Category: Liberty

Battlefield Earth Part 3 Your Mission as a Christian

Summing up Parts 1 & 2 – there is a world-wide spiritual war going on right now, today. Nobody, but NOBODY can escape it. As a Christian, you are not only part of the battle but you are on the winning side and you are already equipped to do battle yourself. It’s up to you to as to what you do now.

For the sake of argument, let’s say you’ve accepted your part in all this. Now what? This is the question I’ll answer in this post. Fair warning: expect your life to change.

Your Battlefields

This spiritual war has two major battlefields – the mind and the environment. He uses your environment to attack your mind. Look around you. What around you cannot be influenced in some way by our adversary, the devil? Even most foods we eat are polluted to affect our health either directly or indirectly.

The devil’s primary weapon is the lie. Not only is he adept at utilizing this weapon but he has used his time on this earth to build mountains of lies spanning the globe. Upon these mountains, he piles lies upon more lies, using every available tool he can, from ancient parchments, to satellite television and the internet.

Consider how he uses lies to influence your mind. From the time you were born you’ve been inundated with information. While much of what you’ve learned over the years is true, a great deal of false information is seeded in to all of man’s knowledge.

Even God’s word has been corrupted. Consider the church you attend. (or any you’ve attended in the past) Can you say for certain this church stands on God’s Truth above all others? Is every doctrine, every teaching beyond question? If not, why not? If so, then why doesn’t every other church fall in line with what your church teaches?

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. (KJV)

The above verse is from the King James Version. Here is what another version, Young’s Literal Translation says:

1 Corinthians 14:33 for God is not a God of tumult, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints. (YLT)

Is one of these more accurate or correct than the other? Which? What about other versions? How does this read in the Greek? Is the Greek the original Greek? (It is not, we have no originals.) Was Corinthians originally written in Greek? We cannot know for sure. So many questions, and yet we have so few answers.

This is just ONE verse of scripture! Is it any wonder the devil is having a field day with us? My point here is we all need to be aware of how the devil endeavors to manipulate every human on the planet from the day they are born into this world. It is only by the grace of God we are not all stark raving mad. Even as we are inundated with conflicting and confusing lies, God is able to push through all the static so His truth reaches us. Obviously we are not immune but we can trust God that we are where He needs us to be in this life.

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I don’t know where you were spiritually and/or mentally before you accepted Jesus as Lord but I was an avowed atheist. I’d bought into evolution hook, line, and sinker. I rejected the existence of any god, gods, or spirits. In other words, I was about as far from God as I could get. Yet, looking back, I can see where God protected me even in my unbelief. He sheltered me as I rejected Him. Since that day when I accepted Christ, nearly 50 years ago, I’ve had good days and not-so-good days. Bluntly put, I’ve had downright awful days, even weeks. Just like anyone else, I wasn’t instantly transformed into some perfect, all-knowing saint. Today, I’m still far from any semblance of perfection. I doubt if that mark will even be in sight on the day I die (or Christ returns).

In short, the devil remains relentless in his attacks and I am still vulnerable to at least some of them. We can all expect to experience some vulnerability for as long as we draw breath. My goal here is to help you get to a better place than you are right now and continue on, possibly taking those things I show you and soar. Surely this passage is familiar to all of us:

Mark 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

One thing that struck me recently is the above is true every time we hear God’s Word! Maybe you realized this long ago. No one can accuse me of catching on quick. Look again at Jesus’ explanation of the above parable in light of the devil’s constant efforts to keep us from God’s Truth.

Mark 4:14 The sower soweth the word.

15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Look at all the ways the wicked one attempts to prevent us from hearing God’s Word and producing fruit. He steals it away when he can. If that fails, he brings affliction (trouble) or persecution. Barring that, he distracts us with worldly cares, lusts (desires), and even riches. Look again at the world around you. Can you see how much trouble the devil goes to in order to prevent you from pursuing God? What can anyone do?

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In one verse we are told three things right off the bat –

do not be conformed to this world.

be transformed

renew your mind

So we can prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Wow. That’s a lot, don’t you think? I can tell you from nearly 50 years of trying, it’s not all that easy! What, exactly are we supposed to “renew our minds” to? God’s Word, of course. Let’s consider another passage where we are exhorted to renew our minds.

Ephesians 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

The term “new man” may seem to be another figure of speech (and it may be), however in this case it can be taken as literally true because we are born again of God’s spirit and thus we truly are a “new creature in Christ”. Verse 24 says this new man which after [according to] God, is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Our first assignment as Christians is to renew our minds to God’s Word. Imagine yourself being part of this Roman church in the first century. Imagine all you had was this letter from the Apostle Paul. Certainly this epistle to the Romans contains enough truth to renew your mind, however we have far more than this. We have the seven church epistles and then some. If you look, really look at them, it soon become obvious God’s instructions aren’t all that mysterious. Do good things. Think good things. Be good to others. Okay I’m simplifying a lot but in the end it’s not rocket science either. Sure you can dig out lots of details but, deep down, you know how to do what’s right. After all, God created holy spirit within you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Speaking of sin… we need to get right with God. The subject of sin is probably the most debated and agonized topic we Christians face. It is well worthy of a deep study and far beyond the scope of this article. For now, understand while we cannot escape from sin, God does forgive us when we ask.

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

This is not only crucial for our own well-being but also when we take the next step – dealing with the outside world.

Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect [fully trained WEB] shall be as his master.

41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Notice in verse 40 above I inserted the World English Bible (WEB) rendering for “perfect” in brackets. While I want to be consistent in my use of the KJV in this article, I felt the WEB rendering was more clear, especially in the verse noted above.

Let’s again consider our lives before and after we accept Christ. I’m sure you’ve been taught we were all “born in sin”. We are sinful creatures from day one, thanks to Adam’s original sin. This is certainly true. Beyond that truth of being born in sin, we are also immersed in sin from the day we are born. Sure some of us were born in Christian families so we’ve been spared at least some of the devil’s influence. I’m sure you can see where the devil has invaded just about everywhere. Nobody lives in a sealed, godly environment.

Once we are born again, we are given a clean slate, spiritually and we become a new creature, a spiritual creature. As wondrous as this is, we must still deal with the mental baggage we’ve collected over the years along with the same, devil-polluted environment we grew up in. This is where our battle begins. While most of us cannot withdraw from the world entirely, we can limit our exposure to the toxicity and mitigate what we cannot escape. In other words, we need not watch MSNBC. (or any “news” channel for that matter.) We can certainly avoid those things we know are ungodly at the core. And we can feed our minds on godly things instead. In other words, we can renew our minds.

Now maybe you caught this principle already when it was stated before. It could be you are way ahead of me on this. No matter what the devil inundates us with – we can remain undefiled.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Mark 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

How can we remain undefiled? By renewing our minds to God’s Word and thereby pushing out those evil things. Do not expect this to happen overnight. Nobody said it would be would be easy, but it can be accomplished. Every godly thought displaces an evil one. Every victory, no matter how small, gains territory for God. Now we are ready to gain even more ground.

Winning the Battles of Our Environment

Up until now, I’ve focused on renewing your own mind. This is crucial to entering the battles raging all around us. Most of us cannot fight on a large scale. That’s okay because every single one of us have plenty of skirmishes to fight on our “home fronts”. In fact, most of the challenges we face are right in front of us.

If you haven’t noticed by now, take a good look at some of the verses dealing with evil, sin and so forth.

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

All of the above encompasses our dealings with each other. Surely an alcoholic an drown himself alone. Many do. This same goes for many ungodly behaviors. That said, nearly every ungodly behavior involves human contact on some level and many would not be possible without being involved with at least one other person. Does that make sense?

If godly behavior gains ground for God, then who benefits from ungodly behavior? If every action you take, everything you say, can be deemed either godly or ungodly, then you can either gain ground for God, gain ground for the god of this earth, or perfectly balance your actions so neither side gains anything. I contend either you are working for God or against Him.

While the devil puts every effort into affecting your environment, simply living a godly life, ensuring every action you take, every word you speak, as much as you possibly can, strikes a blow for God. Even the smallest gain puts another mark in the win column. Everything you do goes in one column or the other.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

9 (For the fruit of the Spirit [Gr. phos = light] is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

The battle lines are clearly drawn. Every moment you draw breath you have a choice. What will your next choice be?

Battlefield Earth Part 2 – We Are Soldiers in a Spiritual War

In Part 1 – Overview of Battlefield Earth, I laid out a bird’s eye view of the war we are facing right now. While this war has raged for centuries, the battlefield has spread to nearly every corner of the earth. Why? Because man has spread to every corner of the earth.

We humans do not see many of these battles happening around us as warlike. Instead we point to armed combatants facing off to kill each other. That’s war… isn’t it? Is it? What about the invasion of our southern borders? What about the millions struggling with addiction? What about those little battles at your office? Lives are at stake. Even the most imperceptible disagreement can start a ripple that fuels a Tsunami. Asked the relatives of those employees killed by a crazed co-worker. The trouble is, you may never know until you are looking certain death in the face.

From up on high, we can see how evil invades every aspect of our lives, from the White House and the Halls of Congress to the break room at work. Even, or maybe especially, churches are lulled into false doctrines. From the books of Acts, Corinthians, and Galatians in particular, we learn the body of Christ was attacked and divided early on. Today the body of Christ is splintered into thousands of sects or denominations. Is this what God wanted for Christians? I’m not buying it. Rather, this is the result of endless attacks on the truth by the devil himself.

While this spiritual war encompasses the entire planet and invades our lives at every level, we need not feel overwhelmed. Nor should we despair. We know how it all turns out. God has revealed this to us. He wins. WE win. All we need to do is win the territory we stand on.

As I write this, the conflict in Ukraine rages on while China threatens Taiwan. How do these faraway conflicts threaten you personally? Unless your boots are on the ground in these or some other hot spot, chances are your life is not likely to be directly affected. You’ve got other things to worry about… right? Of course you do, that’s the point. Those crime waves in Chicago or New York only matter if you live in or near the affected areas. For those of us blessed to be insulated from such troubles, we still are never immune from attacks from the dark side. Like it or not, the spiritual world war is at your own doorstep. Actually, as you are reading this, the war has invaded your living space. Turn on your television or radio, open your mail, open any web page and you are sure to find an evil influence somewhere. What about this blog? You are not inundated with ads. I don’t do “click bait”. You aren’t even asked to “subscribe” to anything. It is about as clean a website as you’ll find anywhere. Am I immune from deception? I doubt it. While I will never, EVER knowingly post or allow any overt or covert ungodly material, I cannot guarantee you won’t ever find any here. Nor can I explicitly say I never have, or ever will post anything that is inaccurate or untrue. I do my very best but I am human and therefore fallible. And I’m sure some of my Christian brethren would point out (some gleefully) some doctrinal “heresies” I’ve posted. For one thing, I do not believe in a trinity. This alone separates me from, I’d say, 90+ percent of Christianity. I will stand by my understanding until God sees fit to change it.

My point in the above paragraph is nobody can escape this war. You cannot hide from it. It is invasive. Of course you can passively resist or refuse to participate. As the quote often attributed to Edmund Burke states:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Of course evil will never triumph in the long run, but are you willing to allow it to rampage? It’s easy enough to nod your head or shake it and click your way to a more comfortable topic. If you are still reading, chances are you at least want to know what you can do. That’s the easy part. Paradoxically, it is also the most difficult. Easy as in, you need not quit work, pack your bags, or buy a ticket to ride. In fact, you already have everything you need if you have accepted Christ as your savior.

2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

What about gear? Don’t we need gear?

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Fact is, we have it all. We are battle ready right now.

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

What about training? It’s one thing to “have it all” it is quite another to know what to do with it. Quite right. That is the hard part. You see, we have it all. In fact, if you think about it, we have far more than those brethren in Christ the Apostle Paul was writing to. In order to get a really good handle on this, you’ll need to imagine those times. They had no internet, no telephones or any of the speedy advantages we enjoy today. Travel was slow, often taking days, weeks or months. Communication was by word of mouth and/or hand-delivered letters (epistles).

Take the epistle to the Ephesians for example. It was hand-delivered. According to my understanding, it was delivered by two of Paul’s appointees who also were able to clarify any difficult parts. Other than living in a culture we barely understand, this was one of their few advantages. Of course they spoke the language and no doubt at least some of them could read the epistle themselves. Not to mention, they were blessed with the original letter itself or at least an exact copy. One other thing, it seems many of these letters were “circular epistles”, meaning they were shared with other groups.

2 Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

This letter from Peter was written to “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”. Who were these believers? It’s hard to say for sure but what we can derive from the passage above is some churches had more the one of Paul’s epistles, as well as this letter of Peter’s. Thus the Ephesians may have also seen the epistles to the Corinthians or the Thessalonians and such. We do not know. What we can be confident in the understanding that the Ephesians had, at the very least, the letter addressed to them. Other than direct teaching by the Apostle Paul and others taught directly by him, their advantages were few.

Fast forward to the present. We have seven church epistles, the gospels, as well as other instruction. Plus we have the “Old Testament”, the Hebrew bible, so to speak. We also enjoy a host of luxurious resources the early church could never even imagine. The downside is, we’ve had centuries of wrong teaching. From the very first, the devil has worked hard to corrupt God’s truth. By the time the Nicene Creed was first accepted in the third century, our understanding was almost hopelessly scrambled to the end that, even today, the Nicene Creed, is considered a standard by many – so much so that any Christian who dares question it is considered a heretic. For the recorded, I not only question it, but I reject it, or at least the parts referring to trinitarian doctrine – “one God in three persons” and “God the Son”, as neither of these terms are found anywhere in scripture. For anyone who cares to seek out a better understanding of that period in history…

One fascinating little book “When Jesus Became God” is an excellent read. It is authored by a non-practicing Jewish historian who delved into the events of the third century. Naturally, as a non-trinitarian, I eagerly devoured the book in hopes of finding vindication of my beliefs from a neutral source. In that I was disappointed. The author remained neutral on the topic and presented no evidence to shore up either side of the debate. What he did demonstrate was how utterly confused both sides were on the topic. My own conclusion could be summed up as, “they were all nuts!”. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but seriously, I came away thinking both sides had abandoned any real study of the scriptures/letters/resources they had and instead built their spiritual houses on sandy beaches. The really sad thing is, they were far more likely to have enjoyed access to much earlier copies of the letters we have now, if not the originals.

Coming back to the present, we should at least recognize the differences and the challenges we face today, as well as what Christians in the early church dealt with. Most importantly, we should recognize the great gift of “The Holy Bible” we now enjoy, not to mention the study aids we have to dig in. What good is that?

It is the counter to the devil’s propaganda campaign. ALL of the devil’s lies can be dealt with using this one, easy to access, collection of truth. It is a training manual and reference guide all in one. It is the “sword of the spirit”. It is readily available in several formats and languages. We can even access these truths from a cell phone almost anywhere in the world.

BUT! I’M NO EVANGELIST! You say

Neither am I. At least, at this point, I am reasonably certain God has not tapped me to evangelize in the traditional sense of the word. Scripturally, God identifies five of what some term “gift ministries” – apostles, preachers, teachers, prophets and evangelists for certain. (Ephesians 4:11) Are there more? Probably. If I have any calling at all, it is to write. At least writing is something that I am inclined to do and I’ve done a great deal of it. While some cringe at the thought of a keyboard, I itch to sit down and start typing. The fact is, “gift ministry” or not, God has called each of us for a purpose.

Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

God knew who and what we were before the world began. He had already made a place for us, called us and did so for a reason. God does nothing haphazardly. Why should He? He knows exactly how each action will affect every other action. That is part of what makes Him God. He knew before the foundation of the world you would read this now and what you will do with what you read. So… what is your place? What are you suppose to do?

1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

1 Corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

We are all members of the body of Christ. I have never seen myself as some “great one”. (Okay, so I have dreamed a bit but we’re talking realistically here. I also dream of winning a big lottery now and then.) Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever reads what I write. I certainly never made enough to live, must less retire on. Still I write. Some of my siblings in Christ not only write, but they preach, have huge ministries and/or make big bucks with their works. One thing I can tell you for sure, they do not do what I do. They have their place, I have mine. So be it. If I’ve been so dull all these years as to miss opportunities God as laid right out in front of me, then one day I’ll know. Meanwhile I’m content to understand that if God REALLY wanted me to do something else, He’d find a way. Ask Moses or Jonah.

One thing is for sure, it is not my job to tell you what to do with your life. I can only bring you so far. You’ll need to check with the Boss for further instructions. Oh, I’m not through with you yet, but I’m just saying, my offerings are more general in nature. Speaking of that…

On to Part 3. Now here’s some godly insight, when I first started typing this series of posts, I had no idea there would be anything beyond the first post. In fact that first post is not even the first draft. I wrote half a book before I stopped (okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little here), outlined the important parts, and started from scratch. So Part 3 will offer some more specifics (generally speaking 🙂 on how to put all this together and jump into the battle. A hint here, you’ve already started, or at least you have enough to get started. I expect some of you are way ahead of me and are moving ahead. If this is you I can only advise you to go where God leads you. It’s not my place to hold anyone back.

Overview of Battle Field Earth

The world is at war. I’m not talking some silly euphemistic pseudo war. Nor do I refer to the myriad of skirmishes taking place at different hot spots around the globe. Nope. I’m not talking about none of that. I mean WAR, a real, down and dirty, no-holds-barred war. The problem with this war is, you won’t see it unless you open your eyes. The war I’m referring to is a spiritual war.

Unbelievers will scoff at this, of course. Not only do unbelievers deny the very existence of God, some even deny that evil exists. Yet in the next breath they will call somebody “Hitler” or some other embodiment of the very evil they deny. This post is not written for them. I’ll not attempt to bring anyone to Christ here.

As for my brethren in Christ, this should not be news to you.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

And again…

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

And again…

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Consider how we are bombarded nearly minute by minute by the troubles of the world. We are either taking a pounding from the latest crisis or the enemy begins encroaching on some new front. Anyone who watches any “news” program for ten minutes or more can see what I mean. Take a step back from all those things swirling around our heads on a daily basis. Consider a longer view.

It doesn’t matter what the topic of the moment is: Ukraine, congress, Team Biden, crime, inflation, or the crisis of day, every instance boils down to good versus evil. We all know who lands on the side of evil… every time. All of this tends to narrow our focus so we forget about the big picture. Good versus evil is really God vs the devil – the god of this world.

While we don’t know exactly what goes on at the spiritual level (check out Frank Peretti’s novel “This Present Darkness” for an excellent perspective here.), what we do know is both God and the devil operate in the material world via humans. In fact the entire spiritual battle on this planet is all about humans. Imagine that. Little ol’ us are the center of attention of powerful spiritual beings. So… how does this all pan out?

In recent times, the major battle line has been drawn between the globalists and the nationalists. The god of this world desires total control of everyone and everything via a one-world government. Really, there’s no disputing this. One needs only to glance about to realize the devil is a total control freak. Accepting this, it becomes blatantly easy to see his army. These are the globalists, the politicians, the activists, and the deep state minions. Add to that those in key fields such as media, entertainment, science and business and it may be hard to fight the creepy feeling we are surrounded. Now include those individuals in your personal world who you can identify as sympathetic to the devil’s causes. Wow, huh?

“Men, we are surrounded by the enemy. We have the greatest opportunity ever presented an army. We can attack in any direction.”

― Anthony McAuliffe (Chesty Puller is attributed with a similar quote)

General McAuliffe is also famous for his one-word reply to the German Commander who proposed McAuliffe surrender as his army was surrounded by the Germans at Bastogne.

His reply? “Nuts!”

As Christians, we need to take a similar attitude towards the devil and his minions. Yes, we are surrounded. Yes, his forces can be overwhelming. That said, we have God Almighty on our side. Add to that, in fact, this war has already been decided. We win. If the devil refuses to surrender, why should any one of us?

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Once we recognize the devil is a total control freak, it is easy to see how he operates in the material world. He seizes and exerts control whenever and wherever possible. No wonder he hates liberty! As a rule he tries to control men via our weaknesses. His standard areas of attack are not hidden: sex, drugs, money, and power all top the list. He uses our emotions against us – hate, greed, envy, jealousy and so on. Worse, he’ll even distract us with “good things” such as food, “love”, and entertainment. I put “love” in quotes because he has confused this topic to such a degree that most of us don’t really know what real love really is.

Contrary to how the devil operates, everything God does resides in the parameters of free will. Even many Christians will be shocked to realize God is the exact opposite of a control freak! Consider Adam in the Garden of Eden. He was given only ONE rule: do not eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Summing things: we are at war, we are surrounded, we are being attacked on every side, from every angle with everything the devil has. Despite all of this we can be confident God has already won this war. The question remains… what is our part in this war?

As Christians, we are not merely observers, but soldiers. Part two will lay out the battle map as well as explore our part in this epic battle.

@elonmusk RE: Stepping Down as Twitter CEO – An Open Letter

An open letter to Elon Musk…

About your poll as to whether to step down as CEO of Twitter…

While my initial response was along the lines of “WHAT!? Are you kidding? NO! Then I gave pause to thought. This response is from my thoughtful side.

First, lets consider who and what you are. I can only surmise based on the limited information I have so I’ll take a more empirical view. After all, I don’t know you. Some recent personal revelations suggest even if we were “buddy buddy”, I might still not know you. To that end I’ll consider the bigger picture.

Depending on the whims of modern finance you are one, if not the wealthiest man on the planet at this time. How did you get there? First, I have to admit God put you where you are. Don’t get all that excited about this because God also put Joe Biden in the White House and so forth. Your position is not an endorsement.

Still, you have notched success after success, ran or run several multi-billion dollar corporations built from bold and innovative ideas. I doubt if indecisiveness was a factor in these successes. Nor did timidity play a part. Yet now you seem cowed by what? Groups of people you don’t know and who don’t know you? Get real.

For this, you make me wonder. God put you in a place where you can break the chains binding free speech for all. He’s allowed you to give this nation, indeed the world a voice. Do not take that lightly. Yet, if you are going to allow yourself to be ruled by polls and public opinion rather than rule according to principle, than maybe you do need to step down.

As a former -VERY MINORITY – stockholder, it should now be apparent why I was so reluctant to forfeit my shares. This despite the fact that I relinquished my stake at a tidy profit while I stood to lose every nickel if I held on. Not to worry, my stake was tiny, worth only a few hundred dollars. I was never going to suffer by losing it all. But what if I was able to hold on to my position?

Beyond certain legal rights to hold Twitter accountable above and beyond public opinion, my slight finger hold on Twitter gave me a place at the table, I otherwise do not have. I am nobody, just another account holder. I won’t even toss you the twenty-seven cents a day for that blue check mark. Even with my laughable ten shares, I was not much more. I wasn’t trying to kid anybody. I doubt whether you’ll ever see this, much less give it thought. These facts won’t shut me up. Twitter or no, my voice will ring out, if only it lands on deaf ears. My voice, my speech, is a gift from Almighty God. What? You thought God only cares about the movers and shakers in this world? Think again.

So… should you step down as CEO? You are asking the wrong person(s). God put you there, you should be seeking HIS guidance. That said, I do recommend you do not take your place lightly. Even though I am nothing to most in this world, God has given me a place, a tiny voice, and what I have I will reverence it because of He who gifted it to me.

Eyes on Brazil

Recently, I saw a report from Brazil suggesting the military might step in under Constitutional authority to audit the recent election. My understanding is this may be even more volatile than it sounds.

If you’ve been following events in Brazil at all, you probably know President-elect Lula De Silva, the communist convicted felon was certified the winner and sworn into office under dubious circumstances. The Brazilian courts, packed with enough communist sycophants to sway things to the left, have blessed this election despite massive protests from the citizens. And by “massive” I do mean MASSIVE protests. Citizens have been filling the streets nationwide for over a month now to decry what they believe to be a fraudulent election.

As of late, indigenous leaders, who are typically left-wing, have been jailed for joining these protests and being outspoken about the corruption. Not only is the government’s actions considered blatantly unconstitutional but they are causing further uproar among the people. The most casual observer would wonder why left-leaning citizens would be sounding such alarms seeing as how they tend to mostly agree with the agenda of the winning party. This alone should send up red flags everywhere. As Steven Bannon noted, the international media who usually champions these indigenous citizens, remains silent.

Meanwhile, the newly minted Brazilian administration is openly declaring they will replace the current military leadership with their own people. From here, all this looks like kids playing with fire at a gunpowder factory. Wait for it.

The way I see it, the most peaceful path to settling this is for the current military to step in and audit the election. Considering the angst of the citizens, I suspect the audit will uncover massive fraud and overturn the results. If military personnel are able to maintain a strong presence this wrong could be righted without bloodshed. Even this scenario could turn sour depending on how the president-elect responds. I doubt very much if he is acting alone so the question is who is backing him and what resources can they bring to bear?

Should this election stand, I fear a bloodbath, maybe more than one. It doesn’t appear the citizens protesting are likely to simply accept confirmation of this election. Something stinks about it and they all know it. At least until the indigenous leaders were jailed, things were peaceful. It seems jailing these leaders has already wrought some violence. Should the protests continue past verification of the election, I’ve no doubt more citizens will be jailed. Such actions could well incite more violence rather than quell the unrest. One way or another, this scenario seems ripe for escalation.

What does all this have to do with the United States of America? Lots.

For starters, Biden and Co. can be expected to fully support the communists – exactly as they supported Trudeau regime during the Canadian Trucker protest. Biden’s people never met an authoritarian they didn’t like. I suspect they would openly worship Putin if they thought they could do so. If the truth came out, it would surprise me not at all to learn Team Biden actually helped DeSilva steal the election. Do note the leftist articles I perused while researching this post all hail the “victory of Democracy” evidenced in DeSilva’s win. This alone gives me pause. Oh, yeah, and they all never fail to mention how “efficient and secure” Brazil’s electoral system is. Granted, as the fifth most populous nation on earth, that the election was tallied on election day should cause our own election officials to hang their heads in shame, but without more details, I question how secure the Brazilian system really is. A bigger question is, if it IS so “secure” why are so many citizens taking to the streets?

About those protests… right or wrong, the Brazilian citizens deserve our admiration for taking a stand. Unlike us, they are standing strong, even to the extent of ignoring soccer’s World Cup competition. This would be like Americans foregoing the Super Bowl to protest the Biden regime. The Brazilians are at least as passionate about soccer as we are about football, possibly more so. In addition, they’ve continued on for over a month now. How much resolve have we shown? Do you see Arizonans taking to the streets in Phoenix and Tucson? Despite massive issues, including a lot of very sketchy stuff involving election day shenanigans, not to mention mysterious late ballots showing up and counted, and previously rejected ballots added to the count pile. All this while declaring a paper-thin 17,000 vote win for Hobbs. The Arizona election reeks so bad one is inclined to hold one’s nose while watching news stories concerning it.

Back to Brazil, what happens there could well set the stage for elections all across the world. Should this election be overturned, and life return to normal for that nation, it could well encourage those of us who are tired of seeing election after election decided by hinky means. Should violence erupt, the side that comes out on top may well set the tone for other world events. Let’s explore this thought.

Suppose the globalists muster enough forces to shut down the protesters. Violence or no violence the implications are far ranging. The communists would have established a solid foothold on South America – enough to rule the region. Now Valenzuela has already failed due to gross mismanagement but that doesn’t mean Brazil will follow suit. Add in violence and they would set the example for any communist/globalist takeover of a major nation. Worse yet, Team Biden cannot be expected to just protest this move but more likely, they would applaud it. Not good.

On the other hand, if the citizens of Brazil were to prevail, it would be a setback for the globalists. It could be enough to send them reeling because the last thing they expect or want is any push back from the proletariat. The one inherent weakness all globalists have is numbers. Sure they can fool enough of the population to vote for their agenda but once enough citizens understand their true intent and balk, our numbers are overwhelming. You see, when the rubber hits the road, humans actually prefer freedom over tyranny.

Beyond this, our Brazilian brethren would also set an example for the world to see. Add their example to the British, the French, the Chinese, the Danes, the Sri Lankans, the Canadians and the Italians and you can see a trend building. World-wide citizens of several nations are breaking the chains of oppressive governments. Brazil is one of the latest but what is most interesting about happenings there is the protests span their nation. The real question that comes to my mind is when will us citizens of these United States face the reality of our corrupt government. Strangely enough, while we kid ourselves into believing we are a shining example of freedom and democracy, the globalists have very nearly completely gained a stranglehold on every facet of our nation.

Is Our Nation Lost?

One comment I read today concerns the Warnock-Walker Senate race in Georgia. The commenter stated if Warnock wins, it’s over for the republican party. Similar dissertations have popped up over other results. Right now the republican party is reeling and wringing their hands on how to become more relevant. Of course, they don’t use those words but isn’t relevance what it amounts to?

Let’s face it, most of today’s republicans can be likened to ghetto white boys. They dress what they think an inner-city gangbanger should wear, pound their ears with incessant hip hop, while trying their very best to act, um, cool? Whatever. Back in the old days, the stereotype was the nerd who wanted to be “popular”. Of course they’d always end up looking like idiots. Seems like some kids never learn. They “grow up” to be republicans – well, RINOs, really. You see, they want to be popular, you know, cool. These days that means going “green”, cheering for Zelensky, and virtue signaling at every opportunity. Of course, wearing the right labels and attending the right parties also earns points. And lets not forget about the most important task, the duty of every government official – ensuring our government continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Priorities, you know.

Meanwhile, here in the trenches, the citizens of our nation are lost. We are wandering. It is blatantly evident we cannot trust those in government – not our elected officials, nor those who ostensibly work for us. We can’t trust the electoral process. We can’t trust those leading our party – whoever that may be. The media lies. New evidence reveals some of the depth of those lies and where they come from. Did I mention we can’t trust those in government? I’ll clue you in… some of us were in class that day when it was revealed how all of a sudden it became legal for our government to lie to us citizens. I’m sure it’s all for our own good.

So is our nation also lost? This remains to be seen. That said, there’s less then two minutes on the clock in the forth quarter and the home team on their own one yard line and down by six touchdowns. Okay, maybe not six touchdowns but it’s not looking all that good. Then again, what if we’re looking at the wrong game? If the home team is 15-1-0 and seeded first in the playoffs, how much does this game matter? What if we stepped back a bit to consider the bigger picture?

This hurts, but what if our beloved nation, the United States of America, the greatest nation in the history of the world crumbled before our eyes? What then? If it all burned down today, what would rise from the ashes? Would we rebuild our Constitutional Republic? Or would something else take it’s place? Would the states survive? Would Texas want to be associated with New York? Would Tennessee cozy up to California? I’m not seeing it. What if the globalists declared victory? You know they would in a heartbeat – assuming all the globalists combined could find a heart among them. I have my doubts. Beyond that, what do the globalists want? It’s no secret. They want our borders to vanish so they can install a one-world government. Isn’t that what globalism is all about? Centralized control of everything? What happens to us patriots?

Sure it is a stark venture in thought but is it really beyond plausibility? I don’t think so. I’ve been saying for years now that the globalist agenda will eventually come about. Prophesy says so. If you cannot wrap your head around that idea, just look at basic demographics. The short view is people cluster. We humans tend to group together. It is our nature. As we gather into city centers, we tend to demand more government. This is indisputable. It always happens. Always. It is only a matter of time before we humans centralize ourselves into a world government. For this to happen, every nation worth two cents will be swallowed up by the central government. Again, it is simple logic. A central government cannot, will not stand competition. If it comes to war, so be it. Winner take all.

Again, we are back to square one. IS our nation lost… yet? Maybe, maybe not but we are at a critical crossroads. As I demonstrated earlier, there is no true opposition to the globalists. At least nothing of consequence. Lump all the conservatives together. Go ahead, toss in the Libertarians, the Constitution Party guys, and constitutionalists (no party affiliation) and whoever else and you still have a minority and a minuscule one at that. The globalists have successfully browbeaten our citizens into accepting enough of their drivel so what was once “far left” is now considered “moderate”. I’ll offer just one example. Suppose some serious public figure was to propose ditching Social Security? We would see howls of protest on both sides of the political spectrum. That figure would be considered a radical, if not entirely shunned. Once a radical Socialist program, SS is now sacred in political circles.

Can we ever find our way back as a nation? Personally I have my doubts. This doesn’t mean I am ready to write the good ol’ USA off entirely but I think it’s time to face facts. We are on the verge and things don’t look good for the home team. For those of us who can accept this possibility I can offer a ray of hope.

What is missing entirely from the postulation above? What have I not considered up until this point? Who is in control? How is this a game changer?

If it’s not obvious, let me be plain: GOD. We can talk politics all day long, but until we recognize that GOD is in total, complete control, all is for naught. By all means, GOD changes the game. Heck, GOD OWNS THE GAME. It is HIS playing field. HE set the rules. You know the adage, the house always wins, well we’re in GOD’s house.

Now with God in the picture, the game doesn’t just change, it becomes an entirely different game! Let’s call this game “good versus evil”. Right now it looks like evil has good on the ropes. It is an illusion. How about we take another gander at this game from God’s perspective?

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Within these three verses we can pretty much figure out God’s end game. Ephesians indicates God’s no dummy. He knows not every one will believe. He knew this before it all began. Just the same, He gave everybody a chance. But wait! You say. What about those who were died before salvation became available? You mean, like David? Please. God’s got everything all figured out. If you can trust me on this one, trust Him. He is not just a “fair” God. He is a merciful and gracious God. I’ll take mercy and grace over fair any day. So let’s swing back on this whole “lost nation” thingy, huh?

We’ve all heard the tale and a lot of the jokes about Israel being so lost it took them forty years to trek about 435 miles, by most estimates about an eleven day journey. The joke I’ve heard most is Israel was lost because Moses refused to stop and ask for directions. How long would the journey taken had the people of this nation had turned to God and kept their eyes on Him? I’d say it’s possible we’d be talking about their amazing land speed record instead of forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

Now ask yourself… WHY is our nation lost? By now the answer should be obvious – we’ve turned away from God. In the battle of good vs evil, we are opting for evil. Huh. Go figure. What if we opted for good instead? What if we turned to God? Could our nation be saved? Restored even? I’d say possibly, but what if we’ve moved beyond that? What then?

In a worst-case scenario, our world would be on the fast track towards the end times. Once a world government is established we are all in for some spicy times. Tell me… what would you do if you woke up one morning with the realization that the wait was over? Those last days are upon us and we Christians are now enemy number one? What then?

In my own limited mind, I can think of two things. First – survival. I mean, I’m long past the point where death scares me but as long as I’m drawing breath, I’ll do what I can do keep drawing breath, so, survival. Second, rescue. By this I mean making every effort to give as many people as possible the chance to opt-in to eternity – whatever it takes. What else matters?

Now we’re not at this point yet. It may not come to that in my lifetime if I live to be 200. I just don’t know. What I do know is no matter whether our nation can be restored or not, God will remain in control and unless our nation, WE the People, turn back to Him, the globalists will continue to solidify their hold on us. Evil is winning, or so they think.

We can fight back but politics is not the answer. Certainly “civil war” is not the answer either. Once the nature of the battle we face is recognized, doesn’t it make sense to fight the spiritual war? I’ll get back to this in a moment. First how about we consider our circumstance in mortal terms.

Again I’ll contend that a physical war a la “Civil War I” is absolutely the worst scenario we can hope for. Nobody wins. Even if, lets call us “nationalists” wins, what do we have? A decimated nation, torn by war with dead yet to bury and either a government restored from our current Constitution or a new one formed from a revised Constitution. I’d say this is the “best case” scenario. It looks pretty bleak to me. Should the globalists win… hoo boy, we’re all in for fun.

So lets drop that notion for example. In the secular world what does this leave us if not a political solution. What political solution? What would a strong, Republican, majority bring to the table? For one thing, they’d be right back to battling the “other” party, whether it is comprised of democrats or whatever. Once again we will instantly be faced with a group whose primary objective has to be to grow the government. It is how power bases are formed. Additionally, it is all the politicians know how to do – grab and wield power via influence. Such is the goal. The tools, money (taxpayer money) and regulations, remain the same. Go ahead, change out “Republican” for “Conservative” or “Libertarian”, whatever. The formula for “getting things done” stays the same.

My own ideal political solution, one I highly doubt anyone else would sign on to would be effective but far too cumbersome and, as such, would soon fall back to the current status quo. In my ideal system, WE the People would rule at the county level. Thus the county seat would be the center of our political universe. All law enforcement would be under the primary jurisdiction of the county sheriff. More importantly, most government functions would be handled at the county level. State and Federal duties would be delegated when a majority of counties deemed it so. Subsequently state and federal representatives would answer to their constituents primarily via oversight committees comprised of representatives from each county. Additionally, each state and federal representative would be required to attend county, and in the case of larger population areas, city, board meetings on a regular basis. The oversight committees would take their direction from county residents who would meet, either in person or virtually, to make their preferences known. The board meetings would offer the opportunity for representatives to hear directly from their constituents and for constituents to have their voices heard.

Granted, my “ideal solution” is more of a work in progress than any sort of blueprint but the idea behind the concept is to find ways to decentralize government and our representation while allowing for a balance between access to our elected representatives and allowing them the breathing room to do the job we give them. Imagine being micromanaged by 500 people, then multiply that by 1000. That is about the average number of citizens in each congressional district. One of the most common complaints I hear from local representatives is they often cannot eat a meal in peace without being inundated with citizens with a word, a gripe, or some advice. Sure, it’s the nature of the job but they have lives too.

Summing up from my wanderings… if you take anything away from this post, I would hope it is the sense that the battle we face is spiritual, rather than political, in nature. As such we need to properly equip ourselves and fight accordingly. Every major issue facing us today has a spiritual base. The globalists are bent on denying evil even exists, much less God Himself.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This is the sword that will win spiritual battles.

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The good news is God has fully equipped us for this battle. He truly is our sufficiency in all things. Are you ready to take up “the whole armour of God”? Not the arms of the world that lead to destruction but the armament given to us by Almighty God to defeat the real foe in this war against evil.

Warnock’s Victory and My Response to a FnBook Friend.

By now you know the election was called for Warnock. As disturbing as many of us find this, it only takes a trowel to dig deep enough to uncover far more disturbing things about this. I’ll list a couple in no particular order.

First, we can gnash our teeth all we want about whether this election was stolen. The numerical difference with 95% tallied is 93,542 votes. How many votes would have to be stolen to reach that result? For the sake of argument, lets say 500,000. If such were true this would mean Walker actually won by over 400,000 votes. Okay. Fine. It would also mean that 1,300,000+ STILL VOTED FOR WARNOCK. If you don’t find this disturbing, why not?

We know what Warnock is. Strip off all the political rhetoric, and the pretty veneer. At his core, he is a globalist. His deepest desire is the same as all his comrades – to absolutely control the entire population (elites, excluded, of course.). At one point the globalists hid their agenda to some extent. No more. They openly parade their desires before us all.

Yet over 1.3 million people or more voted for his agenda. Either they know what he is and agree or they don’t have a clue. Either way, it is shameful… and disturbing.

Worse, in my mind, is Warnock purports to be a man of God. Now I have nothing against anyone of faith being in politics. In fact, as I am convinced our very nation is a gift from God Almighty, I believe every God fearing citizen should absolutely become involved in government at whatever level they are led to do so. It is our duty and responsibility. The problem with Warnock is he says he is a Christian. I won’t question his faith but I would remind him Jesus said “no man can serve two masters”. One of the tenants of globalism is to replace God with government. He will answer for his actions, this much is certain. What of the Christians who vote for him? What are they really voting for? I find this disturbing.

These same trends are mirrored across our nation. New York State has been a leader in this respect for decades or more. We can blame corrupt politicians. We can blame the democrat and/or the republican party. We can blame the media. When it comes down to brass tacks, we need to look to ourselves. What have WE done to shine a light on the truth?

At the heart of things, our nation is embroiled in a war between good and evil. It is indeed a spiritual war. If we are to stand a chance at winning this war we need the correct weapons of warfare and we need to know how to use them effectively. God has equipped us for spiritual warfare. You will find your armament listed in Ephesians 6 10-18, among other places.

Ephesians 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Can we win this war? Yes. Absolutely. WILL we win this war? I don’t know. What I do know is if we join this spiritual battle, we increase our chances AND we will gain territory for God. If nothing else, we will be able to offer our fellow citizens the opportunity to accept Christ and/or join the fight.

What say you?

God bless

The Problem With Brazil

Unless you only watch MSM or otherwise live under a rock, you’ve seen what’s going on in Brazil. For the aforementioned readers who someone stumbled upon this post, I’ll elaborate.

Brazil recently elected a new president. From what I’ve been able to ascertain, he is a convicted felon and an avowed communist. While felons are prohibited from running for that nation’s highest office by law, it appears the communist-leaning court gave him a pass. Does any of this sound familiar? Oh, yeah, that’s right, your MSM blinders don’t allow you to see anything other than the “official” party line. Maybe you’d better sit down. You see, the courts here in the good ol’ USA have likewise squelched any hint of electoral impropriety to the outrageous extent of branding the events in DC on January 6, 2020 as an “insurrection”. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along now.

It was only recently when CBS decided Hunter Biden’s laptop was really was Hunter Biden’s laptop and not some “Russian Hoax”. Now we are seeing the massive extent our own shadow government went to suppress this and a whole bunch of other information in order to install Slow Mo Joe in the White House. All that is just the beginning of sorrows initiated by the usurpers of our nation. Enough of that, back to our regularly scheduled post…

So Brazil’s election was compromised, beginning with a nominee who wasn’t legally qualified to run anyway and ending with massive fraud perpetrated to “elect” a communist, essentially turning the entire nation of Brazil over to the China. But that’s not the real story here. The real story is the reaction by the citizens of Brazil.

They are pissed and they are protesting en masse – all across the nation. The streets of ever major city is filled with citizens who are demanding this wrong be righted. That’s the story. Now for the problem…

Just like here in the US of A, nothing is happening. Here we’ve seen scandals, fraud and widespread criminality all over the place. From elected officials compromised by foreign agents, to open total disregard for our constitution, to former Vice Presidents promoted after openly admitting – bragging, actually, on video, to using his influence as VP to get the man investigating his own son fired by threatening to withhold foreign aid. The list of crimes alleged as well as blatant, staggers the mind and yet, only a handful of scapegoats are pursued and/or prosecuted.

Citizens who dared walk into the Capitol building on January 6 languish in prisons unfit for any human, not only deprived of their constitutional rights, but horrifically beaten and abused, while criminals who firebombed a police car are slapped on the wrist. Again and again, we see our nation sinking into lawlessness and all we can expect is more of the same and worse. How does this relate to Brazil?

Just like these things detailed above in the US, the citizens of Brazil are being ignored. Word is, the government there will impose martial law. The implied threat is “shut up about it or we will kill you.” This is the problem. If you’ve happened to have seen the masses protesting, there should be chills running down your back. First comes the realization that with so many Brazilians protesting, something is very, very wrong and the entire world should be taking notice. Then comes the sucker punch – their protests are not likely to have any effect. Yes, things might end badly either now or in the future. Yes, this may be the start of a very unstable Brazil for months, maybe years to come, but the will of the people is being subordinated to the will of the usurpers. This is most disturbing. Worse, it could be a portent of things to come here and all over the globe.

Not too long ago, I envisioned similar things happening here as those events in Brazil. Think of it, all across the nation, citizens gathering at county seats, asserting our authority as citizens and taking back our nation. What a display of citizen authority! Can you see in your mind’s eye, photo after photo in Twitter of citizens standing tall at their county seats? I was certain it would cause the usurpers to tremble with fear and awe once they realized their gig was up. While such an even could happen, what shook me was the apparent apathy of the Brazilian demonstration. It’s like nobody even bothered to yawn. Are the powers that be so confident of their grasp that they simply don’t care? What would it take to make them take notice?

Likewise Chinese citizens are protesting also. The crimes committed on them are even more mind-boggling in that they are being herded into facilities, let’s call them what they really are, concentration camps. Those who resist are beaten and even killed in the streets. One apartment building had the doors welded shut so the world watched in horror as residents were burned alive. Like the Brazilians, the Chinese government has yet to be challenged. If nobody stands up for them, who will stand with us?

That’s the problem I see. Is there a solution? YES! For most of you, it is not what you think. Not at all.

Abandon Ship!

Wait! What?! Really??!! In a sense, yes, really. I am not advocating leaving the country or giving up. What I am advocating is a complete refocus of our efforts. Now I’ve gone down this road before but this time I mean to burn some bridges, so to speak. For the most part, any and all political action is dead or dying. Can we take back our nation county by county? I do think it is still possible but recent events lead me to believe such efforts are more than not likely to fail. Why?

Look at this last election. Yes, the republicans reclaimed the House of Representatives. whoopie. (was I able to convey my nearly total lack of enthusiasm here?) Meanwhile Arizona’s election was stolen and it looks like it will remain that way. In New York? The democrat machine reinstalled the entirely uninspiring and totally worthless Kathy Hochul. Pennsylvania likewise sent the barely functioning John Fetterman to the US Senate. Michigan went to Gretchen Whitmer. And so on and so forth. As I’ve stated before, it doesn’t matter one whit whether any of these elections were on the up and up or not. It really doesn’t. Unless the cheating was done on such a scale that it totally overwhelmed the will of the People, we need to come to terms with the fact that a significant number of citizens actually voted for these individuals.

Even IF the anticipated “Red Wave” took place, the result would only be a band-aid on the gaping wound infecting our nation – and the adhesive on that would barely cling. The real issue we’re facing is much larger than any one election can address, much less repair. The real issue is we’ve lost God. As a nation we are a people wandering in the wilderness, wondering why God has abandoned us. In truth, WE have abandoned HIM. For this reason, I’m advocating we abandon this “ship”, i.e. an political remedy and turn our attention fully upon God. How can we do this?

For those of you involved in your church already, and I mean really involved, step back and examine what is going on in your church. What is your focus? Are you going through the motions are you in the trenches? Is your church focused inwardly on members or on outreach? Is it effective? Are you bearing fruit? You can ask this of yourself as well as your church. The fruit you bear is the harbinger.

If you are not involved in a church… why not? Are there no churches near you that bear fruit? Surely there must be some Christians in the area doing God’s work. Find them. Join them. Or start something yourself. Look to God to lead you.

If you have not accepted Christ, I’m not sure what I can do for you. Nobody can make you. That’s the whole point. If you are still reading this, I suspect you are doubting your own convictions. All is not lost as long as you are still breathing. Believe it or not, God will help you. I am living proof. God literally saved my life (maybe multiple times, I don’t know.) both before and after I accepted His Son Jesus as my Lord and Savior. He guided me to exactly the right people to provide me with exactly the right information I needed to be saved. And get this, the people He guided me to were not all from some “church group”. Only one was attending services at the time. Ask God to show you the way. Email me if you like.

At this point in history, I do not know what the future holds. Okay, I never do, but that is beside the point. I once had hopes this nation could be restored. Now I am not so sure. Either way, we need to seek out God and His Will. As for me, I’m forming a bible study group. My goal is to get together with other believers and seek out fellowship and biblical truths. My own idea is for this to be the first of many seeded study groups. Whether this is what God has in mind is yet to be seen. All I know is I feel the need to reach out and this is my first step to that end. My own life these days has not born as much fruit as I feel it ought to, so I am doing exactly what I advocate.

What matters most today is outreach. As a Christian, if you are reaching out already, ask God to show you how to do more. If you are not reaching out, then ask God to show you where to start. If you have distanced yourself from God, then your first step is to draw nigh to Him. We can do nothing without God. Until we turn to Him, our nation will continue to decline until we find ourselves fighting for our very lives. Our best effort now is to immerse ourselves in the truth, hold it forth and stand fast.

God bless

WHAT IS This Country Coming To?

For over two years now (longer actually), I’ve put up with all this crap about election fraud, shady elections, questionable election practices and the like. The past two years or so have been the worst because all of a sudden, it’s no longer “cool” to question election results… unless, of course, those results favor a republican nominee over a democrat. I’ve had it.

Like I said this garbage has be going on far longer than the past two years. My most pressing question is:

HOW Did We Get Here?

Or have we always been this complacent? Looking back, I envision more of a slippery slope. Maybe we’d see some sort of blip or a glitch now and then in this election or that one. What was done? Was the problem taken seriously? Was it resolved? Was the integrity of the election process examined with any issues addressed and corrected? I don’t know. Maybe these things never happened. They should have. Even if they did, somewhere along the line someone shrugged. Some problem was simply ignored or otherwise allowed to fester. Then other problems arose. More and more they slid under the radar. During this last election cycle, where the most glaring example is in Maricopa County, Arizona, issues, major issues of election integrity and an honest count, are in danger of being simply batted away like a pesky fly. If it persists, they’ll just kill the fly.

HOW Can We Let This Happen?

Where is the outrage? I liken this to my wife when she reconciles our checkbook. If she is off just one penny, she will work those figures like a dog worries a bone. I’ve seen her fret for days about the most insignificant (to me) discrepancy. Personally, I’d write off a few cents and be done with it. Not her. Only 100% agreement between the bank and her calculations are acceptable. THIS is the sort of attitude we need to have concerning our electoral process.

Discrepancies, murky questions, and shady dealings should never, EVER be associated with our electoral processes. Everything needs to be on the up and up and on full display for everyone to see. ALL questions should be dealt with, in public. The process should never need be questioned.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a myriad of issues come up in multiple elections all over our nation. These range from dead people voting, to questionable individuals being allowed to vote without ID (right here in Virginia where ID is legally required to vote!), to scores of voting machine issues – including alleged flip/flopping actual votes, machines that conveniently jam or otherwise fail, districts counting more votes than they have registered voters, and more. Whether any of these issues have been properly addressed, and I’m certain some of them have NOT, is more often than not never publicized beyond the initial reports. Granted, news media thrives on conflict and dies on resolution but one would expect at least a hint that some of these issues are resolved. Instead, crickets.

Enough Is Enough!

Frankly, I’m pissed. My anger is not directed at the cheaters or at those whobenefit from cheating. It’s not directed at the courts who refuse to even look at these problems. It’s not directed at our elected officials who should see to it the issues are addressed properly and corrected. Nor am I angry with those charged with overseeing the processes and ensuring they are right and proper. No. I am mostly pissed at myself and my fellow citizens. WE are allowing this to happen. WE are ultimately responsible to see to it that OUR elections are squeaky clean and there is NO QUESTIONS about their integrity.

WHERE IS OUR OUTRAGE? When are WE going to INSIST our elections are done right? There is no excuse for us if all we do is throw up our hands in surrender. Right here. Right now is when we must take a stand. If any, ANY result is not “right”, then we need to DEMAND a strict accounting. The books need to balance. We cannot afford to be off one single penny, one single vote.

The Society For the Elimination of Thanksgiving

In case you are wondering there is no official “society”… yet. It just feels that way to some of us. Okay, it feels that way to me. Years ago I read where Halloween was the second biggest retail season of the year. It was only outpaced by Christmas. It wouldn’t surprise me if Halloween was now number one. Certainly more people seem to broadcast their love for Halloween far more often and vocally than anyone does for Christmas. Many even fear saying “Merry Christmas”. Instead they substitute the benign “Happy Holidays” or some such tripe… with voices dripping with weak apologies no less.

As for myself, I have always hated Halloween, this even before I came to Christ. The revelry always gave me the creeps. It still does. If you ever want to open your eyes to the truth about this “holiday” I urge you to check out Carol Kornacki. She is a former witch who accepted Christ. My favorite line of hers is “if you are watching the parade, you are part of the parade”. Of course everyone in my family, save my wife, always berated us for refusing to allow our children to participate in the “festivities”. We were just no fun. We were depriving them of their childhood and so on and so forth. I wish my childhood had been as deprived. Seriously, they are all grown now and I don’t really think they were damaged by our decision. About all that “fun” they missed – think about it.

What is the central theme of Halloween? What word do you think of when you hear Halloween? Scary? Close enough. Another word for “scared” is fear. What are those fears based on? Death. Sure, some kids want to be Superman or a firefighter and such but lets face facts. Most of the glory centers around the gory. The movie ain’t about a tea party. Nor are the sequels. They are scary. They are about death. I’ll grant you, Halloween isn’t all about death. It is mostly a celebration of evil. Cry and whine all you want, take out those things that celebrate evil and death and what are you left with? Uh-huh. Without those things are society would abandon Halloween in a heartbeat. What does that say about us?

Skipping on Christmas, why not take a blunt look at this season as well. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Christmas either. I tend to root for the Grinch. I know it is supposed to be a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ, at least ostensibly. But do we really? Any serious or even semi-serious biblical student (semi-serious so I can count myself in) should have to admit Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. Just on the basis of angels announcing Jesus birth to the shepherds, one can ascertain he must have been born in the fall or spring. Winter is too cold to be pasturing sheep. There’s more evidence available for anyone willing to look. It’s nearly as easy to debunk as Kwanzaa. Look, if our society truly embraced Jesus during the “Christmas season”, I’d be far more supportive of it but even this holiday was heavily commercialized from the time it was first popularized. I remember reading somewhere that Dickens was encouraged to write “A Christmas Carol” for the express purpose of popularizing the holiday. If it were truly a sacred time then it would be about as exciting as, well, Thanksgiving.

The best the hawkers can do is promote “Black Friday” – the day after Thanksgiving. These days, they’ve polluted that day in order to try to leverage a buck. Now, rather than launching the Christmas season, the “Black Friday season” begins 30 seconds after the Halloween decorations are put up. Of course I’m exaggerating. They no longer wait for Halloween to be over anymore. It’s all about the money. That’s way they hate Thanksgiving. There’s no real money in it. And that’s exactly why I love it.

Now Thanksgiving is under attack. Just the other day I read where protesters (you can guess who) are decrying Thanksgiving. They say it’s an “imperialist” holiday, whatever that means. Oh, I’m sure they’ll tell us. Let me beat them to the punch – by “imperialist” they mean it is NOT communist. For the record, I maintain communism is a poor cousin to globalism. As the Highlander would say, “There can be only one.” and that “one” will be a globalist. Bet on that. Now the curtain has been pulled back, you can see the real reason Thanksgiving will soon become a point of great contention. Thanksgiving by its very name centers around God. To add insult to injury, we celebrate this by bringing families together. There is nothing the globalists hate worse than God and family.

It won’t be long before someone forms an organization resembling “The Society for the Elimination of Thanksgiving”. Wait for it. In past years, globalists have done their best by polluting the waters. Most recently, they urge their minions to insist on discussing volcanic topics at the dinner table. Why think of those things we have to be thankful for when we can talk trash about Trump? This year my money is on “gun violence”. It may be the top menu item from the left as I write for all I know. Yesterday’s Walmart shooting is still fresh off the presses. “Never let a crisis go to waste”, as they say. I’m sure it won’t be “vehicular violence” or “knife violence” or “pushing people into trains violence”. I guarantee no one from the left will want to bring “hammer violence” to the table. Nor will they want to discuss just plain “violence” or “crime” in general. Both are losers. Truth be known, the whole “gun violence” idea is a loser, ask anyone in the nether parts of Chicago.

Word is now out that Biden’s handlers have released a “cheat sheet” to arm his minions with propaganda to spew out for the holidays. Ironically they called it some “talking points when that uncle comes at you”. Interesting. I’d say they stole this from me but I hadn’t posted anything at the time. Unless they are lurking on my computer…

Meanwhile they emphasize “working with Republicans” while downplaying any and all real family issues. The only “republicans” they work with are RINOs and only when they can be taught to perform cheap globalist tricks – like impeaching Donald Trump or holding trials disguised as congressional committee hearings that would make Stalin proud.

May I propose we set aside darkness and talk about godly things instead? Note, I said “godly things” not necessarily God. Sure we can talk about God too or even entirely. I’m all for that. You and I both know how that sort of things go in most families. There’s always Uncle Crank. Why can’t we talk about love? What’s wrong with happiness? There’s a whole world of good things out there to talk about, is it so impossible to focus on them? Many family gatherings will harbor at least one “Uncle Crank” who seems determined to sour the mood if not incite a nuclear incident. Sometimes conflict is unavoidable but more often than not a peacemaker can emerge and save the day. Why not commit yourself to being that peacemaker? Pray about it now and be ready to enlist God’s help to diffuse any situation.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

It’s a start. Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you.

America First? Or GOD First?

There’s a lot of talk these days about hiring politicians who put America First. Depending on how they mean this, I’m all for it, but I also wonder… shouldn’t we really be putting GOD first? Hear me out.

Time and time again, I’ve advocated turning to God Almighty as a nation. My premise is our nation was founded by God Himself, blessed by God Himself and has risen to be the greatest nation this world has ever seen because God Almighty Himself has graciously allowed it. Why? Because for the first time in the history of the word, a nation has emerged on the basis if being ruled by its very citizens, one that sensibility guarantees each citizen equal rights under the law as the foundation of our being. We are NOT ruled by a monarch or an emperor. We are NOT ruled by a dictator. Nor are we subject to some communist scheme or ruled by a mob (i.e. a democracy). We are a Constitutional Republic, a shining light to other nations. Our nation was conceived by Christian men who risked everything to give birth to it. Now, as we decline in power, both economically and politically, as we are increasingly engulfed in corruption, we are faced with continuing on this path of assured self-annihilation, or repenting and turning back to God – asking Him to restore our nation to former glory.

I suspect my voice has fallen onto the ears of three distinct groups.

First, my brethren in Christ, most of whom look upon my words in puzzlement. Don’t they already pray to God? Daily? Repent? Of what? Surely we are seeking God already.

Second are those who already “have their religion”. Some of these claim Christ. Others worship other gods.

The third and final group scoff at the very idea. God who? They ask. Aren’t we in the modern world? You mean to say you still believe in those old fables? Well, yes, I do.

Hopefully there is yet another group – those of you who are not satisfied with the so-called “answers” above. Somewhere, maybe deep down, you know something isn’t right. Something is missing. I’m sure most of you identify with one of the above groups in some way but it’s not sitting well with you. It is you to whom I am reaching out. Hang in there. Maybe things will soon start to make sense… finally.

For starters, I’m sure you’ve come across the phrase “For God and country”. I can’t tell you where or when I heard it first. Even here something seems to be missing. In my mind this should include the word “family”. So I did some searching and what do you know?

It seems this phrase “God, family, and country” is attributed to Thomas Aquinas. He was a Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. As such he is also attributed “sainthood” but not being Catholic, I’ll circumvent that label. Still, many of his writings are remembered and studied today. Among them is the idea that the three pillars of traditional Western society are “God, family, and country”.

While I have yet to see where anyone else has said this, maybe it is just too obvious, but the order of this phrase is exactly correct. God first, family second, and country last but certainly not least. Thomas Aquinas is also known for defining many principles of “natural law”. I contend here and now, that God, family, and country are not only pillars of our civilization but also the principles on which our natural, God-given laws must stand on.

Thus God should and must come first. Why? Mostly because without God, we have nothing. Okay, let’s back up. What do we have WITH God?

For the moment set aside the concept of “sin”. For those who do not believe in God, the concept of sin is abstract at best. Rather, let us consider something all humans have sought since our beginning – life after death. For those of you who believe there is no such thing, well there you have it. Once you’ve used up whatever time you have, you’ll end up with nothing. Unless you’re wrong, but let’s not go there. I’m perfectly happy to let it go at that. You die and then… nothing. Isn’t that bad enough? Seriously, without God this is the best you can hope for.

Now WITH God in the picture, we have… eternal life. By my calculations, eternity is going to last a long, long time. Even better, in God’s world, eternity is also going to be a big upgrade to what we have now. What about the other side of that coin? You know, that eternal damnation bit with the fire and brimstone and all that? Well… what about it? I’ve heard stories. I’ve read scripture. Yes, I do believe some will end up there. Who and how, I’m not all that clear on. My own feeling, and it’s just that, a feeling, is only the very worst of the worst will end up there. (No, I don’t know about you mother-in-law.) I’m pretty sure all those devil spirits stand a good chance of job security, unpleasant as that may be. Forgiveness aside, there are a few humans I might not feel all that bad about if they ended up there. Even then, I’m not feeling very gleeful at the thought. I suspect a third option is possible. That option is simply death. Lights out forever. How about we revisit that eternal life thing?

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

Well, that doesn’t look all that hard now does it? We can obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ. The fact is, it is not hard at all. It was never meant to be. So what’s the catch?

Matthew 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Is that the catch? Whew! I’m not “rich” so I’m good right? In the passage above, wrath wasn’t the real issue. Jesus was talking to a young man who happened to be wealthy. Jesus told him to sell all he had and to follow him. The statement above falls into the “figure of speech” category. You see, that whole “eye of the needle” stuff was really a thing in those days. In some walled cities, in order for a camel to enter, they had to take off everything it was carrying as the entrance was too small for a loaded camel to get through. Whether this was by design or not, well that’s another topic. The idea here is, like that camel, you gotta lose your baggage before you can get in.

You can look at this a lot of ways but, today, I think it’s safe to say, you’ll need to give up that “well there’s many paths to God” thinking if you want eternal life via Jesus Christ. Last I heard, he wasn’t accepting coupons from other stores. Now if you’re thinking, “fine, I’ll just find a back door somewhere”, um, Houston, we’ve got a problem. Now I haven’t studied those “other paths”. I hopped on the Jesus track after I realized atheism was a dead end – literally. That said, I’m pretty sure they all pretty much think they are the only way to eternity. So, I ask you, how can they all be “right”? I guarantee you not one of them will tell you to accept Jesus as Lord. If they did, they’d have to also tell you:

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Um, yeah, there is that. Of course, you can always say Jesus was the liar, but if that is true than who is saying that and how do you know you can trust them? The thing is, I’m not seeing anyone stepping up to fill the gap if Jesus is tossed out. Nobody, nothing, even comes close. Islam? Funny thing about them, they acknowledge Jesus as a prophet and then deny him as well as his words. I have a hard time seeing how anyone can have it both ways. Can you see the problem here? I see the same issues popping up no matter where else you turn.

Now for the good news – God made it easy for us.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

God only gave Adam ONE commandment – do NOT eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That was it. Eve was to follow this too but only ADAM was specifically told “NO”. So the serpent, the devil, went to work on Eve who then convinced Adam it was okay to do the ONE thing God said NOT to do. The point here is, God also makes it easy for us to accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Why? Mostly because we’ve got a lot more to deal with than Adam had back then and unless He makes it easy, we’re going to mess it up. So he made it simple.

Really, that’s the whole starter pack. Sure there’s more, a lot more, but this is the ticket you need to get your slice of eternal life. Is there more to it than this? What do you mean by “it”? If by “it” you mean being set as far as eternal life is concerned, I’d say “yep, that’s it”. Now if you are wondering if you need to do more, well… the short answer is yes, but don’t worry, God has got your back. Let me elaborate just a bit.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Whoa! What? Yeah. Let that sink in. God, the CREATOR of the Universe chose YOU before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before Him in love. Sink your teeth into that and chew on it again. Remember, God is BIG. He can create, He knows what’s going to happen down to every single detail, and He’s, well, God, so He can do what He wants… and HE CHOSE YOU. I can’t speak for anyone else but the thought still gives me chills. Trust me on this, there are lots of times I wonder why the Creator of the Universe would even want me, but He did and He does.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Now consider the next verse in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will

This verse does require a bit of work to “get it” due to some common misconceptions and a rather inaccurate rendering.

First, let’s tackle the word “predestinated”. Without getting into a study of the Greek, according the Vine’s New Testament Dictionary, the word can be understood as “foreordained” or “predetermined”. In other words, while some might say everyone’s life is “set in stone”, so to speak, and thus our choices are already made for us, the very wording of this is contradictory. How can we have a “choice” if our actions are predetermined? Do keep in mind one of God’s principles is our own free will. Revisiting the Garden of Eden, Adam did not HAVE to listen to Eve and eat that fruit, but God knew ahead of time he would. If he’d refused, mankind would have taken another path and, chances are, you or I would never have been born.

Now about that word “adoption”. Ask any adopted child, the very term can be somewhat painful. Going back to the Greek, the word used here would have been better rendered “sonship”. We are children of God via birth.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus first alluded to this when he spoke with Nicodemus in John 3. He was speaking of the “new birth” that did not become available until after he died and God raised him from the dead at Pentecost. From that day on, when we confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, God creates that “incorruptible seed” in us, that earnest (token) of what we be blessed with when Christ returns.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

And here we are right back to eternal life. Putting it all together, God, our Heavenly Father, in His foreknowledge, chose you to be holy and without blame before Him in love before the foundation of the world. He brought you here, today. Whether you accept these words or not, if you are His, He will continue to show you the truth until you are ready to accept Him as God Almighty and His only begotten son, Jesus, the Messiah (or Christ) as Lord and Savior. This is your ticket to ride.

As for my siblings in Christ who may still be wondering what you are doing here… it’s going to take all of us, both new and old, to reclaim our nation. We all need to turn to God and put God first in our lives. Certainly we were born into the greatest nation this world has every seen. We’ve been blessed beyond what anyone could expect. Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ seek God daily. What more can we do?

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I’ve no doubt you have faith. Of course you believe that He IS, how could you not. But are you on board with the latter part of this verse? Do you believe He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him? Let me put it another way…

Do you really believe God can and will restore this nation just because we ask Him to? I’m not so sure who believes this. My own wife is often skeptical. Even I doubt if it will happen, but I don’t doubt God. Rather I wonder if we have not lost faith in God to deliver us. What faith?

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

But there is more to it than just asking…

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

This last election cycle has demonstrated this principle perfectly. The polls, if anyone can believe them, strongly indicated a “Red Wave”, even a “Red Tsunami”. What we saw was a red ripple. What happened? We voted, didn’t we? Yes. We voted. By one account Republican’s outvoted Democrats by over 3 million citizens nationwide and still many key races were lost. Why? Two reasons.

First, I am completely and thoroughly convinced, the Democrats cheated. Whether you agree with this assessment or not (I’ll not belabor it), in any honest contest, any and all discrepancies would be completely examined and questionable tallies removed. It’s been pointed out multiple times since the 2020 election that if the Democrats were so confident that vote was honest, they would insist on audits to vindicate themselves. That never happened. Instead they fought tooth and nail at every level to obfuscate any questionable results. However this is entirely secondary.

Even worse is the realization that these elections were even close. Far too many citizens proudly vote for godless ideals – abortion on demand, racist policies, pro-criminal behavior, and so forth. Much of what the globalists desire is pure evil. Those voting for evil either embrace the evil or they are blinded. The very idea that more people could possibly vote for evil over Godly principles sickens me. These same citizens have effectively rejected God Himself. Even with this great shroud of darkness looming over our nation, there is a ray of light.

Remember Ephesians 1:4-5? How many of those voting for evil are lost souls? How many has God foreordained them to be His children? I do not know, but I am convinced there are more than a few. The even better news is WE need to reach them. All we need do is reach out. It is God’s place to call His children to Him. He will not let a single one fall into the devil’s hands – at least not for eternity.

I see the potential for a great revival in this land. God is not finished with this nation. This can happen whether or not God chooses to deliver it, however restoration will not happen if we continue to turn our backs to Him. In light of this, the only commitment that makes sense is to put God first in our lives. With this strategy, we cannot lose. What can you do?

Seek out God in your private life. Pray. Read scripture daily. Join or start a bible study. Seek out others to worship with. Turn away from sinful things. Speak the truth.

On this last, I am not advocating for anyone to quote biblical passages to individuals or groups as a means of “speaking the truth”. A quiet word injected in a conversation may be enough. If you commit yourself to listening to God, He will show you. He will direct your path.

Psalms 27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God will lead you to those who need to hear.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So many of us, Christians included, look for a Donald Trump or a Ron DeSantis to save our nation. They cannot. Surely God can put such men in place to do His work but our nation needs more. It is bigger than one governorship, or a single presidency. It is greater than Congress. Our nation is one comprised of self-governing citizens, a Constitutional Republic. If we are a nation under God then we will once again be that shining beacon to the world. By putting God first in our lives, we will ensure America is first among all other nations.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Do you believe?

Time To Go Underground? Maybe Not Yet

Earlier today I happened across the article below in The American Conservative. It is a very long article but well worth reading. As my reading comprehension is good IF I take my time with the text, I performed a “deep skim” on this article – I tried to read and absorb it without taking the time to assimilate or contemplate what the author was saying.

The long and the short of my understanding can be summed up as such:

Our nation is not as “Christian” as we would like to believe

We need God more than politics

There’s a growing chance Christians will soon be forced to take our faith underground. To this end, small groups may be the best way forward.

The author points to Europe, particularly Eastern Europe for examples. What came to my mind was a book I’d read long ago called “China Cry”. It’s a true story of a young Chinese woman. She was a Christian, born into a wealthy family. She and her siblings in Christ were forced underground and could only meet in small, secret groups.

The Most Dangerous Post-Election Lie For conservative Christians, it’s the idea that politics will deliver us from the persecution to come

In the days ahead, I hope to comment more on these issues, unless, of course, this regime suddenly deems me to dangerous and shuts me down.

Was The Election Stolen… Again? Why This Doesn’t Matter

In fact, we are much better off as a nation if this last election was stolen. How crazy is that? Consider the alternative – Fetterman won, fair and square. What does this say about the people of Pennsylvania? Forget Fetterman. Instead take a look at any race in this year’s election cycle resulting in a disappointing loss. As far as I’m concerned, none of these races should have been close, much less a loss. At least they shouldn’t be close from the perspective of liberty.

Every single democrat ran and won on a single unifying principle – more government. This, at a time when we are all drowning in government. You just don’t throw water on a drowning person. Ronald Reagan was right – the more government we have, the less liberty we enjoy. (paraphrased) This idea, in and of itself is nuts. Our nation was founded on the principle of a limited government but today’s society all but demands unlimited government and it’s killing us, literally as well as figuratively.

There was reason and logic behind the concept of a limited government. Citizens should be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. As long as we respect each other’s rights, rights each of us equally enjoy, our nation will thrive. While in practice, our implementation of these principles have been flawed from day one, our nation has thrived. We’ve risen to be the most productive, influential, and powerful nation the world has ever seen. Imperfect as we are, we remain a shining beacon for the world. Nobody is flooding Haiti’s borders trying to get in. You know why.

Instead of a prosperous and orderly nation, we’ve devolved into a myriad of tribes each vying for prizes from the treasury. Equity has replaced equality and as such, has burdened our most productive citizens by forcing one group to suffer to appease another. Worse, productivity has taken second place to privilege so merit is devalued as a factor for opportunity. Everybody loses. Those with lessor skills no longer need to sharpen them to make the grade and those with better skills languish where their abilities are wasted. The new normal is to settle for mediocrity rather than strive for excellence and it shows.

Our nation is devolving into a third-world county. Already, we’ve lost the respect of nations that once looked up to us. Once the cash flow to them subsides, our influence will drop to zero. Our military will soon be transformed from the envy of the world to a laughingstock. Even Corporal Klinger would bow his head in shame. Once our economy tanks and we can no longer afford all those things we now take for granted, the world will look for more promising markets. Nobody heeds a bum, no matter how fabulously wealthy and successful they were yesterday.

None of this is, or will be the result of this last election cycle. Rather it the result of where our nation has been headed for decades. Some will look back to Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. Others may recognize roots extending beyond that. In some ways, I contend we were doomed from the start because our forefathers failed to properly educate the people about the duties and responsibilities of our republic. In their defense, I suggest that few, if any, really understood many of the nuances themselves as what they accomplished had never been done before.

From a godly perspective, we are likely right where we ought to be in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps the real question should be… where do we go from here? I see two paths. One continues on the way we are going, growing government, limiting liberty until everything crumbles… and crumble it will. Our current situation is unsustainable, as we continue to spend far faster than we can produce. The second path is rugged. It doesn’t even appear to be navigable. Instead of growing government, we need to shrink it… a lot. Instead of suffocating ourselves with endless regulation, we need to simplify. Rather than practice “set it and forget it” citizenship where we only show up occasionally on election days, we need to roll up our sleeves and dig in. We need to hold our representatives, ALL of our representatives accountable. We need to gauge every action, every proposal against the standard of limited government vs liberty. We need to learn to do things for ourselves instead of clamoring for more government to do things for us. Most of all… we need to get right with God. What does God have to do with anything? Everything.

If you cannot see how God fits into the equation then you are part of the problem. I’m sorry if you are an atheist or even a non-Christian. I am particularly sorry if you claim Christ and cannot see my point or worse, take offense. Don’t get me wrong, I am not discounting non-Christians. Nothing in our Constitution requires any citizen to be a Christian or even believe in any god at all to participate. You have just as much say, just as many rights as anyone else. That said, our nation was founded by the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and blessed by Him in no uncertain terms. Those of us who claim Christ need to accept and acknowledge this. Never mind the rest, they get a free ticket to ride. We Christians, however, must put God first in our lives and in our nation.

There is a deeply spiritual aspect to the state of our nation today. It is war. In the end, God wins. Meanwhile this nation is a battleground. The real war is God vs the god of this world, the devil. If we are to win, it will be with God at our side. Politics will not win this war.