As a new year approaches and the return of Jesus draws near, it’s time to break down the walls of idolatry within the church. The church cries for revival, yet most are not willing to give up the pleasures of this world and are not willing to repent:

Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people (2 Tim. 3:2-5).

Sadly, this is an accurate depiction of the condition of the church today.

Most churches have become social gathering places rather than places of godly reverence and holiness. Coffee houses, catchy tunes, bright lights and custom-written scripted sermons spoken by “actors” on green screens have replaced places of worship, the movement of the Holy Spirit, teaching the Word of God and prayer through the pastors who were called to shepherd their flocks. Congregants can pay top dollar for the latest smartphone, vacation or car, but shudder when asked to tithe or give to missions.

Even most Christian artists, actors, comedians and bands have blended in so well with the world, it’s hard to them apart. Jesus is nowhere to be found at these events. You see a whole lot of performance but not a whole lot of worship. There will be concert halls and stadiums filled to capacity, yet there is no presentation of the gospel, no altar call, no prayer team or no Bibles distributed. Rest assured though there will be plenty of hoodies, T-shirts, autographs and photo meet-and- greet opportunities to look forward to. Instead of leading people into worship and truth and telling them about Jesus, these artists focus on the number of fans they have on social media or what award they will win or what tour they will perform next. People are paying any price and will literally weep and scream at the chance to meet and get selfies with these Christian “celebrities” for that one moment, yet they were never introduced to Jesus who could give them forever.

Believers are falling away left and right due to self-harm, depression, pornography, adultery, addiction and suicide; yet most of the church won’t deal with sin head on and chooses to brush it all under the carpet of sloppy grace.

The majority of the church has remained silent as tolerance and acceptance of sin have overtaken the world. At the very moment of opposition or persecution, followers have buckled under pressure, given in and fallen away.

If Jesus turned down the tables at the temple then, what would He do now?

Here are three ways followers of Christ can help destroy idolatry within the church.

1) The Lord says, “My children, wake up from your compromise; I am looking for the remnant!”

We need to individually examine out hearts and repent for any idols we have made of ourselves and others. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness? What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he who believes with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:14-16a).

2) The Lord says, “My children speak out and fight for truth; I am looking for the remnant!”

We need to unashamedly and speak up to the movers, shakers and decision makers to put Jesus back into the center of worship, or better yet, ask God to make us people of influence around the world. “Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

3) The Lord says, “My children, stand up for my Word and for Me; I am looking for the remnant!”

We need to fulfill the Great Commission and exemplify Jesus and the Bible through our words, thoughts and actions. No matter what temporary pain of we experience through rejection and persecution, there are eternal promises and awards gained. “

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them'” (Rev. 14:12-13).

In the midst of the great falling away, let’s be the remnant who is willing to help the Church become a place of prayer and worship once again. Let’s break down, crush and obliterate the high places of idolatry that have been erected in our hearts and within the church. There are still churches, pastors, and followers of Jesus who are willing to remain faithful to Jesus. There are still people with platforms who are willing to keep their focus on Christ and the gospel and not on themselves. There are still workers willing to harvest souls for the kingdom. 2019 is the year when the church can wake up, speak out and stand up for the only one deserving of all praise, glory, honor and worship—our Lord and Savior Jesus! {eoa}

Pastor Meg Hart founded Restored Women in 2015 and Restored Global in 2018, both ministries birthed into her heart from God as a result of the great revelation, redirection and restoration she experienced through Jesus.

She is an ordained pastor through Global Ministries and Relief Inc. and the Full Gospel Fellowship. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University and is currently in her final year as a doctoral student for the Ed.D. in performance improvement leadership at Capella University.

She is the proud mother of one daughter, Mackenzie, and serves at Life Church in Williamstown, New Jersey.

This article originally appeared at .

Are rumors true? Is Trump planning on dividing Jerusalem?

“Well, ‘interesting if true’ should be one’s first response, as prior leaks that have proved to be inaccurate,” American historian Daniel Pipes wrote.

Pipes compared the idea to the original 1947 United Nations Partition Plan which had Jerusalem established as an international city.

“In other words, it’s anachronistic,” Pipes wrote. “The idea is also wildly dangerous: imagine placing one of the world’s most sensitive locations under the control of the U.N. General Assembly or the Quartet on the Middle East. Its inevitable mischief could well set off the next round of fighting.”

Pipes objected to the plan to divide Jerusalem as implicitly rewarding Palestinian non-compliance with previous agreements by handing over swaths of sovereign Israeli territory. In addition to sabotaging Netanyahu’s political standing, Pipes noted it would inevitably alienate Trump’s evangelical voter base.

This final point, the evangelical response to dividing Jerusalem, may be far more explosive than many of the political players realize, more so for Trump than for his Israeli counterpart. Chris Mitchell, Christian Broadcasting Network Middle East Bureau Chief based in Jerusalem and author of several books on Jerusalem, emphasized that Trump’s evangelical voter base has a strong interest in maintaining Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.

“The Peace Plan hasn’t been announced yet but it seems to me that it would be a non-starter for evangelicals,” Mitchell told Breaking Israel News. “They rejoiced when the embassy was moved and when the president recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It doesn’t seem they would be agreeable to any moves away from that.”

“There are several pressing domestic issues in politics, but I think Jerusalem would transcend all of them. Issues like the border wall will be resolved one way or another but the issue of Jerusalem will always remain important to evangelicals.”

“A lot of Christians view Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem in a prophetic sense,” Mitchell said, citing a section of the New Testament in which it is prophesied that Jerusalem will be trodden down but Jews will eventually reclaim their capital. “When General [Mordechai] ‘Motta’ Gur announced in 1967 that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount [were] in Jewish hands, it resonated with Jews but it also resonated powerfully with Christians around the world. It was a spiritual landmark, a prophetic demarcation that this prophecy was happening.”

Joshua Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, believes that a peace plan that involves dividing Jerusalem will be a self-destructive political move for the U.S. president.

“Christian supporters of Israel will consider such a move to be a disaster,” Reinstein told Breaking Israel News. “They’ve been pushing for a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel since the creation of the state. Their politics in the Middle East have a biblically based perspective.”

“I do not see any possibility of Trump trying to divide Jerusalem, since it would entirely undermine his voter base, which is strongly Christian. If he loses that, he has zero chance of reelection.”

David Parsons, vice president and senior international spokesman for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, argues that Christians have a strong personal interest in maintaining Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem.

“Dividing Jerusalem would not bring peace to the city. If anything, it would just intensify the battle,” Parsons told Breaking Israel News. “We think Jerusalem should stay united under Israeli sovereignty. Israel has the best track record for protecting the freedom of access to our holy sites and for freedom of worship in Jerusalem. That should be one of the key concerns about who has sovereignty in the city. The Palestinian record is horrendous on these issues. The international community does nothing to protect Christians in the face of radical Islam. We see this especially in the Middle East.”

Parsons emphasized that this is a pivotal moment in history and Christians cannot remain silent.

“The nations have a choice now to give Jerusalem the honor and respect it is due, to recognize that it is first and foremost a Jewish city,” Parsons concluded. {eoa}

Breaking Israel News offers a fresh and biblical perspective on the latest news from Israel and the Middle East. Our bias is not liberal nor conservative—just biblical.

This article originally appeared at .

Canton Jones, a Christian rapper and pastor, says he received a prophetic dream from the Lord for 2019, which he was instructed to share before a recent sermon. In the dream, Jones reportedly heard, “2019 will be the best of times and the worst of times,” a time when God’s judgment will not necessarily be on all sinners but on those who have heard the message of salvation but did not heed it.

Jones also said he heard God rebuke the body of Christ for pursuing intimacy with Him but leaving Him like a prostitute as soon as they get their spiritual download. He also said the “spirit of Saul is hovering over the church”—referring to jealousy by those in leadership to young or upcoming leaders—and that God will judge those people.

Jones’ full six-minute prophetic word can be heard here.

In Matthew 17:21, Jesus says of a demon, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” What makes fasting such an essential tool for spiritual warfare? Pastor Jentezen Franklin says it’s because there’s a relationship between physical obedience and spiritual power. Franklin says, “When you begin to fast and pray, you release God’s supernatural power and forces of heaven.” Watch the video here for his full explanation.

Chilling. Appalling. Staggering. These words probably do not capture the significance of a recent study revealing what is now the No. 1 cause of death globally.

Cancer? Malaria? Heart disease? Car accidents? HIV/AIDS? Cigarette smoking? They’ve all been displaced with the new cause resulting in more deaths in 2018 than all of these combined.

Worldometers, one of the most reputable reference websites voted “best” by the American Library Association, just released their figures for population, births and deaths. Closing out the year, 8.2 million people died from cancer, 5 million from smoking and 1.7 million died of HIV/AIDS.

41. 9 million babies, developing and destined for birth within weeks or months, had their lives terminated prematurely through abortion. Worldometers recorded the total number of abortions based on the most recent statistics published by the World Health Organization. Extermination of the unborn is now the primary cause of death worldwide with 10 infants aborted for every 33 live births. [ 12/31/2018]

This past year, 60 percent of black babies were dismembered by abortion in America. I concur with my dear friend and dedicated pro-life advocate, Dr. Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who calls this “genocide.”

Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand, invalidating 50 state laws, almost 61,000,000 babies have lost their lives in the womb. Think of it: since 1775 to the present all Americans who have lost their lives in wars represent a 91:1 statistic where 91 babies lost their lives for every 1 soldier.

What Should We Do?

God’s commandment throughout the entire Bible is to respect the dignity of every person and protect human life. Our Founding Fathers reinforced the value and sanctity of human life in our founding documents inscribing that every person has the “right to life.”

Sacred Scripture records, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him” (Prov. 6:16).

Therefore, the Author of life directs us unequivocally, “Open your mouth for the speechless in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8-9).

“If you refrain to deliver those who are drawn unto death, and those who are ready to be slain; if you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who ponders the heart consider it? And He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to every man according to his works?” (Prov. 24:11-12).

From a biblical standpoint, it is impossible to be an authentic Christian and remain silent, sitting on the sidelines and not speaking up for the unborn! Pastor Martin Luther King Jr., who wholeheartedly supported the sanctity of life, said it excellently: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Pastors, take notice if you’ve been submitting to the fear of man, not equipping people to speak up for the unborn or support pro-life candidates in elections.

Norma McCorvey, “Jane Roe” of the Roe v. Wade infamous decision legalizing abortion in America and influencing nations abroad, revealed how she was manipulated and exploited on this issue in an unconscionable way. She said, “I am dedicated to spending the rest of my life undoing the law that bears my name!”

I just celebrated my 49th spiritual birthday on Dec. 28 and have never ceased challenging and educating people on this issue. It’s interesting that on this date we commemorate the “Feast of the Holy Innocents” remembering the decree of King Herod that all male children in Israel under the age of 2 should be killed.

Other Options and Opportunities

Besides engaging people winsomely and confidently on the sanctity of human life, we can financially support crisis pregnancy centers and couples considering adoption. We might explore the possibility of adoption for ourselves. We adopted a little girl and one of my sons adopted three children from Nicaragua, South Africa and China.

Through our families and churches, we can also reach out to single moms and help assist anyway we can in their unique situation. My other son married a beautiful single mom with two precious children and since have added two more little ones to their precious family.

If you desire to influence people in the marketplace and recognize you need to be equipped to answer legitimate questions and objections, please avail yourself of the “Bullseye Challenge” resource with free YouTube videos on this issue and other hot button issues of today. Simply go to Bullseye to watch compelling videos and obtain the “Bullseye” book from .

Attend Annual March for Life

As a 42-year board member of “Intercessors for America” national prayer ministry and a public policy adviser with “Liberty Counsel” litigation and education ministry, let me take the opportunity to encourage you to be a part of the Jan. 18 “March for Life” in Washington, D.C. Our purpose is to “end abortion by uniting, educating and mobilizing pro-life people in the public square.” Our theme this year is “Unique from Day One.” Go to for info.

Here’s the Deal: With high-tech sonograms clearly revealing moving, conscious, innocent babies in a mother’s womb, there is no more rationale for allowing the extermination of precious little babies to continue anymore. What is now the leading cause of death worldwide is totally preventable and the time is long overdue to bring an end to the slaughter of innocents in America today.

The Gospel Coalition asked Francis Chan for one practical tip that could improve the everyday Christian’s prayer life. Chan replied, “Be humble.” Inspired by Revelation 4-5, Chan encourages Christians to adopt humility and honor and return to an understanding of prayer as mystical and mysterious.

Pastor Steven Furtick says a lot of Christians seek their “calling” from God, but what they really want is a divine itinerary of what their life will look like. Furtick responds, “That’s a human construct. That’s nowhere in the Bible.” Instead, he says, it’s important to understand that God’s ultimate “calling” on your life is calling you to Himself. Furtick explains what the Bible teaches—and does not teach—about God’s calling in this video.

Some people say, “All roads lead to heaven.” But Bill Wiese, author of 23 Minutes in Hell, says that according to Scripture, that’s simply not true. There is only one way—and Wiese explains what it is in this short video.

May I propose a New Year’s resolution for 2019? Let’s determine to speak up and to speak out, to raise our voices with clarity and compassion, to refuse to hold back regardless of cost or consequence. Will you join me?

To those of you who are already doing this, I encourage you to continue to stand strong.

To those who are not, now is most certainly the time. What are you waiting for?

One of the most important principles Jesus taught was that if we try to save our lives, we lose them. But if we lose our lives for Him—for the gospel—we find them.

To apply this concept to our contemporary situation, if we try to avoid controversy and conflict so as to preserve our presence on social media platforms, we lose our souls in the process. We become compromisers, fearers of man rather than fearers of God. We are no longer guided by conviction; we are guided by convenience. We survive but we do not thrive.

If we speak what is right and do what is right and live what is right, we might lose a lot in the process, but we will find our souls. We become alive!

We can learn a lesson here from Wang Yi, pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. He was addressing the sinful policies of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is fashioning himself to be the new Mao and is actively persecuting Christians and other minorities.

In a sermon dated Sept. 9, 2018, Pastor Yi said, “President Xi Jinping does not repent, he will perish!”

Yes, he said, “the government he is leading has sinned greatly against God, for it is persecution of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if he does not repent, he will perish!”

But won’t Pastor Yi suffer consequences for preaching such a message? No doubt. In fact, he was subsequently arrested and is currently imprisoned. Yet he still preached with boldness and conviction.

“When we are not being persecuted,” he said, “we spread the gospel. And when persecution comes, we continue spreading the gospel. If we are talking about a President, we declare he is a sinner. And if we are talking about a general secretary, we still declare that he is a sinner. We believe that we have the responsibility to tell Xi Jinping that he is a sinner.”

What a contrast with today’s “gospel of nice,” a PC-compliant, made-for-America message if ever there was one. Whatever you do, don’t offend! Better to skirt the truth. Better to mislead. Just be sure to smile and be nice!

Of course, we should speak the truth in love. With broken hearts. With compassion.

Being mean is no more Christian than being weak.

But if ever there was time to crucify our cowardice, it is now. If ever there was a time to speak up and to speak out, regardless of cost or consequence, it is now. If we don’t, day by day, our freedoms will be taken from us, one at a time, until we find ourselves confined to a tiny, silent corner. This is how those words of Jesus’ apply.

Back in March, 2018, despite not being a fan of Infowars myself, I wrote an article titled, “Why YouTube’s Conflict with Infowars Should Concern Us All.”

I closed the article with this poem, inspired, of course, by the famous World War II poem of Martin Niemoller:

First they came for Infowars, and I did not speak out—because I found them offensive.

Then they came for Geller and Spencer, and I did not speak out­—because I found them obnoxious.

Then they came for Prager U, and I did not speak out—because I found them opinionated.

Then they came for a host of others, and I did not speak out—because I have my own life to live.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

I followed this up with an article on Aug. 6, 2018, “Conservative Speech Be Banned!” This added further documentation and closed with the same poem.

Since then, many other conservative and Christian outlets have been affected (see this shocking list for 2018 compiled by Allum Bokhari). And most recently, Rev. Franklin Graham, arguably the best-known, most-prominent evangelical voice in America, was banned from posting on Facebook for 24 hours because of an innocuous post dating back to 2016.

Facebook quickly apologized and said he was banned in error, but the fact that this could happen at all is another sobering wake-up call.

In 2016, I drew attention to a ridiculous attempt at Princeton University to ban the “m” word (man!) from its campus. No more “man hours” or “manpower” or “layman.” Different, non-sexist terminology must be employed, such as “person hours” (for “man hours”) or “personnel” (for “manpower”) or “non-specialist” (for “layman”).

You might say, “But who cares about what happens on a university campus? That’s already an extreme PC-environment.”

Of course, we should care about what happens on our campuses, since that’s where the next generation is being educated.

But these things are not just happening on college campuses. The UK Telegraph reported on December 27, 2018, that “The European Parliament is attempting to stamp out the use of words such as ‘mankind’ and ‘manpower’ and have them replaced with more gender neutral terms such as ‘humanity’ and ‘staff.'”

Yes, the European Parliament is trying to enforce this hyper-PC speech control.

And, on a related note, let’s not forget that Canada passed a law in 2017 against “misgendering” people, while a similar law had already been passed (with stiff fines) in New York City.

So what will we do? Will we continue to retreat in order to avoid conflict, thereby muting our own voices? Or will we speak the truth in love—as compassionate as we are bold, as Christlike as we are firm, as wise as we are unwavering?

If not now, then when? If not you and me, then who?

Let’s make this our resolution in 2019: “I will not hold back for fear of consequences. I will speak up and speak out as the occasion demands. I will love my neighbor by speaking the truth.”

Are you in?

Two of the most popular New Year’s resolutions are to “save money” and “eat healthier.” Most people think you have to pick one or the other because eating healthy is too expensive, but that’s not true. You can actually switch to a healthier diet without breaking the bank.

Tiffany Terczak is living proof eating right doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Far from it. She feeds her Atlanta family of four with super healthy foods, often organics, for the low, low cost of only $330 a month!

And Terczak gives God the glory for what she sees as a miracle financial healing that came her way during the process.

She and her husband were languishing under a “scary amount of debt,” so they prayed for help from the Lord. Not long after that, she realized the grocery budget had the “greatest amount of wiggle-room” compared to fixed expenses like the mortgage and car payment.

Climbing out of Debt—By Getting a Grip on the Grocery Budget

“If we ever wanted to climb out of debt, it had to be with the grocery budget,” Terczak told CBN News.

They achieved their goal, largely by slashing grocery spending in half, and as an added blessing, without sacrificing the health of their family.

“We eat real food, so food that comes from the ground and animals that eat plants from the ground,” she told CBN News, “We hardly eat anything processed, and by processed I’m referring to boxes, just-add-water type of things. We don’t eat that.”

She says this didn’t happen by accident.

“God has pulled us out of the depths of debt and gave me the skill,” she told CBN News, adding, “Even if your budget’s really small, you can still eat well within a small budget.”

{eoa}

Click here to read the rest of this story from our content partners at CBN News.