Jesus Christ is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.  He serves as an intercessor, a legal advocate pleading our case before the throne of God (Heb. 3:1, Heb. 7:25, 1 Jn. 2:1).  Confession is a legal term used two ways in scripture.  There is the confession of sin and a confession as to what God's word says.

Psalm 8:2 - Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.  NKJV

The Hebrew is such a descriptive language that there is often no one English word that can capture the depth of meaning.  For example, in Hebrew the word translated "mouth" is also translated as commandment, talk, speech, and edge as in edge of the sword (1 Sam. 15:8).  It reminds me of Hebrews 4:12 that says the word of God is quick and powerful sharper than any two edged sword.

"Babe" means infant or immature Christian.  The "nursing infants" refers to an infant who drinks milk and Hebrews 5:13 teaches us that everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness.  "Ordained" means to sit down, take counsel together and establish a foundation.  "Strength" means power and boldness.   "Silence" means to still, cease, put or take away "the enemy" which is defined as the adversary, oppression, distress or trouble.  Psalm 8:2 is truly a powerful and insightful scripture when we put it all together.  It means:

Last night I was with Jake & Nancy Dragseth and the Jefferson County Prayer Council in Port Townsend WA.  We were privileged to meet Mayor King and hear his requests as to how the Church might serve the community (ie. praying for and helping with a number of young homeless men).  I shared about the almost 700 lightning strikes that occurred in one hour on July 13th of which they were right in the middle of it. 

I was very excited because I knew there were many many prayers answered on that day.  I've often seen the Lord give signs like this to encourage His people to continue to pray until they saw the breakthrough.  As we entered into a time of prayer I received more revelation (click here for access to a powerful teaching on thunder, lightning and the voice of the Lord) from Job 36:32 which says,

"He covers His hands with lightning, And commands it to strike."

The word "covers" in Hebrew means He conceals in secret of hides. "Commands" means He sends a messenger to enjoin or set things in order.  The word "strike" is the most interesting word.  It is the Hebrew word pronounced "paga."  It means to entreat, to fall upon, intercede, intercession or pray.  It is the same word used in Isaiah 53:12 wherein it prophesies of Jesus saying "...he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors."  In Isaiah 59:16 it says:

Psalm 2:7 -  "I will declare the decree:  The Lord has said to Me, 'You are My Son,Today I have begotten You. NKJVI will DECLARE the DECREE. 

Declare comes from the Hebrew word "caphar" and it means to score with a mark or to inscribe.  The Declaration of Independence is a great example.  Of the 161 times this word was used in the Old Testament it was used to signify writing except for only a few times where the declaration was made with their mouth (ie. Jer. 9:12).  This word is most often translated "scribe." 

Decree comes from the Hebrew word "choq" and it means an enactment or an appointment involving time, space, measure, law, boundary, mark or set time.  The decree marks the limits.  As we see in the "Declaration of Independence" it lays the foundation from which this nation was built upon.  Foundations have limits or boundaries that are marked out.

Lesson 1 - Declarations can be spoken but most often involve writing.

Lesson 2 - The decree marks the boundary of the subject you are dealing with.   

As you pray about the challenges you, your family, your business, your ministry, or your city face listen to the Lord.  Hear what He has to say and then do Habakkuk 2:2-3. Then the Lord answered me and said:  "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time;  But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.  NKJV

This positions you to do good warfare.  The word translated warfare in the Greek is the same word from which strategy w 1 Timothy 1:18  - This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, NKJV
 

I like what Rabbi Daniel Lappin says; "if you understand the Bible, you will understand how the world works." 

Proverbs 29:12 provides us a current illustration.  It says "If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked."

Consider the condition of truth in this nation and what has become the accepted norm in politics.  Why even the Washington State Supreme court ruled in 2007 that lying is acceptable in politics. Lying is one of the dark roots that is undermining our nation.  1 Timothy 4:2 tells us that in the latter times people will begin to give heed to deceiving spirits and begin to speak lies in hypocrisy.  Their conscience will be seared like with a hot iron.  

Elements within our government and a small but influential element of society has been on a campaign for years to remove the Spirit of Truth, the Way, the Truth and the Life; the Lord Jesus Christ from society. This rejection has been expressed through the removal of a moral code (IE 10 Commandments, prayer, etc... ) and personal responsibility from government and education in our nation. This has begun to seep through every system in society positions a governmental system led by people with a corrupt moral code as a god.  Hence, you don't have to look far for examples of lying, from presidential candidates to the head of the Justice Department, to senators, and the list could go on down from national to state, county and city governments.  I'll never forget the election fraud that has occurred in my county gaining it national attention.  

Truth is becoming rare and justice is fleeting! Pray that God put righteous people into office with a higher moral code that reflects God's  word that we might be blessed as a nation. The bible says lying is an abomination and John 8:44 introduces us to the "father of lies," the devil.  

Proverbs 29:2 - When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. 

Report from the Spokane WA CONECTer for Operation Rolling Thunder. 

Tim

When ORT kicked off in spring of 2010 we had no idea what would happen, but had hope in our God to answer prayer and move mightily on behalf of those who love Him. ORT Inland Northwest supported the National Day of Prayer celebration at Spokane City Hall in 2010 and a progression of connections with the then Spokane City Mayor, Mary Verner, and continuing connection with current Spokane City Mayor Condon the Church of the INW are joining forces this summer in a region wide 'beautification' project (See note below). Currently there are 50 churches coming together to meet the needs of at risk students (Church, Government, Family, Education spheres) in our area.

We are joining for the first step Saturday August 11th. God is moving on behalf of those who love Him in our area and state. Thank you for all the updates, they are encouraging. Below is the note from our meeting a few weeks ago.

Just as a quick review. . .and to provide something in written form to pass along to other churches, here is the basic structure of the August 11 project.

The big goal: to serve our public schools and partner with them in meeting the needs of at-risk students. This will involve various forms of mentoring and tutoring; future communications will deal with this topic in more detail.

The first step: city-wide school “beautification“ project on Saturday, August 11. This is a simple, low-commitment way to involve large groups of people and make a visible difference; groups of volunteers from participating churches will perform simple activities such as raking, weeding, window washing, planting flowers, etc. to prepare for the opening of school in September. The goal is to match churches with a school or schools in their own neighborhood or with whom they already have a relationship.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
Cindy

I just received a report from Linda, our Operation Rolling Thunder CONECTer in Yakima Washington.  They've seen some powerful testimonies as they've continued mobilizing 24/7 prayer.  At last report there were 39 churches each taking one day of 24/7 prayer each month.  Talk about a powerful way to build the wall of prayer in their city.

In addition, Linda and other Christian leaders have been liaisoning with their city government to discover how they could pray and work together.  Since they established the canopy of 24/7 prayer they saw crime decrease by more than 50% over the course of the last two years.  Click here for God's Abiding Presence Lowers Crime.

What I love though, is they don't stop.  She began to notice an increase in darkness in her city expressed through increasing graffiti.  So...

Continual prayer, praise and worship seats the courtroom of heaven so we can plead our case before the Lord of glory to get mercy and justice released on earth as it is in heaven.  This is one of the key precepts of Operation Rolling Thunder and one of the reasons why we see so many results.

Excerpt from chapter 3 "The Power of Prayer, Praise and Worship," in  Operation Rolling Thunder Revised.  Click here to order Operation Rolling Thunder.

Psalm 22:3 says “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.”  The word enthroned is “yashab” in the Hebrew.  Strong’s Concordance defines it as “to sit down (specifically as a judge, in ambush, in quiet), to dwell, to settle and to marry.”1  As I meditated on this scripture I marveled at how multifaceted God always is.  God is love and at the same time, He is a consuming fire.  His zeal for His bride can lead to great tenderness, kindness and affection for a person who is in His Church while simultaneously it can be very dangerous for an enemy who would attack His bride the Church.   Hence, He can serve as a judge who could order the ambush of an enemy while simultaneously presiding over a marriage.

In essence, praise creates a big chair for God to come and sit as a judge.  Daniel 7:9 says that Daniel watched until the thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days was seated.  Thrones are set for judgment.  Daniel goes on to describe how there was one making war against the saints of God and overcoming them:

Until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.  Daniel 7:22

There is a time for the saints of God to possess the kingdom.  A judgment will be rendered in the favor of the saints.   As I meditated on this, I remembered other Scriptures that paint the picture of a courtroom.  You have a prosecutor, witnesses who testify, a legal advocate and the judge.  Satan is the accuser of the brethren, Jesus is our advocate, God the Father is the judge.

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.   Put Me in remembrance;  Let us contend together;  State your case, that you may be acquitted.  Isaiah 43:25-26 

Hear now what the Lord says: "Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. Micah 6:1

When I was 28 years old, only weeks away from my marriage to Brenda, I was playing basket ball and I tore the ligaments in my left ankle.  The doctor took a look at my xray and said "you began spraining your ankle 14 years ago.  It looks like you have the ankle of an 80 year old woman.  You won't run again."  He was spot on!  I did begin spraining my ankle 14 years before as I played football and basketball.  In fact, my ankles were so bad I would sometimes even use crutches during the week and tape my ankles up to play on Friday night or that weekend.  I had abused my body and I was now suffering the consequences.

However, I had become a Christian and knew the Bible taught that Jesus heals.  I had a choice to make.  Would I believe the doctor or would I believe the Word of God?   The bible says;

1 Peter 2:24 - who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.  NKJV

I chose to believe what God said.  More than 26 years later on July 11, 2012, I jogged 10K. 

That does not mean I did not experience some challenges!  I experienced some truly discouraging ones a time or two.  Would you like to know what I learned? 

On July 13, 2012 at 9:21am, based upon a number of reports from apostles, prophets, seers and intercessors I sent out an email declaring "let us pray, release the flood."  It included references to Joel 2, Psalm 29, Matthew 24:36-39, Job 37, Psalm 148, and Psalm 18:6-15.

Within just a few minutes thunder and large hail began to drop.   This was unusual as thunderstorms were not forecast to my knowledge.  It was supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees.  It caused me to remember Psalm 18:6-14.   Over the years with Operation Rolling Thunder I've seen the Lord mark significant events with supernatural signs that reflect his word (click here for some supernatural examples). 

Within a few more moments I began to receive report after report from all over our state and as far away as from Idaho.  As people began opening the email they described two things.  First, that God had been giving them a word (by dream and vision to) that flowed with the theme.  Second, they described how thunder and lightning was heard as they were reading the email and they sensed God's presence.

The picture in this post describes how KOMO5 news reported via Facebook at 10:35am that within the last hour (began 14 minutes after the email went out) there had been almost 700 lightning strikes recorded.  Now I got truly excited because I'd just taught New Life Christian Center in Portland Oregon on July 1 what I'd learned science could teach us about the voice of the Lord. The lightning strikes were occurring in areas where I know there is much prayer being mobilized through leaders using ORT along with a number of 24/7 prayer centers.  I know that ALOT of PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED during that time!  You see,  Romans 1:20 teaches us that creation can teach us about God's invisible attributes.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, NKJV