seeker group training course with Gary Poole – author of Seeker Group Book – Willow Creek Evangelism Pastor – Feb 23 2014

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2014 Cherry Hills Community Church
3900 Grace Boulevard
Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80126

 

Join us on February 23 at 10:30 to 1:30 for a wonderful opportunity to be trained and encouraged in working with Harvest Mountain on leading SEEKER GROUPS with us.  We have a core group forming to go to college campuses and other places in metro Denver to very kindly lead people to decide about becoming a follower of Christ.  You do not need to be a wild evangelist.  Holy Spirit will honor us to bring people together to explore what they believe.  The fruit of these groups is amazing.  !!!!!

We are a new wine start of Harvest Mountain .   You will love this adventure with Jesus and Holy Spirit and Father God.  You can be who you are !!!   In Luke 10 Jesus asks us to multiply.   We can love people into the arms of Jesus.  We can be part of the increase of the spiritual birth rate of the front range to the glory of God.  Be a history maker with Jesus.  Come on Feb 23 and join our God in bringing many to Jesus.

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Be a History Maker – Kris Vallaton

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Every so often in the course of history there are individuals born who defy common reason and statistical explanation. These are the great ones, who break the tether of their generation’s expectations and rise to the high call that seems to echo from somewhere beyond the grave.

The prophets of old peered into the future and spoke of these violent ones who would force their way into the Kingdom, take hold of Heaven and pull it down to earth. These reigning saints refuse to have their exploits be a mere reflection of the past, but instead break the gravitational barriers of naysayers and doubters, and journey far beyond the boundaries of reason into places where no one has ever gone before. Ultimately they capture the prize of the upward call of God that lies in Christ Jesus. These are God’s history makers, the Lord’s chosen people, His mighty men, His holy nation.

Many of us can feel the vacuum of this vortex drawing our hearts into this divine destiny. We find our inner man longing, stirring, and burning for the great adventure. Live or die, we must press through the walls of mediocrity and find the Promised Land of our souls. We live with a passion to be numbered among those who have gained fame in the halls of Heaven and are feared among the prison guards of hell. If we are going to walk as God’s ruling royalty, we have to:

  • Pray unceasingly
  • Give sacrificially
  • Dream unreasonably
  • Serve wholeheartedly
  • Love unashamedly
  • Walk innocently
  • Believe undoubtingly
  • Live powerfully

These are the qualities of the Bride of Christ in all of her glory. She is called to be the most creative force on the face of the earth. Therefore, we must not allow ourselves to become known for our boxes, that is, famous for what we don’t do because of our “righteous”constrictions. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin had certain moral values that restrained their behavior, but they were famous for what they did, not for what they didn’t do! It would be tragic if the most creative people on the face of the earth allowed themselves to be reduced to rent-a-cops guarding a box (The Ark of the Covenant) that God vacated 2,000 years ago.

The truth is that if we don’t take our rightful place in the earth, we will relegate sinners, void of the mind of Christ, barred from the wisdom of the ages, and wandering in utter darkness, to being the most brilliant minds of our time! If the brightest light in this world belonged to those locked in darkness, how great would the darkness be in our world? Something is fundamentally wrong with this picture, but this is our brain on religion. Religion is like kryptonite to Superman. Religion can conform the most righteous, reigning saints into mindless zombies, puppets repeating someone else’s convictions they don’t even understand themselves.

Attack Of The Clones

I am convinced that religion is the father of genetic cloning. Religion invented cloning long before the world ever thought of it. Religion has a way of sucking the most powerful people on the planet into a spiritual look-a-like contest, calling it discipleship. True discipleship is meant to empower people to be transformed into the image of their Creator, but religion redefines the terms, conforming people into replicas of their leaders. Religion takes God’s mighty men and makes them artifacts in a museum.

Religious people, like the Pharisees of old, have the hardest time reaching out to folks who think “outside of the box” and don’t behave inside their hopeless shackles. Part of the struggle comes from what they have done to the Savior of the world. They have sterilized the gospel. Jesus took water and turned it to wine, but 2,000 years later, today’s Pharisees have diluted it to grape juice. Religion has reduced the supernatural power of God to a history lesson about serving the dead body of a helpless Christ who, still nailed to the Cross, is incapable of rocking their sacred boat. They emphasize the drowning of baptism, arguing over how people should get wet and what should be said over them during their dipping. Religious people have lost touch with the fact that the bold print of baptism is not on the descent but on the ascension. The death of Christ paid for our sins, but it was His resurrection that gave life to our mortal bodies. Religion embraces death sadistically and moves the risen Christ out of the garden and back to the tomb. Religious people pray things like “God, kill me,” not realizing that even the One who came to give His life as a ransom for us all prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup (of death) from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus did not want to die; He wanted to do His Father’s will. If religion had its way, it would rewrite Mary’s proclamation to read, “He is in the tomb just where we laid Him!” We have lost sight of the fact that the Cross was for the old man not the new man, and that the true Christian life is not about dying for Christ, but living in the life He purchased for us to establish His Kingdom on earth! The Church must shake off the shackles of religion and embrace our supernatural destiny.

Our Commission

The world is crying out in distress, and we must not miss this kairos moment, the opportunity of the ages. In the late sixties, the Beatles took America by storm. In a few short years, four boys from Liverpool altered the course of our nation’s history. Soon after, the world was swept into the wake of their anointing—all while they were singing “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But it wasn’t long before the Fab Four started to experience a crisis in their own souls. They began to cry out in desperation, singing:

Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you know I need someone, help
When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now those days are gone, I’m not so self-assured
Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors
Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being ‘round
Help me get my feet back on the ground.
Won’t you please, please help me
Help me, help me, ooh.

But their cry for help fell on deaf ears in the sanctuary of hope, and soon they were calling Hare Krishna their “sweet lord.” The Church can’t afford to fall asleep in the harvest today as we have done so many times in the past. We are not supposed to reflect our culture; we are commissioned to transform it.

We are called to disciple all the nations of the world. Discipling nations means submerging them in God–not religion–and “teaching them all I commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Teaching nations how to think is the transformational catalyst to changing cultures. But as long as Christians aren’t valued in society, they will have no influence in the world. (You only have as much influence in people’s lives as they have value for you. Anytime you try to have more influence than someone has value for you, you will manipulate them.) It is imperative that we become kings who understand the ways royal people influence authority. Otherwise, we will reduce ourselves to social begging, hoping that the BIG, powerful people feel compassion for us and help our cause. This poisonous poverty mindset reduces the Christian message to a cry for help instead of a call for leadership. We don’t need nations to change for our sake. We have a living, abiding, unshakable Kingdom that dwells within us and prospers under all circumstances. We need the nations to change for the sake of those still lost in darkness. They need the culture around them to create a safe environment for them until they get the Kingdom within them.

This cultural begging has relegated the Kingdom of God to a subculture. God never intended Christianity to be a subculture. Subcultures are those cultures that are subservient to a more powerful culture. The world’s commentary on the first century Church reflects the true influence we are meant to have in society. They proclaimed, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6 NKJV). We are called to turn the world around and set it back on its feet again. We are to be counter-culture until the mindset of the nations begins to take on the attitude of the Kingdom. Christians are not subservient to the world because God has assigned us the highest level of authority that exists on this planet. When Christians lose their desire and courage to confront the evils of our day honorably, we begin to be influenced by the lying principalities that are also commissioned to disciple the nations, but with an antichrist agenda. These demonic forces work to dethrone the Prince of Peace, who is the rightful prince of the principles that make societies prosper, and instead enthrone the prince of darkness. Consequently, the enabling principles of a culture become demonically inspired instead of Kingdom in-Spirited. This dark prince works to establish evil thinking that leads to destructive behaviors. But when Jesus rules, He enables the principles of the King to transform the culture through the mind of Christ. In other words, people in a nation governed by the Kingdom begin to think like God!

However, it is important that we learn how to carry His power and authority. If we believers become combative instead of honorably confronting, we will reduce our influence to the small pond of the church and render ourselves powerless in the ocean of humanity. We are to carry God’s authority into the lives of people and nations through invitation, not through intrusion or invasion. Although we are called to be combative to the powers of darkness, we are to be honorably confronting to people, demonstrating the benefits and rewards of a superior Kingdom.

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Teaching High School Students Culinary Arts !!!

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Last week Barbara started teaching high school students at Front Range Christian School Culinary Arts.  She is combining her urban agriculture education experience with her love for healthy and delicious cooking.  For the first class students designed a veggie tray and fruit tray.  Their creativity was amazing.  This week we make a quick pasta sauce from scratch and some organic semolina pasta.  We will start growing our ingredients next week with herb plant starts.  By March we will be planting greens in the former flower beds at the school.  IMG_20140108_111313_798IMG_20140108_105100_148

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Interesting article on How Jewish families changed and got their Last Name

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Jewish Surnames Explained

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Richard Andree’s 1881 map of the Jews of Central Europe.

Ashkenazic Jews were among the last Europeans to take family names. Some German-speaking Jews took last names as early as the 17th century, but the overwhelming majority of Jews lived in Eastern Europe and did not take last names until compelled to do so. The process began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1787 and ended in Czarist Russia in 1844.

In attempting to build modern nation-states, the authorities insisted that Jews take last names so that they could be taxed, drafted, and educated (in that order of importance). For centuries, Jewish communal leaders were responsible for collecting taxes from the Jewish population on behalf of the government, and in some cases were responsible for filling draft quotas. Education was traditionally an internal Jewish affair.

Until this period, Jewish names generally changed with every generation. For example, if Moses son of Mendel (Moyshe ben Mendel) married Sarah daughter of Rebecca (Sora bas Rifke), and they had a boy and named it Samuel (Shmuel), the child would be called Shmuel ben Moyshe. If they had a girl and named her Feygele, she would be called Feygele bas Sora.

Jews distrusted the authorities and resisted the new requirement. Although they were forced to take last names, at first they were used only for official purposes. Among themselves, they kept their traditional names. Over time, Jews accepted the new last names, which were essential as Jews sought to advance within the broader society and as the shtetles were transformed or Jews left them for big cities.

The easiest way for Jews to assume an official last name was to adapt the name they already had, making it permanent. This explains the use of “patronymics” and “matronymics.”

PATRONYMICS (son of …)

In Yiddish or German, “son” would be denoted by “son” or “sohn” or “er.” In most Slavic languages, like Polish or Russian, it would be “wich” or “witz.”

For example: The son of Mendel took the last name Mendelsohn; the son of Abraham became Abramson or Avromovitch; the son of Menashe became Manishewitz; the son of Itzhak became Itskowitz; the son of Berl took the name Berliner; the son of Kesl took the name Kessler, etc.

MATRONYMICS (daughter of …)

Reflecting the prominence of Jewish women in business, some families made last names out of women’s first names: Chaiken — son of Chaikeh; Edelman — husband of Edel; Gittelman — husband of Gitl; Glick or Gluck — may derive from Glickl, a popular woman’s name as in the famous “Glickl of Hameln,” whose memoirs, written around 1690, are an early example of Yiddish literature.

Gold/Goldman/Gulden may derived from Golda; Malkov from Malke; Perlman — husband of Perl; Rivken — may derive from Rivke; Soronsohn—son of Sarah.

PLACE NAMES

The next most common source of Jewish last names is probably places. Jews used the town or region where they lived, or where their families came from, as their last name. As a result, the Germanic origins of most East European Jews is reflected in their names.

For example, Asch is an acronym for the towns of Aisenshtadt or Altshul orAmshterdam. Other place-based Jewish names include: Auerbach/Orbach; Bacharach; Berger (generic for townsman); Berg(man), meaning from a hilly place; Bayer — from Bavaria; Bamberger; Berliner, Berlinsky — from Berlin; Bloch (foreigner); Brandeis; Breslau; Brodsky; Brody; Danziger; Deutch/Deutscher — German; Dorf(man), meaning villager; Eisenberg; Epstein; Florsheim; Frankel — from the Franconia region of Germany; Frankfurter; Ginsberg; Gordon — from Grodno, Lithuania or from the Russian word gorodin, for townsman; Greenberg; Halperin—from Helbronn, Germany; Hammerstein; Heller — from Halle, Germany; Hollander — not from Holland, but from a town in Lithuania settled by the Dutch; Horowitz, Hurwich, Gurevitch — from Horovice in Bohemia; Koenigsberg; Krakauer — from Cracow, Poland; Landau; Lipsky — from Leipzig, Germany; Litwak — from Lithuania; Minsky — from Minsk, Belarus; Mintz—from Mainz, Germany; Oppenheimer; Ostreicher — from Austria; Pinsky — from Pinsk, Belarus; Posner — from Posen, Germany; Prager — from Prague; Rappoport — from Porto, Italy; Rothenberg — from the town of the red fortress in Germany; Shapiro — from Speyer, Germany; Schlesinger — from Silesia, Germany; Steinberg; Unger — from Hungary; Vilner — from Vilna, Poland/Lithuania; Wallach—from Bloch, derived from the Polish word for foreigner; Warshauer/Warshavsky — from Warsaw; Wiener — from Vienna; Weinberg.

OCCUPATIONAL NAMES

Craftsmen/Workers

Ackerman — plowman; Baker/Boker — baker; Blecher — tinsmith; Fleisher/Fleishman/Katzoff/Metger — butcher; Cooperman — coppersmith; Drucker — printer; Einstein — mason; Farber — painter/dyer; Feinstein — jeweler; Fisher — fisherman; Forman — driver/teamster; Garber/Gerber — tanner; Glazer/Glass/Sklar — glazier; Goldstein — goldsmith; Graber — engraver; Kastner — cabinetmaker; Kunstler — artist; Kramer — storekeeper; Miller — miller; Nagler — nailmaker; Plotnick — carpenter; Sandler/Shuster — shoemaker; Schmidt/Kovalsky — blacksmith; Shnitzer — carver; Silverstein — jeweler; Spielman — player (musician?); Stein/Steiner/Stone — jeweler; Wasserman — water carrier.

Merchants

Garfinkel/Garfunkel — diamond dealer; Holzman/Holtz/Waldman — timber dealer; Kaufman — merchant; Rokeach — spice merchant; Salzman — salt merchant; Seid/Seidman—silk merchant; Tabachnik — snuff seller; Tuchman — cloth merchant; Wachsman — wax dealer; Wechsler/Halphan — money changer; Wollman — wool merchant; Zucker/Zuckerman — sugar merchant.

Related to tailoring

Kravitz/Portnoy/Schneider/Snyder — tailor; Nadelman/Nudelman — also tailor, but from “needle”; Sher/Sherman — also tailor, but from “scissors” or “shears”; Presser/Pressman — clothing presser; Futterman/Kirshner/Kushner/Peltz — furrier; Weber — weaver.

Medical

Aptheker — druggist; Feldsher — surgeon; Bader/Teller — barber.

Related to liquor trade

Bronfman/Brand/Brandler/Brenner — distiller; Braverman/Meltzer — brewer; Kabakoff/Krieger/Vigoda — tavern keeper; Geffen — wine merchant; Wine/Weinglass — wine merchant; Weiner — wine maker.

Religious/Communal

Altshul/Althshuler — associated with the old synagogue in Prague; Cantor/Kazan/Singer/Spivack — cantor or song leader in shul; Feder/Federman/Schreiber — scribe; Haver — from haver (court official); Klausner — rabbi for small congregation; Klopman — calls people to morning prayers by knocking on their window shutters; Lehrer/Malamud/Malmud — teacher; Rabin — rabbi (Rabinowitz—son of rabbi); London — scholar, from the Hebrew lamden(misunderstood by immigration inspectors); Reznick — ritual slaughterer; Richter — judge; Sandek — godfather; Schechter/Schachter/Shuchter etc. — ritual slaughterer from Hebrew schochet; Shofer/Sofer/Schaeffer — scribe; Shulman/Skolnick — sexton; Spector — inspector or supervisor of schools.

PERSONAL TRAITS

Alter/Alterman — old; Dreyfus—three legged, perhaps referring to someone who walked with a cane; Erlich — honest; Frum — devout ; Gottleib — God lover, perhaps referring to someone very devout; Geller/Gelber — yellow, perhaps referring to someone with blond hair; Gross/Grossman — big; Gruber — coarse or vulgar; Feifer/Pfeifer — whistler; Fried/Friedman—happy; Hoch/Hochman/Langer/Langerman — tall; Klein/Kleinman — small; Koenig — king, perhaps someone who was chosen as a “Purim King,” in reality a poor wretch; Krauss — curly, as in curly hair; Kurtz/Kurtzman — short; Reich/Reichman — rich; Reisser — giant; Roth/Rothman — red head; Roth/Rothbard — red beard; Shein/Schoen/Schoenman — pretty, handsome; Schwartz/Shwartzman/Charney — black hair or dark complexion; Scharf/Scharfman — sharp, i.e  intelligent; Stark — strong, from the Yiddish shtark ; Springer — lively person, from the Yiddish springen for jump.

INSULTING NAMES

These were sometimes foisted on Jews who discarded them as soon as possible, but a few may remain:

Billig — cheap; Gans — goose; Indyk — turkey; Grob — rough/crude; Kalb — cow.

ANIMAL NAMES

It is common among all peoples to take last names from the animal kingdom. Baer/Berman/Beerman/Berkowitz/Beronson — bear; Adler — eagle (may derive from reference to an eagle in Psalm 103:5); Einhorn — unicorn; Falk/Sokol/Sokolovksy — falcon; Fink — finch; Fuchs/Liss — fox; Gelfand/Helfand — camel (technically means elephant but was used for camel too); Hecht—pike; Hirschhorn — deer antlers; Karp — carp; Loeb — lion; Ochs— ox; Strauss — ostrich (or bouquet of flowers); Wachtel — quail.

HEBREW NAMES

Some Jews either held on to or adopted traditional Jewish names from the Bible and Talmud. The big two are Cohen (Cohn, Kohn, Kahan, Kahn, Kaplan) and Levi (Levy, Levine, Levinsky, Levitan, Levenson, Levitt, Lewin, Lewinsky, Lewinson). Others include: Aaron — Aronson, Aronoff; Asher; Benjamin; David — Davis, Davies; Ephraim — Fishl; Emanuel — Mendel; Isaac — Isaacs, Isaacson/Eisner; Jacob — Jacobs, Jacobson, Jacoby; Judah — Idelsohn, Udell,Yudelson; Mayer/Meyer; Menachem — Mann, Mendel; Reuben — Rubin; Samuel — Samuels, Zangwill; Simon — Schimmel; Solomon — Zalman.

HEBREW ACRONYMS

Names based on Hebrew acronyms include: Baron — bar aron (son of Aaron); Beck —bene kedoshim (descendant of martyrs); Getz — gabbai tsedek (righteous synagogue official); Katz — kohen tsedek (righteous priest); Metz — moreh tsedek (teacher of righteousness); Sachs, Saks — zera kodesh shemo (his name descends from martyrs); Segal — sgan levia (second-rank Levite).

OTHER HEBREW- and YIDDISH-DERIVED NAMES

Lieb means “lion” in Yiddish. It is the root of many Ashkenazic last names, including Liebowitz, Lefkowitz, Lebush, and Leon. It is the Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for lion — aryeh. The lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah.

Hirsch means “deer” or “stag” in Yiddish. It is the root of many Ashkenazic last names, including Hirschfeld, Hirschbein/Hershkowitz (son of Hirsch), Hertz/Herzl, Cerf, Hart, and Hartman. It is the Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for gazelle:tsvi. The gazelle was the symbol of the tribe of Naphtali.

Taub means “dove” in Yiddish. It is the root of the Ashkenazic last name Tauber. The symbol of the dove is associated with the prophet Jonah.

Wolf is the root of the Ashkenazic last names Wolfson, Wouk, and Volkovich. The wolf was the symbol of the tribe of Benjamin.

Eckstein — Yiddish for cornerstone, derived from Psalm 118:22.

Good(man) — Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for “good”: tuviah.

Margolin — Hebrew for “pearl.”

INVENTED ‘FANCY SHMANCY’ NAMES

When Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were required to assume last names, some chose the nicest ones they could think of and may have been charged a registration fee by the authorities. According to the YIVO Encyclopedia, “The resulting names often are associated with nature and beauty. It is very plausible that the choices were influenced by the general romantic tendencies of German culture at that time.” These names include: Applebaum — apple tree; Birnbaum — pear tree; Buchsbaum — box tree; Kestenbaum — chestnut tree; Kirschenbaum — cherry tree; Mandelbaum — almond tree; Nussbaum — nut tree; Tannenbaum — fir tree; Teitelbaum — palm tree.

Other names, chosen or purchased, were combinations with these roots:Blumen (flower), Fein (fine), Gold, Green, Lowen (lion), Rosen (rose), Schoen/Schein (pretty) — combined with berg (hill or mountain), thal (valley), bloom (flower), zweig (wreath), blatt (leaf), vald or wald (woods), feld (field).

Miscellaneous other names included Diamond; Glick/Gluck — luck; Hoffman — hopeful; Fried/Friedman — happiness; Lieber/Lieberman — lover.

Jewish family names from non-Jewish languages included: Sender/Saunders — from Alexander; Kagan — descended from the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking people from Central Asia; Kelman/Kalman — from the Greek name Kalonymous, the Greek translation of the Hebrew shem tov (good name), popular among Jews in medieval France and Italy; Marcus/Marx — from Latin, referring to the pagan god Mars.

Finally, there may have been Jewish names changed or shortened by immigration inspectors (though this is disputed) or by immigrants themselves (or their descendants) to sound more American, which is why “Sean Ferguson” was a Jew.

Let us close with a ditty:

 

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Christmas is a time for peace. Peace begins inside of each one of us

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Since 2004 I have taught and ministered to people who needed more freedom in their lives.  It is an amazing gift to pray with people and see Gods presence and power rest on them. They go from bound to free by the favor and grace of God.  Here is a short teaching by my friend from Colorado Springs Becca Greenwood.   Love to have you share on what you think of this teaching on our face book page – knowing jesus more or email us at knowjesusmore@gmail.com.
                                                                                                                           Explanation of Spiritual Warfare
                                                                                                                   July 23, 2013 • By Becca Greenwood    Christian Harvest International 

 

Many of you reading this are familiar with the term spiritual warfare. Others are in the process of learning about this level of intercession. In order to place us all on the same plane of understanding, I want to begin with a definition.

Spiritual warfare refers to an invisible battle in the spiritual realm involving a power confrontation between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. My experience concurs with the teaching of Peter Wagner in his book What the Bible Says about Spiritual Warfare, that spiritual warfare occurs on three levels. They are ground-level, occult-level and strategic-level spiritual warfare. Let’s investigate these further.

Ground-Level Spiritual Warfare

This is the practice of deliverance ministry, which involves breaking demonic influence in an individual.

It occurs on a personal level. As one who functions as a deliverance minister, I have seen incredible breakthrough occur in individual’s lives through this ministry. I have also found that this level of warfare includes spiritual warfare prayer over individuals and situations.

I have witnessed obvious breakthrough over individuals as I have entered into warfare prayer over life situations. The following is an example of ground-level warfare intercession.

As a young mother of three, I remember being bound to the house with a daily routine of feedings, diaper changes, laundry, cooking, kissing little hurts, baths, cleaning and bedtime stories. Those years were precious and I would not exchange one minute I had with my three beautiful daughters. Even so I had a burning desire to know the Lord intimately and to see the lives of the hurting and lost transformed.

During that season of my life, I used the children’s naptime for my times of prayer and intercession. The Lord began to place an intercessory burden on my heart for the lost mothers in our neighborhood. One thing I have learned as an intercessor is that the heartbeat of the Father is lost souls. There was one mother that I began to pray for on a daily basis. God is so incredible! As I began to pray for her, she began inquiring about God and seeking council from me concerning issues in her home. Asking me to pray when difficult situations arose in her home became a normal occurrence. God was obviously drawing her to Himself.

One day the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there she stood. She asked if we could talk. I welcomed her instantly into our home. She told me that she and her husband were separated and that he was filing for divorce. I told her that I would begin praying that the Lord would restore their marriage. Her reply was, “I do not think that prayer and God can work through these hurts and wounds.” I responded, “No hurt or wound is too big for God.” I then prayed with her and asked the Lord to restore that marriage, to bring healing to all hurts and wounds and to carry her family through that difficult time.

Over the next few months I prayed for her and her husband. Not only did I ask the Lord to restore their marriage, but I warred over their marriage and began to break every scheme and curse the enemy had placed on this couple. I prayed against division, unforgiveness and every deception the enemy was perpetuating. In the name of Jesus, I broke the lie that this wound was too deep to be healed by God.

Soon our lives went in different directions. I took a part-time job and she took a full-time job.

Even so I continued to pray. One evening we passed each other driving through the neighborhood. She motioned for me to stop and roll down the car window. She then exclaimed, “Keep praying! It is working!” I gladly agreed and continued to pray. Two months later the children and I were swimming at the neighborhood pool. She and her children arrived at the pool and she approached me excitedly.

“Your prayers have worked!” she exclaimed. “My husband returned home last week and he destroyed the divorce papers! God is good. Thank you for praying.”

I was thrilled. Not only did God restore the marriage, but this woman also began to attend church and to seek after the Lord. We moved to Colorado several months after this occurred, but I firmly believe that she and her family are on the right track and that God will be faithful to bring each of them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Occult-Level Spiritual Warfare

Occult level spiritual warfare involves opposition to a more structured level of demonic authority. Warfare prayer at this level focuses on witchcraft, satanism, Freemasonry, New Age beliefs, Eastern religions and many other forms of spiritual practices that glorify Satan and his dark angels. Obviously this involves a higher dimension of warfare prayer. I would like to share a powerful example of spiritual breakthrough that occurred in the city of Houston.

Marilyn Manson, a popular heavy metal rock star, travels around the world with his band singing to and glorifying Satan. All band members are required to make name changes. The first name has to be one of a famous actress and the last name one of a known serial killer. The name Marilyn Manson, for instance, was inspired by actress Marilyn Monroe and murderer/cult leader Charles Manson. Mr. Manson is also an ordained minister in the Church of Satan. The late Anton Lavey, who founded and served as high priest of the Church of Satan, was the officiating minister in the ordination.

This band decided to come to Houston and the response of the church in the city was remarkable. Many churches held 24-hour prayer vigils leading up to the concert. They paid for commercial time on Christian radio stations asking people to pray. Prayer groups across the city gathered together and the potentially disastrous effects of the music became the intercessory cry. It was known, for instance, that several youths who had attended concerts by this band had returned home to commit suicide. It was incredible how a corporate burden for the youth of the city came into focus.

I sought the Lord and asked for my intercessory assignment and marching orders in this situation. He told me to form a team and to pray onsite at the theater that was hosting the band’s visit. On the day of the concert we went early in the morning to pray. As we prayed the Lord began to impart to us a burden to pray for the salvation of Marilyn Manson, all of the members of his band and the youth attending the concert.

Then the Lord shifted us into warfare prayer. We began to pray that the sound equipment would not work and that the concert would not succeed or be performed to completion. We proclaimed that this music dedicated to Satan would not be sung over the youth of the city. We proclaimed confusion in the enemy’s camp and broke every lie that Satan is to be worshiped. I need to add that when we are involved in warfare prayer we never pray against a person but ask the Lord to touch the hearts of those lost in darkness and to bring them to salvation. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12, kjv). It was an awesome time of prayer.

The night of the concert was an incredible sight. Many Christians were handing Gospel tracts to the youth. An outdoor Christian concert was held across the street. The Lord assigned several pastors and intercessors to pray inside the theater.

The concert began and during the second song something occurred that is still hard to believe. One of the fans accidentally spilled his beer on the soundboard. The whole sound system was ruined. As the microphones no longer worked, the instruments could not be heard; nor could Mr. Manson. It became impossible for him to continue. He became so upset he threw his microphone to the floor, stormed off the stage and never finished the concert. This is not meant as gratitude that a young person was drinking beer, but the incident was a powerful answer to prayer. Within a short time the mayor and city council convened and established a city ordinance forbidding that type of concert in the city. Yes, Lord!

Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare

This is focused prayer dealing with high ranking principalities and powers assigned to geographical territories and social networks. These demonic forces are usually referred to as territorial spirits. The primary focus of this book will be strategic level spiritual warfare and guidelines for those who desire to move forward in this dimension of prayer. Let’s look at an example of strategic-level spiritual warfare in Scripture and then a present-day example.

PAUL AND SILAS IN PHILIPPI

According to Greek legend, the Greek god Apollo killed Python, the terrible earth serpent who lived in the caves of Parnassus in Delphi. He killed Python in retaliation for its harassment of his mother while she was looking for a place to give birth to her twins. Because of his act Apollo is at times referred to as Pythian, predictor of future events.

During Paul’s day the people in the region of Philippi believed that Apollo or Pythian was the influencer of events. The term python was used to refer to those through whom the python spirit spoke. We read in the book of Acts that Paul entered into spiritual warfare by casting out this python or fortune telling spirit from a slave girl (see Acts 16:18). This caused great turmoil in the city of Philippi. It is my belief that the response and activities that occur as a result of Paul’s prayer indicate that the spirit operating through this young woman was indeed a territorial spirit. Let me explain what I mean.

Acts 16:19 says that when the owners of the slave girl realized what had occurred they became greatly disturbed. It ruined their opportunity to make money from those seeking information about the future. They seized Paul and Silas and brought them before the authorities in the marketplace. In verse 20 the slave owners stated, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar” (emphasis added). I find this accusation highly interesting. Paul addressed a demonic spirit operating through a young girl. Next he was accused of throwing a whole city into an uproar. I have prayed deliverance prayers over many individuals, but never has it resulted in a city uproar.

Then we read in verse 22: “The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas.” Not only was the whole city in an uproar, but now a crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas. Why would casting out a demon from one girl cause a city uproar and a crowd, who knew nothing of the deliverance, to turn against Paul and Silas? The python spirit operating through this slave girl or spiritist was a territorial spirit that gripped the city of Philippi.

The magistrates ordered that Paul and Silas be beaten, flogged and thrown into prison. Locked in an inner cell with their feet fastened in stocks, Paul and Silas began to pray and worship God. Let’s investigate what occurred next. “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16:26, emphasis added). Wow! As a result of casting out this demonic spirit in a slave girl, a violent earthquake occurred over the region. Not only were Paul’s and Silas’s chains released, but everybody’s chains came loose.

When effective spiritual warfare prayer has occurred, signs of what has transpired in the spiritual realm will also manifest in the physical realm; thus, the earthquake. God was shaking the foundational worship of Apollo in that region. The earthquake resulted in everybody’s chains releasing.

Another indication of effective spiritual warfare prayer is the release of the people of the region from the darkness that has gripped them. They are then free to understand and experience the truth and love of God. Note the breakthrough that occurred in this spiritual warfare encounter in Philippi:

 

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

Verses 29–34

The most significant demonstration that spiritual breakthrough has occurred over a region is the salvation of those who have been trapped in spiritual darkness by a territorial spirit.

Let’s review this spiritual warfare encounter. Paul cast out a python spirit, also called a spirit of divination, from a slave girl. The resulting actions were a city uproar, an angry crowd, the imprisonment of Paul and Silas, a violent earthquake that released everybody’s chains and the salvation of the jailer and his family. It is obvious that the spirit in this young woman was indeed a territorial spirit that held this region in darkness.

“GENTLEMEN’S CLUBS” IN HOUSTON

Isn’t it exciting to read about spiritual breakthroughs over a region? Now let’s bring it to present day issues. The following is an example of a breakthrough the Lord worked in the city of Houston.

I was serving as prayer coordinator of Houston House of Prayer, the church we attended while living in Houston. The church was experiencing wonderful times of corporate prayer and intercession. The Lord began to speak to the pastors and me about a new prayer assignment for the church. He was directing us to pray over the “Gentlemen’s Clubs” in the city. There was a particularly dense population of these clubs in the Richmond area of Houston. The Lord then revealed a prayer strategy. We were to pray onsite at these establishments and break the assignment over this territory that the enemy had established through perversion and whoredom.

Wednesday evening was the scheduled time for corporate prayer and intercession. For two months this prayer time took a particular direction. I broke the adults into groups of four to five with a designated prayer leader. Each individual group was assigned a Gentlemen’s Club as their prayer focus for that evening and then drove to those particular establishments. I gave specific instruction that we should pray in the parking lots and not go into the clubs. Praying from inside the car was preferable because this was not the safest area of Houston.

One Wednesday I was leading a team of women at our assigned location. As we prayed, our faith level rose and we began to ask God to cause conviction to fall on the men who were going into that particular club. We prayed and declared that the men would not be able to stay in the club, that they would have a strong desire to leave. I learned never to underestimate the power of prayer! As we prayed, a man drove into the parking lot, got out of his car and entered the club building. We were disappointed but not for long. Within ten seconds this same individual abruptly exited the club, ran to his car and quickly drove away. We all wondered if our prayers had affected the scene we had just witnessed.

As the next man began to walk toward the club, our level of faith was definitely high! We prayed that the Lord would cause conviction to fall on him, that his heart would turn toward the Father and his family, and that he would turn and not enter the club. As soon as we finished praying, he approached the entrance. He reached for the door and began to open it, but then he froze. He stood perfectly still for thirty seconds as if in a struggle. Suddenly he turned, ran to his car and drove away so quickly that he left tire marks in the parking lot! “Go, God!” we shouted.

Over this two-month period, we saw exciting, undeniable answers to prayer. Gentlemen’s Clubs became the big story on the evening news. Connections and corrupt practices were exposed between the Gentlemen’s Clubs and city officials. This forced the closure of several establishments. New laws were put into action. It became illegal for a man to touch or get within three feet of a dancer. To physically place money in a dancer’s costume was forbidden and could result in tough legal consequences. The clubs were zoned and not allowed to be built near neighborhoods, schools or churches. This caused business to decrease and the closure of more clubs.

The most exciting news, though, was the breakthrough for evangelists in the city of Houston. Before we prayed onsite for these establishments, few of the women dancers had been reached with the Gospel and brought to salvation. After this season of focused prayer, they began to respond to the Lord and many accepted the gift of salvation. This was the most powerful answer to our prayers.

While some of the Gentlemen’s Clubs are still in operation in this area of the city, the demonic structure over this region was weakened as a result of warfare prayer. We were obedient to our assignment, and when it is the Lord’s timing He will raise up another group of warriors to break further the darkness in this territory.

Isn’t God faithful! Luke 10:19 states, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” It is an awesome thing to see the schemes of the enemy dismantled and God glorified. You too can pray and see territories experience transformation.

 

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great Christmas music – Julie Meyer

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CHRISTMAS

With three original songs, three modern Christmas tunes and six traditional carols, Christmas is an eclectic mix of styles, seamlessly flowing together as it unfolds the story of good news for mankind. With a gospel choir, a little bluegrass, acoustic guitar, children’s voices, new arrangements, and more, there is something for everyone on this album, as we celebrate Christ coming to earth. 

Julie shares with us her song “Please Remember Me,” which she wrote back in 1990 for her family, the first Christmas she was not able to be with them at their family farm.

Christmas CD | Julie Meyer 

$15

 

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Developing New Habits – Resting one day a week – How does this change Us ?

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On one hand, we all yearn to make contact with the reality of God’s existence, to be close to this All-Powerful Being Who created everything and sustains us daily.
On the other hand, we all live with the nagging fear of confronting the fact that we are not the captains of our ships. Each of us would like to be Number One. Our ego would prefer to see ourselves at the center of the universe, in total control of our own lives, our own destiny, and the world. So we try convincing ourselves that we are, and in the process we push away God.
Shabbat is a tool to ensure we don’t misunderstand our place in the universe.
Shabbat is the Jewish tool to make sure we don’t misunderstand our place in the universe. Refraining from work is the first step toward accomplishing this goal. God gave mankind the power to manipulate and change the world. Because of this, we are easily lulled into thinking that we are in control of the world.
Then comes Shabbat. Once every seven days, we step back from the world and make a statement to ourselves and humanity that we are not in charge of this world. We stop all creative work and acknowledge that it is God’s world, not ours. We can manipulate the world, but we don’t own it. God gives us clear guidelines for how we may shape the world, but it’s not ours to do with as we see fit all the time.
When we refrain from work on Shabbat, we regain clarity and understanding as to Who is the true Creator.
The Primary Goal Of Shabbat
Once we’ve extracted ourselves from the illusions of our own power and prominence (i.e. once we realize we’re not God), we free ourselves to reach out and experience the primary goal of Shabbat: getting in touch with God. While it is true that we can get in touch with God and spirituality during the week, it only happens if we make a particular effort to partake of these experiences. We have to fight off the influences of the mundane workday in order to break through to the spiritual.
On Shabbat, however, the spiritual level of the world is intensified. God immerses us in a spiritual environment, and our perception of His closeness is heightened. It’s as if the static has been lifted.
On Shabbat, as I cease to create, I no longer feel the need to compete with the world around me. I don’t drive my car, I don’t work my animal, I don’t even pluck a blade of grass. Instead of imposing our will upon the world, we are in harmony with it.

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Crosby Stills and Nash Song – Woodstock Lyrics

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Well I came upon a child of God, he was walking along the road
And I asked him tell me where are you going, this he told me:
(He) said, I’m going down to Yasgur’s farm, going to join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land, and set my soul free.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Well, then can I roam beside you? I have come to lose the smog.
And I feel myself a cog in something turning.
And maybe it’s the time of year, yes, said maybe it’s the time of man.
And I don’t know who I am but life is for learning.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong,
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies above our nation.

We are stardust, we are golden, we are caught in the devil’s bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

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