Trust like Nicky…

“NICKY, JESUS LOVES YOU!”
by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

I am not against using modern methods in ministry. We employ many such things
in our ministry but we do not receive our direction from these “ministry
tools.” We spend time on our knees, seeking the Lord for direction in every
area of outreach. Yet, prayer is a lost practice among many ministries today.
They rely on computers and modern methods rather than on Christ.

Today, “experts” have taken over the reins of the church. Sin is seen in
psychological terms and called a “disease.” A drug addict is said to have a
“weakness.” Altars have been replaced with counseling rooms. Prophets of
holiness have been replaced by psychologists and social workers spouting the
latest man-centered jargon. In short, Jesus is being dethroned—and Freud is
being exalted.

Fifty years ago God led me to start a ministry to drug addicts and alcoholics
in New York City. We had no money and no how-to books, only total dependence on
the Holy Spirit. A sign in our offices read, “No one shines here—only the Holy
Ghost!” During our chapel services, we prayed, “Lord, our help isn’t in
psychology or psychiatry, but in the Holy Spirit. We can’t work on the head
unless you change the heart!”

Nicky Cruz, one of the first gang members we encountered, was a killer at
heart. A psychiatrist we knew took an interest in his case. After spending an
entire day with Nicky, the psychiatrist decided Nicky was incorrigible,
hopeless. (Little did this man know that Nicky delighted in confusing all “head
doctors.”)

Yet Jesus had other plans for Nicky, and Christ accomplished in five minutes
what the experts said could not be done. Nicky was not psychoanalyzed; his head
wasn’t examined. No, God sent an arrow into his heart and that arrow was the
truth of the gospel: “Nicky, Jesus loves you!”

In a single moment, out went Nicky’s heart of stone, replaced with a heart of
flesh. Nicky wept, hugging us all. He was supernaturally transformed by the
power of God after society’s experts had written him off.

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22266?src=devo-email

No Paycheck?

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

THE PAYDAY
by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

I want to give you four tragic results that befall those who dethrone the Lord.

1.  “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself”
(Hosea 10:1).

Everyone in Israel was looking out for himself and the result was total
emptiness. Hosea was speaking to believers, showing them a picture of what
happens to all who dethrone the Lord in their lives. Such people become selfish
and miserable and their every pursuit ends in emptiness.

2.  “Their heart is divided . . . he shall break down their altars, he
shall spoil their images” (verse 2).

Our nation’s heart is divided. Americans pay lip service to God and religion,
but they do not worship the Lord in truth. That has led directly to the
breakdown of all our hallowed institutions. When you lose faith in God and
place your trust in something else, that thing becomes an idol. This is
happening in our nation today. Our society no longer trusts God, turning
instead to the government, the President, the educational system, Social
Security—all to try to find some kind of stability. God is saying, “If you
won’t trust Me, I’ll make all your trusted institutions fail.”

3.  “Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity . . . because
thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men” (verse 13).

Hosea is saying, “You stopped trusting in the Lord and now you’re going to reap
a harvest of iniquity!” Humankind today is sophisticated, educated,
knowledgeable. We have dethroned God—rejecting the Bible and prayer—and
enthroned science, psychology and education. Yet, I ask you: What has been the
harvest? What has all our sophisticated learning brought us?

4.  “We have no king, because we feared not the Lord” (verse 3).

Hosea was a prophet over Israel, but when Israel’s backsliding began, he was
powerless to stop the loss of faith. His words carried no authority. Whenever
he spoke, the people merely shook their heads and said, “We have no leadership,
no direction. We’re drifting.”
That is just what is happening in America right now and the same thing is
happening in the church today. Many Christians mock their pastors, ridiculing
their authority. Why? Because these men’s words carry no power. People are
saying, “We no longer have any leadership in our church. We’re lost, confused.”
That is the payday for dethroning the Lord!

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22257?src=devo-email

In the spirit of Elija…

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

THE WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS
by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

The Old Testament closes with this amazing prophecy of Malachi: “Behold, I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a
curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).

This prophecy was fulfilled in great measure in the ministry of John the
Baptist. An angel appeared to John’s father and prophesied that his son would
turn many in Israel to the Lord and that “he shall go before him in the spirit
and power of Elias (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).

Jesus, speaking to His disciples about John the Baptist, said: “And if ye will
receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14). He added,
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (verse 15). I believe Jesus was
asking them to see the spiritual significance of John’s coming, as prophesied,
in the spirit and power of Elijah.

John was anointed with the same fearless Spirit and power which was upon
Elijah. He spoke openly about the sins of disobedient, pleasure-seeking people
of his day. Christ was soon to appear and this mighty man of truth suddenly
came on the scene to prepare a people for the Lord. This wilderness prophet was
sent to turn the hearts of the people (which is the truest definition of
repentance) to the Lord. John preached repentance, restitution, purity of
heart, justice, and a practical walk of holiness to correspond with an open
confession of sins.

I believe the prophet Malachi, as well as other Old Testament prophets, speaks
of a company of holy people who will be raised up just prior to Christ’s second
coming. They will minister under the very same Spirit and power that rested upon
Elijah and John the Baptist.

This last-day Elijah company of believers will heed the prophecy of Isaiah,
“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people
their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1). These
are the watchmen upon the walls, “which shall never hold their peace day nor
night . . . and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem
a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7).

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22108?src=devo-email

What then to do?

David Wilkerson Today
A Ministry of World Challenge

TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

THE ABIDING BELIEVER
by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Jesus faithfully
obeyed every commandment of His Father and He called that abiding.

Some Christians think they can pick and choose which commandments of Christ to
obey. If they don’t like what is commanded, they simply ignore it or explain
away their disobedience with, “I just don’t see it that way; I don’t believe it
like that.” If people do not like a pastor’s call to be holy, they just leave
and go looking for a pastor who will accentuate the positive. That is why the
terrible plague of apathy is sweeping over the church today. We have been so
afraid of works, so riled up about legalism, that we have given obedience a bad
name.

How is it possible for a branch in Him not to abide? Jesus said: “If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (verse 6). Can it be
any clearer? Abiding includes rest and responsibility. It is possible to be in
Him, connected to the vine, and not have a flow of life with which to bear
fruit. Abiding has to do with absolute obedience to the commandments of Christ
because every branch has a free will—a life force in it. The branch is not
passive; it must draw out the life from the vine. “If ye abide in me, and my
words abide in you” (verse 7). This brings out that the Word is the Father’s
pruning knife. How can any branch bear fruit if the Word of the Lord is
ignored, unknown, neglected?

We see the fruits of dryness springing up all over the Lord’s
vineyard—adultery, fornication, drinking, drugs—because the pruning process
has stopped with so many. The word of God is His knife, a two-edged sword. The
majority of Christians today do not know the Word of God because they do not
read it. It is impossible to bear the fruit of righteousness without His Word
abiding in you. Neglect of the Word is causing barrenness and bringing a
terrible withering to God’s people.

The abiding believer is one who loves and fears God, who hungers for the Word
and trembles at His power of conviction. He delights in having the Word prune
away all hindrances, prays that the very life and likeness of Christ will be
ever-increasing in him, and grows more and more mature in obedience and love.

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/22101?src=devo-email

Get the “kid” out of the whitehouse

Worse than Watergate or the Lewinsky affair?

WND asked each of the constitutional experts whether any of the 12 issues listed above might be considered more egregious than the Nixon-era Watergate scandal or Clinton’s perjury following his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.

“No doubt the predator drone killings, usurpation of the war power, secret interpretations of the PATRIOT Act,” Fein told WND, “those three, in my judgment, are vastly greater in their threat to the constitutional processes and structure than anything under Clinton or Nixon.”

Fisher said, “Watergate was the last time anyone was held accountable. Attorney General John Mitchell went to prison. A lot of people went to prison. We haven’t had any accountability since Watergate. Lewinsky, we all know what happened with that. Really, nothing happened. I think it was a terrible mistake. I think we could have held to some standards, and Congress didn’t.

“We’ve talked about bombing Libya. I think anybody who does that would fully deserve to get thrown out.”

Titus added, “They’re very different. In many respects, the Watergate and Clinton impeachments were really very politically charged. What you have with Obama is a problem in the sense that there isn’t any real concern about the constitutionality or the unconstitutionality of what he did in Libya. This is what’s happened to Congress in the last 50 years. Where are the statesmen?

“Congress doesn’t have clean hands. Without having their own house in order, how do they dare impeach the president for not having his house in order? It’s an unconstitutional mess.

“If the American people really wanted constitutional government – if they were really committed to the kind of constitutional republic that is reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States – things would change.”

You asked for it! Sign the petition urging Congress to impeach President Barack Obama.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/you-asked-for-it-obama-impeachment/#s1oB0CqlGS4IYxRt.99

What’s happening in Egypt?

Whom Will You Choose?
The Prelude to Passover
2013
“Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will
you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people
go, that they
may serve
Me. Or else, if
you refuse to let
My people go,
behold,
tomorrow I will
bring locusts
into your
territory. And
they shall cover
the face of the
earth, so that no
one will be able
to see the
earth; and they
shall eat the
residue of what is
left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall
eat every tree which grows up for you out of the
field. They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your
servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which
neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen,
since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’”
And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.Exodus 10:3-6
As we approach Passover 2013, an event of Biblical
proportions has once again struck the nation of Egypt.
Yesterday, a giant swarm of locust, estimated to be 30
million insects suddenly descended on Giza, near
southern Cairo, destroying crops, trees, and plants along
with everything green in their path. Interestingly, this
event is taking place just a few weeks before Passover,
just as it did in the days of Pharaoh!
As most of you know, Egypt recently held elections, and
the ruling party that assumed power was the Muslim
Brotherhood led by their new President, Mohamed Morsi.
In a recent video Morsi declared that all Jews are
descendants of apes and pigs.
It seems that President Morsi of Egypt, Hamas in Gaza,
Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad in Syria, along with the
President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Tayyip
Erdogan of Turkey, have all forgotten the lessons of the
Passover in Egypt.
Morsi, Hamas, Hezbollah, Assad, Ahmadinejad, and
Erdogan have all learned nothing from human history.
They have forgotten the consequences of the prophetic
“Blessings and Curses,” decreed in Genesis 12:3
regarding those who choose to curse the Jewish people,
and the God of Israel.
They have forgotten the Jews are the same people the
God of Israel, by His outstretched arm, brought back to
the land of Israel after thousands of years of dispersion.
He has given the same people their ancient Capital city,
Jerusalem. He has given all this to the same people who
all speak, read, and pray in the same ancient language,
Hebrew. An ancient people who all read the same Bible,
and pray to the same God they prayed to thousands of
years ago. They pray and worship the God of Israel, who
does not slumber nor sleep; the God of the everlasting
covenant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and
Israel.
The same God who spoke to Pharaoh and said, “Let My
people go that they may serve Me!”
The same eternal God who is the same yesterday, today,
and forever.
The same Everlasting God who declared;
“But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.”
“I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
“Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as
nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
You shall seek them and not find them—
Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:8-13
The faithful and mighty God who spoke to Israel
declaring;
“You (Israel) are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.”
“I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.”
“I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the Lord, “that I am God.”
“Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?”
Isaiah 43:10-13
Today, we are witnessing most of the nations of the world
turning against Israel, the God of Israel, and against His
eternal covenant with the people of Israel. Let us all
remember to pray for mercy for those who curse Israel.
Cursing Israel has very serious consequences for nations
and people who have, throughout human history, sought
to destroy the Jewish people, to persecute them, to drive
them out of their land, or divide their land, and who seek
to exterminate, eradicate, conquer, and enslave the
remnant of the House of Israel.
A short review of human history reveals that today, Egypt
is a third world nation, virtually bankrupt, a nation in
turmoil, and certainly one who no longer rules the world.
They are only a shadow of the nation that ruled the world
under Pharaoh. Likewise, the past great empires of
Assyria, Babylon, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks,
and the Romans have all ceased to exist, just as God
prophesied. They have ceased to exist for one reason –
they all cursed Israel!
Where is the mighty Spanish empire, who expelled the
Jews from Spain, and the great British empire who once
ruled the entire Middle East, all of India, and controlled
the Suez Canal? Where is Hitler’s Third Reich, or Stalin’s
Soviet Russian empire? Like all the nations before them,
their once mighty empires are no more.
Why, you asked, has all this taken place? It has taken
place because the blessings and curses prophesied in
Genesis 12:3 are very real in the eyes and heart of the
God of Israel, because they touch His heart, and they
touch His everlasting covenant with the Jewish people
and the land of Israel.
As God promised Abraham; “And I will establish My
covenant between Me and you and your descendants
after you in their generations, for an everlasting
covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after
you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you
the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God.” Genesis 17:7-8
So as we approach Passover and Easter this month let us
humble ourselves and pray, and seek the Lord, that our
people and our nation, America, will not choose as so
many nations before them, to curse the nation of Israel
and the Jewish people.
This month President Obama will travel to Israel for the
first time. What demands will he make on Israel to divide
their land and their eternal capital? Will he bless Israel or
choose to continue to curse Israel? The outcome will
determine whether blessings or further curses come upon
America!
So we encourage each of you to pray, to stand in the gap
for our nation, and for the President to choose blessings
for our great nation, not curses.
Let each of us choose to bless Israel, to pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, and to bless the Jewish people who
are truly the apple of God’s eye, lest a curse come upon
us as it has the nation of Egypt and all the former
empires that ruled the earth.
Let us remember that He who keeps Israel neither
slumbers nor sleeps, and to those who bless Israel and
the Jewish people He declares,
“The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall
not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from
all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall
preserve your going out and your coming in from this
time forth, and even forevermore.”
Psalm 121:5-8
Shalom and Blessings,
Barry & Linda
March 5, 2013

Passover in Israel…

Israel Inspiration
The Passover holiday is a time of rejoicing and happiness, as we recall our redemption from slavery in Egypt.  We feel G-d’s rejoicing over the Children of Israel, formed into a nation and able to serve Him freely with joy after years of enslavement.  Everyone looks forward to the Passover Seder with their families, with matzah, wine and other symbolic food recalling the miraculous Exodus.  But many families in the Judea-Samaria region of northern Israel, who have been hard hit by terrorism, unemployment, and financial crises, won’t be able to afford food this Passover. CFOIC Heartland has been asked to give 150 of these needy families a food package. Please join in helping these great men and women of faith living in Judea-Samaria and learn more about CFOIC here!

Vote today!

Obama’s Latest Screw Up May Lead to Impeachment.

Your vote will trigger a shocking e-mail tomorrow from Wall Street Daily. It regards hyper-sensitive secrets that the U.S. government is hiding from you. I don’t advise missing it. We never share your email address with third parties. We value your privacy.

Dear Concerned Reader,

Fearing the very worst, the nation’s super-rich are unloading their stocks at an alarming rate.

Even more troubling, the wealthiest 1% of Americans, who typically know the most, are the ones most anxious to sell.

You see, Obama just allowed 13 new tax increases to further slow the economy, wreck the stock market and make it even harder on the 12 million Americans already looking for work.

The bigger question is this…

Is Obama’s Latest Tax
Screw Up Grounds
For Impeachment?

The poll results are likely to shock you.

Cast your vote now to see what America thinks.

Yes, impeach President Obama? Or No, higher taxes were necessary?

Thanks for your time on this urgent matter.

Shalom on earth…

Today’s Hebrew Lesson: JeruSHALOM
The name Jerusalem – ירושלים – contains the word Shalom – שלום.  “Shalom” is the very first Hebrew word most people learn – and it has three meanings: Hello, Goodbye and Peace.  It is the word with which friends greet one another, it is how Israelis answer their phones and begin emails. But, Shalom is more than a greeting, it is also a blessing. Peace is the most important gift we can ask from God, on an individual level, as families and between countries. It is therefore most significant, that the world’s holiest city, Jerusalem – ירושלים – has the word שלום at its core because it is meant to be the source for all peace on earth.  Learn Biblical Hebrew by clicking here!