Daily Prophetic Words--Praying for our Global Community

Greetings in the Lord! Recently the Lord has drawn my attention to a woman I'd never heard of before, but one that is causing quite a stir in the Muslim world.  Her name is Irshad Manji, a Canadian author and human rights activist.  She is also a practicing Muslim and lesbian.  For her most recent book, "Allah, Liberty, and Love," I watched an online video clip of radical Islam jihadists storming her book signing in Holland and shouting death threats and insults at her.  The Dutch in attendance, non and Muslim alike, made a human shield around her so they could not hurt her physically.  That was in 2011.  Fast forward to another book signing in Indonesia in 2012.  She and her assistants and others in the crowd were attacked and injured by a mob of violent Islamists.  Wow, really?  An angry group of Muslims trying to use violence to stamp out differing viewpoints?  Never heard of that before. ! OK, all sarcasm aside, I can't begin to imagine what life must be like f

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Ezekiel 37-39 and Psalm 68.  The theme--God routs the united enemies of Israel and shows Himself mighty!  So, to begin today's word, we start at the end of Ezekiel 37, where God promises to unite Israel's two nations, which at that time were, simply put, the northern kingdom called Ephraim, and the southern kingdom of Judah.  God promised to restore them into one country again and bless them, and "then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever."  Well, needless to say, this promise was fulfilled with the founding of the modern nation-state of Israel in 1948.  Nearly a two thousand year old prophecy fulfilled!  As we continue reading in Ezekiel 38, we see that just as Israel is to be united, so the enemies of Israel will come together to make an alliance against Israel.  Well, that is obviously the time period we are in today.  More specifically, in today'

Greetings in the Lord! Ever feel like the struggles at hand will not go away?  That you've been dealing with, and contending with, and seeking God's help for trials with the enemy that seem to just keep on lingering, and lingering, and lingering...yep, me, too.  Warring and holding your ground in the midst of adversity can make one very weary.  It's been a long, contentious year so far, and guess what?  We still have a couple more months to go! ;)  Well, we will make it, by the help of God, we will make it.  And I can't tell you how often when I'm in the middle of such a season of struggle, or an "assignment" that pits me against a stronghold, if you will, that I get the Scripture for today: "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.  David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker."  2 Samuel 3:1 David's struggle with the house of Saul was a long, drawn out, series of

Greetings in the Lord! I wrote a while back about the rather aggressive season we are in this year--the enemies of God are plotting and moving against His people in very hostile ways, and that God is on the offensive as well!  Praise the Lord!  He rides His white horse into battle and "Victory" is His banner! Well, along those lines comes today's word from the book of Esther, chapters 5-7, where the deceitful and scheming "vile" Haman finally gets his--and that, on the gallows he built for Mordecai!  You will recall that in chapter 3, Haman had bribed King Xerxes with a very large sum of money to have the king issue an edict to rid his kingdom of "a people whose customs are different and do not obey the king's laws."  Of course, he doesn't mention who these people are, but quickly offers a huge amount of money to bribe the king....and is successful.  The edict is spread all throughout the kingdom that on a certain day the people of God wer

Greetings in the Lord! Do you ever get those verses that no matter how many times you read them, the meaning just seems to elude you?  The best is when you run it by someone else and they get it right off the bat, and you just stand there feeling really dim.  Yeah, sometimes it's like that. "All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied."  Ecclesiastes 6:7 Now, I bet you got that right away, didn't you?  Well, I had to look up other translations to see more about it....and I got this. "All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough."   and this: "Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied."   By then I had gotten the meaning and the cross reference from John 6:26-27 that I have been reading over the past couple of months: Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw

Greetings in the Lord! This week as I watched yet more news stories of young males causing trouble with their arrogant and foolish behaviors--even in the faces of law enforcement and court officials--I was lead to read from the book of Proverbs about "foolish sons."  "A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers."  Proverbs 17:2 "A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him."             Proverbs 17:25 "To have a fool for a son brings grief; there is no joy for the father of a fool."  Proverbs 17:21 "An evil man is bent only on rebellion; a merciless official will be sent against him."      Proverbs 17:11 There is an epidemic of foolishness, violent and arrogant, in our younger population today.  And don't think I am only pointing to young males--no way!  Young women can be just as foolish, acting as prideful and vulgar as any m

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Isaiah 57, and I will say that it is a rather stern word that also sheds light on the sometimes difficult ways of the Lord.  Difficult, in that we tend to think of God's mercy in gentle, soothing ways, and not necessarily in the way presented here. "The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."  (verses 1-2) Death is God's mercy?  Well, when their present situation is too wicked too bear any longer, and no good person has the power to intervene and the whole lot of those in control are corrupt and wicked and still can inflict suffering on their victims, then, I guess, death would be a merciful act.  But still, it's kind of hard to imagine such a scenario, but in Isaiah 57:1-2 God's word tells us th

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from the book of Proverbs--my favorite book of the Bible.  It has short bits of wisdom, easy to understand, but when applied appropriately, can pack quite a punch in its truth!  Like today's topic: the wisdom of being a good steward. "One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth."  Proverbs 13:7 "Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food."  Proverbs 12:9 "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception."  Proverbs 14:8 Each of these proverbs is a little different take on the foolishness of trying to be something you're not: either so rich that you don't have a care in the world and waste your money, or so poor that you have an easy excuse for being stingy, or so smart that you don't heed using common sense.  It's foolishness to not live w

Greetings in the Lord! Grace, peace, and comfort to all those affected by the siege in Kenya.  Although the neighborhood looked so Western in my dream that I thought it was in the UK, obviously, my dream pertained to the terrible attack in the upscale mall in Nairobi--blessed be to all those who read it, believed the word of the Lord, and prayed His protection over His people in advance!  These are the days where evil forces are plotting trouble often, but God knows their schemes while they are still yet in the planning stages, and He leads us to prayerfully intercede on behalf of all those targeted.  The foretelling of these events is not for kicks and chills, but for Christians to activate their faith and use the most powerful tools made available to us: prayer and fasting!  After the tragedy of course we are moved to help, but prophetic words give us a jump start to action.  God is moved by faith, not desperation, my friends.  The severity of many terrible situations can be less

Greetings in the Lord! Today I had a God dream that took place in a Westernized city, my best guess is a larger town in the UK.  We were running around the mostly minority neighborhood in a frantic, as we heard a certain building was being besieged.  I was not for sure who the attackers were, but the threat seemed to be instigated by radical Islamists.  As a group of us ran to take refuge in an apartment building, men in black military-type clothes were there tearing off the pretty silk hijabs from the group of younger, stylish Pakistani Muslim girls and were yelling at them.  I thought they were doing this because they were Muslim, but when a group of girls came who were fully covered (faces as well), the men let them in without a hassle!  As I assessed the situation, their hatred seemed as much racial as religiously motivated, and I realized that really no one was safe.  I left the building quickly and ran down the street and saw a twenty-something year old black girl sitting a

Greetings in the Lord! I’ve gotten a couple words lately concerning money, and warning not to love it or make it your life’s pursuit.   Today is more along those lines.   In Luke 16:10-12, Jesus says:    “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.   So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”   Luke 16:10-12 I hear all the time from believers that they want to hear from God, and I always ask the same: “Do you really?   Are you willing to do what He asks of you?”   Truth be told, most people are not even faithful with the little things God’s Word asks of us, so why would He trust you with spiritual riches?   The crux of the issue is this—your faithfulness can be seen in how you handle even the smallest of things.

Greetings in the Lord! Once upon a time, the kingdom of Assyria would give shivers to all her surrounding neighbors—they were known for their excessive cruelty and harsh domination over their subjects and captives.   But, a day came when they were all as weak as wilting flowers in the sunlight, blown away by the evening breeze and heard from no more.   Such is today’s word; it comes from Nahum 3:13-15, 17-19 and talks about the last days of a terrible regime coming to an end…in Syria. “Look at your troops—they are all women!   The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has consumed their bars.   Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses!   Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork!   There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down… Your guards are like locusts, your officials like swarms of locusts that settle in the walls on a cold day—but when the sun appears they fly away, and no one knows where.   O king of Assyria, your shep

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Isaiah, chapters 15-16, and Jeremiah 48.  Both passages are incredibly similar, with some verses being quoted by both prophets near verbatim.  The issue at hand: a prophetic word about the fall of Moab. "We have heard of Moab's pride--her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and arrogance and the haughtiness of her heart.  I know her insolence but it is futile," declares the Lord, "and her boasts accomplish nothing."  Jeremiah 48:29-30. "The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly.  Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know of her fame; say, 'How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff!'" Jeremiah 48:16-17. "On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning...Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her."  This is what the Lord says: "Look!  An eagle is

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Psalm 149.  The theme is simple: Praising God for bestowing the honor of salvation to His people, and for arming them to execute His judgments against those kingdoms hostile to God.   "Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the saints....For the Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation.  Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.   May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them.  This is the glory of all the saints.  Praise the Lord." Yeah, a little aggressive sounding, huh?  Well, in the New Testament that sword is a "sword of the Spirit" to overcome spiritual powers arrayed against God and His

Greetings in the Lord! I just came back from a conference held in Hollywood by a ministry working there.  The subject was on mind control being used in the music and media (movies, etc.) industries, and how mind control plays a part in End-time governance.  To be honest, I actually did some research before I went to the conference because I was so unaware of this issue, and truthfully, I wanted to see if there was any footage "coming from the horses mouth," so to speak, like from a celebrity confirming that this was indeed taking place.  Well, lo and behold, I came across one interview that sealed the deal for me.  In it was a short Q & A with Rosanne Barr on a "Hollywood Insider" type of show in which she specifically mentioned MK Ultra, a major mind control program, being used in Hollywood on celebrities and of her disapproval about it.  Wow!  It's not like I'm a huge fan of Rosanne, but I grew up with her shows and she has credibility in my eyes of

Greetings in the Lord! Have you ever had one of those dreams where you re-live a moment and it's just as intense as the day you experienced it?  Me too.  In fact, I hadn't even thought of that day in quite a few years--5 to be exact.  It was one of those that was better left unremembered anyway... Nevertheless, I recalled in my dream a time 5 years ago when I was directing a kids' summer camp just outside of St. Louis, Missouri.  That hot summer was the time the Lord was teaching me about the deceitfully devastating effects the witchcraft found in Harry Potter books had on kids who owned and embraced those books.  I witnessed everything from strange, spontaneous, atypical childhood medical conditions to uncontrollable, anti-social behavior to excessive fantasy-play that hindered learning.  Then there was the extreme, malicious bullying that even included the casting of spells!  I also witnessed how adults were effected: increasing hardness of heart, cruelty, arrogant

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word is from John 6.  It is an interesting chapter as it highlights two famous miracles of Jesus: the feeding of the five thousand, and Him walking on the Sea of Galilee to his disciples in a boat.  However, and more sobering, is the last half of the chapter that has Jesus teaching about Himself as the bread of Life...and the resulting departure of many of his unbelieving "believers."  Jesus starts off by giving the reason for their departure before they even get to the question: "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw the miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill" (verse 26).  Their following of Jesus was not a faith issue, but of simple human logic: 'nice guy, wise words, good food--follow him!'   Obviously, they had missed the boat completely.  The crux of the issue was, and is still, about having eternal life with Jesus, or dying with an un-regenerated life devoid

Greetings in the Lord! Today I was reading an article from the Christian Century that quoted estimates of some 300,000 Christians that left Syria since March 2011 due to the conflict there.  And while some of those Christians say the "revolution" is a conspiracy for the Free Syrian Army to try and establish radical Islam, there are others who see the conflict in opposite views, and still more who are neutral and reminisce about the freedoms they had under an Alawite regime.  Even with their differing opinions, all agree about this: Syria is no longer a safe place for Christians to live. As I read the rest of the article, I was reminded about what I had published in my own book ( Fire of the Orange Ball , 2009) about the coming trials of the Syrian Christians.  In the fall of 2003, while I was living in Aleppo, the Lord put it on my heart to attend a Catholic Mass in the prominent church downtown.  This is an excerpt from what I wrote: "The service was in Arabic,

Greetings in the Lord! Well, after 2 years of living and working in Saudi Arabia, there is a natural adjustment period to returning to live in the United States.  Probably the biggest change is the amount of freedom available to a person on a daily basis, especially for a female.  "Duh," you say, "everyone knows how restrictive life is there."  OK, granted, but what I'm learning from the Holy Spirit are the spiritual causes that perpetuate such an oppressive environment, namely, the wicked religious spirits of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.  Yes, there is hypocrisy everywhere and always too, people who think they are more righteous than others.  But in the Middle East and especially in Saudi Arabia, there is a demonic principality of hypocrisy and self-righteousness that dominates the culture there.  Because these principalities are so strong and have actually woven their demonic lies into their governing laws, the environment is one of continual injusti

Greetings in the Lord! Summer travel season is in full swing!  I recently returned from a trip to Detroit, Michigan.  It is my birthplace, but as circumstances would dictate, I never really spent much time there.  So being reunited with my family on this visit, it was fun to explore their old stomping grounds and see and learn about the rich history that was, and is, and will shine again, in Detroit City.  In fact, that is the word of the Lord! There were a few times throughout the weekend that I discerned the Lord saying that He was going to use music once again to reach the hearts of the people--pure and joyful songs to encourage and cross cultural and racial boundaries.  The Lord is in the business of uniting all people together.  As I toured the Motown Museum, it was clear that God had raised up those popular singers of yesteryear, many of who were just young adults living in the area, to sing to the world a new song.  Even more recent popular singers, who may or may not serv