The mighty power of God is now being unleashed upon the earth. It’s as though some great Spiritual dam has burst through the cosmos, and the earth is being flooded with God’s Spirit with an awesome power the world has not witnessed since the very crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are a believer, this great phenomenon has doubtless tugged at your soul lately. Take it in – it’s for real, but I fear that only God’s chosen and elect are able to discern what’s going on. Things are happening now that will affect our future, the enemy is no doubt aware of the power that is growing against him, and he will no doubt double down on the evil he has nurtured precisely to engage with God’s elect in this great spiritual battle for the ages. Expect him to throw everything he has in his arsenal – those who have not committed their lives to Jesus Christ will be the ones destined ultimately to fall. Those who are spiritually sealed to be God’s anointed will face tribulation but will ultimately prevail and do so in the magnificent protection that only the Son of God can impart to us.
We who have practiced our faith in submission to God’s will are not yet perfect – we have made and will continue to make – mistakes up until we put on that incorruptible existence, but do not doubt that we will reach it. We must not allow those errors and/or imperfections to deprive us of our confidence. Satan will use these missteps to attempt to rob us of our motivation, our confidence. Take heart, God knows we are not yet perfect and will forgive our mistakes. Our mission is to keep our eyes on the things above.
The enemy is putting on a fearsome spectacle that is designed to strike fear into the hearts of everyone, but will only do so in the hearts of those who do not know Christ, and from the news of the day, we learn more and more of the burdens he will impose, but do not allow these threats to create anxiety in your hearts – that is his whole purpose, to create doubt, create fear, but it can only work in hearts that are not sealed into the Kingdom. For those of us who belong to Jesus Christ, our Great and Mighty Shepherd, we need not concern ourselves with the wiles of Satan, [Psalm 23:4]: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Open your eyes to the marvelous works of the Lord that are happening. The great megachurches filled with those who shun the responsibilities God gave us such as helping the orphans and widows, the huge ornate buildings where wealth is encouraged and admired, the congregations we all know as bastions of hypocrisy, are becoming deserted. This is not a blow to Christianity, for those who gather in such places were never a benefit to the Christian faith nor were they a threat to Satan. Nevertheless, according to prophecy, this was destined to happen. When the “man of sin” is to be revealed, he will be exposed as all who reject the teachings of Jesus Christ, such as that the rich will have no place in God’s Kingdom. In today’s “churches”, people are constantly taught what is called the “prosperity gospel” (with a lowercase g) that when they put money into the offering, it will be returned to them and with increase, when all it effectively does is to enrich the false prophet pastors. Now the “faithful” are walking away from these ministries in droves. Hopefully some will move on to seek the true Kingdom of God.
Messages from the truly faithful pastors are becoming more poignant and powerful as we approach the end of the age. This builds courage in the true faithful of Christ, courage that can be sensed in the heart. Sermons are delivered that can intuitively be discerned by the believer to be from the Holy Spirit and the discerning hearts that hear them can see and are starting to rejoice that our Savior is near. We have a new hope growing today in our collective Spirit – a hope that unbelievers cannot fathom in this growing darkness of threats by the enemy. An inexplicable and pure hope the enemy can never dislodge, and he becomes ever more furious as his end approaches, walking about like a roaring lion, but to no avail. We shall not be encumbered with fear and dread of what our future holds because our King has promised to meet us at the end of this rutted and utterly worn-out road we call life. Such a passage was never intended to be our permanent abode, nor shall we consider it to be, nor will we long for it anymore when the time comes for it to be over.
Jesus told His followers some things so beautiful, so appealing they cannot but put our hearts to rest from any and all anxiety. [ Matthew 11:28]: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” and [John 14:2,3]: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Hang on for just a little while longer folks and try as you can to bring others with you.
If you have not yet come to know who Jesus Christ is, I highly recommend that you search Him out while He can still be found. The enemy has plans for some awful events for all humanity, and those who do not know Jesus have no hope at all in the upcoming tempest. We shall all suffer tribulations, but in Jesus we can know we shall endure and emerge victorious over the evil one. Get right with the Lord for the sake your eternal future. The time is short.
Meanwhile, may the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us until the end.
For the regulars here on folkpotpourri, I’m sure y’all noticed my last post was somewhat different than the normal opinions and messaging that I normally post, so I’d like to clarify the intent and possibly expound on some of the things it said.
First of all, regulars will already know that the bulk of these articles are Spiritual in nature and yesterday’s post, although still Spiritual in tone, was somewhat of a departure from the norm. I believe that is because so many people seem to be adrift as to what is going on – otherwise well-intentioned people, especially believers are having problems focusing on their proper spiritual direction. Many are being told by purported teachers and pastors that they have a spiritual obligation to follow them in the wrong direction. If the post seemed a bit strongly worded, I think it’s probably because I tend to get somewhat passionate about watching folks seeming to envy the rich and/or follow the wrong leaders. I attempted to post about the fallacy of listening to false prophets and/or media sources that gloss over real and damnable issues – many of which I pointed out – that are happening in this world.
Wealthy people who own most of the traditional media sources and shyster preachers out to make a buck are pointing many otherwise decent people in the wrong direction – the Bible told us this would happen in the last days. I spend a lot of time and effort trying to get folks to use the Word of God to calibrate their Spiritual bearings using the Bible and stop listening to those who are corrupted by the wealth of the world. The apostle Paul warns us that this will happen: [2 Timothy 4:3]: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers… So from this we are warned to discern the types of people to whom we listen. A key point is that folks listen to these types because they want to. Just like taking the mark of the beast, this behavior is voluntary.
Another point the previous post attempted to get across was exactly who Satan has chosen to do his bidding in these last days. Of course, there are many servants of evil out there doing his work, but it doesn’t take a genius to see the people who control the wealth of the world. When Satan took Jesus up on the mountain and offered Him kingship of the whole world, [Matthew 4:8-10]:”Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” so the Lord turned him down, but it would seem that Satan has taken lesser men up there and they didn’t refuse his offer.
So here we are, a select group of wealthy people who support each other in their service to evil have gained control of the nations. From this group one will emerge to rule for a while. For reasons we do not yet fully understand (but reasons that are becoming more and more obvious), he chose people who call themselves God’s chosen people. The problem is, and I’ve seen this – we see it constantly – there are several false prophets who have a surprising number of “Christians” who now believe that in order to serve God, they must support these people, and that is just wrong! They have invented names like “Judeo Christian” and “Christian Zionist” to make their blasphemy a little more palatable, but for folks who read their Bibles, they understand the ruse.
Some of my posts, like yesterday’s, are written to attempt to show folks who seriously wish to serve God that they are being seriously deceived, and from whence that deception is coming. I am not a racist, God knows my heart. Nor do I discriminate against any ethnicity, I merely attempt to point out that where there’s so much smoke, there has to be a fire. It’s no big secret which ethos of society controls the majority of the world’s wealth. These folks spend a lot of time in evil machinations that are solely purposed to deceive, and the Gospels of the Bible are rapt with warnings of what liars Satan and his followers are – the more dedicated to Satan they are, the greater their deceptions: [John 8:44] “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. Jesus was addressing the Jews – the ones we would call Zionists today.
Before you get angry with those people, remember what Jesus told us. He warned us against hating, we must pray for them and trust Jesus to bring justice. When He returns, folks don’t have any notion of how great the paradigm shift will become. The wealthiest billionaires will suddenly become the most piteous entities in all of humanity. They will beg and plead for mercy, but the mercy they receive will be commensurate with the mercy they showed others: [Matthew 5:7]: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Whatever you do, avoid envy of these people – remember, they are those who Satan took up on the mountain, and they failed the test. They have accepted a few short years of high living, adultery, lies, and murder for an eternity of joy and peace so intense we cannot even imagine what it’s going to be like. Of all the multitudes of humanity who have ever graced the earth, they are to be pitied most on that Day. Rich men don’t spend any time at all thinking about their forbears, think about guys like Sheldon Adelson, Jacob Rothschild, Dick Cheney – they had their party, now it’ll be time to face God’s justice. Not judging them, they may have made peace with God before their end, but as far as life on this earth goes, it was the end. No more pomp and pageantry, no more adulation from envious people, just the face of an angry God Almighty who can condemn their souls to eternal damnation.
So to emphasize the undercurrent of this post, as of the other one yesterday, I was in no way advocating hatred, I was pointing out the error of following or supporting the wrong people, regardless of what some millionaire preacher might say to the contrary. My intent, as always, was and is to encourage folks to stay on top of their Spiritual beliefs, don’t get pointed in the wrong direction, and don’t necessarily believe anyone who claims they are God’s chosen people. By reading your own Bible, you can tell who God’s people are and those who have rejected His Son are not among them! But don’t hate on anybody – that’s exactly the wrong thing to do, as bad as supporting them. We must pray for them.
May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.
It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to think halfway straight after losing my dogs about three weeks ago, and I still can’t think about it much without getting into a bout of depression, but that’s not what I want to write about today. There are a lot of seemingly unrelated – and mostly bad – things happening right now and they do not portend well for humanity.
One of the most apparent situations that has been progressing, and actually over the past several months, is the dissolution of effectiveness of most of the governments of the world, but especially that of the US. We have things going on in this country that couldn’t have been imagined, even a few months, even weeks, ago.
Here in the US we have men in masks, not even wearing badges, who are accosting folks on the streets. They are throwing American citizens onto the ground and onto concrete sidewalks and putting their knees on them and “arresting” them with no due process of law whatsoever. And they are doing it with the blessing of the president and his thoroughly corrupted Department of Justice. Anyone ok with this doesn’t know anything of the constitution and has no business claiming to be an American!
As a Christian, I suppose it’s more appropriate to address the morality of the things going on than the patriotism, though. The Bible tells us repeatedly that some bad things will be going on and they will be perpetrated by some really awful people, most of whom don’t even believe in the Son of God. I fact, when it gets down to it, these servants of evil will eventually be coming after us Christians, but that’s where we need to reassure our brethren that instead of fearing these tribulations, we should be rejoicing that our time to be with Him is approaching.
Keep thinking of the darkness into which we are descending as just a bridge we have to cross over or a door we have to pass through before we become blessed with the eternal light and joy of the presence of Jesus Christ! Beyond that awful bridge, we have infinite hope, but those who are complicit in bringing about the darkness have none. How I wish some of those folks could read this feeble post and take to heart the promise of Jesus Christ. If they could get a glimpse, like we believers do now and again, of what lies beyond this world of trouble, they’d surely trade this temporary existence for a place in Paradise, but alas, they choose not to look, not to hear.
World leaders for the most part, have chosen to serve the enemy of mankind. Here in the good old USA, we have leadership who attend the demonic Bohemian Grove rituals, men who boast of membership in things like the Skull and Bones club, and other organizations which defy the supremacy of our Almighty God. Many among them – too many – relish the authority of life and death over people and enjoy playing war. They trade a mere moment in time to revel in worldly “success”, instead of the promise of eternal joy that Jesus offers. They are to be pitied, for in the long run, they will meet with an unimaginably horrible existence – and that for all of eternity!
Then there are those who try and use their Bibles for an oar blade with which they might paddle their way out of damnation instead of reading them and trying to live like the Lord wants us to live. Too many churches nowadays preach “gospels” that are contrary to what the Bible intends. Thousands of people crowd the pews of megachurches and listen to pastors who insist that Americans support murderous regimes, including our own, though the Bible makes it abundantly clear that such people will not be found in Christ’s Kingdom.
There were millions of people out on the streets last weekend to protest the president, and the situation we find ourselves in where insane leadership in all branches of the US government who, as of today are absolutely refusing to “lead” the country. Except for the fellow who thinks he owns it, but then he’s not leading as much as trying to bend the country to his will. They are all so wrapped up in Satanic behavior and creating chaos with which to blame the other side, that they no longer function in governance, unless it might be to pass some legislation or resolution that favors the murderous Israeli regime. Almost all of them agree that we must, shutdown or no, continue to act to support whatever Netanyahu (or Zelensky) tell them to do.
Things are indeed coming apart, folks, but do not be discouraged; rather just stand back and watch them bring it down, knowing that some of us will be able to pass through the dark wall we approach. Through the narrow door, that’s it – keep searching with all your heart and soul for the narrow door. That’s the one where our blessed Shepherd awaits. Listen intently for HIs voice. We also have to try our very best to bring as many with us as we can, even the ones with whom we disagree – maybe especially the ones with whom we disagree. Pray for them; maybe the Lord will save them.
Remember that the “churches” aren’t always the answer. Don’t buy into the false doctrines of the millionaire pastors of the big churches. In fact, if the pastor is a wealthy man, I’d be highly skeptical of his congregation or his doctrines. Avoid such – seek fellowship with people who abide in Christ – you’ll know who they are, for the same Spirit in you will recognize Himself in others. You’ll also know them by their fruits – if you know what to look for. And contrary to what a lot of them preach, financial “success” ain’t one of them.
Stay strong in your faith; pray without ceasing. Pray for me – I’m only human and know it well. Pray for direction and determination, courage, confidence and conviction, strength and stamina. It’s still yet going to be a long haul to the finish line, but we will make it if we trust Him.
May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.
It is only through determined search that we may bring ourselves within reach of the perfection we desire. Indeed, to discover and address that which remains imperfect becomes of profound import if we are to dream of attaining to His order of perfection. For at all cost, and such cost as we find ourselves in need of remittance may truly seem hopeless and beyond our ability, we must resolve to strive to our utmost bounds to pay the penance of correction. Perfection after all, is our result of locating and removing anything impeding our fellowship with Him. As has been proven once in all of history, human perfection, as impossible as it appears, is nevertheless within human reach.
As I walked in the woods through the chill of a somber and dank morning, the Spirit happened to take my thoughts to the likelihood of perfection and the unlikelihood of ever attaining to such a status. I was looking through the green hickory saplings for, coincidentally, a perfect walking stick. In my mind, I envisioned a plumb and arrow-straight sapling, green and hopefully one to one and a half inch in diameter. Remember these criteria for the ultimate selection. In my time I’ve cut many walking sticks, always a hickory or sassafras (and invariably thrown away or lost), but I’ve never quite gotten exactly the one I wanted – today would be different, today I would find the perfect one, to keep and use for those long walks up and down the Ozark hills in the peaceful forest. As I ambled down the dim track (where we normally drive the ATV), I started thinking about perfection in general.
The scriptures encourage us to be perfect Christians [Matthew 5:48]: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”, so what qualities would our Lord require of us to be perfect in His eyes?
First of all, as flesh and blood humans, I think we all realize that perfection is beyond our reach, and indeed it is, if we attempt it on our own. But there is a Way to perfection, even in this human iteration of our existence if we truly seek it. The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is the only answer this paradox! The Spirit can lead us to perfection. We are far from perfect as physical human beings when we begin our Spiritual journey (assuming we have decided to undertake it) but as we progress, as we trust Jesus Christ to develop our improvement, our imperfections become less and less of an issue, either because we become more able to see and resolve them, or even though we considered our “imperfections” to be such, maybe they weren’t imperfections in God’s eyes. Remember when Moses was reluctant to undertake the responsibility which God assigned to him because of his speech impediment? [Exodus 4:10]: “Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Moses considered this to be a disqualifier for the role he was being solicited to fill in God’s service, but God didn’t see this as an imperfection at all, so what we deem imperfection may not be such to God.
It is sometimes due to these very imperfections which we perceive in ourselves that God chooses us to do His work. For instance, I believe that I’m sort of crazy and I sometimes write things that are often “out there”, but maybe God gives me the desire (responsibility) to write on His behalf, knowing that I don’t mind saying things that “normal” people would be disinclined to discuss – in the hopes of encouraging my fellow travelers to seek Him. Or in the case of this post, maybe to not be so down on ourselves for what might not be a real problem and accept that. After all, God has myriad ways of showing us when something is a real imperfection that we need to deal with, so we must trust Him and do it.
As these thoughts about perfection progressed, I watched my little dog scampering through the trees and catching the scent of all the critters that were about last night. This little girl is a canine thief, steals whatever she can get away with, but I love her very much. It occurred to me that God indeed sees our imperfections when He chooses us, both the real issues that need to be addressed, like cleaning up our language, or quitting drinking or whatever, versus those things about us which He doesn’t consider to be shortcomings, but maybe we do. He reaches down and grabs us, and if you’re like me, He had to hold His nose and reach way down, but if we hear His voice and invite Jesus Christ into our lives [Revelation 3:20] “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”., He gives us whatever we need to overcome our issues. Namely the Holy Spirit which tells us everything we need to know and further, by writing His law on our hearts, gives us the ability to discern real imperfections from those we imagine. He also ultimately teaches us when those “obstacles” we feared might damage our relationship are not really a problem, so we don’t need to waste emotional capital worrying about them, for some of us that takes time, but He has plenty of time.
One other aspect of perfection that often goes unconsidered is that we can be capable of “perfect” love. Again, only through the Holy Spirit are we able to receive this absolutely marvelous asset. We are told in the Scriptures that with perfect love, we do not fear (the threats of the enemy), because perfect love casts out fear. [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.” That’s a big one, folks, because fear is the greatest weapon in the enemy’s arsenal, but with the perfect love blessing of the Holy Spirit, we are able to disarm him!
The last sentence of that verse also implies to us a very significant map to perfection. Do not overlook the part that tells us we can be made “perfect in love”. Through the power of love we can be perfected – yes, love – the greatest power in all of creation! How do we learn to love like this? How do we learn to wield this great power? [2 Thessalonians 3:5]: “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” The Holy Spirit teaches us (directs our hearts) how to love God (and our fellow travelers)! His amazing Love is by far the greatest of all spiritual gifts. Pray fervently for it. Love even has the power to cover much sin! [1 Peter 4:18]: “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Indeed, it is love that gives us our strength and courage in our time of need, that day is coming for all of us.
We are reminded many times throughout the scriptures that God is Love, therefore Love is the greatest power in all of creation. What’s more is that we have access to this love, so if we opt to follow Christ, even in our state of imperfection, with love we are well-armed to defeat the enemy in his strength.
As I sauntered down the woodland hill on the way back to the house after all this meditation on perfect and imperfect, I realized that I might not be applying the proper criteria for the right walking stick after all, and lo and behold, I finally found the perfect one. At first you might see an old crooked, weathered blackjack oak limb, but if you consider the implications of this post and look closer, you will behold the perfect walking stick!
May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.
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.
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.
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.
This time of the year here in the Ozarks, when the wind gets out of the north, and as in most places, we instinctively hunker down for some cold weather. We see the clouds building on cold days and expect things like slick roads, frozen livestock water, and power outages, especially when the rain falls wet and freezes on things. I’ve noticed that red skies in the morning indeed means there’s a change coming in the weather. It’s odd, isn’t it, that something a truly wise man many years ago, still rings true: [Matt 16:3] ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The weather is referenced in this passage, but only as an example so people might understand that we are usually unable to connect the dots from the events taking place in the world around us to the actions being taken by God in the Spirit world. Not only are we unable to see the connections, but Spiritual matters are also meticulously avoided in discussions about current affairs, possibly due to the reluctance of many of us to undertake the discomfit upon our worldly reputation for revealing ourselves as believers in Christ. That ain’t no way to be. In one place He said [Luke 9:26] Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, the last thing I want while standing before the throne of God is to find myself in the unfortunate happenstance that I had been ashamed of our glorious and loving savior, because He said He will be ashamed of those who were embarrassed to speak of Him in their lives. That’s going to be a sad situation to be in. Jesus went to the extreme act of giving His life at the tender age of around 33 years, just so we could be saved from this horrific world and the torment awaiting nonbelievers. We have opportunity to have eternal life with Him in His glory – how does it make sense that we would avoid talking about Him or intimating that we believed in Him? Why on earth do we refuse to give Him the Glory He deserves for that ultimate act of love, grace and kindness?
Lots of red oak waiting to be split
I’ve got a ton of firewood to split and stack, and from the weather reports, we are supposed to get some beastly winter storms this weekend. When black ice builds up on the road, it’s a lot different than just normal snow. There are places out here where the roads have slopes that are hard to move on when they are covered with it. What makes black ice a problem is that it’s so hard to see, and if you don’t know it’s there and are going too fast, by the time you realize how slick it is, you could easily be headed for the ditch – or a big old doe out there slipping and pitching trying to get traction to run. If you think about it, it’s kind of an analogy to many of our problems and pitfalls in life. How many times have you caught yourself neck-deep in mire before you even realized there was a problem? If you trace the situation back to where it started, it was invariably because of some choice(s) you made earlier, like stepping into the mud in the first place, or driving too fast and only realizing it when your car lets go of the road because you touched your brake pedal.
Life is like that, for instance if one is prone to drink too much and too often, the choice to have a beer might seem innocuous enough, and true, it would be if he were a casual drinker, but for the heavy drinker, to pop a top is invariably the beginning of another perilous experience. The person should know full well that to imbibe is for him, a no-no, and sure enough he will end up paying whatever price is to be exacted for his slip up, so he once again becomes neck-deep in a mire of his own choosing. Like finding yourself flying down an ice-covered hill with no way of even slowing down. If a crash is to ensue, well God only knows how bad it might be. There are many other examples of bad choices creating havoc in our lives, but most folks know ahead of time what misfortune might be the result of a bad choice.
Even though we have some weather coming, today it’s not so bad. It’s around 45 degrees and that bright yellow object is high in the afternoon sky, probably trying to decide whether to hammer us with a CME, or just duck behind the clouds again and let the storm do its thing this weekend. This weather is getting fickle, and I’m talking about everywhere – floods, ice storms, landslides, tornadoes, you name it. Now a sane person might begin to think that He who controls the weather might be troubled about our behavior, since we have it on good information that He indeed became angered in times past and used His supremacy over the elements to reset human behavior. There are many who believe that mankind has developed ways to interfere with natural weather patterns and are themselves causing a lot of the weather-related issues, and they might be right to an extent, but God has the final say on the matter. Maybe He is just sitting back for now and watching men get involved in things that are way over their heads and letting them (us) suffer the consequences.
All in all, I believe we are approaching the end of life as we have known it. From now on, we will increasingly find ourselves in uncharted places. God lives in the spiritual domain, but He knows where humanity is headed here in the world we occupy, but we – and I’m growing more and more convinced that scientists, medical professionals, and political leaders – don’t have a clue. Oh, except for the people in the “think tanks”, they belong to that elite group of human beings who know everything. For real, I honestly believe the “fellows” in think tanks are just men and women with connections who could never be trusted with any position where they might pose a risk to the order of things, so wealthy relatives or other associates give them a seat in a think tank to keep them away from the fire, but also to placate their desire for power so they don’t throw hissy fits. Problem is a lot of politicians who don’t know better actually listen to them and make decisions based on their recommendations. Then we get back to being neck-deep in the mire because of bad choices, ad infinitum, (i.e. Vietnam war, sanctions that invariably backfire, the incredible ignorance of sending weapons to bad guys, etc.). When you hear some politician speaking highly of some think tank or another, just be apprised that they are merely stroking the egos of some folks who didn’t have the moxie to be leaders or politicians – and are making them feel important. And like I said, fellows in think tanks always have connections that can funnel dollars or shekels in said politicians’ direction, which often weighs heavily on decisions concerning national policy, so there’s that. I did a post on think tanks here.
As we fumble and stumble around trying to get through this crazy world, there is a Way to do it right. No matter how crazy -or evil – things get, we have a Friend who is willing to help us navigate this perilous journey. He is the only Way through it, at least the only Way to a desirable outcome, and He waits for you to contact Him. Jesus Christ loves you, and that’s certainly not something you can say about very many people in this world. The enemy hates and seeks to destroy everything and everyone that God has created, and unfortunately, he has many people in his service, but Jesus Christ has and will continue to overcome all of them. The Lord also has (and gives us the resources we need to) overcome the evils of this world, if we but seek Him. Don’t wait for life’s threats like that that dark highway ice to cause you problems you can’t escape – slow down – get to know Him now. You’ll forever be glad you did. [1 Corinthians 2:9] “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—” “What no human mind has conceived” means we never have, so we cannot even imagine what a joyful experience that life will be. Remember such promises – He will.
May the abundant blessings of God find and keep you.
Whichever way you choose to walk through this life, know that all is binary – you are either walking with good or you have chosen to walk with evil, there is no third way. You were prewired to know right from wrong, so if it ain’t right, it’s wrong. If we seek to emerge into the next life with the highest expectations, then we must resign ourselves to lifestyles on this earth which most do not deem to be desirable – at first glance or first thought. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor…” and since we know He doesn’t just say things, every word He uttered in His short life on this earth had meanings we are able to understand, although sometime in different ways and even today we are seeing His truths being realized, we must diligently scrutinize His every word. So, if the Lord says the poor are blessed, then I need to take a bigger picture look at my childhood (I did) and find that blessing. Guess what. I found it. It’s really not that hard to figure out poor kids get shamed – even back in my day, kids are kids. So you look for things to do that might get you into trouble, but also that might get you some positive attention from the other kids. Slippery slope, indeed.
I was raised as a poor kid in the old pine thickets of East Texas as the youngest of ten kids our dad raised on the salary of a butane deliveryman. We were among the poorest in neighborhoods of poor folks, and if someone had told us back then that we were blessed, we’d at least have thought they were a bubble out of plumb – back then. Many years have passed since those days of waiting for the school bus in the frost on an old red dirt road, but having lived several lives since then, I’d have to remember those days as the most abundantly blessed of all my years and experiences. I can remember a time when the America I lived in was truly a free country. My dad told me he thought the antiChrist was communism. We said the pledge of allegiance on Monday mornings at school. When we finally got our first TV, I was eight years old and Bonanza was about the most adult of TV shows. In those days prior to “Operation Mockingbird”, we could, for the most part, believe our news people – Walter Cronkite was a folk hero. An innocent time in an innocent country. Then the same bad guys we are dealing with today killed President Kennedy. That incident lifted the lid off our pot of innocence, and it’s been downhill ever since, speeding along at a geometric rate. Little did we know back then how completely we were about to be programmed through that “hellivision”. It didn’t take long for that marvelous TV to become the greatest obstacle to our family togetherness. How can you get to know and stay in touch with each other when everyone’s mind, all their senses are out of the room? Every – single – night.
It all started innocently enough – TV commercials had little songs they called jingles – I can even remember some of the lyrics, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should’, or “Aren’t you glad you use Dial – don’t you wish everybody did?” and countless others. These marketing techniques were just beginning to take root, and there couldn’t have been a more fertile population on which to foist a capitalist oligarchy takeover – of our nation, and then the world. The TV was in our living room, and although we were a close family in a small room, our minds, our thoughts, our entire beings were miles away from one another. Before when we had each other to talk to and to get to know and with whom we should have continued to grow closer, we, as millions of other families in America, were being torn apart and we relished it – we didn’t know what the underlying purpose of it was about, so were taken totally unaware. I wish there was some way to compare yesterday’s TV’s innocence with what passes for entertainment today in all it’s darkness.
Meanwhile, the Art of the Deal was taking root in dark halls and godless temples, casinos, government buildings the world over. Humanity was being auctioned, traded, sent to death in needless wars, all to appease a select few whom Satan had completely lured over to his side, and were willing to pool their resources to help him to destroy God’s creation and his people. Especially His people – if you are a Christian, that’s you and me. Some people have understood the potential ramifications of standing up to them but have done it anyway. Jesus Christ was the most prominent One of all. Though He stands eternally alone and above all others, there have been a few down through history who were willing to give it all for God. If you think about it, it’s part of the deal, understood over time as a follower of Christ. As we mature in the Spirit, and God knows I wish I’d started before I did, we come to understand concepts and precepts that apply to us as believers, the pre-eminent one being that when we decided to follow Jesus, we set ourselves on the journey of our intended lives so that in time we will have to make a decision as to whether we really believe with all our hearts that Jesus is exactly who He says He is and that the time will come when we will follow Him to the other side.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer is a name we should all remember as the modern-day martyr of Christ we aspire to be. He, as a protestant preacher living in NAZI Germany authored The Cost of Discipleship. It should be required reading for the believer in Jesus Christ. If you’ve not read it I’d advise you to grab a copy to read as this age winds down. Bonhoeffer was a unique man and probably the most faithful disciple you will hear of in modern times (WWII era). If the truth was known, and it will be one day, I’m afraid that a lot of my fellow Christians are going to drop out of the race just as things are becoming interesting! That’s the last course of action a Christian should even allow to pass through their thoughts. We are entering into the last days that we Christians know about, and we also know from prophecy that we’re going to go through some tough times ahead, at least for the near term. What I’m asking is this: What kind of Savoir would allow His followers to willingly go to the slaughter alone? Would He turn His back as we reached our fate? I’m here to tell you He will be there! In all His glory, in a few moments we’ll be forever His! We will not taste that death the enemy has worked so hard to get us to. That enemy is an enemy indeed – THE enemy of mankind, and we have people, our leaders, openly serving every malevolent purpose they can ignite in his service. How many humans, made in the image of God, can they kill? This purpose has become all-consuming for the servants of Satan who serve hm as world leaders.
The bad guys want Christians’ hides with which to adorn their trophy rooms. The only real enemy of Satan on this earth is the reverent Christian with a heart full of God’s love to spread around and damage his (Satan’s) reputation in front of his followers. Satan’s pride was his downfall, and pride is not a pretty defect to have to deal with, but when the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ shows you that it’s a problem for you, I can tell you from experience, you’ll know it. Lust of the flesh, Lust of the world, Pride of life. Pride and vanity bring to men insanity and bring down nations – we’ve seen it – look at Nero, Caligula, Hitler, and now Erdogan and Netanyahu – Benjamin Netanyahu, aka Benzion Mileikowsky. He’s a European of Polish descent, not even a Jew, but that’s how servants of Satan operate – deception. I personally can’t stand to hear his voice, I love him in a spiritual sense, and I have prayed for him – probably not as much as I should, but that man is doing some next-level evil over there in the Holy Land. God’s not going to deal with this man’s blasphemy for long. Netanyahu: in Hebrew it means – The Lord has given... Blasphemous names, anyone?
As you read this post, there are dark characters in secret places, dark characters that haunt places like the Bohemian Grove and the Gaudy Buildings of Westminster or Langley, VA who are plotting the course of the world they hold in their grasp (for only a little while longer). They no longer own their souls, if they ever had souls, some are demons from hell and they’re walking among us, holding joint sessions of congress for their illustrious leader, second cousin of Satan, Netanyahu himself. They control everything in the Western world and are encroaching on Asian Lands like some kind of black cloud of evil, consuming everything, destroying everything. They kill and destroy because that’s what their father the devil has them doing in his service. Do not think you are insulting any of these men by calling them Satanic, for the ones up the food chain take it as a compliment, like you’re putting in a good word for them to their boss. They know they are evil, we don’t have to point that out to them. Destroying works of man, even beneficial ones like hospitals or ancient architecture some hold sacred, it’s all on the list for destruction. I’m convinced that Revelation 18 speaks of the destruction of the US. The descriptions of decadence, wealth, and lavish lifestyles of wealthy Americans fit the description to a T. There are a couple of other places it might be, such as London, or maybe somewhere like Jerusalem, but the overall passage describes the US, and it says it will be destroyed in an hour – wonder how they could do that? The dark guys who control things are going to hand their boss over 250,000,000 million dead human beings, and that’s just in this country. Europe, Africa and Asia will have their numbers too. The vast majority of them will not have been saved, because not enough people like me are out there screaming and hollering for their attention. And not enough of our fellow travelers are listening to those of us that are hollering.
Yes, we’re rapidly approaching the precipice and there are few who will be willing to fall into it’s gaping maw, so when that time comes many will renounce their faith. Even though they’re trading away their eternity, they will pledge themselves to what’s left of their lives in his service. Many Christians will face harsh times because of this requirement to worship some insidious son of Satan while he’s having his hour of fun. To be fair, it’s going to be a tough decision for those who are unprepared for that moment. That’s a critical juncture for us, because without His companionship to give us heart, none of us would be willing to cross that bridge, but my friends, He will be right beside us. Of course He is with us all the time, but in those perilous days, I believe His presence will be so strong as to consume our fear and His love will be exhilarating relief for our troubled souls as we slog through those tribulations and once this thing is over. I’ve written this on earlier posts, but I love to imagine being before Him in His Almighty Glory and hearing Him say “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into My Kingdom.” The definition of success indeed!
Do not be afraid. Be of good cheer, Jesus overcame it and He’s going to make sure we have everything we need when we need it so we can overcome this mess we’re in too. Stay strong, keep the faith. We’ll be in His blessed company soon.
As I said at the beginning, we get the life we choose. If you haven’t begun to trust Him yet, you don’t have to be shy about coming to Jesus Christ for His provident blessings. He stands ready to forgive any and all sins on your record and He will love you and stand by you forever. If you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, there are Christian ministries all over the world with whom you should get in touch. There are loving people in the Christian ministries who will take you into their lives and teach you about Jesus. You will look back at that decision with the greatest sense of relief you can imagine. You’ll be in His Kingdom!
There are evil people and demons afoot – Jesus can and will help you navigate all the way until you reach your new home – He prepared it for you Himself. The best part of it all is that we’ll all be in the blessed presence of the Father and the Lamb of God – Forever.
May the abundant blessings of God the Father find and keep us all.
Rejection. Wow – what a desolate feeling! It’s probably the most damaging blow to human pride of all the many depredations we can experience. Rejection affects different people in different ways, some people deal with rejection by doubling down, working harder, and sometimes this is the correct response, others simply cannot endure it and turn to drugs or booze, and some even take the permanent way out, but most of us learn somehow to cope and thus become able to endure the damage to our psyches. It can have a marked influence on our lives though.
There are examples before us to learn how people have dealt with rejection, such as when a young Adolph Hitler was turned down by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He was an aspiring young artist and had submitted some of his work for consideration, but the acceptance committee didn’t think he had what it took. Needless to say, he didn’t take it so well, but what if? What if he had been accepted – he was a pretty good artist, and who knows how good he might have turned out to be? Could you imagine walking into an art exhibit with expensive Hitlers for auction? How the history books would be different today! But he was rejected, and that very rejection could have well been the seed of all the death and destruction of WWII.
Painting by Hitler
Consider that beautiful girl back in high school that you would have treated like a princess if only she would have responded to your advances. What a bummer to see her hooked up with some nerd from the debating team who obviously could have never given her half the affection you were prepared to lavish upon her. The fact that they eventually married and had half a dozen kids and stayed together for scores of years notwithstanding, she would have been much better off with you – right?
Rejection takes many forms and none of them are in any way desirable, at least for the time being, but sometimes if we look at things from a different viewpoint, we might see that we’re better off for the way things turned out, even if we had to spend some time buffing out the dings to our pride to get over it. Think about famous people. There’s that human envy in which we often find ourselves immersed that says we’d like to be able to sing like Elvis before adulating mobs in great auditoriums, and it does seem like it’d be quite the trip, but maybe God gave us the voice we have precisely so that we wouldn’t ever get rich or famous because He had other plans for us. Maybe the less than perfect eyesight that prevented us from becoming a fighter pilot was bestowed on us so that we’d never have to give an account of ourselves for mass-murdering innocent people during some “war”.
When I walk out in the woods in the fall and immerse myself in the breathtaking beauty of autumn – an exercise in which I delight more than anything else – I sometimes wonder where else I might have ended up if I had been “successful” in some of my early endeavors. If I had become a famous artist, would I be somewhere I could walk in the woods and enjoy nature like I do now, or would I be ever on the run from unwanted people, ducking for cover when the mobs of newspaper reporters and paparazzi photographers found out where I was, all the more so if I was in some personal setting? I guess most of those folks who have to live like that either enjoy the attention, or at least have learned to tolerate it, but for me, I couldn’t imagine an unhappier lifestyle, never mind the wealth.
I believe that success also comes in many forms or iterations, and most of us don’t have a clue what “success” actually is. We hear the word used a lot when people discuss a person’s financial status, but we only accept it as such because that’s what we’ve been trained to think. When you get to the truth of the matter, success has to be whatever makes a person happy – be it those things which can be experienced or owned in this life, or be it the satisfaction we experience in the knowledge that we are prepared to enter into the next life fully enlightened and that the Lord will approve our conduct in this one. That satisfaction only comes as a result of determining to seek God and live according to His judgements and that of course, will entail an endless stream of “rejections” – both of us and by us.
We will be rejected by the world because our interests are different than those taught by the world – different because there is a Spirit who guides us that does not guide those who reject Jesus Christ. We are rejected by our fellow humans when we write posts they don’t want to read – too much going on for them to bother with learning about Him who created them. We are constantly rejected, as mentioned earlier by those who could inject wealth into our lives, ends up for our own good, although that’s not why they reject us. Those kinds of rejections are normally the result of financial considerations.
There was a funny song by a musician/comic named Jerry Reed about a guy who was a talent scout who rejected this aspiring musician who called himself the Tupelo Mississippi Flash (a reference to Elvis) and the musician went on to become famous and the scout got canned for rejecting him. Sometimes the person doing the rejecting might be making a mistake, but that’s beside the point. The financial consideration was the reason for the rejection, and only through hindsight he learned of his mistake. If the person who suffers whatever rejection for whatever reason were stop feeling sorry for himself long enough to apply hindsight similarly, he might understand how his rejection served to benefit him. Look at all of the folks who became famous in their pursuits living decadent and immoral lifestyles or that came to tragic endings.
Perhaps the most well-known rejection of a human being was that of Jesus Christ. His rejection served to benefit humankind, but it must have been a desperately humiliating experience for Him. How painful it must have been to look out at the people He had been teaching, loving, and healing as they now chanted for Pilate to release Barabbas, a criminal, rather than Himself as they scorned, spat, and beat upon Him. He knew and understood that what He was doing was something that had to be done to save the world, but still the despondence must have been immense. Can you imagine how painful it would be to endure having big nails driven into your hands and feet, watching through tears and blood in His eyes as His “friends” turned away? He died an extraordinarily painful death, hanging on that big, magnificent cross – an incredible act of selflessness during which His concern was not for Himself, but for the souls of the men who were doing this to Him. As His precious life ebbed, He pleaded with God, HIs Father for forgiveness for those men. How is that for responding to rejection?
Now I don’t know about you, my friends, but in my book, Jesus Christ has suffered enough rejection. That horrible day on the cross was enough for all eternity, and no one in their right mind should ever choose to reject Him anymore. From today until the end, however, there are people who still opt to try and live without Him, to their eternal shame and damnation. There is still time, though no one knows how much, to get things right with Jesus; do it, whatever it takes, just get on your knees and let Him know you are sorry for the life you have lived and are willing to hand Him the keys to your life. He knows where you need to go and will gladly take you there.
When and if you decide to accept His generous offer of eternal life, you can expect rejection from the world, but that’s okay – that’s Satan’s doing and it’s worth all the rejection the world can throw at you to know Jesus has your back and that you will ultimately be with Him in paradise for all of eternity. You will also be doing some rejection of your own – you can reject a world in which innocent people continue to be murdered, you can reject immoral lifestyles and those who relish hatred and malevolence. You can reject those who continue to reject our Lord Jesus – you are in no way obligated to conform to their ways. Once you make up your mind to join Christ, you become free with a freedom that the human mind can scarcely imagine!
I don’t think there are many who would argue that time is growing short for us. The world as we know it will never be the same as it was yesterday, last week, last year. This chaos is the new normal. There is still some time though. Time to give a hungry person something to eat. Time to help a child by donating to a reputable charity. Time to walk in the woods, enjoy the colors of fall, and thank Jesus for all He has done for us. If you are not already in touch with Him, I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to find Him – He’s not that far away, right at the very door of your heart. Call on Him before it is too late. No more rejection.
