 Since starting a small storefront church in inner-city Chicago, John Eckhardt
has guided hundreds of churches around the world, launched dozens of
ministry schools and sold more than half a million books. Yet none of
that has changed how he prays.
There’s a war raging, and John Eckhardt
won’t relent. Fighting in the trenches for decades now, the firebrand
fivefold minister has charted his own unique crusade against a known
enemy, drawing enlistees from American inner cities and suburbs and as
far away as Africa, Asia and parts of Europe. But don’t go looking for
shields, guns or grenades at his south Chicago church—befittingly named
Crusaders Church. You won’t find them.
This battle is not against flesh and
blood. The enemy, Satan, won’t go down with mere ammunition but with
authoritative, Word-filled prayers that change lost lives and rattle the
religious.
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 How your prayers can Destroy generational Strongholds
We all know we can inherit our mother’s
eyes, our father’s nose, or the color of our grandmother’s hair. But did
you know that we can pick up character qualities from our parents, such
as a bad temper, a propensity for lying, depression, self-pity, envy,
unforgiveness, perfectionism and pride? These and other characteristics
that have a spiritual root can be passed along from our parents to us,
and from us to our children. In a particular family there may be a
tendency toward such things as divorce, infidelity, alcoholism,
addiction, suicides or depression all mistakenly accepted as “the way I
am.”
The Bible talks about the influence our
parents can have on us. It says God will visit “the iniquities of the
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me” (Ex. 20:5). This Scripture is referring to people who don’t
walk in a loving relationship with God. However, a parent who is a
believer and loves God can still choose to sin. And his sin will
profoundly affect his children.
 Jesus promised we would suffer for His
name, yet how many of us know how to rise above our struggles? While he
and his wife battled cancer, Billy Hornsby offered this profound message on how to face life’s biggest trials—including death.
Editor’s Note: In
light of Billy Hornsby’s death (see “Transitions”), we wanted to
pay tribute to this remarkable church planter by sharing one of his
last public messages, which he delivered in December to his home church
in Birmingham, Ala. At the time, the cancer in Billy was progressing
rapidly and, though he believed God for healing, he was upfront about
the possibility of dying. Given this context, Billy’s powerful words—and
how he lived his last moments on earth—take on new meaning and prove
that God can provide grace, strength and victory in any situation, no
matter how bleak the outcome.
Have you ever started a year thinking, This is going to be a great year—in fact, I’m going to have the best year of my life?
At first, everything seems to be going great and life is good. But then
tragedy strikes. Maybe your business goes south, or maybe you get a
dreaded disease. It rocks your world because you have such great
expectations for the future, but suddenly you find yourself in despair
over a tragedy that’s affected your life.
 Galilee: Walking in His Footsteps
When retracing the primary region of Jesus’ ministry, don’t skip these sites
Israel’s Galilee
region is often a Holy Land pilgrim’s favorite, especially for those
who want to walk where Jesus lived and taught. This is where the bulk of
Christ’s ministry occurred, where He gathered most of His followers and
where He performed more than 20 miracles.
The absence of modern development makes
it easy to visualize first-century life. Solitude and meditation come
easily, especially if you read Gospel accounts as you enjoy the mountain
and water views around the Sea of Galilee, an inland lake known as
Kinneret in Hebrew.Tiberias on the western shore is lodging central
with modern hotels and restaurants near the water. And after visiting
the following sites, don’t forget the most popular edible is tilapia,
known as St. Peter’s fish—a great meal finale to a contemplative lake
float.
 God is stirring a massive yet underground movement of prayer among His people. But what does it mean? jerusalem 24/7 prayer leader tom hess offers his take.
Rising above
Jerusalem along the city’s eastern side is a rolling ridge of three
peaks called the Mount of Olives. Its simple name, bestowed in ancient
times, doesn’t call to mind the breadth of God’s history this site has
hosted. Yet on its summit the very “glory of the Lord” once stood when
Ezekiel prophesied the regathering of God’s exiled people to Himself
(see Ezek. 11:20-25). Thousands of years later, the glory of the
Lord—God’s Son—stood on the mountain again and set into motion God’s
plan to gather the nations to Himself.
From this mountain, Jesus prayed the
Lord’s Prayer, the beginning of which was fulfilled on Pentecost, and
the end of which will be fulfilled with His coming again to Jerusalem to
reign over all nations. Also from this mountain, before He ascended to
heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to take His salvation to the world
and to wait in Jerusalem until they had been filled with His power for
the task:
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