Dear Friends of Wales Awakening:

In Exodus chapter 6 we read the ongoing story of Moses and how things weren’t going very well after his first visit to speak to Pharaoh. The result was the Hebrews lost their supply of straw but had to produce the same number of bricks. After God reiterates his promise and encourages Moses, we see this in Gen. 6:9. "but when Moses delivered his message to the Israelites, they didn’t even hear him — they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions." (The Message) The new king James version says, "...they did not heed Moses... because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage."

What struck me in here was the condition of the people's hearts being so "beaten down" they were not open to even hope for something better. The idea that this God that they had heard about for generations was going to set them free seemed to be too good to be true. And then my focus in prayer was immediately switched from historical Egypt to the lack of receptivity to the gospel of Christ in our modern world, and my heart was overwhelmed.

A great many generations after Joseph's father and brothers settled in Egypt, Exodus 1:8 says, "A new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph." And today, we can easily see the (parallel) "...anguish of spirit and cruel bondage" in the world all around us. In the midst of a devastating pandemic and other natural disasters adding to people's distress, world economies are under tremendous pressure, and entire nations are in the throes of political upheaval. The enemy of men's souls, in his warfare against God's beloved children of men, seems to have gained the advantage in hardening the heart of our increasingly secularized world.

Quite frankly, it is horrifying to watch the intentional degeneration of time-honored standards of truth and morality. The ridiculous but sinister attempt to erase definitions of gender and sexuality, morality, and the God-ordained structure of natural family have somehow overridden the power of reason and common sense. And the unscrupulous re-writing of history textbooks that has all but divested our youth of any knowledge of God is appalling.

And what has become known today as "cancel culture" is nothing less than a heinous attempt to manipulate whole segments of society through the virtual kidnapping of traditional and social media, leaving lawless and unethical censorship unbridled to set the nations awash in a "post-Christian” stormy sea of relativism and hopelessness. The Apostle Paul clearly states in Ephesians 2:12 that, “…[we] were without Christ… and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."

BUT, listen to God's declaration to Moses in Exodus 6:3. "I appeared Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord (YWWH, Jehovah, I-am-present), I was not known to them."  He now establishes the fact that He will be present with them, and in verse 6-7 He promises them,  "I am the Lord; ...I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God."

There’s something so powerful about "His name—His presence" with them, that was formerly unknown to them. That is such a parallel to today’s culture where the knowledge of God and His presence is practically nonexistent. Moses had obviously learned how vitally necessary this promise was when later on he says to God in Exodus 33:15,  "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."

When we think of a person, we think of them by their name. That name may fill us with warm memories of love and contentment, or evoke a wide range of other feelings. But using a name speaks of experience with that person—relationship. Moses' active interaction with the person of God throughout his whole adventure gave him a broad experience of the many characteristics of his nature. What a wealth of relationship!

As good as God's promise of redemption from bondage was for the Israelites then, we have even greater news. Hebrews 8:6 says, "[Jesus] is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."  And the fruit of these "better promises" is far more than God's open invitation to every living soul today into a right relationship with Himself. Through the shed blood of Christ that atones for our sin, not only is God with us, but He dwells in us! And gloriously more than this, His amazing grace grants us eternal life, relationship and friendship with Him, and the sure knowledge that we will never be alone again ever!

In today's broken and confused world, of course, this sounds too good to be true. But the fact of the matter is that it is so good because it is true. A fascinating discussion between the avowed atheist C.S. Lewis and his Christian friend J.R.R. Tolkien once took place exploring the divergence of these two viewpoints. You can watch a brilliant 8-minute reenactment of their discussion at this link.

Jesus' own words tell us of God's Good News in John 10:10. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." This astonishing truth of redemption from this world's cruel bondage is the "ground zero" of prayer for revival.

Thank you for joining us and may God empower His people as we make our appeal to heaven for the nations,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends of Wales Awakening:

Being in the great outdoors is an amazing gift from the Lord, and helps us keep our eyes on His view of things rather than our own. The ever-changing patterns of light and darkness, warmth and shadow, highlight the fact that He is the Lord of the seasons and the harvest. Our own little patch might be in sunlight or shade at the moment, but we are all in  His hands and are part of a much greater scheme of things as God works out His plans on the earth today.

For a while now we have been following and praying along with Dutch Sheet's daily Give Him 15 posts. They are always an encouragement to many people, ourselves included, and give some valuable points for prayer. This morning's February 9th post was no exception, but it contains an additional element of interest and blessing to us—a significant reference to Wales!

Dutch tells about a prophetic dream that his friend Gina Gholston had regarding God's love for the lost and the coming revival. This is the portion I want to point out.
"Suddenly, the dream shifted, and I knew by the Spirit that what was happening at the Red River Meeting House was also taking place at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, and Azusa Street in California! I was then lifted up and could see a line running north and south, connecting Cane Ridge and the Red River Meeting House. Another line from each of them went west to Azusa. I could see that these lines formed the shape of a spearhead. From the line drawn between Cane Ridge and the Red River Meeting House was yet another, coming from the nation of Wales to the east. It was forming the shaft of the spear... I was being shown that all of those past moves of God were now being brought together to ‘spearhead’ another greater and more powerful move of God in our time."

This direct reference to Wales being connected with these other places is just one further sign that we are "still barking up the right tree!" Even down to the detail of the description of the spearhead. When the Lord called us to come and pray here back in 2002, part of His extraordinary confirmation to me as I prayed up at the chapel that morning was a single small bright white cloud shaped like the head of a spear moving directly towards where I stood. It is absolutely amazing how the Lord continues to assure us that we are still on track. Like the word says in Psalm 78:39, "...He remembers that we are but flesh..." and we need all the help we can get!

After we listened to Dutch's post this morning, I was prompted to look up the date of that dream—January 14, 2020. I was stunned to realize on that very same morning we were at a friend's house in Charlotte, NC, and took part in an extraordinary prophetic act. We were praying about the defeat of the adversary and Gladys was prompted to draw a picture of "the dragon, that serpent of old" on a glass and then smash it on a rock.

We wrote on it, "Today God destroys the dragon and breaks all fear... Wales belongs to Christ and the dragon doesn't have any power in Wales...  Jesus defeats the idolatry of the dragon... And the verse from Romans 16:20, "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet..."
(You can watch the short clip at this link.)

The fact that these two things took place on the same day has nothing to do with "coincidence", rather it is divinely orchestrated evidence that God is at work through the church in our day. I wonder what other things happened on that date? We hear from many diverse places around the world of His intervention in hearts and lives at every level, and it is greatly encouraging. We know only in part, and just imagine our wonder and worship as we continually learn more and more of His gracious dealings in human affairs!

As each one of us continues to press into our specific assignments from the Lord, no matter the cost, we discover just how abundantly He pours grace into our lives. And as we share the stories of God's goodness with others, we are putting Revelation 12:11 into practice, "And they overcame him [the dragon] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

What a blessing to know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us,

Dick & Gladys