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We explained the increasingly dangerous Iranian nuclear threat, and the urgent need for Christians to get ready and be prepared for the trials around the world and especially in the Middle East that will come in the last days.

Joel was speaking at his first Epicenter Conference in Asia (held in the Philippines). Did you notice the words "get ready and be prepared"?

Over the years I've learned that the Holy Spirit speaks in themes. Certainly the Holy Spirit speaks individually, locally, and very personally. I'm stressing the point of global themes because of their seriousness. Global themes are for the entire body of Christ and I believe the theme right now is Prepare.

Jesus warned all of us about what would be happening in the days preceding His second coming and Paul explained the general social and spiritual mood of the people in the last days. As the centuries have expired many thought they were living in the last of the last days. But, they weren't.

Now, predictably, many Christians (and pagans) think that we are definitely living in the last of the last days. But, what we think isn't that important. It's what God thinks that matters. And, if the Holy Spirit is saying to the church globally to get ready and be prepared we should pay attention.

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking in Poland and stated:

“[After the Holocaust,” the Jewish people rose from ashes and destruction, from a terrible pain that can never be healed. Armed with the Jewish spirit, the justice of man, and the vision of the prophets, we sprouted new branches and grew deep roots. Dry bones became covered with flesh, a spirit filled them, and they lived and stood on their own feet. As Ezekiel prophesied: ‘Then He said unto me: These bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone; we are doomed.’ Prophecy, therefore, and say to them: Thus said the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of your graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.’ I stand here today on the ground where so many of my people perished (Auschwitz) — and I am not alone. The State of Israel and all the Jewish people stand with me. We bow our heads to honor your memory and lift our heads as we raise our flag-a flag of blue and white with a Star of David in its center. And everyone sees.  And everyone hears. And everyone knows – that our hope is not lost.”

To this Rosenberg commented:

The question for all Israelis and all people everywhere is now this: If the prophecies of Ezekiel 37 have come to pass in our lifetime, isn’t it remotely possible that the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 will come true in our lifetime as well?

I encourage you to read Ezekiel 38-39. Listen to the Holy Spirit. What is He saying to you, personally, and what is He saying to all of us, globally? I believe His theme is Prepare.

What do you think?

If you've taken time to stay informed about the state of the church and our country in the last twelve months you already know how serious things have become. If you haven't, you need to.

Jesus died and rose again to provide, and guarantee, freedom for those who believe. Within every true believer is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Freedom. His Spirit never rests in His desire to bring as many as possible into the freedom bought and paid for by the sinless life, death, and blood, of Jesus Christ. Empowered and enlightened by His Spirit, He leads us to manifest His will and purpose to bring this freedom to anyone who will listen and believe.

As I write this, the church, and our country, are not pursuing His freedom. They are pursuing something that both God and our Founding Fathers warned us about: security and peace at the expense of both.

The wisdom of God determined the price for freedom and that price was the life of the Son of God. How is it that man can possible believe that any lesser cost will provide real freedom?

Many today in positions of authority are selling the church a false sense of security by instructing them to participate in all manner of ritualistic prayer, meditation, and "ancient practices" far to numerous to mention in this post. Like J. Z. Knight, they promise that through these they will enhance their relationship with God and release certain powers within themselves.

Our President and his cohorts are spreading a similar message: if we will trust them and allow them to carry out their policies based on the philosophies they've been schooled in, all our troubles will be solved and utopia will spring forth.

I say, "Hogwash!", to both the church leaders and our nation's leaders. Neither are pointing their fellow man to the One who can save them from death and provide the real freedom and peace offered only by Him. Not one of the policies currently being employed will succeed in bringing freedom to a single person in America, including those who are promoting them.

The Bible says that men are like birds who do not see the snare set before them. Without the guidance and revelation from the Spirit of God no man can see the real snare set right before their eyes.

As world conditions have worsened (or so we're told) men are convinced that catastrophic destruction will be inevitable unless they do something now. Many times, doing "something" is much worse than doing nothing at all. Common sense clearly says to wait when you don't know what to do. The Bible says to call upon the Lord and wait on Him for help. Tell me, leaders of the church and our nation, how many of you are calling out to the Lord for wisdom and how many of you are waiting for His answer before you "do" something?

Those who lay the snare are as blind as those who walk into it. They have no idea that they themselves are walking into a greater trap than the ones they set for others.

Children of God, listen to me. The Spirit that is within you is greater than the spirit of this world. He will guide you and tell you what to do. Listen to Him!

What's the biggest thing you fear? Loss of a loved one, losing your job, someone kidnapping your child? How about speaking in front of people, or, being called on in a class or board meeting? Fear of heights, your 401K tanking, death?

No matter who you are you probably fear something, so let's agree that fearing something isn't the end of the world. We all face different types of fear.

The key, of course, is to not be controlled by that fear but to be in charge of your fear.

I talk about fear a lot and that puts me in charge of my fear. I have no fear of facing my fears. Actually, for the most part, I don't fear much of anything anymore because I've learned to immediately deal with any fear that comes my way.

And, I don't mean stuffing it or simply to compartmentalize it. I mean I deal with it head on, face to face. I challenge it, demand to know it's source, and if there's any basis in fact to it. I tear it apart and analyze it.

Fear hates to be analyzed.

When I first learned to climb mountains I began with "starter" climbs. I soon learned that a fall of ten feet could kill me as much as 100' or 1000' so it wasn't as scary anymore.

When I was in sales I learned that just because someone said "No" it didn't mean everyone would say no, I just had to keep asking and the law of averages would take over.

When I started my first company, and had so many people telling me not to, I learned that the only one I could count on was me. As scary as that was I learned to believe in myself and that it didn't matter if no one else did.

I've been rejected, ignored, betrayed, sold out, undermined, embarrassed, laughed at, accused, abused, and used. I'll bet you have been, too. You learn to face these situations or you hide under a rock in fear. At some point you have to rise up, look these things square in the face, and refuse to be intimidated by them.

Or you don't. It's up to you.

You'll find that fear will flee when you confront it, so why not confront it? Oh, yeah... fear of confrontation!

For those looking for a simple, spiritual way to view this, here it is. I have learned to be courageous because I know my God is with me twenty four hours a day, every day, forever. I know He will never leave me or forsake me. I know He loves me and will help me. I know He will never condemn me. I know that if even my own family disowns me He never will.

I do not fear because I know He loves me.

I do not fear because I know He's with me.

I do not fear because I know He'll never leave me.

I do not fear because I know He'll help me.

I do not fear because I know He'll heal me.

I do not fear because I know Him!

I pray that God will give everyone a Spirit of wisdom and revelation that all will know Him better.

I woke up last night with this thought going through my head: Miracles are messy. It was powerful enough that I sent myself a note on my Blackberry and then had trouble getting back to sleep.

When I woke up I was still thinking about it. This simple little statement, miracles are messy, sums up something I've dealt with years: smug, intellectual Christians (usually in leadership positions), who are absolutely stuck in their academic worldview of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ came to this earth to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus Christ performed miracles. He said that after His Spirit was poured out on all flesh we would do even greater things than He did. And this is where you begin to lose people.

Miracles are messy. When Jesus began to do miracles the Pharisees began to hate Him even more. They were losing their influence to a simple carpenter's son who just happened to be able to turn water into wine and heal diseases. I mean, how do you compete with a miracle worker!

There are religious leaders today that are no different. Some of them teach in seminaries and some lead churches and ministries. Miracles just don't work in their world because it threatens their ability to control people. Miracles put the focus on what only God Himself can do and not on them.

In the West we're totally mesmerized by "great teachers". Jesus won followers because He taught with great authority, but He also won followers because He performed miracles. I'm not speaking of the "wow" factor; this has only temporary impact. I'm speaking about the people who received the miracles. Their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, were changed forever.

This is my biggest question. For those who don't believe in miracles, why not? Please explain who is hurt by a miracle? Who loses? What's the downside? The argument that now we have the Bible and we don't need miracles is not only inaccurate it's silly. People of faith believe no matter what; they don't need miracles to believe. Miracles are God's to do and He's never stopped meeting miraculous needs and meeting them miraculously.

One of my favorite miracles was a sixteen year old girl in Darkhan, Mongolia. Her father broke her arm and she went to the hospital to have it set. At some point she heard that I was in town and she decided to ignore the hospital treatment and find me. She believed that if she could find "the man of God" that I would pray for her and God would heal her. She did finally find me, we prayed, and God miraculously healed her broken arm. It wasn't medically necessary, at least to our understanding at the time, and she could have received medical treatment, but God decided to honor her.

Why does God do miracles for some and others never receive theirs? I have no idea. But, that never stops me from praying for people who have big needs, or even small needs. Why should I get in the way of their prayers and their faith?

And why should any one else?

Believe in God and it can get messy. God will shake you up. He'll shake up your family. And He'll bless you in ways you could never have imagined. Jesus said, "Only believe."

Try being childlike in your walk with God, try it for a month and see what happens. I dare you.

• My wife, my kids, and the various things going on in their lives.

• The pressing issues my wife will face, like our ongoing kitchen remodel, her work pressures and all the normal, daily things she attends to.

• The things I need to purchase for my friends in Mongolia like medicines, supplements, foods and spices, fun things for the kids, electronics and computer items, books, clothing, etc., wishing I could bring more.

• The travel details, money, and restocking the medical kit.

• Our in-country housing details and what we need to plan for in each city.

• What we may be asked to do, the people we'll be ministering to, what I might be teaching on, etc.

• God's heart for Mongolia and what He sees for them now, and five, ten, twenty years from now.

• The joy of seeing my friends in Mongolia that I miss every single day I'm not with them.

• Church on The Rock and how blessed I am that I can leave without a worry in my mind that all will be well because of the dedicated servants who will watch out for one another.

• How grateful I am to have an understanding wife.

The list is much longer, but these are some of the things that I think about. My greatest blessing, though, comes from knowing that our God in heaven will take care of every detail, watch over every soul, fight our every battle, and guide us to every victory in Christ, both at home and abroad. I always have total peace when I get on the plane and I give God all the glory for that.

Please keep my family in your prayers. Please keep Mark and I in your prayers. You can follow our adventure on my blog at www.chrisbayer.com and also here.

Jesus Christ is Lord, God and King.

Jesus Christ lived for me, died for me, and lives again for me. No one else will ever do that.

Jesus Christ has cleansed me from all unrighteousness and has given me eternal life. No one else can do that.

Jesus Christ lives in me by his Spirit because he wants to be near me. No one else wants to be that close to me.

No one loves me like Jesus does. No one ever will.

Jesus Christ is trustworthy and honest. He never lies to me; he always tells me the truth.

I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I try every day to live for him, to bring him glory, and every day I fail. I fail to live the life that he lived. Thank God he lived it for me so when I fail his grace is sufficient.

Jesus allowed me to be born of parents with no peers. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus gives me air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and a place to sleep. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus gave me a brother and two sisters. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus led me to my patient wife, my gift from God. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus allowed us to have three daughters that have grown to be lovely in every way. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has blessed our family with love, honesty and faithfulness. My children all love us, love each other, and love Jesus. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has always paid the bills. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has blessed us with three caring sons-in-law that love our girls and grandchildren. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has blessed my wife with the ability to love and care for over 350 developmentally disabled people. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has blessed me to walk out the calling he's given me and to bless people, in his name, in Gig Harbor and all over the globe. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has always been, and will always be, my teacher.

Jesus has healed me numerous times and put me back on my feet to serve him and others. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has taught me about his Father and his Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has literally saved my life at least six times that I know of. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has allowed me to pray for people and see miracles happen. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has allowed me to cast out demons and heal the sick. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has given me eternal friendships from one end of the earth to the other. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus continues to teach me, train me, and entrust eternal things to me. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus comforts me and strengthens me. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus speaks to me in my spirit. I am never alone. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has given me a heart for the world. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has allowed me to feel his pain for broken people. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has conquered fear in me. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus has never given up on me. Thank you, Lord.

Jesus will finish the work he started in me. Thank you, Lord.

I could go on and on with thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for me, my family and all who have attended church with us. At the end of the day I know that Jesus loves me. Thank you, Lord.

I know he's always with me. I know he'll never leave me or forsake me. I know he's given me everything I need for life and godliness. I know that he's blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. I know that his glory is upon me when I suffer for his sake.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.

Recent surveys reveal that most people in the United States consider themselves Christian but can't define in simple terms exactly what being a Christian is. (Imagine if you said you were a plumber but couldn't define what it means to be a plumber.) Why say you're a Christian when you can't even define it? What's the point?

Jesus came to give stark clarity to a dying world. He came to explain the situation the people were in regarding their relationship to God, the One True God. He told them clearly they were in trouble and needed to understand how much trouble they were in. Later, his apostles expounded on this at great length.

Jesus didn't just lay out the problem; he solved the problem. By his death and resurrection he made it possible for man to be reconciled to God.

In my opinion, the number one reason for becoming a Christian is to be certain you'll be spending your eternity with God. Otherwise you'll be spending it with the devil and his angels. You pick.

The number two reason would be to spend your eternity with God. Want to hear my number three reason?

While we're on earth waiting to be eternally with God we can help others have the same hope. It's pretty simple to offer people this hope. Not all accept it and that's up to them. But it isn't difficult to offer the hope we have to others. And, that's a pretty good reason for being a Christian.

One of my favorite verses is Malachi 2:7:

For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.

In Christ, all Christians are priests of God and serve in His presence. In His presence He instructs us in His ways, reveals His nature and character, and imparts Himself to, and through, us.

As priests we are His ambassadors, sent into the world to share the Good News that He has revealed to us. As Spirit-taught, Spirit-led, prophetic priests, we are to preserve this message as it was originally given by Jesus Himself and courageously share it with the world.

As messengers of the LORD Almighty our lips are to preserve knowledge, and, if men should seek instruction from our lips, it is our responsibility to accurately and consistently speak as those taught and led by the Spirit of God. True ambassadors do not express their own opinions but only those of the One that sent them. The result is that people are strengthened, encouraged and comforted by God.

Let’s take this one step further. To prophecy means to speak forth as inspired by the Spirit of God. This means we’re not limited to just the Gospel; we are to speak forth as messengers of God in any way He chooses. For example, the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself in words of wisdom, words of knowledge, discerning of spirits, etc. He will give utterance through us before kings and princes. He will inspire unschooled men and women to speak with a clarity and wisdom that is not merely the result of study or knowledge. He chooses the so-called foolish to confound the wise.

The other day I was asked how people sitting around a table in Washington state could grasp world politics better than those in Washington, DC. I mentioned it was absolutely possible, but the timing didn’t permit me to take it further. (I did mention that those in the Beltway tend to have a very myopic view of life and see through a very narrow set of lenses.) But I would have loved to open the discussion to the wisdom available to Spirit-taught, Spirit-inspired, prophetic priests of God.

In addition to God’s Word, every morning I read an array of news sources that give me a wide view of local, national and world events. I read a long list of commentators on both sides of the social, political and religious fences. I study the latest intelligence web sites. In addition, throughout the week I’m also reading various books on many different subjects. Why? Let me assure you it’s not to “get smart” (the world is full of really smart people): I’m constantly asking the Holy Spirit for His insights. I want to know what God is thinking and I want to know His heart. The bottom line is that I need His discernment to see things the way He sees them, not the way the world sees and interprets them. I do this for my own edification, of course, but also to have an answer for anyone that seeks my opinion and insight. I want to respond prophetically, not just from my own mind.

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 2:12-16

This is how we become spiritually discerning priests of God. As a nation (and sadly, as Christians) we’ve been told what and how to think but spiritual people must refuse to go that direction; our opinions are to be formed in and by the Spirit of God. Subsequently, they will almost always be in direct opposition to the opinions of the world. Because of this you will have to die some new deaths.

It’s aggravating to share spiritually discerned insights with those who rely solely on their own intelligence or rely on others to form their opinions. This is where we must learn to share the truth in love and, at the same time, learn not to throw pearls before swine. This may sound judgmental but it’s not. It takes discernment to know not only what to say but when to say it. Not everyone is ready to hear you.

The world desperately needs to hear from God and the church is the chosen instrument to bring His Good News and wisdom to their ears. They don’t need the opinions of men; they need insight directly from God. They need the truth and to know The Truth.

Never be ashamed of the Gospel and never cease to learn as much as you can about just about everything. Abraham Lincoln studied everything he could possibly study; he felt he was derelict in God’s sight if he didn’t. Here are some of his insights:

“I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.”

“The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.”

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”

“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”

You stand in good company when you strive to learn everything you can about God and His creation. Consider that by constantly learning by the Spirit of God you fulfill the commandment to love your God and you love your fellow man by strengthening, encouraging and comforting him.

It has been demonstrated that when any particular wrong needs to be corrected about one-third of the people are willing, one-third aren't and one-third don't care. Do the math and 66% of the people aren't going to be helpful in making any meaningful change.

That leaves it up to the other 33% to get the job done. This poses a bit of a problem, though, when a nation believes in democracy, something the Founding Fathers abhored. If the prevailing thought is that you need a majority to get anything done, or that because you have a majority you must be right, then there's potentially no hope.

Significant changes come about when a handful of people have the foresight and courage to buckle down, hold to their principles, and get them done. Even so... this still doesn't mean the right thing was done (the last election proves that). It just means that the 33%'ers got them done.

Right now we are in a war against The Truth. Not truth, but The Truth. You can see the evidence of it all around you. The strategy has been well thought out and is being systematically carried out. It's been going on since the beginning of time and appears to be coming to a head. It's the war between the "truth" and The Truth.

The world has its truth and then there is The Truth. The world's truth seems to be winning right now but think about it for a minute... based on the world's truth what has the world done right? Show me something that is a shining example of the world's truth triumphing over The Truth. You can't.

The Truth is impossible to defeat because it's The Truth. It doesn't matter whether you have a minority or a majority that believes it; it is The Truth and it will always be The Truth; it will never change. It can't change because The Truth is God Himself and He never changes.

This is where I have to change the wording and make it personal. Jesus Christ is The Truth and He cannot fail; the more accurate truth is that He has already won. It doesn't matter if only one person believes Him; that person "wins". On the day when we all stand before The Truth it matters not that six or seven billion stood together for the world's truth and only one stood for The Truth. One will enter into and six or seven billion will not.

If you go with the herd you will receive the herd's reward. If you go with The Truth you will receive His reward.

Jesus Christ wondered aloud about the time of His return. He asked, "Will I find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) Apparently He was concerned that even though His efforts were perfect and eternal, mankind still had the choice to believe in Him or not and He wondered if they would.

Never forget: it isn't so much that The Truth will win; He has already won. Those who believe in Him have already overcome the world. Christians need to fix their eyes on the One who has already won the battle and not get bogged down on trying to win it. We are already more than conquerors and we need to fight as victors, not those seeking victory.

Fight on as victors, not victims. Fight on as those who have already won, not those who are trying to win. Fight on as those whose citizenship and weapons are from another world, not as those from this world.

Fight on, in His name, in His authority, and declare to the heavenly realms that Jesus Christ is alive! You'll be amazed what happens when you declare what is, not what was or what will be.