We Want a King!

The timing of the death of Michael Jackson has not been lost on me. Satan laughs gleefully, I believe, as the majority of the American population will stay distracted by watching all the media hype and all the videos of the "King of Pop" for hours, days and weeks. While they are distracted by the idols of media and entertainment, the elitists of the New World Order can move ahead full steam in pushing through such horrendous legislation as the "Climate Bill" - a 1200-page bill that nobody in Congress has apparently even read, and that will cost our families dearly. While we watch Michael Jackson videos and consume ourselves with his death, the death of our country proceeds without even so much as a squeak of objection. It all became so real to me when I read this week's Haf Torah portion in 1 Samuel chapters 11-12.

The prophet Samuel had warned the people of Israel against wanting a human king instead of trusting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be their king. But they didn't listen. They wanted "change!" And they got change. They got King Saul, who became so obsessed with his own power and glory that the people of Israel suffered greatly at the hand of their enemies. Saul said to them, "When you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us - even though Yahweh your God was your king. Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, Yahweh has set a king over you. If you fear Yahweh and serve Him and do not rebel against His commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow Yahweh your God - good! But if you do not obey Yahweh, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you as it was against your fathers. Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon Yahweh to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of Yahweh when you asked for a king. " (1 Samuel 12:12-17).

When I was in Kansas last week we drove through a lot of wheat fields, and one thing became quickly obvious to me. There has been too much rain! Just as in Colorado, they have had an unusually wet spring, and the crops are poor, many of them too wet to cut or to survive. I have lived in Colorado now for 25 years, and NEVER have I seen so much rain or heard so much thunder! The parallel is unavoidable.

When the people of this nation were unhappy they asked for a king - a human king, not the King of kings! They look to King Obama and the government to be their savior - and the result for us is the same as it was for Israel. But we're so busy watching "king" Michael Jackson and whatever other idols the media wants to hype that we don't even realize the danger we are in for rejecting our True Messiah and failing to repent. In Samuel Chapter 12, the people heard the warning of the prophet and they repented. "Then Samuel called upon Yahweh and that same day He sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, 'Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die; for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.' 'Do not be afraid,' Samuel replied. 'You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from Yahweh, but serve Him with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of His Great Name, Yahweh will not reject His people, because He was pleased to make you His own."

If we would turn away from worshiping Obama, and Jackson, and whatever other useless idols we have placed above the Lord our God, would He not do the same for us? He is pleased to make us His own! Yet, this true, from-the-heart repentance has not occurred in our nation. In fact, we are increasingly becoming a nation that is utterly turning away from all God's commands and professing universalism instead of teaching that Yeshua haMashiach (our Lord Jesus Christ) is the ONLY Way, the Truth, and the Life! And so the rain continues to fall, the wheat continues to die, and the Thunder of His Voice continues to warn us: "I will send thunder and rain, and you will realize what an evil thing you did in My eyes in asking for a king." Is anyone listening?

River of Life

One of the biggest mistakes I make in my relationship with the Living God is thinking I can predict when and where He will show up. He truly is mysterious and a God of creative surprises!

This past week I traveled to Winfield, Kansas where I have ministered several times before. Crossroads Community Church in Winfield is a nondenominational church that is not well-known or famous and is actually located out in the country in an obscure, abandoned school building. But it has not been hidden from the Holy Spirit. He is alive and well there, and He visited us in power this past Saturday evening.

A local summer concert series named "River of Life Concerts" was being hosted by Crossroads this past weekend, and since I was already there to lead a women's retreat, they put me on the concert schedule to sing a few of my original songs. After teaching and leading worship all day Saturday I was pretty well spent, and I confess I went to the concert with little to no enthusiasm. I sat on the back row while the first two acts performed, and I prayed a small prayer that Father would get my heart right and remind me that I was there to give HIM my worship.

The first act was a rock 'n roll trio with a loud guitar and a few shouted lyrics. Again I wondered, "Lord, what am I doing here?" About 20 people had trickled into the sanctuary that seats over 200. When it was my turn I went up and sang my three songs, praying that someone would be blessed in my offering. At the end of the concert an unusually excellent folk/bluegrass trio came up and thrilled us all with their vocal harmonies and masterful guitar playing. Still, I wondered what this could be all about!

At the close of the concert the organizer came up on the stage and asked all the artists to come up and do a closing "jam session." Obediently I went forward, but I stayed near the back, not knowing what on earth we would all do to "jam" together since our music had been so totally diverse. We began with a couple of old country gospel favorites that everyone would know. And then it happened. It happened in this place and time and situation that I would have least expected it to happen! A man who is an incredibly gifted, powerful worship leader stepped up to the keyboard and began to play "Here I Am to Worship." The guitars were gently laid on the floor, and we all began to quietly sing to our King. Then the music flowed into the grand strains of "I Exalt Thee" and the Holy Spirit began to descend upon us in that heaviness that can only be described as the "weightiness - the kabod" of God.

The people on the stage as well as the people in the audience moved from praise into deep worship of the heart. Finally the kabod - the glory of God - got so heavy that I was no longer able to stand, and I fell to my knees, covering my head and face with a scarf in His Presence. When the song finished, nobody was able to move for a bit. We had truly been visited by the Presence of the Living God, and we were in awe.

When I laid my head on my pillow that night I asked the Lord to forgive me. How dare I make presuppositions about this small, seemingly insignificant "River of Life" concert out in the cornfield? He will cause HIS river of Life to flow wherever and whenever He chooses. And my heart is still bowed low before Him in awe and gratitude that He allowed me to be there when He came!

May we be a people who seek Him - and watch for Him - in even the most unlikely places! And may the places of worship in this nation soon be filled to overflowing with a people who want His Presence more than they want entertainment or sports or sleep...or their next breath.

The Warning Buzzer

Oh, that now all-too-familiar sound on the radio, "aaah, aaaah, aaaah!" It is an ominous sounding warning, a loud, piercing buzzer, that causes you stop whatever you are doing and tune in. We've been trained from our youth to recognize that sound on radio and television as impending disaster or emergency. It seems to scream, "Pay attention! Keep watch!"I know Colorado isn't the only place in the nation that has experienced that warning signal a lot over the past two weeks. Today makes nine straight days of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings in my town. A beloved sister in Texas just sent me photos of her house with the roof blown off. I believe God is training us to watch the skies, even as Yahshua warned us to do in Scripture. In this past hour when the radio blasted the warning signal I went outside, as I always do, to gaze at the westward sky - and once again in my spirit I heard this Scripture from Matthew 16:1-3: "The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times."Today I believe the Lord is saying to us that we can expect the appearance of the sky to speak more to us than a weather forecast. Yes, I can see that the clouds are dark and ominous. But I must ask myself, what is Yahweh speaking through the thunder? What is He displaying in the lightning? I believe His voice is thundering a warning to us that goes well beyond taking cover or making sure our house insurance is paid up! Today in the rumbling thunder I hear, "Have you made ME your covering? Are you living your life for Me or for yourself? Do you trust Me to be with you in the midst of the storm or are you in panic and fear? Am I your insurance plan, or do you put all your faith in the plans of man? Are you searching the sky for the appearance of storms or do you search it for MY appearing, looking up with joyful anticipation in your heart?"

In other words, CAN YOU NOT INTERPRET THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES?

To be sure there are dire times ahead of us. Far too many prophetic people are warning of a major earthquake to occur this summer, probably in connection with our dividing up the land of Israel. If our President persists in doing this, we can be sure the God of Israel will answer. But we also know He is a God of great mercy, and I am equally certain that the storms all across our nation are the warnings of the Righteous King who calls many to repent, deny themselves and their own lustful desires, and pursue the Way that leads to eternal life.

What is the Way? To answer that question puts me on the side of the "right-wing-religious extremists," I guess; because I answer that question in Jesus' words: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by ME." (John 14:6)

End-Times Instruction!

We are enduring a rash of severe thunderstorms and tornado activity here in Colorado this week. The lightning has been more active than a fireworks show, and the wind, hail and ominous funnel clouds have been unsettling to say the least!

Last night as one of these severe storms passed directly over the town where our little group had gathered to pray, we had an incredible experience with the LORD. Geri went to the front of the house and I went out onto the back deck. We stretched out our hands and in the name of Yahshua, the Deliverer, we commanded the storm to leave at once! We checked the local TV station and the warnings were out for everyone to take shelter, so we obediently went into the basement where we sat at a small card table and bowed our heads to pray. The Holy Spirit came to us with the sweetest, most gentle Presence, and He directed us to a passage in the Word, which He said would be our "end times instruction."

What do you consider "end times instruction?" Most of us think about the storing of food, perhaps having a weapon and ammunition, or perhaps having a bag packed so that we can be prepared to flee our homes. This is not what the Holy Spirit wanted to show us. He took us to 1 Peter 4:7-10: "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

Take this passage sentence by sentence and meditate upon it. I think you will be as amazed as we were to find that God's end-times instruction for is simple, gentle, and quiet. It is not fearful or difficult! We need clear minds and self-control so that we can pray - just as we experienced in the midst of the storm yesterday. We need to love one another deeply, even when it is not convenient or what our flesh wants to do. We need to open our homes, our food, our provision to those in need - without complaining about it! (I am so blessed right now to have a family of six in my small home, sharing food and hospitality with them until they find jobs and house to live in. The obedience is bringing blessings!) Lastly, the Spirit says we are to use whatever gift we have to serve others. We don't all have the same gifts, but we all have one (1 Corinthians 12).

As we see the end times upon us, and we see so many people begin to suffer mentally, physically and spiritually, we can take this passage from 1 Peter 4 to heart! There will be much to do to reach out to the suffering with love, with hospitality, and with spiritual gifts. And in the midst of the chaos that will break out all around us, we must stay clear-minded and self-controlled so that we can pray.

Last night - while we quietly prayed - the storm dissipated and left the area. No hail damaged our cars or homes, no tornado touched the ground. It was quiet - in the Shadow of El Shaddai.

Jerusalem The Stumbling Block

I write this on the eve of President Obama's long-awaited speech from Cairo, Egypt. Journalists from all sources seem to agree that the purpose of this speech is to "improve U.S. relations with Muslim nations." In truth, I beileve that this speech carries much heavier weight and significance than that. We have only to compare the most recent news articles on this subject with biblical prophecy to gain a startling revelation of what is really happening with Obama's proposed Middle East policy.

On May 21, 2009 Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, went on record saying, "A unified Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem always has been and always will be ours and it will never again be divided." This was followed the next day by a statement from French Foreign Ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux: "The international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the city's status is a stumbling block in negotiations with the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state."

If you know Scripture, that statement should make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and the Spirit within you leap a mile! Through the prophet Zechariah the LORD God has spoken, "In that day I will make Jerusalem a stumbling block for all people; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth gather against it." (Zechariah 12:3). The LORD goes on in that chapter to warn, "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerualem." In Joel 3:2 Yahweh also gives strong warning against those that "divide My Land."

Harold Smith recently wrote, "It is not coincidental that Obama will deliver his Cairo speech to align the U.S. with the Muslim world on June 4, the very day the Six-Day War began in 1967, which resulted in Israel exerting her sovereignty over Jerusalem three days later on June 7, and thus fulfilled the times of the Gentiles spoken by Yeshua in Luke 21:24. That the United States is buying into Arab demands puts it squarely in the face of consequential disaster because it is the God of Israel who is defending this Land." (Please go to http://www.hethathasanear.com/ to read this entire, powerfully prophetic article).

The God of Israel has spoken and He watches over His Word to accomplish it. In the next few days we will be crossing over a spiritual threshold, and I believe we will see more prophecy fulfilled. The only question remaining is, "Are you on the right side of that threshold? Do you know Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ) as the Lord and Savior of your life?" If not, this would be a good time to bow the knee before the Righteous King, who is coming to reign forever in Jerusalem, the city that bears HIS NAME.