HOME WebsiteTips What's New Free Newsletter Feature Article Previous Articles Contact & Links ABOUT US Dennis Bennett Bio Rita Bennett Bio Press Articles Photo Album BOOKS & OTHER GIFTS Emotionally Free To Heaven & Back Inner Wholeness Bookstore Order Form COURSES Inner Healing Evaluation Emotionally Free Inner Wholeness Teachers & Schedules Be A Teacher TOUR HEAVEN! e-Mail Here
	How does one celebrate the fall holidays when our country and our world are in such turmoil? How can we celebrate when our World Trade Center has been dashed to the ground? How can we rejoice when anthrax is being sent to our post offices in attempts to destroy our leaders and ultimately many of the American people? A large number of people are afraid to live life as we used to. Afraid to travel on planes since four have been used as bombs of destruction. Afraid to invest after having lost large amounts of savings in the shaky Stock Market. Afraid one's job will be cut by financial stress placed on business owners when hundreds of thousands of people have been put out of work. How shall we then live in the coming days? And why weren't we warned about the disasters coming upon us? Or were we warned and did not believe it. Or did God speak to us but we did not understand His message? To Travel or Not to Travel A year ago I had been invited to lead a seminar at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in North Carolina. The date was set for October 4-7, 2001. Then America was attacked and we were suddenly in war, albeit a new kind of war against international terrorists - new kinds of bandits. Now I wondered whether I should cancel my speaking engagement and stay home. A friend said "We should be brave but also choose wisely what battles to engage in." Was this my battle? I asked many people to help me pray about whether I should fly to the East Coast and then go on to Florida to be with my siblings. "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). In other words, when in doubt it's wise to ask a number of folks for prayer. Some responded: "It feels okay to me. We'll pray you there and back." "I think you'll be okay." One, after anointing with oil and prayer, "I get no negative feelings about it." Another "No, we're at war. It's not a good time." "You're head of an organization. It doesn't seem wise at this time." Others quoted: "Joshua said, 'Be strong and of a good courage'" (Joshua 1:9). "God has not given us the spirit of fear but of love, peace and a sound mind" (II Tim. 1:7). I fasted and prayed several days during this time and still got no clear word in my own spirit or any specific sign from the Lord. Then after a few more days, all of a sudden it seemed "the right thing to do." Here was an opportunity to help people in their time of need. I must walk by faith, I thought. In preparation for speaking at the Sunday service in North Carolina, I read the scriptures given for that day. There it was again "The just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4b). Yes, that was His word to me. I phoned Pastor Don Goodheart with my answer. It wasn't long before a newspaper reporter from the Winston-Salem Journal phoned me for an interview which lasted about forty-five minutes. John Railey, among other things, wanted to know if I was afraid to fly. I explained that I had certainly been praying about my flying out there and that I had just received the go-ahead. In Proverbs chapter 4 it says "Ponder the path of your feet . . ." (vs. 26) and that praying about where we go is important." Then I explained, "I always pray the night before I fly, I pray as the plane taxis down the runway, I pray if the air gets bumpy, and I pray when we're landing! In fact prayer is always an active part of my travels as well as my life in general." He wanted to know what I thought about the sudden attack on our country. I told him that Dennis, my late husband and I, at times felt God had warned us about situations ahead of time. Then I explained three warnings I had from God this year?? that I had taken note of enough to put in my journal but had reasoned my way out of taking as seriously as I should have. Three Warnings One was February 28th with the 6.8 Puget Sound earthquake where God spoke to me from the scripture read at that Ash Wednesday church service at St. Alban's Church "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand . . ." (Joel 2:1, also 2-3). Interestingly this scripture was set up scores of years ago and it was read according to that prescribed pattern by all Episcopal churches nationwide this year. Earlier that morning before the earthquake hit at 10:54 A.M., I had been up late writing a "Teacher to Teacher" newsletter in which I reviewed current events and problems over the battle for Jerusalem. I also said, "More earthquakes are shaking the world every few weeks. . . " About six hours later my house was shaking for about a minute though there was no damage, but in other places more toward Seattle and Olympia there was extensive damage. I told John that another warning came on April 4th when I awoke with one word strongly impressed upon my mind. "Woe." I couldn't seem to shake this word. It seemed to be from God. Soon my natural mind began to reason, 'Maybe you just heard that word somewhere before you went to sleep.' I called a friend and mentor, Dr. Amos Millard, who sent me a list of all the "woes" in the Bible. There are a lot of them! I knew already of the three prophetic "woes" in the book of Revelation but couldn't see a clear connection there. I took it seriously enough to journal this experience. Then July 5th I had a third warning. It was a dream about a coming "catastrophic event" as it was stated in my dream. I saw a huge tree pulled out of the earth which flew horizontally through the sky headed away from me. I knew I was safe. I said to a lady in my dream, "I wonder if this is an end time event." She discounted the idea. I puzzled for some time about what the uprooted tree meant, if anything at all. To the reader again I want to add that just recently I've begun to understand a possible connection with the tree. In the November issue of "The Vintage Voice" it tells how St. Paul's Chapel stands directly across the street from what was the World Trade Center Complex. One of the giant sycamores at the back of the space between the W.T.C.C. and the Chapel was totally uprooted by the force of the explosion and says the vicar, the Rev. Lyndon Harris, "Its leaves may well have shielded the church from destruction. Miraculously St. Paul's appears to have suffered little damage." St. Paul's Chapel, built in 1766, is the oldest public building in continuous use in the city of New York. It was in this chapel that George Washington prayed, just after his inauguration as our first President! It's no wonder that God wanted to save this historic church. The Chapel's vicar also believes that other trees in the church's graveyard helped save the church from the force of the explosions. He said, "Not one window was broken, and the gorgeous Waterford chandeliers are still intact, though their brass connections are tarnished to a dull gray. The gift of trees, God's own creation, was in a sense fighting in the battle along with the firemen and others. Like little soldiers the trees took the blast of the fragmented glass, cement, and smoke, and made a screen of protection for the house of God. Maybe that was the symbolism of coming destruction I saw in my dream. Because of God's love we see His redemption shown even through that uprooted giant sycamore and the other trees. John Railey, the reporter, wrote about these three warnings in an abbreviated form as well as some other details and it reached the newspaper a week before my arrival in Winston-Salem. I was told that twice as many people came to the Seminar as expected because of it. As I had admitted to John, I didn't believe these warnings enough to do much about them. My prayer life did not change drastically because of them. I did, however, write an article about the earthquake that got into my hometown paper "The Edmonds Beacon." Yes, my friends, I am still learning, repenting, and growing. Scripture tells us that God confirms His word through two or three witnesses and now in retrospect, I realize I had confirmation via three warnings.1 Prophecy Conference Twenty days before the September 11th attack, at the last minute, I felt an urge to go to my first EschatologyProphecy Conference which I had just discovered was being held in Branson, Missouri. Within five days I had my ticket and was headed out to hear what insight these learned men had from God's Word. There were excellent speakers and even one day of solidarity for Israel as four Israelis spoke to us. As I look back on that Conference, the ones who were closest to saying something prophetic about the Sept. 11th event were: Zola Levitt, J.R. Church, and Gershon Saloman. Zola said, "It's not the real war in Israel. The real war is going on here in the U.S.A." He said this on August 24th, just two and a-half weeks before the attack on America. J.R. was expecting something of import to happen September 17/18th when the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanna or Yom Teruah would begin. He felt if war broke out within that time, we might be entering the predicted "time of Jacob's Trouble." You can learn more by reading his magazine "Prophecy in the News." Gershon of The Temple Mount Faithful, an Orthodox Jew, said "We're living in the Messianic time which began in 1948. Jerusalem is the 'apple of God's eye.' There is a battle for the rebuilding of the House of God." What Should We Then Do? What I want to say to you is that the End Times began with Pentecost in Acts 2:4. In this chapter the Apostle Peter quotes the prophet Joel, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17-18). Joel here is speaking about the early church but more specifically he goes on to talk about "the last of the last days" as in the verses following, he describes the "Day of the Lord." I don't need to tell you that these are serious times we are in, and want to encourage you to walk closely and prayerfully with the Lord. I've seen in my own life, and shared with you, that God is trying to speak to us to tell us what to pray about to avert disaster. He wants to protect you and your loved ones, but you and I have to pay attention in order to learn to hear from God. I've learned over the years and more recently that His personal guidance is not always easy to understand; yet in retrospect I see that God has been speaking to me more than I realized. It's hard for us to believe that we, as laymen and women, are important enough for God to speak to explicitly, as well as to one's pastor or leaders in the public eye. Of course, there is no substitute for the study of God's Word which will confirm the truth of a prophecy, a vision, or a dream. All these gifts must flow together. Empowerment with the Spirit stirs up God's gifts within us, so pray for your spiritual oil lamp to be filled so God can more easily speak to you and direct you.2 Get yourself ready to be used by God in these days. Be ready to travel wherever you are given heavenly instructions to go. And remember "the just [when the human spirit is born from above and joined to the Lord - justified] shall live by faith [childlike trust in God]." Make sure you've taken this all-important step of making your divine connection with Abba Father through His Son (John 10:9). Do celebrate the holidays and on into other joyous occasions in the New Year. Be thankful for every moment you have with your loved ones. Help the poor now more than ever. Be in tune with our Lord so that He can direct the path of your feet. Journal and then act upon what you feel are God's words to you. Keep looking up. By all means let's celebrate life. Life now and in the life to come! 1. For scripture on the concept of three witnesses for guidance, see the following: Deuteronomy17:6, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1. 2. Read the Bennett's important book "The Holy Spirit and You" on this. LATEST NEWS ABOUT CHRISTIAN RENEWAL MINISTRIES -- Christian Renewal Association is supported entirely through private donations like yours, plus sales of religious books, seminars, and audio materials. You can help us in these two vital ways: gifts and purchases. Books can be obtained through your bookstores such as, Barnes and Noble, or through Christian Renewal directly. All these ways are good, but when you buy through us, we benefit more which helps us meet our monthly budget. Giving, Benefits You Too--Remember this is a 501-C-3 non-profit work that enables you to claim your gifts on your annual income tax. We live in a country that rewards you for giving to bonafide non-profit organizations. Year End Giving--We invite you to remember us now in planning for your Year-End Giving. Be sure to mail your gift postmarked by or before December 31st, so that you won't miss taking your deductions for 2001. Reaching the World--We are reaching the world with the Good News by Newsletters and the Website. If you can help with the expenses for these two missions, please do so. If you can help contribute for others who cannot afford to do so, that would be much appreciated. About 5% of our mailing list remember to contribute to this expense. On whatever level you can partner with us, it is so much appreciated. The staff are all dedicated Believers and work very hard at this mission field. A sampling of some of the calls that come through our office daily are: "I'm desperate for someone to do some prayer work with me for emotional healing. Please call me." "I attended your seminar in North Carolina and would like prayer." "We'd like to order copies of your pamphlet "How to Put On the Whole Armor of God." and teach it to our group. Need guidance." "Could you pray for my daughter who's in an unhealthy relationship?" "Please pray for my daughter who is struggling with bolemia." Dear friends, see how your support helps us? News from Christian Renewal Assoc. Inc. is published four times a year in two free newsletters: In Touch & Emotionally Free, and The Morning Watch. Subscribe here. The material published in CRA Newsletters is protected by copyright. Please write for permission to use it. © 2001 Rita Bennett.