Hello friends. I hope you are doing well. I was very inspired by these resources in the last week and I hope that they encourage you too. God is definitely moving throughout the world! ❤️🎊🙏👏
Revival Series:
I just finished Carey Nieuwhof’s revival series podcast. There are five episodes.
– First one was about the outpouring at Asbury University in 2022. If you missed the episode that I shared last week, here it is:
– This pastor, Jon Tyson’s church is in NYC and he reports that there are supernatural dreams of Jesus and encounters happening amongst the nonbelievers who live there. This pastor is also a revival history enthusiast and has been to revival hotspots with his family. Instead of Disney, he goes with his family to revival hotspots for vacation! He described a recent powerful encounter with God in a revival hotspot that is really…extraordinary.
– Third episode is about an outpouring that is starting to happen at Saddleback church in Southern California. Pastor Rick Warren passed the leadership of their super mega-church community to a new young pastor, Andy Wood in 2022. The leadership is preparing themselves prayerfully and practically for greater outpouring. (Pastor Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life: What on earth am I here for?” had a huge impact on me 14 years ago. His sermons and writings continue to inspire me and also keep me disciplined in my faith journey.)
– Fourth episode is about revival in the UK! That is amazing news. Three pastors in the UK share that Gen Z men in the UK are becoming Christians in record numbers. Wow. That’s incredible.
– Fifth episode is an interview with pastor, JP Pokluda of Dallas, Texas. He brings firsthand accounts of how God is moving in college stadiums. He explains what’s different about Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and why God is moving so powerfully now.
I am so encouraged by these interviews! As we enter a new fall semester of prayer and intercession, like the prophetess Anna I am becoming expectant of encountering Jesus Christ for myself too. I’ve only had a few tiny glimpses here and there. Mostly it’s been learning about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit by studying the Bible and hearing people’s testimonies.
Speaking of studying the Bible, this year I have been listening to the Bible, rather than reading it. It’s my second time doing this. I couldn’t really absorb it much in my first try because I knew so little of the backstory and history of the Bible; but this time I am getting a lot by listening to the Bible. If you want to try audio Bible again, Times Square Church is starting a new audio Bible podcast in September. This podcast will walk through the entire Bible, one chapter at a time. Please sign up for it here. Though I am in another audio Bible program, I signed up for it since I am curious to hear their commentaries.
Interview with Jeremiah Gray, a law student:
Pastor Darwin Gray interviews his son, Jeremiah. Darwin Gray was a professional NFL player for the Panthers. Just like his dad, Jeremiah was pursuing a football career but God pivoted him into law. He is currently a law student at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s a good interview to hear especially for young people as they are thinking about their area of study and careers.
Due to the lack of testimonies in the 90s, I assumed that God’s ultimate goal was for all of his people to go into full time ministry. Satan used this false assumption against me since I had no desire to go into full time ministry. This is why I keep sharing other careers with you so that you could share them with the young people in your life. If I had read the entire Bible in college, and not just the New Testament books (minus the book of Revelation) then I would have known that this was a lie.
If you are wondering what I now think about full time ministry; I think it’s a great honor. That means God has selected you for the frontlines of His kingdom battlefields. You have to be battle-ready at all times. The Old Testament books, especially the ones about the history of kings in Israel will give you many strategies, wisdom, discernment and warnings. Since about 95% were not good kings, mostly you’ll learn a lot of lessons on what NOT to do by seeing the end results of their disobedience and pride.
Gateway church has a new pastor:
Speaking about their end results; Gateway church has a new pastor after last year’s exposure of their lead pastor’s past sexual sins and deliberate cover-ups. Here is their new pastor, Daniel Lloyd speaking for the first time from the pulpit. I have been praying for Gateway church and I am so happy to see that their church is still standing strong. After hearing their new pastor speak, I have so much hope about his leadership. I’ll be praying for him, his family 🙏 and the Gateway church. (My heart still goes out to the previous lead pastor, Robert Morris, his wife and their many family members. I pray for their restoration.)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gateway-churchs-podcast/id88410531?i=1000722672829
I just heard a great interview. (His name stood out to me because my favorite dentist’s name was David Shapiro. Sadly he passed away about a year ago from cancer.) Here is the guest’s bio:
“David Shapiro is a pastor, chaplain for a local fire department, co-host of the Boundless Bible podcast, and a soon-to-be published author of Jesus Christ: A Lot of Evidence. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home in Queens, NY, David never imagined he’d one day come to faith in Jesus—let alone teach others about Him. With a doctorate in religious education, a background in professional martial arts, and a testimony that spans atheism, agnosticism, and deep academic study, David now uses his unique story and voice to help others encounter the truth and grace of Jesus Christ.”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ex-skeptic/id1534623418?i=1000722051012
What stood out to me most in this interview is that his mom got saved only two weeks before she died. She made it to heaven. Whew! If anyone here is on the fence about receiving your own ticket to heaven; please give David Shapiro a listen and read his new book too. Since I never struggled with receiving my free ticket to heaven; I can’t say I understand your hesitation.
My greatest struggle has been the lordship of Jesus Christ over my life. Since I’ve studied the Bible so much in the last 15 years, I am now convinced that God’s way is the best plan to follow on this earth.
Lately I’ve been having trouble getting back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. When that happens I have discovered that late pastor Tim Keller’s sermons put me to sleep because he has a professor-like voice. 😂 I’ve heard this same message three times but never finished it because I’d fall asleep on it. Finally I heard it yesterday when I was awake and it wasn’t what I expected. Title of the message is called “Integrity”. It was very good.
The reason why I was intrigued to hear the message about “Integrity” is because of this interview with Warren Buffett. He said that integrity is the most important trait. I realized that I never wanted to pursue business in college because I falsely assumed from movies and television shows that you must compromise integrity in business to be successful. In reality, this is not true. Rather if you compromise integrity, then you will lose greatly in business. If you have a young person who is interested in going into business, please share this interview with Warren Buffet. They should be learning from successful business leaders like him, not from watching movies and TV shows. Please be a good fruit inspector when you are following and listening to leaders and teachers. For example, if you need good marriage counseling then receive it from those who have successful marriages and have been married for a long while. Warren Buffet is one of the most successful people in business and he has a very good legacy plan in place too. His children are involved in his life too, which is a very good sign about his character.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/news/content/ar-AA1Knlqm?ocid=sapphireappshare
I’ve been subscribed to Poets and Quants since a college counselor told me about them five years ago. They offer information about business schools to applicants, students and parents. I’ve never seen any reporting about faith in the five years that I’ve been receiving their newsletters. That changed yesterday! Here’s an article about an MBA ministry. Please share this article with the young people in your life who are studying business in college in case they want to seek this group out.
https://poetsandquants.com/2025/08/18/faith-leadership-in-the-mba-world-inside-the-mba-ministry/
Journal of Faith 