Friday, July 9, 2021

10 Things I Learned During a 2 Day Cruise Up and Down the Upper Mississippi River in Iowa

1. There are quite a few pelicans who spend their summers nesting on tiny sandy islands. They seem to fly in tight formations of 3 but hunt for fish in pairs. This looks pretty cool until your boat gets a little close to an island with a thousand of them and you get a whiff of their droppings.

2. We spotted over 50 bald eagles flying around or sitting on trees, but most impressive is how big a bald eagle's nest looks. Bald Eagles eat fish of course but they have also developed a taste for pelicans, picking off the ones who are still dozing after their buddies have flown off.

3. The Mississippi River has a sandy bottom and dredged sand can make for some very nice beaches.

4. If the sign on the river's edge or beach says "Danger, do not trespass" it is best to follow the rules because there are unexploded bombs or shells still left over from WWII training exercises buried there.

5. Dead Man's Head creek got its name when explorers went up it and found severed Indian heads on poles facing the water, apparently their warning to tribes from the other side saying "Danger, do not trespass".

6. Dead Man's Sluice, a wide body of water just off the river, got its name after an event that happened on Armistice Day. It was a 60 degree November afternoon when millions of migrating ducks and geese came in to land. Hundreds of hunters were waiting for them and had good luck until a historic low pressure system arrived. Temps dropped 40 degrees in one hour, heavy rains poured, winds picked up and it then started to blizzard. Some people made it back home but a couple of hundred people died as well as most of the birds.

7. On a more happy note the chicken we were served for lunch the day we heard that story was glazed with a very tasty huckleberry sauce.

8. The purpose for locks on the Mississippi is to be able to maintain a navigation channel of at least 9 feet deep. Without locks (and dredging) there were and would be dry summers where water levels would be so low that navigation for almost any sizable vessel would be impossible.

9. If you want to learn just about anything about riverboats or the Mississippi River you could do no worse than talking to 13 year old Miles, a true river geek who was seated the table next to us where we ate on the riverboat. It was his 3rd time on our boat, the River Twilight (this time accompanied by his grandma) but he tries to get on the river at least once a month for shorter trips. Miles goal is to get his pilot's license when he turns 19. Hopefully he will wear contacts by that time because he was helping with the mooring ropes on our trip through lock #13 and while doing so his arm bumped his glasses off into the water.

10. Old Older Amish from Northern Indiana don't drive cars after they get baptised into their religion, but they will let other people drive them around, either in cars or in luxury charter buses, one of which pulled into our riverboat's parking area just as we were pulling in. So, needless to say, when half the people on your boat are Amish, and you spend most of 2 days with them, you notice a few things.

A. Most of the Amish were couples who had been married 25 years and every 5 years there is some charter trip available for them to sign up for. It seemed they all knew each other. 

B. Most were dressed exactly as you would expect. The men wore dark homemade pants w/out belts, some had suspenders (isn't that really a vertical belt?), lighter solid color homemade shirts, and had bowl style haircuts on heads not covered by hats (it was 92 and sunny the first day out on the decks). The women all wore plain, solid color, homemade, ankle length polyester dresses that looked 2 sizes too big (with an apron the some color as their dress which they would flip us to fan themselves), and they each had the exact same new looking bright white bonnet with tie strings that no one tied. Most of the women liked to sit out in the sun and you could see that the prettier ones wanted to get a little more tanned, which meant pulling up their dress a bit but still below their knee and folding the fabric up on their arms about 2 inches. (Jackie told me a few times that because of the polyester "those ladies must be dying in this heat".

C. I asked a group what they would be doing that day if they were not on this cruise. The men all answered they'd be working on their farm and the women all agreed they would be - cleaning the house - cooking dinner - washing or working in the garden ("beans should be ready just about now").

D. Some of the Amish could tell really funny stories which kept them all entertained. One lady in particular would relate a story which would make everyone laugh and then her husband would add a one sentence comment and the group cracked up even louder. Jackie and I were usually the only "English" sitting with this group and the stories were lost on us because when they talked with themselves it was always in their German/Dutch with a bit of English sprinkled in. It seemed to me English was used for measurements, dates and times, but sometimes a punchline would be like "Can you believe it?".  Even though we had no way to know if we would believe it or not it was still a lot of fun for us to watch them have so much fun.

E. There was a bar on the third deck which made fruity drinks with crushed ice and booze. I didn't know until then if the Amish drink but now I know that a lot of those ladies really enjoy their fruity pleasures. Hey, maybe that's why they all laughed so hard.  

F. Fun aside, we noticed that a lot of the Amish have missing teeth and a lot of their women have deep worry lines on their faces. One lady had a big gouter on her neck. But like us they were all happy to have a few days without work and responsibilities to just relax. We enjoyed passing shorelines, wildlife on the waters and in the air, good food and a great crew. 

The Amish live a plain and simple life but it is also one of legalism and spiritual bondage, without an assurance of salvation. And salvation for them is not about having a relationship with the living God but rather following the law of being a good Amish. My heart is not concerned about people not wearing belts, using zippers or not having wedding rings. It does ache to think that although there can be laughter there is  not the joy of salvation and the intimacy with God that Jackie and I experience every day. 

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

The Coming Harvest

What has been birthed in prayer

revealed in dreams and visions

sent forth through decrees and declarations

is becoming ripe before our eyes

soon to be plucked and displayed

a woven basket full of wonders


Ripe shoots are emerging in Arizona

fertile ground rumbling in Georgia

harvests on the horizon in Michigan

Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada

more will have their day in the sun

and will quickly be gathered up


At the same time tares will be bundled

chopped and cast upon roaring flames

along with stumps and their rotted roots

plows will sink deep into dirt and muck

turning over and exposing fresh soil

ready to soak in torrents from heaven


Do you hear it California and Texas

are you ready Florida and East Coast

oh rugged mountains and bountiful plains

does your skin sense air pressure dropping

can your nose smell the sizzle of lightning

will your tongue rejoice at the harvest 










 

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

What Really Happened November 3rd and January 6th

Most people in the West have no idea that the spiritual world is just as real and just as complex as the physical world. They also do not realize that they are currently in the midst of a gigantic spiritual battle that plays itself out in the spiritual as well as the physical and political realms. They do not see or understand that there are fallen angels and evil demonic spirits who have as their leader a fallen angel (known by many names) and that these spirits are actively trying to influence all areas of human society. 

We can broadly define those areas as government, media, academia, finance and business, entertainment and the arts, the family and finally the church. The evil one, through the direction of spiritual principalities and powers in the high places, has through the years successfully placed people they influence through demonic spirits into the power structures of those institutions.

The evil one's modus operandi is always to deceive, kill, steal and destroy and to rebel against everything holy and pure which the Father has intended for this world. But the evil one will for a time elevate any who will give him worship and obedience. And there are many who knowingly do so. 

The evil one has a plan and a timeframe for that plan to form a world government that aligns with him in rebellion against the Father. Keep that in mind when you think of current events. It will help you to understand the broader overall picture of what is happening in particular in America and with the European Union, China and the Mid East as well as elsewhere in the world.

All this is of course not only to defy the Father but also to justify the evil one's rebellion against the Father. In doing so he seeks to corrupt everything the Father has made and to distort everything the Father has revealed. To do this the evil one casts illusions, making good and pure things appear bad while at the same time making evil things appear good.

Thus the evil one makes sin (what the Father in His love for us has pointed out and prohibited) look attractive and desirable. And in the end, when sin results in fear, emptiness, despair and sickness the evil one twist things around so that people will not recognize who it is that delights in those things. Many end up blaming God, who is the source of light, for the darkness.

He also desires governmental structures that control, limit and eventually eliminate Christian and Jewish faith with their freedom of worship, freedom of expression and their troublesome unbending moral codes. The main objective of the evil one and those that serve him is not simply wealth and power. It is all about having the ability to be in control. Wealth and power are just tools to accomplish control. 

You should be worried when you look around today and see that one political side owns the major media outlets and the major tech sources of information, creates and references the major fact checkers, and thus controls to a great extent whatever narrative that political side chooses, all aided and abetted by an army of PC trolls and the entertainment industry. The logical next step is to eliminate any sources of narrative that run contrary to what has been proclaimed as truth. That censorship has been well underway for many years but has gone nuclear since the last election.

This is indoctrination and it has been very effective. It is not just indoctrination to a political narrative but also to the belief system behind that narrative. Thus it becomes not just political indoctrination but also religious indoctrination. People today get so worked up and emotional when an idea contrary to the narrative is presented that they refuse to even consider it and sometimes they even attack those they disagree with.

Part of the reason that normally fair minded people succumb to deception is that they have been in a pattern of compromise, gradually accepting the breakdown of traditional boundaries laid down by the Father.   

The Father sets up boundaries for our safety and protection so that we can avoid sin and so we will not be oppressed by demonic spirits that gain legal rights through our sins. One of the things that happen when we are deceived and step outside those boundaries is that we invite the activity of demonic spirits into our lives, which then leads to being even more deceived. This is especially true with sexual sins, sexual perversions, and ANY involvement with things of the occult.

The Father has also set up boundaries to protect the lives and the purity of the young, the weak and the innocent and expects us as a society to do so as well. When as a society we fall short, or as politicians legislate against, or as individuals either condone or don't care, we invite the activity of demonic spirits into the affairs of our government and into the affairs of our society. To be clear, I'm not talking just about the horrors of abortion but also about what our children are exposed to through media or by other people.

When society becomes confused about gender identity and encourages our youth to do so as well, when we accept that God is OK with same sex marriages and come up with Bible proof texts to support it, when sex outside marriage in any form is considered OK, when explicit violence and horror and perversions are present in our movies and music and when the occult is presented as anything but the dark evil that it truly is, when the Christian foundations of our country are ignored, made fun of, scorned and reviled, you know that we as a society have and are being deceived and we have become spiritually blind to the schemes and the intents of the evil one. 

When a good intentioned person goes into government and in a weak moment takes that first little bribe or that first quid pro quo with a lobbyist, that sin has far bigger consequences than what that person can even imagine. They have entered into a realm which is not just personal and they have given legal right for higher evil spiritual powers in government to assign specific demonic spirits to oversee them. And they have begun to surrender the ability to legislate for the best needs of the people. They are caught in a sticky web that, whether they realize it or not, is draining them of any true integrity.

There is great and deep corruption throughout our government, from the elected officials that keep getting sent to Washington, to our State Houses. There is great and deep corruption in many areas of our intelligence organizations as well as in our justice system. There is great and deep corruption among the power elites in business and in finance who have secret agreements with those in government. The true insiders take care of themselves, watch out for themselves, and many go to the same parties and send their children to the same schools, no matter what party they get elected from.

Our society and all of our institutions are in need of revival, reformation and restoration. The evil one has had great success advancing his kingdom during this last century. Yet God is not unconcerned about the direction we are headed. He is not powerless to bring about change. He has not been uninvolved in establishing His kingdom here on earth and in America. The Father has his own plans, His own time frame, His own spiritual forces and He has millions in the physical world who have been storming the gates of Heaven to see the Father's kingdom come here as it is in Heaven.

In doing so the Father is of course free to choose what ever means He desires and what ever person or persons He desires. You don't have to like or approve the how or the whom that God uses but you should be very cautious and go before Him with sincere prayer and spiritual discernment before you are openly critical of those means or the people God chooses to accomplish them.

In 2008 Barack Obama was elected President. At the time he ran he had the most far left voting record of anyone in the US Senate, but he was attractive, a historic option as a person of color, and a smooth talker. And yet sure enough we got from him all the radical policies we should have expected. I personally believe he is an evil man with sinister connections, directed by evil spirits in high places, and that he is still the or one of the major players working behind the scenes in Washington and beyond.

I'll mention just two reasons why I believe that. First, when he was President I had a dream where I was in the White House and noticed hanging on one of the walls a fancy carved mirror frame that our family furniture company used to sell. I was disturbed because it didn't have any mirror glass in it and so I found President Obama standing alone and told him so. To me this meant that there was an invisible spirit that had dominance over the man. Second, in his official travels around the world, when he would visit famous shrines or temples in those countries he would ask to be left alone for awhile inside the most sacred parts of those buildings. It reminded me of what Alexander the Great used to do, wanting to get the special blessings and/or powers of those demonic spirits worshipped there.  

During his time he and his team had great success in bringing in their people into multiple layers of government. Many of them are still there.

In 2016 I believe the plan of the evil one was to continue his globalist agenda for America through Hillary Clinton. Clintons have a different power base than Obama and Hillary has a different strong evil spirit controlling her, but she was the chosen one. I think forces in the Democrat Party had rigged that election also but underestimated Trump's appeal and were shocked when they lost. 

From the day Trump got nominated and from the hour he was elected it became the game plan of the inner circle, with the full power of the media, big tech, social media and the entertainment industry behind them, to declare President Trump an illegal and false President. From then on they opposed everything he did, criticized everything he did, took out of context anything they could, put negative headlines on every article they wrote concerning him or his policies, and would in every way they could present him in a negative light. As I wrote above, this was an attempt to brainwash the public into thinking President Trump was a horrible person who would even praise Neo Nazis and who made fun of the handicapped (both false, but it shows you the power of propaganda). 

The power brokers devised a plan to ensure that they would not lose again in 2020. Again they were surprised because President Trump was so popular that the amount of votes that came in for him shattered their projections. This led them to make careless mistakes in how they cheated to overcome the difference. I assure you, the statistical evidence, both macro and micro, the eyeball evidence of Trump support verses Biden support, the logical arguments of a dozen different metrics, all support a landslide Trump reelection. And that's before we add in all the sworn eyewitness accounts of bald face cheating and abuse of election laws. In time it will be made manifest for all to see.

Why do the insiders from both parties hate President Trump with a passion? There are several main reasons and they have very little to do with his past life or his personality.

The first is that God chose Donald J. Trump for such a time as this to clean out corruption in Washington, of which the leaders in both parties are knee deep. God chose Trump to break away from the globalist plans for America that the evil one was so close to finalizing, of which leaders from both sides were part of. God chose Trump so that America would be a strong ally of Israel and a strong opponent of abortion, two highly spiritual principles which the evil one especially hates. God chose Trump to be a champion of religious liberty both at home and abroad, a threat to those whose true allegiance lie elsewhere. God chose Trump to loosen the control of government over the lives of the American people, something a ruling class never wants to see. God did not pick who we would have picked, but he did chose someone who would have the fortitude to take the gloves off, stand on principle and fight back against the opposition for the benefit of the American people. 

This is a spiritual battle and the ruling class are on the wrong side. That is why they oppose and hate President Trump. I can picture evil spirits sitting on shoulders of the ruling elite digging in their sharp claws at every mention of his name. That is why they have tried to destroy him and have ignored the rule of law in their attempt to do so. That is why they have to try and silence and vilify anyone who supports President Trump, who questions the fairness of the elections or the wisdom of their radical policies.

Which brings us to the events of January 6. Let me tell you what I know. There were over a million people who came to Washington for January 5 and January 6 to support President Trump. Half of them were Christians who came with their families and who believed, as I do, that common sense clearly showed that President Trump won in a landslide and that the election was stolen. They did not come to be violent. They came to legally and lawfully express their support for President Trump and to express their free speech rights. 

They knew that January 6th was the day that electors would be presented and there was hope that Vice President Pence would kick the decision back to the 7 states that had the most obvious examples of cheating  for a 10 day audit, which he had the legal option to do. The process for that was clear to everyone in advance. Each state that had objections would have a Senator and a Representative come forward to object. There then would be a two hour debate for each contesting state on the merits of the objection. Every Trump supported wanted this debate to be public so that the objections from each state could get pass the media cover up and every Trump supporter wanted the 10 day audit for the same reason.

One thing should become absolutely clear right here. If there was a disturbance to the process, who would it benefit? Certainly not President Trump or his supporters.

I watched President Trump's speech. It was a typical Trump speech I had watched a dozen times befoe, only a little bit more subdued. At the end of his speech he listed some of the voting problems and welcomed the people to "peacefully and lawfully" head over to the Capitol. He did nothing in my opinion to incite the crowd who had been standing in the freezing cold for several hours. Any suggestion otherwise is false and a fabrication of the media and the insiders that control them. His speech, which was scheduled to start at 11am, actually started closer to noon and ended at 1:11pm.

I have heard quite a few ministers who were there on January 5 and 6 share what they saw and experienced via video. People were happy, singing songs, praying and glad to be there. They and the people around them were all appalled when they got to the Capitol to see what was happening. Charlie Shamp was at Black Lives Matter Square on the evening of January 5. He and his team have in the past gone to places like CHAZ in Seattle to minister to the people there, most of whom were demonized. They always get many wonderful healings, deliverances and salvations when they do so. That night in Washington he was surprised because he only saw a couple of Antifa people there, when normally they are a major presence. He was told by one he talked to that they were all at a (planning) meeting at that time (he was also told by the same guy that the regulars get paid $24 an hour while the leaders get $38 an hour).

Something you should know about Antifa and a few other radical groups like them. Someone is paying for their transportation. Someone is paying for their presence. They usually wear black body armor, have helmets and have developed a communications system to use on site and cameras to record everything they do. They get transported to places that are or are suspected to have riots and they work by mingling into the crowds, working up the crowds into a frenzy, supplying the crowds with materials to riot with (such as dropping off pallets of bricks near commercial districts). Last summer's riots produced over 2 billion worth of damage, saw many killed and saw 600 police injured. A lot of it can be attributed to what these professional agitators do. The goal of anarchists is to break down societal structures so that a Marxist society can replace them.

The people who get arrested do not stay in jail long thanks to their bail being provided by groups who received donations to do so. Kamala Harris proudly admits that she donates to those bail groups.

Before January 6th the FBI and Capitol Police had multiple warnings that something was planned against the Capitol building. In spite of that and in spite of the presence of the full Congress and the Vice President, and in spite of the fact that there would be hundreds of thousands of people coming to the Capitol building that day there was nothing extra done, as they have often done in the past when large crowds are present, to better secure the perimeter and to beef up Capitol security forces. Capitol security forces answer directly to Speaker Pelosi and she refused to authorize additional help prior to the event, even after they specifically requested it.

There were crowds at the Capitol building before President Trump's speech ended. Some of them were the ministers I mentioned. Trump's speech ended at 1:11pm, it is a mile walk to get to the Capitol, and the intrusion into the Capitol building began before his speech even ended. The claim that Trump's speech "incited" the Capitol intrusion and violence is simply a narrative by all those who hate President Trump but cannot be the truth, given the timing of the intrusion and the testimony by the FBI and the Capitol police that the Capitol intrusion was pre-planned. 

Video evidence shows that the people who pulled down the barriers, who scaled the walls to break the windows, who were seen encouraging people to rush into the Capitol building, have been clearly identified as known Antifa and other known anarchist groups. Many of them were wearing MAGA gear on the outside over their black body armor. Did regular Trump supporters enter the Capitol building in the excitement. Sure. Would they have if the path was not provided for them. Most likely not.

When what was happening become known, according to Mark Medows, the President's chief advisor,  President Trump offered 3 times to send in additional forces to end the violence. Each time he was refused. He spoke twice on TV for there to be an end to the violence.

Who died? One Trump supporter was outside talking on his cell phone to his wife when he had a heart attack. One Trump supporter died while outside, of a stroke in the excitement. One unarmed female Trump supporter was inside the Capitol and was shot by a so far unnamed Capitol police officer while climbing through an interior window. One Capitol police officer died. It was at first reported by all the media that he had been hit in the head by a fire extinguser, but that was never confirmed. There is a report he died instead after the excitement was over of a stroke. Either way it and the other deaths are tragic. But his death, by having him lie in state in the Capitol as optics to the hatred of all things Trump, has become political theater, designed to further the narrative that Trump is dangerous, that Trump followers are dangerous and basically that all Conservative ideas are dangerous.

I believe both Pelosi and McConnell knew what was going to happen. I would not go past saying they might have even known who was ultimately behind it. They have certainly used it fully to their advantage. This was to be the death of Trump's political presence and the first step in the next phase of silencing Conservative thought and expression. Today we have a Washington surrounded by razor wire and guarded by 10's of thousands of troops. That is what happens when tyrants get into power.

Back to the plans of the Father. Donald Trump won and will be restored to power. Joseph Biden lost and will suffer the fate of those who are usurpers. The creatures of the swamp have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. The earth will shake. A great wind will blow. Just as God told me when I saw a hawk fly past me with a cardinal in its claws, justice will come quickly. God has let everything play out to show where each one's loyalties are. People will betray others in order to save themselves and many will die or go to jail. The eyes of many will be opened and American will pull itself away from the plans of the evil one and enter a new era. How long that lasts I do not know. There will still be more spiritual battles, even after justice is served, but many more will be equipped to help fight it.

And the best news: A Great Awakening has already begun and the power of God will manifest itself more powerfully than ever before. Many millions will come to know Jesus in the days and years ahead and many other countries will also be revived, renewed and restored, some which have only seen the Gospel before in a limited way.

Through it all this will truly be for the sons and daughters of God, the best time to be alive. Praise the Lord!   


 

 


   



 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

The Writing Is On The Wall

There were a couple of verses that stood out to me two days ago as I was reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. Chapter 50 begins with the editor's note - "Prophecies Against Babylon".  In context we understand that Babylon had recently conquered the nation of Judah, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and had brought most of the inhabitants who were still alive back to Babylon. By doing so they were carrying out God's judgment against the nation of Judah because she had abandoned God, did not obey His precepts and were worshiping other gods.

But we also understand that in the Book of Revelation Babylon represents a world system that is opposed to God. It ultimately becomes the one world government, controlled by the evil one, who seeks to destroy, not only Israel, but also the Church in his effort to prevent the physical return and rule of Jesus over the nations from Jerusalem.

I sense the following verses can also apply to what is happening today. We are at a unique juncture in world history where if the United States goes one way we are heading into a time frame that will quickly lead to the tribulation (and the rapture of the Church) or if we go the other way we may have perhaps a hundred blessed years unlike the world has ever seen.

I had thought for a long time that control of government over our lives was expanding so fast and overall morality and the influence of the Church was descending so quickly into paganism that judgment and tribulation were right at our doorstep. But over the last several years I have come to realize that God has other plans and other time frames which will trump those of the evil one. His plans include a world wide harvest of souls, the ending of legal abortion and the reformation of government, justice, education, media and other institutions.

I believe, although as I write today it does not look like it, that God's plans and timing are going to come to pass and that He is now going to begin judging all the lies and deeds done in darkness by the evil one and those that are influenced my him. Time will soon show if these verses apply to 2021.

I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon, while you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord. (50:24)

Flee from the midst of Babylon, and each of you save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, for this is the Lord's time of vengeance; He is going to render recompense to her. (51:6)