Prophets and psychics can both make accurate predictions. Accuracy is not the only test of a true prophet. Test the spirit behind the word because there are many false prophets making true predictions (1 John 4:1).

I posted that on my Facebook page last week, and it stirred up a hornet’s nest I never would have expected. I thought I’d get a few thousand hearty “amens,” open the eyes of some people who had not thought to judge prophecy in this crucial hour and stir up a few devils. As it turned out, it stirred up more than a few devils who seem to enjoy swimming in impure prophetic pools.

Several people asked me to give Scripture to back up the comment. Of course, the Scripture was listed in the comment. In 1 John 4:1, John the apostle clearly states by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Many False Prophets Are Rising

The backlash against the post caused me to realize just how much confusion there is over prophetic ministry, the source of true prophecy, the function of prophet and how some will defend soulish prophecy to the death.

Listen to Jennifer’s podcast on this topic: The Difference Between Psychics and Prophets.

As I always say, we wouldn’t have to test the spirits if it wasn’t for all the prophets who have gone out into the world. Jesus warned that false christs and false prophets would rise in the end times (Matt. 24:11). We’re seeing that now. 

Indeed, I’m seeing blatant misuse of the gift of prophecy. Some who carry the title of prophet have been caught looking over the shoulders of closed-eyed congregants to get an up-close look at their offering envelopes. Later, these prophets give a word to the ones whose envelopes they peeped. Some faithful believers are falling for it hook, line and sinker. 

We’re seeing some who call themselves prophets encouraging people to sow $ so they can tap into God’s protection promised in Isaiah 54:17, which reads: “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me, says the Lord.” Some faithful believers are falling for it hook, line and sinker. We don’t need to pay God for protection like He’s a mafia boss—we just need to obey the Lord and believe His Word.

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Yes, I’m seeing all manner of foolishness in modern-day prophetic ministry, where prophets are operating in deceptive practices for false profits. Jezebel’s puppets are running rampant in the church. And some faithful believers are not only falling for it hook, line and sinker to the detriment of their lives and pocketbooks, but they are defending it vehemently. 

Unmasking the Spirit of Divination

Remember my original post: “Prophets and psychics can both make accurate predictions. Accuracy is not the only test of a true prophet. Test the spirit behind the word because there are many false prophets making true predictions (1 John 4:1).” Now consider this Scripture:

“On one occasion, as we went to the place of prayer, a servant girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ She did this for many days. But becoming greatly troubled, Paul turned to the spirit and said, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out at that moment” (Acts 16:16-18).

So you see, even someone tapping into a spirit of divination—which the Interlinear Bible defines as “to practice divination, divine, observe signs, learn by experience, diligently observe, practice fortunetelling, take as an omen”—can offer an accurate word. Psychics and some false prophets practice divination. They are tapping into a spirit other than the Spirit of God to prophesy. 

The woman with the spirit of divination in Acts 16 was correct—she offered an accurate word—but the spirit behind the word troubled Paul. Ultimately, the apostle cast the devil out of her and set her free from this bondage.

Testing the Spirits

So how do we test the spirits? I wrote an entire book on judging prophecy called Did the Spirit of God Say That? It goes in-depth on the topic with specific real-life examples. But let me give you some starting points because this subject is especially vital in this hour. 

The primary way to test the spirits is to test it against the Bible. The Holy Spirit does not speak with a forked tongue. The Spirit of God and the Word of God agree. In Acts 17:10-11, when Paul and Silas preached the gospel to the Bereans, they were “daily examining the Scriptures, to find out if these things were so.” 

If the word breeds fear, for example, we know it’s not from God because God did not give us a spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7). If the word exalts the person delivering it, we know that’s not God because the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19:10). If the word causes strong confusion, we know that’s not of God because God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). When you know your Word—when you know the Lord—you’ll recognize what’s coming from His Spirit and what’s coming from a different spirit.

It’s a dangerous game to knowingly turn to prophets who are operating in a false anointing. Leviticus 20:6 says, “The person who turns to spirits through mediums and necromancers in order to whore after them, I will even set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” 

It’s also dangerous to do this unknowingly. The Bible warns us over and over and over again not to be deceived. We’re told to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). We must obey the Word and not automatically believe any and every prophecy we hear. We must exercise the gift of discernment and know the Word of God, lest we fall prey to false prophets.

A week before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples the parable of the 10 virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and brought extra oil for their lamps, while five were foolish and did not.

When the bridegroom finally came, five of the virgins were prepared, and five were not. The door of the wedding feast was shut, and five of the virgins were shut out.

In this video devotional, Christian author and Pastor Jamie Buckingham says Jesus told this story to teach His followers that “it’s not enough to belong to His church or simply to pray. It’s not enough to simply be a member of the wedding party, a member of His church. We need reserve oil, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you are down a quart or on empty, now is a good time to ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life and fill you with His power.”

When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them apraying.” Those are the oft-repeated words of the 17th-century Welsh minister and author Matthew Henry.

Little did Henry know when he uttered those words that perhaps the greatest revival in the earth’s history—the Welsh Revival that took place from 1904 to 1905 and, many believe, is the root of every great revival in the world since—would break out in his homeland.

Indeed, the Azusa Street Revival, which is widely considered the birthplace of the modern-day Pentecostal movement, was inspired by intercessors who saw or heard how God was moving in Wales and prayed for the Holy Spirit to sweep over their city. And in 1906, He did.

Over 100 years later, our merciful God has set His people apraying once again—and Lou Engle has been partnering with Him to issue calls for massive intercession over America for more than three decades. Lou is a modern-day revivalist; a prophetic voice who has inspired a generation of youth to fast and pray for God’s mercy and labor for social justice.

When God called me in 2012 to make prayer my life’s work, I looked to the likes of Lou, IHOP’s Mike Bickle and Dutch Sheets—along with history’s intercessors such as Daniel Clary and Father Nash—for inspiration. What I discovered was that there are many different ways to pray for a nation.

You, for example, can walk out 2 Chronicles 7:14—”If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” You can execute strategic Spirit-inspired prayer assignments in your city. You can launch a house of prayer, as I did four years ago. You can gather the masses at stadium prayer events that unite generations to cry out to God—or work on many other initiatives.

Lou has done all that and more and is pulling off perhaps his biggest, most pivotal prayer event ever April 9 at TheCall Azusa at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was thrilling to interview Lou for our March cover story hear about how God called him to intercession for revival and learn about plans for what could be, prophetically speaking, a historic prayer meeting in America.

On the same day in Washington, D.C., pastors will band together to make an appeal to heaven. Meanwhile, Dutch Sheets, who birthed the Appeal to Heaven movement, has launched an app that encourages every Christian in America to pray for the nation 15 minutes a day—and equips us with the tools to do it.

When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is set them apraying. I’ve never before seen so many believers rallying together to pray—and crossing denominational lines to do it.

From The Response prayer events in strategic American cities to prayer rooms in revival centers and churches across America, God is uniting believers to pray for a nation in crisis, invading the seven mountains of society—arts and entertainment, business, education, family, government, media and religion—with the Word of God that promises not to return void but to accomplish that which it was sent to do.

As I wrote in my book The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening, 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, just like Azusa Street.

For all the doom-and-gloom prophecies over America, there is yet a rising cry from respected voices from various streams of the body of Christ who sense God’s heart—and God’s hope—for America even in the midst of discipline. Despite the reality that a degree of judgment has come to America—and that we may continue to reap from the wicked seeds we’ve sown for a longer season—many agree that God is not done with America. There is hope.

As Lou once said, “Now, many look at the state of the nation and are deeply discouraged, but I am filled with hope. I have read history; most great moves of God erupted in the darkest times of crisis and were preceded by years of intercession. Today, I have more expectation for the Great Awakening in America than I ever have had.”

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma, director of the Awakening House of Prayer, a senior leader of the New Breed Revival Network and author of many books, including Jezebel’s Puppets: Exposing the Agenda of False Prophets. Visit her online at .

Jim (not his real name) was fairly active in many of the men’s activities—a “behind the scenes” guy who liked to make things happen but stayed out of the spotlight.

Jim walked into church every Sunday with his family. His wife was involved in the children’s ministry, and his kids were engaged in the youth group. Jim had a great sense of humor and a reputation for being there for guys when they needed someone. A lot of guys knew Jim.

Well, actually, they didn’t know him. They were acquainted with him. What they didn’t know about him was that his longtime marriage was really a struggle. He had been feeling more and more distant from his wife. The occasional drink had turned into several beers every night.

When Jim’s marriage imploded—in a spectacular fashion that included the police—most of the men in the church were caught off guard. Jim was a stand-up guy. How could this happen?

Jim was like a lot of men in the church today. Though the appearances were good, he was like an iceberg. Only a few men ever got to see what was going on beneath the surface. Luckily for Jim, a few guys did know about his struggles—though not the extent of them—and they were there to walk through the aftermath of his poor decision-making.

Regardless of their spiritual maturity, all men go through difficulties at various times in their lives. At any given point, many men in your church may be going through a tremendous challenge. Many times, we ask men, “How many of you are going through a significant struggle in one or more of these areas: finances, marriage, child rearing, aging parents, employment or health?” At least half raise their hands every time.

Men are hurting.

In his book, Seven Seasons of the Man in the Mirror, Pat Morley talks about “Seasons of Suffering” that every man goes through. He cites three reasons he has seen for men to suffer:

• for doing wrong
• for doing right
• for what seems to be no reason at all

You can probably think of men you know who fit into each of those categories.

Unfortunately, many men tend to respond to suffering the same way—whether it’s their suffering or someone else’s—they flee relationship, isolate themselves. Sometimes in an effort to appear strong, sometimes because they just don’t know what to do.

But the Bible is clear about what our response is supposed to be. Jesus told His followers, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). In Galatians 6:2, Paul encourages the Christians in the churches he is writing to, “Bear one another’s burdens.” He says that when you are doing this, you “fulfill the law of Christ.” Many men struggle with two things: Knowing how to ask for help, and knowing how to offer it.

Every man needs to have at least a couple of other men who know them well enough to recognize when something’s not right. In the opening story, Jim had a few friends that were there for him when things got out of hand. They couldn’t prevent the crisis that happened, but they loved him enough to walk through the aftermath. Without them Jim might have ended up hurting himself or someone else.

So just exactly how do you help a hurting man? Eugene Peterson states in his paraphrase of Galatians 6:2, “Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed.”

Here are five practical ways to reach out to a hurting man: 

R Is for Relationships

At Man in the Mirror, we focus on a “life-on-life” approach to men’s discipleship. The first step in helping a hurting man is to have close relationships. Create an environment in the church where men are more than just buddies who talk about sports and weather.

Hurting men can be messy. It takes a godly man to step into that mess. Remember Job’s friends? Sure, they eventually gave him some bad advice, but first they “met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.” They loved him so much that they wept for him. “Meanwhile, no one was speaking to him at all because they saw that his pain was severe” (see Job 2:11-13).

E Is for Encouragement

The writer of Hebrews said, “And let us consider how to spur one another to love and to good works” (Heb. 10:24). Encourage literally means to instill courage in another person.

When a man is going through a difficult time, he needs brothers to come around and give him courage. Remind a man of God’s promises. Reassure him that God has not abandoned him, and that he is not going through this difficulty alone. As a Christian brother, you are the tangible representation of the presence of God.

A Is for Attitude

When walking with a hurting man, sometimes it is our role to hold a man accountable for his attitude. Some men are prone to give in to the despair and assume that things will never get better. This is in spite of the fact that the Lord has brought them through difficulties before. Remind a man of what God has done and encourage him to trust God for His greater purposes.

Jesus assured His disciples, “In this world you will have tribulation.” But he brackets that statement with an assurance of His presence and power, “so that in Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). Keep pointing a hurting man to the gospel of power and peace, and urge him to focus on God and not just his problems.

C Is for Community

Scriptural engagement and biblical community are two crucial aspects of the Christian life. Hurting men may have never experienced biblical community, and may be primed and ready for such an authentic, transparent environment that provides a safe haven for their hurting soul.

As mentioned above, don’t allow a man to isolate himself. Instead, continually invite him to join into community with other men and couples in the church. Ecclesiastes 4:12 reminds us, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

H Is for Hope

A hurting man may lose his health, his job and his family. But the most devastating loss of all is the loss of hope. Discouragement leads to despair, and despair to despondency. Men who are left alone to fester in their misery can give in to hopelessness. In severe situations, sometimes suicide becomes appealing.

Paul reminds us in Romans 15:13 that we believe in a “God of hope” who can “fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We must remember that the battle we fight is a spiritual one. Satan is a thief, Jesus said. He seeks to steal, kill and destroy. He is a wolf who snatches and scatters the sheep (John 10:11-12). When you step into the life of a hurting man, you are doing battle with him against evil.

Don’t retreat from the battle. The life of a hurting man can be lonely, difficult, depressing, frustrating and chaotic. As Christians, we are called to step into that mess and shine the light of the gospel. Engage with hurting men. Draw them into relationship and community. Pray with them and for them. Challenge them to trust God. Help them find hope through their faith in the power of God. Remind them that God will meet them even as a “broken mirror.”

For the original article, visit . Patrick Morley is the founder of Man in the Mirror Ministries.

Want to reduce your chance of getting lung cancer? Perhaps you should put down that bagel.

New Research from the University of Texas found that people who had diets high in carbohydrates could raise their chances of lung cancer by nearly 50 percent.

The London Daily Mail reports the theory is that these diets increase certain hormones in the body, and those in turn increase the risk of lung cancer.

“We observed a 49 percent increased risk of lung cancer among subjects with the highest daily GI (glycemic index) compared to those with the lowest daily GI,” said the lead study author Dr. Stephanie Melkonian to the London Daily Mail.

The study authors say foods with lower glycemic indexes are better for you. Examples of these are pumpernickel bread, and rolled or steel-cut oatmeal.

For the entire story, watch this video here.

For the original article, visit .

The night before He was crucified, Jesus told His followers that they would do greater things on this Earth than He had done. To accomplish those things, He told them to wait for the gift that God had promised them—the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2, the disciples gathered in the upper room, and a mighty rush of wind came upon them and filled the whole house. The Bible says the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues and were filled with power.

Because we are His followers, Jesus wants to empower us to go into all the world and tell others about Him, Christian pastor and author Jamie Buckingham says. He wants to empower us to go into all the world and tell others about Him. So today, ask the Holy Spirit to come into your life and fill you with His power. “You will be astounded and overjoyed with the results,” Buckingham says in this video devotional.

When Lazarus was placed in his tomb, most believed it would be the last they would ever see of him. A heavy stone was rolled over the entrance, and Lazarus would lay in darkness forever.

But when Jesus’ authoritative voice commanded Lazarus to “come forth,” there was life, Christian author and Pastor Jamie Buckingham says in this video devotional. With a single phrase, all of the processes of death were reversed. Lazarus’ body had returned to life with a mere word from God.

Ask yourself this question. Do I have life? Am I free in the Spirit, or am I bound in the grave clothes of dead tradition? Jesus stands today at your tomb, calling you to L’Chaim (life).{eoa}

Worrying about the future is big business and a big burden.

We ask our kids what they want to be when they grow up. Tiger moms and dads pressure their kids to perform at a high level at very tender ages in order to get little Johnny and Jenny out in front of the future. In the process, we are creating kids who are paralyzed by the prospect of not meeting expectations.

Case in point, I asked a high school senior the other day what her college plans were, and she walked away from the whole group. In her mind, it was easier to excuse and embarrass herself than to take on her future. This obsession with controlling the future is getting out of hand, and adults are no better. 

We are constantly peering into the crystal ball, planning ahead, forecasting, imagining what may be and dreaming of new realities and how to avoid potential pitfalls. But what happens when my future fails to meet my own, someone else’s or culture’s expectations?

Answer: It becomes a burden.

Not meeting forecasts, getting behind on “the plan,” missing goals, dates and deadlines can be consuming. Uh-oh—What now? Is the solution to become better planners, make more task lists—properly prioritized—work harder, smarter and longer—constantly chasing the unknown?

The fact is that we are all afraid of the unknown. In the precarious space between the known and unknown, we spend a lot of energy trying to discern the unknown, predicting and protecting ourselves from the unknown at the expense of the present.

Don’t get me wrong, planning ahead is a valuable skill. Wise people always think ahead. But trying to control the future can also become an idol, inhibiting us from loving God and loving others. Few would ever say they actually are trying to control or predict the future, but watch what happens when unplanned disruptions to the “plan” occur. The emotional response says it all without saying it explicitly.

What does God say about worrying about the future? He says, “I’ve got this. Give Me tomorrow, and rely on Me today.”

God used King Solomon to tell us exactly how we can actively put faith back into our future so that we don’t miss the present. Listen closely:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6, MEV).

In other words, TRUST God’s person, LEAN on God’s wisdom and LIVE OUT God’s ways to start getting God’s direction toward your future. This is God’s tried, true and tested way of resetting and returning your faith to your future. The question is this: Are you trusting, leaning and living out your faith presently?

Jesus put all of this into a practical perspective on two specific levels. First, he said “Do not worry about your life … Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

In other words, it is emotionally and spiritually unhealthy to take on the future. Get that. Resolve not to do that. Instead, Jesus says, put that energy into knowing and doing life in God and with God today.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof” (Matt. 6:33-34, MEV).

Still not convinced? Listen to King Solomon again:

“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of distress consider: God has made the one as well as the other. For this reason man will not be able to understand anything that comes after him“ (Eccl. 7:14, MEV).

Because we are not God, we shouldn’t assume His responsibilities. The focus needs to be on being present today and trusting God with tomorrow. We all have problems, and worrying about future ones doesn’t help. God isn’t telling us to ignore them and stop planning or trying to get ahead. He’s just saying let it go. Give it to Him. Trust Him with it. And be present. You have a chance to make a difference in the world when you are dealing in the moment. But chasing the future can steal away our energies, wear on our relationships and erode our ability to be intimate with God and others.

Kenny Luck is the president and founder of Every Man Ministries. As the former men’s pastor at Saddleback Church in California and current leadership pastor at Crossline Community Church, Kenny has found the proven way to improve men’s ministries around the world. Sleeping Giant is this blueprint, and gives men the tools they need to lead and understand their own men’s ministry. Watch Kenny’s teachings at  and start your men’s group today!

Follow Every Man Ministries now on Facebook, Twitter (@everymm,) and YouTube.

For the original article, visit . 

Research results on the first study to link long-term stress with short-term memory outcomes was recently released to the public. Sustained stress levels play a heavy role in memory challenges as well as immune system function. The Ohio State University’s work was released in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The Intruder

Two groups of mice were trained to learn where an “escape hole” was in their environment. Then, the two groups were provided different situations over a period of time. Group one were allowed time in their natural habitat, and they always remembered where to exit via the escape hole when desirable. Group two were introduced to an intruder mouse with a very bad reputation, to say the least. The second group endured long-term stressors during this study.

The mice in group two which previously mastered knowing where the escape hole now was unable to recall the location of the needed escape. The mental anguish of the second group is much like consistent bullying over a period of time. It is also comparable to post-traumatic stress syndromes.

Measurable Changes

Measurable changes occurred in the brains of the second group of mice. When studying the physical aspects of the brains, inflammation was found with the presence of immune cells known as macrophages. The ongoing stress directly created a systemic response to inflammation. This, in turn, created short-term memory loss, and it also affected the immune system of the mice.

The Hippocampi

The hippocampi is the part of the brain that focuses on short term memory, long term memory, and spatial triangulation. This research study focused on changes in this area of the brain that is the “hub” of memory as well as emotional responses.

The stressed group of mice continued to have challenges with spatial memory for close to thirty days. These mice also showed strong signs of avoidance socially which is much like depression; this continued for nearly four weeks during the monitoring phase.

Another interesting finding of this research study is the lack in development of new neurons in the brain. Deficits were detected at the ten-day mark and the 28-day mark after the period of intense stress phase.

Inhibiting Inflammation

In order to inhibit inflammation, the mice were given a chemical to decrease the inflammatory response. The memory loss went away along with the inflammatory macrophages. Unfortunately, the symptoms of depression did not go away, and the negative brain cell changes remained.

The Next Step

Additional studies have been published which link chronic stress to the body’s anxiety response. According to the researchers at The Ohio State University, it is possible to pinpoint specific targets in the response which can be treated in the future with behavior therapy, and/or pharmacology. More specifically, researchers are interested in interrupting the inflammation process that occurs.

The Results

The Ohio State study concluded continued stress is directly linked to inflammation and immune system response. This opens to the doors to a whole new world of therapy based on the immune system’s response to stress.

Uncovering the Secrets

Uncovering the secrets to understanding stress more fully and providing long-range changes to help individuals cope with ongoing stress is very important. Ongoing stress can be related to individuals in bad marriages who continue to stay, employees working for overbearing bosses for long periods of time, and other ongoing traumatic situations. Individuals in armed forces who deal with enduring stress also need increasing ways of coping in a healthy manner to live beyond those times of critical levels of stress.

Don Colbert, M.D., has been board-certified in Family Practice for over 25 years and practices Anti-Aging and Integrative medicine. He is a New York Times best-selling author of books such as The Bible Cure Series, What Would Jesus Eat, Deadly Emotions, What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You, and many more with over 10 million books sold. He is the Medical Director of the Divine Health Wellness Center in Orlando, Florida, where he has treated over 50,000 patients.

For the original article, visit .