Jesus

Enemies of the Cross

/ JSB / 4 Comments

It’s 2026, and most Bible-believing followers of Christ honestly neither see what’s at risk inside ourselves, nor within our household. We have little perspective on what it is that the devil is attempting to wrest from our lives. And, in most cases, we give it up willingly, without even understanding what it is that we’re surrendering. The troubling truth is, without it, we (ourselves and the Bride) will never enter into the nobility of our destiny. What we’re blindly relinquishing is that precious.

Right now, the age-old deceiver is using thousands of voices (politicians, pundits, pastors, and prophets) in a full-press quest to divest the church of her cross.

These are the false christs, false teachers, and false prophets that Jesus warned us about. They have no value for walking in the manner that Jesus walked. Neither do they have a game plan for the Bride to come forth in glorious Christlikeness. They are literally hell-bent on agitating the faithful to lay down their cross, take up the power of the exalted flesh, and follow the spirit of anti-christ – no love; no Holy Spirit fruit; no humility; no death to self…

Millions around us, in our churches, our prayer gatherings, our home fellowships and our seminars are succumbing to the temptation, and enthusiastically handing the enemy of our souls, the very nexus of our covenant in Christ, and the one essential means by which we may bear the fruits of righteousness – our cross.

It is nothing short of the “falling away” from vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.

Chief among these incendiary voices are those who crusade to turn our nation back to God. Burning with an eternal flame of enmity, they intend to accomplish the feat by fiat. Their banner is a sword. Their mouths never tire of the propaganda. And, in spite of their desire to be known as “peacemakers”, their festivals are filled with the drums of war.

There is no humility in their spirits. No mutual confession that escapes their lips. No call to repentance that touches their own houses of ill-repute. Their’s is a perpetual campaign to destroy the “other”, in pursuit of an earthly utopia for the “unwoke”. Not a community of the redeemed – a society of the justified, the mutually adoring, and the worthy.

In 1930’s nationalist Germany, the new, spiring socio-political power within that nation sought a symbol to represent its vigor and devotion. The image it chose was one of a broken cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer perceived what his sisters and brothers were being seduced by, and wrote about it in his landmark book, “The Cost of Discipleship”. Essentially, Bonhoeffer’s message was, if we take up the emblem of naziism, and champion a crossless “kamph”, we, and the world around us will only have cheap grace, and a pretentious kingdom built upon edict, hostility, intolerance, platitudes, and the unrestrained appetites of the right-minded flesh.

The vast majority of German Christians did not heed Bonhoeffer’s cry to count the internal cost of remaining faithful to Christ. Instead, in their lust to become the master race of humanity, they exacted that cost from the lives of 50 million of their fellow human beings who opposed their “jihad”.

Such is the universal way of the antiChrist: glory without the agency of the cross.

When tempted in the desert, the true Christ, turned down the offer to receive the nations from the hands of the devil, who was offering it to Him without the messy need for a cross. Jesus had already determined to follow the plan of the Father, that would deliver both the rule and the redemption of the nations into His Hands via the way of the cross.

And when we see national prayer assemblies filled with self-vaunted rancor, and the honor of killing others for the glories of supremacy being esteemed as the pathway to eternal salvation, we know the devil has come to our doorstep as well.

Friends. Family in Christ. American evangelicalism is at a watershed moment. The crafty rhetoric of the deceiver is not only echoing from the White House, its found a foothold in the pulpits of our churches. We MUST attune our spiritual ears to the pride, the lust and the selfism, and hear his serpentine beguilement.

By his siren song, our apostolic virginity is being raped. The Name of our King is being coopted. Our witness is being bastardized. The fame of our God is being defaced. And unless we wake up from our intoxications, we are going to rush ourselves, our families, and many in our nation toward an everlasting fire that was only prepared for the devil and his angels.

We need the pure holiness of the Lord within our own bosom, twitching at every promise of greatness through self-promotion. Evil isn’t (only) coming with horns, dressed in drag. It’s coming wrapped in red, white and blue sentiment, and the magical touch of Meidas.

We MUST, in all our praying, speaking, meditating, studying, gathering, and debating cry out to the Spirit to bring us into the way of our cross! Should we not, we WILL exact the same price upon all others who oppose us in our gilded zeal.

“For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they set their aspirations on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19)

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JSB • February, 2026

  • * At the February 5, 2026 Prayer Breakfast, Secretary Pete Hegseth made the following incredible statement to the assembled guests; pastors, evangelists, intercessors, government officials etc.:
    “The willingness to make sacrifices on behalf of one’s country is born in one thing: a deep and abiding belief in God’s love for us and his promise of eternal life. The scripture says, ‘For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.’ The warrior who is willing to lay down his life for his unit, his country, and his Creator, that warrior finds eternal life.” (Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War • February 5, 2026)
    …and no one rose to object.

    The idol is now on full display. The trumpets are bidding the “faithful” to bow. The sheep are being divided from the goats – real time.

    Christian leader. In this hour, if you’re not making the way clear, you’re playing the role of Aaron. You’re an impediment to Jesus’ exhortation to His disciples. We are watching nothing less than the usurping of American evangelicalism by the spirit of antiChrist. Period.

    After his curse-filled rant, (…at the NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST!) Trump announced that in a May 17 festival, he intends to declare the United States a Christian nation. Tragically, this assembly will be hailed by millions of our sisters and brothers, as a monumental step in the ascendency of the Kingdom of God. In truth, it promises to be the greatest desolating abomination our culture has ever witnessed – satan himself serving as the master of ceremonies where he will bestow glory upon a people who exalt self, and repudiate the need for a cross.

See this same article at my SUBSTACK Page.

5 Things Every American Must Have In This Hour of Warring Truth

/ JSB / 2 Comments

Five things every American practically needs in order to navigate this hour of enflamed alarm, and warring perspectives on reality:

1. YOU NEED JESUS. If you don’t know Jesus as your King, your Lover, and your Savior, nothing else will make sense of our world, until you do. Jesus was not only “the reason for the (Christmas) season”, He is the reason for all of what is happening all around us. Everything that swirls around us is evidence that we NEED Jesus. 100%. 100% of the time. We need the One Who is “Immanuel” (with us); the One Who called Himself “the Truth”; and the ONLY One Who can Redeem us from the curse that rages all around us – AND within us. We also need the One Who will breathe the Holy Spirit into our wandering, luke-warm souls. 
What’s more, for those who have ears to hear, everything whirling around us is evidence that Jesus WANTS TO BE WITH US; AN INTIMATE, ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR EVERY DAY LIVES!! (Yeah, I know – wonder of wonders!)

2. YOU NEED THE BIBLE – the Word of God, written – dependable truth, on how to live life, with the vision of One Who transcends all human life, gives meaning to to life, and is zealous to lead us through life. On every page of the Bible there is a Man, a Divine Man Who is looking back at you. To read the Bible, and yield to its encouragement, exhortation and direction is to find life. There is, indeed, LIFE in the Word. 

3. YOU NEED A CROSS. Martin Luther said, “Nothing pleases the devil more than a Christian with a Bible, but no cross.” The cross humbles us. It tells us that every one of us needs to be redeemed from the power of the curse, at every level of our lives. Our cross is what Jesus gives to everyone who says “Yes” to His Presence in their lives. It’s what empowers us through our reading of the Word into being transformed by the Word. It is the essential daily instrument that conforms us out from under the power of the curse, into the image of our King.

4. YOU NEED A PRAYER ROOM; a time and place to dialogue with the Lord. Jesus is the Word-speaking God. He does His transformational, and leadership work by dialoguing with His disciples, and friends. Prayer is where we share our hearts, emotions, opinions, fears, joys and dreams with the ONLY ONE Who is capable of giving us perfect guidance through the storms of life. Prayer is where we invite Him to reign in, and through our lives with supernatural power – power that exceeds abundantly beyond all that we can ask or believe. (Aside: for one hundred reasons, it’s all the more vital that we have times and places of corporate prayer… not only church service, but actually engaging in the give and take of corporate, holy listening, and speaking with the God of the universe.)

5. YOU NEED “SAFE OTHERS” who are walking with Jesus, the Word, the cross, and in prayer; a group of followers – fellow cross-bearers – who will walk with you; dialogue with you; speak the truth in love to you; encourage you; know you; cherish you; and love Jesus WITH you – even more than they love you, yourself.

I’ll be blunt. (Hopefully, you’ll hear this in love.) Without these five elements in this raging world, you AND I are ill-equipped to withstand the internal temptations, and external deceptions that are going to assail our lives in 2026. The Living, Speaking, Breathing, Redeeming, Guiding, Loving Presence of the resurrected, God/Man Christ Jesus is THE ONLY WAY you will have strength to survive the storms that are buffeting our world. 

This is 100%, bonafide, time-tested, universal truth.

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JSB • January, 2026

Waiting and Hastening: The Bridal Paradox of Prayer

/ JSB / 1 Comment

9 The LORD is not slow concerning HIS PROMISE, as some regard slowness, but is being PATIENT toward you, because He does not wish for any to PERISH but for all to come to REPENTANCE. 10 But the DAY OF THE LORD will come like a thief; when… the earth and EVERY DEED DONE on it will be LAID BARE… (therefore) WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE SHOULD YOU BE, CONDUCTING YOUR LIVES IN HOLINESS AND GODLINESS, 12 while WAITING FOR and HASTENING THE COMING OF THE DAY OF GOD? … According to His PROMISE, we are WAITING for new heavens and a new earth, in which RIGHTEOUSNESS truly resides. 14 Therefore, DEAR FRIENDS, since you are WAITING FOR these things, STRIVE to be found AT PEACE, WITHOUT SPOT OR BLEMISH, when you COME into HIS PRESENCE. (2 Peter 3:9-14)

The Lord’s preparation of the Church is one of the most overlooked, New Testament dynamics that is (day by day) impacting the people of God right now. Whether we see it or not, the truth is, the closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more the heart and the collective mind of the Bride is being refined to both understand and champion the reign of our King!

Jesus is not coming to “take us home”. If we’re in Christ, we’re already home! He’s coming to rule and reign on the earth, WITH HIS BRIDE IN GLAD-HEARTED CELEBRATION of the way He administrates His Kingdom. 

Right now, the Church is still “working the issues out” in our collective thinking. Our narratives are not filled with appreciation for the ways of our King. We don’t esteem the values of meekness, holiness, patience, and mercy-giving the way our King does. In fact, we count much of what He wants to work into our world as foolish, unpractical, and/or too religious. Where Jesus calls us to “serve”, we want to dominate. Where Jesus calls us to “pray”, we want to rush to action with human power. Where Jesus wants to aim at relationship, we want to build laws and structures. This disconnection from Jesus’ mind is what both Peter (here in 2 Peter 3:14), and Paul (in Ephesians 5:26,27) call “spots, wrinkles, and blemishes”. This is where the Bride is operating unlike Christ – where we are not Christlike!

So, how does the Lord bring us into like-mindedness? How does He conform us to His image?How does He cultivate both an understanding and appreciation of the ways of His leadership?

He shapes us by employing two living and active realities. The first are the affairs of 200ish nations, and the pressure points in our own lives. These are actually “grinding bearings” that the Lord uses to drive us to Himself. Where the answers are “out of our reach”, and “beyond our under-standing”, He nonetheless calls us to bring the tension points to Him, in both humility, and honesty. This means that we don’t allow other players to become the primary “shapers” of our narrative. It means that we bring what we see, what we know, and what we feel, into the “tent of meeting” with Him, and allow Him to illuminate our minds, and our hearts about both the facts of the storylines, and the issues they create in our own lives. He may or may not want to tell us the details about the nefarious activities of globalists. But He will most certainly want to talk to us about how these true or false reports are shaping our trust in Him, and our love toward others. Make sense?

The second living and active reality that He’s using to shape the Bride is His own Word. 

Paul writes: “He (Jesus) sanctifies her, and cleanses her by THE WASHING OF WATER WITH THE WORD, that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:26-27)

Jesus uses both the crises in our world, and our daily, disciplined commitment to engage Him in prayerful dialogue with His Word, and in this kinetic mixture, He shows us how He leads, how He redeems, how He analyzes, how He rewards, and how He purges humanity, and the human spirit. And then He calls you and I, His Bride, to agree in prayer with Him about the ways and the intents of His government.

It’s in this turbulent forge that our Bridegroom King forms and purifies our thoughts, responses, attitudes, countenance, and will. As we bring our outrage, passivity, temptations, and promises in the context of these worldly, national and personal crises into His courts, with truthfulness, a spirit of yieldedness, a dash of expectation, and a will that is prepared to give Him the gift of repentance, He is faithful to remove the impediments (the spots, wrinkles, and blemishes) so that His authority can freely work in, and through our lives. This is how we, the Bride, are conformed to His Image. This is what it means to be aligned to the “true righteousness” (v.13) that He will manifest on the earth when the fulness of His Kingdom comes. We do this by faith, now, in anticipation of it fully coming when He comes. And this is, according to 2 Peter 3:12, (wonder of wonders) how we “hasten the coming” of that Day – His Day – when He rules in our physical presence!

Until that Day comes, 2 Peter 3 tells us to “wait” three times! This is an exhortation to
a.) abide in, and not lose touch with this truth,
b.) to walk in growing patience and peaceable confidence in the Lord, and what He is accomplishing, and to
c.) give ourselves to these conforming dynamics with abandon. 

However, the Kingdom of God is always a paradox. In the context of patiently “waiting”, v.14 also charges us to “strive”. (This paradox keeps us from turning the dynamics of the Lord into a math equation – and keeps us close, and reliant upon the nimble, intimate, breath-by-breath leadership of the Spirit.) It is by the Spirit that we “strive” toward coming to the place of “peace” with the Lord’s Bridal purification process. We are in His more than sufficient Hands. We belong to Him. We are in His care. He knows how to get ahold of us. He has our number. He knows how to call us out. He isn’t perplexed about how to bring you, your family, your Bible-study group, your community, and your nation into agreement with His ways. v.14 is the Spirit’s loud encouragement to “TRUST THE KING’S PROCESS!” He will bring us forth, into His Presence, without “spot” or “blemish”; purified; like a sacrificial lamb; ready to be offered up to Him; wholly yielded to His majestic reign.

This is His goal: that we come forth, by His power, united to Him, and each other, loving Him and His ways with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:30)

This has massive implications for HOW WE “DO CHURCH”. It underscores the vital necessity that we become a people of daily, reliant PRAYER. WITHOUT BEING MUCH IN PRAYER THE BRIDE WILL NEITHER BEHOLD NOR YIELD OUR HEART AND OUR WAYS TO THE LORD’S REFINING WORK. NOR WILL WE LEARN TO WALK IN THE AUTHORITY OF HIS DIVINE ORDER.

This brings us to the other side of the coin. And it is the reason that spurs the apostle Peter to write these injunctions in the first place. Should we neglect, and/or withdraw from Jesus’ capable, prayerful, purifying process; should we instead, give ourselves to spiraling conspiracies, spouting our own opinions, -becoming rigid in our carnal thoughts, we will not come forth in mature love. We will actually come forth with a mutant love – shaped by our world, the devil, and our own corrupt soul. Perhaps, (or perhaps not) filled with “Christian-sounding” rhetoric – but no substance, and no fruit.

When we neglect Jesus’ prayerful, purifying process, and instead, give ourselves to spiraling conspiracies, opinions, and rigid carnal thoughts, we will not come forth in mature love. we will come forth with a mutant love.

The wretched truth of the matter is, when we refuse to give ourselves to His ongoing refining process, we are in essence saying to Jesus: “WE REALLY DON’T LOVE YOUR RULE AND REIGN in our world. We would rather continue to have our own way, under our own power, than have You remove the SPOTS and BLEMISHES from our hearts… We’d rather You NOT do what You want to do to manifest Your vibrant RIGHTEOUSNESS through our lives.”

This is the spirit of antipathy. This is the spirit Peter calls us to “strive” against. This posture will produce endless enmity (and never “PEACE”) in our lives. And, truth-be-told, it is the sentiment, and slant that accounts for SO MUCH of the hostility in the Church today.

Beloved, the Lord is not relenting. He will not let us sleep-walk through the fires that He has kindled in our world. He is a holy-disturber of our “false peace” Who is making every provision for us to be aligned to Himself, in joyful unanimity with His Kingdom.

Let’s go into the place of prayer, and wholly give ourselves to His refining process. Let’s hasten the return of our King!

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JSB • December 12, 2025

Praying for Israel

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The Holy Spirit is leading millions of believers around the world to accelerate intercession for Israel, and agree with the eternal promises that He has established with the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

7 Reasons to Pray for Israel

1. We believe the best thing that could happen in the Middle East is for millions of both Jews and Arabs to make covenant with the God of the Bible, through the blood atonement of His Son, Y’shua of Nazareth.

2. When the Lord touches the Jewish people with salvation through their Messiah, the whole earth will be provoked to wonder and receptivity re the unique claims of Y’shua.

3. The Lord is serious about intercession. He wants His own people (the Church) to partner with Him as He accomplishes His promises on the earth. He wants us to read about them in the Word, believe that He wants to do them, and then pray with faith, believing that He will do what He’s promised to do.

4. The more we look into the scriptures and see His heart for Israel (and the Middle East), and the more we understand Israel’s key role in the end times of this age, the more the Church will “purify” ourselves (1 John 3:3) “make ourselves ready” (Revelation 19:7) and “hasten the return” of Y’shua to the land. 

5. We pray knowing the hearts of billions are gradually being drawn into intense contro-versy (Jeremiah 25:31) with the Lord re the promises that the Father has made to the Jewish people re His Son, Y’shua of Nazareth.

6. We pray out of respect and gratitude for what our “older brother” (Israel) has endured in order to display the love, the mercy, the faithfulness and the holiness of the Lord.

7. Praying for Israel prepares our hearts to learn how to yield, and trust, and celebrate the reign of a real Jewish Man Whose Kingdom is meant to be established in real human hearts, in preparation for His ultimate expected earthly reign in the Millennium.

NOTE: When we pray for Israel, we’re praying for the Jewish and Arabic-speaking people living in the Promised Land as well the Jewish people living in the nations (the Diaspora).

Scripture Prayers for Israel
Listed below are numerous prayers we can confidently pray for Israel that come directly from the Word of God.

1. Father of glory, APPOINT WATCHMEN, who will stand on the walls of Jerusalem, WHO WILL PRAY ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. Give them grace to never keep silent.(Isaiah 62:6)2. Father of glory, how shall they hear without a preacher? RAISE UP REACHERS AND SEND THEM FORTH. As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring the glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15)

3. Father of glory, POUR ON THE HOUSE OF DAVID and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION; let them they behold Your Son today whom they pierced. Cause them to mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)

4. “THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU [Israel]; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:23-26) 

5. Father of glory, speak the Name of Your Son, Y’shua to Israel. “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘SURELY YOUR SALVATION IS COMING… and His work before Him.’”(Isaiah 62:11)
6. Father of glory, ARISE AND HAVE MERCY ON ZION.. SO THE NATIONS SHALL FEAR THE NAME OF THE LORD… build up Zion; appear in Your glory… that a people may praise the LORD. Look down from the height of Your sanctuary… and hear the groaning of the prisoner, release those appointed to death, and declare the name of the LORD Your Son, Y’shua… and His praise throughout Jerusalem… (Psalm 102:13-21)

7. Father of glory, POUR OUT YOUR SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; cause sons and daughters to prophesy. Cause old men to dream dreams, and young men to see visions… Show them wonders in the heavens and in the earth… Turn the sun into darkness, and the moon into blood. Let all of Israel know that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Assure them that on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance… among the remnant whom You call.” (Joel 2:15-32) 

8. Father of glory, cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary… Incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name… because of Your great mercies. O, LORD HEAR! O, LORD FORGIVE! O, LORD LISTEN AND ACT! Do not delay – for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9:4-19)

9. Father of glory, LET ALL OF ISRAEL SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD, THE EXCELLENCY OF THEIR GOD. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God… will come and save you.” Open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf. Cause the lame to leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb to sing… (Isaiah 35:1-9) 

10. Father of glory, for Zion’s sake DO NOT HOLD YOUR PEACE, and for Jerusalem’s sake do not rest, UNITL HER RIGHTEOUSNESS GOES FORTH LIKE BRIGHTNESS… (Isaiah 62:1-2)

11. Father of glory, RAISE UP THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, which has fallen down… Raise up its ruins, and rebuild it… that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by Your name… (Amos 9:11-12) 

12. Father of glory, cause Your backsliding children to return… Remind them that You are married to them… Bring them to Zion. GIVE TO THEM SHEPHERDS AFTER YOUR HEART, who will feed them with knowledge and understanding… (Jeremiah 3:14-17)

13. Father of glory, RELEASE SINGERS THROUGHOUT ISRAEL WHO SHALL SING; FOR THE MAJESTY OF THE LORD and shall cry aloud… glorifying the LORD in the dawning light… Let the ends of the earth hear their songs: “Glory to the righteous!” (Isaiah 24:14-16) 

14. Father of glory, LEAVE IN THEIR MIDST A MEEK AND HUMBLE PEOPLE… a remnant of Israel that does no unrighteousness… Cause all of Zion to Sing…rejoice… as You cast out their enemy. O King of Israel… be in their midst… (Zephaniah 3:12-15)

15. Father of glory, SHEPHERD YOUR PEOPLE… the flock of Your heritage. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, show them wonders. Cause the nations to be ashamed of their might… and to be afraid of the LORD… (Micah 7:14-17)

16. Father of glory, SAVE ALL OF ISRAEL. Cause them to look to You, and be saved… Tell them that You have sworn by Yourself; the Word has gone out of Your mouth in righteousness… Assure them that to You every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Let them know that surely in You they have righteousness and strength. (Isaiah 45:17-24)

17. Father of glory, let wisdom and knowledge be the stability of Israel’s times, and the strength of their salvation. Show them that the fear of the LORD is their Messiah’s treasure… Arise, O LORD… CAUSE THEIR EYES TO SEE THEIR KING IN HIS BEAUTY. (Isaiah 33:17)

Let us know how YOU’RE praying for Israel! There’s SO MUCH to learn!

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JSB • November, 2025

Here’s a PDF copy of a tri-fold brochure of this article.

For those who wonder about praying for Israel, and the Church’s relationship to Israel.

Understanding Psalm 2 for Today

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The Drama of This Ancient Psalm/Prophecy Is Being Played Out Before Our Eyes. Are We Aligning Our Lives to Its 5 – Fold Exhortations?

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the  rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds  in pieces and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them  in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”

“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of  Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You  shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and  rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled  but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. 

INTRODUCTION:
Psalm 2 is a 4-part prophetic drama about the Father establishing Jesus’ leadership over the earth. God intends for this narrative to help us cultivate an appropriate, prayerful response today so that we have the grace to stand with Him in the hour when these events are being fulfilled.

Most Christians live largely unsettled and a little apathetic about the major features surrounding God’s end-times’ storyline.

Without a clear understanding of these realities we live unsure of the purpose of our lives, foggy about our  calling, uncertain of our priorities, unconvinced of God’s loving presence, prone to distraction, with little  appreciation for what’s “at-risk”, and little perspective on just how prayer contributes to our vitality.

Gaining “living understanding” about these “plot-points” is like erecting a strong framework within which we can cultivate passion, exhilaration, wisdom, power, and strength to persevere in our daily relationship with Jesus.

Psalm 2 provides us with a 50,000 foot overview of the essential elements contained in God’s end-times’ narrative.

(Act I) The Rage of the Nations (Psalm 2:1-3)

Psalm 2:1-3 prophesies that the nations will rage in anger against Jesus’ leadership. His standards of morality, righteousness, and His right to hold every heart accountable to His order of love and justice will be deeply opposed by a world steeped in the curse of sin. It will also be a stumbling block to many within the Church.

People from every political stripe, on every level of society will plot strategies, and use their influence to mobilize the masses to rebel against God’s righteousness, and resist God’s loving leadership.

The rulers speak of the leaders of the “culture”: socio/political,  economic, spiritual, educational, military, entertainment, media, arts, athletics, etc. They will use social unrest, hardship, conspiracy and injustice to exert pressure on each other to make lawlessness the cultural norm.

The kings of the nations will set their hearts to fully influence the faithless ways of the people under them. The term kings includes the heads of state,  e.g., presidents, prime ministers, and legislators. The term also refers to believers; those who have been called to be kings and priests to God (Revelation 5:10), but who have fallen under the sway of false teaching, and strong delusions.

The kings, rulers, and people will conspire together against the values and plans of the Lord which will be portrayed as foolish, “unenlightened”, and even “dangerous” to the  well-being of society, and in some cases, the Church within a society.

They will also lodge hostile arguments against the Father and His anointed One (Jesus); protesting, and compromising with the idea that Jesus is uniquely the Jewish Son of the Father, and the only One worthy to rule every nation.

The plan against God will be focused on casting away the authority of His Word (v. 3) (either through rejection of the Word itself, or through perversion of the application of the Word) throughout all aspects of society. These people will see a literal understanding of God’s Word as if it were “bonds” that enslave them and “cords” that bind them from being “authentically human”, or “unrealistic to the human situation”.

(Act II) The Father’s Response to the Rebellious Nations (Psalm 2:4-6)

God laughs because He is confident in His ability to fully accomplish His plan in spite of humanity’s resistance. We are small creatures who live for a mere eighty years. God’s whole Person fills 300 billion galaxies, and He has no beginning and no end. His laughter denotes just how small our power is to overthrow the intent of His heart.

One of the chief ways that the Lord will express His intent is through end-time, friends of the Bridegroom, who will primarily speak of the earth’s need to be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom in His anointed glory.

The Lord will also use these ones to express His “deep displeasure” over the nations’ fierce opposition to the preeminent plan to have Jesus, and His unique manner of leadership reign over humanity.

Beloved, it’s vital that we let the Holy Spirit develop a theology of the fear of the Lord in us today, so that we possess a holy respect for His judgments, His wisdom, His redemptive love, and His sovereign ability to rule the heart, in the hours in which the Lord is, in fact, expressing His displeasure in our world.

(Act III) (Scene 1) Jesus Recalling the Inheritance He’s Received from the Father (Psalm 2:7-8)

In these 3 verses we hear Jesus recalling the divine decree that the Father has declared over Him. Jesus’ inheritance from the Father is a redeemed Bride and a throne in Jerusalem, from which He will rule the whole earth.

As He recalls the eternal dialogue that He and His Father have had, He is also giving us revelation of the desire that burns in His own heart. Understanding the Father’s decree, and the Son’s desire are vital if we want to faithfully partner with Jesus in praying for God’s purposes on the earth. 

The apostles drew on these realities when they prayed about the hostile leaders in Jerusalem. They asked the Father to manifest His power on the basis that the world was opposing the reign of His Son, the One He had anointed to rule the earth.
“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,  with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together…Lord, look on their threats and  grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your  hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done…” (Acts 4:27-29)

If we are to grow up in our prayer-lives, (indeed, if we are to grow up in our relationship with God) we must move from a “Jesus fix our lives” mindset, to a “Jesus, reign in my world” mindset.

One example of this mature intercession is found in (Acts 15:13-17) where God answers Cornelius’ prayer, and releases salvation to the Gentiles. This was God fulfilling one key dimension of His plan to have His Son rule the nations. In order to accomplish this, He actually looked for a human heart that was aligned with what He (the Father) had purposed to do on earth.

In (Acts 10:3-5) we hear about the Father responding to Cornelius’ prayers:
“About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.”

When Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house, he is also in prayer and receives revelation of God’s intent to bring “the nations” (the Gentiles) under the covenant reign of His Son.

The point is:“Who is Cornelius? Who is Peter? On earth they were simple men uttering weak prayers based what they saw in the heart of God. In heaven God saw them as a vital allies, through whom He would fulfill one major component of the promise that He had made to His Son.

The story of Peter and Cornelius’ prayers are profound encouragements to our own prayers.

(ACT III) (Scene 2) Jesus Judges the Rebellious Nations (Psalm 2:9)

In verse 5  David tells us that the Lord will judge the nations with “WRATH” and “HIS DEEP DISPLEASURE“. What does “deep displeasure” look like in a trillion galaxy God???

Verse 9 tells us:
“You (the Son) shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.“

MOST of us western, Bible-believing Christians don’t have a theology of God’s WRATH that’s stable enough to keep our hearts secure in love through the “time of trouble” that’s erupting around us… What I mean by this is, when the judgments of God fully come upon the earth, they will stir up so much emotional hostility and accusation against others, and ultimately against God Himself. The essence of this hostility and accusation will sound like this in the human heart, “God isn’t fully just. His Word is too radical. His way needs to be more reasonable. All by itself, His plan is not good. It needs the help of human wisdom. His judgments are out-of-line with true love. etc.”

There will be SO MUCH HUMAN-CULTURAL PRESSURE to agree with these accusations against God’s character. If we don’t prepare our minds and hearts today for the social pressures we will face tomorrow, our “love” and “faith” in God will be severely crushed.

How do we prepare ourselves to face these social pressures?
David gives us four ways to prepare ourselves in Act IV of Psalm 2, but in a nut-shell, we need to pray-read the Word of God today with a spirit of humility and wonder.

(Act IV) David Prophetically Warns the Leaders of the Nations (Psalm 2:10-12)

In the final scene, King David issues a solemn, five-fold exhortation to the leaders, and all people of the earth. It’s wise for us to heed these divine admonitions as we prepare ourselves for the Day of the Lord. No one can say that they have not been warned, or don’t know how to respond to His purposes.

1. Be wise O Kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth
This is an exhortation to those believers, and unbelievers who think they already have enough information and “soul-resolve” to make sound judgments about God during the end-time pressures. We are wise to learn from our brother Peter, who believed he had enough inner fortitude to withstand the temptations to deny Jesus. We are wise to heed the Spirit’s warning now and cultivate humility, teachability; and seek the Lord (Psalm 27:5) for wisdom (James 1:5), divine might in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16) and grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

2. Serve the Lord with fear
This is a call to obedience. But it is based on the revelation that God is the eternal God and we are HIs creation made of dust (Psalm 103:14). It’s wise to cultivate the fear of the Lord regarding One Who is so holy, and greater than us, so that we can serve Him in the way that He has determined.
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by  which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a  consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29) (For a more complete picture of the fear of the Lord  read Hebrews 12:18-29)

3. Rejoice with trembling
This is an command to mix our fear and awe with the joy and exhilaration that comes from beholding Him in His beauty (Psalm 27:4) and being made joyful as He engages us in His house of prayer. (Isaiah 56:7)

4. Kiss the Son, let He be angry and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled (in His judgment against evil) but a little.
a. One prominent greek word for worship is “pros-ku-ne-ow”. It literally means “to kiss toward”. To “kiss the Son” is an exhortation to live a life of adoration, worship and first commandment love.

Jesus is worthy (Revelation 5:12) to be loved, adored and worshipped. But He’s also gloriously beautiful. Our hearts were fashioned to (kiss) “adore” the wonders of Who He is. (Psalm 27:4; Psalm 45:2; Psalm 50:1-2; Isaiah 28:5; Zechariah 9:17)

5. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
It is supremely prudent to do the hard work of cultivating great trust in God today, rather than to allow the subtle, mounting deception of the world to gain increasing sway over our minds and hearts.
“And because wickedness will abound, the love of most will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12)
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.” (Psalm 119:1-2)

The Lord is gloriously orchestrating a prophetic voice in His Church that will amplify and give understanding to these 5 exhortations of verses 10-12. However, these voices will only be cultivated and strengthened through lifestyles that are plumb-lined to the priority of corporate prayer.

May God’s grace be upon us as we seek Him in the place of prayer, beloved.

____________________

JSB • November, 2019

10 Good Things Our King Did On Saturday

/ JSB / 1 Comment

Instead of Protesting “NO KINGS” This Past Saturday, Our Little House of Prayer Came Before Our King In Prayer and Exaltation. Here’s 10 Things Our King Accomplished During These 3 Hours…

1. Our King amplified His glory and power in the hearts of 100,000 neighbors that we prayed for w/in our 100 mile radius. (One of my favorite times from yesterday was declaring 100 distinct, beautiful qualities about Jesus from the Bible into the atmosphere over our region.)

2. Our King humbled us under a contrite spirit of repentance, and the fear of the Lord, re: His judgments that are upon the earth – and upon all of us.

3. Our Lord filled us with increased zeal to bring ALL of our ways into obedience to His reign. AND He gave us increased power to do so.

4. Our King struck a blow against the rampant principality of rebellion and lawlessness in our hearts, in our relationships, and in our land.

5. Our King filled our hearts with increased tender loyalty to Him and His transcendent ways.

6. Our King manifest His tender mercies toward 100,000 individuals in our region: white, native, brown, young, old, believers, unbelievers, antifa, MAGA, and non-political

7. Our King gave many of us an increased vision of the eternal Kingdom power of prayer that He longs to extend through His Bride, in this age, and the next.

8. Our King fell upon us with a glorious love that fostered deep, humble, first-commandment love, unity.

9. We heard our King tell us that He likes us.

10. Our King prepared our hearts with a grace to bear our cross, and remain fiercely loyal to His heart through the intensity that’s mounting in our nation.

BONUS
11. Our King fortified a crystal clear resolve to take every thought captive against a tyrannical, antiChrist spirit that seeks to prostitute American evangelicalism.

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JSB • October, 2025

Prayer and Praise Not Protest

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WHY OUR HOUSE of PRAYER IS CHOOSING TO BOW LOW BEFORE OUR ONE KING TODAY

Several friends have asked if I will be attending/endorsing the #NOKING rally today (Saturday, October 18). Observers estimate that the civil protest will be the largest series of protests in the history of our nation (built on protest).

My simple response is “No”.

I get the temptation. We’re Americans. Civil, (and uncivil) discourse is in our social-psych DNA. We have constitutional “rights” to bring our arguments to college campuses, arenas, and our city’s streets in order to protest policies, presidents, and ideologies that we disagree with.

And yes, it’s good and right for followers of Jesus to lift our voices to speak truth to socio-political power, whether the power wants to authorize abortion and gender confusion under the banner of humanism, or it seeks to unceasingly curse its enemies and hide its sexual perversion, under the banner of Christianity.

Truth-be-told, in our life-times, we have never seen a more prolific, and hostile attempt for two political factions to seize the moral, and religious high-ground in our nation. Through assassinations, racist rhetoric, violent raids, and riotous defiance, America is ablaze with uncivil fires.

So why then would we refuse to participate in what is planned to be a civil, and even peace-filled demonstration of opposition to the Trump administration?

Here are 7 reasons why our little House of Prayer in the Mountains of Arizona is pro-actively choosing to forego this massive protest, and instead give ourselves to praising ONE KING today:

1. THE PRIORITY and POWER of PRAYER
In an hour of enflamed zeal, we (especially followers of Christ) have no business bringing our voices to the civil arena if we haven’t first brought our voices into the chambers of the Lord. Most American Christians OVERESTIMATE the power of protest, and vastly vastly UNDERESTIMATE the power of prayer. The fact of the matter is, what we will gain through 3 hours of prayer will be monumentally greater than what we gain through any number of hours of protest. Our principled, activated stance in prayer on a day when many of our neighbors will protest, is a testimony to the truthfulness of this much needed spiritual reality in our world. What change (in ourselves, our communities, and our nation) do we hope for that doesn’t come through the Lord of glory Himself?

2. THIS IS AN HOUR of JUDGMENT
This is an hour of predominant judgment. The Lord is at work in the Church, and in our nation, to bring His truth to bear on our values, practices, beliefs and lifestyles. The pressure we feel in our national forum is a God-orchestrated pressure designed to force conversation with the Father Who wants to reward us, as much as He wants to rebuke us. He’s preparing a Bride for His Son, Who is returning to be joined with a people who will reflect His heart, His power, and His wisdom. In an hour of judgment, who has the right to “rise up” and protest? As followers of Christ, our primary response to the judgments on the earth is to adjust our hearts before God, not protest the inconvenience of the pressures themselves. Isaiah 26 tells us, “When the judgments of the Lord are on the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.”As we experience the injustices and fire-storms of our culture, we do well to go into the courts of the Lord and receive His gracious, and patient instruction for our hearts, minds and ways. Above everything else, we Christians want to come through the tumult and trouble looking more and more like our King.

3. THE OPPORTUNITY to GIVE WITNESS of a PURE RESPONSE of FAITH to the LORD
In an hour of judgment, the Church is given both an opportunity to respond faithfully to the Father and simultaneously give a witness to the world about how to respond faithfully to the God they do not know. As we experience the contentious pressures in our culture, as the unbelieving world watches the people of God bow low before His sovereign pressures, we show them the way into humility, repentance, and contrition in the fear of the Lord. In the heat of our current context, as followers of Jesus make prayer our primary, and zealous response, we are declaring that there is indeed a God to Whom we are accountable, a King Who demands our loyalty, and a Father Who sees and responds to our cries for justice. This witness is vital to the well-being of the commission the Lord has entrusted to us. And, if I can be a bit provocative; it is a witness that we American Christians have enormously failed to issue through the great pressures that have come upon us as a culture. Our primary response to the conflict in this hour has greatly emphasized protest and politics, while nearly entirely neglecting humility and repentance.

4. THE TRAP of PROTEST
Again. We’re Americans. We’ve been built on the spirit of protest and revolution. Revolution is largely the spirit behind the thrust to Make America Great Again. Many picture our President as a type of “George Washington” who is bringing manifest destiny to the USA once again. Still others see his ways as despotic and authoritarian. Both perspectives clutch to the constitution of the United States to go to war against the other. Pastor Brian Drinkwine, in an excellent article entitled, “No Kings. No Idols. No Exceptions” writes: “We love the sound of rebellion, but rebellion without redemption just builds a new empire with different slogans. “No Kings” tears down the throne, but unless the crucified King takes His seat, someone else always will. History proves it. Every revolution that toppled tyrants eventually crowned new ones. The human heart cannot live without a ruler. The only question is whether ours wears thorns or gold.”
Simply put, we will not overcome a spirit of protest with a bigger spirit of protest. That’s not how the Kingdom of God works. The Lord visits the meek, the poor in spirit, and those who fast themselves from the world’s ways of gaining power.
We are a people who are prone to the idol of “demos”. Democracy is our “go to” idol when issues in our society are shaking. We reach for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, decide what is true based on our own internal evaluation, and then try to convince others that it’s true, until we have a critical mass of confirming assent. Pick ANY story from the Bible, and this power will be exposed for the (destructive) deception that it is. The Lord is looking for “faith”, not “correct perception”. He wants us leaning on Him, not on our own understanding.
If I may be so bold, and pentecostal – protest may also fuel a ruling principality of “revolution and protest” that can keep the heart and soul bound to an inordinate (even idolatrous) faith in the powers of democracy, rather than in pure, obedient submission to the Kingly authority of Christianity, and the claim Jesus has on the way we live our lives before God and others.

5. THE POTENTIAL for CONFUSION and COMPROMISE
Undoubtably, there are many who are keen to throw off the over-bearing ways of this administration. Many who will be protesting “No Kings” have no will or desire to be surrendered to any king, much less our King, Jesus. This is the atmosphere of Psalm 2, when the people “rage” against the Kingly order the Father has appointed over the whole earth. We’re not of that spirit. Neither do we want to give an indistinct witness to that kind of lawless spirit. The primary spirit of our witness is love, and allegiance, to King Jesus, not rebellion and rage against a carnal king. (Incidentally, this is the very issue that TPUSA fails to account for in its adulterous partnership with conservative Mormonism) Anything (plus much more) we hope to accomplish via standing with a sign in our arms before our neighbors, we accomplish bowing low before the Lord of glory, WITHOUT distortion, misinterpretation, or compromise. In the place of prayer, I greatly eliminate the potential of feeding a greater and greater spirit of rebellion. Rebellion is an enemy in the spiritual war that’s being waged, AND certainly in the Bride that’s being purified.

6. THE OPPORTUNITY to LOVE OUR ENEMIES
In the midst of great contention, the Lord is looking for a people that He can use to redeem souls, narratives, and lifestyles. His love and His grace rides on humility, tenderness, meekness and faith. He wants to clothe us with a supernatural, transformative winsomeness that bids even our enemies to find refuge in His wings of redemption. He’s not looking for the crusaders. He’s looking for the crucified through which He can release His resurrection power to conservative, MAGA, liberal, humanist, curse-laden humanity. Our protest greatly exacerbates the divide. It doesn’t greatly bring His transcendent mercy into it.

7. THE DECLARATION of ZEAL to ONLY “DO THIS” WITH GOD
As noted, we Americans are in a very unprecedented season of socio-political tribulation. We are in a battle to decide what kind of nation we will have. In Joshua chapter 5, in the hours before God’s chosen people were to attack the city of Jericho and begin their conquest of the land that had been promised to them, the Commander of the Lord’s Army comes to Joshua, and tests his heart with the revelation that He, Himself was neither on Joshua’s side, nor Jericho’s side. The question that confronted Joshua was: “Will you be on the Lord’s side?” And this is no less the question for us today. Joshua’s response is a good one for us to emulate. As he removed the sandals from his feet, he bowed low before the pre-incarnate King, Jesus essentially declaring, “I surrender myself to You. This is Your battle. No matter what else happens. I want to be found on Your side. I don’t want to do this without being with You where You are.”

CONCLUSION
Beloved. There’s something MUCH BIGGER than our democracy at stake here. If we don’t see the Lord’s hand in the pressure that’s being stirred within the church, and the nation, it’s all the more impetus for us to give ourselves to seeking out the Face of the Lord.

And yes, the call to prayer is wholly counterintuitive. It is only going to be heard and understood by faith in the place of our spirit. The call to prayer isn’t primarily to “change” government, or popular opinion. It’s to align our will, emotions, mind and spirit with the heart of our King as He’s bringing His pressure to bear on our society. He’s really God! And He’s really preparing the earth for His Son’s return. If we’re more angry, or defensive, or righteous about what’s happening in our nation than we are humbled, and prayerful about Who’s coming, we’re in urgent need of adjustment – adjustment that will only happen at the deep, thorough level that comes from having given ourselves to being in the audience of the King of the Universe.

Find the place of prayer. Be a woman, or man of authenticated faith in the transcendent power of God. Lift up your eyes to the Lord of a trillion galaxies. Lift your voice there – in His holy, and magnificent Presence – if you can.

Today. Saturday, October 18 – our House of Prayer will be engaging in 3 hours of dedicated space to simply adore the King the Father has ordained to reign over us. And we confidently anticipate that as we do, He will extend His majesty, power, wisdom and kindness over our lives, and our communities. The Lord does inhabit the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3) 

This “trouble” in our nation isn’t going away anytime soon. If your church ministry doesn’t have a dedicated time, space, people who give themselves to seeking, humbling, worshipping prayer – start one. I promise you, the Lord will visit you there.

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JSB • October, 2025