6 Common Thoughts Of Singles That Are Very Deceptive

January 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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How can you avoid deception in your thoughts as a single person? In this post Hollywood’s Confusing Portrayal of Marriage was mentioned how New films make marriage look like a prison. Christians ought to be careful and avoid

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deception in any way possible to not let these publicized messages impact how we view marriage. Movies bring very unrealistic values to the table of marriage. God has meant marriage to be powerful in our life. Wow, we could talk about this for a while, isn’t it?

It’s not easy to avoid deception when we don’t gain any knowledge about the subject. What does the bible say about this? God says: my people perish for lack of knowledge; let’s say that we perish when we don’t act on the knowledge that we know. Acting on knowledge and be doers of the word is very powerful. Making right choices is powerful; to us is given the power of choice, right?

There is a lot of deception in the church in these days. Let’s look at some very deceptive thoughts that some single people have.

Deception #1: “He is not a Christian, but he is a great guy!”
The bible warns us NOT to marry a non-Christian. 2Cor.6:14. If you’re single or lonely, God knows. If you’re approaching a certain age, God knows how old you are. And He is not worried. The important thing is not to be married…it’s about choosing the right person to marry. And God can bring that person unexpectedly, just as He did for so many other people. We have to hold onto God’s Word, not a wish list and let God dictate our decision whether or not to marry someone.

Deception #2:” Having a Man Will Solve My Problems.”
Too often women convince themselves that if they could just have the one thing they don’t have, then they would be happy. Do you really think that loneliness might disappear and financial strains melt? Being in a relationship means trading in one set of concerns for another. I heard a marriage counselor once say “both parties need to bring 100% in to marriage”. Don’t expect that the other has to fill in your gaps!

Deception #3: “There Must Be something Wrong With Me If I Don’t have A Man”.
Within each of us is a desire to be known and loved. The bible says “It’s not good…to be alone”. Gen 2:18. Being alone can be very hard and it is natural to want a relationship so we can have companionship. The danger comes when our desire to escape being alone turns into an expectation or agenda. You can be easily disappointed if God doesn’t seem to follow your plans. Remind yourself of the truth about God’s love for you. “No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalm 84:11

Deception #4: “My Soul Mate Is Out There Somewhere”.
One danger of the “soul-mate philosophy” is that it’s possible to believe you married the wrong person and to think that someone else must be your soul-mate. This is what Neil Clark Warren from Eharmony says: “Soul mates are made, not born. You start with the ingredients for a highly compatible, successful relationship and you work to develop closeness and intimacy.

Deception #5: “It’s Ok To Flirt As Long as Everyone Is Just Having Fun.”
Flirting is a body language. Flattery and flirtation and whatever means of drawing attention to oneself. There is a difference in flirting and being friendly. Within the marriage or as being single; it’s quite another thing to remain emotionally pure – not to flirt with another man and become emotionally attached to him. Isa 3:16 speaks of women with an attitude of pride in their physical beauty and form, walking with necks stretched forth and wanton eyes. The Amplified says, “Undisciplined (flirtatious and alluring) eyes, tripping along with mincing and affected gait, and making a tinkling noise with [the anklets on] their feet.”

Deception #6: “The Way I Dress Is None Of Your Business.”
Like it or not, but you are being watched. People watch people. Guys particularly watch girls and women. They watch how you dress. They watch your behavior patterns. They watch any signals you send. Whether you are naive or purposeful in what you do makes no difference to the fact that they watch you. Girls who are fashion conscious but naïve to the fact that society is pushing sexual freedom could be setting themselves up for hurt and regret.

Modesty doesn’t have to mean wearing sackcloth or no makeup and jewelry. As with all other decisions, wisdom is key.
It’s all about making the right choices and The Power Of Choice; your life can be truly choice driven in every area of your life.
“Modesty is a posture of the heart.” Joshua Harris

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Make The Choice To Not Harbor Ill Will

January 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Make The Choice To Not Harbor Ill Will

by Olga Hermans

 

“When we harbor ill will, it’s like letting that person rent space in our brain, but we pay the rent.” When someone hurt you and even deeply hurts you, quite often it leaves you with a feeling that they owe you something. You start to harbor ill will against that person; you have feelings of anger, hatred, lack of sympathy, bitterness, antipathy, coldness. That is what it means when we harbor ill will towards somebody.

We can have a whole list of emotions coming up on the inside of us and be counting up all the things what the other person did to us and on and on! You know, most of the time, the people who hurt you don’t even realize what they have done to you and how much they hurt you.

Let me ask you something. Do you really think other people are planning their life around hurting you? You probably know the answer, isn’t it? The truth is very seldom does someone intentionally set out to hurt another person. Yes, sometimes they do, but that is usually not the case. In normal situations people don’t want to do that.

When the situation occurs and people hurt you because they are insensitive, rude, or angry. You know, hurt people hurt people; I’s so true that hurting people, hurt people. If you allow this to make you so mad that your evenings at home are spent poaching over the situation, then you have allowed yourself to accept the devil’s bait and you give the devil a heyday.

While you’re miserable and upset, the person who has hurt you might be watching a movie having a good time and not even thinking about you. They may even be enjoying a piece of strawberry pie with whipped crème on it while you are at home taking Rolaids and trying to keep the pain in your stomach under control. You must understand that letting go of hurts in your life has no bearing on the other person. It’s something you must do with yourself.

You know, my own sister went through a divorce; she accused her husband saying, “You owe me.” Although he had hurt her for fifteen years, it was not within his power to give those years back. When somebody owes you a debt that they cannot pay, the only thing you can do is forgive the debt because it’s not within human power to change the past.

I know another woman, who actually loved hated her father very much. But there were two sisters in the family and she always felt that her father loved the other sister much more. At a younger age she started to build ill will against her father and after a while she became anorexia. The story is more complex than I can tell you here of course, but she wanted to have her father’s full attention and felt that “he owed her”. The father died; her anorexia took completely over because she wasn’t able to forgive and let the past be the past.

There are many sad stories like these; you probably know some yourself. It comes down to making the right choice for you and for others. The power of choice is given to us. Forgiveness means to absolve from payment or cancel a debt. If you have been seriously hurt, you might as well make the choice to forgive, cancel the debt. Maybe read a book and gain some knowledge on how to forgive someone,because there’s nothing you can do to change the past. How long do you plan to live with the pain in your heart? Although you can’t change the past, you can make a choice to change your response to it.

Cancel the debt and be free.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

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Your Life In God

January 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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The following excerpt is taken from Your Life In God by Lucy McKee:

Look at what Jesus says about being glorified in John 17:1-2

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…Father, the hour has come. Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You. [Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.

I believe what this is saying is that we cannot and will not glorify God unless He first glorifies us. We have to get into the place where He does the glorifying…
…Virtually every other time God performed mighty acts on the earth it was in connection with His people pulling away to spend time in His presence. [Read more…]

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10 Essentials for Spiritual Growth and Development Pt 2

January 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Ok, here are 5 more essentials for our Spiritual Growth and Development as promised.

6.    There is power in the name of Jesus!
The Name of Jesus is the key that will set you free. Make a choice to start walking in the authority that is yours by delegation, and use the Name of Jesus to receive what belongs to you!

  • “For where two or three are gathered together in MY NAME, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
  • “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In MY NAME shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues”  (Mark 16:17).
  • “And whatsoever ye shall ask in MY NAME, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).
  • “For whosoever shall call upon THE NAME OF THE LORD shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
  • “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS…” (Col. 3:17).
  • “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in THE NAME OF THE LORD” (James 5:14).

7.    Know Your Authority in Christ Jesus
The Authority of the Believer. What does the bible say about this subject? Paul said we “reign in life.” We have the authority to rule and reign and have dominion in our life—in the life we have here and now! Romans 5:17 says we can reign in life—in this life—by Christ Jesus.

Maybe you say , “Well, I don’t see very many people ruling and reigning in life.” That’s right and one reason is that this truth hasn’t been proclaimed or taught as it should be. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . . .” Notice this verse doesn’t say sinners are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It says God’s people are destroyed because of their lack of knowledge.

This tells us that if you and I had knowledge of who you are in Christ and would make divine choices of the rights and privileges of their dominion—they wouldn’t be destroyed. One reason Satan is often able to reign, or rule, in the life of Christians is because those Christians do not realize the authority that has been given to them.

8.    We Gotta Watch the Words We Speak and Say What the Bible Says
If life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), how are you applying that power in your everyday life? The Word is like medicine, but it is most effective when applied properly. If I have a headache, I don’t put a Band-Aid on my head. 🙂

Every day we speak countless words, often paying very little attention to the words themselves. However, it is important to realize that we are creating our world by the words that we speak. Proverbs 18:21 in The Amplified Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].
So, if you want to change your life, change your words. Make that choice in your life; TODAY!
Read some WORDS Quotes here
I found this scripture this morning: “You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing amiss, for I am determined not to sin in what I say“.Psalm 17:3

9.    Choose to believe the healing scriptures in the bible.
Divine healing is an accomplished fact. It is a gift, like salvation, already paid for at Calvary. Have you accepted God’s gift of healing? Are you experiencing it in your life in full? If not, it’s time for you to possess the promise of healing and enjoy complete health in every area! One of the paramount questions believers ask today is not whether God is able to heal, but whether He is willing to heal. Is it always God’s will to heal? The answer is, “Most assuredly, yes!”

10.    Practice to pay your tithes.

When people set aside a set portion of their income for the Church, this is known as tithing.God Himself is speaking in Mal.3:10 and He is saying, “Prove Me in this.”This is the only time in the Word where God instructs us to prove Him, and it is the one area where most people have withdrawn from proving God.

When we stand on our covenant with God and exercise our rights as tithers, we lay a foundation for success and abundance. Satan has no chance against us. Tithing the tithe rebukes the devourer! When we resist Satan in the Name of Jesus, God’s rebuke is in action. God told the Israelites their words were stout against Him. They were confessing lack and want. It is important to speak our redemption in order for the tithe to produce.

Ok, today we came to 10 essentials; you can read the first essentials here. If there is one that you yourself like to add, write it in a comment and we might come to 100 essentials for our spiritual growth and development. The power of choice is to act upon these truths and to be doers of the word is always at hand. Our life is truly choice driven.

Thank You For Your Reading!
Olga Hermans

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10 Essentials for Spiritual Growth and Development Pt1

January 18, 2011 by 1 Comment
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After reading so many New Years resolutions I kept thinking about our New Year’s “Spiritual” Resolutions that take care of our spiritual growth and development. We can call them our Christian New Year resolutions, but let’s emphasize on the spiritual side of our Christian walk.  There are probably many more than only 10 essentials; they could add up to 100 essentials or 50. We’ll see how far we get. Today we will not go further than 5 or  10. You know, Our choices have to line up with The Word of God.

1.    God must be your 1st priority in all areas of our life.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). You must give God first place in your life. Many people are typically crisis-oriented; they wait until a crisis develops before they do something about the issue.
The Spirit of God can lead and guide you if you will acknowledge him in all your ways first. He can lead you away from an environmental problem; he can lead you to the right room, the right place, the right building, and away from the wrong room, wrong place and wrong building.

The first thing you do is pray, Father, I want to thank you and acknowledge you in all my ways and that you may direct my path. Say, “Thank you Lord, your healing power flows in my body from the crown of my head to the very soles of my feet.” Before you do anything else, spend some time with God. You want God to be Number One in your life and if you put God first you’ll get his direction first. If you put him last, you’ll get his direction last.

2.    Putting God first means of course that we “Learn How To Pray And How To Talk To God”.
Click here for a great lesson on prayer. Everybody has a call to prayer. The Father longs for us to come to Him and talk to Him, to give us whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name. We tend to limit the great love and promises of our God. The Church (that means you and I) needs to learn that God intends that prayer have an answer. We have not yet fully conceived what God will do for the one who truly believes his prayer is heard.

3.    Fasting and Prayer.
Fasting without prayer is not fasting; that’s just dieting. You might want to know how to fast and pray effectively. There are many resources on the internet like awake21.org.  Jentezen Frankin is a pastor that calls many other churches and people to fast. There is a lot and it is not too late for you to start yet! The disciples asked the Lord, why they could heal a lunatic boy. Jesus said, “Because of your unbelief…Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” Matt.17:14-21. Faith needs prayer for its development and full growth, and prayer needs fasting for the same reason. Fasting has done wonders used in combination with prayer and faith.

4.    Live by faith.
The Bible says clearly the just shall live by faith.
Faith is like a house; it must be built on a strong foundation if it is going to stand tests and storms. Faith’s foundation is the Word of God. You cannot build a great faith life without it. The best part about this truth is that the Word of God will never fail. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that  believeth.” According to this and other verses in the Bible, what you believe determines what you receive from the Lord. In other words, your believing has a great effect on how and what you receive from God. Faith Is the Language of Heaven.

5.    Walk in love.
The God kind of love is full of kindness and is tenderhearted. Since God’s love is kind and tenderhearted, it  is always ready to forgive. Faith works by love.

First Corinthians 13:4–7 in the Amplified says,
“Love (I) endures long and is patient and kind; love (I) never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (I) (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love (I) bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”

If we would all practice this passage on a daily basis, we would live peaceful and productive lives. However, our flesh often gets in the way. Instead of ignoring injustices that are done to us, we want to get even. Instead of walking in love, we want to repay evil for evil.

Ok, today we came to 5 essentials, this week I will add five more to get to the 10 essentials. If there is one that you yourself like to add, write it in a comment and we might come to 100 essentials for ourspiritual growth and development. The power of choice is to act upon these truths and to be doers of the word is always at hand. Our life is truly choice driven.

Thank You For Your Reading!
Olga Hermans

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7 Common Thoughts in Marriage That Are Very Deceptive

January 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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How to Avoid Deception With These 7 Common Thoughts in Your Marriage? What causes a Christian man or woman to leave what appears to be a solid marriage of several years for an affair with another person which cost them everything. How come? How can we avoid deception? Noah Webster defines deceived as “when a person believes what is not truth to be truth…to be misled.” Here are 7 deceptive thoughts that many believers believe to be true in every marriage.

1. “A Good Marriage Is Always Exciting.”
Movies portray the romantic highs of love and reinforce the fallacy that the “in-love” feeling will last forever. And if it doesn’t…well, perhaps it’s time to move on to a “better” relationship. The real key to how to keep your marriage exciting is an act of the will, a choice to honor your commitment to another person. [Read more…]

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Excerpt of John G. Lake’s Book

January 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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The following excerpt is taken from John G. Lake, His Life His Sermons His Boldness of Faith.

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Some years later Clara Butts, the great prima donna, came to Africa. She was singing at the Wanderers Hall in Johannesburg. One evening after the concert, while being entertained at the hotel, I was introduced to her. She said to me, “Mr. Lake, I have been very anxious to meet you, for I have heard that among your people is a remarkable woman who receives music in the Spirit, apparently of a different realm than ours.” I said, “Yes, that is a fact.”

She inquired if it would be possible to meet her, and so a meeting was arranged. One evening we went to her hotel and as we sat down, Clara Butts said to the young lady, “I wish you would sit down and play some of the music I have heard about.” She did not understand that such music only came at such times as the Spirit came powerfully upon the woman. However, the young lady sat down at the piano. [Read more…]

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The Power Of Choice

January 14, 2011 by 2 Comments
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The Power Of Choice

by Olga Hermans

 

Have there been times in your life that you lay awake at night and couldn’t sleep? Looking at the ceiling and wondering what you life could have been if you had made some different choices? I know I did and I have some friends that did. You see, our life depends on our choices. Our steps are ordered by the Lord, that’s right!

Have you ever examined the choices and decisions you made and those you should have made? Have you ever considered why certain decisions were made? Why you did this or did not do that? What was the motivation that brought you to where you are today and why are you not somewhere else? Maybe you are disappointed in yourself about all the choices you made.

I think we all understand that God has not made us in the image of a robot; He made us in His image and He has given us a free will. A free will to choose for life and not for death. To take charge of your life takes courage to exercise your God-given difference.

In a sense we all wear masks; why do people wear masks? You can choose to be the person you want to be, but you are also the person that your family believes you are, you are the person in private that you really are, you are the person that you seek to hide from people and somewhere inside you are the person that you really would like to be.

Anyway, it is your life. Take ownership. Accept responsibility. Be honest with yourself.

You have the power to choose, because of your free will. The Power of Choice belongs to you!

We can keep wishing to discipline ourselves to make changes. We can do that right at the spot, or the following week, or the following month or even next year. It’s all up to us. But, we want change in our life; we have to start to use the power of choice that is given to us.

Nobody likes change; many of us have to walk up to a brick wall and in a way to be forced to make choices, otherwise we keep postponing and putting things of. We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. People need the truth.

We cannot keep on making the wrong choices day after day that will bring us in the wrong circumstances at the wrong time with the wrong people even. We must reevaluate our choices and then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

Be strong and take courage, rise up; you cannot fail. You only fail if you fail to do nothing. That in itself is a choice and life will give it back to you. YOU decide the process of making the right choices. This is the process: • Choose Your Thoughts, for they become Words • Choose Your Words, for they become Actions • Choose Your Actions, for they become Habits • Choose Your Habits, for they become Character • Choose Your Character, for it becomes Your Destiny. It all begins with your very own power of choice.

The Power of Choice will Change Your Life; Your Life Is Choice Driven!

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20 Reasons On How To Stop Worrying About Everything

January 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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20 Reasons On How To Stop Worrying About Everything

by Olga Hermans

 

Do you really, really want to stop worrying? You can’t expect to live worry-free if you don’t take time to pray and give your troubles to the lord. Cast all your anxiety on him; God will take it from you, but you got to give them to Him and you can’t give something to God if you’re not in His presence.

If you are reading this and you desire to know how to be in God’s presence; you can! Everybody is making choices in life every day, you can make that choice today. It’s the best choice you will ever make!

The bible says that God is a Spirit, so you have to communicate with Him through your own spirit and you do that when you pray and open yourself to Him. John 4:24

Worrying brings more problems into your life. If you want to get rid of them, you’ve got to make a choice to dive more into the Word of God in your private time because Rom.10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

You also have to pray. When you pray, start by worshipping God. This is a state of opening yourself up to God and recognizing his greatness. Tell God how much you appreciate Him. Tell Him what you are thankful for. Start to think on “bigness” of God. Whatever comes to your mind just let it out in worship to Him.

That frame of mind and openness of spirit will pop open your ability to receive and to release. You will gain peace and you will be able to let go of what is worrying you. The more you start to see God for what He really is – which is love – the more you will be able to release the habit of worrying. 1John4:18-19

Here are 20 reasons On How to stop worrying about everything from the Dakes Annotated Reference Bible:

  1. Worrying is sinful and produces fear.
  2. It is a disease causing other problems.
  3. It is borrowing trouble that cannot be paid back.
  4. It is brooding over what may not happen.
  5. It is creating trouble, misery and death.
  6. It is a burden borrowed from tomorrow and other who should carry it.
  7. It is a weight that kills prematurely.
  8. It is mental and physical suicide.
  9. It is a grave-digger that has no sympathy.
  10. It is needless and wastes time and effort that should be spent on worthwhile things.
  11. It is a robber of faith, peace and trust in a never-failing heavenly Father.
  12. It is a tumbling block to others
  13. It is a disgrace to God and should never be indulged in by Christians.
  14. It is anxiety over what is nothing today and less tomorrow, in view of faith.
  15. It is anticipating troubles which seldom come to those who trust God.
  16. It is tormenting over something that will likely be a blessing if it comes.
  17. It is living like an orphan without a heavenly Father.
  18. It is a crime against God, man, nature and better judgment.
  19. It is mental cruelty to self and others.
  20. It is foolish, for whatever is going to happen cannot be stopped by worry and if it doesn’t happen, there is nothing to worry about. Should adversities actually come, you will still be victorious by trusting in God.

So, how are you doing? Does this help you to get answers? I hope so for you the same as these were answer for me. I what area did it help you specifically?

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Herald Of His Coming

January 11, 2011 by 1 Comment
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The following excerpts are taken from Herald of His Coming:

A Divinely Empowered Church – To Save A Dying World!
— Fred D. Jarvis

A Burning, Bleeding World Needs Burdened, Burning Men

Revival will sweep away indifference, formality, selfishness, and fruitlessness. It will invariably put missions in its proper place and priority. Oh, that revival and prayer would become a passion with us! Our frigid souls need a new flame of Holy Ghost fire!

The Fire Must Fall Again!

Revival will never come until we reach a place of spiritual desperation. It is time for us to pay the full price of Pentecost. The need for worldwide empowerment and revival is urgent. The fire must fall again. God has promised to give us the desires of our hearts. Let us believe and pray, sacrifice and give, surrender and obey until “the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest” (Isa. 32:15). [Read more…]

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