WE ARE BEING PRAYED for to BE PERSECUTED!!!

OK....so I went to church last night...or the building where the church meets and pastor stood up to talk to us how the church in another country is praying for the American church to be persecuted. Ouch! That hurts. One of our young men got really offended by that and scared when he heard that. I was scared, too.

I was scared because as much as I do not want persecution because it would be terrible, the truth is God used it often to wake up the church; to purify the church.My prayer has always been that we would obey and do what God asks of u, so He doesnt need to take drastic measures to clean His bride.

The truth is we are "soft" as pastor said the church in this other country is praying because we need persecution. We need it for the church to wake up. Now, please let's not get angry or offended too soon, but really take an honest look at our society and see what direction is going and aks ourselves if the church is doing her job.

I do not want persecution and I do not pray for that, but I agree that as goes the church so goes the world. Or maybe it is more as goes the world so goes the church. Just look in the church. Look at Jesus' Bride. She is compromising. She is lazy. She has so much apathy and there is no fire in her for her Groom. Yes, we have programs and powerpoint and new chairs and even new staff, but it doesn't change our hearts. There is the problem. How many of us would take a stand for what we believe? You know we defend the name Christmas because it has Christ in it. It is just a word. Now, I am not trying to offend you, but did you know other coutnries the name Christmas doesn't have the "Christ" part in it yet they are true Christians anyway. Yes, I understand that people want to take that part out because they do not want to mention Jesus in it...and yes the heart of the people is wicked, but we have a bigger problem than defending words. God can take care of His own reputation and Name much better than we can. What good it is that we defend a word and we do not honor that Name daily with our obedience? " These people worship me with their tongues only, but their hearts are far away from Me"( God)

A changed heart obeys. A changed heart is a doer of the Word not just hearer. Jesus said " God and preach the Gospel into the whole world and baptize them into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". But we dont go; we try to grow our numbers in the building. Well, it is good to meet in a building, but we have become way too comfortable and we are obsessed with getting people IN, instead of we going to them where they are. Yes, we have programs and we feed some hungry people and we make some nursing home visits, but are people truly changed and disciples of Jesus. A disciples is an apprentice. An apprentice is someone we teach to take over after us; someone who learns the job from the master. Are we teaching them that? No, I am not talking about MORE Bible studies. For God's sake we have too many of those. I am talking about hanging out with someone regularly and teaching them how to heal people, talk to them about Jesus, feed the hungry, commnad demons to go, and raise even the dead. Jesus said to do those things, too, yet we only got the part He never talked about: " Sit down and read the Scriptures and talk about it". I am not against that. I am just saying there is way too much talk and head knowledge and too little practical stuff going on.

I have talked with a young man yesterday as I was walking. He asked me if he could join me while walking..well, I saw Father interrupting my walk which I was going to spend praying(lol) and instead He sent me someone who needed Jesus....and we talked. Turns out he has 3 children with 2 different women, was about to take his GED, been involved in drugs so he dropped out of highschool, and has not been in church for so long because of what he saw in it. Now, a person like that needs Jesus. How can one become His disciple? By teaching them just to memorize Scripture? No, that is a philosopher. We have too much knowledge and way too little work for Jesus. yes, we do need SOUND teaching, but coupled with works. "Faith without works is DEAD" ( the great aspotle James who died for Jesus). Your faith is a dead faith is you dont practice it.

A hungry person doesnt need a Bible Study, but food. A cancer patient doesnt need your weak prayer, but power to heal him or her of that cancer and you have that: the Holy Spirit that is in you is the SAME Spirit that was in JESUS and raised HIM from the dead...do you know what kind of PERSON LIVES IN YOU?????WOW! THAT IS POWER!

An addict doesn't need a powerpoint presentation and soft chairs, but deliverance. Freedom!

When it comes down to it, words are not enough if they dont literally change my life. We are very good at talking to people. We have TV shows, radio shows, one more entertaining than others...But how about getting our hands dirty and spending time with those people patiently to get them delivered?

I challenge you to find one or 2 people you will pour your life into to teach them not jsut theory but practical stuff. Show them how to heal, deliver, and change someone's life. Make their life count. Yes, we need to reproduce. That means we need to amek more copies of ourselves...but first are you doing those things? Am I doing those things? You cannot reproduce something you are not. If you are only a hearer, you will produce a hearer.

Again, I encourage you to please check out Curry Blake. Google him or look on the right side next to this article to see the website posted.

Persecution. Is that what God needs to do in order for us to be practical. We look at the world and we say, " it is going to hell in a handbasket". " Jesus is coming!" I want Him to come, but some of the things are happening because we are supposed to do something about it so the power of God can be shown and Him be glorified. If everything was perfect already, then how could we tell when CHANGE happens and God is glorified? " He was born this way so that the power of God may be shown through him" , Jesus said. Some things happen not so we can say, " I knew it. I told you so", but so we can change them and God's power be demonstrated so that PEOPLE MIGHT BELIEVE!

Please analyze your own life, not your neighbors'. See is you are doing anything practical. If you read my previous article then you know I talked about the things I do, practically, to reach people. And that list is not complete. I even take my 6 year old with me to places to show her how to do those things. No, I dont just take her to church service, but prayer at home, neighbors, etc. I even encourage her to share Jesus with her classmates at 6! Yes! You are the child's best teacher. You know she watches me and she copies me. She already told me how she went to kindergarten and told one of her classmates how something she did is sin....LOL

She is very sweet and kind. I am sure she wasnt mean. She came home saying, " Mommy she doesnt care" or something like that. I told her , " Well, she is too young to know yet and maybe her parents don't teach her those things, but you need to pray for her". Something like that. It is not the Sunday School teacher's job to teach your kid only. Kids need to see you are living and breathing it daily.Your life is all Christ now, ALL THE TIME. Not first. Wrong translation. Matthew 6:33 int he Greek says, "See ONLY the KINGDOM ( His dominion) of God" and guess what?... if you do that during this economy, " and all THESE things(your needs met) will be added unto you". It is like magnet. They will follow you. You take care of His business, and He will take care of your needs. Sounds good to me.

So, let's be practical. The disciples were. They worked, preached, healed, delivered, fed the hungry, and even died. But I tell you that today instead of helping one another in the local church, we avoid one another. Take this test. Stop right now while you are reading this and get a piece of paper. Think of someone in your local church who struggles financially or needs healing. Write down their name. Now , how about you do something about it today? You and I are the BODY. We need to stop asking Jesus to do it. We are Jesus on Earth. We are His body. In this form He is here now and His Spirit lives in us. So, let the body do something and quit asking the head to be the hand, the mouth, and the feet. He is the head. He is the nucleus of the cell. He commands the body what to do and the body should listen. We have a crippled body. How does a paralyzed person "feel" if the body doesnt want to listen to the brain to move? Is that body going anywhere? Nope. Our HEAD ,JESUS, is telling us to go and do, and yet we tell the head to go and do. You all know the head is no good without a body and the body no good without a head. We are interdependent.

Thanks for reading this. Please dont forget to look at my video section and listen to some of the things I post there, too. I write songs. I have posted a song. It has not been published yet, but will be soon I hope. Just check it out.

I pray we all wake up before persecution.