The Irony And Incongruity Of It All

                It is generally perceived by evangelicals that since America was once good....and since the Trump Party is trying to restore that goodness....that God's blessing upon America at this time.....economically and domestically in general and in its national security....is directly related to the success of this Trump administration. The irony and the incongruity here....is that the very Trump administration that they are trying to sustain and empower....is intent on making the poor and the disadvantaged fend for themselves....in order to increase the coffers of the treasury....so that more military might can be produced....in order to conquer more oil fields....and develop more resort areas....for even more profits....and all of this done as opulence is celebrated throughout the White House and now imperial environs of what was once the people's city.

DISPATCHES

Another Prayer Abomination....On February 13....after watching this year's National Prayer Breakfast....I titled a post....National Prayer Abomination.....and I just now finished watching the Easter Prayer Luncheon....which is yet another abomination. Franklin Graham looked physically frail....and that surprised me....as he compared Donald Trump to Esther. Robert Jeffress was also there on the stage....applauding the words of a genuine biblical false prophet and pastor to our presdient.....Paula White. There are a number of once faithful ministers whose ministries were damaged....to one degree or another....because they let the wolf in the sheepfold. These dais events are usually all the same...as Paula White calls forward one minister after another to give his or her prayer....and they pull out their piece of paper to read....or put away their piece of paper after rereading it....for their moment in the sun....but without the Son. Robert Jeffress and Franklin Graham need our prayers....good men....just taken in because they did not remain vigilant.

Trump made a joke about French President Macron's wife....and he got a laugh....at the above....Easter Prayer Luncheon.

The White House put the video of Trump at the....luncheon....on the web.....then they figured out some of the things that he said....and they took the video down right away....but it was too late....for other sources had already posted it....and you can easily Google it and view it....and take note of how at one point Trump said that the federal government cannot give money for things like daycare....and Medicaid.....and Medicare.

I think that the tide is definitely turning in all of America....and more and more people are starting to see who Trump really is....and how heartless he is....the problem is that has been purging everyone and everything that is not vetted and certified as rubber stamp....never question anything.....just obey. He is grabbing firm control of all of the agencies that were established to protect the constitution.

It's not things she did....but things she did not do....Trump fired his Attorney General.....before his abbreviated primetime rally speech about the war. That should show what was on his mind. In the morning....of the day she was fired.....in answer to a question about Bondi....Trump said that she was a wonderful person doing a good job. Those of us who know Trump don't even blink at things like that because we know that there is absolutely no possible way that he can even define what truth is. Trump's faithful Pit Bull trial lawyer will be the temporary AG. Whatever they say....whatever Bondi did....it is things that she did not do that got her fired. So Noem is gone....who should never have been there in the first place....and now Bondi....who will be according to Trump....transitioning to another important job....and Tulsi is said to be in the hot seat.

Hegseth fired another top general today.....the purges have been going on consistently. This firing....or rather forced retirement....is related to the general having a different opinion....but is relayed to us as just not being in line with Trump's beliefs. The following paragraph and Stephen Miller quote are from a December 2025 DISPATCHES post...."An individual was charged and convicted of some serious terroristic threats around the time of the January 6, 2021 insurrection. He is set to be sentenced. Two prosecutors....in a memo to be given to the judge....stated the facts....and included were some of the events in that insurrection....(the prosecutors referred to it as a 'riot'). Things like this do not sit well in the Trump Justice Department....the two prosecutors were removed....and replaced by two new prosectors....who filed the same memo....only they removed the references to January 6. Show trials and purges are the absolute norm in the Trump administration. The horror of January 6 is being purged. This is revisionist history at its worst."

"You have no idea the dragon you have awakened." 

The above were Stephen Miller's words in the eulogy that he gave at the September 21 memorial service in Arizona. 

Mr. Miller....we know who the dragon is!

 "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-he was thrown down to earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." Revelation 12:9

Not Ready For Primetime President.....One would think that there would be some kind of news....in a primetime address....during a war....but there wasn't. It was rally material...'I did this'...."I did that"...."people are saying that it has never been done this great before.' The speech seemed to be thrown together. That was my take on it anyway....but Trump has a habit of talking up negotiations....and then striking as an element of surprise. Then again....he also is in the habit of giving constant 10 or 14 or 40 or 50 day warnings....or "I'll release this or that great secret in the near future....(JFK or UFOs etc.)".....the purpose being that every time he does that....it puts everything on hold for 10 or 14 or 40 or 50 days....buying time....until another threat or time period is given.

Coming To The Rescue....On January 2 of this year demonstrations were building in Tehran....and Trump warned Iran that if they start to kill the protesters then the US would step in. He told the protestors that he would "rescue them." It was commented on at the time that a comment like that would only encourage more protests and more people....and that happened. In tonight's primetime address....Trump gave the figure of 45,000 protesters killed by Iranian forces. The figure is stunning. The number of reported deaths was 13 when the rescue comment was made.  President Trump was previously taken to task for claiming that there already was regime change in Iran....so he expounded on that tonight....in that what he meant by 'regime change' was that all the top leaders were killed....so the 'regime' was gone....the new leaders were the 'regime change.' That is not regime change....nor is it rescue.

"Rather Hysterical"....The Jerusalem Post is reporting right now that Trump threatened Europe with taking away its military support of the Ukraine. Rubio verified that in saying that if the US finds that it needs weapons for its own defense....then it would keep them for itself. There is a double-edged sword here in that it does expand the Iran war into the Russian/Ukraine war....and it also seems to admit that US war supplies may indeed be getting low....which has been implied by others earlier. One report said that NATO Secretary General Rutte described Trump as...."rather hysterical" on the phone. That in itself is not a good sign.

Hitler Derangement Syndrome....Winston Churchill had it....and England should thank God that he did.

IDF running out of soldiers....The Chief of Staff of Israel's defense Forces....IDF....warned....not merely warned but said that he was raising "ten red flags"....and he received a lot of support after giving this warning....that the Israeli army is running out of soldiers....enough soldiers anyway to defend the state....and that the burden on the reservists is becoming too great! There are a lot of men available for military service from the ultra-orthodox....but that community has been fighting tooth and nail against diversion from their main calling in life....the Torah. This is a political system where one party cannot afford to lose the support of a bloc as large as the ultra-orthodox....so nothing in government is getting done on this. In the United States....there will be a need for a draft someday....and it will be an absolute mess on who gets drafted first....and on who even gets drafted at all.

"Jesus I know....And Paul I recognize....but who are you?"....The following paragraph is from a January of 2024 post...."We are all familiar with the passage in the 19th chapter of Acts on the....Seven Sons of Sceva. The Apostle Paul was doing miracles and casting out demons in the name of Jesus. These seven sons of a Jewish high priest thought that surely they could do the same thing....but the evil spirit said...."Jesus I know....and Paul I recognize....but who are you?"....and then overpowered them...wounding them as they ran out into the night. Well that in effect is what we have done....as we used....God bless America....as our talisman....thinking we could cast the evil out of America....for our own self-serving reasons....and if we now had eyes to see....which we no longer have....we would know that we also are wounded....as if running out into the night."

The Odd Couple....The following paragraph is from a post of only ten days ago...."I have great hopes for a new movie to be released on Thursday April 4. You may have seen previews of it while going to other films....A GREAT AWAKENING....which is about the friendship between Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield. We do not know what a day brings....but I just reserved seats on that opening weekend. The Great Awakening was an extraordinary series of revivals in the 1740s. I don't have the exact quote at hand but Benjamin Franklin commented somewhere that it appeared that he could not walk down a street in Philadelphia without hearing the singing of hymns and Psalms coming from the houses. Now that is an awakening folks! My hope is that the gospel of the need for being born again will ring out....and not so much the American Revolution....for that awakening was long over by 1776....and near the of George Washington's life he worried that the Christian Faith would even survive.

Do you believe in UFOs? A Republican congressman from Tennessee said this after being briefed on top secret information on aliens. "We just need to disclose it all. I'm sick of it, you're-ah, well,-I was briefed, I will just tell you this, I was briefed last week on an issue-or excuse me, two weeks ago-and it would've set the earth on- this country would've come unglued, I think, if they would've heard all that I heard." Folks....these are the last days....for real....if you don't believe that then go back to your March Madness....and there are going to be....and are now....feverishly increasing....evidences of demonic activity. I have a March 19 post that addresses this issue....please go there and read it.

"As Enemies Are Being Conquered.....So Are The Righteous"

                    Whereas Trump is concluding the fourteenth month of his second term....quite possibly defined by words used in the sixth chapter of Revelation that seem apropos...."conquering....and to conquer"....there are two wars or conflicts in general going on....one of which evangelicals know of and celebrate....and the other of which they know nothing about...that is being waged against them!
                  In the first they see enemies....progressives and socialists....there's a long list....and in spite of who Trump has shown himself to be for the past eleven years....a divider extraordinaire and a destroyer magnus....and a congenital liar with serious psychological disorders....and this most particularly the past five years....in spite of this....they applaud Trump as he seemingly is out there conquering those enemies....but Trump has a much more important war going on....unbeknownst to the evangelical....as he seeks to amass all the power that would be necessary....to rule the world....or at least dictate to the world....and America....in spite of its constitution....and in the face of all the warnings that God's Word gives evangelicals who still prayerfully read God's Word....that such tyrants and false prophets with false miracles and signs and wonders and deceptions and great delusions will appear....as the return of the Son of God nears....even to the very door....in power and righteous judgment.
                 So as enemies are being conquered....so are the righteous....the "elect"....if only for a time....until the deception is finally too great for even the most ardent defenders not to identify....and flee from....if there is still time.

PASSOVER

                The Feast of Passover begins in Israel in a few hours....at sunset....(I am typing this around 9 AM on Wednesday....April 1....or Nissan 14 on the Jewish calendar)....and will last until sunset on April 8. Right now would be the 3 PM hour is Israel....right when Jesus said from the cross...."It is finished." The feast of Firstfruits will be sunset to sunset beginning on Apil 4....and this is when Jesus was resurrected. All of the Jewish feasts and fasts have prophetic meaning and fulfillments along with the historical events. They are not given to us to predict when something will happen....but rather to show us....or remind us through events of the day...of what happened. 

Note: We have not celebrated Easter....as Christendom observes Easter....in....well probably never since I became a believer. There were never any chocolate bunnies or egg hunts or baskets....except when grandparents might have given one....and we politely accepted. Easter Sunday was never a special Sunday....because every Sunday....is a Lord's Day....and every Lord's Day....celebrates the Resurrection! Others hold to different observances. We all can deal with this. The importance is that....Jesus is risen!

Waiting For That Feeling Of Oppression To Break

              Every member of our family has had a bug or a virus of some nature over the past month....and I'm sure that many of you have also. We all know what to expect....as when one person gets it....it's only a matter of time. With me...after only a couple of days....it seemed to break overnight. You know what I mean I'm sure....maybe all of a sudden there was no fever....and you can feel a general coolness over your whole body....the feeling of oppression lifts...although a weakness may remain....as it may be that you feel like you were banged up in a car accident?
              So I woke up this morning....and thanked and praised God for another day....and ran through a litany of prayers for the people that I love....and others who I know are in need of God's help and mercy in some way....and eventually I am downstairs booting up this laptop to check the news....and it is the same every day....and has been the same every day for over a decade now....for a different blanket feeling of oppression is always present because of this troublesome man who seems to scour the earth for some way to get richer....some person or country to belittle....some great monument to build for himself.
              That some people claim to love this man....or think that he is great....is irrelevant....for the time will come when the hangover begins....and they look around at the house strewn with empty champagne bottles....and broken glass....overturned furniture....and a lingering smell of carnage.
              To one degree or another...and that degree can vary widely....it is a vexation of God's children....those anyway who like Lot were hurrying away from Sodom....leaving others like Lot's wife to disobey the command not to look back. Lot was given the choice on where he could live....and he chose the lusher valleys....but that oppression....and that vexation....would surely come....just as it has to us today in our own version of Sodom.
              Just as with a bug or a virus....with no resort other than to rest and medicate....wait and pray....this oppression will surely lift in due time...in God's perfect timing....and the healing comes to our souls....that will be bathed in repentance....and administered a balm....and a restoration of the hope and a love that we had at first when we saw the love that was poured out on us at Calvary....and in the tomb....and on that hill....and in that upper room!
              
               

Things Will Not Go How We Expect Them To Go

The following post....Things Will Not Go According To Our Plans....is from January of 2023....the following paragraph....a month after that....in a former preface to that post:

"On this deception that is surely ahead....it is quite likely that evangelicals will think that God is moving greatly in some way....where it will not be God that is moving! Charismatics are particularly susceptible in falling for false movements of God. Right now they are an army of false teachers. This is a time that calls for serious and solemn meditation on God's Word....an extreme soberness on what lies ahead....a humility in prayer....and the true joy that rejoices in God's glory....secure in our meekness....His sovereignty in all things....and our dependence on His power....not ours."

Things Will Not Go According To Our Plans           

                This we are familiar with....at the Passover supper Jesus told Peter that he....Peter....was in danger of temptation but that He....Jesus....had prayed for him. We know that Peter then said....with supreme confidence...."Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  Everyone is familiar with how Jesus responded to Peter that before the rooster would crow in the morning that Peter would deny Him three times....and we know what happened in the morning. Cut and dried right? We know everything here that we need to know.
                Well there is more. All four gospels tell us how on the Mount of Olives that night....as the mob came for Jesus....one of the disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. John was the only gospel writer to identify Peter as the one with the sword. It seems that Peter's boast of going to prison and even to death with Jesus was pretty sound up to then. So what happened between the time they took Jesus....and before the rooster crowed? 
                This is not insignificant.....nor trivial....I do not believe....for this principle will directly affect many of us....in one way and to one degree or another.....probably in the near future. Something collapsed in Peter as he saw Jesus led away. All the evidence of miracles and power from the previous three years suddenly disappeared. This was not going according to plan. There were surprises. Peter began to unravel and then came completely undone. 
                We today think that we know it all as to what will happen in that which is called....the Tribulation....maybe not all the specifics.....but we know that it will be so bad that our own family members may be against us. We are humble to a certain degree....for we know that we will need the Holy Spirit to stay strong....but here it is folks....just like with Peter there will be surprises.....and things will not go according to our plans! 
                We need to be prepared for whatever it is that comes against us at that time....that it will be worse than we thought....that confusion will reign because of it....and that we...."if possible even the elect"....will be in danger of coming completely undone just as Peter did! It is not enough to boldly proclaim that Jesus will hold on to us.....if we have not shown any concern at all over His coming....nor His warnings. That would be an extreme....and even absurd presumption.
                We have been warned to be vigilant a number of times in God's Word....and we in effect blow the warning off every time.....for we do not think that Jesus is coming back right now. We don't even want to talk about it. For if we did.....if we even leaned that way....we would at least attempt to become a people separated once again....and right now that is too much to ask.
                Peter was taken by surprise....and if we are not sober-minded and vigilant.....then we also will be taken by surprise. We are knowledgeable of Peter's weaknesses during the ministry of Jesus....but we tend to relate those weaknesses a little bit to easily....rather than having the fear of God instilled in us in seeing how frail we can be.            

Lord's Day Post

                  In R. C. Sproul's last sermon....preached only a couple of weeks before he died....his voice was raspy....but the evangelistic message in it was as strong as I have every heard him preach. You can easily Google....R. C. Sproul's Last Sermon....and listen to it. John MacArthur's last sermon....and he also sounded very weak....was titled....A Glimpse Of Heaven....and you can easily listen to that also. Billly Graham desperately wanted to give one last message.....and he was able to do so from the armchair in his North Carolina home. The last words in David Wilkerson's blog in April of 2011 were...."Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in His Word. There is no other hope in the world." Martyn Lloyd-Jones last written words....penciled in because he could hardly speak....were...."DO NOT PRAY FOR HEALING. DO NOT HOLD ME BACK FROM GLORY." I encourage you to Google and listen to the last interview with Tim Keller before he died....and a very recent interview with Ben Sasse as the prognosis for his illness is for a very near resolution....but in this post....with the Lord's Day tomorrow....where the unction of last anythings will most likely be absent....in a church age that wants to dwell only on the positive....I'm adding a reading of John Bunyan's last sermon....preached in August of 1688. You see he was not only a great Christian author....but a great preacher....so much so that the great scholar....John Owens....when standing before the second.....King Charles....of England....and asked by the king why he would go to hear an uneducated handyman/preacher....responded thusly...."I would willingly exchange my learning for the tinker's power of touching men's hearts." (or words very much to that effect)

                                                                      

Put Your Bible Away......Until The Mid-Terms Are Over!

               Franklin Graham....spoke yesterday to CPAC....which was just another poor decision....and in his talk he gave the same excuse for Trump that has been given by evangelicals for ten years now...."He's not perfect."
             How can one say that about Trump when he is and has been the whole time....a false prophet....(that's an enemy of our Savior folks)....telling evangelicals the exact opposite that God's Word tells them? There is no 'golden age' coming! No one that I have ever even read about in history....lies as easily and more consistently than Donald Trump. What does God's Word say about liars...and the "father of lies?" Trump divides everyone and everything....families and congregations and nations within themselves and ally against ally!
             He destroys....either purposely....or followers are destroyed simply by flying too close to his flame. He builds and uses fear and rage in his followers! He leads evangelicals away from loving others....or forgiving others....or having mercy on others. He promotes pride....and envy in evangelicals. He gives false witness against good people. He ignored Covid for a month....because the then upcoming election was more important. He sat by for hours on January 6....as people were hurt and died...and as his advisors pleaded with him.
             He will cancel someone's pension....or Secret Service protection....or health insurance....in a moment....if it can get back at a political enemy. He is a champion for AI that has biblical end-times destruction coded all through it! He is a champion also of crypto currencies....amassing billions in the process....while others take foolish chances.
             Trump has lived one step ahead of the law his entire life....saved by the power that billions of dollars has in the American legal process. What does God's Word say about the "lawless one"....and what does God think about judges....(which includes presidents)....who rule with prejudice?
             Jesus said..."Take heed that no one deceives you"...."many false prophets will rise up and deceive many." Jude warned against those that 'mouthed great swelling words....flattering to gain advantage'....and tells us to "contend earnestly for the faith." Paul warned Timothy that men would come who...'loved themselves....and loved money....boasters....unloving...unforgiving....slanderers....without self-control.' It was Trump's resume.
             
Solomon filled Proverbs with warnings about these type of people...

"A worthless person, a wicked man,
 Walks with a perverse mouth;
 He winks with his eyes,
 He shuffles his feet,
 He points with his fingers;
 Perversity is in his heart.
 He devises evil continually,
 He sows discord."

"Do not enter the path of the wicked,
 And do not walk in the way of evil.
Avoid it, do not travel on it'
Turn away from it and pass on.
For they do not sleep
 unless they have done evil."

The Psalms are filled with warnings...

"No king is saved
 by the multitude of an army;
 A mighty man is not delivered.
 by great strength....
 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him."

Or as was read in our own worship today from the 26 Psalm....in words of David....

"I do not sit with men of falsehood
 nor do I consort with hypocrites
 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
 and I will not sit with the wicked."

               The prophets speak of these men. God's Word says to flee from them....and not even to go near them....so how....how can a renewed mind look at all of this....(and this was only a sampling)....and excuse it all with...."He's not perfect?"

               What this does is tell us that all of the warnings in God's Word....all the commands about who and what to avoid or even flee from....are not to be taken too seriously....and that defending the Bible may be important....if time and situation permits....but all of that is put on pause....if the American Dream needs defended. Friends....brothers and sisters in Christ....if that were the case then one might as well just throw the Bible away....or at least put it aside....until the next election is over!

Crusader Mentality....And How Not To Experience Revival

                I think that it would be helpful for the reader to view what Wikipedia has to say about Secretary of....War....Pete Hegseth....and his most well-known mentor in pastor and theologian Doug Wilson. We need to be informed on these things because this particular brand of Christianity is in charge....at least in Pete Hegseth's responsibilities in this Trump administration....and it is influencing by way of Trump and MAGA most of evangelicalism today. What you will find in these Wiki descriptions is a man....in Pete Hegseth....who since college has considered himself a crusader for Christendom....not necessarily Christianity....but more recently the two have unfortunately melded into one. 
                 It has been almost thirty years since we had a Christian bookstore....in which I sold the books that Doug Wilson had authored up to then. They were reformed and family oriented Christian books. The debate existed at the time on a last-days or end-times eschatology called....postmillenialism....where it is believed that the gospel will eventually be received by all nations before Jesus returns....but since there was no one in the government who espoused such beliefs....it remained a theological debate. Today....it has become a political debate under the name of Christian Nationalism.
                 There is no set definition on what Christian Nationalism is but all of the assorted definitions revolve around America as having been a Christian nation from its founding....and that we have since departed from that....and from the Bible....and in order to survive and fulfill God's calling and anointing on our country....we have to return to being that Christian nation.
                 America in 1776 was not founded as a Christian nation....in fact the Christian Faith was very weak in Jefferson's day....as what is known now as the First Great Awakening had already waned....as all revivals do....and what is known as the....Second Great Awakening....that followed in the early 1800s....was very problematic in that man's part in his salvation began to equal and at times even eclipse God's sovereign work! We have never fully recovered from the influence of Charles Grandison Finney....who held heretical views on revival.
                  At best....Pete Hegseth is still a new Christian....at best. Let me segue here to my own mistakes as a new Christian....and I have to return to Finney. I was a new Christian....three to five years....I cannot remember exactly....but that is still new....and I was still attending our first church after conversion....an Assemblies of God....with a wonderful congregation of believers....strong in their faith....but not very knowledgeable of the Faith in areas in which we need to be knowledgeable....this with no help from me....as I asked for and received permission to stand at the door after a Lord's Day service....and distribute 100 copies of Charles Finney's heretical paperback book....How To Experience Revival.
                  The Apostle Paul warned Timothy about ordaining or sending out men before they were ready....(1 Timothy 5)....and that was my problem....and that definitely is also the problem with Pete Hegseth....who like me....became a crusader too soon....which by the way....that is what happened to Charles Finney....as those around him wanted to send this extremely charismatic individual off to seminary....to learn....before he would attempt to teach....but he choose to become a crusader right away.....and disaster followed....as it will with Pete Hegseth!
                   

The Gospel Of Today Is....America Needs To Be....Born Again

            All of the debate today....on all of the issues....is regulated by the various forms of media....radio and cable TV....and social media and podcasts and books and political parties and politicians. It is fashioned and spoon fed to us....so that there is really no debate....only a shouting match....where the louder 'debater' wins....but this was not always the case....for there was a time....up until about ten years ago....when we could actually think for ourselves. So if the topic is.....illegal immigration....the narrative is narrow and only facts that support the narrative are provided. We view this topic as two entities....us....the good guys....and others....who send their bad people to us illegally. In this narrative the solution is short and sweet....get rid of the bad people who came here illegally with their crime.
            The reality is much wider....and there are no simple answers....but it starts with this...we are all responsible in one way or another....to one degree or another....for the culture and the world that....we all created!  
            It started out as an industrial revolution....where a cotton gin was invented....and then trains....and planes....and automobiles. There was the flapper dress or the zoot suit....and then the sports car or the pleasure craft....and sports and games....trivial pursuits....everything and anything that one person or company or corporation could produce and convince us that we absolutely needed it in order to be happy....or to live the American dream. The church itself....the new 'successful' ones....have become more a corporation than the body of Christ...well-run and well-oiled businesses....upbeat family Lord's Day-care centers....with team members....state-of-the-art everything with websites in some cases that would put to shame Silicon Valley.
            When we became so rich that our youth had lots of disposable income....they naturally went after them....our children....and we let it happen....so that we would have more time for ourselves and our own pleasure pursuits. Essentially this is sacrificing our children....but we would never admit to that....as we are too busy condemning others who sacrifice their children. All of this expanded exponentially until today....once again as we let it happen....AI and cryptocurrencies and any technology that can make someone a billionaire....plants its data base....and calls it progress....and freedom. I personally watch FRNDLY cable television because that is where I can watch the Weather Channel....and it seems as if every other commercial is how you can gamble right there on TV. Who needs Las Vegas? How did we let this happen?
            So we have been programmed to believe that the answer to our problem is to get rid of the illegals. We like that answer because we have for ten years now had our diets changed so that we want lots of red meat. We want the rage. We thrive on it. If others are hurt in the process through collateral damage....so be it...they should have been born in the USA....like we were! That's part of the new God Bless America Gospel.
            Somewhere in our psyche still resides a conscience....so any guilt that might rear its ugly head must be assuaged....but if it does we need only to be reminded that we are making America safer....and it goes away.
            There was a day when we were given warnings....similar to Ninevah....and a window of opportunity so to speak....to repent....and we had plenty of Jonah type of preaching....particularly from Billy Graham....and we did turn slightly back to God a few times....during our Civil War....and in the Born Again Revival of the 70s to mid-80s....but today's 'revivals' do not necessarily require anyone to actually become....born again....for today's gospel is based on America being born again....which would then somehow corporately save all of us?            

This Is At Least In The Back Of My Mind....If Not The Front Of My Mind....Even If We Are Talking About The Weather!

                I am the same as everyone else in that I have friends....some very good long-time friends....and many who I have just known for a lot of years....and even new friends....and many acquaintances....and relatives. What might be a little different is that although I might meet them....and the conversation might be perfectly normal....there is no time when somewhere at least in the back of my mind....and often right up front....is that ultimate eternal question....are they in Christ? Have they been born again....born anew....born from above. Have their eyes been opened to God's Word....as what it is....His very Word.....perfect and powerful....to save and to guide.....and to warn.....and to enthrall? 
                What am I missing here? Shouldn't this be the normal with every Christian? Granted....we have a lot of difficulties in this pilgrimage of life....and often we might be overwhelmed by all of our responsibilities....where it would be hard if not impossible to think of everyone that we meet....and wonder....or be concerned about their eternal well-being....but even if it is not until later that night....while in bed....thinking about the day that has just passed....would not these faces come back to us....and would we not wonder if God had given them the greatest of all gifts....salvation?
                 So there are regular readers to these posts that come in for various reasons. Some I'm sure totally reject everything that I write....certainly about Trump.....but they might come in just to stir up that anger or disgust. Some....friends and relatives....come in I'm sure just out of concern for me....not totally rejecting what they read....but also not really accepting any of it either. To these visitors....friends and relatives....know this....I never look into your eyes during a conversation....no matter how trivial that conversation might be....without silently pleading that God might open those eyes....as He did mine....and as He did for multitudes of others!
                 The topic of love might be the most preached on topic? What could possibly compare to having or showing love than wanting someone to receive the grace of God in salvation? You would have to agree with this....or it would show that you do not really believe that there is a heaven and that there is a hell. So....the first part of my concern is that you would know what comes after death....and then to take it an uncomfortable but necessary step further....you have parents still alive....or children....or a spouse....or other people who you truly do love....or do you truly love them....for if you did....and you understand the gospel that is referenced by the delicate gold cross that you wear....then you would never truly sleep well....or never really laugh without some uneasiness....unless that parent that you would do anything for....or that child that you would give your life for....or that spouse that you love more then anyone....was safe....and secure....in Christ!
                  I can prove that I believe what I write....for why else would I attempt such an odd post like this? For what other possible reason could I....year after year....even to the point of ridicule and rejection....plead with God for words to move even one soul....from ignorance....to a revelation that makes sense of everything....except one thing....that being why....why would such a Holy God....give such a wonderful gift....to one such as I....or you?

There Was No....'Lesser Of Two Evils'....For It Was Just Two Evils....And God's Judgment On The Church!

Preface: This is just a snippet of my conversion experience from back in 1982. Since returning from the army in 1972 and attending Pitt....my reading was interspersed with popular....somewhat highbrow books like the Pulitzer Prize winning The Denial Of Death by Ernst Becker....and Eric Hoffer's classic anti-God....The True Believer. Those two books were read in succession before I walked into a Christian bookstore one evening and came out with Josh McDowell's....Evidence That Demands A Verdict. It was like God gave me the best that the world could offer before regenerating me....and saving me! Anyway....for whatever reason....I spent my first decade as a believer....from day one of my conversion....as you might understand since McDowell's great apologetic was the catalyst that God used to convert me....I spent that first decade in apologetics....and the study of cults....as I would put an ad in the personal section of our newspaper trying to get the attention of people that were starting to study with the Jehovah Witnesses Watchtower Society....trying to get them to hear me out before they continued with their....'Bible studies." So I know what a cult is....and what a Christian cult is....a sect that claims to be Christian but denies essentials of the Christian Faith. The following post is from August 24, 2024....as the election heated up. There was no....'lesser of two evils'....as there was no lesser of two evils between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. This has been ten years of Judgment of God upon the church....since we demanded Trump instead of waiting upon God....with the formation of a genuine cult...and much of the church involved in it!      

Rehoboam Or Jeroboam? 

             Saul was the first king. God didn't want the Israelites to have a king but they persisted. It didn't go that well....and then God gave them David....and established a kingship that would last forever through our Lord Jesus Christ....and then came Solomon.
              The book of Ecclesiastes may be the most difficult book in God's Word to get a grip on....even more so than Revelation....for in Revelation it is interpretation that we struggle with....prophecy....but in Ecclesiastes we struggle with the author....Solomon....who as with other kings of Israel who did the things that Solomon did....we read something like...."and he did evil in the sight of the LORD." Well Solomon did that evil also....but he repented.
              Solomon had a heart for God....God gave him great wisdom....Solomon used that wisdom....but then the glory got the best of him....and he spiraled downward....until he was a mess....but then that same wisdom that got him in trouble....was enough to make him see why he got in trouble. Still....if Ecclesiastes was written near the end of his life....he must have looked like someone who had been on drugs....worn out. He had been freed from that drug....vanity....but the effects of years of abuse were still in his words.
              It wasn't an election per se....but it was a choice....Jeroboam....one of Solomon's officials....or Rehoboam....a genuine son of David....kind of like Harris or Trump....where we lose both ways. So ten tribes followed Jeroboam who actually fashioned two golden calves...."Here are your gods. Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt"....(1 Kings 12:28)....and Judah and Benjamin stuck with Rehoboam...."The people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites....(1 Kings 14:24.)  The northern kingdom lasted 209 years before Assyria took all the people away to who knows where....and Judah lasted 345 years....ignoring the warnings of Jeremiah and other prophets before the Babylonians took them away....and destroyed the temple and the walls of the city.
              So what is this....vanity....of which Solomon learned the hard way? There are a lot of opinions here...."nothingness....meaningless"....are two words often bandied about. When I see the word vanity....as we use the word....which may not be the way that Solomon used it....I see....'self-centeredness....pride....I'm the only one that counts.'
              Whether or not that is what Solomon meant....it certainly describes us today. Everything from selfies to Facebook or politics is....vanity. It is all about us. Nebuchadnezzar looked over his kingdom and boasted on what he had built....and we know what happened to him next....and it appears that Solomon did much the same thing....and God brought him to utter confusion....and God will do this to us if we lose perspective....in fact that is where we are today.
              Not everyone takes that path...."and did evil in the sight of the LORD." It does not appear that Spurgeon did.....nor Whitefield....but maybe Billy Graham did as he wasted so much time early on with politics and palling around with presidents....wasted time that he regretted later on. Either way it is the same road that we are all on....and the same river that will be crossed....and the same Celestial City....and the same glory and honor and praise to Jesus Christ at the end....and we can all thank God for these mercies and that promise to keep us!
              So back to Jeroboam and Rehoboam....there was no lesser of two evils there. Should Jesus tarry....we may yet see a wise and God-fearing leader in America if but for a short time....but as for now.....Lord have mercy upon us for what we have become! 
           

"Life! Life! Eternal Life!"

                The general consensus of the crowd....or we can call it the world....is that person A won the hypothetical debate....therefore person B would have lost the debate. Person A therefore might be elated....or maybe just satisfied....while person B may be downcast....or at least deflated. That is the logical construct that the world runs on. We may not always win....we may even always lose....but we must at least.....want to win. In a footrace it would be relatively easy to determine who wins....but in a academic debate the winner is often....though not always....chosen through opinion....the opinion of judges....but if we move into the realm of politics....there is no judge.....and not even the crowd....or the world....or even the electorate....determines who wins....but the media....using and/or manipulating appearances....tell us who won or lost the debate.
                With me and these posts....that logical construct does not come into play at all....at all. There is no winner in my mind....so I am not trying to....quote unquote....win anything. Even the appearance of losing means nothing to me. The only thing that matters is that there are X number of people who might read my posts....they generally do not know me....I generally do not know them. I see people who are unsaved....the total number in the world is probably nearing eight billion of those. And I see people who are....saved....(I purposely use those words....because using them is not keeping up appearances)........but are unknowledgeable of so many important things....having accepted the compromised modern gospel of the day....and are lacking even in basic discernment on the day and the age that we live in!
                  I am 76 years old....and believe that the Lord Jesus....King Jesus....waits with His myriads of mighty angels....whose swords are already unsheathed....they only waiting for the command from He who sits upon the White Horse....(of Revelation 19....not Revelation 6.)
                  It is as if the train whistle has blown....with the sound of the air brakes releasing that pent-up pressure....and all I can do is turn on the train platform to the people and shout...."The train is leaving....follow me!" There is no 'winner' or 'loser' in that situation....only those who depart the City of Destruction....for the Celestial City....and those who refuse to leave!
                  I don't offer rebuttal to these posts....for Fox News gives that 24/7....7 days a week....52 weeks a year....and talk radio reaches everyone inclined to tune in....and hundreds if not thousands of podcasters and authors have loyal and dependent followers. 
                  I type fast....and I have typos that I do not catch....but it matters not....because there is no grade given to this....it doesn't even matter if anyone reads what I post....only that as the ship is sinking that I shout out as if someone is out there....that there is only one lifeboat that will save....but it is big enough to hold everyone who raises their hand and prays...."Lord....I am a sinner....and deserve to be cast away from Thee forever....but I heard from a man wearing a robe....and holding up a book...and he said that Thou has called everyone to a feast....even those as low and dirty as I am....and there is a white robe waiting....and forgiveness......and mercy! I believe what that man said is true....because something like scales have fallen off of my eyes....and wax oozed from my ears.....and although I cannot see Thee....I see the glory all around Thee....and I hear the praises....and I find that I am shouting those praises along with others! Thank you Lord for your mercy of salvation on one such as Me!"
                   Do you by any chance think this post ridiculous....maybe laughable? Maybe it is....but guess what....that doesn't phase me....for I can only continue to shout as I run...."Life! Life! Eternal life!"

Note: The quotes in this post...."City of Destruction"....and...."Celestial City"....and...."Life! Life! Eternal Life"....and from John Bunyan's....Pilgrim's Progress....and if you have never read a Christian book....that would be a blessed place to start. There is a song within that book....that I use in my 'Profile' of this website....and the last stanza of that song is this:

"Hobgoblin, nor fowl fiend, Can daunt his spirit; He knows, he at the end shall life inherit. Then fancies fly away, He'll fear not what men say, He'll labour night and day....To be a pilgrim

DISPATCHES

Tuesday March 24....Last evening the television offered an old 1953 film....Titanic....that starred Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb....and a young Robert Wagner. Watching it brought back a memory from June of 2014....of a post typed in a deckchair on the promenade of Royal Caribbean's....Grandeur of the Seas....on the return from Bermuda. I had earlier sat on our stateroom bed and turned on the television....and started watching that same 1953 movie. About twenty minutes into it....(according to that post that you can read for yourself if you want to go back that far)....the screen went blank....and Titanic was replaced by a Bob Hope movie. I have no doubt that someone at the entertainment controls thought it not a good idea to play....Titanic....while on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Either way....that truly is us.....for we as a people....and as a church....do not want to face what might be just ahead....even though much of God's Word precisely tells us in detail of these things....so that we might repent....and pray....and repent of that we have brought upon ourselves.

Donald Trump's....rise...fall....and rise....demonstrated for all with eyes to see....one colossal weakness in man. With all the intellect....and zeroing in closer....even among many of those who have actually been....born again....with all that....we can look at Trump....at eleven years of the....'let Trump be Trump'....and not fall to our knees in repentance for one of the most egregious mistakes that Christians have made since Jesus ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit! It just has to be end-times related. It just has to be part of the great end-times delusion. It is so extraordinary in weakness....that when we finally see what we have done....it may separate the chaff from the wheat....and beckon the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior and King.

Today....a good man in Robert Mueller....died....a man who saw a serious problem in the national security of our country....a kompromat candidate such as America may never have seen....who became our president and the de facto leader of the free world....and Mueller did his best under extreme pressure....and against powerful elements in his own party....and was in fact too lenient....and after his death was announced....the kompromat candidate....with psychological disorders so extreme that the word....madness....is legitimate conjecture....his social media response was...."Robert Mueller just died. Good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!"

The Save America Act is really the Save Trump Act.

The Western Wall....or the Wailing Wall as it is known....is that portion of the temple mount in Jerusalem that had survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. The exposed wall is approximately 50 yards in length....of one giant limestone block on top of another. Surely you are familiar with all of the photos of it. There are a number of live 24/7 webcams of it....and I check in.....probably once every three or four days....and sometimes many days in a row. A renovation of the tiled area where the people stand has just been completed....and it is a remarkable sight. I hope you are familiar with what is called the....Olivet Discourse....in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21....where Jesus answers the question from His disciples on what will be the signs of His coming. He began by pointing to all of the temple structures....and saying that not one stone will be upon another. There is a little disagreement in that some say that the Jesus meant all of the stones....even in the temple mount retaining wall....and others say no....not the retaining walls. After forty years of having this in the back of my mind....I tend to agree with the former. There has always been the possibility of radical elements in the Jewish community attempting to destroy the Dome of the Rock....in order to build the third temple.....and now with this war....and rocket fragments actually falling near the temple mount days ago....there is the possibility that the Wailing Wall could be targeted....while there has always been the possibility of a major earthquake in that highly geologically volatile area.

                                                                                  

"But Even If We....Or An Angel From Heaven.....Preach Any Other Gospel To You...."

Preface: The following post is from October 16, 2025. In bringing it back I added underlining to two sentences. Within the past few days the Trump administration registered two government domain websites....alien.gov and....aliens.gov. They exist now as titles with no content. The official response to media questions about this is...."Stay Tuned"....with the following emoji.....👽. The first sentence that I underlined is that the church needs to address this issue of aliens now. Actually it should have been discussed in detail decades ago.  I probably have a dozen posts on this over the years. The second underlined sentence is that for a Christian....if they even assent to the possibility that there are....what we call aliens....out there in the universe....then they do not even understand the gospel that they profess. Now...some will take great umbrage with my saying that....which is why....we need to bring this whole issue out in the open....for if nothing else....after the debate....many but not all....will understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.....and creation....as they should....and that alone can only bless the church greatly! Had this been an issue 125 years ago....Charles Spurgeon would have preached a wonderful sermon on it. Martyn Lloyd-Jones....75 years ago or thereabouts....did warn of great deception and delusion and the demonic! Here is that post from last October....

"But Even If We......Or An Angel From Heaven....Preach Any Other Gospel To You

"I am  leaving soon...and you will forgive me if I speak bluntly....'the universe grows smaller every day....and the threats of aggression....by any group....anywhere....can no longer be tolerated....there must be security for all....or no one is secure....now this does not mean giving up any freedom....except the freedom to act irresponsibly....your ancestors knew this when they made laws to govern themselves....and hired policemen to enforce them....we of the other planets have long accepted this principle....we have an organization for the mutual protection of all planets....and for the complete elimination of aggression....the test of any such higher authority is of course the police force that supports it....for our policemen we created a race of robots....their function is to patrol the planets in spaceships like this one....and preserve the peace....in matters of aggression....we have given them absolute power over us....this power cannot be revoked....at the first sign of violence they act automatically against the aggressor....the penalty for provoking their actions is too terrible to risk....the result is....we live in peace....without arms or armies....secure in the knowledge that we are free from aggression and war....free to pursue more profitable enterprises....now we do not pretend to achieved perfection....but we do have a system....and it works....I came here to give you these facts....it is no concern of ours how you run your own planet....but if you threaten to extend your violence....this earth of yours will be reduced to a burned out cinder....your choice is to join us and live in peace....or to pursue your present course and face obliteration....we shall be waiting for your answer....for the decision rests with you." 

              The above speech from the 1951 classic film....The Day The Earth Stood Still....is from Klaatu....the alien. The robot would be Gort....the artificial intelligence that they created to protect them. There was a remake of this movie in 2008....with Klaatu Reeves....excuse me....Keanu Reeves....but I have no idea the storyline or narrative of that film. I do know that in the first film the spaceship lands....on the ellispse....between the White House and the Washington Monument....similar to the other seemingly now supernatural being who appeared on that same ellipse on January 6, 2021....seventy years later....giving a warning.
               I think the church needs to address this issue beforehand. There is a documentary coming out in late November on the many verified sightings of what today they call....UAPs....unidentified flying phenomena....formerly referred to as UFOs. It appears to be a credible documentary with Rubio and other government people being extensively interviewed.
               Let me lay the groundwork. God created man in His image....and there are no other "beings" anywhere.  This is vital to the Christian Faith to understand this! You cannot even understand the gospel if you cannot see this!!! If one wants to balk then that is their prerogative....we have seventy to eighty years....using biblical terminology....seventy to eighty years on average to our lives. Waste it if you want on speculation....speculation that the Apostle Paul warned us about.
               The more important issue is the turmoil and tribulation that lies ahead....for we need to be grounded securely in Christ....because of the deception and delusion and signs and wonders and false miracles that are ahead....and not wandering off on tangents about extraterrestrial life and ancient gods returning to earth as Jonathan Cahn more than speculates in his many bestselling books that lead evangelicals into idle speculations.
               So what about all the reports about flying objects that can do maneuvers that no human designed aircrafts can do? Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. Demon possession apparently was rampant during the incarnation of our Lord and Savior. It appears that that the demonic world was stirred up....and in retrospect....rightfully so....for their judgment was in sight with the incarnation of the Son of Man! It is not surprising therefore that it is being stirred up again as Jesus is near in his return....with His mighty angels....who will fight these demonic angels!
               There have been thousands of apparitions over the millennia...'And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV)  So let's prepare ourselves and talk about these things....particularly with this highly anticipated documentary film that is soon to be released to theaters. Bring it up in your cell groups....and if someone hedges on the truth from God's Word....don't let it slide.....but challenge the lack of vigilance in a brother or sister in Christ!

title: Galatians 1:8 NKJV

Special Dog's Idol Factory....Downsized....But Still In Business

                The average idol that a family might have in their house in ancient Israel would have been about 4 to 6 inches tall....small enough to fit into the palm of the hand. The Oscar....is 13.5 inches tall....with eyes that cannot see....and ears that cannot hear....and a mouth that cannot speak....holding a sword that cannot cut.
                I have had many and various idols over my long life....and still do. They are hard to do away with....and I will never be totally free of them. Some of them I try to hide from God....some of them I try to tell God that they can be of use to the spread of the gospel. Some of them I keep and congratulate myself because they used be twice or ten times as big.
                Calvin described man's mind as an idol factory. My son was an idol at one time....now he's just a hero....(yes our children can be powerful idols)....as was my physical fitness....my hair....(believe it or not)....and even my smile....before God marred its appearance....thankfully.
                 We need the preached Word to identify the idols in our life....for therein is the two-edged sword that can cut...."living and active"....(unlike Oscar or a gold medal or a house or a car or an ounce of gold)....that pierces....continuing in Hebrews 4:12.....of the ESV...."to the division of soul and of spirit....of joints and of marrow....and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
                  We need that preaching as a lamb needs a shepherd....but as Jesus warned the people....they had "grown dull....their ears hard of hearing....and their eyes they have closed" ....(Matthew 13:15 NKJV)....they didn't....nor do we....desire to hear any more than we do....for if we did....we would be healed....little by little....of the idols that we collect....as a dog might collect fleas.
                  

Burger King Church...."Have It Your Way"

                I am one of those people who feed the birds and the squirrels. If I see a bird out there in the winter I might throw some bread out.....but I spread some peanut butter on it because the white bread alone might fill their stomach but provided few if any of the nutrients that they need. In other words....bread alone may do more harm than good.
               We all are familiar with when Jesus mysteriously told Peter three times to feed His lambs and feed His sheep. We sheep....we lambs....are to be fed primarily by the preached Word of God. It is meant to be a....means of grace. It is an absolute necessity....or else we can spiritually die.
                Just by the nature of the way I spend my time....and it's been pretty much the same for over forty years now....I have become very familiar with the average preached sermon in America today....and folks it is white bread.....with an occasional spread of peanut butter on it.
                Look for yourself....visit the websites of some of the bigger churches in your area....and more likely than not you will not even find a link to the sermons....and if you do....those sermons are by and large either Bible studies....where the pastor preaches what we should be learning for ourselves....or they are therapeutic....alleviating pain and encouraging.  
                This lack of preaching does not show up in sunken facial features or bones showing through the skin....but quite the opposite actually as without the needed mortification in the sermons....we might very well spend all of our free time at Planet Fitness....building as I called it over thirty years ago....the Church of the Fit and Buff.
                The church today treats the epidermis....that protective layer of skin that has no blood vessels to provide nutrients....and ignores what is below....but it is what is below that provides the nutrients. So our sermons today address only that which appears bothersome on the surface. I'll give one example of a plethora of areas of which we constantly need self-examination....that example is this....we look at this world and we identify the evils....fair enough....but we need also to identify the evils that we have added to the situation. Yes....Trump is a cluster of evils....but we built the culture that gave us Trump. What evils lurk within us? We are blind because our spiritual eyes lack the nutrients that the preached Word provides!
                 Does Burger King still use the phrase? I don't know....but the popular commercial a half century ago centered around the words....'Have It Your Way.' If you didn't want tomatoes or pickles on your burger....then they were taken off....so in today's church....if we don't want this or that....or we ain't coming to church....then they are taken out.
                 Church attendance and personal ministries and even being generous and helping others....and even evangelizing....can be nothing but a clear skin....even a beautiful skin....protecting a diseased body....with a spiritual heart may not even be beating.
                 I'm not advising people to leave their church because they probably would not be able to find a pastor who can preach as men of the past....but I am....and always have in these posts....strongly recommended....even pleaded for....literally begged in some cases....Christians to supplement their brick and mortar churches with CDs or Internet sermons from....as I have always labelled it....preachers from the past....men like Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones and Ryle and Bunyan and Whitefield and Edwards and so many more....and Preachers today who preach like preachers from the past...men like MacArthur and Sproul and Piper and Paul Washer and Michael Horton....and so many more.....spread thinly across America.
                 These posts are littered with sermon links that you can easily go to. Please consider listening....which may include watching....one or two of these each week. If you do....you will see what the fuss had always been about concerning the weak preaching age that we live in.
               

A False Prophet....Giving A False Prophecy....About Another False Prophet

                   The video below is from the inaugural National Faith Summit in Atlanta in October of 2024....shortly before the election. According to Jonathan Cahn who speaks in the video....there were 3,000 "faith leaders" present.....and that the administrators put Cahn last in line to speak to ensure that Donald Trump would be in the sanctuary and seated by then.

                   In the message....the author of numerous prophecy best-sellers over the past decade....gave what he himself has said was a 'Word from the Lord." So in effect....this was a false prophet....(Cahn)....giving a false prophecy....about another false prophet of a coming golden age for America....(Trump)....in an event hosted by yet another false prophet in Paula White....Donald Trump's chief spiritual advisor! (Please....please....at some point....Google and view Paula White calling on angels from Africa and South America to aid Trump in the election....this on November 5, 2020)
                   Please watch the video below and take note of the method that Jonathan Cahn employs as a crescendo builds to a level of screaming the prophecy....as he points to June 14, 1946 and Trump's birth as the "beginning of a mystery"....(although that specific date was also a blood moon but was this not mentioned)....and his "destiny"....as a...."trumpet of God"....and a "warrior king"....and looking at Trump sitting in the front row....Jonathan Cahn prophesied...."The glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"
                    Brothers and sisters in Christ....this is what we have brought to the White House. This is what we proclaim as the work of the Holy Spirit. These are our shepherds.
                   

Playing With Evil

Preface: I watched part of yet another Trump rally yesterday....with its concert theme....as the entire time his eyes move from the teleprompter on the left to the one on the right....words written by Stephen Miller and others....carefully crafted exaggerations and outright lies mixed in with a portion of truth. Take away the teleprompter and Trump's speech is awkward....even juvenile....often disjointed....even flailing....as was the time four or five years ago when at the end he tried to add his own words in the benediction....what came out was...."And we pray for God." The people in the back....behind him on the television screen....always appear the same....chosen for their looks or what they are wearing....cheering things that could not be proven....nor would they have any inclination to ask for proof anyway....for this is a mass psychological movement....aimed primarily at evangelicals....who demanded a king as other nations had....instead of looking to the King of Kings!            

                 I've used a lot of different words to describe Trump over the years....despicable and vile....destroyer and deceiver....and he is a genuine biblical false prophet and as the Apostle John described those who are always out there....an antichrist....but I don't think that I've used this yet....evil. We in evangelicalism....in the church....even in leadership of denominations....and some Christian colleges....are playing with evil.
                 His megalomania is like nothing that I have ever witnessed....or hardly even read about....it actually seems worse than Nebuchadnezzar at his worst. He is a sociopath....driven by seeking revenge on those who do not give him the obeisance that he demands be given to him. He actually thrives on hate. That which has vexed and tormented the remnant in the church over the past decade....he thrives on!
                 This appears to be the falling away in the church that God's Word warned us about....or at least the beginning of it. Trump used to spout all the time about draining the swamp....which in retrospect is almost surreal....for as it turned out....the Trump family swamp is the most fetid of all the swamps....and Christians have been lured and dragged and tricked into wading in....and as of today....not coming back out.
                  Discernment is all gone....as we started out thinking that we were protecting the freedom to proclaim the gospel....an honorable goal....but eventually we fell in love with the greed and the pride that was hand-fed us by Fox and talk radio....once proud media that was led to contravene the implied laws of journalism....and reported only that which aided the leviathan that was born on a blood moon....and appeared out of nowhere in the 2014/2015 tetrad of blood moons.
                  Trump's god....by definition a being that neither depends on anything....while everything depends on it....is riches....money....and the power that goes with it. That is the god that we evangelicals have latched onto....unawares of it of course....but without excuse.....because the evidence is and has been all around us....but we chose to rely solely on Trump's narrative....and block out that which we were told was....fake news.
                   A couple of years ago I posted on a comment that Trump's former Chief of Staff General John Kelly had made at the time. That comment sums everything up. General John Kelly....after answering a question about his time with Trump....finished with this...."What can I add that has not already been said....There is nothing more to be said....God help us." We in America should be saying just that....'God help us'....instead of the overused and abused....'God bless America.' There are ten years of very clear evidence that Trump is a terribly troubled man....and of his many grotesque antics and comments....the latest would only have been from yesterday....as he spoke to a Republican conference and boasted...."Only I can do this S#%T."
                   This has never been....as the reason always given to us to vote for Trump....that he was the lesser or two evils. These past ten years....Trump.....and Biden....and now this new Trump....have been ten years of God's judgment on not only America....and not only the entire world....and not only on evangelicalism....but on Christians. God's judgment came to the church first....just as His Word tells us that it would do. 
                   One of my prayers for Christian friends who have been totally taken in by Trump....is that God....as He lifts the veils....which He is doing right now....and shows us what we have done....and who we have put in power....that He would also supply and apply a great balm....for it will be a bitter pill to swallow that will come with the revelation.....for we all are responsible for what we are....and all in need of that balm....some sooner than others.

The Shepherds Conference....I Think That The Pillars Were Shaken During That Sermon

                For the better part of the last half of every year I look forward to this Shepherd's Conference.....that should God will it....pillars might be shaken during that conference! So I waited especially for tonight....Friday.....March 6....where Paul Washer to preach.....because he has a tendency to preach to believers as if they were in trouble....and in need of some stern thoughts. Let me segue to yesterday....and my wife asked me if I would like to go out to dinner tonight....at one of her favorite places....and  I immediately said yes....and she immediately made reservations....and then I remembered that just as the dinner would be served....Paul Washer would take the podium....or in this case the pulpit. I said nothing....and we enjoyed our meal....and as we finished I told her in detail about Paul Washer speaking right then....and smiled....and started the live-stream as soon as we got into the car.....and those pillars must have shaken during that sermon! Thank you Lord for all of these faithful men....bless them....and send them out that they might bless us through the blessing that they received tonight!

UPDATE: Well the video is up....and here it is....the video provided includes the hymns sung before Paul Washer speaks....as beautiful as they are....please slide the bar over to '14:00 minutes into the video where Paul Washer begins...that is if you like....

                                                                       

'Donald Trump, Please Go Home'

                       It's a movie that you have probably never seen....because it was involved in law suits that delayed the normal release and handling of the film....but if you are as old as me....you may have read the best-seller that it was based on by William Peter Blatty....(author of The Exorcist)....but this book was part satire/part spoof....and the film is a comedy.....so that is strange to begin with. It stars Shirley Maclaine....and Peter Ustinov....and Richard Crenna.
                       His nickname was....Wrong-Way....Goldfarb....because in college he ran the wrong way with the football for 95 yards....then he became an Air force U-2 pilot....and flew the wrong way....was supposed to be over the Soviet Union....but crashed in a fictional Arab country....which started an international incident. The 1965 film is....John Goldfarb, Please Come Home.
                       The king of the Arab country....(Ustinov)....is kind of like what Trump was like at one time....who just spends all his money on toys....and big ideas....the idea that the movie revolves around is that the king wants the now hostage Goldfarb to form and coach an Arab football team....and then blackmails the United States Secretary of Defense....(Richard Deacon....or Mel Cooley from the Dick Van Dyke Show)....to have Notre Dame come over and play the Arab football team that doesn't appear to even know what a football is.....another tie into the Trump administration....that doesn't appear to know much about anything.
                       This Trump administration is totally different from his first administration. In fact Trump appears to be a different man....under a different power even....as he has come out from day one...."conquering....and to conquer"....as the rider on the white horse is described in Revelation six. 
                       Trump is still planning a UFC 'cage fight' on the White House lawn....
(can you even believe that?).....maybe next year a televised exorcism might be planned on the Ellipse....(bring your Trump bible)....where all the demonic activity of the past five years began? As an odd piece of trivia....in the 1951 classic sci-fi film....The Day The Earth Stood Still.....The alien spacecraft lands right smack dab on the Ellipse next to the White House!

JOHN PIPER HAS A WONSERFUL TEACHING ON TODAY'S....(MARCH 9).....EPISODE OF DESIRINGGOD.ORG....TITLED....YOUR MAIN CALLING IN THE END TIMES. PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS TWELVE MINUTE VIDEO!

                                                                           

And Along Came Anna

                Simeon....from the second chapter of Luke....was a devout man....who did not just sit there....and tell everyone that the Messiah will come in God's timing....and go about his business as if the coming of the Messiah could be hundreds of years away....for as Luke wrote.....it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would see the coming of the Messiah before he died. The Holy Spirit led Simeon into the temple on that day just when Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple. He would have had to have been old....and waiting a long time. Maybe the people tried to discourage him....maybe he heard a lot...."Oh Simeon....you have been saying that the Messiah was coming for a long time. You're wasting your life away!"
                So as Simeon gave his prophecy....along came Anna....who was a prophetess....and she was really old....older than me....and she spent all of her time her whole life in the temple....fasting and praying every day and every night. It's impossible to perfectly interpret the description of her age that Luke gives....but she might have been over a hundred years old! And there had been no prophets in hundreds of years....so why is Anna called a prophetess....and why did Simeon give that prophecy about the child Jesus? Well I think it was because during both of their long lives....the Messiah was getting nearer and nearer....and God was speaking again....and the demons were becoming more active....just like they are today.
               The Holy Spirit leads Anna to that part of the temple just as Simeon finishes prophesying....and she starts telling all the people about this child....all the people who also were also waiting for their Messiah.... or as God's Word puts it...."the redemption of Jerusalem.
               Somehow today....we have been led to believe that it's not a good thing to always be looking for Jesus to return! It's even worse than that because we are told that there is no way that we could know even if we wanted to know! There is no indication that Simeon was more than just a devout and just man living in Jerusalem who wanted the Messiah to come.

              Expect to see this friends....as the horrors of AI begin to unfold....and the new world order.....whatever it turns out to be....begins to take shape....and love grows ever colder and colder....and the rule of law more and more rare....and even greater delusions appear than what we are subject to now....expect more Christians to become as Simeon and Anna....in that they....as was the case with Simeon....wanted only to see the Messiah return to restore righteousness.....and as in the case of Anna....told everyone how that redemption of....'Jerusalem'....was nigh! 
               May God....should it be in his good and perfect will....have mercy upon our shepherds tonight even as they sleep....for if they do not begin to speak out that our Lord and Savior and King is near....then as Luke reported later that the stones would cry out.....the sheep may cry out from the pews! I've read that sheep do not make many noises....and usually only when they are in danger or not being fed.

Mind Setting

Preface: I thought That I would bring back this August 15 of 2023 post...seven weeks before the October Sukkot attacks in Israel. Any Christian....reading his or her Bible as if they really believed that it was the very Word of God....would have known....or should have known....many years ago....that war was coming....and that a false peace was coming. "For you will hear of wars and rumors of wars..."....we don't know how many wars....or even how many times they will falsely say "peace." There are at least a hundred very specific verses in God's Word that identify the day and the age that you and I live in. John MacArthur....who is mentioned many times in the posts preceding this post....once said that in May of 1948...."God put the world on notice." This is not date setting! This is....mind setting...."Set your minds on things that are above, not the things of earth." (Colossians 3:2 ESV)

For Whom The Death Knell Tolls            

               Many of us....possibly most of us.....but certainly not all of us....have some kind of defining characteristic on how we lead our daily lives. My wife's would be in that she is always making a note of something that she has to do. She is famous for it....and it works out very well. Jonathan Edwards was famous for that also as he would take long horseback rides....to meditate...and when he returned it looked like it had snowed....for all of the white pieces of paper that he had pinned all over his clothing.
               Well I also have a very strong characteristic. I need to at all times have a constantly updated view on the big picture of things. I need to more than occasionally go over the many possible changes that life can present. For example....there may not be any imminent household expenses....a new furnace....or a new roof....but provision has to be made anyway for those possible emergencies. That characteristic dominates these posts.
               There is war ahead. One has to be able to step back to see this. It can't be stopped. The dies have been cast. If there is another virus....we have already shot ourselves in the foot....vaccinations are bad....scientists are bad.
               When Jesus said that...."If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand"....He was letting us know what it was going to look like at the end. When He said...."Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth"....He was describing this world today....for as much as we say....'God bless this' and 'God bless that'....our faith has dwindled down to nothing more than those trite phrases. The carnival barkers have our attention today.....pointing to the clowns....or the bearded woman....or the world's strongest man....or the world's smallest man.
               AI alone....is a death knell! Drone warfare is a death knell! Our division is a death knell! Hemingway's famous words were...."For whom the bell tolls....it tolls for thee." Only God's Word gives us hope...."Jesus said to her....(Martha).... 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."

'I Know Him......You Don't......Stay Away From Him'......What else Can I Do?

                 The person reading this might be too young to have heard a story like this.....but at my age it has come up occasionally over the years....maybe in a movie or on TV or in a book or even in real life. It's a story of two brothers....(in fact I did a post on this once.....maybe I can find it)....where one brother is a normal young man....but his brother has been bad his whole life....always telling lies....caring only about himself....hurting people and laughing at other's misfortune.....with absolutely no compassion at all. Well they grow up....and the first brother is the only one who really knows what the other brother is like. They live in the same community....and the second brother has become 'successful'....and has deceived just about everyone in that they have been taken in by his outgoing and confident personality....and they begin to be friends with him....and even admire him....as he takes on positions of authority in the community or even in church. All this time the first brother can only sit back and watch his friends and/or the community and the church be taken in....for he cannot come out and tell people to stay away from his brother....for who would believe him anyway?
                  In that post that I wrote some time ago....Trump is that second brother....and I am as the brother who knows him.....because I spent the last ten years reading about his whole life....(110 books)....and his relationships with his family....and watching maybe fifty of his rallies....and checking just about everything that he said over that ten years....and applying everything to my extensive knowledge of cults. In reality it is not just me that knows who Trump is....but multitudes across America....even across the political spectrum. The older Democrats know Trump very well because they both came from the same culture....the liberal....Studio 54....tabloid celebrity culture. This is why they so often ask how it is possible that evangelicals can accept this man? They do not hold to our religious beliefs....but they know what they are....because we have told them all the time.
                   So I ask the same question....only I know the answer. What the average Democrat or the liberal 'Christian' does not realize is that the Christian is on a very perilous journey. There was....(and is)....a children's book from maybe thirty years ago with the title....Dangerous Journey. I gave it to our young son....and our son later gave it to his young son. This pilgrimage that we are on is fraught with dangers....to the left and to the right....and if we do not stay on the straight path....then we will pay for it. Bunyan told about this gloriously in Pilgrim's Progress. We might wind up in a legalist bondage....or taken in a trap....or decide to take and easier path and wind up in total depression....that can even be a fatal depression. We may have to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.....and we definitely have to go through Vanity Fair....in fact we live in Vanity Fair. We in the church had few shepherds to protect us....and little to no preaching to strengthen us....and no warnings of Trump whatsoever! Thus Trump came in....a wolf in sheep's clothing....and today our bodies are strewn all over the place. 
                     So that young person today....for example....has absolutely no way to discern the dangers of Trump. The church grid that they may have been raised on is not a sound biblical grid. The talk radio grid today is not the same that it was thirty years ago....nor is FOX NEWS the same....'fair and balanced'....news media that it once was. 
                     When Trump talks of a golden age....or "winning....winning....winning"....or getting what is rightly ours through tariffs....or telling us how all illegal aliens must go....(except those maybe whose IT skills make them useful to us getting richer)....we suck it up like a stray dog at a fishing hole on a hot summer day. We think that this is great....making America great again....even though we know little to nothing about what greatness is. And we think that we are not only patriots....but valiant Christians....fighting the good fight....against the evil darkness of progressives and wokism. We actually think that what we are doing is part of revival!
                     We brought all of this upon ourselves.....as we played around with our entertainments and our sports. We passed through Vanity Fair....and bought properity.....and built our home on it. We hired the pastors and the teachers that we wanted. We put a carving knife to the gospel....getting rid of everything that we did not like....and thus we are where we are....cheering a man....who the Apostle John described as an....antichrist....an enemy of the gospel!
                      Here is an axiom....a tyrant cannot help but do some things right....but he is still a tyrant. To some of us on our side of this mess....we know who Trump is....and what he is....so when he does something that should be done....we see it like it is....pouring a tablespoon of honey into a glass of tainted water....it doesn't change the water that will make the one who drinks it sick....but all that the rest of us see is the honey!