by Chris Reed
Elijah List Ministries / ElijahStreams TV, 525 2nd Ave SW, Suite 629 Albany, OR 97321 USA Thank you for making the always-free Elijah List Ministries possible! Click here to learn how to partner with us: https://elijahstreams.com/donate Prefer to donate by mail? Make your check or money order (US Dollars) payable to "ELIJAH LIST MINISTRIES" and mail it to: Elijah List Ministries / Elijah Streams TV 525 2nd Ave SW Suite 629 Albany, OR 97321 USA Join us this Tuesday as Steve Shultz interviews Chris Reed — LIVE RIGHT HERE — on November 29 at 11AM Pacific Time. Chris will be discussing current prophecies in the news for China and the president, words over the USA and more! Please join us this Tuesday with Chris Reed!
A Thankful Heart:
The Lifestyle of a People That Can See the Invisible God
By: Alan Smith
Hmmm: to be a person that is really thankful; thankful for all things. Is it possible for us to be transformed into this heavenly creature? Does the condition of our hearts determine what we see? Does the condition of our hearts help to focus our spiritual eyes? How can we see this invisible God we love? I mean, how can we really see Him? But then we have to ask, is He really invisible or do we just need eyes that can see Him? Let’s take a spiritual journey and explore a little of the invisible world.
Things we see can be a language. The things we see around us do not come out of nowhere. They were created according to something in the invisible realm. What if we look at a “key” verse that unlocks this unseen world?
So we can see that the scripture above has given us a road map into the unseen world. The Bible is teaching us that there are two worlds: one is visible and the other is invisible. Both worlds were created by Him. The created world, which is the visible, gives us the capacity to understand the unseen world, which is the invisible. The created world is a reflection of the unseen world. The unseen world has two speeds in which it moves. It moves faster than the naked eye and it moves slower than the naked eye. Let me give you an example. Can we see a tree or a child grow? I think not, but we can see a miracle of life. It is just moving at a pace that is slower than we can see with the naked eye.
On the other hand, there are also things that move faster than we can see. This means there is part of this creation that we just cannot see with the naked eye. This part of creations makes up the unseen world. God gives us revelations in which we can understand and see the unseen world. One of these revelations is that of the “thankful heart”. If God is in an unseen world, perhaps we need the capacity to go where He is. It is becoming very evident that we cannot enter into this world with our own understanding. The scriptures reveal to us a truth. We see in Psalm 100 above that we are to Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. If we are truly going to enter into this unseen world and into His presence, we first must do this with “thanksgiving”: thanksgiving unto Him. Are we truly thankful to God? I often find myself not very thankful at all. On the contrary, I find myself very unthankful most of the time. Why, we might ask ourselves? Could it be that what we focus on determines what we see? If what we see in the invisible world is determined by the condition of our hearts; then an “unthankful heart” sees that which is dark and depressing. It is always seeing what is going wrong on the planet. A “thankful heart”, however, can see dark as well as light, but chooses to focus on the light and the good. It sees what could be on the planet if our hearts were truly thankful for the opportunity that God has given us. I pray that we will consider our ways and become a thankful people unto our worthy God for all He has and is doing for us. Perhaps more next time on the “thankful heart”.
What is the true grace of God?
by Alan Smith
What is the true grace of God? Do we want it upon our lives? Can it be true? Could it be that Jesus knew the hidden message and power that was in this experience from the Father?
Luke 2:40
40: And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
Let's dig a little deeper into the word "grace".
NT: 5485 charis (khar'-ece); from NT: 5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):
KJV - acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace (-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
In the underlined above, we see that grace is the prophetic act of divine influence. It is through this that all prophetic impressions, visions, and influence come. For this prophetic influence to flow, we must have a dedicated line; one of understanding. A life that has the grace of God upon it is a life that understands that it comes totally from God. If you think you are a contributor to this "grace", then the line has been defiled and the "grace" is no more "grace". Could it be this simple? Could it be that g-race truly means God's-race? Our prayer is to have, like Jesus, the grace of God upon us.
Blessings,
Alan
by Chris Reed
Perception: The Closer to the Light I Get, the More of Me I See
By: Alan Smith
John 3:21: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (KJV)
When I began this Christian journey, I thought that each day I would grow and grow until I was truly a righteous and spiritual man. I thought that each time I looked inside of my heart there would be less to deal with because righteousness had come upon me. I thought that my growth would be, “to be more like Jesus”. I thought that maybe I would grow into a spiritual giant. If I am to be honest with God and myself, it is obvious that this is not the case.
While on this journey, I have been walking closer each day to “the light”. The light becomes brighter the closer I get to Him. The brightness of His truth is so revealing. The revelations from His Word are unveiled and I think I am getting spiritually smarter; but I have encountered a problem. The problem is, “the closer to the light I get, the more of me I see”. The view from here is: the evidence of my life this day will condemn me from meeting the perfection or from making the righteous mark. When I take an honest inventory of my life each day, I am more convinced that it will take Him leading me to walk in His righteousness and not my own. It is only by His grace that I can honestly and truthfully make this spiritual journey.
The older I get, the more I realize how much I truly need a Savior. I have lived long enough to exhaust most of my own works of self righteousness and religion. I have discovered in this experience of Christianity that it is not about me being perfect, but about being truthful and honest: honest with myself and honest with God. Have you discovered this last frontier in life? I cannot pull off perfection, but I can live in truthfulness and honesty. I may not be more righteous and perfect, but because of His true saving ability I am more in love with my Savior for His perfection and love that He has imputed to me. Could it be that our growth is to come through experiencing the vastness of His love and faith in His perfection?
The closer to the light I get,
The more of me I see.
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
While on this life’s journey,
I thought I had the key.
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
I thought I would be perfect,
What a crazy need!
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
Truthfulness and honesty,
How could it be?
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
Evidence of my life
Condemned me can’t you see?
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
From this place of sorrow
How can I leave?
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
God does not condemn me,
Oh what a love has He.
The view from here seems sad
But the truth will set me free.
Could this grace be true?
He tells me to believe.
The view from here says maybe
The truth will set me free.
To love as God now loves,
How can I achieve?
The view from here seems possible
The truth has set me free.
Blessings,
Alan
Listen to this message and find other great content on the MSJN podcast channel! Click the icon to visit the MSJN Apple podcasts channel. Also available on Spotify and other providers.
By Rick Joyner
I am writing this the day after the midterm election in America. What was expected to be a decisive Republican wave due to rising alarm over the policies and incompetence of the Biden Administration turned out to be little more than a ripple. It has left nearly everyone scratching their heads to figure out what this means as both parties claim victory. It really was no more than a shallow win for either side, though both sides are claiming big wins. Still, the message of this election cycle is clear, and we all need to “get it.”
That there is no clear message or decisive victory for either side is the crucial message. This falls very much in line with the message revealed by Marc Nuttle’s study of America which we have begun to cover in a series of MorningStar Journal News interviews with Marc. Our nation has been turning decisively more conservative in every important way, especially in traditional, moral, and cultural values, but has not turned to the Republican Party. Why?
Though the Democratic Party has lost the trust of most of the American people, the Republican Party has not gained it. As Marc’s study of America clearly revealed, the American people have lost trust and respect in not only both political parties, but also in virtually every institution, including the institutional church. The simple reason is these institutions have not been trustworthy enough to earn that trust.
Why did the Republican message not resonate more when people are more fed up with their government and with Biden’s policies than they have been for half a century? The Republican message to stop the Biden agenda and fix the economy has been hardly inspiring, since it has been heard many times before with very little action. The exception to this has been President Donald Trump, who may have accomplished more of what he promised than any president in our lifetime but had to fight the Republican establishment nearly as much as the Democrats to do it.
One enlightening factor revealed in Marc’s study was that, if a person agrees with the policies of one party over another, yet the candidate of the other party seems more honest, trustworthy, and less self-serving, that person will vote for that candidate. This only happens when the breach of trust is deep. Despite the cliché that “time will heal wounds,” time will not heal wounds but only make them worse if they are not properly cleaned, dressed, and closed. A wound from someone we trust is deeper than a wound from someone we do not like but is at least honest about it.
Marc’s study revealed how fed up people are with the Democrats, their policies, and authoritarian methods. They know they lie and are hypocrites. At the same time, Republicans claim to believe all the right things but do not stand up for what they believe, or do what they say they will do, and are therefore considered more hypocritical and less trustworthy.
Another charge increasingly brought against Republicans is that they are “mealy-mouthed” in response to the extreme messages and actions coming from the Left. For example, when the Left claims, “all Republicans are racists and are seeking to destroy democracy,” a typical mild, cautious Republican response is, “I’m a little surprised to hear them say such things.” Whether or not this lacks clarity and courage, it certainly comes across that way.
This response to the shrill, hysterical madness coming from the Left has allowed the release of chaos and lawlessness in our land yet requires some of the greatest boldness and clarity from our leaders since the American Civil War. People need to hear courage and sensible outrage from our leaders at what is being done to our country instead of weak, tepid, uninspiring, milquetoast responses upon which the Left continues to steamroll.
Some notable exceptions to this, among conservatives, won big last night. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis is the most obvious. His message has been clear and his actions bold. That is the kind of courage and leadership our country and world need from America right now. DeSantis’ leadership has turned Florida from a blue-leaning state to a solidly red state. He also now carries big political coattails which have helped others win election victories.
These elections could still end up giving both houses of Congress to the Republicans. However, history has taught us that stranger things have happened when the vote counts were not decided on election night. This has become increasingly dangerous, is causing increasing outrage, and is decreasing trust in our system of government and election integrity. The strength of our Republic depends on that trust.
Consider that the financial markets can count nearly a billion transactions daily and get them right to the penny and settled within minutes of closing the exchanges, yet the most powerful nation in the world cannot accurately count the most important transactions of all, our votes, to the point that few on either side trust them. This should not be.
Of course, the cheaters do not want this fixed. We must ask why voter I.D.—the single-most important factor for election integrity and required by virtually every other democratic country and international body to certify an election—is fought so hard by the Democratic Party. Every democratic nation in Africa requires voter I.D., yet the Left claims this is a racist tool to deny minorities the right to vote in an advanced country like America. In this, they make insulting and racist comments saying minorities in America are so primitive they cannot get an I.D., yet must have one to purchase cigarettes or alcohol, open a bank account, board a plane, or do just about anything else.
There is much more that can and will be said to try and make sense out of the midterm election message. There are reasons to be encouraged, and even more reasons to be concerned. Regardless, we must not and ought not lose hope if we keep our hope in the right place. The fact that there has been such a vacuum of leadership, wisdom, and courage that the world is becoming increasingly desirous of courage, character, and clarity in leadership is a good thing for those who have it.
The most in-depth study of the heart of America perhaps ever made is the one I have referenced by our friend Marc Nuttle with George Barna’s team. Its findings give us many reasons to be encouraged about the heart of the American people. This study also revealed an ever-widening disconnect between our nation’s leaders and its people. This vacuum will be filled. Most encouragingly, the people, who are the sovereign in our Republic, are becoming increasingly devoted to a strong moral compass and are now more resolved to take back authority over the government and restore it to one that is of, for, and by the people.
In summary, this midterm election may have been just enough to slow our country’s slide into chaos and lawlessness and keep us from a complete meltdown a while longer. This may give us the time to fix the trainwreck our government has become and get it back on track. Will we take advantage of this? We begin by acknowledging, as the Scriptures verify, that good leaders come from the Lord, and bad leaders come when we turn from Him.
There is now verifiable evidence that the American people have been turning back to the Lord and His ways, even though our media and government would have us think otherwise. All we lack to mobilize for this transformation we so desperately need is a clear trumpet call from a courageous leader with character and resolve. We must appeal to heaven for this.
Perceptions: Life Must Be Found
By: Alan Smith
What a perception, don’t you think? How can you be alive and still need to find life? Could there be more to life than just living? Here is another one of the secrets of the Kingdom of God. The man or woman who “finds life” must have a desire for “real life”. I am not talking about the pleasures of life or self gratification; no, not at all. To find “more life” means to discover and perform physically, mentally, and spiritually what God has placed inside of you to be and to do. You know, that part of you that has never been truly expressed. It is your “inner being” crying out to create something. You can feel it from deep within you. Perhaps you have managed to shut down this voice crying from within your soul. This creative voice which God has put down in the depths of your soul is His voice calling you to come and create with Him. He is not calling you to recreate what others have already created. No, He is calling you to come and create with Him. He is not asking you to sacrifice life and die. No, He is calling you to start “living more life”. Before we move on in this thought, ask yourself these two questions. Are you trying to find “more life” through competitive games with people? Or are you seeking “more life” by being a creative thinker under the influence of the Kingdom of God? You must put your “faith and trust in Christ” that His sacrifice was and is the only sacrifice that is needed to save mankind from destructive thinking. You must stop dying and start living. You are not the “sacrifice” for man; only Christ could perform this task. God does not want you to sacrifice yourself for others. This sacrifice has already been made. He truly wants you to start living. Let’s look at this thought more closely.
In this scripture you can see that Christ was the “seed” which had to be sown into the earth and die. You are to be the fruit of Him being sown and you are to live! As this fruit, He wants you to “find life”, “live life” and then “give life” to others. So how can you “give life” away unless you are “finding life” through trusting God and the finished work of Christ, the sacrifice for the world? God wants you to live life fully, with much joy and abundance. It is then that you can give out of this substance of the Kingdom of God. You know you have received this revelation of living life fully when you desire for everyone to have this same experience. You must always remember that God wants all of His creation to discover the true reason for existing.
Is your experience of “finding life” one that you could recommend to others, or are you living a life of competitiveness with people, instead of creativeness with God? A competitive life will take away and give it unto itself; but a creative life will bless others and in turn be blessed itself. When you are “finding life” and giving it away, all will be blessed. No one has to lose to be blessed when God gives away “more life”. You must stop these thoughts of competition for what has already been created and trust God for new creativity and life in you. When you gain “more life” from a selfish motive, it is never satisfactory or permanent. This competitive motive will be conquered tomorrow by another and all that was gained will be lost. To “find more life” you must “give more life”. It is in the “giving” that you “find”. You do not have to take advantage of anyone to gain more life. On the contrary, you must bless others in order to receive blessing.
You are to create and give away. In doing this you must understand that this creative supply has no end. In fact, you are to create with God and not compete with Satan. Once you enter into competitive thinking with the enemy, you have entered into his game. This will shut down all creativity in your life. Once you fall into competitive thinking, all creative thinking will stop. It is imperative that you rise above this low thinking which comes from the competitive nature of Satan, and have a higher standard of thinking which comes from the creative nature of the Kingdom of God. Satan has been defeated. Why do you act like this is not true? All he can do is seduce you into competing with him and others in all of your thoughts. You then enter into a war that has already been won; and the victory of Christ has no affect for you are fighting just the same.
When you battle the enemy, you are always taking inventory of your visible supply: a very selfish way of thinking. When you think creatively, you are always looking unto the limitless supply of your God: a very unselfish way of thinking. When you start “finding more life” from God, it is because you trust that His ways are true, and in turn, more life is produced in you to give away. Remember, there is an endless supply of creativity. This “more life” can have many different forms and values. It can be more joy, more patience, more love, more laughter, more giving: a higher way of thinking. It can even be a better attitude or more money with which you can bless others. When you truly find “more life” in God, all of your creative thinking will bless yourself as well as others. You will be able to give more to every man than you take from him. In other words, when you work for someone, you will give more of your labor and attention to him than that for which he is paying you. This in return will bless you beyond measure. When you deal with others, you must ask yourself, “Is this going to bless him more than it will me”? If the answer is “yes”, then this is creative thinking. Creative thinking will add “more life” to your living. When you arise to this heavenly thinking, you have left the competitive realm and moved into the creative realm. It is here that you will find “more life”. When you give every man more than you take, you are then adding “more life” upon the face of the earth.
So ask yourself, will you let your “light shine” in a dark place? Sure, there is darkness all around, but “real life” which comes from God’s secret Kingdom will quench any darkness when it enters the room. The powers of this dark world are always whispering to you depression, guilt, anger, despair, lack, or pride. They will try to convince you that others have taken all you were to have in this life; that there is nothing left for you. Let me tell you the truth: this is a lie! How can others take what has not been created yet? This is a new day waiting to be created. I encourage you to trust God, for He is waiting to create this day with you. It cannot be stolen, for it is waiting to be created. Again I say “Trust God” and His Kingdom, for His Kingdom is not of this world. It is waiting to be experienced by the expression of “more life”. Come near to God and trust Him for His arms are open, just waiting for you to speak to Him. He will then open your spirit and say “Come”. Remember, His arms are always open and they are the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. Run unto Him and “find more life”.
Blessings,
Alan
Almost all prophetic words today shout one of these two headlines: AMERICA IS PAST HOPE AND WILL BE DESTROYED! or AMERICA IS FAVORED AND WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED! Facebook oozes with voices claiming to be prophets or mouthpieces for God. The internet teems with self-appointed prophets who scream to be heard, bombarding us with “prophetic words.”
Is there not a genuine word from the Lord in this hour? What is God truly saying about America’s destruction? All I can tell you is, I walk in the fear of the Lord and the constant remembrance that one day I will stand before God and give an account for every word I have spoken. Yet, for all that reverential fear, my bones burn with a word for this hour.
My Spirit can’t hold it back from declaring to those false prophets:
To declare one’s private opinion, call it prophetic, and pronounce judgment on America is to play God. Dooms-day prophets sound a false retreat. By making evangelism futile, they are helping put souls in hell. They can also shatter the hopes and dreams of a young generation.
Don’t lie, and don’t make up prophecies of judgment just because you are mad at the church. Face it! Your righteous indignation may be nothing more than a personal grudge that your ministry was rejected by the church.
However, the great danger to America is not an abundance of prophets of doom. It is the false prophets of grace and entitlement who are most dangerous.
I want to use George Washington as an example of something that desperately needs to be said to the American church. Washington died because of medical malpractice. Back then doctors believed in bleeding sick patients. Washington was already weak from his sickness—by draining the blood out of a man weakened by pneumonia, the doctors made him weaker and finally killed him. It was the worst thing they could have done.
Listen church! Cheap grace is bleeding an already weakened church. It helps set us up for national destruction. From the point of view of Satan, this is the perfect theology. Instead of a life-giving conviction and a robust will to fight—this perversion induces drowsiness and apathy.
Why do you think many of our pastors are closet alcoholics and addicted to porn? And what kind of message can you expect a poisoned vessel to preach on Sunday morning?
Past miracles don’t guarantee future mercy. They should awaken urgency, overpowering gratitude, humility, and profound soul searching. Throwing ourselves off the cliff of morality to prove the power of Grace tempts God and provokes wrath.
.
God is trying to show us the times and what to do: 1 Chronicles 12:32 speaks “of the sons of Issachar who understood the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” The entire chapter lists the military talent of each tribe of Israel. The gift of understanding the times was Issachar’s weapon.
I disagree with “prophets” who say America will be destroyed. I also disagree with those who say America cannot be destroyed. We are neither pardoned nor condemned. Our fate has not yet been decided.
I gave this warning in 2020: “Trump’s election was a miracle meant to ignite the church. If the church fails to obey God, his time in Washington will be short, ineffective and we will end up worse off than ever.” Look at how that has come to pass.
Here are the precise verses for this hour: Ezra 9:8, “And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Listen again to Ezra:
Ezra 9:13, “And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?”
Wrath comes when you do not properly respond to mercy: 2 Chronicles 32:25, “But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore, wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.”
Look again at Ezra’s words: but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.”
Trump is a temporary reprieve. Now we must do our part. We must act on the mercy we have been shown. He extended mercy so that we would do three things: Revive, Repair and Rebuild.
Revive: God commands us to seek a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We dare not have church without it! We dare not utter another word in the pulpit that denies it! The word of the Lord for this hour is: cry out to God with heart of gratitude for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Here is the key promise if we do: 1 Samuel 10:6, Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.
Repair: Both the pulpit and our moral compass are broken. They must be repaired! Our wiring, plumbing and foundations are damaged. Abortion and marriage are issues we lost because our leadership was broken. We abandoned the Bible and did not arm ourselves or the congregation with convictions.
America needs Lions who roar from a righteous heart. Away with secret sin and lukewarm grace. Prayer will repair. The voice that shakes hell and frees men and women from bondage is forged only in fervent prayer. Satan does not respect your stage presence, education or tactics. He knows a prayerless poser. He only retreats before men and women who have been to Gethsemane.
Rebuild: We must come home to the Glorious Gospel. We must dismantle all the silly things we have tried to say to this generation. Forget about rebranding! We need to rebuild our sermons from the ground up. Let them be replete with Bible verses. Let them talk of the mighty God. Fill them with content the Holy Spirit can use to reach lost souls! The Good News must once again roll off our tongue in the office, on campus and at the mall.
The consequences of cheapening God’s mercy are too terrible to imagine. The opportunity this miracle has opened is too wonderful to ignore.
That is the word of the Lord for this hour!
iStock.com/AstarotIf you’ve been in church circles over the years, you may have heard people refer to “the Joshua Generation,” meaning young people who are full of spiritual fire and zeal, ready to make an impact for the Lord. But if we want to be accurate biblically, while the people Joshua was leading were all under 40, he himself was at least 60.
How do we know this?
The math is simple. He was one of the 12 leaders sent out by Moses and the people to spy out the land of Canaan while the nation of Israel was still in the desert.
He and his colleague Caleb came back with a good report. “It’s true,” they said, “that there are giants in the land. But God is with us and we can take the land.”
The other 10 spies, however, were totally negative. “They will kill us all! We’re doomed to die!” (This is a paraphrase; for the actual text, see Numbers 13-14.)
Unfortunately, the nation as a whole believed the negative report of the 10 spies rather than believing God. And Moses. And Joshua. And Caleb.
As a result, those 10 spies died soon after.
As for the rest of the nation, which had been full of unbelief and rebellion despite the many miracles the Lord performed for them, the judgment was severe: “In this wilderness your bodies will fall — every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.” (Numbers 14:29)
That is exactly what happened over the next 40 years.
That entire generation died in the wilderness, including Moses himself. Only Joshua and Caleb survived, along with all those who were under 20 when the divine verdict was passed.
This means that Joshua had to be at least 60 when it was time to lead Israel into the Promised Land. It’s possible he was even older, since he was already a tribal leader when he was sent out with the other spies.
Either way, Joshua was not a young man. Yet he was the one to finish what Moses started. He was one to lead a new generation into the promised land. An older man led the way.
And while it is true that Joshua lived to be 110, an older age than we could expect today, it is also true that he did not begin his most important mission until the second half of his life.
This should give hope to the older ones among us —– I’m 67 myself, although I feel as fresh as a 30-year-old. Your best years could still be ahead of you!
According to a widely circulated internet post, originally found on Facebook, “An extensive study in the U.S.A found that the most productive age in human life is between 60-70 years of age.
“The 2nd most productive stage of the human being is from 70 to 80 years of age.
“The 3rd most productive stage is from 50 to 60 years of age.”
The study was allegedly published by the New England Journal of Medicine, but when Snopes investigated the claim, they found it to be false. They found no such evidence of such a study published by the journal.
Snopes did, however, note that, “Some research finds that the later years may be the best time in a person’s life. In a 2015 TedX talk, real estate developer and primary spokesperson for Halftime Institute, Lloyd further argued that there is ‘compelling evidence’ that the second half of a person’s life could be the ‘very best season’ of life.”
Snopes also cited research that pointed in the opposite direction, noting, for example, that the average age for inventing something was 39.
And yet Snopes also noted that, “The average age of a Nobel Prize laureate, a proxy to study at which age scientist produce their most groundbreaking work, is at least 65 and mostly over 72, according to the BBC.”
What do you know.
Of course, athletes in their 60s cannot compete with athletes in their 20s, nor can a woman expect to be able have children in her 60s as she did in her 20s.
That is self-evident and without dispute.
Yet there are many other things that we cannot do as well until we are older. Until we have experienced life more fully. Until we have grown in wisdom. Until we have matured and become seasoned. Until we have fully built our platforms and networks.
That’s another reason why it has been so important to me, by the help and grace of God, to eat as healthily as possible and be as fit as I know how to be.
After all, what’s the use of accumulating decades of wisdom and knowledge and experience and then not being able to share it? Why should a little child have endless energy, bounding around the house from morning to night, but with nothing productive to do with that energy, while we who have treasures to impart have no energy to do it?
So, if you’re 60 or older, be encouraged. You could be a Joshua-type leader, having learned to trust God over the course of decades and with a proven track record of faith.
A younger generation needs people like you to help lead the way.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is The Political Seduction of the Church: How Millions Of American Christians Have Confused Politics with the Gospel. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic and Moral Issues of Our Day.
SUPPORT THE STREAMiStock.com/AstarotIf you’ve been in church circles over the years, you may have heard people refer to “the Joshua Generation,” meaning young people who are full of spiritual fire and zeal, ready to make an impact for the Lord. But if we want to be accurate biblically, while the people Joshua was leading were all under 40, he himself was at least 60.
How do we know this?
The math is simple. He was one of the 12 leaders sent out by Moses and the people to spy out the land of Canaan while the nation of Israel was still in the desert.
He and his colleague Caleb came back with a good report. “It’s true,” they said, “that there are giants in the land. But God is with us and we can take the land.”
The other 10 spies, however, were totally negative. “They will kill us all! We’re doomed to die!” (This is a paraphrase; for the actual text, see Numbers 13-14.)
Unfortunately, the nation as a whole believed the negative report of the 10 spies rather than believing God. And Moses. And Joshua. And Caleb.
As a result, those 10 spies died soon after.
As for the rest of the nation, which had been full of unbelief and rebellion despite the many miracles the Lord performed for them, the judgment was severe: “In this wilderness your bodies will fall — every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.” (Numbers 14:29)
That is exactly what happened over the next 40 years.
That entire generation died in the wilderness, including Moses himself. Only Joshua and Caleb survived, along with all those who were under 20 when the divine verdict was passed.
This means that Joshua had to be at least 60 when it was time to lead Israel into the Promised Land. It’s possible he was even older, since he was already a tribal leader when he was sent out with the other spies.
Either way, Joshua was not a young man. Yet he was the one to finish what Moses started. He was one to lead a new generation into the promised land. An older man led the way.
And while it is true that Joshua lived to be 110, an older age than we could expect today, it is also true that he did not begin his most important mission until the second half of his life.
This should give hope to the older ones among us —– I’m 67 myself, although I feel as fresh as a 30-year-old. Your best years could still be ahead of you!
According to a widely circulated internet post, originally found on Facebook, “An extensive study in the U.S.A found that the most productive age in human life is between 60-70 years of age.
“The 2nd most productive stage of the human being is from 70 to 80 years of age.
“The 3rd most productive stage is from 50 to 60 years of age.”
The study was allegedly published by the New England Journal of Medicine, but when Snopes investigated the claim, they found it to be false. They found no such evidence of such a study published by the journal.
Snopes did, however, note that, “Some research finds that the later years may be the best time in a person’s life. In a 2015 TedX talk, real estate developer and primary spokesperson for Halftime Institute, Lloyd further argued that there is ‘compelling evidence’ that the second half of a person’s life could be the ‘very best season’ of life.”
Snopes also cited research that pointed in the opposite direction, noting, for example, that the average age for inventing something was 39.
And yet Snopes also noted that, “The average age of a Nobel Prize laureate, a proxy to study at which age scientist produce their most groundbreaking work, is at least 65 and mostly over 72, according to the BBC.”
What do you know.
Of course, athletes in their 60s cannot compete with athletes in their 20s, nor can a woman expect to be able have children in her 60s as she did in her 20s.
That is self-evident and without dispute.
Yet there are many other things that we cannot do as well until we are older. Until we have experienced life more fully. Until we have grown in wisdom. Until we have matured and become seasoned. Until we have fully built our platforms and networks.
That’s another reason why it has been so important to me, by the help and grace of God, to eat as healthily as possible and be as fit as I know how to be.
After all, what’s the use of accumulating decades of wisdom and knowledge and experience and then not being able to share it? Why should a little child have endless energy, bounding around the house from morning to night, but with nothing productive to do with that energy, while we who have treasures to impart have no energy to do it?
So, if you’re 60 or older, be encouraged. You could be a Joshua-type leader, having learned to trust God over the course of decades and with a proven track record of faith.
A younger generation needs people like you to help lead the way.
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is The Political Seduction of the Church: How Millions Of American Christians Have Confused Politics with the Gospel. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Baker Books is offering a 30% discount right here.
Signed copies will be available in October at New Life Christian Bookstore. Call Rich to place an order: (718) 739-0707
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“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. God will not hold us guiltless.”
Can it really be God’s will that His children be silent at a time like this? Decrying the cowardice that masquerades as godly meekness, Eric Metaxas summons the Church to battle.
The author of a bestselling biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas reveals the haunting similarities between today’s American Church and the German Church of the 1930s. Echoing the German martyr’s prophetic call, he exhorts his fellow Christians to repent of their silence in the face of evil.
An attenuated and unbiblical “faith” based on what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” has sapped the spiritual vitality of millions of Americans. Paying lip service to an insipid “evangelism,” they shrink from combating the evils of our time. Metaxas refutes the pernicious lie that fighting evil politicizes Christianity. As Bonhoeffer and other heroes of the faith insisted, the Church has an irreplaceable role in the culture of a nation. It is our duty to fight the powers of darkness, especially on behalf of the weak and vulnerable.
Silence is not an option. God calls us to defend the unborn, to confront the lies of cultural Marxism, and to battle the globalist tyranny that crushes human freedom. Confident that this is His fight, the Church must overcome fear and enter the fray, armed with the spiritual weapons of prayer, self-sacrifice, and love.
“Even though Dietrich Bonhoeffer is dead, like Abel, he still speaks. In Letter to the American Church, Eric Metaxas has given him a megaphone. We would do well to heed this five-bell alarm.”
— ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ, author of eleven books, including Just Give Me Jesus
“I personally think this is Eric Metaxas’s most important book for us today.”
—ERWIN W. LUTZER, pastor emeritus, The Moody Church, Chicago
“Letter to the American Church is historically informed, biblically sound, and—I believe—‘Spirit-directed.’”
— ALLEN JACKSON, senior pastor of World Outreach Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
“In the pages of this book you now hold in your hands, there is a solemn warning. Read it and heed it and pass it on to many others.”
— MICHAEL YOUSSEF, Ph.D., senior pastor of Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, and executive president of Leading the Way
“ . . . bold and insightful . . . Metaxas calls for pastors (and other Christian leaders) who . . . will be courageous enough to speak unambiguously against the massive anti-Christian forces that now threaten to permanently transform American society and bring to an end America’s role as a beacon of freedom for the world.”
— WAYNE GRUDEM, distinguished research professor of theology and biblical studies, Phoenix Seminary
“A prophetic trumpet blast warning of the parallels between the darkness of a previous era and the coming darkness of our own, Letter to the American Church lingers in the chambers of the heart and pleads with the hearer to reckon with this message of a modern watchman on the wall.”
— DAVID ENGELHARDT, senior pastor of Kings’ Church NYC and author of Good Kills
The Kingdom Chronicles is a prophetic way of receiving a Word from the Lord. Below are the words that were collected and the chronicles that were written from these words from last week's House of Prayer meeting. Each week, we ask the Holy Spirit to give words or phrases to someone in the group. When someone gets a word or phrase, they speak it forth and then pray a prayer about the word or phrase. We then have the people take the words and phrases and create a chronicle. The word chronicle means, "words of the day". So we gather the words of the House of Prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to show us how to craft a chronicle. You may "click here" and view this House of Prayer as it was happening on Facebook.
This Wednesday night, 10/5/22, at 7 pm, we will live stream the next House of Prayer Live.
We have the House of Prayer meetings every Wednesday night at 7 pm.
KINGDOM CHRONICLES FROM HOUSE OF PRAYER
September 28th, 2022
As we continue studying how to comply with II Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith,” and how we come to abide in the Lord and bear fruit as members of His body, we realize just how crucial it is that we find our place in His body and begin to function there.
Yet in our dominant modern church structure, it is nearly impossible to have more than a superficial relationship with other members. In today’s dominant church structure, the ministry revolves around one person, the pastor, who is capable of equipping only a small percentage of people for ministry, if any. Thus, the Ephesians 4 church life model where the saints are equipped “to do the work of the ministry,” is not even possible in the modern church model. This must obviously change.
The first change should be to recognize that New Testament ministry is team ministry composed of five different ministries: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All are needed to equip God’s people for their individual purposes, so the whole body can rise to the full stature to which it is called. No one ministry can accomplish this alone.
But how many churches in the world have all five of these operating in their congregations? Perhaps none. Some of these ministries may be based in the congregation but most do work outside the congregation traveling to various other churches with whom they have relationships. The Apostle Paul wrote about how he had planted, and Apollos watered. In Acts we see the churches received ministry from several apostles and other equipping ministries.
To become the body of Christ the Lord designed, we must see the body as He sees it. When the Lord looks down on a city or town, He doesn’t see many churches; He sees one church made up of different parts. For example, in any given city, there may be a congregation that is strongly evangelistic, another that is pastoral, another that is devoted to teaching the Word, and still another that is more apostolic or prophetic.
Since there is rarely an interchange between these congregations, the people who are evangelistic will leave other congregations to join the one that is more devoted to evangelism. Those who are called to other ministries will be drawn to the congregations that emphasize their callings. Christians may feel more comfortable being with others who are likeminded, but this will not help the body of Christ become what it is called to be. As our bodies are composed of many members that function together as a whole, so is the Lord’s body.
If we saw the church, in any given city, as one body with many members, there would be an interchange between different congregations with different emphases, so each congregation’s members could be equipped and functioning. Just as Israel was composed of twelve tribes and each had their own territories, prophecies, and destinies yet functioned as one nation, the body of Christ is composed of different tribes, spiritual territories, and destinies, yet we are all one holy nation.
Each congregation will retain its own vision and purpose— which should never be compromised to become part of the whole—yet we do need to understand how each part fits and complements the others. Once the essential interchange begins, people will no longer need to leave their congregations to find ones that fit their callings, because everyone in each congregation will be equipped in all the ministries.
How can this possibly happen with the many divisions we currently have in the body of Christ? Always remember, with the Lord, nothing is impossible. The times we are now entering will force some interchange and unity, but most important will be the restoration of true apostolic ministry, which means truly walking in the biblical stature of this ministry.
When one or two apostolic ministries emerge or come into a city with the anointing and power to do this work, it will pull the whole church together and facilitate the necessary interchange for the building up of the body according to the Ephesians 4 model.
It is unlikely any city or town will have all the congregations join in this new move that is coming. Many are “old wineskins” that are too rigid and inflexible to make the necessary transformation. In fact, it will be rare for more than 10% of the Christians and congregations in a city to make this leap, but even a smaller percentage can make the transformation to New Testament church life as it was designed.
Remember, in the Lord’s parable of the wineskins, He did not want the old wineskins to be lost, so we should not try to force new wine in them. They can still have a part in God’s purpose, and the old wine in them is still valuable. Yet a radical change is coming to church life for those who can make this transformation. Next week, we will cover the steps we can now take toward this end.
© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
