The Lord has been speaking to me for a while about starting January 2019 with a Daniel Fast.  This morning I saw a prophetic message from Rick Joiner which resonated so much with what I've been hearing.  Click for The Coming Year - Unity & Shaking.  In it he speaks of all God is doing to bring unity in His Church which will lead to an explosion of God's purpose in 2020.  That's linked to end-time harvest that Bob Jones and others have prophesied beginning in 2020. 

I pray you see with 2020 vision!  

Then as I was contemplating the fast I realized the context.  It was in the 3rd year of King Cyrus that Daniel began his fast (Daniel 10:1-3).  Then I remembered how President Trump has been likened unto King Cyrus not only prophetically but also by Israel.  In fact, they commemorated that in a coin when he announced the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.  Click here for Jerusalem, Israel & the 70 Year Prophetic Sign.  

This new year marks the beginning of the 3rd year for President Trump.  Trump is a type of Cyrus.  What did Cyrus do?  He commissioned the rebuilding of the temple (house of God) and the restoration of Jerusalem.  We find in this very non-religious man one of the most pro-Christian, pro-Israel presidents of our lifetime.  

If you will recall Daniel 10 is preceded by Daniel's description of the 70 Week Prophecy in Daniel 9.  Trump just played a huge role in a 70 year prophetic sign described in the article above. 

You are Invited
Bottom line, I am convinced more than ever it is time to fast and pray and I want to invite you to join us.

As I was waiting on the Lord the other morning the Lord spoke so clearly.  They "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." 

Immediately I understood the context. ​Jesus says in Matthew 23:23-26;

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 

I was shocked for immediately I knew what the Lord was showing me.  God has used President Trump to reveal the immaturity as well as our ignorance of God's word and God's ways.  Many are straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel.  They are so focused on his personal issues that they are blind to God's agenda as it pertains to laws, life and greater (greater in that it impacts many more people)  Biblical truths.  They focus on surface issues while ignoring the deeper more important issues.  In this case: 

• Straining at a gnat = focusing on horrible sins from Trump's past or focusing on his rough language. 

Notice in Matthew 23:23-26 that Jesus says, they've neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faith.  Justice precedes mercy and in fact, true mercy cannot ever be demonstrated with out justice.  Right now so many are so focused on minor moral issues and neglect the fact that God is using this morally imperfect man to reveal the immaturity and ignorance of God's ways and His word.  How?
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• Swallowing a camel = ignoring the laws and justice just like Jesus revealed in Matthew 23.

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What laws and what justice?  

CNSNews reported how witches are gathering together to corporately put a hex on Justice Kavanaugh on October 20th. I'd like to submit to you two observations along with a Biblical way to address this threat.

First, could the battle lines be any clearer?  It began with the BBC News reporting in 2017 in "Witches cast mass spell on Trump." Now, they are turning their attention to Justice Kavanaugh.  The Democratic Left sought to use lies, false witnesses, deceit and slander to stop this justice from being confirmed.  If we consult Matthew 7:15-20, John 8:31-45 and John 10:10 it's easy to recognize these are characteristic of Satan's handiwork. 

Second, who are the witches siding with?  Clearly they stand with the Democratic socialist loving left.  I'm highlighting this in memory of a pastor friend of mine from Florida who recently went home to be with the Lord.  He described to me his conversation with a relative of his who insisted he could be a Christian and be a Democrat.  My friend highlighted how that the Democrat Party platform implemented and defended policies and laws on some moral positions that were in direct conflict with God's word (ie. abortion, marriage and sex verses gender identity).  

At the core Christian means Christlike.  Christ cannot go against the Word of God!  PERIOD!  Candidly, I was born into a family who were Democrats.  As I reached voting age I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Little by little I began to learn about the ugly history of the Democrat Party (ie. slavery, Jim Crow, opposed women voting, proponents of abortion, & opposed traditional marriage) as well as the history of the Republican Party (ie. it was formed to free the slaves, gave blacks the right to vote, gave women the right to vote, opposed abortion, stood for traditional family...) I switched parties during the Reagan presidency primarily because the platform aligned with God's word on major moral issues which the Democrat Platform opposed.  Why?  

It was because of 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 which says, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences."

In the last decade I feel like the Republican Party leadership left me.  The platform on major moral issues reflects by values but the leadership in general had begun to say one thing but do another.  For example, many Republicans were voted in based upon their promise to overturn Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood.  They had another chance in August of 2018 but, The Hill Reports, "GOP too busy to be bothered with defunding Planned Parenthood."  That is an example of what I mean. Therefore, I've become an independent.

Why?  Because the question is not is God standing with the Democrats or with the Republicans.  The question should be, who is standing with God regarding each issue;  you, the Democrats or the Republicans?  Personally I want to stand with our Lord no matter what. 

Jesus said in Mark 3:23

I heard in the spirit "check your fire, check your fire."  "Check your fire" is a command typically used by artillerymen which means "STOP SHOOTING IMMEDIATELY."  The term "fire" immediately reminded me James 3:6 which says, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.​"

Translation, God is saying "watch your mouth" because many Christian's are actually becoming accessories to murder; spiritual murder. 

How?  By participating in a "fire mission" launched by the Devil! Devil comes from the Greek word diablos and means false accuser or slanderer.  Today, many Christians are slipping up and becoming part of the character assassination fire missions initiated by our adversary.  In doing so you become an accessory to a spiritual crime. 

What Does Accessory Mean?
Wikipedia says accessory is a legal term for "a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal. The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, accompanied by the relevant mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind"), are the most immediate cause of the actus reus (Latin for "guilty act")."....  The test to distinguish a joint principal from an accessory is whether the defendant independently contributed to causing the actus reus rather than merely giving generalized and/or limited help and encouragement."

So an accessory is someone who gives generalized or limited help and encouragement.

​You may not be the originator, the instigator, nor the deceiver who developed the lie but when we join in by repeating that lie, we become an accessory to murder.  We either kill the truth or we participate in the fire mission intent on the character assassination of another.  

​The Trump Presidency Provides a Modern Example

A valley is a low point created by and in between hills and mountains. In Christendom today the concept of the 7 mountains of society has been presented for the last 30+ years.

When issues arise in society we often find these issues in the valleys.  They are low points in our society. 

The low points provide an opportunity for people to make decisions.  Judgments if you will. 

These decisions reveal how they view God's word and truth.  Jesus teaches us  that we will give an account for every "idle word" (Matthew 12:36) we speak.  Each of us will stand before our Lord to give an account of how we stewarded our life on this earth at the judgment seat of Christ.

Today there are a lot of low points.  One occurred yesterday. The Republican's during the last election had run on a promise to defund Planned Parenthood (Murderhood).  Yet, when Senator Rand Paul presented his bill to do that, they voted "no," again.  They missed another opportunity to keep their campaign promise. This decision reveals the priorities of their heart as there are some things more important to them than the "shedding of innocent blood" and keeping their word.  That just created a valley of decision between the government, family and religious mountains.  Click for The Hill's report on the  Senate rejects Paul's effort to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding. 

Truly, it is a low point, A VERY LOW POINT! It is a "valley of decision" that reveals what's really in their heart and what they think about God and truth. 

This situation was created in large part because God choose to play His "Trump" card in this last election. The life of the unborn was one of the major issues brought to the forefront during the election. God chose a vessel who would create many opportunities to reveal the hearts of men.  

This is not the first time God has done this in history.  In fact, it's a theme that's been played over and over.  For example Jesus describes in Luke 7 how the Pharisees and the lawyers (religious & political spheres) failed to recognize the people God sent to represent His heavenly agenda. 

The pattern is being repeated today and how we respond to each situation reveals the judgments we've made in our hearts towards God and His Truth.  Jesus said in Luke 7:33...