Pray for Our Nation

November 5th, 2009 § 0

I received a text message from my friend Bill Garvey letting me know that there is a group in New England stopping to pray at 9:00 each night for a new Great Awakening to happen. I have been praying for this very thing since 1988, and would ask that you join in this effort. The levels of concerted prayer in the church are growing, and I believe that we are getting close to a “tipping point” that transforms the American Church culture into a culture of prayer.

Please join me in prayer at 9:00pm, and share this with your friends. I would love it if this went viral like the Red Envelope Project.

Father God, pour out your Spirit on the United States of America. Awaken us from our slumber, and turn our hearts to you. Restore a love of Freedom to our hearts, and a passion for your Son Jesus Christ. Create a mighty Christian revolution that transforms every area of society. May we say that as it is in heaven, so it is in America, for the glory of your Name. Amen.

Thanks.

Freedom and Eternal Vigilance

November 5th, 2009 § 0

Twenty years ago this week, the Berlin Wall was torn apart. I was 18 years old, and it was an electric time as bit by bit the Soviet bloc began to crumble. Ronald Reagan’s bold demand “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” became a reality suddenly in a matter of days. We sat in front of the TV and watched as men and women, young and old climbed on the wall, danced on the wall, and actively dismantled the wall. I guess that’s when the embers of freedom that were in my DNA began to flame up.

At the end of the year Leonard Bernstein led the Berlin Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Instead of the word freude—“joy,” Bernstein instructed the chorus to sing “FREIHEIT!” Freedom.

A lot has happened in the past 20 years. I am more passionate about freedom now than I was then, and mostly because as Tennyson wrote, “freedom requires eternal vigilance.” Tyranny is encroaching, and we must stand up to it. Sadly, the trends that led to Germany’s division are at work in this country, and unless our government is stopped there will be long lasting consequences.

I hope it will not take a wall being erected in this country before the love of freedom is revived.

This week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to the U.S. Congress and said something our current government is not willing to say: if Israel is attacked by a nuclear Iran, the Germans will see this as an attack on Germany. What a wild turn of events. The nation once committed to annihilating the Jews are defending the Jews, and we the nation that once defended the Jews are negotiating with the enemies of Israel. It is chilling.

I have quietly watched over the past year and a half as Barack Obama has had a meteoric rise to power. The first time my radar thought there was something wrong with candidate Obama was the day he stood in Berlin and the crowds chanted his name. The last person to elicit that kind of response in a united Berlin was Adolph Hitler. Throughout history, tyrants all look the same. Like a disease, tyranny has symptoms.

Here are the signs:
1. Tyrants surround themselves with ideologues who swear undying loyalty to the tyrant, and who may or may not be equipped for the positions they hold. These underlings serve as henchmen and women who have no ability to think through the orders they are serving.

2. Tyrants need to have images of themselves everywhere in public view. The tyrant appears on posters, billboards, radio and television daily. The tyrant needs the people to be loyal to him, and also needs his narcissism supported. For a tyrant, government is about a person embodied in an ideology. They need to be a god.

3. Tyrants repeatedly say one thing in public addresses, and do another in private. Tyrants tend to be great orators that can stir crowds, but these speeches are a bait and switch tactic.

4. Tyrants believe that there are two sets of laws, one for the government, and one for the governed. Tyrants live lavish lifestyles in private while calling for the people to sacrifice ‘for the common good.” Can you say “Geithner.”

5. Tyrants repeatedly try to remove freedom. This is gradual at first, but then usually when they feel the opposition is sufficiently weakened, by seizing power. A tyrant cannot see another person or group sharing any voice or power. Tyranny by its nature demands one point of view. Although it seems like the Fox battle was petty, from the administration standpoint they must be silenced. Thankfully they are losing that battle with the public.

6. Tyrants place a low value on human life and see it as a commodity. Human beings are valued only by their ability to support the tyrant’s agenda or power. The health care legislation certainly is doing this. Everybody has their price, and their cost.

7. Tyrants believe that they have the answers to every problem facing the country, and that a crisis is an opportunity for them to take more power from others. Eventually tyrants always conflict with two groups: Christians and Orthodox Jews, because these two groups are loyal to another power. Throughout history tyrants have tried to kill Christians and Orthodox Jews. It began with Egypt, and continues to today.

8. Tyrants attempt to control the flow of information. There must be one message and so they must control every form of communication. This is why tyrants always crack down on the arts and education. This is why the two NEA’s, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Education Association have been in the center of the culture wars for over two decades.

9. Tyrants marginalize, and eventually vilify their mainstream opponents with the intent to push them out of the government and society. Noam Chomsky anyone?

10. Tyrants eventually choose an ethnic group or a minority in the nation to be the scapegoat. This group then receives the criticism the tyrant rightfully deserves, and the tyrant gets the country to punish that minority. By this point, all opposition and the voice of reason has been silenced and genocide ensues. Remember the Kurds, the Gypsies, the Croates, the Jews, the Arminians, the . . .

11. All tyrants end the same way—in their own blood. The best example of this is Mussolini who was lauded by the U.S. press but eventually died a ghastly death at the hands of his own people. Given the veal cakes for their dog, the $100 a pound steak, and the date nights on private jets, I think the Obamas are closer to Marie Antoinette.

Tyranny always begins with elation, but as life gets harder for the people and things sour tyranny becomes just what it is. Tyranny is a dark grey creep that prevents creativity, innovation, joy, prosperity or freedom. For a time, tyranny may remove the worst part of life, but at a price. Eventually everything good in life will be replaced by one thing—fear. When you begin to be afraid of the government, you know that tyranny is on the rise.

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, I am praying for a rebirth of freedom. There are signs that people are waking up. And I am praying that the current government is still weak enough for a glorious revolution to happen, a revolution where men and women sweep a new liberty and a new freedom into this land without bloodshed. It can happen. May it be so, with God’s help.

Thefalloftheberlinwall1989

Pope Benedict, Anglicanism, and the winds of change

October 22nd, 2009 § 0

I have received a number of questions regarding the announcement of a new Apostolic Constitution regarding Anglicans who wish to align with the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope has taken a bold action. This is much bolder than any Anglican, and recognizes the seriousness of the matter. The fact that the Pope has been willing to act, and act quickly, in the face of a pastoral emergency speaks volumes. It also will, I believe, have many unintended consequences.
To disclose fully my perspective, I spent most of my adult life working in the Episcopal/Anglican Church. I have friends in all the various factions of the splits that have occurred, and I foresaw the split long before any of my superiors were willing to admit there was a problem. I told my supervisor in 1997 that the Episcopal church as we know it would not exist in ten years, and I was right. He thought I was an extremist.
To present more of the back-story, I have watched as the various conservative, traditional, and orthodox camps have tried to realign themselves within the Anglican world. What I have seen is repetition of the many problems that led to the rise of the pan-sexual agenda that tore the church apart. The inability to call “sin” sin was built into the collegial network of bishops, priests, and gin drinkers. The Anglican church operates in many levels like an English boys’ club. Membership has it’s privileges, and one of those privileges has been to wink and nod at indiscretion. This problem in Anglicanism continues, even in the bodies that have been formed out of the Episcopal Church. There are several incompetent leaders and capricious ordinations continue to happen. (To be honest, there are a few heroic leaders too, like Martyn Minns, but they are not the critical mass.) Sexual improprieties are still happening. All in all, the legitimacy of the entire thing continues to be called into question. From an insider’s perspective, this is the same Episcopal Church without homosexuality—but everything else.
My great concern over the past ten years has been to recognize what God is doing. For about three years I have been waiting for the Catholic Church to move. I knew that if she did, it would be close to a miracle. My sense is that God is moving in the world, and we are in the beginning phases of a major realignment. Pope Benedict understands this. Benedict is a thinker, and from reading his works in seminary, he understands the larger challenge facing the church and culture. He understands that the questions of the Reformation are no longer being asked in the West. He also understands that there are millions of Anglicans who do not have a “home.” He sidestepped the ecumenists at the Vatican for one important reason; they are answering questions that no one is asking. Questions of language and institutional bureaucracy are not important in the light of the sheep who have no place to rest their head.
Of course, the Apostolic Constitution is not public yet. I am commenting on press releases and a press conference. I am reserving a lot of judgment until I read it. But, if the things I have read so far are true, then the implications of this decision are huge. Essentially, the Vatican appears to be willing to remove a 500 year barrier between Anglicans and Rome. There are provisions for married clergy, and provisions to retain the tradition of the Book of Common Prayer. There are no provisions for married bishops (and I believe the Vatican is judging rightly—most of the problem has been with the Anglican bishops. This removes them handily). I think the Pope also foresees that Elizabeth’s heir is not fit to be the head of a spiritual body and is providing a solution. What this will mean for individuals as compared to corporate entities, we shall see. If these provisions are only for corporate entities to align structurally, but not for individuals to be received without conversion, then it may not make a difference. Some Anglican writers seem to think that this is going to result in “quarantine” for the Anglican Catholics.
As for unintended consequences, like Vatican II, there are going to be surprises. If this provision is made for Anglicans, then where do the Lutherans and the Methodists fit? Could we see a movement made to receive Lutherans, who in doctrine and practice are closely related to the Anglican church? Certainly in the U.S. where the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran Synod have formally been in relationship for about a decade, this is a real question. And the Methodists, those children of Anglicanism, whose emphasis on spiritual discipline and the sacraments prepared the ground for the Anglo-Catholic movement in the first place, will there eventually be provisions for them? The implications of this move could be felt far into the future. Has the Pope opened a loop-hole that one could drive a truck through? Also, is this provision regarding married clergy going to raise this back onto the center of the church’s radar? I guess only time will tell.
Of course, a few voices out there are saying there are insurmountable doctrinal differences. I am not sure if this is the truth. My experience in working with Roman Catholics and reading Roman Catholic writers has given me the hope that there is more in common than divergent. Certainly the Church is not going to trot off the cliff of heresy any time soon. And it is a better place for a pro-life activist like myself.
When I taught classes for those who were joining the Episcopal Church, I talked about the “gift of authority.” This gift came down to us from the Apostles and includes the authority of Scripture, and the collected wisdom and tradition of the church. It is a precious commodity, and although it is conferred through the laying on of hands, it is not maintained that way. Anglicanism has squandered its birthright, and given up its moral authority. The Roman Catholic Church knows that its authority comes from being faithful with the message as well as being faithful with offices. Maybe she has learned the lesson that the Reformation needed to teach, and now it’s time to move on. I know for me personally, I am going to weigh this gesture from the Vatican carefully. It has been a long sojourn through the wilderness, and it would be nice to have a church to go home to.

Report from A Time to Mourn

September 30th, 2009 § 0

Prophetic painting created during the 10 Days of Prayer

Prophetic painting created during the 10 Days of Prayer

We had to move the Ten Days of Prayer from Northfield to Lowell, Massachusetts at the last minute, so I was able to sleep in Amherst, and commute. Last Tuesday we began to see the Holy Spirit moving in our midst. Throughout the week, the presence of the Lord began to increase in intensity, and with that intensity a number of manifestations of the Lord’s glory began to be seen. There several intense times of intercession in the afternoon sessions, and at night we experienced the Lord’s presence through one on one prayer.

Thursday morning we had an extended time of worship and waiting on the Lord. At one point a woman in the group said the Presence of God was so strong she couldn’t take any more. That night we sensed the Lord leading us to make a “fire tunnel.” A fire tunnel is when two teams of prayer ministers line up face to face, and individuals walk through the two lines, and receive prayer. This turned out to be a powerful time of ministry that ended with the group interceding for the healing of our nation.

Friday morning the Lord was obviously moving again, and a woman was delivered from a deaf and mute spirit that she had carried all her life. This manifested in preventing her from speaking up, and often caused her to have false thoughts about herself and others. As I prayed for her, the spirit left her and she immediately became peaceful, and there was an obvious change in her countenance. After that, another woman in the group asked

for prayer, and she too was dealing with an oppressive spirit. In the early afternoon a woman from the community came in and said she needed prayer for an eating disorder. She had never shared this publicly and had been carrying this secret for 30 years. I took the woman and another from our team into a classroom and began walking the woman through basic healing prayer. She had been carrying the guilt from a divorce since 1980. As we walked through the healing of memories and the forgiveness of past sin, the Lord ministered to her and she immediately felt a huge burden lift from her. Again and again I encounter men and women who are carrying sin from the past who have not been able to experience forgiveness. The need for the ministry of reconciliation is desperate for many in the church.

In my last update I shared about a young man who asked me to prayer over his apartment. Last Sunday he responded to an invitation to receive Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

As you can see, God is doing a lot. I thank God for your prayers, and ask that you consider making a commitment to praying for this ministry daily. There is an old saying that when you move into new levels you have to deal with new devils. Please continue to pray for my protection as God opens new opportunities for ministry. It looks like October will be a full month.

The prints of the painting Opening Ancient Wells have arrived. If you have ordered one, it should be in the mail very soon. If you requested one, but did not send a check ($35), please do so as soon as possible to 333 House of Prayer, Congregacion Leon de Juda, 68 Northampton St. Boston, MA 02118.

A quaint diversion.

September 16th, 2009 § 0

I guess one would say, “now for something completely different.”

Graham Cooke–Inheritance

September 8th, 2009 § 0

Ted Kennedy and the end of the House of Eli.

August 29th, 2009 § 0

In the summer of 1988 God began doing a number of amazing things in my life. At that time I heard the Lord speaking to me for the first time. In that season, God called me to the ministry, first told me about the coming revival on the earth, and began to talk to me about the “generation of the sons of Eli.”

As you may recall, Eli was the high priest who raised the prophet Samuel. His sons took the best of every offering, and freely took advantage of the women who came to the Tabernacle. Eli refused to discipline them, and God cursed his family. They all died in one day. You can read the details in I Samuel 3 and 4. In the 21 years since 1988, God has spoken to me many times about the sons of Eli, and the generation of leaders who have chosen man’s ways over God’s. In 2008 God gave me a very detailed word about the coming few years. In it, the Lord told me that the generation of the sons of Eli were about to be destroyed, that a great shaking was coming, and that everything that can be shaken would be. The Lord gave me many details about the elections of last year, the diminishing importance of the Clintons, the emergence of a “black horse” in August, and the upheaval in the financial realm. The Lord said that the end of the generation of the sons of Eli would be the death of Edward Kennedy, and that his death would release something in Massachusetts and New England.

I have watched over the past year as these words have been fulfilled–Ted Kennedy’s illness was made public the day after I received this word.

Tuesday morning, as I was on the bus going into Boston, the Lord told me that he was going to give me a sign before bed that his promises are being fulfilled. God blessed me several ways on Tuesday, but I didn’t think anything was unusual. I went to bed wondering if I was crazy, hearing voices again. . .

Wednesday morning I was pouring my coffee when Lyn told me the news. 21 years is a long time to wait for something. I encourage you to pay attention, God is on the move and things are about to get interesting. You can read the whole word here.

Do not be surprised if other shifts begin happening in the coming weeks.

The House of Prayer in Boston has begun.

July 28th, 2009 § 0

In the fourteen months since coming to New England, God has done amazing things.  When I arrived here from Northeastern Ohio, I knew only three people.  In the summer of 2008 it became clear to me that God had brought me to the region to “reopen the ancient wells of revival,” and specifically, to start a house of prayer in Boston.   Everyday when I commute into Boston on the bus from New Hampshire, I remind myself that I am doing the impossible—beginning a house of prayer in the city.
Over the past 12 months I have done a lot of homework, prayed, wept, looked for a location, and was astounded as God brought one divine appointment after another to me.  Part of this process was seeking out the many men and women who have already labored in Boston, to honor the work that have done.   Truly I am standing on the shoulders of many who have gone before me.
On June 17 we began the 333 House of Prayer at Congregacion Leon de Juda, praying three days, three hours each week, from noon to 3 pm.  We have been going one full month, and all ready we have regulars who are coming every day, and we have begun to see some amazing answers to prayer, including healings and impact in the families of those in attendance.   Last week we had 12 in attendance, which for me was a huge encouragement, that even with little advertising, in the summer, during work hours, others were willing to joining me in ministry to the Lord.
Even in the middle of summer, God is doing new things in Boston.  This new fire is part of the growing network of prayer fires burning across the region.

Susan Boyle and other media matters

April 23rd, 2009 § 4

I always pay attention when something strange gets a lot of attention. Sometimes God is speaking through the news. A great example of this was the Titanic craze that swept the country in the late 1990’s. Not only was there the movie, but there was a (bad) broadway play, a traveling artifact exhibit, and numerous items that were auctioned off by the top houses in the country. The fact that this craze was over a very real tragedy that killed thousands, including some of the best and brightest of a generation, was really strange. In late 1999 I told a friend that something horrible was about to happen to this country, and this Titanic craze was a prophetic sign. My friend shrugged, and I wrote it in my journal. We all know what happened about 18 months later. It pays to pay attention.

On Easter weekend another unusual thing happened. An outwardly unimpressive woman stood before a pretty unsympathetic audience. To put it lightly, she “blew them away.” Personally, I hate these talent shows. I think most of the winners are second rate, and it’s more about salesmanship than ability. Most of the entertainment industry gave up on real talent a long time ago, and I lost interest. That is, until someone emailed me the video of Susan Boyle.

Last week there was a frenzy to get her on every major TV show on both sides of the Atlantic. Last Friday, during my morning prayer time, God gave me a download about Susan Boyle. I think she is another one of these peculiar signs that sometimes appear. Here is what the Lord said:

She is my Bride.
My bride has been the source of ridicule.
She has neglected her own needs while she cared for her dying mother, the church.
All the while, she has contained a hidden treasure.
She has a new song to sing.
She has dreamed a dream, and today she will burst forth.
All the earth will take notice and hang their heads in shame, because they judged by outward appearance.
Sing a new song my glorious one.
The world is prepared to say “YES” to you.
YES, YES, YES
Now is the time for the sound of dreams to come true.

I think we should stay tuned, because I think that the next 18 months are going to get really interesting.

***

On other things, here is a sign of something that I felt was pretty hopeful:

Newsweek interrupted it’s succession of Obama covers for this one during Holy Week. I don’t think that the timing was accidental, and probably intended to be insulting to Christians. Considering that the Department of Homeland Security also singled out those who were “pro-Life” and had an undefined “violent Christian Identity” as potential threats to national security later that same week, I think we are moving toward more fun for the church.

As Mark Twain once said, “reports of my death have been grossly exaggerated.” It reminds of me of another national magazine that did a story on the global decline of Christianity, complete with graphs and diagrams. I remember reading it, with my first hand knowledge of world missions and international ministry, and thinking “this is hogwash.” The writer created a piece based on the presuppositions of his training in a liberal journalism school.  He reinforced them with his own media groupthink. The truth was, and is, Christianity globally is experiencing explosive growth in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.

Well, I digress. This nasty Newsweek cover encouraged me a lot, because I think we are on the verge of one of the greatest spiritual Awakenings in history. How do I know? Because there are more people praying than I have ever seen, and more and more people are asking me questions about spiritual things (Just last week in the grocery store, a woman asked me if I thought if a lot of people were demonized. I said yes). A shift has taken place since the beginning of the year, and those who are anti-Christian have become bolder. This overreach has caused a lot of people to take notice. I think we are experiencing the last tired gasps of the Sixties radicals and their dull, worn out ideas. This isn’t the first time an anti-Christian wave has swept our nation. The period immediately after the American Revolution was also vehemently anti-Christian, with colleges sponsoring Bible burning parties, and drunkenness at epidemic proportions. By 1820 things had changed radically, after a series of Methodist flavored revivals swept the country bringing huge social and cultural reforms.

Yes, I think that is going to happen again. Yes, I think a lot of the garbage from the culture wars will be laid at the curb. Yes, I think this cover from Newsweek will be seen as a quaint and absurd remnant from a dim season in our nation’s history.

Get happy!

Boston Tea Party–April 15, 2009

April 15th, 2009 § 0

Today we went into Boston to join the folks at the Tea Party Protest on the Common near the State House. Given this city is the home of Barney Frank, and John Kerry lives just around the corner (really) I wasn’t too sure how many folks would be there. I also wasn’t sure if there would be a counter protest, given the fact that the area around the State House has been heavy protest territory lately.

Since I spend a lot of time praying in and around the State House, I met a friend yesterday and we prayer walked the area where the protest would take place, and we also prayed around the perimeter of the common. It looks like the prayers were answered, since the crowd was very peaceful, and actually most folks were very upbeat. At the noon gathering about 1000 people showed up, and they went down to the wharf afterwards and threw casks of tea into the harbor. There were lots of folks in colonial garb, and a ton of signs. Unfortunately, the camera didn’t work, so I was stuck with my iPhone camera. The pictures above were the most presentable (click on the image to get a full sized view).

Nearly 400 years ago my ancestors stood about 100 yards from the spot where this protest took place, and they made a covenant with God. 150 years later, another one of my ancestors said the immortal words “Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes” about a mile from here. It was good to be on this hill standing for liberty. Freedom is in my blood. And since I am now a threat to national security (according to the Department of Homeland Security) I feel it is my duty to stand like my fathers did. Our liberty was bought with their blood, and their DNA is in mine. Tyranny is never creative, and our contemporary tyrants are beginning to look no different than any of the others that history reviles.

Holy Spirit, come like a mighty rushing wind and awaken us out of our complacency, our apathy, our indifference. Disturb us, for we are too content to let things go on as they are, and not let people go on not knowing you. Penetrate the closed gates of our hearts and make us live again. O Holy Spirit, create among us a mighty Christian revolution and cast the fear of the unknown out of our lives. (from The Catholic Prayer Book)

Psalm 146

Alleluia!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in rulers,
nor in any child of earth,
for there is no help in them.
When they breathe their last, they return to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!
whose hope is in the Lord their God;
Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps his promise for ever;
Who gives justice to those who are oppressed,
and food to those who hunger.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous;
the Lord cares for the stranger;
He sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.
The Lord shall reign for ever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Alleluia!

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