Ciara, pop singer of hits such as “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step” from 2004, has spoken out recently about teaching her 15-month-old son, Future, to praise Jesus.

“The other day we were saying, ‘Thank you, Jesus’ and I would say, ‘Say, thank you!’ And he would say, ‘Tank you!’ I’d say, ‘Je-sus’ and he’d say, ‘Yee-yus,'” the singer told People about her son. “It is so sweet!”

Ciara, who shares her son with former boyfriend Future, a rapper, says her son is going through a developmental stage in which he repeats everything he hears.

“He’s like a parrot now. He’s in the parrot stage so he [copies] everything you say— which you have to be careful with!” she told People.

Earlier this year, the 29-year-old generated media buzz when she and her boyfriend, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, shared publicly that their relationship is celibate.

Wilson, 26, has made it undeniably clear on social media that he is a Christian. He has often tweeted Bible verses and identified himself as a “Jesus follower” who is “too blessed to be stressed” and “too anointed to be disappointed.”

Conversely, Ciara is not known to publicly discuss her faith. However, recently she seems to have adopted Wilson’s habit of occasionally tweeting Bible verses. For example, she tweeted, “Write the Vision, Make it Plain, Habakkuk 2:2,” over the summer. Just one week ago, she tweeted, “God Is Soooo Good!”

Though her son is just over a year old, Ciara is already thinking about his adult future. Though she isn’t considering that he will become an entertainer, she insists that she’ll support him in whatever profession he decides to pursue.

“I’ll support him with whatever his heart desires as long as it’s something positive and productive. My mom was hesitant about me being in music, but she gave me room to figure it out. It’s important to allow your kids to pursue their dreams,” she told the British newspaper Metro.

“You don’t want someone to wish they could have achieved something but were forced to do something else. But, show business is a tough world. Ideally I wouldn’t want him to do it, but if his heart desires it then I’ll support him.”

Along with tweeting Bible verses, Ciara has also talked about her son being a gift from God.

“Honestly, I feel like everything in life happens for a reason, and my son has been the greatest gift that God has given me in my life and been the most game-changing thing that’s happened to my life, in a necessary way,” she said on Power 105.1 FM’s syndicated radio show, The Breakfast Club, earlier this year.

While, like all parents, the singer confesses that having a child isn’t always a walk in the park, she spoke about the importance of finding a balance in life to enjoy being a parent.

“It’s really all about balance, scheduling things, and mapping out your day, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. It is a lot of work having a child, but it really boils down to balance at the end of the day,” she previously told Refinery 29.  “You should really enjoy the process and trust the process of having a child while you’re juggling everything. It can really be fun if you look at things in a positive and exciting way. Be excited about the whole challenge of it all.”

Ciara told Page Six that she’s in a good place in life and relying on God to determine her future, including any possible marriage plans with Wilson.

“God knows everything that’s to come in the future, and I think it’s best to let Him keep taking control of things. Life is sweet, and I’m very thankful for all the great things happening in my life. I’m very happy.”

We applaud Ciara for choosing to “train up a child in the way he should go,” as the wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs, and pray she will continue to draw closer to the Lord and unapologetically proclaim her faith. {eoa}

This article originally appeared on movieguide.org. 

Want to know what God’s doing in Hollywood?

 In his latest book, evangelist Billy Graham declares that non-Christians are doomed to live in a fiery hell, a message his son said he has wanted to share for several years.

“There were some family members who thought that he shouldn’t do it because it was a negative subject,” said Franklin Graham in an interview Friday (Oct. 2). “And Daddy said, ‘It is a negative subject. It’ s a real subject. It’s a real place.'”

“Where I Am: Heaven, Eternity and Our Life Beyond,”released this week and billed as the “final work” by the 96-year-old, offers a vivid depiction of hell that harkens back to his youthful zeal as an emerging evangelist on the national stage.

“As a Christian and a preacher of the Gospel, I am always grieved to have to interrupt a marvelous picture, such as eternal life in Heaven, to talk about another eternal place that Jesus calls Hell,” Graham writes. “It has no similarities to what is typically called home, nor is Hell a resting place, a holding place, or a graveyard. Hell is a burning inferno.”

Scholars who have followed Graham’s ministry say his words are a significant shift from the approach he took after the first decade of his ministry, which gained prominence in a Los Angeles crusade in 1949.

“In the 1950s, especially the early years, he could be pretty specific and colorful, but as early as 1954 during the London Crusade he noted that he was not sure if fire would be involved,” said William Martin, author of a 1991 biography of Graham and a senior fellow for religion and public policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

Michael Hamilton, chair of the history department of evangelical Seattle Pacific University, said Graham spoke often of “the hell of the contemporary state of the world and the hell of the chaotic personal life. Those are the two hells that are really dominant through most of his ministry, though in the earlier years he talked more about an actual Bible hell.”

But Franklin Graham said of his father: “He’s always pictured hell as what the Bible teaches.”

In the new book, Billy Graham hedges his bets, but just a bit. 

“I can say with certainty that if there is no literal fire in Hell, then God is using symbolic language to indicate something far worse,” he writes. “Just as there are no words to adequately describe the grand beauty of Heaven, we cannot begin to imagine just how horrible the place called Hell is.”

Matt Baugher, W Publishing Group’s senior vice president and publisher, said the book project included collaboration with Franklin Graham and Donna Lee Toney, who read portions back to the elder Graham, who suffers from macular degeneration.

The younger Graham said he encouraged his father but did not write the book.

“One of his concerns was that hell and heaven were being distorted by Hollywood,” said Franklin Graham. “And you have these films that have come out and books and so forth about heaven or hell. And my father wanted people to know what the Bible has to say about them.”

The younger Graham, who is now president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, when North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill requesting the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall include a statue of the evangelist to replace that of Charles Aycock, a former governor and white supremacist.

“I think for another generation it will give an opportunity for my father to reach out from the grave with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Franklin Graham said. “As people read and study his life, they’ll read and understand the message that he preached.”

In a chapter titled “Forever Separated and Forever United,” Billy Graham emphasizes his belief that individuals can choose to avoid what the Scripture describes as “unending death in a lake of fire and brimstone that burns forever.”

“God does not send unrepentant souls into the pit of darkness; those souls choose their destiny,” he said.

Franklin Graham said his father no longer has the Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms he once had but sometimes needs people to speak up so he can hear them. He watches the morning news, football and golf on his big-screen television and keeps up with current events.

The book, filled with passages from the Bible. dwells on the evangelist’s views of eternity. But it also gives glimpses of Billy Graham’s personal life, including his love for his wife Ruth, who died in 2007.

“She no longer has detours to maneuver; she has traveled the smooth highway to Heaven,” he writes. “I will join her soon.”

Here are a few excerpts of what Billy Graham wrote about heaven and hell in “Where I Am”:

HEAVEN:

“We will know morning glories that never cease because the Son will shine His eternal light upon us forever, and all of Heaven will be filled with resounding joy. Being in His presence will be our treasure. I look forward to that.”

“Heaven captures the imagination, but it is not an imaginary place. It is not a fantasyland in which to dwell. It is not a place one can travel to and come back again — at least not in our earthbound life. Heaven is a literal place.”

“We need to say either yes or no. But some of us say maybe. Some of us try to straddle the fence and live in both worlds, but Jesus will not compromise with us. The Gospel plan is all set. We must accept His Son if we are to enter into His eternal kingdom. If your answer is not yes, then the choice is made.”

HELL

“You may be thinking, ‘Billy surely you do not believe all of this Hellfire and brimstone!’ My dear friends, it is not what I say that counts; it is what the Word of God says.”

“The worst kind of death is described in Scripture — unending death in a lake of fire and brimstone that burns forever. Just as we cannot fathom the wonder of living forever in glory, we cannot possibly comprehend the alternative.”

“Every person who rejects Christ and His atoning work will be cast into this horrible pit of despair. Worse will be to remember that it was by choice — that God called you to salvation but you rejected His wonderful gift. God does not send unrepentant souls into the pit of darkness; those souls choose their destiny. You’ve heard the saying, ‘They aren’t living; they are just existing!’ There will be ‘no purposeful living’ in Hell, just an existence beyond all misery.”

“You may wonder what Hell is really like. Don’t look to comedians for answers. The Bible tells you the truth. Hell is a place of sorrow and unrest, a place of wailing and a furnace of fire; a place of torment, a place of outer darkness, a place where people scream for mercy; a place of everlasting punishment.” {eoa}

© 2015 Religion News Service. All rights reserved.

For the past two years, millions of people worldwide have been fascinated by blood moons from four successive lunar eclipses called a tetrad. Many seen them as a sign God Himself has placed in the heavens.

During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns the color of blood. It’s extremely rare to have four blood moons in a row fall during the biblical feasts commanded by the Lord.

The last of the tetrad was on display Sunday night. It’s the first one visible from Israel.

And like the previous three eclipses, it falls on the first day of a biblical feast, this time the Feast of Tabernacles.

Many who came to Israel to witness the blood moon believe it’s a sign of harvest.
 
“But we really sense that the Holy Spirit is coming with a massive harvest, a great awakening, and I believe this red moon is a harvest moon. That’s an indicator of a jubilee of jubilees for the souls of man,” Cindy Jacobs, with Generals International, told CBN News.

Previous blood moon tetrads—all falling on Jewish feast days—have coincided with major events for Israel and the Jewish people.

In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain and Columbus discovered America, which would become a safe haven for the Jewish people. In 1948, Israel was reborn as a modern nation. And in 1967, Israel recaptured Jerusalem during the Six-Day War.

Bob O’Dell co-authored a book about the blood moons, titled Israel First!. He believes they’re a sign of good things ahead for Israel, but perhaps troubling times for nations that come against her.

“I personally believe that in the years ahead we will begin to look at Israel in a new way, that these blood moons mark a new phase in the life of Israel,” O’Dell told CBN News. “It’s no longer about the Israel that is struggling to survive, but now it is about an Israel that is learning to thrive.”  

O’Dell says it will be more than 500 years before four blood moons fall again on the first days of the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles. {eoa}

Robby Dawkins, author of Do What Jesus Did, carries the presence of God—and a strong anointing—everywhere he goes. Even lost souls sense it. Even gangsters and witches take notice! They get healed and then they get saved. Find out why Robby says you need to “get out on a limb.”  

Watch this video and get inspired to raise the dead!

Our final meeting here in Lusaka, Zambia, came to a climax as the crowd grew from 150,000 from one night to 250,000 the next! I mention these numbers because they say something about the dynamics in the city. This can only happen when Jesus is touching people in dramatic ways. They are talking about it everywhere and the nation is buzzing! 

Not only did the hundreds of thousands on the field hear the gospel through the week, but Radio Christian Voice broadcast the meetings live all across the country. The gospel was heard in Kitwe, Livingstone, Ndola, Solwezi and beyond! 

Testimonies have been flooding in of people’s lives touched in so many different ways, like this one from a man named James:

“I have never felt closer to God than this. After attending the crusade for three days and when Evangelist Daniel Kolenda taught about people and the gift of the Holy Spirit being for them and their children as prophesied by Joel, the following happened to me: I spoke in strange tongues. I’ve never experienced this before because I spoke a foreign language fluently … .”

Here’s another testimony by a man named Musonda: “My faith is at a different level thanks to you, feel like preaching the gospel to whoever I meet … I experienced God’s love at a whole new level. I feel He is much closer than before.”

Leya said, “Thank God I was there and got baptized in the Holy Spirit. I experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit like never before. It was an amazing experience. To God be the glory!”

Sunday, after I preached the gospel, I asked evangelist Scott Lee to pray for the sick and we heard wonderful testimonies of healing. A woman with an issue of blood for 10 years was healed. A crippled man got out of his wheelchair. Many people with different kinds of pain were healed. A man with HIV AIDS received prayer earlier in the week and went to the doctor for another test. Tonight he brought two test results—one from earlier that said, “HIV POSITIVE” and one from after prayer that said, “HIV NEGATIVE.”

The Lord has surely heard and answered our prayers. Zambia will never be the same again. I’m heading back to Orlando where we are holding our School of Evangelism all week. We are already looking forward to being back in Africa in a few weeks—this time in Blantyre, Malawi.

Daniel Kolenda is a missionary evangelist who has led more than 10 million people to Christ face-to-face through massive, open-air evangelistic campaigns in some of the most dangerous, difficult and remote locations on earth. He is president and CEO of Christ for All Nations and hosts an internationally syndicated television program.

A few weeks ago as I was praying with my dear friend Lenny Weston (a powerful apostolic prophet residing in Ohio), he was caught up into heaven and heard the voice of the Lord saying something like this:

“How the mighty have fallen; I am going to remove many candlesticks from their places, so that the church will trust in me and not in men. I am going to remove many prominent leaders and rise up many unknown leaders to prominence that will speak for me. As a result of this, many in the church will be shaken and some will fall away.”

His reflection on his prophetic word was “while most in the church are focusing their prayers for the nation because of same-sex marriage and abortion, more believers are needed to pray for the church at this time.”

There was more to this word, but those were the main points based on my recollection. Since Lenny has a very solid walk with God and is very accurate and walks in integrity before God, I am taking this word seriously! This word may start to be fulfilled very shortly or it could start in several years. Of course, every year we hear about several prominent Christian leaders falling into sin or being removed from their ministry. The gist of this word seems to indicate what is coming will be a tsunami compared to what has transpired in the past.

This article was triggered by the word Lenny shared with me. I do not presume to understand the timing of this word and/or the methods God may use to fulfill it. However, using biblical principles and having an understanding of the past, I have responded to this word with seven possible reasons the mighty will fall.

The following seven reasons the mighty have fallen and will fall in the future:

1. The authority of scripture is undermined

The Roman Catholic system was judged by God because they placed church tradition and their canon law on a higher level than Scripture. As a result, their ecclesial structure became corrupted as they adopted unbiblical doctrines such as: Mary worship, justification by works, idol worship in the church, praying for the dead, praying to the saints, indulgences, purgatory, the office of the pope as the vice regent of God’s kingdom on earth, and transubstantiation (they believe that during communion the wafer and the wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus, which violates Hebrews 10:10-14 which teaches that Jesus only had to make one sacrifice for all time).

Of course, God has already judged this colossal ecclesial system with the Protestant Reformation. This divine judgment was not just about justification by faith in my opinion, but must involve the Roman Catholic Church repenting from all of the above.

Also, many mainline Protestant denominations have fallen away from the truth because they have embraced the higher critical view that came into seminaries in the mid-19th century, which questioned the validity of biblical authorship as well as the plenary inspiration of Scripture. The result is that many of their clergy don’t believe in the literal resurrection of Christ and do not preach the true gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

Furthermore, even many evangelical pastors believe that the message of the Bible can change based upon the shifting sands of culture, which is why many have embraced unbiblical views regarding gender, human sexuality and family.

When pastors or leaders stop trusting the word of God as their highest authority, they will experience serious decline and/or be removed from their ministries.

2. A leader is not motivated by God’s glory

Any leader, whose primary (subconscious) motivation for ministry is not ultimately the glory of God, is doing ministry for their own glory. This God will not tolerate long and will result in a severe correction that can result in the leader being removed from the scene. God says in Isaiah 42:8 that He will not share His glory with another.

3. A leader’s value system is worldly

When Christian leaders need to continually lavish themselves with opulent gifts replete with a celebrity lifestyle, they have bought into the world system and need to come back to the simplicity of Christ. Even unbelievers can see through the superficiality of these worldly leaders, and it becomes a stumbling block for the gospel. I believe God wants to prosper His people, but I also believe people can go too far and become more fascinated by temporal things than things eternal. God is not going to tolerate this much longer.

4. Leaders who stop earnestly seeking God

In Acts 6, we see the apostles of the church confronted with a serious issue that could have consumed all their time. Peter’s answer was that they were not going to neglect the ministry of the Word and prayer to wait upon tables. Their desire to keep first things first was one reason why the early church was so powerful! When leaders stop seeking God, they are no longer infused by His grace to function, and they operate in their own strength setting themselves up for burnout and moral failure.

5. Leaders stop taking a biblical stand regarding morality

When leaders are afraid to take a public stand regarding ethics and biblical morality, they do not understand the nature of conversion and the gospel. Jesus said we would know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 12:33; Galatians 5:19-21).

The gospel produces root changes in the human heart that is manifest in lifestyle changes. Thus, the Word of God gives us biblical examples of actions that either correspond or do not correspond with biblical behavior. Hence, human behavior, lifestyle and actions are a major indicator, which demonstrates authentic conversion. When pastors and leaders just preach grace and never mention sinful behavior, then they will not see many true conversions. After all, the word “conversion” connotes a change from one particular state to a radically different state of being and living.

Consequently, God will eventually remove the candlestick of a compromising church.

6. Leaders neglect their interior lives

When leaders are too busy to reflect, pray, write, meditate and assess their emotional and spiritual state, they are a potential train wreck!

A leader who neglects their soul is a leader who will not last long in this intense climate of spiritual warfare.

7. A leader searches for significance

Many leaders are driven by ambition and not led by the Holy Spirit. Hence, they get their ministries involved in costly endeavors that God never told them to do! For example if the economy suffers another huge drop in the future, many church leaders are in so much debt from huge building projects that they may have to sell their properties to survive. This search for significance leads to the sin of presumption. The more I grow in Christ the more I discover that my longing to feel significant can only be satisfied in the only significant one, Jesus Christ.

Living with contentment is not a popular message today among the motivational speaking Christian circuit, but it is one of the most important and basic commands of Scripture. Passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Timothy 2:2; Philippians 4:12 teach us to live a godly and quiet life as believers, what some motivational speakers may interpret as a dull ordinary life. Christ-centered contentment (not fleshly complacency) in a believer is a sure sign that their sense of significance comes from above and not from the earth. God will eventually humble leaders whose search for personal significance dominates their lives.

Joseph Mattera is an internationally known author, futurist, interpreter of culture and activist/theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence nations. He leads several organizations, including The United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (uscal.us). He also has a blog on Charisma magazine called “The Pulse.” To order one of his books or to subscribe to his weekly newsletter go to josephmattera.org.

Kim Clement is still hospitalized. The prophetic voice was rushed the hospital with numbness on his right side on Monday. Doctors started treating him with medications to take down swelling after discovering a brain bleed.

“The results of the angiogram today showed that Kim will need a craniotomy to remove the bleed on his brain. They will do that tomorrow,” reads the Facebook post.

“We are asking that you all please continue to pray and stand strong in agreement with us that Kim will come through this and will have a supernatural recovery! The team and close leaders and friends will conduct a prayer gathering tomorrow at the Den in place of the usual Prophetic Workshop broadcast. Now is the time to fight and pray for our prophet as he has fought and prayed for all of us!”

According to Clement’s website, his prophetic ministry reaches countless people as he reveals the heartbeat of God in tragedy and triumph, good times and bad, war and peace, in democratic or theocratic circles, crossing all cultural barriers by communicating God’s feelings for them.

“Prophets were called to watch, which sometimes demanded unusual and difficult journeys,” he has said. “Isaiah was privy to the conversation of God, and heard them discussing the future of Israel. However, Elisha heard the plans of the enemy and revealed them to the king, placing himself in a very difficult position. I myself must also mount the watchtower.”

Let’s keep praying for Clement and his family.

Wall Street dipped more than 2 percent on Tuesday. The Dow slipped more than 400 points in afternoon trading. All three major U.S. indexes are now reporting losses for the year.

“We haven’t see this kind of volatility in a while,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, told Reuters. “It reminds me of the one we saw during the 2008-2009 crisis.”

That’s not the kind of sign or wonder I want to see. The question is, what caused this? From a natural perspective, it was weak data from China mixed with growing fears that a stall in the world’s second-largest economy will hamper global growth.

But could there be something else at work behind the scenes? There’s certainly no lack of speculation about a financial collapse in September and the first day of the month didn’t disappoint the speculators—be they economic analysts warning about America’s unsustainable debt or prophetic voices pointing to God’s judgment.

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Indeed, as USA Today reporter Adam Shell noted, the first day of trading in September looked a lot like the “abysmal” trading action in August, which was the worst month for the Dow since May 2010 and the stock market’s first 10 percent correction in four years.

Is Wall Street bowing to the Shemitah? The Shemitah, or Sabbath year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the land of Israel. Understanding this seven-year pattern is essential for understanding the prophecies and mysteries of the Bible that are still applicable today.

Jonathan Cahn, author of The Mystery of the Shemitah, has said he believes a great shaking is coming to America and the world: “A shaking that will involve a financial and economic collapse, and yet a shaking not limited to those realms. I believe it is wise to be ready—physically, emotionally, morally, and most of all spiritually.”

In The Mystery of the Shemitah, Cahn reveals his research on patterns throughout the history of America that line up with the Shemitah, including the Great Depression, 9/11, and the rise—and possibly the fall—of America.

So, I’ll ask again, is Wall Street bowing to the Shemitah? There is no lack of discussion around the topic, but ultimately only God knows.

“Whether a financial crisis hits us on or around Yom Kippur this year or not isn’t the real issue for me,” Jonathan Bernis, a Messianic Rabbi and president and CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International, told Charisma News.

“What is clear is that God is speaking, He is warning us of what is ahead. He is giving us an opportunity to respond, to prepare, and we must do our part-we must take action,” Bernis said. “Whether judgment is three weeks off or three years off, things are going to get worse. Much worse. Now is the time to seek His face and draw near to Him.”

I hope things don’t get worse but I do believe it will get darker before the next great move of God. And here’s what I absolutely know: Wall Street may not bow to the Shemitah, but every knee in this Babylonian system must bow at the name of Christ. We’d be wise to do the same, putting all that we have and all that we are under His lordship and making an appeal to heaven for spiritual awakening in this nation.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. She is the co-founder of AwakeningTV.com and a leader in the New Breed Revivalists Network. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and on Periscope @propheticbooks.

Is “good” enough? According to best-selling author and minister John Bevere, “good without God” is not good enough. This is a core message of his new book Good or God?, which made its debut as the No. 1 Bestseller on Amazon’s Christian Ministry & Church Leadership List earlier this month.

In 2013, Bevere received a prophetic word that left him on his knees “in awe of the presence of God.” That experience led to the writing of his new book, which he calls one of his timeliest and most important messages. In penning his nineteenth book, Bevere went all-out to deliver a Spirit-inspired wake-up call to the church.

Many Christians are settling for something that appears to be good and missing out on God’s best, says Bevere, who is best known for his popular book The Bait of Satan. “It’s not blatant evil that draws Christians away from God,” he says. “It’s what seems good.”

He draws this principle from Proverbs 14:12, which says there is a way that seems right or good from a human perspective but ends in “the way of death.”

He says, “If you look at our world today, you’ll see that most people feel pretty confident in their understanding of good. We think, ‘Okay, generosity, humility, compassion—good. Selfishness, arrogance, cruelty—not good.’ We believe people are basically good at heart. Even our movies and other forms of entertainment celebrate the goodness of humanity.”

However, he warns that many Christians are following the world’s standard for goodness—or at the very least, bowing to their own understanding. “That so often leads to behavior and beliefs that are, frankly, deadly.”

One dangerous belief Bevere says has already crept into the church is, “If it’s good, it’s from God.” Not necessarily. Through an encounter more than 15 years ago—when the seed of this message was first deposited—the Holy Spirit made sure he understood this essential truth.

In the late 1990s, Bevere was in a hotel room in Sweden preparing to speak at a conference of several thousand leaders. “I was processing something regarding a situation I had judged to be good, but as I was in prayer, the Holy Spirit told me, ‘No, it’s not good,'” he explains, adding that he was so surprised by what God said he almost got into an argument with Him.

“At one point, I protested, ‘But God, look at all the good that’s come out of this.’ That’s when God told me something that opened my eyes. He said, ‘Son, it wasn’t the evil side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Eve was attracted to. Eve was attracted to the good side.'”

He immediately opened the Bible to the book of Genesis and read the following in chapter 3: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Gen. 3:6, NKJV).

Bevere admits, “I saw the words good, pleasant, and desirable, and my jaw dropped. That’s when I heard God say, ‘There’s a good that is not of Me. It is not submitted to Me.’ This experience opened my eyes to the potential disconnect between my understanding of good and God’s.”

It’s a disconnect he says can exist in the life of any believer, and Good or God? is about bridging the gap. In the book, Bevere points to Hebrews 5:14 for an insight into the solution to this problem: only those who possess discernment can accurately identify what’s good and what isn’t. There’s only one source, he says, for a true standard of discernment: God Himself.

“The ultimate call to action in Good or God? is a call to pursue God’s presence, which is the highest goal of every believer,” says Bevere. “Many of us get distracted by things that are good but ultimately less worthy of our attention: influence, popularity, financial security, even successful ministry.”

Good or God? is like a catalyst of “recalibration” for the body of Christ. Bevere explores the topic of healthy personal holiness and how passion for right living stems from an intimate relationship with God. He explains how choosing God over what appears to be “good” enables every believer, by God’s grace, to exude joy, fulfillment, and peace. This is a path to embodying righteousness without being judgmental or obsessed with man-made rules.  

“When we do this, our lives demand that people stop and ask why we love living in line with something that to them seems restrictive or old-fashioned,” says the Good or God? author. “It changes the conversation entirely.”

Miley Cyrus didn’t disappoint the many millions who tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) to see the latest trends in perversion. Cyrus took the stage Sunday night with clear intentions to destroy any lingering memories of her Hannah Montana youth.

“Shock after shock” is how People magazine described her tongue-wagging performance that included 30 drag queens dancing in sequence to her new single “Dooo It.” She reportedly flashed the audience during a commercial break, ate a marijuana brownie, and complimented Kim Kardashian’s nipples.

Is it any wonder why people have to ask if Cyrus sold her soul to the devil? The Parents Television Council (PTC) is rightly upset.

“MTV had an opportunity to use its powerful VMA platform to stir a young audience to aspire to something positive and uplifting. Instead they chose to perpetuate blatant sexualization—much of it self-inflicted by the artists—and to celebrate the use of illegal drugs,” says PTC President Tim Winter.

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“Are we surprised that Miley Cyrus exposed herself to millions of viewers, and to more people who will inevitably see the news in the mainstream media? About as surprised as we’ll be if the sun rises in the east tomorrow morning,” Winter continues. “We had hoped she would have proven us wrong and demonstrate her considerable talent as a performer, rather than rely on her own sexuality to entertain the audience.

So what went wrong?

Whatever happened, it didn’t happen overnight. You can see the slow decline of Miley’s sweetie-pie persona over at least the past five years.

In 2008, John Travolta reportedly tried to recruit then-15-year-old Miley to the Church of Scientology. Perhaps the cult saw a crack in her shield of faith even then?

In 2009, articles starting springing up with headlines like “Miley: Party Girl or Christian?” The article, by Father Earnest Daily, asked the question, “Is Miley promoting a healthy vision of being a performer or is she slowly abandoning Christian principles?” How prophetic!

In 2011, Miley started flashing a new tattoo that supports gay marriage rights along with a Twitter post that read, “ALL LOVE is equal.” That set off a full-blown Twitter brawl with some of her fans. Let’s just say it got nasty, though not as nasty as her recent performances.

In 2012, articles started popping up like “Is Miley Cyrus a Convert From Christian to atheist?” and “Miley Cyrus Loses Her Religion” after she tweeted, “You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, all things that matter for evolution) weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in stars. So forget Jesus. Stars died so you can live.”

Of course, Cyrus made her coming out debut at the 2013 VMAs with her pornographic dance with Robin Thicke. Miley’s perverted performance made Beyonce’s controversial Super Bowl dance look tame and Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction appear rather innocent. If publicity was MTV’s goal with the R-rated performance, the broadcaster can once again claim success.

As I’ve said before, heads probably won’t roll at MTV, but intercession should rise to the throne. We need to battle this in prayer. We need to pray for Miley and her parents who have to stand by and watch as she parades around naked and dates women.

Has Miley sold her soul to the devil? Only she and God know. What I know is this: God loves her with a passion. He’s grieving over her fall—and He hasn’t given up on her. We shouldn’t either.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. She is the co-founder of AwakeningTV.com and a leader in the New Breed Revivalists Network. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and on Periscope @propheticbooks.