With the Fall Feasts upon us—Rosh Hashanah begins Friday evening—Curt Landry draws upon the Parable of the 10 Virgins in Matthew 25 as a “wake-up call” for believers who have simply been going through the motions with their relationship with Christ.

As the founder of Curt Landry Ministry and a man of Jewish heritage, Landry says that now, more than ever, believers need to begin preparing themselves for what will happen when Yeshua comes again in His glory.

“It’s the Parable of the Virgins; five were wise and ready and five were not,” Landry told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “I would say to anybody right now that you need to keep your lamps filled and your wicks trimmed. So, be ready.

“Even in modern-day culture in Israel today, if you’re in a religious Jewish family, you’re getting ready, like it’s a wedding. … They will have one of the younger messengers go out, and they have a shofar, and he’ll be blowing the shofar. Then he will have another young man with him, and they literally are saying this in Hebrew, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh.’ …

“This a forerunner of what’s going to happen during the one of the years of the Fall Feasts. Literally the heavens are going to break open and Yeshua is going to come, and He is going to be on His horse with his armies, and they are going to be descending upon Jerusalem. These weddings are literally like previews of coming attractions—what is to come.

“One of the things I’ll be teaching this year in the Fall Feasts … I have a teaching style that I call ACT … ACT. That means apply, change and transform. So, for Rosh Hashanah, you apply an awakening. At this appointed time, I will choose to awaken my soul. There has got to be a place where you understand the bad choices of sin that has robbed you from the benefits of God.

“That’s what repentance is all about. Repentance is disconnecting from the bad choices that have stolen your blessings and reconnecting to your righteousness in Him to be able to access your blessings. You have to choose to apply that, and Yom Kippur is the change. All of us need to change with two places. We need to know Him as a loving heavenly Father, and we need also to know Him in His court as a just judge. We need to trust Him during the change process. And then, Sukkot discourses the wedding celebration, where we choose to abide in Him for the coming year.”

For more from Curt Landry about the Fall Feasts and how to celebrate them, listen to the entire podcast.

Intercessors are on God’s heart. Although apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church, in this season God is intent on raising up the next generation of intercessors.

Mike Bickle taught me to discover what God is doing in any generation and get on board. That’s probably why God told me to make prayer my life’s work in 2012. I’ve been working fervently since, by the grace of God, to press into prayer initiatives, including raising up intercessory prayer leaders.

While in a prayer meeting with my Awakening Prayer Hubs leaders, the Lord began to speak a very clear word of encouragement to the prayer warriors in the movement, which is endorsed by Mike Bickle, Lou Engle, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, Patricia King and many others.

I heard the Lord say:

“When you see who I am and when you engage with Me in prayer at the level to which I am taking you, you are going to understand the work that you are doing is important to My kingdom.

“That realization—that revelation, that understanding—is going to thrill your heart in a way that nothing else could. Knowing and seeing the impact of what I have called you to do is going to bring to you a joy. It’s going to fill you with a desire to go deeper into My Spirit and further into My heart.

“So stand fast, hold fast and walk strong. For I am pouring out My grace upon you. I am putting my mantle of prayer on you. It is from Me. It’s My mantle. It’s the mantle of Christ to pray without ceasing. This is how I have equipped you. Not by your own might, not by your own power, but it’s by My Spirit that you will do what I have called you to do.

“And when you begin to see the fruit of it in this next season—when you see what I am doing, when you see that I hear and answer prayer—you are going to begin to enter into the fullness of joy.

“Even your prayer times are going to change. You are going to enter into My presence a little faster in this season. You are going to enter into the peace of God a little stronger in this season.

“So look to Me and wait for Me, and I will take you places in prayer that will make your jaw drop. I will take you places in prayer that will cause you to understand the authority that I have put upon you.

“You are not second-class. You are over not under—you are over the attack. You are above and not beneath. So stand firm, stand strong and stand ready, and I will make you able, and nothing shall by any means harm you.”

What a word, right? I believe this prophecy is true for every laid-down intercessor who loves the Lord enough to sacrifice their time to watch and pray. God is doing something unique in the Awakening Prayer Hubs movement.

God is knitting together the hearts of intercessors in a family of prayer warriors that will contend to the end for the promises of God in our generation. We will not stop praying. {eoa}

As a person of Jewish heritage—and the founder of Curt Landry Ministries—Curt Landry recommends that the home of every believer should include a shofar, especially with the arrival of the Fall Feasts for 2020. It all begins with Rosh Hashanah on Friday evening, Sept. 18.

Believers, he says, should sound the shofar as a “wake-up call” to the good things God has given us and as a reminder to forgive and receive the forgiveness Yeshua died to bless us with.

“This is an exciting time of the year,” Landry told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “It’s the head of the year, the time of the awakening blast. It’s an appointed time, and I’m really expecting some major spiritual shifts. Look at what has happened in Washington, D.C., with the Abrahamic Accord, this peace treaty, which was just incredible.

“God is so on the move in the midst of riots and in the midst of COVID, in the midst of all of these protests. God seems to be shining a bright light, and I want to encourage people to join us Friday night [Sept. 18] at 7 o’clock Central and go to and join us for an experience that will change their life.

“This is a time where, in Deuteronomy Chapter 8, you say, ‘Remember, it’s the Lord thy God who gives you the ability to create wealth with your hands.’ So Rosh Hashanah is a time of awakening,” Landry said. “It’s an awakening blast for you to be thankful. But it’s also preparing for the next 10 days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It’s to awaken you to the good and awaken you to the things you need to forgive, things you need to be forgiven for, and it’s a way to readjust your thinking. It’s a time where you sound the trumpets, where it gives you victory, according to Numbers 10, over your enemy.

“For us in Western culture, if you watch western movies and the cavalry is coming, they’re blowing their trumps, and the horses are running and that creates hope. … That’s what Rosh Hashanah is. It’s a trumpet blast, a shofar blast, and it basically awakens the heavenly host and brings them to a higher level.”

For more of Curt Landry’s take on the upcoming Fall Feasts, listen to the entire podcast.

My objective for this article is to illustrate how the Lord Jesus is the ruler of all kings and nations of the earth.

The need for this teaching is great. Most Christians only think of Jesus as their personal Savior instead of as the exalted Lord of heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18). This is the reason why much of the church thinks they can separate politics and religion.

Humanity will eventually face the question, “Do I believe the presidents, prime ministers, kings and elected officials of the earth have the final say, or do I believe Jesus does?” One significant portion of Scripture gives us a clear answer regarding this.

To understand the purpose of the ministry of Jesus Christ, we must understand several significant psalms: Psalm 2, Psalm 22, Psalm 24, Psalm 45, Psalm 72 and Psalm 110 (Psalm 110 is the most quoted in the New Testament).

In this article, we will specifically examine Psalm 2. This psalm will expand your view of the purpose of the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of all the civil, political and economic turmoil we are presently experiencing in the world, it is crucial to understand this psalm.

“Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying” (Ps. 2:1-2).

Human history has shown that since the rebellious Cain, son of Adam, built a city, humankind has attempted to build civilizations in rebellion against God (Gen. 4:17). Examples of this are the Tower of Babel, ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient Assyria, the old Roman Empire, the Ming Dynasty and in recent times, Nazi Germany, Japan, the European Union, the Soviet Union, China and the greatest dynasty of them all, the .

King David asks in this psalm, “why do the nations rage” against their Creator? From reading Scripture, we find that the reason is, ultimately, since the fall in the Garden of Eden, humanity desires to be autonomous from God and not submitted to anyone’s authority. Consequently, the primary idol in the world today is not sex, money or power, but the “freedom of expression,” which has its foundation in total autonomy.

That being said, all of the nations of the world, in general, have one thing in common: They have devised plans, philosophies, religions and schemes against the Lord.

1 John 5:19 (NKJV) says, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

In his letter to the church of Ephesus, the apostle Paul taught that the world is under the prince’s control of the power of the air, which is the spirit that operates in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:1-2).

The Bible teaches us that Satan’s goal is to exert dominion in this world over the nations through the political, economic, pop culture leaders, educators and philosophers.

Jesus did not deny this when the devil offered to give Him all the kingdoms of this world in return for worshipping him (Matt. 4:8-10).

“Let us break Their bonds in pieces. And cast away Their cords from us” (Ps. 2:3, NKJV).

Verse 3 teaches us that the leaders and peoples of this world do not want any boundaries, laws or restraints from their creator. Unfortunately for the rebellious, God gave the world the Ten Commandments, not the ten suggestions! Thus, God’s design regarding marriage, family, gender, sexuality, economics and justice has to be followed to maximize the fullness of divine blessing.

“He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure” (Ps. 2:4-5).

In verses 4-5, when God sees the unrest and rebellion of the nations, He doesn’t get nervous. Instead, He laughs and holds them in derision. God then releases distress upon the nations through His spoken word or decree. We see glimpses of this taking place in the courts of heaven when God’s decrees go forth regarding the fate of the nations of the world (1 Kings 22; Isa. 6; Jer. 23; Rev. 5, 8).

And boy, we see much distress, turmoil and anxiety in all the world nations today, don’t we?

“Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:6).

God’s authoritative response is that I have already set my Son Jesus as the nations’ ruler! I have already done my thing, and there is nothing the United Nations, China, Russia, Iran or the USA can do about it! Consequently, whether the nations approve of Jesus or not, God already set Jesus above the heavens and the earth as the ruler after His ascension.

Next week in part 2 of this article, we will see the consequences of Jesus’s reign as King over the nations. {eoa}

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, The Jesus Principles, available now on Amazon here.

For the original article, visit .

Before I start, I hope that all of my Christian friends will read this entire blog before grabbing the pitchforks and torches.

This Friday evening, Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets) begins, which is also known as Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish new year). With the sounding of the shofar, we begin the season of fall feasts, or holy days. These holy days, or appointed times, are described in Leviticus 23, as well as many other verses throughout the Tanakh, or Old Testament, and the New Testament.

Although the anniversary of when I believe I quit being a Christian is in the spring just before Passover, every time I observe one of the biblical appointed times, I am reminded with each Feast Day once again what an important and correct decision I made when I quit being a Christian.

To explain what I mean and why I quit being a Christian, let me share a little history. I was raised in a Jewish family (according to , I am 100% Eastern European Jewish). I grew up going to synagogue every Shabbat. I attended Hebrew school. I had my Bar Mitzvah, and after my Bar Mitzvah, I helped to chant the liturgy each week during services. My family observed the biblical holy days: Passover, Shavuot, Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.

We planted trees on Tu B’Shevat, ate Hamantaschen on Purim and played dreidel on Hanukkah. Judaism wasn’t just our religion; Judaism was our life. It was not what we were, it was who we were. Shortly after my Bar Mitzvah, I started having questions about Judaism. I wasn’t questioning G-D or the Bible; I was questioning some of the ideas, teachings and understandings of Judaism. The more I studied the Tanakh for myself, the more inconsistency I found between what was in the Bible and what I found in the modern practices of Judaism.

This blog would become too long if I was to make a list here. But the largest inconsistency had to do with how we received atonement for our sins.

My studies caused me to search for a belief system that was consistent with the Bible in how we as Jews received atonement. I found the answer to this question in Christianity and the sacrificial atoning death of Yeshua. I became a Christian, and in Christianity, I found the answers to many of my questions.

For a number of years, I was fully satisfied with what I believed and how I was living as a Christian. I became a pastor of a small church in rural Alabama and was comfortable in where my faith had brought me. Until one day while I was praying, I heard a voice, which I knew was G-D speaking to me, as clear as if someone were standing right next to me, speak these words: “You are a Jew; live like one.” I arose from prayer, shaken and concerned. What did this mean? I went and told my wife about the voice I heard and she said, “OK, but what does that mean?”

This was just before Passover, so we announced to our congregation that we would be hosting a Passover Seder and invited all of them to attend. We also announced that we would be adding a Friday evening Shabbat service to our weekly schedule of services.

I have to be honest and tell you that these changes were not entirely received with enthusiasm by our small rural congregation. Church members began to ask all of the “why” questions. It was only a few months later that we found out about a Messianic Synagogue in Mobile about an hour and a half from our town and began to attend services there on Friday evenings while we continued to have Sunday services at our church. Approximately six months later, my family moved to Mobile and became part of that synagogue.

Over the next few years, my lifestyle became more and more “Jewish,” and I became less and less a “Christian.” This didn’t mean that I forsook my belief in Yeshua as Messiah—not at all. Actually, my increased connection to the Judaism that was passed down from generation to generation also increased my belief that Yeshua is the Messiah.

My decision to quit being a Christian has resulted in some people calling me a “Judaizer,” which is untrue because it is not now nor was it ever my intention to make Jews of non-Jewish people. I have been accused of trying to obey the Law or Torah to be saved, which is also untrue because I absolutely, positively, totally and completely believe that our salvation is the result of the atonement provided by Yeshua. I have been accused of “doing Jewish stuff” to manipulate and deceive Jewish people into believing that Yeshua is the Messiah. This also is untrue, as I do the things I do because I am Jewish, not to influence other Jews in any way.

So you may ask why then I quit being a Christian. The answer is simple: I quit being a Christian because Yeshua is the Messiah. Let me explain a little further. Everyone who is a born-again believer in Yeshua has entered a covenant with G-D—in this case, the New Covenant. However, the New Covenant is not the first covenant G-D made with humanity; there were many covenants made with people, beginning with the Adamic Covenant we find in the book of Genesis. These covenants are eternal promises made by G-D with His people and G-D will not, in fact, cannot break a covenant which He has made. In Galatians 3, beginning with verse 15, we read:

“Brothers and sisters, I speak in human terms: even with a man’s covenant, once it has been confirmed, no one cancels it or adds to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It doesn’t say, ‘and to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘and to your seed,’ who is the Messiah. What I am saying is this: Torah, which came 430 years later, does not cancel the covenant previously confirmed by God, so as to make the promise ineffective” (Gal. 3:15-19, TLV).

Notice that we are taught that a new covenant does not cancel a previous covenant. If G-D could break a covenant that He made, He would become a liar and cease to be G-D because G-D cannot lie. So, what does this have to do with my quitting being a Christian? I quit being a Christian and returned to biblical Judaism because the existence of biblical Judaism, a Judaism that holds to both the covenant of Moses and belief in the New Covenant, established the foundation upon which a non-Jewish Christian can stand with full assurance that G-D’s covenants are true.

So this week as I gather in synagogue on Yom Teruah and hear the sound of the shofar’s call 100 times and recite liturgical prayers that have been said for thousands of years, I am not doing so to prove that I am Jewish, nor am I doing so because I no longer believe in Yeshua (because I believe more each day).

I am holding onto my Judaism because my covenantal Judaism proves that G-D is faithful to His covenants, which proves that Christians can trust in the New Covenant. The bottom line is: I quit being a Christian so more people could have faith in the New Testament. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is the author of Overcoming Fearlessness, What If Everything You Were Taught About the Ten Commandments Was Wrong?, With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity As Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.

I heard the Lord say, “I am calling forth the intercessory influencers to make a mark in the spirit realm that the enemy can’t ignore. He will bow at the sound of your voices in the name of Christ. I am calling forth intercessory influencers who will decree My Word in the atmosphere so angels can rise up and use it as a sword to fight and execute My plans in the earth.

“I am calling forth intercessory influencers who will set aside childish things and the distractions of this age to hear My heart and pray My Word. As they press in to deeper dimensions of prayer, they will see an increase in influence, increase in favor and an increase in wisdom. Intercession is not for the faint of heart, but it moves My heart to action. Intercessors, stand on your watch, pray and receive My mantle of influence.”

A mantle of influence. That’s quite a word! What kind of influence? Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, which has a spiritual bent, defines influence this way: “a power whose cause and operation are unseen; spiritual power, or the immediate power of God on the mind; as divine influence; the influences of the Holy Spirit.”

The Intercessor’s Reward

I’ve always said some of the greatest rewards in heaven will go to the intercessors. Intercessors in all their diverse functions and gift mixes release prayer power that activates God’s will in the earth. Persistent intercessors can change the course of history. But intercessors will not just get rewards in heaven. They will receive rewards in this lifetime.

I believe one of the rewards in this life is influence. I believe another is intimacy with the Lord. You can’t go all in with intercession without the Lord revealing more of Himself to you. As He said to Abraham, who was a praying prophet, “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Gen. 15:1b)

Click here to read the rest of this article. {eoa}

Life is hard, isn’t it?

Disappointments hammer us ferociously and relentlessly while discouragement bullies us daily. Difficult people refuse to leave us alone and rejection is often a constant companion.

There have been hard things in my life that have threatened to crush the very purpose for my existence. I know that you have experienced the hard in life as well, although yours might look different than mine.

I may not understand what you are going through today, but I do know the one who knows your pain and I am intimately acquainted with the one who hears your gut-wrenching cries. In my life, I can assure you, it has been through the deepest pain that God has harvested the most vibrant fruit.

Although we would desire for the ability to live a vibrant life, excluding painful experiences, it just isn’t so. The most beautiful gardens and the sweetest fruit in life are often found where joy and sorrow meet.

There are many challenging occurrences in life over which we are powerless. We might even believe that these unwelcome guests are mangling our ability to live a life of beauty and productivity.

My friend, absolutely nothing could be further from God’s truth! If you feel that you are in a circumstance today that you are unable to do anything about, let me assure you that God wants you to do something with it. He wants you to rename that devastatingly hard place, “Joy.”

You might not be able to change that place, but you can allow it to change you to be more like Jesus. He wants you to rediscover Him there.

Two thousand years ago, a man named Peter wrote a beautiful letter to a group of people who were suffering. These Christians, persecuted by the cruel and corrupt ruler Nero, had been driven from their homes and forced to live in alien lands. It is to this group of scattered, broken souls that Peter writes:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

Peter instantly turns these broken hearts to the lifegiving option of praise. Paul breaks out into a written song as his words travel from his heart to the suffering first-century Christians—and to you and me. His call to worship all that is eternally hopeful has not diminished in the two millennia since it was written.

Peter immediately turned the attention of the persecuted sojourners away from the hardships they were facing and defiantly toward all that is ours in Christ Jesus.

Peter reminded those early Christians to travel through and even beyond the painful days of life. The first lesson that Peter presents is to worship and remember.

When your life collides with human suffering and pain, lift your hands in the air and began to worship. Break out into a song of faith before the fleeting moment of suffering becomes your reality. Interrupt your disappointment with a melody so rich and so deep that heaven gasps in wonder.

I have learned that I am able to sing and cry at the same time—and I often do. While tears are coursing down my middle-aged cheeks, I raise my voice to the Father and worship Him. When my heart is breaking with the pain only a mother knows, I refuse to let my unique song become a dirge. I will sing in spite of pain, in the face of discouragement and defy depression.

Peter can’t sing for me and I can’t sing for you. You must choose to bless the Lord at the worst moment of your life. You must determine that nothing short of death will deny you of the audacious ability to sing in the dark.

After Peter’s reminder to bless the Lord, he wrote an unforgettable list of stunning reminders. Peter, in the face of vicious persecution, kept his eyes, his heart, and his mind set firmly on all that Christ has done for us. This is Peter’s list of reminders that calls believers to worship rather than to curl up in pain:

—We have been given a great mercy.

—We have been born again to a living hope.

—The resurrection of Jesus from the dead changed everything for us.

—We are protected by the power of God.

—We have a faith that leads to salvation.

The clarion call across the ages to troubled and broken people is to worship and remember. I can do that; can you? I can set my default to the sure settings of worship and remember. My tears do not comfort me but worship miraculously has the power to restore and renew. When I choose to rehash my pain and my problems, I weaken myself, but when I recall the goodness of the Lord, I am filled with unstoppable power.

My life, without the determination to worship and remember, will be unable to produce anything of value or worth. However, when I choose to bless the Lord and recall His promises toward me, the vibrant life that He promised washes over me like a restorative waterfall. I am captured by all that He is as I choose to open my mouth and sing. {eoa}

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical, biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written 11 books, including Significant, StormProof and Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.

I have lived in New York City for over six decades and have observed many kinds of people: those with a victim mentality and those with a victor mentality. In this article, I will examine some traits that are distinct to each group.

Those with the victim mindset interpret the world in a completely different way than those with the victor mindset. People with a victim mindset view an obstacle as an unfair challenge, while the latter view obstacles as an opportunity to overcome. It is obvious to most that in American politics, candidates often attempt to appeal to these groups. To those with a victim mindset, they pledge to intervene in their challenges. To those with a victor’s mindset, they promise to provide opportunities with limited government intervention.

How you identify yourself internally (as either a victim or victor) should have nothing to do with your skin color or the community in which you were raised. Many will argue that personality, temperament, psychological upbringing, emotional abuse and so on can often contribute to having a victim mentality. However, many point to highly accomplished leaders, such as Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell as examples of those who overcame enormous challenges such as racism and poverty. On the other hand, I have witnessed many who, despite being brought up in affluence, felt prey to a victim mentality, became self-loathing, defeatist and ended up a failure.

I’ll use my background to further illustrate this point. I was brought up in a small apartment in a lower middle-class white neighborhood. When my friends discovered I was part Hispanic, they started making fun of me. However, instead of hiding in a corner, I aggressively returned the favor, making fun of them and putting them in their place. They never touched the subject again. Why did I respond this way? Because I had within me an intrinsic sense of self-worth that transcended any insults that others threw at me.

As Christians, we are called to walk with an internal understanding that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:37).

Believers must never entertain a victim mindset. The world is full of people captivated by this mindset, which has resulted in millions of people becoming enslaved, and unable to fulfill their God-given potential.

One of the most important things that my wife, Joyce, and I have instilled in each of our five biological children is that they are victors, not victims! We taught them that everybody will have life challenges, but this is no excuse to cower in a corner and feel sorry for yourself. We also taught our children that as they got older, nobody else could truly help them if they didn’t help themselves.

We taught our children to be the head and not the tail, to be above and not beneath, to use their creativity to become entrepreneurial and leaders, and not followers of groupthink (Deut. 28:10-13).

Millions are caught up in a victim mentality because they are ignorantly following the groupthink of their peers, the media, their political party and their culture. Many believers in Christ have been caught up in the world’s mind games that pit one group against the other: the “haves” against the “have not’s”.

For example, the Marxists, far-left liberals and socialists (as presently embodied in many politicians, community leaders and media personalities), play on the victim spirit. They engage in class warfare and make a living by painting whole groups of people as victims in order to get elected. They want to be seen as those who parachute to the rescue of those with a victim mindset. They disempower specific segments of the population with their rhetoric in order to be seen as the heroes, ensuring that they remain in the spotlight. Consequently, if the victim mindset were not prevalent, thousands of politicians and activists would be out of a job!

This is not to say that I believe there is no racism, injustice, economic or political disparities, but, despite these factors, we need to focus on teaching people that they can be empowered to excel in any environment with God’s help.

The following contrasts are meant to help you understand which camp you are in. If you are in the victim mindset camp, God wants to change your paradigm and transition you to the victorious mindset.

—Contrasting the victim and victorious mindset (for the sake of time, I will not use the word “mindset”):

—The victim believes the whole world is against them. The victor believes the whole world needs them.

—The victim sees a challenge as an obstacle. The victor considers the obstacle to be an opportunity.

—The victim blames others for their failure. The victor takes personal responsibility for success or failure.

—The victim depends on handouts from others to succeed. The victor makes do with what they already have to succeed.

—The victim is never satisfied and is always looking for something more. The victor is grateful for what they already have and build upon that to succeed in life.

—The victim feels like everybody owes them something. The victor believes nobody owes them anything.

—The victim lives off other people. The victor lives to bless other people.

—The victim will end his days bitterly. The victor will end his days satisfied.

—The victim only sees closed doors. The victor only sees open doors.

—The victim spreads a negative attitude to others. The victor spreads a positive attitude.

—The victim is pessimistic. The victor is optimistic.

—The victim gives up quickly if they fail. The victor doesn’t quit until they succeed.

—The victim has few real friends. The victor empowers and makes many friends.

—The victim repels people. The victor attracts people.

—The victim is always fighting for “their rights.” The victor lives to champion the rights of others.

—The victim has a critical spirit and is judgmental of others. The victor blesses others.

—The victim imagines people are against him. The victor envisions the people that are for him.

—The victim plays on the emotions of others. The victor releases the passion of others.

—The victim uses people for what they can get from them. The victor is a catalyst who maximizes the potential of others.

—The victim has faith in evil to make things worse. The victor has faith in God to make things better. {eoa}

Purchase Joseph Mattera’s latest book, The Jesus Principles, available now on Amazon here.

End-times expert Michael Snyder hears it all the time—from believers and nonbelievers alike. The natural disasters that have taken place in 2020—hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires that have destroyed not only agricultural crops but parts of entire cities—are the result of just plain coincidence.

However, considering the biblical prophecies that have been made in previous years from many respected prophetic voices, Snyder doesn’t buy that explanation.

Snyder has written a new book called Lost Prophecies of the Future of America, and in it, he reveals how these prophecies have become remarkably consistent and that some have already come to pass. But, he warns, the perfect storm will continue to unfold until our nation repents and comes back to God.

“We’ve been warned that this was coming,” Snyder told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “The prophetic voices warned us that we were headed into a time of trouble, and they warned about pandemics and economic collapse.

“They warned us about natural disasters; they warned us about civil unrest, and all of these other things. And now, kind of in the time frame that people have been anticipating all these things, they are starting to happen. The good news is that we haven’t seen very high levels yet. The wildfires in California are horrific, but people can get out of the way of a wildfire, so not a lot of people are dying.

“Whether it’s the 10 plagues or other things in the Bible, God brings a pattern of judgment. At first, the death toll isn’t that high because ultimately, the purpose of all these judgments are wake-up calls, or whatever you want to call them [is that] God is trying to wake up a nation. He says, ‘Wake up, wake up, turn back to Me.’ The purposes of all of this is warnings, and then the warnings are over and the judgment comes, because God is trying to call people back to Himself. That’s what He’s been trying to do all along, to call wayward nations to come to Him and follow Him.”

For more about Michael Snyder’s predictions for the future of America and the world, listen to the entire podcast. {eoa}

Jennifer Eivaz gave her life to Jesus as a college freshman and has been living for Him ever since. Despite her faith, she had fears associated with her decision. To overcome that, Jennifer prayed, “Holy Spirit, teach me how to be your friend.”

Those lessons taught her to be a glory carrier and have a vibrant relationship with the Holy Spirit. Her book, Glory Carriers, shows how you can enter into more intimate fellowship with the Spirit of God and experience miraculous encounters. You’ll learn how to step into the supernatural and follow God’s leading—and carry His glory to the darkest places and see His kingdom come.

The home is so important. Your home encompasses your spouse, your children, your parents and your grandchildren. Marilyn Hickey’s book, Satan-Proof Your Home, teaches you how to lay a solid foundation for a godly home and also what to speak in your circumstance. You will reap great blessings when you learn how to use the Word of God in your home. There are divine instructions to set yourself up with godly principles so you can build your house on the rock. Learn how to take your weakness to Him and become strong.

Sometimes it’s difficult to be honest and candid. Ashley Abercrombie wrote Rise of the Truth Teller to help people tell their stories in an honest way. Story connects people in deep and powerful ways, give us understanding and help us know one another in an important, significant way. To do that, you can’t wear a mask. Rise of the Truth Teller instructs you on how to take your mask off so you can live in real relationship with others, tell the truth and live with holy gumption. Stories make you well, and secrets make you sick.

Catch these episodes of Today with Marilyn & Sarah on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}