"Great Is Artemis Of The Ephesians...."

The following was first posted November 6th, 2017:

         Doesn't it seem odd how there appeared to be a lot of demons around when Jesus walked the earth....but today....with more people in the United States than there was in the whole world 2000 years ago....that the demonic is hardly mentioned outside of certain fundamentalist churches....and never in the media unless some mother is arrested supposedly trying to cast a demon out of her child. I have to wonder if Christians today even believe in demonic activity....for if they did then how could they so nonchalantly be involved in sorceries in the form of entertainment? (Halloween in two days is considered clean fun)
         Have you ever been stunned as I have in looking at photos of some mass murders in America where the perpetrators of these deeds often display wild eyes and vacant stares....sometimes even hideous smiles? We usually ascribe their actions to some kind of chemical imbalance in the brain and then tack a psychology label on them.
         Forty years ago there were Christian books on the market that warned of both occult influences on the young and also of mind vacating drugs that can essentially serve as an invitation to the demonic. I read the books at the time....they made sense to me....still do....so for over thirty-five years now I have tended to check the newspapers for reports that the mass murderer was either heavily involved in the occult or with mind-altering drugs whether illegal or doctor prescribed. What most often seems to happen is that these details do come out in the affirmative.....but mysteriously not until months or even years have passed.
          It's been proposed that demonic activity is higher in some ages than it is in others, so it was quite natural to be intense when Jesus Christ walked the earth. I think that that is a fair assessment and also that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in judgment would see even more evil in this world....in the form of violence. Whether one believes that Jesus Christ is at the very doorstep or not....one has to admit that it must not be far off....or at the very least hope that our Lord's return is near....we can agree on that can we not?
          The occult and drugs were both part of Hitler's Nazi regime. How could Stalin not have been demon possessed?  It is my contention that this is what we are dealing with in much of the news of today that stuns us in its violence and evil. So what are we to do? We are to go to God's Word that is given to us.....live in the Bible......every word of it.......every day......hold everything up to it......apply it to everything.......defend with it....wield it as a sword.
          Paul spent two years in Ephesus that supported and celebrated the occult worship of Artemis
and magical arts. His ministry generated hate and violence towards 'the Way' much the same as whatwe are experiencing in America today. In writing to the church at Ephesus while awaiting his
martyrdom in Rome he was inspired to write this: "...be strong in the Lord and the power of His
might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand."

Two Men Who Have Completed Their Mission

The following are two posts from much earlier this year....of two men used mightily of God....two men who along with preaching the glories of Jesus Christ and His wondrous Gospel....warned America every bit as much as Jeremiah and Ezekiel warned the children of Israel. Both are with their Lord now....R. C. Sproul passing on to glory last December and Billy Graham following him in February of this year. That fact alone....that these two men completed their missions.....should give Christians great pause as to why God took them at roughly the same time.

            R. C. Sproul was a pastor/teacher/theologian whose influence on the church in America was up there with that of George Whitefield or Jonathan Edwards or Billy Graham. His ability to explain and expound upon the great doctrines of the Bible was surely a God given blessing to all of us.
            He was a Pittsburger. I say 'Pittsburgher' rather than just 'born in Pittsburgh' because Western Pennsylvanians are almost a breed unto themselves. Let me give you an example. In all of the history of major league baseball you will not find a more uplifting or heartwarming season than that of 1979. The family atmosphere of that Pirate season was pure Pittsburgh.....it effected the the players.....and the fans....and even reached out into the nation.
            R. C. Sproul's personality was formed on these streets that did not have the hustle-bustle of a Manhattan or the quirkiness of Califormia. There was no uppityness here....no great mountains to take our attention away....and no summer surf for outsiders to flock to....on the whole just a friendly and fair people....but it does have history. My father was raised smack dab on a battlefield where God gave rise to a young George Washington.....and yet hardly anyone even knew the importance of the Battle of the Monongahela.
           These streets are where God also gave rise to a man who would start a ministry that would restore in American Christianity the knowledge of the holiness of God. If you doubt what I say then go and listen to some of the audio on R. C. Sproul's teaching ministry. It's all there. All you have to do is touch a few keys on your keyboard.....ligonier.com. Go there now and hear for yourself!

And then there was Billy Graham:

           If you know even a little bit of the life of Billy Graham you have heard of the two-word phrase....."Puff Graham." Just as God had prepared Cyrus the Great to give an edict for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.....he prepared William Randolph Hearst....in the middle of that famous 1949 Los Angeles crusade....to give that two-word directive to all of his newspapers. 'Puff Graham' meant to put him on the front pages.....to build him up.....for Hearst knew a good story when he saw one.....God had made sure of that!
           The ultimate result of making this young preacher from North Carolina an instant celebrity was that for the next almost six decades Americans could not go very long without coming across a Billy Graham crusade on their television sets. God was out of our public schools but the evangelistic message given by Billy Graham permeated our life through the television. While flipping channels from Peter Gunn to the Danny Thomas Show in 1959, or from Lawrence Welk to Green Acres in 1969, or from Threes Company to Hawaii Five-O in 1979, or from Twin Peaks to Cheers in 1989, or Frazier to Family Guy in 1999, one might very well come to a crusade....and be drawn....if even for a minute or so....to those powerful words spoken in a strong southern drawl....."Come foreword.....your friends will wait for you.....commit your life to Jesus Christ!
           The Reverend Graham was very well-known for his friendships with US Presidents. I have a feeling that this might not be what he was most thankful for as he looked back upon his ministry....a ministry that seemed to change somewhat after Richard Nixon.  He wrote these humble words in his last book....Where I am...."I wish I had preached more on the Resurrection of Christ because without it, there would be no Gospel."
            This is my opinion.....my observation......that Billy Graham's ministry became more intense in the 1980s concerning God's warnings to America and to the entire world. One book reviewer even lamented that the Reverend Graham's books took on a much more serious tone the longer that he lived. The 'friend to presidents' many times became the 'sinners in the hands of an angry God' preacher. Indeed the introductory chapter of that last and finest book of his....Where I Am.....implored of the reader to consider that there is a hell....and that God is not mocked....and that we must receive Him....on His terms!
           We no longer have Billy Graham's crusades on television.....we no longer have God in our schools.....and we no longer have Christian bookstores everywhere. Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul have both gone on to be with their Lord and Savior.....and both men.....once again from my observations..... felt an increasingly extreme urgency at the end of their lives to proclaim that Jesus Christ was returning in power and glory.....and judgment.

Lord Willing

The following is is from June 6, 2016:


       OK, here's what happened. My wife and I both gave items to be sold at a fund raiser, and I went to the fund raiser to buy something....anything....to help out in that way also. I came across a music CD of a group that I like. My wife later asked me what I bought and I showed her the CD with a certain sense of satisfaction. She rolled her eyes and said "That's the CD I gave you for Christmas a few years back. It's been in with our other CDs since then. You didn't like it!" I said that I never saw the CD before. She countered that she donated it a few days ago. Still suspicious, I listened to it again. Same CD alright.... and I didn't like it this time either. Oh to have that memory of youth again.
        December, 1971....I do remember a little bit of that month for I spent it in Sydney, Australia on my second R&R from Vietnam. Sydney has a Mediterranean type of weather all year round and December would be the beginning of their summer. I'd like to relate this little story from that trip. The Sydney Opera House was in construction. It would not officially open for almost two years but it was still a magnificent site at that time. I was standing on a bank to what would be the left of the Opera House if you were looking at it from the harbor. A middle aged man came up to me and introduced himself as a local Baptist pastor. He had a request for who he thought to be an American serviceman on R&R. That I was on R&R would have been very obvious. He asked me if I lifted weights. I told him that I did. His church had just purchased a new set of weights for the youth group and he said that they would really appreciate an American serviceman giving them of few tips on beginning weightlifting. I politely declined the invitation. He paused and then asked again...for the sake of the youth. I paused and declined again. I had $500 burning a hole in my pocket. That decision of mine has haunted me ever since. After the Internet came into being I researched Sydney Baptist churches a number of times in a vain attempt to locate the pastor.....decades after the fact.
         This post is a little trip down memory lane. The Decades television channel just aired an interview from the Dick Cavett Show with then California Governor Ronald Reagan from June 5, 1971, and it got me thinking of where I was when it aired. The interview was broadcast because Reagan died on June 5th, 2004.
         Our collapse as a nation had already begun when the interview was orignally aired. The 60s had decimated our youth....of which I was one. The seeds of Watergate would be planted in the minds of President Nixon's advisers within a month of that interview. The Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of a United States president....as serious as it was....was nothing....absolutely nothing compared to the corruption we would experience in the Clinton administration and the treasonous deception of the current (Obama) administration. We were outraged as a nation then.....but could hardly care less today.
         I watched Reagan tonight and even though he was a little uncomfortable on the show, for there were half cheers and half boos when he was introduced, his genuine love for America was evident as I sat there watching in what are today the ruins of that great American Experiment.
        We may elect them or they make take power by force but God gives nations its leaders. It may be to strengthen the nation and it may be to destroy it. Reagan was given as a reprieve. There was a certain sense of maturation in the Christian church at the time, remnants of which are still with us, but it withered away under George H. W. Bush. We were outraged by the Clintons but also oblivious to our own culpability in what we were becoming. September 11th shook us to the core. George W. Bush responded as he should have, and our military was faithful and gallant as they have always been, but as in Vietnam we were a people half iron and half clay. We were then given Barack Hussein Obama.
       This campaign (2016 primaries) has become a curse in that it gives a false hope and it keeps us from falling on our knees in mortification of what we have become. There was one line in that interview with then Governor Reagan that took my breath away in its humility and its sincerity of reverence for Almighty God. He was asked if he would run for president in 1972. His answer was...."No...Lord willing....I'll complete my second term as governor." Oh, to hear government officials use that phrase again! Lord willing....this election will even come about. Lord willing....we may survive as a republic. Lord willing....mercy will be extended for yet another year. All other thinking is but vanity and futility.
        

"And If A Sparrow Cannot Fall To The Ground Without His Notice...."

           The Roman Republic morphed into the Roman Empire and then waned....and centered in the Eastern empire as the Western Roman Empire collapsed. I spent this past Monday walking the battlefield of Gettysburg with a particular emphasis on this trip on McPherson's Ridge and the Lutheran Theological Seminary and museum. America has evolved similarly as the constitutional republic morphed into empire (complete with its Caesars) and is now in the process of splitting as the 'Western' element is being sacked in the midst of its own 'Pubic Wars.' (no misspelling here folks)
            Benjamin Franklin is said to have answered...."A Republic....if you can keep it"....when asked at the close of the Constitutional Convention what type of government was formed. I won't give the quote verbatim because there is no original source to prove it but another quote is attributed to that time period. The thought in that quote was that a democracy can only exist until the people discover that they can vote themselves money. Abraham Lincoln did say "....if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves"....and George Washington was indeed worried towards the end of his presidency that America was dangerously becoming less religious.
            I thought that I would use this opportunity to bring back the following post from this past May that concludes with yet another Benjamin Franklin quote:

A Difference Without A Distinction
 
            What we are seeing taking place before our very eyes is a new coalition being formed by President Trump. A lot of the same voting block remains that was a thorn in the side of Barack Obama's anti-American Marxist agenda over eight years that culminated in the defeat of Hillary Clinton in November of 2016 but the Make America Great Again element that focuses on American hegemony in the economy of the world along with military power has taken control of the agenda.
           Whereas the former block was very issues and ideology oriented, the new coalition is more profit and power oriented. The former was high on ethics, honesty and transparency but the latter is all pragmatics with little to no emphasis on ethics, honesty and transparency.
           The power base has shifted dramatically within this coalition. The former were able to keep issues such as abortion and marriage, border security, Common Core and a fair tax system on the front burner. Those issues are on the back burners on simmer right now if not turned off....while the stock market, 401ks and employment statistics (which by the way can be nuanced every bit as much as with Democrat administrations), and big stick foreign policy initiatives are now on the front burners and on high.
           Possibly the biggest difference between the two is in general discernment. The former might first see communism whereas the latter only state leaders Xi Jinping or Kim Jong-un. The former knows a little bit of the pernicious plans of globalism whereas the latter thinks that globalism is only economics and they are thus content to just focus on the concept of making America great again.
           The most significant impact from the difference between the two is that the Founding Fathers of America were mentioned often over decades but one hardly hears the names Thomas Jefferson or George Washington  anymore. The towering figure of Donald Trump has cast a shadow over the Constitution and most unfortunately over the Bible also. This is what the power of an image can do.
            The Trump administration has made us more proactive....you can see this in yesterday's decision on Iran....but at the same time it has made us more vulnerable in a number of ways. In essence we are preparing for good times....and not preparing for bad times. There is an edge to us these days. We were once confident in what we believed to be true but today we are more confident in ourselves. We once sought out debate but there is no longer a need for that....in fact in the case of people like myself....debate is considered destructive if not traitorous to the cause.
           If only this changing of the guard were a 'distinction without a difference'....but in fact it is a 'difference without a distinction.' Our agenda has changed along with our methods and even allegiances but we have not observed it because the motion of the river has shifted the sediment below what we can see from the surface. The variable here is the horde of Christians remaining in this block....and I use the word 'horde' only to emphasis it's potential power. If they come to realize that they have compromised many of their beliefs without even realizing it.....and they begin to back off on the MAGA agenda.....then Donald Trump's new coalition will be much smaller.....and forced to continue to metastasize to fill the big tent that it now has.  A 'conservative movement' seeking its own glory and not that of the Benefactor of its country is where we are headed.....and it's not be a pretty sight to behold.
           We'll see how this all pans out. In God's eyes this past general election was of no importance at all other than the next step in His plan. The same goes with Jerusalem as Israel's capital.  The term 'capital' is a modern delineation of what city is the country's most important. This move means nothing to God other than possibly leading to events precluding His return....with all of His angels....in power and glory.
            I've been interested....involved....in politics for one half a century. If I might paraphrase and then expand upon Benjamin Franklin's famous words at the Constitutional Convention...."I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without without his aid?"....I have lived 68 years now due to God's grace upon the most unworthy of it....and the longer I live the more I see that politics in America can be helpful if we seek wisdom from God....but put it in front of humility and submission to God's will and it is but a river that cannot be crossed....a mountain that cannot be climbed....metal that cannot be forged....and peace that cannot be attained....at any price....with any armies....behind any champion....or for any even righteous cause.


            

Just How Strong Is President Trump's Support?

           How strong is the support for President Trump? Rasmussen has a 51% job approval right now. Some of the other major pollsters have that figure in the low 40s. I just don't know enough about the accuracy of these surveys.....and I don't think that anyone really does....but I think that you can glean some information on the ongoing cumulative figures for the combined polling. This figure as realclearpolitics.com updates everyday seems to go up a few points when there is good news for President Trump and conversely down a few points when the news is bad....and this makes perfect sense. I would think that today's news would initiate some lower figures as President Trump called yet another woman by a very derogatory name....but the stock market went up 547 points....so we'll see.
           The rallies don't tell us as much as one might expect as the locations are carefully chosen and any of these areas surely can generate thousands of hardcore supporters. Likewise for conservative talk radio as all of the hosts who direct their shows are firmly in the corner of the President. This is by far President Trump’s chief source of support but since there is no critical opinion as part of the format it really can’t be used to determine the strength or stability of that support.
           Before I retired....working in an environment of hundreds of people....it was easy to gauge the political opinions at least of the working man. This was one reason that I firmly believed that Donald Trump would win the election. I don't have that input today. The input that I do have....which is mostly from other Christians.....is not favorable at all to President Trump. They....like me....don't regret their vote for Donald Trump in the general election one bit....and they also....as I....would probably vote for Trump in 2020 for the same reasons.....but there is a big difference....the unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump is much greater.
            Confusing the situation even more is that President Trump's base has changed somewhat. Support from the serious 'wall' people....and the 'repeal Obamacare' people....and those who knew very well the pending disaster from this monstrous national debt....must surely be down and certainly lukewarm at best....but this falloff has been made up by independents who could care less about Donald Trump's character....and really like the economic figures. So the social conservative support would be down...possibly way down....but the MAGA support is still as strong as it has always been.....probably much stronger....and certainly more forceful and in your face than it has ever been. Whatever these percentages might be....truth has taken a severe beating while pragmatic power politics has taken center stage.
            The difficulty figuring out this whole thing does not stop here because the coming midterm election is a major influence at least in appearances of support for President Trump. We may not like Donald Trump at all but we just cannot lose the House or the Senate....so the President in effect gets a pass on who he has turned out to be. If this were the midterms of his second term.....this is my opinion of course....a lot of people who volunteer little criticism today because of the electoral situation would be looking forward with great enthusiasm to Donald Trump's leaving office and going away.
           There is one last part of this base and it is the most volatile of all....the evangelicals....more specifically Christians who still trust their Bibles more than Rush Limbaugh. If they finally say that they have had it with Donald Trump the man then there goes five to seven overall percentage points....and that would likely be enough to change the situation completely....for in my opinion.....and I've stated it before....President Trump would then abandon any pretense for the need to keep the Christian support....and turn wholly to his MAGA base.
           God is in control of all of this....as He is always.....of everything everywhere! Not one molecule in the universe would stay intact without His omnipotent power. He will either awaken these Christians.....or He will let us slumber. Either way it will be His perfect will.....and to His glory alone. If He should awaken us then a winnowing would most likely come to the visible church. This would have extreme prophetic implications....and President Trump....and the midterms....and so many other things that we consider of ultimate importance today....would pale as it would be obvious to all of us Christians that our Lord....our Savior....and our King....is about to make Himself known to all the kings of this world....and all the people ruled by them.
           

How The 'West' Was Won....And What A 'Rush' It Was

           Rush Limbaugh has lost all....all objectivity on his show....as he totally ignores legitimate criticism.....from conservatives....of a man who apparently has become 'too big to fail'....and this going on two years now. Everything he says is as if orchestrated out of the Oval Office. It isn't directly orchestrated from the Oval Office of course but it's as if it could be. It is 100% President Trump public relations. Sarah Huckabee Sanders would never criticize President Trump or volunteer anything negative of Donald Trump in a press briefing.....we expect this.....but Rush does the same thing as a radio talk show host! We conservatives didn't expect this.....and we shouldn't have accepted it....but we did. With Fox News gone....and conservative talk radio essentially gone....we are ripe for simply following a Pied Piper.....and that's what we have done.  Kanye West has become one such follower. The following post is from this past May:

           OK.....Kanye West.....previous to the last few days the only thing that I knew about him was that he was a very rich Rap artist.....that he was married to one of the Kardashions......and that he once stormed the stage of an awards ceremony and grabbed the microphone when he didn't agree with who won some award.
           After perusing Wikipedia......his life and his work....he seems like a very likable guy....and some of the things that he has done are very admirable. In one quoted tweet he said...."I no longer have a manager. I can't be managed." Wow! Who does that remind you of?
           Few political commentators on the national scene have paid for their outspokenness as much as Dinesh D'Souza. I have to wonder if Kanye West saw D'Souza's 2016 documentary Hillary's America, The Secret History of the Democrat Party?  This film was so good that liberal critics on one particular web site gave it a 4% approval rating....which means that it was probably 96% good....and it was the 8th highest grossing political political documentary of all time. If West did see that film then that might explain a lot of his opinions of late.....opinions which would also probably get a 4% approval rating from his peers. The film is powerful and I'm sure that you can pick up the DVD cheap if you have never viewed it. (I'm in no hurry to see D'Souza's newest film Death Of A Nation...subtitle Can We (emphasis mine) Save America A Second Time....as the descriptions of it that I've read indicate that he....after helping get of the rats....is falling himself for a Pied Piper. This what I'm doing in these posts is what we're supposed to do isn't it....credit the person when credit is due....and be critical when that is in order....even of our own folks? And this is what conservative talk radio should have done with candidate turned President Trump but they have dug for themselves a hole that will be hard to get out of.)
           Kanye West's support of President Trump is a major development. It's also a natural development as we are seeing that conservative principles make life better for minorities and all Americans. My concern with all the hoopla concerning Kanye West....and it's a big one....is that it may not be conservative common sense that won over Mr. West...but a personality not too dissimilar to his own. Now there is another person on the national stage who I'm not familiar with....Candace Owens...who tweeted...."I truly believe that @Donald Trump isn't just the leader of the free world, but the savior of it as well." Kanye West retweeted her tweet. Folks...Donald Trump is not our Savior....we do realize that do we not? Sometimes I wonder.
           This is the problem. In our defense of President Trump against a deep state coup we ignore what should be a serious concern about Donald Trump's lifelong personality and character...a man who never forgets something done to him.....where truth is a non-entity in the art of the deal....where study is not necessary to a natural genius....and where as I have mentioned before.....Donald Trump is showing signs of the of Nebuchadnezzar mentality of...."Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty." (Daniel 4:30)
            Strong conservative constitutional principles roused the American public in putting an end to Hillary Clinton's ambitions but Donald Trump has taken those principles and transposed them with his own majesty. We are no longer conservatives.....we are Trumpsters.....and unless Donald Trump acquires some semblance of humility as did Nebuchadnezzar after eating grass for seven whatevers....then we will regret what we will have built.

Win At All Costs....Even At The Expense Of The Gospel

           Your an NFL fan.....and your best player is a linebacker known everywhere as a headhunter. Your winning in no small part because of him. Take him off the field and there probably are no playoffs. What do you do? Is it all about winning? I don't know how many teams are in the NFL....I lost track thirty-five years ago when I stopped following the game. Let's say thirty....the year ends.....one team wins the Super Bowl.....are the other twenty-nine teams all losers? If a player lasts for eighteen seasons in the NFL and never wins a Super Bowl...is he a loser? If a team wins the Super Bowl but has a bunch of dirty players.....even cheats....and their fans are known as obnoxious and even violent....(there's a lot of this type of behavior in various sports around the world)....are they real winners? If the other team plays dirty does that make it OK for you play like they do? Would you be willing to become like them for a trophy? Is this how you want your children to grow up? One last thing.....football is used here only as an example. There's no perfect analogy to this that I can think of....(although there are a lot of accusations flying around in major league baseball right now)....but lying and cheating (deceiving) to win has become the norm in much of our postmodern narcissistic culture....especially politics.

DISPATCHES

Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Kevin McCarthy both have been promising full funding for a border wall....and Paul Ryan is promising a fight....after the midterm elections! Folks....they are scamming you for midterm votes. If they do ever present a bill make sure to check it for dates....and also any loopholes to get out of it....loopholes not of their own doing of course. As for President Trump....he could care less....he has to make a big show about a wall from time to time....but this is precious monies out of his hegemony fund.

The Trump administration has been giving hints about the long anticipated Middle East Plan. The president himself said it should be unveiled in a couple of months. Today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave the same clue that President Trump gave a few days ago in that a two-state solution is part of the plan. A couple of things about this....first....Jared Kushner should never have been let inside the Oval Office in any official capacity as his business history does not lend itself to any confidence in such a position. Second....whatever this plan might entail....more than ever before in his life....President Trump had better not be playing bait and switch or any other games. Israel may be in rebellion to God every bit as much as we are but if a nation.....particularly a protector nation as we are....is to make a deal as an ally....one that concerns their security....it had better be transparent....and most of all....the promises have to be kept!

You're not going to want to hear this...it'll break your bubble....but you won't believe it anyway....so here goes. Supreme Court justices are important to Donald Trump for one reason....that they uphold various decisions that he makes that may be challenged....decisions that further his MAGA economic and hegemonic agenda. That's the only thing that matters to him....not as much because of his great love for America....but because of his great love for himself.
These nominees don't necessarily have to be conservative justices but in nominating them he kills two birds with one stone as he...one....clears a path for his agenda.....and two....sucks conservatives into believing that he is some kind of champion....a hero who believes the same things that they believe....which he doesn't. The conservatives for their part get decisions that they want.....most very good originalist constitutional decisions that America needs.....that's the good news. The bad news is that Donald Trump gets all the credit for nominees that if credit is given where it is due ..belongs to the decade and even longer efforts of others....of which Donald Trump only elbowed his way to the forefront....and thus conservative radio talk show hosts will never even analyze let alone criticize him.
We are thus kept in the dark as to who Donald Trump really is.....he is further enabled....and his cultic following gets bigger....more arrogant in their own perceived power....while in their euphoria further estranged from conservative ideals.....and further away from their only true hope in this very dangerous world.....the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you probably know....Nikki Haley abruptly resigned her ambassadorial post at the United Nations. She said this today...."I can't say enough good things about Jared and Ivanka....Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands." President Trump said this in response to questions about Ivanka replacing Haley...."There's nothing to do with nepotism, but I want to tell you, the people that know, know that Ivanka would be dynamite." Ivanka said that it won't be her that replaces Haley.....and probably not.....but this is the same Ivanka who when asked by Leslie Stahl in December of 2016 on if she would have a role in the Trump administration said...."I'm not....I'm going to be a daughter." President Trump also said that Ivanka would be "incredible" at the United Nations....and that "there was no one more competent in the world" than her. Now there may not be a lot a Trump supporters who are taken ill by these statements.....but know this....there are some.

Apparently the television drama series Bull is starting its third season. I had no idea what it was until about a month ago. Jason Bull has a PHD....I have something more valuable....a DD-214....(I saw this concept on a t-shirt and liked it). Bull....through his expertise in psychology....is contracted to help lawyers pick juries....and also with the help of psychology to help with the trial tactics. Sounds like fake law so why do I seem to like it? Well the series isn't about law. It's about the chaos that is everywhere when law is not revered and truth is inconsequential....my take anyway....so get your client off....regardless of whether he or she is innocent or not....and get your candidate reelected.....whether he or she is good or not. Bull premiered about five weeks before the November 2016 election....so it's very....today.

Blue Wave And Red Tide

        Blue Wave type celebrations generally come in the form of Hollywood extravaganzas such as when the 13 inch tall Oscar is awarded...(a statue that eerily resembles the alien Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still....Klaatu barada nikto).....or the raucous Emmy's and various other awards ceremonies....and also the Washington D. C. journalist circuit dinner feasts.....and even the desert's Burning Man festival or the Bohemian Grove rituals where a 30 foot concrete owl is the center of attraction.
        We have our own problems on our side today....for we are the Red Tide. Our celebrations come primarily in the form of President Trump's rallies. Our idol is a golden haired calf of which when we bathe in adoration to it it sucks the oxygen out of the water and spreads harmful toxins to our minds. We are consumed by....and celebrating....the appearance of prosperity and the seductive lure of power and hegemony. Ethics and honesty are killjoys.
        There was another celebration held long ago in ancient Babylon and recorded in the 5th chapter of the Book of Daniel. Known as Belshazzar's Feast....the king....a successor to Nebuchadnezzar....held a feast for those who served him in official capacities. He called for the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem to drink from! A hand suddenly appeared and wrote these words on the wall.....Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. The terrified king called for his magicians to come and interpret the words which they could not do. The Queen advised that a Hebrew be called to interpret....Daniel....for he had done so for Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel reminded Belshazzar of how Nebuchadnezzar saw the works of the Most High God and had humbled his heart...."but you...Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this." Daniel then interpreted the words. Belshazzar had been weighed in the balances and found wanting....his kingdom was finished.....to be divided and given to the Medes and Persians.     
         The handwriting is on the wall for America. We know very well of our Christian past and how at times our leaders humbled themselves before the God....but today we are unrepentant....even arrogant....festive and proud....WINNING....referencing God only as political garnish in this feast celebrating prosperity and power.  

“For Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety.”  Psalm 4:8b

   

The Middle Path To Nowhere

           Breitbart is reporting on the upcoming auction of a one and a half page letter written by Albert Einstein two years before his death in which he said that there is nothing chosen about the Jewish people....and that the "word of God" is nothing special....and that all religions are superstition. He stated before he died as did the famous atheist Christopher Hitchens before he died in 2011.....that there is nothing that is going to change his mind. Is it not irony that Hitchens had the name 'Christ' within his own first name?
           Isaac Newton is often chosen on surveys as to having been the greatest scientist ever. He essentially left his secular vocation to further pursue his Christian vocation. Twenty-five or so years ago I did a very primitive study on the men (and women) whose discoveries led to the power plant that I worked in. Most of those I researched were believers in God and Christians....but science will not determine this debate.
           The extraordinary intelligence of men like Einstein and Newton is a wonderful thing but that intelligence is not in itself the determination of what he will conclude about God....for every man has a heart as well as a mind....and the heart of man is not subject to the mind.
           This ongoing debate between science being the dominant evidence....and God's Word being the dominant evidence.....has resulted in modern times in a compromise. Man does not have to take everything that science says to be true....nor does he have to take everything that God's Word says to be true. Therefore we can say that we believe in God....and are confident that God....(should He really exist)....will accept us into whatever is to come. We therefore do not have to be 'born again'....or any such thing....that this is our intellectual prerogative....we simply have to be good....in our own eyes!
           Man has a predetermined numbers of years on this earth that are limited today to a little over a century at most. Einstein had his belief at the end of his 76 years....Hitchens had his belief at the end of his 62 years....Newton had his belief at the end of his 84 years. I have mine....and you have yours. You may argue your case....but only for so long. I implore you to at least acknowledge that you have consciously chosen a middle path. That confident as you may be....you have departed from a literal interpretation on what God's Word says about being redeemed by Christ....and have knowingly gone against the testimony of what every Christian stalwart in the faith has said for the past two thousand years.
           Friends....every one of us who not only trusts in Jesus Christ....but also in what His Word says to us.....and every one of those Christian stalwarts in the faith that came before us....and who are now with Christ....were at one time where you are. You can choose the path which Albert Einstein chose. He may have been almost incalculably smarter than you and me....but he has as you and me will in the future....encountered the omniscient and omnipotent intellect that created all of man's intellect....even his own. Or you can choose a middle path....that none of those whose names you may have heard proclaimed from time to time in church had taken. You most definitely will not be alone if it is company that you want....maybe you are bringing your children with you....in effect making the choice for them....even though you think that you are only letting them make their own choice....but you will not find Jesus Christ at the end of your journey....other than as a judge.

You And I Will Be United....Ugh....That Doesn't Sound Too Good To You Right Now Does It

The message in the following post....slightly abridged....from a Monday last November....is a hard message....and we are much worse off now than we were then!     

         How was your church service yesterday? Fine you say? Did you find yourself praying for your pastor during the sermon because the burden weighing him down seemed so great? If not then maybe the service was not so fine after all.
         Our pulpits in America have let us down.....they have let Christian believers down......and most important of all they have let their Lord and Savior down! Did they do this out of malice to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? No.....they did it out of ignorance. The worst that can be said about them is that they became lazy....(or else they thought that long ago they learned all that they will ever need in the pulpit)....and that when finally apprised of what is going on they...many of them...still refused to sound a clarion call.
          Now maybe you are angry with me......how dare I you say! Folks....in the world you perceive it to be at this time.....I might agree with you. In the actual world that we live in.....it's time to throw the passions of football and exercise out the window and get to work and prepare.
         Do you know what globalism is....who these elite globalists are....what their history is and how they view themselves? Of course you don't....they own the media....so we're not told that. Oh you most certainly understand the economic aspect of what globalism is....that can't be covered up. What you don't know is that this is a society that exists above mere mortals like you and me. Its power is enormous and they consider themselves to be of some sort of deity. You are a serf to them and nothing more. There is no moral law to prevent them from destroying anyone and anything that gets in their way. There is no God that they will be judged by.
         Is there any good news? Folks....the good news is so overwhelming that when one understands it one must fall before the majesty and the power and the glory of Jesus Christ. One must then have His hand put on them hearing..."Stand....fear not....for I am with you." He's coming back folks. Every child's tears throughout this world will be dried. Every mother's cries are heard and will end. Every Christian father's prayer for their children will be answered. Every war will end. Every crushing the skull of a beautiful pre-born baby will cease. Every abomination will be seen for what it is. Every slaughter of God's wonderful animal kingdom will stop. There is a cost to discipleship and we....in America....but not everywhere.... are about $20 trillion in arrears.
          John Ankerberg....to give just one example of many.....heads a wonderful Christian ministry that I have been familiar with for decades. He's a good looking guy....trim....silver hair.....looks the same as he did in the early 80s....you'd know him if you saw him. He thinks that the Rapture is next....and then comes the Tribulation. He's wrong....wonderful ministry....more faithful Christian than I will ever be...but he's wrong on this one thing.....and yet even he is warning the church with all that is in him on what is ahead.

         Difficult times are at our doorstep with a foot already in over the threshold. If you don't see this then you are not looking. There are multitudes of pastors out there who would express the same thoughts that I have given in this post. There is a winnowing ahead. Possibly the hardest thing will be multitudes....in the church....who will dig and dig until they come up with an excuse...not to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ! The rest of us will be united in the love of Jesus Christ. You may not feel so united with me right now but we're coming together....may God add multitudes to us! Maranatha....Come Lord Jesus!!

We Are No Longer Aware Of Our Condition

           There was a time in the recent history of the church when Christians knew that America was in trouble....not with earthly enemies....but with God. Preachers warned of this. Billy Graham and others wrote on this....and we all knew it deep down within. We looked around and all that we saw was rebellion....decay in the culture....and corruption in the government....and a growing easy-believism within the church. Time passed....a few decades....and this knowledge of our rebellion just sort of slipped away. We experienced 9/11....the wars that followed it....turmoil at home....and then Barack Obama....a socialist.....who we found to be a Marxist....and is probably a communist....was in our White House.
          We were giving the farm away so to speak and Hillary Clinton seemed destined to continue the charade of Progressivism's distorted view of American patriotism. There was a large remnant....a small minority overall but a large remnant within the church in America that knew that God was judging us by giving us these leaders.....but then along came Donald Trump. He along with Rush Limbaugh....the single strongest voice within Christian conservatism's earshot....told us....no convinced us....that everything was going to be alright.....better than alright....great....exactly the opposite of what God's Word tells us!
          So here we are today.....ten times....just to use a generic exclamation....ten times worse than we were at the height of faithful Christians ministers warning us....and yet all discernment of God's judging us as a nation is gone. We are much more in rebellion to God....and aware of it much less! We are in a far worse condition than we were before because we are not only not aware of God's judgments that should be evident every day but cannot even remember how far we have fallen as a nation in rebellion to God.
         We project everything that is wrong onto the Democrats. After all....we're the good guys....trying to get conservative Supreme Court justices....trying to get the heavy hand of government away from our families....and trying to restore the Constitution back to its proper place. It gets worse folks....we think that we are winning.... we think that God is blessing us because of our faithfulness....just look at the economy! Forget that God said that when a rebellious nation such as we are starts to think that peace and security and good times are ahead....that sudden destruction is at the doorstep.
        I would only ask one thing....that someone out there says...."OK....I'll at least consider the possibility that what is written here is correct.....and ask of God to show me if we as a church in America have lost sight of where we stand before Him."

Two Speeches

         There were two speeches of note today given in New York City.....one much more important than the other. The first and less important was President Trump's speech to the United Nations General Assembly. It was well constructed and put forth every conservative American's firmly held beliefs since the 1980s on a number of issues. The downside to it was obviously the direct input that President Trump would have given to the speech....which was the first....less than 10% of the speech. He used the pronoun 'I' four times in the first forty-seven words before doing part of his rally talk about all the accomplishments he has made....all this as if any other conservative candidate from 2016 would not have similar success after following Barack Obama....but that's just Donald Trump.
         The President said...."Since my election, we've added $10 trillion in wealth. The stock-market is at an all time high....our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before. In other words, the United States is stronger, safer, and a richer country country than it was when I assumed office less than two years ago"....shades of Nebuchadnezzar.  Of course he made no mention of the national debt.
         The second speech in New York was given by National Security Advisor John Bolton....and it will most likely prove to be a momentous speech. He laid out Iran like no one else can do. He drew a line....a couple of lines actually....that if crossed there would be...in his words...."Hell to pay."
         Union Calvary officer John Buford....immortalized in the film Gettysburg....shouted down to General John Reynolds from the bell tower of the Lutheran Theological Seminary......"There's the devil to pay." The significance of the idiom given by another John.....Bolton....is that that line he drew is most likely going to be crossed!
         The European Union had just announced that they will trade with Iran. Bolton in as much as said...."We'll see about that." He singled out Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.....who directs Iran's Quds Force for 'extraterritorial operations' which the US has labelled a direct supporter of terrorism. This is serious stuff folks.
          Our national security people and our generals have to be very careful when they give speeches or talks...and they can't show any indecision or lack of confidence in public....but you better believe that it's different when they are in private. They cannot know how Iran will respond in the near future. The nation is divided but the mullahs hold control. There are those in positions of leadership who would like to force the return of their Mahdi.
         Our people are also thinking about these possibilities. If China sees us in a major war in the Middle East they may very well take advantage of that. North Korea....who is only playing for time right now.....in coordination of some sort with Communist China.....may come into play again. Putin is looking for an opportunity in anything to extend his power and influence....and the New World Order globalist elites might make their move at a time such as this. All of these things are discussed in our national security meetings at one time or another....hopefully!
         

Battered Conservative Syndrome...'Learned Ignorance'....'Intellectual Paralysis

         "Learned ignorance' or possibly ' intellectual paralysis'.....these are two takes from 'battered women syndrome' ....(learned helplessness and psychological paralysis)....that I would give concerning the effects of Donald Trump on conservatives....(real conservatives-not 'gee this greed and power thing is a real high' conservatives.) The following was originally posted early in 2017! 

Miranda Rights

         Miranda and Cosmo marry in the city's biggest high society event of the year. Miranda had an inheritance while Cosmo had the Hollywood looks. Family members of both took bets on how long the marriage would last because everyone knew who Cosmo was, but there was no dissuading Miranda, for she thought the world of him. They honeymooned in outer space courtesy of Elon Musk.

         Back in their new home, the matrimonial bliss lasted only a few months before the arguments started. "They were right".....thought Miranda...."everyone....in their warnings that Cosmo was a bore, an egotist and not a nice man." Cosmo got what he wanted out of the deal and Miranda was humiliated, but the marriage essentially ended the night that while in the midst of an argument....Cosmo put a finger in Miranda's face and yelled...."I only married you for your money....I never loved you....Go ahead and divorce me....I'll fight you for every penny.'

         Folks this is a microcosm of what happened in the last election. We had what Donald Trump wanted while Trump courted us as a king would his future queen to get an heir. The defining moment when the marriage essentially ended between Donald Trump and true conservatives came in his tweet threatening the Freedom Caucus after the Obamacare establishment scam went down.

         Friends....you could put him back on his pedestal if you want....(and we did)....but you will someday wind up as a battered spouse.....(and we now are....Dina Powell?....Ivanka?).... the only reason that Donald Trump is not this day building another tower somewhere or working on a television show is because of conservatives like those on the Freedom Caucus.....and us....and probably you. This has been a long battle.....and yet newcomer to the conservative cause Donald Trump tweeted....during the honeymoon...."The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, and fast....We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!" Let me interpret this inane tweet for you...."I only married you for your money....I never loved you....go ahead and divorce me....I'll fight you for every penny."

          Now if you want, you can accept Cosmo's roses and candy and a card with a poem inside that reads.... "My sweet Babboo....we must make up, fast....or Obamacare will stay and tax reform will....will...I can't think of anything that rhymes with fast, but it will be really really bad." But the next card you receive will probably read..... "Pursuant to the provisions in the Republican Party platform URSCRWD 2017, you are hereby given an eviction notice to vacate the Oval Office, the NSC, all those congressional chair thingamajigs and the White House Press Briefing Room."

Note on your Miranda Rights....You have the right to remain silent....anything you say can and will be used against you...for these people do not fight fair. You have a right to an attorney....a mediator....you cannot pay him.....unlike Cosmo he will never leave you or forsake you.....His name is Jesus Christ!

        

Uncharted Territory

         

Russell Vought was finally confirmed as deputy director of the OMD this past February....this by a vote of 50 to 49 with Vice President Pence casting the deciding vote. The following post....Uncharted Territory.... is from this past February:

           Folks, I would ask you to prepare yourself for what you are about to read for it may be a watershed moment in the government of the United States of America. It has Kristallnacht written all over it albeit in its germination stage here in America. You have no excuse now....it is time to study the Word of God as you have never before. Pastors, you have no excuse.....it is time to preach the Person and the work of Jesus Christ every Lord's Day. There is no way you can explain this away...     
           The following is from confirmation hearings on the Russell Vought nomination for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. This outrageous example of the horror of political correctness provides not merely an opportunity for the church to boldly say.....yes....there is salvation in none other than Jesus Christ....but it is a rebuke in the form of a rude awakening that we have failed to proclaim the gospel while we had the liberties to do so and that and we are paying the price for not standing for that truth. 

Sen. Sanders: "'Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.' Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?"
Mr. Vought: "Absolutely not, Senator. I'm a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith...
Sanders: "...Forgive me, we just don't have a lot of time. Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?"
Vought: "Again, Senator, I'm a Christian, and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College..."
Sanders: "I understand that. I don't know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that these people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too?"
Vought: "Senator, I'm a Christian..."
Sanders [shouting]: "I understand you are a Christian, but this country [is] made of people who are not just -- I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?"
Vought: "Thank you for probing on that question. As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that's how I should treat all individuals..."
Sanders: "...Do you think that's respectful of other religions?... I would simply say, Mr. Chairman that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about."

          

Planning Our Own Rescue

One might expect it from from those whose primary allegiance is to conservatism....but not from those whose primary allegiance is to Christ.. We put all of our trust in a man....a prince as the Bible would refer to him....not only a fallible man but one with serious character disorders....a few even pathologies that lead to the inability to discern fact from fiction....and we gave nothing but lip service to the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings....ignoring His warnings as we plan our own rescue. We are now paying for our total lack of discernment....and utter refusal to admit that we are part of the problem....with a rapidly collapsing nation. The following post is from February of 2016.... few days after the death of Antonin Scalia:

What Is Our Trust Centered Upon.

         The plan was to put a conservative in the White House (that didn't happen) and then add two or more originalists to the Supreme Court (that may happen) and take back America (that won't happen.) It was a good plan as far as plans go. It's putting our trust in those our own plans where we depart from God's will.
         Saturday we lost one of America's greatest jurists of all time. We had plans but those plans have suddenly been abridged. We are reeling once again but nine Antonin Scalias could not pull us out of this pit if God did not will it. Should God desire to have mercy upon us for His purposes there is no force on earth that could stop those mercies from being extended....(not even nine ultra-liberal Supreme Court judges).....and all the power of hell could not destroy us if God did not permit it.
          Do you the reader recall the Biblical text from Exodus 17 where when Moses raised his arms with the staff that parted the sea in his hands....or that later the Israelites prevailed on the fields of Rephidim when he raised that same staff....and when he lowered it the Amalekites in the battle when he lowered itprevailed in the battle? It was also at Rephidim where Moses at first feared for his life and then rebuked the Israelites for not trusting God to provide water! Surely you remember God limiting Gideon to just three hundred men to rout the Midianites. Have not these messages set in? Have we forgotten the word to Zerubbabel...."Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."? We have departed from God with disastrous results, planned our own rescue, and then found out how brittle man's plans can be.
          The tectonics are shifting friends, the magma chamber has been breached! Trust now in God and in Him alone for as even Nahum in his taunting oracles to Nineveh wrote..."The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows them that trust in Him."       

Live Stream A President Trump Rally....Beginning To End

Preface: Conservatives....those very few who remain anyway....beware of the latest establishment scheme coming your way. Some conservative radio talk show hosts are turning Senator Lindsey Graham into a conservative hero. Bob Woodward's book Fear lays out pretty clear how Senator Graham played on Donald Trump's constant need for his ego to be stroked.....but of course we would never read Bob Woodward's book would we? Graham's defense of Brett Kavanaugh has been strong but he is now the leader of the Republican establishment.... of which just about all of us are now part of....and isn't going to change.     

           Let's go back a little over ten years to Denver, Colorado. The Democrat Party moved Barack Obama's nominating acceptance speech from the Pepsi Center where the convention was being held to the then named Invesco Field so that upwards of 80,000 could attend. A few days before the convention Reuters reported..."Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple." It not only resembled a Greek temple....it was strikingly similar to the Pergamon Altar which stood on the acropolis of the ancient city of Pergamon in Asia Minor....now Turkey....and is today reassembled and reconstructed in Berlin. Both stages...or altars....can easily be Googled.
          That was our concern then....a personality cult christened from a reasonable facsimile of a Greek altar. Our concern today should emanate from the traveling President Trump rallies. Right now they are occurring often as the November congressional elections are a little over a month away. Please consider taking the time to live stream one of these rallies. Don't miss even a minute because you need to see the quiet broken by music and then President Trump entering to wild cheers. He will spend a few minutes accepting the near adoration. He'll stop a few times on the way to the microphone.....turning in all directions while waving in acknowledgment of the sea of hands....red MAGA caps....carefully distributed hand-held signs (some of them are ridiculous in retrospect....drain the swamp for example)....and the iPhones extended out towards him.
           If you concentrate on the particular issue that President Trump is speaking on then you may....actually you probably will miss the problem. On the other hand if you focus on the method of oration....and look behind the President to the sea of faces....(half of which may be looking to their smartphone camera screen to prove they were actually in the presence of Donald Trump)....and watch the rally from the very beginning to the end....taking in the music....(it never changes)....and chants....the continuous mockery of anyone who criticizes him....and at least consider what we should already know of psychological manipulation and grandiosity....then you may see that there is indeed a serious problem here that needs addressed.
           Barack Obama represented a socialist and even a Marxist transformation of America. Donald Trump outwardly represents the return to a constitutional republic. After a decade of fighting the lies and machinations of President Obama it is difficult for conservatives to even consider the possibility of lies and machinations of President Trump....but it has to be done. This new Democrat Party exalted and near-worshiped a man....the new Trump Republican Party is doing the same thing. Calling President Trump to account on his demand for constant approval along with his inordinate vengeful mockery of anyone who refuses to do so....and his undetected demagoguery....does not mean that we are no longer defending a conservative constitutional America....it means that we being vigilant on how it is so easy to depart from words written on paper and in documents....and principles....and truth....to words from an image that do not necessarily rely on principle or truth....but crass political gain.
     

"O Brave New World"

          The United States dollar became the world's chief currency after the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 and it developed into the world's reserve currency after President Nixon made a deal with Saudi Arabia on its oil sales. Being the world's reserve currency enables the United States to more freely print money. It is therefore an advantage the world gives to the United States. President Trump's hard line approach with everyone over trade disparities...unpaid bills....and unfulfilled promises....has many of these countries saying....'wait a second....he's complaining that we have an advantage on trade but they have a greater advantage on having the chief reserve currency." There is definitely a move on to replace the dollar as that reserve currency. This movement has been making slow but steady progress where it would take years to replace the dollar....but there are plans in the making that could upend United States hegemony with a quick succession of moves.
          Christine Lagarde.....the Managing Director and Chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)....gave a speech in September of 2017 to the Bank of England....Fleet Street....in which she lauded the "immense strides" of artificial intelligence....and imagined a future where people hovered above the city streets in "pods." The central bank governor arrives for a meeting with...."economists sitting at desks"...or...."an intelligent machine".....LaGarde won't speculate....and concluded her remarks with...."As our pod journey comes to an end, some of you many be wonder about my upbeat tone. For many, this new world of central banking is less Mary Poppins, and more Aldous Huxley: a "brave new world" much like the one described in Huxley's famous novel. I believe that we-individuals and communities-have the capacity to shape a technology and economic future that works for all. We have a responsibility to make this work. That is why I prefer Shakespeare's evocation of the brave new world in The Tempest. "O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! (on Fleet Street I presume she means) How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world."
           The question in such a scenario would be how would President Trump react to such moves. Would he fight it with bold and imaginative moves of his own strategists as his rhetoric indicates.....or could there be a deal in the making with great potential here for the United States in this....brave new world? This is why truth in everyday matters....and transparency....is so very important in a President of the United States.

Using Their Tactics Is Not The Answer

           I have written it before.....Donald Trump is dragging us down into his own sordid swamp. The Stalinists....a.k.a. progressives....are attempting to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh....so President Trump....(Jehu symbolically according to many Christians who may want to research the little we know of the biblical character of Jehu....hint: it doesn't end good).....is attempting to destroy Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal.....and we conservatives are lovin' the humiliating spectacle.
           Then Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal falsely and purposely led people into believing that while in the Marines he had served in Vietnam. It was a lie....and it besmirched his service as a United States Marine....and he has paid for this lie with those who care about such things....and probably in his own mind....but at least he served as a United States Marine....and we should not attempt to strip him of that honor and accomplishment.
           Kavanaugh's college drinking days are over....and forgiven....as are mine....thanks be to a merciful God....and Blumenthal's deception is over....but President Trump who nursed his bone spurs during Vietnam is attempting to destroy Blumenthal's life....smiling and joking all the way....and folks he acts in this despicable manner often! Question Senator Blumenthal commenting on Brett Kavanaugh's "credibility"....yes....for the Senator should by all rights recuse himself....which would restore a lot of his own credibility....but attempt to destroy his life....no! Using their tactics is not the answer.
           Another judge....Roy Moore....did serve admirably in Vietnam.....Da Nang to be specific....but President Trump said the other day...."I wasn't happy with Roy Moore. Let's get that straight." Moore's accusers were also from decades ago....that's what Stalinists do....but President Trump would have rather had the swamp's Luther Strange in the Senate. It made me ill to see President Trump in Da Nang last year on his Asian trip....smiling broadly under a giant bust of Ho Chi Minh....in the very city that Roy Moore defended our troops while commanding military police.
          Friends....if I have any left....Barack Obama was a judgment from God.....and so is Donald Trump....but we are too inebriated on the appearances of prosperity to pay any attention to God's warnings on paying too much attention to the appearances of prosperity. Roy Moore was a good man who would have been a fine senator.....Brett Kavanaugh is a good man who would be a fine Supreme Court Justice....both were horribly maligned by the communist lackeys in our midst. Using their tactics is not the answer. We have brought all this upon ourselves.....repentance is the only answer.

Private Straggler

The following post is from December of 2015:   

        What kind of name is Special Dog? Well that's not my real name of course for my real name is....Straggler.....Private Straggler. I'll be the last one to enter the Celestial City.....and the least of those in line....and the greatest testament to God's love of the unlovable and mercy upon the least deserving of it. And if there is someone behind me I'll wait for them....for by rights I should witness every glory filled face before mine shines in the presence of the King of Glory.
         Friends....examine this concept of God that has taken hold in American religion. I don't blame the people for their pabulum reverence....for they....most of America... have never beheld His glory in a sermon....and never adequately understood what one is 'saved' from! Little is demanded from anyone and less is offered by us in the form of humility. No...I can hardly blame anyone for giving God no more than one percent of their thoughts. I realize this because before He hogtied me with the cords of His love and mercy....and before He branded me with the imprint of His Word upon my soul....I would have been far more excited to meet Elvis Presley than seek His face...let alone stand on holy ground!
         So it is no surprise that people do not recognize the extent of our pitiful state in this country today....nor are aware of the severity of judgments upon us which have only just begun. Politics is seen as the answer because few know what the real question was...."...who do you say that I am?" The answer of course is....."You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." If one truly understands that statement then one would have already beheld His glory, known very well what one was 'saved' from, and realized that we deserve His protective hand being lifted from us!
   
         

A Very Natural Temptation

I can only imagine the blasphemous descriptives that would come out of the mouth of President Trump if Christians continue to enable him. The minister of the Gospel....not the modern minister of the Godspell....recognizes the nationalized gospel of Donald Trump. The psychologist recognizes the cultic psychological manipulation turned on high when he address his supporters through rallies and tweets....and the historian recognizes the nationalistic fervor that often in history....in many and various religions and cultures....results in disaster as it presumes upon the righteousness of its cause. Donald Trump took our conservative cause....and reshaped it through the art of the deal into the gospel of power and prosperity.

          As we all know the reparations demanded of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles were unbearable for the German population who were fiercely defensive of their homeland and German heritage. The Weimar Republic which came about at the end of World War I was weak....and hated. It wasn't going to last....but what would replace it? The future of Germany depended on its church which was unified in that the German people believed that the state needed its church....and the church needed its state....but there was little unity beyond that.
          A 'German Church' movement developed that entwined itself around the powerful ideology of National Socialism....a movement that was going to lead Germany back into prosperity and power. A 'Confessing Church' movement formed to stop in its tracks the state's intrusion into all church matters....but the Confessing Church itself was divided between those who just wanted the state out of the church....and those who knew that there were big problems with National Socialism.
          Martin Niemoller....you may have heard about him....represented those who at first thought that National Socialism was a great thing if kept in its place. Dietrich Bonhoeffer....you certainly have heard of him....saw the horrors of where this extreme nationalism could go. Niemoller spent years in prison and concentration camps before finally seeing the mistakes that he made before the war. Bonhoeffer paid for his discernment with his life.
          We are getting too close to having an 'American Church' movement.' President Trump again....this time at a West Virginia rally.....used the phrase "One glorious nation under God." We are not a glorious nation....(you have followed the Kavanaugh hearings have you not)....and Donald Trump's God is not our God. Please....if you would take the time to read my post....America....Free....Free Fallin'....composed in 2012 but last posted on September 24th....you would see that I love this our country....and I have written themes like this for almost 35 years....but they will never take the place of or become equal with the gospel of Jesus Christ....and in this we must be vigilant.
          It is a very natural temptation......especially in times like this as America is being pillaged and plundered....to confuse a return to greatness with a return to God. Patriotism can be devotion to justice or it can be devotion to just us. Capitalism can be a God-send....or a god in itself. We are already compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to accommodate 'Make America Great Again'....and it can only get worse as we will seek to be more inclusive of policy that opposes God's Word and exclusive of dictates in His Word....all so that this glorious 'revolution' can continue.

You Had Better Know What You Are Doing

So....let me get this straight....If the FBI says that Brett Kavanaugh is clean as a whistle....then he would probably get confirmed....but if the FBI says something like....'there could very well be merit in the accuser's accusations'....then a couple of Senators would probably vote no....so....this Supreme Court nominee's fate could be determined by the FBI....and if Brett Kavanaugh is voted down then the Republicans may take the brunt of the blame in November....so the majority party in one or both chambers of the Congress may in a sense be determined by the FBI....and if the Democrats take control then President Trump will probably have impeachment proceedings brought against him....so....the fate of President Trump may also be in the hands of the FBI?

President Trump today signed another big spending bill....a bill he called "ridiculous" a week ago....but he's "unhappy"....so that's OK....and he said that Brett Kavanaugh's accuser's story sounds very credible....as did Judge Kavanaugh's story (?)....and The Hill reported today that it sounded like President Trump and Donald Jr. both were OK with Kevin McCarthy becoming the next Speaker of the House....should the Republicans retain control of the House.

How many people has Kim Jong-un murdered over the years? He has executed family members and top leaders in his own dictatorship. He has tortured and devised sick ways to execute people. He has political prisons....apart from regular prisons...where prisoners have been starved to death.....and only God knows how many North Korean people  perished through famines that could have been averted.....(hundreds of thousands....millions?) yet President Trump yesterday said...."I was really being tough, and so was he. And we would go back and forth. And then we fell in love, okay? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters. We fell in love." I can think of a lot of words to describe that statement but none of them even comes close to doing it justice.


You Had Better Know What You Are Doing
 
          I watched President Trump's wild press conference Wednesday evening and I'm sure that conservatives continue to be mesmerized....even hypnotized by it. Donald Trump has this public medium of the press conference mastered as he does with his speeches and tweeting. Now in private that's another story but one would have to read books about him that are not on the syllabus to hear about that....and we stick strictly to the syllabus. On the more difficult press conference questions the President has the tendency to begin his answer before the reporter finishes the question. This diminishes the impact of the question and belittles the questioner. The President....with the question now a little bit ambivalent in the minds of the audience.....can then segue to a more amenable to him interpretation of the question....and while he's at it use up the clock by throwing in some inflated figures and dramatized anecdotes that no one will be able to check on....and then point to the next reporter.  It's very effective!
         This was most evident on the final question of this most recent press conference. The reporter wanted to ask about how President Trump's position on the Brett Kavanaugh situation might effect young men around the country. The President cut the question short.....did not address what the reporter tried to ask.....and used the time to double-down on some previously made comments that were better optics....and then walked off the stage as the reporter was calling out after him....."You didn't answer my question about the young men."
          President Trump volunteered this on Wednesday...."I wasn't happy with Roy Moore. Let's get that straight." Conservative Christians had better believe that Donald Trump wasn't happy with Roy Moore because Judge Moore was way...way too close to reliant on the Bible. He can handle praying judges but not Bible quoting judges.
          Far too many of President Trump's evangelical advisors are Charismatics and most of the others are too near to being Christian nationalists. Both groups believe that God sent President Trump as our champion and are more than willing to close their eyes to the real Donald Trump. All they have to do is say that God uses imperfect men.
         The president often employs the tactic of covering himself....in the event of. He'll make bold predictions....North Korea would be an example.....and then add...."but....it may not work out.....we'll see." He has thus covered his you know what just in case.
         He likes to relay something that someone else said.....often just saying...."many others have said"....thereby putting the onus on them....."Hey, I was just repeating what someone else said!" Another ploy he uses is that he will make a bold statement and follow it with...."Something will come out on this shortly." Information may or may not eventually come....it doesn't matter because the points were already scored. Reporters have a hard time even asking current questions let alone being able to call him to account on false or misleading statements from past press conferences.
          The most egregious statement that President Trump made in his recent press conference was..."You were going to have a war. If I wasn't elected you'd be in a war." Folks....really....are we now totally lost in this cult? This is an outrageously misleading statement. He blamed others for the threat of the mass-murdering communist tyrant....then took credit for saving tens of millions of people....when in fact what happened is that he actually confronted this threat to America and then turned on a dime. The next thing that we knew we were watching a reality show.....and Kim Jong-un was given....as the President said in the press conference....maybe as many as five more years! It's a bigger mess than it was!
          Here's is something troubling that you may want to at least consider. President Trump can bully one nation and get away with it....he may be able to bully two or three or even four nations and get away with it.....but he is bullying people....even strong allies....all over the world....and they are going to remember this....all for more profits when he tells us all the time that we are already the richest that we've ever been! The President is a former casino owner.....a failed casino former owner.....he should know the concept of odds. One of these days the ball is not going to land on his color.....but Donald Trump is used to this type of strategy....take on eight major projects.....maybe a couple of them fail....file bankruptcy on them and haul in the profits of the projects that did not fail. You cannot do this with naval armadas and bombing missions and tariffs and sanctions. You had better know what you are doing!
         

Tempests And Doldrums

The following post is almost four years old.

          May God have mercy upon our nation. From small vessels bearing cramped pilgrims we developed into an empire. We surpassed every empire this world has ever seen in not only power and might but in knowledge and scientific skills. More than that even as God used us a conduit for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth. We fought Him all along the way, this is true, but we were a very large piece in His grand design and he would use His rod and His staff on many occasions to both chastise us and to gently but forcefully bring us back.
          As I sit here in my study and pause, my eyes lift to a photograph on canvas on the wall in front of me. The camera is on the teak deck. The thin rails give the impression of a much older vessel. I stare right into the sea as billowing waves heave the ship at about a 40 degree list. Clouds dominate the sky but the sun found an opening as the shutter was clicked. In the foreground, barley visible, are rolling hills where possibly a safe harbor awaits. I look at this photo often and wonder in awe at the power of God's seas and the safe harbor of His grace.
          I've related this story before. Fifteen years ago, (eighteen years ago now) sitting in a classroom of mostly younger fellow members of our cohort working for a degree in Higher Education, we were discussing the issues of the day as they related to colleges and universities. I remember standing up for emphasis and warning that a  division was coming within America. Two different peoples were emerging, two different methods for thinking, two opposing opinions on what truth is and what it is not. If anyone agreed they did not speak up but unfortunately I was right. Our American Creed is not even a memory. Our heritage is almost spat upon. Our traditions are deemed useless in a world that mocks God.
         As it often seems to happen as I write, the XM radio plays something that relates to the topic at hand and in this instance it's classical music and Edward Elgar's Coronation March written for the coronation of Great Britain's King George V in 1911. There is no pomp and circumstance in this piece. The music seems to roll along with the hills and the ship in my photograph. 1911....a new century was underway, a century that would hurl England into two World Wars within three decades. Bombed.....but never into submission......no, it would lose in other ways, even as we are losing now.
         Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, had warned them but they would not listen. Their pulpits were not vigilant and the gospel was being modernized. Today, over a century later, England is surrendering. Surrendering to confusion. Awash in chaos, their heritage trampled underfoot by foreigners who take advantage of a malnourished liberal tradition; they fight back but there is no Churchill to rally them, no Thatcher to prod them and face down the enemy's threats and lies, and although many faithful preachers-no Spurgeon...Ryle...or Martyn Lloyd-Jones to call down fire from on high on their (our) arrogance!
         Some see the world today as simply a new paradigm, that the world will go on. Others see it as progress but all the evidence, if allowed to be submitted, shows a crumbling Western Civilization.... puzzle pieces added almost every day where a picture of our future is beginning to appear. It's one of a dystopian society ruled by Herbert Spencer's 'survival of the fittest' and birthed by Charles Darwin's On The Origin Of Species. In the background, behind the robotic movements and hollow faces of the people, above the gay-colored storefronts that have absolutely nothing to sell that can enliven that people or that can inform, and movie theaters with films that preach the chimera of a nation adapting without God, is an onrushing sandstorm obliterating all vision and discernment....a tsunami that sucks in the surf before it exposing a soft underbelly of a nation that once acknowledged, reverenced and relied upon its benefactor and at least tried to navigate by His written Word.
         Twelve hours from now (36 hours from this posting) men and women will fill the pulpits of America. Well-exercised healthy specimens, pastors of the First Church of the Fit and Buff, tolerant of everything except that written Word; they will smile and preach peace oblivious to two previous millennia of pulpits that extolled the glories of Christ, warned of hellfire and offered salvation bought on a bloody cross.

         Not all pulpits have decayed. Many of God's ministers shed tears throughout the week and reach out as if to grab the hem of the cloak of their Savior seeking power from on high to awaken those given into their charge. Seeking a revival, even a reformation and seeking mercy, their work is not in vain. Christians in America are as strong and faithful as they ever were but far, far fewer in percentages. Almost isolated, often ridiculed, sometimes persecuted, they sense that the King of Kings is mounted, that His mighty angels are silent, awaiting the voice of thunder that beckons them forward. May God have mercy upon America. May He use us one last time, according to His will, for His purposes....and for His glory alone!

She Handled The 'Jokes' Gracefully

The following post is from this past April after the White House Correspondents' Association dinner:

          She handled the 'jokes' gracefully. I'm talking about Carly Fiorina when candidate Trump said...."Look at that face....would anyone vote for that." Sarah Huckabee Sanders also handled the grotesque jokes at the correspondents dinner gracefully....both examples were disgusting.....but we seemed to forget the former.
          Do you remember when candidate Trump posted side-by-side photos of Heidi Cruz and Melania...."the images are worth a thousand words".....or do you remember the video of Donald Trump ridiculing the disabled journalist? Oh, you don't believe that story? Watch the video. How about the embarrassing photos that Ted Cruz tweeted on Melania's modeling days? Oh, he didn't use any of the photos did he?
           "Idiot...dummy....clown....dope"....these were adjectives used all the time by candidate Trump. How about "lying Ted?"  The View panel member Elizabeth Hasselbeck was in a battle with Rosie O'Donnell over the Iraq War....Donald Trump said in an interview that Rosie was right and that Hasselbeck was..."not a very smart person, she's one of the dumber people in television." Megyn Kelly questioned candidate Trump in one of the debates on his descriptive of some women as "dogs....pigs...slobs....disgusting animals" Donald Trump's famous answer was...."Only Rosie O'Donnell.'
            We criticized Barack Obama golfing so much but are silent as to Donald Trump's golfing much more. We demanded Barack Obama's birth certificate but defend Donald Trump hiding his tax returns.....and a hasty Nobel Prize for Barack Obama was absurd but a hasty Nobel Prize for Donald Trump would be great. (They're not talking about that anymore)

             I've posted criticisms of the White House Correspondents Association dinner each year for the last few years but the issue here is how we conservatives can not only conveniently but incredibly forget Donald Trump's history of mean-spirited remarks.....but then again....that's typical in how devotees cannot see the faults in their own gurus.

            The bottom line is that conservatives rationalize it by thinking that they are turning a blind eye to the real Donald Trump for the good of America......but that's the same excuse that patriotic liberals gave for not calling out Barack Obama or Bill and Hillary Clinton....'the Democrats just have to stay in power....for the good of America!' We have given up the high ground on the Right. We use the tactics of the swamp dwellers and laugh at how successful those tactics can be. Political assassination worked good for them.....and now it seems to work good for us....just keep the heat off our man.....the people will never know the difference.
             Now the big push is on to elect Republicans....so another six months of conservative talk radio will be wasted telling us that President Trump needs support for his agenda! We conservatives have abandoned ethics, principle and critical analysis....so I guess President Trump's agenda is indeed our agenda.....it's just not the same agenda upon which he ran for president.
            This republic does not stand on who Donald John Trump is or even who he said that he was....nor has it stood because of our Constitution....as wonderful at that was....or it's military....as courageous and powerful as they were and are! It stands or will fall on whether or not its people humble themselves before the God who birthed it....sustained it....and used His rod and staff to guide it....and gave it that constitution....and its military power....and unless something extreme and radical happens in its pulpits and consequently in the hearts of the people in those churches....it will surely fall.