God's Word Is The Joy Of My Heart...

Many years ago I began a pilgrimage to know God, and that pilgrimage continues to this day. I don't know Him today as well as I want or should, but I know Him better today than I did twenty-five years ago. I know Him better today than I did one year ago. I am growing in my knowledge of God, and I say without hesitation or qualification that knowing God is my joy and reason for living. 

He is . . .

 ·        the Wind beneath my wings,

 ·        the Treasure that I seek,

 ·        the Foundation on which I 

       build,

 ·        the Song in my heart,

 ·        the Object of my desire,

 ·        the Breath of my life,

 ·        He is my All in all!

 ·        And His Word is the joy of my 

       heart!

Please join with me in this life-changing discovery as, day by day, we learn more about our God, who is actually bigger than we think and greater than we think.

-- Anne Graham Lotz

Rejoice In Me!

^{Isaiah 48:1-22} “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness; ² you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel— the LORD Almighty is his name: ³ I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. ⁴ For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. ⁵ Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ ⁶ You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?“From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.⁷ They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’ ⁸ You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. ⁹ For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. ¹⁰ See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. ¹¹ For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed?  I will not yield my glory to another.¹² “Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. ¹³ My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together¹⁴ “Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.¹⁶ “Come near me and listen to this:“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.”And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.¹⁷ This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. ¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. ¹⁹ Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”²⁰ Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.” ²¹ They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.²² “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” 

My holy people, arise to the call of My voice. Arise and come close. Arise to hear My Great Heart and to know My will. For these are indeed the days you were created for and this time is what you have been waiting for.

All of creation has waited for this time, for it is the time I am going to be moving like no other. For there is a great work to be done, much fruit for Father and great rejoicing for the hope of My holy people is being restored for a purpose, one grander than you could ever imagine. I am causing you to live and move and have your being IN ME.

Mountains will shake as you ascend with Me. Nations will move at My Word. Cities, regions and whole areas will be affected for My Kingdom as you, My holy people, run through the cities with Me.

Our time together is sweet and it will be even sweeter as you learn to run with Me through the villages, gathering precious fruit for Father. No longer waiting in isolation, I am calling you to radically follow Me, becoming joint fruit bearers with Me. My grace is being poured out. I am moving once again. The cloud is moving. The fire is moving.

Push away the fears. Push away the tendency to remain isolated, alone and rejected. Push away what has kept you a prisoner to the past. Instead embrace Me, follow Me, trust Me with you moment by moments, as well as your distant tomorrows.

It is time to run with Me. Not move slowly, but be quick to obedience. For obedience is always better than sacrifice. I have sacrificed, so that you may move quickly with Me.

There is a fresh new sound of triumph in the air. Do you hear it? Many foot soldiers, marching triumphantly forward. Distant sounds of artillery ... the sound of My air assaults being carried out, clearing the way for you to enter into regions, cities, even nations. Now is the time. Now is the time to arise, to put on your hope again and to follow Me into victory again.

Some have been in transition for 10 years. Some have been in transition for 20 years. Yes, even some have been in transition for 30 years, awaiting My call at this time, awaiting the time to fulfill your purpose. In Me, all things will be done. In exact accordance with My plan and purpose, the sound has been released and you, My holy people, are responding. You are arising to this sound of triumph and to this sound of combined marching. Step in step, marching together, radically follow Me, demonstrating My Kingdom, fulfilling the very beat of My Great Heart.

Rejoice. Yes, rejoice. Even now. Yes, today rejoice. Don't wait. Rejoice now, for the fullness you have seen is about to be manifest. Great grace for this appointed time. Put on your armor and Rejoice in Me and with Me.

Herman Cain: "God Is Not Done With Me Yet".

An Interview conducted by David Brody to GOP Candidate Herman Cain...

David Brody: Where do you stand with Evangelicals?

Herman Cain: I'm a Baptist preacher. A lot of people don't know that. My parents joined Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta in the mid 40s when they moved to Atlanta when I was 2 years old. That was the
church I grew up in. That was the church I joined at 10 years of age. I've been in the church all my life. When I moved around in my corporate career, I always stayed involved in the church. So my faith is a big
part of who I am and at my church now, which is the same one I grew up in; I'm one of the Associate Ministers there because I was called to the ministry.

Sometimes when people are called to the ministry they think that God wants them to give up something else. But God has done some magnificent things with my life, especially what he has done in terms of my health. Let me share this with you real quick.

In 2006, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I had cancer in my colon and cancer in my liver. I had to go through chemotherapy. The surgery required removal of 30 percent of my colon and 70 percent of my
liver. And then I had to go through some more chemotherapy. That was nearly five years ago, and I only had a 30 percent chance of survival. God said 'Herman, not yet'.

My question was, 'Lord, why are you keeping me here?' Now let me tell you why I know God kept me here. Let me give you why I know God kept me here to do something that I never envisioned. When I started
thinking about running for president, I thought about Noah. Noah didn't know how to build an ark. I started to think about Moses. Moses resisted going back leading the children out of Egypt. The Bible is full of
people. Joshua didn't want to lead the children into the Promised Land. God spoke to Moses and encouraged Moses, 'you must talk to Joshua'; and he did and that gave him the strength. When I was first detected that I
had stage 4 cancer, I had to go and get a second opinion.

The doctor that was recommended was a doctor in Savannah, Georgia, three hours away from Atlanta. I resisted. I said, 'why do I need to go all the way to Savannah and I live here in Atlanta with all
these hospitals and doctors here. I know I have cancer. I know what we need to get done. Let's get on with the program.' You know that business mentality. And so the friend of mine said, 'I think you want to go see
this doctor. His name is Dr. Lord.' I said, 'What? L-O-R-D?' Yes. He was a colon cancer specialist. Dr. Lord gave me my second opinion. When I went to MD Anderson Cancer Center and I had to go through orientation with my wife in terms of how to navigate through this big medical facility, we went into the orientation office and the lady that was supposed to give us our orientation, she was busy with some other new
patients. So the lady at the counter said to keep you and Mrs. Cain from waiting, I will give you your orientation so you won't have to wait. I said, 'Well thank you. How nice I didn't know they had good customer
service at a big medical facility but they do.' So we go into the conference room and she put all the materials down that we were supposed to go through. And she started to tell us about what we needed to do, how I could get my blood work done the night before. I said, 'wait a minute. You've been so nice. What is your name?' She said 'Grace'. I said, 'Do you spell it the same way as you spell it in Amazing Grace?' She said, 'yes.' A lady named Grace. My wife and I looked at each other and I said, 'thank You, Lord.' He's with me on this journey. I'm not done yet.

I was randomly assigned an oncologist and a surgeon. The surgeon's name is Dr. Abdullah. He's from Lebanon. That made me a little nervous initially but only to find out that he's a Christian. He's a Christian and when I went in to see Dr. Abdullah. he was explaining to me how he was going to remove a part of my colon and a part of my liver in one operation. I'm going, 'Doc you must be a miracle worker. How are
you going to do that'? The colon is on the left. The liver is on the right. How are you going to do that with one incision?' He said, I do it all the time. I'm going to start in your sternum and I'm going to make an incision in the shape of a "J". As in J-E-S-U-S? He said yes. A Jesus cut. I said, 'thank You, Lord.'

God said 'not yet' and He gave me these signs along the way that let me know that He was with me. And I firmly believe that God kept me for a reason much bigger than I ever would have dreamed or imagined.
Whether that is ultimately to become the President of the United States or not, I don't know. I just know at this point I am following God's plan. You get two plans in life: yours and God's. Now mine was to become
a successful businessman and I was able to do that. And I believe that God allowed me to become a successful businessman because He had something else in mind beyond that successful business career. That's
the reason I'm here today and the reason I believe that I'm going to be successful from this point forward. There was a song that a songwriter wrote who was a good friend of mine when he was alive; he wrote a song
called 'God is on my side'. I'll never forget it.

Brody: These candidates are going to have to deal with Herman Cain.

Cain: They're going to have to deal with Herman Cain. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

IN GOD WE TRUST

All Has Been Changed

^{1Peter 2:25} For “you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

My holy people, all has been changed. What used to be has turned into what is. What was once your character, has turned into what is now My grace at work in you. Let me assure you that My grace is indeed at work in you. For My power is real and My ability to redeem is thorough.

Do you feel as though you are incapable of doing what is on My Great Heart? That's good, for before you did not even care what I thought, no matter following what is upon My Great Heart. In fact, you did not even care to seek what is upon My Great Heart. But now you seek My Face. You call upon My Name. You turn your attention from yourself to what is greater, to what is the real crux of the matter in living, and that is to know what is upon My Great Heart.

You have the grace at work in your life to know Me, to seek Me and to follow Me. Before none of this was in operation in you. Before you did not even care about such things. Before you were reprobate and without caring. Now you have a heart to know what is upon Mine and you wish to please Me. This is all evidence of My grace at work in your life.

No more doubting your true identity. No more tossed about on every wind that blows. Know My love, that you are Mine and that you have My grace at work in you to know and to do My good pleasure. I love you and nothing can separate you from that. Nothing can cause that to cease. Nothing can cause My Great Heart to turn away from you, My love. Nothing can put an end to My great love for you. Nothing can, for all has changed.

A Radical Warrior

My holy people, repairs are being made. Repairs to the wall, repairs to broken down ruins. Repairs to the generational decay that has occurred in and amongst you, My holy people. These repairs will not be made by angels. These repairs will not be done by themselves. Instead, it will require the efforts of many. Each has a part to play, some rebuilding work to do.  Some will be close to the ruins, others far away. But all will have a job to do and this is the first step in building the relationships I have on My Great Heart to build.

You see, to do what is needed, you need others to get the job done. You cannot complete it by yourself. You need to do this work of repair together. But before you can do something, there need to be serious and long term relationships built between those doing the work. I am building an army of people, who will march to the same cadence, shouldering the responsibility to do the work and to fight as needed. You need one another. More importantly, you need serious and long term relationships between one another before any significant progress is made.

There are many that want to do exploits in My Name, but there are but a few that desire to build as is upon My Great Heart. I have raised up fathers that understand the importance of serious and long term relationships so that what is repaired does not fall into ruin again. I am building people who will work together, pray together, serve together and fight together. This is a team, an army, a radical set of warriors capable of leaping walls, conquering enemies and taking territory. At the heart of this band of mighty ones is relationship. A willingness to work for one another, even die for one another.

When you pray My Kingdom come, My will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven ... understand this. Father, Son, Holy Spirit ... all in perfect relationship, demonstrated, commanded, living, moving. That's how I want My radical band of mighty ones to be. I want them to be just like I am ... in perfect relationship: serious and long term.

Serious, because moving in My Kingdom is serious business. It is not just life changing, it is life saving. Life and death hang in the balance. Eternal consequences and eternal benefits. Such is the weight of things in My Kingdom. Relationship must be serious. My Kingdom is serious ... full of life and full of splendor, but first and foremost, it is serious. I gave everything to give you access to My Kingdom. I did all that was required so you could see, enter into and move in My Kingdom. The whole point of life in Me, is so we can run together, partnering in My Kingdom, fulfilling Father's great desire to see His wanderers come home and live at rest in Him. Nothing more serious than the Kingdom ministry of reconciliation that has been given to you. Only serious relationship can birth such a thing. Only serious relationships will be committed to stand with one another, through thick and thin.

Long term, because in My Kingdom, everything has an eternal aspect. The world is temporary. My Kingdom is eternal. Eternity is long term. It is not here one moment and gone the next. My Kingdom is eternal and it lasts. It is just like our relationship. Once you become Mine, you have access to Me any time you need Me. If you find yourself unable to visit with Me, it is not because I have withdrawn Myself. Instead, it is because you have withdrawn from Me. Returning to Me is such a simple thing. That is what repentance is all about. It is returning to the highest place in Me. Have you had greater fellowship at some time in your life than you do right now? Then repent, return to the highest place in Me. Return to My Great Heart and all will be well again. It is a simple repentance away.

So you see, serious and long term relationships really are the building blocks of My Kingdom. You may say that you do not have many serious and long term relationships. I tell you, those are the ones I am involved with and I desire most of all that you grow in genuinely serious and long term relationships. The number of serious and long term relationships you have demonstrate My Kingdom at work in and through you. This is My Kingdom coming and My will being done, on earth, just like it is in heaven. Do you understand?  It really is quite simple.

So don't waste your time with things that do not produce My Kingdom in your life. Rebuild the ancient ruins, rebuild the waste cities ... together. With serious and long term relationships, anything is possible. Every person has a part to play. Every single person is important in this rebuilding work. Work together, support each other, provide for each other, fight side by side and yes even stand with one another; in good times and in difficult times. For My Kingdom, become my Radical Warrior!

The Harvest Is At Hand

My holy people; such is the splendor of My glory, for it will indeed shine again upon all those who have survived the purging and the cleansing of this time. The splendor of My glory will shine upon those who at this time arise from the mundane of what can be seen with earthly eyes and done with worldly hands. The splendor of My glory will surpass all that you may have hoped for, dreamed for, and yes even planned for.

In a moment, the splendor of My glory will change what was into what I have hoped for. My Kingdom is coming in ways you have not even suspected, nor dare dreamed. For the testing times have caused many to lose hope. Do not lose hope because of My cleansing and My purging. Instead, rejoice, for the splendor of My glory will change everything.

I am the God of all grace. This grace will be poured out and the tsunami flood of it shall set in motion the greatest harvest known. It will rise so high that a shadow will be seen. The approach of My grace will be like a shade, the splendor of My glory shall have substance, and there will be salvation, freedom and equipping as you had never hoped. I will change everything.

For a long time now, there have only been momentary releases of My grace. In those momentary releases you have experienced much already. You have experienced My love. You have experienced My fellowship. You have experienced My healing. You have experienced My deliverance. You have experienced My leading. You have experienced My guidance. You have experienced My Great Heart. And you have experienced My Great love for My beautiful bride-to-be.

Now you will experience something that you have not known how to put into words. You will now experience Me and My fullness. For all that has gone before have only been shadows, the approach of the splendor of My glory. Now, the splendor of My glory will shine brilliantly, and the tsunami of My grace shall flow like a tangible river. No longer will momentary manifestations of My anointing be sufficient. For I will now dwell fully in and through those who will yield to Me.

No longer will it be about this ministry and that work and this outreach and that church fellowship. No longer will it be about this manifestation of My grace at work and that manifestation of My grace at work. Now it will be about Me and how I am working, how I am moving, how I am saving, how I am delivering, how I am setting free, how I am healing and how My grace, without measure is seen in operation through those who yield fully to Me.

Many of you have allowed Me to break your hearts about those to whom I have sent you. You have seen brief glimpses of My grace flow out and it has thrilled your heart. It has become life to you. I tell you, this was but a glimpse. No matter how successful you felt it was, no matter how glorious you considered it ... it was just a shadow, just a glimpse, of what I am now going to do. For I am going to bless those who yield to Me, for My Kingdom comes to those who have allowed Me to break their hearts, who have allowed Me to become more than their dreams and their hopes. I am become the breaker of the wall and what has separated My glory from this world you live in, is about to fall down. Before there have been peep holes of My glory, but now My glory will be seen clearly and My power manifest fully to and through those who will yield to Me.

It is now time to prepare yourselves for the glory that is about to come. Many are already experiencing the rising tide of My grace at work, but remember, what you are experiencing is just a shadow, just a glimpse, of what I am about to do. Hang on to Me, for there is coming a shaking and a release of My glory so profound that many will not recognize Me in it, rather they will run and hide and lose out on the greatest visitation that has ever occurred in the world. Prepare to receive all of the grace I have apportioned to you. Prepare to receive the splendor of My glory I am about to reveal. Prepare to receive and move with Me, running through the villages, picking choice fruits together for Father.

Oh, My love, My precious bride-to-be, I am about to turn your sorrow into joy, your crying into rejoicing, your long waiting into joyful celebration. The wave of My grace is fast approaching. Welcome Me with open arms as I transform everything that you will allow Me to touch into a mirror shining brilliantly, showing the splendor of My glory to all those around the earth. All nations will rejoice and see My glory, My grace and My working. Come away with Me, My love. Our time is fast approaching.

Seek My Face. Call upon My Name. Be and become all that is upon My Great Heart.

Charlton Heston, Our "Moses"

Charlton Heston, 88 Today! RIP

He was no girlie-man, that Charlton Heston. The epic screen actor didn’t do small or sensitive or morally complex; he did big, commanding and utterly sure of himself. His signature roles were all Great Men, largely untroubled by indecision, doubt or mixed motives. In Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 remake of The Ten Commandments, it wasn’t that litany of plagues that Moses called down upon Pharaoh’s Egypt that made him so riveting; it was Heston’s air of terrible certainty, his ruthless, implacable rectitude. His screen persona wasn’t dumb, but he didn’t much value intelligence or even need it. What he lacked in smarts he made up for with conviction and a peculiarly inflexible strength. He was insistently, incurably holier than thou, and he operated from the gut.

And what a gut. With his strapping body, a Mount Rushmore face and a basso profundo voice rivaling that of his one-time director and co-star Orson Welles (in one of Heston’s better if most unlikely roles, as a Mexican cop in 1958’s Touch of Evil), he was genetically engineered to play the hero in a cinematic age before heroes became anti-heroes. His acting style was a projection of his physique: lean, beefy and stiff. He was All Man, as they used to say so unself-consciously at mid-century, and to put him in a role that required much nuance or subtlety — not to mention any hint of a poetic, dare we say feminine side — was to flirt with unintended comedy.
Heston’s last notable performance — although there’s no evidence that he wasn’t fueled, as always, by conviction — was as the president of the National Rifle Association in 1998-2003. He had once been a liberal, marching for civil rights in the South, but, like his fellow actor and ex-Democrat Ronald Reagan, had become an archconservative. The NRA, as the Republican Party had done with Reagan, jumped at the chance to recruit a rangy screen patriarch to its cause. All of Heston’s signal qualities — his good looks, his booming voice, and above all his famous singleness of purpose, untainted by the slightest scintilla of doubt — made him a nuttily effective spokesman for the gun lobby. There was Heston in 2000, waving a rifle over his head and accusing Al Gore of plotting to take away his Second Amendment rights; it was the brandishing of the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments all over again. “Hey,” an NRA vice president chortled, “Moses is on our side.”