The Center of Land of Promise

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Day before yesterday, I let Faith and Fasting friends know I published a book called, Land of Promise. I had to return today to share something that happened yesterday because I’m still shocked by it!

First, know this book continues to surprise me every time I read it. That sounds nuts, but it is true. I know God gave me the information, led me to the research and opened my eyes to things in Scripture I’d never noticed before. But, it is a diversion from very traditional interpretations of some things.

At the heart of it, I believe this book is a realignment onto the center of Scripture: Christ. He is the center. A few teachers/scholars over the years have tried to make the center of the Bible the nation of Israel. But, when we make Messiah the center, the rest of Scripture unfolds correctly.

Okay, now for the really, really strange thing that happened yesterday. I was re-reading the book in my Kindle app. Kindle let me know I was at the 50% mark, exactly halfway through the book.

Guess what I read on the middle section of the middle page of the book, something which I certainly did not/could not have planned! It was this:

“The most important thing I can say is… the Bible is not Israel-centered. Israel, meaning the earthly land. Rather, the Bible is Christ-centered. For, He is God. It (the Bible) is the testimony of how He related to His people, all of His people – Israel of God – before and after the cross. When we get the center point of the Bible wrong, we get everything out of focus… And our interpretations of Scripture suffer because they are faulty from the foundation.”

The weird thing is, that text was something I added at the last minute before I published the final version of the book. I had no idea I’d placed it in the exact center of the book until yesterday. My jaw dropped when I saw it.

I’ve noticed from the beginning the Spirit of God was all over this, it was His project. I pray His people give it a chance although it will challenge long-held thought for some.

I’ve priced the book very low because I just want people to read it. If you know someone who cannot afford it, the ebook can be loaned for 2 weeks by anyone who has purchased a copy. The ebook is $2.99 and the paperback is $7.99 (link below).

God bless, Valerie

cover

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/158-0402283-8285826?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=land+of+promise+garcia

Land of Promise

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Dear friends of Faith and Fasting, I am so pleased to announce that after two years of research and writing, my first book, Land of Promise, was published this month on Amazon.com!

cover

This book may be controversial in some circles. It takes a closer look at Old Testament prophecy and dares to suggest the U.S. was in prophecy all along, as perhaps the final land spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, where God’s people might gather in great numbers in the last centuries.

It sounds crazy, I know, but the biblical evidence is pretty surprising and extremely compelling.

Anyway, I wanted you to be among the first to hear about Land of Promise, and I’ve printed the first chapter here for you to sample. Have a blessed day!

CHAPTER 1 – GEMSTONES

On a warm June day in the summer of 2014, my husband and I found ourselves wandering through southwest Texas, carrying our entire life with us, it seemed. Traveling through this area would be one small part of a three week, cross-country vacation. This vacation was different than most for us. It was a one-way trip.

You see, we were being transferred to a new job assignment, and this journey would eventually lead us to our new home. We literally drove coast to coast, from North Carolina to California, loving every minute of it. It was road trip adventure, to see sights we had never seen before.

Along the winding route navigated, chosen in part to see family and part to see new destinations, we each picked places we wanted to visit. Most of the selections were mine. Having grown up on the east coast the daughter of road weary, retired military parents, I had seen very little of our beautiful country.

My husband’s early years included traveling the mid-west extensively. So, for most of the trip, he happily settled into his role as tour host, and enjoyed watching me experience many of our stops for the first time.

This particular day in June, our destination was Alpine, Texas. Tiny college town in the middle of nowhere, Alpine is uniquely charming. It is an artistic, cultural blend of old West, native America and Mexico, and somehow quaintly preserves just the right amount of each portion of its heritage. Adding to its get-away appeal, it is a few hours drive from the hustle and bustle of any large metropolitan area.

One of the reasons we stopped in Alpine, we had an appointment with a local realtor to view open land parcels outside of town. We have long hoped to find that perfect investment property out in the country somewhere, and this day would be an opportunity to explore one option.

Our hosts for the day were a local realtor and his wife. Warm and down to earth like so many Texans we’ve known over the years, they graciously drove us over the unpaved, dusty hills to show us site after site. With each stop we walked another sprawling property full of rocks and raw potential.

After a couple of stops, I began noticing the realtor’s wife would study the ground intently at each site. She often picked up a stone or two from the soil. Our hosts explained this land was known for gemstone rocks, jasper, crystal and more. I was fascinated. I had no idea Texas had natural gemstones.

At one particular site, the realtor picked up a large oval rock, and with a swift crack of a hammer out of the back of his truck, broke it open into two halves. We gasped. It had a hollowed out space on the inside filled with sparkling, opaque white crystals. Over the few short hours we spent with these charming folks, we collected many colorful stones filled with hidden treasure.

Although we did not invest in property that day, I’ve thought so often of our experience there ever since. In subsequent studies on gemstones, I came to learn not only Texas, but the Unites States is brimming with them. According to U.S. Geological Survey, every single one of our fifty states has multiple categories of gemstones!1

A lover of gems, I never realized our country boasted so many in her soil. I suppose I thought they were reserved for faraway places and exotic lands.

You always hear of Indian rubies or diamonds from Africa. And, in truth, gems are sprinkled around the globe, but my study revealed they exist nowhere more densely or with more variety than in the United States of America.

Isaiah foretold there would be a bigger land someday for the people of God following the Redeemer’s work and sacrifice, and he said this land would have stones filled with colorful gems (Isaiah 54:11-12). Many scholars take this reference as symbolic language, but there is biblical precedent to take this as a literal description of the soil.

Seven centuries before the time of Isaiah, a physical description of soil had been given for the first promised land. In Deuteronomy 8:9, Moses foretold the land chosen for the descendants of Abraham would be filled with copper and blue stone. Ancient Israel’s soil contained what was prophesied: copper and one blue stone called Eilat Stone.2

Soil content and gemstones are like DNA. God must have chosen to identify land by its soil because it was the one thing that would never change. Kingdoms and rulers come and go, borders shift many times over centuries. But gems, soil and geological content foundational to a land remain, serving to identify it for generations to come.

1 Natural Gemstones – U.S. Production. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gemstones/production.html

2 Eilat Stone of Israel. Eilat Stone: Turquoise’s Cousin. Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://www.turquoisequide.com/articles/turquoise/variations/eilat-stone.htm

Land of Promise is available as a Kindle ebook for $2.99, or in paperback for $7.99. To get your copy, click the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=land+of+promise+valerie+garcia&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aland+of+promise+valerie+garcia

Praying for American Transition

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Prayer Warriors and friends of Faith and Fasting, I appeal to you today to NOT stop praying for our country just because the election is over. In every way, this is a crucial time of transition and it will be important for us to cover the transition teams (on both sides) in prayer.

Cabinet members are being chosen, phone calls, meetings are taking place between the new President-elect and the current White House, between him and foreign world leaders, both allies and other. These initial conversations are vital, they will set a tone for the new administration. We need to pray these days are covered in wisdom!

Will you join me in prayer for these weeks of transition? Allow me to share some of my prayers with you today:

Lord, in Jesus name, please give wisdom to the new President-elect in every single choice of staff and cabinet member. Father, place people of intelligence and importantly, wisdom, around the new President-elect, that he will be bolstered and helped in every way to learn to govern this precious nation from those with experience.

Holy Father, guard every selection of staff, every decision to cut staff, taking place in coming weeks surrounding the White House and administration in Washington, D.C. Place Your people with both wisdom and experience in positions of influence. Remove those who do not honor You from all high and important places of power in this land, in Jesus name.

Holy Spirit, be loosed with all of Your kingdom onto this land, that Your presence will take over in every city where there is tension and violence. Bring peace where there is conflict, common ground where there is division, and love where there is hatred. Teach us to have conversations that are productive and seek understanding, instead of allowing one-sided, extreme thinking to dominate our viewpoints.

Father, in Jesus name and with all of Your great power, conquer the evil hands that stir division unseen. Rout out every demon and demonically influenced person from positions of influence in our nation. Let us not forget there is an unseen war between You and all that is good against evil ones who wish to destroy Your nation. Bring more of Your people to the wisdom of fasting, that we might stand stronger against the enemy on behalf of our country.

Holy Spirit, sweep this nation with Your presence! Bring revival and renewal to Your people and reach even more for Jesus! Strengthen Your people. Strengthen the grip of truth over this country, and defeat lies. Fill the minds of Your people and the leadership with Your plans. Help all of us, on both sides of the political aisle, to see and hear truth and to reject thoughts and actions which do not come from You.

Above all, let Your name, Lord, be glorified in these weeks. Your will be done!

Faith and Fasting friends, thank you for sharing my heart and passion for this great nation. Please keep fasting as a regular part of your spiritual life, maybe once a month, or those who can, more often… Stay surrendered to our King, use wisdom and listen to the Holy Spirit. He will lead us and He can use us in His goal to make America God’s again.

God bless you all.

Pray for Peace

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Friends of Faith and Fasting, please continue praying for America as we prepare to begin a new chapter.

I believe the most important thing we can do today and in coming weeks is to ask the Lord for peace in our land.

The election was stunning to all, no matter your choice. Some are celebrating. Some are shocked and angry or hurt. Respect each other. Allow those hurting to feel what they feel, and those celebrating give the same courtesy. We can walk the high road together. 

I would urge all of us to pray, in Jesus’ name and calling down His power, to prevent violence from spilling over into the streets. Violence gains nothing. It only fans the flames of fear and further divides our country.

Ask the Lord to bind the unseen hands that are encouraging and stirring up division and hostility. Prevent the destruction of rage and violence, Lord, in Jesus’ name!

This is only the beginning of ‘fasting for America’. Let’s nurture this seed of change and see how vast a movement He will grow. Watch our great God take our faith and sacrifice and unleash all of Heaven into our land and world! He is our hope!.

God bless you, and God bless America!

Fasting Changes God’s Mind

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Update (11/11): The below was published Nov 8 on Faith and Fasting hours before the election returns began…

[This post was originally published on April 26, 2016. It seems important today.]

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale. You remember, how Jonah didn’t want to do what God asked of him, so God sent along a large fish to swallow Jonah and carry him to the very place he didn’t want to go. Of course, he spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish where he got his heart right first.

That’s the story most of us were taught as children in Sunday School. But there is another miracle in the story we probably don’t remember as easily, maybe an even bigger one than a large fish swallowing a human who lived to tell the tale!

It is the miracle of fasting, accompanied by prayer and repentance. And how this powerful combination of sincere spiritual submission changed God’s mind!

Recall, the reason God wanted Jonah to go to Ninevah in the first place was to warn them His judgment was coming. He had gotten sick of their rebellious ways and was giving them, well, 40 days by the time Jonah finally got there. Only 40 days till disaster.

When Ninevah got this warning from Jonah, the second miracle happened. They believed him. And they repented, began fasting and praying! All the way up to the King, all the way down to the least of the kingdom believed and repented, fasted and prayed!

Then there was a third miracle: God changed His mind! He spared them and did not bring the disaster to their shores.

Friends, the power of getting right with God is huge. There is nothing like total submission and letting God know you are serious, that you will even deny yourself pleasure and risk a little discomfort to seek Him, to be right with Him.

Today, let’s learn from the whole story of Jonah and Ninevah. American children of God, we’ve been warned by precious saints like Rabbi Jonathan Cahn in his profound book, The Harbinger. A time of judgment is headed our way. Surely it is already touching our shores as the edge of a hurricane.

The time is now to repent, FAST and pray for our nation.

God bless you, and God bless America!

Jonah:

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 

5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 

Jonah 3  English Standard Version (ESV)

[Do not fast if you have health issues that prevent it. If unsure, consult a doctor before fasting.]

No Greater Power

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

In Matthew 17, Jesus scolds the disciples for their lack of faith when they could not cast out a demon. Next, He reveals the biggest secret to maximum spiritual power – the state in which nothing would be beyond His followers’ reach: prayer AND FASTING.

mt.17.14-21 And when they came to the multitude, there came to Him a man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, ‘Sir, deal kindly with my son, for he is lunatic, and suffers miserably, for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water, and I brought him near to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.’

And Jesus answering said, ‘O generation, unstedfast and perverse, till when shall I be with you? till when shall I bear you? bring him to me here;’ and Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the lad was healed from that hour.  

Then the disciples having come to Jesus by himself, said, ‘Why were we not able to cast him out?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Through your lack of faith; for truly I say to you, if you may have faith as a grain of mustard, you shall say to this mountain, Remove now to that  place over there, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you, and this kind doth not go forth except in prayer AND FASTING.’      Young’s Literal Translation (modified slightly to modernize language)

What if every Bible-preaching Pastor in America got inspired to lead His congregation to pray AND FAST for America? What kind of revival, renewal, spiritual awakening might we witness if this were to happen? It is my dream, my hope!

What if every Bible-believing, spirit-filled Christian became motivated to seek the Lord in prayer AND FASTING for our country? If we did this, how different would our nation be in a month, a year, 5 years?

What if every church or Christian who is currently asleep woke up and surrendered to God the Father and asked the Holy Spirit to fill them, then learned to pray AND FAST for our home, God’s land? Just because this nation has a growing amount of spiritual rebellion does not revoke the fact it was His. It is still God’s land, but she is getting further away from Him with each passing year.

My earnest plea, wish and sincere desire, is for this country to be MADE HIS AGAIN. For that is the only path to making her great again.

Please share with anyone who has ears to hear. God bless you, and God bless America!

[Do not fast if you have health issues that would prevent it. Consult with a doctor if you are not sure.]

Fasting for America – Day 3 of 3 -Conclusion

Posted on by oneseekingtruth

Hello, my friends! Today was a bit of a first for me in my over 20 years of periodic fasting experience. I had to stop early.

This morning, after nearly 60 hours of fasting, I could barely get out of bed and felt if I stood up, I would faint. I did not want to give up without a fight, so instead of eating, I drank coconut water, which contains healthy electrolytes and natural sugar. It made me feel better, but I still felt so weak, so my husband got me a little glass of milk. The protein and electrolytes got me through a few more hours, although I knew I wasn’t feeling as strong as I’d felt in previous extended fasts.

No doubt, the reason I’ve struggled more this time around is I have been on a strict diet for months due to digestive health issues. I’m under the care of a doctor, and it should resolve itself in time. But, realistically, I don’t eat as much these days and my body is deprived of a lot of sugar and excess carbs. Sometimes, I don’t have the full energy I was used to having.

So, with all this going on in my body and already feeling extremely weak this morning, at around the 67th hour, a strange thing occurred. When I closed my eyes, I had a flickering pattern of lights in the corner of my vision. It grew in strength, and I then noticed it interrupted a portion of my vision when my eyes were open.

I kept pondering and praying, “Lord, can’t I just make it a few more hours?” I really wanted to finish 72 hours to make 3 full days. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Gratefully, my husband stepped in and said, “If you are having strange symptoms affecting your eyes, then I think you need to stop. I recommend you eat!”

Ironically, when I had struggled to get up this morning for being so incredibly weak, I thought then, “I will only stop if my husband tells me to, Lord”. Thank God for a good and wise husband. I listened.

My fast ended at 67.5 hours, only 4.5 hours shy of the 72 hour goal. Before eating, my husband and I held each other and prayed for the country, and for the election on Tuesday. We dearly love our nation, and want to see it become God’s nation again. Only He knows the shortest path to that ultimate goal of His and ours. It may get better, or it may get worse before it gets better. We have done our part, He is in charge, and may His will be done!

I realized last night that in these last days leading up to the election, we have people fasting on both the East coast and on the West coast!! Isn’t that just like God? He rallied His kids to cover His beloved land coast to coast. Hallelujah!

God bless all of you praying and those fasting (always using caution and common sense, of course, as the Lord would wish for you)!

Your will be done, Lord, this is in Your strong and capable hands…..

“…and to Him who is able above all things to do exceeding abundantly what we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us, to Him is the glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus, to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 Young’s Literal Translation