There Is An Uproar In The Land

In the midst of all of the uproar and craziness that has been going on in our country over the last two weeks, and the last two years (and for years before to be honest) I want to present to you some encouraging news. We must start though with a little theology to understand the context of what is happening now.

You need to know that this craziness is primarily a spiritual battle, being waged on levels by forces we do not see and have a hard time comprehending. This is affecting us personally, locally, regionally, nationally and globally. We have an enemy called the father of lies who oversees a legion of fallen angels and demonic forces and they have their tentacles into governments, education, institutions, media, entertainment, religious denominations and so on. The evil one has an overall goal, a detailed plan with a specific timeline and the resources to carry out his desires.

That said there are a few difficulties in his path. The first is that his ruling elite in the spirit world, creatures of pride themselves, compete against each other for power and territorial dominion. These forces will eventually unite when the evil one and his forces realize that their time is running out.

The second is that people have a free will. While they are often ignorant or rebellious of God's plan and thus cooperate with the plans of the first rebel, most are not will-less zombies utterly reliable to do his bidding.

Third, there are traditional institutions of government, faith and family which, even if not Christian, reflect God's will to one degree or another toward proper moral, ethical and societal behavior. Knowing that the enemy wants to corrupt those institutions might help you better understand the current attacks against faith, family and gender identity as well as why the atheistic political views of radical socialism  are now coming to the forefront in our country.

Fourth, the plans and agents of the enemy are tempered, opposed and even defeated by a believing Church which has been infilled by the Holy Spirit. The Church of Jesus Christ has been commissioned
to proclaim the good news of salvation to the ends of the Earth and has also been equipped to defeat the forces of darkness.

The war between the Church and the enemy has been going on for almost two thousand years and will continue, but this conflict will not last forever. Scripture says that at a specific point in time Jesus will return and rule as Divine King from Jerusalem for one thousand years.

When Jesus returns the evil one will be bound and the world will be a much better place. Even so there will be individuals and countries that will not accept His lordship. Near the end of the thousand years the enemy will be released for a short time to gather a coalition of rebels and countries which will march against Jesus and the holy city. They will be defeated and it is at that point that the evil one will be judged and forever removed from influence. There will then come a new Heavens and a new Earth and all rebellion will have been done away with.

However, just prior to Jesus coming back to rule there will be a period of time when God responds to the prayers of His Church and He will bring judgment upon peoples and lands of the Earth. This is not the normal type of historical tribulation that many have already gone through but rather is a one time period where evil spiritual forces of evil as well as God's angelic forces will be much more visible and God's judgments will be overwhelmingly devastating.

I personally believe Scripture indicates that because of God's purpose for doing this the Church, the dead first and then the living, will be removed from the scene before God's judgment begins. This is commonly known as the rapture.

Because the Holy Spirit, which resides in all believers, thus acting as a restrainer to the works of the evil one, is removed it will allow the evil one free reign to further his final plans. The time for him to do so is limited. Many will come to know Christ after the rapture and will thus have the same Holy Spirit but many of those will soon become martyrs, their prayers adding to the raptured saints prayers giving impetus to God's judgment.

So here we are in a period of time which is very near the end of the Church age. It has always seemed to me, although there are pockets of light here and there and many major moves of God currently happening in the nations, that morally things in the world are progressively getting darker and ever more under the control of the evil one. I could easily list dozens of examples.

I was looking for one last great revival to take place in the U.S. as well as world wide in order to bring in the full number of saints before Jesus returns in the clouds for His Church. I also thought that revival was most likely to take place when believers were under persecution as well as various other stresses.

But surprise, surprise, it seems God has stepped in to shake up absolutely everything in a way totally unexpected, and the demons are howling and using every dirty trick in their book to try to stop His plan.

After a long period of prayer and fasting I chose at the last moment to place my vote for Donald Trump. Frankly, before that he was at the bottom of my list. I did not believe his promises nor respect his moral history or like his name calling and bragging. However I now see that of all the Republican candidates Mr. Trump was the only person who could have made a dent in exposing the rampant deceit and corruption in government and elsewhere and is the only person who could have done what it seems God desires for our country. His election has been a true miracle and I believe that God is in ultimate control of what is happening today.

Here is what I am thinking and what I am hearing from some trusted and tested prophets (who predicted Trump's candidacy and eventual win).

Donald Trump was chosen by God to upset and wreck havoc on the plans and timeline of the evil one. He was chosen because of the spiritual history of his ancestors, his love for our country, his love for Israel, his hatred of all the insider dealings of the ruling elites in this country and worldwide, his ability to stand up to the media, his superior intellect and because he couldn't be bought.

God wanted a wrecking ball to expose and take down not only the deep seeded corruption (on both political sides) in government but also to expose and take down the enemies plans for an atheistic socialistic America. He wanted to financially bless America in the immediate years ahead. God also wanted to upset the plans of the world financial elites (many at the top who actually secretly worship the evil one) who were looking to create and then benefit from chaos in order to both enrich themselves and to form out of the recovery a global union which would benefit them. God has a plan to neutralize a bunch of countries hostile to us (like N. Korea, Iran and others), to bless other countries, and he chose Donald Trump to accomplish that.

These same prophets are saying they believe a major world wide Holy Spirit led revival is now beginning, that this year's November elections will prove to be a sweeping win for conservatives, that President Trump will win in a landslide in 2020, that President Trump will be able to place a few more justices on the Supreme Court and the next one placed will be a tremendous woman of influence (who will face even a more nasty confirmation battle). They think that there will be major shakeups in the media and other places of influence as well.

I have been praying for and believe that all of the insanity and bold face lies and secret and not so secret attempts to take down President Trump and now Judge Bret Kavanaugh will be exposed for what it truly is and will ultimately back fire.

May all evil secrets be exposed no matter where they are. May the Holy Spirit move in strength to renew hearts, to change minds and to heal all those afflicted. May God raise up a new generation who will honor Him and will be His hands and feet in the great harvest. May we all have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear. And may God give us righteous judges in the courts and righteous men and women at all levels of government who will seek first His will and not be corrupted by greed, power and the evil spirits who inhabit the halls of power.

Who knows, our Lord may decide to come for His Church tomorrow, and if so I say - Come Lord Jesus! Or these prophets may be right and we have been granted a season of renewal before things turn sour again. If so I say - Use me Lord Jesus! Either way I am praying for truth and justice to rise up and sweep over this land.         
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Across The Mediterranean

During WWII my father flew fighter planes that also carried bombs. His unit experienced 180% casualties. If new pilots survived after a couple of weeks their odds of survival went way up and veteran pilots would finally make an effort to get to know their names. The saying then was; "There are old pilots and bold pilots but no old bold pilots".

Dad crash landed five planes. One time his plane belly landed on the make shift air strip, skidded to the end of the runway which ended at a cliff, and then went over the cliff. He said he remembered climbing up the embankment, yelling "I'm OK, I'm OK" and then waking up on his cot with no idea how he got there.

The poem below is based on a story he wrote for The Catholic Digest. It tells the story of a mission that took him from his base in North Africa, crossing the Mediterranean Sea, to Italy. This ended up being the end of the war for him.


Across The Mediterranean 

How did it feel in that brisk chilly air
above rough and deep hazy seas
on way to a coast where enemy camped
between autumn's late season trees

Head on a swivel for incoming dots
a sharpened knife strapped to your side
thoughts of the service you're missing right now
to deliver bombs for a ride

Were senses composed when load was released
then heightened while turning to leave
as flack signed it's name and an oil line ceased
did you sense life leaving your steed

When altitude dropped to four hundred feet
with cockpit jammed open to fly
your chute took one swing fore hitting the waves
were worries this was sweet goodbye

Nylon entangled then dragged down below
quick slashing each strand with your blade
inflated Mae West to battle the deep
were you wake when rescue was made

They said your fingers were glued to a pole
twenty minutes to pry away
were prayers or keen steel or new wedded life
which carried your hopes through the day

In ravages war many stories told
brave people that traveled the sky
who wondered like Dad why hate had to rise
still left for his son to ask why

Going Back To School Prayer

Here is a prayer for all my clan
as they go back to school
may they be safe in every way
and keep the golden rule

Ensure in hearts Your sacred words
protection from all lies
reveal to them what things are true
and falsehood in disguise

Bless every day with fresh wisdom
bless every night with rest
reward their effort and their work
and lead them to the best