Saturday (May 16, 2009) morning at 3:45 AM I heard the Lord tell me to write down 1,000 prayer requests. I heard this several times.

I know that these are to come from me and not be solicited from others. It is an exercise to deepen my prayer life.

Friday (May 29, 2009) I finished the project. This was a very rewarding task. It caused me to grow in my thinking of how and what to pray for.

The first hundred or so prayer requests were easy. You know; me, me, me, my wife, my kids, my job, and my finances.

Then it became harder. I did not want to repeat any prayers, but did since new aspects of them came up over and over.

I tried to include relevant topics affecting the world and America. Sometimes this was easy and other times it was a grueling process.

Many of the requests have already been answered. Praise God for this.

A few days before Memorial Day I asked God to give us something interesting to do.

Monday morning we went and decorated Cella’s grave. We then decided to see where Ana’s Ex Brother-in-Law was laid to rest. After looking up the plot location we went there. As we drove up I noticed a biker standing by a grave. He seemed to be in deep sorrow.

When we were ready to leave he was just heading back to his bike. Ana said that the Lord had prompted her to talk to him. So we went over to him and engaged in a short conversation.

He was a typical Harley Biker; big burley and sort of overweight. Black leather outfit with POW, MIA, and Semper Fi badges adorning his vest. His father had passed away last year. He was very sad and bitter at the doctors.

We talked to him about the loss of his father, and his anger. This led him to tell of his concern about the hopeless state of America. A little more talking and he responded to Ana’s plea to accept Christ as his personal savior.

What a great start to the day. The rest of Memorial Day was spent in the mountains driving, eating, walking, and shopping.

I printed off the list of 1,000 and let Ana read/pray through them. We prayed over them and lifted them up to God. I will mention them at the next intercessory prayer meeting.

The enemy is mad because of this. I have crossed over into more of his territory and am a viable threat to him. I have been attacked with sleepiness, dizziness, and bowel problems since last week.

I rebuke the dark forces of this world and those attacking my body. James tells us.

Jas 4:7 Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I am now ready for God to reveal to me more and mightier things.

Last night at our intercessory prayer meeting, an hour was spent praying for the salvation of President Obama.

He is our appointed leader and wee need to pray for him and uphold him to God. But first he needs to know God personally. He needs to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

We believe that this will happen. Then he will be a fitting leader, working with God to pull America out of the spiritual slump it is in.

In a previous article “Christian America” I mentioned the Christian beliefs of our forefathers as they set up our independence from England.

These were Mighty Good Fearing Christian men. They walked the same halls, slept in the same bedrooms, ate in the same dining rooms, officiated in the same offices, and served in the same Congress as President Obama is presently doing.

It was our fervent prayer last night that President Obama would feel the hallowed presence of these great men who walked before him. We prayed that the presence of the Holy Spirit would fall mightily upon him. We further petitioned God to make his nights miserable and sleepless until he confronted the living God of the Universe and gave his heart over to Jesus.

Join us in this prayer. God will answer. He says so.

Mat 18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven.

Jim – May 8, 2009

America was founded on Biblical principles and a strong belief in Jesus Christ. See my article “Christian America”.

Not only did our forefathers build Christian beliefs into our structure, but they also sent our missionaries into the entire world to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world.

This sowing of seed is what Jesus declared to us as his parting comment and command.

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth.

Mat 28:19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.

By these seeds God has opened the windows of Heaven on America. We have grown up as the most prosperous and influential country on Earth.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Jehovah of Hosts, to see if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you, until there is not enough room.

Have you ever wondered why Americans do so well and other countries do so poorly? I know I have.

Last night at our intercessory prayer meeting (we prayed for our country and the salvation of President Obama – See my article on “Obama’s Salvation”) Mark, from Guyana, Africa, revealed to us the following things:

Africa was founded on idol worship and not Christianity. So they have suffered such oppression and poorness for centuries.
When he was 13 he was the first generation of his family to accept Christ. He was saved at a revival sponsored by a Pentecostal missionary.

This has happened to many people in Guyana and it that country is more Christian than pagan. Because of this their country has turned around economically and socially. They are now a major oil producing nation and have an abundance of Gold.

The blessings of God have been poured out over them from Heaven. Just as it was over America.
Early in his life he remembers a severe drought where they had to struggle just to buy a single grain of corn to eat. The felt lucky to eat something they considered animal food.

I visited Kenya, Africa in 2005 and was amazed at the potential there to grow so many crops. Yet the people did not thrive at all. 

They were right on the equator and had ample sunshine and moisture. The ground was fertile and anything planted would grow vigorously. Yet they struggled as a people barely surviving and constantly waiting on the government to support them. 

American companies, like Dole, have gone in and planted massive pineapple plantations which thrive. But this does not benefit the native people. The money goes out to America. 

But now knowing what Mark, from Guyana, said, I now know why. America had God’s blessing on her. God’s hand has been on our shoulder as we grew from the first colony to a Union of 50 states.  

We are in great peril of loosing God’s blessing by our casting Him out of our lives. Prayer has been banned from schools. We murder unborn children. We openly accept immorality. Violent crimes are prevalent throughout the land. We worship the God of money over the true God and creator of the Universe.  

No wonder America finds itself at a crossroad in history. If we continue on the wide enticing path laid before us by Satan, we will reach ruin. But if we hold to the narrow path of Righteousness provided by Jesus Christ we will continue on as an influential and prosperous nation. 

Islamic nations want to annihilate us; wiping us totally from the face of the Earth.  

This happened to the Jewish people many times in the Old Testament. When they honored and obeyed God, they prospered. When they built alters to Baal on the high places, God handed them over to other nations for discipline. 

We as a nation need to get back to our roots founded in the Bible and belief in Jesus Christ. The remnant of faithful Christians left in America need to cry out to God for revival. God promises to heal our land.

2Ch 7:14 if My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

One of the most eye opening thing that Mark said was; as America goes, so does the rest of the world. Other nations all look up to us for direction and hope. 

Evil has crept into all other nations and brought them down spiritually and morally.

Mark prophesized that if America succumbs to Satan’s wiles, then the last vestige of righteousness and hope will be removed from the World. Can the end be fare behind?  

Jim – May 8, 2009

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the certainty of things we cannot see.

Expectations from God. – unseen future. Without Hope life is meaningless. Faith is the substance (foundation) of things Hoped for.

Three aspects of Hope:

2Th 2:16  May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,

Tit 2:13  as we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he has given us a new birth to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Our Hope is alive – in things not seen – not worldly.

Good moral integrous character (God’s). Blessed hoping joyous God’s hand on it. Something God has spoken into. Full of indestructible life. Without Hope you will perish.

The Foundation is God’s Word. The Hope is for the unseen spoken Word of God. It manifests His purpose in my life. I live on the Foundation but have Hope for the future.

There is no Expiration date on Hope. It is a living Hope.

1Ti 1:1  From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope,

Jesus which is our Hope. All my Hope is wrapped up in Jesus.

Heb 6:18  so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might have a strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

Hope set before us – always in front of us.

Heb 6:19  We have this hope as an anchor for our souls, firm and secure, which reaches behind the curtain,

Hope is an anchor for my Soul. Keeps me stationary in the storms of life. In times of extreme trial we needed the anchor. Something past that moment of time to live for.

Psa 71:5  For You are my hope, O Lord God, my trust from my youth.

Jesus is my Hope.

Psa 71:14  But I will hope without ceasing, and I will add more in all Your praise.

I will continually have Hope. Keep Hoping, Keep Praising. If you have Hope you will have Praise for Christ. Quit wining and start Praising Jesus.

Hos 2:15  And I will give her vineyards to her from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

We have a door of Hope to enter through.

Jim – 12/07/2008

America was founded on Christ and Christian standards derived from the Bible. Here is some information I gleaned from some writings.

For instance:

Of the 56 signers of the “Declaration of Independence” 52 were deeply committed Christians. The other 3 believed the Bible.

Patrick Henry said:

“An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.”

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

“I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our Creator.”

President Adams said:

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

Calvin Coolidge wrote:

“The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”

The United States Congress voted this resolution:

“The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”

William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader wrote:

“The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are derived our notions on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible I make no apology.”

In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1 was:

“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments”

James Madison wrote:

“We have staked the whole future of our new nation not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.”

How can President Obama now state:

April 7, 2009 In a press conference in Turkey, President Obama said, “One of the great strengths of the United States is … we have a very large Christian population — we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”

I say:

What set of values? If not from our founding forefather’s belief in the Bible, just where do these values come from?

Secular humanism comes into play here. We have grown away from our Biblical foundation to a belief (worship) in the goodness of human beings and scientific thought. Now there seems to be no need to address the “fall of man” or “the Blood of Jesus” with this new thought. We just put God on a shelf along with other oddities of little value to man in his new enlightened state.

God forgive us for our sins. We have shoved You aside, as the benevolent creator of the Universe, to believe the lies of Satan. Bring us back to the Christian nation that founding fathers set out to build. See my other article “God’s Blessing’s on America” where I discuss the outpouring of the storehouse of Heaven on America.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Jehovah of Hosts, to see if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you, until there is not enough room.

From Wikipedia:

Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance that focuses on the way human beings can lead good, happy and functional lives.

The term “secular humanism” was coined in the 20th century to make a clear distinction from “religious humanism”. A related concept is “scientific humanism”, which biologist Edward O. Wilson claimed to be “the only worldview compatible with science’s growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature”

Hebrews states:

Heb 12:1 Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Heb 12:2 looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Heb 12:3 For consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds.

Heb 12:4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Jim – May 8, 2009

The other day I used my raspberry brambles as an example of cleaning up our spiritual lives. This writing is about another story concerning my raspberries and how they relate to our faith in God.

I grew up in central Kansas where there are vast expanses of wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Each fall these dedicate flatland farmer’s plant their seed. This involves a tremendous amount of work and money. A 10,000 acre farm takes days to till and days to plant. Fertilizer and seed can run in the $100,000 range. Yet the farmer has faith that all of this will bring in a crop enough to pay that back with enough more for living and expansion.

That in itself is quite a lesson in faith. If we had that kind of faith in the seed we plant for God, our existence would be truly blessed.

I always marveled at their patience and trust. At any one time they would have far money tied up just laying in the ground than most people make in a year. A dry year, flood, hail storm, tornado, and on and on, could wipe out that investment. Yet they calmly waited for the day of harvest before they would realize any gain from their toiling.

Now on to the story about my raspberries.

I do not think that I would make a very good farmer. I am too impatient. Have you ever planted something only to go out in a couple of days to dig around it to see if it is growing yet? I do. The farmers don’t. They put in the seed and go about other meaningful tasks knowing that the crop will appear as scheduled.

I bought three Golden Raspberry plants at the nursery one spring and planted them in the corner of my small garden plot. Every day I was there looking at them. Poking and pinching them to see if they had survived the trauma of transplanting. My faith was weak based on several other attempts at growing blueberries and nectarines and other delicacies.

It suddenly got hot and the scorching sun beat down on those puny little plants. Oh! You poor things. Will you ever grow?

Well one of them did not. What a waste. I am failing at this plant husbandry effort. Poor me!

Two of the plants held on, but only barely; such scrawny growth. What about those abundant lush golden berries I had seen on the package? Where were they?

The first season ended with a handful of berries. They were luscious in their taste; golden nectar from above. Wow! What will next year bring?

Next Spring I saw dozens of little plants springing up around the two remaining vines. Great! I will actually have a crop of berries.

I tended to these little sprouts like they were my own offspring. Tenderly watered and fertilized. Yes! They responded and soon turned into lush green plants full of golden fruit.

Next Spring. What is this? Hundreds of new green offshoots from the several dozed plants from last year. This is great – I think? What about my garden? It is being taken over. Oh! Well. There will be so many raspberries that I will indulge myself in their eating.

Ouch! These nasty little things have sharp thorns, especially when you have to wind your way through the ever expanding thicket just to get a small hand full of berries. They seemed to have lost their taste somewhat; maybe because I eat them every day.

Hey! Do you want some raspberries? Here dig up all you want. Take these also; they are coming up in the lawn and rocks now.

What I fought to make grow now grow everywhere without any care or concern from me. Actually my concern is how to maintain the large overgrown thicket. Even little rabbits have moved in to find protection from the wild outsides!

So just how is this a lesson about our Spiritual life and growth of seed’s we plant?

We plant seeds of money and witnessing into other peoples lives and into other ministries hoping for a bountiful harvest. But we fret and worry and wring our hands and hearts about the outcome.

When will the fruit come? Will it ever come? Not realizing that seed will do the only thing that it knows to do – Grow.

Once planted and left alone it will grow. The Kansas farmer would go crazy if they worried about every little grain of wheat put into a 10,000 acre field.

When allowed to grow, as my first two berries, they will start to produce on their own. First a little, then a lot. Yes, we are still involved in their care and feeding, but the God given spark of life is within them compelling them to grow.

Paul did this as he traveled about planting seed of faith into small churches. Then years later he would return to see the growth that had occurred on their own, feed by his teachings.

We need only the faith needed to let the seed go and produce what God had designed inside of it to produce. Worry and fretting about them will not speed up the process. On the contrary it may ruin the growth. My digging around the small plants could have easily killed the tender new growth.

Isaiah tells us how God’s word will not return void but produce a harvest.

Isa 55:10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring out and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Isa 55:11 so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do.

John tells of the bountiful harvest:

Joh 4:34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

Joh 4:35 Do you not say, It is yet four months, and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white to harvest already.

Joh 4:36 And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to life eternal, so that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

Joh 4:37 And in this is the saying true, One sows and another reaps.

Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and you have entered into their labor.

Matthew tells of the need for laborers:

Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.

Mat 9:38 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out laborers into His harvest.

Mar 16:15 And He said to them, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation.

Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Jim – May 3, 2009

There is a lesson to be learned from the humble little raspberry.

I planted a couple of raspberry plants that eventually turned my 30 x 15 foot garden plot into a bramble. I think there were even some little rabbits living there.

This spring we finally decided to clean up the garden area by removing the mass of vines. They were full of sharp thorns and bramble like, coming from everywhere. When we first started to pull them out it seemed to be a daunting task. Oh! Where to start, there are so many; all tangled up.

So one by one we pulled them out and placed them in trash bags. Little by little we progressed forward. Soon we were half way done. Wow! There were a lot but the task was less ponderous now.

We’re done! Doesn’t the garden look so much nicer now. We have room to plant so many different things in it.

BUT Wait! What is this over here in this corner? And wait! Here are some more! Little bitty raspberry plants coming up from the roots. Lot’s of them. There are hundreds of them!

We couldn’t see them before; now they stood out like sore spots before our eyes. So I reached down and gave one a tug. Wow! It came right out; not like the larger stalks which had to be wrestled out of the ground.

So just a little more work and the garden is free of the menacing raspberry. I expect to find a few more stragglers popping up but Not to worry; tug and they will be gone.

So just what does this strange story about the raspberry brambles have to do with anything in my Spiritual walk with Christ?

As we progress with our walk with the Lord things are brought to mind that hinder our complete growth into the person He designed us to be.

The raspberry bramble dominating the garden.

When first confronted by this Spiritual blockage in our walk it can seem dauntingly impossible to handle.

The mass of tangled vines choking each other out.

With God’s help through prayer, meditation, reading His Word, or talking with trusted Christians the task begins to seem much easier to accomplish.

Pulling out just one plant at a time relentlessly until victory becomes evident.

Soon the stronghold upon our lives has been put under the Blood of Jesus and conquered by His love.

The garden is now cleaned out.

Now God reveals other much smaller things that have also taken root in our flesh which need attention. They were previously hidden but now exposed to the pure light of His love.

Look at all the itty bitty plants.

Now our task is easier as we draw closer to God and He draws closer to us. We are becoming more like Him each day. More clean up is needed but our vision is more acute and sharp.

Tug and out they come.

Now we know what to look for and are better prepared to eliminate them from our walk with Christ.

We know there will be more pop up but they soon will be eradicated.

Our continued walk with the Lord will take us higher and higher with Him.

Finally – Put on the whole armor of God . . . 

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14  Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness

Eph 6:15  and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Eph 6:16  Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,

Eph 6:18  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Do you tithe? I do now but my tithing used to be rather sporadic at best.

When I first became a Christian, in 1972, I started to tithe for a while but soon something came up in my life needing my more than God (or the Church). Then later I would become repentant and start tithing again.

This cycle continued on and on until I saw a TV show from Paula White which prompted me to send for some of her teachings on tithing. I was blown away by her and the others teachings. I soon learned how tithing is fulfillment of part of God’s covenant promise with me.

Malachi writes: 

Mal 3:7  From the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says Jehovah of Hosts. But you say. In what way shall we return?

Mal 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, In what have we robbed You? In the tithe and the offering!

Mal 3:9  You are cursed with a curse; for you are robbing Me, the nation, all of it.

Mal 3:10  Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Jehovah of Hosts, to see if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you, until there is not enough room.

Mal 3:11  And I will rebuke your devourer, and he shall not decay the fruit of your ground against you; nor shall your vine miscarry against you in the field, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Mal 3:12  And all nations shall call you blessed; for you shall be a delightful land, says Jehovah of Hosts.

“Will a man rob God?” Yes I have; in so many ways. I gave tithes to You at times, my Lord; but at other times I withheld what was Yours so I could buy more things for myself.

Surely You won’t hold that against me? Will You? “You are cursed with a curse; for you are robbing Me”. Cursed? Me? Yes I was. My life was spent in a futile cycle of never reaching the goals I had for my life. Even though I kept back the money from God I never had what it took to make the goals become a reality. My faith in God was also weak.

Sometimes when I tithed it was not with a right heart but one of owing a due to God. Sometimes I would not give all that I should or could. I heard a teaching from a previous church that said we are to take care of our parents and that could be considered tithing.

Mal 1:6  A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says Jehovah of Hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. And you say, In what way have we despised Your name?

Mal 1:7  You offer defiled bread upon My altar; and you say, In what way have we defiled You? In your saying, The table of Jehovah, it is a thing to be despised.

Mal 1:8  And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Bring it now to your governor. Will he accept you, or lift up your face, says Jehovah of Hosts?

Mal 1:9  And now entreat the face of God, that He favor us. This has been by your hands, will He lift up your faces, says Jehovah of Hosts?

Giving God anything but our best is an abomination to Him. We tend to cheapen up and give what we think is OK. Or in a way that still benefits us.

I knew of a person who would take you out for dinner and count that as a tithe to God. I even fell into this trap when I sent money to Africa to help some orphans. This was indeed an offering but not a tithe to God.

“Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house”. That makes it very specific; the money is to be taken to Gods house. Then He will “open the windows of Heaven for you, and pour out a blessing for you”. Quite a blessing!

But did you catch the last part of that statement? “until there is not enough room”.

I now whole heartedly tithe of everything that I earn. I no longer view tithing as a duty to God by as a covenant blessing between me and God. I fulfill my part of the covenant and He fulfils His part.

The peace and fulfillment, in knowing that I am in rightful standing with God, fills me with peace. I enjoy giving to my Father, which is my pleasure.

I am highly favored and blessed by God.

Jim Gregg

April 28, 2009

Jas 1:2 My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way,
Jas 1:3 for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.
Jas 1:4 Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Jas 1:5 But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.
Jas 1:6 But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind.
Jas 1:7 If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.

Feel fortunate when trials come your way? Boy not what the world wants one to feel or think. But surely trials do come my way; A lot. I use to think that I was the only one having trials. The other people at LBC seemed to be overly happy and content with life. They never spoke about things going wrong in the lives or the hardships they were experiencing. Just how great God was and how great life was.

I was very surprised after starting to go to WOL to see how many people were hurting. In fact I believe they all have some sort of critical problem going on at any one moment.

So this is what James was talking about; But to feel fortunate? Yes he did say fortunate. Why? Look at verse 3. When your faith succeeds in facing such trials the result is the ability to endure. WOW!

I was enduring before all right; just barely maintaining happiness or the will to continue on. James is saying that we can gain strength by all of these trials and become strong enough to shrug them off as we go on living.

Listen, there is more. Make sure your endurance carries you all the way without failing so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Did you read that? Hang in there and you will be perfect lacking nothing. Now that is a promise I can hang my hat on.

Endure troubles which are a part of life any way. Become perfect and complete. Lack nothing.; quite a roadmap of success as far as I am concerned.

So how do you make it through the troubles? Troubles mostly want to way you down and make you give up. That is exactly what Satan wants us to do. Give up before we have endured long enough. I think he knows just when we have just about endured long enough then he turns up the heat just to get us to quite. He wants us to give up just moments before reaching the enduring plateau and receiving the perfection God has in store for us.

Then James talks about lacking Wisdom. All we need to do is ask God for it and it is ours; given to us generously and graciously. That sounds like more than enough. A whole lump of it just dumped on my head. Can I receive such an outpouring? Freely given to me? Never withheld? Just ask and it is mine? This is not a promises jut to me but to any one who will pray and ask. If this is so why are there so many dumb people in the world? Especially Christians? They seem to be a weird lot at times. Acting like immature little adopted kids. Yes we are all adopted. But we have been adopted into the King of Kings household. We are princes and princesses not paupers. Street people have more wisdom than some Christians.

Now he says when you pray you must believe and not doubt at all. Now that hurts. That is a sore spot in my Christian Armor. I have worried, doubted and fusses over things all my life. It seems a part of my DNA. But James said not to doubt or I will be like a wave in the sea blown about.

I remember one time thinking that about myself. Have you never had a choice to make between this car and that one and could never make up your mind. Oh I like this one, but I sort of like that one. This is even worse when it comes to more heavier spiritual matters.

But the doubting part hits close to home for me. Ask and believe is the mantra of many passages in the Bible. Jessie Duplantis mentions this all the time. It is Gods part to provide, it is just Jessie’s part to believe that God will do it. This is my part also. Just to ask then to believe.

Otherwise I am a double minded man and am not to expect to receive anything from the Lord. This is sort of a grim thing to handle. It sounds like a great big problem or trial. Wait a minute; a big Trial? That takes us right back to the beginning of these verses.

So we are right back at having Faith to believe. How can it be hard to have faith in the creator of the entire Universe? He just spoke and poof there it was. Carl Sagan’s billion and billions of stars and light years and planets came into being in one moment by the word of God. A massiveness that words can not express nor the human mind comprehend. Yet God Almighty made it all appear by just speaking the words. That is some power. So how can I not believe in the power? How can I not feel that power in my life? How can I not accept that power in every situation? I can not.

God is mighty. God is great. God is massive. God is good. God is my Lord.

Teach me Lord how to have perseverance in times of trouble and trials. Teach me how to have faith in your benevolent loving care for me. Teach me how to believe so that I can receive all that You have prepared for me since before the beginning of time. I do not want to get to heaven and see a large warehouse full of things prepared and waiting for me that I did not ask for and receive while still on the little planet called Earth.

Three kinds of Hope. Fear, Fantasy, Faith.

Last nights message at Word of Life was on three kinds of Hope. Pastor taught that we are to have faith but it must be coupled with Hope to bring true meaning into out walk with Christ.

FEAR:

The first type of Hope is Fear. This is Hope where we fear the outcome or the consequences. We Have a vision and have faith for God to make that vision come true. But we have fear in our hopes of it coming true. We fear the cost, the commitment, the involvement, our ability, and on and on.

This is fear coming from the enemy to stifle our vision and ensnare us in worldly fear. Our faith may be there but the fear overshadows it making progress impossible.

Pastor said this is like being trapped in a box. Walls are erected on all sides of us and we can not see how to get out. Satan makes our minds think of the impossibility of achieving our vision. We become trapped and bogged down with thoughts of inadequacy or incompetence.

This kind of wrong thinking must be broken by allowing the Spirit of God free reign in our lives. Immersing ourselves in Gods word, praying, and fasting will bring us out of it if we are truly willing to make the change.

FANTASY:

The second type of Hope is Fantasy. This is where we try to make up a vision for ourselves based on something fictitious: Or by trying to accept another person’s vision as our own.

We see someone doing well in a ministry and decide that this is what we want to be doing. So we go about doing the work without being called by God. This leads to failure since we do not have the talents or abilities to accomplish the task with out struggle.

Each Christian has a unique set of talents given to them by God to accomplish the unique vision that He has given to them. Using anything else is not in God’s plan and destined to futility and failure.

Pastor gave examples of several people stepping out to do ministries on their own. He then related how they had failed to succeed and are no longer doing anything for God with their lives.

What a waste this is to Gods kingdom. If we use the talents we have, to fulfill the vision we have been given, God will direct our paths and lead us to victory. The path may not be lined with gold or easy, but it will be God’s path.

Yes we have stepped outside of the box but on our own volition, not by God’s mighty hand.

FAITH:

The third type of Hope is Faith. This is the type of Hope that makes our lives worthwhile for God’s ministry. An intense Hope in the greatness of God and His ability to work in us the vision He has given to us.

Pastor used tithing as an example. When we just give without hope for a return or blessing then we get none. But when we give with expectancy of God opening the storehouse of heaven then we receive richly. We receive ideas, concepts, and insights.

So having faith in a vision given by God coupled with a Hope of Faith gives us the power of God to accomplish it. Our Hope is made complete and our Faith in God is fulfilled through our vision.

Abraham could not physically comprehend or believe that his and Sarah’s old bodies could produce a mighty nation. Yet his Hope of Faith led him to continually see the outcome that life dealt as impossible. His heirs are now like the sand of the sea and the stars in the heavens.

Hope is a might tool provided by God to fill our lives with a reason for continuing when all else seems impossible. A true vision from God should appear to us as being impossible to accomplish. That way we know that when it has come to past that it was God who did it and not ourselves.

Dream Big: Dream the impossible. Let God’s vision overfill your mind with its vastness. Then have the Hope of faith that He will see it through to completion. Anything else is box living, like being trapped in a closet for the rest of your life.

To God be the glory.

Jim Gregg

April 20, 2009

01/14/2009
40 Days.

On 01/11/2009 we started a period of 40 days of fasting, praying, talking, studying, meditating, in general just plain more intense communication with God wit the emphasis on drawing closer to Him and not pouncing upon Him a myriad of prayer requests and problems. At that same time we signed up to pray for an hour each day between 6 and 7 PM.

Before we entered into this I had some anticipation just what it would entail and what it would all mean in my life. Just shortly before this time Ana and I had been going through some growing pains as she discerned some things hanging around my present being that were a carry over from the past. Things that influenced my past and were not fitting for the new me that will need purifying to be a fitting vessel for what God wants to do with our lives together.

Sunday night Pastor prayed for us all as a group and some of us individually. During that time we identified those strong holds that Satan had on our lives that was pulling us down in our growth upward. These things keep us from reaching the new heights in spirituality that God has in store for us. Pastor Gala saw this as a hand grasping on our heels pulling backward as we tried to fly upwards.

I identified the Spirit of infirmity which has kept me in bondage never letting me reach my full potential, along with fear, lust, anger, alcoholism and others. I was set free when Pastor prayed for me and for the group. I accepted that freedom and now am living my life with that resolve at the front of my mind.

I fell asleep soundly that night and did not awaken until 4:30 the next morning. What a feeling of peace. But I am still being bombarded with health things as I can feel Satan trying to get his grasp reinserted in my life. This I reject and cast out of me daily, constantly. The power of God within me is far greater than the power of the evil one who rules this world.

I will overcome. I am overcoming. I have overcome. The full effect may take a while but I have freedom of all these things in my life.

It is strange that the next day, when thinking about the myriad of health problems pounding my past life, I realized that the first bad thing I can remember happening to me was when I was I Florida just about to be sent home because of the “Tongues Thing”. A day before leaving I broke out in hives that itched a lot. They went away and fullness began in my throat. This turned out to be Reflux which tormented me for 30 years and has still been an issue.

There was one issue after another that came relentlessly ever since. Three times I should have died but God stayed my being. A ruptured Cerebral Aneurism, a botched Reflux Surgery, and most recently a Seizure while traveling to Kansas. Out of each of these I came unscathed.

I feel that the power of God to keep me alive for the work that is before me was stronger than the spirit of Satan as he tried to take me out. He had kept me unproductive for nearly 40 years.

So this time of intense drawing nearer to God has come at a very crucial time for me. It is just before heading out to Orizaba for the second time to help out with the pastor’s conference there in May-April. This is also a time when we have been making preparations to go full time for a year in Mexico.

This preparation will leave me purged of past wrongs and habits, filled with the newness of God. Cleansed and swept out ready to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into my vessel.

This is a time of preparation for the future events about to take place in Ana and my lives. Together we are heading into the battle field of the 3rd world countries as a tightly woven three stranded cord. Honed and prepared for intense hand to hand combat with Satan and his evil cohorts.

I am truly enjoying this new endeavor of drawing closer to the King of Kings. I had already begun to get up at 4:30 so I could study and read on a consistent basis. I also listen to sermons and teachings on the way to and from work, sometimes praying the whole way. I have begun to write for about an hour a day to hone my new skills there. I have begun to study the “Spiritual harvest” materials at noon time along with some praying and meditating. We pray together for an hour between 6 and 7. We pray before meals, when we get up, when we go to bed, over our poster, for our kids and at other times as needed.

It is an incredible feeling to be so close to the Father is my daily life. I am never far away from thoughts of Him or of our missionary calling. Thoughts of what is in store for us and what will take place and all.

I can only imagine what will take place in the church as 100 remnant core people do the same. What outpouring of the Spirit will overtake the church? What blessings will descend from upon high? What might things will take place as a newness envelops the whole church. People will be drawn to the intense light shinning from the abundance of water flowing outward. The drought will be broken and seeds will flourish in vast fields of harvest and bread.

I am glad that me and my wife are a part of the ever growing greatness of Word of Life. Our involvement grows and strengthens each day. For the Glory of God and the winning of souls.

America’s Golden Goddess Jim Gregg
Daniel 5 03/05/2009

This morning, as I sat down to read and write, God took me to the book of Daniel chapter 5.

There I found all sorts of strange things. King Belshazzar was partying with his royal court, their wives, and his concubines. He decided to bring in golden goblets taken from the tabernacle in Jerusalem. They drank heartily then toasted the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood. Wow! What a cast of notable characters to pay homage to.

Suddenly fingers, coming out of nowhere, started writing on the plastered walls of the palace. Strange characters appeared that could not be interpreted. One would think that this would be odd and frighten away all those who were present. But it merely caused the kings countenance to change and his knees and legs get weak.

He immediately called in all of his counselors, magicians, and soothsayers to have them diverge the meaning of the words. They were unable to accomplish this demand. So King Balshazzar called in all of his mighty men, who also failed the task.

The Queen then told the King about Daniel who she heard could interpret such things. So King Balshazzar brought in Daniel and he was able to bring meaning to the writings.

The writings spelt doom to the kingdom. In fact that very night they rang true as the king was slain and a Mead took his throne.

Dan 5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

I see this as a prophecy speaking to America. It is a statement of our very status as a country founded on the word of God but now given over to the Goddess of Gold.

Our country was founded on religious freedom and our forefathers actually believed the Bible and wrote documents as such. “In God We Trust” is graven on our currency and buildings. But it is no longer God whom we trust. No, it is the Golden Goddess of the mighty dollar.

America has always been the country of prosperity. We produce more and use more than any other nation in the world. We have become consumer’s par excellence.

Having come out of the Great Depression, our fathers were very frugal and did not waste or want more and more. After WWII things began to change as people became more mobile and sought out more pleasures to sooth their souls.

Things began to happen that swayed our beliefs from the God of the Bible, to what is in it for me. We sought bigger houses, more cars, better jobs, longer vacations, anything to please the body. Yet in spite of this era of prosperity evil crept in steadily as we were lured unaware.

Prayer went out of our schools. Babies became the target of the scalpel to let us be in charge of our bodies. Morality was pushed aside as sensationalism took charge to excite us to oblivion.

Luxury became or goal. We strove for two cars in every garage, and a Van (now SUV) in the driveway. We ate, drank, and smoked, like there was no end. Carl Sagan lured us with millions and billions of universes; millions and billions of years. We drank in the opiate of evolution. “Who are we but mere specks of protoplasm thrown together on the whirling globe called Earth?”

I want, I want, more, and more. I got and I got till there seemed to be no end or lack. This is what Osama Bin Laden hated about America; our absolute control of money and our worshiping it as gods. So he attacked our great symbols of wealth, the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

This should have woken us up to what was happening to America. But it did not. Yes, it did enrage us and throw into a war for 7 years, but our hearts still were in love with wealth and not the things of God.

Sadly, through all of this the Christians, of our once great and spiritually oriented country, sat lazily aside like Saul picking pomegranates from his shade tree. Where once we had great tent revivals and healings being performed, we now have Jerry Springer and Ophra chanting out our mantra.

We were called the silent moral majority by the news media. We became lazy, being lured into a sleepy daze unaware of what was taking place in our country by a small choice few. These soldiers of Satan have taken their toll. They have won great victories that have put most of us to shame. Yet we feel our hands are tied with no recourse but to let the law’s stand.

So our precious America buckled up and persisted through another unwanted war. “Ho Hum!” “What are we fighting for?” President Bush called it “EVIL”. The press called it a waste and uncalled for.

Presidents, CEO’s and CIO’s of major companies began to “cook the books” and wound up bilking billions of dollars out of the weary work force’s pockets; mainly from their retirement accounts.

Since gold had become the present goddess, Americans strove to get all that they could. It became easy to build up a fund worth millions of dollars. This hoard was just laying in wait for those few magic years, near the end of life, when one could sit back and bask in the limelight of such great achievements.

Get-rich programs, commodities, stocks, investments, shorting stocks, speculations, real estate schemes, ponzi schemes abounded. Men strove day and night to get his share of the wealth. Men began to worship wealth. We bowed down to the lottery mentality, wishing and hoping for our one big chance to become wealthy beyond imagination.

This madness began to be exposed as the “Enron’s” of the world crumbled down in disgrace. It seemed as if there was an epidemic of corrupt executives who had figured out how to line their own pockets with the working class’s retirement funds.

Yet this did not wake up the sleeping Christian nation. We just went to church and knew that God had provided salvation to us freely and we did not have to worry any more. “Why evil is in the world and will eventually take over.” “I can just sit on the sidelines and watch it all happen.” “Not to worry!” “I am saved for eternity.”

So, Satan, seeing the depraved hearts of most Americans, cooked up another disaster. One built to order for our money worshiping lenders. Why not make loans to people without qualification or adequate income to sustain the payments. Surely the economy will continue to flourish and increase. They will be able to stretch their wages to make this home their own.

Billions of dollars were lent out to unworthy and unqualified buyers. Banks jumped on the band wagon with lustful dollar signs in their eyes. The biggest job market open at that time was one of being a mortgage lender. Everyone was refinancing or stepping into bigger more luxurious homes. Even people with little money were enticed to buy homes with 0% down. Why not? Everyone else was doing it. I want mine, and I want it now.

Massive amount of money went into the pockets of a select few greedy lenders. Money was everywhere. Since Americans worship this golden goddess, life was full and enjoyable and there seemed to be no end to it all.

Bam! Now we are in the midst of the worst economic disaster in history. The American tax payer now own most of the financial institutions. Trillions of dollars have left our economy. We are at the verge of a complete monetary collapse. Surprise, surprise, Satan is alive and well on planet Earth.

Pastor Bagwell, of Word of Life Christian center, received a word/prophecy from God shortly after this bubble burst. He was told that “the drought is broken and that he heard the sound of an abundance of rain”. This has been Pastor Bagwell’s driving thought and prayer ever since that revelation. Even though the stock market fell 734 points the day after he told this to his congregation, he has stood strong in the belief of God’s word to him.

The remnant of believers at Word of Life have come together in prayer, fasting, and re-concentration. We are holding fast to the prophetic words received by Pastor Bagwell. We are standing in the gap for the rest of America. We know that God will revive America and put her back on the course which our forefathers first set us on.

Christians all over the country are waking up and getting back into true worship of God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is once again being allowed to reign freely in our services and our lives.

There is hope for America only if we get back to the basics taught in the Bible, only if we give up the goddess of god for the Living God of the Universe.