My wife and I recently stopped at a Chinese take-out to pick up lunch. In addition to the delicious smelling and tasting food was the ubiquitous fortune cookie.

Usually, their words of wisdom are merely innocuous ideals, often with rhyming words. But they do provide a momentary satisfaction to mankind’s quest to know the future.

But there is really only one reliable source for knowing and understanding what to do about the future and that little fast-food diner is not it.

People actually approach the future emotionally before they know or understand the facts. Consequently, they are often involuntarily moving toward the future with either fear or faith.

The New Testament says that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). The best way to develop faith about the unseen future is to acknowledge the universal sovereignty of God. He is in charge and rules (and overrules) the affairs of men and women.

This Sovereign of heaven often selectively reveals His plans for the future to trustworthy spokespersons (like Daniel, in the Old Testament) before they happen. Then, these prophetic seers share these words of insight, knowledge or faith for the future with others. The recipient can either accept or reject them and adjust their lives and actions accordingly.

God Guides the Future

The Old Testament Prophet Daniel lived five centuries before Jesus and served and advised four prominent kings and three kingdoms in a special role for over 70 years. Specifically, he served in the governments of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian.

First, he saw Nebuchadnezzar rise up in power and fall in disgrace, ending up eating grass like an ox before he humbly praised the Highest God and honored the King of heaven (Dan. 3:26-4:27). Apparently, the next king, Belshazzar (Dan. 5), was not as proud as Nebuchadnezzar, but he was more presumptuous and paid for it with his life.

After a bizarre event at a royal banquet, King Belshazzar called for Daniel to interpret some supernatural handwriting on a wall—the banquet guests actually saw a hand writing cryptic words “on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace” (Dan. 5:5b). The king acknowledged to Daniel that he had heard that “the Spirit of God is in you” and “light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you” (Dan. 5:14). After Daniel interpreted the cryptic words and their meaning, he was promoted to a high position.

Scripture relates that when King Darius (of the Medes and Persian dynasty) came into power, he preferred the prophet Daniel to be prime minister and lead as a kind of “chief among equals” with the other two presidents, with 120 princes serving under them to govern in regional areas. Daniel was preferred in these roles “because he had an excellent spirit within him” (Dan. 6:3).

Finally, Daniel saw Cyrus the Persian, whose name had been prophesied one hundred years before his rule (see Isaiah 44:28-45:1), become an instrument in God’s hands for rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and laying the foundation for the rebuilding of the Jewish temple there.

O King, Live Forever

Three times in the writings of Daniel we read the diplomatic words of entre, “O King, live forever” (Dan. 2:4, 6:6, 6:9). No mere human has the power to live forever or to design and guarantee their own futures. But the words appealed to the kings’ pride and vanity and got their attention for the courtier to have an audience with the king!

The COVID-19 pandemic proved that mankind is in a mess, everywhere and at the same time. We can’t control our own present, let alone our futures. As the predicted events of the “birth pangs” of even greater problems, which Jesus predicted (Matt. 24), are unfolding, we must acknowledge that there is a God in heaven, and He rules in the kingdoms and futures of men.

“In the days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44).

The calamities around us only continue as the God of heaven allows. One day soon, King Jesus is coming back to do away with the kingdoms of this world and to set up His kingdom of righteousness, where He will rule forever!

“Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to save those who eagerly wait for Him” (Heb. 9:28).

How are you approaching your future? I urge you to choose faith over fear, “cast your care on Him” and “eagerly wait” for His soon return. {eoa}

Gary Curtis served in full-time ministry for 50 years, the last 27 years of which he was part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the Van Nuys’ California Foursquare church. Now retired, Gary continues to write a weekly blog at and frequent articles for digital and print platforms. Gary and his wife live in Southern California and have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

In case you haven’t heard, House Democrats want to remove all gendered language from their legislation, while the prayer to open the 117th Congress ended with, “Amen and a-woman.” I kid you not. Who would make up something so insane?

Let’s start with the P.C. prayer, which has to be seen to be believed. It is offered in “the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma and ‘god’ known by many names by many different faiths.” And it concludes with, “Amen and a-woman,” as if the “men” of “amen” was somehow a gendered term.

How patriarchal and bigoted to use the “men” word in prayer.

Of course, “amen” comes from the common Semitic root ‘-m-n, with the word itself meaning, “So be it.” And it is used in Jewish, Christian and Islamic liturgy, being found in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Arabic (along with English and many other languages).

But who said being P.C. had anything to do with truth or reality? To the contrary, it is quite often based on the denial of reality, or, in this case, complete ignorance of a common word.

Following the logic of this prayer, we would have to learn new phrases like, “making awomends,” since “making amends” contains the dreaded m- word. Or, we would have to learn to be “awomenable,” lest we allow a male-dominated word like “amenable” to remain on the books. Go ahead; make up your own list of words containing “men.”

This Is Madness

Not to be outdone, though, House Democrats have revealed their new, “future-focused” rules, which include the following: “In clause 8(c)(3) of rule XXIII, gendered terms, such as ‘father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, grandson, or granddaughter’ will be removed.

“In their place, terms such as ‘parent, child, sibling, parent’s sibling, first cousin, sibling’s child, spouse, parent-in-law, child-in-law, sibling-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, half-sibling, or grandchild’ will be used, instead.”

So, this is what the future looks like? This is what it means to be inclusive?

A particular highlight of the new rules is this: “The Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman, for instance, is renamed in the rules to the ‘Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds.'”

How can you not love this? How creative! How futuristic! How absurd!

The best response was that of the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who tweeted,

This is stupid.

Signed,

– A father, son, and brother

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) January 2, 2021

Well Said, Stupid It Is

For others, however, these were bold and commendable reforms.

As expressed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (with reference to the entire rules package, in particular, with regard to Medicare), “End of Nov, the Progressive Caucus decided on a set of progressive rules reform priorities: Paygo reform and MTR reform ranked high on that list.

“So grateful to Chairman @RepMcGovern for helping us secure these reforms and setting the stage for us to push for bolder agenda.”

But as easy as it is to poke fun at this ridiculous proposal, it is highly significant when one of our major government institutions wants to remove all gendered language. As the saying goes, this does not end well.

Looking to Canada as a case in point, the Religious Tolerance website reported that “The Ontario Court of Appeals issued a decision on 2003-JUN-10 requiring the province of Ontario to provide marriage licenses to, and to register the marriages of, same-sex couples. However 73 pieces of existing legislation in the province violated this court ruling by referring to wife, husband, widow, widower and similar sex-related terms. In order to bring the legislation in synchronism with the court decision which legalized SSM [same-sex marriage], each of these laws had to be amended to include gender-neutral language.”

You might say, “So what’s the big deal? This is just technical, legal language. It hardly affects the person on the street.”

Not so. This reflects both a mindset and a legal logic, and these things reflect where a culture is headed.

Consequently, these things do trickle down, especially in the wake of the wave of transgender activism, where the war on gender-specific language becomes more pitched.

That’s why, in 2016, Canada passed Bill C-16, which critics claim was all about compelled speech, specifically with regard to charges of hate speech for failure to comply with transgender preferences.

The most famous critic was professor Jordan Peterson, who rose to international fame when he said in an October 2016 interview, “If they fine me, I won’t pay it. If they put me in jail, I’ll go on a hunger strike. I’m not doing this. I’m not using the words that other people require me to use. Especially if they’re made up by radical left-wing ideologues.”

Having studied the methods of totalitarian regimes for years, Peterson drew the line when it came to compelled speech. He knew all that it implied.

As to where this kind of legislation can go, in 2019, I spoke face to face with a Canadian man involved in a legal dispute over his daughter’s desire to transition to male. Not only did the court rule that he could not interfere with her getting hormone treatments, but he was forbidden to call his own daughter by her given, female name or to use female pronouns with reference to her, even in private, under penalty of immediate arrest.

And we have recently documented the new “hate speech” laws in Norway.

So, as laughable as the “a-woman” prayer might be, and as absurd as the House’s “gender-inclusive” rules might be, we should take both with complete seriousness and say, “Not on my watch.”

We can be compassionate to people in their struggles without engaging in gender madness. {eoa}

One of the things that I love about the Bible is that while each story we read is powerful on its own, every word of it is a part of the greater narrative of the story of Yeshua (Jesus).

As we read through the history of Israel, we find within it a history of G-D’s redemptive plan. Within each prophetic utterance runs a thread woven into the tapestry of G-D’s plan from the foundation of the world. So, when you and I read a verse, chapter, or book from the Bible, we must always first read the words for what they say on the surface. Then we should look for where it’s placed in the framework of G-D’s perfect plan.

Let me provide an example that you may not have considered in this way.

Why was Levi chosen to be the priestly tribe of Israel? It wasn’t because Levi was more righteous than his brothers. After all, Levi, along with his brother Simeon, deceived and murdered all of the men of Shechem, as we read in Genesis 34. Levi also went along with his brothers’ plan to sell Joseph into slavery. So, we can see that it was not because Levi lived a life that was more righteous than his brothers. Why then was Levi chosen to be the mediator, or intercessor, between the nation Israel and G-D? It is because of G-D’s mercy based upon Levi’s repentance as seen when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers.

To better understand this mercy, let’s look at the blessing Israel speaks over Simeon and Levi before his death in Genesis 49:5-8 (TLV):

“Simeon and Levi are brothers, instruments of violence are their knives. In their secret counsel may my soul not enter. In their contingent may my honor never be united. For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they maimed oxen. Cursed be their anger for it was strong and their rage for it was cruel—I will disperse them in Jacob, I will scatter them in Israel.”

Notice the mention of knives and scattering. The tribe of Levi became the priests of Israel who performed ritual animal sacrifices for all Israelites, and the tribe of Levi was scattered within Israel. They did not receive a land inheritance; rather, they lived within the inheritance of the other tribes. G-D, in His infinite mercy, reversed Levi’s history while fulfilling the words spoken by Levi’s father, Israel.

Levi received mercy and forgiveness. Levi was restored and was even raised up to serve G-D and G-D’s people. But, that forgiveness came with weighty responsibility. Levi sinned by shedding the innocent blood of men who had entered covenant with G-D. In His plan to provide Levi’s mercy, forgiveness, restoration and raising up, G-D required Levi to shed the innocent blood of animals for those who would enter covenant with G-D.

It is for this reason the body of believers are called to be both kings and priests. Every one of us, just like Levi, are sinners and, just like Levi, G-D had a plan for us to receive mercy, forgiveness, restoration and to be raised up. But, with that mercy, forgiveness, restoration and raising up comes responsibility. That responsibility is our calling to be priests in His kingdom. As we read in Isaiah 61:6, Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6. We must become intercessors and mediators for the Kingdom—not by sacrificing bulls and goats, but by fulfilling Romans 12:1:

“I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service.” {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is the author of Overcoming Fearlessness, What If Everything You Were Taught About the Ten Commandments Was Wrong?, With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.

A 21-year-old man who hid from police in an East Texas church was charged with first-degree murder and felony assault in a shooting that left the pastor dead and two other people injured Sunday, a local sheriff said.

Authorities had been using dogs and drones to search for the man late Saturday in woods near Winona following a car chase, and the pastor of the nearby Starrville Methodist Church discovered him hiding in a church bathroom Sunday morning, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said at a news conference.

Smith said police were initially pursuing the man because he was suspected of brandishing a shotgun through the sunroof of a Volkswagen Jetta he was driving Saturday. Authorities believe the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Mytrez Deunte Woolen of Marshall, Texas, broke into the church after police had left the area around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Pastor Mark Allen McWilliams, 62, drew a gun and ordered Woolen to stop, Smith said, but Woolen grabbed the weapon and began shooting with it. McWilliams was killed, a second person was injured by gunfire and another was hurt in a fall.

Woolen then stole the pastor’s vehicle and fled east before being arrested by deputies in nearby Harrison County, Smith said. He said Woolen was hospitalized Sunday afternoon with gunshot wounds to his hand, but that it’s unclear when he was shot.

Woolen was charged with felony assault and capital murder. He’s being held at Smith County Jail, and bond is set at $3.5 million.

The shooting was reported around 9:20 a.m., and there were no services going on at that time, said Sgt. Larry Christian of the sheriff’s office. Smith said the pastor, his wife and two other people were in the church at the time.

Woolen appears to have taken shelter in the church out of convenience, and there’s nothing to indicate the shooting was motivated by religious animus, the sheriff said.

“This is not a church-related, religion-related offense,” said Smith.

Gov. Greg Abbott sent his condolences.

“Our hearts are with the victims and the families of those killed or injured in this terrible tragedy,” he said in a statement.

It’s unclear exactly when Woolen entered the church in Starrville, near Winona, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Dallas.

Representatives of Starrville Methodist could not be immediately reached for comment. Starrville Methodist was built in 1853, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

The shooting came a little more than a year after a gunman opened fire at a church near Fort Worth, killing two people before he was fatally shot by a congregant.

Texas officials hailed the congregant’s quick action, saying it prevented further killing and showed the effectiveness of the state’s permissive gun laws, including a 2019 measure that affirmed the right of licensed handgun holders to carry a weapon in places of worship.

That law was passed in response to the 2017 massacre at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where a man fatally shot more than two dozen people at a Sunday service before taking his own life.

Since then, a cottage industry has sprung up in Texas and other states to train and arm civilians to protect their churches using the techniques and equipment of law enforcement. {eoa}

© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Note: this is part three of a series. Read part one here and part two here.

Soaking in the Lord’s presence will bring us into the fullness of our destinies, and He needs us to come into that maturity to be ready for the days ahead when He will surely pour out His Spirit. Join us on the The Global Outpouring podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network to learn how this powerful principle could impact your life.

While soaking in His presence, perhaps you will hear a message from His heart in your spirit: words of comfort, instruction or direction. Or maybe it will be an impression that comes without words; you will have an idea, perhaps a concept, a revelation that can close a door from the past and open a new one for your future. Hope ignites in your soul. The need you couldn’t put into words is met, and your faith steps up to accept that God is all you need.

In Him is life—it exudes from Him and penetrates your soul, freeing you from the wages of sin. Truth pours out from Him and destroys lies. Your heart becomes assured and at rest in this confidence: that because He is all His Word says He is, you are also all He says you are. As you rest in His presence, He resets you, from glory to glory.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit points out a place in your life where your old nature that was crucified with Christ is still trying to operate. He ministers an upgrade into that area, helping you to possess a share of the divine nature because He lives within you, and the old ways wither out of existence. As God cleanses your imagination, your mind is renewed, and you begin to grow in the prophetic.

Being in the presence of God in the present opens a window into eternity. You may be caught away to view the glories of your eternal home. You could have visions of biblical events in the past or the future.

In His presence comes the revelation of God’s call on your life. You begin to feel His heart for the lost as His love compels you to share your life in Him with your neighbor or a stranger. Perhaps He will put a nation or people group on your heart, and intercession for His outpouring will come from deep within you, making a difference in the spirit realm over those people. Perhaps He will lead you to go somewhere in His service, and the grace that comes from His presence will cause joyful obedience to well up inside you.

The Holy Spirit fills and refills you, each time transforming your walk and relationship with Him, as you practice His presence.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you from God your Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ as you make His presence a priority in your life. {eoa}

This is the word I have been hearing from the Lord:

One woe is past, behold two more are coming. The first woe afflicted the body. The second will afflict the soul. The third will afflict the spirit.

The first woe has shaken the foundation of that which can be seen. The second will shake the foundation of men’s minds. The third will shake the foundation of men’s relationship to their God.

Do not be like the foolish man who built his all on the sandy foundations, for the woes will wash away like a flood what is not built upon the rock. The one who has built his foundation of life upon My words in body, soul and spirit will stand after these woes have passed.

These are the times of purification of My church—My bride—to become a shining light in the darkness ahead.

A year ago when I sought the Lord for the upcoming year (2020), I did not know or expect such a word which would so soon after be manifest to the whole world.

As 2020 unfolded, the results of the pandemic transformed what was considered “normal” in the daily affairs of mankind.

In particular, the impact on the body of Christ has been both encouraging and fearful. On one hand, the church (read: active believers in Christ) has been emboldened and courageously adapted to find new avenues to reach the lost and to restore dropout believers to their community.

On the other hand, the increase of total numbers of dropouts from the church has exploded: 30-60% of formerly active church attendees are now dropouts from church gatherings. These added to the pre-pandemic stats that found 4 out of 7 believers were church dropouts, has increased the total number of dropouts in the US to either 5 (or 6) out of every 7 believers!

Let’s put it another way:

Today in the U.S., 71-85% of believers who profess Christ are absent from any meaningful relationship to the local church—the body of Christ.

Indeed, believers around the world are being tested in their faith. Some are persevering and coming closer to Jesus.

Many are not.

On Jan. 1, 2021, I came before the Lord as before. However, for a few months prior, in late 2020, I have had the beginnings of the word that came to me already embedded in my spirit:

“One woe is come; behold two are yet to come: The first afflicted the body. The second will afflict the soul. The third will afflict the spirit.”

On this first day of 2021, the word of revelation at the beginning of this essay came forth. I do not claim to totally understand it, but in my meditations, here is what I sense:

1. As has become apparent now, the first woe has drastically impacted the physical world and body in many ways: death, sickness, isolation, disruption at home work and social life … Many things have been noted about the current and even yet unknown effects of this current woe.

However, this is sure—from the perspective of the body of Christ, every believer is being tested:

What do you believe? How then shall you live?

This too is sure—the purification of believers’ hearts is underway.

2. But if indeed another woe is coming—one that will afflict the soul—what of this?

The soul—the intellect, will and emotions—is on a different level than the physical world and body.

Having already seen the pandemic affecting some people’s emotions and will, what would a woe that specifically afflicts the mind of man look like? Many may speculate on the “what,” but it is apparent that the impact of such a second woe may include some or all of these effects on men:

Intellect (Knowledge)

The degradation and exposure of so-called knowledge or truths that men hold to that will be proven false and deceptive. This false knowledge has been used to build false foundations for men to live and abide by in every sphere of life. There are literally thousands of these false beliefs around the world.

When believers live and abide by such worldly knowledge or standards rather than kingdom truths, their foundation will fail in the coming second woe.

Will

Man’s determination, or will, to abide by his conscience and what he innately knows is good—to love God and men—will be severely tested. Under such a woe the “I” in man will either decrease or increase.

The corrupted will in a man will say: I will ascend to heaven (safety) … to the heights … To make myself like God … I will do in all things what is best for me and what I desire is how I will judge.

The will in a man submitted to God will say: I will humbly seek His will for my life and I will not try to “save my life” at all costs, but I will lose it in order that God may be glorified in all.

When believers continue to live by the corrupted self-centered will of men rather than abide humbly in the will of God, their foundation will fail in the coming second woe.

Emotions

The varied emotions of men—love, hate, anger, fears, resentment, compassion—will rise to the forefront to lead or drive men to action.

Many unredeemed men and even believers are driven by their emotions. However, man was never designed to be led by emotions. Just look at Proverbs 25: 28.

The coming woe will greatly test the self control of men.

When believers continue to allow emotions to dictate their actions rather than exercising God-given self control, their foundation will fail in the coming second woe.

3. But what of the third woe? The woe that will afflict the spirit of man—that will shake the foundation of their relationship with God?

Once again, the “what” of such a woe is probably unknowable in advance. However, the characteristics of the spirit of a man may give insight into potential effects.

Since God is Spirit and those who truly worship him must do so “in spirit and truth,” we know that the communication God and man have is spirit to spirit. And the spirit communicates through faith, hope and love. These three are the essence of the very life of the spirit of a believer. Without these, a believer is not. He is simply an unredeemed man.

When believers let go of faith in God, hope in his Salvation and goodness and love for his fellow man rather than pursuing faith, hope and love, their foundations will fail in the last woe.

“The safety of the believer is in My Body—the body of Christ—My church. The rebellious one who remains outside will fall—and great will be their fall.”

The move of God’s spirit is under way dramatically since the beginning of the decade of 2020. The purpose is clear: to conform every believer to the image of Jesus himself (see Rom. 8:29).

Can you imagine, across the world, billions of brightly shining points of spiritual light, shining onto the lives of those in darkness?

It is coming.

So, in this season and through the decade the answers to these questions are being formulated by the Spirit in each believer:

What do you believe? How then shall you live?

May He find the answers He desires in us as this season progresses.

May each one humbly submit to the purifying work and be counted as one such brightly shining point of His light. {eoa}

Louis Posthauer is the founder of Hunters of the Harvest, a ministry focused on equipping the local church to reach and restore dropout believers. Posthauer consults with pastors and church leaders wishing to tap his expertise to mobilize their congregation with a biblical strategy to reach the dropout believer. He has been actively involved in the local church for 40 years and currently serves as a lay leader at Calvary Community Church in Houston. For more information, visit .

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COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report reveals.

The pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind illegal arms sales and drugs,” says the report by Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia ().

“The global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of the traffickers,” says the report, citing worsening poverty and hunger as key drivers of the $150 billion a year global slave trade.

“The horrific exploitation of children and young adults for sex and forced labor is the most vile crime,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan. “We must act now to cut off this growing evil.”

Travel and border restrictions—intended to slow the spread of the virus—have driven traffickers underground and made victims more difficult to identify, the report says. Of the estimated 20-30 million slaves in the world today, four out of every five are women or girls.

A Wider Net

The surge in online activity due to lockdowns is giving traffickers a wider net to entrap potential victims, including children. Police in Canada warn that “chatter in dark web forums” shows predators view the pandemic as an opportunity to lure children into the sex industry.

In some parts of Asia, traffickers enlist or coerce parents and other relatives to sell their children to “placement agencies”—fronts for domestic slavery.

Predators are even “masquerading as helpers” to find new victims. “Forced prostitution and chosen sex work are going to acquire a new momentum in the post-COVID-19 world,” the report says.

Interpol, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable.”

Traffickers are taking even greater risks, too often resulting in the tragic deaths of their victims. In March, 64 African migrants suffocated in a shipping container; in May, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in England; and in June, a former official in Arkansas pleaded guilty to smuggling women into the U.S. to put their babies up for adoption.

In Europe’s lucrative soccer industry, it’s estimated there are 15,000 trafficking victims every year.

Emergency Interceptors

Faith-based humanitarian groups like GFA World and International Justice Mission are on the frontlines in the fight against slavery—with GFA World’s indigenous workers acting as “emergency interceptors” in city slums and remote villages where millions are easy prey for predators.

“Through vocational training for women, protecting girls by providing safe water access, and our Bridge of Hope children’s program, we’re saving tens of thousands from falling victim to traffickers,” said Yohannan, author of Never Give Up. “This is how we confront the evil of human trafficking head-on and show people the love of God.” {eoa}

Gospel for Asia () is a leading faith-based mission agency helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at .

Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, retired, who has led brave men and women into battle all over the world, has a message: “I just don’t understand why believers aren’t flooding their churches, their state Capitols, their representatives and Washington, D.C., and responding with all they have at this critical hour.”

“This is not a battle for our president. This is a battle for our very country. We are up against a force that wants to remove God from every aspect of our nation,” he says. “Why do they keep us from worship while we can all go to Walmart? It couldn’t be clearer.”

Just pardoned by President Donald J. Trump, Flynn is a strong supporter of standing up for the election.

“We were there. We were stunned at the lack of respect those around the president have for him,” Flynn says, noting that the level of disrespect he saw toward the president, from people in the White House, was disappointing. “He is too nice. He has a big heart. He is a good man.”

Flynn describes what he sees as a twofold battle. First, he believes Christians have it too easy and do not realize the terrible fate that faces them if the electoral fraud is not stopped. Second, he’s concerned with the lack of even basic understanding of the Constitution, how our freedom was won and even the oath the president takes when he is sworn in.

“I would ask, how many people have even read the Constitution? How many know the terrible price paid by those who fought for our freedom? Do believers know how old Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton or the others were? Thomas Jefferson was 33, and Alexander Hamilton was 23 when they wrote the Declaration of Independence—at the risk of their lives. As believers, we need to pray, but we also need to know what it is we are praying and fighting for,” Flynn says.

About the election itself, Flynn is convinced that God has His hand on Trump, and that, ultimately, he will be inaugurated Jan. 20 because God will reveal the truth.

“The truth is that the president won in a landslide election on the night of Nov. 3, and then in the dark of night, the organized theft began,” he says, echoing the words of bestselling author of God, Trump and COVID-19 Stephen Strang, who says Trump supporters must out-plan and out-work the formidable opposition if Trump is to be reelected.

Flynn says that, as believers, we need to have an understanding of the foundations of faith and how and why America was birthed to be the beacon of hope, the true North Star or the “shining city on a hill” dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Believers need to trust in God and have hope that He will see us through and answer our prayers. What is needed most is courage.

Come to Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Jan. 6, and support the nation. Gathering to pray and show the strength of numbers is not about our president but about supporting our Constitution and our nation’s future. We cannot and must not fail.

Whatever it takes, take courage and come to Washington, D.C. If that is absolutely impossible, go to your state Capitol. Our future as a God-fearing nation, built upon Judeo-Christian values, depends on it.

John 8:32 says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” It is our motto, and we need men and women of courage to pray for the president and to show up.

“You are needed,” Flynn concludes. {eoa}

Amir George is the author of Liberating Iraq at and is on Parlor @Amir George.

The final countdown of the end of days are upon a generation. Signs of the times are rapidly unfolding while confirming that our redemption draws near.

On a recent episode of Uncompromised Revival Fire on the Charisma Podcast Network, Caleb Cooper shares how fear and panic have paralyzed many in the church, and yet, Satan is committed to daily drag souls to the fiery flames of hell for eternity. The greatest threat to the kingdom of hell is the blood-washed unshakable believers in Jesus Christ. We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach the unshakable glorious gospel of Jesus Christ in the earth with accompanied signs, wonders and miracles regardless of the atmosphere around you.

You are seated in heavenly places far above all principalities powers and rulers of darkness of this age. The church (the ekklesia: God’s ruling governmental authority in the earth) must be committed to changing the atmosphere around them instead of allowing the atmosphere around them to change the church.

Do you believe? Are you so surrendered to God that your mind is unshakable concerning the promises of God while the spiritual battle rages around you? Is your mind and heart transformationally charged by the supernatural power of God that it is unable to be changed because of the revelation of how powerful our God is?

Hebrews 12:27-29 says, “And this statement, ‘Yet once more,’ signifies the removal of those things that can be shaken, things that are created, so that only those things that cannot be shaken will remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us be gracious, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

The God of heaven remains unshaken in the midst of a pandemic. Unshaken in the midst of governmental overreaches. Unshaken in the midst of blatant violation of the constitutional covenant that God made with America. Unshaken in the midst of potential election fraud in America.

The question is, “Will you be shaken by government, or are you unshaken in God?”

There has never been a devil hatched out of the kingdom of hell that can shake the kingdom of God. Has your theology been shaken in the recent demonic pandemic? The time is now to arise and live an unshakable kingdom lifestyle that rejects a culture of social distancing because it violates your kingdom right to lay hands on the sick and watch them recover! The unshakable kingdom of God must reject governmental directives to close houses of worship because they belong to God and not the government. The unshakable kingdom of God must reject any governmental mandates that empowers an antichrist agenda in the earth, giving him a victorious platform when the Word of God reveals that Satan is a defeated foe.

Colossians 2:15 says, “And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.” Will you serve the government or your God in the last days? Our response should be birthed out of one of the clearest instructions in the Word of God; Acts 5:29 says, “Peter and the other apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.'”

For more on how you can build a life of unshakable faith, listen to Uncompromised Revival Fire now. {eoa}

Former NFL star Miles McPherson, senior pastor of Rock Church in San Diego, California, knows about racism. As a member of what he calls a “United Nations family” with a multiracial heritage, he’s faced it all his life. “I grew up in New York,” he said. “We lived in a Black neighborhood, and I went to school in a white neighborhood for the first eight years of my schooling. I was harassed in the white neighborhood because I wasn’t Black and was harassed in my Black neighborhood because I wasn’t Black enough … Martin Luther King was killed when I was 8. And I remember thinking, What can we do?”

But God used the 2020 murder of George Floyd to help him discover a biblical key to the problem of racism, McPherson told Dr. Steve Greene on an episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “One of the many things that went through my mind was It was a statement of insignificant value that that police officer put on George,” he said.

Our culture only gives us two options, McPherson said: “We live in an ‘us versus them’ culture, where you have to choose either for the police or against the police, for immigrants or against, for Black lives or not.”

McPherson takes what he calls a “third option” straight from Scripture. “When Joshua was going to the promised land, he said to the commander of the Lord’s army in Joshua 5, ‘Are you for us or our adversaries?’ Those are the two options he gave the Lord. And the Lord said, ‘No, I’m not for either one of you. I am the battle.’ And that’s the third option, that we honor what God has deemed as important, which is His image in every person.” This perspective also moved McPherson to write his recent book, The Third Option.

He also shared his own definition of racism from a spiritual perspective: “Racism is when you deem God’s image of someone less important than yours, which we all know is sinful. And if we can come to agreement to understand the value of every person, then we can eradicate racism.”

For more from Miles McPherson on solving the issue of racism, click here to listen to the entire episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. And be sure to subscribe to Greenelines at this link for more inspiring, informative stories. {eoa}