Read Time: 5 Minutes 19 Seconds

Depression, anxiety, crime, pornography and suicide. These are words that are frequently associated with children in America today, and they paint an ugly picture of the culture that has been forced upon them.

Ever searching for something—anything—to entertain them, children have often turned to the toxic environment of violent and provocative video games and television that pollute their minds with images of death, sex and other things that have drawn them away from biblical teaching and a relationship with their Creator.

And it’s something that breaks the heart of Brent Dusing, the founder and CEO of TruPlay, a Christian entertainment company that has created transformative digital experiences for children in the form of games and products that embed a faith message into an engaging and interactive medium.

Dusing says his company is not only a business, but it’s a movement to help draw children of all ages, including teens, to engage with Christ and with the Bible and to help set them on a path to a Christ-like life of love and encouragement instead of one of despair and destruction.

“What we’re doing is we’re building a multimedia experience for families that is beautiful, fun and exciting, but that also contains God’s Truth,” Dusing says. “This is really a movement we’ve started to say, hey, we’ve got to stand up for the next generation. We’re the adults in the room. I know there is a lot of people out there that are passionate about our culture and what our responsibilities are to the next generation.

“We want to change lives for children—not just in America—but around the world. And we want to do our best to represent hope and God’s truth and to be a voice that says, hey, God loves you. You’re a special and wonderful creation, and yes, the Bible is true. There are a lot of wonderful things that God’s Word contains, and we’re telling them that they can have fun and entertained and participate in virtue.”

And how is TruPlay going about it? In September, the company launched the first major NFT release by a Christian company with the release of 6,650 Genesis NFTs, which a press release says “minted out within 10 minutes” on Sept. 15.

Secondary sales of the NFTs on the day of the release yielded more than $200,000 in volume within the first 24 hours on OpenSea, the world’s largest web3 marketplace for NFTs and crypto collectibles.

A total of 7 million people played the first versions of Tru-Play’s Bible-based games. TruPlay’s market research shows that millions of non-Christians parents also prefer faith-based games because they don’t want their children playing games that feature dark and senseless violence.

According to Dusing and TruPlay’s research:

• The average child is on screen 52.5 hours a week.
• Anxiety, suicide and depression rates are at all-time highs for children, precisely tracking with the use of social media on smartphones.
• Most secular games today feature violence and other illicit activities that are linked with depression and mental health problems.

TruPlay’s Games

As for the logistics of the games themselves, the newly-released NFTs, according to TruPlay’s press release, represent seven heroic characters, each unique in personality and purpose, who live in ‘RhymVerse,’ a gaming world where God is real, and the Bible is true. The heroic animal children have their own unique personalities and struggles. They use their giftings to restore truth and goodness to the many environments in RhymVerse. To face the various evils around them, the heroes must use all their weapons to win the fight, including their childlike faith and reliance on God.”

RhymVerse is currently in development and will launch in 2023.

“Many people are often quoted as saying children are our most precious resource,” Dusing says. “But if you were, say, an alien, and you came to earth, you wouldn’t really see that right now.”

But the games are not only for younger children, but for teens as well. TruPlay produces Bible-based games like “Stained Glass,” a match-three game that was designed by two Apple Award winners and was the most popular and highest-rated Christian game in the App store.

“The Journey of Jesus” and “The Journey of Moses” each take players through the major story arcs of the Bible, incorporating Scripture and using digital animation and engaging gameplay.

Dusing Was a Gamer

A gamer himself as a kid, Dusing grew up on video gaming systems like Nintendo, and on individual games like, Zelda and Mario Brothers. He has pioneered game creation with Christian content through Lightside Games, a Christian gaming studio reaching more than 7 million game players worldwide. Engaged in a partnership with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, that resulted in 25,000 decisions for Christ.

As the founder and CEo of Cellfire, Dusing created the nation’s leading mobile coupon company used at grocers like Safeway and Kroger.

But products of Dusing’s youth, mostly harmless ventures for kids during the 1980s and 1990s, have morphed into today’s video games like video games like Dead Space 2, Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty: Black Ops. These are only three of 10 that labels as “10 Violent Video Games to Avoid.”

Dusing acknowledges that, with today’s technology, kids are going to gravitate toward their iPhone’s and toward video games to keep themselves entertained, but that something more positive and more wholesome must be offered to them to keep them out of trouble. A 2018 study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences only confirmed the link between violent video games and physical aggression, yet the gaming companies continue to churn them out and to appeal to kids.

“It’s just part of our cultural fabric,” Dusing says. “But the reality is as Christians, we have to realize that, for most people 50 and under, we grew up with video games. Games are just as much of the cultural fabric as movies are. It’s a massive form of the cultural conversation.”

A Focus on the Family article revealed that, before the days of the Internet, “children were typically between the ages of 11 to 13 when they began by viewing soft-core pornography found in magazines. … Some researchers have stated that the average age of exposure to pornography is down to eight.”

In addition, Dusing says, the statistics on children’s exposure to Jesus and the Bible are way down.

“The worst statistic of all is that, while 62% of Americans over 40 believe in God, only 32% of children believe in God in America,” Dusing says. “That’s inconceivable.”

And that’s what TruPlay games, based out of West Lake Hills, Texas, is all about—changing the culture for a safer world for our children. A full platform of other new games, videos and related content will release in 2023. The company says it has raised “over $20 million in investor capitol, which validates its vision to create safe, edifying content for children.”

“I would encourage people to go to our website and, even though we don’t launch until next year, they can enter their email so they can get notifications of when it comes out,” Dusing says. “We’re on social media—Twitter, Facebook, Discord. We would love to have people support us, but we’re also doing tests with these games.

“And oh, we’re hiring a lot of people. If anyone is interested in working with a very high-caliber, world-class team of technology experts and game makers and story tellers, we’d love to talk to you.” {eoa}

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

Read Time: 7 Minutes

One of the most frequent questions members of the He Gets Us movement receive are, “who is behind this, and is there an agenda?” In a culture that has become increasingly hostile to the kingdom of God, the suspicions run deep because the “He” in that phrase just happens to be Jesus.

But Brad Hill, a spokesperson for the recent phenomenon that is sweeping not only the nation but globally as well, says He Gets Us has only a simple yet powerful mission: to point people to rediscover Jesus.

Two years ago, a group of believers who wanted to do exactly that had a question of their own about Jesus they wanted answered: “How did the world’s greatest love story become known as a hate group?” It was a question that wouldn’t leave the minds of the group’s founders, and it was a question that needed to be answered—and quickly considering the rapid deterioration of our culture.

“At the root of this project is this simple but powerful idea that Jesus is an incredible figure, and those of us who follow Him know the fullness of why He came,” Hill says. “But we also know that, in our culture today, there is a lot of misunderstanding. And, there are a lot of people that may not have ever seen a full picture of Him.

“So, from that question sprang up a fairly significant body of research. What we learned was that, and it’s no surprise to anyone, that in our culture today we have some issues in terms of the way people view the churches and Christians. We sometimes carry some baggage in the way people view us.

“But when we get to the question of Jesus, even folks who would definitely not call themselves a Jesus follower or a religious person, we have found that people might say, ‘Jesus gave us a good example to follow.’ Some people, during this research even said things like, ‘if the world followed the way Jesus taught, we’d be better off.’ We couldn’t shake that idea and we said that, if we lead with Jesus, we really believe that there is an opportunity here to reach people who may not be walking the walk but who are open spiritually enough and just curious enough to learn more about Jesus.”

And the message is working. With a $100 million advertising campaign that includes spots on national television, on billboards nationwide, online ads and matrix boards in stadiums and arenas, He Gets Us is targeting millennials and Gen Zer’s with a message that the Jesus of the Bible didn’t lean left or right. He wasn’t a Democrat or Republican.

He was someone that, during His time on earth, who struggled just like you do. He’s someone that was judged, just like you are at times. He was fed up with politics, just as you might be right now.

But Jesus is also someone that simply loves you—a God that is no respecter of persons.

Made possible by a small group of donors from wealthy anonymous families, He Gets Us is also present on YouTube. In five months, its channel has grown to more than 8,000 subscribers, but it has also been viewed more than 350 million times.

“One of my favorite illustrations is something I call the ‘water cooler moment,'” Hill says. “And this is happening every day from the stories we are receiving from people. If you’re a pastor, for example, you would imagine someone in your church who works a job Monday to Friday to maybe go in to work on Monday and tell someone, ‘Hey, I saw this Jesus commercial on the football game last night.’

“So, what illustrates the ads is that it’s part of the strategy on the scale of He Gets Us, that the ads are part of the strategy to open doors to evangelize or introduce people to Jesus. The ads are helping to start that process for us. And, they are driving people toward the people who serve in your church. What I always ask pastors is, ‘How do you get your people ready for those conversations when they happen?’ That’s a big driver for us, for a lot of the resources we have.”

Many people come to He Gets Us with some tough questions, Hill says. Many have a sketchy background, and they wonder if they’re even redeemable in Jesus’ eyes. Some have been turned off by a negative reaction from “church” people, and they believe that they are “too far gone.”

But that’s where He Gets Us comes in, to dispel and debunk those naysayers.

“Some will come to us to share their story, and they may be ashamed of something they’ve done in their past,” Hill says. “They’ve been made to feel bad about it. But that’s far from what Jesus was about. They want to know if God still loves them, and is there a place where they can get closer to God. ‘Is it too late for me to explore Jesus?’ They need to know that Jesus was just like us.

“If there was one thing Jesus was clear on, it’ was His love for everyone. That has no exceptions. The first thing we want to do is love on these people. Maybe it’s just a simple text to say that, with Jesus, their slate gets wiped clean. The important thing is just to meet them where they are and help them know that Jesus loves them.”

There are several ways in which you as an individual can engage with He Gets Us. Upon visiting the company’s website, you can chat live with team members; you can text for prayer, you can sign up to join a small group with the global ministry Alpha, or you can find a Bible reading plan on the YouVersion app.

Churches can also find resources in which to equip members of their congregations to make disciples, to “go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 28:19).

“We have a high view of Scripture and a high view of Jesus, and we believe in what the Bible says that we are the children of God and we have access to everything Jesus had,” Hill says. “At the same time, the strategy of the campaign is what some might call pre-evangelistic, and we are trying to reach those folks that are a little further up the scale and are just discovering Jesus. We feel like those topics are conversations best handled by ministries and churches that partner with our camp.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re eager and we’re hungry to have as many churches as are interested to join in. When people say they are ready to connect, conversations like that would be the kinds of things we think our churches and ministries would want to engage in.”

So, does He Gets Us have an agenda? There is little question about that.

“We’re very careful to point out that no single church or denomination is represented here,” Hill says. “We want to work with as many as we can. We’re not left or right. Just pointing people to Jesus, that’s our goal and our plan. There has been a gradual erosion in how people view the church and Christians. But we hold fast to Scripture and we believe that the church is a critical part of God’s plan in this campaign.

“People may not believe that Jesus was God, even if they believe He was a good person. … We want people to take a fresh look at Jesus. One of the things we’ve heard is that some people feel like to get to Jesus, they have to go through Christians. We want to offer them the chance to learn about Him and what He said and did. We want them to read about Jesus in the Bible. But we also want them to know that there is no prerequisite that you have to pray a prayer, go to church or believe certain things before you can explore Jesus.”

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

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Read Time: 3 Minutes 24 Seconds

It’s a question that believers grapple with every year at this time. Should Christians avoid Halloween?

Some believers simply don’t feel that it carries any spiritual implications, while others see it as a dangerous event to celebrate, especially for Christians.

But what do pastors think about Halloween and how members of their congregations should handle it? The results may be surprising.

A recent Lifeway study reveals that, while few pastors are refraining from influencing their church members’ engagement in Halloween, only 13% of them say they encourage people to avoid Halloween altogether.

Christian alternatives to the events of Oct. 31 have become popular in recent years, with churches holding Fall festivals or engage in trunk-or-treat substitutes for handing out candy to children who dress up in costumes.

But deliverance minister Kathy DeGraw says that demonic doors can be opened even in these seemingly “innocent” variations, and that churches and pastors shouldn’t give the enemy that opportunity.

“The Bible says to give no place to the devil,” DeGraw says. “I think when we look at Halloween, what we have to look at is how many doors we can close so that we give no place to the devil. The adversary goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And we need to make sure we are living a righteous, pure, clean, holy life so that we are not someone that he can come and devour or that he’s even seeking.”

Indeed, Ephesians 4:27-28 reads: “Do not give place to the devil. Let him who steals steal no more.”

First Corinthians 10:21 also supports DeGraw’s claim, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”

“There will be people who will find different churches to go trunk-or-treating, but let’s not have our church be that place, because when we allow our church to be that place, we’re setting ourselves up—our church, our ministry—for spiritual warfare attack,” DeGraw says. “Anton LaVey, the founder of Satanism, says he loves it when Christian parents dress their kids up for Halloween, because in the spiritual realm, there’s just no differentiating between dressing them up as a spider or a goblin or dressing them up as an angel or a biblical character to the demonic realm that has made it [its] mission to curse us and wreak havoc on us.

“We are opening a door; we are opening a gateway when we allow that participation. That’s why I really believe, that if you want to do something for Halloween, the best thing we should do is spend that time in prayer, and do evangelistic outreach 10 days later.”

Remember pastors, that you are the gatekeepers and the shepherds here, and that your congregations lean on you for advice in these crucial spiritual matters—after consulting the ultimate word, the Bible, that is.

The Lifeway survey also revealed that only 8% of pastors said they don’t encourage their church members to participate in any of these alternatives.

“Few pastors simply ignore the fact that so many Americans participate in Halloween celebrations,” Lifeway Research executive director Scott McConnell says. “Most pastors focus on the social nature of these celebrations, encouraging their congregations to engage with others outside their church.”

Nearly three in five (58%) pastors say they want church members to build relationships with neighbors who trick-or-treat. More than one in three (34%) pastors encourage church members to hand out gospel tracts to trick-or-treaters.

The survey also reveals that older pastors, those older than 65, are those who are who are likely to encourage their churches to avoid Halloween completely (20%). They are most likely to not encourage their church members to respond to the annual event in any way (14%).

The Lifeway study showed other intriguing statistics. African American pastors are among the most likely to encourage their congregations to avoid Halloween (32%).

In terms of church size, pastors with congregations with less than 50 members are the most likely to encourage their congregations to avoid Halloween altogether (16%).

Here are more statistics from the survey:

• White pastors are the most likely to encourage congregations to build relationships with neighbors (61%) and invite neighbors to church events (73%)..
• Pastors in the South are among the most likely to encourage church members to hand out gospel tracts (38%)..
• Evangelical pastors (42%) are more likely than mainline pastors (28%) to encourage members to hand out gospel tracts. {eoa}

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

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Read Time: 2 Minutes 19 Seconds

Generals International’s Cindy Jacobs says we have arrived at a place in time where God is shaking the nations. The prophetic word for many, even believers, brings an overwhelming feeling of anxiety as we go deeper into the end times.

But Jacobs, in an interview with CBN’s Chris Mitchell in Jerusalem, says Christians shouldn’t fear what God is doing and to prepare for it by embracing the revival and awakenings that are taking place globally.

“God gave me the scripture when He says, ‘once again, I will shake the nations,'” Jacobs says. “So, we’re at that point where God indeed is shaking the nations. He’s shaking it so that people will get saved, and so that we as His children will let go of a lot of things we need to let go of so that we can move into a place of destiny.”

So how should believers prepare for this shaking?

“Number one, don’t be afraid,” Jacobs told Mitchell. “All of us have a measure of fear inside of us that maybe we’re not aware of. So, we must trust God for provision. I remember one time when my husband got laid off and God said, ‘you say you trust Me.’ Well, He said, ‘you trusted in your paycheck. Now you are going to trust me.’ Whatever happens, the Holy Spirit is trying to get us ready.

“And then, in the natural, get out of debt. Don’t pile up debt. The word I just preached here (in Jerusalem) is that God is establishing Goshen’s. If you remember from the Old Testament, Goshen was the place that Joseph prepared for his family in Egypt. God is preparing Goshen’s for us—places where we will feel safe and where we will have provision, where we will have what we need.

“We can trust Him. God is a good Father. God is going to do that, even in the midst of those who have been displaced. I just want to say to them that God is moving you into a place of blessing. Sometimes everything gets reset, everything gets torn up, but it’s always toward a blessing for us in the end.”

Jacobs says spiritual awakenings are taking place all over the world right now, even in the most unexpected places. It’s an exciting time to live, she says, and we should rejoice in what is happening.

“Whether it’s the stadiums in Europe that are being filled or the revivals that are happening in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and in Holland, He is bringing revival,” Jacobs says. “I’m always receiving pictures of places in the Middle East where they are gathering in the midst of [a] huge crisis.

“We might not recognize it, but literally, millions are getting saved right now; millions in Iran. There is a huge move of God in Iran right now. … So, keep your eye on the prize and not the problem.” {eoa}

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

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Read Time: 3 Minutes 34 Seconds

Christian mother of three Jamie Gooch, from Troy, Texas, says that “Hocus Pocus 2,” a Disney Halloween-themed movie released this past week to theaters and to digital streaming, could “unleash hell on your kids” and upon your home and family because of its glorification of witchcraft.

The movie, the sequel to the highly-popular “Hocus Pocus” from 1993, stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Katy Najimy.

The Twitter video has gone viral and has more than 762,000 views since Oct. 5.

reported that Gooch told a local television outlet that “she’s personally seen how things on TV have become ‘manifested in real life.'”

“Everybody thinks it’s fake and innocent, but they could be casting any type of spell they want to, anything could be coming through that TV screen and into your home,” Gooch told KWTX.

“I love everything about house and home and I believe everything starts here,” Gooch told KWTX. She told the television outlet that she and her husband stop celebrating Halloween five years ago with their three children because of its spiritual implications.

“It grieves me, the thought of exposing our kids to darkness,” she said. Gooch said there is a spiritual war being waged against homes in America, and that Hollywood is a “big part of the problem.”

On Sept. 26, Gooch made this post to her Facebook page about “Hocus Pocus 2” as a plea to mothers and fathers who are thinking about allowing their children to watch this movie. She said the parents have the responsibility to be the “gatekeepers” of their homes:

“Mommas, I feel a strong conviction to share a word with you … As mothers and wives, WE are the gatekeepers of our homes. Meaning whatever we allow in has a rightful place to reside and grow there because WE have given it permission; whether good or bad; fruitful or rotten.

“With the release of ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ coming up, I would not be wrong to sound the alarm and warn you to protect your children. After all, the whole movie is based on the harvesting of the purity of children’s souls so that witches may live on. Hocus Pocus, by definition, means ‘meaningless talk or activity often designed to draw attention away from and disguise what is actually happening.’ What is actually happening when we watch these films? What are we subjecting our minds to? What are we welcoming into the homes of our families?

“It seems silly to say, right, that you would need to consider what is coming through your TV screen. It seems innocent. Until it’s not. I’ll try to be brief. Please hear me when I tell you the truth that the witches and warlocks in the satanic church abuse and sacrifice children in their ‘spiritual rituals’ to gain more power in the underworld.”

Gooch goes on to say that she, too, has “fallen into the trap” a time or two, and that she had to endure spiritual warfare because of “her own ignorance.”

Religion News Service reporter Heather Greene says the film has taken a different view of witchcraft than the original did nearly 30 years ago. She wrote, “witchcraft is no longer evil” in our culture.

“Flash-forward 29 years. Satanic panic is ancient history and modern witchcraft has fully emerged from the proverbial broom closet, legally recognized and accepted as a spiritual path and religion. Pentacles appear on gravestones even in veterans’ cemeteries. Prison chaplains host Wiccan circles and satanists fight openly for religious equality. Occult practices, such as tarot, are now openly practiced by teens from all walks of life and all faiths.”

A promotional poster for the film even touts the phrase, “Back and more glorious than ever.”

The Bible is clear about what you allow into your heart, and how it can affect you. King Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2).

So, Gooch warns, before you decide to watch movies such as “Hocus Pocus 2,” to make sure your mind is guarded.

“Ask yourself if not only your mind but your children’s minds, are strong enough to ward off the hypnotization and bewitching trance that will becoming through the screen to aid in the desensitization of the coming evil of this world,” Good says. “Don’t fall victim to the schemes of hell. Awaken and rise up, mommas. There’s a war being raged on our homes. ”

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

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During the days of Nazi Germany, there arose a Confessing church movement that rose against the German church movement, which became the religious arm of the Fascist Nazi Socialist movement. Of the 18,000 pastors in Germany during that time (from 1933 to 1945), less than 5,000 were aligned with the Confessing church.

Hence, only a remnant held fast to the biblical position, with about half of the confessing churches eventually conforming due to political and societal pressure. Unfortunately, this demonstrates that when push comes to shove, many pastors, churches and so-called Christians will probably bow to pressure and allow the norms of culture to become their credo for Christianity.

Hitler said, “You can do anything you want with pastors, they will submit. They are insignificant little people, submissive as dogs and they will sweat with embarrassment when you talk to them.” (Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Eric Metaxas, 180). This sounds like some of the contemporary pastors in Western culture who always acquiesce to cultural “group think.”

With the accelerated pace of the attack on religious liberty today, there could develop a great divide in the church between confessing churches and compromising churches, similar to what happened in Nazi Germany. This will not be a divide based on denominational affiliation, but based on the degree of loyalty to biblical fidelity. It is sad but true that more and more believers will compromise core biblical values and standards rather than be stigmatized or persecuted, losing influence in society. We see this in churches in the United States and beyond.

In John 12:42-43, we see that many contemporaries of Jesus believed in Him but would not confess Him because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The following are contrasts between the confessing church and the compromising church:

1. In the confessing church, Christ is over culture. The compromising church accommodates Christ to culture. The confessing church believes Jesus is Lord over all creation. Hence, it attempts to reflect Christ in every area of culture. The compromising church has a posture of accommodation. Therefore, the Christ they believe in and preach is shaped by the culture it lives in.

2. The confessing church holds fast to God’s Word despite opposition. The compromising church alters the Word of God because of opposition. Soon in America, preaching from specific Bible passages dealing with human sexuality may be illegal. Because of this, many will alter their theology to fit the culture, while the confessing church will preach the Word of God despite governmental fines, penalties, lawsuits and even serving time in jail.

3. The confessing church puts the kingdom of God above culture and ethnicity. The compromising church puts its ethnicity before the kingdom of God. The German church, during the Nazi era, put nationalism and their Aryan heritage above the Word of God. Many pastors and believers today view the scriptures more through their ethnicity and national heritage than through proper exegesis of scripture. When our nation officially makes biblical Christianity illegal, we will soon see who will be the confessors and who will be the compromisers. In many ways, practicing biblical Christianity is already unlawful when it comes to believers attempting to walk out of their faith in the marketplace. For instance, many private Christian-owned businesses do not have the same level of protection today as local churches.

4. The confessing church alters its methods of preaching. The compromising church alters the message they preach. While it is wise and biblical for the body of Christ to be relevant to culture regarding the preaching of the gospel, it should never put being relevant above being faithful. The compromising church puts being relevant before biblical faithfulness. Hence, it changes not only the method of preaching but also the message it preaches.

5. The confessing church is a remnant in the minority of church and state. The compromising church wants to be in the mainstream of both church and state. The confessing church endures long seasons of feeling like aliens and strangers in its community. The compromising church wants to be in the mainstream culture more than living in the divine flow of God’s favor and presence.

6. The confessing church is penalized by the state government. The compromising church is applauded by the state government. While the humanistic state hunts down and ostracizes the confessing church, the compromising church is celebrated by the far-left radicals and used as a model of how church and state should function together.

7. The confessing church prophetically speaks truth to power. The compromising church conforms to those in power. The confessing church knows that at various seasons in its existence, it will not gain a lot of converts or experience societal transformation. The best it can do is to maintain a prophetic witness to the cultural elites and surrounding communities. The compromising church enjoys the power and prestige the elites grant it; it always conforms rather than confront.

8. The confessing church desires the praise of God. The compromising church desires the praise of men. Ultimately, it boils down to this: are we living for the praise of men or the praise of God? If things don’t change in the coming days, we will be shocked at how many megachurches, mid-size churches and smaller churches compromise the Word of God so they can continue to keep their doors open.

At some point, we will all have to stand the ultimate test: whether we desire God more than we love our lives or our pleasures, conveniences and material goods. Truly, if we confess Christ before men, He will confess us before His Father in heaven, but if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32-33). {eoa}

Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally-known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church, and leads several organizations, including The U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is the author of 13 bestselling books, including his latest The Purpose, Power, and Process of Prophetic Ministry, and is renowned for applying Scripture to contemporary culture.

When speaking at the recent Turning Point USA Faith event in San Diego, Calif., Pastor Shane Idleman made this eye-opening statement for not only pastors, but the entire body of Christ:

“Pastors, without boldness and brokenness, we will accomplish little. Leonard Ravenhill once said, ‘You must weep before you whip.'”

Idleman is obviously looking forward to a Great Awakening in the body in the near future, but he says revival won’t come without a cost and that believers must surrender to the Cross to bring about such a revival.

“If it took praying and fasting to get the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, let me submit to you that it’s going to take prayer, fasting, brokenness and humility to maintain it,” Idleman says. “Don’t fall into the trap that ‘God can’t use me.’ Seek the heart of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

“People call me political. I preach the gospel and I stand up for difficult things. If you stand up for the truth, you will be political. Get over it. That’s a badge of honor. Politics just means leading a group or governing people. God’s Word has plenty to say about that. … We want to make a difference in our culture, but you have to have boldness and humility.”

Click here to watch the video for the rest of Pastor Idleman’s incredible message.

Read Time: 1 minute, 50 seconds

Like many Americans, Rabbi Curt Landry was horrified at the FBI’s recent invasion of former President Donald Trump’s personal residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. And, Landry says, this unspeakable action has a prophetic significance for the body of Christ.

“The Scripture that the Lord gives me about this comes from Haggai 1, beginning in verse four,” says Landry, the founder of Curt Landry Ministries. “‘Is it time for you yourselves to live in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you do not have enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bad with holes.'”

So, what does that scripture mean for the body of Christ? Landry explains:

“What is God saying? What is the prophetic peace that’s coming from the invasion of the personal residence of the 45th President of the United States? Where is the breach? What has opened up? I believe it’s right there (in Haggai). It’s time that we (the body) put our dwelling places, our personal selfish needs, dreams and desires to the side to seek first the kingdom of God. Maybe so much not like a physical temple, but the spiritual kingdom of God.”

Landry went on to pray:

“Father God, forgive us for putting our personal needs, dreams and aspirations, Lord, ahead of you as the Creator of heaven and earth. And Lord, we return to You and we align our hearts with the priority of seeking You first and let all other things come to us. Lord, thank you for waking us up to the times and the seasons which we live and bringing us the prophetic peace that brings peace to us. In Jesus’ name, Shalom.

To watch more of this prophetic video from Curt Landry, click here.

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

The Bible teaches us that God is our source of provision, no questions whatsoever. But have you learned how to dip your bucket in the well of His supply?

If you’re struggling financially—and many believers are these days—you must learn what the Bible says about prospering God’s way in the tough times. Scripture says in Philippians 4:19 that “But my God shall supply your ever needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.”

“Even during the toughest times financially, economically, whatever’s going on out there, we have come in from the storm and we are in a place of protection,” says Pastor George Pearsons on Kenneth Copeland’s Believer’s Voice of Victory.

In The Message Translation, Jude 1:1-2 says, “I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!”

“Everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together.” How encouraging is that for the believer?

In this video, Pearsons and Pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons revealed five things believers must do to prosper in tough times, including clinging to the Word of God.

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

Someone recently asked Chris Mikkelson why he chose to focus on evangelizing the predominantly Muslim country of Pakistan. Mikkelson gave a simple response: “It’s where God told me to go.”

Recently, Chris Mikkelson Ministries conducted its 16th crusade in the nation of Pakistan, and the organization’s labors to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the hungry people of the Middle East have not been in vain. Over the past two years, Mikkelson says he’s seen over 1 million people receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior during these crusades, and he and his team haver also seen multitudes of people healed and countless miracles takes place.

Overall, Mikkelson’s ministry, in 30 different crusades, has seen more than 1.7 million individuals receive Christ.

“It seems like yesterday when Amanda (his wife) and I started this ministry by faith with nothing but a word from God to ‘go,'” says Mikkelson, a protégé of Christ for all Nations’ Daniel Kolenda and the late great evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. “As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is where God wanted me to go. That’s how Jesus ran His ministry and so did the apostle Paul. It’s always best to be obedient to the Lord and He will give you great success.

“Joshua 1:8 tells us something that is similar, that when we meditate on God’s Word and are obedient to do what He has said, ‘then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.’ Here, it’s speaking of the written Word of God, but the same principle applies to the Rhema word of God. When we are obedient to God’s direction, He will use our life and make it a success, and God cannot fail.”

Mikkelson and his team’s most recent crusade took place in the city of Dijkot, where more than 76,000 people made decisions for Christ in desert-like heat. Mikkelson says the temperature was a sweltering 117 degrees outside and “when I started preaching, at 9:30 p.m., it was still 104 degrees.

“There is such a hunger in the people,” Mikkelson says. “I truly believe we’re in the middle of the greatest harvest this world has ever seen. Church attendance may be down in some countries, but the churches are being filled and planted by the masses in Pakistan.”

Mikkelson is also spreading the gospel worldwide on Salvation Today TV, which airs on Asia Sat 7 Satellite in 72 countries. He also hosts the Salvation Today podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.

Mikkelson says he and his team will head back to Pakistan in September and again in November for major crusades and is expecting thousands more salvations among the people of that country who are starving for a move of God.

With billon people on earth who are not followers of Christ— billion of which have never heard the gospel—the harvest is ripe. {eoa}

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