My wife, Kristen, and I have the great privilege and responsibility of raising four boys (ages 8-12). All four will live under our roof for at least five more years. Some days those five years will feel like an eternity, but I know in the end, it will seem like they flew by in the blink of an eye.

When I think about the fact that I have less than six years with our twins, I want to make the most of the time we have together. I want to be intentional in how we spend that time and as a loving dad, I want to use that time to strengthen our father-son relationship. Here are four specific gifts I will give them as their dad.

1. A written record of how much I love them.

I often tell them that they’re loved by their mom and dad. I hope I show I love them by my actions. But there are many different options you can choose on how to give your kids a written reminder of your love. Maybe you can record some thoughts in a journal or on the inside cover of some books you’ve read together. The form you choose doesn’t matter. The function does.

If you’re a man of faith, here are a couple of things I do that you might want to try. I write them a letter every year on their birthday where I recap the year, share some highs and lows, and some things I’ve prayed for them in the past year. I also have a wide-margin Bible for each of my sons where I record prayers for them in the margin.

2. The knowledge that they can come to me about anything and at any time.

I want my boys to know when they grow up that their dad still provides a safe place for them. This means that when they face challenges in school, work, relationships, marriage and parenting, they can come to me and share. I want to be someone who doesn’t have to be the first to speak and fix them, but instead, will be someone who tries to listen and understand.

When they face significant decisions in life, opportunities in their career, challenges in their home life or achievements to celebrate, I hope they’ll see me as one of the first people they’ll share with or seek counsel from.

3. Memories of great shared experiences

When my boys leave the home, I want them to be able to look back at 18 years filled with fun, unique shared experiences with their dad. I want them to have memories of both small, day-to-day moments and big, impact-producing experiences.

I hope they remember that we spent both quality time and quantity time together. That’s why I make sure to plan times when we do puzzles and play games, shoot hoops in the driveway, take family vacations and spend time away together on father-son weekends.

4. A right understanding of how to care for and value women.

I hope my boys leave our home with a right view of women. All women are to be valued and respected. We don’t use them for our selfish pleasure or self-validation. This starts with me. I better model this well by the ways I treat my wife and other women.

The time is limited and the opportunity is great. Let’s make the most of the time we have with our children so that they can leave our homes someday with the right gifts from their dad.

What gifts do you want to make sure your son receives before he becomes a man? {eoa}

Scott Kedersha is the Director of Premarital and Newly Married Ministries at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He’s married to Kristen, has four boys and is passionate about church, college football (Go Wake!), marriage, family and reading.

This article originally appeared at .

I love God’s Word because it is our instructional manual for life! In fact, there is an answer for every problem we face in the Bible, including how to make a bad day increase our joy every single day.

For example, if you’re having a bad day, one of the worst things you can do is to keep thinking about yourself and all of your own problems. It only makes things worse. The best thing you can do is get your mind off yourself and help someone else.

The apostle Paul says in Acts 20:35 (NIV): “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  

So, if I’m having a bad day, this Scripture tells me I can be happier by simply getting myself off my mind and helping someone else.

Helping others isn’t something you may feel like doing—it requires a decision, especially when you’re concerned about a problem or just feeling down. But making a choice to be good to others has the power to help you and them. It’s a spiritual principle that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

It’s actually amazing how just a few words of encouragement can change someone’s entire day. Sometimes it can even change their life!

It can be as simple as picking up the phone and calling a friend who’s been going through a rough time, letting them know you’re thinking about them and praying for their situation. Or maybe you can send someone a text message to let them know how valuable they are and how much you care.

If you’re wondering, “How does helping someone else make me happier?” just think about Christmas morning.

You’ve spent time shopping for gifts, spending your money and sacrificing financially. You’ve also wrapped them and placed them under the tree for your kids or relatives. And now it’s finally time to open them!

Sure, it’s fun to receive a gift and open it; however, the best part is watching others open their gifts. Why? Because you have sacrificed, spent your time and money and really invested something into this. So, as you watch them open and enjoy what you did for them, great joy is released in your life.

I recently read a tremendous story on this topic about William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army. It was Christmas Eve, 1910, and due to sickness, he wasn’t going to be able to attend the organization’s annual convention. He had become an invalid, and his eyesight was failing.

Normally, Booth would speak to the workers and share an encouraging message with these men and women who had spent long hours in service during the Christmas season. But this year, knowing he couldn’t attend, he decided to send a message by telegram that could be read to all those in attendance.  

Booth searched his heart and mind and reviewed his years of ministry, looking for a message that would summarize his life and the mission of The Salvation Army. He wanted to compose a speech that would encourage these men and women.

That night, when the thousands of delegates met, the moderator shared the news that William Booth would not be present due to his failing health. They were naturally disappointed; however, he conveyed that Booth had sent something he wanted to share with them in his absence.

The moderator opened the telegram, then read William Booth’s one-word message: “Others.”

This story really speaks to me. It’s so easy to always focus on ourselves—what we want and what we think. But we often have it backward. Remember Acts 20:35: God is saying when we make others our priority, then everything else will fall into we will end up incredibly happy.

Here’s another scripture that says it well: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33 NIV).

God’s Word clearly shows us that when we have a need in our own life, helping others is one of the most powerful things we can do.

Are you going through a difficult time? Are you waiting for a breakthrough in a certain area? If so, Psalm 37:3 (AMPC) has the answer for every problem you will face:

“Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.”

The bottom line here is: Trust God and do good. Because when you place your trust and hope in the Lord and commit yourself to helping others and taking care of their problems, you open the door for God to do incredible things in your own life.

Would you like to make every day better? Would you like to find joy even in the midst of difficult times? Then begin taking just a few minutes every day to think about what you can do to help someone else.

You’ll find that when you make others your focus, God’s blessings will always come back to you! {eoa}

In 2014, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Margaret Sanger Award, the highest “honor” the abortion giant bestows upon one of its supporters.

But, it’s hard to say this next award she will get from Cecile Richards & Co. isn’t a bigger deal than that.

At an event the organization has billed as a “once-in-a-lifetime gala” to celebrate the centennial of its founding by Sanger, titled “100 Years Strong: The Celebration of a Century,” and to be held May 2 in New York City, Clinton will receive the Champion of the Century Award. According to a press release put out by the abortion giant, the award is meant to “honor” Clinton for her “40 years of service to women and girls in this country.”

“We’re proud to celebrate Planned Parenthood’s 100 years of strength and resilience at this moment in our history, as well as the tremendous outpouring of support for Planned Parenthood and our patients,” Richards said. “This Gala is a powerful reminder that Planned Parenthood has been around for 100 years and will continue to be here for the people who rely on us, no matter what. One hundred years of care, education and activism have changed everything, and we will not rest until access to health care and rights is a reality for all people.”

The connection between Clinton and arguably one of the most powerful forces in the liberal political movement came to full bear in the 2016 presidential election. For the first time in its history, Planned Parenthood endorsed a candidate when it threw its support behind Clinton, also pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into her failed campaign.

At the time, Clinton said:

“I will always defend Planned Parenthood and I will say consistently and proudly, Planned Parenthood should be funded, supported and protected, not undermined, misrepresented and demonized. As your president, I will always have your back.”

Looks like Planned Parenthood has got her back, too. {eoa}

Gold medal Olympian Simone Biles poured her heart out in a worshipful waltz to Chris Tomlin’s “Good Good Father” on Dancing With the Stars.  

Her powerful waltz—and testimony—is now trending on YouTube. 

 Biles was adopted by her grandparents in 2000 because her biological mother was addicted to drugs.  

To honor her grandparents’ godly example in her life, Biles chose to dance to one of today’s most popular worship songs.  

Take a look. 

{eoa}

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3).

When we appreciate the Lord and His mercy toward us, our hearts, minds and bodies are open to the possibilities of improbable healing. When we truly learn wonder, we are able to see healing in unexpected places. What are we to do to seek healing that initially appears unlikely, improbable or impossible?

1. We are to pray: “And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me” (Ps. 50:15).

2. We are to align ourselves with God’s design for healing in diet, exercise, emotional and spiritual alignment. This means we are to live without bitterness or envy or worry. We are to seek forgiveness from God so that we may live near to Him and find our satisfaction in Him. We are to live in gratitude and appreciation toward God and to live a life of serving others. We are to align our inner man with the Word of God.

3. We honor God by seeking counsel. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14). If the wisest counsel is to seek physician-assisted healing, we honor God by pursuing this wise path. Physicians can assist. Only God can heal. The wise physician seeks to align the body as God intended, as with a broken arm. They seek to assist the body’s immune system in dealing with overreaction to injury. They seek to remove that which would hinder the normal processes that God has made, such as the cleaning of vessels that nourish the heart muscles. The removal of a cancerous tumor with “clean margins” as you pray for God to bless your surgeon’s skill is as much of a “divine” intervention as a “successful remission” in answer to prayer.

4. We must not forget to rejoice daily in the constant battle for our healing. It is being waged and won by all of the agents of our natural capacities, all impeccably designed by the Creator and placed in use with purpose and love. We were designed for healing. {eoa}

This is an excerpt from God’s Prescription for Healing by James P. Gills, M.D. Copyright 2004, James Gills, M.D.

James P. Gills, M.D., is the founder and director of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In addition to earning a reputation as the most experienced cataract surgeon in the world, he has dedicated his life to restoring more than physical vision. Dr. Gills has been an active author about spiritual topics for many years. His books include A Biblical Economics Manifesto, Darwinism Under the Microscope, Come Unto Me, Rx for Worry and Love: Fulfilling the Ultimate Quest.

Ride the wind! When I heard the Holy Spirit speak those three words I set out on a journey to discern the fullness of what He was saying in this season.

As I meditated on these words, He showed me very clearly how we can ride the wind of the Spirit—but also how we can ride the wind of adversity.

See, the devil’s adversity coming against you is no match for the God on the inside of you. The battle in your mind may be raging, but the lion of the tribe of Judah on the inside of you roars louder than the roaring lion that’s after you.

That might make you shout, but the adverse winds against you may be so strong that you could find yourself back on the emotional roller coaster later today or next week. I’ve discovered that in this season, many peoples’ emotions are going wild. 

I heard the Lord say: “Be still and know that I am God. The battle belongs to Me. I am your victory banner. I am the captain of the hosts. I am the lifter of your head. I am your defender. I am your vindicator. I am your provider. I will set a table before you in the presence of your adversaries, and they will bow before the Christ in you. You will win if you do not faint. You will gather the spoils if you determine in your heart that you will not withdraw from the battle. You will do this for My glory.”

8 Straight Days of Hellish Warfare

Earlier this year, I went through eight days of hell—eight days of massive adversity that left me dazed and confused … eight days of spiritual attack that had my head spinning—at least temporarily. It was a sheer blindside from multiple directions.

A psychotic stalker rose up against me. A coven of witches launched a coordinated attack on my life. A woman with a strong Jezebel spirit started making moves against my ministry. I experienced major retaliation for standing in the gap for a close friend who was in a major spiritual battle. Misunderstandings and division were manifesting left and right. I had major flu-like symptoms the likes of which I haven’t had in years. My mind was under heavy enemy fire. I could go on, but I’ll stop there.

Things lightened up for about a day and then a new wave of attacks came against me. In total, it was four months of massive warfare in almost every area of my life and ministry. There were two choices: let the wind of adversity blow me down, or learn how to ride the wind.

During that time, I heard the Lord say: “What the enemy meant for your harm, I will turn around for your good as you stay prayerful, stay in My presence, seek My face and stand in the reality of who you are. Don’t let the wicked one move you with the winds and hailstorms. Ride the wind of adversity and use the storm to your advantage. Rejoice in the tribulation knowing that your character will become more Christ-like as you press into the work of the cross.”

A Prophetic Lesson From the Eagles

In times of adversity, we should take a lesson from the eagles. The late Dr. Myles Munroe taught me this:

“Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.”

The Word and the Spirit are the wind beneath your wings. When you declare the Word over your life, you can ride the wind. When we wait upon the Lord, we can ride His wind, even in adversity. Keep this Scripture in your heart in times of adversity: “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31).

Whenever the world starts going crazy, investors instinctively begin flocking to precious metals. So it wasn’t exactly a surprise when gold and silver prices started to move upward aggressively as global leaders continued to talk about the possibility of World War 3 and nuclear conflict. The price of gold spiked to a five-month high on Tuesday, and as I write this article, gold is currently sitting at $ an ounce. Right now silver is at $ an ounce, and many analysts believe that it is poised for a dramatic jump in the weeks and months to come as global tensions continue to rise. Google searches for the phrase “going to war” are the highest that they have been at any point in recent years, and many people out there are starting to understand that the U.S. could soon be facing military conflicts in Syria and in North Korea simultaneously.

In response to persistent threats from the Trump administration, the North Koreans are promising that they will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if they are attacked by the U.S. military.

In particular, an article that was just published in North Korea’s official state newspaper says that U.S bases “in South Korea and the Pacific operation theater but also in the U.S. mainland” would be targeted.

Most analysts do not believe North Korea has any missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland, so that is probably an empty threat, but they can definitely hit Seoul, Tokyo and all U.S. military bases in South Korea and Japan.

And even if the U.S. were able to locate and take out all North Korean nukes in an overwhelming first strike, the North Koreans would still have thousands of artillery guns and rockets aimed at Seoul. Military analysts in the western world have estimated that North Korea could fire off up to half a million rounds within one hour of being attacked, and the devastation that such a barrage would cause in Seoul would be beyond anything that we have ever seen in the modern world.

Personally, I have come to the conclusion that it is going to be nearly impossible to conduct a conventional military assault on North Korea that does not result in an absolutely catastrophic death toll.

Unfortunately, Donald Trump appears determined to do something anyway. A couple of days ago we learned that he “has ordered his military advisers to be ready with a list of options to smash North Korea’s nuclear threat”, and on Tuesday he told the world that the U.S would “solve the problem” whether China helps or not:

Trump, who has urged China to do more to rein in its impoverished ally and neighbor, said in a tweet that North Korea was “looking for trouble” and the United States would “solve the problem” with or without Beijing’s help.

Just as he did with Syria, Trump’s words have now committed us to taking military action in North Korea.

Let us hope that any military action is delayed for as long as possible, but it is definitely alarming that Trump boasted to the Fox Business Network about the “very powerful” naval armada that is sailing toward North Korea right now:

“We are sending an armada. Very powerful,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. That I can tell you.”

Meanwhile, it is being reported that the Chinese have deployed 150,000 troops to their border with North Korea as they continue to warn both sides against taking military action.

Over in the Middle East, things continue to get even more tense as well.

Russia and Iran have pledged to “respond with force” to any additional U.S. attacks, but the Trump administration is not showing any signs of backing down. In fact, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has substantially lowered the threshold for more military conflict by suggesting that the use of “barrel bombs” may be enough to justify another attack. Considering the fact that everyone in the Syrian civil war has been regularly using barrel bombs for many years and that approximately 13,000 were used in 2016 alone, it is very alarming for Spicer to say such a thing.

On Tuesday, Trump told the American people that “we’re not going into Syria”, but what happens if he orders another missile strike and the Russians and Iranians respond by shooting down some U.S. aircraft or by sinking an entire aircraft carrier?

I can guarantee you that members of Congress from both parties will be absolutely screaming for war if CNN starts endlessly playing footage of a U.S. aircraft carrier sinking after it has been struck by the Russians or by the Iranians.

We are so close to World War 3 erupting in the Middle East, and there was no need for the U.S. to get involved in the first place. According to former CIA officer Philip Giraldi, evidence continues to mount that Assad had absolutely nothing to do with the chemical attack that Trump got so upset about:

Philip Giraldi, former CIA officer and director of the Council for the National Interest, stated on the Scott Horton show that “military and intelligence personnel” in the Middle East, who are “intimately familiar” with the intelligence, call the allegation that Assad or Russia carried out the attack a “sham.”

Giraldi said the intelligence confirms the Russian account, “which is that they [attacking aircraft] hit a warehouse where al-Qaeda rebels were storing chemicals of their own and it basically caused an explosion that resulted in the casualties.” Moreover, Giraldi noted, “Assad had no motive for doing this.”

Investors that can see the writing on the wall are already getting out of stocks and into precious metals while there is still time to do so.

Because if we get into a direct military conflict with Russia and Iran in Syria, global financial markets will crash and gold and silver will soar into the stratosphere.

And of course, a similar scenario would play out if we attack North Korea and the North Koreans respond by firing off nuclear or chemical warheads at targets in South Korea and Japan.

I did not expect that we would be on the verge of World War 3 less than three months into the Trump administration, but here we are.

These are perilous times, and those who are wise are moving their money and are making key preparations before things spiral completely out of control. {eoa}

This week, we are celebrating the Passover, a feast that is observed every year to commemorate the deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egypt. As Jewish families, as well as a growing number of non-Jewish believers in Yeshua, gather around their tables, they will eat a traditional meal called a Seder. While enjoying the various foods attributed to the Passover meal, the leader of the Seder will read out of a book called the Haggadah (Hebrew word for “the telling”). This book leads those celebrating through the story of the Passover, making sure that all of the relevant experiences that took place in Egypt so many years ago are covered so that every new generation gets to hear the story. In this way, the Passover story may continue to be l’dor v’dor (“from generation to generation”).

The reason for the Haggadah and the Seder is much more important than just having a simple guide book to read through and tell a story of a miraculous event that happened so long ago. The Haggadah is, in fact, not just a book to read to guide us through our yearly meal. It is a part of the greater lesson of the Seder and a key to understanding both Biblical and modern day miracles. 

This year, Messianic believers will read through the Haggadah and share how every event that happens during the Seder points to Yeshua as our Messiah—from the searching for the leaven to the eating of the afikomen (the remnants of the hidden matzah now found and redeemed). Every event described in the biblical narrative of the Passover points directly to the experience of Yeshua on that Passover day in Jerusalem. Yeshua’s death, burial and Resurrection are all prophetically foretold as we read about the Passover Lamb and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It was through this fulfilled Passover offering that Yeshua made a way for us to receive eternal life. 

While understanding the provision for us to receive eternal life is valuable beyond measure, what is sometimes missed today is that for those who have been born again, eternal life has already begun. This eternal life, or life more abundant, is not something we are looking forward to; it is something we are supposed to walk in today. The question of how to walk in the eternal is answered partially within biblical Holy Days, such as Passover, and the instructions for observing them. 

Passover, as an example, is celebrated by following the reading of a Haggadah as a part of a Seder. Earlier we read what the word Haggadah means, but have not yet defined the word Seder. While the Haggadah is important, it can be meaningless without understanding its context within the Seder. The word Seder means “order.” In our world, we live in a time where everyone wants to do things their own way. And the popular thing even among believers is to throw out the old in favor of the new and exciting. We serve a G-D who expects things to be in order. He created the world to have order, He created a family order, He created an order for Israel by priests, Levites and people and also division of tribes, etc.  He also established a prophetic order of events and when they should take place. We have all read the words “in the fullness of time.”

As we study the Scriptures and we see that everything in them follows a creative order established by G-D, we will also find out that in every case in which a miracle happened in the Bible, the people who received that miracle were in fact following the prescribed order in their lives. The people of Israel were observing the Passover when Yeshua gave his life. Yeshua spoke the words “It is finished” and died at the same time the Passover lamb was slain by the priest. There are too many examples to provide in this one blog, but I encourage you to not only look at the Passover but at every miraculous event that takes place in the Bible. You will see that the commandments provided in the Bible are not burdensome weights to be grudgingly kept, but rather they are G-D’s pathway of walking in order, which opens the door for G-D to work miraculously in our lives.

You see, miracles are simply when something supernatural takes place. The natural is in regular order; the supernatural is out of regular order. So, the key to seeing the supernatural happen in our lives is to follow the patterns of order provided for the people of G-D in His Word, because He works the out of order when we are in order. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is executive director of The Messianic Times and author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity and OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry.

I was born and raised in the sweetest place on earth: downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania. My parents were hard-core Pennsylvania Dutch and spoke fluently in the language.

The Pennsylvania Dutch culture is—and my upbringing was—devoid of relationship and revolved around doing, as opposed to anything relational.

My parents were task driven, not relationship oriented. Mom and Dad expressed their love by providing, and so my family never showed love through touch or words.

To further my love deficit, my birth in 1958 was trauma-induced. My mom hemorrhaged at the end of her six-month term, and we were rushed to the Hershey Hospital, where I was delivered 12 weeks early.

I was then separated from mom and taken via ambulance to the Harrisburg Hospital. This is where I spent months in an incubator fighting for my life. In 1958, the survival rate for premature babies was low.

My entrance into this world was influenced by tribulation and anguish, and lacked human contact. For me, love and touch were a foreign and difficult thing. However, I grew up as a carefree boy who loved baseball, Hershey Park and, of course, chocolate, but lacked the ability to have healthy relationships.

In the 1960s—one of my fondest memories with my mom and dad, apart from playing baseball, was watching the Billy Graham crusades.

However, in 1970, when I was 12 my dad took a high-ranking job at the Pentagon and did not come home until the weekends.

That’s when one of my sisters started dating a guy and my role model switched from my dad to this fellow. My sister’s boyfriend was a shot-out hippie. He had long, coal-black hair that was frizzed out like an Afro and it went to the middle of his back. He wore a lot of leather and embroidered jeans and drove a Shelby 428 king of the road muscle car. He was my new role model. He took me hunting and fishing and taught me how to sell weed.

The first time I bought weed from him, it was an ounce and we split it up four ways, I sold three quarters and kept a quarter for free, and I made a little cash. I liked everything about my sister’s boyfriend. At the age of 13, I turned to drugs and alcohol. Throughout my teenage years and into my young adulthood, I experimented often with drugs and alcohol and used both substances in excess amounts.

By the age of 20, I was arrested for kidnapping and criminal conspiracy in a 50-pound weed deal that went south. I was later found not guilty only because those involved decided not to testify against me. There is not enough time to discuss my criminal history, but I was deeply entrenched in the underground world of crime and in the distribution of narcotics.

At the age of 25, I came to my senses just a little and started to decrease my usage, however my heart was full of anger and rage and void of compassion.

I thought marriage would help, so I began to burn through women at a rapid rate, just looking for the fix I thought I needed. It was just one empty relationship after another. I believe my addiction switched gears and I began to fill the emptiness of my soul with sexual encounters. There was no amount of drugs or alcohol or women that could fill the hole in my soul and yet day after I just could not get enough of either. My drug of choice was just more of anything. I used everything in excess and even my friends referred to me as the one who needed help. Most of the times I partied until I blacked out.

At the age of 29, I thought I met the woman of my dreams and was married by the age of 30. I also at that time landed a great job in the floor covering industry, as sales professional, and over the next 20 years, I excelled at that position. Somewhat like my dad, I was a good provider for my family. And I also was able to keep my wife at home as a stay-at-home mom.

It wasn’t long until I realized that I had married someone just as wounded as me. The truth is two dead batteries won’t start a car. Three daughters and 9 years later, I was divorced and I was experiencing deep despair. I somehow and someway had to become a living, breathing soul.

I was then 38, and in 1996, I began to hear about Jesus in Alcoholic Anonymous. I knew I needed something or someone to change me. I had tried endless times through drugs, and alcohol and sexual encounters, to find peace and a purpose for my life, but to no avail. Only Jesus Christ knew the depth of revival and restoration I needed. I was an unbelievably flawed human being, who was riddled with ADD, multiple addictions and other learning disabilities.

I also at that time began to attend Christ Community Church in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. I became active in the Christian community. I started to seek a relationship with Christ and began to understand that Jesus went to the cross so I could be purchased from this slave market of sin.

I heard and understood that He wanted to totally set me free. I knew just how brutal this marketplace of sin was and how important it was for me to be cut free from these chains of darkness.

I was told I could come to Jesus just as I was and that He would forgive me and deliver me from the guilt of my past sin.

I understood that because of my faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit came to live inside me and He was empowering me to live above the insanity of my past life and the sin that so entangled me.

I understood and others were saying that I could be liberated from the guilt and doom of sin and that Jesus wanted to introduce me to a life of liberty and a newness of life. So I made a choice to ask Jesus into the middle of the mess I had made with my life. I tell you the truth that Jesus uses broken things.

After I received Christ and was born again, my parents saw such a drastic transformation in my life that my mom often said, “You know, Jack, there has got to be a God to have changed you.”

My parents, who were just shy of 80 years old, gave their lives to Christ and received the Holy Spirit.

But then just a few months after I ask Jesus into my life and somewhat like Saul, on the road to Damascus, in Acts 9, I had an unexpected meeting with Jesus the “lover of my soul,” and so it is my desire to share with you the details of my personal encounter with the risen, glorified Christ.

My encounter with the Maker and Maintainer of the universe went like this.

My daughters and I were tent camping in Halifax, Pennsylvania, at a place called Camp Hebron. It was in the middle of July in 1996 and our campsite (#30) was situated along Powell’s Creek, right in the middle of some very dense pine trees.

I was enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit on that hot summer day, when I noticed to my left side and slightly above Powell’s Creek a brilliantly bright white, elongated light.

At first, I thought to myself, What is the sun doing underneath the trees and then I thought what is the sun doing over in that direction?

As an avid outdoorsman, I instinctively know my direction, and this encounter was just prior to lunch, so the noonday sun was high in the sky.

I suddenly squared off to the risen Christ and was immediately overtaken by a super bright, white, elongated, oval-shaped light. (Acts 26:13 “I saw in a way a Light from Heaven, above the brightness of the Sun, shining around about me.“)

I was instantly unaware of my surroundings. I stood still and froze in place. I wanted to get closer, but I dropped to the forest floor onto my knees.

The intensity of love and peace I felt oozed into the very nature of my soul. All of a sudden hoops or rings of light broke off of the risen glorified Christ!

These circles of light hit me. A total of three rings overtook me. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit encapsulated me. One after another, these rings consumed me. It was like liquid love. The intensity of Christ’s love filled my being. (Song of Solomon 2:4 “And his banner over me was love.“)

The more rings of light that hit me, the greater intensity of love I felt.

I thought as if I was going to die. And so I raised my arms and hands and screamed: “Stop! You are killing me.” (Song of Solomon 8:6 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death.“)

The tone of my voice shook with the certainty of death. While on my knees, and arms raised high, I watch the glorified Christ ascend up and vanish through the trees. (John 3:13 “And no man has ascended up to Heaven but, He who came down from Heaven.”)

Immediately, my young daughters came up from Powell’s Creek; they were catching Crawfish for bait, because we were preparing to go fishing. Lyndsai (age 7) said, “Dad, what happened? I heard you yell.” Then Abby (age 2) said, “Daddy, did you swallow a light bulb?” Then Karlee (age 4) and Lyndsai both said, “Daddy, you’re glowing. What happened to you?” (Exodus 34:35 “And the Children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses face was radiant.”)

I was speechless, you see. Having a personal meeting with the King of the universe, the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ’, well, let’s just say I was undone.

Having been a professional sinner, and now being overshadowed by and abiding in the presence and love of the risen Christ confirmed my human frailty. My only words were, “Stop! you’re killing me.”

Standing in the presence of the great “I AM” and having a glimpse of Yahweh’s glory, it’s no wonder that I was glowing. I hadn’t realized that I had absorbed some of the glory and was reflecting it from my countenance. Oh, but my young daughters did. “Daddy, did you swallow a light bulb?” declared Abby.

Encountering the Maker and Sustainer of the universe, the risen Christ, through a beatific experience at a place called Camp Hebron. Well, let’s just say the intensity of Yahweh’s love is priceless.

Please understand, for someone like me to be standing here today, only a radical transformation could have taken place. No amount of will power could have changed my life to who I am today. Only the transforming grace of my risen Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit could have done this.

This encounter confirms the reality of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and why I think we will need resurrected bodies. Song of Solomon declares in Chapter 8:6 that “His love is as strong as death.”

After my personal encounter with the risen, glorified Christ, I had been gripped by the power of the Holy Spirit, and little did I know that over the next 15 years, Yahweh was preparing me to be used for my good and His glory.

To learn more about Jack and The Book of Life Ministry, go to his website at or email @.

If Republicans think the 2018 mid-term elections are “in the bag,” after Tuesday night’s special election in Kansas’ Fourth Congressional District, they are headed for an electoral disaster.

In a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1, Republican Ron Estes had to come from behind to win CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s former seat. The final margin of victory was 8 percentage points, but that was a 15-point reversal from the early returns, demonstrating that an all-out push by Democrats and liberal activists can still have an impact just days into President Donald Trump’s new administration.

Pompeo just won the very same district by 31 points back in November.

The liberal mainstream media, of course, are using the results to create an entirely different narrative: that Americans reject the president’s agenda. Rather, it was a lesson in what complacency can do to an election: in November, 268,000 votes were cast, compared to just 121,000 Tuesday night.

Approximately 100,000 people who voted for Pompeo in November didn’t show up to vote for Estes. Clearly, “it’s in the bag” isn’t a campaign strategy that will work in 2018.

One seat won’t make a huge difference in terms of the makeup of the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. But, it would provide plenty of opportunity for Democrats and their allies in the media to continue their efforts to delegitimize the Trump administration.

Republicans get another chance to do better when voters in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District go to the polls next Tuesday to vote in the replacement for Secretary of Health & Human Services Dr. Tom Price. There will be 18 names—11 Republicans, five Democrats and two independents—on the ballot.

If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote, there will be a runoff between the top two candidates. With fewer Democrat candidates to break up the vote, turnout for Republicans will be crucial. Price won reelection to his seat in November by 23 points. [eoa}