The primary way we can hear from God is reading His Word, of course.  But, there are other ways that God communicates to His people that are very Biblical as well.  God says in Joel 2:28 and again in Acts 2:17 that in the Last Days, He will pour out His Spirit on men and women alike, and they will have dreams and they will see visions.

Another way God communicates with His people is by speaking directly into their spirit.  The Bible says that God is spirit and we are made in His image.  That means we are a spirit too, living in an earthly body (for the time being.)  The idea of God speaking to us directly should not be foreign to us.

Our family has certainly experienced the above scriptures vividly, and we continue to experience dreams and visions almost daily.  There were three of us; Nena, myself and Jim who recently had dreams of an impending catastrophic disaster.  We don’t take them lightly.  We take them as a warning to prepare for what is coming.

Early in my Christian journey, I was walking along the beach one day and God started to speak to me about my future ministry.  He told me that one day I would speak to wave after wave (representing million of people) about abortion.  At the time, I didn’t know how this could possibly happen.  But, when God brought Jim and I together and I began to speak at conferences across the nation and talk to television audiences that spanned the globe, I recalled that vision.

I just want to encourage each of you that God will give you dreams and visions, and He will speak to you directly when you believe and trust that He can.  Jeremiah 33:3 NLT says to “Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”

I don’t know about you, but I need to hear from God on a daily basis for everything!  I believe He can and will show us every step to take and every move to make in the Last Days.

Call on God today.  He is there.  He is willing.  He will do it!

This shouldn’t be, but it is.

When I told my story about my past abortions for the first time at Phoenix First Assembly of God, I was afraid too.  I thought that perhaps others would judge me and not want anything to do with me because of my past.  But, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I didn’t find judgment that day when I gave my testimony, I found forgiveness and acceptance.

On a show recently, Jim said that we ought to bear one another’s burdens.  This comes from Galations 6:2  “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”  NLT

Nowhere have I heard this scripture explained better than in the commentary by Barnes:

“The law of Christ would not allow us to reproach the offender, or to taunt him, or to rejoice in his fall. We should help him to take up his load of infirmities, and sustain him by our counsels, our exhortations, and our prayers. Christians, conscious of their infirmities, have a right to the sympathy and the prayers of their brethren. They should not be cast off to a cold and heartless world; a world rejoicing over their fall, and ready to brand them as hypocrites. They should be pressed to the warm bosom of brotherly kindness; and prayer should be made to ascend without ceasing around an erring and a fallen brother. Is this the case in regard to all who bear the Christian name?”

If you need ministry because of past abortions, it’s time to get your healing.  You then, can help others who need healing and restoration.

Church, it’s time to rally around those who have been wounded and scarred by abortion.  It’s time to recognize that this is a widespread problem and those inside the Church are just as likely to have had an abortion as those outside.

It’s time to fulfill the law of Christ by helping our sisters (and brothers) bear this huge burden.

When Lori’s House is finished, we will minister to post-abortive women (and men).  Please keep us in your prayers.

Love,

Lori

If you don’t think there really is a spiritual battle going on in the heavens over killing babies, just get involved in a project that tries to save these innocent little lives and see how ferocious the backlash is.

Jim and I are determined to build Lori’s House, but we have been delayed by a small vocal minority.  Isn’t that the way this thing (abortion) got started in the first place?  When the majority of people let the vocal minority rule in this country, we had things like abortion legalized, prayer taken out of schools, and the Ten Commandments removed from public buildings instituted.  If good people, God’s people, don’t stand up and do something, evil will prevail.

I’ve said for a long time now that I don’t understand how all that happened.  I don’t get it, I really don’t.  How can people be silent when being silent means our country is taken over by antichrist spirits?  They are against Christ – they are against anything to do with the commandments of Christ.

John Kilpatrick was recently on our show and Jim asked him if the warfare surrounding the Brownsville revival had been fierce.  John replied that it had been fierce, but he believed that the blessing from the revival (hundreds of thousands saved) was in direct proportion to the spiritual warfare.  Little warfare = little blessing.  Fierce warfare =  manifold blessings!

I know that to be true from the years of working in the ministry.  And since it’s true, Jim and I and everyone who has had a hand (and will have a hand) in working towards building Lori’s House, has huge blessings ahead!

Let’s not be quiet this time.  We have only a short time to work before we see the Lord coming again.  Some people say that if the Lord is coming soon, why do anything like build Lori’s House to save babies?  Why not just wait for the Lord to straighten everything out?  As Jim said recently, “all we can do is our part – all we can do is save a few – but if every church saved a few – millions could be saved.”

The Bible bears out that killing babies is one major reason societies were judged by God and eventually destroyed.  Add to that, abortion is a multi-million dollar business and it’s all about the love of money.  Since this country led the world in legalizing abortion, the blood of the innocent is on our hands!  Unless we do all we can to reverse this travesty, God will judge us too!

In contrast, if the churches will start saving babies, I believe God will bring revival to this country.  “IF MY PEOPLE…” will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will hear from heaven and HEAL THEIR LAND.

If we do something, God will do something.  It doesn’t take the whole nation to repent for God to do something.  IF MY PEOPLE…

This is not the time to shrink back from the warfare surrounding the killing of innocent babies.  It’s time to gird ourselves for battle and fight through all the opposition.  When we get to heaven and the fire of God burns up all the dross in our lives, this is one effort that will remain as something of value.

Love,

Lori

But God has a plan for all of His people that does not include grief and sorrow.  Instead of the ashes of my barren life, God gave me 5 beautiful children to love and raise.  He is a God that loves to restore and bring your life full-circle back to what He intended for you from the beginning.  He loves to give you beauty for ashes, and He will when you love Him and seek Him with all your heart.

I love the beauty for ashes verses in the Bible.  Isaiah 61 reads like my own personal memoirs from God:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me”…oh yes, it is!  He has given me His Spirit!

“Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor” …oh yes, He has!  I preach whenever I get a chance that God has a better life for you to live, God has a better plan and He will show you that you don’t have to be poor in spirit; you don’t have to grieve over past sin and past hurts your entire life.

“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” …oh yes, He has!  I love to tell people that God is not mad at them!  He does not hold sin against you when you are brokenhearted over it yourself!  He wants to heal your heart, and heal your spirit.  He wants you to come full-circle and back around to what He intended for your life from the start.

“To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” …you see, just as God has a plan for your life from the very beginning, in this fallen world we have an enemy in the devil, and He will do everything he can to steal, kill and destroy the plan of God for you.  Sometimes we succumb to the enemy and he gets us all bound up in sin and unable to get free.  But God knows how to get us free and He will do it!  Once you get free of the enemy’s grasp, you can’t stop telling of the Lord’s freedom!  I will never stop telling people that you too can be free!  You too can be out of the prison of sin and free from its effects!

“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God” …God said that vengeance belonged to Him alone.  God loves to put the devil in his place.  I like to think of the big hand of God just smacking the devil away as we repent, love God, praise Him, and thank Him for His loving kindness!   When we do this, a miracle occurs;  God exacts his vengeance through us, the born again ones,  in the form of FAITH.  Faith in God destroys the enemy!  When you believe God, and you resist the devil – He has to flee!

“To comfort all who mourn,  to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” …there it is!  This is what God will do for all of His people who come to Him heavy laden with sin!  As soon as you repent and give your heart to God, He starts bringing your life full-circle back to where He intended you to be.  He takes the stick that the devil beat you with and hands it to you so that you can beat the devil back.  Your mess becomes your message, your test becomes your testimony!  You can’t stop telling about the goodness of God and His restoration of all parts of you;  that child that loved to play Mommy, that little boy that loved to preach, that teen-ager who wanted to change the world for Christ…. When the devil comes in like a flood, God raises a standard against him.  God’s standard is truth and justice.

“For I, the Lord, love justice” …

There are many out there who are broken-hearted over sin.  You have gone down a wrong path and you want desperately to turn around.  You can do it today.  You can be restored to everything God intended for your from the beginning.  You can come full-circle in your life.  God can bring you right back to where you need to be.  Call out to Him.  Come to Him and you will see that His arms are wide open and He is ready and waiting for you.  He loves you and He hasn’t changed His mind about you.  He will receive you and He will comfort you and restore you.  He will give you beauty for ashes, and joy instead of mourning!

The society we live in doesn’t really assign much value to a virtuous woman – but God does.  That’s why we have a context in the 31^st chapter of Proverbs to help us understand what real virtue looks like.

First, this woman is a thinker.  She has her priorities in order and  she pays attention to the things she knows are right – those things which are beneficial for herself and her family.  And I’m going to add here, since we’re 21^st century Christians, she also knows her Bible and she bases her life on its precepts.

When I’ve done all I can do, then I will rest in the Lord.    I have always said “faith without works is dead.”  While others say they will just trust in the Lord – I believe we should act on our faith.

James 2:17,18 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

While television, movies and magazines will try to convince today’s woman that her priorities lie in looking good and a variety of other petty issues – the Proverbs 31 woman knows that beauty fades and charm is deceiving, but her strength is in her virtuous character.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking…. but Lori, you always look so ‘put together.’  Ladies, when you see me on television, that’s not really me.  The real me has her hair in a pony tail with a baseball cap on, and no makeup!  And I know you’ve heard Jim tell on the air that my favorite thing to do is clean the house!  It’s true!

But one thing that is constantly on my mind is emergency preparedness.  Why?  Because I believe we’re living in the Days of Revelation and it’s only a matter of time before some catastrophe or event challenges our status quo lifestyle.  I’m not afraid of what’s ahead, but I do respect the warnings in the Bible that there will be Times of Trouble.

I don’t know exactly what this ‘trouble’ may be, but I’m not going to take chances with the lives of the ones I love.  It’s my responsibility to see to it that my family has their best chance of survival when a catastrophe hits.  If I can alleviate any of their suffering, why wouldn’t I?  I believe that’s why the Bible tells us ahead of time that these things are coming…. so that we can prepare!

“She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27

“She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.” Proverbs 31:21

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.”
Proverbs 31:25

I’ve always taken the simple approach to prayer.  Heartfelt prayer can never be done wrong.  You won’t offend God by praying from your heart in the manner you choose.  Sometimes prayer can only be expressed in tears that flow from a broken place inside.

I know that there have been times when I have had no words for the things that  I took to God… but He knew.  There are times when I’ve seen women wail and cry out, indescribable grief and travail that only He could understand.

I also remember my Grandmother and Mother praying for me and not giving up – even when I ran from God for so many years.  Those prayers didn’t fall on the deaf ears of an uncaring God.  No, they were all saved as they rose up to God.

In the Book of Revelation, chapter 5, verse 8, John writes, “And as he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense — the prayers of God’s people! (NLT)

David, in Psalm 56, verse 8, writes this of the Lord: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (NLT)

Tears in Scripture play a unique role in spiritual prayer.  This passage, along with numerous others in Scripture regarding a spirit of brokenness, pictures a variety of reasons and functions related to what might be termed “the ministry of tears,” a ministry Charles H. Spurgeon defined as “liquid prayer.”

Don’t ever think that your prayers are just here and gone and that God forgets.  Your prayers do, in fact, live on in the spirit realm.  If you have petitioned God for something that is in keeping with His will, your prayers rise as incense to a loving God, and He saves them until such time that He works all things together to accomplish His will and purposes for you and through you and your loved ones.

Even if your prayers are just tears – God hears and understands, and your prayers live on in Heaven.

God often awakens His servants during the night for many reasons.  Sometimes, it’s a call to action.  Sometimes, it’s a revelation, etc.  Often, it’s just to commune with Him.  For Jim, it could be any of those things as well as other I’m not aware of.

I do know one thing… Jim carries a heavy burden for all of us.  He is the one whose message for the Revelation Days is going out to millions.  He is the one who understands the significance of being a Watchman, and feels its weightiness.  And he doesn’t take it lightly.

I remember a few weeks ago when he was preparing his message about the “Five Words” God had given him.  He spent untold hours researching and documenting that message.  In fact, I couldn’t believe it myself when I saw his sermon notes:  40 pages of notes.  Who studies hundreds of hours and then writes 40 pages of notes for anything?

I’ll tell you who… Jim Bakker, that’s who.

Now I’m not telling you this to pat Jim on the back.  Ok, so I am.  But the greater message I want you to hear is that it’s time to get alone with God.  It’s time to hear from God.  It’s time to obey God.

Jim has said that this year of 2012 may be the last chance we have to get our houses in order.  Make sure you don’t let the cares of life make you miss your greatest hour with God… even if it’s in the middle of the night!

Love,

                                                                                            Lori

People run to and fro trying to get relief from depression.  They run to doctors (and sometimes doctors can help), they run to psychiatrists (some of those can help as well), and then  sometimes people run to anything else that will give even temporary relief like sex, drugs or partying.  The trouble with the latter is that it just compounds the problem of depression.

So, what are we to do about depression?  How are we, as Christians, supposed to deal with it when we are attacked in our minds with depressive thoughts?

Depression is a complicated issue with many root causes. I’m not going to try to deal with all of the reasons people may feel depressed because there is a wide range of issues that may contribute.  But, instead, I’m going to share with you what worked for me and many others.

There is one sure way to lessen, or completely get rid of depression that is so simple, it’s hard to receive.  Depressive issues often focus internally:  what are they saying about ME, why did this happen to ME, how will this affect ME, when am I ever going to be happy, when will I ever be loved like I want to be loved, how can I pay my bills… ME, ME, ME, I, I, I!

Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.  When you give to others, you often find your focus is taken off of you and your problems, and your healing begins.

You want to get rid of depression?  Try finding someone to HELP!  Try giving away what YOU need!  Lend a hand, give a hug, encourage someone!  Volunteer at your church, babysit for someone, read the Bible to someone who can’t read or can’t see… FIND SOMEONE TO HELP!

As you get out of yourself and reach out to help others, your depression will ease and you will begin to understand a great mystery – that it is more blessed to give than to receive!

We have just turned the corner into 2012 and this year promises to be a huge challenge in getting ourselves as ready as humanly possible for anything that may come.  We can’t know for sure what exactly we will be dealing with, but I’m determined to do my best for my family and for the Church family here at Morningside.  So, I’m looking for ways to improve my own organization, and perhaps we can help others to get organized in the process.  For some people, this is a huge feat!  For others, it’s just a matter of putting your mind to it.

Jim has been doing a lot of teaching about the world’s CONFUSION in 2012.  CONFUSION is, of course, the exact opposite of organization.  Since 12 is the Biblical number for organization, and we’re entering a year that is prophesied to be chaotic, I find that a little ironic, don‘t you? 

So, I’m looking for practical suggestions for preparedness in case of disasters or any other event that might require us to function outside of our usual circumstances and without our usual conveniences.  Most of you know that I’m petrified that we’ll be without toilet tissue so I stock up!

No suggestion is too silly or too small, or too complicated or too difficult.  What you have to share will be needed by someone!  

Who knows?  Your suggestion might end up in a preparedness manual. 

Let’s help each other get ready!

Each year about this time, I like to remind families how important it is to tell the Christmas story to our little ones.  Even the older ones love to hear the true Christmas story about the birth of Jesus.  The Christmas story is paraphrased below from the New Testament Books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible.  It will be told here in 4 parts.  Be sure you print them and keep them to read to the children at your family gathering this Christmas!

Love,

The Story of Baby Jesus

Part One

A long time ago, in the town of Nazareth, lived a young woman named Mary.  Mary did her chores, was kind to others, and loved God very much.  She was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a carpenter.

One day, while Mary was at home cleaning her room, an angel suddenly appeared.  Before Mary could say anything the angel told Mary that she was favored by God, and that God was with her.

Mary was surprised.  She was trying not to be afraid, but she had never seen an angel before.  After all, Mary was just a regular lady like you or I.  Why was this angel visiting her?  What did the angel want?

The angel quickly tried to reassure Mary, “Do not be afraid!”  the angel said.  “God has found favor with you.  You will have a baby boy, and are to give him the name Jesus.”

Mary was confused, she was not yet married to Joseph, so how could she have a baby?  The angel thought that this might concern Mary so he said, “The Holy Spirit will perform a miracle, and because of this your baby will be called  the Son of God.”

To Mary’s surprise the angel had more exciting news;  “Even your cousin Elizabeth is going to have a son in her old age.  Many thought that she couldn’t have children, but she is already pregnant.  Nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary couldn’t believe what she was hearing, she didn’t know what to say.  She realized that she was trembling, and knelt down.  When she was finally able to speak she said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I hope everything you have said will come true.”

The angel then disappeared, and Mary was left alone.

Soon after, Joseph found out that Mary was going to have a baby.  Joseph was confused and upset by this. But an angel came to him in a dream and said, “Joseph do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.  The child Mary is going to have is God’s son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”

When Joseph woke up he remembered what the angel had said.  He knew that everything was okay, and he wasn’t upset anymore.

In those days the government decided that they should count everyone that lived in that area of the world.  So Joseph had to take Mary to his town, Bethlehem to register.

It took Mary and Joseph a long time to get to Bethlehem.  They didn’t have cars back then, so it probably took them a lot longer to get there.  This was very tiring for Mary because she was soon going to have a baby.

When they reached the town, all the hotels were full and there was nowhere that they could stay.  Finally, someone felt bad for them, and offered them a place to stay.

The Bible doesn’t say for sure where they stayed but most people think that they stayed in a small barn where animals were kept.  In any case, doesn’t it seem strange that Jesus, the King of the Jews wasn’t born in a fancy palace or even a hospital?

Mary and Joseph were thankful that they at least had a place to lay down.  It was warm, and there was plenty of straw to lay on.

That night an exciting, wonderful thing happened.  Mary and Joseph had a baby!  But it wasn’t just any baby, it was Baby Jesus!  The creator of the whole world, the King of Kings, the one who would save the world.

The little baby boy fell asleep in Mary’s arms and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger on some clean straw.

Mary and Joseph soon fell asleep, they were so glad to have this special baby join their family.

The Christmas Story – Part 2
The Christmas Story – Part 3
The Christmas Story – Part 4