Somewhere the “Dream” was derailed

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

In American History there are many great examples of powerful rhetoric…The Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech to name some of the obvious.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s ”I Have A Dream” speech will always make the short list.  And while we should be proud of our nation’s progress in egalitarianism, it has become obvious that we have allowed the pendulum to swing too far.  Where once it was necessary to stand for integration, now, in the name of some twisted idea of diversity, we promote segregation.  Instead of becoming color-blind we have become overly color conscience. Denzel Washington recognized this when the media wanted to hype his Best Actor Oscar as being given to an “African-American Actor”.  His request was that he be commended simply as an “actor”.  Which is a higher acclamation as it puts him on equal footing with every actor instead of implying that he was simply the best of his race.

Thomas Sowell  has frequently addressed the negative effects of “diversity programs” such as Affirmative Action. In His book Inside American Education he also reveals the adverse results of ethnic studies and values programs.  Now, he addresses the foolishness of having “African-American Authors” as a designated section of a bookstore.  As always Dr. Sowell, looks beyond the rubric to the results, ignoring conventionality and focusing on consequences.

Bookstore Ghettoes
By Thomas Sowell

military strategy 101

This was a very informative article.  Nothing I’d ever heard before.  However, having had the evidence presented, there is one conclusion that I think the writer missed.  He appears to be assuming that Democrats simply haven’t learned a basic lesson of military strategy or in other words, they are sincere but dumb.  My cynicism is inclined to think they do know this lesson and are attempting to use it — against our troops.

I can’t think of anything Democrats fear more that conceding US Victory which is why they have refused to acknowledge that the war was clearly over at “Mission Accomplished”,   We are now in the process of providing military security for Iraq’s social, political and economic reconstruction.  I tend to apply Occam’s razor to liberal politics.  The results accomplished are the results intended, whether it’s increasing  dependency to welfare, creating a sluggish economy and increasing the deficit through raising taxes or troop demoralization. I figure if they wanted different results they would choose a different course.  Watching them in this arena for 6 years., I am convinced troop demoralization has always been their intended goal.

A New Yardstick

Lovely

Chasity is continually attacked by our culture. Abstinence Programs and traditional “Safe Sex Ed” are continually held to widely divergent standards. If a girl who is practicing [or not] abstinence gets pregnant, it’s considered proof that the whole program is a failure but the decades of unmarried teen moms and STDs, or worse, aborted babies are ignored

– even the fact latex condoms can be porous to STDs and even HIV is side-stepped.

Promiscuity is promoted and it’s all OK.

The idea that anyone who isn’t experimenting with sex must have something wrong with them and that our sexual experiences are something to be shared with family & friends is promulgated in all forms of media — books, movies, sit-coms, mini-series & newsprint — and certainly via the internet.

The lovely La Shawn has a better idea.

A Story for Veteran’s Day

Blackhawks, Soccer Balls, and Freedom

A Story for Veterans Day

Nov 11, 2005
by Chuck Colson ( bio | archive )

The Blackhawk helicopter hovered low over a field in the Sunni Triangle. A lone child, about twelve years old, glances up. Someone, his father, or perhaps an older brother, has taught him to hate Americans—which is why the boy picks up a rock and takes aim.

Army reservist Steven Kiel, who is serving in Iraq, describes what happens next. “The gunner has something in his hand, too, and he’s a bit quicker,� Kiel writes in National Review Online. “Whoosh! A soccer ball flies out of the door of the chopper.� For a moment, the boy stands in utter disbelief. He then “collects himself enough to run after the ball.� Once he retrieves it, “he looks up and with a smile from ear to ear, . . . excitedly waves� to his American benefactors.

“Another friend is made,� Kiel writes. “Another member of the next generation is converted.�

Clearly, our soldiers in Iraq know that a big part of their job is to help heal a war-torn country ruled for decades by a barbaric tyrant—and they’re doing it through the kind of friendliness, generosity, and goodwill that has always marked American soldiers.

I love the way the late historian Stephen Ambrose once wrote about World War II: “The most terrifying sight to most civilians was a squad of armed teenage boys in uniform.� Whether it was the Red Army in Warsaw, the Japanese in Manila, or the Germans in Holland, this sight always meant trouble.

There was one exception to this rule. “Everywhere in the world,� Ambrose wrote, “the sight of a twelve-man squad of GIs brought joy to people’s hearts.� Why? “Because the sight of those American kids meant cigarettes, candy, c-rations, and freedom. They had come not to conquer or terrorize but to liberate.�

Today, Iraqis are seeing the kind of behavior always witnessed when American GIs show up. Sixty years ago, during the Berlin airlift, German children—the offspring of our recent enemies—watched the skies, waiting for American pilots to fly over and drop candy. And during the Gulf War, American soldiers, after vanquishing the Iraqis, offered cartons of milk to their children.

The polls show that many Americans are becoming tired with the war in Iraq. Our soldiers are not. They know they are doing a good and noble thing.

You and I can help them in their difficult task—by sending toys, candy, and socks. As Steven Kiel writes, “Each time I see the look on an Iraqi citizen’s face—the result of a gift back home—my faith in America is renewed.�

And today, Veterans Day, let’s especially pray for the safety of our servicemen—men and women who are winning the peace, and then capturing the hearts of war’s youngest victims—with soccer balls.

Before I sign off today, I want to remind you that Judge John E. Jones in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is deliberating right now on a crucially important and much-publicized intelligent design case involving the town of Dover. The case may end up in the Supreme Court and could result in a constitutional opinion as to whether intelligent design can be taught in public schools. I hope Christians will do what I’ve been doing: praying for Judge Jones, for his deliberation, for his wisdom, and for the cause of truth.

What I’ve been waiting for

When I read this, I could only sit and weep.  Since around 1985, I have known that another great move of God was coming.  There may be many more or this may be the last but I was certain in my heart that we could expect at least one more Big move of God.  [and I so didn't want to miss it] It was also in the 1980’s that God released his prayer movement and also when churches & ministries, pastors and church members began crossing denominational lines. [it might have begun earlier but it was in the 1980's that I became aware of it]  Rick Joyner has pointed out that the 12 tribes of Israel each kept their unique tribal distinctions and only came together for the purposes of worship and warfare.  In the same way those of us who are united in essentials [while granting liberty in non-essentials] may keep our distinct flavors in areas of church government, styles of music, formality or informality but we are being united in our worship and in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and we must unite in this battle against darkness.  My most earnest desire at this time is to be part of what he is doing on the earth.  My  prayer has been that I might be allowed to be part of this army.

sidebar:  but I had been searching the internet trying to learn what happened on October 31, as I too had read Kim’s prophecy.  I appreciated the information.

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November 10, 2005

Covenantal Awakening:
Fulfillment of Prophecies Point to a New Season of Revival

Jon & Jolene Hamill
Lamplighter Ministries
lamplighterjon@earthlink.net

 

In writing this prophetic perspective, I am keenly aware that we “see in part and prophesy in part.” So let the witness of the Spirit guide you as we examine together recent events that indicate a major shift into a season of national awakening and revival.

In mid-October, Kim Clement prophesied there would be an “unusual occurrence” on October 31, which would be followed by a four year season of harvest and the greatest move of the Spirit our nation has ever seen.

Kim prophesied this word at a conference with Cornerstone Fellowship in Frederick, MD, where Jolene and I serve as prayer coordinators. After talking with our pastors, we decided to pray as a church through the evening of October 31, standing for the Lord’s promises to be fulfilled.

Just after 9:00 p.m., while we were worshipping and praying, we experienced an “unusual occurrence.” A few of the intercessors saw a huge fireball passing through the skies of Frederick!

Television news reported that the fireball was actually a meteor, seen from Philadelphia to south of Washington, D.C. Local 911 emergency centers were overrun with calls, and in the metro D.C. region, many reported the fireball was so bright it lit up the insides of their homes. One NASA scientist told a DC television station that “this is a rare event,” and that he couldn’t remember seeing another meteor this big in the past 12 years.

Confirming the Word

In line with Kim Clement’s word, the fireball was definitely an unusual occurrence. I believe this was a sign from the Lord that the awakening we’ve all been praying for is now at hand.

During the conference, Kim also reiterated a prophetic word he shared early in October that America would be mourning on October 31 and that within the dates of October 31 through November 1, our nation would be moving from death to life. He also prophesied that the breath of the Spirit would be restored in the northeast, with the eventual release of an anointing to even raise the dead in the greatest move of the Spirit our nation has ever seen.

Kim’s word on the wind of the Spirit is remarkably similar to a prophecy given by Chuck Pierce in Vermont, on October 9. On that night, Chuck prophesied that the awakening of the nation had begun and that the “north winds of awakening” would be released from Vermont, across the northeast and the nation.

Later in the article, I’ll share how these prophetic insights relate to America’s covenantal heritage as a nation of awakening. But first, lets look at two significant events related to Kim’s word that came to pass in Washington, D.C. on October 31.

More Confirmations on October 31

First, America truly mourned on October 31– though not due to a terrorist attack or a hurricane. Instead, America mourned the loss of the great civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. A devoted Christian, Parks’ act of gentle defiance brought new meaning to our pledge of “liberty and justice for all.” As one political leader noted, Rosa Parks wasn’t just the mother of the civil rights movement, but she was “the mother of the America we grew to be.”

Her passing was bittersweet. From October 30 through October 31, Parks became the first woman and the second African American to lie in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

Also on October 31, President Bush nominated Samuel Alito to serve as the next justice on the Supreme Court. Many speculate that Judge Alito, who currently presides over the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, could be key in overthrowing legalized abortion in our land.
Is it possible that, on October 31, Bush nominated a man called by God to shift America from a legacy of death to the empowerment of life? His very name caught our attention, as we had been praying for a nominee with the qualities of the biblical Samuel, who served in Israel as both prophet and judge.

Down in Texas, Cindy Jacobs ended 40 days of prayer and fasting for the release of a new season of miracles in our land. Coincidentally, the last night of Cindy’s fast was October 31 — the day Rosa Parks was honored, Judge Alito was nominated, and a meteor blazed across the D.C. skies.
 

New Season of Awakening and Justice — God is Neither a Republican Nor Democrat, and He Has Mightily Used Both Parties

Clearly, we have entered into a season where a “Third Great Awakening,” promised by the Lord, is now being released. Jolene woke up from a dream this morning repeating the words “Bigger than Finney, bigger than Finney.” Charles Finney was the primary catalyst of America’s Second Great Awakening. Perhaps the Lord is saying that what’s now at hand is even bigger than the Second Great Awakening, which Finney himself described as the greatest outpouring since the Book of Acts.

Interestingly, Charles Finney was a passionate abolitionist. The Republican Party was birthed in the embers of the awakening as an anti-slavery party, with Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate.

But in truth, he could have been a Democrat. I believe that the Democratic Party was originally offered a mantle from the Lord to abolish slavery. When the mantle was refused, a new party was raised up out of the Democratic Party to shift America into this facet of God’s justice.

Today, you won’t find a Democrat with a pro-slavery platform. Instead, the Democratic Party has been a champion of civil rights for all. And fifty years from now, as the blemish of abortion is cleansed from America’s soul, I prophesy that neither Democrat nor Republican will want to reinstate this practice because eradicating abortion is not a party issue — it’s a justice issue.

At the outset of this Third Great Awakening, the Lord wants the governmental leaders of America to fully understand. He wants justice at our gates. We do not understand the consequences of ignoring this trumpet call. When the awakeners of Finney’s era called for repentance, leading to a peaceful end to slavery, their plea was ignored. That’s when the Civil War began.

Now, America is again divided over the issue of civil rights. This time it’s the civil rights of the unborn. Will we pick up the mantle of justice, or will we retreat into division and see the reaping of the death we have been sowing as a nation? Truly, it is time for us to come out of our chambers and weep between the porch and the altar.

The Pilgrims Covenanted with God

When our forefathers stood against injustice, a nation of awakening was birthed. The Pilgrims set out for the new world to establish a land of religious freedom. On November 11, 1620, they signed the Mayflower Compact, entering into covenant with Jesus Christ by dedicating our land and government to “the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian Faith.”

During both the first and second Great Awakenings, we saw two dimensions of this covenant with the Lord in manifestation. We saw God’s glory — the tangible manifestation of His presence and power — across the land, resulting in societal transformation. And we saw evangelism — the advancement of the Christian faith — as unprecedented numbers of people turned to Jesus Christ.

The Huguenots Covenanted with God

Before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, another weary group came to America seeking religious freedom. Led by Jean Ribault, the Huguenots established a settlement in Ft. Caroline, Florida, again with the hope of reaching nations with the gospel.

The Huguenots at Ft. Caroline were martyred at the hands of Spanish conquistadors. Jean Ribault died chanting Psalm 132, literally begging God to make this nation a dwelling place for His presence. But instead of praying, “Lord remember the afflictions of your servant David,” he prayed, “Lord remember the afflictions of your servant Jean. How he swore. . . not to give rest to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, until he found a dwelling place for the mighty God of Jacob.”

God remembers the cry of His friends. Part of this Third Great Awakening is that covenantal blessings aborted in previous seasons will find life and expression at this time.

It is interesting to note that, centuries later, another forerunner was gripped by Psalm 132 and the dream in God’s heart for our land to be a dwelling place for His presence. At the outset of his ministry, Mike Bickle came into covenant with the Lord, according to Psalm 132 — a covenant that eventually brought forth the 24/7 International House of Prayer.

Prophecy Fulfilled: A Comet Across the Sky

This is where we come full circle. The IHOP movement began in 1983, when Bickle called a 21-day solemn assembly after receiving supernatural confirmation from prophet Bob Jones. Bob shared with Mike that the Lord was releasing a great move of the Spirit across North America and that a comet would flash across the sky on the day he started his fast. This comet, undetected by scientists, would be a sign from the Lord that revival was coming. Mike arbitrarily picked May 7 to start the citywide solemn assembly, and on that night, a comet previously undetected by scientists flashed across the sky!

(Jon and Jolene will be ministering at the “North Winds of Awakening” Conference at the White Horse Café in Hartford, VT on November 11-12. Other ministers at the 12 day conference include Will Ford, Helen Burgess, Denny Cramer, James Lavesque, Phil Zaldotte, Carl Brettle, Aaron Evans, and Gary Morgan)

Jon & Jolene Hamill
Lamplighter Ministries
lamplighterjon@earthlink.net

Intriguing picture

I lifted this from  vision2advance.  I have no idea who the artist is.