Is is right for someone while in a high political office to use that position to make or to enable financial deals that benefit themselves or their family?
Is it right for that person or group of people to make foreign policy decisions which result in them or their family having a direct financial benefit?
In 2011 Vice President Joe Biden took an official trip to China accompanied by his son. Hunter Biden had just formed an investment group in partnership with Secretary of State John Kerry's son-in-law and the son of famous mobster Whitey Bolger. Shortly afterwards the Chinese government funneled a deal worth 1.8 billion dollars to that new investment group. There was of course a quid quo pro which allowed Chinese investment for a 51% ownership in a company that produces goods for our military.
Hunter Biden was later put on the board of an Ukrainian oil company with Russian mob connections that paid his firm 3 million dollars. When that oil company came under investigation by Ukrainian officials Vice President Joe Biden flew to the Ukraine and threatened to pull a billion dollars of U.S. aid if they didn't fire the people engaged in that probe.
If you are actually interested in reading about the depth of corruption check out the articles below.
Here is a May 1st John Solomon's article in The Hill about the Bidens and Ukraine.
Here is a Zero Hedge article from last month on the same subject.
And here is a recent John Bolden article in The Hill on the Bidens and China.
Vice President Biden will have a lot of other stuff to worry about as we race toward the elections of 2020, but don't underestimate the importance of these.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Sunday, April 28, 2019
The High Places
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)
Yesterday while reading on-line a prophetic word, an image popped into my mind. It was only there for for a brief second but I knew right away what it represented and also what its meaning was.
The person had mentioned what has been commonly referred to as "the seven mountains of influence". The idea, first purposed in the 1970's by Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham (Campus Crusade for Christ) is that the enemy is trying to shape our society and culture by inserting his twisted ideas into and then dominating areas that affect each and every life.
These areas have been identified as - Family, Church, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment and Business.
You have to be spiritually blind not to notice or at least suspect that the enemy has taken a lot of territory during your life time over each of those areas. The family and even the definition of what family is has taken a serious hit. Many churches are now nothing more than social organizations with a 501c tax exemption, afraid to boldly speak out against sexual immorality, abortion and many other types of sin. Schools get more liberal each day. The vast majority of professors at colleges and universities, even at many Christian schools, lean not only liberal in their viewpoints but Marxist as well. Free speech and open discourse has given way to shouting down and safe spaces.
Time does not permit me to innumerate further on corruption in government, the extreme liberal bias of the press or the values presented every waking second electronically, across the air waves and in theaters. The regression in those areas in just the last decade has been breathtaking. Is there good in any of these? Yes, very much so. Are there more pitfalls appearing every day designed to ensnare you and me? You better believe it.
All of this combined makes one think that we as a country are on a sure path to judgment. The opposition to God's will seems too vast, too interwoven, too far gone for anyone or any group to change even a little. Compromise comes little by little, step by step and our views become with each step down not to radically change things but rather to hold on to what little we can. We almost seem resigned to form together in little groups and then watch while the world burns. We want to have hope for the future but we also earnestly pray - Come quickly Lord Jesus!
In the last decade there have arisen intercessory groups who are in constant prayer for our nation (and other nations as well) who specifically target those spheres of societal influence. People like Lou Engle, Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce come to mind, traveling to every U.S. state, training and organizing intercessors, holding large city wide conferences, speaking boldly the Word of God to tear down enemy strongholds.
I believe God is saying to us today that He is not yet through with America. He desires to have before He returns a great harvest of souls. And for that purpose He desires to reverse, for a season (I do not know how long that season will be) much of what the enemy has been accomplishing over the last several decades. I am also sensing that it is God's will not to just stem the tide and hold back the waters of rebellion but that He wants those areas of rebellion defeated, destroyed and annihilated.
This of course will not initially be pretty. It will be a battle, albeit one with the supernatural help of God on our side. There will be great opposition with each victory and many things will not look the way they did before, including our churches. Those who are lukewarm will need to make decisions and many will not choose wisely.
The prophecy I read talked about speaking out against ruling powers in high places over the seven mountains of influence. As I read it I saw a picture of a part of a town. There was a large and very black scaffold like structure erected from the ground that rose up and over the city. All the beams looked charcoal black, like they were made of wood that had survived a fire.
It was only there for a flash but I knew that it represented the spiritual high places over each area of influence. I think we, each as God directs us, are called to be intercessors to come against ruling spirits in the high places, to declare those spirits to be bound and for God to release His angels to defeat and remove those foul creatures. Our authority as followers of Christ has been granted us through the shed blood of Jesus.
Let us not remain discouraged but rather go forth boldly in the name of Jesus to rebuke and bind the works and lies of the evil one. We have won! They have lost! We have won! They have lost! We have won! May it all be for the glory of God.
Below is a poem I wrote about this.
In High Places
It was a type of scaffolding
tall, black, burnt out looking posts
connected by more of the same, dark, ugly beams
interspersed throughout an ordinary looking town
They overshadowed pleasant homes, busy businesses
neighborhood schools, eating places, entertainment venues
radio stations, churches, parks and the old city hall
those occupants seemingly unaware of the structure
On top dark shadows contrasted against blue sky
in constant motion, side to side, up and down
their forms like rancid smoke from burning tires
some descending into lungs of those below
I despaired when first noticing this horrendous edifice
was shocked as it continued to grow wider and higher
when I yelled warning the people went about their business
traffic continued to flow smoothly on path and road
One unexpected Spring, after many years of anxious prayer
the air stilled, temperature dropped, snow fell straight down
everything covered with thick layers of white
a voice boomed from side to side across the valley
Vibrations from the sound frightened darting wisps
as platforms shook they tumbled down and scurried away
then one after another, those platforms came crashing down
crushing into dust much of what was built below
From midst of the haze came forth a new song
drowning out weeping and gnashing of teeth
mountains sent strong winds to freshen the air
latter rains from which sprung forth new gathering places
Watchmen with authority were placed round and about
to teach and declare, to warn and to sweep away the rubble
gardens full of fresh flowers and delicious fruits were planted
then shared in celebration with every neighbor
Thus it continued for several more years
barns and storage houses were filled and then dispersed
when troubles began all high places were clear
and remained so until the last sound of a trumpet
Yesterday while reading on-line a prophetic word, an image popped into my mind. It was only there for for a brief second but I knew right away what it represented and also what its meaning was.
The person had mentioned what has been commonly referred to as "the seven mountains of influence". The idea, first purposed in the 1970's by Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham (Campus Crusade for Christ) is that the enemy is trying to shape our society and culture by inserting his twisted ideas into and then dominating areas that affect each and every life.
These areas have been identified as - Family, Church, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment and Business.
You have to be spiritually blind not to notice or at least suspect that the enemy has taken a lot of territory during your life time over each of those areas. The family and even the definition of what family is has taken a serious hit. Many churches are now nothing more than social organizations with a 501c tax exemption, afraid to boldly speak out against sexual immorality, abortion and many other types of sin. Schools get more liberal each day. The vast majority of professors at colleges and universities, even at many Christian schools, lean not only liberal in their viewpoints but Marxist as well. Free speech and open discourse has given way to shouting down and safe spaces.
Time does not permit me to innumerate further on corruption in government, the extreme liberal bias of the press or the values presented every waking second electronically, across the air waves and in theaters. The regression in those areas in just the last decade has been breathtaking. Is there good in any of these? Yes, very much so. Are there more pitfalls appearing every day designed to ensnare you and me? You better believe it.
All of this combined makes one think that we as a country are on a sure path to judgment. The opposition to God's will seems too vast, too interwoven, too far gone for anyone or any group to change even a little. Compromise comes little by little, step by step and our views become with each step down not to radically change things but rather to hold on to what little we can. We almost seem resigned to form together in little groups and then watch while the world burns. We want to have hope for the future but we also earnestly pray - Come quickly Lord Jesus!
In the last decade there have arisen intercessory groups who are in constant prayer for our nation (and other nations as well) who specifically target those spheres of societal influence. People like Lou Engle, Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce come to mind, traveling to every U.S. state, training and organizing intercessors, holding large city wide conferences, speaking boldly the Word of God to tear down enemy strongholds.
I believe God is saying to us today that He is not yet through with America. He desires to have before He returns a great harvest of souls. And for that purpose He desires to reverse, for a season (I do not know how long that season will be) much of what the enemy has been accomplishing over the last several decades. I am also sensing that it is God's will not to just stem the tide and hold back the waters of rebellion but that He wants those areas of rebellion defeated, destroyed and annihilated.
This of course will not initially be pretty. It will be a battle, albeit one with the supernatural help of God on our side. There will be great opposition with each victory and many things will not look the way they did before, including our churches. Those who are lukewarm will need to make decisions and many will not choose wisely.
The prophecy I read talked about speaking out against ruling powers in high places over the seven mountains of influence. As I read it I saw a picture of a part of a town. There was a large and very black scaffold like structure erected from the ground that rose up and over the city. All the beams looked charcoal black, like they were made of wood that had survived a fire.
It was only there for a flash but I knew that it represented the spiritual high places over each area of influence. I think we, each as God directs us, are called to be intercessors to come against ruling spirits in the high places, to declare those spirits to be bound and for God to release His angels to defeat and remove those foul creatures. Our authority as followers of Christ has been granted us through the shed blood of Jesus.
Let us not remain discouraged but rather go forth boldly in the name of Jesus to rebuke and bind the works and lies of the evil one. We have won! They have lost! We have won! They have lost! We have won! May it all be for the glory of God.
Below is a poem I wrote about this.
In High Places
It was a type of scaffolding
tall, black, burnt out looking posts
connected by more of the same, dark, ugly beams
interspersed throughout an ordinary looking town
They overshadowed pleasant homes, busy businesses
neighborhood schools, eating places, entertainment venues
radio stations, churches, parks and the old city hall
those occupants seemingly unaware of the structure
On top dark shadows contrasted against blue sky
in constant motion, side to side, up and down
their forms like rancid smoke from burning tires
some descending into lungs of those below
I despaired when first noticing this horrendous edifice
was shocked as it continued to grow wider and higher
when I yelled warning the people went about their business
traffic continued to flow smoothly on path and road
One unexpected Spring, after many years of anxious prayer
the air stilled, temperature dropped, snow fell straight down
everything covered with thick layers of white
a voice boomed from side to side across the valley
Vibrations from the sound frightened darting wisps
as platforms shook they tumbled down and scurried away
then one after another, those platforms came crashing down
crushing into dust much of what was built below
From midst of the haze came forth a new song
drowning out weeping and gnashing of teeth
mountains sent strong winds to freshen the air
latter rains from which sprung forth new gathering places
Watchmen with authority were placed round and about
to teach and declare, to warn and to sweep away the rubble
gardens full of fresh flowers and delicious fruits were planted
then shared in celebration with every neighbor
Thus it continued for several more years
barns and storage houses were filled and then dispersed
when troubles began all high places were clear
and remained so until the last sound of a trumpet
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Using The Spiritual Authority God Has Given You
One of the earliest statements of the Charismatic Renewal, to address the fear that being filled with the Holy Spirit will somehow make us do things we don't want to do, is that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He does not force Himself on anyone. He will not make you do anything you don't want to do. He is not going to send you to be a missionary in Africa if that is not your desire.
The Holy Spirit does not give us a new personality. What He does do is make who we are a better who we are. He changes our desires. He gives us a greater hunger to be more Christlike and to experience more of the presence of God. We stop engaging in the same old patterns of sin, not because of law but because it now grieves us to do so. We start worshiping more (like throughout the day) because it gives us joy and that's just what happens. Reading the Bible (although always a discipline) becomes fun because the words seem to jump off the page and they now speak to the deepest parts of our being.
So it should be no surprise that if you have a sense of humor then you will find out that God does as well. In fact He LOVES to demonstrate (if you watch for it) just how awesome He is in ways that just make you shake your head.
Let me give you three examples. The third is my teaching for today.
When my youngest daughter Becky was going to college in Milwaukee we would talk a lot about spiritual things via email, phone or when she came home. One Spring Becky was at our house in the woods and she quoted a Scripture verse by giving me the initial few important words and then indicated there was more to the verse by ending with "blah, blah, blah". Teasing her I replied: "Becky, are you blah blahing God!" "Don't worry Dad", Becky said, "Gods got a sense of humor and He always gets me back."
A little later we are going out for a walk and as we begin she notices yellow dandelions in our yard and says something like - 'those sure must be a pain in the rear'. We get about a half mile in and up ahead of us is an old couple. As we approach the old man wanders to the edge of the woods, leans over and picks something, then walks over to Becky with a nice bouquet of dandelions. Smiling he says; "Here, I picked these just for you". Becky looks at me, I look at her, she shakes her head and says; "What did I tell you?"
I watched a video by Dutch Sheets today. Dutch is one of the main leaders in the intercessory prayer ministry movement for our country. He was giving examples showing that we are now entering a major move of God in our land. In one of those he told about being at the end of a church service he spoke at and they were going to have a free will offering for the speaker. People started coming to the front to place their offering in a box. There was one young girl who he had noticed during the worship time and she came forward with a plastic baggie filled with change, only she didn't place it in the box. Instead she went directly to him and gave him the bag.
Dutch thought that was very sweet, thanked her, said there was about five dollars in the bag that she must have been saving up and was quite touched by it. The next week comes, different church, different person, but someone gives him a baggie filled with change. Now this starts to get his attention. In 35 years of ministry there are the first two times he has been given a bag of change. The same thing happens two more times in the next two weeks.
This starts to drive Dutch Sheets crazy. This must be God, there must be some meaning to it but he can't figure it out. One night he is praying about it and finally it just pops in his brain. He said it was like God saying - Is it that hard to figure out? Change is coming.
A week ago I have a dream just before its time to get up for the day. I thought it was pretty funny so I told Jackie and then shared it on Facebook. Then I get a few comments. One friend agreed with me and thought it was really funny. But another asks, have I thought about any possible interpretations? And yet another asks, is this like a public prophetic word given that you don't provide an interpretation for?
Well, think I, I do have a book on Christian dream interpretation so I might as well check it out, pray a bit, and see if the dream goes anywhere beyond funny. So here is the dream followed by what I believe God actually was teaching me through it.
I am in a back yard somewhere which is filled with people sitting around a bunch of round tables. President Trump comes forward from a table in the back and meets me up front where we are going to play a game. There is a white wall about 20 feet in front of us and the object of the game is to take a metal folding chair and toss it with one hand toward the wall, trying to stick the chair on the wall. If the chair sticks in a scoring area you get a point. The President throws first, sticks his chair, but it is low of a scoring position. I toss mine and it sticks in a scoring position.
On his next toss the President sticks his chair, but it lands high, half in a scoring position and half out. From the top of the chair come forth a bouquet of flowers. I stick my next toss in a scoring position. We each throw a couple more, some stick, some don't and we are down to the last round and I am ahead. However there is a man on the top of the wall and he jiggles the wall which causes the President's high toss to go lower into scoring position.
Trump gives the guy a nasty look then tosses his last chair wide of the wall so as not to take advantage of what happened. I tell him that it wasn't a problem and insist he take another toss. So President Trump makes someone get out of their chair, takes the chair and whips it hard against the wall, trying to knock one or two of mine off. The chair misses my chairs, bounces hard off the wall and comes back at us. Trump is in front of me. He jumps, I jump, the chair flies under our feet and passes between the tables. We look at each other and both smile like - that was close. Then I hear a beep, beep, beep which sounds like a garbage truck on a road next to us. The beep, beep happens to be my alarm clock and I wake up.
Symbols in dreams usually have several meanings. The meaning I am providing here are what struck a cord with me. When I checked them out it became quite clear that there was a definite theme and story to the dream that I believe God was showing me. I believe that the teaching here was for me personally but that there certainly are aspects that apply to all believers.
According to the book a yard is a place where I have authority. A chair is a position of authority. The right arm (with which I tossed the chair) indicates an area that I have authority over. Do you notice a theme here? Tables and chairs indicates a place I receive teaching from. Persons in a dream can represent the actual person but usually represent something else. Usually in a dream the President represents God, which makes sense here.
So the theme is that God is teaching me (or you) by the game that we were playing how to use spiritual authority in the areas that have been assigned to us. An interesting meaning for wall is that it represents faithful people joined as a barrier to evil. God's first toss against the wall was low. Low represents humility or being humbled. We should exert the authority God has given us from a position of humility. God's next toss was partly high and flowers came out of the chair. Flowers represent blessings or gifts and high means toward God.
This of course is one of the most basic principles of all. Whenever exercising any of the spiritual gifts, or using spiritual authority for that matter, we need to keep our eyes on Him. If shaking or resistance comes and we took away it's like the chair being tossed wide. Wide means the way of the world. The gifts and blessing decline and the authority doesn't stick. Shaking can also represent the removal of things that need to be removed which is the purpose for using spiritual authority.
God was showing me by the chair ricocheted off the wall that there will at times be great resistance when using our spiritual authority. He was in front of me, when He jumped I jumped, the chair missed us and we both smiled. We should expect a blow back at times but God will always be there with us as our protection. We should expect it but not worry. It's just part of the game.
Pray about the areas where God has or will give you the authority to combat the things of the world, flesh and the devil. If you are a believer and have yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit in your life you have that authority. Change is coming. I believe we are entering an age where we will be like Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2: 4-5;
my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstrations of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God.
The Holy Spirit does not give us a new personality. What He does do is make who we are a better who we are. He changes our desires. He gives us a greater hunger to be more Christlike and to experience more of the presence of God. We stop engaging in the same old patterns of sin, not because of law but because it now grieves us to do so. We start worshiping more (like throughout the day) because it gives us joy and that's just what happens. Reading the Bible (although always a discipline) becomes fun because the words seem to jump off the page and they now speak to the deepest parts of our being.
So it should be no surprise that if you have a sense of humor then you will find out that God does as well. In fact He LOVES to demonstrate (if you watch for it) just how awesome He is in ways that just make you shake your head.
Let me give you three examples. The third is my teaching for today.
When my youngest daughter Becky was going to college in Milwaukee we would talk a lot about spiritual things via email, phone or when she came home. One Spring Becky was at our house in the woods and she quoted a Scripture verse by giving me the initial few important words and then indicated there was more to the verse by ending with "blah, blah, blah". Teasing her I replied: "Becky, are you blah blahing God!" "Don't worry Dad", Becky said, "Gods got a sense of humor and He always gets me back."
A little later we are going out for a walk and as we begin she notices yellow dandelions in our yard and says something like - 'those sure must be a pain in the rear'. We get about a half mile in and up ahead of us is an old couple. As we approach the old man wanders to the edge of the woods, leans over and picks something, then walks over to Becky with a nice bouquet of dandelions. Smiling he says; "Here, I picked these just for you". Becky looks at me, I look at her, she shakes her head and says; "What did I tell you?"
I watched a video by Dutch Sheets today. Dutch is one of the main leaders in the intercessory prayer ministry movement for our country. He was giving examples showing that we are now entering a major move of God in our land. In one of those he told about being at the end of a church service he spoke at and they were going to have a free will offering for the speaker. People started coming to the front to place their offering in a box. There was one young girl who he had noticed during the worship time and she came forward with a plastic baggie filled with change, only she didn't place it in the box. Instead she went directly to him and gave him the bag.
Dutch thought that was very sweet, thanked her, said there was about five dollars in the bag that she must have been saving up and was quite touched by it. The next week comes, different church, different person, but someone gives him a baggie filled with change. Now this starts to get his attention. In 35 years of ministry there are the first two times he has been given a bag of change. The same thing happens two more times in the next two weeks.
This starts to drive Dutch Sheets crazy. This must be God, there must be some meaning to it but he can't figure it out. One night he is praying about it and finally it just pops in his brain. He said it was like God saying - Is it that hard to figure out? Change is coming.
A week ago I have a dream just before its time to get up for the day. I thought it was pretty funny so I told Jackie and then shared it on Facebook. Then I get a few comments. One friend agreed with me and thought it was really funny. But another asks, have I thought about any possible interpretations? And yet another asks, is this like a public prophetic word given that you don't provide an interpretation for?
Well, think I, I do have a book on Christian dream interpretation so I might as well check it out, pray a bit, and see if the dream goes anywhere beyond funny. So here is the dream followed by what I believe God actually was teaching me through it.
I am in a back yard somewhere which is filled with people sitting around a bunch of round tables. President Trump comes forward from a table in the back and meets me up front where we are going to play a game. There is a white wall about 20 feet in front of us and the object of the game is to take a metal folding chair and toss it with one hand toward the wall, trying to stick the chair on the wall. If the chair sticks in a scoring area you get a point. The President throws first, sticks his chair, but it is low of a scoring position. I toss mine and it sticks in a scoring position.
On his next toss the President sticks his chair, but it lands high, half in a scoring position and half out. From the top of the chair come forth a bouquet of flowers. I stick my next toss in a scoring position. We each throw a couple more, some stick, some don't and we are down to the last round and I am ahead. However there is a man on the top of the wall and he jiggles the wall which causes the President's high toss to go lower into scoring position.
Trump gives the guy a nasty look then tosses his last chair wide of the wall so as not to take advantage of what happened. I tell him that it wasn't a problem and insist he take another toss. So President Trump makes someone get out of their chair, takes the chair and whips it hard against the wall, trying to knock one or two of mine off. The chair misses my chairs, bounces hard off the wall and comes back at us. Trump is in front of me. He jumps, I jump, the chair flies under our feet and passes between the tables. We look at each other and both smile like - that was close. Then I hear a beep, beep, beep which sounds like a garbage truck on a road next to us. The beep, beep happens to be my alarm clock and I wake up.
Symbols in dreams usually have several meanings. The meaning I am providing here are what struck a cord with me. When I checked them out it became quite clear that there was a definite theme and story to the dream that I believe God was showing me. I believe that the teaching here was for me personally but that there certainly are aspects that apply to all believers.
According to the book a yard is a place where I have authority. A chair is a position of authority. The right arm (with which I tossed the chair) indicates an area that I have authority over. Do you notice a theme here? Tables and chairs indicates a place I receive teaching from. Persons in a dream can represent the actual person but usually represent something else. Usually in a dream the President represents God, which makes sense here.
So the theme is that God is teaching me (or you) by the game that we were playing how to use spiritual authority in the areas that have been assigned to us. An interesting meaning for wall is that it represents faithful people joined as a barrier to evil. God's first toss against the wall was low. Low represents humility or being humbled. We should exert the authority God has given us from a position of humility. God's next toss was partly high and flowers came out of the chair. Flowers represent blessings or gifts and high means toward God.
This of course is one of the most basic principles of all. Whenever exercising any of the spiritual gifts, or using spiritual authority for that matter, we need to keep our eyes on Him. If shaking or resistance comes and we took away it's like the chair being tossed wide. Wide means the way of the world. The gifts and blessing decline and the authority doesn't stick. Shaking can also represent the removal of things that need to be removed which is the purpose for using spiritual authority.
God was showing me by the chair ricocheted off the wall that there will at times be great resistance when using our spiritual authority. He was in front of me, when He jumped I jumped, the chair missed us and we both smiled. We should expect a blow back at times but God will always be there with us as our protection. We should expect it but not worry. It's just part of the game.
Pray about the areas where God has or will give you the authority to combat the things of the world, flesh and the devil. If you are a believer and have yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit in your life you have that authority. Change is coming. I believe we are entering an age where we will be like Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2: 4-5;
my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstrations of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God.
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