Author: Nancy Huff

Now is the time for Intercessors to Arise!

April 9, 2018

Judges 4 tells the story of one of Israel’s unlikely delivers. The Israelites had done evil in the eyes of the Lord. As a result of their disobedience, the Lord sold them to a Canaanite king who cruelly oppressed them for twenty years. They cried to the Lord for help. Deborah, a prophetess, told Barak, a warrior, what to do to deliver the people, but he refused to go without Deborah. Together they pursued the enemy and won the victory. In chapter 5 after the victory, we have the Song of Deborah. The last verse says, “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun, when it rises in its strength.” Today, let us rise in strength to overthrow our oppressors!

 Recently I read an article by Luis Durani, “The Closing of the American Mind.” Mr. Durani credits America’s faulty educational system as the major reason for the downturn in American society. We have a 70% graduation rate for our high schools and of those who do graduate, only 80% of them are college ready (that means they can enter college without having to take any remedial classes).

California who has one of the poorest educational track records in our country has come up with a novel idea proposed by Governor Jerry Brown. Governor Brown wants to give failing schools back to their communities. Basically, he is saying that the government has run California’s poorer schools in the ground and now they doesn’t know what to do— so simply return it to an already poverty stricken neighborhood that has no resources or track record for improving education.

While our schools fail, the powers over education, spend time, money and resources on making sure that transgender students have the right to choose a bathroom of their chosen gender. This is a prime example of the actions by the infamous Emperor Nero, who was said to “fiddle while Rome burned.”

Today, America needs unlikely deliverers like Barak and Deborah to rise up and lead the way in prayer and intercession. We cannot wait. In a few days, schools will be open and children will pour through the doors with hope of obtaining an education that will prepare them for life. But 21% of the students will never learn to read beyond a fifth grade level. In the natural, we are on the brink of sheer hopelessness.

But God…. Those of us who trust in God have a different kind of hope for American education. No matter how dismal things may seem, we know that if we don’t quit and we stand strong in prayer, we can transform American education! Let us resolve to make things better. We are not hopeless.  Neither are we hopeful dreamers, we stand on the Word of God pray and believe that things can, and will, be different. God isn’t finished with America and His desire is for the Mountain of Education to be transformed.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-2

The Value of a Small Group

March 27, 2018

One of the best treats in this life is to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend – to sit across the table from someone with whom I can freely share my hopes, dreams, and disappointments is a genuine treat. I had that treat recently when Sherry and I met for breakfast. As we sipped our coffee, we caught up with things going on in our lives. Sherry’s has been very busy with law school so over the past three years, the only time we had to meet were during her school breaks.

Our journey as friends started about 10 years ago. I desperately wanted a small group of women who would come together to dream about how we could make the world a better place. So, I held women’s meetings specifically for women in ministry. I discovered is that women are world changers who are often receive little to no encouragement to help them reach their goals. That was certainly true for me. Out of those large group meetings, I found two other women who wanted more accountability (and so did I). We began to meet and dream together about how we could help each other reach our goals. We held each other accountable to action plans and above all we prayed and encouraged each other.

We dubbed ourselves the Wilberforce Three (WF3) after William Wilberforce’s Clapham Circle, a group of committed believers in the mid 1800s who met every evening to dream about how England could be a better place. Wilberforce called it “The Better Hour.” They were responsible for founding over 120 non profits in England and eventually eradicating slavery.              

I asked myself, “Why couldn’t it work in Tulsa, OK?”

So we began. We shared our dreams and goals. Sherry wanted to become a lawyer. At the time, she had no college credits. Carol, a former singer with the Berlin Opera, wanted to take musicians to Israel to perform music that would inspire and uplift the people of Israel. I wanted to write books and I wanted to inspire others to pray for America’s schools.

Fast forward – Sherry finished law school Dec. 2017 and sat for the Bar exam Feb. 2018. This is a tremendous fete, since she started her undergrad work as an adult with no credit hours, plus she worked while she attended classes.

Carol now goes back and forth to Israel and Germany and has taken her first large group of musicians from Germany to Israel to perform. Carol also shares her talent at public venues in Oklahoma and Texas, where she now lives.

I recently finished my fifth book and have been able to do a lot of humanitarian aid. The help and encouragement these two women have given me over the years is invaluable.

It’s true, we need each other more than we could imagine. We need people in our lives who will hold us accountable and will encourage us along the way.

One biographer, John Pollock, said of Wilberforce: “Wilberforce proved that a man can change his times, but that he cannot do it alone.” I say a big “AMEN” to that!

In My Opinion … Maybe We Could Consider Forgiving Them

March 22, 2018

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a talk on forgiveness. There wasn’t a lot of new material that I hadn’t heard before, but as I listened, the Holy Spirit gave new insight, and a way to pray for America’s educational system.

 

Increasingly educators endorse liberal and anti-Christian agendas much to the chagrin of those of us who follow Jesus. The National Education Association (NEA) facilitates the teaching of all things liberal– climate change, sex education, gender identity, etc. Every year the NEA and its 50 state branch offices go deeper and deeper into anti-Christian, progressive, and immoral teaching, all the while, they think they are doing the right thing. For the most part, they believe they are actually setting our children free from the constraints of religion.

 

This is the same attitude the Jews had who crucified Jesus. They actually thought they were doing humanity a favor by killing a person they perceived as a horrible imposter. But Jesus did something unheard of in return for the cruel treatment they gave Him—He forgave them! As He hung on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).” Later when He appeared to the disciples and commissioned them he said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven, if you do not forgive, they are not forgiven (John 21-23).”

 

Forgiveness has many benefits but, one thing it does that is significant is that it rewrites history. Jesus on the cross is not the end. He rewrote history when he rose from the grave and made salvation available to all of us. Because He forgave, we can now identify with Him and live our lives serving a living God who provided a way for us to know Him personally. We have a future because Jesus rewrote history!

 

In DC next week, I want to rewrite history. I will take a team of intercessors will go to pray at the NEA building and we will do an act of forgiveness. Because it’s nearby and needs prayer, we will pray at the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society is one of the main perpetrators of evolution.

 

Would you agree with us as we pray and forgive, that these institutions can, and will, be redeemed and history will be rewritten?

 

Common Core is Dead!

March 19, 2018

Did you hear the news that Common Core is Dead? The obituary was rather short, a mere 250 words, not much for such a weighty historical effort, and for the most part, the media paid little, if no, attention. My guess is that they long suspected that Common Core would find its way into the graveyard of programs developed by past US Presidents that did nothing to improve this nation academic test scores. Every President since George H. W. Bush has had a national educational program implemented through the Department of Education: Bill Clinton—Expanding Educational Opportunities; George W. Bush—No Child Left Behind; Barak Obama—Race to the Top which included Common Core. The surprising thing is that none of the federal programs worked!

 

January 18th Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke at a conference hosted by the American Enterprise Institute on “lessons learned”  about school reform specifically during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Her conclusion was that the only thing the two Department of Education programs had in common was that they were federal programs. Secretary DeVos said, “Common Core is a disaster, and at the U.S. Department of Education, Common Core is dead.”

 

Many times we pray and we never see the answer to our prayers.  I dedicate this article to the many prayer warriors who have prayed in small home groups for years for America’s schools. Their prayers intensified when Common Core became the . Yes, some of the teaching methods of Common Core were questionable, but teachers know new methods of teaching come and go. It was the clandestine agenda that lingered in the background of Common Core that was more dangerous than teaching methods. The curriculum was produced by globalists who want a moralist society that is easily controlled. They followed the footsteps of Communists like John Dewey who began in the late 1800s and worked diligently (and successfully), in our public schools to produce global citizens for the 21st century.

 

Secretary DeVos’ new plan for education is for the states to exercise control over their individual educational programs, and for more “parental empowerment.” She stated, “Ideally, parent and teacher work together to help a child discover his or her potential and pursue his or her passions.” Her statements do not mention the federal government.

 

Secretary DeVos’ statement on Common Core is a brave move. In her declaration, she stood against the largest, most powerful, and most liberal labor union in the United States, as well as a lot of other liberal educators who will consider her demented. Let’s pray for Secretary DeVos—protection from verbal attacks as well as safety. Also, pray for her to complete her mission to reform American education. Pray for our schools to teach students to grow in the knowledge and the grace of God!

 

In my opinion…the cost and rewards of being a Christian in education

March 14, 2018

IMG_2140 (1)

Okay, let’s take a personal survey. Please put a check-list by each of the following instances that have happened to you, in order to be fair—lets say, in the last ten years?

____ heckled in public

____ spit on in public

____ run out of town for your views

____ had your words misconstrued by the media

____ falsely accused of mishandling money

____ faced an angry crowd that didn’t want to hear what you had to say regardless

____ accused of not caring about those whom you serve

____ assaulted for your beliefs in Christian values, i.e. marriage is between a man and a woman, a child is born with a specific sex, etc.

 

I can check off two on the above list, and if I stretch it three. That’s not enough to claim the rewards of someone who has been persecuted for righteousness. But there is a lady who can check off every item and then add a few on the list, and that’s the US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. I’m not stretching the truth—thanks to the media, every incident has been documented in great detail.

 

When Jesus was on the earth, He demonstrated the Kingdom of God, and many times the result was that people demonstrated demonic activity. That’s exactly what is happening today. It’s not Secretary DeVos’ policies they dislike, it’s the fact that she’s a power broker for the Kingdom of God. So it doesn’t matter what policy changes she proposes like school choice, vouchers, state’s rights, diminishing the role of federal government in education, etc. All her ideas are rejected simply because she knows Jesus and cares for the well-being of the children in our nation.

 

Would you join with me in praying for Secretary DeVos?

  1. Pray to dispel the spiritual darkness around our educational system.
  2. Pray Matt. 5:11-12 for Secretary DeVos. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 

Prayer Points for the US Department of Education and Betsy DeVos

November 9, 2017

1. Pray that long reaching Department of Education policies will be minimized as local communities rise up and take responsibility for the
education of the children on a local level.
2. Pray for wisdom for Ms. DeVos as she makes decisions on school choice options, vouchers, charter schools, and public schools. Pray that
the best options for our children and our nation will prevail.
3. Pray for Betsy DeVos’ protection every place she goes. Let those who would taunt her and say vile things about her, be quieted.
4. Pray that only those with a heart for children would be hired at the Department of Education. Those who are there only for a paycheck
and to oppose Ms. DeVos because of her political affiliation will be removed from their positions.
5. Pray that anyone who works at the Department of Education who is a Communists, Progressive, Socialists, and/or Anarchists will be
revealed and removed.
6. Pray that Betsy DeVos is free to do her job and she has great favor with President Trump.
7. Pray for a multitude of Godly counselors to surround Ms. DeVos to help her make the best decision for America’s students.
8. Pray for strategic meetings with people who will help her and not hinder her. (The president of NEA has refused to meet with Ms. DeVos.
Pray they will meet only if they have the potential to work together.)
9. Pray that Ms. DeVos will achieve her goals as she has set her priorities to: (1) encourage parents and educators; (2) reduce red tape;
(3) utilize and build evidence of what works and what doesn’t; (4) make strides toward ensuring equal access to high-quality,
affordable education every American student deserves in an educational environment that is safe and respectful of all viewpoints and
backgrounds.
10. Pray that Betsy DeVos will be like Nehemiah in her resolve to restore education in America. She will not be deterred by those who want
her to quit.
11. Pray for strength for Betsy DeVos to continue to be a reformer in education.
12. Pray the Department of Education would produce Godly policy for the students in all of our schools.
13. Pray that the Department of Education under Betsy DeVos will be able to curb Student Loan Debt that now exceeds $1 trillion dollars
and exceeds Credit Card debt in our nation.
14. Pray for innovative ways to pay for college tuition.
15. Pray for the red tape to be removed and the Department of Education to be productive.

Nancy Huff
Mountain of Education Leader
contactTCI@aol.com

Prayer Points for the United Nations and Nikki Haley

November 9, 2017

Early in 2017, President Trump appointed Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Ambassador Haley is pro American and pro transformation. Intercessors have a rare opportunity while Ambassador Haley is at the helm to impact the UN for the Kingdom of God.

Below are some prayer points that will give you guidelines for targeted prayer.

1. Thank God for Ambassador Nikki Haley and ask Him to order her steps so that she will be effective and efficient.
2. Pray for all corruption at the United Nations to be revealed and those found guilty will be punished.
3. Pray that the educational material that flows from the UN through all of its auxiliary nongovernment organizations (primarily
UNESCO) would be stopped.
4. The UN operates on a budget of approximately $30 billion per year. Pray all spending will be public record and any misuse of
funds would be revealed and perpetrators punished.
5. Pray that the United States will only fund the programs that are beneficial and helpful to the US and those in need.
6. Call the UN back to its original intent of settling foreign and domestic wars and conflicts.
7. Pray for Spirit-Filled Believers to pray for the United Nations.
8. Pray protection from physical harm and verbal attacks for Ambassador Haley.
9. Pray for the newly elected Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, that he would be upright in all his dealings and he
would lead by example in integrity and straightforwardness.
10. Pray for wisdom for Ambassador Haley as she makes decisions concerning the 17 Sustainable Development Goals the United Nations has
adopted.
These goals are:
(1) No Poverty (2) Zero Hunger
(3) Good Health and Well Being (4) Quality Education
(5) Gender Equality (6) Clean Water and Sanitation
(7) Affordable and Clean Energy (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth
(9) Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (10) Reduced Inequalities
(11) Sustainable Cities and Communities (12) Responsible Consumption and Production
(13) Climate Action (14) Life Below Water
(15) Life on Land (16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
(17) Partnerships for the Goals
11. Pray the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will not infringe on America’s rights as a nation and American individualism.
12. Pray that anti-Israel sentiment would be done away with and Israel would be treated with honor. Pray that the Palestinians would
not be recognized as a state at the UN.
13. Pray for Nikki Haley wisdom as she deals with issues concerning Cuba, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
14. Pray for the new outreach that former Congresswoman Michelle Bauchman is starting at the UN. It will be called the Dag
Hammarskjold Society.
15. Pray for Godly Ambassadors from across the world to be appointed by their respective governments to serve at the United Nations.

Nancy Huff
Mountain of Education Leader
contactTCI@aol.com

How We Feed our Enemy

November 21, 2016

One never expects to get insight from a drive through the Moroccan desert, but often life can surprise me in the most unlikely places! It was one of those boring drives where the scenery never changes—brown desert sand pitted with volcanic rock droning on mile after mile. All was quiet in the car—the driver and interpreter in the front, my friend Gale Sherrill and me and in the back. That’s when Driss, our interpreter, held up a local newspaper and slapped the huge picture plastered on the front page, and asked, “Do you know who this is?”

It was a Moroccan newspaper written in French. I had no clue who the gorgeous woman on the front page was. I nodded my head, “No.”

Amazing the Ideas that Come on a Lonely Road
One Road leads through the Sahara Desert

“This is a transvestite.” He slapped the newspaper again and again as he made his point. “This is what fuels all the radical Islamic groups across the globe! We think we are being modern when we promote transgender behavior, but in reality we are aiding ISIS by showing our moral decay, which feeds their drive to conquer us.”

Although we were discussing Morocco, the same is true of any country, especially the US where moral decline has progressed at an accelerated rate over the past 50 years. Driss was right. When we accept immoral behavior as a society, we invite the enemy to engage us in a warfare where we cannot win. But where did it all start? How did we get this way? I believe that the seed of embracing immoral change began in the American Educational system around 1895. That was the time John Dewey (the Father of Modern Education) began his work to transform education in America. Dewey wanted  the public schools to be the conduit to promote social change in America, and not just any social change, but social change that would separate us from any Judeo-Christian beliefs. The classroom was to be used to teach the children how they were superhuman, god like people who, with the right education apart from religion, would choose to be upright moral citizens. The new emphasis of the classroom was to be social at the exclusion of any and all Christian references or moral teaching.

In all of the seven Mountains that make up our culture, Education was the only venue seized by men with a godless agenda soon after our country’s inception. So, what do we do now that we are 125 years down the road?

  1. We must realize that we are in a cultural war. We will have to take a stand and losing is not an option.
  2. We must develop a strategic prayer plan. This has to be a new plan that will embrace spiritual warfare at a new level.
  3. We must make prayer for unity among Believers a top priority. This element alone is one of the most crucial. If we are to win, we will need the full cooperation of all who call themselves Born Again Believers.

In his resistance to Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer tried tirelessly to get the German church to resist the changes Hitler was imposing on them. The church was so divided that finally Bonhoeffer started what amounted to another denomination called, The Confessing Church. But the start was too late and never gained the approval of the leadership of major denominations. Let it not be said of our country and our generation that we could not rally the forces of righteousness against the evil tide that is trying to overtake our culture and ultimately our country.

 

 

Why Can’t the System Change?

November 12, 2016

Twice a year, I take prayer teams to Washington, DC to pray at strategic landmarks for this nation. One year the group I took participated in “The Call, ” a gathering of over 100,000 people in the area located between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, known as The Mall. People stood in the hot sun for hours as one person after another called the group to repentance then prayer. At one time, some women took the microphone to tell their stories of a past abortion and how that decision to abort their baby had drastically altered their lives. Each one related how her life had spiraled out of control after the abortion. The effects were a long list of destructive behaviors that ranged from having multiple partners, inability to keep a job, rocky family relationships, restlessness, drugs, prostitution, illnesses and compulsive lying. Their lives were out of control and they didn’t know why. What they had done was legal so what was going on? They were unable to get a grip on life until they realized the root cause of their issues and repented for the abortion.

Intercessors join in prayer at "The Call" in Washington, DC
Prayer at the Mall in Washington, DC – The Call

The life stories of these women were compelling. They were not overly emotional but shared with a frank honesty that compelled the listeners to look for root causes within our own lives.  Two days later I met this group of women at the airport while they waited on their plane to take them back home to San Antonio. I talked with them and learned more about their lives. Their testimonies had impacted me and gave me a lot to ponder. I thought of the women whom I knew who had abortions. Many of them were like the Cry Out America women, their lives out of control and they had no clue as to why.

The same is true of our educational system. In the past godless decisions were made that led us on a downward spiral and there has been no repentance offered for those decisions. Our education system is out of control and no one knows what to do or how to make changes to counteract those decisions. The innocent children in our classrooms are the ones who suffer and ultimately our nation. Classroom discipline in many schools in almost nonexistent, children who cannot perform at grade level are often passed to the next grade level, and many graduate from high school who cannot read, write or do simple math problems. We have set ourselves on a self-destructive course and no one knows what to do about it. What if the simple act of repentance could turn things around? What if we could look at our history and realize where those decisions were made that turned us against a loving God? Wouldn’t it be a simple thing?

 

A New Path

May 31, 2016

 Life has a lot of different paths we can take, or as they say in Quantum Physics—life has a lot of different realities. It’s true, but as believers we always want to take the RIGHT path. Right? I know I do. Two times we’re told in the Word to “make straight paths for our feet”: (Heb. 12:13 & Prov. 26). Often I think that if I take the right path then my way will be easy. Miracles will happen—circumstances will fall into place, the answer comes immediately and life is wonderful. But I’ve been a believer long enough to know that some paths are difficult, but I’ve found that the end result is as much of a miracle as the times when the path has been short and the miracle appeared instantly. WF3 Tea May 22, 2010 003I have come to believe that a rough path produces faith, character, compassion and  endurance. The major problem with a long path is the tendency to not stick with it until the answer comes. That’s why, I believe, most of us seldom see our dreams fulfilled.

Where did all my pensiveness about paths, struggles, and outcomes come from? It came from a couple of biographies I recently read on Thomas Jefferson—one of our Founding Fathers, the third president of the United States and a molder of our Constitution.

Two months ago, John Benefiel, who heads up (Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network) asked me to do research on Thomas Jefferson and his role in education in our country. While reading my second biography on Mr. Jefferson, I realized how difficult it was for our Founding Fathers to devise the Constitution of the United States, and to implement it throughout a new country filled with rugged individualists. There was opposition on every front– the people opposed, some of the key founders preferred a monarchy and wanted a constitution that allowed for a king, others (the Federalists) wanted a strong central government. Jefferson wanted a Republic with a system of checks and balances and no one part would hold all the power. It was a bitter fight with lots of ups and downs. Many enemies were made through the days of creation of this country. It was not an easy path, but one that emerged through trial and error and struggles that contended for the soul of our nation. Only with God’s hand did we emerge as a nation with a unique form of government that would sustain us through the years. The rough, curvy, dangerous path, emerged to a victory for every American.

I thought of all the times in our lives when we go through trials, we often think that we should emerge on the other side of the trial with no detours along our path and without dark nights along the way. We want to get to where we want to be without all the alternate paths that beckon us as we make decisions along the way.  But we learn from those short paths that take us in the wrong direction—we learn what does, and doesn’t work. When the night is dark and  long, we learn to persevere. When those we trust don’t do what is right, we learn to trust God anyway. Regardless of how dark the night, we hold on to our dreams when they look impossible.

Let us be like David’s mighty men of battle (2 Samuel 23:8-12), who stand in our field of lentils and defeat our enemies. On the occasion of each man’s victory, we are told, “And the Lord brought a great victory.” I suspect that there is a long history between the commitment of each of David’s men and the victory they were responsible for bringing to pass. May we forever look between the lines and realize the perseverance necessary for the Lord to bring a great victory in our lives and in the lives of others.