ALERT!!! WILL AMERICANS WAKE UP NOW? THE GREAT JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE!

Today the worst earthquake in Japan ’s history followed by a giant tsunami has hit the country. We still do not know the extent of the devastation and loss of life and likely will not for days. Because this is a technically advanced country, we have television images of the disaster – pictures of the tsunami and of trucks and cars and boats rolling along carried by the tsunami.

Earthquakes are one of the signs of the impending end of this age and the coming return of Jesus, as those who red the Bible and follow our ministry know. We have had an extraordinary number of devastating such events in the last few years.

It should be noted that Japan is overwhelmingly not filled with Christians. There is a very small percentage of believers in Jesus there, although that number has been reported to be on the rise.

I usually do not make this point, but it is time to make it – please notice that the greatest natural disasters in history have occurred in non-Christian nations. So here is my point – I believe the US and Europe too may have been spared such giant disasters in the past by the intercession of the number of true believers in Jesus who have lived in these areas.

But now Europe has a very small percentage of Christians. And the US steadily has been falling away, with much of its formal/organized religion only having a form of godliness but denying its power.

God called me long ago to “tell people who he is and that he is coming soon.” Well, I cannot pass by this moment without warning people that HE IS COMING SOON! Time to make sure you really do know him, that you are living in the right relationship with him.

We all should pray for the Japanese people. We also should pray for ourselves and all those we know, that all who do not know Jesus would be drawn by the Father to Jesus.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

OBSERVATIONS ON TODAY'S WORLD

Before God called me in such a dramatic fashion many years ago, I worked and traveled in and through many countries. Most of those places were what we might today call third-world or developing. Some were not developing at all. As I went to several of the countries in the Middle East, for example, I remember seeing and telling others that the people there were held back by their own religion. I didn’t know how true that was then, but of course it is obviously true. Following a false god, believing incorrect things, is disaster for humans. So too is taking harmful actions against Israel (remember God’s words - I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you). And all the strange and unpleasant restrictions placed on people in Islam, especially women, are just that, strange and unpleasant.

But then all these Muslims are lost and will stay that way until they realize who Jesus is and accept him as their Lord. That does happen, usually with great pressure on Muslims making the conversion, often with the need to get away from where they are, often with resulting persecution, even sometimes death. I heard at a missions meeting back in the mid-1990’s of how Jesus had been appearing in dreams/visions to some Muslims, even Muslim religious leaders, leading of course to conversions of those people. Some in the mission field call that a power play. It certainly is, isn’t it! That continues. I don’t know how many have received such power plays, but it has happened and is happening.

In a similar way, when I was in many of the sub-Saharan African nations I experienced the wretched poverty of the areas and saw the results of corrupt governments and just lack of funds and lack of knowledge and education. A question that frequently came up was what it will take to get Africans out of this, referring of course to the economic level and quality of life. The answer should be obvious – knowledge of and faith in God. They needed true Christian leaders who would not be corrupt. All the people themselves needed to know Jesus, to know the truths of the Bible, to know how to go forward in living and applying the truths of the Bible.

I remember at one program in the US when I mentioned something about God’s provision, perhaps the verse that God provides all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus, a woman sarcastically said, “tell that to the Africans!” But she missed the point. All that God wants people to have will not come to them unless they know him, unless they accept Jesus as Lord, unless they know the various truths and principles in the Bible and actually apply them to their daily lives. That has now begun to happen, with really great changes afoot. Some giant missionary efforts have brought great numbers coming to Christ, and Africa like China is at least in some areas a hotbed of new and serious Christians.

GOD'S PROVISION FOR A VICTORIOUS LIFE

The commands, the promises, the rules given in the Bible are not there because God wants to be harsh on people or because he wants them to have a hard time. No, God knows the behaviors that will bring hardship and heartbreak, and he has given us there truths of his kingdom that will enable us to avoid such behaviors if they are obeyed and followed in our actions. Sadly, most people have either not known the Bible at all or have treated it as a general guidebook or an interesting ancient book kept on a table. But the Bible is full of God’s truths, and also warnings about what is to come. It was written by God through people as a gift to people. It is not a guidebook. It is the policy manual and the book of laws for the Kingdom of God. You could say also it is the policy manual and the book of laws for a truly successful life now and in that Kingdom. One more point - these truths and promises of God work if they are actually applied to your life, if you actually act on them.

WHO IS GOING WITH HIM?

[Some items are too important not to post. This article was sent out February 9 to all on our ministry newsletter list. I wanted to be sure that those who come to this blog would see it as well.]

A minister friend of mine has recently been active in missionary work in Africa, and I along with others am thrilled as we hear reports of God working through his actions there.

From time to time our ministry has been invited to partner with startup and existing churches in Africa, in India, in Pakistan, and elsewhere, and to come and hold crusades there. But when I some time ago prayed about going to minister in one of these places, I received clear guidance that our ministry is here, in the US (at least the “in person” ministry for now. Our CDs and newsletters and the web site of course go around the world.).

And that has all led me to thinking. So many of the serious believers correctly get very excited and also concerned about all those around the world who have not heard the good news. Some become active in international missions, whether going themselves or supporting the efforts of others. But one thing people forget – a huge number of Americans are also not currently in line to join God in Heaven, in the Kingdom, whether in the rapture or through death. Large numbers of Americans are just not genuine believers. Now of course you know that about people who clearly just don’t know God at all. But I’m here to tell you that huge numbers of others as well are certainly not currently lined up for Heaven.

We all see or hear those polls that say large percentages of Americans believe there is a God. So people like to say that a high percentage of Americans are believers. Large numbers also say they are Christians, and large numbers go to brick building churches on Sundays. But saying there is a God or that you believe in God does not get you into the Kingdom of God, into Heaven. Saying you are a Christian or going to church on Sundays does not get you there either.

Jesus and others such as Paul very specifically pointed out the requirements to be in the Kingdom. For example, Jesus said a person must have a spiritual rebirth (“born again”) just to see the Kingdom of God and must be born of water and the spirit in order to enter the Kingdom. Large numbers of churches in America never get into focusing on the spirit at all. It’s a part of the Bible they have overlooked.

Paul said that if a person confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead, then he is saved. Saying that Jesus is Lord means you have made him Lord of your life. That means that you obey what he says. What does he say? As a minimum, all he said in the Bible. For example, I recently saw a prominent poll that said that half of all people who say they are Christians don’t believe the devil is real. But Jesus talked about the devil. He warned about the devil. He knew the devil is real. If a person does not believe that, then they are not believing Jesus. They certainly haven’t made Jesus Lord of their lives.

Elsewhere Jesus talks about just believing. Believe he is who he says he is and that he did what he did. That type of belief is absolute, like your believing there is enough air in the room in which you are reading this now so that you will stay alive (otherwise you would run out!). Absolute, genuine belief.

Jesus really is the Son of God. He really did come to earth and be born as a human being – actually his mother was a human but his Father was God himself. Jesus is alive, really alive. Currently he sits at the right hand of the Father. All things are under his feet. He is the King of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus himself made the point that few are they who find the way to life (e.g., to be in the Kingdom of God, to life eternal with him and his father). This point is made more than once. Few. That is way less than half. Few.

Clearly there is great room for ministry and mission work to those who live in the United States as well as elsewhere. Watch what happens around you in your town, neighborhood, city, nation – on TV and in person. Scan the front page of the local newspaper. Lots of lost and confused people. Listen to the entertainment celebrities, the politicians, the reporters. How many of those people have any idea who Jesus really is? Talk to ordinary everyday people. Let’s face it - huge numbers of Americans are not genuine believers in Christ.

You can try this test yourself. Go ask random people in your neighborhood or business or school how people get to Heaven. Jesus said he is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by him. Jesus is the only way. In this confused age of political correctness, you will hear many say they believe there are many ways to God. And you will see they are accepting of many false religions. Right away you know those people are lost.

Or you might ask people who goes to Heaven. You will hear some say that everyone goes to Heaven. Again, lost people.

A few years ago a man came to our office. He asked about our ministry. After some discussion, I remarked that he was not from the US. He replied that he was from Africa. I said I had been to Africa. After some discussion we found I had been to the city he had come from. So we had a good relationship. He mentioned that in his country people are healed by God. I said that we had divine healings in our ministry. He found that hard to believe, but I assured him it was true. He finally came out and said that he was a missionary sent from his country to the US, a Christian missionary. And he offered his views on why so many in America don’t see such things as healings by God. Since then I have found there are other missionaries from other places here to speak to Americans.

The US is a mission field. Yes, there are thousands upon thousands of big and small church buildings. The country does not need any more church buildings. Those funds could be used for far greater works. What the country needs is people to present the full power gospel of Jesus, whether in buildings or in home groups, and for people to actually believe and act on the truths of the gospel. People need to know and to obey the words of Jesus. What is being presented in many churches is a narrow and watered down gospel, a cultural gospel of no power. Jesus took care of everything that separated people from God. Yes he served as a substitutionary sacrifice for us, to pay the debt we all owed God for our sins. And he overcame that so that if we truly accept him we are forgiven and we have life eternal with him and his father. But he also took upon himself all our pain and sicknesses and disease, and by the horrible beatings he suffered, we are healed and made whole. He became a curse for us on the cross, so that we are free from curses of the law. He overcame evil, overcame death, overcame the world. And in him we do the same. He became poor that we might be rich. And on and on. So much more than is taught almost anywhere. Most people who say they are Christians have never heard most of what Jesus did, and they are not aware of who they are in Christ or that they have a power gospel. Rather so many sit like bored sheep on Sunday mornings and hear narrow, limited sermons, leaving with no revelation and no power. And they are lost.

Jesus Christ is coming soon to collect his CHURCH, that body of people who truly believe in him no matter where they are in the world.

Will he find faith on earth? Will he find it in you, in your house, in your neighborhood?

Just who is he really going to take with him?

IT'S NOT THE ECONOMY...

Last Tuesday the United States held its annual election day. The party out of power bolstered by a strong independent group known as the Tea Party claimed a huge upsurge in the House of Representatives and a real increase in representation in the Senate. There was also a great increase in the number of Republican governors. This pattern was repeated in many state legislatures, such as North Carolina which has the first Republican majority legislature since the 1800’s.

All this has many politicians and pundits making a variety of claims. I’m sure you’ve seen many of them – repudiation of the current administration’s policies, demand for change, throwing out people who do not represent the population they are supposed to serve, and so forth.

More specifically, I hear people talking about how the real issue is the economy, how that is the great problem in America, how the focus has to be on fixing that – including such actions as cutting spending, continuing the Bush era tax cuts, and so forth.

I’m writing this to tell you the real problem in America is not the economy. Most certainly not. Yes, abut 10% unemployment is high and bad, and yes, there are probably even more out there unemployed who are not counted. But the real problem for these United States is that the people – as a whole – have forgotten who they are, if some ever knew. They are focused on their own income and security, while steps have been taken to dismantle the fundamental structure of the country.

The United States, as I have written before, was founded by a group of spectacular individuals who were well grounded in the Christian faith and who sought God’s blessings on this enterprise. The original bold documents were laid out to provide and protect individual liberty and to reward individual effort. In fact the original holders of political positions were not really full time politicians. They had other jobs, like being a farmer or something else. It was like many of our state legislatures used to be – part time jobs filled by people connected to the real economy and society of the country. But over the years we have come to have career politicians, people who have never held a real job in the economy and thus have little or no understanding of the economic system that drives the country and job creation. Senators and Congressmen serving many years! And people out of office working in Washington as lobbyists until they can be appointed or reelected to another position.

Some times in the past when I was involved in the business world I would go to meetings and functions with these people or their staffs in Washington, “inside the beltway.” The discussions even in the informal time before or after the meetings were all about politics. I remember thinking – no one in the rest of the country cares about what these people are talking about.

This great separation of the “leaders” from the population was never so clear as in the past two years when the federal government pushed through dramatically new legislation and actions that were not wanted by the American people. This population, this 330 million people, was ignored by an elected elite that considered itself above it all, perhaps wiser and better than the rest.

The past two years saw steady moves to a socialist system, a federal takeover of much more of the countries activities. But it is the private enterprise system that is the engine that has driven the country up to such economic heights.

And it has been the strong Christian beliefs of some of the population that has led the country to take bold steps in the past to defend other less powerful nations and peoples. The action of a leader apologizing to the world for the actions of the US is out of line with history. Yes, of course, the country has made mistakes, and when that happens they should be apologized for. But in this secular world, the US has been the greatest force for good the world has seen these past many years. Had the US not entered World War II in Europe as well as in the Pacific, something many did not want to happen, the world would be living today with the Nazis in control of Europe. Britain alone could not have defeated Hitler and the Nazis. That’s just one good example, one very good example. The same can be said for stopping Japanese aggression in the Pacific.

Over the years this country has been the base for sending countless missionaries into the world, for sending huge relief efforts to areas devastated by drought, by war, by famine, by typhoons and earthquakes and other natural disasters.

There is only one true responsibility of a national government – to protect the country and the citizens against foreign enemies. Everything beyond that is an add-on that does not have to be included.

We see today an enormous number of people who now feel they are owed things by the country, by the government – people refer to this as entitlements. So for those people the issue of going forward to the best of their abilities (hopefully with their eye and prayers toward God and seeking his guidance) does not exist as it once did in the country.

The founding fathers, clearly guided by God, created a country where people had the environment and the opportunity to go forward with their God-given talents and pursue to the best of their abilities the areas they wished to pursue. That’s it. That’s all. No one is owed anything by a national government. Yes, there has to be provision for those truly physically or mentally unable to participate fully, but that is a very small number indeed, not the huge numbers today expecting to receive from the government.

Here seems a good time to move more into the preacher role. God is the source, not the government! God is the source. We have this extraordinary government and society because clearly this land has been blessed by God in its founding, because there have been so many godly people living here. One of the Psalms points out how God has claimed the godly for himself. And there are many verses in the Bible that point out how God blesses people. There are also verses that point out that people are to work hard. Also that that work is not to take all the time from waking to going to bed.

The great problem in America is that most Americans have forgotten who they are. That includes the magnificent heritage of the creation and history of the country. And it includes the role that faith in God has played. I would say that is why the country has been so successful. As so many Americans pull away from God – which we clearly see in the entertainment world, the political world, the media and everyday life– the United States slips steadily from the shining platform it had reached.

Some voting advice: Don’t elect ungodly leaders. Don’t elect people who think the economy is the greatest problem in the country. Don’t elect leaders that will take the country to failed social systems that have long ago been disproved in Europe and Asia. Don’t ever elect leaders who cannot see truth and hide behind phony facades like political correctness. And don’t elect leaders who have had no personal experiences in working in the system that prospered the country.

This recent election at least shows a sizable number of Americans know something is wrong. Well, it is. We are rapidly approaching the time of Jesus’ return to earth. And in the US there is a national falling away from God, almost a rebellion against God; a blatant disregard of things God has boldly warned us about in the Bible; and a blind acceptance of people as leaders who even a cursory glance would show are highly unqualified and even dangerous.

May God have mercy on the United States of America.

PRAY AGAINST THE STORM! ORDER IT AWAY!

TO ALL THOSE WHO LIVE ON THE ATLANTIC COAST:

A couple of years ago when the coast was threatened by a storm similar to the current hurricane EARL, I sent an email asking all along the coast to take action. And the threatening hurricane then was indeed kept at bay, offshore.

It's time to do that again.

Most of you have heard me or read my writings talking about John 14:12-14 and Mark 11:22-24.

In John 14:12, Jesus states that those who believe will do the same things he had been doing.

In Mark 11:22-23, Jesus makes the point that anyone who has faith can say to their mountain, "go and throw yourself into the sea," and if he/she believes and does not doubt, it will be done as they have said.

Well, it's time right now to put those verses and your faith into action. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of power and not just word! It is these verses and others that lead us to realize that in Jesus all things are possible.

What did Jesus do? He healed the sick. He also changed the weather. And he says we can do the same thing.

Well, we do. People do receive their healing! And the weather is changed!

What is the mountain today for people along much of the Atlantic Coast - the storm EARL.

I have always believed it is those most directly affected who have the most urgency and most responsibility to pray and who have - in Jesus name - the most power is a situation. So go outside and face the ocean, wherever you are, face East, and in Jesus name, speak to the storm EARL today, right now. Order it's winds to diminish. Order it to turn away from the coast and disappear. And whatever else the Holy Spirit guides you to , all in Jesus' name.

The miracles we have seen in this ministry have all happened because we take Jesus at his word.

So what are you waiting for?

May you always live in the blessings of God.

JOHN

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

A Message For Those Who Teach And Preach, and for Those Who Listen

Not long ago I read a remarkable thing by the Christian writer Oswald Chambers. He observed that people called by God first “do” and then they “teach.” I partly agree with that. After God’s initial dramatic call on my life, I studied and prayed, wrote, and did other things. Then there was a period of focusing almost entirely on healing, always accompanied by teaching. There is nothing like being in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and seeing God work – especially when for many present this might be the first time they have ever seen God work. As I moved along I found myself teaching more and more.

One day about five years ago Jesus clearly said to me, “John, tell them who I am and that I am coming soon.” He has repeated that, sometimes with elaboration, several times since. So I do. Now we still heal the sick and do other things in ministry, but the focus is on teaching and preaching all about who Jesus is and that he is coming soon. So in reality, first I “did” and then I moved into more “teaching,” still “doing” along with “teaching.”

I have seen this pattern in others. One famous world-wide minister was for years focused on miracle healing programs. He held those everywhere. Then while still doing healing programs his focus seemed to move to teaching. He held programs on teaching about how to minister. He referred to his ministry as an “end times” ministry. Why? Probably because he in some way heard something similar to what I heard. Jesus really is coming soon. It’s a time of picking up as many for the kingdom as possible.

Maybe doing builds the faith needed to teach the Word with boldness and confidence. Maybe.

Why is teaching so important? Because knowing Jesus – receiving him as your Lord – is more important than anything else. Remember, the Bible does make the point that teachers of the Word are held to a higher standard. (James 3:1).

Once years ago we were asked by a relief organization to go to a difficult war-torn country and oversee provision of certain necessities to the people. One problem to us was that we were told we could not tell the people in that country about Jesus. We could just provide the necessities of life that the people did not have – in this case housing. Well, we realized, what does it matter if they have housing and do not know Jesus? Very little. Years later, I was asked to interview to be head of that organization, but the same issue troubled me, so I did not follow up.

What does it matter if you are healed physically but do not know Jesus? Nothing, really, except that for a miniscule moment in time you are healed. Because long-run, you will live in absolute torment unless you do receive Jesus.

If you are thinking about teaching the gospel, never forget that teachers are held to a higher standard. Jesus is preaching and teaching through you. It is the Holy Spirit who is impacting the listeners.

There is another insight to all this, a warning not only for all preaching and teaching the Word of God but also for all listening to such. Once in a city when I had begun to speak to various local ministers, one said to me, “John, when you’re going about meeting all these preachers, you’re going to find that many of them haven’t even been born again.”

Now there is an indictment! He was saying that many of those preaching and teaching the Word don’t know Jesus, don’t have a regenerated spirit, and quite obviously don’t know the Holy Spirit. And they are preaching and teaching others, on Sunday mornings in churches and elsewhere. Yet teachers of the Word are held to a higher standard.

We need to be wise about whom we listen to and sit under, in person and on television and in books. Always, always be guided by the Holy Spirit in such matters. As regards a local church, here are a couple suggestions – Do you see God moving in the church, people actually healed, miracles happening? If you can’t answer yes to that, you need to consider where you are and why you are there. When you listen to preaching on Sunday mornings or whenever you do listen, is it inspired? Do you receive any confirmation in your spirit from what you hear? Does it line up with the Bible? And is the fullness of the gospel being preached, all those many things Jesus did for us and told us to do that are so often not ever mentioned?

Something to ponder seriously.