Stephen Hawking, an English theoretical physicist and renowned atheist, has stated it’s time for the human race to look for another place to live. He claims that overpopulation, disease and climate change will make Earth uninhabitable within the next 100 years.
While there is no doubt that planet Earth and those who inhabit it are in a destructive spiral, the wonderful good news is that there is another place being prepared for the human race. And it’s not the planet Mars, as Dr. Hawking suggests. It’s the place Jesus called My Father’s House — Heaven.1 It’s a place where there will be no overpopulation because it’s large enough to house every person who has ever lived, even though by choice not everyone will be there.2 There will be no disease or death or pain or crying or mourning or suffering of any kind.3 As for climate change, our Father’s House will be located in a new heaven and a new earth where the climate will be perfectly controlled.4
I’ve been thinking of Heaven more and more. In the last four months I have delivered the key message at two funerals and attended two others. Since my husband moved to our Father’s House almost two years ago, funerals are harder and more personal than they were before. But the way I have been able to get through these heart-rending moments with joy has been to keep my focus on what lies ahead. Truly, the best is yet to come.
In the Old Testament, when one of God’s people died, it is stated that he was “gathered to his people.”5 When a child of God dies, not only will we see Jesus, but we will be surrounded by our loved ones who have gone before. I have a welcoming committee already gathering that includes a baby boy, my husband, his brothers and his parents, my mother and my grandparents, and an endless list of friends.
Perhaps the best news of all is that you don’t need a multi-million dollar ticket or a rocket ship or a space station in order to secure a place in our Father’s House. It has already been secured for you by God’s Son. All you need to do is to place your total trust in Him. It’s that simple. It’s that easy. It’s that humbling. You can do nothing to deserve it or to earn it. It costs you nothing because it cost Him everything. Our Father’s House has been fully paid for—it’s the rightful inheritance of anyone who is born again into God’s family.6
So please! Make sure you have put your trust in Jesus, then look ahead with confident joy! One day, you’re going Home!
For the glory of His Name…
1 John 14:2-3
2 John 14:2; Revelation 21:15-16
3 Revelation 21:4
4 Revelation 21:1, 5; 22:1-2
5 Genesis 25:8; 35:29; 49:29, 33; etc.
6 Revelation 21:7; John 3:3
I recently attended the Celebration of Life for Charles George, husband of my executive assistant, Helen. They had been married for 66 years when after a brief illness he moved to our Father’s House on May 11th. For those of us who loved this dear, encouraging man, it’s difficult to imagine life without him. Our comfort is that Jesus said His followers would not see death (John 8:51). In other words, Charles’ death did not interrupt his eternal life.
So Helen and I are comforted as we think of all that Charles and my husband, Danny, are enjoying! In my revised edition of Heaven: My Father’s House, and with reflections from my own father’s charming mountain home in Western North Carolina, I take us through the apostle John’s thrilling glimpse of our Heavenly Home as he recorded it in Revelation 21. I pray that this book will help to take away the sting of death, the fear of the grave, and fill you instead with hope for the future.
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It’s becoming more and more obvious that our nation desperately needs prayer. As the Chairperson for the National Day of Prayer Task Force, it was my privilege to record a video inviting people all over the nation to gather together on May 4th to intercede for America. You can view the video that was taped in my office by clicking here.
Throughout history, God has honored the prevailing prayers of His people. One example comes from the first century BC when the unmistakable sound of the shofar could be heard coming from the wall surrounding Jerusalem, echoing across the sun-scorched valley. The blowing of the trumpet heralded great public distress and was used to summon the people. A severe drought was threatening the very existence of Jerusalem. And so the city elders had called for the people to gather outside the city walls. Then they sent for Honi, an old man known for his devout faith.
After he was summoned, the elders instructed Honi, “Pray that rain may fall.” Honi prayed but nothing happened. So he drew a circle around himself in the dust of the ground and prayed again, “O Lord of the world, Your children have turned their faces to me … I swear by Your great name that I will not stir from here until You have pity on Your children.”
At the request of Katie Couric, Yahoo! Global News Anchor, I watched the Presidential Inauguration at a local television recording station, so that I would be available immediately following for an interview with her. But instead of going on immediately, I sat in a chair in front of the television camera for close to two hours waiting to go on. When I did, Katie was friendly and generous as she gave me a fifteen minute segment. Click here to watch.
The rain began to fall, one large drop at a time. But Honi protested, “Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill the cisterns, pits, and caverns.” In answer to his prayer, the heavens opened and the waters descended in a violent gully washer that threatened to flood the city. So once again Honi pleaded, “Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of goodwill, blessing and graciousness.” It is said, and recorded by the Jewish historian, Josephus, that in response to Honi’s third prayer, a long, soaking rain began to fall that ended the three-year drought. Honi had prevailed in prayer.1
During the Convergence Prophecy Conference in San Diego, January 28th, I was honored to be included on a Q & A panel at Maranatha Calvary Chapel. The pastor and my dear friend, Ray Bentley, facilitated the lively discussion that concluded with all of us agreeing the signs are converging dramatically, indicating the return of Jesus is very near. (left to right: Ray Bentley, me, Tom Doyle, Robert Mawire, Bill Koenig)
The story of Honi has made me wonder…how many answers to prayer have I missed because I didn’t push through until I prevailed in prayer? I’m almost afraid to reflect too deeply. But I don’t want to make the same mistake when it comes to interceding for America. I believe this is a time for God’s people to pray. And if ever there was a time to keep praying until we prevail in prayer, it’s now. The national chaos and confusion, anger and accusations, discord and division, fear and frustration, wounds and worry seem to be increasing rather than diminishing following the Presidential Inauguration. Could it be the turmoil and unrest are evidence of a national spiritual drought? Has God indeed backed away, withholding His blessing from America in response to our official and legal demand that He get out of our institutions, government, schools, marketplace, organizations, and businesses? If that is so, then the solution is not political or financial or educational or denominational or organizational. The solution is prayer. Not mechanical prayer. Not lofty, pious prayer. Not shallow or superficial prayer. Not just any prayer, but heartfelt, soul-searching, humble and repentant prayer that is rooted in God’s Word so that Heaven is moved and our nation is changed.
The video taping of The Daniel Prayer Bible Study Curriculum was an intense marathon. Instead of being stressful, the excellent professional team that recorded it turned the entire experience into a rich blessing. (left to right: TJ Rathbun, Mark Weising, Michael Seaton, Jon Cairns)
God has promised in His Word, When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain (no blessing), or command locusts to devour the land (environmental disasters) or send a plague among my people (lack of personal, political, relational, social, racial, or financial good health), if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. Clearly, the key to healing our nation is directly related to you and me, as God’s people, prayerfully, humbly, forsaking our sin as we seek God’s face…His blessing on America.
Would you join me in driving the stake of your faith down deep into God’s Word? Make sure you meet the conditions attached to the promises; then let’s pray together, and keep on praying, until we prevail in prayer.
For His glory,
1 Adapted from The Daniel Prayer, Anne Graham Lotz, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 2016, p.170
In this six-session video Bible study, Anne looks at the life of Daniel and unpacks the prayer he prayed in Daniel 9. Unlike the everyday now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep kind of prayer, this is a prayer birthed under pressure. A prayer that changes hearts and nations—even in our world today. A prayer that works. Learn how to pray as Daniel did.
The greatest gift you can give a child is to introduce him or her to Jesus. Join Anne and her daughter, Rachel-Ruth Wright, Bible teacher and mother of three, as you learn how to be intentional about passing the baton of truth to the next generation. This seminar presents Biblical teaching that challenges parents and grandparents alike.
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I. INTERCEDE WITH HUMILITY 6:12-13
II. INTERCEDE WITH CERTAINTY 6:14-15
III. INTERCEDE WITH AUTHORITY 6:16-17
IV. INTERCEDE WITH CLARITY 6:18-21
What is one thing you believe God wants to do for this nation? Write out a prayer that follows the above pattern of humility, certainty, authority, and clarity. Then use it to intercede for our nation.
This Bible study was prepared especially for the Spring 2017 Newsletter.
Read Matthew 24:36-51
This Bible study was prepared especially for the Winter 2017 Newsletter.
A couple of years ago, I shared with you an excerpt from the manuscript of my new book, The Daniel Prayer. The excerpt described the function of lighthouses which serves as an effective illustration of the dangerous, destructive condition of spiritual darkness, and the necessity of a guiding Light if we are to make it triumphantly Home.
I am a lifelong North Carolinian. While I don’t know as much as I should about this beautiful state, I do know that our coast is very rugged. It has been nicknamed the Graveyard of the Atlantic because so many ships have come to ruin on its Outer Banks. So the shoreline is dotted with lighthouses. The purpose of each one is to reveal to the passing ships where they are. Lighthouses help ships find their way safely in the dark. Without them, ships have to guess their way through very dangerous waters and currents. Many ships, although navigating to the best of their ability without the light, have run aground on the submerged rocks and been broken up by the pounding waves.
One can imagine what would happen if there was no guiding or warning light coming from the shore, either because it was dim or had gone out. Ships would flounder in the hostile, changing sea. Some vessels might make it through to safety, but others would wind up wrecked on the shoreline. I used this example to underscore the imperative of letting our Light shine in this dark, dangerous world so that by our words and actions, we point people to the safety that is found in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
As I reflect on this example now, there is another critical message that has come to mind, and it’s this: I can’t imagine a ship passing through the dangerous currents and sandbars without straining to see the beacon of light streaming from the lighthouse. What ship would disregard the critical information of where it is, or ignore the light that warns of danger? What ship would not desperately want what the light offers which is safe passage through the misty foam and fog, the wind and the waves?
Our world today is like the waters of North Carolina’s Outer Banks: treacherous…undulating…confusing…stormy…dangerous.
While some Christians seem to dim the Light because of their timidity, fear of what others think, or a desire to be politically correct, others are simply ignoring the Light. They seem to be guessing their way through the darkness. They seem to have no idea they have entered into very treacherous waters with no guided path to safety. They don’t make time to read their Bibles, or if they do, they don’t seem to connect the dots between what the Bible says and what is happening in our world today. They’re not looking for the Light!
Which are you? Are you letting your Light so shine before others that they can see where they are, and where they need to be in their faith? And while you are helping others find their way, do you continue to stay focused on the Light yourself? Don’t get distracted! Don’t be diverted! Don’t get off course, even a little. Keep watching—read your Bible daily, stay informed of current events–so that you know where you are and can navigate a safe course through the dangerous days in which we live. Jesus is coming! Keep watching!
For the glory of His Name…
Join Anne, with special guests Bill Koenig (White House Correspondent and international journalist) and Rabbi Jonathan Cahn (author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah), in a thrilling, provocative, and very timely challenge to Keep Watching the signs of the times that point to a climactic end to human history as we know it.
Although the world may look like it is falling apart, the Bible tells us that it is really just falling into place — right at the feet of Jesus. Immerse yourself in the book of Joel and expand your understanding of the urgency of biblical prophecy for today. And just as God has a plan and purpose for the human race, He also has a plan and purpose for your life. So…wake up! Don’t miss out on what He has for you! Keep watching!
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