The Original SIN was not Eve's

I won't go into the theology of it all, but you probably know this to be true.  Adam sinned.

What WAS that sin?

BLAME - Passing the buck.  Not taking personal responsibly. It's the devils favorite scheme.

The original Sin was Adam blaming EVE and then Blaming GOD for his downfall.  His fault.

That deception is rampant in our society today.  I read a news report how the bankrupt nation of GREECE is blaming Germany for their poor choices and lousy government.  It's breeding corruption and demagoguery not seen since the 1930s when Hitler blamed the Jews for the condition of his nation. Look where that took them.

Muslims blame the crusades for the condition of their bankrupt culture (and they blame Bush.. but who doesn't).  Some politicians play that blame game as well.  How about we tell the truth and stop blaming others. 

Unions blame company managers for being stingy and keeping the money, Companies blame unions for their inability to make it in the market.

President Obama blames Fox News and Rush Limbaugh for the divide in this nation.

Politicians blame banks for the financial crisis of 2008, Banks blame politicians for the laws that caused the crisis.

People who feel threatened by government blame the ones in charge.. but when they change governments nothing changes.  So they live in fear blaming those in charge.

Russia blames the Ukraine for fomenting western ties that threatened Russian sovereignty. Ukraine blames Russia for moving against those in Crimea who wanted to kick all Russian influence out.

Black people blame white Privilege and racism for a cultural lack of structure and opportunity.   White people blame black folks for not seeing and acting on what is an obvious problem all around them and allowing it to stand without confrontation or change of behavior.

Young people blame baby boomers for taking all the good stuff and squandering it, Older people blame young people for being lazy and shiftless.

As the old saying goes, there's enough blame to go around.  What makes it doubly hard is until we stop blaming nothing can change.  Nothing will change.  We will be victims for eternity going to our graves saying "If it weren't for _______ I coulda been a contender.

Not as long as you choose to be a victim you can't.

Here is an article I commend to you.  BLAME SHIFTERS

Don't Go Changin'

TRUE STORY..

some of you who have known me a long time will know of this and who this is. I knew a young man, son of a pastor friend of mine, Steve, who was small. Short. At 16 he was not yet 5' tall. He and his parents were concerned and tried all they could. Diets, vitamins, exercise. Nothing worked. I know it seems strange but they prayed that his DNA would be reversed somehow that he might grow.

He didn't. It became a source of genuine frustration. Out of resignation once his dad said to Steve, "IF God had wanted you to be any different, he would have made you different. You are exactly what God made you to be." That took a load off his shoulders. He was feeling guilty for being differently made. 

What Steve's dad was saying is, "There is no use praying to repent of your DNA. You are what you are. In HIS eyes you are perfectly and wonderfully made."

No repentance required.

Then in early adulthood, without chemicals, without drugs, suddenly he experienced a radical growth spurt. Steve is 6' today. Why did this happen as it did? I don't know. I have many friends and relatives who are very tall, Fat, Skinny, Hairless, Hairy, Pretty, Not so much, Short, well built, scarecrow. Every shape and size. Of course there are merchants who depend on your desire to change your DNA and offer all kinds of quacks and cures. That's why cosmetics, Botox, Plastic Surgery, Implants, drugs (legal and otherwise) and every kind of quack "Change Your Life" quack cure and theology comes along. None of which will do much except drain your bank account.

Then there are different personality and temperament issues; As heritable (DNA) as your hair color, eye color and the lenght of your toes. It's you. If you have certain personality traits differing from someone else, be who you are. Don't try to imitate others. IF you have a tenancy to be aggressive, passive, pensive, organized or somethings else, as long as you are respectful of others, you need to be what you are made of. There are plenty of people who will try to convince you to change who God made you to be. They will try to lock you up in chains of guilt and condemnation. They will make sure you stay addicted to their CURE until everything you have is gone and then so are you. Then prepare to be cast aside...

I am not talking about real pathology, there is depression, violence, bi-polar disorders and such. I'm talking about the uniqueness that you were and are made to be..a star in the universe. Some bright, some red, some flaming out, some steady, some rotating around another star, some just forming, some aging out and some just "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Be who you are.

So stop blaming God for making you the way you are. You are exactly the person he created you to be.. warts and all. Get on with it. Life is far too short to spend it trying to repent of your DNA.

More than Three Reasons are Actually Excuses

An early mentor of mine used to hammer this truth into me.  That when you begin to blame others, have multiple reasons for your failure, they become excuses.  In fairness there are people who are quadriplegic or on a bed of horrid pain.  I'll accept that. They have a valid reason. 

It's all the others who have created an atmosphere of failure for themselves and others around them by offering excuses.  You may wonder what this has to do with the prophetic. The most prophetic thing I can say to those I love today is, Examine yourself.  IF you blame all your bad luck, low achievement, economic condition, state in life on bad luck, you are deceived.  We have huge swaths of good people who have bought this lie and it has put them in chains as certainly as if they were forged of steel.  So I offer up some WORLDLY WISDOM about the making and accepting of excuses.  If you are upright and well... you have no excuse except the person in the mirror.  I hold myself to that standard and so must you.. or you will stay where you are. 

Read This:

“We have more ability than will power, and it is often an excuse to ourselves that we imagine that things are impossible.” François de la Rochefoucauld 
 

“Bad things are always going to happen in life. People will hurt you. But you can't use that as an excuse to fail or to hurt someone back. You'll only hurt yourself.”

 

“Man gives every reason for his conduct save one, every excuse for his crimes save one, every plea for his safety save one; and that one is his cowardice” George Bernard Shaw 

 Uncalled for excuses are practical confessions. Charles Simmons 

 People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." George Bernard Shaw 

 

He who excuses himself accuses himself. Gabriel Meurier 

An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie; for an excuse is a lie guarded. Alexander Pope 

Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure. Don Wilder 

Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. George Washington Carver 

It is easier to find an excuse than to find a reason. Doug Brown 

The trick is not how much pain you feel but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live; excuses, excuses, excuses. Erica Jong 

 For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life. Eric Hoffer 

We are all manufacturers. Making good, making trouble, or making excuses. H. V. Adolt

Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts. Edward R. Murrow

 

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. George Washington 

We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse. Rudyard Kipling 

 

The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses. Napoleon Hill

 

Two wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse. Thomas Szasz 

 He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin

 An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded. Alexander Pope

 

Bad excuses are worse than none. Thomas Fuller

 

Don't make excuses, make good. Elbert Hubbard

 

"Excuses are tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom go far."

"Difficulty on the way to victory is opportunity for God to work". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When Politics and Church become Vanity

As a prophet I say what God says.  As a human being I have opinions and a worldview.  I hope it is the mind of Christ.. but sometimes it's really not.  That causes confusion.

A disclaimer.  I am a conservative politically. Not republican per se, not libertarian per se, but Conservative both fiscally and socially.

I also have compassion for the poor, downtrodden, abused, rejected, those discriminated against, those who are not allowed in the front door.  For that reason I spend a lot of time with people who I know sometimes are in that boat.  I can't help steer the ship if I'm not in the boat with them.

It's a matter of choice and practice.  It's not new.  My whole life I have again and again inserted myself into a culture that is very different from my northern European white roots.  In college during the years of civil rights struggle, I was there.  Not from the outside looking in, but developing relationships that allow me to prod and poke in places most people would not dare go.  Some are offended. Some angry. Most accept what I say as sincere inquiry, discussion and disagreement.

Now in the later years I am beginning to get it.

Sunday Morning I was invited by a friend to attend a catholic church of some repute.  St Sabina.  That's the Church led by Father Michael Pfleger.  He talks about being part of the same struggle in the 1960s.  He is 65 years old.  He would have been 15 when I was 20.   He would have been 19 when MLK was killed.  I don't deny his bonifides, I did wonder a bit about his story..   A priest wouldn't make any of it up now..

The Church service was good.  The praise and worship excellent.  Good Praise dancers.  Things were in order.  It had catholic overtones.  But more urban than catholic.

When I arrived at the church I was met by several white activists on the church steps.  Handing out all sorts of material.  The kind of thing you see and hear in more liberal circles.  Cops are killing everybody, Rauner is starving people and something something something jobs - discrimination.

I took it and smiled.

When I sat down and the worship started I noted many of those people had joined the service. When people raised their hands, they stood mute.  No participating. Nothing at all. Even as the service intensified there was complete passivity.  They were there for political Jesus, not the King of Kings.  In attendance right up at the altar were Bill Ayers and Bernadette Dorn.  Friends of Barack Obama.  They were applauded.  Introduced by Father Pfleger. 

Many radical left wing people have zero faith in God, but are expedient in their participation in events. The event was a talk that was given by Cornel West.  I didn't know as much about West as I thought. Before going, I read on line a lot of what he said and wrote.  I also read those who endorsed him and those who did not.  I discovered that I liked him.  He actually is a prophetic voice and can say things I can't say.  I suspect we would have much in common if we talked very long.

After he was done speaking there was an altar call. Not for salvation. Not for repentance from dead works (of which there were plenty on display).  The altar call was to lay down your life.  Not for Jesus, but for "The Cause".  It was at that point where Father Pfleger offered his story about getting on a bus in those days of protest and not knowing if he would come back alive.  Most of the white non participating in worship white radicals went forward.  It looked to the outside like a show of unity.   It wasn't.  

After reading and studying what he said and what I heard that was presented to a majority black congregation, I get it.  He is like a lot of prophetic people.  He speaks what sounds like it is what you want to hear, but beneath the surface there is a message, a spirit.  Kim Clement does the same thing.. What you think you hear Kim say prophetically isn't what he said at all if you know how to hear with ears tuned to the frequency of God.

If people who were hearing his voice understood what he really saying many would be offended.  I won't get into it here, but he is actually right.

I stayed for the whole thing.  Left when the formal mass began being held.

NOW you probably expect me to come down on this.  I won't.  I can't. You see, I have seen EXACTLY the same behavior from the right.  The mixture (Remember God isn't real big on mixture if you read the law) of politics and Church is a vile cocktail.  Both ways.

Here's where it goes wrong, no matter the philosophy, left or right.  It is in fact taking the name of the Lord in Vain.  I know MLK used the pulpit. I know James Kennedy used the pulpit.  I know that historically the pulpit has been a tool for political change.  There is a time and place but it's not what it seems.  We have been co-opted as a church from the mission we were given on earth.  The real cause.

Those people in the pew, left wing or right wing are led to believe a falsehood:

• Jesus is a Republican or Democrat
• Jesus cares about political outcomes
• Jesus is in the business of righting social wrongs thru political action
• I am a good christian because I support the political viewpoint that my Reverend supports (and preaches).
• I love God and I know my Reverend loves God and he is in favor of________ therefore I am too

In other words people are persuaded to a political viewpoint because of the leadership of the church, not because they are able to articulate and defend what the leaders is propounding.

Like Ezekial I must prophesy against this activity:

Ezekial 34:2-4 Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. 4"Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.…

The other problem is the sheep love to have their ears tickled.

Paul wrote this to Timothy at Ephesus:

2 Timothy 4:3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

This goes both ways. In the left leaning church the straw men are how oppressed everyone is, how unjust everything is, how inequality is the real problem, how people are victims and there needs to be political change.  People eat it up, the responsibility for personal life change is lifted from them and they wallow in a spiritual gutter victimized.

In the right leaning church, the straw men are some powerful forces that control everything, conspiracies, government is the enemy, if we could just get right leaders in place everything would be all right.  People eat that up because the future is where life will get better.  They believe that the nation is under a great judgement because of liberals.

I know this because I have been a proponent of these things.

My eyes were opened. I saw how vain this whole thing really is, vanity of effort that only keeps people in bondage and taking the name of the Lord in Vain.

Here's what I know for sure, God has few mandates that he is really serious about. He changes our heart of stone to a heart of flesh, and from there he expects us to be filled with the Spirit of God and respond in love.

Father knows best and that is nothing will change until peoples hearts are changed.

• Gangs and killing on the streets?  Not gun control, Heart Changes
• Babies born rampantly to single moms, not more welfare support, Heart Change
• People gaming the system to live well and not work.. not rules, Heart Change
• People taking advantage of others who need work and so they don't pay them .. not minimum wage, Heart Change
• People saying racist things about others, not hate law, Heart Change
• Corruption in government, not prosecution, Heart Change

We have to get away from the idea that religious political activism is the answer.. left or right and begin to focus on heart change. 

What I saw on Sunday Morning at St Sabina had nothing to do with heart change and even those who listened carefully to Cornel West didn't get what he was saying... hard hearts needing change walked away convinced he just reinforced what they already believed. He didn't.

When you know that you know and you really didn't want to know that much

I have always had some level of prophetic vision.  I didn't understand it. I don't claim anything.  It just has always been there.  Even when I was very young I remember instances where it manifested.

I think most people have some prophetic vision but it is often repressed by culture, peer pressure and educational bias as they grow older.

I remember the first time I was shocked with a vision.  I was 14 years old.  I was helping out at the store. A man and his two sons came in to get parts for a piece of farm machinery.  He was always a kind decent man.  I waited on him.  Got him what he wanted..  Then I looked at him and it was like looking at a corpse.  Vacant. Not there.  I didn't say anything.  I was 14.  He didn't seem unusually unhappy nor different.  Just a decent farmer.  I just knew inside that he was about to die.  The next day he went out to the field and hung himself by a piece of rope suspended from the auger of his combine.  It was horrid to think about and I felt so bad for his sons.

I never told anyone what I saw that day.  Not anyone till writing it now, here.  It is memorable because it was so clear.  Had I said to him (as I would today) to encourage him to look beyond his present pain (debt) and that life was worth living for himself, his boys and his wife and brothers, but I was 14 years old. 

That's why it's so hard to lay hands on someone today and have their whole world open up to my spiritual eyes.  Not always, but sometimes.  Then what to do?  When I see impending disaster, like a few days ago, I must say something.  It has demonstrated the importance of the Gift of the Prophetic vision in the lives of God's beloved. 

The same is true when God gives a vision of the future.  The response must be sharing it with people that need to know.  I try to put in print to help others get a grasp of what is about to happen. When I say about to happen,  there is no timetable.  It's never certain, just WHAT not WHEN.   That frustrates many..  but it's how the prophetic works.

There is a yet unfulfilled vision that was given me several years ago after Barack Obama was elected. I saw him no longer in office.. before his term was up.   The circumstances of his absence not seen.  Yet he was gone.  I know many would say that this is wishful thinking on my part since I have had disdain for the job he is doing as president.  Yet I know how divisive this would be in our country.  It's already become a huge issue dividing the nation right in half in response to what he is or has done.  Nothing happens in a vacuum and this will not. It is not in the best untruest of the USA for this to happen.  Believe me, we would have serious repercussions.

I reveal this vision because if it comes to pass, I am hopeful that those who might be affected will use restraint in response to this event.  I hope and PRAY that he completes his term and is retired quietly on January 20, 2017.  

Yet to deny the empty chair is to deny the reality of the vision.  If I saw rightly, God save us, if I didn't -- Pick up a stone and be the first to cast it. 

A Pill is not Bitter till you Swallow it - Truth is the Same

People think they want the truth.  In fact they will protest they want the truth. And as long as they just swish it around, not letting it sink in, it's OK. Sometimes it is even sweet to the taste.. UNTIL you must accept it, must change according to it, and begin to live life differently.

Then it becomes bitter.  This is true of people's world view. This is true of misconceptions.  This is true of cultural beliefs.  It's true of all things.  Entertaining something is fun (sweet), but when you are forced to internalize it can be a bitter taste, it's upsetting, it can be difficult.

Cognitive dissonance to a long held bias you confirm by all you see around you.  I am watching this happen in certain circles right now.  The scream and holler about injustice is not backed up by action to distance self from the unjust circumstance.

In that this passage is proven out once again:

 Revelation 10:8-11 Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again: “Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!” 10So I took the small scroll from the hand of the angel, and I ate it! It was sweet in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach.

11Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

 Truth can be a bitter pill once it is in the stomach.  It will require you to change your mindset.  To break out of a comfort zone matrix that you have lived in a long time.  It can be painful.

It can be a "Bitter Pill to Swallow"

Disappointed in God.. or what?

Friends of mine have gone thru some great disappointments.  Some are in people who have let them down.  They seem to be able to deal with those who don't seem to measure up.

The friends I know who are truly disappointed are those disappointed in GOD or so they think.

Here's a composite of these various friends I know.

At one time they were nominal good Christians.  Went to church.  Paid their tithes.  Heard sermons.  Didn't expect much because there wasn't much promised.

Then they were drawn into the deeper things.  Things of the supernatural.  Things of miracles. The prophetic.  Healing.  Deliverance. Density in God.

They began to hope in God. They had high hopes.  VERY HIGH HOPES.  Faith for these hopes.  Willing to do whatever it took.  Ready to trust God at all costs.

They believed for great things.  In some cases it was for healing from a chronic condition.  Sometimes it was for getting out of debt.  Sometimes it was for finding love.  Sometimes it was finding peace.  Sometimes to get life straightened out, Job, Friends and all.

Then the worst (best) thing that could happen DID.  They let themselves go all in.  Full on.  In all the glory.  No restraint.  They tasted all that God can manifest of himself that they could.  They fell in love.  They became enthralled. There was a spiritual rush that has been hard to forget and they become desperate for another.

Then.. life happens.  the healing doesn't happen just then, debt is still there, prosperity eludes, love avoids and they become discontent.  They begin to try to work things out with God.  Get that which is between them and HIM.  They aren't so much mad at God.. just disappointed.  The proverb says that Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  They become sick. at least spiritually.

They aren't evil bad or nasty... it's just that they have had such great times in the presence of the Lord they cannot imagine why or how things just seem to be delayed or not working out.

They have heard all the stories about how God loves to play hide and seek.  They seek Him.. and they find Him.. but things seem to be stuck.  It's their stuckness that frustrates and causes them to be disappointed.

I know enough of these people to know that this is not only normal, but often is the path to greater Glory still.  When we stop looking at our circumstances, not matter how hard that is, we can begin looking at HIM and who HE is in us. I won't try to offer a pathway or a solution.  There isn't one.

Here's what I know.  You have touched the Holy of Holies.  You have gone behind the veil.  You have tasted much of Who God is.  And now the world around you seems to be so hard to take.  Empty.  Colorless.  Without much meaning.  It's a really hard place.  You are stuck between the Fullness of Glory and this pale imitation on earth.

Sure there are moments of beauty.. but they fade.  You hunger for the real.  The transcendent.  I get that.

This is why traditional institutional religion doesn't allow for it's participants to go very deep into the things of God.  They shield them from the manifest wholeness.  Just giving them enough, but not too much, they know that if they get their hopes up people will become discouraged .. disappointed.

Playing it safe. and that becomes the real disappointment.

Here's what I know.  Find those places where you can immerse yourself in the places of Glory.  For me it is often a CD of a worship song.  One friend talked of Kevin Prosch Banner over me.  Often I find myself in that place with "Praise the Lord oh my Soul".  All 15 minutes of it, conch horns and all.  There is GOLD........

Sometimes I just get a glow of download from the throne.  Sometimes I don't.  When I am disappointed (and I am sometimes) I have to check myself, understand the battle isn't over and winning is the ultimate victory that waits.  I begin to see little victories and give thanks as they lead to bigger ones.  Thanksgiving in all things seems to be a key.

This is beyond a book or teaching.  This is a revelation that comes.  Going deep means you learn to tread water sometimes.

Of course you could try to just walk away.. but you won't.  You will soon find yourself drinking deep.   It's a welcome Spiritual addiction.  The cure is found in Him. The good news is, He knows all about your disappointment.  He's not upset about this in you.  He's not teaching you something.  It's just not yet, not now, not until the other things are in place. He is indeed working out all things for your good.  You love Him, and YOU certainly are called.  He will.

Lay back and bask in that.  It's where He wants you to be... right now.

Raised from the Dead? Some are impossible in the flesh.. or are they?

Like many the last few days have watched in revulsion the pictures and video of the beheading of 21 brothers in Christ.  Some of whom cried "Help Me Jesus" as they were decapitated.

Jesus sent out the 12 and told them to,"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!"  Matthew 10:8

We know episodes of people raised from the dead.  Some from scripture. Some from modern accounts.  Jesus still raises the dead upon our command in faith and authority.

Yet when a man's head is separated from his body.. that seems to be outside the limits of that potential.  Sure, I suppose some hyper something person might say, Jesus can do anything.. and he can.. but this is a bridge too far.

Perhaps that's why the accounts of those so beheaded beneath the altar in Revelation is so poignant.

Perhaps that's why it's particularly horrific.  There is no potential physical return from the dead like Lazarus.  IF you have been pentecostal for very long, when a loved one has died, you want to go to the funeral home and command that carcass to live again.

There are credible stories as was published from St Louis recently where a boy 14 was dead for nearly an hour and in response to faith and declaration the boy came back to life.

Those are inspiring but you won't find many people that have faith to believe raising from the dead for one who was so brutally beheaded.

What does that say then about the resurrection?   I am criticized by some "theologians" for my understanding of the the resurrected body.  I'm not much on depending upon creeds for my theology.  I only have the word of God to lean on. 

So here's what I know for sure.

• When we are absent from the Body we are present with the Lord.
• When we are resurrected we will have a body JUST LIKE JESUS.
• We don't so much die as step from time into eternity.. our eternal life was sealed with Jesus when we entered into a living relationship with him.
• We will be raised up on the last day.. what is the last day?  It is not the proverbial last days idea.  It is a LAST DAY.  I will have a last day, you will have a last day.  Every man has a last day.  We are raised up on the last day according to scripture.  Some to glory. some to shame.  
• Then what of the resurrection of this mortal body, this flesh, this carcass, this meat suit?  If read my Bible right, Jesus was raised bodily.  He had flesh, ate, drank, yet walked thru walls, appeared disappeared, was instantly recognizable, and then at other times was unable to be recognized.  Then as he appears to John in Revelation he looks very different indeed.  Still in all we will be like him.  Glorified body. Yes flesh.. but is it flesh?   Or is it something much more transcendent.  Does the Flesh put on spirit or does the spirit in resurrection put on flesh?

Tradition teaches that somehow God will accumulate particles from the earth and reconstruct all of the resurrection from that event.  It's why so much preparation goes into preserving the Body in a tomb or grave for the resurrection.

That is tradition and even though it seems to be comforting as we stand around the grave of those who die, that somehow their body will be raised up later.  That is where the whole rapture idea comes from in my opinion.

Yet, if we can get a clear understanding of this key passage without the distorted lens of religion things become clear,

1 Corinthians 15:52 "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.…" 

The trumpet does sound. A last trump.  We are changed.  It's quick.  Our flesh is imperishable, immortal.  Death is swallowed up in victory.

This is not a future event, it's NOW.  You know that when you have made a visitation and you look in the casket at the empty shell of a person you knew, particularly a christian, you know they are not there... they are gone, Risen.

Just as Jesus ..  Why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, He is RISEN as he Said."

We shall be like him in death, present with him.  Immortal. Risen but not yet on earth.  Glorified in body.. but flesh is subordinate to eternal spirit.

When I saw the horror of the video, as those brothers were killed, the reality hit... they are gone, not there any more, the despicable act to making a show of the empty shell placing the head on the back.. they are not there, they are risen, just as HE said they would be. 

See the Comments below for more on this painting.  Thank you Lara. 

I don't know why God keeps unveiling all this to me.  I didn't sign up for this.  But the body of Christ at this time in history must get a better understanding about the complete victory over sin and death paid at the cross.. and when I look at our traditions and creeds.. we are missing a few key truths.

Ponder this and ask yourself what is real and what is tradition.  Truth will set you free... 

There is no "Used To Be" in the kingdom of God.

I met a man who told me he used to be an evangelist. One of the five fold. I didn't respond other than courteously. Then I took that "Used To Be" test and applied it across the board. Can a person say, "I used to be an Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist? What does used to look like. Does that mean that somehow you changed your DNA, your spiritual gender? If you were once truly a Pastor, you will be when you die, you will be one in Heaven, if you choose to go to hell, you will be a Pastor in hell. Once you are ordained by God to be whatever He called you to do He does not repent of that call and you can't not be any more.

I am asked from time to time what Church I am a prophet in. There are some like Crusaders who accept prophets like me. There are many who do not. That doesn't mean I am any less of a prophet if I am not received. Jesus was the Christ as He walked the earth, He couldn't and wouldn't repent of that identity. Even if they "Received him not". He could never say, "I used to be the Christ".

Just because you don't stand with a mic in your hand before a large group of people doesn't make you NOT an Evangelist. Just because you aren't leading a fellowship doesn't make you NOT a pastor. Just because you aren't articulating the word of God doesn't make you NOT a teacher. Just because you haven't planted a church recently or released ministry gifts or have not yet carried out the vision God gave you doesn't mean you aren't an Apostle any more.

You are what you are and that's what you will be positionally. Pastors pastor. Teachers Teach, Prophets Prophesy, Evangelists Evangelize and Apostles GO. They just do. It's who they are. If you wake them up at 3AM in the morning, they will default to who they are.

If you have a call of God on your life and you know it (don't clap your hands or stomp your feet) just live it out. Daily. Be the gift God filled you with. That can happen at the gas station. That can happen in the supermarket. That may happen at the doctors office. Anywhere. Anytime. You be, and the opportunity will provide itself. You don't need a building, acceptance, station or paid installation to carry out your mandate. A racehorse will race. You are called to run that race till you finish it.

So go, be, do, and don't worry about those stuck in traditions that try to hold you down. Your call is without repentance. You can't not be. There is no "Used to Be" in the Kingdom"

Present Truth Kingdom Living When ALL is NOW

We all know that when we enter Heaven everything will be now.

We all know that when we came into Jesus Life and inherited Eternal Life it was the beginning of our now life in Christ.

We all know our past sins are forgiven.  We know that our sins are forgiven.  We know our future sins are forgiven.  Not that we should so sin boldly but that we must walk in all that has been provided.

If we live in Present Truth we therefore will not concentrate on the past.  We will learn from it and appropriate present truth from it. 

If we live in Present Truth we will therefore not focus on some future thing.. some unkept promise.  Some sweet bye and bye.  I'm not addressing the coming of Jesus, that's not what I am trying to talk about, what I am saying is that when we focus on something coming someday soon we are missing tt truth, the present truth of the Kingdom of God.

So when you hear of blood moons, harbingers, antichrist, rapture, tribulation, mark of the beast, and all the other things that will happen in the future, they are not about present truth.

When you hear people even talking about some future blessing they will receive.. it's not present truth.. Even if it is still in the future.

Jesus speaking during the sermon on the mount said this,

Matthew 6:33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

That is present truth.  So if next time I don't respond in fear or hope over the next great thing or the next harbinger, I prefer to live in the truth of NOW.. that is an eternal truth.  It's where Jesus lives.  And when Heaven touches Earth .. (as it is in heaven.. on earth) then we get a taste of that.

Let's live in NOW.. it's the mandate from Father.

The Fields are white -- we are bringing in the harvest using scythes and sheaves - not Combine Harvesters

One of the very large churches in our area is cutting back. Staff reduction.  This is a case of a beautiful building standing more empty than first planned.  It's a trend that is becoming clear everywhere, Church no longer works as it once did as a vehicle for bringing in the harvest.

I remember when they built it.  On a main road. Lots of parking.  Comfy seats. Lots of room to grow.  In the path of progress.  IF you were to define the ideal situation you would consider this church strategic.

I have never been to one of their services.  Many who have gone that I know there have high opinions of the quality of the music, the programs, the preaching and the people.  It's the ideal church. Therefore I was surprised when I heard that things there were on the downtrend.

I have been asking the Lord about this.  I have been writing on the issue for quite a while, the importance of doing the things that the Lord instructed us to do.  The stuff.  I believe in part that is the Lord's mandate.  Yet doing what the Lord says to do is different that we thought.

Early this morning in thinking about all this, (VERY EARLY), I heard the Lord say, "The harvesters don't understand the harvest field".  

Coming from an agricultural background the imagery was clear.  I could see someone trying to harvest flax with a corn picker.  Someone trying to harvest tomatoes with a potato digger.
The picture that came clear to mind was the difference between the way we used to do it and the way it's done today.

You know that this is how it was done at the turn of the century in those harvest fields.  It was work but it was wonderful in our memory.

Today's method should be different but we are still using what we used a hundred years ago.  Technology and culture has changed.  We now live in a time when people are drawn to Jesus is by demonstration not preaching or programs.


 Those who refuse to see this will find themselves on the outside looking in, singing "We shall go rejoicing bringing in the Sheaves".  Just like the picture.
 

 Today's approach for reaching the generation of people in America today is as dated as the difference between these two pictures.

  The harvest field is in large part a crop called Millennials.  The church is not getting them into the fold.  They are going to waste.  Weather, pests, crows and loss to rot as the head hits the ground is taking the toll while those of us from another generation wonder why.

The challenge is we Baby Boomers used to own the world.  We were the big dogs. We dominated the demographic.  Those born 1945-1966.  Huge numbers of us.  Now getting older. Our average age is 60. 

The greatest generation is dying off. We are next.  We are beginning to disappear.  There are a few smaller generations behind us, but those who were born from 1977 - 1995 now surpass us in dominance.  25% of people in the USA are millennials, 24% are Boomers. There is a generation coming behind them that is almost as large.  Those born from 1995- to Now.  Another 24%  That's why children's ministry is so essential.  But that's not what I am addressing here.  I am addressing a lost generation of people we are not reaching.

The harvest field is ripe.  Very ripe.  They are not going to come to us.  It's not who they are.  They are unlike former generations and if we don't begin to go to them they will never hear.  They will be lost forever because we didn't preach the Gospel to them.  Paul traveled to Athens.  They weren't coming to Tarsus.  We send missionaries all around he world.  WHY?  To reach the lost.

Yet we fail to reach those a mile away because we do not approach them where they are.  I'm not talking about Geographic.  I'm talking about emotionally, mentally and technically.  We don't speak their language.

Research tells us much about this generation. IF you have a heart for the lost you MUST begin to see where they are so you can be there to reach them.  This doesn't mean hanging out in Starbucks, they aren't there as much as you might think.

There is a comprehensive study by Nielsen company a year ago on the profile of this huge generation.  You can find the full transcript on line by googling  Millennials: Breaking the Myths - Nielsen.  You will get a full download PDF that you can read.

A short summary is also here.   Read it

Here are a some takeaways that I got from reading all this thru the eyes of the Spirit of God:

• These are conservative people with their money, but they are liberal with social issues, more libertarian than liberal.  Gay rights are OK but spending money foolishly is not.  Conclusion, we won't win them by hammering issues that matter so much to you or me like Gay Marriage, Abortion, Fornication, Porn or any of the other things that in the past seemed so important.  They just aren't there.  First their heart must be changed and then, the social issues will resolve themselves.  The apostle Paul going to Rome was going to a place filled will every form of Debauchery .. yet people were converted.
• 
  
• They either live with mom and dad or in apartments in the city.  The idea of the suburban house with the picket fence as there are near the failing church I mentioned is not on their radar.
• 
  
• They are getting married, but much later.  They are compassionate, willing to take care of their parents.  These are good people who care about things we boomers didn't.  
• 
  
• They believe in myths.  Theories.  Natural cures.  Not vaccinating.  They tend to be a bit less discerning than they should be.  They bought into global warming without a question.  They can be deceived easily.
• 
  
• They were big supporters of the democrats in 2008.  Somewhat less than 2012. Much less in 2014 and are drifting into becoming conservatives.  As people get older they often more and more conservative and these are.  They have soured on President Obama who they supported big time.  They lack discernment.
• 
  
• They don't gather together much except electronically.  The number one application on their computer or phone is Facebook.  Conversations and connections are conducted there.  They will come to a special event, but they are not easily committed to membership.
• 
  
• While they have had a tough time financially, they are really on the upswing fast.  They are quickly becoming wealthy.  They are good workers.  Effective entrepreneurs.
• 
  
• The demographic has racial components.  Whites still dominate but Hispanics are close behind.  Asians are a fast growing part.  African Americans are on the decline and will soon become a lesser minority behind Asians and Hispanics.  The generation that might have made it work was aborted.  This will change a lot of things in reaching this generation.  
• 
  
• These are people who care about technology and use it well.  IF we don't do the same we will miss them.
• 
  
• They do things that boomers don't get at all. They like to cover their body with tattoos. Don't make a big deal of it.  They see things differently from you.
• 
  
• They’re influenced by celebrity endorsements and respond more favorably to advertising that features celebrities, relatable characters or strong visual elements tied to their expressive, creative nature. They are particularly receptive to endorsements by music artists they like.  So while I might not buy Lecrae's music, they do and that's good.
• 
  
• They are givers. They don't have much money but they are very supportive of causes they believe in. They will not have to be persuaded to be generous when they have something to give.  They are not materialistic.
• 
  
• Millennials are conscious of their health and care about programs that help them manage their well-being and make healthier choices. Some Millennials face health challenges like smoking and obesity. A third of Millennials are classified as obese, which is slightly below the national
  average. 28 percent smoke cigarettes, which is 7 percent higher than the national average. Yet, Millennials indicate that they’re interested in help to make healthier choices, including interest in programs like massage therapy (69%), health assessments (22%), weight management (59%), lifestyle (58%), food delivery (32%), smoking cessation (29%) and health assessments (22%) to help them lead a healthier lifestyle.  IF they are interested in well being, perhaps if someone could pray for them to live better it might help.
• 
  
• Most live paycheck to paycheck.  They are not interested in making huge amounts of money but if they could learn to live in the Provision of God they would buy into the idea.
• 
  
• Millennials care about social issues. While they may not yet be writing big checks to charities, philanthropy is important to this generation– they love crowd-sourcing their philanthropy. They are most likely to spend more on products from companies that invest in social betterment, making them receptive to cause marketing.   When young David asked, IS THERE NOT A CAUSE when facing Goliath, he spoke as a true millennial.  What is your cause church?  They are ready to engage if you can articulate.
•  

Look around you church pastor.  If the average age in your congregation is 25 years old, you are getting it done.  Keep it up.

On the other hand, if your average age is about 40-60 you are about to go thru some hard times.

If you have a robust well populated Sunday school and teen program then you are on the right track. If that's not a priority your ministry will die.

I care about the church.  I know that many people no longer attend but love Jesus.  They now have their own ministry.  Into all the world as you go ministry. They aren't coming back.

I hate to see well intentioned pastors and leaders spinning their wheels trying to reach a smaller and smaller generations when there are so many hungry souls out there.

God is not glorified when a once vital building dedicated to His purposes is converted to a townhouse, shopping center or nightclub.  

Let's harvest smarter, not harder.

Losing my (Bad) Religion

God's original intent was that all men should be able to hear His voice.  That they could say what God says.  That they would all prophesy.  That they would know in their hearts what the Spirit says.

Yet, bad religion has taken advantage of man's desire to NOT hear from God directly.  It's not new.

The time when God tried but the people didn't want to hear from him:

Exodus 20

¹⁸ When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

¹⁹ And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”
²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

 IF you read this chapter and the ones following you will see the outline of the laws of Moses.  The ones that the Pharisees added to.  The ones that were used to create a religious system that God had to destroy in 72 AD.  The One Jesus laid an AXE to it's root.  

We still have this today.  People are unwilling to learn to hear from God so they go to a church with a priest or a pastor or an apostle and yes a prophet to hear what God is saying.  All the while He is constantly speaking to them.  They are there confessing sins but not hearing his voice.

There is a cooperation with this human weakness by the clergy.  Job security exists because people remain intentionally deaf dumb and blind to the truth so they gather to have someone tell them things they should or shouldn't do. They take it unfiltered. Untested.  Unquestioned.  

Just as the Jews did in the first century.  If the Pharisees said it, that settled it.  Bad Religion.

You don't NEED a priest to forgive your sins,  that is already done.  You must receive the forgiveness freely given.  But because religion is what it is, we put man between us and God.

Anything that is Jesus PLUS is bad religion.  When a church or a denomination tells you that you NEED to come to them for certain things, that's Bad Religion and centered on Clergy Job Security issues .. nothing else.

I think it's time to lose our bad religion.

Doing the STUFF is the REAL soul winning commanded by Jesus

We don't do soul winning Jesus way. IF there were a WWJD he wouldn't do it like we do in the western church.  More important he didn't and he doesn't expect us to

It's important to get this right and it is a case of context. This passage is usually interpreted as Soul Winning.. but is it? We do NOT understand this passage and therefore interpret it badly...

Matthew 9:27-38

Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.
32 As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

When you read the whole of the text in context, if we look to Jesus as example, what is it that the Lord of the Harvest expects his workers to be engaged in when they are sent out INTO HIS Harvest? This is NOT about soul winning. It's about something else.  When I hear the words "Soul Winning" I hear an appeal to bring your neighbors to become members of the church. Empire building.

Is that what Jesus was doing in this context?

Jesus admonition to the 72 was to:

Matthew 10:7-9 And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9"Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,…

Jesus never commissioned anybody to preach without also commissioning them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead in the same breath.

I believe much of what we see today in our western expression of Christianity is simply preaching to draw a crowd, get them to make some sort of commitment for salvation that leads them to commit to the church the preacher is shepherd over.  There then is formed a link that says to stay saved you need to keep coming back. 

Yet if we look at the passage, there doesn't appear to be any emphasis on soul winning as an end unto itself, but on ministering to people in ways they need ministry and the soul winning is a natural outcome. I am more and more convinced that OVERT soul winning that we see so much is not what the author of our souls intended.

We have this backwards. We spend so much of our time getting people to repent that we fail to do the things that cause them to come to repentance.

A prophetic word, a word of knowledge, healing ministry, working of miracles, supernatural faith, Discernment of demonic oppression and those demons cast out, Tongues and the interpretations of tongues - those offered to people oppressed of the devil who are in need of a breakthrough will result in souls coming to Christ.  1 Corinthians 14 speaks of how this works.  V 24-25 flesh it out:
24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all,25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
But even that is a misnomer in a soft way. Christ comes to us by Holy Spirit. We are wooed and won by His love towards us and we begin to fall in line with his purposes in us.  We become like Him.

It is His compassion on all that sets us on a course of wholeness in HIM. ONLY ONE verse in the Bible says anything about Soul Winning. Proverbs 11:30 and it has more to say about living in front of others in a righteous manner that wins souls than it does the overt things we do to make it happen.

I know this is controversial, but we are so busy trying to build our churches under the guise of soul winning that we no longer do the stuff that Jesus commanded us to do.

As Keith Green once sang, "You just keep doing your best and I'll take care of the rest".  He does.  Be bold and just do the stuff.  Souls won for Jesus will be automatic.

All Dressed up and No Place to Go

I was on the phone with an old friend of mine. Not age, long time. 

We were part of the Church in Fargo long ago when Pastor Dan was alive.

He had been an elder and in Sr Leadership for a long time there.  I love this man.  We talked for over an hour about the things of God.  It was magnificent. 

He no longer attends church. He's not angry.  He's not upset.  He just can't find a place to do what he is equipped to do.  For decades leadership helped him develop in the ministry of the Prophetic, Healing, Prayer, Intercession, Preaching, Faith for Miracles, Discernment, Casting out Demons (I could tell tales) and operating in fullness.

He is the kind of man a pastor SHOULD desire to be part of the team.  He is equipped for battle.  Fully clothed and no place to go.  What makes it worse is if he were part of the team he would be able to facilitate much.  His tithe would be well over $30,000 per year. He makes that kind of money.

So he works with troubled teens, He ministers to his neighbors.  His tithe money goes to ministries, none of them the local church.  He has not darkened a church door for months.

He was an integral part of that church locally.  The Sr pastor left.  A new guy came in. He went all seeker friendly. No more Prophetic utterance (yes it is a charismatic fellowship).    No more ministry for healing.  No more marriage restoration ministry.  That pastor now has 3 songs, preaches, collects the offering and sends them on their way.

My friend has been shut out.  He is expected to come plop pray and pay.  That's it.  So he doesn't come to that church any more.

I told him that I felt bad for him because I can be part of a glory time every week at Crusaders.  He did go to Florida for a couple weeks and was part of Rodney Howard Browne's meetings.  He also was at a camp meeting south of Tampa.  He is so hungry for the glory of God.

Would such a man be welcome in your church or would he be too scary?  I have been told by more than one pastor that I would scare the hell of them if I decided to attend their church.  They need the HELL scared out of them.  But I will defer.  I will go where I am celebrated. I will go where the equipping of 4 decades of living for Jesus can make a difference.  I refuse to Plop Pray and Pay.

So will my friend.  I am not alone.  Neither is he. I have a good friend who lives not 2 miles from me.  He owns a chain of stores in the Chicagoland area.  It is very profitable.  His tithe might be $50,000 if he were in a church.  BUT because he no longer attends church because there is no place for him to do what he was equipped to do, he stays away and ministers where he can find a place.

Long ago my Friend John Garfield told me something that helped me a great deal, He said, "Don't try to make your ministry fit into a church.  Your ministry is too big for any church".  I think that's a crime.  He's right you know.  There aren't any churches any more that can take a fully equipped (clothed) saint of God and use them effectively. The model doesn't allow for it.  Churches have lost their way.

I think this was inevitable.  Good men and women of God faithful to the house of the Lord learning to do all that the call of God on their lives is and then saying.. "what now?".  Churches in the USA don't know how to harness the horses all around them so their gifts, talents and yes money is lost to them.

I don't believe Father is pleased that those He invested so much in are set aside on the sidelines to founder.  

So to those who find themselves like my friends here, get out of the box.  Your ministry is too big for the church that can't accept you.  Go ye into all the world, you will make disciples, bigger than any church and they will expand the kingdom.  Religion in the west for the most part has rejected God's gifts.  It's like getting gifts under the tree at Christmas and refusing to open them.  The giver won't be pleased.

He isn't. 

What they must do

God's vision for his church was never that 30 people would gather once per week in a huge debt free edifice with stained glass windows and a $3,000,000 Legacy Fund established by those who had died and left money to the church.

They remember when. They wonder why there is no hope for revival.

There are hundreds of these places in northern Illinois. Monuments to past greatness.

They are asking the Lord "what must we do to be saved".. They are talking about the impending death of their fellowship. Jesus says sell all you have and give to the poor. They hang their head turn and walk away sad because they have great wealth. So even though Jesus still loves them, he will let them die.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST AND WHY IT RAISED A FIRESTORM! - Lance Wallnau

First off, I am not one of those Christians with a visceral disliking of the President. I believe we can't "pray FOR rulers" and talk AGAINST them. That being said, when the President steps out of his office into commentary on faith at a prayer gathering he engages a different kind of conversation...and response.

ENTER the President at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday. In case you missed it, after criticizing ISIS, the president said: "And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place — remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ."

HERE is where the President went off the rails but most people missed it.

For 6 years of his presidency, he has forcefully tried to separate Islam from what terrorists who claim that faith do, in the name of it.

YESTERDAY he associated these atrocities with Christian history, sighting the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition.

This is often thrown in the face of Christians, so lets clarify the matter.

As Bishop E.W. Jackson said last night on FOX NEWS in response to the President: “I would remind the president that the Crusades began in 1096 as a response to Islamic aggression, and the fact this they had conquered the Holy Land and they were oppressing eastern Christians. And there was a response to that, so if the president is even gonna cite that as an example, then he ought to get his history complete.”

Obama didn't stop with comparing today's jihadis to Christian sins of 800 to 1,000 years ago. He spoke about Jim Crow laws. True, there were Christians in the South fighting to defend the abominable institution of slavery and they resisted Lincoln's post war Reconstruction. But there were Christian abolitionists in the North who agitated the nation into war. And there was Christian Wilberforce who eradicated it in England. Christianity is histories most civilizing agent. Should THAT not be the point a Christian makes on an occasion such as this?

By reminding us of what happened 900 years ago or with Jim Crow the President is arguing that we should not “get on our high horse” (to use his language) and judge harshly the growing up process of Islam as it evolves. Because of that history, the president said, Christians especially should be humble in assuming they have all the answers or a direct line to divine revelation.

Man. Talk about edifying the brothers at a national prayer gathering. If you were a guest hearing this (as many world leaders were) would you be inspired by the Presidents take on the role of the Gospel in shaping the progress of mankind?

The WEEK had this to say: "Churchill, in summoning the British people during the existential threat of World War II, didn't dwell on their faults — in fact, he talked about defending "Christendom" and western civilization. As Joe Scarborough said today, Obama's comments are "the equivalent of FDR, when giving a speech against Nazi Germany, going, 'Now, of course, what we did to the Indians...really bad....so we really have no room to talk about what Hitler is doing."

So the President linked the misdeeds of Christianity past with the misdeeds of Islam today.
By linking the two faiths the President is undoing the White House argument that extremists are not Islamic at all, but a terror group using the name of Islam. They are in his opinion a great deal like Christians...and Christians because of their history should be the last to judge.

See the problem? Forget theology. Does this President see the militant threat for what it is? No. He sees Islam in transition.

He does not understand the issue.

The equating of radical Islam to Christianity growing up is an error.

This isn't a right wing / left wing editorial response. Its a moment of clarity into how this President sees the worlds single greatest threat in a nuclear age. Praying his successor is less Neville Chamberlin and more Churchillian.

To be fair to my President he did say this: "Our job is not to ask that God respond to OUR NOTION OF TRUTH -- our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments.... And that means we have to speak up against those who would misuse His name to justify oppression, or violence, or hatred with that fierce certainty. No God condones terror. No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives, or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number."

Thats a good speech ending - but not entirely true. This president DOES act on his "notion of truth" and has advanced it in the Gay agenda and policy toward not arming Jordan, removing troops when they were needed in Iraq to keep ISIS from coming into existence and his attitude toward working with Israel right now. He manages our 18 trillion dollar deficit based on his notion of truth.

Its "his notion" that is problematic.

May God give him great wisdom as he sets the stage for the next act of American history, and may we find a leader who actually has a notion of what is on the mind of Christ.

- Lance Wallnau

Christianity has the Presence of Holy Spirit.. Islam has something else

I am disturbed prophetically by an attempt to equate Islamic Fundamentailst Violence as is demonsttrated on the earth to things that happened during the dark ages hundreds of years ago.

Not to deny these things happened is not the point, it's just not equal to current events.

Christianity in it's expressions on the earth today when yeilded to the Spirit of God is being embraced by millions.  It wins the ideological and spiritual battle for the hearts, minds and souls of man.  That much is certain.  Jesus IS Lord.

Yet to have a national leader try to draw equality between Islamic Radicalism today and ancient Christianity is insane.  Religion is a killer, that much is certain.  The Spirit of God is full of Life and sets people free to live. There is no equality.

There is something wrong when we are asked to consider how bad we were, when we aren't.  We seem to not allowed to consider how bad they are, when they are today.  Today's evil is enough for today.  Don't go back and dig up bones, not of past evil religion, not of past enslavement of people, not of past atrocities.. those are gone.  Don't borrow from what if.. tomorrow will have enough of it's own.

Today is what matters... there is evil on the earth. Good is overcoming evil.  YET in the face of evil good men and women will die to destroy the  manifestations of demons. 

Have no fellowship with such.  To draw equality is to have fellowship and that is the sign of a misleader.

Gimme the Book

I used to work at a parts counter as a kid in an implement store.  I wasn't very quick.  We had lots of big parts books that we used to help find parts.  This was before computers.  Sometimes when I was clumsy in finding a part for a customer, or when I couldn't grasp what the exploded diagram meant the customer in frustration would say, "Gimme the book".  I would hand it to him and in a minute or two he would find what he needed.  I would get it for him and out the door he would go.

SOMETIMES when I hear certain people preach, or write, or publish, I want to scream, GIMMIE THE BOOK.  It is astounding how many so called teachers and preachers can so distort what the Book says, so miss the point, so misunderstand, not comprehend and expect church members to just accept what they say.

It's not unlike when sometimes well meaning I would cipher what the parts book said and give the customer the wrong part. They would go home, try to use it and either bring it back or throw it away.  I didn't make friends for the shop doing that.

It's time to get things right, learn to use the book better.  There is a world dying out there and we are bumbling along not even grasping the most elemental truths.  Milk not meat diets will kill a person.  We need to get real to reach the world.

The Glory of God will cover the earth like a Blizzard

We are shelterd in our little house while a snowy blizzard blows outside.  It's not the first time and unless we move to Miami, it won't be the last.

As I gazed out on a covered landscape of snow I got an impressing from the Lord.  That's what prophets do, they see Jesus in everything. 

The passage from Numbers 18:21 came to mine:  "truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD".  

I thought about how the Glory and a blizzard are very much alike.

• When they fall, things that looked dirty and without life suddenly are anointed with freshness.  
• If things are exposed, they will change, turn white and look better.
• The wind moves blows where it will and some things that were not out in the open are suddenly affected.
• As long as conditions are right, the snow and glory will remain.
• The result of the snow and glory are to promote growth.
• There is protection in the snow and in the glory for small things that are vulnerable in the open.
• The glory and the blizzard will cause you to set aside time to consider things.

I don't mean this to be super profound, I hunger for the Glory of God.. no matter the cost.  Probably not for a blizzard.  Yet for a person who is NOT ready, not open, not willing to cooperate a blizzard and the Glory are seen as impositions.  

IF you haven't read 2 Samuel 22 for a while, in the NLT there is this powerful passage as he David gave thanks for his rescue from Saul:

“Then the earth quaked and trembled.
    The foundations of the heavens shook;
    they quaked because of his anger.
⁹ Smoke poured from his nostrils;
    fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
    Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
¹⁰ He opened the heavens and came down;
    dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
¹¹ Mounted on a mighty angelic being,^[b] he flew,
    soaring^[c] on the wings of the wind.
¹² He shrouded himself in darkness,
    veiling his approach with dense rain clouds.
¹³ A great brightness shone around him,
    and burning coals^[d] blazed forth.
¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
¹⁵ He shot arrows and scattered his enemies;
    his lightning flashed, and they were confused.
¹⁶ Then at the command of the Lord,
    at the blast of his breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
    and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.

After a mighty storm or a huge wave of God's Glory.. it's just like David Describes.  If you don't fall down.. you missed it.

Lord Let Your Glory Fall!!