BOOK REVIEW: PERFECTLY BROKEN by AMBER MAUDLIN

A Memoir of Rape and Redemption...

"He may have killed my innocence that day, but he awoke something more powerful - a woman of Faith...." PERFECTLY BROKEN (Amber Maudlin, Westbow 2014)

This book is an inspiring honest account of a brave young woman's journey from a brutalized 16 year old almost two decades ago to the point where she can now share her personal restoration, with the lost and hurting. Amber Harville (Maudlin) was violently attacked, physically and otherwise by a criminal, after being kidnapped on the way to a Subway sandwich shop in Virginia. What follows in this extremely well written book (Westbow Press, December 2014, 214 pages), is a page-turner which is so horrifying and intensely sad that reading it will, at first, tremendously infuriate the reader!

Amber, for a first time author, did an amazingly gripping and mature job in describing her memories of that time almost two decades ago when this awful assault occurred. She expertly wove her personal physical and spiritual trauma as both a high school student (after the assault) with her relationship with her mother, brother and step-father so well, that the reader ends up on the same roller-coaster of emotion. As horrifying  as the foundation of the story is,  Perfectly Broken is full of good innocent humor and life as the abused teen, a Christian young lady at the time, sought to work through this personal crisis with the Great God of Heaven. You can almost see her trying to live the semblance of a "normal" teenager outwardly, all the while, doubting and debating on the inside.

For me, this is the most powerful part of this book. Like most folks who have gone through unfair and ungodly attacks, the most asked question is "Where is (was) God?"...and all the different variations of this question. Like most under duress, it seems as though God has gone silent. Remember, even the Lord Jesus Himself, God in Heaven from eternity past with the Father, cried out in agony on the Cross "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"  This is a difficult thing for any Christian, whether in crisis or not. It has happened to anyone who has walked close to God throughout life and even the best of us. The rape and violent attacks on this teenage girl would be enough, in post-Christian, spiritually weak America, to turn anyone else away from our Heavenly Father.

To her credit, Amber never gave in to those thoughts but kept asking God and the Savior Jesus Christ for help in comprehending the matter.  She eventually was led to her youth minister Jason, who did something which not even senior pastors in America could do- get a teenager to read and digest all 42 Chapters of the Book of Job! Not just that, Amber read the entire book of Job in the King James Version! That alone is impressive. In my opinion, this is both the turning point in Amber's ability to successfully process her personal tragedy while finding the true peace and comfort of our Loving God, which she had sought and fought so hard for.


Here is where "Perfectly Broken" is now becoming, and IS, a true resource for ANYONE who has been a victim of any type of crime or otherwise. It was the Scriptures, inspired by God, and the Holy Spirit Who abides in this truly born-again young woman, which brought about Restoration! The restoration was so powerful, once Amber got the true message of the Book of Job that she wrote in her book "He (the attacker) may have killed my innocence that day, but he awoke something more powerful - a woman of Faith. No matter what the verdict is, I've already won. I see that now?" She said those words close to the trial where she was the key witness against the serial rapist, who was later put away for life.

How did this happen, that one goes from questioning God to speaking like she did in the above quote? The answer lies in the entire long narrative of the Book of Job - the actual first book of the Bible.  Apart from the impressive fact that a sixteen year old would read in one sitting, the long tedious (and mostly false) speeches of Job's friends and Job and still get the key point of Job, is in itself, a good reason to read "Perfectly Broken". When the dark night of the soul finally broke, after reading this classic book of the Bible, which serves as an example for all peoples of all times, God reveals the reason why trouble came to Amber and how He wanted her to deal with it. It came in her own words, where she offered up the answer that this life is not really about her, but her experiences, with Christ on her side, to help someone else. Just reading how God revealed Himself and His call, purpose and design for a persecuted Christian, is worth obtaining and purchasing this first time offering by Amber Maudlin.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF "PERFECTLY BROKEN"

HAS THE CHURCH FAILED CHRIST? PART 2 - LIGHTHOUSE OR UNDER A BUSHEL?

 BRAND NEW PEW SURVEY - 

NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS IN AMERICA PLUMMET TO 70% 

NON-BELIEVERS ZOOM UP TO ALMOST 23%

"and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,  corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth". (Romans 2:18-20)

Reading this passage of Scripture in context (above), leads one to the obvious self-examination type of question: "are we, as the Body of Christ", all those things. Do we, in order of what is written here from Romans 2:

-  Know His Will

-  Approve things that are essential
- Remain confident in our solid knowledge of God's statutes

- Consider ourselves a guide

- Consider ourselves a light to those who are in darkness

- Consider ourselves a "corrector of the foolish"

- Consider ourselves a "teacher of the immature"

- Understand the Law fully (AND The fulfillment of that Law- Jesus Christ) in order to proclaim Truth?

Continuing on from Part 1, we see ample evidence that the modern church thinks that "Discipleship" has more to do with the naval travel and not what the Risen Christ gave as the main command in the Great Commission. Just released(this week) surveys from the Pew Research Center reveal stunning truths. While the population of the United States is inching past 320 million in 2015, the percentage of Christians in the United States has plummeted from 78.4%  in 2007 to 70.6% in 2015! To make it even worse, Americans who have NO FAITH and thus, believe in nothing has skyrocketed to 22.8% of the population!

So how in the world could this be, in the Land of "Freedom of Religion" which gave us the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th Century? How could the land which produced Jonathan Edwards; D.L. Moody; Mordecai Ham; Billy Sunday; Billy Graham; Franklin Graham and Francis Schaefer fail so horribly? 

We have the best seminaries, four bibles in every home and a Bible app on every phone. We have the richest mega-churches with the highest paid celebrity preachers. 

We have prosperity proponents with dozens of books in the Christian books store with their faces on every cover of every book. 

We have best light shows on Sunday morning with rock star "worship singers" and screaming vatos jamming $4000 Gibsons and Taylors at their rock concerts. 

We have pastors streaming himself live to 5 or 6 other "campuses" with the "message" on the jumbo TV screen while streaming in High Def around the world.

The smaller churches should not be left out either. We have the average church in America actually in the 65-85 person range, despite the more publicized mega-churches. Still these smaller churches are producing a sifted generation, most of whom are twice as much as future citizen of hell, as they are. While the larger churches stand out for obvious reason, many smaller and medium sized houses of worship major in hiding the Light of Christ under bushels, in violation of this verse. The words of Christ also exhorts us to "let your (our) light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify". Well something happened to this little light of yours and mine! 

Instead of being a Lighthouse to warn of the Judgment which is to come, the flickering little lights with little or no oil (the Holy Spirit), stay inside four walls on Sunday and live like the pagan brights of the culture the next 6 1/2 days.

Instead of "considering ourselves the corrector of the unwise and foolish" by teaching others about the Master and His Word, we, ourselves, have become the foolish.

Instead of being "the teacher of the immature", we play games with the Gospel and act irreverently in the House of the Lord. How can we teach immature Christians when we ourselves have no knowledge of the Attributes and Statutes of God, but can recite the batting average of the Chicago Cubs first baseman or how many passes Tom Brady threw in the Super Bowl?

Instead of attempting to understand the Laws of God and WHY He gave them (as a road map to keep us out of danger and trouble), we violate them to see how much we can get away with.

Is it any wonder then, as we violate almost everything which was written in these verses above - Romans 2: 18-20,  that less and less people want to be like us? The thing is, the goal is not to attempt to get people ACT, look, think, feel like us as fellow human beings. The goals for the lost and the world to see the Transformation which God has done in our lives through Christ, and want to emulate HIM, not us.  From the just revealed concrete evidence and statistics, we have failed our Father, Who art in Heaven.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER 2015: SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS IN PICTURES

American Heritage Girls (Berlin Christian Church) recite Lord's Prayer!

State Sen Sam McCann
 reads 2015 Proclamation

Rabbi & Bernie
with Shofar
Call to Prayer

The 10th Anniversary of  Business Men In Christ stewardship of the Annual Illinois State Capitol observance of the National Day of Prayer was not just a phenomenal success but an hour of God honoring praise, prayer and worship which exuded the Spirit of God all over the State Capitol Complex.

 No longer held on out in the elements on the steps of the Capitol but in the 500 seat Auditorium of the Illinois Secretary of State, in the same Capitol Complex, this event was covered in prayer for weeks which intensified in the days leading up to Thursday May 7.

Pastors Johnson, Yielding, Randall, Haworth  & Rabbi Z.

Ryan, Dawn & Hannah Mobley
 led our worship music

Pastor Will Haworth
Sherman 1st Nazarene

Pastor Nate Randall
Faith AME Church

A special thank you goes out to all who not only prayed for and supported us, but who called in, showed up and even worked at the old spot to send folks over to new location. We got special favor from Moody Bible Radio affiliate WLUJ 89.7 FM of Springfield, Illinois and the service was delayed broadcast during prime time at 8 pm. WLUJ Christian radio for Central Illinois have been with us from Day 1, back in 2006.  WCIC Christian radio of

Pastor Michael Henderson
Springfield First Baptist

Peoria/Bloomington/Springfield has included us in their priority list of Christian organizations, worthy of that temporary title. Thank you Jessie and Lisa up there in Peoria. Thank you to all the great prayer warriors and real friends like Cheryl Clinton Weaver, Earl Doc Powell, Brian Williams, Carla Raye Stafford and so many others too numerous to mention. 

Pastor Mark Johnson
Calvary Temple

Rabbi Michael Zeitler,
Celebrate Messiah Minisries

Thank you to Ryan and Dawn Mobley for being such a wonderful Godly family and for leading our worship music again this year. Thank you to the Special Event staff at the Illinois Secretary of State who manage the grounds of the state capitol. Thank you to all who prayed with us this year. Their photographs are included here with their names and churches. Most of all thank You God, for allowing this all to happen against all odds and for the family You gave me, for their love, support and blessings...it is all about Jesus, the Soon-coming King, Messiah, Ruler, Commander of Heaven's Armies and Lord of all, amen.

Alabama Preacher/Author Daniel Yielding now @
Atterberry Baptist in Petersburg asks
"Do we still trust IN GOD?" 

NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR FULL HD VIEW 

(Photos by Kathy Smith and Cheryl Weaver)

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

HAS THE CHURCH FAILED CHRIST? PART 1 - APPARENTLY SO!

"and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,  corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth". (Romans 2:18-20)

Reading this passage of Scripture in context (above), leads one to the obvious self-examination type of question: "are we, as the Body of Christ", all those things. 
Do we, in order of what is written here from Romans 2:

-  Know His Will

-  Approve things that are essential
- Remain confident in our solid knowledge of God's statutes

-  Consider ourselves a guide

- Consider ourselves a light to those who are in darkness

- Consider ourselves a "corrector of the foolish"

- Consider ourselves a "teacher of the immature"

- Understand the Law fully (AND The fulfillment of that Law- Jesus Christ) in order to proclaim Truth?

If we have failed in any, most or all of this, as Christians, then we, as a church have literally failed in our mission. The evidence is all around us that this is so. Regardless of our failure, in the west in all of those listed above, millions are still coming to saving Faith in Jesus in the persecuted church of China, Asia and those under the boots of islam. Failure by men, has never stopped those destined to the Domain of the Divine. 

Why has this happened? Why have we failed to, for instance "Know His Will"? His Will is clear and evident from Romans 12: 2 here "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect".

The Will of God is this - we do NOT become like the world. When you look at the church today and the impact on culture, community, education and political leadership, can you tell the difference between us and those who are not of Christ? No, the church has compromised itself completely out of influence.

We do not teach essential sound doctrine anymore, because we have bought the brainwashing of the world that we cannot "judge not less ye be judged", when Christ said more than this. He said to "take the log out of our own eye first" before making a "right judgment". This is called discernment. Weak church leadership and America's rich in earthly goods mega-pastors have gone silent on Truth and major in a false definition of "Love". Their teaching of "Love" includes things God never intended. Their buying of the lie and bait of Satan of this "Love" and tolerate anything has devastated the eternity of countless many. Love without Truth is deception. Truth is the unadulterated pure commands of Jesus Christ to Holiness, separation from this corrupt world.

There may be a reason why all of this mish-mash of their definition of life is not flying. These over-educated in seminary guys are actually not well verse in the true meaning, understanding and expounding of Scripture. Because of this lack of knowledge and lack of vision, God's people are perishing without Christ.

- Many church leaders and people of God do not consider themselves to be a guide when they already are. They are just not doing His Will nor His Work. A parent is supposed to raise up child and walk in the Deuteronomy 6 anointing. A man or woman of God is supposed to come alongside a brother or sisters and mentor or guide and direct them to the Cross and the Word.  The Great Commission from Matthew 28 tells us to "Go and Make Disciples", not make more buildings, fancy programs and useless stuff.

In this respect, we are not being proper guides to the Gospel of the Kingdom and more like the "blind guides" Jesus called the pharisees! 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"What is God's Will for My Life?" 
Check out this video:

PART 2: LIGHTHOUSES OR UNDER A BUSHEL?

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TODAY - DAY 5 of 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;

He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:8-12)

Oh Most Heavenly, Kind, Gracious and ever-loving Father, we have lost our fear of You, no longer stand in awe of You and disrespect You at every turn. In fact, Great God of Heaven, we are more in awe of ourselves and who we think we are, how good and powerful we are when we are nothing but dust dressed in filthy rags, on our way to perdition as a people, who have completely lost our minds and our ways.

Father, our Families have failed You. We have become just like the world inside as well as outside. We have allowed garbage into our homes via the television sets instead of turning it off. We get caught up in the latest crazes and waste money on them. We have let family hour go where we cease to communicate with our children about what is going on in our schools and their lives. We no longer train up a child in the way he or she should go, so they will not depart from it. We don't do those things because we are lax in our personal prayer and devotional lives to You, Almighty God. We now longer make the Bible the cornerstone on which we build the foundation of our homes, still we call ourselves Christians and drive up to Starbucks on the way to church so we can put on a nice show on Sunday mornings. There is no shame anymore as the inside of some of these youth groups are no different than what goes on inside a secular malt shop or drive-in movie. Lord have mercy on our families! Christ and His Righteousness no longer seems to be the Master of our Homes. We repent of that and it stops today. We return to our first love and the original mission of the family, which is to be united in Christ and Godly, missional and focused on You, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

Sovereign God, King of the Universe, why do these nations rage and the corrupt evil people of this world imagine a vain thing. Like Lucifer in Isaiah 14, they have assumed unto themselves at the United Nations, in presidential palaces and houses of power, in media halls and colleges, the vain deception that it is NOT YOU Who are in control but man. This is the same deception which led to the evil one's fall with one third of the angels that You are not sovereign over anything at all, in fact they shove the lie of evolution and climate change into the minds of children, turning them from you, hour after hour, day after day until our young people can find no purpose in their lives and seek it in the man-made systems and pleasures which leadeth to destruction. We know You said it would be better if a millstone were put around the necks of those miscreants and they be cast to the bottom of the sea for misleading Your little ones, but they have no respect for You as they blaspheme Your Name and in fact, worship other pagan non-existent gods, protect those idols and then persecute and kill Your saints in the Middle East and everywhere else. They brainwash even small children now, with sensual matters of the flesh which Thou hast ordained for married adults. Lord, have mercy on our children and the generations to come, if You tarry.

Lord, this nation was built on religious freedom by authentic women and men of God who risked their lives in their former homes, to sail the deep blue and create the greatest country which ever was. America was synonymous with Christianity for a century, and was blessed with untold riches in resources, people and ingenuity. But now, we have lost our way, as our religious leaders are hiding in their posh caves, behind their BMW's and $65 million dollar aircraft and ministries, pretending to speak for You, while the nation is heading straight into hell. Father, oh Most Powerful and Great God, we repent and submit to the Judgment of drought, famine and disease which are coming our way, and is already here in California and elsewhere, and seek to return to You. On behalf of the remnant of our fellow believers, we ask forgiveness for turning away from You and following after this seedy culture when Christ is all we need, and all sufficient for us. Even if they say we cannot say His Name in public, He lives in our hearts and the hearts of all who are saved by Him, so let us live in such a manner than they will know we are Christians by our love, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Lord Your bride the church has failed You. We let others do what you called us to do, and they made slaves to men for their meager bread and row paneled houses instead of making servants for the King. We have developed programs to feed our egos and grow men's kingdoms instead of telling of the Kingdom of God. We have preached fell good messages so people giving money won't go to the other "tickle-your-ears" church with the fancy coffee and pastry down the street and then put it on TV for other people to be misled. We have ceased making disciples and holding prayer services to instead have fancy conferences and seminars to tell ourselves how smart we are. We have ceased from proclaiming the urgency and evil of the times and instead are telling people, who sit in comfortable pew chairs, that Jesus is coming any minute, so we can just keep sitting there. There is no love for the lost, no passion or hunger to help the hurting and the hopeless and most times not even a prayer for the persecuted. Lord, we are completely ashamed and embarassed to even look to Heaven  and cry out to you, because we are part of churches who do all of the above and more. We repent, right now, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, for all our short-comings. May this insane and purposeful failure to obey You, cease this day and may we according to Your Will, Word and Statutes, now and always remain, abide and walk with You, surrendering our lives to You, in the Name of the Messiah, Jesus the King, amen. 

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - DAY 4 OF 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)
1 Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.... (Psalm 33:1-7)

Nothing defines the authentic nature of God's people than their unabashed love and worship of Creator God and the Father, Who art in Heaven.  The sheer joy which emanates from a soul set free into liberty, from the bondage of sin and despair, should be enough to light up the dark night of any soul or group of souls. 

In this world, the saints of God have trials, tribulations and trying times which test men's souls, it is imperative that the ones whom Jesus found as captives and blind guides and pulled the scales off that we may see, began to praise Him for that reason alone.  The Lord Jesus said that we should not fear those who will kill, steal and behead like their father the devil, but fear He Who has the ability to cast body and soul into hell. The righteous ones mentioned in the Psalm have been saved from the fires of hell and for that reason alone - we praise Him.

Then we shout, sing, share and saturate everything with pure unimaginable joy at the Jesus the Messiah Who rescued us. Joy is not temporary happiness. Joy is a state of being and as we come into a period where an entire nation is focused on praying together on one day, we do not get bogged down by the burden of evil times, but we rest in the blessed assurance and Shalom that we live 24/7 from just been made right, justified and fully brought into the Kingdom of His Marvelous Light!

This alone should fuel, fire up and inhabit our prayers today, tomorrow and the rest of our lives as verse two says "GIVE THANKS". So as we pray about the deep heavy things on our hearts today and from now on, let them not dampen our shalom and joy in the journey with Jesus. But let us use these truths of His amazing work in our lives to marvel and abide in His all powerful, mighty Work and what Scripture describes as His attributes.

ACTION POINTS TODAY (AND ALWAYS):
- Sing, literally sing to the Lord about His Power and Might.
- Dedicate every fiber of your being and all of your life and mine, to praising Him.
- Be intentional about sharing this Joy with as many as possible as the days are short. Why? Because He is a good good God!
- He is a Just and Righteous God, praise Him for that.
- His Mercies never fail, they are new RIGHT now and if it were not for His Grace and mercy, we would be in eternal punishment and damnation. Thank Him for this truth.
- Because He is Loving, Merciful, Compassionate but the Judge of all, He will hand out justice, but He will not violate His oaths, His Word or His Promises. Therefore claim His promises, read them back to Him from His Word, ask Him to cover and deliver you and in His Truthful Authentic Omnipotent Way, He will stand by His Word and His Promises!
- His Word is written in the Heavens, in our hearts and in 66 books of the Bible. This is all we need in this life because we could never stop mining the depths and wonderful waters of its truths. Stand on His Word, love it and let it be like honey to the taste.
- Oh taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man and woman and child, who trusteth in Him.
Amen.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - DAY 3 OF 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)
"But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. Ezra 9:8

The vast majority of people have no clue how close they are to eternity. It is literally just a breath away.  Just recently, after ministering at a senior assisted home with our full ministry worship team, we spoke to an 80 year old well-dressed woman about her position in Christ. The question was (to paraphrase): “do you have the blessed assurance that Jesus is yours and if you were to be called home today, you would be in heaven?” Her answer, this past Sunday, was and is typical of most lost souls out there, including, sadly, those who call themselves “Christians”. She said “I am not ready to do this now, and well…maybe later….but I did go to church most of my life!!” Tomorrow may never come. God’s grace is for today. Nothing else is guaranteed in this life.

America and western civilization have been blessed because we built our societies, in the beginning, on the Book – the Word of God and sacrificial atonement and love of Jesus Christ. Because we have become as evil as those of the past, and allowed evil people to turn everything – from the schoolhouse to the courthouse to the houses of business and power – away from God, we are now under worse judgment than ancient Israel was in Old Testament days. To quote Jesus“it will go better for Sodom and Gomorrah” on Judgment Day than for our western countries who say they know God and once followed Him.

Still, with all of that, as the verse above tell us, God wishes that none should perish and we call come to repentance and salvation. We have this brief one last window. We have TODAY. We have NOW. Tomorrow or six months from now is that the time, NOW is the hour of redemption.  God always has His remnant. We are few, less than 10% of the American population. There are over 300 million Christians (real Christians) in the underground church in China. This 300 million is out of a population of almost 3 Billion. But the remnant can increase, if we only repent today, put the brakes on with some adult Christian leadership and return to the Lord. It starts this week. So today, let us cry out like the prophet Hosea did in Chapter 6: 1-3:

“Come and let us return to the LORD: for He hath torn us but He will heal us; He has smitten and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, we shall like in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD (YAHWEH or JESUS): His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain; as the latter AND former rain unto the earth”.

The entire gospel is tied up in the message of this wonderful obedient prophet Hosea who sacrifices his honor, reputation and his all to serve the LORD and be obedient to Him.  This should be our prayer and our example today as we seek restoration, as unto the Lord, for our nation, communities and most of all, our families. Amen

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - DAY 2 OF 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)

"and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6)

Shame is at a premium in this swiftly fading post-modern world. This is absolutely no sense of remorse, regret or urgency to seek reconciliation with the Truth from those in power all the way up to those in the church. It is no wonder, therefore, that a church prayer service/meeting is a rarity and even more rare, is the call to repentance,

The greatest Scribe named in the Bible was Ezra. Because his full occupation was transcribing the Word of God, Ezra was a man consumed by the knowledge of the Holy and the powerful Heartbeat of God because of His given word. Because of his complete commitment to God, he knew the Scriptures more than any priest or rabbi. Ezra knew what capital crimes were committed against God and was obviously so filled with shame, horror, and shock, that the only thing we know is he got down in the proverbial sackcloth and ashes while interceding on behalf of his people.

As intercessors and prayer warriors, we are charged with feeling the hurt which God feels at the premeditated purposeful turning away from His statutes, laws and commands and constantly crying out on behalf of an unrepentant population- in and out of the church. 

Please note two things about Ezra's prayer here, as we ponder the grave situation we are in as a society and wider church: 
1. The shame of the iniquities of the people (similar to King David stealing another man's wife and then having him - Uriah the Hittite - killed) caused Ezra to look UP. This tells me Ezra was sinless in whatever the others were doing. Because of his prayed up, praised up and stayed up position in Yahweh, the Scribe could literally go before him blameless and press in. This is an example for us to do the same. The cleansing power of the Washing of the Word will uphold us in these last evil days. While we may not be immersed daily in transcribing the Word of God like Ezra, we have it easier - we get to simply read what someone else gave their lives for, so we can have an English translated Bible! So we MUST stay focused on the task at hand and never compromise one iota, to the whims, fancies and politically correct things of modern day life. God will not hold blameless those who mix His truth with the world's filthy systems. So let us have the clarity of mind, the purity of heart and the alacrity of a jaguar. These three will keep us stayed upon Jehovah, hearts fully blessed, finding as He promised, perfect peace, rest, joy and power in our prayers to Abba Father.

2.  Ezra realized that the guilt of the people had reached heaven AND he knew what that meant! As it is in 21st century America and most of the known world, the crossing of the line against God is done with so much ease and recklessness, one wonders if these academic, judicial or political geniuses have any clue what is coming on the other side of this life! They do not of course. Because the entertainment culture, the Judges and colleges of the west have crossed over from the parameters which God has set out for ALL people of ALL time, there appears to be no turning back. This transgression can be forgiven by God with personal repentance but given the current state of the western church and the refusal of church leadership to call for national repentance, the corporate body is in a tough spot.

Therefore, let us examine the spiritual and moral conditions of even the small or large towns we live in. Then let us identify the problems which can be listed due to sin and transgression and then, let us go to the Lord, with face held high as we cry out to the heavens to please hear our prayer and respond accordingly.

ACTION POINT: PRAY PSALM 51
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord,open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - DAY 1 OF 5 DAYS OF PRAYER

FIVE DAYS OF PRAYER (SUNDAY MAY 3- THURSDAY MAY 7, 2015)

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. (Ezra 8:21)

This coming Thursday May 7 is the 64th Annual National Day of Prayer. In order to observe this day, in a special way that could have impact in our local communities, five days of Biblical prayer is now launched here to focus on our hearts, minds, bodies and souls on what is truly important - become righteous before God.

The world is in the grips of rampant evil and what Jesus predicted is coming through - not just with wars, rumors of wars and natural disasters, but falling away and persecution. The voices who are prophetically proclaiming the Word of the Lord are virtually ignored. Regardless of the vast majority of people rejecting it, the Word of the Lord stands forever. Regardless of weak church leadership in the west sidelining the True Words and Judgment of the Lord and replacing it with useless fluff and compromise with this corrupt and perverse generation, God and His Truth never changes. 

So as we go into the next five days of Prayer, culminating in almost every corner of this great nation praying on the SAME day, with one accord for the transformation of a nation. We focus today on the words of God's prophet, Ezra, because he was a man who faced the same spiritual and societal evils and more that we face today.
PRAYER POINTS FROM EZRA 8:21-23:
- FAST (Fasting is NOT a commandment, but Jesus did speak about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount and HOW we should fast, should we choose to do so. Fasting is a denial of the daily fleshly pursuits for a period of time and can range from a full fast of no food for a day or days or weeks; to a Daniel fast (veggies for 21 days or less); to a juice or meatless fast. Even fasting from electronics or television. The key to a fast is replacing all those things in your mind with Prayer and Bible reading. The more you do so, the more the flesh decreases...that He may increase.
- HUMBLE YOURSELF (John 3:30). Also humility is meekness, not weakness - just like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Humility is not pride put aside for a few days or a weak. It is a lifestyle of Submission to the Will of God. It is a lifestyle of Acknowledgement of His Lordship and it is now Doing what Christ demands of His disciples- The Paradox Principle, i.e. - take up your Cross daily and follow Him. This is the acronym I present: S.A.D. - Submit, Acknowledge, Do.
 - SEEK.  The very act of Fasting and humbling oneself now and always, is to seek God and more of Him. We already have 100% of the Holy Spirit of God abiding in us, sealing us until the Day of Redemption. There is absolutely NO second filling or third or fourth. We are saved once and Christ sends His Spirit to live in us alongside our own spirits and souls. What fasting, humility and its outflow - repentance - naturally lead to is to seek and pursue our Great God. Again, this can only be done by prayer, supplication and the Word. 

ACTION POINT:
PRAY THROUGH EVERY VERSE OF PSALM 139, IN YOUR OWN WAY, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE POWER, THE HEART AND THE ENORMOUS ATTRIBUTES OF GOD AND HOW HE BROUGHT US INTO BEING. 
CLICK HERE TO FIND PSALM 139.