In the Scriptures, we find many benefits concerning what the blood of Jesus has done for us.

We overcome the devil and his works when we testify to what Jesus’ blood has accomplished.

We become like those believers who are already in heaven, having followed Him faithfully all the way: “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11, NIV).

Jesus’ triumph over the powers of darkness is reinforced whenever we agree with and declare the benefits of His precious shed blood.

In Christ’s blood, we receive life that death cannot conquer.

Jesus has established a new covenant through His blood, and He intercedes on our behalf to enable us to enter more fully into His blood covenant with us. (See Romans 8:34.)

7 Benefits of the Blood of Jesus

Jesus’ blood accomplishes at least seven distinct benefits to complete our salvation:

1. Forgiven –You and I have been forgiven through the blood that Jesus shed when He gave up His life. “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22, NASB). For this reason, confidence, peace and joy can now replace condemnation, anxiety and grief in our lives.
2. Cleansing – Our consciences have been washed by the blood of Christ Jesus because we have truly been purified from all sin. (See Hebrews 9:14.) “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
3. Redemption – Forgiven and cleansed, we find that we have been redeemed from the clutches of the powers of darkness. We are no longer forced to live in the dark, because we have been transferred into the kingdom of light (see Colossians 1:12-12 NIV, TLB), where the beloved Son of God appears in glory: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sings, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ” (Eph. 1:7, NIV).
4. Justification – It is one thing to believe that you are forgiven, cleansed and redeemed, but it is another to believe that it is just as if you have never sinned in the first place. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21, NKJV). When I am justified, it is “just as if I’d” never sinned. I am righteous. I now belong to the King and have obtained citizenship in His kingdom. I have a fresh passport that says, “Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
5. Sanctification – Now we can take it one step further and declare that we have been set apart for a holy calling—sanctified. Each believer is a special vessel set apart for God. Only Jesus’ blood can make this possible. Because of Him, we can walk on the straight and narrow way. (See Matthew 7:14.) “Make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed” (Heb. 12:13, NASB).
6. Peace – Because of Jesus’ blood, we can have perfect peace. There will still be plenty of battles to fight, but the outcome has been determined on Calvary: “It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him—all things in heaven and on earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood” (Col. 1:20, TLB).
7. Access to the throne – Jesus’ blood has made possible your complete reconciliation with the Holy Father in heaven. Now, covered as you are in the blood of Christ, you are like the high priest who was invited to enter the Most Holy Place—without being struck dead. You can enter the most holy throne room of heaven with perfect impunity: “And so, dear brothers, now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies, where God is, because of the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19).

Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we have all this and heaven besides!

In your own life, how have you testified to what the blood of Jesus Christ has accomplished?

How have you spoken of it (out loud) and declared with joy the benefits He has won for you?

Even when you proclaim it within the privacy of your prayer closet, the enemy gets blinded with the glory of heaven!

All praise, honor and worship to the Lamb of God for what He has done on the cross! The blood of Christ avails for you and for me!

Target Practice

Pray and proclaim this prayer about the power of Christ’s blood, which I was taught by Derek Prince [Derek Prince, Prayers and Proclamations (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2010), 163-164].

Pray it for yourself and for others:

– Through the blood of Jesus, I am redeemed out of the hand of the devil.

– Through the blood of Jesus, all my sins are forgiven.

– The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, continually cleanses me from all sin.

– Through the blood of Jesus, I am justified, made righteous, just-as-if-I’d-never sinned.

– Through the blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, made holy, set apart to God.

– My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

– Satan has no place in me, no power over me, through the blood of Jesus! Amen. {eoa}

For the original article, visit .

Dr. James W. Goll is the founder of God Encounters Ministries. He is an international bestselling author, a certified Life Language Coach, an adviser to leaders and ministries and a recording artist. James has traveled around the world ministering in more than fifty nations sharing the love of Jesus, imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry and life in the Spirit. He has recorded numerous classes with corresponding curriculum kits and is the author of more than fifty books, including The Seer, The Prophet, The Discerner, The Lost Art of Intercession and Praying with God’s Heart. James is also the founder of GOLL Ideation LLC, where creativity, consulting and leadership training come together. James was married to Michal Ann for thirty-two years before her graduation to heaven in the fall of 2008.

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Since the chaotic exit of Jerry Falwell, Jr., as president of Liberty University in the summer of 2020, the large Christian college in central Virginia has been searching for its next leader. And the evangelical school’s executive committee has finally found one.

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Dondi Costin, Ph.D., will serve as Liberty’s sixth president, and Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Jerry Falwell, Sr., who founded the now-university as a Bible college in 1971, will be formally installed as the college’s third chancellor, a significant appointment, given it’s a role his father once held alongside his titles as founder and president of the university.

Costin, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 32 years and ended his tenure in the military as Air Force Chief of Chaplains, holds five master’s degrees—two of which he received from Liberty—and a doctorate in organizational leadership. He is leaving his position as president of Charleston Southern University in South Carolina to assume the role in Virginia.

“As one whose life and ministry have been profoundly shaped by Liberty University, I can think of no educational institution with more global impact than my two-time alma mater,” Costin said in a statement obtained by CBN News. “I am beyond grateful to the board for entrusting me with this extraordinary opportunity.”

He went on to say he and his wife Vickey “look forward to locking arms with the Liberty family as we honor the university’s past and drive toward its future. With God’s help and for His glory, the very best days of our great university are still ahead of us.”

News of Costin’s appointment, which comes after a lengthy hunt conducted on behalf of Liberty’s search committee by the executive recruiting agency CarterBaldwin, follows reports Jerry Falwell, Jr., is suing the Lynchburg-based university.

In mid-March, Jerry Falwell, Jr., who navigated Liberty through a time of significant expansion, filed suit in federal district court in Lynchburg, Virginia, seeking nearly $8.5 million in retirement benefits he claims the university has improperly withheld from him, according to WSET-TV.

The lawsuit alleges the younger Falwell was owed $7.6 million in 2020, when he parted ways with Liberty in the wake of unflattering reports detailing an untoward, years-long sexual tryst involving Jerry Falwell, Jr., his wife Becki and then-Miami-based pool attendant Giancarlo Granda.

While Jerry Falwell, Jr., has acknowledged an affair took place, he has denied having any role in it.

The former university president further claims in his court filing he was supposed to be credited an additional 6% investment return in the years after his retirement, now totaling around $8.5 million.

Liberty, it should be noted, sued Jerry Falwell, Jr., for $10 million in 2021, claiming he renegotiated the terms of his contract in bad faith, failing to disclose to university board members the details of the salacious scandal that would soon unfold, as first reported in late August 2020 by Reuters. {eoa}

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Reprinted with permission from . Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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The horrific murders at Christian Covenant School in Nashville are another stark reminder of the presence of evil in our world. It is a reminder that we must be diligent to pray the prayer Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil.”

In 50 years of following the Lord and seeking to understand His ways, I have found that the Holy Spirit will apply this prayer of Jesus through us with dramatic results. Sue and I discovered this in the first year of our marriage.

Deliverance Through Prayer in the Spirit

During the first year of our marriage, we were at a home prayer meeting and as everyone was kneeling around the room in prayer, one woman began to pray fervently in the Spirit, i.e., in other tongues. For reasons I did not understand, her prayer had a powerful impact on me, and I began to weep as I knelt at my chair in prayer.

Before we departed that evening, I said to this woman, “I felt that you were praying for me tonight.” She replied, “Yes, I felt I was praying for you and Sue.”

We learned why a short while later. On our way home, while crossing a 4-lane thoroughfare in our little Volkswagen Bug, I suddenly heard Sue scream, “Look out! Look out!” I turned and saw the nose of an 18-wheeler, going at a high rate of speed, filling the window of our little Bug and then I heard the crashing sound of crunching metal.

Thankfully, we were hit toward the rear of the car, spinning us around into another vehicle that was pointing in the opposite direction. We came within inches of death for it is hard to see how we could have survived if we had been hit broadside. I have no doubt that prayer in the Spirit saved us from the devil’s evil intentions that night.

Missionary Delivered Through Prayer in the Spirit

In the early 20th century, William Burton, a missionary to Africa, was stricken down with a tropical fever while travelling through the Congo. His friends decided he would not live and sadly left him semi-conscious at a village and continued on their journey.

Two hours later they were shocked when he caught up with them completely well. “What happened?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied, “But after you left, I felt something warm flowing through my body. I suddenly discovered I was well and decided to catch up with you.”

Around two years later, Burton was the guest speaker at a missionary convention in his home country of England and learned “the rest of the story.” After a meeting in which he told this story of his healing in the heart of Africa, a little woman came to him and said, “Brother Burton, do you keep a journal?” He replied, “Yes.”

She went on to tell how one day in prayer she was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray in other tongues and as she prayed she saw him stricken down. She said, “I continued to cry out to the Lord in other tongues until I saw you rise up and go on your way.” They compared their notes and the same time she was praying in England; he was healed in Africa.

The Conclusion of the Matter

Yes, we should pray every day the prayer Jesus taught us; that our family, friends, communities and nation would be delivered from evil. I have no doubt that much tragedy can be avoided if we pray this prayer, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done,

On earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil (Matt. 6:9-13). {eoa}

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Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, revivalist, and Bible teacher. His books are available from Amazon and his website at . His book, “1726: The Year that Defined America,” shows the important role of prayer in America’s founding generation.

Following critical comments from U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday, including a statement that he would not invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the White House “in the near term,” several coalition members in Israel fired back.

“It’s sad that even President Biden has fallen victim to fake news broadcasted from Israel against our justified legal reforms,” Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar wrote on social media shortly after Biden’s comments.

Zohar later deleted the post, although he posted a similar one, not directed towards Biden.

Deputy Knesset Speaker and Likud party lawmaker Nissim Vaturi said that “Israel will protect itself without the U.S. if they will not support us.”

Vaturi indicated that Israeli soldiers died in the 2014 Operation Protective Edge because of a U.S. embargo on the Hellfire missiles used by the Israel Defense Forces.

Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch, also from Likud, said, “Israel is a sovereign state and decisions are made here. American criticism can happen, but the decisions are ours.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was even more sharp in his comments to Army Radio yesterday morning, in which he emphasized that Israel is an independent nation.

While Israel “appreciates the democratic regime there [in the U.S.], it is precisely for this reason that they need to understand that Israel is an independent country and not another star on the U.S. flag,” Ben Gvir said in his interview.

Opposition leaders were quick to latch onto Biden’s statements as an indication of Netanyahu’s alleged failures.

“For decades, Israel was the USA’s closest ally, and the most extremist government in the country’s history has spoiled that in three months,” alleged Yair Lapid, who leads opposition party, Yesh Atid.

Benny Gantz from the National Unity party was more restrained, saying that Biden’s comments are “an urgent wake-up call for the Israeli government.”

Former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, also from National Unity, echoed Lapid’s remarks.

“Never before has any government caused so much damage to the country in such a short amount of time,” Sa’ar claimed.

The Israeli government’s coalition and opposition groups this week entered into negotiations over the judicial reforms. Preliminary meetings began late Tuesday night at Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s residence and continued on Wednesday. A schedule of further negotiations has not yet been released. {eoa}

This article originally appeared on ALL ISRAEL NEWS and is reposted with permission.

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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.

A recent Barna study found that while a majority of Americans “want to grow spiritually,” many experience significant times of doubt. Specifically, the study found that the top reasons U.S. adults gave for experiencing doubt were “past experiences with a religious institution” and the “hypocrisy of religious people.”

It is no secret that the church has been rocked with numerous scandals and allegations in recent years. And of course, these public disgraces do not even include the private mistreatment by professing Christians that many individuals have experienced, which simply never made the news cycle.

Because of this, some well-meaning and respected believers have said the church needs “apologies more than apologetics.” It reminds me of a message from the 1995 DC Talk album “Jesus Freak” that said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, but they don’t by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Does the church really need apologies more than apologetics arguments? There is no question that apologies are in order in many different situations. It should also go without saying that professing Christians are called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22). Respectfully, however, I am not convinced that apologies are the answer to the issue of doubt.

If we are honest with ourselves, the truth is that most people are lazy when it comes to critical thinking. We believe things for any number of misguided or sometimes nonsensical reasons. Why should we vote a certain way? Because that is what our family has always done.

Why do we not believe some truth claims? Because social media “fact-checkers” said they were false. Why do we believe other truth claims? Because they make us feel good and work for our preferred lifestyles.

Why do we think a particular way about a controversial issue? Because we watched a Hollywood-produced movie or YouTube video about it one time. In the U.S. culture especially, there is a never-ending stream of celebrities, movies, books and music making authoritative pronouncements, sometimes subtly, on any number of issues that influence the way we think about reality.

To be sure, we all believe things on the basis of some authority all the time. This is in fact part of what biblical faith actually means. None of us can investigate all truth claims or have the expertise in all relevant subjects such that we can make authoritative judgments about everything by ourselves. We all need help.

The question is whether we have good reasons to believe the things we do and trust the authorities to whom we pledge our allegiance. More importantly for the current question at hand, are the personal actions of professing Christians, whether good or bad, valid reasons to make a judgment about the validity of Christianity?

In John 13:35, Jesus told His disciples, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Believers should seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to live this out each day. But notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say they will know Christianity is actually true, that Jesus actually rose from the dead and that the gospel is our only hope of salvation because we love people.

If being loved and receiving apologies when wronged are the reasons someone believes a particular truth claim, then on what basis can we distinguish contradictory truth claims? For example, you will be hard pressed to find people more loving and committed to family values than many Mormons. Does this mean we should believe the truth claims about Mormonism?

Likewise, many atheists will claim they do not need God in order to be a moral and loving person. This is true to a certain extent. I know several atheists who are more loving and giving than many professing Christians. Does this mean atheism is true? Of course not!

Moreover, despite all the sinful scandals and atrocities committed by professing Christians, there are many more believers daily attempting to live out their faith by loving their neighbor as themselves. Why are these Christians not considered counterexamples for those appealing to hypocrisy as the reason they do not follow Christ?

In no way do I wish to minimize the pain and trauma experienced by those wronged inside the church. My point here is simply that while love and apologies may be necessary conditions for demonstrating that someone is a true follower of Christ, they are not sufficient conditions for demonstrating that Christianity is in fact true. It is logically possible that every person professing Jesus as their Savior could be a liar and that Jesus still rose from the dead.

The only reason anyone should believe anything is because they have reason to believe it is true (i.e., it corresponds to reality). That is the sole reason anyone should become a Christian. We see this echoed all throughout the pages of Scripture.

From Jesus and the apostles performing miracles (especially the resurrection) to Paul constantly arguing with, reasoning with and persuading unbelievers, people were given reason to believe the gospel is actually true. Paul goes so far as to say that if the resurrection is not true, nothing else matters (1 Cor. 15). No apology for sinful behavior can overcome this fact.

The stark reality is that the problem of churches and professing believers not acting like Christians is nothing new. Just read Paul’s epistles and most of the book of Revelation. If more social media apologies and public displays of repentance were necessary for the gospel to change lives, then Christianity would have never gotten off the ground. The truth of Christianity stands or falls on its own, regardless of its professed followers. As Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) graduate Dr. Frank Turek has said, if people claim that hypocrisy is the reason they do not go to church, then let them know there is always room for one more hypocrite. None of us are innocent in that regard.

What the Barna study actually shows is that people often base their beliefs on very shaky foundations. These insufficient building blocks can crumble when tested and often lead to very poor judgments. My prayer is that those struggling with the waves of doubt because of the sinful actions of professing Christians would find the solid foundations that show the truthfulness of Christianity which can withstand the turbulence of personal circumstances. This is one of the many values of Christian apologetics.

Yes, the church needs to act like the church, but in reality, it also needs more apologetics, not less. Yes, we need to weep with those who weep and do what is possible to seek biblical justice and restoration, but in reality, our culture needs a revival of critical thinking.

These are not either/or propositions where we must seek love and justice or do apologetics. Instead, we need to do both while helping unbelievers understand why the gospel matters despite what some professing Christians have done.

Christianity’s hope is in the truth of the Gospel not the actions of individuals. Indeed, “God must be true, even if everyone is a liar …” (Rom. 3:4). {eoa}

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Adam Tucker is the Director of Marketing and External Relations at Southern Evangelical Seminary).

I grew up attending church. This was the era of flannel graphs in Sunday school.

Palm Sunday was a time of kids with palm branches and conversations about donkeys. The shift then moves to Good Friday and Easter. But if we move too fast, we miss a lesson that Jesus taught to change our world and rock our hearts.

In Mark’s telling of the story, he sandwiches the story of the clearing of the temple with the strange story of Jesus killing a fig tree. The depth of the message of Mark 11:12-25 is beyond what I can cover in this post, but let me challenge us with three lessons that could impact the world.

Be on Your Guard Against Hypocrisy

Jesus finds a tree that has lots of leaves, but without any fruit. Moving from there to seeing Jesus disrupting the religious establishment of the time makes the message clear. You can have a lot of the trappings of religious activity, but not be producing any spiritual fruit. This is hypocrisy.

The danger of hypocrisy is that it is easier to see in others and hard to see in ourselves. Hypocrisy insulates our heart from the humility we need to be hungry for more of God. We need to be desperate for God in order to produce fruit out of our connection to Him. I realize that even this post loses its power without the energy of God.

Be Aware of Our Own Draw Toward Racism

In Jesus’ day, a reference to a verse in the Scripture is a reference to the whole chapter where it is found. Jesus’ reference to, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations” comes from Isaiah 56. Isaiah 56 is a word of encouragement to the immigrants living in the land. Jesus’ here matches the challenge that He and the early disciples gave to confront the ethnic superiority of the day.

If we read carefully, we see Jesus getting in trouble again and again for disrupting racial stereotypes. Speaking of immigrants and racism today may be read as a political statement of some kind.

Although I do see racism in both political parties, that is too safe to point that out. Jesus wants to get closer to our heart. Rather than engage in arguments, what if the church led the way by going in the opposite way of love? But even that is too safe.

What about me? So I am committing right now to learning Spanish to a level that I can preach in Spanish. What about you? Will you let God’s Word break through your heart to an actual change that may be uncomfortable?

Prayer Should Not Be a Side Dish

The story of the fig tree is explained by Jesus with a challenge to pray things that require faith. I wrote a book on simple ways to engage in conversation with God. But we must not forget that prayer also has great power to change things. Prayer invites us into a faith adventure with Jesus that should produce fruit. God invites us to change the world with our prayer.

Are you praying dangerous, audacious prayers? As Lisa Bevere says, “If you are not praying the kind of prayers that scare you, believe me, they are not scaring the enemy.” We need Christians who believe for a life that makes a difference. As Pete Grieg says, “We need to move from survival to revival.” What are you going to ask God for that will make a difference for Jesus’ kingdom?

I believe that if we really let these things past our guard and into our heart, we could change the world. Are you with me? {eoa}

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Kevin Senapatiratne is head spiritual pyromaniac for Christ Connection. Kevin speaks around the United States, helping Christians find the fun of prayer. He is the author of Enjoying Prayer. You can learn more about his ministry at .

A Seattle-area megachurch that has hosted celebrities such as Russell Wilson and Justin Bieber among its thousands of members has been accused in a lawsuit of requiring employees to tithe back 10% of their earnings or face repercussions including termination.

Churchome is led by Judah Smith and his wife, Chelsea, who according to the Churchome website, are the church’s lead communicator and lead theologian, respectively.

The Smiths are named as the plaintiffs in the 44-page lawsuit along with CEO David Kroll and his wife, Jenna Kroll, which was filed on behalf of Rachel Kellogg and no less than 100 fellow employees of Churchome who have been affected by this mandatory policy, according to The Christian Post.

“Defendants have engaged in a systemic scheme of wage and hour abuse against their employees, including the requirement that all employees rebate ten percent of their gross earned wages back to Defendants in the form of tithes on a monthly basis or face actual or threatened pressure, discipline, or termination,” the complaint states.

As reported by The Seattle Times, “Kellogg, who worked in video and production for Churchome, says she was never informed of this policy until after she was hired in 2019. The lawsuit argues the practice violates the state’s Consumer Protection Act, and wage and hour laws.”

Kellogg works remotely from Greenville, South Carolina.

“Regardless of whether this is a church, or not a church, or a nonprofit or a for-profit corporation, requiring employees to rebate any wages to an employer is an unlawful practice,” said Eric Nusser, one of Kellogg’s attorneys at Seattle’s Terrell Marshall Law Group.

Within the complaint filed, Kellogg alleges that she was not notified, or even aware, of employees being required to tithe back a minimum of 10% back to Churchome itself.

It was during a remote staff meeting in April of 2020 with Judah Smith that she became aware of how serious a policy this was to the church.

“Defendant Judah Smith reminded all employees of Defendants’ policy that the employees were required to tithe ten percent of their paychecks back to Churchome, warning that former employees had been fired because they had failed to meet this company requirement,” the complaint reads.

“I’ll be very honest: people have already been transitioned and moved on and fired because they were not tithing,” Smith allegedly said during the meeting.

Contained in the lawsuit are allegations of Smith telling the staff where he stood personally on the matter.

“Giving 10% of a paycheck that comes from the tithe—to not tithe off of a paycheck that comes from a tithe doesn’t work for me. I’m just going to be real clear: it just doesn’t work for me,” Smith allegedly told the group.

In a statement released by their attorney Nathaniel Taylor, Churchome says that the employee handbook and statement of faith includes tithing and that the church does not deduct the tithe from employee paychecks. It does however ask that employees live out the practice.

“The First Amendment protects a church’s right to restrict employment to those employees who choose to abide by church teaching. Churchome intends to vigorously defend the rights of all religious institutions to live, teach, and model their faith through their employees,” the statement said.

One question comes to mind: Does the employee have to tithe exclusively to Churchome, or can they decide where to give their money?

In a recent article, Fortune reported that “Churchome is primarily supported by membership tithes and offerings, according to a 2021-2022 financial report. In 2022, the organization listed $35.4 million in total assets.”

This lawsuit is also coming on the heels of the recent report that Churchome was among the churches listed in an honorarium scheme run by Hillsong Church.

The Christian Post reported that, “Churchome paid up to $100,000 annually in membership fees to be part of a network called Hillsong Family. Whistleblower documents allege that pastors of churches in the Hillsong Family gain access to a preaching circuit where pastors travel and dine in luxury at the expense of host churches in the network while collecting tens of thousands in cash honorariums.”

While few know what has occurred behind the closed doors of a congregation, Paul writes about such a situation in 1 Corinthians 6:1-20.

Pray that this issue be resolved, potential relationships restored and that, in all things, God would be glorified in its wake. {eoa}

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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.

The Jesus Revolution movie continues to draw large audiences across America. Onlookers can only imagine what it must’ve been like to sit under passionate preaching that led to hundreds of thousands of conversions!

Founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, who preached late into his 80’s, instructed those he trained not to worry about getting a crowd but to just “go out, catch fire and people will come to watch you burn!”

One such fiery evangelist in the Jesus Movement was father in the faith Bob Weiner who led scores of young people to Christ and then got them planted in churches primarily on a college campus. The family of Maranatha churches exploded throughout the nation in the 1960s and 1970s as huge numbers of young people were equipped through dynamic leadership conferences and their creative Forerunner publications.

Take 10 and watch this faith filled evangelist in action so he can impart to you his gift of faith and love for the lost. He’s still the same after five decades of faithful and fruitful ministry.

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Deliverance is not readily understood. Start a conversation about confronting demons, and some people will roll their eyes, saying you have gone too far out on a limb. A recent Barna survey found that more Americans believe in Satan than in God. This statistic solidifies the current debate concerning deliverance ministry and whether Christians should be concerned about demons.

Some will accuse you of looking for a demon under every rock. Others will tell you how they were scarred by a horrible experience when, desperate for answers, they submitted to deliverance ministry, only to have people encourage them to “vomit up” demons and do all sorts of strange things during a grueling “deliverance” session. Others will say they are experts in the deliverance field. Some Christians believe that raising the decibel level of their prayers will chase away more demons. They have a great desire to yell at the enemy, but they lack understanding of spiritual authority. They might scream at demons all day long with no results.

On a recent Demon Slayer podcast, Isaiah Saldivar said, “This is going to be the summer of deliverance; it’s going to be unstoppable.” The recent Fathom event “Come Out in Jesus Name” surpassed box office expectations and has additional showings on April 10 and 11. Pastor Greg Locke said this box office hit will come to streaming services in the summer. The film features Alexander Pagani and his book “The Secrets to Deliverance” and has caused quite the stir amongst ministry leaders. I recently spoke to Alexander Pagani and he said “A Christian cannot be demon possessed. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, we have the earnest expectation of the Holy Spirit living on the inside, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places and it is impossible for a Christian to be demon possessed.”

I have seen and heard much in the area of deliverance. While I know deliverance is sometimes handled poorly or even arrogantly, I do believe there is an aspect of spiritual warfare to many human problems. Paul clearly states this: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:4-5). There are Christians who do not want to believe they can have demonic problems. I believe a problem that will not go away after prayer, positive confession, fasting, strong-willed determination or medical treatment must have a demonic basis that needs to be dealt with spiritually.

Problems that are hard to deal with such as rage, drug addiction and even sexual addictions or alcoholism, have, I believe, spiritual problems at their root. There may be strongholds in the mind and soul ties that must be dealt with, along with the sinful habit or behavior that is being acted out.

Let me give an important disclaimer. Some very odd behaviors are caused by some physical conditions that can be treated with medicine. I believe you should consult a doctor to rule this out as a possible cure. If the problem continues, then it may be spiritual in nature, and deliverance may help. On this point, you may agree or disagree with me. You may feel that deliverance is not central to the gospel or is a ministry that ended in Bible times. But if you look at the ministry of Jesus, the subject of deliverance is unavoidable. You bump into it again and again throughout the gospels. I firmly believe that His ministry is the same today as it was then—to save, heal, deliver and preach the gospel of the kingdom. To subtract deliverance from that equation, I believe, is to diminish the gospel.

Jesus certainly understands the need to extend deliverance to those who were “bound.” Many verses show us His response to the needs of the people who came to Him for help. Matthew 4:24 tells us the sick came to Him from many miles away: “And they brought to Him all sick people who were taken with various diseases and tormented with pain, those who were possessed with demons, those who had seizures and those who had paralysis, and He healed them.” Jesus instructed His disciples to drive out demons. In Luke 10:17, the 70 disciples are astonished that “even the demons are subject to us through Your name.” In Luke 4:36, the people see deliverance as a sign of great authority: “They were all amazed and said among themselves, ‘What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.'”

Try to imagine the Gospels without deliverance, and you will see just how many times our Lord confronted demons and set people free. I firmly believe that it would be foolish, considering what we see in the Gospels, to exclude demonic activity entirely from the twenty-first century experience. {eoa}

Stephen E. Strang is the bestselling author of God and Donald Trump. The founder and CEO of Charisma Media, Strang was voted by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. He has interviewed four U.S. presidents and has been featured on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBN, Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, and in many Christian outlets.

To read more from my new book, Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World or subscribe to my newsletter, visit .

Freshly hired by Transformation Church in Tulsa recently, Pastor Carl Lentz and his wife, Laura, are making news once again. But this time, it’s not about how they’re moving forward in their calling for God.

Carl Lentz, who was dismissed as the lead pastor at Hillsong Church NYC in late 2020 for infidelity, among other things, and his wife will now be featured in a new docuseries titled “The Secrets of Hillsong,” which will include the first interviews from the couple since Carl Lentz was fired more than two years ago, Variety reported this week.

“The Secrets of Hillsong” premieres on May 19 at 10 p.m. with two episodes, followed by two more episodes on May 26.

Scout Productions, a company known for creating content such as “Queer Eye” for Netflix and a documentary called “Equal” about “early LGBTQ heroes, will produce the documentary on Hillsong Church in partnership with Vanity Fair Studios. The documentary series is based on Vanity Fair’s reporting on Hillsong, which has endured a great deal of scandal over the past three years, including the travails of former Senior Pastor Brian Houston.

The church was previously the subject of the Discovery+ docuseries “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed.”

It is uncertain whether the Lentzes were paid for their participation in “The Secrets of Hillsong,” The Christian Post reported.

Joel Chiodi, an executive producer of the docuseries, told Variety that “Because of these voices, along with unprecedented access to Carl and Laura Lentz, ‘The Secrets of Hillsong’ offers new insights into how decades of scandal and corruption went unchecked within the church, and more importantly, at what it meant for the community left in their rubble.”

In a recent Instagram post, Laura Lentz said her husband has “humbled himself,” took responsibility for his actions and was ready to tell his story.

“Yep, it has been challenging it’s taken a LOT of work the past 22 months (but who’s counting ) to make our marriage what it has become, & we will never stop working on ourselves, for this marriage and for our kids! I know there are many that don’t or would never do what I chose to do, and that’s ok, it’s not for everyone!!

“I look forward to sharing our story, how I came to that conclusion and I think it’s going to help a lot of people. But I am so proud of my husband & for the responsibility he’s taken! Mostly I’m grateful for a man who humbled himself & didn’t try to defend himself, he has kept quiet publicly and he has remained focused on the one thing that matters most-our family!”

Actress and evangelist Priscilla Shirer liked Laura Lentz’s Instagram post. {eoa}

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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor tor Charisma Media.