Have you been wondering what on earth the Lord is doing in this season?

The Lord says to you today: “I am in control of everything that you see around you right now! Your adversary will try and convince you that he is in control, but you can be assured that the Lord your God never slumbers or sleeps.

“And yes, I am in control!

“My promise is that I will keep you when the storms begin to assail you. Be assured, nothing happens without My sovereign hand being on it.

“From eternity, I have been your God. I had My eye on My people even when you were not yet a people. My eyes are still roaming the earth, and My power and authority have not diminished by one ‘nth’ of a degree. I still rule and reign from on high, and nothing can withstand My power and watchful eye.

“No trouble has overtaken you that I am not fully aware of, My children.

“I hold you in the palm of My hand. Do not fear the terror by night or the arrow that flies at noonday. I keep watch over you day and night! As I instructed Joshua after My servant Moses had died, ‘Only be strong and courageous.’ And so, I tell you in these turbulent times, be strong and courageous!

“I am in control!

“My presence is with you to give you peace, strength and comfort. Never doubt My ‘almighty-ness,’ My sovereignty or My power! Keep your gaze fixed on Me, and I will bring you through these troubled waters—safe, sound and dry,” says the Lord.

“This is your finest hour as My bride.

“I have equipped you to walk out every step that I have purposed for you. Keep your lamps full and burning bright for all the world to see. Arise and shine, for your light and opportunity have come. My glory will be seen on you as never before.

“I have given you My name, My Word, My Blood and the promise that if any two of you agree on earth as touching any one thing, it shall be given to you!

“Therefore: Speak My name; declare My Word; plead My Blood and confess your good confession of faith among many witnesses.

“This is a new day and a new hour. I prophesied and spoke through My servants the prophets that you would see it.

“Don’t expect things to go back to the norm, for I am doing a new thing in your midst that will astound even the hardest of hearts. I am about to put My people on display in a mighty way. Even the world will marvel and say, ‘This is indeed the finger of God!” They will say, ‘How did it happen? How was it wrought?’ And My people will boast in the Lord their God.

“This is the hour when I will put My words in your mouth to declare My glorious gospel from the rooftops.

“Many will see and fear. Many will see and be changed. Yes, there will be many who will be exposed to some of My greatest moves, and yet their hearts will doubt. But My power and My will must be accomplished in this hour,” says the Lord.

“This is not a time to be quiet. It is a time to be vocal, bold and courageous in your faith and in your God.

“Remember that the people who know Me shall be strong and shall do mighty exploits in My name.

“I am looking for those people,” says the Lord!

“The harvest is waiting; your children are waiting; your city is waiting; even the nations are waiting for the awakening of the sons and daughters of God to arise! Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord will rise with healing in His wings. Look for Me, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed, and He is roaring again!

“Hear the call; hear the roar; hear the trumpet call to arms.

“I am sounding the clarion call for this hour! I still reign, and I am still in control! Do not miss your moment to be a part of this last great awakening,” says the Lord of heaven and the Lord of hosts!”

Amen! Do you receive this word? If so, leave a comment below and praise the Lord! {eoa}

Judy Jacobs is internationally known for her declarative worship and powerful message of the gospel. She has ministered personally in over 50 countries and has also ministered through several TV networks such as TBN, TBN Salsa, Inspiration Network, Daystar and through guest appearances with Sid Roth, Marcus and Joni Lamb, Dr. Jason Renville and many others. Pastor Judy serves as the co-pastor of Dwelling Place Church International. She is also the director of the international institute of mentoring and has published five books and eight solo albums. She is married to Pastor Jamie Tuttle, and together they have two daughters, Kaylee and Erica. Sign up for her free “How to Receive Miracles from God” email mini-course at her website, .

Four years ago while attending a pastor’s conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, an angel visited Pastor Jeff Struss in his hotel room. Struss had never experienced anything like it before, and, at the time, his church had experienced what he termed as “a difficult moment.”

The Lord spoke to Struss, the senior pastor at Life Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, and told him that he would take this angel—an angel of revival—back to the States with him. A couple of months later, in a dream, other angels visited Struss, and he woke up speaking in tongues. Not only did it lead to personal revival in Struss’ life, but revival also came to his church.

Now, in 2020, Struss is enthusiastically teaching about God’s glory not only through his church but also on the airwaves. He is the host of the Presence, Power & Glory podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, where listeners can allow the Holy Spirit to draw their hearts into deeper and deeper places of love for Jesus.

“In this dream, I found myself outside of my body,” Struss told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “There were two angels at the foot of my bed with silver trumpets. During the encounter, an angel came to my side and began speaking to me all night long.

“The Bible talks about in Numbers that Moses was to make silver trumpets. When it was time to assemble the people, they were to blow the trumps. And these angels, like in Zechariah, were angels of awakening. About a week later, the glory of God came into our church, and it just broke wide open for about eight weeks, and it was interesting.

“During that time, we had just an outpouring of the presence, power and glory of God. It was really like heaven on earth. Tumors dissolving, blind eyes opening. We would start the service and just give testimony. I would stop in the middle of testimony, and I would ask, ‘Who came here tonight to get right with God?’ People would stand up, and they would get baptized in the Holy Spirit before they got to the front of the room. When you’re in revival atmosphere like that, something just takes over. …

“In that revival time, we had a prophetic word that came forth and said this is the cloud the size of a man’s hand, but the rains are coming. I really believe that we’re in a lull right now from what God began to break forth in 2016. There is a glory revival that is coming to America. It’s going to so supersede anything that we’ve seen in recent history.”

Tune into the Presence, Power & Glory podcast with Jeff Struss, and for more about the coming revival, listen to the entire podcast.

For those of us who believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as taught about in The Holy Scriptures, we believe in what is known as the Great Commission:

And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, 20 teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt 28:18-20, TLV).

Then He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you—everything written concerning Me in the Torah of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the removal of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:44-49).

The verses above are some of the last words spoken by Yeshua before He left this world and promised to return in the last days. When He spoke these words to His disciples, He was standing in Israel and speaking to Jewish men. He told them to make disciples of all men, beginning in Jerusalem until the end of the age. Messianic Jews like me believe this commission is still active today.

As a believer in Yeshua as the promised Messiah of Israel, I believe that it is my obligation to share this Good News with everyone everywhere, including Israel. It is also my understanding that this commission was given to all those who would become disciples of Yeshua, both Jewish and non-Jewish, which is why I was shocked to hear some American Christian leaders on television, in newspapers, and on social media speaking against the new Israeli cable television channel, Shelanu TV.

I know that some reading this article may not know about the Shelanu TV controversy in Israel. For those who are unfamiliar, Shelanu TV is a new cable television station airing in Israel run by and airing programming for Messianic Jews in Israel.

To understand the Shelanu TV controversy, we have to begin by understanding what took place. Shelanu began airing Messianic Jewish programming in Hebrew in Israel a few weeks ago. As a result, some of the religious Jews in Israel became angry about the very existence of a television station run by Messianic Jews in Israel.

But was their outrage the result of some deception, as they claim, by the people who operate Shelanu? No, it was not! Contrary to the majority of the coverage by the news media and comments made by some in Israel’s religious community, the religious people in Israel’s government, and (surprisingly) comments made by some American Christian leaders, there was no deception at all. When the HOT Cable system applied for a permit for the channel on behalf of Shelanu TV, they were up-front about who would be operating the channel and what the content would be: programs produced by and for Israeli Messianic Jews.

There is no way those in the government that are involved in the licensure process don’t understand who Messianic Jews are and what they believe. How do we know this for sure? The government in Israel treats Messianic Jews as an entirely separate category of people. For instance, all other Jews can receive Israeli citizenships based upon the Law of Return no matter what they believe or disbelieve about G-D, but not Messianic Jews, who are disqualified simply because of their belief based upon the Jewish Scriptures that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah.

We also know they know who Messianic Jews are because Israel’s Messianic Jews have become a very active part of Israeli society. There are Messianic Jews that serve with excellence in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Messianic Jews have now run for seats in the Knesset. Messianic Jews have even appeared openly on Israeli reality television programs.

So, why would the religious in Israel accuse Shelanu TV of deception? There are two main reasons. First, Israel has freedom of religion and expression.

Please understand that those against Shelanu are legitimately angry about the station, but their anger is based upon their belief that Messianic Judaism is wrong and theologically dangerous.

However, their being against a religious belief is not a legally acceptable reason to remove Shelanu’s license. So, they decided to accuse the people running Shelanu of deception and feign outrage at this horrible deception brought upon the people of Israel, especially the children.

Why the children? It provides weight to their accusation because it is illegal in Israel to proselytize children without their parents’ permission. (Once again, for clarity’s sake, Shelanu was not deceptive in the application, and they are not targeting children with their programming, contrary to the claims in the media against them.)

Second, the religious know they are a very small minority, although a politically powerful one, so they needed to attract allies. They knew that if they accused Shelanu TV of deception and proselytizing children, they could count on some Christian leaders for support, especially those who operate humanitarian agencies joining them in their outrage.

Why? Because humanitarian agencies need the approval and support of the religious parties in Israel to function. These agencies raise millions and millions of dollars from Christians because they are “helping Israelis.” So it was easy for reporters to find Christian leaders who readily accepted the false accusations against Shelanu TV as truth without any investigation of the claims or even asking the actual people involved.

The Christian leaders then publicly attacked Shelanu TV and the Messianic Jews involved, even though they were producing television content consistent with their legally obtained cable television permit. These “Christian leaders” gave interviews on television and in the papers and made videos on social media platforms condemning Israeli Messianic Jews for operating a television station that legally teaches what Messianic Jews believe.

While I disagree with the deceptive tactics of these religious Jews, I can at least understand their actions in coming against the Messianic Jews because they believe (incorrectly, in my opinion) that a Jew who accepts Yeshua becomes idolatrous. What does amaze me, however, are the actions and statements of these “Christian leaders” who have allied themselves with those attacking Shelanu TV and the message of Yeshua taught by Israelis in Hebrew in Israel.

These Christian leaders swallowed the false claims of these religious Jews—who hate Messianic Jews—hook, line and sinker. They then publicly aligned themselves with enemies of the Good News of Yeshua, against those who believe the Good News of Yeshua.

What would motivate Christian leaders to actively fight against Messianic Jews in Israel? My first inclination (from experience) would be to say, “Follow the money” and to tell you to look for the 30 pieces of silver. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is author of 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.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop Bart Pierce of Baltimore, Maryland, has clearly heard the voice of God. What God told Pierce is that the coronavirus was “like a woman experiencing birth pains.”

Only it is the church who is experiencing the pain, and COVID-19 has been what Pierce calls “a major contraction” for the church—a “wake-up call” to bring a shift to our nation so we can see massive revival.

“All through Scripture you see that illustration in the Old and New Testament—crises and events like this were referred to as a woman who would be having labor pains,” Pierce told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “I believe this was a major contraction for us, as a woman who is pregnant. She goes from one contraction to another because she knows others are coming.

“I don’t believe this is the end, but I believe it’s the hand of God to warn us and remind us that He is serious about dealing with the nations of the world. And if God’s people will repent as we come out of this contraction, the Bible says in Ephesians, we must ‘redeem the time for the days are evil.’ I believe this contraction should have an enormous effect on the body of Christ and on God’s people, especially our leaders, to the degree that we will come out of this stronger and more focused.

“But I believe we will face another contraction. And they usually get stronger, and they get shorter between them as the Lord is approaching, as the birth is about to happen. I believe God’s people needed a wake-up call, and God’s people need to answer it because the nation will just go on doing the same thing. God’s people can bring about a shift to change is if we use this as an opportunity. I believe we could see a massive harvest and tremendous reformation of change. If we don’t change coming out of this, the next contraction will come faster.”

For more about Bishop Bart Pierce’s thoughts on the future of the church, listen to the entire podcast.

As the chief executive officer of StartChurch, Nathan Camp has had the privilege of helping set the foundation for more than 17,000 church plants. He’s helped consult with the leaders of these plants on legal and financial matters as well as how those churches could best reach and serve their communities.

And like everyone else, Camp has been forced to deal with the major challenges of COVID-19 and to adjust the practical logistics of StartChurch to tackle the hurdles the pandemic brought with it. What the enemy meant for evil to try to stop the forward progress of the gospel, Camp says, has backfired on him.

Many churches have adjusted well and are even thriving financially and watching their congregations grow virtually during the quarantine period, and StartChurch has been there to help them through the chaos.

“At first, people went into a survival mode, and there was a sense of anxiety,” Camp told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenlines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “But one of the beauties I’ve seen as this begins to linger on a bit is that I’m seeing the church really rise up and taking new ground.

“I’m seeing people utilizing resources that they’ve never had before, technology they’ve never had before, to really reach more people. I just wrote a blog on the five characteristics of a thriving church, where they are actually growing. They are actually seeing increased income, increased effectiveness in the community.

“There are two types of churches out there, some that are trying to hunker down and say, ‘We’re waiting for things to get back to normal.’ But there’s another group that says, ‘This is the moment for us to take new ground for the kingdom.’ So it’s pretty exciting. It’s tough. I used to be a pastor, and I can’t imagine leading through these times and the emotional energy of it, but I do think the fields are ripe for harvest, and that’s what we love to see.”

For more about StartChurch and how churches are growing through the COVID-19 pandemic challenge, listen to the entire podcast.

I recently wrote an open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom to express my dismay that his executive orders have considered liquor stores, pot shops and abortion clinics as “essential” businesses, open to dispense their services at will, but churches are still ordered to remain closed.

Newsom, of course, is not the only governor to take this bewildering position. Many (mostly Democrat) governors bow to the god of “science and data” and lock down the economy, close schools, deny religious people their “free exercise thereof,” along with forcing young and old to self-quarantine in their homes for months at a time—all in the name of hopefully “saving lives.”

The spreading, Chinese-born epidemic became a global pandemic that has caused, in some U.S. cities and states, public pandemonium.

If these governors and health dictators really wanted to save lives and “follow the science,” they would also want to ban abortions. Instead, they conveniently cherry-pick the contexts in which science and data should be used to save lives.

Brittany Clingen Carl, vice president of Illinois Right to Life, has written about this at :

“Scientific and technologic advancements in the fields of embryology and neonatology have made clear to laypeople what pro-life leaders have been saying for decades: A fertilized egg, complete with its unique and distinct set of DNA from the moment of conception, is a human being … and just as deserving of rights, protection and care as any person fighting for his or her life in a COVID-19 hospital ward.”

Every day, governors stand at a podium and call on their homebound constituents to cooperate with their edicts and make tremendous sacrifices to protect human lives. Yet the majority sign legislation to allow and encourage the daily killing of hundreds of innocent preborn children in their states via abortion.

Not only is abortion a moral tragedy but it is a strategic tragedy as well. These anti-life politicians and adherents have, by now, short-circuited tens of millions of potential citizens, voters and taxpayers who could have productively replaced the aging “surplus population,” to borrow a phrase from Scrooge.

Those who tout “science and data” as our way out of this novel-coronavirus crisis and those who share this life-ending political ideology are, as Brittany Carl says, “complicit in ending more lives than COVID-19 ever will.” {eoa}

Gary Curtis served in full-time ministry for 50 years, the last 27 years of which he was part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the Van Nuys, California Foursquare Church. Now retired, Gary continues to write a weekly blog at and frequent articles for digital and print platforms. Gary and his wife live in Southern California and have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

Jesus was a master storyteller. He communicated clearly by using many stories, analogies and metaphors.

Parables have been used since ancient times to convey truth in a memorable way. While Jesus didn’t invent the parabolic method of teaching, He perfected it.

Herbert Lockyer wrote, “In the entire realm of literature there is no book so rich in its parabolic and allegoric material as the Bible.”

The words “parable” and “parables” combined appear 47 times in the Gospels. They come from a Greek word parabole (par-ab-ol-ay’) meaning, “a similitude, a symbolic, fictitious narrative of common life conveying a moral, an adage, or a proverb.” So a parable is:

—A comparison of two seemingly dissimilar objects.

—A short, simple story of common life that conveys a moral lesson or spiritual truth.

—An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Parables illustrate the invisible (spiritual) world by using analogies from the visible (natural) world. Scholars differ on the exact number of parables Jesus told. He used over 100 metaphors and told at least 36 actual parables—15 are recorded in Matthew, 6 occur in Mark (4 are repeats) and 35 appear in Luke (16 are repeats, 19 are unique).

Here are eight reasons why Jesus preached in parables:

1. To fulfill prophecy: “Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables. And without a parable He did not speak to them, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will say things which have been kept secret since the foundation of the world’ (Matt. 13:34-35). One thousand years before Jesus came, the Psalmist Asaph predicted He would preach in parables (Ps. 78:2-3). Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about His life, ministry, death, burial and Resurrection.
2. To reveal truth: “The disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered them, ‘It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:10-11). The mysteries of the kingdom are contained in the parables of the kingdom. Eleven parables in Matthew open with the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like” or “like unto.” Jesus’ parables contain profound truths (secrets hidden from the foundation of the world). Parables open our eyes to deeper insights into Christ and His kingdom and give us a greater glimpse into the spiritual realm.
3. To conceal truth: This sounds contradictory to the previous point, but it’s not. Jesus explained, “‘Therefore I speak to them in parables: “Because seeing they look, but do not see. And they listen, but they do not hear, neither do they understand.” In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: “By hearing, you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and shall not perceive”‘” (Matt. 13:13-14). Not everyone was intended to understand Christ’s message. He skillfully used parables to throw curve balls and confuse those who were not open to His message. Like the four types of soil in the Parable of the Sower (wayside, stony, thorny, good ground) some people’s hearts were not receptive to the seed of His words. Parables have a unique way of withdrawing the light from those who love darkness. They have an element of mystery, forcing the listener to meditate on them to fully fathom their meaning. The casual listener is left baffled, hearing the superficial story but failing to grasp the underlying truths conveyed. Carnal minds can’t comprehend spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14).
4. To illustrate truth: Parables provide examples of how truth applies to everyday life. When a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He responded with the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36). In it, Jesus redefined the term “neighbor” as any person of any race who is in need, not just a person who lives nearby, and He showed how a true neighbor treats others. To illustrate the need for persistence in prayer, Jesus shared the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8). His point? If persistence pays with a crooked judge who has no interest in your case, how much more so with the just Judge (God) who has a supreme interest in your case.
5. To make truth relevant and practical: Around 25% of the Bible is comprised of precepts, laws and raw truths. The other 75% consists of stories of real people that demonstrate how truth applies to real-life, everyday situations. The stories in the Bible have been preserved for our instruction and inspiration (1 Cor. 10:11). The reason “the common people heard [Jesus] gladly” (Mark 12:37, KJV) was He brought complex, spiritual truth down their level by using terms they could easily relate to. He spoke their lingo when he compared God’s kingdom to farming, fishing, cooking, shepherding and agriculture.
6. To captivate people’s attention: Jesus avoided dry, dull sermons on the nuances of the law. Instead, He told interesting stories that captured people’s attention and stirred their imagination. People were “astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22, MEV). When the Pharisees sent soldiers to arrest Him, they returned emptyhanded and said, “No man has ever spoken like this Man!” (John 7:46). Jesus conveyed His message in a way that fascinated His followers and confounded His critics.
7. To enable His audience to retain His message: It’s much easier to remember a story than facts, data and boring information. Statistics show that people only remember about 10-20% of what they hear, but about 30-40% of what they hear and see. Parables create mental pictures that help us retain their message. Jesus’ parables are still with us 2,000 years later because people were able to recall and record them in detail for our benefit. Great sermons are not the ones with the most information, but the ones people can remember months or years later. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was so short (two to three minutes) the photographer didn’t have time to set his camera up to take a picture, but millions have memorized his speech. A famous orator, Edward Everett, spoke that day for two hours but few know anything he said. It’s not how long you talk; it’s how much you say. Jesus spoke volumes with few words.
8. To expose His enemies’ wrong motives: In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3, 25-32), Jesus included the “older brother” as a direct rebuke to the Pharisees for their holier-than-thou attitude toward sinners. He used the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:14-15, 19-31) to expose their greed and apathy for the poor. Jesus told the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14) to confront the self-righteous and to prove a repentant heart is better than a religious show. In the Parable of the Wicked Husbandman (Mark 12:1-12), Jesus expressed how the religious elite rejected God’s messengers and even God’s own Son.

Everyone loves stories, right? So, reread Christ’s stories and discover their hidden treasures. Kingdom mysteries are buried in the King’s parables, and He wants to reveal them to you! Grab a shovel and start digging. {eoa}

Ben Godwin is the author of five books and pastors the Goodsprings Full Gospel Church. You can read more articles or order his books @ .

As the CEO of Tikkun International, a global Messianic family dedicated to the restoration of the church and Israel, Ron Cantor knows he’s facing more than an uphill battle in helping to bring the gospel to Jews in Israel.

The percentage of Messianic Jews in the Holy Land is minimal, and the predominantly Orthodox Jewish population, for the most part, wants nothing to do with this fellow called Jesus. But Cantor, a Messianic Jew himself, isn’t backing down from his calling, and he says he will continue to pursue the mission God has given him to evangelize the Jewish population.

Cantor, the host of Out of Zion on GOD TV, and others like him in Israel have been accused of “trying to destroy Judaism and convert us to Christianity.”

“We just started the first-ever Hebrew-speaking cable channel for Yeshua in the history of television,” Cantor told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “There is great stuff on the internet, but we actually were able to get on cable TV here in Israel, through no deceit of our own.

“Right now, the Israeli media can’t figure out how we got a cable channel. How did we get it a license for this channel? To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself, but I know that we were 100% honest with the cable company and anyone else who asked. We’ve had some rough media about it.

“Most of the media are saying to me, ‘You can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus.’ And, ‘Anybody who would preach the gospel to a Jewish person is trying to steal their soul.’ But we’re telling them, ‘No, there’s no Christianity without Judaism. This began with a Jewish man born from Jewish parents living in a Jewish country.’ …

“Yet we’ve been attacked. I’ve never gone through anything like this in my life, and I thank God for His grace. He has given us grace to deal with it, but I have never been lied about so much. But Yeshua says, ‘Don’t be surprised when this happens. Rejoice when you are persecuted or when people say all kinds of things falsely about you.’ So, we’re rejoicing and trusting God, but it’s been a challenging time.

To find out more about Ron Cantor and Tikkun International, listen to this entire podcast.

Like most believers, Pastor Ruth Hendrickson became very familiar with Proverbs 3:5-6 after her salvation. But it wasn’t until she went through what she termed as a “difficult season” in her life that she truly discovered its meaning.

The passage is one Christians know well: “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.” Knowing it is one thing, but applying it to your life is quite another.

Applying the Scripture is only part of what Hendrickson, a pastor, mentor and conference speaker, has been teaching on her podcast, Real Truth with Ruth.

“With every part of our being, we have to learn to trust in Him and that includes during COVID or whatever comes up in your life,” Hendrickson told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “It includes your good days and your bad days. You can always trust Him.

“If we try to go into our own understanding, we’re not going to see it correctly. Yes, God gave us our brains, and we use them. But they always have to be in alignment with the kingdom of heaven and with kingdom thinking so that we see things from His perspective. So, just like the Scripture says, you must trust in the Lord with all your heart, and you must lean not unto your own understanding, and in all your ways you must acknowledge Him.

“Every step I take, every move I make, it’s my responsibility to do the best I can to guard my relationship with Christ, to understand His Word, to be walking as He tells me to walk, and it says that He will direct my path. He will take our steps and our missteps, when relinquished to Him, He will use them for his glory.”

For more of Hendrickson’s teachings, tune in to Real Truth with Ruth on CPN and listen to this entire podcast.

In these chaotic end times, Dr. Richard Land says, God wants His people to be educated in His Word and to have the ability to defend their faith in a culture that has become increasingly hostile to—if not violent—to those who love Jesus.

The president of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina, Land says he’s seen people from all walks of life and from all professional backgrounds make life changes to pursue the kingdom calling to which God has assigned them. And that means getting the training—perhaps through seminary or other forms of Christian education—that is required.

Southern Evangelical Seminary was founded in 1993 by Dr. Norman Geisler, one of the premier Christian apologists of the last third of the 20th century. Geisler was the mentor for Ravi Zacharias, the great Christian apologist who passed away earlier this week.

“I’ve been here (at Southern) for seven years, and I’ve been surprised at the number of folks we get here who are mid-career and changing professions,” Land told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “These are civil engineers, lawyers and businessmen who really don’t want to spend the last half of their life doing what they have been doing. They want to spend the last half of their life ministering to the church and witnessing for the Lord.

“So, they are coming to us at night and getting their master’s degree and beyond. And so, we are committed to producing men and women who can go forth and defend the Christian faith and evangelize the world. We teach apologetics, which, as you know, is always being ready to give a reasonable explanation of the hope that lies within you, using natural law, the hope that lies within the heart as well as God’s revelation as the inerrant and infallible Word of God.

“We try to integrate, in every one of our classes, theology, philosophy and the Bible. We try to do all three in every class.”

Land says enrollment at Southern Evangelical Seminary has actually increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southern is a pioneer in online Christian education. Land says it’s affordable and it’s convenient.

To explore more about advanced Christian education and Southern Evangelical Seminary, listen to the entire podcast.