The question in the headline is worth asking. Some men may blame women because of the way they dress and the lust it inspires in their hearts. Some women may not understand how men are hardwired.

Shaunti Feldhahn and Craig Gross, the founder of xxxchurch.com, have researched these issues in years and have some candid answers to the question. In their new book, Through a Man’s Eyes: Helping Women Understand the Visual Nature of Men, the duo cuts straight to the heart of the matter.

Charisma News caught up with them to get some insights. You can still read parts one and two of this interview: What Women Don’t Understand About Men Who Struggle With Pornography and Should You Tell Your Wife About Your Porn Problem?

Charisma News: What about women being aware of how they dress? How does that fuel the pornography problem?

Feldhahn: We can’t leave that subject out, can we? It always gets me in trouble with a few women readers—ironically because they don’t “get” what goes through a man’s eyes when he sees the great body in the tight jeans, or the cleavage.

Here’s the key thing: a man is 100 percent responsible for the choice he makes in what he looks at and how he thinks, but women have a responsibility too. This is a difficult culture for men who want to keep their thought lives pure. And if we women want to help a man honor women, then we cannot be adding to his difficulty by how we dress. 

I can’t tell you how many times, before a pastor and I go onstage to do a pastoral interview on understanding men, that the pastor will ask me, “Can we make sure to cover men’s visual nature, and what that means for how women dress in the church? I know women don’t always understand it and my hands are tied. They need to hear this from a woman.”

Gross: Shaunti has convinced me that most women don’t recognize that how they dress actually affects us in the way it does. We spend much of our time at xxxchurch.com telling men they must step up and take full responsibility for how they think and what they look at. But let’s be honest about the fact that if women understood this struggle, I think many women would not want to make that struggle more difficult. 

Charisma News: What would it look like if every woman in the church understood the visual nature of men?

Gross: Our hope is that women would recognize that the way God wired men’s brains is no accident, and embrace the fact that despite the challenges men face today, this is still intended to be a good thing! After all, this visual nature is one of the key things that bonds a man to his wife. We love this visual nature when we are alone with our wives.

Feldhahn: If a woman understands this—truly understands—we think it could transform our ministry to all these men who currently are wrestling alone. Imagine hundreds of thousands of women who suddenly know how to be—and want to be—empathetic to their men, without endorsing any poor choices they might have made. 

Imagine millions of women approaching this topic with both compassion and strength, and the ability to be a safe listening ear for a husband or son. Imagine what would happen if men and boys suddenly felt able to talk about this stuff they may have never talked about before. 

Yes, I’m sure there will continue to be many men who make the wrong choices. We are imperfect people. There will continue to be marriages that are hurting. But as millions of women step up to this type of compassion and strength for their men, as people are finally able to talk about this safely in their relationships, we believe millions of men will be released from bondage and not only able but willing to step up to the high calling that God has for them.

Famines, epidemics and earthquakes are how Jesus foretold the beginning of sorrows in Matthew 24. 

In the United States, there were more than 260 earthquakes in the last seven days. Those startling statistics include a 4.5-magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma and a 6.9-magnitude shaking in Alaska.  

“There is a backstop—the craton, that ancient unbudgeable mass at the center of the continent—and, sooner or later, North America will rebound like a spring,” writes The New Yorker‘s Kathryn Schultz.

And perhaps that rebounding is exactly what Jesus meant. 

One might be prone to brushing off the statistics as an improvement in the scientific recording of earthquakes, but that assumption would be a mistake. 

Of the past, and future, earthquakes, Schultz writes: “In fact, the science is robust … we now know that the odds of the big Cascadia earthquake happening in the next 50 years are roughly 1 in 3. The odds of the very big one are roughly 1 in 10. Even those numbers do not fully reflect the danger—or, more to the point, how unprepared the Pacific Northwest is to face it. The truly worrisome figures in this story are these: Thirty years ago, no one knew that the Cascadia subduction zone had ever produced a major earthquake. Forty-five years ago, no one even knew it existed.”

Those are in the United States, alone. 

Expand the global observation and timeline of these earthquakes, and the picture is far from comforting. Take a look at Nepal earlier this year, or Japan in 2011.

Though scientists from across the world are attempting to predict the quakes, the words of Jesus appear to be manifesting before our eyes: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, epidemics, and earthquakes in various places” (Matt. 24:7).

Modern-day DNA research is confirming the biblical account of Adam and Eve, according to one genetics expert. 

Answers in Genesis’ Georgia Purdom has recently released a documentary explaining her findings and the scientific support for the records presented in Genesis. 

“One of the most compelling genetic evidences for an original human couple created by God is mitochondrial DNA research done by creation geneticist, Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson,” Purdom says. “He clearly shows that the common human female ancestor of us all (biblical Eve) lived within the biblical timeframe of several thousand years ago.”

Jeanson has also done research disproving the evolutionary timescale. 

What the scientific jargon breaks down to is this: If evolution were true, if men and women had been roaming the planet for years, there would be more genetic diversity.

By focusing on the DNA, these scientists have been able to evaluate that men and women can trace their roots back to a man and woman, Jeason writes. 

Though Jeason’s timeline differs, his research echoes a study claiming all men can trace their lineage to a single man who lived 135,000 years ago, a “Genetic Adam.”

“The Y chromosome is passed down identically from father to son, so mutations, or point changes, in the male sex chromosome can trace the male line back to the father of all humans,” LiveScience’s Tia Ghose writes. “By contrast, DNA from the mitochondria, the energy powerhouse of the cell, is carried inside the egg, so only women pass it on to their children. The DNA hidden inside mitochondria, therefore, can reveal the maternal lineage to an ancient Eve.”

For creationists, the scientific evidence backs not only the existence of Adam and Eve and the truth of Genesis, but the overwhelming support for the need of Christ in a broken world. 

Without Adam, Eve and original sin, Purdom says, we wouldn’t have a need for a Savior—and salvation wouldn’t be a necessity.

But through this research, geneticists are proving the case for Christ, not just creation.

“We need the good news, grace and life, which is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Purdom says. “Jesus is the solution to the problem of evil that began in Genesis 3. Paul made this connection very clear in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15.”

“He can make your back feel better,” his mother said. And she was right. The “doctor” healed 9-year-old Pedro Ochoa’s back—the excruciating pain was gone!

But this was no ordinary Honduran doctor. The man was a self-described “new age white magic” doctor—a Satan worshipper. Little did the young boy know that from that moment on, Satan had plans for Pedro’s life.

Pedro’s father was a businessman who traveled extensively. He divorced Pedro’s mother after she had an affair. Pedro, now 14, and his two younger sisters chose to stay with her. Two months later, Pedro’s mom walked out on the children, leaving Pedro in charge of his sisters and an infant cousin she had been caring for.

“I felt so vulnerable,” Pedro recalls. “So incredibly hurt.”

Feeling powerless to change his situation and that he needed protection from the world crashing in around him, Pedro remembered the doctor who healed him through white magic.

“When I told him about my situation, the doctor said he could help me,” Pedro recalls. “He told me that he could give me power and a god who is going to care about me and make me rich. He said that I would be able to grow a lot in this religion and become so powerful that I would be invincible if I would study the materials and consecrate myself to this god.”

For a young boy desperate for control in his life, the promises of the white magic doctor were just what he longed for. Pedro agreed to become a student. He went through the ritual of consecrating himself, including donning an amulet that connected him to his idol/god (the spirit world), and declaring his love for his god.

“At this time in my life, I knew Christians, but I didn’t know anything about the Bible,” Pedro says. “To me, Christians just worshipped a different idol or god; I didn’t know that there was only one true God.”

The doctor’s promises, however, weren’t empty. Powers soon became evident in Pedro’s life. “I started training, and I began to grow in this power—I started with moving small objects with my mind—and my powers continued to grow.”

But the power came at a price. “I started hearing this voice,” Pedro says. “And I knew it was the devil. He would tell me that my destiny was to go to hell with him—it was the reason I was born—and to fight in this huge battle against Christ/God, who is a selfish god that wanted all the glory and praise for Himself. Satan wanted me to fight to help take back what God had stolen from him.”

Pedro sank deeper and deeper into Satanism. He soon was placed in charge of a group of other teens who also desired to grow “their powers.” Pedro says he was given visions about the teens, insight into their lives, making it easy to convince them to follow his lead. They held séances and spoke to the dead, they used an Ouija board regularly with great success, and they spent an inordinate amount of time in cemeteries where things went on that he prefers not to discuss.

As he reflects upon his life, Pedro says there were things he came to realize. The more into Satanism he sank, the less human he was. “I didn’t cry, I didn’t laugh … I had zero feelings,” he says. “Also, I would later learn that these powers I thought were mine, were actually demons working through me. I had opened doors to them and they worked to not only deceive others, but me too! But at the time, I just believed that I was superior to everyone around me.”

“Everyone,” that is, except for these “weird” people.

“Nothing scared me anymore,” Pedro says. “My friends and I were totally in the darkness. But every now and then a weird person would walk by. I knew nothing about God, but these people made me scared. I didn’t want to be close to them. I wanted to run away from them—there was something shining on them … it was just too shiny for me, to the point that I couldn’t even look at them!”

Pedro says that he would later learn that these people weren’t just Christians by name, but people who had the fire of the living God within them—and he feared them for reasons he did not understand.

And although Pedro didn’t know it at the time, his battle with Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit was going to take place much sooner than he imagined.

Now a freshman in college, Pedro found himself in a U.S. English class with an older teacher who was one of those “on fire” Christians. Pedro wanted to turn in a paper late, but the teacher denied him, saying he would fail—but if Pedro would attend his Saturday meeting he held in the class each week, he could turn in his paper after that.

The meeting? A Bible study!

“That Saturday, the moment I crossed the gate into the college, something hit my spirit—it was scary, like I was about to die,” Pedro says. “My body started shaking and I wasn’t even close to the room yet, and the closer I got, the worse I felt … it was like this crazy scared thing moving inside of me, from my head to my feet … it’s hard to put into words how scared I was. I was sweating and felt like I was going crazy. It wasn’t a human scared, it was all the demonic power and devils living in me who were scared to come into the presence of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, … but I didn’t know that then, all I knew was I wanted to run fast and far away from that place.”

Pedro attempted to turn his paper in and leave, but the teacher refused the paper, saying he would need to sit through the meeting.

“They started to talk about God, the Bible, the Son of the Living God, the ABCs of salvation, the Cross,” Pedro says. “I was listening, but fighting with stuff inside of me. But the words started to hit me. God loved me; died on the cross for me; He was not against—he wanted to rescue me!”

As the meeting concluded, the group stood to sing a song and the teacher began to pray for each person. As he prayed, people began to fall to the floor under the power of the Holy Spirit. Pedro knew he was in the presence of some kind of supernatural power as people were falling to the cement floor, but not getting hurt.

Then the teacher came to Pedro.

“We were eye-to-eye when he began to pray and boom! It was like an explosion,” Pedro says. “I fell to the ground, but it felt like falling on a bed. My body began to shake like crazy. I felt this power like electricity going through my head, feet, legs, hands. I knew this was my last day on earth. I remember thinking I can’t receive this kind of power—it was too much, my body is going to explode! It was so strong, I couldn’t resist, like millions of volts in my body.”

Pedro began to yell loudly as he felt the moment of his death approaching—whatever “it” was, was killing him.

But he didn’t die.

“I suddenly realized I could breathe,” Pedro says. “Then this voice came into my mind and kept repeating, ‘God is real! God is alive! Jesus is real! God is touching you now!’ I started to cry like a baby. I opened my eyes and in that moment I realized that the power that was in me was nothing compared to the power of God, which was now touching my soul. I realized I was on the wrong side of the line—I didn’t want to fight against God, I didn’t want to be an enemy of God.”

Pedro stayed on the floor as the powers of darkness drained from him and the Holy Spirit worked in him. After some time, the teacher returned, helped him sit up, then prophesied over him that for the next three days, he wouldn’t be able to sleep as the Lord wanted to speak with him.

It was as the teacher prophesied. For three days, Pedro did not sleep. “Those three days shaped my life,” Pedro says. “God revealed Himself to me, explaining things to me, helping me to understand His power, and how I was now coming to the light, the side of God.”

Pedro moved to Miami not long after his salvation experience. He says he could no longer hang around with his old friends, because when he was in the same room, their efforts to contact “the dead” no longer worked. About six years ago, Pedro, who worked in television, moved to Peoria, Illinois, to assist a church in developing television programming.

He is now the director of evangelism at Hilltop Campus Church, an Assemblies of God U.S. Missions Chi Alpha Campus Ministries church plant near several colleges and universities in Peoria, Illinois. Ironically Pedro, who is now 34, spends time mentoring young people to grow in their prayer lives and experience the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

“Christians need to understand how powerful the name of Jesus is,” Pedro says. “When Jesus is 100 percent in our lives, we are so powerful against the enemy. Nothing is comparable to the power of Jesus—remember, the devil and all the darkness is limited because they are creations, not the Creator. Those who serve Satan can yell and say things, but inside they are scared, shaking, and wanting to run!”

Although Pedro says that early on he would battle with Satan’s attempts to reclaim his life, the Holy Spirit remained his constant companion. Through prayer, Pedro even rejected the healing the Honduran “white magic” doctor performed on his back, which resulted in several years of pain for Pedro before God stepped in and performed His own healing. “That healing I had as a child was Satan’s hold on my life,” Pedro explains. “When I renounced it through prayer, my struggles with Satan were lifted.”

Pedro says he never intended to share his testimony, as he was deeply ashamed of his past life. But through the encouragement of Hilltop Campus Church interim pastor and AG U.S. missionary Dale Crall, Pedro, now the Holy Spirit-controlled follower of Christ, has begun to open up about his experiences.

“Pedro is one of the most spiritually discerning and truth-living Christlike believers I’ve ever met,” Crall states. “He is highly favored of God and is gifted in everything he does. He brings God’s presence in all he does.”

“One of my burning desires is that Christian people can know the power of God’s Word and live in the reality that God is real and close to us,” Pedro says. “That when you walk into a room, people can feel the presence of the Lord with you—it will change your life, and may change their lives too!”

Dear Miley Cyrus,

You’re blunt, you speak your mind and you yell about what you supposedly believe, that is, if you haven’t also outgrown believing in anything the way that you have “outgrown” the Bible. I’m a 21-year-old woman, and I grew up with Hannah Montana. There was an entire generation of girls who wore your face on their T-shirts, sang your songs and played with dolls that were made to look like you. Girls looked up to you; girls emulated you; girls supported you. When your “Can’t Be Tamed” music video premiered, the public exploded saying, “It’s too vulgar.” “She’s too young,” they protested. Even I remember trying to defend you to my parents, to stand up for you. You were just growing up. You were trying to break out of the Disney mold.

Recently, your article for Paper magazine was released, along with a set of extremely revealing photos of you. It seems that every time you want to gain more attention you wear less clothing. However, the pictures are not the most shocking part of the magazine spread. In reading the interview that you did for the magazine, I have to admit that I was shocked, extremely offended and a little bit hurt by the things that you said.

In the beginning of the interview, you talk about being an animal activist, which, as an animal lover, I can very much respect. Then, somehow the interview transitions very quickly to bashing beliefs that are very important and sacred to me and many other people around the world. Calling the story of Noah’s Ark a fairytale is not only extremely offensive, it’s also frankly untrue. Maybe instead of bashing Noah, you should be thanking him for having the courage to follow God’s lead no matter the social backlash that it caused him. Social backlash is something with which you seem to be very familiar. You should understand better than most others how difficult it can be to withstand. Maybe instead of condemning people for believing in Noah, you should be commending them for standing up for what they believe.

In the article, you are quoted saying you’re “the least judgmental person ever.” Somehow, after reading the interview preceding this quote, that feeling does not resonate true. I do feel judged by you. You called everyone who believes in the Bible immature children who still believe in Santa Claus.

I think that I need to tell you what possibly many other Christians have not told you before, and that’s that you are loved. You may no longer believe in God or the things written in the Bible, but that doesn’t make them untrue. God still loves you no matter what you say about Him. That’s the incredible thing about Him. You may have given up on Him, but He’ll never give up on you. I want to personally apologize to you for anyone who may have told you differently, but please believe me when I say that God will never stop loving you. It hurts my heart to know that you may never know what it is to truly experience that love from God which triumphs any other kind of love that you try to experience through what you call expression and love.

My prayer for you in the future is that you find the true love that can only come from turning back to the faith your parents taught you when you were young. I hope that you truly believe me when I say I will be praying for you, and I hope that other Christians will be also. I know what it is to feel empty and to find your worth in how many people know your name, but I also know what it is to find your identity and security in the words that are written in that book that you compared to fairytales. Miley, the only way that the Bible compares to a fairytale is that when you truly understand the words written within it, you can’t help but feel like a princess. That is a desire that no woman outgrows.

This article originally appeared on movieguide.org. Want to know what God’s doing in Hollywood?

I’ve been involved in pastoral ministry for 30 years, and I have a desire to help everyone. But I have learned the hard way that I cannot help every person who attends our church or who comes to me for input.

The following are 10 kinds of people I have identified who are so entrenched in certain habit patterns that I cannot help them advance to the next level unless they make the necessary shift in their attitude or behavior.

1. Those who do not take responsibility for themselves

The first step towards self-improvement is to remove all excuses for mediocrity or failure. Those that continually blame other people for their failures will never go to the next level. Leaders can complain about their spouses, the income level of their congregations, the lack of staff or any other issue, but I have learned that within every challenge is the seed of opportunity for success which requires the creativity of problem solving.

2. Those who do not have a heart to seek God

The Bible teaches us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). Those who do not respect God enough to seek Him and study His Word so they can make wise decisions in life are violating Scripture (Josh. 1:8-9) and cannot be helped either by myself or any other leader or minister. Those who do not obey what God requires for success have decided to try to be successful in life without God’s blessings!

3. Those who create distance so they are not accountable

There are certain people I have met in our church who only let others get so close before cutting off the relationship. Many go from one church to the next because they fear becoming too close to a leader who will hold them accountable. Often some will attempt to attend a megachurch where they will be able to hear the Word of God in the context of a large crowd so that no one will really know who they are. Whether it is fear or rebellion, those who live like this have put a low ceiling on their lives and will not grow past the infant stage concerning their potential in life.

4. Those who insist on having a negative outlook on life

There are some people who refuse to exercise faith in God or think positively as the Word of God commands us in Philippians 4:8. This is because some have a propensity to expect the worst in life so they are never disappointed by anyone or anything! This is a weird way some folks attempt to shield their emotions from the pain of disappointment; it is a very common practice with many people. Jesus often told people that they would receive according to how they believed (for example, Matt. 8:13). Proverbs 23:7 teaches that as a person thinks in their heart so they will be. I cannot empower a person who refuses to think God’s thoughts about themselves and about life.

5. Those who refuse to have a vision for their future

There are many very talented and anointed people I have been in relationship with who live their lives without any strategic plan or vision for their future. They are just living from day-to-day to prepare for their retirement. Those who are successful have a compelling vision that drives them daily and which feeds their souls even more than the desire to make money! Inside of every believer is a God-given kingdom vision for their future. If a person refuses to tap into that as their guiding light—and value that vision as their barometer for success—then my continual pep talks will not do the trick either!

6. Those who live in self-deception

There are many people who are living lives of denial regarding their relationships with God and their families and all things regarding their inner and outer lives. The sad thing is that denial is the first step to outright deception in which a person concocts an alternate, false reality that continually feeds their mind and emotions the things they want to hear about themselves and their key relationships. This insulates them from the word of the Lord from others and the Holy Spirit. When you confront people like this they become upset and blame you for not understanding them or for wrongfully accusing them of something. These are the people I cannot help unless God steps in and delivers them from satanic deception (read 2 Tim. 2:23-25).

7. Those who do not want to pay the price for success

There are many in the church who want the perks of success but don’t want to pay the price for success.

When I was a teenager I had a goal of becoming a master guitar player. For seven years I practiced the guitar for 3-8 hours per day as well as played in numerous bands. While my friends were outside playing ball or wasting time doing drugs I would shut myself up in my house and study jazz, rock, blues, classical and more, and spend hours doing scales on my guitar (which I often did even while watching television). Because of this sacrifice I gained mastery over my instrument in various kinds of music and was in high demand as a musician.

Whatever we do in life, we are called to sacrifice our time, invest our talents, and be committed to a long, grueling process with many setbacks until we reach our peak performance. This kind of sacrifice is needed in every area we desire success in including our marriages, relationships with our children, leading a company or a church, etc.

Consequently, I have found that I am not able to empower a person to the fullness of their destiny if they don’t want to work hard at self-improvement.

8. Those whose primary agenda is individualistic and not kingdom-oriented

There are some people whose only agenda in life is to advance their own agenda. They don’t want to work with a team or flow in the context of a local church. They want me to pour my life into them but they are rarely ever willing to pour back into the church and serve in the kingdom of God. I have learned that those who only want to use the church or God to advance their own agendas (even if it is ministry related) have greatly limited their own lives. Thus, I back away from these people until they change. This is because we are all called to seek first God’s kingdom in which we need to die to our individualistic sense of destiny and sacrifice and invest our time for the good of the body of Christ. This in turn will do more to release our greatest destiny—even more than if we only concentrate on our own agendas!

9. Those who refuse to keep covenant

I have been with very talented individuals with great calling on their lives from whom I had to back away because they did not know how to remain faithful to their obligations or because they broke confidence by continually talking behind other people’s backs. God says that a person who doesn’t keep their word (whatever the cost) and who slanders their neighbor cannot dwell in His tents (Ps. 15:3-4), so who am I to think that this kind of person can dwell in my inner circle for personal development?!

10. Those who lack transparency, humility and integrity

The Bible teaches us to walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7). It also teaches us to confess our faults to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed (James 5:16). Those who do not admit their faults and confess their sins cannot have the kind of relationship with a mentor suitable for personal growth. It is important for me to have a transparent relationship with those I am mentoring since a person who conceals their sins from me is not giving me a chance to fully speak into their life and help them in their areas of weakness. Those who want to progress in their spiritual formation have to learn to practice the spiritual discipline of confession of sin (Prov. 28:13).

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.

When Lifetime rolled out Preach, a new docuseries, in June, I was more than a little skeptical. Core Media Group produced the series, which followed four women who call themselves prophetesses.

These ladies wholeheartedly believe God has given them the supernatural abilities to heal the sick, see the future and rid people of their addictions, otherwise known in Pentecostal and charismatic circles as spiritual gifts.

When I first reported on this show in May, I said this: “If Core Media keeps it real, this could bring God glory and open the eyes of the world to His healing and delivering power.” I was concerned by the description of the show alone that this reality TV series is making a mockery of prophetic ministry and supernatural gifts. You’d have to see the show to believe how much mockery, including a female chest-bumping a man in the aisle.

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As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one who was concerned that this reality TV show starring a “major prophetess” would make a mockery of true prophetic ministry. Tachnia Carter launched a change.org petition against the show that reads:

“The IMAGERY on this show is a TRAVESTY to the Christian Community. The women (aka Prophetesses) are making a MOCKERY of the church and promoting foolish behavior that is not necessarily a true representation of the REAL power of God. Cameras do NOT belong in the church filming the ‘spiritual’ things that society as a whole does not understand. By airing this show it will cause more harm than good to the Christian community who already has a difficult time in sharing ‘The Good News’ of Jesus Christ to the masses. This show depicts the operation of the Spirit of God in a tone that is extremely offensive and buffoonish. The depiction of the women on the show are misrepresenting the church as a whole in a fashion that can best be described as cartoon caricatures. Where do Christians draw the line? By allowing this repugnant, boorish, abhorrent and cantankerous pastiche of a program that Lifetime is calling a show is not only a gross injustice to the Christian community but the American public as a whole. Please show the Lifetime TV Network that the Christian community is ENORMOUS and IF they fail to acquiesce to our request to CANCEL THIS SHOW we will band together and BOYCOTT THE NETWORK!!!”

Nearly 15,000 people agreed with Carter and Lifetime cancelled the show. But what was it, exactly, that Carter objected to? Just about everything. A press release for the series lists the “prophetesses and protégés” featured and reveals plenty of problems with the show’s theology. The descriptions smack of Hollywood hype and seem to discredit the very “prophetesses” they are spotlighting. Read on:

Belinda Scott, who Core says considers herself a “major prophetess,” has reportedly given council to politicians and celebrities across the country. “She has the ability to predict child birth and specializes in blessing the wombs of barren women,” the release reads. Taketa Williams apparently has been called the “Beyoncé of the Preaching World” and supposedly has a global following. Linda Roark’s specialty is delivering people from the street and bringing them to God. That’s awesome! “Known as the ‘Blue-Eyed Soul Sister,’ she has been told that she ‘looks white but she preaches black,’ and is admired in African-American churches for her ability to roar and get the room standing on their feet.”

This Hollywood hype wasn’t a hit in anyone’s eyes. Like I said before, prophetic ministry should not be mocked. Supernatural gifts of healing, discerning of spirits, praying in tongues and so on should not be mocked. God should not be mocked. This show has reproduced the false concepts of prophetic ministry I (and so many others) have worked hard to overcome.

So again, I ask, will the true prophets please stand up, or bow down on your knees and pray against the perversion of God’s gifts?

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. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

When I learned the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage I went into what you might call spiritual shock. I almost felt like someone had died. Someone didn’t, but something did. True liberty and justice for all. I am grieving right now over the false freedom that was birthed out of a false equality movement. I am mourning because true freedom and true equality have been replaced by a counterfeit crusade that truly sets no one free. I am weeping because America has fallen and many in the church are being caught up in the Great Falling Away.

A line in the sand was long ago drawn. Our tyrannical government crossed that line on June 26, 2015. When five Supreme Court justices trampled state rights they knew all too well Christian rights would be trampled along with them. Call it a betrayal of our Constitution. Call it an anti-Christ agenda. Call it an assault on religious freedom. It’s all that and more.

See, crossing this line in the name of equality was a spiritual assault on every believer who calls on the name of Jesus. This isn’t about allowing gays to get married. No, not really. While I stand against gay marriage, it’s not the letter of the law that concerns me most. It the spirit behind the law that truly grieves me. This ruling will open the floodgates to a tsunami of perversion in the land. Pedophiles now want the same rights as same-sex couples. But that’s the topic of another column.

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Of course, we wrestle not against flesh and blood (see Eph. 6:12). Our nemesis here is essentially the spirit of the world (see 1 Cor. 2:12). The church opened the door to the spirit of the world long ago, as is evidenced by the adultery, child molestation, financial improprieties and other scandals running rampant in the body of Christ. Unfortunately, we’ve discovered it’s not so easy to shut the door. High-profile pastors and entire denominations are capitulating to the popular opinion on gay marriage. As Charisma Media founder Steve Strang so aptly wrote, it’s time to stand up and be counted.

I would say that persecution is coming except that it’s already here. Bakeries, bed and breakfasts, pizza shops and farmers are being sued for refusing to accommodate gay weddings. Public officials are being fired for standing for the truth and military chaplains are being told they cannot pray in the name of Jesus. As the saying goes, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

So what is my response to America’s great fall? Will we see a great judgment as so many are saying in this hour? Or will we see a great awakening that spills over into the nations of the earth? This is my response: I am grieving, but I will not fear. I am mourning, but I will not compromise. I am weeping, but I know joy will come in the morning and that joy will strengthen my hope. All is not lost. Yes, we deserve judgment, but I am still believing for mercy. If Jesus gave Jezebel and Nineveh a space to repent, there is still hope for America. And faith is the substance of things hoped for. So I hope and I believe that it will be just as the Lord told me. The Holy Spirit woke me up after midnight on April 21, 2007—long before I ever discerned the need for a Great Awakening—and told me this:

There is a great awakening coming to this nation. For I have heard your cries and I long to heal your land. I am a covenant God and I will not forget the covenant I made with your Founding Forefathers. Yes, there will be a shaking, but the foundations will not crack and they will not crumble. Only those things which can be shaken will be shaken that the sin in the land may be laid bare.

Repentance. I require repentance from My people who have through the generations allowed the enemy to take ground in this nation. I require repentance for the abortions and for the prayerlessness. I require repentance for the apathy and for the idolatry. You shall have no other Gods before me. I am indeed the God of America.

Yes, there is a great awakening coming to this nation. I am the Author of it and I will bring it to pass. Just turn from your wicked ways and humble yourselves. Stand in the gap and make up the hedge. I am the Lord and I am a Warrior. I will not leave or forsake this country. I will fight through you and with you to regain what has been lost.

Be encouraged now because as you go forth boldly with My Word and My Spirit there will be the sound of truth and it will prevail in the land. Speak boldly and clearly and watch as the mighty men arise to take their positions on the wall and in the churches and in the marketplaces. For I am raising up deliverers and reformers in this generation who will not shrink back at the challenge that is coming in the days ahead.

Yes, it will grow darker before My light shines brightly from this nation again. But the light has not been extinguished and will not be extinguished. The time to rise up is now. I am calling you to war. I am calling you to repentance. I am calling you to My side. I am the captain of the hosts. I am calling you to victory. I am calling you to destiny. Will you answer?

I believe this so much that I’ve set my heart labor for it with everything in me until I see it come to pass. I wrote a book on the topic that released almost eight years to the day after I received that prophetic word. In The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening, I included thoughts and perspectives from the likes of Franklin Graham, Reinhard Bonnke, Greg Laurie, Dr. Michael Brown, the late Steve Hill and many others and we’re all agreeing for a spiritual awakening.

I have to keep believing even in the midst of a raging spiritual war. I believe America as we know it died last Friday but I believe America can be born again. Like Winston Churchill said during World War II when the situation looked dire, “Never, never, never, never give up.”

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. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

When you walk in the Spirit, His plans for your life can differ greatly from your own.

Just ask former practicing attorney and adjunct professor Jill Donovan, who is now the face of one of Hollywood’s fastest-growing trends: Rustic Cuff.

“I had no desire or passion to this, but God’s ways prevailed, I told Him, ‘I’m yours,'” Donovan says. “… I’m not forcing it. I just embrace the change, and when I do that, even bigger things can happen. My life (has) an overriding theme of what God can do when (I) embrace how the path changes.”

Stories like this and more are detailed in her new book, The Kindness Effect, out now.

Every time a cuff sparkles in the spotlight, the Oral Roberts University grad is reminded of God’s faithfulness, even though her journey started with utter humiliation.

After years of trying to get on Oprah Winfrey’s show, Donovan was awarded a chance when she submitted a story about her regifting closet, a trove of gifts that would jump homes.

Donovan was happy to tell her story to the audience and the eventual 20 million broadcast viewers. But two etiquette queens on the show had some other ideas.

After hearing her tales, they tore her to pieces, calling her methods tacky, and sending Donovan on a spree to empty all the shelves in her home, never to regift again … or so she thought.

“Every situation I had been in up until that point, God had proven himself faithful,” Donovan says. “Even though I didn’t understand (the) meaning of why something turned rough when I thought it was going to go right, I remembered how faithful God was in my life in every other situation, and it was easy to trust Him because I already experienced His goodness. It was not less difficult, but just allowed me to relax a little bit. … Even if I never found out the meaning, I knew God’s purpose would prevail.”

Years later, a purpose, simple and shiny, was revealed.

Those emptied shelves were replaced with hand-crafted cuffs made to be given away to remind others of the Father’s love.

Once created, Donovan began mailing her cuffs out to people she wanted to wear them, and it wasn’t long before she spotted them on the arms of Kathie Lee Gifford, Harry Connick Jr., Sherri Shepherd, Brittney Spears and Giuliana Rancic, among others.

And while she geeks over the celebrity love, her goal in this was never to achieve fame in the world’s eyes; rather, it was to show someone at any given moment how much they matter to God.

When Donovan dresses each morning, she prepares her heart for what the Lord wants her to do: Her right arm is filled with gifts from her daughters, and her left is stacked with cuffs awaiting the Holy Spirit’s prompting.

As she moves about her day, she meditates in the Spirit, asking the Lord whom she should speak to and how to minister. When He answers, she uses the cuff as a talking piece and gives it away as a reminder of His goodness.

“That one moment in a person’s life, when you give them (a) cuff, they are the center of Someone’s universe,” Donovan says. “It’s not about what (the cuff) says. What it is, the action of being led, being present where you are, saying, ‘OK God, is this someone I’m supposed to talk to?’ That’s not something three years ago I would have ever dreamt, and it’s definitely evolved.”

When the cuffs hop arms, Donovan is affecting change in the world. She’s reminding men and women that when the Holy Spirit prompts us, we can serve and show love that can radically change lives.

I never would have guessed that so many different leaders from so many different camps in the body of Christ would agree on this.

I mean, we argue and fight over so many things. We get in silly disputes over praying in tongues, whether God is still healing today, if women can speak in church—along with more serious debates over gay clergy.

But when I was writing The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening, I found that everyone I spoke with had the same message on their heart: God is not done with America. He wants to bring a Third Great Awakening to the nation. I believe it’s a Great Awakening that will spill over into the nations of the earth.

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Recently, I joined Dutch Sheets and Eddie Hyatt in a CBN segment called “Awakening: American Church Stirring With Revival?” Check out the video below and let me know what God is speaking to you about the future of America.

You can also get an autographed copy of my new book, The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening, on my website.

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. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.