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?

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.

MK

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.

MK