From the Desk of James W. Goll
As I was being driven to Tahlequah I felt the pleasure of God on us as we were to be with the Cherokee. Later in my notes I wrote:
“I felt the pleasure of God on this outreach. I had not felt this realm for a while. I knew that we were doing What Jesus Would Do! It was held on site Moravian grounds where children’s home had been built. I had my Hernhutt key with me so that made it all the more special.
I also briefly talked with Clifton Petite, pastor and apostle of the Cherokee, and we agreed that this would be an annual event on the last weekend of April each year. So that is awesome. We can now plan ahead for this.
My sense is that there is another tribe or First Nation's group that we are to reach out to. I am not sure who it is yet. But the Lord will show us.
There could be a full time ministry for many people just "being kind" to our Host First Nations People.”
This event, The National Day of Prayer for the Cherokee Nation, in 2008 was Michal Ann's last outreach in her earthly body. She struggled to find the strength at times and yet would not have missed it! The site of the prayer time this year was different and we had some challanges with the change. But God was up to something. I want to take an excerpt from John Mark Rogers article (below) and insert it here to show how Jehova-sneaky showed up:
After the meeting that night, a leadership meeting was held back at the hotel. Karen, a native intercessor, shared a word about the Cherokee picking up the Moravian lamp stand. I asked Clifton, “what Moravian lamp stand?” We did not know that we had just been on the historic site of the Moravian Mission to the Cherokee. I explained the extreme connection with James and the Moravian lamp stand thru the PrayerStorm effort, just as James Goll walked into the hotel. We explained that the event is being held on the mission site. James was astounded. He just happened to have the key to the city of Hernhut where the Moravians had launched out. This was going to be fun.
It was a GREAT time with God discovering some of the hidden treasures that He holds near and dear to His Heart. I loved my time here and look forward to this event each and every year. In addition to the prayer sessions, Mark Roye and the Blood and Fire “holy smokers” drove up from TX to cook barbeque for all those in attendance. Mark and the team were up and cooking at 5:00am. Wow, what a heart for people. We also distributed 51,000 meals of packaged rice to the Marble City food pantry and the Two Rivers Native American food pantry. Encounters Network then donated 250 copies of my books The Lost Art of Intercession and Angelic Encounters. These books we hope will open doors to many.
Remember our upcoming School of the Warfare of the Heart this June! It is limited to only 100 people, so get on board as soon as possible as pre-registration ends this Tuesday, June 2nd! Also don’t forget our 25% Off Special in our Online Bookstore which ends tonight at Midnight!
Thanks for your friendship, prayers and ongoing support of the ministry of EN, CA and PrayerStorm. Remember, together in Jesus, we make a great team!
In Christ Jesus our Lord!
James W. Goll
>> Click here for registration and information.
This School will be limited to the first 100 paid registrations!
Click to Play or download: Charles Stock - Shining in Transition
This message was captured at our EN Leadership gathering in the Spring of 2009. In it Charles Stock, the senior pastor of Life Center in Harrisburg, PA weaves a tale from his own life which gives powerful insight into how the Lord desires each of us to come through transition carrying the transforming power of His light within us.
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Healing the Land through the
Cherokee National Day of Prayer
~ Setting the record straight ~
By J. Mark Rodgers
First, let me spend a few minutes casting a vision from scripture as to the biblical background we should walk in with regard to native culture. Many scripture taken out of context begs a metaphorical interpretation. However, by examining the body of scripture without a lens of cultural interpretation can reveal much of Gods intent. Go a step further in looking at the original Greek and Hebrew text and things get very interesting.
In Joshua chapter 24, verses 25 thru 27, we see a glimpse of something intriguing. On this day Joshua erects a stone under a tree to “listen” to what God is saying to Israel. “See!” (Referring to the stone), “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” This scripture taken literally suggest that the stone has a sort of collective memory of what happens around it. Somewhere in the Middle East is a stone, perhaps forgotten that bears witness of a promise that was made. A covenant between God, His created order and his chosen people. Interesting to ponder isn’t it?
Let’s take this a step further. In Psalms chapter 96, verse 13 we read “he comes to judge the earth (dirt), he will judge the world (kosmos, created order) and the people with truth.” The word judge in the original text is more closely associated with the word “examine.” We see the three fold examination of God upon the Lords return repeated in psalm chapter 98, verse 9. These scriptures suggest that when God examines the history of mankind, he starts with the creation in a holistic fashion. It further suggests that the creations record of our dominion and stewardship awaits his examination. He will not only judge people but the condition of creation itself.
The whole of creation groans in Romans chapter 8, verse twenty thru twenty five:
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
This offers further understanding to scripture like Psalm chapter 98, verse seven and eight. “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for the joy, let them sing (collectively) before the Lord.” Job chapter twelve, verse seven tells us “ask the beasts and let them teach you and the birds of the heavens and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth (dirt) and let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know (spiritual understanding) that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”
Second Chronicles chapter seven, verse thirteen and fourteen states: "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (dirt)”. We have read all sorts of metaphorical meanings into this scripture, but the literal interpretation of this verse means he will heal their land (dirt).
Isaiah chapter sixty two, verse four states:
“It will no longer be said to you, “forsaken,” nor to your land (dirt) will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “my delight is in her,” and your land (dirt), “married”; for the lord delights in you and to him your land (dirt) will be married.”
Ezekiel chapter nine, verse nine thru eleven shows us what happens as a result of the lands bad witness.
“Then He said to me, the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood and the city full of perversity, for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land (dirt) and the Lord does not see.’”
John chapter three, verse sixteen states: “For God so loved the world (kosmos-land, water, creation, and mankind) that he gave his only son that who so ever believes in him shall have eternal life”. This scripture examined in light of scripture suggest that perhaps we have seen our salvation from a self-serving stand point. We are saved to restore His kingdom within his created order (all of it!).
Habakkuk chapter two, verse fourteen reads “For the earth (surface of the earth, especially the cultivated land) will be filled with the knowledge (knowing with familiarity gained thru experience) of the glory of the lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Animals have played pivotal roles at critical times in scripture. This includes the following supernatural occurrences’: Oxen delivering the ark back to Beth Shemesh (1 Samuel 6:10), Frogs in Egypt (Exodus 8:5-6), Gnats in Egypt (Exodus 8:16-18), Whales swallowed Johan (Jonah 1:17), Bears avenge Elisha (2 Kings 2:23-24), Donkey spoke with Balaam (Numbers 22:22-35), Ravens feed Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-6), Fish obey Jesus in gathering in Peters nets (Luke 5:1-11) and a Fish pays taxes (Matthew 17:27).
This gives a new perspective on the great commission. Mark chapter sixteen verse fifteen states:
“Go into all the world (kosmos-total of all the created order) and preach (kerusso-to proclaim and to be heard) the gospel (Euaggelion-good news of the Kingdom of God and salvation thru Christ) to all creation (ktisis-a founding of a city, colonization of a habitable place and the total of all God created.”
There are many, many other scriptures in support of this view of creation from a spiritual platform. You can perform your own study. Read all of this yourself. The native people have for thousands of years understood this spiritual dynamic. Unfortunately, we use a litmus test of roman dominated religion to determine “what is God and what is not.” We have stripped away their culture, language, dress, music, sports, and spiritual understanding imposing our slant on most every facet of life. This has got to change.
Second Samuel chapter twenty one verse one thru eleven tells of a drought that came upon Israel during the reign of David. After three years God told David that the drought was the result of Saul breaking the covenant with the Gibonites. Saul was humbled before them and asked to pay restitution with the offspring of Saul. They wanted neither gold nor silver but the drought was broken by the sacrifice of the sons of Saul. We (those of us representing the United States) have not broken one covenant with the native people; we have broken 387 treaties covering some 750 land sessions. Chief Dragging Canoe stated during negotiations of the Transvalania Treaty that the land “will be a dark and bloody land to inhabit.”
We killed millions with our dieses and guns in a form of genocide that makes Hitler and his final solution pale in comparison. This is not an emotional exaggeration. This is a historic fact. Our land is indeed dark and bloody. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights were only as deep as the color on one’s skin.
I saw a painting recently in the Cherokee Capitol. It was a photograph of the Constitution of the United States with images from the trail of tears imposed over its words. My goodness, what will the land says to God about all this? What has the land recorded? What is the witness it has against us? Whose innocent blood cries out from under the throne of God? (Genesis 4:11, Revelation 6:9-11) What will his examination of the heavens, earth and people reveal?
In 1784, Lieutenant Francis Marion a member of the United States Army was ordered to burn the Cherokee town of Chota. He wrote:
“We proceeded by Colonel Grant’s orders to burn the Indian cabins (and fields)….I saw everywhere around the footsteps of little Indian children where they had lately played under the shade of their rustling corn. When we are gone, thought I, they will return and peeping through the weeds with tearful eyes will mark the ghastly ruin where they had so often played. ‘Who did this?’ they will ask their mothers and the reply will be, ‘the white people did it, the Christians did it,’ thus for cursed mammon’s sake, the followers of Christ have sowed the selfish tares of hate………..”
There is an arrogant religious spirit prevalent in the church today that this all lies in the past buried under the dust of mans collective past. That somehow the nation under which we live is founded under God. If this is the case it could not be the God of scripture. It would have to be some other lesser god that would condone a lopsided view of justice. This would have to be a god that has no knowledge of or memory about covenants? The word says you shall know them by their fruit. (Mathew 7:16-20, Luke 6:43-45 and John 15:5) Under close historic examination you can draw but one conclusion. So who is the god of America?
But with God there is always a way out. He never leaves us condemned and forgotten. There is always a “If only…….. in scripture” “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray…….I will heal their land. We have a choice to make. The Cherokee National Day of Prayer is our “if only moment.”
>>>Click Here<<< for remainder of this article from J. Mark Rodgers.
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