Friends of the Billy Graham family across the globe are rejoicing with the news from Anne Graham Lotz that her son and Billy Graham’s grandson, Jonathan Lotz, has moved out of ICU and will begin rehab after a serious battle with COVID-19.

His mother posted her praise on Facebook, quoting a poem her mother, Ruth Bell Graham, taught her along with a photo of her mother and Jonathan:

This past weekend, Graham Lotz requested prayer for her son, a pastor and director of Jonathan Lotz Ministries, who was in ICU at the time. She also shared a note he wrote from his hospital bed: “He is being fruitful in the land of his affliction: ‘I am physically exhausted yet Spiritually overflowing! I am continually pouring over the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) in ICU. I have had the privilege of sharing Jesus with the ER & ICU staff! What a Savior! God is so good!'”

Jonathan’s sister, Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright, who often ministers alongside her mother, shared her gratitude for prayers on her brother’s behalf on Facebook, noting that he was “witnessing up a storm in the hospital!”

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One night, at a critical time in my life, God spoke to me in the most profound way about our ministry. It was early 2017, and the night before, I had made the huge announcement that we were hosting four days of 24/7 prayer and worship at the National Mall in the fall of that year. I shared our plan to set up 50 tents for 50 states and invite thousands of musicians and singers to lead us in around-the-clock worship and prayer. The announcement was broadcast live from a church in Washington, D.C., and was viewed not just across the U.S. but around the world.

The paperwork for the permits had been signed, so it was official. We were planning to do something that had never been done—something that came with an incredibly high price tag—and we were committing to do this in front of tens of thousands of people.

In all honesty, after making this announcement, I started to panic.

As I lay in bed that night, I could feel the weight of what we had just committed to. I felt exposed and vulnerable. I had literally signed my name on the dotted line of what God had asked me to do, and now I was at His mercy. It was a test of my faith on a grand scale. I even had some close friends and leaders questioning the plan. Others had sacrificed for this too, and we needed God to come through and provide.

In the middle of the night, after having gone to bed with these thoughts buzzing in my mind, I was jolted awake. I went from a deep sleep to wide awake with my heart racing in a second.

I heard an audible voice.

It sounded like my natural father’s voice, and He said only one word: my name, “David.” In one of my most profound moments of insecurity, God spoke identity to my heart by simply calling my name in the middle of the night. That’s all He said. That’s all I needed to hear.

Ironically I was scheduled to speak the next morning at our church, Awakening Community Church, about the Father’s love. I had the whole message prepared. But as I stood up before the church that morning, I broke down in tears. God spoke the one thing I needed to hear more than anything else, and it was not strategy; it was affection.

Identity Crisis Solved

This is the only time I’ve heard God speak with my natural ears. Most people I know have never heard God speak audibly. But whether or not you hear His voice out loud, the fact is this: If you are in Christ, the Father loves you as He loves His own Son, Jesus (John 17:23). This defines your identity.

When it comes down to it, we are all in a frenzy to find our identities, and mostly we are looking in all the wrong places and making all the wrong choices. We find our identities in the places we get a sense of self-worth, and the multitude of things that are fueling most people’s sense of identity—sexuality, careers, power and position, the list goes on—are falling short. Many people are experiencing an identity crisis at their cores because they just don’t feel successful or fulfilled. Jesus answers the crisis. Hosting Jesus’ presence is largely about discovering Jesus’ personality, and this leads to His shaping our identities.

I’m convinced the encounter I had with the Father that night was not just for me. I believe He was establishing a culture for this movement of worship, prayer and gospel proclamation in our cities and college campuses. I believe that all our extravagant songs, prayers and proclamations are meant to pour out from a river that is flowing on the inside of us. That river is flowing because we have discovered that the one seated on the throne in heaven is a Father who is smiling at each of us individually and personally. Knowing this will wash away all our shame. This revelation is the answer to our identity crisis.

This has been excerpted from Chapter 6, “Surprised By Love,” of Awaken the Dawn (Charisma House). {eoa}

One of the great cries heard in heaven is a cry of praise to God in His roles of Judge and Rewarder. The elders who worship God around His throne in heaven proclaim these words:

The time has come for judging the dead and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth. (See Rev. 11:18.)

In Revelation 15:3-4a, we read that God’s judgment is just and true:

“Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?”

God Alone Has the Power to Judge

God is the only one with absolute wisdom, absolute righteousness and absolute power. These are the three things necessary for a judgment to be eternal. A judge who executes judgments for all eternity must be without sin or fault, must have a total understanding of any situation—truly seeing the motivations of a person’s heart as well as the actions of the hand and the words of his mouth—and must have the ability not only to bring a person to the bar of justice, but to execute the sentence that is meted out. Only God qualifies to be the Judge of all He has created and all that occurs in time and space throughout the ages.

God’s Judgment Is Never Capricious

There is no arbitrary enforcement of the rules in God’s judgment. When we stand before Him, we will be judged based on what we have done in response to God’s commandments. Judgment is based on our obedience, including our obedience in receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior. Take a look at Revelation 16:6: “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”

God’s Wrath Is Coming Against All Who Have Opposed Him

God reserves judgment for those who have sought to push Him off the throne so they can reign in His place.

Who is it that seeks the destruction of the earth and God’s people? Satan. Jesus said very clearly, “The thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Who are the people who set themselves up to be the enemies of God? There are two main groups. The first consists of people who are in rebellion against God. They know what the Scriptures say, and they know the commandments of God. But they have decided that they are going to live their way rather than God’s way. In a second group are those referred to in the letters of Paul as being “apostate.” An apostate is a person who knew the gospel and accepted it intellectually or as a social formality but then turned his back on the truth of the gospel. An apostate is a person who denies the Virgin Birth, denies the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, denies the Lord’s bodily resurrection, denies that Jesus is the only way to heaven and denies the coming judgment of the Lord.

Judas followed Jesus, but he always had his own agenda. He followed Jesus because he thought it would be profitable to do so and because he wanted to “use” Jesus to accomplish his own goals. Judas was one of the most privileged of all people in history—he had an opportunity to walk and talk with Jesus on a daily basis. He had an opportunity to hear Jesus’ life-changing message firsthand and to witness many of Jesus’ miracles. Yet Judas betrayed Jesus to those who sought to crucify Him.

Peter also betrayed Jesus by denying three times that he was associated with Jesus. He turned his back on Jesus in Jesus’ greatest hour of human need. Peter had boasted of following Jesus to the death, but then within a matter of hours he did not have the courage to admit to a few maidens and common folk that he even knew Jesus.

Like Judas, Peter was guilty of betrayal. But Peter took a very different course after his denial of the Lord. He did not try to hide, ignore, or deny what he had done. Rather, he humbly surrendered all of himself, including his failure, to Jesus. He chose brokenness and confession over arrogance and pride. He became an apostle, whereas Judas became apostate. God’s judgment is on the apostate, not the repentant.

God’s Reward Is Coming to Those Who Trust and Obey Him

We read in Hebrews that God is a rewarder of those “who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). God’s rewards are going to be given to three groups of people:

His prophets—those servants who proclaim the truth of God without hesitation, fear or compromise.

His saints—those servants who have followed Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, doing His bidding to bring the good news of salvation: a message of deliverance to the captives, the illumination of the truth to those who are spiritually blind and wholeness to those who are sick, weak or hurting.

Those servants—both great and small—who fear the Lord’s name.

This has been excerpted from Chapter 8 of Empowered by Praise: Experiencing God’s Presence and Power When You Give Him Glory (Charisma House).{eoa}

Michael Youssef, Ph.D., founded The Church of The Apostles, which was the launching pad for Leading The Way’s international ministry. He has written more than 40 books, including Saving Christianity? and When the Crosses Are Gone.

The supernatural realm has had an amazing impact on Dr. Candice Smithyman’s life—and she has a passion to help others experience it through the various ministry doors God has opened on her behalf.

Many years ago, this international prophetic revivalist and healing minister began to experience the supernatural, but only when she grew in her understanding of heaven did the Holy Spirit bring further definition. “I had some encounters with the Lord where I actually got caught up in heaven and started seeing how heaven operated,” she says. “I began shifting the way I viewed my world.”

As her perspective changed, she walked in the supernatural more and more. “I believe it’s because the Lord wanted to use me to share, teach and train others,” Smithyman says. “He knew He had given me teaching gifts. And so if I was willing to open up my heart and seek Him for the things He was showing me, I was going to be able to teach others how they could experience the supernatural too.”

God called her to ministry in 1999, leading her on a path toward a master’s degree in Christian counseling from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. “And then from there, I began to really just move in that arena for a while,” she says.

God also called her husband into ministry. “He felt the desire to go to school to get a theology degree, and so I went back to school with him to get my theology degree,” she says. “I got a master’s degree in theology from the International College of Excellence in Tinley Park, Illinois.”

From there, the Holy Spirit moved the couple to plant churches. Later, Smithyman returned to school to earn her D. Min in Christian counseling from Jacksonville Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida.

Step Into the Glory

Prior to her church-planting and pastoral experience of 15 years, Smithyman impacted the kingdom through radio and television ministry. About four years ago, God called her back to that realm.

“I had a dream where I was speaking to a woman who was encouraging me to go on television, ministering, and [after that] the Lord supernaturally hooked me up with somebody from The Word Network,” she says. “And I got an invitation to put a television program on The Word Network.”

Though Smithyman had no program in mind, her experience allowed her to quickly put one together, and she signed a contract. Her show was broadcast on The Word Network for about five months before she shifted over to social media television and other forms of social media ministry. “Then things just began to grow from there,” she says.

“The Glory Road TV Show LIVE is seen on Facebook LIVE,” per Smithyman’s website, . “It is an educational interview program, where every week Dr. Candice interviews prophetic leaders and authors who are making a kingdom impact. Guests on the show have included Angela Greening, Katie Souza, Joan Hunter, Kathy DeGraw, Steve Shultz, Robert Hotchkin and others.”

Besides the Facebook LIVE show, The Glory Road TV Show can be seen weekly on Faith USA, Faith UK and Faith Africa networks, allowing Smithyman to impact Muslim nations in Africa and multiply her ministry. “On this program, Dr. Candice operates in prophecy, bringing viewers a prophetic word backed by Scripture and teaching,” her website says. “You will learn what God is doing in the earth today and how to operate in miracles, healing, the glory, and supernatural encounters.” Guest prophets and authors have included such faith leaders as Kat Kerr, Steve Strang, Larry Sparks, James Goll, Karen Wheaton, Sid Roth, Jonathan Cahn, Bishop Harry Jackson and more, Smithyman says.

Smithyman has another television program,Your Path to Destiny, which airs on the It’s Supernatural! Network. “I was really blessed to be invited to be one who had my own show on [the network],” she says.

Your Path to Destiny differs from The Glory Road TV Show because it is primarily a teaching program, she explains. “It has minimal guest interaction, but I’m on there teaching, training, helping people to really step into the glory, teaching them about living the ascension life and being in a real, intimate relationship with the Lord, so they can experience more heaven every day.”

Featured on many international networks such as King TV, Praise TV and Precious TV, Smithyman’s programs impact viewers in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Russia—”some of the most remote places in the 10/40 window, which is poor countries in the world,” she says. “And my programs are also translated into Urdu, the fourth largest language in the world, so they can also be understood by those [people] in their native tongue.” Through these outlets, she and her ministry receive thousands of prayer requests each week.

Partner With Angels

But Smithyman’s media ministry stretches further than television programs. Through her book Releasing Heaven (Destiny Image, 2020), she helps readers move in the supernatural by releasing an open heaven.

“I have had some amazing encounters with angels in various meetings I’ve held overseas and in the United States,” the international prophetic revivalist and healing minister says. She says she has also “been able to see the beautiful angels of fire and their ability to bring healing—spirit, soul and body—to people who are in need.”

After experiencing angelic visitations firsthand, Smithyman conducted her own research into their supernatural work. “And the more I researched and spent time with the Lord, the more He began to teach and train me in how to participate with these angels to see healing and transformation happen in the earth,” she says. Angels of Fire: The Ministry of Angels in End-Time Revival (Destiny Image, 2021), which she describes as the most unique of the many books she’s written, continues her kingdom assignment by helping people understand how angels are real, created beings we can partner with to make changes in the earth.

“It’s God’s desire that kingdom come to the earth,” she says. “We must be aware of how we can operate with the kingdom in order to make that happen.

“I had several angels I encountered in dreams that the Lord brought to me, and one of those was a huge angel,” she adds. In her book, she describes several angels, including one named Yah-Red—derived from Yah, the first part of God’s Hebrew name, and the color red—as an eight-foot being with “flaming red hair and very white skin.”

Scripture uses the word adomonyi, Hebrew for “red,” to characterize the ruddy appearance of King David, the giant killer, Smithyman explains in her book. She thus describes Yah-Red as a “giant killer fire angel.”

“I have seen miracles where giants were holding people in bondage, infirmity, sickness and disease, but God used him in the spirit realm to kill the giants,” she writes. “When Yah-Red shows up, the demons are crushed and people are healed.”

But Yah-Red is only one of the angels the Lord assigned to Smithyman. Another, whom she calls Tracker Angel, assisted her when He led her to minister overseas. She says God sent this angel to help “track my progress, as an element of protection, and to let me know where to go and what to do.”

“Guardian angels are assigned at conception,” she says. “And we have evidence of that with the angel Gabriel coming to speak to Mary about her being pregnant with Jesus, and also with the angel coming to speak with Elizabeth about her pregnancy. We see this in the Word of God.”

All angels are fire angels because “fire is around the throne of God, and they are around Him,” Smithyman says. “They are there in heaven, and heaven is filled with fire, purity and holiness.”

“But different-colored angels bring different aspects of healing to our bodies,” she adds. “So different angels, based on color, function in different ways.” The back matter of Angels of Fire contains a healing chart that describes each angel’s function.

Spirit-filled believers can also partner with angels for the end-times revival, Smithyman says. “First, we have to know and recognize that the Holy Spirit on the inside of us is the Word of God being spoken. So when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit. And the word ‘fire’ in the Hebrew is the word kole. This is also the word used for ‘voice.’ When we speak the Word of God—when the Holy Spirit speaks in and through us—and when we’re actually speaking the Word of God, that word is the word kole in the Hebrew, which means ‘spark.’

“As we speak, fire starts; the angels of fire come to join where the fire of God is,” she says. “They will come alongside the words being spoken. They will come alongside the Holy Spirit on the inside of us, and they will meet us there; and then they will begin to start doing the work of the Lord in the earth.

“And so we have a job to know not only who we are, but who the angels are; they are just a different species called to make a difference in the earth today,” Smithyman says. “When we learn to partner with this angelic species, we’re going to start seeing some great releases of glory in the earth. God’s awakening and quickening us to be able to participate with angels so we’re working alongside one another.”

Move in the Supernatural

God continues to open new avenues for Smithyman to spread her message of bringing heaven to earth. She hosts the Manifest His Presence podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network to teach people how to manifest the presence of God and tap into the things of heaven. She also offers training through Charisma Courses at and other courses featured on her website, where she has a School of the Supernatural.

As the founder of Dream Mentors International, , Smithyman also offers personal mentoring. “My biblical life coaching school helps biblical life coaches and transformational life coaches learn how to be really good disciplers and how to be coaches, so they can help other people in their time of need and walk them through problems and issues that they have in their life,” she says. She also offers counseling for a variety of spiritual, emotional, social and physical issues. To learn more, email her at info@.

“We’ve suffered so much, especially over the last couple of years, with COVID-19 and the economy, and the state of our governments,” Smithyman says. “People want hope—they need hope. And I believe that’s exactly where God wants us to be. He wants us to be hungry for goodness, purity, righteousness, love and holiness.

“And so I believe that our earth is really groaning for what is important to the Lord,” she says. “And He wants to make us very aware of that by revealing to us the power of the angels and how we can work alongside them. … they’re agents God has sent to bring us that hope and to help us bring change in the earth.”

The kingdom of heaven is being made manifest in the earth, Smithyman says, and the difficulties we’ve experienced have made us more open to participate with each other and with angels to manifest change.

“If you’ll just open up your eyes, and you’ll open up your heart, you will be able to tap into what is going to carry you every single day. Not only in the realm of hope, but also in the realm of future; it’s going to empower you for purpose, empower you for destiny, empower you for the greater release of the glory in the earth. And I believe the Lord wants us to be in unity with that.” {eoa}

Samantha Carpenter is a copy editor for Charisma Media.

Stuck in Stage One

A major problem in God’s family is the number of people who become born again but won’t move ahead in God’s purposes for them. Salvation, as priceless as it is, is just the entryway into the Father’s house. The purpose isn’t to hang around just inside the door. You can’t receive an inheritance in the foyer. Jesus said that in His Father’s house are many mansions. He wants us to run in and explore the rest of the house! He wants us to check out every room on every floor, every corner, every fixture and piece of furniture. Why? Because we own it with Him!

In the prodigal son parable, when the wandering son returned home with a repentant heart, people filled the house with feasting, preparation and celebration. They owned the place, so to speak. They felt comfortable there, empowered, free to celebrate and serve. That is our calling as well. Many believers stall at the front door and somehow become convinced that salvation is the only thing they have gained and that their greatest challenge is to stay saved until they go to heaven. How tragic! Being born again to your revelation of royalty is just the beginning of your lifestyle of living in the promises here on the earth. You are supposed to get all the promises of Dad’s house!

If there were a second part to the prodigal son parable (and perhaps in heaven there is), I have no doubt it would show the younger son ruling and reigning over his father’s estate. Why do we know this?

Because his father gave him the royal robe and ring, signaling it was time for him to implement the father’s will over the father’s realm. Having realized and understood his royalty, the younger son was prepared to rule well, while the older son still had lessons to learn to get him out of a toiling, begging, deprived mindset. This is an amazing parable about your identity and what happens to you when you have a revelation of royalty and insist on your true identity. We all should aspire to be like the once-prodigal son.

Royal Peace and Wisdom

Proverbs 8 assures us that by wisdom kings rule and rulers decree justice (v. 15). When a king or queen’s image is right, the wisdom of God pours through his or her decision-making. Every king and queen, ruler and lord must operate in wisdom. God will not pour through a person with a bad self-image, or the decisions themselves will be tainted and unjust. The prophet Isaiah describes the kind of government Jesus would establish, and we would administer, on the earth:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end” (Isa. 9:6-7, KJV).

God’s government is described here as wonderful, full of perfect counsel, mighty, everlasting, full of peace, ever-increasing. That’s because the King Himself is wonderful, full of perfect counsel, mighty, everlasting and full of peace. When we see Him for who He is, we see ourselves for who He made us to be. Our images align, and we govern in these ways.

This is why Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). He was reaffirming the very thing God spoke in Genesis 1:28 when He created Adam and Eve: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” His plan for humanity has never changed. Establishing His kingdom is even the basis of our prayer life, according to Jesus.

Our purpose as the church is to bring God’s government into authority upon the earth. This government of God is more powerful than any other government that has existed or will ever exist. It is time for believers to rise into their identity of royalty and govern extraordinarily in every sphere of society. It is time for the church to finish what Adam started and operate in the fruitful dominion of the kingdom of God here and now.

This has been excerpted from Chapter 2 of Revelation of Royalty: Rediscovering Your Royal Identity in Christ (Charisma House). {eoa}

Dr. Bill Winston is the founder and senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center, the founder and president of the nationally accredited Joseph Business School and the founder of Bill Winston Ministries. Learn more at .

“It’s almost like I’m racing home to spend time with Him.”

Crystal Williams couldn’t always say that about spending time with God.

“I never thought I would feel this way about God,” she tells Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “I loved Him and everything. But it’s totally different now.”

The transformation happened for one simple reason: Even during the hard times, Williams kept making choices to spend time with God. “He talks to me; I talk to Him. And then there are some times where we’re just quiet. And just His presence—I feel and I know that He’s here.

Crystal says this deep relationship with God is something people must experience to understand. “You will not understand until you’ve been in His presence. And I encourage everybody to reach for His presence. It’s not isolated to just Me; He offers it for everyone.”

But Williams is not immune to spiritual drought. In fact, like many of us, she faced it during the COVID-19 lockdown when she found herself afraid to go to sleep at night. But in the time she spent with the Lord, which included prayer and a 40-day fast, He renewed her faith by giving her Scriptures to cling to, she says. “Perfect love casts out all fear. And God hasn’t given me the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. … He gave me different things to fight with. So my confidence started to build up a little bit more.”

Those Scriptures and the deep relationship with God that came through this time, she says, led her to the writing of her brand-new book, Hear My Cry O God! The Principles to Overcoming a Crisis, available wherever fine books are sold.

“I just want everyone to know they’re never stuck in a situation,” she says. “First Corinthians 10:13 states that God is faithful to us. … Each test is an opportunity for us to trust God more with every trial.

For much more from Crystal Williams on the power of God’s presence to transform your trials, listen to the entire episode of Greenelines at this link, and subscribe to Greenelines on your favorite podcast platform for more inspiring stories. {eoa}

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Early Monday morning, July 26, 2021, I woke up to a vivid but strange dream. In the dream, I was talking with a man named Jared. He resembled a Jared I used to know who gave himself to a debauched lifestyle. Jared was informing me that “Seth” had died. A tremendous sorrow came into the dream, and instantly the dream flashed to a scene from the nativity, then flashed back to Jared. Jared walked to a stairwell and began descending the stairs. I woke up feeling disturbed and unsure as to what I had just dreamed.

Interpretation

I asked the Lord, “Is this a personal word?”

He said, “No.”

Continuing in prayer, the idea occurred to me to search for these names in Scripture. I admit that I was not even sure if these names were biblical, so it was a great shock to discover that not only are these names in the Bible, but they are in the same chapter of the Bible: Genesis 5. Seth and Jared are listed in the lineage of Noah, and both are significant figures of the lineage.

Seth was Adam and Eve’s third child. Jared is the fourth generation from Seth; he’s Noah’s great-great-grandfather. I felt such an impression in my spirit from the Lord that Jared’s generation was the time corruption began to escalate in the world, which the Lord later confirmed. The nativity in the dream was a signaling to think of the coming of Christ Jesus, a direct reference to His first coming and an allusion to His return. Jesus said that “as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:37). I used to think this was only a reference to the “suddenly” of the flood—and certainly that is an overtone in His statement—yet I also believe this is a reference to the wickedness that typified Noah’s generation.

In short, I felt the Lord saying that the moral climate of the earth is tangibly shifting now to that of the days of the Son of Man. In coming weeks and months, I believe there will be clear events on the earth that demonstrate this change. This shift is to give clear evidence to the reality of His return. Finally, as I was praying into the dream, I also felt the Lord speak to me that the church is going to become glorious and grow at increased rates as the Lord pours out His Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17). This final point is no new revelation and has been spoken by prophets and scholars alike. The church is growing now at dazzling rates.

Confirmation

All day I asked the Lord to confirm the dream. You can imagine my awe at what happened next. Coming home, I logged into YouTube, and to my complete amazement, a video appeared on my home screen titled “The Days of Noah//The Coming of the Son” by a prophetic minister named Brian Guerin. A few things amaze me about this. The video was only three days old, so it was a fresh message. Also, I am only faintly familiar with Brian’s ministry, so it is surprising that YouTube’s algorithms decided to put this video on my homepage on this very day. Finally, the content of his message was almost identical to the message in my dream. I encourage you to watch Brian’s video here.

In his video, Brian confirms that the days of Jared were marked by a shift into debauchery. This is evidenced in the book of Enoch, and while the book of Enoch is not the inspired Word of God, Brian points out that the Word of God does make mention to the book of Enoch in the book of Jude (Jude 14-15), thus granting Enoch merit. The highlights of Brian’s message are nearly identical to the dream: The days are getting darker; a great harvest is coming; and Jesus is coming back very soon.

Application

I’m sure the Lord has been speaking to many of you about these things already. The Lord will give witness to His Word through His whole body, and he will show you how this word is given application to your life. What felt unique to me about this dream had to do with the “now” time we are in where we will see decline in the world’s moral compass as well as the glory of Christ in the church. What I believe the Lord is saying to the church is a message of encouragement as well as awareness. Apocalyptic hype that begets fear and self-preservation in God’s people is not from the Lord. We know that as the return of Jesus approaches, the enemy is going to lash out like a cornered animal. But remember that he is already defeated, and his inevitable demise is very close (Rev. 12:12).

Finally, I have to say, God’s end-times words should create an urgent cry for evangelism. Jesus did not say “go into all the world and hide in a bunker with AR rifles and military rations,” but “go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19a). Scripture explicitly links the elongation of Christ’s return time with His burning compassion for the lost and His unrelenting fervor for all to receive the gospel before it is too late (2 Pet. 3:9).

Get ready for shifts in the world’s spiritual climate. Get ready for God’s power. Get ready for Jesus’s return. The Lord bless you and keep you. Maranatha! {eoa}

David Emfinger serves as a missionary in Selma, Alabama. He graduated from Asbury Seminary in 2018 with an M.A. in intercultural studies. He also completed Global Awakening School of Supernatural Ministry from 2019-2020.

As President Joe Biden wrestles over whether to end the United States’ embargo against Cuba—which originated in 1958 but was augmented several times until 1962 when it was extended to include almost all imports—the island nation 90 miles from Key West, Florida continues to see unrest.

Now is the time to pray. In December 2019, I had a vision of the embargo against Cuba ending in the short-term. Remember, most of the people alive today did not choose this government or this rule of law. This is a behemoth spirit spreading the ideology of communism.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said recently “almost all the countries in the world” are against the U.S. embargo.

“It is not conceivable that in these times they want to punish an independent country with a blockade,” Lopez Obrador said.

“I think that President Biden must make a decision about it. It is a respectful call, from no point of view of interference, but we must separate the political from the humanitarian.”

Could this be Cuba’s moment of liberty in more ways than one? We need to pray.

Awakening Prayer Hubs invites you to join a hub, launch a hub or sponsor a hub to be part of the solution in your city and nation. Will you pray with me at this kairos time?

Repent for the sins of the nation. This is called identificational repentance, such as Daniel entered over Israel in Daniel 9.

Thank God for the stirring that has arisen in Christians around the globe to stand together in prayer for unity and the freedom of Cuba (see 1 Cor. 1:10).

Thank God for demonstrating His great love for the Cuban people who are suffering under the hand of a behemoth called communism. Each person is on His heart and mind, and He is catching their tears in a bottle and hearing their cries for help (Ps. 34:17, 56:8).

Pray that Christ will be exalted in Cuba (Ps. 46:10).

Pray against an international escalation over Cuba that could lead to World War III.

Pray that as the Cuban people have put their foot down and have had enough of the oppression and lack of food, necessities of living that God would put His foot down, reach down and deliver the Cuban people (Matt. 18:18-20, 1 Pet. 3:12).

Pray for the miracle of the embargo be lifted in such a way that the Cuban government is still held accountable but the Cuban people do not suffer without (Matt. 16:19).

Pray for natural and spiritual freedom for the Cuban people as you have intended all people to have the freedom to choose you and follow you (Rom. 8:21).

Pray for economic freedom for the Cubans so that they will prosper in their land (Jer. 29:11).

Pray for a free government severed from communism that holds them down from their God-given potential and purpose (Isa. 10:1).

Pray for the safety of Christians in Cuba; hide them under Your wing. Let them be hidden and not seen by the current government (Ps. 91:4).

Pray signs and wonders follow the believers there as they step out and lay hands and pray for people (Mark 16:17).

Pray the Holy Spirit will move and hover over Cuba, doing a mighty work in the hearts of leaders and the Cuban population alike (Gen. 1:2, Prov. 21:1).

Pray God will all the seeds planted by past evangelism teams. Let there be great fruit that comes forth from the love poured out. Let that love spread like wildfire (1 Cor. 3:6-9).

Pray God will strengthen and refresh all your people that are already with their feet on the ground in Cuba Lord. Let them be emboldened to follow where you lead (Phil. 1:14, 1 Thess. 2:2).

Pray Cuba to be set free from the hand of the enemy over their nation. We say to Satan, “Let the Cuban people go in Jesus’ name” (Ex. 5:1).

Pray the Lord will grace us to contend to the end until we see awakening and revival in Cuba (1 Chron. 16:11).

Awakening Prayer Hubs is looking for 1,000 prayer warriors to raise up as intercessory prayer leaders in the nations. With 300 leaders in over 30 nations, could you be next? {eoa}

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As I attempt to wrap my mind around what God is doing in the earth in the last days through many different streams of ministries, I am reminded of Habakkuk 2:14 that says, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas.”

The word “filled” means filled to the point of overflowing, and the word “knowledge” means that the body of Christ will become an eyewitness, having firsthand experience of the glory of God.

As we step into this prophetic promise being catapulted into this magnitude of the glory of God, it will be likened to the mighty Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is known to be made up of over 90 different tributaries. When I consider the coming revival glory, I cannot help but believe that the greatest move of God the earth will ever see cannot and will not be fulfilled by one isolated ministry. Instead, it will be fulfilled by the convergence of revival streams across the earth, flowing as one mighty river of revival that contends for the great harvest of souls.

If I had to define it in one word, it would be “synergy,” which is defined as multiplied power through combined force. The body of Christ is better together.

I recently had the honor of attending the “Fire Conference” at the River at Tampa Bay Church in Tampa, Florida, with Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne. Nicknamed the “Holy Ghost Bartender,” many in his church meetings break out in laughter and are drunk in the Spirit like the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

I want to caution all believers to be careful not to judge a ministry based on social media, the news or what you may find on the internet. Howard-Browne, of Revival Ministries International, has preached in 85 nations and has been instrumental in 37 million souls coming to Jesus. Howard-Browne took one of the strongest stands for the church during the pandemic, leading to his arrest March 30, 2020, for keeping his church open. This spiritual warfare would lead to the current breakthrough of erecting the incredible 100,000 square-foot pavilion that was built on the River at Tampa Bay Church property where nightly meetings are held called the “The Stand!”

It is one of America’s symbols of hope that the church will stand even for those unable to stand for themselves. It is also a symbol that the gospel of Jesus Christ will go forth, and the gates of hell shall not prevail. I can relate on a smaller scale to this attack on the church and tyrannical behavior of governmental authorities that warrants the need for The Stand! In May 2020, the governor of New Mexico ordered the New Mexico State Police to serve me with a cease-and-desist order for refusing to close New Hope Revival Church in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, during the pandemic. Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton executed the historical act of deputizing our entire church exempting us from the governor’s orders.

Revival glory in the last days will be a convergence of many revival streams. Having never been to River Church International allowed me to give you an unbiased perspective as an eye witness of what I experienced. Each night, worship filled the atmosphere for hours. The presence of God swept across the pavilion before Howard-Browne ever said a word.

Spontaneous laughter would break out in many sections of the pavilion. While some struggle with the idea of Holy Spirit-laughter in a service, allow Scripture to penetrate your soul. Psalm 37:12 says, “The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.” Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God does not mean eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

In one service, not only was there joyful laughter but the entire atmosphere shifted in the pavilion. The only way I can describe it is that it was like the center of the pavilion opened spiritually, and the fire of heaven invaded the field. Some took off running around the field.

While some were laughing, my wife was weeping uncontrollably under the power of God. It was like God entrusted Howard-Browne to harness the fire of God in his hands as a delivery system of God’s power. He randomly called people up without touching them, rearing back like he was throwing a baseball as the fire of God filled his hands, and at the moment of release, some were struck down to the floor.

I saw the fire of God pick people up and thrust them into their chairs or on the floor. Many had no clue Howard-Browne was near them as their eyes were closed, but upon release of the holy fire of God, their bodies jolted and responded in sync with what was happening in the Spirit. There is absolutely no chance that these encounters were manufactured by any man; only God Himself could move in such power.

Howard-Browne called up all pastors who would like to receive prayer. My wife and I went up and took our position at the altar. Almost every pastor was cut down at the knees like an ax laid at the bottom of a tree. My wife collapsed under the power of God and her prayer language shifted. She described it as a fire ball striking the top of her head, moving into her innermost being.

The weighty glory of God was upon my body as I could not move. Every limb felt heavy. I tried to get up, and I was pinned to the Astro-Turf of the field.

Be careful not to judge this stream of revival prematurely. As an eye witness of the move of God at River at Tampa Bay Church, this was certainly a different manifestation of the streams of revival in the service, but the effects were the same. While on the floor under the weightiness of God’s glory, I can attest that this was the exact manifestation happening in my body that I felt when Pastor John Kilpatrick of the Great Brownsville Revival prayed for me on two separate occasions. This is also the manifestation of the glory of God that I felt on a Sunday morning in our home church, where the Glory of God came into the service and wiped me out on the platform, leading to a transformational two-month long nightly revival in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

We must have every stream of revival converging if we desire to see the mighty river of revival sweep America like we are contending for. Some may make the claim that what is happening at the River at Tampa Bay Church is just people brainwashed under Howard-Browne.

Please allow me to deflate your argument by saying that my children, ages 9 and 7, attended children’s church during the “Fire Conference” and have testimonies of the same experiences with God. At this point, my children have been slain in the Spirit four times. A number of kids broke out in laughter; one child’s foot was healed; and one child felt moved to take the shoes off his feet and give them to the Lord in the offering.

The children testify of the same revival fire! {eoa}

Dr. Caleb Cooper is the author of Pioneering Prophetic Patterns of Purpose, Jesus Focused Awakening Endtime Prophetic Strategy, The Convergence of Revival and the King’s Arrival, The Call For Strong Godly Leadership and the contributing author of Igniting Revival Fire Every Day. They are available at , and . Cooper is the host of the Uncompromised Revival Fire podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.

As the cancel culture rises, and the political left gains control, Americans’ First Amendment rights seem all but forgotten. Former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who also served as a U.S. senator and as the ambassador for religious freedom under the Trump administration, says we can bring them back—but it will take what he calls “a movement of the people at the grassroots level.”

Americans take those rights for granted, Brownback tells Charisma founder and CEO Steve Strang in a recent interview for the Strang Report podcast. “And I think, People, just look. It’s in our Constitution,” he says. “It’s in the First Amendment. We had The Free Exercise Clause; we really originated the concept for the government’s implementation of it. And we just think it’s part of our DNA, part of who we are.”

Brownback says this is where former President Ronald Reagan’s statement in his 1967 inaugural address as governor of California comes true: “Freedom is a fragile thing, and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”

“Freedom is only a generation away from being lost at any time,” Brownback says. “And that can be true even with our religious liberty in this country, as people in the culture now say, ‘Well, we don’t like your values, and we don’t think you should bring your values into the public square.'”

This is true even though The Free Exercise Clause attached to the First Amendment of the Constitution grants us that authority, he adds.

“I think it’s something we’ve got to become far more aggressive about pursuing—doing it peacefully, doing it in an encouraging way,” Brownback says. “But we’ve got to stand up for these rights, or you’re going to quickly start seeing all adoption centers closed down if they won’t do same-sex adoptions; maybe hospitals shut down if they won’t do transgender surgeries; maybe pharmacists not being able to practice if they won’t prescribe abortion drugs. You’re going to continue to see those threats and pushes in the culture.”

Brownback says it’s time for us to stand up and say no. “If you’re a person of sincere faith, and you want to peacefully practice your faith, you are entitled under our Constitution and under our laws, and this is good for the country.

“If you’re going to have a pluralistic, diverse society, you have to protect the minority views along with the majority views, as long as these are peacefully practiced,” he adds. “And this is what we built this very diverse nation around: the protection of everybody’s right to peacefully be who they want to be, including if you want to be a committed Christian.”

Brownback also say many on the left no longer act in a democratic way.

They’re acting against the First Amendment right of freedom of speech,” he says. “I remember years ago, the Vietnam War was just tailing off. And Jane Fonda came to speak at the college campus that I was I was on, and she was a controversial figure toward the end of the Vietnam War. And one person was there saying, ‘You know, I would defend my dying breath for her right to get up there and say what she sees fit,’ even though he diametrically disagreed with what she was saying at the time.

“It needs to be that way now,” Brownback says. “That’s a hallmark of an open society, this ability to freely debate controversial ideas. … I think we’ve got to get back to these first principles. I think we have to have a discussion with the nation on why it’s so important that we have free speech, why it’s so important that we have religious freedom. And you may not agree with me, but you have the right to say what’s on your mind and to peacefully express it. And I think we’re going to have to get back to the basics of why this is so important.”

For more from Brownback on First Amendment rights, religious freedom and what we can do to return to the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, listen to this entire episode of the Strang Report here. Subscribe to the Strang Report on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform for more stories that will inspire and inform you in the power of the Holy Spirit. {eoa}

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For more information on how you can fight back against cancel culture, make sure to get a copy of what Charisma founder and CEO Stephen Strang says is his most important book yet. God and Cancel Culture releases Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day, wherever fine books are sold. Pre-order it at and, for a limited time, receive $120 worth of gifts, including four e-books and a subscription to Charisma magazine.