When early viewers refer to an upcoming Christian film as “The Passion of the Christ” meets “The Chosen,” there’s little doubt the movie will be a good one.

But there is another reason why “His Only Son,” an Angel Studios film that releases on March 31st just in time for Resurrection Sunday, is expected to make an impact on our culture.

The movie, which bills itself as a “biblically accurate” and authentic film based on the story of Abraham and Isaac, and one that took five years in to make, is breaking records for its successful crowdfunding model, Fox News Digital has reported.

“This is the first time a theatrical release has been crowdfunded in entertainment history,” Angel Studios said in a statement.

Director David Helling says that the film is based on one of the most “controversial” accounts in all of Scripture—one in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. It can be found in Genesis 22:1-2:

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'”

“The Bible says it was a three-day journey to the place of the offering,” Helling says. “What had to have been going through Abraham’s mind know that his son, whom he had waited a quarter of a century for, whose birth was promised by God … this was his whole world that he now had to lay upon the altar. For Abraham, that three-day walk must have felt like an eternity.

“For many, this passage from Genesis 22 has fueled much confusion and even contention toward God’s Word, and many believers are left without an answer for the scoffers. That’s why I wanted to make this film.”

Angel Studios, which is also the distributor and platform behind the successful television series, “The Chosen,” says this newest biblical drama received an overwhelming positive response from its tens of thousands of investors, whom the studio calls, “angels.”

“Crowdfunding for ‘His Only Son’ reached capacity in 100 hours—we are responding to the demand from the audience by at least tripling the theater count nationwide and throwing our most valuable marketing resources behind the film. The Angel Guild, made up of Angel investors from every show, have rated this film with one of the highest scores we have ever received in our system,” Angel Studios CEO and co-founder Neal Harmon said.

Faith-based television and films have shown great success over the past few months viewer-wise. “The Chosen” has enjoyed a great three-season run, including the finale of season three as fans clamored to theaters to see in January.

Two other faith-based films, Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist and Jesus Revolution, have seen moviegoers flock to the theaters to see them. Jesus Revolution shattered box-office expectations in February and opened to rave reviews.

Neal and Jordan Harmon, brothers and co-founders of Angel Studios, say audiences are “hungering for entertainment with Christian values and that studies they have commissioned over the years back up the current movement.”

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

What will you do when Jesus, your King, calls? As believers, each of us has a call on our lives. Each of us can expect to hear the voice of our Lord inviting us not only to enter His inner court, but also to go and bless others in Jesus’ name.

What will you do? The lives of Vashti and Esther—two women in Old Testament times who were a lot like us—illustrate the two choices we can make: We can refuse to respond when He invites us to come to Him, or we can answer, “I will.” As we look at their stories, let’s ask ourselves:

When the King calls, will we choose not to respond and justify our decision with excuses or will we rise to the occasion, obey His command and be the catalyst for great blessing toward others?

SUMMONED INTO HIS PRESENCE

The book of Esther tells us that King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti were the crème de la crème of the land, and they were throwing a party—a royal banquet, to be exact. Everybody who was anybody was there. They were eating, drinking and making merry. It was a loud and raucous political bash!

The festivities were taking place in two quarters: The king was upon his throne with his servants all around while Queen Vashti and her court were being entertained in another part of the palace. In the middle of the celebration, however, the king’s machismo apparently got the best of him, and he decided that his wife would be the next “dish” to be served!

He sent his servants scurrying with the command, “Tell Vashti that I, her king, require her immediate presence” and then sat down with great expectancy.

When the servants reached the chamber where the women were gathered, no doubt giggling and acting like silly, young girls, chatting about their children and their husbands, they relayed the king’s message. Imagine their surprise when Queen Vashti, in front of everyone, said no to the king’s command! The queen telling the king no? A wife telling her husband no? It was unheard of!

We could question the king’s motives and the “political correctness” of his method. But what he wanted and why didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he called Vashti and she refused to come. He was crushed at her disobedience—then angered. How many of us have refused the Lord when He has summoned us into His presence? He’s called us over and over and over again, and we’ve told Him no just as many times, in just as many ways. Certainly, just as King Ahasuerus called Queen Vashti, the King of Kings has called you and me.

What does He want? What does it matter? He has called!

How God’s heart must be crushed when we walk away from Him, when we ignore His call! Queen Vashti lost her crown and was banished because she refused her king. Fortunately for us, our King is the God of the second chance. The Scriptures say that God is “married” to the backslider (see Jer. 3:14, NKJV), and even though we may refuse to appear before Him, His mind is still set on us. We must not think for one minute that because we’ve told Him no, He has forgotten us! We can still repent. We can still say, “I will,” and He will draw us to Himself.

HAND-PICKED BY THE KING

But Vashti was dismissed, and the king’s servants began to look for a replacement for the queen. They looked everywhere.

They went to the high-rent district, where the top echelon of the community lived, and hand-picked some women for the king’s “tryout.” They went into the colleges and universities and gathered some women there. And they went down to the homeless shelter and the soup kitchen and selected some women there, too. They gave even those who were the least likely to succeed an opportunity to participate.

Where did the servants of the Lord have to look to find you?

Do you remember where you were when the Holy Spirit came and tapped you on the shoulder?

Did He walk into a nightclub? Into an executive meeting? Perhaps into the middle of an illicit affair? Maybe the servants found you in the midst of some deadly habit, lying sick in be or injured by the side of the road. Maybe you were even sitting in church.

Where were you when the servants found you and said, “The King has need of you”?

The Scriptures are full of people like you and I. Abraham, the Arabic sheik, became the father of many nations when he answered the call of God. Joseph, the boy who was sold into slavery by his own brothers, became the prime minister of a great state when he responded. David, the shepherd boy, became the king of Israel when he answered the call. Esther was an unknown orphan when she chose to answer a call she did not yet fully understand. She became queen to King Ahasuerus, just as if she were the heroine in a fairy tale.

No doubt Esther did not come into the king’s presence offering a list of excuses.

She didn’t go in there the way I did when my preacher-husband, T.D. Jakes, and I first began to get serious. I told him, “I don’t play, I don’t sing and I can’t preach!”

He responded, “Well, what can you do?”

Don’t make the mistake of responding to the call of God by telling Him who you’re not and what you can’t do. He knows you.

He knows—and He calls you anyway.

In the days of Esther and Vashti, it was customary to direct all the young virgins who were paraded before the king to one of three places. The women that the king inspected but chose not to become involved with were summarily dismissed and sent to the first chamber, which I liken to the “outer court.” Just about anyone might dwell there. These women had a shallow, one-time experience with the king that led them nowhere.

The second chamber was reserved for those women the king thought had “potential.” He entered into a pseudo-relationship with them, short of making a covenant. This area I liken to the “middle court.”

I’m reminded of those of us who “brush up” against the glory of God, getting just close enough to know that it’s real, but who stops there? The Bible calls those women of the second chamber “concubines”; today we would call them “live-ins.”

The third chamber was designated for the queen. It was the place reserved for intimacy, for the one who entered into a covenant relationship. Once you’ve been there, you can never be satisfied in any other place!

That’s where they put Esther in the queen’s chamber. They didn’t even bother to move her first to one of the superficial outer courts but placed her right in the “Holy of Holies”—in the presence of the king himself.

As the women were paraded before King Ahasuerus the haves and the have-nots, the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful, the talented and the talentless—the king’s eyes rested on Esther, and the Bible says he favored her above every other woman in the room.

Do you ever wonder why, out of all the people in the world, God chose you?

Out of all of the people He could have selected-some more beautiful, more talented, more articulate, more intelligent, richer, thinner, taller-He chose you. In His infinite wisdom, He sees not what we are, but what we will become. And just as the king favored Esther, God favors you and me!

PLUCKED FROM THE FIRE

When the king called Esther, she responded, “I will.” Later when she asked to see him, he extended his royal scepter to her and declared, “Whatever you request is yours, Queen Esther.” Rising to the occasion, she asked that her people, the nation of Israel living in captivity, be saved from annihilation. Her wish was granted, and she became known throughout history as a great deliverer.

Today, God is calling you “queen.” You may not feel like a queen; you may not look like a queen; you may not deserve to be a queen. But the scepter is still extended to you. God is saying, ‘If you but answer My call, you can ask whatever you want, and it shall be done for you.” Sure, we could make excuses. We could pull out our negative resume. But why not respond “I will” instead?

The third chapter of Zechariah tells how Joshua the high priest stood before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his side to accuse him. That’s how it is for each of us. Satan stands ready to accuse us, to tell us what we’re not, to remind us of what we’ve done wrong. But when Satan pointed out to the angel that Joshua was wearing filthy garments, just as he loves to point out our sin, the angel replied, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Isn’t this man a burning stick that I plucked out of the fire?” (see Zech. 3:1-2).

You’ve been plucked out, too! Don’t concern yourself over Satan’s accusations. God is able to take away your filthy garments. Joshua the high priest, Esther the orphan-all of us who the enemy said would never amount to anything have been plucked out of the fire.

Satan is a liar. God has called us.

You’ve been summoned to the King’s chamber, to the inner court. Will you go? Can He count on you? Will you be there for Him like He’s been there for you? Respond to His invitation today. Say, “I will.”

This article originally appeared in SpiritLed Woman in 1999.

Serita Jakes is the First Lady of The Potter’s House church in Dallas, Texas, which is pastored by her husband, Bishop T.D. Jakes. She ministers frequently to her local congregation and to women’s organizations across the country.

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When early viewers refer to an upcoming Christian film as “The Passion of the Christ” meets “The Chosen,” there’s little doubt the movie will be a good one.

But there is another reason why “His Only Son,” an Angel Studios film that releases on March 31st just in time for Resurrection Sunday, is expected to make an impact on our culture.

The movie, which bills itself as a “biblically accurate” and authentic film based on the story of Abraham and Isaac, and one that took five years in to make, is breaking records for its successful crowdfunding model, Fox News Digital has reported.

“This is the first time a theatrical release has been crowdfunded in entertainment history,” Angel Studios said in a statement.

Director David Helling says that the film is based on one of the most “controversial” accounts in all of Scripture—one in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. It can be found in Genesis 22:1-2:

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'”

“The Bible says it was a three-day journey to the place of the offering,” Helling says. “What had to have been going through Abraham’s mind know that his son, whom he had waited a quarter of a century for, whose birth was promised by God … this was his whole world that he now had to lay upon the altar. For Abraham, that three-day walk must have felt like an eternity.

“For many, this passage from Genesis 22 has fueled much confusion and even contention toward God’s Word, and many believers are left without an answer for the scoffers. That’s why I wanted to make this film.”

Angel Studios, which is also the distributor and platform behind the successful television series, “The Chosen,” says this newest biblical drama received an overwhelming positive response from its tens of thousands of investors, whom the studio calls, “angels.”

“Crowdfunding for ‘His Only Son’ reached capacity in 100 hours—we are responding to the demand from the audience by at least tripling the theater count nationwide and throwing our most valuable marketing resources behind the film. The Angel Guild, made up of Angel investors from every show, have rated this film with one of the highest scores we have ever received in our system,” Angel Studios CEO and co-founder Neal Harmon said.

Faith-based television and films have shown great success over the past few months viewer-wise. “The Chosen” has enjoyed a great three-season run, including the finale of season three as fans clamored to theaters to see in January.

Two other faith-based films, Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist and Jesus Revolution, have seen moviegoers flock to the theaters to see them. Jesus Revolution shattered box-office expectations in February and opened to rave reviews.

Neal and Jordan Harmon, brothers and co-founders of Angel Studios, say audiences are “hungering for entertainment with Christian values and that studies they have commissioned over the years back up the current movement.”

Bring Charisma magazine home with a subscription today!

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

There has been a resurgence of interest in evangelist Lonnie Frisbee. With the release of Greg Laurie’s powerful movie, Jesus Revolution, more people are asking about Lonnie.

It was apparent that Lonnie was a main catalyst to the Jesus Movement. Although the movie captured a small portion of Lonnie’s story, what was seen on-screen was a small paraphrase into the life of a man I have studied over the years.

After reading two of Lonnie’s books compiled by Roger Sachs who transcribed the evangelist’s words onto the printed page, my oldest son and I had the pleasure of meeting Roger at The Send Orlando in 2019. I’d asked him a few questions and he prayed, laying hands and prophesying over us. I then anxiously awaited the release of the third book in the series and when I received it I honestly wept before the Lord. I highly recommend that you read them in their entirety to get more insight into the Jesus Movement and what God did afterwards until Lonnie’s untimely death.

Kevin Dedmon has sat down with me a couple times on my podcast “Adventures in the Spirit” briefly mentioning Lonnie Frisbee the first time. But I invited him back to elaborate more on the ‘hippie preacher.’ I’d shared how I read everything I could about the hippie evangelist, but I could see that a couple of the movements Lonnie was pivotal in had tried to delete him out of their history. We should never delete or cancel history, but learn from it.

Kevin said he was saved at a Calvary Chapel service in Costa Mesa at the height of the Jesus Movement. Lonnie was preaching, but the draw was signs, wonders and miracles with the relevant biblical message given through the music and word. Kevin said, “As Lonnie was praying, I was shaking under the power of the Holy Spirit. I came forward knowing that there was something special on my life. I needed something to know that God was specifically calling me. From that time on I knew I was called to help change the world with the message of Jesus.”

Kevin shared on Lonnie’s life saying, “Lonnie was a hippie, an artist and a musician. When he had an encounter with Jesus he was called to bring in a harvest. He wanted to get as many people as possible saved. Lonnie would prophesy over people and receive words of knowledge. My wife’s aunt was healed of an inoperable tumor and Lonnie prayed for her and she was completely healed. He walked in signs and wonders all the time.”

Dedmon continued saying, “In 1991 my wife and I became friends with Lonnie. My wife and I prayed with him two weeks before he died. He was so right with God. A lot of people have studied him since. And I know there is a certain group that would like to propagate his name for their own agenda. But Lonnie was absolutely in love with Jesus and had such a sensitive heart with the Lord. He was a beautiful, beautiful person. He had his weaknesses for sure. But at the end of his life he was so in love and right with the Lord.”

Listen to this conversation and learn more about Lonnie Frisbee and the impartation of the Holy Spirit that Kevin Dedmon shares about. {eoa}

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Jared and Rochelle Laskey co-founded Fireborn Ministries together to teach believers how to live a daily Spirit-empowered life. You can find their resources and learn more about their ministry at firebornministries.com. They also have e-courses such as “Entry Level Prophecy,” “The Last Days,” “The Baptism with the Holy Spirit” and more on charismacourses.com, and the popular podcast Adventures in the Spirit, available on the Charisma Podcast Network or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

In the midst of many positive things that are happening in America and abroad, including the beginnings of both spiritual and moral awakenings, there’s also plenty of evidence that, on another level, the world is losing its mind. Here are some striking, recent examples.

Writing for Breitbart, Jack Montgomery reported that, “Women and ‘non-binary’ people with breasts will be able to go topless at Berlin swimming pools after a ruling from the German capital’s diversity ombudsman.”

Indeed, “Dr. Doris Liebscher, who heads the city’s ombudsman office, hailed the change, saying: ‘The ombudsman very much welcomes the decision of the bathing establishments because it creates equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff in the bathing establishments.'”

But of course! There’s no difference between a man’s body and a woman’s body, right? If a man can go topless, why not a woman? Equality for all!

And then this priceless paragraph (and note the gender pronouns): “The municipal government in the university city made the change in response to a complaint by a biologically male transman, who was banned from a pool for refusing to cover their breasts on the basis that they were a man, and men did not need to cover their chests.”

So, if I have this right, this is a biological male, who now identifies as a female (but is being referenced here as a “transman”) and who (apparently) has female breasts, who is protesting the fact that he (who now claims to be a she) must cover his chest. But since men do not have to cover their chests and he is really a man (at least for the sake of the court case, since he otherwise identifies as a woman), then he, even as a she, shouldn’t have to cover his chest (sorry, their chest). Is that correct?

This gentleman may be very sincere and may truly feel aggrieved. But turning logic and reality upside down will solve nothing.

More practically, perhaps the people of Germany could learn from the people of Sweden. As reported back in 2018, “A program at a Swedish open-air swimming bath in Malmö that eliminated gender-separate areas to encourage transgender bathers has resulted in men taking the opportunity to stare at naked women.” Is anyone surprised?

So, while “very few transgender people were making use of the program, men and boys used it as an excuse to enter women’s showers, changing rooms and toilets, Aftonbladet reports.”

Back in the States, the Biden administration was rightly pilloried for presenting an “International Women Of Courage Award” to a biological male who identifies as female. As Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted, “It’s International Women’s Day—a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Or, as I expressed it, “It really seems as if the ongoing trend to honor trans-identified biological males for being the first-ever ‘woman’ to achieve something (or the ‘best’ woman in a category) is the latest form of misogyny. Men make better women than women do!”

The person who was given this “courage” award may indeed be a courageous individual. But he should not be celebrated as a female. That is insulting to other, deserving female candidates.

Also in the States, but in the same spirit as the court ruling in Germany, Ari Blaff reported on National Review that, “A Minnesota state court has ruled that USA Powerlifting must permit transgender athletes to compete.

“Transgender powerlifter JayCee Cooper, a male who identifies as female, sued in state court in 2021 after USA Powerlifting’s sex-segregation policy barred him from competing against women. The court found that the organization’s policy violated state anti-discrimination law.”

Indeed, “The district court’s ruling compels USA Powerlifting to ‘cease and desist from all unfair discriminatory practices,’ and permits the body two weeks to comply. The order paves the way for individuals to compete in divisions based on their gender identity, not biological sex.”

Long live equality! Three cheers for egalitarianism! Another victory for women’s rights!

Forgive my sarcasm, but this is patently absurd and blatantly discriminatory, no matter how much a biological male may be required to reduce his testosterone before competing against women. The unfair advantage remains glaring, as was seen in the case of “Laurel” Hubbard, a former, competitive weightlifting male, who went on to smash female records as a “transwoman.”

If fairness is a goal and if trans-identified athletes become more common, they can compete in non-binary categories against each other. But to change everyone else’s reality based on their perceived reality is to turn the world upside down.

Or do we need more headlines like this one, from January 2022? “‘I was sexually assaulted by a transgender rapist in a women’s jail’: Female prisoner, 45, describes ordeal at the hands of sex predator, 56, who molested four inmates during three-month reign of terror.”

Yes, “Karen” White, a biological male who identifies as a female “was sent to the [women’s] jail despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment.”

So, this biological male was able to sexually abuse and terrorize the female inmates in a prison simply because he identified as a woman.

The bad news is that the world is really losing its mind. The good news is that many others are now waking up and saying, “Enough is enough.”

May God help these trans-identified individuals find wholeness within their natural bodies, and may the rest of society regain its bearings, before the slippery slope becomes a steep and treacherous cliff. {eoa}

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Dr. Michael Brown (askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is “The Political Seduction of the Church: How Millions of American Christians Have Confused Politics with the Gospel.” Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

The second largest shut down of a bank in U.S. history just happened and now everyone is wondering if this will have a domino effect.  Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) which is America’s 16th largest commercial bank collapsed last week along with Signature Bank.

SVB, along with many other banks invested the money coming throughout their doors into bonds, a seemingly normal practice. With the continual spike in interest rates, the price of the bonds fell and the assets which many banks relied on decreased in price. This drove worried depositors to rush to the ATM and withdrawal their money out of their accounts. Now, there is a question on whether other banks will follow in the same footsteps as SVB.

President Joe Biden assured Americans on Monday that “our banking system is safe,” adding: “We will do whatever is needed on top of all this.”

This, along with the continuous other financial concerns facing America’s economy today can leave you feeling a little anxious. It’s in those moments that we are to look at the Bible to see what God’s promises are—not man.

In these trials, be careful not to fall into the tricky Prosperity Gospel teachings traps. They come in with pastors or leaders telling you to give to the church and God will give it back to you and more, which actually causes significant spiritual harm to believers. One of the most common verses used in the Prosperity Gospel is in Philippians.

Philippians 4:19 says, “But  my God shall supply your every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Yes, God wants you to succeed and live a prosperous life but more than anything this verse from the apostle Paul is talking about your spiritual life. We know in this life there will be hard times. They are guaranteed. But, we can rest assured that God will always take care of us.

What was the context Paul was talking about when he said God will supply your every need? Earlier in verses 11-13 Paul told the Philippians to learn how to be content with whatever they have. A practice all Christians should take note of. Paul wrote to the Philippians that he knew firsthand how to live on almost nothing and live with abundance.

In his letter, Paul shares the secret to living with little during hard times: Changing your mindset to recognize that you can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength.

So, in these uncertain times, with a new alarming headline every day rest assured in God’s promises. He is offering you a life of peace and spiritual strength. He clothes the birds of the air and the lilies in the field, how much more will your heavenly Father make sure you are provided for?

Tomorrow has enough worries of it’s own. Pray for God to give you wisdom on how to steward what He has given you financially and trust that He will direct your steps wherever it is best for you to go.

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One lesson that Christians can be reminded of when watching “The Chosen” is that God often chooses sinners, the downtrodden and least likely to carry His message of redemption and saving grace.

Who would have thought that some fishermen, a tax collector and other lowly members of society would spread the gospel to the world and be used by God to write His Word down on paper for generations to read?

Yet even with the written Word of God available to humanity, the world is at an intersection of beliefs and ideologies now.

Lies and censorship are being exposed and people are choosing to either accept it and submit to the world’s systems, or they are standing up and saying “This is not right; This is not truth; This is not freedom.”

Comedian Russell Brand is one of those people, who since overcoming addiction has been on the warpath exposing the lies and manipulations occurring in the world today.

Appearing with “Tucker Carlson Today,” Brand shared how important his now realized spirit is to him.

“As much as I might enjoy the feeling of privilege and luxury… I remember what reality is. I remember that my wellness is contingent upon spiritual connection, upon certain values and principles, and they involve sacrifice and self-scrutiny about my own conduct and behavior, which often falls short, and I’m working on improving myself,” Brand shared.

“Like many desperate people, I need spirituality,” he continued. “I need God, or I cannot cope in this world. I need to believe in the best in people.”

People can learn a lesson from the depiction of Peter in the first season of “The Chosen.”

Here was a man living in sin and was having a crisis of faith. Until he met the Messiah.

How many Christians can relate to such an experience?

Brand has had his eyes opened to many truths since he stopped using drugs and alcohol to get through life’s pathways.

This opening of the eyes to a spiritually dark world is reminiscent to the scales falling from the apostle Paul’s eyes in Acts 9:18 but from a spiritual perspective.

Brand now sees the lies and injustice that have permeated this world and recognizes the harm and division they are causing.

That is why he is speaking up so boldly against it and recognizes the need for God in his life.

While he has yet to acknowledge Jesus Christ as his Savior publicly, the words he speaks against the sin in the world echo those found within the Word of God, whether he realizes that or not.

“I need to believe that there are new alliances possible, new ways of us communicating, because I see atrophying and corrupt systems delivering yet more misery to people, and I think it’s increasingly necessary that we find new ways of framing the conversation and looking into our hearts when we’re speaking,” Brand told Carson.

“Are we being kind? Are we being loving? Are we being the best that we can be? On whose behalf are we speaking? And what is my intention, moment to moment? Am I doing this for self-glorification? Am I doing this because I have obligations to rumble the platform I’m on? Or am I doing this because I genuinely believe that a better world is possible and that world is born individually within each of us, moment to moment? And it’s possible to change. I genuinely believe in change,” he continued.

In his previous statement, Brand brings up two aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Kindness and love.

God is looking for people willing to speak with boldness about holding fast to His Word and the lessons He teaches within it.

There is a recognition within Brand’s soul occurring right now, and as Christians are realizing this is a prominent man with an audience of millions, prayers must be lifted up for him to find that Jesus Christ is the source for all of these beliefs that he holds so dear.

“I feel pretty committed to what I’m doing now. I never felt like I’m in alignment with my beliefs and principles in the way that I do right now… I believe in truth and freedom and the ability to express yourself,” Brand concluded.

Brand will find the source of the truth and freedom he holds onto these days is only found in Jesus Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 3:17 Paul writes, “Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” That is the true source of freedom that Brand is standing up for. And perhaps most importantly, Jesus’ own words in John 14:6 say, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The tenets of truth and freedom that have become prominent in Russell Brand’s life will be fully realized in a way that he can never imagine when he crosses the threshold and makes Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior in his life. Pray that his eyes are opened to this amazing transformation and continues his pursuit of truth and freedom in the world. {eoa}

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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.

In what may be somewhat of a surprise to many believers, some secular actors, writers and directors are now beginning to call out the anti-Christian bias that has become prevalent in Hollywood over the past few years, Fox News Digital reported.

One of the most recent and visible examples comes from Rainn Wilson, a former cast member of NBC’s “The Office,” who criticized on social media last weekend an incident from the HBO Series “The Last of Us.”

On Twitter, Wilson said, “I do think there is an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood. As soon as the David character in ‘The Last of Us’ started reading from the Bible, I knew that he was going to be a horrific villain. Could there be a Bible-reading preacher on a show who is actually loving and kind?”

Evangelist Sean Feucht wondered what took Rainn so long to notice how Christians are portrayed in Hollywood.

“We’ve all known this for a long, long time Rainn,” Feucht tweeted in reply.

“The Last of Us,” Fox News Digital reported, is a “post-apocalyptic show based on the video game of the same name,” featuring a group of cannibals and led by what appears to be a Christian preacher. The group “justified their actions by quoting Bible verses, and a later scene featured the preacher attempting to rape the series protagonist, Ellie, a young girl.”

Roma Downey, the former star of “Touched by An Angel,” joked that Hollywood has “gotten used” to her. Her faith affected her career as an actress tremendously as she’s had to decline several roles because of it.

“I have been fortunate enough that the kinds of roles that have come to me have been in harmony with the person I am and the things I believe,” Downey told Fox News Digital.

Others in Hollywood agreed with Wilson’s view and his criticism of the industry.

• “Defamation of Christianity has become the most unoriginal and tired clichés in movie/TV series storylines,” tweeted LIBRE Initiative President Daniel Garza. “It’s prevalence is much more than a bias against an entire people. It is meant to undermine faith and position the secular-minded as only ones with altruistic intentions.”
• New Christendom Press CEO Eric Conn tweeted, “Goes back to Mr. Collins in Austen’s ‘Pride & Prejudice.’ The preacher man is nearly always portrayed in a negative light. Also true of Hollywood today.”
• “I lean left, but ‘Last of Us’ still made me roll my eyes quite a few times with its Hollywood nonsense. Had to stop watching,” Medium writer Sean Kernan commented.
• Evie Magazine founder Brittany Martinez wrote, “As SOON as the pastor started reading from the Bible I knew he was going to be awful. I was like ‘watch that guy be David the creepy cannibal from the video game.’ And then it was David. Shocked. Surprised. Never seen it before. He wasn’t a pastor in the video game.”

Fox News Digital reported that Wilson has previously promoted left-wing issues from his Twitter account. In November, he announced efforts to change his name on social media platforms to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson as an effort to promote climate change activism.

“I’m hoping this name change brings attention to this growing … er, melting issue. We need world leaders at COP27 to take notice and take action. The Arctic is melting at millions of liters per second, yet this problem can’t seem to make a name for itself, so it’s up to us to make a name for it.” {eoa}

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Shawn A. Akers is the Online Editor at Charisma Media.

Mario Murillo says David Wilkerson saw it coming. The scope and sensationalism that has engulfed our churches for years—something that has left the church empty and dry—will no longer be tolerated by God. True children of God want more, and a separation, Murillo says, is coming our way very soon for a “massive number of Christians” who will experience this strange miracle.

“The Holy Spirit is separating them. He has selected them for special grace and power to do mighty acts at the edge of history,” Murillo says. “They will be uniquely equipped to face the sophisticated evil of our time. But it all begins by making peace with the Holy Spirit and restoring His rightful place in our hearts and in the church.

“Take a close look at the book of Acts and you will see the disarming down-to-earth way they related to the Holy Spirit. While they revered Him deeply, they had a sense of his nearness and His involvement in their day-to-day operation. They behaved as if He was close by and they could almost see Him. Most of all, they anticipated His instructions.”

Acts 13:2-4 reads: “As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

Murillo says God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth, and that He will shake everything that can be shaken, tearing down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system.

In essence, millions of His children are hearing God’s command: “Separate to Me!”

Years ago, Murillo says, the Holy Spirit revealed to Wilkerson, one of His greatest warriors, that pockets of prophetic people would huddle together across the nation. Among themselves, Wilkerson says, they knew that what has taken place in recent years is a far cry from what God expects of them.

“This is not it,” Wilkerson said. “There is something more. … We want more. More than entertainment. More than big, showy buildings. More than a shallow celebrity gospel. We want deeper values. We want to see Jesus. We want spotless robes of righteousness. We want to go back to doing things in total dependence on God.”

In other words, Wilkerson said, the church in general became lazy and complacent. And those who wished to continue doing things God’s way were treated like outcasts because they wouldn’t conform to the culture-friendly atmosphere that darkened our churches and bowed to Satan’s will instead of God’s and denied the presence of the Holy Spirit.

“Many of these people were chased out of churches that were once fiery, Spirit-filled churches that had taken on a new ‘seeker-friendly’ format,” Wilkerson said. “They saw their church now focused on church growth, down-playing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and only designed to attract outsiders. They felt punished for wanting a move of God.”

But no more. Murillo says that those who are simply hungry for more of God and for Jesus to do His work are done with “ego-centric preachers with grandiose, expensive and carnal visions that have nothing to do with soul winning or revival.”

Preachers, he said, have been distracted or even derailed from their first love. Disciples are abandoning “attraction” churches and something revolutionary is happening inside them because God is starting a fresh movement.

Wilkerson once said that “God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth. God is going to shake everything that can be shaken. He will tear down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system. He will disown the formal, super-church structure. He will chase out of His presence all who are engaging in self-promoting ministries.”

Murillo says these praying people “will force changes, and that they are a new breed for a new need. They are frustrated, hungry and their numbers are growing fast. They are coalescing around certain truths: fasting, repentance and holy surrender to Christ.”

Isn’t this what the younger generations—especially GenZ—are looking for from today’s church? They are tired of the complacency they have been seeing in their churches for years.

When evil is exalted, Murillo says, “God looks for deliverers. He looks for those who will allow God to make them indestructible and irresistible voices to restore righteousness to America.

Wilkerson saw it, but so did Smith Wigglesworth back in 1927. Wigglesworth prophesied then, “All the people which are pressing into and getting ready for this glorious attained place where they shall not be found naked, where they shall be blameless, where they shall be immovable, where they shall be purified by the power of the Word of God, have within them a consciousness of the very presence of God within, changing their very nature and preparing them for a greater thing, and causing them to be ready for translation.”

Both men, Murillo says, believe that this gathering unto the Holy Spirit would begin after a great falling away. And the great falling away has been happening for years.

But a great gathering of frustrated saints is also beginning to happen and these are being pulled away from fleshly things to desire godly things. “They are,” Murillo says, “surrendering to a special work of the Holy spirit, and it will soon engulf the earth.” {eoa}

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

From city councils to state lawmakers, bans on so-called “Conversion Therapy” are the latest attempt of the Left to attack parental rights and codify Leftist values into society.

The so-called bans are deceptively marketed as a step to enhance youth mental health protections, but in reality, these fraudulent claims actually seek to do the opposite. They seek to deny critical care for young people at a time when they most desperately need, it in order to advance a radical transgender agenda.

The truth is that these “bans” are not about banning practices at all, but about banning values.

There are many issues with banning “Conversion Therapy,” beginning with the term itself. “Conversion” is a misnomer used to give the idea that it is something being forced, rather than undertaken voluntarily.

But which one sounds more like an attempted conversion? Helping a young girl by talking about unwanted anxiety and confusion she has about her body, or taking away the talk therapy option and instead telling her parents the only approach is to affirm her as a boy, push her to “socially transition,” give her testosterone injections and eventually a double mastectomy?

It’s clear which side of this issue is attempting conversions.

The laws and ordinances that are put forth use loose language in an attempt to build an association between abusive forceful tactics and simple talk therapy. They allude to practices that are not in use anywhere today and would already be deemed illegal under existing laws.

That is why these bans are clearly about banning values, not practices.

The bans are out of touch with the latest research and with many medical professionals and parents who prefer to help young people accept their bodies rather than permanently alter them. This approach is based on the fact that 80-95% of children who have confusion about their gender and do not pursue “transition” have their distress eventually go away on its own. So, forcing gender conversion is clearly not the answer.

As one medical doctor I spoke to recently said, “the medical practitioners who are for the medical conversions simply see patients as revenue streams, rather than a patient they want to help.” He went on to say that these doctors are not professionals anyone would trust with standard health care.

If a child gets put on cross-sex hormones at a young age, they can spend between $100,000 and $1 million over their lifetime on drugs and surgeries.

Perhaps that point alone gives insight into what’s really behind the agenda: money. Even still, money is a distant second to the motivation of destroying the traditional family, which is the bedrock of any thriving society.

Banning talk therapy completely ignores the massive movement today of people who are de-transitioning after seeing that transitioning was not the answer to their problem.

So, with so many risks to children and no benefits, why is the practice of forced gender transition allowed by regulators?

Many are surprised to learn that nearly half the FDA’s annual budget is funded by “user fees” paid by the very pharmaceutical companies the FDA is supposed to regulate.

These payments to the FDA by pharma companies are possible because of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) that was originally passed in 1992. The law allows companies to pay for “expedited approval” for drugs or medical devices.

To state it plainly, nearly half the budget of the regulating agency is paid for by the companies the agency exists to regulate. This fact, along with executives rotating between public and private leadership roles, seem to provide a clear example of agency capture.

Fortunately, the long run of self-serving interests of regulators, drug companies and LGBT activists may soon be coming to an end.

We are seeing the tide turning as conservative states are beginning to ban the practice of medically transitioning minors. More than 80 bills are moving through legislatures quickly across nearly 30 states.

Legislation is also in discussion at the federal level, such as the “Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act.” This Senate bill (S.4457) would make “a medical practitioner who performs a gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less than 18 years of age liable for any physical, psychological, emotional or physiological harms from the procedure for 30 years after the individual turns 18.”

While we see signs of the tide turning in our favor, we must continue to push hard for our children. Children are the future of our nation and we must stand ready to fight for them. The truth behind this attempted ban on traditional values is clear.

Listen to this episode as I talk more about a local city example and many of the other important aspects of this fight today. {eoa}

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Ryan S. Howard, Ph.D., is the Host of Cutting Edge Faith, a podcast that shares the truth behind the headlines and equips Christians to live out their faith in the cultural chaos of today. Ryan has worked in global purchasing for more than 15 years and has visited over 20 countries. Ryan is the author of “21 Days to a Spirit-Led Life,” a devotional available as a free download. He lives in Iowa with his wife, Bruna, and their son, John. Learn more at ryanshoward.com