Tag Archives: prayer

A Privilege Rarely Understood

I don’t know about anyone else, but I get a little bit annoyed when people show up unexpectedly. I’m probably a little unfair to be so, but it’s just how I’m wired. Maybe I have something going on that I’d rather get finished than to stop and visit, but I always try my best to make folks feel welcome and in fact, I’m one of those people who goes out of their way to avoid being impolite and have gotten pretty good at keeping my annoyance to myself so as to make visitors feel welcome at any time, but still it’s always nice to get a heads up before folks come calling.

Today I was meditating on talking to God and thinking about how He is always on stand-by for us when we decide to come to Him. He knows why we come to Him in each and every instance, and we most likely have some problem or another we want Him to resolve or at least help us to resolve. Have you ever had one of those friends or neighbors that never call or come by unless they need something? In my years I’ve had those kinds of acquaintances. In fact, truth be told, most people are like that to some degree – you see them more often when they have some kind of problem and it’s rare for anyone to stop by unless this is so.

What if we were to just stop whatever we’re doing and say hello to our Father? I’d bet He doesn’t get a lot of those prayers, people just touching base and wishing Him well. Of course, He doesn’t need our well-wishes, but the thought would be nice and from the heart, as opposed to those prayers of thanks we send up out of habit before meals or bedtime prayers we practice by rote every night. I’m not advocating we stop those kinds of prayers, but are they really from our hearts, or are most of our prayers like that just fulfilling an obligation? And for sure, the prayers we pray when we’re in need or in trouble of some kind are sincere enough, but does He see us as those neighbors who only call on us in times of need?

When you stop and think about it, coming before God in prayer is a great honor none of us deserve, but a lot of us just step up to His throne as if He owes it to us to listen – as though we have some kind of right to be there in His mighty presence. What a huge privilege it is for us to be granted audience with the Creator of the universe whenever we want to approach Him! Try gaining audience with some high-ranking politician, much less a president or prime minister. How about speaking with a monarch of some kind? At the very least, you’d be in for some serious red tape, background checks, and much time in waiting for such a meeting. But with God, our Lord and Savior? Anytime, He is there waiting for us to come near! In fact, we are told in the scriptures that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. He is more than willing to visit with us, and that is a phenomenal truth that I fear we don’t appreciate as we should.

When we stop and consider the immensity and complexity of the creation, at least that part of it we know of, it’s staggering – in fact, we cannot begin to fathom the intricacies of overseeing and directing the happenings of all the details of the whole universe, but He attends to everything and does it with perfection! He knows how many hairs are on your head! He is aware of every bird that falls from the sky, yet He is ever available for us when we step before His throne. What a privilege to be able to speak with such a magnanimous entity whenever we choose to do so!

With all of this wonder in mind, it’s imperative that when we do stand before His throne in the presence of the hosts of Heaven that we acknowledge His magnificence, that we appropriately humble ourselves [Matthew 18:3]: “and (Jesus) said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes with childlike wonder and complete subservience in recognition of His power and glory. When we humble ourselves before Him, we become blessed with His unimaginable favor, [Matthew 18:4]: “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We should also at least try at some level to appreciate the undying love He has for us. It’s not that we should necessarily try and understand it, because we can’t. But if it were not for that love, we doubtlessly would not be privileged to approach Him as He has blessed us to be able in our condition. The very best we can conceivably be before Him, the most righteous persona we might be able to muster – are something like dirty rags, unadulterated filth, but He hears us anyway. In fact, He loves it when we choose to be before Him, especially on those rare occasions when we come simply for His fellowship and aren’t asking for something.

It’s of utmost importance to bear in mind and always remember that we cannot enter into God’s presence without the consent and company of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, God will not hear our prayers and Jesus made that plain when He said [John 14:6]: “Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Any prayer sent to God without Jesus’ inclusion is a total waste of breath, and an exercise in futility. God went through a very difficult ordeal watching His Son being sacrificed for our malign behavior and it’s not hard to believe He harbors much animosity for human beings who ignore such a terrible ordeal by rejecting His Son. So don’t!

Unlike some of us people, God isn’t the least bit annoyed when we unexpectedly come before Him, especially when our visit is driven by love and a pure heart and not necessarily because we have some kind of problem. He always makes time for us, so don’t be shy about visiting with Him just because you want to say hello. It’s okay to tell Him you love Him because He sincerely loves you and He told us so many times in the Bible. None of us can begin to fathom how profound that love is. Keep in touch with our Lord.

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

MK

Serve or Oppose Evil – It’s Your Choice

Today it is not uncommon to hear of, to see video of, to witness as never before the savagery of the servants of Satan as they slaughter innocent people in the Middle East. The United States of America, the UK, Germany, France, etc. are as guilty as those demon-possessed military men who are pulling the triggers and dropping the bombs. Just this morning there is a news story about a family being butchered as they sat down to their evening meal in the West Bank. Demon-possessed soldiers opened fire on this unarmed family and even shot a little two-year-old girl in the head and killed her during the slaughter. No one was shooting at the killers – they had no legitimate reason to shoot up the family of innocent people. They never do, it’s just that they relish taking the lives of any – especially those who cannot defend themselves. Demons are cowardly like that; they prefer not to go up against armed enemies who shoot back. There have been countless atrocities committed against this people, we know of the Hind Rajab episode, the aid workers who were killed with missiles after trying to escape the butchers in three different cars. The flour massacre where the “most moral army in the world” mercilessly slaughtered starving people who crowded around a truck to get some flour. There have been so many examples of illegal, immoral butchery that it will take years to list and investigate them all. In their unsuccessful attempts to keep their malevolence hidden, they have killed more journalists than have been killed in any other conflict.

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The demons are violating every human norm – every “rules-based order” of human decency, and they have the (almost) complete support of the US government. Lindsey Graham screams at the top of her lungs that “Israel has a right…”. I hope God doesn’t take His wrath out on the whole state of South Carolina for the malevolence of the demon that possesses that vile little monster, but then many of them voted for him. Marco Rubio is now in a position where he can slavishly oblige Satan’s chief servant, Netanyahu, aka Malikowski, as he always has, but now without hiding behind Senate votes – he’s out there publicly, as is Donald Trump, again. I guess he’s no worse than the servant of evil that just left office. Most of these guys were once able to hide or disguise their servitude to the Synagogue of Satan, but now that Satan has near complete control, they no longer need to bother to hide their evil proclivities, nor do they try anymore. Why is sending bombs to Israel not as illegal as handing a knife to Ted Bundy? If you were on trial for abetting Ted Bundy who killed maybe three dozen women (I’m not trying to minimize his carnage), you’d get life, or maybe even the death sentence. If you give bombs to an evil entity who is murdering tens of thousands of innocents, the legal system whistles past the graveyard – or worse, sanctions any prosecutor who dares to bring charges – and that’s what passes for western justice today! Folks we need Jesus as never before! Get right with Him before it’s too late – don’t let this evil system with its evil “leaders” take you down with them. I think that decent leaders like Putin and Xi are going to get enough of this barbarism and destroy the Zionist-controlled west before they (our leaders) destroy the world with their evil and immorality.

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I don’t know why everyone makes a fuss about Middle East “ceasefires” when the only thing such an “agreement” means is that the resistance stops shooting back when the demons continue to kill innocent people. They never intend to stop murdering, but as mentioned above, they prefer to do it when no one is shooting back, so they negotiate a “ceasefire”. Neither, it appears, do they intend to withdraw from Southern Lebanon as “agreed”. And the resistance leaders don’t seem to be able to catch on. During the Ukraine SMO, Putin and his men figured this western trait out, calling western negotiators “agreement incapable” of any kind of treaty. How do we respect “leaders” who openly brag about using US military power to steal oil and wheat from an impoverished country like Syria? Yet on my drive to and from town I see his campaign signs in yards as though some are proud of themselves for having voted for such a leader. To me the scary part is that these same people probably go to church around here somewhere.

Some true heroes have emerged from the darkness of this evil, though. Fransesca Albanese, special rapporteur of the UN shines like a great beacon of light on the evil taking place. Kudos to Karim Khan of the International Criminal Court for being brave enough to indict Netanyahu and Gallant. The ICC and the ICJ have called it like it is, too, so kudos to them. Martyrs, beginning with General Soleimani of Iran and including Hassan Nasrallah, Yahya Sinwar, Haniya, Iran’s President Raisi, and the brave fighters of Gaza, especially the Qassam Brigades, the noble Houthi rebels and Iraqi resistance, Hezbollah, all will be seen by future historians (if there will be future historians) as being on the right side of humanity. Same for journalists like Owen Jones, Larry Johnson, Judge Napolitano, etc. and outspoken heroes and heroines Candice Owens, Kevin Barrett, and Caitlin Johnstone. Y’all keep up the good work – the whole world is watching as y’all expose this evil. More importantly, so is God.

There are others who have “arisen” to be historic villains, such as Joe Biden, almost the entire congress of snakes in the US, Starmer of the UK, Scholtz, Macron, Blinken and all of the other Zionist genocide supporting entities, including “defense” contractors of the US. Zionist billionaires who have arrogated to themselves the authority to control college campus activities in America are included in this group. Various public figures everywhere who support the massacre going on in Palestine for whatever shekels they can garner, will burn in hell for their participation in this travesty. This applies as well to all who work in mainstream media, spouting out lies daily, whether by omission or inclusion (of justification) for genocide.

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Such is the publicity of the barbarity happening in Gaza, the West Bank, Southern Lebanon, and now Syria, that even all the fine, upstanding church-members of the covens of evil called evangelical churches will not be able to claim ignorance when they stand before a wrathful Jesus Christ at the judgement. First of all, Jesus himself warned everyone about the Synagogue of Satan, so why are the pastors of the mega churches so hell-bent on serving them? If these people are so determined to look the other way, when the truth is right out in front of them in their own Bibles (and in today’s alternative media) yet they continue to support the workers of Satan (with support groups like CUFI), they will surely deserve what they get, but it’s going to be a long and horrible eternity for them.

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So while the honorable congress persons who voted to sanction the ICJ, to all the states’ legislators and governors who continue to enact unconstitutional legislation against the 1st amendment (which gives folks the right to participate in BDS), and others who use their positions of power to protect the genocidal psychopaths in the Occupied Territory of Palestine – all await their turn to enter into the eternal fires of hell, we can but pray to God that our Lord Jesus Christ will return soon to intervene and levy their final rewards.

Pray for God to comfort the families, to heal the wounded, to teach the little ones who are missing limbs how to survive, how to prosper. Pray for God to bless us with the ability to forgive the people perpetrating this evil – they are human beings under the control of demons, and most of them probably don’t even realize the level of evil of which they are guilty and for which they will have to answer. That’s no excuse, however for them, because they choose to be the way they are, but it is to our benefit – to the benefit of all decent human beings and believers in Jesus – that we do not carry hatred in our hearts for there isn’t room in the human heart for Jesus Christ and hatred of other human beings. We can hate their evil acts, but not them. When we cross the line and allow hatred of our fellow human beings to fester in our hearts, the same enemy wins, but this time he wins over us, and most sadly it will be because we surrendered to him. Pray that the Lord will help us keep our feet on the ground and be able to see the plots of the devil and avoid his traps. Sometimes it’s a tough pill to swallow, but there it is.

There are a lot of stirrings and rumblings here and there from like-minded folks like us about this slaughter of innocents, but we have to turn our voices up a notch – no, a bunch of notches! It’s time to stand up and be counted – like those few others who have risked much to expose the rampant evil genocide and among our “leaders” who openly support it! It’s unbelievable, but my Christian choice here is to make my voice heard! Christians have to make their choice known today! Don’t let our immoral leaders think we’re not watching them.

Someone once said, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” Men of good conscience, men of decency, should all agree it’s time to heed that.

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

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MK

Promises, Prayers, and Patience of the Saints

The things happening in the world today should serve, if nothing else, to reveal to us that mankind does not have it in him to direct his own way. For crying out loud, look where we are! Look at the horrors of war and destruction happening in so many places in the world – how can humankind be so smug as to behave as though men are in control of everything when we watch the homes of multimillionaires – some of them supporters or financiers of genocide – burning into cinders in some of the ritziest places in Los Angeles? Their money couldn’t save their homes; is this God’s way of showing us that wealth and the (illusion of) security it brings are by no means absolute?

I personally believe the LA fires, as well as all of the unusually severe weather events, such as the winter storm that just ravaged Great Britain and the Saudi Arabian floods in the desert – are reminders from the Almighty that He is watching. He’s watching as tens of thousands of children are being mercilessly slaughtered in places like Gaza – especially in Gaza – and He hears prayers by the thousands, maybe millions, for His intercession, as we wait for Him to move. It’s an odd thing that we seem to hope for the hosts of Heaven to appear, angelic swords and lightning flashing; thunder pealing, looking for the planes and tanks of the evil ones to burst into flames, but alas for us impatient folks, God works in His own way – maybe those things will take place one day, but for now we are left to try and connect the dots between the Hind Rajab atrocity and the fires in the Pacific Palisades; between the demon-possessed military men who laugh as they post videos of blowing up homes in Gaza and snarled traffic from unexpected snowstorms in places that have never seen snow, at least in living memory.

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As believers in Jesus Christ, we have to force ourselves to acknowledge the disconnect (and it is a huge disconnect) between how we would handle the atrocities that are going on, and how the Almighty chooses to deal with it. Keep in mind that He can see both sides of this experience we call existence. He sees what is happening here on earth for sure, but unlike us He also is able to see things on the other side, and therefore has other resources besides His great wisdom from which to draw on for the action He takes. I think this is the main reason we allow ourselves to be so incredulous as we await signs of His retribution upon those who perpetrate this evil genocide. For instance, we are shocked and dismayed at the loss of life of the children and other victims, but He sees those children sitting in eternal joy in the arms of Jesus on the other side – He knows they are and will forevermore be safe and their tears have been wiped away, so His methodology is not influenced by their loss the same way as it drives us (to hope for vengeance) here on earth.

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God is eternal, time means nothing to Him, so He doesn’t have to be in a rush and has the luxury of patience, and as odd as it may sound, the worst offenders of human norms right now have the same opportunity for repentance and salvation as anyone else, and it’s quite possible that their consciences will evoke contrition to the extent that they might seek Jesus Christ. At least the opportunity is there for now. Many of them have been unable to come to grips with some of the things they have done and instead of repenting, have taken their own lives like the Israeli bulldozer operator a while back. Right now, everyone has time to seek Christ’s forgiveness and come to the Kingdom, but that time is growing short. How do we know this? [Revelation 12:12]: Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” He has but a short time in which to do his wickedness and he knows it therefore his wrath and hatred of all things moral and Godly is being revealed – he is out in the open with it, daily hammering at the fortresses in which good people try to take refuge, so we must be sure the refuge we choose is the right one.

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As believers in Christ, our Fortress is the solid Rock – Jesus Christ – which Satan, try as he might, cannot assail, and he seethes with rage against those of us who have chosen Jesus Christ in order to be victorious over this world of which the devil with all his riches temporarily has charge. Do not give in to the despair of watching the evils that are happening! The situation, as dire as it is for now, is not hopeless! We are not, nor will we ever be helpless, no matter how desperate things appear – that despair is one of the devil’s most lethal weapons and it works best against those who are faint of heart. Our hearts can be strengthened, though: [Psalm 27:14]: “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” We must be patient – Jesus spoke of the importance of patience in the last days, He even told us how as well as the importance of being patient, [Revelation 14:12]: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Yes – following His commandments and keeping the faith in Jesus results in our patience. Some things are still to take place before the end, among which wars and rumors of wars will plague humankind until the very end: [Revelation 14:12] “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

There’s are many places in Scripture that speak of patience such as one of my own favorites from the Apostle Paul: [2 Thessalonians 3:5]: “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” The point is that we must go against our human nature of impatience – no matter how dire the situation – and keep on trusting that God will take care of things in His time, no matter how urgent things might seem to us at a given moment.

Food for thought: Our prayers mean a lot to the Father: [James 5:16]: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Since we realize our prayers can influence the Father, think about this. Our prayers have great significance when they reach His throne, He will take action: [Revelation 8:3] Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.” Our prayers will play a big role in the events of the end times – before the very throne of God! We must never allow ourselves to believe our prayers aren’t important!

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The human-induced events happening in the world these days may very well be connected to fires and floods. Worse punishment from God has been levied in the past because of human behavior. Remember Sodom. God is the Master planner – it may be that in the decadent places of the world God has chosen to show the wealthy just how impotent they really are in the face of His awesome power. For instance, we might indeed be impressed at the destruction caused by a 2,000 lb. bomb, but have you ever considered what it might be like to witness God’s devastation in a super volcano eruption, or how about a stellar nova up close? Mankind has it in his power to blow up a building or even a city, but the Almighty can take out millions of light years of stars and planets whenever He wants. Wildfires and floods in decadent cities are no problem for Him to set and spread with high winds of His mighty breath.

Satan might have the upper hand with human beings for now, but you can rest assured that’s about to change – and forever so. In the meantime, pray, just chill out and watch God work…

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

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MK