Tag Archives: God

Standing at the Edge of the Precipice

Just came in from the garden a few minutes ago and not a moment too soon. It’s just too hot to work out there even at nine o’clock in the morning. I probably stayed out longer than I should have, but it seems like every time I get ready to come in, there’s always just one more thing I need to do, and on and on…

I don’t usually try to grow watermelons, but this year I decided to try my luck and lo and behold, there are several nice sized melons growing and the plants are still green and healthy. My usual luck is that the vines start getting brown and the leaves turn and dry out by this time of year, and if there are any melons growing, they just stop at whatever size they are when the plants start getting sick and that’s it, but this year they seem to be doing really good. I think they’re the crimson sweet variety. So here’s hoping.

Back to the heat this year – is it just me or does the weather seem to be taking a turn for the worse as far as global warming, climate change – whatever!? Seems like the weather is getting extremely hot this summer everywhere. There are videos showing how bad it is in China with those poor people just cooking in 120 plus weather. There are heat-induced wildfires raging right now all over southern Europe – Spain, Italy and especially places in Greece. Canada is and has been burning down, and here in the US we have an unusually large number of fires going as I write. Indeed, the Good Book says the world will end by fire. 2 Peter 3:10]; “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”

If places aren’t burning down, it seems like they are being flooded. Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, New York City, and right now Tennessee all have been severely flooded lately, and with hurricane season getting into full swing, there are more floods to be expected. Several places in Europe and Asia are experiencing catastrophic floods these days too.

I don’t know about anyone else, but the way things are unfolding these days, it sure seems to me that the Almighty isn’t very pleased with us human beings for the way we’ve been misbehaving of late. There are more volcanoes erupting right now than I can remember all at once in my lifetime. Looks like that big 8.7 earthquake in Kamchatka might have somehow awakened several volcanoes in that region because there are some erupting that have been dormant for centuries and that just since the big temblor. Other areas experiencing quakes are in particularly scary places – like Campi Flegrei, the fields of fire in Italy. That place is the home of a genuine super volcano and if it undergoes a super volcano eruption (VEI (Volcano Explosivity Index) 7 or 8), it will likely have profound global implications, and not good ones.

It seems like all the dominoes are lined up and ready to start falling worldwide, and that’s not even counting what our illustrious leaders might bring upon us what with all the endless bellicosity and threats of war we constantly hear. The Bible speaks of a time of great tribulation that’s coming to the world in the end times, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how it can come about, in fact, several places in the world are experiencing horrible tribulations right now. The hapless people of Gaza are undergoing a tribulation, and I don’t see how it could get much worse for them. They are and have been watching their loved ones being slaughtered and starved to death, thousands of people with severe injuries and no hope of medical help. Hospitals, churches, and all institutions of government there have been systematically destroyed.

We can all – as in everyone in the world – see what is happening to Gaza, and most people of conscience are horrified both by what is happening and by the stark realization that there are indeed entities in the world that try to pass themselves off as human beings who are capable of such brutality and barbarism. It’s a scary realization, because one has to acknowledge the reality that these same horrors can and will eventually be visited upon any and everyone who stands against them. People are being locked up in Merry old England for simply protesting against genocide today – how much longer before the “authorities” start executing those of us who stand against evil? It might sound outlandish here in the US, but don’t we have unbadged goons already prowling our cities right now, grabbing people off the streets and locking them up with no due process?

There will come a time when the powers that be will issue orders to thugs like the ice goons to shoot people on sight who attempt to obstruct them, and if you think I’m being hyperbolic, well, you’ve got another think coming. Read your Bible. The day will come when Satan turns all of the world’s authorities against his true enemies, Christians. We’ll see a time when followers of Jesus Christ anywhere in the world will be sought out for execution. If you are a believer, you already know this. If you are a faithful believer, you do not fear it, for you know that the moment you cross through that door, the Lord Jesus Christ will be there to meet you with open arms. He will call you a good and faithful servant and you will be shown into your own mansion in His Kingdom, a place of joy and peace where you will spend eternity with Him. The thugs who will be serving Satan in those times, will also die sooner or later as everyone does, and unless they repent, they will face something more dreadful than any mind on earth could ever imagine. But this will be the result of their own choice.

The days of tribulation – for those of us who haven’t yet suffered them yet – are fast approaching, and as believers, we must be prepared and ever watchful, for the time of His return will be as He said, “As a thief in the night.” He will come at a time of the Father’s choosing, and nothing – not epic world events, nor mundane issues like whether or not my watermelons are ripe – will have any bearing on His time of reckoning. Nothing. We must continuously be watchful and always be ready to go at any moment. This also means we must be ready to face whatever trials the enemy puts before us and stay faithful to the end, then He has a crown for us – what a fantastic event!

If you have been running the race, be especially careful from here on out, because the enemy will be throwing everything he has in his arsenal at us. Be careful to not fear and stay faithful. His time is short, and he knows it. Donald Trump doesn’t know it. Benjamin Netanyahu or Elon Musk or all of the world’s rich people do not know it – they can see no further into the future than Satan allows, otherwise they too, might turn and be saved, but no, they delude themselves into thinking their lifestyles will last, at least as far as they care to look. The only things they care about are wealth and power, but they don’t realize they won’t be able to buy friends and security with money that can never again be spent – anywhere, ever. Satan knows his end is near, but his chief servants don’t know it’s near, nor what that entails for them. At this point in time their greatest fear is losing their wealth, their status; being made equal with the common man, and it is a tremendous fear indeed, but when the end gets here, as it already has for so many of them (if you haven’t noticed, men like Sheldon Adelson, Jacob Rothschild, and Henry the Eighth aren’t around anymore) there are no words for the horror they will face before an angry Almighty God.

Satan, for his part, long ago waged war on the saints of Jesus, and the big advantage he has provided for his servants is economic and political power over the saints. He has given them the ability to purchase high offices (google Citizens United), and in order to serve him, those offices must eventually be dedicated to defeating his greatest enemy – the servant of Jesus Christ. If you think differently, if you think the high offices of this great government are beyond the reach of the evil one, if you think the senate and the congress, the supreme court, or even the white house, are unassailable by Satan, I urge you to look at the genocide support by the members of our government. Look at their financial statuses. Look at their AIPAC support. The synagogue of Satan has purchased their souls – it’s plain as day. If you think followers of Christ are safe anywhere in this country or this world, think again. They’ll be coming for us soon – count on it. This only applies to real Christians, not the ones that pack the megachurches of false pastors – they’re safe enough, at least for now.

I understand it’s a lot easier to talk about not fearing than actually rejecting fear, but do not forget we have access to a weapon that is guaranteed to give us what we need to win out over fear. Love. It’s right there in the word. [1 John 4:18]: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” There it is! Think about it. Think about all those servants of Jesus in the days of the early Church – those believers who were thrown to the lions in the coliseum of Rome, the disciples who were martyred – they were fearless, and so must we be today when the times of trial come upon us. We must pray for the mighty weapon of love to cast off our fear and strengthen our hearts when the real time of trial comes to us.

The tough times of tribulation are within sight now for all of us, and as mentioned earlier, such times are already here for many. The weather, the landslides, earthquakes, wildfires, wars, and other calamities are growing more frequent and intense. We were warned of these times, now we must endure them. Spiritual powers are arrayed against us, over whom we have no advantage – unless we receive that love and understand the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Who is able to give us the succor we need to emerge victorious in this – the grandest of all battles! It can be won, and I hope to see y’all on the other side!

May the blessings of the Almighty find and keep us.

MK

Freedom Followed Expiry of the Fulfilled Legal System

There’s deception afoot. I guess it’s always been there, at least since the serpent deceived Eve into abandoning her trust in God and doing something she shouldn’t have done, but one of the prevalent deceits of today is equally as egregious but far more subtle. It started with covert groups of people, servants of the dragon who have been going about as of the last few decades that I’m aware of, but probably longer. They attempt to bring a hybrid gospel to the unsuspecting and would-be believer that teaches an adherence – at least as much as possible – to the laws and regulations practiced by the Hebrew followers of the Torah. This, they claim, is to be practiced in addition to following Christ, thus appearing not to be an abrogation of loyalty to Jesus so they can resume these practices and still claim to be Christian. I started taking notice of this new gospel when I first heard the adherents carefully avoiding mention of the name of Jesus Christ, preferring what they call His Hebrew name they say is Yeshua. In English it’s Jesus. That’s the name I was taught to believe is above every other name on earth and in Heaven. It seems that all versions of this “religion” studiously reject any holiday that has been established recognizing or in honor of Jesus Christ. This includes Christmas and Easter, but they observe Old Testament holidays like the Passover Feast of Tabernacles, etc., but nothing in honor of Jesus Christ.

A couple of analogies come to mind, both of which attempt to show what I’m trying to get across. With the understanding that there are two Covenants between man and God that are/were in effect, I believe that the first Covenant, the one God made with His people, we can call them the Jews, was enacted in order to prepare the world for the advent of Jesus Christ’s covenant. For the first, let’s say we are taking a long journey, and we have to travel through two distinct stages to get where we are going. The initial segment of this trip is in England, where we must use a map of the UK to drive to a place where we board the ship to go to America. In turn, when we get to America, we must use another map to drive to wherever our destination lies.

When we begin our trip, we’ll need a map of Great Britain to follow from the start to the port. Consider that to be the first Covenant. We follow the UK map, completely understanding all the requirements of driving in England, including driving on the left side of the road, using kph instead of mph, etc. After following the British map and arriving at the departure port, we have completed that stage. Now just for the sake of this analogy, the trip across the pond corresponds with the appearance of Jesus and the establishment of His ministry. The whole trip thus far has been taken in anticipation of our voyage, and once we get across the ocean, we might decide it would be useful to hang on to the British map even though that part is finished, but we will never again need follow it on this journey. It is important to take note that there were some very worthwhile issues revealed in the first map, but if we are to believe the Gospel, those things are now indelibly consigned to our hearts, from which we will be guided by faith and no longer the legal code of the map (book).

[Galatians 3:24,25]; “24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

Once we arrive in New York, or wherever our ship comes to port, we must break out the US map. From now on until the end of our trip we will be using this one. We might refer to the bygone British map for reference, after all some very influential people with great wisdom drew it up – indeed it shows us examples of how some of the obstacles common to both countries must be overcome, but for all practical purposes, to get where we are going, we are done with the British map. The new map of the US is ALL WE NEED to finish our trip. Although it will always be useful for historical reference; even with much meaningful spiritual significance, not one iota of information in the old map will any longer be necessary to guide us where we’re going because, as stated in the Gospel, all still-relevant and pertinent information that was in it is now written on our hearts if we stay faithful. The new map is quite capable of getting us where we are going. With all that said, it would be a shame to deny ourselves the experiences of Biblical forebears like Elijah, Moses, and King David, etc., so we choose to read about them to understand and appreciate their relationships to God and how God dealt with people in those early days, but not as a guide to our current destination.

When folks allow themselves to be convinced they need to continue to follow the old map, even in a new nation, they begin a process of self-delusion that starts putting distance between themselves and Jesus Christ, and this is not only unnecessary and irresponsible, but spiritually dangerous. With the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the true nature of His Covenant – It’s hard for me to understand how folks can believe they are more perfectly serving God by observing expired legal requirements of an expired law than if they were simply following the code of the Gospel of Jesus. We cannot contrive any religious practices that can make us better servants to God than simply following the teachings of Jesus! It is not possible to combine both maps for any advantage on this remainder of the trip. For instance, even unbelievers know it would be foolish to try driving on the left side here in America. No matter how much a person would like to believe otherwise, steering wheels are on the left side of the car here in the US. The apostle Paul made this precept abundantly clear to the Galatians, a church which had obviously been infiltrated while he was away by some iteration of those servants of confusion mentioned earlier. Paul got so upset when he figured out what they were buying into, he actually called them “foolish Galatians”[Galatians 3:1]! The legal salesmen to whom they had been listening were apparently trying to make the Galatians accept edicts of the old law in addition to the Gospel he (Paul) had preached to them earlier. If you follow this “modified” version of the gospel, I strongly urge you to study what he told them. In fact I’ve heard adherents of this strange religion actually judging the apostle Paul saying he wasn’t “real” apostle! A podcaster I used to follow actually disagreed with Paul’s recriminations of the Galatians saying Paul didn’t understand Christianity because he was a Roman – as if being a Roman somehow diluted Paul’s faithfulness to Jesus. Imagine that! An ad hominem attack on the apostle of the entire Gentile world by a modern-day podcaster presumptively arrogating to himself the authority of judge over a man who had seen Christ as well as being one of the preeminent apostles of the Christian Religion!

Paul also said that if you are going to adhere to the law, you have to follow all of it [Galatians 5:3] “And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law”, so how does that work with the requirement of stoning people to death who get caught in immorality? Animal sacrifices? There are practices in the old law that cannot and must not be done today. They are no longer needed due to Jesus’ teaching and His sacrifice, but as far as this “new” Gospel goes, it seems like anything they can include from the old law is taught to be either necessary or at least useful, as if by practicing as much of it as possible somehow pleases God more than if one simply follows Jesus through faith.

There are examples in the New Testament where Jesus and/or His disciples actually violated the hitherto rigid constraints of the old way of “observing” the Sabbath. There was an occasion when He and His disciples were walking through a cornfield and picking corn – all forbidden on the Sabbath -, another time He healed a paraplegic and told him to take up his bed and go home on a Sabbath when carrying a bed on the Sabbath would have been forbidden. In fact, one of the complaints the Pharisees levied against Him was that – apparently, He actually had a reputation for this – He was a man who didn’t observe the Sabbath according to the law. [John 9:16]: “Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Perhaps more telling is that when He was observed “violating” the Sabbath, He did not deny that He had done so, rather He explained that we should all do good on the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Jesus spoke parables about sewing an old patch on a new garment and putting new wine in old wineskins, which I understand as a warning against trying to mix old things with new ones, re, covenants. He also made it clear [Mark 2:27] that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. I’m not saying it’s wrong to do or not do whatever on any day of the week, as long as a person is dedicating what they do for the Lord, but to try and teach that the law governing Sabbath practices as some residual legal requirement is Spiritually irresponsible.

Jesus also said that not one jot or tittle of the law would ever pass, but – and all of the adherents to this mystery religion I’m talking about either miss or ignore this part – He qualified that with “until all is fulfilled.” [Matt 5:18]. The “all” in that statement was exactly the law He was talking about. Else why did He say [Matt 5:17]: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”?

The other analogy is that of taking out a mortgage, say on a house. When you owe on a mortgage, you pay every month until the house is paid off. When you pay the last note, the mortgage is paid off –fulfilled! Why would anyone in their right mind continue to pay notes on a mortgage after it is paid? When Jesus died on the cross, the mortgage, or covenant, was paid! In His own blood, Jesus paid the ransom for each and every one of us, and for people to continue to try and pay more by trying to continue to live under a law which His blood fulfilled, I believe is pursuing a “religion” which intentionally ignores, or gives less than proper appreciation for His sacrifice. This might not seem like such a big thing, but the dragon is waging war on the woman (Jesus’ Church) to this day and whatever he can do to belittle the act of Jesus’ death for our sins, he will certainly do. In this case by attenuating Jesus’ sacrifice by following a belief system that basically says we need Jesus and something else, in this case adherence to an inapplicable covenant, people are falsely accepting a belief that something more besides Jesus’ ultimate fulfillment of that covenant will make God love them more, and I passionately believe this will have the exact opposite effect on His regard for them. Especially since the old covenant is what Jesus’ new Covenant specifically replaced.

There are many observances in this false belief system that make it up. It teaches strict observation to the old dietary requirements, even in the face of Mark 7:15,16, where He says “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” Maybe these folks don’t have ears; it sure looks like it. Also in [Mark 7:18,19]: “So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, (thus purifying all foods.)” Some folks argue that the last part of that was added to the Bible later than the rest of the narrative, but it logically concludes what Jesus was getting at, so even if it was added later, it quite succinctly sums up the passage and besides, it’s a dangerous undertaking to step out onto that slippery slope of picking and choosing what parts of God’s Spiritually inspired word to accept or to reject, whatever the reasoning. Another aspect of that argument is that it may well have been added – but most likely by the same author who wrote the rest of the book, and if so, he had the authority to add it.

I may be going too far into the arguments, but I tend to get passionate about these beliefs, especially when it comes to minimizing Jesus’ authority or even giving equal credence to other elements of one’s religion to Jesus’ sovereignty.

One last point I’d like to make is that the law was not handed down to Gentiles, although some Gentiles converted in Biblical history. When Gentiles undertook to observe the requirements of the Old Covenant laws, they volunteered into it. After Jesus’ resurrection, in the book of Acts there are mentioned some traditions of the old law observations that the Jewish disciples were trying to levee on newly converted Gentiles and it caused quite a stir among the apostles, with all of them finally agreeing that as far as old observances, the new believers would only be required to refrain from immorality, eating strangled animals, blood, and things sacrificed to idols, but that’s as far into the old covenant that the apostles required Christians to go.

There are other groups out there preaching the same, or similar, message. There are the Christian Zionists who actually believe the interlopers living in Israel right now are the actual descendants of the Jewish tribes, even though Jesus told us in the last days there would be people claiming to be Jews who are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. There are also those who claim to be Judeo-Christians and aside from the fact that these are mutually exclusive terms so there cannot be such a thing, they too, try and wind laws of Judaism into the Gospel of Christ. The common thread in all of them is the attempts they all make to bring the old Mosaic covenant into twisted versions of the Gospel. In the more extreme cases, they actually try to completely return to Mosaic law. There’s a move on in Israel now to resume the practice of sacrificing animals. That is why I believe this is a great deception and the same enemy is selling the same product under different labels. If you are of the mind that any of these belief systems (that attempt to superimpose the old covenant onto the Gospel of Christ) are correct, I implore you to study Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus lays out what is expected of His followers and how He wants us to serve Him, and as stated earlier, study Galatians where the Apostle Paul addresses this very thing at length.

There are some ministries out there that expound against this insidious perversion of Jesus’ Gospel such as the Law of Liberty Ministry of Adam Fannin. He goes much deeper into this phenomenon than this post. You might also want to check out the Liberty Fellowship ministry in Montana pastored by Chuck Baldwin which also addresses this issue. I think it’s more than a coincidence that both ministries have the word “Liberty” in their name, seeing that Jesus actually died for our freedom from our sins (which would not have been sins if not for the old law). So there are reputable followers of Christ who recognize the fallacy – and the danger – of trying to misapply Judaism and its old law into the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So why in these days are people who claim to be Jesus’ servants trying to get back into the old law? Maybe since it uses a theology once established and accepted by God, it’s much easier to deceive folks with than if it just outright went against God. Jesus changed things however, and even a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals just how much our servitude to God evolved through His ministry. Having the new law written on our hearts has some profound implications for our beliefs. It’s commonly, but quite mistakenly, held to just be too simple to be real, and because of this quirk of human nature which rejects simplicity, men are compelled to add things that no longer, or never did, belong. In short, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being perverted and diluted by trying to inject Judaism in one form or another back into our relationship with God and He isn’t going to be pleased with this false ministry which effectively minimizes Jesus’ sacrifice. Watch out for the deceptions of the enemy – I greatly fear this new “gospel” is one such deception. If you think I’m wrong, please send comments explaining why.

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK

Shelling Peas and Thoughts on Spiritual Growth

They are called brown crowders. I grow them every year in my garden – they are my very favorite field peas. As you can see, most of them aren’t brown but are a lovely hue of light green; pea green. When they are cooked however, they all turn a brownish color and make a thick gravy with a savor all their own that can only be described as wonderful. I cut up some Vidalia onion, bacon, and some fresh okra – also from my garden – to cook with them and voila! A “mess” of peas. The soup thickens to a delectable slime that goes marvelously with cornbread or homemade buttermilk biscuits.

While I was shelling them, some thoughts came to my aged noggin that I decided to share, for an analogy came to me that might apply to us believers. You see, these green peas right out of the shell are ok to eat as is, but with the right processing, they can become remarkably delicious – the kind of processing being the key. They must be blended with some other things and cooked to perfection. Some folks might make them differently than I do, but the point is, we do whatever is necessary to get the outcome we desire. Differing processes yield different results.

Now if those raw, newly shelled peas were people who become new believers they would obviously have to undergo some serious changes before they were ready to be put to use, just like the peas, except the processes that the Creator puts His servants through are much more meticulous and serious.

A few years ago, I took some grandkids down to one of the beautiful green water rivers here in the Ozarks. We had several people in the group with some more adults, but a bunch of kids. There are several swimming holes in that particular river and for reasons of my own, I chose to take them to a swimming hole somewhat downstream from the more popular one where most people go. One of the boys in our group really wanted to go to the other one, but I had already decided we’d be better off at the one I picked, and the kid got irate with me. He didn’t quite understand that I was the adult, we were in my vehicle, and I had my reason(s) for my decision. Although he got mad (and soon got over it) I think we both learned a lesson from the episode. Later after it was over I sort of thought of it as if he was like me trying to come to grips with decisions made by my own Higher up. Sometimes I don’t see what He has in mind; in fact, very often I don’t understand His methodology, and, like the grandkid, there are those times I’ve gotten aggravated at His ways, but in most every instance, I get around to seeing why He did what He did, although it often takes a while.

A few more pods of crowders later, I got to thinking about the example in the Bible of the potter and the clay. As the objects being molded, we have no say in the processes being utilized by the Craftsman. We simply must be transformed into whatever He desires for us to become. Now if a potter decides to spend His time making a vessel, He obviously has some notion of how He wants it to come out when He finishes with it. If it is turning out to be something special, he is doubtlessly willing to spend more time and effort in his processes. When we are being shaped, there are often times when we don’t understand why we have to undergo some of the things He allows us to experience, but the higher the expectation for the end product, the more meticulously the Potter will be to work out the stubborn lumps in the clay, and since He tells us that He is more meticulous in correcting the behavior of those He loves, we should take heart and trust His decisions because our shaping is being accomplished precisely because of His love for us. [Hebrews12:6]: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” So even though it might seem harsh or unfair at the time, He does this for our own good.

Another consideration in His methodology is that He has told us that to whom much is given, much will be expected, so if He has put a whole lot of effort into our growth, He obviously expects us to put a lot of effort into our servitude to Him. You can see how our spiritual growth determined by His effort becomes a self-sustaining loop.

Now I suppose the pertinent question would be, Why? After all, if He loves us it’s only human to think He’d cut us a little more slack, but if you think about it, that’s precisely why He allows us to undergo experiences that are less than pleasant at the time. After all, it probably gets somewhat difficult to get those imperfections out of the clay, and in the end, He wants a product that He will be proud of and that will bring Him glory! It’s about Him and not us. If that potter was to accept a vase that wasn’t beautiful, it wouldn’t be a source of joy for him. It would most likely be one of those products relegated to a less honorable use, like maybe a bed pan that stayed hidden under the bed, but God wants us to shine as a bright light that attracts others to Him through us, so He doesn’t desire to settle for imperfections in His work. Although we have for an example Jesus Christ as the perfect being we should strive to emulate, alas, as human beings in the flesh we can’t achieve such perfection until that Day when He makes us so.

So until then, try and remember that our whole purpose in this phase of our existence is to bring glory to our Master. Sometimes we might not understand why we go through the trials we do, but if we do our best to stay focused on what we are here for, His glory, we will end up hearing those words that define success for human beings – [Matthew 25:21]: “Well done, good and faithful servant!…” Then we will enter the next and final phase – Paradise and unimaginable joy in His eternal presence!

I’m so looking forward to being His end product!

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK

MAGA – Mutiny Against God Almighty

So, you claim to be a member in good standing of a God-fearing electorate, one nation under God seeking providence, peace and prosperity. Somewhere in the back of your mind, there are some Christian leanings, or at least you like to think so, but it’s been a while – a pretty long while, come to think of it – since you broke out the Good Book and examined anything it says. That’s what preachers are for, right? They can be the ones to study the scriptures and just tell you what it says come Sunday. But now that you think about it, it’s been several Sundays since you were at church. And some of them preachers are kinda suspect as far as their messages. For instance, a lot of them are preaching that it’s imperative that you support Israel, but those folks are into some pretty dastardly practices, what with murdering children and starving people on purpose. Does it occur to you, bother you, that the verse about supporting Israel is so badly misinterpreted by your pastor?

You know enough about the teachings of Jesus to see a huge conflict between what He told us about loving our neighbors and what you see as Israel’s evil treatment and slaughter of poor people, but as long as the pastor says we have to support them because they’re Jews and sons of Abraham, it must be ok. But some old guy whose posts you read once in a while says that in the book of Revelation, Jesus was speaking to the church of Smyrna about some evil, blasphemous people will come along in the last days claiming to be Jews, but they will be lying because they won’t be Jews at all. Said the same thing to the church of Philadelphia. Maybe that’s why the Israeli government doesn’t allow their “Jewish” people to take DNA tests. Maybe that’s why every Israeli PM in their history has changed their names from European names to Jewish-sounding names like from the Polish Meleikowski to the Jewish Netanyahu. Even if they were Jews, according to Jesus’ testament they would be absolutely in the wrong murdering helpless peasants and intentionally starving children and infants, oh, and not believing in Jesus!

You aren’t and never have been for abortion because in your eyes that’s murdering babies. How then, do you rationalize the disconnect between the evil of aborting unborn babies and supporting those who intentionally starve living children who are already alive and breathing? Do you not see that there is a big disconnect there? Oh yeah, because your pastor explained that it’s ok – the Palestinians are the bad guys, even the little kids and babies. When you shut off your TV as the newscast gets into occupation soldiers shooting kids in food lines for fun, it all goes away, right? For you maybe, but not for them.

When they drop huge bombs on hospitals and kill hundreds of patients and doctors, nurses, and staff, that’s ok too, because the bad guys hide in those places. I guess it’s also ok when they make the doctors strip down to their underwear in bad weather and parade them around to shame and humiliate them, because blah, blah, blah. And your preacher said the doctors are the bad guys for treating terrorist children. That makes it ok to torture them horribly, even rape them in Israeli prisons – for being doctors.

Your esteemed orange president whom you seem to worship says we gotta support those people because they’re our allies so there’s that, but aren’t these the same “allies” who attacked one of our unarmed ships and murdered several dozen American sailors back in the sixties? Yeah, those allies. Do you think your beloved president might be coddling those allies because some of their wealthy supporters gave him millions of dollars for his election? Maybe he likes them so much because so many people suspect they were behind the Kennedy assassination (and he could be next), who knows? Just like with 9/11, a proper investigation was never allowed into any of those incidents. Now, just who in the world wields so much power and influence that they could prevent and/or stop a congressional investigation cold?

After all, even an American president can be on the receiving end of a Congressional Investigation – see Richard Nixon, so what entity could be so very powerful as to simply block a real investigation into something like 9/11 in which thousands of Americans were murdered? No questions asked. You watched things unfold; you’ve seen the way they operate over and over again. You’ve heard this politician you idolize say he would drain the swamp; you cheered for him at rallies; you even fly his campaign flag from the 2016 election proudly in your yard. He is after all, a slick New York City hustler who has a knack for telling you what you want to hear, he just never gets around to doing anything he promised. His masters upstairs wouldn’t let him, even if he had a mind to do the right thing. Any right thing. But he doesn’t have such a mind at all. He was brought up in the midst of Zionist New York bankers, crooked lawyers, and perverts, how do you expect him to behave?

But, but, he stood there by the church outside the White House with a Bible in his hands… And you bought into that one too? Figures. Did your preacher tell you he was a devout believer because of the way he held the Bible as he posed for the photo op? With a strange and morbidly phony smile, he does photo ops with the Bible just for you and those like you. The only thing missing is a serpent – no, wait!

Image result for free pic of trump with bible
If there were any believers present for this, I’d bet they were holding fire extinguishers

Is your revulsion of the Democrats such that you are willing to accept such a man as your vaunted and beloved leader? A lot of folks who think for themselves share your revulsion of the Democrats, but this disgrace is not anyone’s answer. Even if your pastor tells you otherwise. You should throw away that flag in your yard so when the locusts from the pit appear to torture evildoers you might be spared. You need to pray for him. And try opening your own Bible and read about the real Jesus Christ – not the christ that the Zionist MAGA pastors talk about.

Sorry for the rant, folks, but this Trump worship is getting old. The country has gone down in a big way unless one happens to be someone wealthy with lots of “contributions” for politicians. We must trust in the Lord – the evildoers will go down in flames – literally – in the end.

MK

How To Become Victorious Over A Wretched World

Image result for free pics of mumbai slums

I watched another one of those videos on You Tube that showed what life is like for those folks in places like Mumbai and Dhaka – and so many others – and it’s really gut wrenching for me. I don’t watch them to gloat – not by a long shot. I’m fascinated and horrified to see things like the mountain of trash 70 – meters high outside the confines of Delhi. The toxic and polluted waterways in the areas of the slums of Lagos and in the Philippines are a sad sight to see. Some of the documentary visited cities in the US where the homeless people try to survive in tents or just out on the sidewalks, but the tent cities of Los Angeles are luxury condos compared to some of the morbid slums of giant cities in Asia and Africa. There are literally hundreds of millions of souls on this planet scrapping for everything they can get/use to survive. Some of the video shots showed people in more than one of the places where the garbage trucks bring the city trash just waiting for the truck to dump so they could be the first in line to start rummaging through the garbage for recyclables – and food scraps – anything!

The air in Lahore, Pakistan is so polluted the narrator said just breathing the air there for one day is equivalent to their lungs as smoking 50 cigarettes. There’s a lot worse things than nicotine in that smog too. As the video shots run in the documentary, I find myself praying for those poor folks, people who will never in their whole lives get a breath of clean air or feel the joy of hearing wild birdsong out in a secluded forest. Folks who don’t even have clean water to drink or to cook with, much less able to stop by one of the cold Ozark springs for a draught of pure water. No, every moment of their lives is consumed in a never-ending struggle to just survive another day, surrounded at all times by sweat-soaked fellow travelers who are fighting the same hunger.

Here in America, we can’t imagine what it’s like to be in constant competition with other people for a claim to a plastic bottle, a used one, not one filled with clean water but simply an item having some pittance of value anyway. There are places in those packed slums where a single toilet is shared by dozens – in some cases hundreds – of people. In some of the slums in Africa and the Philippines where people exist on floating villages or stilt hovels, folks just relieve themselves in the water that surrounds them. There’s no other place to throw the trash either, so it goes into the waterways too. If they are to get a bath, they must use the same water. This is the case in India where the Ganges River is the predominant water source. They inter their dead in the same water they bathe in.

I don’t know of any answer to this dilemma. Over population is the root cause, but what can they do? Reproduction is indelibly etched into the genetic code of humans as with other life forms, so on it goes. There is an ultimate answer for the unfortunate poor of the world however, and it is to get to know Jesus Christ, but alas, there are too few people interested in working to harvest these manifold cities. But with such tools as we can get our hands on, those of us who wish to help in the harvest must do what we can. These people need to know there is a better place awaiting beyond their noisome and overcrowded existences. That would have to go a long way towards giving meaning to their struggle. Working toward the promises of Jesus, His Kingdom, His gift of eternal life to those who simply believe in Him – would be for them, as it is for all of us, a hope for something infinitely better, but in their case maybe more urgently and desperately needed, and in this hope they can live and mature with the steadfast promise of Jesus.

According to scientists, people of the earth are able to discern around 93 billion light years of our observable universe. One light year is an unfathomable distance. Even one light minute is unimaginable. We don’t have a clue how many universes there may be either, or if Heaven is even part of – or completely something different from what we are able to see, so at any rate God has a lot of room for his servants – there’s plenty of room in the Heavenly Kingdom for each and every one of the people of the earth. It won’t be crowded – we’ll each have our own majestic mansion there, prepared by none other than Jesus Christ Himself. There’ll be plenty of fresh, pure, clean water flowing through the new paradise – the River of Life. We’ll have wonderful fruit from the Tree of Life which produces different fruit every month. Being in His blessed presence is going to occupy our whole existence there, and being in His presence and the beloved presence of the Lamb is going to be an absolutely unimaginably joyous experience and we will be able to enjoy it forever! The way the apostle put it: [1 Corinthians 2:9]: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” That’s a promise from our Savior and He will keep it, but we must believe in Him and be faithful to Him, and love Him.

When our belief in Jesus grows into actual expectation, our hope becomes manifest in our hearts and all of a sudden, we come to understand why the effort is worth our time and energy. Peter mentioned in one of his epistles about the morning star rising in our hearts and I’m convinced that’s what happens when we get to that blessed revelation – our faith grows into knowledge; believing becomes knowing! [2 Peter 1:19]: “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…”

If this post makes it into your hands, take heart, there’s a better life beyond this one. Although this site doesn’t get a huge volume of traffic, folkpotpourri nevertheless has readers in several of the countries mentioned in this post, so please share this with someone – maybe it can get to some of those folks I’ve been talking about who so desperately need hope for a better existence. If you follow folkpotpourri, you already know this site isn’t monetized so I’m not after clicks nor for any selfish reason – when I ask you to share this, it’s because I sincerely want to use this website to help people to learn about Jesus. And I’d like for my readers to experience the spiritual lift we get from knowing we are serving Him by helping others get to Him. Our true reward will be when He says: “Well done, my good and faithful servant” – the very definition of success in victory over this life!

When we get to the end of our journey here, there awaits a door we must enter. Every human being goes through that door, but only the called, chosen, and faithful will be greeted by the Savior and invited into His blessed Kingdom where we shall live forever! In that moment we will understand that what we always thought was life here wasn’t really life at all – we’ll begin a new life, the real life at last, with no worry, no pain, no sadness – only perfect peace and above all, love – and it will be a love we can feel, I believe kind of physically, like stepping into a great tidal wave of love and joy to forever be immersed in, except it will be spiritual and much more predominant in our new life than we could ever imagine. God is love, and we’ll finally realize how profound that Love is!

Even though we don’t have any way of knowing how deep God’s love is, we should nevertheless pray for Him to show us how to love – our neighbors, but mostly Him. We should set our hearts to love, even our enemies, and I believe the harder we try to love others – and God – we can begin to understand deeper things about the Lord and His ways. Of course, this also requires spending time in the Bible, so if you don’t have one, there are Christian ministries in every country, contact one, the Bibles are usually free. If you can’t get your hands on a Bible, leave your contact information in the comments and this site will do whatever I can to help you get one even if I have to send one myself.

Live in the assurance of His promises and never doubt for an instant that He will keep them for Heaven and earth will pass away but His Words will stand forever. Today is the time to pass His gospel on to others – time is growing short and the harvest is ripe – jump in!

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK

When We Shine the Light in the Right Direction

Do you find yourself trying to lead another in whatever direction you are sure they need to go? It can get frustrating, really hard to keep on trying when that person (or persons) insists on going the wrong way. When it comes down to it, if they’re not apt to listen it’s not always because they don’t trust you as much as they trust whoever told them to go the wrong way. That person with ill advice is a stumbling block who reinforces some underlying fault within the heart of the person being deceived enabling their behavior. For instance, some money-grubbing false preacher says it’s ok to commit some moral sin – a sin which entices that person – so they begin to rationalize. That’s the sad reality of the situation. Why they misplace their trust is another matter, or maybe I should say a deeper aspect of the same issue. They might be deceived because of some underlying desire, some character defect, and so take the wrong path. Some less apparent issues like the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and/or the pride of life probably lurk just below the surface.

It may be difficult to connect the dots in these situations, to identify the core problem and work your way back to the connection with the wrong choice. Or maybe starting with whatever choice of paths they decide to follow might be easier, but either way, for some reason, and probably some reason they have hidden even from themselves, they insist on taking the wrong route. Sometimes it may not even be necessary to identify the “why” and thus simply set to helping them take corrective action. The stronger the appeal of the urge, however, such as trying to justify some immoral craving, the harder it becomes to convince them they are in error. Of course, when someone in a position of perceived authority such as some rich megachurch pastor or some errant politician tells them it’s ok to go the way they have chosen, it becomes much more difficult to change their trajectory. This always makes it easier to make bad choices, even if deep down they might initially suspect such a belief or behavior is wrong.

The bottom line is that people stray into error because somewhere deep down they want to. That said however, the elect of Jesus Christ, if their heart is pure, cannot be deceived. Or at least they cannot stay deceived; they have at their assistance the perfect Advisor who, in some way will invariably point out deception, and it’s up to them whether or not they choose to proceed with error. Surely, I’m not talking to the wind here! There have to be people out there who have encountered this phenomenon, one in which you have a loved one or a dear friend who you try to convince they are going the wrong way or believing false dogma, but to no avail because they have convinced themselves, for whatever reason, that they need to continue down this errant path they’ve chosen.

One of – if not the – biggest mistakes we make in our efforts guide our loved ones and/or friends to the truth is that we often do not avail ourselves of the fact that we have a powerful ally who is willing and able to help us. We tend to underestimate or even ignore the power of the Holy Spirit, possibly our only ally, who is able to defeat the enemy who holds our dear ones in his iron grip. If we pay attention and trust Him, the Spirit teaches us ways to reach those in need of guidance and the things they need to know in order to break the spell of the enemy, especially over the unwary. Sometimes we’re able to make a big difference in someone’s life with the simplest of gestures or suggestions from the Spirit, but in any event, we must recognize Him and seek His guidance in order to succeed; the Spirit of Jesus Christ will give us the tools and weapons we need, but only if we are serious and not operating out of some personal motivation outside His acceptable judgement. Remember that “Blessed are the pure at heart” admonition – we must seek His help for the right reasons.

I have personally run into this issue with someone close to me and I find the process of which I speak to be effective, but in my experience, not instantaneous. I see the enemy turn the screws of this person’s spirit and it’s painful at times to watch, but I know in the end Jesus’ intervention in this person’s life will overcome the wiles of the devil, it’s just a matter of how long this person is willing and/or able to resist the correct path so that they can finally begin to taste the genuine freedom He offers. It’s really tough to convince someone when they are wrong about something. Almost anything. Sometimes there is a feeling of helplessness, and that we must fight off, but in this endeavor, if we are convinced they are in error, we cannot give up. I will not give up – I firmly expect to see my powerful Ally prevail. It’s called faith – faith with which I have thankfully been abundantly blessed – faith learned through many hard-taught lessons. Faith, as we know from scripture, is one of the only things, – alongside hope and secondary to love – that we can have which is actually worth something. We must always pray for more faith. And pray unceasingly for the one we are trying to help. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much!

Whichever method you employ in your guidance, the subject person must know with no room for doubt that you are approaching them out of love. If your friend/relative has any notion of any other motive, you are wasting your time. For instance, people often feel the need to reinforce their positions from “I’m right and you’re wrong” perspective and that never works. Be willing to listen without being judgmental of every facet of the conversation – everyone knows at least some aspects of genuine spirituality and we must faithfully recognize and reinforce them when they are right about something. Of course, when the conversation gets into the reasons or justifications for their errant choices, we must seek and employ the wisdom of Solomon to address them – inoffensively – and only if necessary, but always from the guidance of scripture and that scripture that must not be misinterpreted. If the person claims to be a believer, misinterpretation of the Bible is usually why they’re off course in the first place. That’s where the Spirit comes in. If one is truly guided by the Holy Spirit, the scriptures will always be revealed correctly. Seek and you will find!

May the blessing of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK

To Heed the Right Word and Compose One’s Own

I just watched a very thoughtful video on a popular platform. I’m not going to cite it because it left me with some very mixed feelings. Ironically, here I am writing a post that will get sent out on the internet from my desktop, all this dissemination through the cyber world, using some of the most effective tools of the enemy. He has cunningly devised many aspects of social media (although some who pursue the truth must also of necessity use versions of it to make our own arguments) in ways so as to capitalize on some folks’ tendencies to pay attention to trite and meaningless memes and deceptive ads. By using tried and true methods that appeal to human laziness and our never-ending pursuit of the shallow thought of worldliness that too often reinforces pre-conceived human desires, he is able to gain a worldly audience and attempt to silence those of us who encourage independent thought. For it is the dedicated effort required for (often profound) thought that helps to edify us, but as humans, alas, we seek to avoid it.

The video I watched was well designed and presented, and it spoke to the very traits and tendencies I address, but paradoxically it was narrated in one of those familiar AI presentations we’ve all seen by now. For those who haven’t been paying attention, you can tell it’s AI when you see repetitions of “It’s not about xyz, it’s about abc, about def”, etc. Or the all too familiar “layers of complexity”, the over usage of some version of the phrase, “(something) stands as a testament to xyz,”, or the interjection of “geopolitical” at every opportunity as if that is one of the few six-syllable words that AI knows. Oh yeah, AI narratives must always “delve” into whatever subject is presented. No matter which of the voices and/or accents the “writer” chooses to employ, if you pay attention, you can see an AI narrative from a mile away. I don’t believe it will always be this easy to recognize, because the enemy is very proficient at teaching techniques of deception, and those who practice it always learn from him.

But what does that say about the ability of persons or entities who choose the subject matter and develop these AI presentations? For one thing, I wonder if it reveals that fewer and fewer people are able to master the English language (or others) and may be just too lazy to learn it. Some of the presentations, as I mentioned, are indeed of thought-provoking subjects, but what are we to make of thought-provoking discourse when the very entity presenting it is obviously avoiding the thought processes required to compose a sensible narrative? Why can’t the presenter(s) find one of the (apparently dwindling number of) persons who might be able to master the language and produce a robust narrative that engages the reader, complete with occasional minor mistakes that reveal it’s from a real person and not a digitally arranged attempt at perfection? “Authors” of AI narrated videos, while seeking clicks and big algorithms (was that a correct phrase? I don’t know, but even if it was incorrect, just read on with the knowledge that this post is hand-written by a real person) simply forego any attempt to self-generate whatever discourse they try to present from their own mind and by their own hand. They simply let the beast speak for whatever it is they are trying to sell. Although the end product may indeed sell, it nevertheless lacks that human touch – human language – that lends authenticity. Authenticity, therefore is relegated in importance to the number of views.

Putting a thought into words isn’t always easy and for a thought to have the desired effect on the reader, words need to be carefully selected. Professors and teachers, at least when I was in school eons ago, try and get the notion across that in order to evoke the desired emotion(s), an author needs to be aware that the choice of terms he/she selects has a profound effect on the reader’s understanding of his material. I honestly believe that for all the hoopla surrounding this marvelous AI, folks will eventually get tired of its repeated use of terms and phraseology, but like I said, don’t expect these anomalies to last.

It’s kind of scary though, to imagine that the cyber world may grow to understand deficiencies in its own capabilities and set about improving its proficiency to the point that it can become able to sway opinions and beliefs of all of the masses. That’s where a person’s faith comes in. See, the Holy Spirit inside the heart of the Christian will not allow this gross deception in their beliefs. Jesus said, [Matthew 24:24] “For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Whatever AI generated themes arise, the believer can never be deceived, because the knowledge of Jesus Christ is indelibly etched into their hearts and when the beast proposes something that conflicts with the teachings of Jesus, the Spirit sends up a red flag. It might not be instantaneous, but even after hearing some outlandish thing or another and maybe even after cogitating on it, the Christian will eventually and inevitably get the right message. Always be on the lookout for flashy messages that conflict with the scriptures you have learned. Even if some narrative sounds one hundred percent authentic, if the presenter avoids mentioning Jesus Christ as his authority, it should be taken with skepticism.

I think this is how the beast – the antiChrist – will come to fore in these last days. He (it) will speak messages that appeal to believers to the extent some will actually believe he’s loyal to God. The norm is graphic depictions of horrible demons in terrifying scenes and that’s what he wants to portray to you to look out for, but in reality this character is most likely going to be attractive and deliver an attractive message. A lot of people have speculated this. People whom you consider to be fellow believers will come to you saying he is the real deal for they will have been deceived themselves. To drive this point home, I’ve had people whom I thought to be devout Christians tell me that one man (one of our former presidents) was such a great Christian they just had to support him. Even after he revealed himself to be another servant of the wealthy who trampled rights and lives of unfortunate people in El Salvador for instance, they didn’t see it. The antiChrist will likewise deceive all but the most steadfast, and many of today’s AI narratives are simply his proving ground to see what works best for his purposes. That is one of the reasons for this post – to help fellow travelers to watch for his treachery.

I think the greatest threat of deception is going to be in the message of the enemy. He will say things that comport with what many people think is scripture and on the surface will sound completely moral. There’s already a lot of this going on in today’s churches and cults that try to establish a return to the old covenant and mix it with the Covenant of Christ. There’s a false teaching going around that a lot of people call Christian Zionism, and there are several versions of it, but they all seem to teach some sort of hybrid theology that tries to apply the old law of Moses with Jesus’ teachings. I would like to remind believers that every bit of dogma they try to inject from the old covenant is an attempt (intentional or not) to reduce the primacy of Jesus Christ whether or not they realize it. If one does not understand the threat of this to the Christian, I would encourage studying the entire epistle to the Galatians. This is precisely what that church was doing and the Apostle Paul sharply rebuked them for it, even calling them “foolish Galatians!” [Galatians 3:1]. I’ve actually heard people of this genre of “believers” even go so far as to question Paul’s authority or even his actual claim to Apostleship, some even saying he wasn’t a real disciple. This is dangerously irresponsible, but nevertheless it’s another tactic of deception the enemy uses. There is no such animal as a Judeo Christian or a Christian Zionist. The terms are mutually exclusive in every possible measure. I mention this phenomenon because in today’s Christian world it has spread and has become such a prevalent method of deception – even one that rivals the slick language of AI videos.

Another aspect of the great deception that I fear too few people anticipate is that due to the publicity of the great evils going on in the world that everyone sees, the antiChrist will doubtless go against the atrocities we all witness right now. Even nonbelievers are repulsed at murdering starving children! Although they have served him well, Satan, in his eagerness to gain some of Christ’s harvest will be more than willing to throw the people committing the evil right now under the bus so folks can say, “See? He’s against (genocide, pedophilia, whatever) so he’s a good guy and you should follow him!” I believe he’s setting up this very deception today, knowing the world is getting fed up with the goings on of the great evils we see everywhere. He can even gain the trust of even marginal believers with this – watch out for it!

This is but one of the tactics the enemy is using, but by applying today’s communication devices and tactics, he will deceive many. Don’t fall for it. Some of those AI presentations sound very convincing, but always weigh what you hear with your knowledge of the Bible. The elect cannot be deceived, but there are many others who can, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT STUDY GOD’S WORD! Many of these people try to claim to be believers, but to their eternal damnation, they follow teachings that are not of Christ. That said, however, I’ve seen some AI videos that advance true Christian theology too, and I’m not discrediting any of them, I just prefer the narrative to be of human origin.

If you’ve made it this far on this post, you’re probably a true believer. It’s my solemn prayer that this message will help you to see some of the wiles of the enemy and avoid his snares. The world at large completely ignores God. There are only a few who try to follow Jesus, and of those, the halfhearted get led astray, maybe not away from the faith, but certainly down some dead-end roads they must come back from. Be warned that if you’re not being tested, if Satan isn’t bothering you, you’re doing something wrong. Conversely if you’re aware by events in your life that he’s out gunning for you, you’re probably on the right track. That’s another way to tell if the ministry you follow is teaching the right Way – how’s their battle with the enemy going?

Jesus said, [Matthew 7:14] “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it”. This should be clear enough to understand that not everyone who calls themselves believers are for real. But it is because they aren’t pure at heart. Seek that narrow gate. [Mathew 7:7], “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

You don’t see that language in very many AI presentations. In addition, for what it’s worth, as long as this writer operates folkpotpourri, there will be no AI posts.

May God bless all.

MK

Of Building Bridges; of Loyalty to One’s People

They hang on for all they are worth, but for all observable evidence they have no idea why. Or do they? Each one toils amid thousands of fellow workers, each one a laborer, yet each one also an engineer of the highest caliber. The marching army has reached a place where there is no longer any path, but do they turn around? Never! Incredibly, they devise a way to cross and do it with such immediacy that it appears it was pre planned. Who knows? Maybe it was.

They’ve reached a place where they recognize there will be an air gap in the trail over some void, some opening that it would take an unacceptable amount of time and/or effort to circumvent. Without hesitation, each of them advances to successive positions in which they reach out into the open space ahead, climbing with marvelous precision over their fellow travelers to place their bodies in such an arrangement that will allow another, a fellow engineer, to proceed out into the nothingness beyond and assume a similar posture until eventually one of them reaches the other side and grabs an anchor point so there will be a biological bridge for the entire army to cross and reassume travel on their ever-increasing path.

At first, their bridge is methodically constructed at the closest point to the other side, but as the group refines its calculations and reassesses whatever level of energy and resources are required to use this crossing location, if they determine that it would be more efficient to change the location to another spot, even though the span required to cross it in the new location might be longer, they nevertheless consider the resource cost, and move the bridge accordingly. In unison they make the decision; in unison they relocate the bridge, adjusting the positions and numbers of tiny bodies required to keep the bridge intact.

In a similar vein, we’ve all seen videos of schools of fish that swim in unison, changing direction together and simultaneously in mere instants. How does each fish know when all the others are going to swap directions? It happens so quickly we humans are at a complete loss to understand what’s going on in those piscivorous little brains, but Someone knows. It’s how they’re wired, and He wired them. Ants think like that too. As capable engineers who all graduated from the same school, each and every ant in the colony knows exactly what they must do, what each of the other ants will do, and exactly when each will do it. No questions, no long, drawn out discussions or committee sessions to evaluate the costs, the timeline, the logistics required, none of that. Like the fellow says in the comedy movie, “This is America, we don’t plan, we do!”

Now imagine if you were one of those little guys, but with your human mind and human emotions. What would be going on in your head when it came your turn to grab hold of the forelegs of your friend and extend your forearms out for the next guy? You’d know that soon enough there would be an endless army of your fellow ants clambering over the length of your carcass for the next several hours, all the while treading you underfoot with tarsal claws gouging everywhere. What a demeaning situation, but you’d have no choice but to hold on lest the objectives of the entire colony be jeopardized. The whole project would be on your shoulders as much as anyone else’s, and you’d be expected to hang on with every ounce of determination you could muster. Do you think you’d be up to it? Maybe the physical part, but for humans and the way we’re wired, the emotional toll might be insurmountable. But then as human beings, we can sometimes find ourselves in situations that require different kinds of emotional sacrifices -those required for the greater good of helping our fellow travelers get where they’re going.

Fortunately for the army ant, they don’t have human personalities and therefore don’t seem to mind taking a lowly position for the good of the colony. Are you beginning to see where this is going? See, this writer thinks we could learn some things from some of our little six-legged friends, the army ants. Although we could never become capable of the required level of groupthink to build human body bridges, there are many things we can do to improve the fare of our neighbors here in this life. Recognition of the needs of others and the willingness to endure some degree of sacrifice to those ends are but some of the many honorable traits we could inculcate.

The willingness to assume a lower position in the “food chain” is another, albeit more difficult pursuit, but one that reveals our motivation to help society as a whole. It is perhaps the most difficult too. When Jesus gave the lesson about the wealthy and/or elite fellows who enjoyed sitting in the front pews or at the prominent places at the feast, He was speaking to our desire to bask in the aura of social popularity, of having everyone be envious of our positions in society – and boy do we have folks who are caught up in that personality defect! Imagine someone in today’s elite society stretched out as part of a body bridge and undergoing that sacrifice of allowing everyone, even commoners to walk across! Only in another world, in the world of creatures who have learned from millions of years of experience the value to their kind of not allowing personal ambitions to interfere with their duties to the group, does this kind of thing happen.

As an aside, another interesting facet of these little ants is that they instantly know each other even to whether or not they are from the same colony. That’s another similarity with believers because the Spirit inside us doesn’t take long to reveal Himself in other people, so by being able to recognize the Spiritual sincerity of other believers we are like those little guys in that regard.

As Christians we are called to use our time here to do whatever we must – including making whatever sacrifices necessary – to enhance the body of Christ. Sometimes that means assuming a less elegant place, maybe the back pew of the church; maybe pitching in and helping some stranger change a tire on the highway in the hot sun. We have to be willing to grab onto our place in that bridge and hang on so our brethren can succeed in getting across this void we find ourselves in here in the world, to understand we, as believers, are all headed down the same trail, and we have to know – without stopping to think about it or worry over what it might cost – what our duty is and be willing to do whatever we must to make sure we all get to the other side – like those little ants do without hesitation. It’ll be worth it, and when that blessed Day comes, we’ll be rewarded for our effort. You can count on that.

God bless all.

MK

They Must Be Taught, Then Allowed, to Love

Are you sure you know how to love? Sure, we all love our families, our pets, but do we understand what it takes to love our neighbors? Total Strangers? How about understanding how to love God, an ethereal being we can’t see or touch? The Bible says we must love Him in spirit, so how do we go about that? If that was an easy question to answer, the simplicity of the answer would render it to be merely a rhetorical question. The fact is, of ourselves we don’t have a clue about loving in spirit – we must be gifted with God’s grace and filled with His Holy Spirit to even begin to understand what Spiritual love is. Then and only then can we begin to be able to do it.

Our very understanding of love has to be reconfigured if we are to honestly pursue the iteration of a love that can allow us to obey what a lot of people oversimplify as the commandment to love God. I don’t believe it is a commandment in our understanding of commandment, but in the sense of the old saying about respect being earned and not demanded. The order is to love God the Father with all of one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. [Matthew 22:37]: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.“

Why, after all, – and how could we – love God only because we are commanded to do so? If we attempt to love God only because we are commanded to, kinda sounds like something Donald Trump or some other autocrat would “demand” of their proles, and of course, real love from the heart could never transpire only if we are commanded to do so. The way I see this commandment is that the Spiritual love we must have within us to show towards God is there as a result of His grace in that He, through His spirit, is willing to teach us how He wishes for us to love Him. If we determine that we want to love Him, and earnestly pray that the Spirit teaches us how to do so, then we can become able to do something that without His help we wouldn’t have a clue of how to do. In other words, the commandment to love God can only be fulfilled after we have been given the grace to do so, and although love in the commandment is seen as an action verb – and it is – it is also an end result of having received God’s grace to teach us what this love is and how to love Him. I don’t believe it is humanly possible to love God in spirit without having been taught by His Spirit what it means and how to do so.

Spiritual love cannot be taught by another human being. We can learn from others what the symptoms of love look like, such as doing favors for those we love, getting on our knees to show our subservience, being respectful, but the love itself cannot even be described, much less taught and practiced. It is an emotion of the highest order and if the heart that loves is pure with no hint of deception or flattery, it can actually be felt within the conscious soul. Even when we become able to practice this love, we can only love a tiny bit as compared to the love of God. How is it possible to fathom that the Creator of everything that exists is Himself described as love? God is love. [1 John 4:8]; “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” This verse brings us full circle back to the commandment – to love God. It also gives us a method of discerning whether or not we truly know God, for if we do not have love in our hearts, we cannot possibly know Him.

People who do not have love in their hearts for God, or for their fellow human beings are being duplicitous hypocrites when they try to claim they have a relationship with God. Look at the megachurches who teach support for genocide and you will see perfect examples of this hypocrisy. The world is full of “leaders” who profess to be Christians – or at least claim to be morally upright – yet they casually give orders that result in the massacre of entire populations of human beings – people they should love. Incredibly. such leaders have big followings of folks who like to think of themselves as believers, and they are fine with wars and with slaughtering innocent people. There is no way a person can be a follower of Jesus Christ and support murder of innocents, regardless of what the false prophet pastors of the megachurches say. Their day will come.

We must strive for the love, for the ability to love in Spirit as we are commanded. When we take the right path, the one Jesus taught, we will one day find that we do indeed love our Creator. We will see then what I’m trying to explain here – that being able to love in Spirit and in truth is itself a gift of the Spirit as opposed to something we just one day decide to do. It’s not something we can just do like turning on a water spigot. We must be gifted with the ability to love – with the same kind of love that God holds for us, just not as profound, but I believe the longer we live and the harder we pray for this precious gift, the more clearly we will see what it means and we will be more able to love as commanded.

I think the key to being graced with the ability to love as God wants us to is first desiring to love Him as we should, but we also must at all costs be willing to be totally honest with ourselves and with God. No one can expect to have a relationship with the Father if he is hiding something in his heart. You cannot deceive God. The scripture says: [Matther 5:8]: “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” You gotta be totally honest with God because He knows your heart anyway, but most importantly with yourself, because it’s possible to practice deception thoroughly enough that we can fool ourselves. When we do that, there’s no way to ever know God.

The commandment to love God can be seen as more of a result than an action. No one can love God unless they know how, and they cannot know how unless the Holy Spirit manifests in their heart what it means and how to do it. I firmly believe that once you have received this gift, you are required to, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength to practice using it; if you allow a treasure of that magnitude – the greatest gift from God – to go to waste, if you bury that coin, you’re wasting something precious. If you love God and your fellow man with all sincerity, you’ll be following Jesus’ commandments.

Love as fully as you are able and keep the faith.

MK

It’s Critical to Stay Spiritually Above the Fray

Things are becoming increasingly concerning for the whole world. As of this writing Israel and Iran are pummeling one another and the damage to both countries is colossal. Missiles are lighting up the night skies of the whole Middle East and as a Christian, I have a couple of things to try and remind my Christian brothers and sisters, lest we allow our thoughts to stray into places we have to avoid.

I guess one of the preeminent concepts our Savior teaches us is that we take no pleasure in the misfortune of others, no matter how strongly we might feel that some of them deserve such. Our Christian obligation in these troubled times is to pray for peace. To pray for God’s grace to find those who suffer. It’s tempting to allow our human nature to overcome our spiritual nature in this situation and adopt the position that some of those people had it coming, but by doing so we put ourselves in a judgement seat which does rightfully not belong to us. What we are witnessing happening in the Middle East what with Israel getting bombed is a tragedy and we must resist the temptation to find satisfaction in the destruction that is upon them. Those who follow my posts will probably think this is an about face from my normal thoughts on the behavior of Israel, and I guess to be honest it is a departure from things I usually say, but it is nevertheless a spiritual stance that I believe we all must strive for.

Tel Aviv is beginning to look like the destruction of Gaza and if that is a fitting result of genocide, well, that’s for God to decide. He warns us to allow Him to take vengeance, so as Christian believers, we have to understand that whatever payback the Zionists are receiving, it is God’s will. The Iranians aren’t faring any better and we need to earnestly pray for peace over there as well. In the end, what happens to warring nations is not ours to decide. Christians do not support war, violence, and destruction. When we can honestly take the position that we do not wish for ill fortune upon anyone and pray for their relief, we can rest assured we are doing our spiritual duty with no malice for anyone.

Aside from where our spiritual responsibilities lie, it’s noteworthy to understand the naked truth that this war did not have to happen. There was no reason whatsoever for Israel to start bombing Teheran. Many justifications have been attempted, but none have succeeded in convincing the discerning mind that those attacks were necessary. We all know what’s going on and it has little to nothing to do with the likelihood that Iran was working on a nuclear weapon. Iran has had the technology and the infrastructure in place for decades to develop a nuclear bomb, so the urgency with which Netanyahu tries to convince the world was not urgent at all. The nation of Israel has long worked to establish itself as the dominant power in the Middle East. It has been stated many times by many authorities, both pro and anti-Israel, that Israel has a plan in place to create a Greater Israel, which of necessity must include land from several countries including Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and others. They have been slowly but steadily gaining this objective over the years, but the number one objective was, and is, the elimination of the Palestinian people from the land they have claimed as Israel.

As long as Iran is a powerful military nation that supports the Palestinians and opposes Israel, they are regarded as a threat – not so much a threat to Israel – but both to their plans for greater Israel as well as their unaccountable ability to murder people at will, so their leaders, especially Satan’s chief servant on earth, Benjamin Netanyahu, have dedicated themselves to the objective of getting the US to defeat Iran militarily. He has attempted to con the US and the United Nations into believing Iran was on the verge of a nuclear weapon, and this verge has lasted 20-30 years, so the passage of time itself has revealed this claim to be a lie, but he isn’t deterred. As of today, Donald Trump seems to be torn between showing his loyalty to Zionist money (don’t forget Miriam Adelson’s $100 million “campaign contribution”, nor the attendance of the richest Zionists in the world at his inauguration) thereby outright declaring his treachery to the US and our interests, or doing the right thing and avoid spilling American blood and treasure by shutting down US support for the greater Israel project.

As things now stand with Trump sending material support to Israel exactly like Biden did – and by the way, did anyone else notice the Kharma in Trump falling on the airplane steps the same as he made fun of Biden for doing? – he, Trump seems to be getting ready to get American forces into an affray that Russia and China are almost certain to engage if he does. This does not concern Netanyahu in the least. As I said before, he is Satan’s chief servant on earth today and the more death and destruction he can bring down on humanity, the more he pleases his master. He does not care at all if the casualties are American, Iranian, nor Israeli. His objective is death, and it should be painfully obvious to everyone, especially Christians, that death is his goal and as much death as possible. If the shooting were to somehow stop, Netanyahu would most likely be prosecuted, by Israel no less, for his criminal behavior an his corruption. But more devastatingly for his designs, he wouldn’t be able to kill anymore. These wars he is initiating are precisely to preserve his standing as the leader of Israel and thereby his ability to cause death.

I know it sounds hyperbolic to say this guy is only interested in death and destruction, but look at Gaza; look at Libya; look at Tel Aviv right now. He could have prevented every death, every crumbled building, but he pursued a path of wanton destruction and murder in every case. I firmly believe the Nimitz was sent to the Middle East as a sacrificial lamb for Israel to commit a false flag by sinking or destroying. Trump knows this – the Nimitz is our oldest carrier, due to be decommissioned soon, so it wouldn’t be that great of a loss materially, but there are a lot of families who would be destroyed by losing the sailors and air wing personnel if it was sunk. It wouldn’t be the first American ship attacked by our “greatest ally” either. Google the USS Liberty. Neither Netanyahu nor Trump would care one whit for the loss of 6,000 American sailors, but it would serve to provoke a bunch of unsuspecting red state barbarians to support an all-out war, because you can rest assured that it will be done in such a way as to make it look like Iran did it. Look for an Israeli submarine attack, probably with a nuclear weapon, which would, of course have the added benefit of serving as “proof” that Iran has nuclear weapons. Trump would get to be a wartime president, Netanyahu would get his wildest dream-come-true, the deaths of a bunch of servicemen with the assurance of many thousands more deaths to come!

I served on the Nimitz back when she was first put into service – I’m (what’s known in the Navy) as a plank owner of the Nimitz. I was one of those green shirt guys on the flight deck, responsible for operations and maintenance of the catapults and arresting gear. It would break my heart to see her get sunk or busted up just because servants of Satan want to get their jollies by killing a bunch of service people and starting a World War. I don’t believe that back in the day when I served that the US would have supported, much less risked American lives, to conduct a genocide. But back then presidents didn’t openly take bribes from wealthy Zionists, thereby committing themselves to the service of Satan.

As I mentioned earlier, none of this war and destruction had to happen. It is being waged because it enrages Benjamin Netanyahu that there is a sovereign nation that refuses to bow their backs to him and there is nothing he relishes more than to satisfy his master by the shedding of blood. He prefers to murder those who are powerless to fight back, but when he has the US military at his disposal, he knows he can get massive of numbers of people killed, and that is his objective. If you can’t see that Netanyahu’s game is death and destruction – anyone’s – then you’re not looking.

At the start of this post I said that as Christians we must not wish misfortune on anyone, nor take pleasure in the woes of other people, and I hold to that. Recognizing where the problems are coming from and praying for their cessation does not count as wishing ill-will upon those destined to suffer. Indeed, we must, with as much conviction as possible, even pray for men like Trump and Netanyahu. We must stay in the Keep of Jesus Christ, looking out at the ills of the world from our impenetrable spiritual fortress – the strength and security of the Rock of Ages. Our own turn for death and destruction will come soon enough.

When I mentioned Trump falling on the airplane steps, I wasn’t taking pleasure at his misfortune. I was pointing out the fact that God’s justice takes many forms, some people take that for Kharma, and if that’s what you want to call it, ok, I guess. But you have to admit, as much as Trump would like to differentiate himself from Joe Biden, in my humble opinion, there are a lot more similarities than differences. Especially in their slavish subservience to Netanyahu and the Zionists.

God bless all.

MK