When I came to salvation, I had an unquenchable hunger for the presence of God. A chronic dependency on Him and a ravenous spiritual appetite consumed me, so I consumed every morsel from the Master’s banquet.

I answered God’s call to arms and enlisted for service. However, nobody gets to swan through God’s preparation academy. Salvation is only the entry point of Christianity. He will forge you into a furnace of arduous training, as seen in Isaiah 48:10. Even the apostle Paul said that he was sent a demon to buffer him.

If you do not respond to the stretching process correctly, you will not have the capacity to navigate the vision you were given, as the apostle John so eloquently stated in John 12:24. Inducted into His militaristic boot camp will prove to be the most daunting of challenges.

To make yourself into malleable clay in His hands demands everything. You learn to ignore your sense of what is possible in your quest for spiritual height. You become flexible to get closer to God, stretching your essence, stretching your soul.

In your transformative experience, the Holy Spirit will, like a drill instructor, shape your profile into a vessel of honor. If you are not rich in discipline, you will hit the threshing floor a casualty.

Your life must be of the things of God. Don’t stop at the cross; kill your flesh. This is your moment if you are wise enough to seize it.

An olive must be crushed before the oil can flow forth; the same principle applies to the oil of anointing on your life. The price you are prepared to pay will determine the level of power you will display.

Listen to Encounter Now on the Charisma Podcast Network, where I reveal further insight on Are You Possessing Your Promise? by clicking on the link here. {eoa}

Leon du Preez, as founder and president of Encounter Churches and Encounter Global Network, carries a mantle and role of a prophet within the body of Christ. He has successfully planted Encounter Churches, with record growth and attendance. Leon’s ministry and Encounter Church is followed by notable signs, wonders and miracles, especially prophecy. He has been recognized as a divine gift and endorsed by senior ministers and prophets of prophets. His God-given mandate is reaching millions across the globe, through TV, conferences and church planting as he imparts a prophetic mantle to ministers and leaders for a fresh vision in their ministries.

David claimed that God keeps a record of every tear we shed in His “book” (see Ps. 56:8). Surely, that was a reference to the “Book of Life,” a concept found only in Judaism and Christianity.

Since God is omniscient—and He knows all things past, present and future—why would He need a book or a registry of all His people? Could this just be poetic and metaphorical, a symbol God uses to compare a heavenly truth to an earthly object to make it more understandable on a human level? Or is it literal? Only God knows for sure.

The “Book of Life” is mentioned 16 times in the Bible. It is first cited in Exodus 32. Moses had been on Mount Sinai, communing with God and receiving the tablets of stone bearing Yahweh’s handwriting. But while Moses was away from the camp, the children of Israel, just 40 days after hearing the audible voice of God declare the Ten Commandments from fiery Mount Sinai, brazenly broke the first two—creating an idol (a golden calf) and dancing around it in a demonic frenzy of false worship. God was minded toward destroying them all and raising up a new nation from Moses’ seed. But this great prophet of Israel interceded:

“Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written” (Ex. 32:31-32).

After such a self-sacrificing plea, God changed His mind, pouring out mercy on Israel instead of judgment. However, God did add, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book” (Ex. 32:33).

Centuries later, David mentioned this book in his poetic masterpiece, Psalm 139, confessing to God:

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (v. 16).

So apparently, the Book of Life contains, not only names, but a detailed prophetic forecast of the potential, the purpose and the destiny of every person in covenant with God. The steps of good men and women are “ordered of the Lord” (Ps. 37:23). It is up to us to prayerfully become sensitive to His revealed will and then boldly walk in it.

When Jesus sent out His 70 disciples to preach the kingdom of God with signs and wonders, they came back thrilled over the manifestation of God’s power, declaring, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17). Jesus responded, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven … Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:18-20). There is no greater joy than being included.

The book of Revelation contains the most references to this famed book. In it, the resurrected Savior declares to the church in Sardis:

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Rev. 3:5).

This and other passages reveal that our goal is not to get our names written in God’s book but to make sure they are never blotted out. Does that mean that every living person in this world starts out included in that heavenly registry, but those who rebel against truth are erased? It seems so. In this case, the old hymn didn’t exactly get it right:

“There’s a new name written down in glory, and it’s mine, oh yes, it’s mine.”

The idea crafted by that song was this: As soon as a person gets saved (born again), his or her name is “written down” in God’s book in the heavenly sphere. Not so, according to the passages already mentioned.

In Revealing the True Light on Charisma Podcast Network, I fully examine all the Scriptures pertaining to this mysterious subject. You will be intrigued and blessed by this study. {eoa}

Mike Shreve has studied comparative religion most of his life. Before his conversion to Christianity in 1970, he was a teacher of yoga at four universities and running a yoga ashram, then Jesus revealed Himself. Now his outreach website is impacting seekers in over 70 nations. It is filled with relevant articles and testimonies. Visit today.

David “Racer” Botkin reached the top ranks of rodeo announcing, but Racer fell hard when life exposed his weakness.

Racer said, “I had my life in the wrong order. I put Christ into my life but failed to put my life into Christ.”

We all know that if Christ is not first, everything is out of order. When Jesus is just a good luck charm, we expect everything to be perfect, except us.

Many men are heroes at work and zero help at home. Our guest on this episode of 5-Fold Unplugged on Charisma Podcast Network was celebrated on the road and only tolerated at home. He lived for himself and wanted everyone else to follow his lead.

Racer said, “I made a living but never made a life.”

We know that genuine life comes from Christ. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4, NKJV).

Racer Botkin suffered an emotional crash several times in his life. Join us for this powerful testimony and hear how God rescued this ex-rodeo superstar and planted him back on top of the real estate industry. {eoa}

Thomas McDaniels is a husband, pastor, dad and grandfather. He is also a public speaker, author and podcast host. Listen to his podcast, 5-Fold Unplugged, on Charisma Podcast Network. Thomas has written for Church Leaders and currently writes for Charisma Media outlets. Thomas is the founder of and the guy behind . You can find Thomas on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

America hangs at the precipice. 2020 has been a most pivotal year and now we stand at the precipice, approaching the most pivotal election of our lifetime—the moment of decision. It will determine the future of this nation and even of the world.

It will either extend the window of grace America has to return to the Lord—or it will shut that window and seal its departure from God and its progression to judgment. For those who know the biblical template of national judgment as I have written of in The Harbinger, the danger of judgment coming to America is very real.

We have never been divided as we are now—so much so that our very national fabric is now in danger of unraveling. The issues before us in this election have never been as stark. One agenda seeks to uphold biblical morality—the other will oppose it. One agenda seeks to uphold the life of the unborn—the other seeks to expand their murder. One agenda seek to protect religious freedom and the preaching of the gospel—the other will ultimately seek to bring it to an end. We have never been at such a dangerous and critical moment.

If we do nothing to oppose the darkness, to shine the light, then we will be accountable before God, for the fate of the lost, for the next generation, and for the blood of millions. If you are able to vote—you must. But beyond voting at the ballot box, the most powerful thing we can do is to vote in the presence of God with your prayers and intercession.

Therefore, I am compelled to call for a Day of Prayer and Fasting on the exact day of decision—Nov. 3, 2020. Let us make this Election Day, the day of God’s election—the Day of Prayer and Fasting. One month ago millions of believers came before the Lord in prayer according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. It has been a season of prayer, a call from the Lord. Let us now seal it all on the day of this most critical election. Spread the word, spread this article, tell your friends, your pastors, your loved ones, commit that day in your homes, on your jobs, in your churches, your fellowships, to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek His face and to turn from our evil ways, that He will hear from heaven and answer us.

Let us pray that in all these things, the will of God will be done, and that He will elect to government those of His choosing, and that no matter what it takes, revival will come to this land. {eoa}

Daniel Kolenda knows what ministry success looks like. But rather than resting on the past, the fiery world-renowned evangelist and successor to Reinhard Bonnke at Christ for all Nations is moving into the future with Holy Spirit power—and a God-ordained mandate.

“At CfaN, we’ve seen more than 80 million people come to Christ over the last 34 years,” Kolenda tells Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “And we’ve held huge evangelistic campaign around the world—we are still doing that, by the way.”

But a little over a year ago, Kolenda says God put it on his heart that “We need to have a base, a home community. … It wasn’t so much that I sat down and said, ‘I want to plant a church,’ … I felt an ultimatum from the Lord, saying, ‘Are you going to do what I’ve asked you to do? Are you going to steward well what I’ve already put in your hands?'”

Kolenda realized that the process of evangelizing, then discipling and creating community for people is also called a local church. He also the many people coming to Christ through CfAN’s various Orlando, Florida, ministries (School of Ministry, Evangelism Bootcamp and more) and trusted God’s direction to plant a church there. Nations Church, , still in pre-launch stage, will hold its launch service Aug. 15. While many churches report struggles across the country in the wake of the pandemic and its resurgence, “We’re closing in on 1500 launch members,” he says.

“The word the Lord gave me was ‘multiply,'” Kolenda adds. “I don’t want to just be the next Reinhard Bonnke. … I want to see the next 100,000 Reinhard Bonnkes raised up around the world. And I believe we’re on the threshold of the greatest harvest of history.

“And what Reinhard was and what Billy Graham was and T.L. Osborn and so many of these great men, I believe they were prototypes,” Kolenda says. “They were examples. But now in this next generation, it’s going to fall upon sons and daughters. Many of them, you won’t even know their names, but God will raise them up, and they will lead multitudes into the kingdom.

“These are the days of harvest. I really believe that as the church, we’ve got to rise up and grab it for Calvary’s sake.”

For much more from Daniel Kolenda about evangelism, discipleship and how you can join the ongoing work of the Nations Church plant, listen to the entire episode of Greenelines here, and subscribe to Greenelines on your favorite podcast platform for more stories like this one. Visit for more information on how you can pray and participate in Kolenda’s exciting new venture. {eoa}

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Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, bestselling author of The Harbinger II and many more titles, presents a new teaching, “In the Shadow of the Tree,” in this video from Hope of the World Ministries. He speaks from the Song of Songs, pointing to the book’s unusual nature and revealing the spiritual realm of this famous love song about God—your beloved—and you.

“If you’re a man, don’t let this throw you … we need God as a bride needs a bridegroom. We are joined to Him,” Cahn says. He continues with a detailed exposition of Song 2:3a, “As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men.”

The bride is saying, “There’s nobody like my beloved,” Cahn explains.

To discover the vital nature of this truth, what it means for today’s believers and its prophetic connection to the cross and to Jesus, the Messiah, watch the video here.

Read articles like this one and other Spirit-led content in our new platform, CHARISMA PLUS.

Here’s a quick summary of the top stories on :

Michael Gungor, Atheism and the Great Falling Away

Michael Gungor is the latest Christian celebrity to denounce Christ, part of the unfortunate fulfillment of a prophetically-inspired question I posed nearly a decade ago announcing the great falling away is underway.

The popular Christian alternative rock musician is a full-blown atheist now. And his wife has followed him into his apostasy. A meme is circulating around Instagram in which Gungor insists, “Jesus was Christ. Buddha was Christ. Muhammad was Christ. Christ is a word for the Universe itself. You are Christ. We are the body of Christ.”

Blasphemy! This is a doctrine of demons! He’s not the first. A growing number of “visible” Christians have turned their back on Christ—and for all those with name recognition, there are likely thousands upon thousands more who have strayed from His heart.

Through Churches Like Hillsong Atlanta, Facebook Says It’s Now Targeting ‘The Religious Experience’

Of all of the Big Tech venues, guess who says they are now targeting the “religious experience” in America? And take a wild guess at who is reporting on it.

It’s Facebook, and it’s The New York Times. That’s not a misprint.

The New York Times, long considered one of the most liberal media outlets in the world, published what many Christians might deem a very odd story by Elizabeth Dias. It described how Facebook had made a proposition to pastor Sam Collier of Hillsong’s new church in Atlanta, which opened within the past year, “to use the church as a case study to explore how churches can ‘go further’ on Facebook.”

Veterans Affairs Plus New York City, California Mandate Vaccinations for Health Care Workers

The Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency on Monday to require vaccination for its 115,000 health care workers. The American Medical Association and 56 other leading medical organizations are now calling for mandatory vaccinations for workers at all health care settings, including nursing homes nationwide.

California will soon require vaccination or negative weekly COVID tests for state and health care workers. New York City will also mandate vaccines or tests for municipal workers, including teachers and health care workers, and urging private employers to require shots.

“It’s quite clear the delta variant has changed the game,” said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D). “We need to move to stronger measures.” {eoa}

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The U.S. Supreme Court once shamefully ruled that the government had the right to forcibly sterilize “undesirables.” The 1927 Buck v. Bell case was used as a weapon to eliminate allegedly undesirable populations.

Sterilization, contraception and abortion arose out of the eugenics movement. Francis Galton, a British scientist and cousin of Charles Darwin, coined the term “eugenics” in the 1880s and described it as “the science of improving … the more suitable races or strains of blood to give them a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable than they otherwise would have.”

The sinister goal of the eugenics movement was to eliminate “unfit” and “undesirable” people—those with alleged mental and physical inferiorities and to assign such attributes to various races.

Charles Darwin did not hide his eugenic inclinations, highlighting them in the very title of his 1859 book, The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life (emphasis added). And, in his subsequent book The Descent of Man, published in 1871, Darwin unabashedly revealed his insidious racist and white supremacist thinking.

Darwin described Australians, Mongolians, Africans, Indians, South Americans, Polynesians and even Eskimos as “savages,” insisting that white people are morally, mentally and physically superior.

Darwin wrote that savages have “low morality,” “insufficient powers of reasoning” and “weak power of self-command,” and are therefore akin to animals.

Darwin’s premise was absurd, but by the 1920s, Teddy Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Margaret Sanger and Adolf Hitler all openly agreed with Darwin and passionately advocated for eugenics to evolve a “superior” human race.

Sanger, Planned Parenthood’s founder, was one of the most outspoken members of the American eugenics movement. She argued that eugenics was “the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems.” Sanger praised sterilization as the “remedy” to the problem of “an increasing rate of morons.”

Between 1907 and 1922, a dozen states passed eugenic sterilization laws. One court, in Smith v. Wayne, upheld eugenic sterilization as a valid exercise of the state’s police power “based on the growing belief that, due to the alarming increase in the number of degenerates, criminals, feebleminded, and insane, our race is facing the greatest peril of all time.”

In 1927, the “science” of eugenics was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court under the Buck v. Bell ruling—allowing the government to forcibly sterilize those deemed “unfit.”

In Buck, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., wrote:

“It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of imbeciles are enough” (emphasis added).

By the 1950s, a sickening fact emerged—a disproportionate number of sterilized individuals, particularly in the South, were minorities.

But then the racist, eugenicist abortion scheme took full legal root in the infamous Roe v. Wade ruling.

— Today, 88% of Planned Parenthood’s “mega” abortion clinics are within walking distance of poor Black and brown neighborhoods.

— In New York City alone, statistics show that more Black babies are aborted every year than are born.

— And in 2009, then Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “Frankly I had thought that at that time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

Get your copy of our explosive amicus brief today, and fund the fight to defeat Roe v. Wade.

Liberty Counsel’s amicus brief now before the U.S. Supreme Court shows beyond any doubt that abortion in Roe v. Wade is a ruthless, racist device designed to eliminate unwanted “populations” that bigots like Sanger and Hitler despised.

Stand with us to overturn Roe v. Wade and abortion in America. {eoa}

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If God decides to usher in another spiritual awakening where the church comes alive and sinful man repents on a large scale, it will not be nice and tidy. All great moves of God have been controversial.

As a student of revivals, I understand that being “controversial” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. God is not predictable, and odd things can happen when a sinful person is overcome by the power of God.

Not Everything Done in God’s Name Bears His Approval

Some suggest that today’s battle is not so much against liberals in the church but against those who are “not open” to new prophecies and visions—those who “religiously hold to the written Word alone.”

This statement concerns me because it can be used to promote anything done in the name of the Lord. Granted, Acts 2:17 (NKJV) is relevant for us today, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” But this Scripture is balanced by 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Not everything done in God’s name bears His approval. We must look at the fruit.

For example, as I read The Journals of George Whitefield, the Welsh Revivals and the firsthand accounts of the First Great Awakening in America, I found that Pastor Jonathan Edward’s words were true. He observed that the work of the Holy Spirit would be evident because it would produce the right fruit:

— It would elevate the truth.

— It would exalt Christ.

— It would oppose Satan.

— It would point people to the Scriptures, and

— It would result in love for God and others.

Pastors must preach the totality of God’s Word, call out sin and correct error—holiness, not hysteria, should be sought. The result will be genuine fruit, not ungodly fanaticism.

Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day

A “prophet,” as mentioned in the Bible, can be anyone in a position of spiritual authority or claiming to be. They are not to be elevated or idolized. We follow Christ, not men. False teachers aren’t ostentatiously dressed in red, armed with pitchforks. They often look credible and talk convincingly; however, they bring destructive teachings into the church. They tend to avoid difficult truths such as sin, judgment and repentance, and focus on what people want to hear rather than what they need to hear. False teachers provide layers of truth mixed with error, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Today, when the truth of God’s Word is spoken, people are often offended because they’ve been conditioned to hear feel-good messages that do little in calling out sin. As a result, churches are filled with people whose lifestyles reflect little change. William Still said it well, “Many, who for the first time come under the sound of Holy Ghost preaching, are mortally offended … because they have never been exposed to the white light of the Spirit.”

Wisdom requires that we examine what is being sought and taught—that is, what’s the focus? Repentance, holiness, obedience and purity should be primary rather than boasting, blessings, abundance and prosperity.

The Word, Not Feelings, Is the Gauge for Truth

Jesus warns, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). There are false teachers within the church. We are encouraged to pray for wisdom and discernment. “Words from the Lord” should not supersede the Bible but, instead, confirm it. As Wayne Grudem once said: “Prophecy involves not authoritative Bible teaching, and not speaking words of God which are equal to Scripture, but rather reporting something which God spontaneously brings to mind.”

We hold religiously to the written Word because it is our guide—to test what is being said: “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). The speaker should be careful since his words must be under, or subject to, God’s Word. If those who look to the Word are accused of quenching and grieving the Spirit, we are reminded that Jesus used the Word of God for finality, discernment, and power. We must do the same.

A Final Word to Those Who Mislead

A false prophet intentionally misleads people by influencing them to act in a way contrary to God’s Word. False prophets also don’t apologize when wrong. Granted, even false prophets sometimes apologize to mask their mistake, but the apology is more of an excuse (“This is what I really meant”). False prophets are often flamboyant but lack godly character. They usually include the title of prophet or apostle on their business card. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they often focus on making money.

Have you been manipulating, conjuring or falsely misrepresenting the work of the Spirit? Don’t live your life with a question mark here. Those who are truly saved want to protect and honor the work of the Spirit. Don’t waste another minute living like this. Take time now and repent. God will rend the heavens and fill you with His Spirit. {eoa}

For more on the topic, see “The Battle for Truth—7 Unmistakable Traits of False Prophets.” excerpted from Shane Idleman‘s series on revival and his new book, Oh God, Would You Rend the Heavens? Understanding and Contending for a Genuine Spiritual Awakening. For more on this, click here.

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Coach Joe Kennedy, a former Washington state high school football coach, was fired in 2015 when his silent post-game prayers were joined by players and caught attention. Now it appears Kennedy’s prayers may have been answered as the Supreme Court considers hearing his case, according to a recent CBN article.

CNN reports that “later this fall, the justices will consider whether to take up the long-running case that involves Coach Joe Kennedy of the Bremerton School District in Washington, who alleged his rights were violated when the school district prohibited him from praying at the conclusion of football games.”

American Family Association Executive Vice President Ed Vitagliano commented on the case and the possibility that public prayer will be tried in the Supreme Court.

“It is absurd that in a country like America, with the sort of constitutional protections we have in the Bill of Rights, this travesty should ever have happened in the first place,” Vitagliano said. “However, we can certainly hope—and pray—that the Supreme Court finally begins to cut away the tangled reasonings of past rulings and set forth a clear affirmation of religious liberty.”

Kennedy prayed alone and silently, but his dedication to prayer caught the attention of both players on his team as well as the opposing team. When the 50-yard-line prayer became a regular occurrence, school officials—worried the district could be accused of endorsing religion—demanded the practice cease. When Kennedy continued, he was fired. Kennedy sued, saying the dismissal violated his First Amendment right to free speech. When 9th Circuit Court and appeals courts ruled for the school, Kennedy asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.

In 2019, the high court returned the case to the district court, stating more facts were needed. Justice Alito wrote, “The Ninth Circuit’s understanding of the free speech rights of public school teachers is troubling and may justify review in the future.” After a years-long battle through lower courts, the future has nearly arrived for Kennedy.

First Liberty Institute General Counsel Hiram Sasser, part of the team representing Kennedy, told Fox News they believe this time the Supreme Court will hear Kennedy’s case: “We are very confident, in light of Justice Alito’s previous statement regarding this case, that the Court will take this case and side with religious freedom. We anticipate asking the Court to take the case later in the Fall.”

“A man should be able to pray in public and not be punished for it,” Vitagliano said. “Period. It should not matter if that man is a high school coach, because Christians—and those from all faiths—should not be shamed for practicing their religion in the public square.”

For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission. Find AFA Action Alerts here. {eoa}

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