What Will God Do If We Pray And Fast?

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:6-11 ESV

   If you haven't noticed already, our country is in trouble. We have neglected our responsibilities as a church to actively take a stand for righteousness for the past several years. As a result, we have lost many freedoms in our country that our forefathers fought for. 

   Why are these freedoms so important? I believe God gave them to this country in order for us to have the opportunity to do the work of evangelism and help build a strong, unified body of Christ that will represent the true and living God to a dark and dying world. But when the Liberals came in and changed the rules, we sat back and waited for the rapture to occur. We abdicated the authority God originally gave to the people in this country. 

  The question is, can we take back the land? Is it too late for our country to return to God? 

  We could take a defeatist attitude and say that this is God's will for our nation because we are so sinful. Or, we could be in faith for revival to break out in this country and bring back the light to the church where it should be shining bright. Perhaps many will be brought into the kingdom of Light and will be pulled out of darkness.

   God's word is clear that we should be praying continually. God also teaches us that we need to be fasting. Do we take this seriously, or do we think this is something optional? Do we truly understand that we are in a spiritual battle, and that we need to fight using spiritual weapons? 

   Here is an account of a woman named Anna, who was a prophetess. She was continually in prayer and fasting. She was used by God when Jesus was born and brought to the Temple.

  "And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,  and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.  And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem." Luke 2:36-38 ESV

   People who knew God fasted and prayed in the Bible days. It seemed to be common for people to be doing those things. Perhaps today we think of prayer and fasting as something we have to do, much like a list? When we finish, we just check it off.

   What would happen if we pray and fast for every abortion clinic to close down? What if we pray and fast for drug pushers and pedophiles to be caught? I wonder what God would do in response to our prayers and fastings if we pray and fast for schemes such as bombing a building, or gunmen planning to go into a school building and shoot students and teachers? What if potential gunmen or bomb planters came to Christ and had a radical conversion? Nothing is too hard for God!

   People get themselves entangled in sin. It is usually unaware to the person who is being tempted. He or she doesn't see the trap and falls into it. The person needs to get out of the trap. He or she needs to repent, but there is more to it. Even when a person repents, if they have given Satan a foothold into their lives, they will be trapped. They will want to be free, but they are ensnared. Sometimes, we look at them and get angry because we think they are unrepentant, but in reality, many are just ensnared. That is where prayer and fasting can come in. We want people to be free, so they can respond to God. We want people to be set free so they don't have to live in fear and guilt. If a person is trapped in sin, no amount of wanting to repent is going to set him or her free. This is where we need to carry the other person and take his burden, so he can become free. We can do this through prayer and fasting. 

  "And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said to them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. And they departed from there, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it." Mark 9:28-30

   All of us are going to be tempted by the devil. Satan knows where are weaknesses are. We can't just ignore him and say that everything will be ok since God is in control. God is definitely in control, but He gives us the power and the tools to fight against the Enemy of our souls. One of those weapons is prayer and fasting. 

   "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

   Maybe the problem is as simple as thinking that we are already praying and fasting. Maybe we need to wake up and look a little harder to see if we really are in praying mode. 

   I am only one person, and really, I am a nobody and am content to be so. But I have prayed for things to happen, and have found out that the things I prayed for were answered. If I can do that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, anyone can do that, if the person is in Christ. Do we really believe that God will hear us when we pray, or have we been duped by the devil into thinking that God doesn't care, or that the problems are to hard for God to change?

War Room Movie

For those interested in praying for our nation, watch the War Room movie. It came out several months ago and I ordered my DVD ahead of time (and paid a lot more!). Have been watching it for the past week.

Although it is not a story based upon real events that actually happened, the point of the story is clear; God hears and answers prayers!

There is so much division going on in the body of Christ today. We should be people who stand up for the truth, and who are filled with God's love and the desire to make His name known wherever we live. The Bible tells us that if we humble ourselves and seek Him, and turn from our sins, God will hear us and heal our land. I think that a big problem in the church today is unbelief. We simply do not believe God will do good things for us and help us. Many have given us a structured layout for what they think will happen in our country and world today, and it is not pretty. It is filled with hopelessness and fatalism. Many professing Christians are like the Deists. They believe God is somewhere out there, but He is distant from us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because we are hopeless and fatalistic, we do not bother with praying for change in our nation. We do not want to get involved in social issues and by ignoring them, we are letting the world around us crumble.

Yes, there will come a day when all things as we know them will come to an end. But the power that God gives us when He gave us authority over the enemy, and the command to dominate the world, we have ignored. Or, if we have paid attention to it, we use God's blessings on ourselves instead of serving others with those blessings and turning them back to praise for His name. So we err on both ends of the spectrum. Maybe we never saw the middle part where God calls us to serve Him, but also provides the power to do so.

Anyway, if you want to be motivated to pray, I would recommend watching this movie. Prayer is to be an active part of our every day lives. It is the result of our faith in action. And if you are not motivated to pray, ask God to change your heart!

War Room DVD - A must watch!
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Men's Urinals In Women's Restrooms?

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." Genesis 1:27, 28

In the beginning, when God originally created people, He made them both male and female. In all the animal world, we see both males and females. Even in the plant world, we see males and females. 

  God made people to be either male or female. But with the modernistic thinking which says, 'man is the measure of all things' people have looked at this differently. 

   In some places, people are recommending that the doctor who delivers the baby should not announce the sex of the baby. Yes, this is really happening in our country. The reason for this 'non-announcement' is simply because the people who are calling the shots believe that a child should decide what sex he or she should really be. 

  Today, we have a situation at hand, where a well known store is making available the permission for any person who wants to use the store restroom to be free to go into the restroom of choice, rather than the restroom which matches their gender. 

   In this same store, they are installing urinals in the women's restrooms, just in case a man, who is a wanna-be woman needs to go pee. Just imagine the ramifications of this scenario. What would prevent a child sexual predator from using the restroom? Would people send their child into a restroom that is not safe? What about the women who do not want to share their restroom with a man? Would a normal man be comfortable with a woman in his restroom? Who is in charge of this decision anyway?

Urinals being installed in a women's
restroom in a Target store north of L.A.

Some have suggested that Target simply have a family restroom or a restroom available for either sex, along with both the men's and women's restrooms. 

     Friends, there is an agenda here and the issue really isn't over transgender's rights to the restroom. There are powerful groups out there, such as the ACLU, which are trying to destroy the freedoms of the average person, under the guise of protecting the rights of small groups, such as transgenders and homosexuals. But it goes beyond the boundaries of all this. It isn't necessarily protecting the rights of these people as much as it is taking away the rights of people who have boundaries and convictions. Not only that, these groups support those who are described in Romans 1, which we all know about. 

(These groups are run by people who serve a puppets for Satan, who is the mastermind behind all evil schemes).

   This is deeper than just homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenderism. These groups are viciously attacking the average person who knows the difference between right and wrong,  & good, and evil. They are the perverts of today, who have gained power and are backed financially by the government. All under the guise, of course, of protection for the small groups from harassment and bigotry. You see, if a person has convictions just based out of the common grace of God, he or she is going to have to let go of those convictions in order to make way for those who are perverted. 

   The Bible says that there is no new thing under the sun. We see this throughout the Old Testament, as well as in the New Testament and throughout History. God is very patient with us, because He knows that some will come to Christ. He knows that they will turn away from their sin and trust in Him. Otherwise, God would just destroy us all. He is merciful and wants us to come to repentance and faith in Him. He wants us to experience the power of the Gospel in our lives. 

   People think that because they can get away with crime and shameful sin, that God doesn't care. But nothing could be further from the truth. God will put up with horrible sin in order to reach those who will turn to Him. Those who don't turn to Him in repentance and faith will end up in the Lake of Fire for eternity. They have their chance for turning to God, while here on earth. 

   What can we do to make a difference in this dilemma? For one thing, we can be praying. Praying is not just some kind of activity that we do in the morning and then check it off on our check list. We are involved in a spiritual battle whether we like it or not. So, we must pray and we need to fast. We need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and we need to learn discernment. God will help us pray as we pray in the Spirit. We have to put on the whole armor of God in order to fight in this battle. We cannot sit on the sidelines anymore. 

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke). God's word is clear that we are in a spiritual battle. We certainly cannot fight is alone, nor can we take the attitude that God is sovereign and everything will be ok. Yes, God is sovereign, but He gives us work to do while on earth. He doesn't want us to sit back and do nothing because He is in control. 

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6

It is the devil who wants us to lay our weapons down. If he can't get us to do that, then he will make us feel defeated and we will just sit there and wait for the rapture to happen so we can escape. 

UPDATE: Please read! I found out this morning that the story of the urinals that are supposedly being installed in a women's restroom in Target, north of L.A. is false. Why people do this is beyond me. I found the article on Snopes.com saying that is it not true. I am sorry for any misleading in this article. 

Having said all this, I am still just as opposed to Target's decision to allow transgenders into the restrooms of their choice, regardless of what sex the person is. This decision could easily lead to much harm for many people, especially children. I would recommend that if you do shop at Target, please do not allow your children to use the restrooms unless an adult is with them. There are horror stories that come from public store restrooms. 

Human Sacrifices At Midnight?

I want to make my readers aware of what goes on Halloween night. I had a friend who was involved in devil worship before she came to Christ, and she helped me to be aware of some things that happen.

I also did a little studying on the Internet to find out more information on this. From what I can tell, October 31st, is a high holy day on the calendar for Satanic worshipers. Part of their worship involves taking a person and preparing him or her to be a human sacrifice. According to my friend, when I asked her where the people come from who are used in these human sacrifices, many times, they are homeless people.

The person will spend a period of time in preparation for this (not sure what this is all about). Those who are part of this ritual will take the person and sacrifice him or her around midnight.

I don't pretend to understand all that is involved in this, but, my point is that we can be praying. We can pray for God to intervene. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed to disarm the Powers of Darkness. We need to fight in the spiritual battles around us. The lives of people are at stake.

I don't know how many people are going to be sacrificed tonight or if it is in every city or state, or just in a centralized location. I just know that the devil wants to destroy us and will either physically ruin us or spiritually keep us bound or in the world of lies. We need discernment and the love of God in our hearts, and we need to be praying for those who are caught in the snares of the devil.

Who Will Win? Islam or the LGBT?

    Boundaries are an interesting things. We think of boundaries as a type of restriction, and more specifically, in America, we think of boundaries as something that is there to take our fun away. We think freedom comes from being able to do whatever we want to do. But did you know that your 'freedom' could be violating someone else's freedom?

   Before I go further, I want to clarify the fact that I don't believe every Muslim is a Radical Muslim. I also don't believe that every person struggling with homosexuality or same-sex attraction has an LGBT agenda, so what I write here is not to attack peace-loving Muslims or homosexuals who are struggling with being Gay, but don't seem to have an alternative. I am referring to those who have a political agenda, with the intention of taking away the rights of others.

    Boundaries are part of our lives. But there are some people who have had their boundaries taken away during their childhood. Many are rape victims who were instructed to never tell anyone what happened to them or who did it to them, and they also carry the guilt of the perpetrator. But these people would like to have boundaries around them too, if they could.

   There was a study done where school children were observed at recess time. There was no fence around the school yard, and the children did not venture too far into the school yard. They stayed close to the building, if they went out at all. Then one day, a fence was put up around the school building. When the children went out for recess after the fence was put up, they ventured out into the school yard and felt safe wherever they were, as long as they were inside the fenced area.

    There is a lie inside of all of us that says that we are missing it if we stay inside the boundaries. In the spiritual realm, God has placed boundaries around us. They are listed in His word. We are not to go outside of those boundaries or we will be in an unsafe area, spiritually speaking, and perhaps even physically.

   When we go outside of those boundaries, it is called, 'trespassing'. We are stepping over the boundary lines and God considers it sin. That is the exact reason Jesus had to die for us. We continually step outside of God's boundaries for us. We will continue to do so until we are born again, when we come to Christ in repentance and faith. Then we will become a new creature in Christ and will have the power of God to stay within the boundaries that God has placed around us.

    In our life on earth, we step over the boundaries of other people. Our belief systems include violating other people's rights. Society tells us we can do whatever we want to do unless we harm someone. The problem is, we do our own thing, and we do hurt others but we don't care. We don't love other people, because we love ourselves too much.

   Take for example, a woman who leaves her husband and goes off with someone else. She has broken her marriage vows, rejected her husband, and committed adultery. Yet, many will say, who are in this situation, "I'm not hurting anyone."Whether you want to believe it or not, this woman is hurting many people. Her 'rights' to herself say that she can do whatever she wants to. But that is not what the Bible says. Her rights have violated someone else's rights (or more probably, several people's rights).

   When it comes to boundaries, today, people invade other people's boundaries. We want to protect ourselves and what we have, but, we violate other people's boundaries in order to get what we want. Plus, if a person does not have boundaries, they will invade the boundaries of other people because they don't understand how to set boundaries, and where the boundaries of other people are set.

   So, now we get to Islam, and LGBT. Let's say that America is a free country where you can have the faith of any religion that you want to believe in. Well, according to Islam, they are directed to kill those who do not submit to Islam. So, if Islam has the 'right' to be part of American society, then part of their 'right' is to kill those who do not join them (or tax them with a high fine).

   The LGBT wants to rule America too. It is unclear at this point, but from the way they look, the LGBT is really a religion, only it is a religion that is dedicated to destroy Biblical Christianity. We do, at present live in a free society, where we can believe whatever faith we want to believe. But what the LGBT wants is for those who are of the traditional, Biblical Christian faith to say it is ok for homosexuals to practice homosexuality, and they would hinder those who would teach what the Bible says about homosexuality. What I don't understand yet is the reason why they just don't start their own churches, where the god they believe in allows homosexuals to marry. Why do they have to infringe upon the rights of those who want to believe what the Bible teaches about same-sex relationships and try to pass laws condemning people from teaching the Bible when it comes to homosexuality?

    Both Islam and the LGBT have crossed the boundaries of those who disagree with them. Their 'rights' to practice their religion is harmful to those who hold a differing viewpoint. They are invading the boundaries of others, and taking away the rights of other people. Both have a political agenda and both want power and control.

    God is bigger than the LGBT and Islam put together. Islam will bow before Jesus, as will those who embrace homosexuality, at the expense of others.

    If our nation continues on this track, what will happen? Will the country be run by homosexuals or by Muslims? It won't be both for, Islam does not allow for homosexuality. If, in the end, there are only homosexuals and Muslims, only one will remain. Which one will it be?

   Of course, the church can be shining bright during this time, and can be the beacon for truth in a dark, lost world. If we believe that God has stopped working since the last Apostle died, then we will have a weak church. But if we believe that the God of the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then we will see that during this time period of the church age, the same God who brought Moses and the Israelites across the Red Sea is the same God we serve today. If we believe that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead, is the same God who lives in us, then we can know that this God is the Great Almighty God who dwells within us and is preparing His Bride (the church) for the return of Christ. We can be empowered to serve this God. Don't listen to the lies of the Enemy who belittles God's power by saying He doesn't work in the same way as He did in Bible times. Think about it. All throughout the Bible, God was all powerful and did signs and wonders. All throughout eternity God will do powerful works. Why is it that during the church age, God isn't showing Himself powerful? Could it be unbelief on our part? God wants to do exploits in the lives of those who are His. Let us not limit Him in what He wants to do in our midsts, especially during this dark time in God's story of the world.

Is It Too Late For America, Or Is There Another Answer?

Here are a few thoughts I have concerning the future of out nation. As you know, this nation we live in is much different than the nation we started with. When this nation started out, the men who were leading it were God fearing, and used the principles in God's word as the foundation for this country. They were not perfect, and they may not have even known the Lord, but they did fear God, and they did run this nation based upon the principles of God's word.

  My thoughts are mainly questions. The first question I am thinking is, will this nation be judged by God and destroyed, or, will this nation just collapse due to corruption?

Second question; Can those who are destroying this nation by their lifestyle choices ever repent? Or has God turned them over completely to their wickedness and ultimate destruction?

Third question; Can we ever recover from the degree of darkness that we have brought ourselves into? Is it possible for us to ever become a God-fearing country, once again?

Fourth question; How deep do we have to go into darkness, before we come back to the light? Can the prayers of the righteous bring us back to the light again, or has God given up on America?

Fifth question; Will this hardship wake up the church, and will many start doing the work of evangelism, or will this hardship drive people away from the church and make it harder for the Gospel to be presented openly?

Responsibilities of the Church and the State

Here is a comment I wrote on Facebook a couple of minutes ago. It has to do with the responsibility of the church and the effect it will have on the community when the church takes seriously the claims of the word of God.

Here's the deal: The state cannot legalize morality. The state is limited in what it can do to 'help' in a situation with unwed mothers or providing funds for birth control. It can help in the areas of benevolence, charity, etc. It cannot do what the church was intended to do. The church's responsibility is to declare and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only answer to the dilemma of brokenness. 

The church is not responsible for supporting people who live lifestyles that are contrary to the word of God. But I believe if the church is healthy (and I am not speaking of one particular church, but the body of Christ in general), then people will come to know the Lord. If they have genuine conversions, they will have the power to live lives that are in line with God's word. This has nothing to do with having the state support the church. But I really do believe if the church will genuinely turn back to God, in humility and trust, as well as obedience, then the church will be in the place of being able to be the Instrument of Righteousness that God intended for her to be. 

The problem we have today, is that the world and its principles have crept into the church (maybe they were there all along) and we have a watered down church presenting a powerless Gospel and a small, powerless God, who is not capable of changing anyone's heart. If we presented the God of the Bible, the way He identifies Himself, then we would have a different picture of what is right and wrong. People make wrong choices simply because they don't see anything better than the choices they have made. They haven't seen God in His holiness and majesty. They have only seen a god we have created and wish we could believe in (like a Genie in a bottle, or a Santa Claus god). We turn to God when we want something, but we avoid Him when something is required of us. But if we truly knew God, the way He is, and in His awesome power, we would be different, those around us would be affected, and I believe those in the White House would in turn be affected as well. Broken people would be healed. Drug addicts would be delivered. Young girls wouldn't be spending their time trying to win some guy's love for them. Abused women wouldn't be tempted to commit suicide. Men would learn to love their wives and treat them with respect. There would be a worthwhile cause for us to live for. The alternative is just an empty life where we go from one thrill to the next, to pass the time away while we exist on this little planet.