All posts filed under: z174

A cocoon is not a tomb: A prophetic word about the Coronavirus

Published by

A recent prophetic word by Nate Johnston has encouraged me during these last stages of the COVID lockdown. For a while now, my husband and I have sensed that things may be different for the church and the people of God when we are finally released from this lockdown or maybe  ‘set free’ is a better term to use. Nate Johnston is a prophetic minster from Australia who I have been following for years. Nate’s recent prophetic word “This is not a tomb season, This is a cocoon season” has helped me understand the place many of us are finding ourselves in — spiritually confused, frightened, disorientated and maybe a bit angry.  For many of us, it feels like we have been locked up in a dark place for too long and the glimmer of hope that it may soon be over has many wondering what’s next?  Things may not be the same. We are not the same and how do we prepare for this new stage that has been set before us?  Nate prophesies …

3,500 California Churches will reopen on May 31st with or without permission

Published by

Churches in California are being impacted by government mandated lockdowns and 3,500 churches in that state announced they are reopening with or without government permission. Many are concerned that the lockdowns implemented by the state and municipal governments may go on for months, if not indefinitely. In an interview with Good Morning America, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that the lock down in his city may never end. This announcement followed an order by LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, that she was extending the city’s stay-at-home order another three months. Garcetti quickly contradicted Ferrer’s statement by adding the extension to the end of August will only include the use of face masks and social distancing. Garcetti did not address bans put on public gatherings that includes schools and churches. But then Garcetti added that “LA will never completely open until we have a cure.” Some believe the Democratic mayor plans to keep the city in some version of a lock down until a vaccine is found, that …

Why is there a wire surrounding an area of Manhattan?

Published by

Many people don’t realize there is a string of wire encircling a large part of Manhattan Island in New York. It is strung along posts 15 feet (4.57 m) high off the ground. Why? Well it allows Orthodox Jews to go outside their homes on the Sabbath. In the Mosaic Law, the Jews were told to rest on the Sabbath day. This of course resulted in a big discussion on what it meant to rest and more specifically what was work. This resulted in the development of a series of oral laws, where Jewish teachers provided specific details on what was allowed and not allowed under the Mosaic law. This included regulations surrounding the Sabbath. These were eventually written down in what is referred to as the Mishnah. There were different versions of these oral and written laws, and in the fourth century, they were eventually gathered into a single written record called the Talmud. Today, it involves of a multi-volume set that compiles hundreds of additional rules Jews need to obey in order to …

Spiritual Warfare #4: Who am I?

Published by

There are two sections of the Bible that many people use as keys to victory in spiritual warfare. These are the Armour of God section in Ephesians 6: 11-18 and the resist verse in James 4: 7. According to them if I put on the full of armour of God and resist the devil, I will have victory. Yet, there are times in which this does not appear to happen. So how can we have victory every single time we battle the devil? The first thing to know about any Bible verse is that the words are not just some powerful enchantment. They must be believed to be true. That is where faith comes in. We must choose to resist or put on the armor. That’s where our mind comes in. The Bible is full of advice on spiritual warfare. Every single book in the Bible mentions it in one form or the other. In fact, it is the sword of truth in Ephesians 6. A sword is a great weapon but it is only …

Israel and Egypt: The future does not look good

Published by

While the whole world is focusing on the Coronavirus Pandemic, there is other news. Some interesting things are happening in the world, and there are lessons that we could miss. As I write this, Muslims are in their month of Ramadan which according to the information I have runs this year from April 23 to May 23. About 1.8 billion people are counted as Muslim, and this year’s Ramadan is complicated with the restrictions of a pandemic lock down. A few years ago, I worked as a trainer for a bus company, and that meant I drove a school bus when a driver phoned in sick; and someone always phoned in. One morning I drove some children for a bilingual Arabic-English program, so they were from immigrant families from the Middle East. I heard two little girls talking behind me, about ‘those people’ which meant people like me. One little girl said “and they don’t have Ramadan!” They both seemed shocked by this information. That was a lesson for me; these people take their beliefs …

So who plays the thugs in this modern Broadway remake of the Good Samaritan?

Published by

The parable of the good Samaritan involves a man who went out of his way to help a person who had been attacked by thugs, robbed and basically left unconscious on the side of the road. Several people walked around the man, before the good Samaritan arrived, bandaged the man’s wounds and then transported him to a nearby inn and paid for the man’s stay until he was healed (Luke 10:25-37). Based on this story, Samaritan’s Purse, an organization currently headed by Franklin Graham, provides financial and medical assistance to areas hit by disaster. They will bring in doctors and nurses and provide medical aid at no charge to anyone who needs it. So when officials at New York’s City’s Mount Sinai Health System called Samaritan’s Purse for help in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, the organization immediately responded. At no charge to New York City or the state, Samaritan’s Purse set up a 68 person field hospital in Central Park and immediately began treating people. In an interview with Faithwire, Franklin Graham said: …

Is the Age of the Gentiles About to End?

Published by

GOD TV, an evangelical organization out of England, has just received approval to preach the Gospel of Jesus in Hebrew on a cable channel in Israel. GOD TV recently signed a seven-year deal with HOT to distribute a new Christian channel entitled “SHELANU TV” (translated “Ours TV” in English). HOT controls about 50% of the Israeli cable market. Before this could happen, HOT had to receive permission from Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council that regulates cable TV in Israel. According to Ward Simpson, GOD TV’s CEO, their organization believes this will be the first time, that this type of broadcasting has been allowed. While other Christian channels are broadcasting on cable channels in English, this will be the first one that broadcasts in Hebrew. The English broadcasts are largely watched by the thousands of English-speaking Christians in Israel. The significance of a Christian organization broadcasting its message in Hebrew has certainly caught the attention of the media, as it showed up on several major Israeli news site. Haaratz reported the new with this headline: …

Is China’s Communist Regime Paving the Way for the ‘Harlot of Babylon’?

Published by

ChinaAid has just recently released a video of a violent attack on a church in China by the country’s communist regime. ChinaAid is a Christian non-profit that focuses on human rights abuses in China. In their description of the video, ChinaAid writes: “In a video taken at the scene, officers and attendees of Xingguang Church shout as they engage in a physical altercation. As they block the entrance, officials drag a Christian to the door, with other congregants fighting along with him.” Aside from the violence, what is disturbing is the reason for the attack. The church is considered illegal because it was not part of the Communist Regime’s Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). Churches (including house churches) are required by law to be a part of the Three-Self movement. The Communist regime uses the Three-Self movement to control the Gospel message by inserting itself into choosing the Church leadership. The Gospel message is still being preached in some Three-Self churches, if the original pastor is still in charge. However, when he leaves, retires or dies, …

Religious Arguments: When you are just not good enough

Published by

I’m a Christian and I know what that means. I know, but most of the world seems to know what I should be. Whatever you believe, other people will try to make you into what they want you to be. You might hear ‘You people should …’ They have a preferred image for people like you and you are wrong if you don’t do follow the program. Unmarried marriage counsellors don’t play the game, but they do make the rules. When I was a student in a university, I took a course from a professor that we all liked. He was an excellent teacher, and we all enjoyed learning with him. He also talked openly about his connections with a church, and my family went to a church; I thought we had something in common. One day I had an appointment in his office, and after we finished talking about my assignment, I told him that my family went to … church. I expected a smile, at least. I still remember that severe look on …