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https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-23-2026 April 23, 2026 America: Finding Our Way Back I believe President Trump is a very misunderstood man. He is often judged negatively for his brash, even brazen, comments and posts; at times, he is perceived as stubborn, opinionated, and egotistical. My purpose in today’s post is not to defend his personality–I, too, at times find myself wishing he would say things differently - but simply to offer some perspective. Forerunner First of all, President Trump was obviously fashioned by God to be an agent of change, a forerunner of sorts. He has been tasked with leading the governmental aspect of America finding its way back to greatness. Jeremiah told Israel to “stand at the crossroads, and ask for directions to the old road, the tried-and-true road. Then take it” (Jeremiah 6:16, The Message). Forerunners are pathfinders, waymakers, and pioneers. They are a different breed of leader, willing to take risks and move into uncharted regions and endeavors. And they are tough. Like mountain men in times past, they must be more stubborn than the terrain, the climate, the assignment, the desert or mountain range they’re being challenged by. Like the scouts for America’s settlers and wagon trains of old, present day forerunners find the way through treacherous seasons and over societies’ mountains of adversity; then they lead others on the right path. Sometimes these guides know the way from past journeys; sometimes they must find, or even make one. The path they find isn’t always easy to travel. Their assignment is not to make everyone comfortable, but to lead them safely through, whether it was yesterday’s mountain pass or today’s season of change. Their concern is for the future, not people’s feelings; the entire group, not an individual. When the forerunner John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, his message of change was often unsettling. He was brazen and confrontational. Making a road in a wilderness–lifting valleys, lowering mountains, making rough ground smooth (Isaiah 40:3-4)–calls for a bulldozer anointing! It’s messy and difficult. John’s way of cutting through the “jungle” of religion was not a machete, but a two-edged sword - his words. Pioneer John’s “buffalo robe” was camel hair, his “steaks” were locusts, and his “long rifle” was a message: “Repent! Because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-4). The word repent literally means to change one’s thinking, resulting in a change of direction. “Change!” John commanded. He actually called some of his listeners “vipers” (Matthew 3:7)! Sounds like something one might read on Truth Social. Well, Trump’s middle name is John, after all. Perhaps God had a hand in that. Forerunners aren’t known for eloquent speech, fancy language, and nice words. Change agent General George Patton, like Trump, offended some with his language and actions. He was known to drop f-bombs, use other four-letter words, and even slap soldiers while calling them cowards. He wasn’t woke or gentle, but he did help save the world. Sometimes we need Rambos, not wordsmiths. A Man Possessed While I’m certain that President Trump has had a forerunning, pioneering spirit all his life–one is born with this nature–I saw a change take place in him from 2021 to 2024. I’m sure some of the change was caused by the incredibly unfair, unjust, and vicious treatment of him and his family. One can only wonder at the level of hatred and vitriol toward President Trump by leftists and progressives. The cause of their poisonous venom is twofold: 1) he interrupted their takeover of America; but 2) it is also, without doubt, demonic at its core. However, in my opinion, Trump’s determination to thwart his enemies is not the only reason for the changes I’ve seen. I believe the motivation is spiritual. President Trump had a respect for God in his past, though he wouldn’t have called himself religious. But he changed after the assassination attempt and God’s supernatural intervention. I believe he became aware of–and was deeply moved by–a revelation that God has called him to help restore America and make the world a safer and better place. It is a strength that comes from a sense of destiny. I also believe he realizes how far America has fallen, and that business as usual–even from good, well-intentioned people–cannot save America. “Getting along” with the other side certainly will not work. The American boat must now be rocked; the status quo must be challenged. And I believe Trump was made for this. I also feel that President Trump knew America had very little time before reaching the point of no return. And he knows he has a very limited time as President, and perhaps in his life, to be the change agent he needs to be. Therefore, I don’t believe he cares any longer what ANYONE thinks about him or his decisions, as long as he is convinced they’re right. He is a man possessed, as it were, to save our nation and make the world better before his time is up. In summary, I believe our President knows he was created, equipped, and called to the task of leading America back to “the old road,” and is on a mission to do so. And I don’t believe he cares what anyone thinks about this. As with all strengths, they come with weaknesses. President Trump has his, as do you and I. Pray that his strengths supercede his weaknesses, and that he humbly relies on the Lord for his ideas, strategies, and plans. No man is wise enough to do what he needs to do. As Solomon so wisely said, “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9, NAS) Pray with me: Father, I pray that the same mindset be in President Trump that was in Solomon: “I don’t have enough wisdom to do what is needed, Lord. I need Your help.” Keep him reminded that humility before You is his greatest strength. Cause the natural strength You gave him to be tempered by this revelation. Give the American people an understanding of President Trump’s heart and desires. I am confident he wants to do what is right for America and the world, cause this to be seen and understood. Silence the agenda of the leftists, those who also oppose You and Your ways. Continue to expose them for who they really are. Thank You for putting a desire in the President’s heart to call for the day of rededication to You. Do a work in the hearts of Americans between now and then, causing there to be a sincere humility before You on that day. As we qadash ourselves to You, may our appeals be pleasing, rising as a sweet incense. May it be a day that forever changes America. All of these things we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We declare grace over Donald John Trump, grace that causes his heart to be conformed more and more to God’s will for America. ***************************** To find out more about May 17, 2026, a day set aside to rededicate America back to God, go to this website. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-22-2026 April 22, 2026 Dedicating our Nation to God When God was about to perform significant events in Israel, He would often ask them to draw near and rededicate themselves to Him. Why? Because He wants our partnership, not just our obedience. And the faith and spiritual authority needed to partner with Him are determined by how well we know Him; intimacy produces efficacy. Our heart connection with Abba dictates the degree of our productivity in His Kingdom. The more we know His heart and ways, the more authority and responsibility He can entrust to us. He wants partners, family - not hirelings. The actual Hebrew word He used when telling Israel to dedicate themselves was qadash. The way this word is often translated, along with our preconceived ideas, can rob us of its true meaning. Qadash is frequently translated as “consecrate” or “sanctify.” To most people, these are antiquated religious terms meaning, “to be holy by not sinning or committing inappropriate acts.” However, that is NOT what qadash means. It actually means to be “set apart, separated, dedicated to, consecrated, sanctified.”(1) In Scripture, this was a setting apart or dedication TO God, not FROM sinful actions. Consecration is for connection. Sanctification is a relational concept. The Old Testament word for being separated from sinful acts is nazir.(2) You can easily see that “nazarite” comes from this word, which was a person who took a nazarite vow of “separation from” certain things and activities. The vow and actions were meant to picture one’s devotion to God, not produce it. Nazir did not create one’s relationship with God. Religion has wrongly emphasized that nazir - don’t do this, don’t touch that, don’t go here, etc.-- defines one’s relationship with God. But this nazir concept doesn’t connect us to a relational God who wants to relate to us as Father (Abba), whom we can love and enjoy. Because of this error, He is often seen primarily as the Judge. And a mean one, at that, just looking for an excuse to sentence us sorry humans to pain and torment. Our only hope for salvation and approval from this Judge is our good works, perfect performance, righteous deeds - nazir. Sadly, this concept of nazir - separate yourself FROM - is often the religious standard for a person’s relationship with God. Qadash, on the other hand, is not a command to separate from things and activities - i.e., stop doing something. Rather, it is an invitation to separate ourselves unto God: draw near to Him, set ourselves apart to Him, dedicate our lives to Him. Whereas nazir is “stay away from,” qadash is “draw near to.” God wants connection, not perfection; He wants a family, not fearful subjects; He craves relationship, not religious activity. He told Israel repeatedly, “Qadash yourselves. Draw near to Me.” He didn’t say, “nazir yourselves.” The difference is profoundly important: Qadash is do; nazir is don’t. Qadash produces and enhances relationship; nazir is only a picture of relationship. Qadash is worship; nazir is works. Qadash is the source; nazir is the outflow. Qadash is the root; nazir is the fruit. It shouldn’t surprise us that the word “holy” is not derived from the Hebrew word nazir, but from qadash. ”Holy,” in the Old Testament, is the word qodesh. Nazir - separating ourselves from/not doing things we perceive as sinful - does not make us holy. Can you say, Pharisee? No, holiness (qodesh)(3) is produced by - and literally defined as - being separated unto God (qadash😞 Dedication to Him; drawing near to Him; giving Him quality time; worshipping Him. These actions describe relationship, and they define holiness. So, back to our opening statement that when doing significant events in Israel, the Lord would often ask them to qadash themselves: Exodus 19:10 - Moses was told to qadash the descendants of Abraham for three days at Mount Sinai, before God gave them their national government. 
 Exodus 28:41 - Moses was told to qadash Aaron and his sons before anointing them, inaugurating the priesthood of Israel.
 Joshua 3:5 - Joshua told the Israelites to qadash themselves for a day before crossing the Jordon into the promised land of Canaan. 
 Joel 2:15 - Joel instructed the people of Israel to qadash themselves in preparation for the incredible restoration God was about to perform (which also pictured Pentecost in Acts 2). The May 17 day of rededication is vitally important for America. It is a day for Americans to qadash our nation to the Lord once again. This will prepare us for revival, for restoration, for new beginnings. It is what God needs and wants in order to do so - not religious actions but heartfelt dedication. I believe the coming outpouring of Holy Spirit will be the greatest “presence movement” in history. It will not be built on or revolve around gifts, preaching, personalities, methods, programs, buildings, religious methods, innovation, sensationalism, or hype. It will result from and be based on relationship with a person: God. And millions of people around the world will find what they have been looking for: the love of their Creator. Pray with me: Father, as we move toward an outpouring that undoubtedly brings You great excitement, we are preparing ourselves by drawing near to You. Forgive us for ever believing our good works could motivate You to redeem us. There is nothing we could ever do to earn Your love and grace. EVERYTHING You do is motivated by Your love. You ARE love, so how could it be otherwise? We ask You to release great revelation to us over the coming weeks as we draw near to You. May we see facets of Your character and nature we have not seen before. We cry out with our brother, Paul, whose passionate plea was, “that I may know Him...” (Philippians 3:10). We align with the words of David, who said, “I heard Your voice in my heart say, ‘Come, seek My face;’ my inner being responded, ‘Yahweh, I’m seeking Your face with all my heart’” (Psalm 27:8 TPT). Our heart’s cry, Lord, is that through our response of drawing near to You, we prepare the way for You to bring a presence movement to America and the earth that draws millions of people to You. So often in the past, the church has offered only religion. In this next great outpouring, may we offer them YOU! Our decree: We declare our faith that the greatest presence movement in history is going to invade the earth. ************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 6242. Ibid., ref. no. 5139. Ibid., ref. no. 6944.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-21-2026 April 21, 2026 This Week America Reads the Bible We are living in a very important season regarding America’s turnaround. The changes we have requested of the Lord for decades are occurring. From revival breaking out on our campuses, to prayer and worship in the White House, from a call for the reading of the Scriptures over our nation, to the Rededication of America as one nation under God, significant events are taking place. It is critical that the church supports and partners with these changes. “America Reads the Bible” An endeavor to exalt God’s Word over our nation began last Saturday. The reading actually began on Sunday. The organizers state: “Just as Ezra read the Word aloud to the people of Israel (Nehemiah 8:1–3), awakening revival and repentance, inspiring them to rebuild the temple, and working with Nehemiah to mobilize the people to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, America Reads the Bible is a sacred opportunity to call our nation back to its spiritual foundations. Through a public, continuous reading of the entire Bible in our nation’s capital by our national leaders from all spheres of influence, we believe God can spark revival in individual hearts and inspire Americans to carry the Word forward in their lives and communities into the next 250 years of our national story... “In honor of the 250th birthday of the United States, America Reads the Bible serves as a spiritual celebration of our nation’s founding ideals and a call to rediscover the truth that still anchors us today.”(1) 500 leaders from across America will read a passage of Scripture. On Today, Tuesday evening, President Trump will participate and read from 2 Chronicles 7. You can find out how you can see and agree with this amazing reading through the Bible online by going to AmericaReadstheBible.com. Pureflix is carrying these seven days of reading, and you can watch for free. More about how to do this is on the AmericaReadstheBible.com website. National Day of Rededication Four months prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, on March 16, 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued a resolution designating Friday, May 17, 1776, as a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer to seek divine favor for the colonies. The text advises colonists to confess sins, repent, and ask God to bless the American cause, preserve the colonies, and restore peace. Without realizing they were doing so, President Trump and his team chose the exact same date - May 17 - for this year’s “National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving,” rededicating America as one nation under God. What an incredible confirmation of God’s providential hand leading our President and his team to conduct this gathering. I believe it is an announcement from the Lord that our many prayers, solemn assemblies, and days of fasting over the past 40 years are coming to fruition. This all-day gathering on the Washington Mall will highlight the country’s 250 years of providential history, emphasizing the role of faith in America’s founding and history, and rededicate the nation as “One Nation Under God.” It will absolutely be a once-in-a-lifetime event. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Here is a portion of the 1776 resolution: “In times of impending calamity and distress; when the liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publicly to acknowledge the over ruling providence of God; to confess and deplore our offences against him; and to supplicate his interposition for averting the threatened danger, and prospering our strenuous efforts in the cause of freedom, virtue, and posterity… “Desirous, at the same time, to have people of all ranks and degrees duly impressed with a solemn sense of God’s superintending providence, and of their duty, devoutly to rely, in all their lawful enterprises, on his aid and direction, Do earnestly recommend, that Friday, the Seventeenth day of May next, be observed by the said colonies as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and, by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his righteous displeasure, and, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness; humbly imploring his assistance to frustrate the cruel purposes of our unnatural enemies; and by inclining their hearts to justice and benevolence, prevent the further effusion of kindred blood.”(2) The Lord heard their prayer and gave them freedom from Britain. This May 17, we will rededicate our nation to Him, and He will hear again, granting grace and mercy. Pray with me: For our prayer today, we will read passages from 1 Kings 8 describing Solomon’s dedication of the Temple. “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. He said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, “‘Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, “My name shall be there,” to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive. “‘If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.’ “When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ‘“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else. Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.’ “Now the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the Lord. Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.” (1 Kings 8:22-23, 28-30, 37-40, 54-63) *************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. -------------------------------------------------- americareadsthebible.com https://americanfounding.org/entries/second-continental-congress-march-16-1776/

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-20-2026 April 20, 2026 The Glorious Church Is Not a Distant Dream The U.S. blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is having a devastating impact on the Iranian regime. Their entire economy is based on the sale of oil; the blockade shut it down immediately, costing them an estimated $435 million PER DAY. Contrary to what the TDS news media and progressive movement try to tell us, the most impressive military operation in history, carried out by the United States military, is bringing this evil terrorist regime to its knees. It’s navy - gone. It’s air force - gone. Its ability to produce missiles - gone. Its missile stockpile and launchers - all but gone. It’s leadership - gone. All in 40 days. It was past time for this, and Trump said, “Enough.” Your kids and grandkids will thank him. Victory is not quite complete, however. This won’t be the case until Iran’s enriched uranium is certifiably gone and, hopefully, the demonized regime has been replaced. Continue praying for this. I believe Holy Spirit wants to make Iran a base for revival in the Middle East. Partner with Him in prayer. Europe The war has also exposed several European countries as the weak appeasers they are. NATO has lost its way and is a timid, toothless tiger, depending on the U.S. for military strength and protection. They’d rather spend their money and efforts on woke causes than on strength and protection. Kiss the bully’s ring - and buy his oil - and maybe he’ll leave us alone. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and other totalitarian regimes were laughing with glee until Trump decided to take action. The U.S. has demonstrated that it is still the most powerful nation in the world and now controls most of the world’s oil. No, I don’t want the United States to be the world’s sheriff, but I do believe in smacking the bully once in a while. On the Home Front The United States economy is strong, and the price of gasoline will come back down fairly quickly. Do not believe the naysayers who try to tell us that the economy is a mess. An incredible amount of work is being done to rid our nation of government corruption, including at every level of our judicial system. This has begun, but will take years. The corruption is much deeper than we even knew. Criminals are allowed to roam our streets, while the righteous are persecuted. Liberals in Congress hated Elon Musk and DOGE for exposing fraud! And the left in California - whose fraud it now seems dwarfs Minnesota’s - now wants to prosecute those who discover and expose fraud in their state. I once read about those who call evil good and good evil… (see Isaiah 5:20). The media is still filled with lying propagandists, but more and more honorable people are regularly moving into this arena. Also, many people are beginning to see the mainstream media’s bias and dishonesty. Education is changing for the good, ever so slowly, and primarily from the outside in. The evil in this corrupt arm of government is being exposed, parents are making a stand, and young people are being awakened to what has been occurring. Corruption and darkness are slowly losing their hold. Revival will hit the turbo button on all of these positive changes. Salvation awakens understanding, wisdom, and common sense. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, spiritual truth supplies great momentum. As Holy Spirit is poured out, the fuel for change is poured on. This is coming! ************* Another Voice Our good friend, Barbara Yoder, released an encouraging word in a recent post regarding the good changes occurring in the world: “So—you think your world is upside down? You’re not wrong. “We are living in one of the most historic shifts of our lifetime. And I’m not discouraged—I’m electrified. God is moving. Something powerful is emerging. “A church is rising that looks more like the New Testament church—alive, bold, and apostolic at its core. “Leadership is shifting. No longer built around one personality at the center, but around teams—people joined in vision, unified in heart, mind, and spirit. “Celebrity Christianity is fading. Every leader carries a vital call. No one is more important—only differently assigned, differently gifted, differently anointed, sent into different spheres. What’s emerging is a culture that celebrates every member, without exalting one above the rest. Jesus is the center! His heart and His vision for the church. “And there’s more. “Heaven is touching earth with increasing weight and glory. Revelation is rising. Anointing is deepening. Love is expanding. Miracles, signs, and wonders are multiplying. “The glorious church is not a distant dream—it’s forming now. You may not fully see it yet. But it’s there. I can see it. I can feel it. “So don’t fix your eyes on what’s broken. Lift your gaze to what’s being built. “God is at work—right now—establishing a new paradigm that will reshape the world. “I can sense it in every way possible. “So look up. Not around. Not down. “Look up. “God is on the move.” ************* Right on, Barbara. May it be said of us as it was of the early church, “…they took Jason [a leader in Thessalonica], along with some of the brothers in his house church, and dragged them before the city council. Along the way, they screamed out, ‘Those troublemakers who have turned the world upside down have come here to our city.’” (‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬ ‭TPT‬‬) Pray with me: Father, You have set a remnant ablaze in our generation, those who have remained true to You and have not wavered in faith and intimacy. Now, they will burn white hot for You, as shining lamps showing the way to Jesus. Mantle them with increased power and authority, anointing them to “turn the world upside down” once again. Pour Your Holy Spirit out on them! Our world is in a kairos season! We are coming into a fullness of time that will produce great change and a great harvest. As part of this, pour out Your signs and wonders on the lost of every age, race, and economic status. Pour them out in our realms of influence, in our families, on those trapped in false religions, and through those working in the government arena. Pour Your Spirit out on the business realm, the entertainment world, and the media, so that many may be saved. And do so especially among our youth. Pour out Your Spirit on our students. Glorify Yourself even among teachers and administrators who have turned so many young hearts against You in the past. Bring them to repentance, Lord. Pour out Your Spirit through Your faithful ones wherever You have positioned them, from the White House to our courthouses, and to the houses we call our homes. Turn the world upside down–which is really right side up–once again through the church, Father. And glorify Jesus through us. In His name we pray. Amen. Our decree: Jesus is building His church, and will use it to turn the world upside down once again! *********************************** You can find out more about Barbara Yoder at ShekinahChurch.org Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-17-2026 April 17, 2026 Let’s Do It Right This Time Introduction I have been releasing posts on the subjects of revival and reformation, based on Christ’s two commissions in Mark 16 and Matthew 28. They are very different, and understanding those differences is critically important. Today’s post deals with the devastating outcome of fulfilling only the Great Commission found in Mark 6:15-18 (preaching the gospel and restoring people to God’s family), without accomplishing Matthew’s commission of discipling nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Here is a brief review of the previous 3 days. In Review The concepts of revival and reformation are linked to Yahweh’s assignments to Adam and Eve - and therefore all of us. Today’s post is the fourth teaching in this series. Each post builds on the next, so if you haven’t listened to or read the first three, you might consider doing so. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) In Genesis 1:26-28, Adam and Eve were told to: 1) multiply God’s family, and 2) steward/govern/manage His earth. Christ re-commissioned the church to these assignments in Mark 16:15-18 and Matthew 28:18-20. In Mark’s gospel, He told us to “preach the gospel” in order to see people saved, i.e., multiply His family. When this happens with great momentum and a large number of people coming to Christ, we refer to it as revival. In Matthew’s commission, Christ instructed us to “teach” His “commandments” in order to disciple nations, enabling them to steward/manage/govern the earth in accordance with God’s ways. When this occurs on a broad scale, we call it reformation. We have analyzed the differences involved in these assignments. And Now for Today The Charismatic and Jesus People movements of the late 1960s through the early 80s saw millions of people in America and tens of millions around the world come to Christ. It was a wonderful example of Christ’s commission in Mark 16:15-18, occurring with great momentum, truly a significant revival. However, there was a deficient understanding of our calling to disciple nations in Matthew 28:18-20. For the most part, the minimal awareness of “discipling” that existed was limited to discipling individuals who came to Christ, rather than also discipling nations, societies, and cultures. As we have stated in the previous posts, discipling nations involves teaching, modeling, and implementing God’s ways in all spheres of society, including family, religion, government, business, education, arts/entertainment, and media. It is NOT dictating or forcing God’s laws upon people and nations, as some who misrepresent our words accuse us, but rather teaching and modeling His ways and principles in every sector of society. Salvation, the new birth, opens the human heart and will to being discipled, which is why revival must occur first. When a person is born again, Holy Spirit writes God’s laws in their heart (Hebrews 8:10), making them hungry for His Word and truth. Also, their conscience becomes alive, active, and desirous of pleasing God (Hebrews 9:14). When a nation experiences significant revival, the portion of the populace affected by it does not have to be “forced” to obey God’s laws and walk in His ways; they desire to do His will and obey Him (Psalm 40:8). New believers, however, must be taught these ways - retrained. They, in turn, must teach their children. If this training and discipling do not occur, satan attempts - and often succeeds - in counteracting a revival by infusing wrong thinking, ideas, and philosophies, etc., into the culture. As we stated, during the Jesus People/Charismatic movements of the ‘70s, Christians focused primarily on Mark 16: seeing people come into God’s family and be able to go to heaven one day. And in an incredibly oxymoronic turn of events, in a revival with millions of people coming to Christ, humanists, secularists, and atheists were busy doing their version of Matthew 28, reforming a nation, while we saved individuals, they discipled a nation. We preached the gospel; unbelievers taught dogmas and doctrines. We went to church once or twice a week; they indoctrinated our schools and universities five days a week. We carved out a new, small niche of Christian TV; they made hundreds of movies and programs, increasing their hold on the industry. We sang and worshipped at church; they took over the airwaves and discipled a generation 24/7 with their music. We built a few radio and TV stations; they adopted new technologies, developed social media, and dominated all communication platforms. The results: America experienced one of the greatest revivals in history…AND LOST THE NEXT GENERATION TO DEMONIC CONTROL AND INFLUENCE! This is almost incomprehensible! The irony is beyond belief, the tragedy beyond words. But it happened. Adding to the devastation, the generation discipled by humanists, secularists, and atheists filled positions of influence, and has been in charge of our nation for years: governing, teaching, entertaining, etc. AND, they have been grooming the next generation, our kids. Sadly, today, social media and the entertainment industry have a far greater influence on the minds of our children than parents. This is the fruit of revival (Mark 16)…without reformation (Matthew 28). And it’s how you lose a nation. It’s sad to say, but had the church obeyed the commission of Matthew 28:18-20, we would not have lost 67 million babies to abortion. Our children would not be confused as to their gender, some going so far as to mutilate their bodies. And the law of the land regarding marriage would still be defined by a sacred covenant between one man and one woman. The cost of our ignorance and disobedience has been astronomical. Had we obeyed Matthew’s commission, we would not have an anti-law enforcement movement, thousands of criminals roaming our streets, socialists in high positions of government and antichrist religions ruling entire regions of America. We would not have 42 million Americans on food stamps, and millions of Americans who can’t read, write, or do basic math. We would not have had a senile president, controlled by a shadow government, inviting 20 million unvetted illegals into our nation, many of whom are supported by our taxpayer dollars. America would not be $37 trillion in debt. We would not have a lukewarm church, half of whom don’t believe in a literal Holy Spirit, the virgin birth, or the inerrancy of the Word of God. Revival without reformation is like building a house without a foundation; it cannot survive. We must not make this mistake again. Another powerful outpouring of Holy Spirit has begun that will ultimately produce an even greater revival than the Charismatic and Jesus People movements. In this outpouring, the body of Christ, His Ekklesia, must accomplish BOTH commissions. If we do so, it will reverse these failures and produce the greatest transformation of nations in earth’s history. Pray with me: Father, You created Your family in Genesis 1, assigned them the responsibility of multiplying Your family, and commissioned them to manage their home, planet Earth, according to Your ways. Although this was temporarily stalled, Your plan has been relaunched. Jesus restored it, and said He would build an Ekklesia, a governing family that the gates/government of hell would not be able to overcome. He then recommissioned His followers to once again multiply Your family and steward the earth for You. We embrace these commissions! We now see this two-fold plan of Christ’s gaining momentum. His bride is growing in numbers, and the Ekklesia’s revelation of its authority is also growing. Release another wind that exponentially increases this growth. Cause the greatest season of revival and reformation in earth’s history to erupt - Mark 16 and Matthew 28 fulfilled simultaneously. Release the greatest wind of evangelism the world has ever experienced, and fully reveal Christ among the nations. We love You, Father, and pray these things in the name of Your glorious Son, Jesus. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the two Great Commissions of Christ WILL be fulfilled by His family and co-laborers, the church. ****************************** Previous posts in this series: The Two Mandates The Mission, Clearly Defined Receiving, Then Representing Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-16-2026 April 16, 2026 Receiving, Then Representing In Review We have been looking at the concepts of revival and reformation, and the fact that they are linked to Yahweh’s assignments to Adam and Eve–and therefore all of us. Each post builds on the next, so if you haven’t listened to or read the first two [The Two Mandates and The Mission, Clearly Defined], please consider doing so. In Genesis 1:26-28, Adam and Eve were told to: 1) multiply God’s family, and 2) steward/govern/manage His earth. Christ re-commissioned the church to these assignments in Mark 16:15-18 and Matthew 28:18-20. In Mark’s gospel, He told us to “preach the gospel” in order to see people saved, i.e., multiply His family. When this happens with great momentum and a large number of people come to Christ, we refer to it as a revival. In Matthew’s commission, Christ instructed us to “teach” His “commandments” in order to disciple nations, enabling us to steward/manage/govern the earth according to His ways. When this occurs on a broad scale, we call it reformation. The fact that we did not focus on both commissions in the Charismatic/Jesus People movements caused us to lose much of the fruit and was devastating to America’s well-being. I’ll discuss this in tomorrow’s post. Yesterday, I pointed out some differences in our goals regarding revival (Mark 16) and reformation (Matthew 28). I want to make several more comparisons between the two today, focusing on differences in their messages and activities. Messages It stands to reason that with different goals regarding revival (Mark 16) and reformation (Matthew 28), the messaging would also differ, as would the methods of delivery. In Mark 16, Jesus told us to “preach the gospel,” which is the good news of Christ’s redemption; in Matthew 28, He told us to “teach” what He “commanded.” The difference between preaching and teaching is more than style and volume. The New Testament word for preaching means to announce or proclaim a message, whereas teaching means to explain, expound, instruct, etc. We announce the good news of Christ’s saving work; we teach His ways, precepts, desires, and the principles of His Kingdom. (Obviously, Mark’s commission must occur before Matthew’s can be accomplished. Only those who have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, desiring to obey Him, can be taught and discipled according to His ways. Without this change of heart, they could only be coerced and forced, which is never God’s plan.) In revival, we emphasize the provision of Christ–His Cross, mercy, and grace; in reformation, we teach the principles of Christ–His Word, justice, righteousness, and truth. When we enter God’s family, the result of Mark 16, the emphasis is on our inheritance and rights as joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17); as we are discipled and mature, the result of Matthew 28, the focus expands to our assignment from Christ and our responsibility as citizens of His Kingdom. As a person matures, naturally speaking, they should take on more personal responsibility and require less from others. They should serve more, be served less. Otherwise, they become narcissistic, believing life is all about their needs and desires. The same is true spiritually. As we grow in Christ, our focus should become more and more on serving the needs of others, and on the cause of Christ. The American church is filled with believers who have been taught that the goal of a church service should be to meet their needs and satisfy their desires. Never having been taught otherwise, everything revolves around them: the worship, the sermon, the fellowship–it’s all for them. It rarely enters their minds to ask, “Where/how can I serve?” What does God need and want from me today? I don’t mean to criticize those in the pews; they’re simply living what they have been taught. Activities And lastly, the church’s activities must be different when accomplishing Christ’s two commissions. In the family mandate of Mark’s gospel, we serve the needs of people: feeding, protecting, and nurturing our spiritual family just as we do our natural families; in Matthew’s mandate, we serve the purposes of God, ministering our gifts, laboring, sacrificing when necessary, even laying down our lives for His cause. To fulfill Mark’s commission, we gather to worship, be fed, filled, and empowered; we receive. To accomplish Matthew’s, we also gather, but do so to be trained, and eventually sent into our kingdom assignment; we represent. In revival (Mark 16), we release the power of Holy Spirit for salvations, deliverances, signs, wonders, and miracles - performing the works of God; in reformation (Matthew 28), we speak and teach truth, the ways of God, doctrine, wisdom and revelation, in order to transform minds, the culture, government, laws and systems, aligning them with the will of God. As God’s family (Mark 16), our prayers are priestly–petitions, requests, and intercession offered heavenward; as the Ekklesia (Matthew 28), our prayers are kingly–decrees and declarations released earthward from our position with Christ. To accomplish Mark 16, multiplying and nurturing God’s family, Christ’s ministry gifts of pastor, evangelist, and teacher are predominant; to function as the Ekklesia (Matthew 28), producing the transformation and reformation of nations, Christ’s ministry gifts of apostle, prophet, and teacher are needed most. In the Charismatic/Jesus People movements, the church failed to accomplish Matthew’s commission. We did not adequately disciple converts to Christ, and we most certainly did not disciple nations. Tomorrow we will examine the tragic results. Pray with me: Father, we have been entrusted with the all-important task of preaching “the glorious gospel” of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:11), of announcing the good news of Christ’s provision and blessings. We also nurture one another, teaching the gifts and inheritance You made available through Jesus. In the growing revival, cause an increase in the anointings required to announce these blessings with clarity and power. Increase the strength and scope of this revival. And as we birth/harvest new family members, enable Your Ekklesia, the church, to properly mature them into givers, not just receivers. May every convert become a responsible citizen of Your Kingdom, employing the gifts You placed within them for heaven’s great cause. Raise up powerful reformers in all of the mountains of culture: family, religion, government, business, education, arts/entertainment, and media. Give them wise and brilliant strategies with which to transform. As You did for Daniel and his colleagues, make them wiser than those who do not know You (Daniel 1:20). Send the greatest revival and reformations the world has ever seen or experienced. All of this we ask in Yeshua’s name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that anointed revivalists, as well as wise and skilled reformers, are arising throughout the earth. ****************************** Two previous posts in this series: Tuesday’s post: The Two Mandates Wednesday’s post: The Mission, Clearly Defined Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-15-2026 April 15, 2026 The Mission, Clearly Defined America and many other nations are about to experience mighty revivals, accompanied by great reformations. This is extremely high on God’s agenda. It is critical that we understand these two phenomena from a biblical perspective. They will not occur simply because God desires them to take place, but also because He has a people prepared to partner with Him. Understanding them is part of that preparation. Therefore, I am teaching on these two important concepts this week, though I have done so before. They cannot be emphasized too much at this point in time. Each post builds on the next, so if you haven’t listened to or read yesterday’s, please consider doing so. Let’s review briefly. In Genesis 1:26-28, Adam and Eve were given two mandates: 1) multiply God’s family, and 2) steward/govern/manage His earth. Christ re-commissioned the church to these assignments in Mark 16:15-18 and Matthew 28:18-20. In Mark’s gospel, He told us to “preach the gospel” in order to see people saved, i.e., multiply His family. When this happens with great momentum and large numbers of people coming to Christ, we refer to it as revival. In Matthew’s commission, Christ instructed us to “teach” what He “commanded” in order to disciple nations, thereby enabling them once again to steward/manage/govern the earth according to His ways. When this occurs on a broad scale, we call it reformation. The fact that we did not focus on both commissions in the Charismatic/Jesus People movements–we focused only on Mark’s–caused us to lose much of the fruit of those revivals. (I’ll discuss this in Friday’s upcoming post.) In yesterday’s post, I listed a few comparisons between revival (Mark 16) and reformation (Matthew 28) to help us understand the differences. I want to give several more today and tomorrow, breaking them down into three categories: their goals, their messages, and their activities. Today, we’ll look at the differences regarding the goals: The goal of Mark’s commission is to impact and save people, individuals; the goal of Matthew’s is to impact and save entire cities and nations. Mark’s goal is to birth spiritual children; Matthew’s goal is to mature and train them as citizens of God’s Kingdom, and commission them as Kingdom soldiers, ambassadors, and legislators. Through Mark’s commission, people receive God’s life and nature; through Matthew’s commission, they are trained to release His life and nature. Mark’s commission produces the family of God, the bride of Christ, worshippers; Matthew’s commission produces the Ekklesia, ambassadors and warriors of Christ. The fulfillment of Mark’s commission brings wholeness and life to individuals; the fulfillment of Matthew’s brings wholeness and life to entire cultures, societies, and nations. Mark’s commission is intended to deliver people from demons and sin; Matthew’s is designed to also deliver nations from principalities and powers, philosophies, laws, unrighteous systems, and strongholds (humanism, racism, etc.). In Mark’s commission, the fruit primarily manifests within individual believers; in Matthew’s commission, the fruit also manifests in societies and nations. Mark’s assignment is to transform the heart and nature of individuals; the discipling of Matthew’s is to transform the minds and thinking of a society. Mark’s commission will heal individuals of brokenness, diseases, oppression, etc.; Matthew’s will heal nations of poverty, hunger, violence, and other evils. The salvation released through Mark’s message fills individuals with Holy Spirit; Matthew’s teaching is intended to fill the atmospheres, the spiritual realm of regions and nations with Holy Spirit’s presence and peace. In Mark, Holy Spirit is poured out; in Matthew, the Word and truth are taught. Mark’s is an outpouring; Matthew’s becomes an outworking. Through Mark’s commission, personal destinies are awakened and accomplished; through Matthew’s, national destinies are also awakened and accomplished. The fact that many in the church have not fully understood what each of Christ’s commissions was meant to accomplish has greatly hindered our overall assignment. A mission must be clearly defined in order to be fully accomplished. There must be a target to hit, a mark to press toward. Tomorrow, we will further define these two missions, examining the messages associated with each and the different activities involved. We’ll see when to emphasize the provision of Christ, and when to teach the principles of Christ; we’ll look at our inheritance from Christ, versus our assignment from Christ. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for Your heart to redeem and save. Thank You for the power of the gospel, the authority in the name of Jesus, and of Holy Spirit’s enablement. Thank You for Your Word, which transforms, instructs, and teaches us Your ways. And we thank You for Your promise that America shall be saved and of revival also impacting other nations of the earth. We are honored to partner with You in these endeavors, as Your Word instructs us. We will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world, baptize those who believe, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, and cast out demons. This will produce the revival You speak of. But we will also teach Your Word, Your commandments and ways, discipling individuals and nations. We will do so with Your authority, as You instructed us in Matthew 28. This will produce the reformation You have spoken of. So, Father, we boldly and passionately ask You for this revival and reformation to be released in its fullness. Let Your power and the outpouring be such that they cannot be ignored. Awaken the church, save unbelievers, and transform nations. And all of this we ask for in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that the greatest revival in history has begun, and will lead to reformation throughout the world. ************************** Tuesday’s post: The Two Mandates Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-14-2026 April 14, 2026 The Two Mandates Iran’s leaders, in their maniacal and suicidal determination to destroy Israel and America, dominate the Middle East, and terrorize the world, refused to agree to any concessions in their so-called negotiations with American leadership. This was not unexpected. One can’t help but think of the crazed Pharaoh in Exodus whose heart was so hardened that it mandated his and his army’s destruction. Vice President Vance ended the meetings fairly quickly, and Trump has taken decisive action by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. In this turning of the tables on Iran’s attempt at blockading the strait, Iranian oil will not be allowed to flow from Iran, which will completely cripple the nation financially. Trump has not backed off on his pledge that Iran will not have nuclear weapons and will no longer be able to terrorize other nations. Their bullying days are over. We will pray regarding this at the end of today’s post. However, the subject Larry Sparks wrote about in yesterday’s post - combining reformation with revival - is so profoundly important, I want to continue addressing it somewhat this week. I have written on this subject in previous posts, but it cannot be emphasized enough. Just before He left for heaven, Jesus gave two commissions to His followers. The First Commission: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved, but the one who has not believed will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name, they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’” (Mark 16:15-18 NASB) The Second Commission: “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’ (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB) The Genesis Connection These two commissions must be understood in the light of Genesis 1, for they are actually recommissions of what took place then. Jesus came to restore - restart, rebirth, revive, redeem, recover, reform, refill, and recommission. Commission One in Genesis was: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God told Adam and Eve, “Reproduce! I have placed in you the ability to multiply My image and likeness. And I want a big family!” Then came Commission Two: “Rule over... all the earth...over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28). Psalm 8:6 restates the mandate, “Thou doest make him to rule over the works of thy hands, Thou hast put all things under his feet.” Obviously, this plan was interrupted at the fall. When Adam sinned, he lost the image, likeness, and Spirit of God; he also lost his dominion, the delegated authority to manage and steward the earth. And God lost His family. Jesus Came to Restore These two losses are what Jesus came to restore: 1) God’s family, and 2) their lost governance and stewardship of the earth. Regarding the first, He said in Matthew 16:18-19, “I will build My church.” The word “build” is oikodomeo,(1) which means to build a family or household. In choosing this word, Christ was saying, “I’ve come to get the family back!” He followed this in Matthew 16 by calling this family His “church,” the first mention of this concept in Scripture. “Church” is the word ekklesia, which means “called out from.”(2) It was not a building, worship service, or organization; at that time in history, ekklesia was not even a religious term. It referred to an assembly or group of people “called out from” the general population in order to govern. Study.com says an ekklesia/ecclesia “played a central role in the political life of the city [Athens]. The Ecclesia had the power to nominate and elect magistrates, who were responsible for administering the city’s affairs and carrying out the assembly's decisions. The Ecclesia also had the authority to pass laws and to decide on issues related to foreign policy, defense, and the administration of justice. In addition to its legislative powers, the Ecclesia also participated in the judicial process in Athens. The Ecclesia members would try cases involving serious crimes, such as murder, and they could impose punishments.”(3) By choosing this well-known secular word, ekklesia, Jesus was saying, “Not only will I recover My family, but I will also reestablish them as My spiritual government, My ambassadors on earth” (See also 2 Corinthians 5:20). His other comments in Matthew 16 amplified and explained this further. Jesus said that this Ekklesia would be given the keys (authority) of His Kingdom, through which they would bind and loose (lock and unlock, forbid and allow), and that the gates or government of hell would not overpower them.(4) Jesus was clearly stating that the spiritual authority He would give His family would enable them to represent His Kingdom as ambassadors here on earth, and that they would not be overcome by the government of hell. The Recommissioning After declaring this, Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, legally recovering the family and its authority. He then recommissioned His body on earth–twice. The “Great Commission” in Mark 16 was/is intended to multiply God’s family through salvation. The “Great Commission” of Matthew 28 was and is meant to align people’s thinking back to the ways of God through discipleship–enabling them to function as His ekklesia, stewarding the earth. The first (Mark 16) changes people’s nature—who they are—transforming their spirit. The latter (Matthew 28) changes people’s thoughts and actions–how they live–transforming their soul (mind, emotions, and will). God not only wants kids; He wants them to become mature, responsible sons and daughters who know His ways and think His thoughts, enabling them to partner with and represent Him. When Mark’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in the salvation of many people, we call this a revival; when Matthew’s commission occurs in mass, resulting in societal change—government, laws, morals, education, culture, etc.—we call it a reformation. Obedience to BOTH of these mandates is absolutely essential. I will highlight the differences between them more fully in tomorrow’s post, but here are a few comparisons and differences between revival and reformation: Revival brings people into God’s family; Reformation teaches them His ways. Revival births them spiritually; Reformation trains them practically. Revival transforms human hearts (our nature); Reformation transforms human minds (their thinking). Revival restores God’s life to individuals; Reformation restores His laws, principles, and ways to cities and nations. Revival’s fruit is internal, produced within us; Reformation's fruit is external, released from us. Revival is accomplished through “preaching” (Mark 16:15); Reformation takes place through “teaching” (Matthew 28:20). Revival creates converts; Reformation creates disciples. Revival produces God's bride, family, and worshippers; Reformation produces God’s Ekklesia, those who represent His Kingdom authority and rule. In the Charismatic/Jesus People revivals, which Larry addressed yesterday, the body of Christ worked toward fulfilling Mark 16 - growing God’s family. The commission of Matthew 28 - discipling nations - not so much. We will look at this more tomorrow. Pray with me: Father, You have said through Your prophets that revival and reformation have begun. As Your voices on earth, we declare that all nations will experience outpourings of Holy Spirit. As the waters cover the sea, Your glory will cover the earth. Even as sin abounds, grace and glory will abound more! Entire regions of the earth will be delivered and see the light of the gospel, and strongholds will melt under Your power and fire. Youth will see Your light and become volunteers in this day of Your power. They will run with endurance, war with strength, speak with prophetic insight, and build with apostolic depth. They will be the Amos 9:13 generation: plowmen will overtake reapers. And, Lord, we realize the war in Iran is connected to the great revival that has begun. The powers of darkness controlling that region are being dislodged, just as Baal was in Pharaoh’s day. We ask that this process be finished–leave nothing undone. End this evil regime and its reign of terror. Give Your wisdom to President Trump and our leaders in this endeavor. Let no miscalculations be made, no wrong moves. All this we ask in Yeshua’s name, Amen. Our decree: We decree that we will experience the rain of revival and the wisdom to reform nations in the great outpouring of Holy Spirit that has begun. ****************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. ----------------------------------------------- James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3618 and 3424. Ibid. Ref. no. 1577. https://study.com/academy/lesson/ecclesia-ancient-greece-history-facts.html In those times, city councils often met at the gates of their cities because, in their thinking, the gates were a picture of government. Why? Gates determined what entered the city physically, just as government did so legally.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-13-2026 April 13, 2026 Introduction Today’s post is from Larry Sparks, our friend and revivalist. The post is based on an e-book he recently released, which is available to the Give Him 15 community for Free at Larry’s website. This information will be given at the end of today’s post. The Missing Move of God While recently in Australia, I was taken into an unusual vision. I caught a glimpse of Dutch Sheets weeping over the American flag, as he did when Holy Spirit marked him years ago with a mandate for awakening in the United States. Then, beside Dutch, I saw an Australian man embracing and weeping over the Australian flag. Next, as if to unite both prayers, I saw the Appeal to Heaven flag waving behind them both: two nations, one banner, one cry. Regardless of the nation we call home, God’s commission is that we must run toward our nation in prayer and engagement, not away from it. This vision was a doorway into something the Holy Spirit has since been pressing upon me — a word about “The Missing Move of God,” and how it connects to the story of the Hebrew prophet Jonah. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3) Jonah was called to a dark and wicked place in order to be a catalyst for landscape-changing awakening. His response? He fled to another location. Is it possible that decades ago, the church was entrusted with a cultural moment we were called to speak into — and we fled from it? The Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus Revolution In the 1960’s and 70’s, parts of the world experienced two explosive moves of God: the Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus People Movement. The Charismatic Renewal began in part with Episcopalian priest Dennis Bennett’s historic baptism in the Holy Spirit. His denomination responded unfavorably and sent him to a struggling congregation in the Pacific Northwest, hoping his spiritual zeal would quietly fade. The opposite happened. His community in Washington State became a hub of Holy Spirit outpouring that inaugurated what church history recognizes as the Charismatic Movement — a season where every major Christian denomination was impacted by the Holy Spirit baptism and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. But the Charismatic Renewal was not meant to be an end; it was a womb. The mothers and fathers who were filled with the Spirit in the early 1960’s were taught to travail in prayer for their sons and daughters — the unfortunate victims of the counter-cultural upheaval of that era. Drugs, the sexual revolution, Woodstock, and cultural anarchy defined the climate. America was like Nineveh of old. And yet, God heard the desperate prayers of parents and answered by birthing the Jesus People Movement — a sprawling historic revival where young adults turned to Christ by the tens of thousands. A Staircase with a Missing Step When you survey this spiritual history of the twentieth century, a pattern emerges that looks less like random events and more like a divine sequence. The Charismatic Renewal renewed believers and produced the Jesus People Movement; this movement brought a revival-sized harvest. But there was a missing final step. Reformation was meant to be the third: a generation of Spirit-filled, Scripture-grounded believers carrying the kingdom of God into every sphere of culture. The vacuum left by that missing third step produced consequences we are still facing today. Revival without reformation is like a fire that blazes brilliantly and then burns itself out, without igniting anything around it. The discipling of young people who came to Christ during the Jesus Revolution focused on the inward aspects of personal maturity and Christian community — rather than outward movement also, toward the spheres of society where culture was being shaped. Individuals were discipled, but not nations, as Matthew 28:18-20 instructs us. To be disciples of Jesus, a generation was encouraged to disengage from the world and its sinfulness, corruption, and impending end-times destruction. Darkness moved into the vacuum this created, as it always does. Every sphere of cultural influence that the people of God vacate does not remain neutral. It gets occupied. But our God is rich in mercy! In the account of Jonah, he fled, resisted his assignment, and famously ended up in the belly of a great fish. But He cried out to the Lord and was redeployed to Nineveh (after being vomited out by the fish, of course). Jonah 3:1 became one of the most quietly stunning verses in all of Scripture — and an encouraging prophetic signpost to us right now: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1). Grace Hidden in a Transition Not a new word or a revised assignment. Not a lesser calling now, since Jonah had proven his unreliability. The same word. The same territory and people group. The same command: arise, go, preach to the people you tried to run away from. God did not write Jonah off. He came back with the original assignment–fully intact, fully alive, fully expectant. We Are Living in a Jonah 3:1 Moment During the Jesus People Movement, thousands were gloriously born again, and that is to be wildly celebrated. But the assignment to disciple culture — to occupy every sphere of society with the presence and values of the Kingdom — went largely unclaimed. We saw Mark 16 unfold, where the Gospel of salvation was preached and received enthusiastically by multitudes; however, we did not witness new converts deployed into culture to do the work of Matthew 28: disciple nations. But God has not abandoned the assignment. Though we ran from our cultural Nineveh back in the 60’s and 70’s, Yahweh is a God of second chances. Another Jesus People moment is happening right now. University campuses are stirring. Young people are encountering the Holy Spirit in ways that cannot be manufactured. Major influencers are asking bold questions about the Christian faith, demonstrating clear spiritual hunger. The question being whispered in the Spirit over this generation is not whether they will experience revival; that is already happening. The question is whether or not revival will become reformation. Calling Forth the Awakeners This is why the vision in Australia shook me. Two believers wept over their Nineveh assignments, their nations hanging in the balance. And yet, their tears were not hopeless; they represented a fiery love for their nations, a love that thrust them into intercession and divine assignments. The great Christian thinker, G.K. Chesterton, wrote about appropriately loving and engaging the world: “The world is not a lodging house, which we are to leave because it is miserable. It is the fortress of our family, with the flag flying on the turret, and the more miserable it is, the less we should leave it.”(1) If the world seems miserable, that is a call to you and me: Jonah, arise! Awakeners, come forth, and be voices of righteousness and Kingdom standards in a broken world. Revivalists evangelize the lost and call the church to wake up. Awakeners, however, are commissioned to call the world to account as righteous standard-bearers, sprinkled like salt in every sphere of culture.Jonah has been in the fish for a season—but he is coming out. A new breed of believer is emerging, the awakeners, called to boldly teach and display the Lordship of King Jesus. As theologian N.T. Wright describes in his book God’s Homecoming, such believers “are called to stand humbly in the divine council, in order then to stand boldly in human councils.”(2) Appealing to heaven, then engaging the earth. The Word Has Come a Second Time When Jonah finally arose, went, and preached, the result was one of the greatest city-wide revivals in Scripture. An entire population repented and was transformed. That is what happens when the people of God hear the call to go, to run towards the world instead of trying to escape it. You do not need a platform to be an awakener. You simply need to show up where the Lord has called you. Your Nineveh may be a classroom or a courtroom, a film studio or a Senate chamber, a living room or a legislative hall. But whatever your Nineveh, the word of the Lord has come to you: Go! The Third Move will not be missed this time. Renewal has occurred. Revival is here. Reformation is coming. Arise, church. The word of the Lord has come a second time. And this time, we are going to Nineveh. Pray with me: Father, like Jonah, we are sometimes tempted to run from our Nineveh assignments. They can feel intimidating. But Lord, You are not intimidated. Your commission has come a second time—and we say “Yes.” We appeal to Heaven in prayer and will engage earth by showing up in the places of our divine assignment. We declare that the mountains of education, media, government, business, arts, family, and the church are our mission fields. Raise up and deploy Your “sent ones” into every sphere of culture! We will boldly respond: Here I am, send me. Our decree: We decree that the word of the Lord has come to us a second time, and our answer is yes — we arise, we go, and we will not turn back! *************************** As mentioned in the Introduction, you can access the free E-book: The Word of the Lord Came a Second Time by going to LarrySparksMinistries.com/SecondTime You can find out more about Larry at LarrySparksMinistries.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------- 1. G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy. 95. B&H Books. 2. N.T. Wright, God’s Homecoming. 302. Harper One.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-13-2026 April 13, 2026 Introduction Today’s post is from Larry Sparks, our friend and revivalist. The post is based on an e-book he recently released, which is available to the Give Him 15 community for Free at Larry’s website. This information will be given at the end of today’s post. The Missing Move of God While recently in Australia, I was taken into an unusual vision. I caught a glimpse of Dutch Sheets weeping over the American flag, as he did when Holy Spirit marked him years ago with a mandate for awakening in the United States. Then, beside Dutch, I saw an Australian man embracing and weeping over the Australian flag. Next, as if to unite both prayers, I saw the Appeal to Heaven flag waving behind them both: two nations, one banner, one cry. Regardless of the nation we call home, God’s commission is that we must run toward our nation in prayer and engagement, not away from it. This vision was a doorway into something the Holy Spirit has since been pressing upon me — a word about “The Missing Move of God,” and how it connects to the story of the Hebrew prophet Jonah. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3) Jonah was called to a dark and wicked place in order to be a catalyst for landscape-changing awakening. His response? He fled to another location. Is it possible that decades ago, the church was entrusted with a cultural moment we were called to speak into — and we fled from it? The Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus Revolution In the 1960’s and 70’s, parts of the world experienced two explosive moves of God: the Charismatic Renewal and the Jesus People Movement. The Charismatic Renewal began in part with Episcopalian priest Dennis Bennett’s historic baptism in the Holy Spirit. His denomination responded unfavorably and sent him to a struggling congregation in the Pacific Northwest, hoping his spiritual zeal would quietly fade. The opposite happened. His community in Washington State became a hub of Holy Spirit outpouring that inaugurated what church history recognizes as the Charismatic Movement — a season where every major Christian denomination was impacted by the Holy Spirit baptism and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. But the Charismatic Renewal was not meant to be an end; it was a womb. The mothers and fathers who were filled with the Spirit in the early 1960’s were taught to travail in prayer for their sons and daughters — the unfortunate victims of the counter-cultural upheaval of that era. Drugs, the sexual revolution, Woodstock, and cultural anarchy defined the climate. America was like Nineveh of old. And yet, God heard the desperate prayers of parents and answered by birthing the Jesus People Movement — a sprawling historic revival where young adults turned to Christ by the tens of thousands. A Staircase with a Missing Step When you survey this spiritual history of the twentieth century, a pattern emerges that looks less like random events and more like a divine sequence. The Charismatic Renewal renewed believers and produced the Jesus People Movement; this movement brought a revival-sized harvest. But there was a missing final step. Reformation was meant to be the third: a generation of Spirit-filled, Scripture-grounded believers carrying the kingdom of God into every sphere of culture. The vacuum left by that missing third step produced consequences we are still facing today. Revival without reformation is like a fire that blazes brilliantly and then burns itself out, without igniting anything around it. The discipling of young people who came to Christ during the Jesus Revolution focused on the inward aspects of personal maturity and Christian community — rather than outward movement also, toward the spheres of society where culture was being shaped. Individuals were discipled, but not nations, as Matthew 28:18-20 instructs us. To be disciples of Jesus, a generation was encouraged to disengage from the world and its sinfulness, corruption, and impending end-times destruction. Darkness moved into the vacuum this created, as it always does. Every sphere of cultural influence that the people of God vacate does not remain neutral. It gets occupied. But our God is rich in mercy! In the account of Jonah, he fled, resisted his assignment, and famously ended up in the belly of a great fish. But He cried out to the Lord and was redeployed to Nineveh (after being vomited out by the fish, of course). Jonah 3:1 became one of the most quietly stunning verses in all of Scripture — and an encouraging prophetic signpost to us right now: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time” (Jonah 3:1). Grace Hidden in a Transition Not a new word or a revised assignment. Not a lesser calling now, since Jonah had proven his unreliability. The same word. The same territory and people group. The same command: arise, go, preach to the people you tried to run away from. God did not write Jonah off. He came back with the original assignment–fully intact, fully alive, fully expectant. We Are Living in a Jonah 3:1 Moment During the Jesus People Movement, thousands were gloriously born again, and that is to be wildly celebrated. But the assignment to disciple culture — to occupy every sphere of society with the presence and values of the Kingdom — went largely unclaimed. We saw Mark 16 unfold, where the Gospel of salvation was preached and received enthusiastically by multitudes; however, we did not witness new converts deployed into culture to do the work of Matthew 28: disciple nations. But God has not abandoned the assignment. Though we ran from our cultural Nineveh back in the 60’s and 70’s, Yahweh is a God of second chances. Another Jesus People moment is happening right now. University campuses are stirring. Young people are encountering the Holy Spirit in ways that cannot be manufactured. Major influencers are asking bold questions about the Christian faith, demonstrating clear spiritual hunger. The question being whispered in the Spirit over this generation is not whether they will experience revival; that is already happening. The question is whether or not revival will become reformation. Calling Forth the Awakeners This is why the vision in Australia shook me. Two believers wept over their Nineveh assignments, their nations hanging in the balance. And yet, their tears were not hopeless; they represented a fiery love for their nations, a love that thrust them into intercession and divine assignments. The great Christian thinker, G.K. Chesterton, wrote about appropriately loving and engaging the world: “The world is not a lodging house, which we are to leave because it is miserable. It is the fortress of our family, with the flag flying on the turret, and the more miserable it is, the less we should leave it.”(1) If the world seems miserable, that is a call to you and me: Jonah, arise! Awakeners, come forth, and be voices of righteousness and Kingdom standards in a broken world. Revivalists evangelize the lost and call the church to wake up. Awakeners, however, are commissioned to call the world to account as righteous standard-bearers, sprinkled like salt in every sphere of culture.Jonah has been in the fish for a season—but he is coming out. A new breed of believer is emerging, the awakeners, called to boldly teach and display the Lordship of King Jesus. As theologian N.T. Wright describes in his book God’s Homecoming, such believers “are called to stand humbly in the divine council, in order then to stand boldly in human councils.”(2) Appealing to heaven, then engaging the earth. The Word Has Come a Second Time When Jonah finally arose, went, and preached, the result was one of the greatest city-wide revivals in Scripture. An entire population repented and was transformed. That is what happens when the people of God hear the call to go, to run towards the world instead of trying to escape it. You do not need a platform to be an awakener. You simply need to show up where the Lord has called you. Your Nineveh may be a classroom or a courtroom, a film studio or a Senate chamber, a living room or a legislative hall. But whatever your Nineveh, the word of the Lord has come to you: Go! The Third Move will not be missed this time. Renewal has occurred. Revival is here. Reformation is coming. Arise, church. The word of the Lord has come a second time. And this time, we are going to Nineveh. Pray with me: Father, like Jonah, we are sometimes tempted to run from our Nineveh assignments. They can feel intimidating. But Lord, You are not intimidated. Your commission has come a second time—and we say “Yes.” We appeal to Heaven in prayer and will engage earth by showing up in the places of our divine assignment. We declare that the mountains of education, media, government, business, arts, family, and the church are our mission fields. Raise up and deploy Your “sent ones” into every sphere of culture! We will boldly respond: Here I am, send me. Our decree: We decree that the word of the Lord has come to us a second time, and our answer is yes — we arise, we go, and we will not turn back! As mentioned in the Introduction, you can access the free E-book: The Word of the Lord Came a Second Time by going to LarrySparksMinistries.com/SecondTime You can find out more about Larry at LarrySparksMinistries.com. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------- 1. G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy. 95. B&H Books. 2. N.T. Wright, God’s Homecoming. 302. Harper One.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-9-2026 April 9, 2026 My Response Regarding the Ceasefire Tuesday evening, President Trump agreed to a two-week cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran. Talks are slated to continue during this two-week timeframe, with the intent being to iron out terms both nations can live with, as long as Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz open. Opinions differ on whether the cease-fire will survive, and the talks will lead to peace. Throughout the course of this war, opinions have also differed on whether or not we should have engaged militarily with Iran in the first place. Some Americans are isolationists and were adamantly opposed, some are interventionists and were strongly in favor, and others are somewhere between these two ideologies, believing that at times we must involve ourselves in military conflicts, but only when there is no other choice. I have stated more than once in my Give Him 15 posts that I believe this war was necessary. I certainly don’t like war, but neither do I like murderous dictators and thugs. Does this mean I believe America should involve itself in every skirmish happening around the world, or run to the rescue of every group of people being persecuted by another? No, not unless: The bad guys are close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. They have promised to use this weapon against us and our allies. They have proven that they are conscienceless, murderous monsters capable of heinous actions. They control a great portion of the world‘s oil and intend to blackmail the rest of us with this control. There is only one way to deal with the Hitlers of the world, and that is to destroy them before they destroy others. Trump knows this and refused to “kick the can” down the road for the next president and/or generation to deal with. The world has tolerated the terrorist regime leading Iran far too long, and Trump knew it. And when it became clear that Iran was close to producing a nuclear weapon, he had the common sense and strength of will to say “No!” He also faced other facts that previous leaders have responded to by burying their heads in the sand and simply hoping for the best. Iran and Venezuela possess and/or control much of the world’s oil. And they are aligned with China and Russia (at least Venezuela was), two nations also ruled by murderous dictators intent on ruling the world. It doesn’t take much intelligence to see the plans behind these alliances: world domination. But we finally have a leader – and military – that faced the facts and said this was NOT going to happen. Due to Trump’s actions and an incredible military, America now controls Venezuela’s oil. Iran’s military has been decimated, although they still possess some of their missiles and drones, which also need to be destroyed. And, of course, Iran’s nuclear capabilities must be terminated. Will the cease-fire and the discussions lead to these results? Time will tell. But if Iran does not hand over all of their enriched uranium supply, our military should find and destroy it, whatever it takes. To those criticizing President Trump for his actions, accusing him of war crimes and of killing innocent people: if you have not screamed as loudly over the murder of 65 million babies in the womb; if you have not protested the mutilation of thousands of confused children by ideologically driven adults; if you did not weep and cry out over the 45,000 innocent Iranians tortured and murdered in the past few months by the evil regime in control there…then spare us your hypocrisy. Your rants ring hollow; your clamoring is meaningless, and your complaints are beyond hypocritical. President Trump and our military are doing the world a favor by dealing with this wicked regime. And we, as Americans, can endure some high fuel prices and a lower stock market for a short season as they do so. Pray for our leaders, especially our President. He is making difficult decisions that will impact the world for years. He has the guts and backbone to make tough calls, but only the wisdom of God can move us through these times successfully. Pray also for those advising him. Ask the Lord to block counsel that is not wise, allowing only His wisdom to get to the President. And pray for those in negotiations during this two-week period; ask the Lord to give them supernatural discernment and wisdom. Pray that any evil intentions and lies from Iran’s leaders be exposed, and pray against the powers of darkness involved in this situation. The Bible speaks of “principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). We are to stand against them! Ask the Lord for the continued overthrow of the prince of Persia/Iran mentioned in Daniel 10. This spirit seeks to interrupt God’s messages, wear down His people, and thereby disrupt His timing. Don’t simply watch the news; make the news through your prayers! The greatest weapon we have is appealing to heaven. When we do not pray, the enemy can prevail in the earth’s situations. But the effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous still avail much (James 5:16)! Pray with me: Father, we trust You, Your heart, and Your wisdom. But You have entrusted much to us, as well. You actually said we sometimes have not because we ask not (James 4:2). We refuse to allow that to occur at this moment in time - we are making our appeals and know that You will answer. Please lead President Trump, his advisors, our military leaders, and those negotiating with Iran during this season. Keep them from making wrong decisions, from receiving bad information, and from being deceived by Iranian leaders. Give them great wisdom and supernatural discernment. Please do the same for Israel in their involvement. Give our leaders the understanding needed to end the control of this evil regime. And we also ask You to end all control and influence of the prince of Persia in the Middle East. End his reign in the region once and for all. Cause all that takes place to produce relief and freedom for the people of Iran, and please protect innocent lives. Even more importantly, cause what occurs in the region to lead to success in the preaching of the gospel in the Middle East. Send a glorious revival! These things we ask in the name of Jesus and for His glory. Our decree: We declare that Jesus is Lord over the nations, and He will have His inheritance (Psalm 2:8). **************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-8-2026 April 8, 2026 Introduction Today’s post is from our friend, Will Ostan, a retired U.S. Army Major and seasoned patriot. You might recall that Will is the soldier who introduced me to the Appeal to Heaven flag. I believe that his message today, shared from a combat veteran’s perspective, will inform and encourage you. Christian Courage As world events continue to escalate due to America and Israel’s just war against Iran, Russia’s illegitimate long war in Ukraine, and an aggressive China making its intentions known for eventual world domination by the end of this decade, the church has a stark choice on how it responds to these volatile times. Will we retreat? Or will we stay engaged in the culture through prevailing prayer and a resolute determination marked by Christian courage? In his book, Impossible People: Christian Courage and the Struggle for the Soul of Civilization, author Os Guinness(1) writes, Christians in the early church confronted far more dire consequences than we do today in America - including instantaneous death or dismemberment for illegally proclaiming the gospel - yet they refused to stay silent and cower in fear! Instead, they became known as “impossible people” because of their courageous stand marked by what the world called “unshakable obstinacy.” We would be wise to draw inspiration from their strength for our current cultural moment! Guinness accurately describes the typical mindset in some segments of today’s American populace by stating, We are constantly fed these lies by the world and sadly, sometimes even by leaders in the church. For years, countless books, articles, and speeches have stated that a “post-Christian” America is a fait accompli, and her eventual doom is imminent. How did some in the church come to believe these lies? In my opinion, one of the main reasons is that we’ve had far too many preachers who promote either hopeless, defeatist theologies or comfort-driven lives of ease and self-aggrandizement. But instead of being lulled into complacency by these false messages, we are in desperate need of hearing a roar from the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, reawakening us to our holy calling as courageous Christians – those who will gladly stand resolutely for the glorious cause of Christ in the face of cultural decay. To put it more succinctly, Guinness teaches us that, This truth is echoed in eternity past by the Bible’s “Hall of Faith” heroes whose lives compel us to continued engagement by their incredible exploits. Allow these words from Hebrews 11:32-34 and 12:1-2 to permeate deep into your soul: Overcoming evil by exhibiting Christian courage is not just in our historical spiritual DNA; it is our destiny and duty. Winston Churchill, a man whose leadership helped save what he called “Christian Civilization” from annihilation in the 20th century, may have put it best when he proclaimed the following to all freedom-loving people, Brothers and sisters in Christ, a worldwide crisis is actually the greatest time to be alive, as we follow in the footsteps of the mighty men and women of the past who did their duty as courageous Christians! John chapters 14-16 record Jesus’ exhortation to His disciples before He was betrayed and arrested. These were His final instructions to the men who were about to change the world in His name. He concludes by saying, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”(7) Today, I am calling upon my fellow Christians to respond courageously in the face of global uncertainty. In the midst of tribulation, we have a duty to set our hearts and minds on Christ, be continually filled with His peace, and then overcome the world through the quality of our lives and the fervency of our prayers. It is our great responsibility and calling to carry our nation and the nations of the world in intercession before the throne of heaven. Pray with me: Father, we join with the prayers of Your people across the globe. Give us renewed strength to act courageously in the face of so much uncertainty in the world. Fill us afresh with Your Spirit so we will resist the temptation to shrink back as the nations rage around us. Remind us who we are in Christ, and of the lineage of faith-filled heroes in our family tree. Embolden Your church to be courageous, manifesting our spiritual DNA as courageous overcomers. Father, we acknowledge that the course laid out before us hasn’t changed, though the conditions have become uncomfortable. Therefore, fill us with a spirit of boldness as we set our faces toward the mark and run our race with endurance for the sake of humanity. Empower us to make this the church's finest hour! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Our decree: We decree that the church is rising up in fervent prayer to stand for Christ in our troubled world, for the future of the world! ****************************** Bio: William J. Ostan is a medically retired U.S. Army Major and combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the Founder and President of Arc of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for wounded warriors still on active duty. Will is currently spearheading the Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights in Congress. I invite you to find out more about his story at WillOstan.com and ArcofJusticeUSA.org. Click on the link below to watch the full video. --------------------------------------------------------------- End Notes: This post draws heavily from insights gleaned from Os Guinness’ books. In my opinion, he is one of the most important public intellectuals for the church today. He is extremely intelligent, humble, and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I’ve found this to be a rare trifecta. Os still has a paradigm for the possibility of nationwide reformation through another Great Awakening. I highly recommend all his books, but especially Renaissance, Last Call for Liberty, The Magna Carta of Humanity, and Impossible People. Os Guinness, Impossible People: Christian Courage and the Struggle for the Soul of Civilization (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2016), 30. Quoting Robert Louis Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983), 23. Guinness, Impossible People, 26. Ibid., 27. ESV. Guinness, Impossible People, Quote Section. John 16:33, ESV.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-7-2026 April 7, 2026 Peace in the Turmoil As we come nearer to the projected end of the military campaign in Iran, it is imperative that we pray for wise decisions to be made by the President and his military leaders. The evil regime in Iran has been a cancer to the people of Iran, the Middle East, and other portions of the world. Allowing the leading sponsor of terrorism throughout the world - with stated objectives of annihilating the U.S. and Israel - to possess nuclear weapons would have been insane, if not suicidal. Many of our previous Presidents have stated that this must not happen, but kicked the can down the road to the next commander-in-chief, while the evil regime kept inching ever closer. President Trump decided to take action and do so in a way that keeps them from rebuilding their nuclear and terrorist ambitions anytime soon. And if regime change occurs in the process, great. Our military, along with Israel’s, has achieved great success in the endeavor, while trying to leave intact as much infrastructure as possible for future Iranians. Two considerations are now critical in the decision-making process: The Strait of Hormuz is now a complicating factor. How far do we go to eliminate Iran’s control over it, choking off oil flow to many nations, since our annihilation of Iran’s military has been largely accomplished? Trump doesn’t want to get bogged down long term, and he wants other nations - especially those that need the oil - to step up and help deal with this evil regime. At this point, many of them are saying no, signaling that they want Americans to continue footing the bill to protect the world, as we have been doing since WWII. Secondly, how far do we go to take out the evil regime, positioning the Iranian people to rise up and establish a sane government? The stated goals were to destroy Iran’s Air Force, Navy, missile, and nuclear capabilities, with the hope that this would also cause regime change. Most of this has been accomplished - Iran obviously still has some missiles and launchers - but how much more should we do beyond simply finishing off the military? How far should we go to destroy the evil, murderous regime itself? In essence, these two questions - and others I may not be considering - essentially translate to: How do we finish this war? President Trump and his team will need to make very wise decisions in the coming days. These decisions will impact not only the lives of millions of people, but the spiritual harvest in the Middle East! We can help generate the right decisions through our prayers. We can! Resurrection Day On the heels of Resurrection Day and in a tumultuous world, I thought I would share with you an encouraging event that occurred on the actual day Christ rose from the dead. Two of His followers had a revelatory encounter with Him. To say that their world had recently turned topsy-turvy would be a gross understatement. To have discovered, lived with, and traveled with Jesus for three years, only to lose Him to death on the Cross would be life’s cruelest injustice. These two men were informed earlier in the day that Christ had risen from the dead. But, really, who would believe two grief-stricken ladies claiming to have been visited by angels (Luke 24:1-12)? As these men walked the seven-mile journey to Emmaus, they discussed this too-good-to-be-true report and all that had transpired over the past few days. That’s when He arrived. “And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus himself approached, and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:15-16). “What are you discussing?” He wanted to know. They gave Jesus a brief summary, expressing their surprise that He would even have to ask. “What else would we be discussing?” was the inference. It seems everyone in Jerusalem could think of little else than what had transpired with Christ the last few days, since so many of them had thought He might be the long-awaited Messiah. They spoke to Him of their devastation and also of the rumor that He had risen from the dead. Jesus, His identity still hidden from them, “explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (v. 27), including the fact that He had to suffer and die. Though they still didn’t know it was Jesus, His words began impacting their hearts. “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us... explaining the Scriptures to us?” they stated (v. 32). When they reached their destination, the men pleaded with Jesus to stay longer with them, perhaps spend the night. The Lord agreed to do so, and during dinner, “He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (vv. 30-31). He disappeared from their sight at that moment, and they hurried back the seven miles to Jerusalem with the good news: Christ was risen, indeed. I find it more than a coincidence that Jesus chose to temporarily hide from these men who He was, waiting to release the revelation “in the breaking of the bread” (v. 35). Was the timing His way of saying to them, “Sup with Me and I will reveal to you hidden things?” I believe so. Feed on Christ’s Word (Matthew 4:4). As you do, revelation will be given. He will reveal Himself to you along with other treasures from His Word, just as He did to these two men. In a troubled and tumultuous world, stay focused on the Lord, the resurrected Lord of the harvest. He brings peace in the midst of it all. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for answering thousands of prayers regarding saving the two U.S. servicemen whose fighterjet was recently shot down in Iran. The serviceman who hid for two days was Your son, and our prayers were joining his. We are grateful for their lives being saved. Now, we pray for our President and military leaders, asking for Your all-knowing wisdom to flow through them at this time; their decisions impact the future of millions of people. Remind them of their need for Your guidance, and that it flows to humble hearts. Remind them also that trusting in “horses and chariots” (Psalm 20:7) - even though ours is the greatest military in history - is a recipe for failure. And remind them that “many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the counsel of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). Father, there is so much we need to hear from You. Jesus said Your words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Filled with revelation and wisdom, they give us the insights we need to succeed in life. Remind us, in these perilous times, to take the time and sup with You. As we walk with You, we know You will reveal Yourself to us. Help us all to remember that times with You are the most important in our lives. Open our eyes, just as You did the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We pray for one another the words of Paul found in Ephesians 1:17-20 (TPT‬‬): “I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know Him through your deepening intimacy with Him… I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!” ‭‭ Our decree: We declare that our eyes are open to see You, our Savior and Lord. ******************************** Portions of today’s post were taken from my book, The Pleasure of His Company, published by Baker Books. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-6-2026 April 6, 2026 History’s Divine Orchestrator We are in the Hebrew month of Nisan, “the first month of the year” on God’s calendar (Exodus 12:2). This is when the Genesis creation occurred, as well as the Cross–the “new creation.” Consequently, it is considered the month of creation, of redemption, and of miracles. It is also considered “the month of speech,” for it is when God said, “Let there be…” (Genesis 1). In past posts, I have summarized many events that occurred throughout history during this month, and which symbolized redemption and new beginnings. [Link 1 and Link 2] If you have not read these previous two posts, I highly recommend that you do so; they will give greater context for today’s post, which is about seven events that took place in history on the 17th day of Nisan, the day Christ rose from the dead, which we believers celebrated yesterday. In Scripture, the number 17 represents “complete victory, overcoming the enemy”(1) and “the perfection of God’s divine order.”(2) Here are the seven events that occurred on Nisan 17, the seventh being the resurrection of Christ. The first six picture our redemption and Christ’s resurrection. Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. (Genesis 8:4) The Israelites entered Egypt to survive a severe famine and lived there for 430 years. (Genesis 46; Exodus 12:40-41) Israel crossed the Red Sea in the Exodus on Nisan 17, 430 years to the very day from when they entered Egypt. (Exodus 12:40-41) After crossing the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership, Israel ate the fruit of the promised land for the first time on this day. God had told them they would spend 40 years in the wilderness because of their unbelief (Numbers 14:34). On the 40th anniversary of their crossing the Red Sea - “on that very day” – they ate the first fruits of Canaan. (Joshua 5:10-11) King Hezekiah, in his reformation, rededicated and reopened the cleansed temple that had been defiled (2 Chronicles 29:1-28), which, of course, pictured our cleansing and becoming God’s “temple.” After Queen Esther led a three-day fast, the tables were turned on wicked Haman, (of Persia, present day Iran), and he was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. (Esther 7:10) Jesus rose from the dead. (Luke 22:1-8) We don’t have time in one post to look at each of these events in detail. But it is inconceivable, apart from divine causation, that these events all occurred on the same day in history, Nisan 17. One article said the odds against it are about 1 in 784 quadrillion (1 in 783,864,876,960,000,000, to be exact!).(3) Think about the flood, followed by Noah’s Ark coming to rest ON THE SAME DAY Jesus rose from the dead. “Thousands of years before the Resurrection, God engineered history to point toward the pinnacle event of salvation. Just as the ancient judgment ended on the day the ark touched the ground, so the judgment of the restored world ended on the same day of the year, when the tomb could not hold [Jesus].”(4) What, other than the omniscient mind and omnipotent power of God, could produce such a feat? The exact amount of rain had to fall; the weather patterns had to cause enough water to evaporate, causing the Ark to touch ground ON THAT DAY, which would later become Resurrection Day! Causing Israel to leave the land of Egypt ON THE EXACT SAME DAY, 430 years after they entered, is just a bit mind-boggling also. As you think about just how incredible that is, remember that God had to orchestrate all the events leading up to it occurring at the exact right time. He orchestrated Moses’ birth and rescue. He had to encounter Moses at the burning bush well in advance to overcome his insecurities and get him back to Egypt. He had to calculate the timing of all the plagues, factoring in how long the Egyptians would take to give their answers. He had to time how long it would take the thousands of Israelites to pack and journey to the Red Sea. Then he had to roll back the Red Sea at exactly the right time for them to cross out of Egypt – ON THE EXACT DAY they had entered it 430 years earlier! Then there is that Nisan 17, just after Joshua had led Israel across the Jordan and into the promised land. They ate the first fruits of the land ON THAT DAY, and began the seven-day conquest of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:5). That means that the day Joshua met Jesus, “the Captain of the host of the Lord” (Joshua 5:13), was THE EXACT SAME DAY hundreds of years later that “The Captain” stepped onto earth’s battlefield, conquerred death and emerged from the tomb. Did you get that? ON THE VERY DAY! This might be a good place to pause and remind yourself that God can do what He says. If He can take out Haman on the very day He would rise from the dead a few centuries later, He can deal with all that Haman’s bosses, satan and the Prince of Persia, sends your way. (Feel free to pause the video and run around the room for a few minutes, if necessary.) Nisan 17 – Resurrection Day – was yesterday. As you move forward, remember – in the face of all adversity and difficulty – that Pharaoh was destroyed, Jericho fell, Haman was hanged, satan is defeated, and the tomb is empty. Your “Captain” won the war, and He will take care of you. Pray with me: Father, You are Creator and Redeemer, well able to save and redeem. Christ our Savior, Healer, Deliverer, and conquering King, will not fail us; He will do all He has promised. In this “month of miracles,” we ask You to release another wave of Your mighty redemptive power, bringing victory and new beginnings throughout the earth. In this “month of speech,” we declare that we will experience breakthroughs, salvations, miracles, the return of prodigals, and the great awakening You have promised. Lives will be saved, and America shall be saved. And millions around the world will be saved. As we move forward, we will celebrate the victory of the Cross and Resurrection every day, doing so with a new and fresh revelation of our salvation and Your desire to save. You love to save and redeem, not destroy. You love to bless, not curse. You are the Giver, not the taker. And you are our Father. Our decree: We have crossed from spiritual death to abundant life, and with grateful hearts will eat the fruit of our salvation. ******************************* Click on the link below to watch the full video. _________________________________________________ https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/17.html#google_vignette. Ethelbert W. Bullinger, D. D., Number in Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications), p. 258. https://servantofmessiah.org/nissan-17th/ Ibid.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-3-2026 April 3, 2026 For those who would like to participate, will be taking communion together at the end of today’s post. Passion Week: Good Friday Today is Good Friday, called this because of an ancient usage of the word “good” as a synonym for holy. (In the same way that the Holy Bible at times is called the “Good Book.”) Holy Friday, indeed. From Gethsemane, Messiah was led to a mock trial, after which He was beaten mercilessly with a cat-o’-nine-tails. This procedure was so brutal that some victims didn’t survive it. The leather cords, tipped with sharp metal, tore at the flesh of the victim, ripping off pieces of flesh. The whip, with its nine cords, delivered 39 times, made a total of 351 lashes. This was barbaric and brutal, not only lacerating the back, but the cords wrapped around to the front of the victim’s body, including the face. It is hard to describe this lashing without being too graphic for most readers. The depiction of the horrific damage in The Passion movie is no exaggeration. Suffice it to say that when finished, the victim was often unrecognizable. The soldiers also beat Christ with their fists and spat on His face. To mock Him as “the King of the Jews,” a crown made of thorns was placed on His head and pressed into His skin, causing great pain and more loss of blood. When the ordeal was finished, Jesus was so mangled and covered with spittle and blood that He literally was unrecognizable. Isaiah said, “Many people were shocked [astonished; appalled] when they saw Him. His appearance was so damaged [disfigured; marred] He did not look like a man; His form was so changed they could barely tell He was human” (Isaiah 52:14 The Expanded Bible). The added punishments and torture, much more than the typical victim of crucifixion was afflicted with, can only be explained as the fury of hell. Yeshua endured this for you and me. Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 tell us it was this beating that purchased our healing. Place your faith for healing in this substitutionary sacrifice today. Christ was then led to His crucifixion. There are several prophetic references and/or occurrences in the Old Testament pointing to the Cross. One passage of extreme importance is Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which references one who experienced death by hanging on a tree as being “cursed.” It is abundantly clear from Galatians 3:13 that this verse refers to Jesus hanging on the “tree,” taking our curse. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Yeshua’s crucifixion took place at Golgotha, which means “the place of the skull.” God, millennia before, had ordained that this would be the place and, with the forces of nature, carved the international symbol of death onto the hillside. This was also the location of Isaac’s interrupted sacrifice (Genesis 22), which pictured the Cross. Like Isaac, we were spared, and God Himself provided the sacrifice. “Then Abraham looked up [lifted his eyes] and saw a male sheep [ram] caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep, offering it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved [in the place of his son]. So Abraham named that place The Lord Provides [or Sees; Hebrew: Yahweh Yireh]. Even today, people say, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided [or seen]’” (Genesis 22:13-14; The Expanded Bible). In this chosen place, high on a hill so all could see the Passover Lamb bearing our sin, suffering, and shame, God provided the sacrifice for our sins. Jesus carried His own Cross, though He was able to carry it only part of the way. It was actually the crossbeam that He carried. When He arrived at the place of crucifixion, He was first tied and nailed with spikes to this crosspiece, which contained a hole in the center, enabling it to slide down onto the permanent upright post. After a victim was tied and nailed to this portion, it was lifted and placed onto the top of the vertical section, whereupon it would fall down and slam into place. This is often when dislocations would occur in the crucified person–as the crosspiece slammed down, and stopped. And indeed, we know this occurred with Christ, as was prophesied of Him in Psalm 22:14. The sliding down of the crosspiece is also why the spikes were placed at the bottom of the hands where they joined the wrist; this placement would sustain more weight. It’s also why the victim was tied to the crossbeam. If they were not secured in this way, they would often be torn loose. Yeshua hung on the Cross for six hours in this emaciated state. While there, He spoke seven times. Time does not permit me to comment on each, but they are all significant. Halfway through the ordeal, at noon, the sun disappeared, and the sky grew dark (Luke 23:44-45). This was a fulfillment of Amos 8:9-10: “‘It will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord God, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight. Then I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.’” Surely this is a prophetic picture of the Light of the World being snuffed out for us. It was at the end of the three hours of darkness that Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46-47; Mark 15:34). He was quoting from Psalm 22, which is a detailed prophecy of the Cross. Christ was crying out in anguish because, for the first time in all of eternity, He was experiencing separation from His Father. It is also the only record we have of Him addressing God as anything other than Father. Christ took our sins upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:5). Most scholars agree that when this occurred, He bore our separation from the Father. Though Jesus no doubt knew this would occur, the actual experience was more than He could endure, and cried out in anguish. It is worth noting that Christ never cried out during the beatings, scourging, thorns, spikes, or dislocations - only when this separation occurred from His Father, as He bore our sin. Finally, it was enough. The price had been paid. Christ made His final two statements. The first, “It is finished,” I have written of before in the GH15 posts. This was not a quiet statement referencing His death, but a loud declaration by Christ, also a quote from Psalm 22:31. This decree was one word in Greek (tetelestai)(1) (John 19:30) and also in the Hebrew of Psalm 22 (asah).(2) Using the literal meaning of these words, Christ was declaring that He had fully accomplished His assignment, paid our debt in full, and was bringing forth the new creation! Yeshua then released His spirit to the Father. Death did not take Him; He “yielded up His Spirit” (Matthew 27:50). It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The priests in the Temple were performing their customary duties when, at the very moment Jesus yielded up His Spirit, the veil in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). The purpose of this veil had been to separate humans from the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God on earth. With this symbolic act, God was declaring that the separation caused by our sin was removed, and we could now draw near to Him, entering His presence once again! Why don’t you spend some additional time with Him today? He would like that. Pray with me: Thank You, Father, for the Cross and the pain it caused You. Thank You for sending Christ to be our substitute. Thank You for placing our sins upon Him in order to bring us back into Your family. Thank You for allowing the lashes, the wounds, the crown of thorns, and the separation, for surely it was agonizing for You, as well as for Yeshua. And thank You, Jesus, for Your heart of humility and love. You are both Son of Man and Son of God. Through Your sacrifice and our faith in it, You have made us sons and daughters of the Most High. We are so grateful. Now, by faith, we appropriate all of the cleansing power of Your shed blood, and the healing virtue that flows from every wound You suffered. By Your stripes, we are healed! And in remembrance of You and what You did for us on Calvary, we partake of the Communion Meal. We take the bread, which represents Your body, broken for us - a price paid so we can be restored. [Pause; eat the bread] We take the cup, a representation of Your blood, spilled for us, the price paid for our redemption from sin. We give You thanks today, Jesus. We give You thanks. [Drink the cup] *********************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 5055. Ibid. Ref. no. 6213.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-2-2026 April 2, 2026 Passion Week: Redemption Began In Gethsemane “Leaving there, He went, as He so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed Him. When they arrived at the place, He said, ‘Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.’” (Luke 22:39 MSG) “The place” spoken of by Luke was Gethsemane. It had become Christ’s favorite place of prayer in Jerusalem; notice the phrase, “as He so often did.” This is how Judas, who had left the last supper early to betray Christ, knew where to take the soldiers to find Him. Christ would spend three hours there that night agonizing over the ordeal He was facing. During this time, He would wrestle with His natural, human desire for this cup of suffering to pass from Him: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s request was genuine; He knew what He was facing that night and the next day. The agony of these three hours was horrific, much worse than most people realize. Luke tells us Christ started this time of prayer on His knees. Matthew adds that He eventually fell on His face in agony. Mark added that He fell repeatedly. In other words, Christ would kneel, then fall on His face. He would rise to His feet again, only to fall once more - first to His knees, then onto His face. At one point, the agony of what He was experiencing, as well as the knowledge of what was coming, became so great that the capillaries in His face burst, and blood mixed with sweat oozed through the pores of His skin (Luke 22:44). This is a painful medical condition known as hematidrosis. “Doctors don’t know exactly what triggers hematidrosis, in part because it's so rare. They think it could be related to the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response… Sometimes it seems to be caused by extreme distress or fear, such as facing death, torture, or severe ongoing abuse. It’s probably where the phrase ‘sweating blood,’ meaning fear and trepidation, comes from.”(1) “While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile.”(2) Many scholars believe our redemption was actually beginning here when Christ’s blood began to be shed, even before His beatings and crucifixion began. Through a blending of the gospel accounts, and with more in-depth definitions of the words chosen by Holy Spirit to describe this ordeal in the garden, we can gain a more complete picture of what Jesus truly experienced. When He “withdrew” from the disciples to pray by Himself (Luke 22:41), Luke uses a stronger word than the other Gospel writers, apospao, which means “to tear away.”(3) Wuest translates it accordingly, “He tore himself away from them.” Probably more than any time in His life, Christ wanted the comfort of being with friends, yet He knew He would have to face this ordeal alone. We are told by Matthew and Mark that Yeshua became “sore amazed, exceedingly sorrowful and very heavy” in His mind and emotions (Matthew 26:37-38; Mark 14:33-34 KJV). Literal definitions of the Greek words used give us poignant descriptions of what He was feeling: Ademonein: “to be troubled and in anguish, to be in a state of great anxiety; used of one who is rendered helpless, disoriented, agitated, and anguished by the threat of an approaching event.” (4) Perilupus: “to be very sad, environed or surrounded with deep grief.” (5) Ekthambeisthai: “to be exceedingly astonished, either with wonder or fear; to be in the grip of a shuddering horror.” (6) Wuest says Christ was “thoroughly alarmed.” Though He knew in advance this trauma was coming, the intensity of it was even greater than what He had expected. Based on these definitions, it was alarming to Him! Astonishing. Disorienting. Horrifying. Matthew tells us Jesus was agonizing “to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). The word used demands that this be taken literally. Though death could never have taken Christ before the time came for Him to yield up His spirit, in a strictly physical sense, here in the garden, His body was close to death. Again, I believe our redemption began here in the garden of Gethsemane. It was here that Christ began taking our wounds, rejections, and sorrows on Himself, as Isaiah prophesied of the Savior: “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5 NASB) Don’t waste a moment of Christ’s suffering for you. Everything He did was redemptive. Every second of suffering and abuse was for you and me, taking our place. Let it bring healing to every part of your soul that may be hurting. Jesus wants you healed from every form of abuse, rejection, betrayal, and loss. He paid for this! Receive it. After three hours of agony, Christ prevailed. He broke through into peace, and His spirit was now in complete control of every emotion. At this point, Judas came with soldiers and betrayed Christ with a kiss, kataphileo(7). The word reveals that this was more than just a friendly kiss on the cheek (phileo)(8), a common greeting in many countries. The prefix kata(9) strengthens it, implying a stronger affection, perhaps with a hug or a lingering kiss on the cheek. That is why Jesus questioned him, “Are you betraying me with [this type of affection], Judas?” (Luke 22:48) Christ then asks the soldiers, “Who are you seeking?” When they told Him, He simply said, “I AM” (John 18:4-5). Jesus did NOT say “I am He,” as most translations state. He spoke His God-name from throughout eternity: “I AM.” And the power of His words, of His name, knocked the soldiers backward onto the ground (verse 6). Christ is, indeed, Almighty God. At this point, Peter, perhaps emboldened by what happened to the soldiers, pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest. Jesus promptly touched Malchus and healed his ear! (Luke 22:51) The great I AM, indeed! The Healer! The Great Physician! The Creator! And in this time of His suffering, the Savior is seen ministering to His enemies. At this point, Jesus was led away to be tried, beaten, and crucified. We will look at this tomorrow. Pray with me: FATHER, the agony You must have felt during Christ’s sufferings had to have been immeasurable. The temptation to answer His prayer, “Let this cup pass from Me,” must have been overwhelming. But You knew there was no other way to save us - our sins required a perfect, sinless substitute. “You who spared not Your own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall You not also with Him, freely give us all things!” (Romans 8:32). Thank You! And JESUS, words fail us. You, the Prince of Peace, suffered overwhelming mental anguish and emotional trauma for us. You allowed Yourself to feel the pressure until Your capillaries burst and Your skin oozed blood. Through this, You now give us unexplainable peace and unspeakable joy. We worship You today, exalting You above all others. We love You from the depths of our hearts. May our incense of worship rise before You, bringing the pleasure You so deserve. As incredible as it sounds, we are the reward of Your suffering. Let this “reward” satisfy Your heart even more in this hour - send revival to the earth! Bring a billion souls into Your family in this coming revival. Your Father, who cannot lie, gave You the nations as Your inheritance. No one can take them from You. HOLY SPIRIT, show the world just how wonderful this God-Man is. Open their eyes to His glory, His selfless love, His humility. Give them dreams about Him that awaken desire - a longing to know Him. Surely, there is no one like Him - give them a taste! Let not the wicked stop this. Ruin their plans, judge their strategies, thwart their efforts…and reveal this glorious Man. And in His name, we pray, Amen. ****************************** Tomorrow we will have communion together as we remember Good Friday, the day of Christ’s death. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ----------------------------------------------- https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hematidrosis-hematohidrosis. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematidrosis. This is a combined definition from these sources: Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1977. Vine, W.E. The Expanded Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1984. Zodhiates, Spiros, The Complete Word Study Dictionary. Iowa Falls, IA: Word Bible Publishers, 1992. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid

https://www.givehim15.com/post/april-1-2026 April 1, 2026 Introduction Thank you for your prayers during the past couple of days. Ceci and her family are doing well, and her precious mother was honored well in her Memorial and Celebration Service. Passion Week: The Alabaster Box During the week of Christ’s Passion, we are told the story of a woman anointing Christ’s head and feet with very expensive ointment. (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8) “Now Jesus was in Bethany, in the home of Simon, a man Jesus had healed of leprosy. And as He was reclining at the table, a woman came into the house, with an alabaster flask filled with the highest quality of fragrant and expensive oil. She came to Jesus, and with a gesture of extreme devotion, she broke the flask and poured out the precious oil over His head. But some were highly indignant when they saw this, and they complained to one another, saying, ‘What a total waste! It could have been sold for a great sum, and the money could have benefited the poor.’ So they scolded her harshly. Jesus said to them, ‘Leave her alone! Why are you so critical of this woman? She has honored me with this beautiful act of kindness. You will always have the poor, whom you can help whenever you want, but you will not always have Me. When she poured the fragrant oil over Me, she was preparing My body in advance of My burial. She has done all that she could to honor Me. I promise you that as this wonderful gospel spreads all over the world, the story of her lavish devotion to Me will be mentioned in memory of her.’” (‭‭Mark‬ ‭14:3-9‬ ‭TPT‬‬) This oil was very expensive, worth a year’s wages based on the average income of the day. We know from John’s account (John 12:1-8) that this was done by the same Mary who sat at Christ’s feet, mesmerized by His words, in Luke 10:38-42. She was the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. The timing of Mary’s offering was just days before His death, and Jesus said she was anointing Him for His burial. Whether Mary had grasped the reality of His words about His imminent death and resurrection, or whether Jesus was simply applying the offering in that light, is unclear. Two things we do know: It was a very costly offering from Mary, and it was precious to the Lord. “Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done shall be spoken of in memory of her,” He stated (Matthew 26:13). Some speculate that the scent of this powerful perfume would have lingered in Christ’s hair for several days. Did the fragrance help sustain Him as He agonized in Gethsemane? Perhaps the sweet aroma comforted Him even through the torturous six hours on the Cross. Never underestimate the fragrance of your worship. Others in the room thought Mary’s offering to be a waste. Some actually scolded her (Mark 14:5). I know the feeling. When I canceled all other activities for three months in the church I pastored in Colorado Springs, lavishing ninety days of 24/7 worship on the Lord, I, too, was criticized. One influential Christian leader in our city rebuked me, calling the ninety days of worship “a complete waste of time.” It’s interesting just how much perspectives can differ. For me, those three months remain among the most meaningful days of my life. They were my alabaster box of costly perfume, the most lavish offering I’ve had the honor of giving Christ. For the person who rebuked me, they were a complete waste of time. Never allow others’ lack of revelation to cheapen your offering. Like Mary, give Christ your best. Others may mock your sacrifice of time, money, or possessions, but go ahead and “waste” it on Him. Some will rebuke/scold you, as they did Mary, calling your passionate praise too radical, but pour out your offering in spite of their ridicule. Still others will label your extravagant worship as excessive religious zeal. Don’t let their misguided criticism deter you - pour out your costly perfume! The list of Christ’s followers in the room as Mary anointed Jesus was quite the “who’s who.” The twelve disciples were present. You’d think they would have understood that Jesus was more than worth this offering, but they were too practical: “It should have been given to the poor,” was their protest. Christ’s thoughts? “Go ahead and anoint Me; there will be ample time to care for the poor after I’m gone.” Simon, the former leper whom Christ had healed, was present. This was actually his home. One might think his new skin, replaced appendages, and restored life would, in his mind, merit the “wasting” of some costly perfume on Jesus. Evidently not - he didn’t come to Mary’s defense. And then there was Lazarus, Mary’s brother, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. He had been dead so long that he stank. Surely he would see the validity of his sister’s costly perfume sacrifice. But no, Lazarus didn’t come to her defense, either. Could it be that the others’ familiarity with Christ had lessened their wonder of Him, their awe? We don’t know. They certainly didn’t come to Mary’s defense. We do know that only one worshiper that day had the love and revelation necessary to anoint the Savior. How sadly typical. So many miss opportunities to lavish affection on Him. It is not uncommon for me to see church attendees waste opportunities to break their alabaster box of love and pour it on the Master. They’ve been in His presence so often, sang so many songs, and prayed so many prayers that the experience just isn’t quite worth what it used to be. So, they give Him token praise and watered-down worship. Cheap perfume. I doubt if the fragrance of their praise makes it past Sunday lunch. But while the others that day wasted an opportunity to comfort God–what an amazing thought–Mary poured out her costly perfume. And its fragrance sustained Him through Gethsemane, the beatings, mocking, lashing, spittle, spikes, dislocations, and thorns. Don’t allow another day to go by without becoming one of the “fragrance creators.” Let nothing deter you. Your alabaster box is your heart; your love and worship are the perfume. Break it open and pour it out. At the scent of your offering, He’ll meet with you. And He’ll cherish your worship, just as He did Mary’s. Pray with me: Father, thank You for including Mary’s story in Your Holy Book. We are impressed and motivated by her example, yes. But just as importantly, we are awed by Christ’s moving acceptance and appreciation of it. May we always give Him our best today. May the fragrance of worship ascend to Him daily from our hearts and lives. And may You, Abba, always find the sweet fragrance of worship ascending to Your throne. We love You very much. Jesus, thank You for Your amazing, unfathomable humility. We will never know just how much You humbled Yourself to serve us as You did. You became human, touchable, breakable. Your love is unmatched. We worship You today with our hearts, hands, offerings, and words. We are so grateful to be partakers of Your life, righteousness, strength, healing, and wholeness. We continue to pray for the turning of our nation and for our government to be transformed. Change those who can be changed; replace the others. You are the God of salvation; bring it to this land. And we wholeheartedly include other nations in this prayer - send revival throughout the earth. Work Your divine purposes in the Middle East. End the efforts of terrorists and bring a great harvest in the region. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: We are passionate worshipers of our great God, and we will break our alabaster box, giving Him all our love and honor. ****************************** Click here to watch/hear Cece Winans perform the song, The Alabaster Box. This is one of our favorites. Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-30-2026 March 30, 2026 Pre-post statement: Ceci’s 96 year old mom went to heaven this past Thursday. Today she is celebrating in heaven and we are joining her here on earth. Because of out of town funeral arrangements and being with family, there will not be new Give Him 15 posts on Monday and Tuesday. We have selected a few popular posts from the past to share with you. We appreciate your prayers during this time. Passion Week: The Man, Christ Jesus We are entering the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, often referred to as The Passion Week. Christ actually began experiencing the emotional pressure of what was coming several weeks before the Cross occurred. Most people fail to consider that Jesus was truly human, with real emotions and the ability to feel pain. He experienced grief, sorrow, anger, and disappointment, enjoyed friendships, knew joy and laughter, felt hunger and thirst, grew tired and sleepy. Though fully God, Jesus was also human, but without the Adamic fallen nature. He had to be in order to represent us as a legal substitute. As one who was truly human, Christ didn’t simply flip over into God mode when things got tough in order to not experience the pain or trauma. Philippians 2:6-7 tell us that “although He existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Let Christ be human. As I stated above, weeks before the Cross Christ began feeling the pressure. When He said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62), Jesus was thinking of Himself. The passage begins by saying, “Jesus let nothing distract him from departing for Jerusalem because the time for him to be lifted up drew near, and he was full of passion to complete his mission there.” ‭‭(Luke‬ ‭9:51‬ ‭TPT‬‬) Jesus knew that in Jerusalem He would face arrest, torture, and agonizing death. But He set off firmly and unflinchingly, committed to finishing His mission. There would be no backing out, and nothing would deter Him from accomplishing His purpose. Isaiah prophesied this determination: “The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:5-7 NASB). Christ knew this passage was speaking of Him and realized He was entering the season of its fulfillment. So He set His face like flint, put His hand to the plow, and turned toward Jerusalem, beginning what would become His final trek to this city. Traveling by foot and stopping along the way to minister and rest, the journey would take several weeks. Luke, in his gospel, reveals the humanness of Christ more than the other Gospel writers. Under Holy Spirit’s guidance, each Gospel writer had a different goal in his writing. This is why each man shared different (not contradictory) accounts of Christ’s works and teachings. Matthew, for example, wrote his Gospel primarily to the Jews; he was, therefore, revealing Christ as the King of God’s Kingdom. Mark wrote to Romans; hence, he wrote of Jesus as a man of action, filled with power and under authority. John wrote to all humankind, presenting Him as truly God. Luke was writing primarily to Gentiles and Greeks; he presented the humanness of Christ - He was truly a man and, therefore, qualified to be our substitute at the Cross. In revealing Christ’s humanness, Luke wants us to know that from this point onward, the pressure began building in the Son of Man. Jesus was having to remain very focused in order to deal with this pressure. Eleven times after the above verse (9:51), Luke mentions that Christ was journeying toward Jerusalem and, therefore, the Cross. He was focused on the mission and would not waver. In Chapter 12, Luke quotes Him as saying, “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished” (verse 50). “Distressed” is the Greek word sunecho (Strongs 4912), a very strong word meaning “to be held fast, like a prisoner.” It also means “to be confined, constrained, pressed together so as to not be able to move (like a city under siege);” figuratively, sunecho meant “to be in a mental state of anguish.” Kenneth Wuest’s expanded and very literal translation of the New Testament renders this verse: “I have an immersion by which I will be overwhelmed, and I am being hard pressed from every side until it be consummated.” In other words, though weeks out from the Cross, the strain in Christ was already very intense! Jesus knew what was about to occur and was dreading it. The focus required in order to press on toward Jerusalem was so intense that it could be seen on His countenance. In Luke 9:53, Christ was rejected by a Samaritan village “Because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem.” Although there was great friction between Jews and Samaritans, Christ had earlier been accepted by a village in Samaria after ministering to “the woman at the well” (see John 4). On this occasion, however, they would not receive Him. Why? They were offended because He couldn’t seem to take His focus off Jerusalem. What did this look like? There must have been many pensive gazes, perhaps even some grimaces, as Christ kept turning His face toward Jerusalem and the Cross. This became so obvious that the Samaritans, who were rejected and looked down upon by the Jews, had finally had enough. Of course, they didn’t understand. Noone did. This was something Christ was having to endure alone. And with His face set like flint, He journeyed on - moving toward His destiny. “And He was passing through from one village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22). For several weeks, the journey continued, and the pressure built until Jesus rounded the last curve and crested the last hill. When the city came into view, He burst into tears. Christ’s emotions were now raw, sensitive, and bottled up. Like a pent-up dam that could take no more pressure, He released His emotions. Jesus loved this city; He loved the people. Yet He knew Jerusalem would reject Him and, in the future, experience great devastation. As this mix of emotions erupted to the surface, Yeshua let it all out. And He did more than cry. Again, quoting from Wuest’s New Testament, “...having caught sight of the city, He burst into tears, weeping audibly over it” (Luke 19:41). What a picture. And what must the disciples and those following Christ have thought as He “burst into tears” and sobbed? How often this man surprised and amazed them. Power, authority, humility, wisdom, intellect, love and yes, passion were all exhibited by the Son of Man. And they would soon see His anger. After composing Himself, Christ went directly to the Temple and drove out those who were selling their wares, making His “house of prayer...a robber’s den,” (Luke 19:45-46). This was indeed anger, but it wasn’t a temporary loss of self-control. The Temple was intended by God to picture us humans, created to be the dwelling place/temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). The defilement Jesus was seeing reminded Him of the defilement in us, which He was about to cleanse at the Cross, just days from then. He was demonstrating what He had come to do: cleanse His temple - US! And Christ was intense about it. Spend some time this week reflecting on the passion of Christ. Journey through the week with Him. Thank Him for the price He paid. Worship Him not only as God, the Creator, but also as Son of Man, the Redeemer. And let Him be human. Pray with me: Father, thank You for Your incredible love and commitment to us. Thank You for the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. You are amazing. We are deeply moved by being able to call You Abba, Papa. And Jesus, thank You for the incarnation - being willing to become one of us. Isaiah called You Immanuel, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). Daniel called You “son of man” (Daniel 7:13). Thank You for the tears. Thank You for the love. Thank You for the suffering and pain. Thank You for the Cross - thank You for dying. And thank You for winning, for conquering death and the grave, for overcoming sin and its evil hold on us. Thank You for sharing Abba with us. Thank You for sharing Your throne with us. Manifest Yourself through us in this era, we pray. May the world see who You are, Yeshua, and Your glory as the church You are building matures into the Ekklesia You envisioned. Continue to mature us into people worthy of bearing Your name. Amen. Our decree: We declare that the sufferings of Christ were not in vain, and His blood will never lose its power. ********************************* Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-27-2026 March 27, 2026 Palm Sunday: The Sound of the King We are living in a “kairos” moment - a window of time where heaven is intersecting with earth in a profound way. To help us understand where we are going, we can look back at one of the most strategic and prophetic demonstrations in world history: the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21; Mark 11; John 12). This wasn’t just a parade. It wasn’t a “PR” campaign for a new rabbi. It was a prophetic act of war and a legal claim to a throne. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, He wasn’t just fulfilling a nice sentiment; He was carrying out a blueprint written in heaven before the foundations of the world. A King, but Not as They Expected In the ancient world, symbolism was very important to rulers, just as it is today. When Jesus approached Jerusalem, He chose His “ride” carefully. He didn’t come on a warhorse. In the culture of His day, a king returning from a conquest would ride a stallion, signaling “I have subdued my enemy.” But a king coming in peace, or coming to offer a covenant, rode a young donkey. By choosing the colt, Jesus was making a dual declaration: I am your King. I am coming as the Prince of Peace to serve and to save, not to slaughter. The people were shouting “Hosanna!” which literally means, “Save us now!” They were looking for a political insurgent to break the back of Roman tyranny. But Jesus was looking at a much older, much darker tyranny - the spirit of death and the legal claim of sin over humanity. He wasn’t just entering a city; He was entering the “courtroom of heaven” to finalize the greatest legal victory in history. Old Testament Pictures There is an old rhyme regarding the Scriptures: the New is in the Old contained, and the Old is in the New explained. This moment was the “Amen” to centuries of prophetic promises. The most direct Old Testament “picture” we have of it is found in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” God had given Israel an unmistakable sign to look for, telling them exactly what the arrival of the Messiah would look like. When Jesus crested the Mount of Olives on that donkey, it was a physical manifestation of a 500-year-old word. It was God saying, “I keep My promises.” The Selection of the Lamb There is another striking prophetic layer here. The Triumphant Entry occurred on the 10th of the month of Nisan. According to the Law of Moses in Exodus 12, this was the exact day on which each Israelite household was commanded to choose its Passover lamb. They would take the lamb into their home for four days to inspect it for blemishes before it was sacrificed. As the people were bringing their literal lambs into their homes in Jerusalem, the Lamb of God was walking into His “home” - the Temple. For four days, the Pharisees and Sadducees “inspected” Him with questions and traps, only to find no blemish in Him. He was the perfect sacrifice, entering the city at the exact moment the clock of destiny struck twelve. Why We Celebrate Today So, why does this matter for us in the 21st century? Why should we wave palm branches and talk about this on Palm Sunday? 1. It is a Celebration of Christ’s Governmental Authority Palm Sunday is a reminder that Jesus is the rightful King of the nations. The palm branches weren’t just pretty decorations; they were symbols of victory and national identity. When we celebrate today, we are declaring that Jesus has the right to rule our families, our cities, and our nation. We are joining our voices with those of old, saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:19)! 2. It Reminds Us to Discern the Times One of the saddest verses in the Bible is when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem shortly after this entry, saying they “did not recognize the time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44). Celebrating Palm Sunday and other biblical occurrences reminds us to keep our spiritual senses sharp. We don’t want to be like the religious elite who were so stuck in their traditions that they missed God standing right in front of them! We celebrate what Christ did then, to stay in alignment with what Holy Spirit is doing now. 3. It Prepares Us for Christ’s Second Entry Finally, we celebrate because this first “humble” entry was the precursor to a second “glorious” entry. The first time, He came on a donkey. The next time, the Bible says He’s coming on a white horse (Revelation 19). His eyes will be like flames of fire, and on His thigh will be written: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (verses 12-19). Palm Sunday is our “rehearsal.” We are practicing the atmosphere of heaven, and we are seeding the earth with the praise that will one day rise from all creation to greet our King when He returns to take His place over all the earth. A Call to Alignment Don’t let this Palm Sunday just be another “religious holiday” where you grab a piece of greenery and go to lunch. Use this day to reset your “watchman” stance. Ask yourself: Is Jesus truly my King inwardly? Have I laid down my “garments” - my reputation, my agenda, my will - at His feet so He can ride on them? When we shout “Hosanna,” we aren’t just asking for salvation; we are acknowledging His Lordship. We are saying, “Lord, rule in our day! Bring your Kingdom alignment to the earth!” Let’s be people who know the sound of our King. Let’s be people who don’t just watch the parade, but who clear the way for His glory to enter our generation. Pray with me: Father, we come before You today in the mighty Name of Jesus, the King of Glory. We thank You that You are the Architect of Time and that nothing in our lives - and nothing in our nation - is a surprise to You. Just as You instructed the disciples to go and untie the colt because “The Lord has need of it,” we ask that You would untie and loose prophetic destinies in our lives today. We repent for the instances when we have been like the religious leaders - blind to the times of our visitations from You. We ask for “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” what the Spirit is saying to the Ekklesia in this hour. Lord, we lay down our “garments” - our own reputations, our own agendas, and our own comfort - at Your feet. We make a highway for You to ride into our families, our cities, and our government. Let the “Hosanna” roar rise up in us again. Not just as a song, but as a legal demand for Your Kingdom to be established on the earth. We welcome You, Lion of Judah, to take Your seat of authority over every mountain of influence in our nation. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Our decree: Based on the authority of the Word of God and the finished work of Jesus, our King, make the following declarations over your life: I decree that Jesus Christ is the rightful Lord and Governor over my life, my household, and my nation. I decree that every “closed gate” in my life must now lift up its head, for the King of Glory is coming in (Psalm 24). I decree that the “religious spirit” that seeks to silence the praise of the church is broken; my voice will not be silenced, and my worship will clear the way for His presence. I decree that just as Jesus entered Jerusalem to fulfill the Law, His Kingdom is now entering my situation to bring divine order and justice. I decree that I am in alignment with the “Kairos” time of God, and I will not miss the day of my visitation. I decree that the “Peace” of the King - the Shalom that destroys the authority of chaos - is now ruling in my heart and my home. ************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-26-2026 March 26, 2026 The Hinge that Turns the Door of History Several years back, I was visiting with a pastor in his office after speaking for him at a conference. I’m sure I spoke on some aspect of prayer, applying it prophetically to the nation and encouraging the people to intercede. I probably also led in some passionate prayer. He said to me, “You are called to the remnant, aren’t you?” I really didn’t know what he was implying, but He didn’t seem critical when he said it, although I’ve never been invited back! I strive never to adopt an elitist mindset, but I do believe God has raised up a praying element of the church in America, of which I am part. It is true that God sometimes uses a smaller segment of the body of Christ to accomplish things for the majority. If you look throughout the Word, you’ll see that when darkness seems to be at its peak, God often doesn’t look for a massive, polished army to turn the tide. He looks for a “remnant”—a small, consecrated group of people who have refused to bow their knee to the spirit of the age. The Power of the Few In the economy of the Kingdom, God is never intimidated by numbers. In fact, He sometimes prefers the smaller number. Think about Gideon. He started with 32,000 men, but God whittled that number down to 300. Why? Because the heart of the remnant was more valuable to God than the size of the army (Judges 6-8). The Remnant Strategy Historically, the remnant has, at times, been God’s “Plan A.” Noah and his family were a remnant that preserved the human race. Elijah felt alone, but God reminded him that there was a remnant of 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. The early church began as a small upper-room remnant that eventually turned the world upside down. The remnant often functions as a spiritual seed. You don’t need a whole forest to start a new season; you just need a few seeds that are willing to die to their own agendas so that the life of God can spring forth. A Modern-Day Watchman America is certainly in a “Gideon moment.” God has called a remnant to rise up and take their place on the wall as watchmen. This isn’t about being part of a “special club”; it’s about a deep, sacrificial commitment to see God’s purposes established on the earth. This group is characterized by a “Holy Spirit tenacity.” They don’t give up when the culture shifts; they dig their heels in and appeal to the Supreme Judge of the universe. When the remnant prays, they aren’t just tossing “bless me” prayers toward the ceiling. They are releasing the decrees of heaven, and using the “keys of the Kingdom” to bind and loose. This small, focused group becomes a "strike force" in the spirit, breaking open the way for a great awakening. God has been raising up a people who are “ekklesia-minded”—those who understand their legislative authority in the spirit. In sewing terms, a remnant isn’t just a leftover piece of fabric; it is a “representative sample” that carries the DNA of the whole. When a remnant stands in the gap for a nation, they aren’t just praying for themselves; they are anchoring a nation back to its original intent. We are living in a day when the “remnant” is being mobilized. If you feel like a lone voice in your family, your workplace, or your city, don’t be discouraged. You are part of God’s hidden reserve. He is about to use the small thing to confound the mighty. Maintain your position, stand in the gap, and watch what the Lord will do through a people who simply refuse to quit. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) Remember, when we make decrees, we aren’t trying to convince God to do something; we are releasing His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We are moving from petition only to governmental decrees. Keep standing in that authority. Remember, God doesn’t need a crowd to shift the atmosphere—He just needs hearts that refuse to back down. A remnant is often the hinge that turns the door of history. Stay on the wall, watchman! Remember, you’re not just a person with a prayer; you’re a legislator with a mandate. Your voice is the instrument that releases the “sound” of heaven into your earthly circumstances. Make the following declaration with me today, and also let it be our prayer: In the name of Jesus, and by the authority of the finished work of the Cross: I take my seat in heavenly places as a member of God’s Ekklesia (Ephesians 2:6). I recognize that I am not an observer; I am a legal representative of the Kingdom of light, called for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). I decree that the “Key of David” is active in my life, my family, and my nation. What this key has opened, no man or demon can shut; what this key has shut, no power of darkness can open (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7). I bind and forbid every strategy of the enemy intended to cause delay, division, or distraction. I command the “squatter’s rights” of the enemy over my territory to be evicted by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11). I loose and permit the plans of heaven to manifest. I call for the “divine recovery” of everything the enemy has stolen from me. I decree that the hidden reserves of God are being activated now. I declare that I am part of a “Gideon company.” Though we may be few, we are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). I align my heart with the remnant across this globe to release a sound of victory that shifts the atmosphere of my city and nation. I announce that a great awakening is not just coming—it has begun, birthed through the prayers and decrees of the Ekklesia. I occupy my position on the wall as a watchman, and I will not be silent until God’s righteousness is seen in my land. Amen. ********************************* Click on the link below to watch the full video.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-25-2026 March 25, 2026 “Deceivers Who Teach Clever Lies” Many spiritual leaders have been silenced by their caution of not being influenced by a political spirit. In their desire to stay out of politics, they stay out of policies. Consequently, those who should have the loudest voices regarding the moral issues of our day are largely silent, allowing the political spirit they despise to win. Ironic, isn’t it? I, too, have worked diligently over the years to avoid being overtaken by a political spirit. Though none of us are perfect, I have never allowed the deciding issue on any cause to be a political party. I vote and speak out based on which policy and or candidate aligns most closely with my biblical values. Avoiding a political spirit does not mean we must muzzle ourselves on issues or against what those in a particular political party are doing. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love.” Refusing to speak the truth is NOT love. The previous verse tells us why we MUST speak truth: “And then our immaturity will end! And we will not be easily shaken by trouble, nor led astray by novel teachings or by false doctrines of deceivers who teach clever lies” (Ephesians 4:14). With this in mind, I must say that many in the Democratic Party have become anti-Christ and anti-American: a turn toward Marxism and socialism; an acceptance of globalism and its demand for loss of national identity and freedom; an opposition to biblical ideals and morality, accompanied by a dishonor - if not hatred - of God; an insatiable lust for power and wealth; these and more have defiled the party to a point of moral decay and deception perhaps beyond repair. Intellectual ideas and debate will not reform this party, for much of the decay is heart-related. Transformation must always precede reformation. Democrats’ “sanctuary city” policies, meaning they will not turn a criminal over to ICE for deportation, have caused multiple murders and rapes around the nation. They would rather protect criminal illegal aliens than protect American citizens. Their latest victim was 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a student at Loyola University in Chicago, who was shot and killed by Biden’s illegal alien, Jose Medina-Medina. Medina was allowed into our nation by Biden in 2023, arrested shortly thereafter for shoplifting, and released back onto the street by Democrat policies, enabling him to kill this innocent young lady. It took Illinois Governor Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson four days before they were shamed into making a lame statement. Why? They don’t care. The potential of votes to keep them in power is more important than this young lady’s life. This is also why Democrats fight so desperately against the SAVE Act and to defund ICE. Chicago alderwoman Maria Hadden blamed the shooting on the young students being at the “wrong place” at the “wrong time.” “Gorman’s family said in a statement that they were ‘gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime.’ “‘When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real,’ the family said in a statement. ‘And in our case, they are permanent. This case must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of both state and federal law. There can be no gaps, no shortcuts, and no second chances that put others at risk. Accountability must be complete.’ “An attorney representing Gorman’s family also released a statement, saying in part, ‘Sheridan was 18. She had her entire life ahead of her - her education, her future, her family, the countless lives she would have touched. All of that was taken in a moment, and there is no way to repair that loss.’”(1) Tragedies such as these continue to repeat themselves, yet the policies that allow them remain. The possibility of 20 million votes is just too much to lose. Regarding another Democrat policy, the refusal to fund DHS, conservative political commentator Benny Johnson says: “I spoke with over a dozen TSA agents today. None of them have been paid in 2 months. Here’s what they told me: ‘I had to sell my car to pay my mortgage.’ ‘I work 12-hour shifts and don’t see my kids. Now I can’t even afford to buy my family dinner.’ ‘I’m going to have to quit this month and find another job.’ ‘My wife had to go back to work.’ ‘I can’t afford basic groceries.’ ‘I have no more savings left.’ ‘This makes no sense. ICE is funded through 2030. Democrats are just punishing us.’ “One thing became clear after today: Democrats targeting TSA is morally depraved. It hurts passengers and law enforcement alike. Politicians should NOT be able to destroy innocent people’s lives to score cheap political theater points. Democrats are evil for this. They just want to see Americans suffer to protect illegals and illegal voting.”(2) I do not consider allowing illegal entry into our nation, murdering innocent young girls, and destroying the livelihoods of hard-working Americans as political issues. They are moral issues caused by unprincipled, power-hungry, and immoral politicians. What can be done about this injustice when so many Americans seem to be blinded to it, kept in the dark by a lying media? I remind you of the words of John Locke, echoed by George Washington on a flag: “And where the body of the people or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and has no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven…”(3) Only God’s power, released through a third great awakening, can save and transform our nation. Only appealing to heaven can produce this. Let’s appeal for it now. Pray with me: Father, John Locke considered You the ultimate arbiter of justice. We agree with this; Your Word tells us justice is one of the foundations of Your throne. We here in America have given evil and corruption a foothold. This is now so entrenched that we could never eradicate it without Your supernatural help. We have repented, and now we appeal to heaven. We appeal to You for our third great awakening, which will remove unrighteousness and corruption in our government. This revival will restore truth, conscience, integrity, and honor for You and Your ways. We ask that this awakening intensifies and quickly removes evil indoctrination from our schools, replacing it with true learning, common sense, respect, and integrity. We ask that our corrupted media be totally exposed and lose its credibility. Awaken the American people to their lies and distorted reporting. And awaken the church. Give spiritual leaders in America both the desire and moral strength to stand for truth and against evil. Help them see that speaking out on important issues of life and morality, even in the context of government, is not politics. Help the American church reclaim its voice once again and become the pillar of truth You need her to be. We appeal for these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Our decree: As ambassadors of Christ, we will speak the truth in love, protecting Americans from “deceivers who teach clever lies.” ( Ephesians 4:14-15) ***************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. -------------------------------------------------- https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/sheridan-gormans-family-releases-statement-after-her-shocking-murder-gravely-disappointed-by-101774341175854.html https://www.instagram.com/p/DWRMaknAAC2/?igsh=MTNra2tvd2R0cnQ5bA%3D%3D Information collected from an Instagram post by @bennyjohnson 3/24/2026. Laslett, Peter. “Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43.” Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Books Division, https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html. Accessed 2 February 2021.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-24-2026 March 24, 2026 Appealing to Heaven: Making A Difference In yesterday’s post, I talked about the Appeal To Heaven flag. America’s Founders believed so much in the power of prayer that they commissioned a flag to fly throughout the nation during the War of Independence as a reminder. And they believed that God answered their prayers, giving them victory. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon is credited as saying, “…prayer moves the hand that moves the world.”(1) Does a sovereign, all-powerful God really need our involvement to accomplish His will on earth? Is prayer really necessary? Most people in America, including pastors, do not believe prayer is truly necessary in order for God to accomplish His purposes on earth. One need only attend a typical church service to know this. If pastors believed prayer impacted nations and shaped history, they would make time for it in their services…more than just over the offerings, messages, and the dismissal of the saints. No sincere and caring person - which I believe most pastors are - would refuse to do something they believed could change nations and make the world better, safer, more peaceful, etc. They don’t give time in their services for prayer because they don’t actually believe it accomplishes anything other than connecting people to God devotionally, which people can do at home. Contrary to Christ’s wishes, the vast majority of churches are anything but houses of prayer (see Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). My purpose today, however, is not to convince you that prayer causes the hand of God to move. You most likely believe that, or you wouldn’t be reading or listening to my posts. It is simply to remind you of this and to encourage you that your prayers are making a difference. Nations are being impacted, lives are changing, and eternal destinies are being shaped because you are praying. Our appeals to heaven bring revival, release healing, and produce breakthroughs. Strongholds come down when we pray. I agree with E. M. Bounds when he said: “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil... The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon earth. God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer.”(2) Though God is sovereign and all-powerful, Scripture clearly tells us that He limited Himself, concerning the affairs of earth, to working through human beings. Is this not the story woven throughout the Scriptures: God and humans, for better or worse, doing it together? God needing faithful men and women? God needing a nation through whom to bring the Messiah into the world? God needing prophets? God needing judges? God needing a human Messiah? God needing human hands to heal, human voices to speak, and human feet to go? Doesn’t He need us to ask and decree for His Kingdom to come, His will to be done (see Matthew 6:10)? Surely He wouldn’t want us to waste our time asking for something that was going to happen anyway, would He? Didn’t He tell us to ask for our daily bread (see Matthew 6:11)? And yet, He knows our needs before we even ask. Didn’t He tell us to ask that laborers be sent into the harvest (see Matthew 9:38)? But, doesn’t the Lord of the harvest want that more than we do? Didn’t Paul say, “Pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)? Wasn’t God already planning to do this? Are not these things God’s will? Why, then, are we supposed to ask Him for something He already wants to do if it’s not that our asking somehow releases Him to do it? In 606 BC, Israel had been taken captive by another nation because of its sin. Jeremiah had prophesied the timing and duration of this. Years later, in Daniel 9, we’re told that while reading the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel realized it was time for Israel’s captivity to end. Jeremiah had not only prophesied the captivity, of which Daniel was a part, but also its duration: 70 years. At this point, Daniel did something very different from what most of us would do. When we receive a promise of revival, deliverance, healing, restoration, etc., we tend to passively wait for its fulfillment— but not Daniel. He knew better. Somehow, he knew God needed his involvement, as he said, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). God heard his prayers, and the restoration occurred. Paul E. Billhelmer said: “Daniel evidently realized that intercession had a part to play in bringing the prophecy to pass. God had made the prophecy. When it was time for its fulfillment, He did not fulfill it arbitrarily outside of His program of prayer. He sought for a man upon whose heart He could lay a burden of intercession.... As always, God made the decision in heaven. A man was called upon to enforce that decision on earth through intercession and faith.”(3) The late C. Peter Wagner agreed with this when he stated: “We must understand that our sovereign God has, for His own reasons, so designed this world that much of what is truly His will He makes contingent on the attitudes and actions of human beings. He allows humans to make decisions that can influence history....”(4) Never forget, friend: appeals to heaven change the earth. Pray with me: Father, we thank You for the progress being made to defeat evil here in America and around the world. You are using many people to accomplish these things, including President Trump, but we give You the glory. You are empowering their efforts. We ask for continued favor upon the efforts of the righteous, and failure to those who promote evil and violence. Although we know there is much more change needed, thank You for answering prayers regarding the Presidency, Congress, and judicial system of America. We ask for these breakthroughs to continue. We also thank You for the victories in the Middle East. We ask for the total destruction of “the prince of Persia’s” control over the region (Daniel 10), and the greatest revival in the region’s history. Bring freedom to the people of Iran and release a great revival there, but also use them to facilitate revival throughout the entire Middle East. And we continue to ask for revival in America. Give great strategy and favor, especially to those working to produce revival among the youth and young adults of our nation. Cause the revival that has begun among this age group to continue and multiply exponentially. Raise them up as the greatest army of reformers the world has ever seen. Once again, we thank You for all the breakthroughs we are seeing and ask that this continue. And we ask all of this in Yeshua’s name, amen. Our decree: We decree that appealing to heaven is the believer’s right and America’s heritage. *************************** Today’s post was adapted from one of the chapters in my book, Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books. Click on the link below to watch the full video. -------------------------------------------------- https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/559908-prayer-bends-the-omnipotence-of-heaven-to-your-desire-prayer Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975), p. 51. Ibid., p. 107. C. Peter Wagner, Confronting the Powers (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1996), p. 242.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-23-2026 March 23, 2026 A Flag Reborn I was first introduced to the Appeal to Heaven flag in May of 2013. I was the Executive Director of a Bible College, and it was my responsibility to choose the commencement speaker. I chose one of my spiritual sons, not because he’s a great preacher, but because he isn’t a preacher at all! Will Ostan is a military man, a JAG attorney (at the time, now retired) for a branch of our Special Forces. I chose a soldier as our commencement speaker because I wanted our graduates to know they did not have to be pastors or preachers to be used by God. At the end of his commencement address, however, Will threw me a bit of a curve. “I believe the Lord has asked me to give a special gift to Papa Dutch,” he said. I wasn’t sure I liked this, not wanting the emphasis to shift from the graduates to me. But he had the microphone - what could I do but trust him? “Before I give you the gift,” he said, “I need to explain the history behind it. It’s a replica of a flag displayed by George Washington and America’s Founding Fathers. This flag was actually used before the Stars and Stripes existed. In many ways, it is the banner under which America was born,” he explained. This fact does nothing to dishonor “Old Glory” - I display her proudly and still tear up during the Pledge of Allegiance. Nonetheless, the symbolism of this earlier flag is extremely important. “This banner has the phrase ‘An Appeal To Heaven’ across the top,” he continued, “a phrase our Founders took from the writings of John Locke, an influential English philosopher from the mid-1600s. Locke wrote a series of papers on ‘Natural Laws,’ stating that human rights originated with God, not with government.”(1) Locke made the case that when people had done everything humanly possible to experience those God-given rights and failed in doing so, there remained an option: Will continued, “Locke’s phrase, ‘appeal to heaven,’ connotes that when all resources and the ability to attain justice on earth are exhausted, an appeal to earth’s ultimate Judge is the final recourse. This concept would become a foundational philosophy in American society, alluded to even in the Declaration of Independence.”(3) George Washington and his contemporaries used the appeal-to-heaven phrase in America’s cause for freedom from Britain’s tyranny. Having exhausted all other avenues to experience the liberty they so desired, the colonists realized their only hope for freedom was in declaring complete independence from Britain. Yet with Britain’s great military, weaponry, and wealth, contrasted by the colonists’ dire lack of these resources, any military attempt to break free from British rule was preposterous, even laughable. Laughable, that is, unless Almighty God intervened. The stance of the colonists was simple; their right to freedom came from God; He would help them. “We will appeal to heaven!” they declared. And a flag was born. From the days of the pilgrims, godly men and women have believed Almighty God was involved in the birth of our nation. They also felt that if a nation chose to partner with and honor God, it would experience His favor and blessing in extraordinary ways. Washington and the colonial dreamers agreed. They believed the Sovereign was, indeed, birthing “a city [nation] set on a hill that can’t be hidden...a light to the world,” (Matthew 5:14). They no doubt knew of John Winthrop, a leader of the Puritans’ Massachusetts Bay Colony, using this verse in his 1630 speech on board the Arbella to describe what he believed God wanted to build in America.(4) They knew of the planting of the cross at Cape Henry in 1607, and of the ensuing prayer meeting dedicating the land to God’s glory. They had read the Mayflower Compact of 1620, stating the voyage was made “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith….”(5) Would God honor these events and prayers? Even more importantly, was He inspiring these actions? Was America God’s dream as well as theirs? They believed the answer to these questions was a resounding “YES.” The pilgrims absolutely believed America had a God-given destiny, and our Founding Fathers did, as well. Throughout our history, America’s presidents and leaders have also reiterated this belief. John F. Kennedy referenced Matthew 5:14 and Winthrop’s famous speech, as did Ronald Reagan and more than a dozen other U.S. Presidents.(6) Though modern-day revisionists try to rewrite and remove this from our history, the truth will always silence their lies. General George Washington, leader of the American Revolution, obviously believed in this divine plan. He commissioned several ships for the Revolutionary War efforts and, highlighting their dependence on providential help, each vessel was to fly under the Appeal to Heaven banner, also known as the Pine Tree Flag.(7) The flag’s popularity spread and was soon flying throughout the colonies, as well as being adopted as the flag of the Massachusetts state Navy. It became the symbol of these colonists’ unwavering spirit of liberty, as well as a clear statement of where they placed their faith. Do you find it enlightening, as I do, that America was born under a banner of prayer? And that 230 years later, God would bring that dusty old banner out of hiding in order to serve as a stark reminder that our strength alone did not birth this nation? We were birthed by the hand of God. And we were born not just for our personal blessing and freedom; we were created to represent Christ throughout the world. In our now spiritually weakened state, America’s only hope is to appeal to Him again. Just as we were no match for the military power controlling us in that day, in our own strength, we are no match for the spiritual powers controlling us now. But that which birthed us then is rebirthing us now: an appeal to heaven. Pray with me: Father, the way in which You raised America up as a voice in the earth is indeed remarkable. You did so knowing You would need her to be a trumpet of the gospel to the ends of the earth. It is incredibly significant that we were born under a movement of prayer, that it was through appealing to You that our freedom was produced. And now You have brought this flag, the Appeal To Heaven flag, out of retirement. We hear what You are saying through this, and we are appealing again. As we do, we are confident You will once again free us from oppression. America shall be saved. And so, Lord, we appeal to You for revival in America. We pray for Your church, the Ekklesia, to rise to the glorious level You speak of in Scripture: a worthy bride for You and an expression of Your authority in the earth. Make us an Ekklesia that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. And we know that Your Ekklesia, the church, isn’t a building, but rather is Your people. We are Your church everywhere we go. So we pray for Your church in the White House, in Congress, and on the Bench. Use them mightily in these government buildings. Remind them that You are with them always, and they represent You in all they do. Give them wisdom, understanding, and Your strong anointing to accomplish Your will. All these appeals we make in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen. Our decree: We decree that the appeal to heaven will be heard...and will succeed! ******************************* Portions of today’s devotional were taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven and can also be found in our Volume 1 devotional, Give Him 15: An Appeal to Heaven. You can find both books on our website: DutchSheets.org. Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------ Laslett, Peter. “Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43.” Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Books Division, https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html. Accessed 2 February 2021. Ibid. “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives.” National Archives, 8 June 2022, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript. Accessed 2 August 2022. John, Winthrop. A Model of Christianity. Sermon. 1630. Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Manuscript: 1630-1650. Van Engen, Abram C. Van Engen. City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. Yale University Press, 2020. Report of the Proceedings of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at the Thirtieth Meeting, Held at Toledo, Ohio, October 26-17, 1898. F. W. Freeman, 1899, p. 80.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-20-2026 March 20, 2026 Harvest in the Middle East I am quite certain that God is intent on reaping a great spiritual harvest in many nations over the next few years. This has already begun, but will increase exponentially. I am also quite certain that satan is determined to stop this harvest, in part, through ungodly governments. Leaders in China, Russia, South Korea, Iran, and other nations throughout the earth are influenced by principalities and powers. As well as wanting to stop the coming harvest, satan‘s kingdom has profound hatred for Israel and America. This hatred is likely because these two nations have played such significant roles in redeeming the world from satan’s control: Israel gave the world Yeshua, the Savior; and America was raised up to preach the good news of Christ’s salvation and Kingdom. Satan’s Goals In an attempt to oppose God’s great outpouring and harvest, satan is, among other things, attempting to do the following: Distract the church from seeing and working toward this harvest season, and Create such chaos on earth that it becomes difficult to reach people and nations with the gospel. (We, the church, must make certain that we do NOT fall prey to the distraction; if we stay focused, God will deal with number two, making sure the chaos is unsuccessful.) The third goal of the enemy, and one which often goes undetected, is to foster hatred and animosity between nationalities/people groups, including in the hearts of Christians. This, too, is designed to fight the great ingathering of souls. We must not fall into this trap. It is appropriate, of course, to hate evil (Romans 12:9). Terrorist groups around the world should be destroyed, and evil rulers should be brought to justice whenever possible. It is necessary to destroy the evil regime in Iran, just as it was necessary for the Allies to destroy the Nazis in World War II. The perpetrators of evil throughout the world must always be dealt with ruthlessly, depriving them of their ability to harm others. The only deterrent to their evil is to demonstrate that we are more powerful than them; peace comes through strength. However, in this season, we must be very careful to direct our anger and rage at the perpetrators, not the people of Russia, China, North Korea, and predominantly Muslim nations throughout the world. Specifically, we must not make Iranians, Syrians, the Lebanese, and Palestinians the objects of our anger and disdain. This is very important. Many people in these nations only want peace and freedom; some are actually our brothers and sisters in the faith. Millions of them who do not yet know the Lord will become part of our spiritual family one day. I’m confident that the Middle East will be a large part of the coming great harvest; perhaps the largest. Iran is currently experiencing the greatest harvest of any nation on earth. We must be careful not to allow satan, through terrorists and evil leaders, to turn our hearts against the people there. I don’t need to remind you that Jesus loves the people of these nations as much as He does you and me. Christ said, “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only son…” (John 3:16). Yahweh loves the entire world - all of it - and Jesus died to save them all. Ishmael Most people in the Middle East are descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar. I become concerned when I hear Christians speak evil and condescendingly of Ishmael, including and especially in sermons. I feel that many Christians have a subconscious, if not conscious, disdain for Ishmael and his descendants. However, God did not hate Ishmael; He loved him! Ishmael’s name actually means “God hears.”(1) Yahweh cared for him and his mother, Hagar, rescuing them when they became outcasts (Genesis 21:19). He also gave them promises regarding their future (Genesis 21:17-21). Remember, it was not Hagar’s idea to have a child through Abraham; it was Sarah’s, and Abraham agreed to it (Genesis 16:1-4). Yes, Isaac was the son through whom Yahweh had determined to bring the Messiah, and He refused to renege on that decision. However, God did not - and does not - hate Ishmael or his descendants. He loves them. Though I support destroying the evil regime in Iran, I know it is inevitable in a war such as this that innocents will suffer and die. My heart breaks over this. Some of the absolute best humans I have ever known are from the Middle East. And I know them well, having even pastored some of them for a season. These believers are lovers of Yahweh, followers of Yeshua, and minister for Him selflessly throughout the Middle East. They feed the poor, clothe the naked, provide for the homeless, educate children, care for the sick and diseased, and frankly, live a more pure expression of Christ than most American-born Christians I know. I have preached in the churches of Jordanian believers who pay a great price for their love of Christ, far more than any American Christian I know. At the risk of imprisonment, they are reaching other Jordanian Muslims for Christ, as well as Muslims from other nations. Thousands of Syrian, Afghan, Iranian, and other Middle Eastern believers, as well as African Christians in Muslim nations, are martyred for their faith every year. And remember, many of them were once Muslims - Muslims that Jesus loved enough to die for, just as He did you and me. I abhor terrorism, antisemitism, and all racism. I want justice administered to those who rape, kill, torture, and oppress, regardless of where they are. But I do not hate the nations they come from, and certainly not their nationality. I love the people in all the Middle Eastern nations, and want to reach them with the gospel. I refuse to allow satan and his cohorts to succeed in causing hatred and delaying God’s great harvest. In Conclusion Pray not only for Israel, but for the salvation of Muslims in the Middle East! Pray that the prince of Persia does not succeed in turning the region into a river of blood. Pray that China and Russia do not succeed in creating further unrest around the world. Pray that innocent lives are protected during the current violence and war. Pray that God uses the evil in Iran to open the eyes of millions of people. Pray that many visions and dreams revealing Christ would occur. Pray for the believers there - for strength, protection, and that great signs and wonders will take place through them, confirming the gospel. Pray that many laborers are sent into those harvest fields, and pray for their protection. Pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pours out His Spirit in full measure. In fact, let’s pray these very things now. Pray with me: Father, we ask for the salvation of a billion souls in the Middle East. We ask for the salvation of Jews…and of Muslims. We pray that China, Russia, Iran, and evil principalities such as the prince of Persia do not succeed in turning the region into a river of blood. We ask that innocent lives be protected during the current violence and war. We ask that You open the eyes of millions of people to the gospel. Give many visions and dreams, release great signs and wonders to confirm the gospel. We ask that many anointed laborers be sent into the harvest fields of the Middle East, and we pray for their protection. We pray that the Prince of Peace, the Giver of life and blessing, pours out His Spirit in unprecedented measure. And we pray for the body of Christ here in America. We ask that the church be alert and protected from the demonic strategy to harden our hearts toward people in other nations. Cause this to fail. We ask You to awaken in us Your love and compassion for all people, from every nation. And do what You do so well, Yahweh - turn evil back on the head of the serpent. Make him pay! In Yeshua’s name we pray, amen. Our decree: The Scriptures state that God will make known His wisdom to principalities and powers through the Ekklesia (Ephesians 3:10). We agree with this declaration and call forth the fulfillment in the world today. ****************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------------------ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3458.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-19-2026 March 19, 2026 Don’t Fear the Storms I enjoy studying biblical words because of the added insight I receive from the different nuances of meaning. The Hebrew language, with its pictorial style, paints many rich pictures. With a technical approach, the Greeks used to brag that they could say more in one word than other languages could in an entire sentence. Humorous, but sometimes true. Without a doubt, God determined that these two languages would give us the Scriptures. There is another reason I like to look up the original words used in a passage of Scripture, however. Some Bible versions often use the same English word to translate different Hebrew or Greek words, which can sometimes be misleading. For example, the King James Version uses the word “time” to translate both chronos(1) and kairos,(2) words now known to many of you. However, the differences in their meanings are vitally important. Chronos refers to general or chronological time; kairos means strategic or opportune time. The importance of knowing which word is used in a given subject is immeasurable. From the time of planting seed until harvesting the fruit is chronos; harvest time is kairos. If you’re a farmer, you’d better know the difference! Fear is another subject with which this translation problem occurs. There are actually three Greek words in the New Testament that are all sometimes translated “fear,” two of which I mentioned yesterday: phobos, meaning terror, dread, alarm, etc.,(3) and deilia, meaning timidity, intimidation, or insecurity.(4) I’ll say more about these two momentarily. The third word for fear is eulabeia(5) which means “reverential fear or awe.” This word is used when speaking of “the fear of the Lord” (Hebrews 5:7; 12:28). It’s easy to see the importance of knowing which of these three Greek words is used in a passage: we should revere and honor God, but we should not have a phobia of Him; nor should we be insecure regarding our relationship with Him. Yesterday I emphasized the word deilia, used in 2 Timothy 1:7, where Paul told his spiritual son, Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of deilia, but of power and love and discipline.” Timothy faced criticism and attacks from individuals while serving in the very difficult assignment of leading the church in Ephesus. Though some translations use the word “fear” in this verse, Paul wasn’t challenging him to not be “afraid.” That wasn’t the type of fear Timothy was struggling with. Paul was telling this spiritual son not to be timid or insecure. In other words, “Timothy, be bold, and believe in the gifts God has given you. Don’t accept the intimidation.” A fascinating passage in the New Testament pictures the two different fears of harm (phobos) and timidity (deilia) working together to paralyze and torment the disciples. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee when a violent storm arose. From a natural perspective, it seemed they would not make it safely through this storm. Jesus, surprisingly, was sleeping through the horrific wind and waves. In great fear, the disciples awakened Jesus, and said, “Don’t you care that we’re about to perish?!” (v. 38). Jesus got up and addressed the storm with the command, “Peace, be still” (v. 39). Amazingly, the storm ended. Then Jesus asked the disciples what seemed like a preposterous question, “Why are you afraid?” (v. 40). I think I know why the disciples were afraid, don’t you? Some of these men were experienced fishermen who had made a living on this lake. When they determined that this storm was so strong, naturally speaking, that they weren’t going to survive it, you can believe it was true. Christ’s question makes more sense, however, when you realize Jesus did not actually ask them why they were afraid (phobos). He asked them why they were timid or insecure (deilia). Christ was telling the disciples that they could have - and should have - done just what He had done: rebuke the storm! They should have resisted their natural fear, which produced intimidation, and acted in faith. Boldness was needed at that moment, not timidity. This storm was a demonic strategy to harm them. Jesus had already told the disciples, “We are going to the other side,” (Mark 4:35). He knew the Gadarene demoniac's deliverance awaited on the other side of the lake (Mark 5), whose deliverance and testimony would impact the entire region of Decapolis (v. 20). Though the disciples didn’t know this, they could have acted on Christ’s declaration and done as He eventually did: rebuke the storm. I am certainly not saying that this would have been easy. Nor am I arrogantly contending that I would have acted differently from the disciples. I am simply pointing out the lesson and truth Jesus was teaching them: My promises supersede natural laws. When you have a promise or directions from Me, believe them. Resist all fear and intimidation, and act boldly on what I say. God has told us, “America shall be saved.” He has said that a billion-soul harvest is coming to the earth in our generation. Satan has created storms - terrorist regimes, political unrest, ideological divisions, and more - in his attempt to keep us from getting to the other side of our promise. Don’t fear the storms and don’t be intimidated. Although we can’t simply rebuke these types of storms and immediately stop them, through our prayers and decrees, we can keep them from accomplishing satan’s purposes. Believe what God has said and bind the attempts of the powers of darkness to stop God’s plans. Pray with me: Father, this season is fearful and intimidating for many people. Some are tempted to retreat or, worse yet, abandon their faith in Your promises. Some of us, like the disciples, are terrified of the storms. Others, like the fearful spies Moses sent to Canaan, have decided that the giants of our day are just too large. We pray that You would show the church today, as You did our brother, Timothy, that deep within us is the strength to overcome; that satan is an intimidator who wants us to think we are grasshoppers when facing giants and storms. But You desire to give us hearts like Caleb. You said we are more than conquerors - we have more than enough strength in us to overcome (Romans 8:37). So today we speak to our personal storms and say, “Be still! Stop! We will not listen to you, we will not run from you, and you will not destroy us.” And we say regarding our nation: “We are well able to possess the land, and we will do so. We are on God’s timetable, and all of satan’s attacks will simply be used for our benefit” (Romans 8:28). Our times are in Your hand, Lord. (Psalm 31:15). Everything You have promised, You will do–our future is secure in You. Our decree: We determine that we will rebuke the storms, boldly declaring God’s Word, and will not be intimidated. ****************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. ------------------------------------------------ James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 5550. Ibid., ref. no. 2540. Ibid., ref. no. 5401. Ibid., ref. no. 1167. Ibid., ref. no. 2124.