September, 2006

Greetings from Brunswick!

I pray that you all have had a nice summer. It seems so hard to believe that it is just about over, and our children are back in school once again. Time sure does fly!

Let’s all take just a few minutes to pray for our young people of America. Let us pray for our schools, colleges and universities. Also, let us pray for the teachers and professors, who have such great influence over our young people. Last but not least, we must not forget to pray for the bus drivers, who transport so many of our young people, and the cafeteria workers who feed them. Always keep in mind that our children are targeted by the enemies of America. We must keep them bathed in prayer.

At the beginning of this season, we turn our attention to the Fall Feasts of the Lord. As we approach Rosh HaShana, we are in a season known as Teshuvah, which means "to repent and return". As the first blast of the shofar sounded on the first day of the month of Elul, it was a call to His people to awaken from their spiritual slumber, repent of their sins, and return to Yahweh. The forty days following that first trumpet blast is a time for His people to examine their hearts and their deeds. Pray heart rending prayers of forgiveness, and make things right with anyone they might have hurt or offended in any way.

Thirty days in to this time of soul searching and repentance begins Rosh HaShanah, which means "Head of the Year." It falls in the month of Tishrei, which means a time of ‘judgment and forgiveness". The first blast of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is to remind the people of their acceptance of the Torah, and their responsibility to it. It is also a reminder to repent and return to Yahweh, and to herald the coming of the Messiah. As believers, we should do likewise!

The ancient observance of Rosh HaShanah is often referred to as "The Feasts of Trumpets". It is the time for sounding the trumpets, (shofars) in the Temple and throughout the Land. How I pray that this year, shofars will sound all across America and Israel, calling His people to awaken, repent, and return to the Lord before it is too late.

The shofar is blown 100 times each day of Rosh HaShanah, and it is very important that everyone hear the sound of the shofar, for it serves as a reminder before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

I’ve had so many people ask me why the shofar is blown as it is. Shofars are blown for many reasons. Just to name a few, it is blown to gather an assembly before the Lord, as a call to prayer, as a battle alarm, to put the enemies of God to flight, and to announce the coronation of a new king.

At some point in time on Rosh HaShanah, many will go to a body of water, and as an ‘act of purification’ pull their pockets inside out and throw crumbs and pebbles in to the water, symbolic of throwing off any sins which are still clinging to them. Others will participate in a Mikvah, by completely immersing themselves in the water.

During the ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the people continue to repent and prepare themselves for what is coming. This is a time of ‘refining and cleansing’ through the fire of Yahweh’s judgments.

This time is known as the "Days of Awe".

On Yom Kippur, the people participate in a total fast, and stay silent before the Lord from sundown to sundown. It is a very precious, quiet time before the Lord. At the end of the fast they break it together in the synagogue, eating food that was prepared in advance of the special day.

Kippur comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘to cover’. Therefore the word ‘atonement’ simply means a "covering". The atonement or covering consisted of a blood sacrifice of an innocent animal.

On Yom Kippur we believers should humble ourselves before Abba and thank Him for the gift of His Son, and the precious blood covering which He provided for us, once and for all. Yeshua, the precious Lamb of God, who takes away our sin. To God be the glory!

The day following Yom Kippur, families become very busy with building and decorating their succas for the last of the Fall Feast Days, Sukkot, which comes five days later. They eat their meals and socialize in their succas, singing and sharing the Word of God, and some sleep out in their succas. The ‘succa’ was their hastily built housing in the wilderness.

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) is a very joyous holiday.

Sukkot is a joyous holiday for two reasons. First of all, it commemorates God’s goodness and provision in days past, when the children of Israel were making their sojurn through the wilderness.

Also, it commemorates His goodness and provision at the present time, for the holiday comes at the completion of the harvest. It is a time for celebrating and giving thanks for the way He has provided and cared for all of us this past year. Let us all rejoice before Him, bless Him, and thank Him.

In Israel the celebration is so much greater than here in the US. The Rabbis will take the Torah Scrolls, and with their congregation following them, dance all the way through town until they arrive at the Western Wall. In the evening they put lights up on poles and dance at the wall. There is one morning when the men come together at the wall to receive the priestly blessing. Then on the last day of the holidays they gather together to pray for rain. This is known as Simchat Torah.

I could go on and on sharing how they celebrate in Israel, but I’ve shared enough to give you a bit of an overview of the Fall Feasts of the Lord, and why the Lord is telling all of us, who are believers in Yeshua, that we should be celebrating them, too. They are His appointed times for us to holiday with Him.

Many of us will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Macon, GA, September 29^th thru October 1^st at the Macon City Auditorium. Paul Wilbur will be leading worship. For additional info: (828) 669-8411.

"To Awaken, To Warn and To Prepare"

"The last few weeks, I have been hearing the Lord say, "To Awaken, To Warn, and To Prepare". He said to awaken those from slumber, to warn those who will listen, and prepare ourselves for what is coming. It will come in a very short time. Our lives are about to be radically changed!

Everything is about to be shaken! The time is urgent! Awaken your house!

Warn your neighbors! It is time to fill your lamps with oil!

"Several years ago I had a dream and remember it clearly. I heard the word, "mandate". The Lord instructed me to have a wooden machine built that is essentially like an hour glass with the framework, but without the hourglass, and instead a wooden hammer in its place.

"The Lord impressed upon me the name of a friend, the one who will build this machine when it is time. It is to be portable, and in the dream the Lord told me that I was to take this with me when I visited other parts of the Body of Christ.

"I was to place an egg under where the hammer would fall, and allow the hammer to fall upon the egg. I said, "Lord, this will make a tremendous mess. Perhaps I should wrap this machine with plastic to contain the egg.

"The Lord said, "No, you must allow the hammer to come down upon the egg and make the mess! Then you must tell My people that this is what will happen when they disobey Me. The anointing is as fragile as an egg. When they do not obey Me, they will break the anointing, and it will result in a huge mess!"

Note: In Luke 5:4-6, Jesus is speaking to Simon Peter saying, "launch out in to the "DEEP" (get out of your comfort zone) and let down your *nets* (plural). Simon Peter responds, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your Word I will let down the *net *(singular). "And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

Jesus was not trying to make Simon Peter a better fisherman, or trying to bless him with fish. He was trying to teach them that disobedience would cause great loss. If we back up for a moment, in Mark 1:17, when Jesus first came to Simon and Andrew and said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you Fishers of Men" the lesson was, "through obedience, they would have the anointing to become fishers of men."

In John 21:3 we see a similar situation. The apostles had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. In verse 5 Jesus is on the shoreline asking the apostles if they had any food. They answered Him, "No", and He said to them, "Cast down your net on the right side of the boat, and you shall find some. They obeyed the Lord and were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. The net did not break and the "Harvest" was great and through obedience there was no loss.

What made the difference in their response? Their faith had strengthened and matured because they now knew the power of His Resurrection!

Note: If we are not teachable, we will never feel His touch, never explore His goodness, never experience the fullness of His love, never dive in to the depths of His revelation, and never know the glory of His Presence. He only promotes those who have been faithful and obedient with small things. Above all He wants our obedience. Obedience is directly tied to faith, and without faith it is impossible to please Him.

In the very near future, obedience will not just be a matter of provision, but life and death. The revival that we have sought for so long is coming. The Lord, though, full of mercy, will begin the cleansing in His House. We are entering a new season, where the price of disobedience will be great loss. "Obedience is God’s only method of protection in our lives."

This Word Received from Steve Grable 8/28/06

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As I began to question Him about this, He stated His case, and I witnessed His fury! He said that many have profaned His Holy Name! He said He despises their pride and arrogance! Many have rejected the Holy Spirit, and those whom He has sent to minister under the anointing of His Spirit. Many have rejected His women, refusing to allow them to take their place in ministry. Many have refused to allow intercessors to function within their congregations. He spoke of the greedy prosperity preachers. He also spoke of the serious error of the Replacement Theology teachers, and those who war against Israel and her people, His brethren, the Jews. He did not tell me what is going to come against them, but I can tell you that it is going to be horrible. Whatever it is will cause sheep to flee, running in every direction. Nevertheless, He said that it must be! There is no other way for He has warned and warned, but they refuse to listen and obey.

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"A few weeks ago I had a picture of a man laying up against a stone wall, with his head slumped over to the right, sound asleep with a nice big loaf of bread as his pillow. It was so clear that I could almost smell the warm fresh bread. I asked the Lord what it was about and He replied with a verse from Isaiah 62. "I have placed watchmen on the walls, but many have become so comfortable with the many good things I have given them that they have fallen asleep. Shout to them, "Watchmen, WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

"The Lord said that time is very short! While the watchmen have slept, the enemy has breached the wall. He has come in to the camp and done much damage to the Body of Messiah, and much damage to Israel. He went on to tell me that the bread is His Word, and many in the earth hunger to eat of this bread, for when they do, they shall see My Light, and come out of darkness. He told me there is much bread available. We need not fear for we will eat, too, and be full as we begin to feed and stretch out our hand to those who are hungry. He is telling us to take up our places, for He is about to multiply and fill our arms with bread.

"He went on to say, "Go, feed My sheep, those not yet of My flock, for they are hungry. Open your eyes, Watchmen, and I will show you all you need to see. Sound the alarm on My Holy Mountain! Blow the shofar, for the time is short. The camp must be awake and prepared, for the time is very near."

This Word received from Simantov Allalouf 8/28/06

John the Baptist

The Lord has asked me to share a little bit about some of the spiritual qualities of the preacher He dearly loved. He once said of John the Baptist, "Truly I say unto you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist." (Mathew 11:11a)

He also said, when speaking to the multitudes, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see, a reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see, a man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in King’s courts. What did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet."

There is no more common sight along the Jordan, than reeds blowing in the breezes. So, what Jesus was saying here was that John was no ordinary sight. He did not vacillate! He was as immoveable as a mighty tree.

Although John’s ministry best represents that of prophet and evangelist, the spiritual qualities found in this man are appropriate for any minister of the Gospel. He never tried to be something that he was not called to be. He knew his calling and pursued it!

When Jesus sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John to ask, "Who are you?" John said, "I am not the Christ!" Then they asked him if he was Elijah, and he said "No I am not!" They asked him, "Are you the prophet?" Again John said, "No!" Finally they said, "Who are you so we can give an answer to the one who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" To that John said, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord" as Isaiah the prophet said. (John 1:19-23).

The second quality that we need to look at is the fact that John called the people to repentance. He called them to turn away from a life of sin and turn to a life of righteousness. John knew that a relationship with God begins with repentance. He made sure that the people understood where they were going for all eternity, if they didn’t have a change of heart and actions. Jesus certainly approved of John’s message, for it was the same one that He preached wherever He went.

John certainly didn’t fit the picture of the modern ‘prosperity preachers’. In fact, they would never have allowed someone who dressed as John did on the platform in their church building, because he didn’t give the appearance of one who was successful. John was a true man of God, who had no interest in pursuing earthly treasures, or impressing people with his outward appearance, knowing that God looks at the heart.

He lived simply, and his lifestyle caused no one to stumble, for they could see that his motives were not money. How this stands in contrast with so many ministers around the world, who use the Gospel primarily for personal gain. They do so misrepresenting Jesus, and do great damage to His Kingdom.

John loved people enough to tell them the truth. He would never assure an unrepentant person that he was on his way to Heaven. He never compromised his message either. As more and more people were coming to him to be baptized, and he noticed that it was becoming quite popular to be baptized, he feared many were just going along for the ride, and so he did all he could to keep them from being self deceived. He knocked over any props that supported their deception. He warned them that true repentance brings forth the fruit of obedience. Also, many of the Jews considered themselves to be saved because of their lineage from Abraham.

John very quickly exposed the fallacy of that hope.

John was not afraid to speak about Hell, a subject that is very much avoided by those preachers who are trying to win a popularity contest, rather that win souls for God’s Kingdom. He was not afraid to declare the very same theme that was in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, ‘only the holy inherit God’s Kingdom’.

Even though John was mightily used of God, and became very popular with the multitudes, he always remained humble, and exalted the Lord. "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matt. 3:11). "He must increase, but I must decrease!" (John 3:30).

John’s self-appraisal stands in contrast to the arrogance that is all too often flaunted by ministers today. Many of them parade like peacocks across the platforms, exalting themselves in the eyes of their followers. They are untouchable and unreachable, filled with their own self importance. However, John had no desire for self-exaltation.

John went before the Lord to prepare His way before Him. He called for men to turn from formality and hypocrisy to righteousness and reality.

He pleaded with them to repent! He preached boldly and fearlessly. He was strong and uncompromising. He was a God pleaser!

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*Ramadan* this year begins on September 24^th and ends on October 23^rd . Let us pray that through this holiday the Lord will move with power throughout the Muslim world to reveal Himself to those who will repent and turn to Him, to foil the evil plots of those who will not, and remove the troublemakers.

*Revival *- Let us pray for the Church to awaken and begin to pray for a spirit of conviction and repentance to fall all across America before it is too late.

Pray that they will all begin to deal with reality.

Let us pray for these dear ones for they are making the transition during very difficult times. May the Lord bless them, and make them a blessing to His Land and His people. Let us pray for all those who have lost loved ones in the war, and those who have been maimed. Pray, too, for all who have been displaced. It is so sad!

*TBN *has just cancelled "Zola Levitt Presents" effective today, just as they cancelled Hal Lindsey’s "International Intelligence Briefing" in January of 2006. They have made the statement that both programs were too Pro-Israel and Anti-Arab. They do not want any criticism of Islam.

The Christian Network is in the process of modifying all of its programming to be suitable for broadcasting to Arab countries. Most Arab Christians are Catholic. TBN has been under a lot of criticism lately for promoting Roman Catholic doctrines and dogma, including purgatory, as well as the Queen of Heaven and/or Mother Mary on their online Book Store.

I checked the listings myself and saw "Our Lady Came to Fatima", "Rosary Novenas to Our Lady", "Saint Juan Diego: And Our Lady of Guadalupe", and many, many more. I do not understand why so many ministers believe that they must compromise the truth of God’s Holy Word to win souls for His Kingdom. Compromise will not get the job done, but will bring ruination to those doing the compromising.

Humor is the Best Medicine

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls President Bush and tells him:

"President Bush, I called you because I had a dream."

Bush: "What was the dream about, Ahmadinejad?"

Ahmadinejad: "I dreamed the USA was rebuilt and on the top of each house was a flag."

Bush: "And what was written on the flag?"

Ahmadinejad: "Allah Akbar!" (God is Great)

Bush: "You know what, Mahmoud, its good that you called because I had a dream, too. In my dream Iran was rebuilt and on the top of each building there was a flag, too"

Ahmadinejad: "What was written on the flags?"

Bush: "I don’t know, I can’t read Hebrew!"

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*Thank You! *As I’ve traveled this month, I want to thank Marion Shin for her warm hospitality, and also Kin and Debbie Clark. You all are precious and have so blessed my heart! I am so thankful!

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who support this ministry in prayer and with your finances. I also want to thank those of you who have helped me personally. I am so grateful! Only God knows how grateful! Because of your support we have been able to bless so many people. We were able to bless our soldiers, as well as the IDF. We were able to bless the medics in Israel, who are on the front lines transporting the dead and the maimed. Also, we were able to bless many who were holed up in bomb shelters for such a long time. We were still able to send our support for the widows and orphans in several countries as well as to those ministries and missionaries that we support on a monthly basis. I am so grateful that you co-labor with us. Together we are able to do so much more!

Shalom & Blessings! Myrna