-Fast—A Spiritual Journey to Eliminate Toxic Words from Your Life by Tim Cameron, copyright 2015, published by Charisma House. This book focuses on several biblically sound mechanisms to help you change your words and change your life. Not only will your heart be altered, but your heart will be transformed in just forty days. To order your copy click here.

Prayer Power for the Week of July 31, 2016

This week ask the Lord to help you exercise the language of His kingdom and not that of this world. Thank Him that when you begin to speak this language you will find the doors of the kingdom opened to you in the here and now, and your speech will be full of grace, peace and restoration, and will draw people into unity with Christ. Pray that the glory of God would cover the Earth and that every nation would know Him. Ask the Lord to send more laborers into His harvest field, and seek opportunities to share the gospel with those who desperately need it (Prov. 12:18).

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (MEV) says, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the common good. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But that one and very same Spirit works all these, dividing to each one individually as He wills.”

It is the wonderful Holy Spirit who gives these gifts to empower people to share God’s grace. Each spiritual gift is for the “common good,” which means that they are for the body of Christ. The chapters that follow this list in 1 Corinthians elaborate on how these spiritual gifts are used within the local body and how each gift is needed for us to grow as a church into Jesus.

Within this list is the “discerning of spirits,” and this spiritual gift needs to be understood and practiced as well as the others in our day and age, as culture seems to be influencing and mixing within the church and sermons become more motivational rather than biblical. As a spiritual gift, it cannot be neglected but it can correctly used.

In the context of 1 Corinthians 12, the discerning of spirits is to distinguish what is trying to look like it is from God but is not. One needs to take into consideration that the Corinthians were a Spirit-filled church, but needed correcting in their practice of using spiritual gifts and that not every prophetic utterance or preacher or message in tongues originated in the Holy Spirit. Some people were competing for accolades and were operating in the flesh, while there were others demonically influenced. A process for discerning and judging prophecies and manifestations was needed, which is why Paul set protocols in place (1 Cor. 14:29).

The use of this gift is to be centered in God. Discernment is identified with the Holy Spirit, so it recognizes where He is moving and what He wants to do, flowing out of friendship with Him.

The purpose of this gift is to rightly distinguish the work of the Holy Spirit from other spirits. Being firmly grounded in Scripture, it leads people to be more intimate with the Savior of the world, glorifying Him, canceling evil that is trying to stop God’s work or the interference of man’s selfish agenda within the church. Discernment is part of making sure the Spirit of God has His way, and is an incredible privilege to be part of.

A discerner identifies the presence of God, but also identifies where His presence needs to manifest. When the discerner is well-versed in Scripture, the powers challenging God will be obvious to them, and they are present to be a conduit for God’s power.

The discerning person is to be deeply rooted in Christ, loving Him so much that His love flows out of them toward others. The great “love” chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, is within the same context as this spiritual gifts list that includes “discerning spirits.”

Here are four basic points you can apply in your life to grow in this spiritual gift:

1. Spend time with God every day. His presence needs to be cherished and valued, and the fruit of the Spirit is evident. Discerning spirits is to be exciting as one knows their identity in Jesus and operates in love from a position of knowing they are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6-7). Their posture is one of victory because of what Jesus won at the cross.

2. Read and study the Bible daily. Scripture is God’s Word and needs to be read (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Being immersed daily in Scripture makes one more sensitive to the wonderful Holy Spirit. When a person knows the Spirit of truth, they quickly identify the source that is attacking and follow the biblical guidance and locally established procedures to ensure Jesus is glorified.

3. Make everything a place for God’s presence. Be intentional in saturating your home and car with worship music, teachings, Scripture and interactions with others (Eph. 5:19-21). This keeps your heart pure as you seek the presence of God. Maintaining worship makes it possible to identify when something wrong tries to interfere and take focus off of God, but the discerning person knows how to continue praising and worshipping God to break the powers trying to interrupt.

4. Be an active member within a local church. Your gift will grow as you maintain relationship with your local church (Heb. 10:24-25). Discerning spirits benefits the local church, ensuring truth is upheld in its message and methods, and protecting the church from any people the enemy will try to use to malign the ministry. A discerner is actively engaged with ministry and knows the process set in place by the leaders, enhancing the move of God. {eoa}

Jared Laskey is starting Destiny Open Bible Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He lives to see Jesus awaken this generation to the power of His Holy Spirit. You can follow him on twitter @jaredalaskey, or contact him through his website, . He also co-authored ‘Veronica’s Hero‘ found on Amazon here.

Just as I was preparing for a much-needed night’s sleep, I received an unexpected (and somewhat unwelcome) phone call. Tempted to ignore the relentless ringing of my cell phone, I glanced at my phone to assess the call’s importance. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I reached out, perhaps by impulse, and answered the call. I immediately recognized the caller’s voice. He was a friend and fellow Christian leader. I could tell by his tone that he knew his call was an imposition. He was sincerely apologetic but frantic and panicky.

“Hey can I tell you something please?” he asked timidly. Still trying to commit my mind to conversation, I answered, “Yes, sure.”

He explained, “Well, I’m here at the home of a friend. I was ministering to the family who lives here, and this lady started acting very strange. She appears to have a manifesting demon. I think she is demon-possessed.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Well, when I started to pray for her, she started screaming, saying weird things, and shaking. And she—or maybe the demon—is mocking me. What should I do?”

I pulled the phone away from my face so I could sigh without the caller hearing me. I was frustrated that he was calling me because he was a Spirit-filled believer. Had it been a new convert or an inexperienced believer who asked me that question, I would have been more understanding of his nervousness. Internally I was praying for the Lord to give me patience. I mustered all the kindness I could in that late hour of the night, and I gently said, “Well, brother, you should cast the demon out of her.”

He paused for a moment. “I can do that? Are you sure you don’t want to do it? We’d rather have you do it. Can you come over? Am I allowed to do that? I don’t need a special anointing for that or something? Won’t the demon get on me? What about everyone else here?”

His frantic questions didn’t leave me even a second’s opportunity to respond. I waited for him to calm down. “My brother,” I replied, “you can cast the demon out yourself. The same Holy Spirit who lives in me lives in you.”

There was another moment of pause. His tone was one of both excitement and concern as he replied, “OK. Thank you. … but are you sure?”

My tone tipped slightly toward irritated. “Yes, my friend. You can cast the demon out.”

After reiterating that point for about a minute more, I ended the call with my friend. Then I began to think about what had just occurred. I thought to myself: How is it possible that a fellow Christian leader doesn’t know how to cast out a demon?

Say what you will about my frustration, but Jesus Himself expressed this sort of aggravation toward His disciples when they were unable to cast out a demon of a little boy (Mark 9:19). I know that some demonic beings rank higher in power and are more difficult to deal with. But I was astonished that my friend didn’t even attempt to cast out that demon.

Most believers have the same state of mind my late-night caller had. He was living righteously. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was walking with the Lord. Yet he hesitated to confront the powers of darkness.

If one is living a spiritually compromised life, then hesitancy in the face of demonic activity is expected. But just as the compromising Christian can be too confident, so the battle-ready believer can be too doubtful. I don’t care what anyone says; the Bible tells us that “those who believe” the gospel message will be endued with the power to drive away demonic forces from enslaved souls.

“He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:15–17, MEV).

Who will the signs follow? He who believes! He who believes what? He who believes the gospel message preached by the disciples of Christ. The moment you believed is the very moment you received authority over demonic forces.

Dear reader, you don’t need to be a “demon expert” to be a threat to hell. Should you know the dynamics of spiritual warfare and demonic activity? Absolutely. But how much more do you really think you need to learn before you begin to exercise your authority over them? The ability to cast out demons and destroy the works of hell is not necessarily about how much you know about demons; it’s about how much demons know about Christ in you.

While the “inexperienced” believer may not always be able to discern the difference between a genuine demonic manifestation and emotional hype, that individual still has the ability to cast out demons. Might the one who is unfamiliar with casting out demons do some foolish things? Of course. But his ability to cast out demons is still there.

For example, I’ve heard of some believers who, while trying to perform deliverance, smack the demon-possessed individual in the face with a Bible. The enthusiasm is good, but the actual act of hitting a person in the face is not. We know that while there is power in the Word of God, there is no actual power in a book’s leather, paper or ink. We also know that we “wrestle not” against the flesh or against people themselves. So smacking the flesh with a leather-bound book serves no actual spiritual purpose. You may even be able to expel a demon while using such silly methods, but the exorcism would have to succeed despite the foolishness, not because of it.

As believers grow, they will move beyond hype, bizarre methods, unhealthy fear of demons and superstitious thinking. But regardless of any need for growth, every Spirit-filled believer has the power to cast out demons. How effectively they exercise that authority depends upon their spiritual maturity.

My caution here would be to tell you that if you are compromising in sin, demonic beings will be able to resist your commands. They may even retaliate against your attempts to expel them. However, I am compelled to remind you that there are limitations to a demon’s attacks on a believer.

 The Believer’s State of Being

Authority flows from the top down, so you need to be positioned under authority in order to exercise authority. For example, a police officer has authority to enforce certain laws. He can command you to do many things, but the moment he commands something outside the scope of what the law allows, he loses legal authority to give orders. An employer has the authority to make demands of his employees, but if that employer steps into the home of one of his employees, he loses the right to make certain demands.

Government leaders have the authority to enact laws upon their citizens, but the moment those leaders step foot outside sovereign soil, they lack the authority to command the people of that different country. If you want spiritual authority, then you need to remain in your spiritual place of authority. Once you step out of the Spirit, you step outside your jurisdiction.

Speaking analogously, a police officer with a California badge can’t enforce the laws of Florida. A police officer with a U.S. badge cannot enforce American laws in the country of Japan. It doesn’t matter if you have a badge if that badge isn’t used in your place of influence. Jurisdiction is the key to having authority.

In the spiritual realm for the believer jurisdiction isn’t found in a physical place—it’s found in a state of being. The believer has jurisdiction in the state of righteousness, in the state of peace, in the state of faith and so on. When you live a lifestyle of compromise (the state of unrighteousness), you step out of the state in which you have dominion. You don’t lose your badge (your authority), but you do leave the state where that badge works.

How can you command a spirit of perversion to leave when you’re in the state of perversion? How can you rebuke a spirit of fear when you live in the state of fear? When you leave your jurisdiction, it’s not that you don’t have authority; it’s that you’re walking in the wrong state.

When you walk in holiness, everywhere you go is God’s dominion—and when you live in dominion, your authority works to its fullest. Simply put, this dominion, this full realization of authority, is found in the state of submission to the Lord. Our authority is fully realized in submission to God. And that submission to God precedes our ability to resist the enemy.

” Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, MEV).

God’s authority upon you will always work when you’re living in the right state of being. This is why you can have authority everywhere you go: Dominion goes with you! Your authority over fear works in the jurisdiction of faith. Your authority over demonic beings works in the jurisdiction of righteous living, and so on. The key is in remaining in the right jurisdiction. {eoa}

Excerpted from Truths About Demons and Spiritual Warfare by David Diga Hernandez (Charisma House, 2016).

David Diga Hernandez (author of Carriers of the Glory) is an evangelist, healing minister, author and TV host. He heads an international healing ministry based in Southern California. David travels both domestically and internationally and his TV show, Encounter TV, is available in millions of home globally. His ministry is marked by a distinctive presence of the Holy Spirit, miracles, healing and salvation. David is a unique and emerging spiritual leader, called to take God’s saving and healing power to this generation.

I was recently in Texas visiting with some dear friends. We spent hours sitting around the kitchen table, talking about the faithfulness and the love of God and encouraging each other regarding what He is doing in and through our lives.

In the midst of our conversation, I felt like Jesus was sitting right there at the table with us smiling. It wasn’t just a warm loving smile, but a big cheesy grin. I couldn’t ignore this feeling and it started to overwhelm me a bit, which made it hard for me to pay attention to the conversation happening around me. I placed my head on the table with tears flowing down my face and after a few minutes I heard this so clearly in my spirit: “This covenant. This conversation. This I love. You’re feeling the weight of my pleasure.”

It was such a beautiful moment that reminded me of how much of a relationship strategist God is. There are divine connections that God has pre-ordained for our lives. These are priceless relationships that are very much tied to our destinies and God-given assignments. He not only orchestrates these relationships, but He honors them with His power, presence and love and brings increase to us through them.

I like to call these Holy Ghost hook ups. These are “multiplier” relationships that accelerate your growth and activate the plans and purposes of God in your life. Things that may have ordinarily taken you 15 years to accomplish take five years because of the exponential power of divine relationship. Many times you’ll experience a deeper sense of friendship and trust within a mere few months than you have with people you’ve known for decades. What a precious gift!

Recognizing Divine Connections in Your Life

Considering that above all else our heavenly Father desires a relationship with us, it makes sense that He places so much value on our relationships with each other. Just as God has divine connections in mind for you, you are also the divine connection that someone else is waiting for. It’s important to recognize and embrace these relationship gifts He places in our lives, so here are a few ways to help you identify them. Not all of these will necessarily apply, but at least one of them will:

1. The person “up levels” your purpose or assignment.

Have you ever had a conversation with a person who is able to grab hold of your vision (business, ministry, or personal) and take your thinking about your vision to a new level, adding life to it? It could be through a new idea, an expansion to your idea, or a new dimension to your vision but it will be something that neither distracts nor detracts. It will resonate in your spirit.

2. The person encourages you, motivates you and simply won’t allow you to quit.

These people are genuinely excited about what God is doing in your life. They may not even understand the details or have any expertise in what you’re doing, but their hearts are connected to yours. These people will reach out to you and offer prayer or an encouraging word at the perfect moments.

3. The person actively seeks opportunities to connect you to resources you need to facilitate progress with your purpose or assignment.

These people are not about “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” These people give from their heart and are willing to help even when there is no immediate payback for them because they are Kingdom minded and responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

4. Whenever you’re with this person, you sense the presence of God in the midst of your gatherings.

Your conversations are divinely inspired; they are anointed conversations about life, ministry, family, business. There are some people whose mere presence activates or ignites you. You’re more creative, more inspired, more on fire for the kingdom.

Not every divine connection is a lifetime relationship; in fact, many of them won’t be. The good news is that you don’t have to figure out the roles people play in your life or the length of time for the relationship all on your own. Ask the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit of God to lead and guide you in your relationships. If and when there’s a shifting, the season is ending or the dynamics of relationship are changing … you will know because the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you.

Evidence of God’s Love

Divine connections are just more evidence of God’s great love for us. He sees us, He knows us and He has great things in store as we seek Him first. My prayer is that you’ll remain open to these relationships, expect to see them increase in your life and give them extra care when they do. They have certainly changed my life forever.

Shae Bynes is a passionate storyteller, best-selling author, and engaging teacher whose life was completely changed by encountering God. She enjoys the response she receives when she tells people that she is a Firestarter, igniting fires in the marketplace and in the bedrooms around the world. Shae has authored several books on the topics of God-centered and Spirit-led business and marriage and is the Host of The Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur Podcast. Visit to learn more.

I want to remind you that there is nothing too hard for God. Though pride is a stubborn demon that shows up in almost every known demonic cluster, God is more stubborn still—stubborn enough to rescue you.

In Job 41, pride manifests itself in the spirit realm as Leviathan, the crooked sea serpent. Spirits operating within the demonic cluster of pride include arrogance, haughtiness, puffed up, self-exaltation, vanity, rebellion, stubbornness, scorning, defiance, anti-submissiveness, egotism, perfection, and the spirits of Rahab and Orion.

Pride brings destruction and a curse, causing a person to err (Ps. 119:21). God resists the proud (James 4:6). The fear of the Lord is to hate pride and arrogance (Prov. 8:13). God attempts to hide pride from man through dreams (Job 33:14–17). Sometimes sickness is the result of pride (Job 33:19–26). God is able to abase those who walk in pride (Dan. 4:37). This spirit blocks prayer, worship and the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Within the rejection personality the spirit of pride convinces a person, “You really do have a lot to be proud of.” This cluster of demons even helps “promote self-advertising publicity campaigns to convince others” and forces “the gauge of inferiorities and low self-image to rise to an unreasonable level, and covers over the warning of Proverbs 27:2—’Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.'”

King of Pride—Leviathan

“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or snare his tongue with a cord which you let down? … He beholds all high things; he is a king over all the children of pride” (Job 41:1, 34, MEV).

In the last chapter I introduced the concept of demonic kingdoms. Pride is another demonic kingdom that establishes occupancy in the soul of a person who is oppressed with a spirit of rejection. In this kingdom the demon-king is Leviathan.

Job 41 is the key passage on leviathan. Most of the people who have this powerful spirit never get deliverance because one of his chief jobs is to block deliverance. Ministers who refuse to open up to the ministry of deliverance are being controlled by a leviathan spirit. This is their chief problem. Most of the people who fight the deliverance ministry have powerful leviathan demons, and are therefore rarely delivered.

Those involved in the deliverance ministry will be familiar with Leviathan. But if you aren’t, you may be surprised when you encounter spirits that identify themselves as Leviathan. Some Bible translations refer to him as “the crocodile” or a large sea serpent.

Job 41 is the key passage on Leviathan. I talk about this demonic kingdom in depth in my book Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance Manual, but I will briefly describe its characteristics again here as we develop a spiritual strategy specifically focused on destroying the spirit of rejection.

Unable to Flow in the Holy Spirit

“His scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them” (Job 41:15-16).

Leviathan’s scales are his pride, and as the verse says, no air can come between them. Air represents spirit, and one of the manifestations of pride is the inability to flow in the Spirit.

Leviathan will attempt to block the flow and manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the assembly of believers. Proud people can hinder the flow of the Spirit; humility is a key to operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Self-Preserving

Leviathan’s scales are his pride. He protects himself with armor. Proud people have a way of closing themselves off and hiding behind the scales of pride. When attacking Leviathan, we attack and strip his scales.

Blocks Prayer and Prayer Ministry

“Will he make many supplications to you?” (Job 41:3).

Supplication is prayer, and Leviathan does not make supplication because he is too proud. Leviathan will therefore attempt to block prayer and attack prayer ministries. We have dealt with people who get sleepy when praying and found that it can be connected to Leviathan.

When we pray, we should always approach God with a spirit of humility. The concept of supplication in Bible verses such as Philippians 4:6 is about submitting a request to one who is in authority over us. God is our creator, our ruler. He is sovereign. He is to be reverenced and feared. He is our ultimate help. But those who operate with a spirit of pride will have the attitude that they don’t even need God, that they don’t need His covering and protection. Pride will cause us to strive and work things out on our own.

Pride causes us to lean to our own understanding, which is, at the very least, limited. We cut God’s infinite wisdom and unlimited strength and provision out of the picture, and we set ourselves up for failure and burnout, among other things.

Ron Phillips says about Leviathan:

“When someone is affected by this spirit, it destroys covenant relationships. This spirit breaks up marriages, business partnerships, friendships, and, worst of all, churches.^“

Pride makes you think you don’t need anyone, that you can do everything on your own. It leads you to see people as resources to leverage and use to achieve your own ends. Pride keeps you from experiencing the intimacy of relationship, collaboration and exchanging of thought and ideas. It keeps you from seeing the value in others. Pride will lead you to compete rather than collaborate. You will have a “me vs. the world” mentality.

For prideful people, honoring covenant is not possible. They do not see the blessings of walking in covenant. With covenant, you have to be willing to compromise, to give and take, to hear and sometimes act on behalf of another. Leviathan hardens the hearts of those he possesses, causing them to reject covenant—even covenant with God. People controlled by Leviathan do not value others; therefore they cannot honor others by keeping their word to them. Marriages, friendships and families are the types of covenantal relationships that fall apart because one party is subject to pride.

Defeat Leviathan With the Power of God and Fasting

“You crushed the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him for food to the people inhabiting the wilderness” (Psalm 74:14).

God has the power to smite and break Leviathan’s head, which represents its authority. God is our King, who is working salvation (deliverance) in the Earth.

The psalmist said, “I humbled my soul with fasting” (Ps. 35:13). He knew that humility is a great weapon against pride, and it also invites the grace of God (James 4:6) into the battle to give another level of strength against this stubborn demon. When we fast, we humble our souls. Deliverance from Leviathan brings peace, favor, joy and liberty.

Pharaoh was a Leviathan. God released his people from Pharaoh’s grip through terrible judgments. The people of Israel left Egypt and journeyed to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Prosperity will come with deliverance from Leviathan.

The Leviathan spirit can only be overcome through the supernatural activity of God’s Spirit, not by any human means. This spirit produces a hardness of heart in people (Job 41:24), making it even more difficult to bring those being used by this spirit to the repentance they need.

As you begin to thrown off and dismantle spirits that operate within the spirit of rejection, know that your bout with pride will be the toughest of them all. It is at the root of our fallen nature. It goes deep into the spirit of man. But you can win, though not without humbling yourself before God and seeking Him for deliverance. You will not win against Leviathan in your own strength. {eoa}

Excerpted from John Eckhardt’s book, Destroying the Spirit of Rejection (Charisma House, 2016). To purchase the book, click here.

Apostle John Eckhardt is overseer of Crusaders Ministries, located in Chicago, Illinois. Gifted with a strong apostolic call, he has ministered throughout the United States and overseas in more than 80 nations. He is a sought-after international conference speaker and has authored more than 20 books, including Prophet, Arise!, Prayers That Rout 

A gunman killed a woman and seriously wounded three others in Austin early on Sunday when he shot into a crowd as people streamed out of nightclubs in the Texas capital’s downtown area, police said.

The unidentified gunman opened fire at about 2:15 a.m. local time before fleeing, Austin police chief of staff Brian Manley told reporters. The motive for the attack, which occurred just minutes after bars closed, was not immediately clear.

“It was a very chaotic scene,” Manley said. He described people emerging from clubs and bars running in all directions at the sound of gunfire, as police officers on patrol rushed to the scene.

The gunman killed a woman in her 20s and wounded three other women, who were transported to a local hospital with injuries that are serious but not life-threatening, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services spokesman Mike Benavides told reporters.

Manley said police were seeking help from the public, including any video recordings, in an effort to find the shooter who is believed to be in his 20s.

Minutes after that shooting, a man opened fire several blocks away in a confrontation at a parking garage, Manley said. Bystanders tackled the shooter, he said.

Police initially believed the two shootings were related and that they were dealing with an “active shooter,” but that was not the case, Manley said.

“From everything we can tell at this point through the initial investigation, these are two unrelated incidents,” Manley told reporters.

The suspect who opened fire in the parking garage was transported to a hospital for injuries he suffered when bystanders subdued him, Manley said. There were no reports of anyone being struck by bullets in that incident.

The shootings in the Texas state capital follow several recent major acts of gun violence in the United States.

On June 12, a gunman who sympathized with Islamist extremist groups killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

On July 7, a U.S. military veteran shot and killed five police officers in Dallas in the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Just over a week later another gunman killed three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The attackers in all three incidents were killed by police.

Austin, whose downtown area is known for its lively music scene, has a population of more than 900,000. {eoa}

God made a declaration about Job that every child of God should hope He will make about them.

God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, who fears God and avoids evil” (Job 1:8, MEV)?

What an amazing description of a man of God by the Almighty.

What about you? What does God say about you?

If you are a born again child of God, redeemed through the blood of the Lamb, He has made a divine fiat declaring you to be justified (just-as-if-you-had-never-sinned). “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

He has proclaimed that you are “holy and blameless before Him in love [having] predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:4-5). “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Because that is who you are, there are four principles found in the book of Job that are significant to your life.

They are especially significant when facing a crisis or when going through a season of pain and suffering.

1. Your enemy is finite. An important principle about Satan is found n the first two chapters of Job. Yes, it is the same fallen angel who led a rebellion in heaven against God, before mankind was created.

We discover he spends his time walking back and forth across the earth looking for people he can attack. This tells us something very important about our enemy.

He is finite. He cannot be everywhere at one time. He is not all powerful and he doesn’t know everything. He can only know those facts he has learned. The Lord Jesus Christ said about our enemy, “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you'” (Luke 10:18-19).

As great as your enemy may be and though he continually makes accusations against you, he does not have the power to conquer you. Jesus Christ has defeated him and you hold authority over him.

2. God knows who you are. We learn an important principle about God in these same two chapters of Job. He is intimately acquainted with every human being.

Lucifer is walking back and forth across the earth to attack and torment the human race. But God, who is infinite, everywhere at one time, all-knowing and all-powerful, is watching over the people of the earth, especially the righteous ones who are His children.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord move about on all the earth to strengthen the heart that is completely toward Him.”

4. You are protected. We also learn an important principle about those who are the children of God. Lucifer complains to God in Job 1:10, “Have You not made a hedge [protection] around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?”

Not only are the eyes of God fixed upon the righteous one, He has surrounded them with His divine protection.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe” (Prov. 18:10). “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust'” (Ps. 91:1-2).

A child of God is never at the mercy of their enemy. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6) under the care and protection of Almighty God.

4. Suffering doesn’t mean you’ve sinned. The fourth principle we learn is about going through a crisis and about suffering.

Job was a righteous man of God and he came under the attack of the enemy. The apostle Paul assured us, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; and always carrying around in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be expressed in our bodies” (2 Cor. 4:8-10).

The righteous experience crisis and suffering just as do the unrighteous only with a different purpose and a different outcome.

In the same way, the unrighteous will experience the goodness of God and prosperity. Jesus said heavenly Father makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and make the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45), only with a very different outcome.

Proverbs 13:22: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children; but the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”

When the righteous are suffering and going through a crisis that does not mean they are rebellious or have secret sin in their life.

When a child of God chooses to disobey God and sin, of course they will experience the consequences of their actions. But it should not be automatically assumed that is the case when a child of God is in crisis.

More than likely they are suffering for righteousness sake. The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be very glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12).

It should not be assumed by the child of God that He is punishing them.

The enemy will fill their mind and emotions with condemnation. They must forcefully renounce those thoughts and emotions and replace them with the truth of who they are “in Christ Jesus;” boldly proclaim they are the righteousness of God, holy and without blame.

Even after Lucifer made a severe attack upon Job and his family, God declared, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God and avoids evil? He holds fast to his integrity … “ (Job 2:3).

Job is a blameless and righteous man, yet he is in crisis and suffering. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the ministry, “Yes, and all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2Tim. 3:10-12).

Be assured, in all of these things, the Lord God, Jesus Christ, is not against you.

He has not put these things on you. He is your refuge, your fortress, your shelter in the time of storm. In all of these things, you are more than a conqueror.

Choose to not allow pain, suffering and crisis to determine your day, your future or your identity

You are the redeemed child of God.

You are a king and priest unto your God.

You know who you are in Jesus Christ.

Make that your identity and your declaration.

Dr. F. Dean Hackett has served in full-time Christian ministry since October 1971. He has ministered throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, serving as pastor, conference speaker and mentor. He has planted four churches, assisted in planting 15 others, and currently serves as lead pastor of Living Faith Church in Hermiston, Oregon. Dr. Hackett founded Spirit Life Ministries International in 2001 to facilitate ministries in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to open a training center for workers in those nations. You can find him at F. Dean Hackett – Foundational, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

An article published in The Blaze reveals that Billionaire Hedge Fund titan Paul Singer recently entered into a partnership with Hobby Lobby’s Museum of the Bible (MOTB) to reach Christian college students, but at the same time a Singer-funded organization labels Hobby Lobby as an “enemy of equality.” Using this LGBT propaganda produced by Freedom for All Americans, editorial board member for the Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart, published an article in the Washington Post parroting the Singer-funded organization.

While one Singer-funded organization labels Hobby Lobby an “enemy of equality,” another one of his funded-organizations has entered into a partnership with Hobby Lobby’s MOTB to reach Christian students on college campuses. Singer is working both sides to advance his ultimate goal—same-sex marriage and the LGBT agenda.

Paul Singer and Tim Gill, the founder of Quark and well-known homosexual activist, provided generous funds to launch Freedom for All Americans. This organization created LGBT University to train a new generation of activists. Singer also generously funds the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund and Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry. He created American Unity PAC to elect pro-LGBT candidates and American Unity Fund to lobby legislators. Singer funded the litigation against the California Prop 8 marriage amendment, and was responsible for a handful of New York Republican lawmakers changing their votes to side with same-sex marriage in 2011.

Until recently Singer’s efforts focused on courts, Republican candidates and lawmakers, and young conservatives. Now he is expanding his circle to Christian students on college campuses. Through another of his funded groups, The Philos Project, Singer has entered into a partnership with Hobby Lobby’s MOTB to create “Passages Israel.” On the surface this partnership might seem harmless, but it comes with a warning tag. Singer publically associates his name with Hobby Lobby and Steve Green, the president of Hobby Lobby and Chairman of MOTB.

In 2015, Liberty Counsel turned down millions of dollars from Singer who wanted to partner with MOTB to fund Covenant Journey, a program launched by Liberty Counsel which provides a life-changing experience in Israel for Christian college students who have leadership potential. When Covenant Journey refused Singer’s money, he entered into a partnership with MOTB to create Passages Israel, which copied Covenant Journey. Cary Summer, president of MOTB, insisted on a partnership with Singer. His name helps promote MOTB among the Jewish community and connect with Jewish philanthropists. Singer was not interested in MOTB, but Covenant Journey caught his attention. Despite the obvious red flags, Summers saw this partnership as strategic for his goal regarding MOTB.

On a recent MOTB-Singer funded and managed Passages Israel trip, Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway spoke to the college students in Israel. Abu Sway’s alleged connection to jihad has been longstanding. Some Middle East experts call Abu Sway a “known Hamas activist” who wants Israel to “disappear.”

Why such a person would be allowed to speak to Christian college students is baffling. But the Greens have also had to counter alleged anti-Israel sentiment in the past with the release of the film, “Little Town of Bethlehem.” Produced by EthoGraphics, which has been housed in the Hobby Lobby headquarters, this movie is biased anti-Israel propaganda. At best, the mixed messages are confusing.

While Singer supports Israel, he is also focused on advancing his LGBT agenda in America, and he is working to reach young millennials. With his newly-minted MOTB partnership, he now is playing both sides. He can label Hobby Lobby an “enemy of equality” while entering into a partnership to accomplish his objectives. Parents and colleges should beware.

Turn on your television, go to the mall, meet a friend for coffee, go to church—everywhere, everyone is aware this summer has been, and continues to be, a summer of shaking. Someone will let you know about the latest attack, whether in Kabul, Afghanistan; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Dallas, Texas; or Munich, Germany. The attacks are seemingly more often, more publicized and more unexpected.

Shopping malls, peaceful protest rallies, random traffic stops—you name it, something unexpected is happening in the least expected places. If the shootings were not enough, we have weather patterns bringing intense heat which is producing wildfires, droughts and evacuations. Let us not forget the mosquitoes and the many exposures of people who have been involved in corruption being brought to justice and not being brought to justice. This is a summer of shaking. Can we agree on that?

Most would say yes, this summer has been a shaking, and many are trying to explain what the shaking is for, what brought on the shaking and what God is doing with the shaking. Depending on your biblical worldview, the shaking could be the judgment of God on the nations; it could be the consequences for our sin; it could be the days of Noah, which usher in the second coming of Christ; or it could be something else. I would like to present to you a potential “something else” thought as to what has brought about this summer’s shaking. In no way am I saying this is the final word on the subject, but I do believe it is a word on the subject of this summer’s shaking.

Last week I was reading through the book of Nehemiah and I stopped at a friend’s house for our children to play. While there, I shared with her this revelation and she added insight to it, which confirmed to me that what I was sensing was more accurate than I first thought. So, here is what I think the summer of shaking is possibly about.

In the book of Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king and he got word about the condition of Jerusalem, so he asked the king for permission to leave his post as cupbearer and go to Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s request was granted and resources were sent from the king and his kingdom to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and repair its broken down gates. My first thought is that Jesus, the cupbearer to the King, our Father, has gone to His Father, making intercession for us, and the kingdom of God has released resources for the rebuilding of the walls and gates around nations. I believe the shaking we are experiencing this summer is because heaven has heard Earth’s cry for help.

Once the kingdom Nehemiah worked for agreed to resource the project to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah and the people began to rebuild the walls and repair the gates. Not long after they started this project, Sanballat and Tobiah, began to mock, ridicule and try to dissuade them from rebuilding, but Nehemiah and the team could not be persuaded otherwise. My second thought is, Dutch Sheets and the Appeal to Heaven team, Lou Engle and the Azusa Now team, and the many pastors and leaders who met in Washington, DC for the Call prayer rally, along with intercessors worldwide and prophetic voices like Lana Vawser, Cindy Jacobs, Doug Addison, Kris Vallaton and many others who are not known to the public, have been the ones who have kept building with their words, despite the enemy’s mocking and ridiculing.

Finally, Nehemiah 4:7-8 it says, “When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard how the restoration of Jerusalem’s walls was progressing and how the breaches had begun to be sealed, it made them extremely furious. So they all conspired together to fight against Jerusalem in order to cause it chaos.” I believe this is why we are having a summer of shaking, because we have been rebuilding the walls of protection around our nation and nations of the world. This rebuilding we have been doing in prayer and prophesying has made the enemy very angry because heaven sent resources to help us build. I believe what we are seeing around us is evidence of the walls we are rebuilding and the gates we are repairing.

The final scene before the wall is built and the gates are repaired, according to the book of Nehemiah, is a company of people who can pray, prophesy (build) and can wield the sword (Word warriors). I believe the Word warriors are being released for the finishing of the rebuilding of the walls of protection around our nation and other nations of the world. The enemy is increasing his attacks because he sees how much progress we have made on the walls and the gates.

Jesus is our cupbearer. He drank the wine of the wrath of God so we could be redeemed, revived and renewed. Keep praying, keep prophesying, keep speaking life. The evidence of an enemy in the summer of shaking is proof we are nearing completion of the rebuilding of the walls and gates around our nation.

Lisa Great is an author, speaker and blogger with Mouthpiece Ministries International. She has been in ministry for over 25 years, she has a BA in Youth and Family Studies, a MA in Education. She can be reached at ; or on her Facebook page Lisa Great.

In the past several weeks, I have pondered what can the praying church do to help turn the tide of sin, rebellion and lawlessness in the land.

I am re-posting a strategy the Lord gave me in November 2015. This strategy takes the war for the soul of our cities to the gates of our cities (Judg. 5:8). “Securing the Gates”—I need your help in doing this. Take a team to your city and region and make war in the gates with the strategy I am posting. This will make a difference in your city and possibly turn it from darkness to light.

The Gates Must Be Secured!

While in Middletown, Ohio, in November 2015, Chuck Pierce prophesied that we must go through and secure “the Gates.” When I heard him say this, it resonated in my spirit that the church must secure the Gates from city to city and state to state. The Lord then began to download a strategy to me in order to help us secure these gates.

Gates Defined

In the Old Testament gates were entrances used to enter and exit the city. The gates had to be strong and large. Each gate had a specific purpose. Elders of a city ruled and made judgments in the gates of a city. So these gates became places of authority and today represents authority within a city. 

Spiritual Gates

There are also spiritual gates within a region. In Genesis Jacob had a dream in which he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven to Earth. The Lord spoke to him in this gate and when Jacob awoke he said, “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:17).

Possessing the Gates

From the time of Abraham the Lord has wanted His people to possess the gates. It’s very important because whoever possesses the gates controls the dynamics of a region. That control can bring in a move of God or it can shut down the heavens depending on who possesses the gates. If the ekklesia of a city possesses the spiritual gates, they can then usher in revival. 

The Lord left Abraham a prophetic promise about the Gates, “Your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies” (Gen. 22:17). That promise extends to us as well. “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). “On this rock I will build My church” (ekklesia-governing body), and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

Where Are the Gates in Your Region?

Look where the land was occupied in the beginning. Many of these gates are found where the Native tribes lived and worshipped. Also where the first settlers from Europe came in and lived are also gates within a region. Examples of these are St. Augustine, Pensacola, Jamestown and so on. Also look where there have been previous moves of God because these are gates also. A few examples of this are, Cane Ridge, Kentucky; Red River Meeting House, Kentucky; Azusa Street, California; Topeka, Kansas; Pensacola, Florida; and more.

In 2003, the Lord had Cheryl and me travel U.S. Highway 1 from Key West to the Georgia line to proclaim Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants.” We called it the U.S. 1 Liberty Prayer Tour. U.S. 1 represents His highway of holiness in America and extends from Key West FL to Fort Kent Maine at the Canadian border. It is a gate in this nation. Other gates are places like Disney World and Universal Studios. There are gates in civil government also. Some are: Courthouses, County Seats, City Government, State Capitol, U.S. Capitol and the White House. 

Who Possesses the Gates in Your City?

The ekklesia in most cities have never thought of possessing the gates. However the spirit in control of these gates rules in your city or region. In most cities, a Jezebel/political/religious spirit controls the gates within a region. Where this is the case you can usually see manipulation and control being exercised through the leadership within society and the church. Intimidation, slander, gossip, rejection of the apostolic and prophetic gifts, depression, discouragement, eunuchs, sexual immorality, disunity, drug abuse and suicide are some of the manifestations of this Jezebel/political/religious spirit.

Toleration—Revelation 2:18-29

When Jesus addressed the evil spirit Jezebel in the Church of Thyatira, He said, “But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel” (Rev. 2:20). This spirit was operating through a woman named Jezebel. The Lord said this about her: She calls herself a prophetess as well as teaches and leads My bond servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. She is unrepentant. Sexual perversion is also manifested through this evil spirit—Jezebel.

The operation of this spirit releases a false prophetic. Tolerate is the Greek word eao. It means to leave alone or let alone. Church leaders and the church have left this spirit alone for the sake of peace. When Jehu arrived to take down Jezebel, she asked him, “Is everything all right, Zimri?“ (2 Kings 9:31). She wanted him to make peace with her. Jehu said to the eunuchs, “Throw her down.” They threw Jezebel to the ground where Jehu’s horse trampled her under his hooves. Jehu was not going to tolerate this spirit operating in Israel any longer. Will you tolerate this evil demon in your region? 

The time is now. Let’s take this strategy to the Gates of your city. 

Strategy to Displace Jezebel in the Gates of Your City

Praise and Worship—Taking the worship team to the Gates will open the heavens to the Lord. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Ps. 100:4).

Code Talk—Pray in Tongues. In WWII, the Japanese could never decode the language of the Navajo. These Navajo Marines became known as the code talkers. When you code talk (pray in unknown tongues), the enemy is not able to decode your message to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:2 says that when a man prays in an unknown tongue, he prays to God. “But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). 

Prophesy in the Gates—Find the prophetic words the Lord has spoken over your region and decree those at the Gates. Ezekiel 37:4 says, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” Speak to your gates, speak to your city and say, “Hear the word of the Lord.”

It is written—When Jesus defeated the enemy in the wilderness He said, “It is written,” and then quoted the Scripture. Decree the Word of God with authority over your city and gates. 

Holy Communion—Take communion at the Gates, then serve the land communion. Since I’ve been releasing the word about serving the land communion many have asked, “How do we do that?” Simply pour the wine or grape juice representing His blood into the ground and serve it in the name of Jesus. Then take the unleavened bread, representing His body and mix it into the juice or wine you just poured out. Do this as often as you do in remembrance of Jesus (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

Important! When you go to these gates do not bring accusations against Jezebel. Take a look at Jude 9, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce upon him a railing judgment. But he said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!”

Just recently a group of friends from Alabama, Florida and Georgia met where the three states connect and applied the above strategies at the gate where these states connect. They had to get permission from the landowner and walk for several hundred yards into the forest. Not only did they worship at these gates but they connected the three states in the spirit. {eoa}

Ken Malone is being used by God to mobilize the body of Christ throughout Florida and the nation. After being a pastor for 24 years Ken has recently stepped down from a pastoral position. This has allowed God to launch Ken into his apostolic role within Florida and the nation. He is an ordained minister and serves as the founder of Forerunner School and Ministry Inc. and serves on the board of Dutch Sheets Ministries. He and his wife, Cheryl, travel across Florida and the nation equipping, empowering and sending out believers into the harvest. Traveling extensively throughout Florida and the nation, spiritual breakthrough in the heavens over churches, cities and regions is producing a great momentum toward an unprecedented book of Acts revival. Ken walks in a governmental apostolic mantle that releases the body of Christ into their destiny. He also ministers with a prophetic, seer anointing which enables him to identify activate and release redemptive gifts in individuals, churches and cities.