My wife has a running joke with me that I only have one friend. Well in retirement I do really have only one friend who I see regularly....but many friends from the past who I at least keep in touch with. There is some truth in what she says....for if I myself didn't believe....what I believe....I wouldn't really want to get together with me either.
                We do get together with people rather regularly....primarily because of her many  friends....and neighbors....and family of course....and I can talk and look and laugh like a normal person for....maybe three hours....telling jokes at times....(as I have a whole humor link to the left of this post)....and overall seeming like an everyday conservative evangelical American citizen....but it is hard for me to pull this off....as I am really being somewhat of a fake at those times.
               Gary Lewis....and the Playboys....had a hit song back in the 60s that you have probably sung along with many times over the years....Everybody Loves A Clown. There is one line in that song that hits home with me...."If you wonder why this clown is cryin'....look a little closer, inside I'm dying."
               If you knew what I know? That sounds kind of arrogant doesn't it....but it's not only me....for it is a sizable remnant within the church....within evangelicalism....including multitudes of pastors....that feel like I do....who know what is ahead....only we are spread out across the country....and my particular area of churches is not a hotbed for wanting and expecting and desiring Jesus to return to this world that is descending into the abyss. Daniel knew what was ahead....far ahead....at the end of times....and it still made him ill! This is not pretty stuff!
               Lest any reader might feel sorry for me....(pertaining to the joke about having only one friend)....I have to let them know what should not be a secret....but apparently is a secret....that when all is said and done....all of the psychology of the matter analyzed....and the history of the world and the church laid out....and all the biblical advice given on why we do not know when Jesus is returning....and all the advice rendered by many councilors....there will be Jesus before us in glory and majesty! Did we examine ourselves....and our motives...and our primary desires? Did we pray in humble mortification? Did we go slow and review every possible temptation that one could fall into? Did we even say something like....'Lord....please send someone else to say these things....someone more respected than me....and with more ability?'
                That's all we can do folks. I will add this though. The peace of God...in stepping forward....in the face of legitimate doubts....relying on faith....the faith that Peter had as he stepped out of the boat....and the knowledge of what happens if that faith weakens....that peace and joy from God is enough....it is enough....to press on!

Hanukkah......2025

                 "Hanukkah....or Chanukah if you prefer....the Festival of Lights.....falls on....or rather begins on Christmas this year.....something that has only happened four other times since 1900....although in 2027....Hanukkah will begin on Christmas Eve."

(That was the first paragraph from a post last December 18. Hanukkah this year begins tomorrow as the sun sets....December 14)

                 Before the great Maccabean revolt....maybe a third....according to some sources....of the Jews....had become what was known as....Hellenists. Since Alexander the Great....and then with the Seleucids....many of the Jews became more Greek than Jewish....and this caused a great division. The Seleucid king....Antiochus IV Epiphanes....did not have a temperate response to the Jews who wanted to remain Jews....as did those who preceded him who were considerate of the Jewish religion. He put a statue of Zeus in the temple courtyard and sacrificed a pig on the altar.
                 The ensuing war.....led by the guerilla tactics of the Maccabees....lasted years....but they were victorious....and it was time to cleanse and rededicate the temple....which was a very ritualistic process and would take time....and they only had one jar of the acceptable pure olive oil for the lights of the temple menorah. It would take eight days to prepare enough olive oil to finish the purification....but....according to tradition anyway....that one jar lasted eight days when it should only have lasted for one day. So that was the miracle that is celebrated today on this eight day holiday. This is a happy festival.  
                Will Hanukkah have prophetic significance as most of the other feast days and holidays have already done at times....(the Sukkot attack of October 2023 being the latest)....and probably will in the future? I don't know.....but I have for years paid close attention during the main Jewish feast and fast days....and I would expect that something extraordinary might happen on some future Festival of Lghts.....or Feast of Dedication as Matthew puts it in his gospel....of which Jesus was in attendance.
                 

It Was The Most Blessed Day For Charles Colson....When His World Fell Apart

                I do not take any joy when with someone that I totally disagree with or even think that they are a curse upon America....when their life collapses in a moment right before them. Rudy Guiliani or Mike Lindell for instance. I just  don't. I may have a lot of serious faults....but laughing or smirking at someone's else's misfortune is not one of them. Why? Well I only have to look at my own life. God could have had me groveling in the gutter in my early years.
                The situation with the Michigan football coach is more than sad. It's concerning. On top of the world....one day....or close to it....and then on the dung heap. There may be no better example of something like this than with Chuck Colson....a man situated right in the Oval Office....family....extraordinary pension....everything that the world considers success.....and then....crying in his car....as he looks forward to a jail sentence.
                So the concern for someone like the Michigan football coach....or anyone in a sudden riches to rags and shame situation....is that they do not consider ending it all....of which they are not aware....is only an ending of life on this earth....but a beginning of a timeless eternity....whatever that may turn out to be. I don't have to know the scientific space time continuum.....for it is enough to know that God's Word uses the phrase...."weeping and gnashing of teeth." Those five words are description enough for me of someplace that no sane mind....even the most defiant....would want to go.
               There were a lot of folks in Trump's first term who later wished that they had never joined up with him....and there will be many more this time....and I won't take any satisfaction in their misfortune. 
                God had mercy on Nixon's hatchet man! This was 1974. Jimmy Carter told the world that he was born again. Hippies were being baptized in the Pacific Ocean. Billy Graham crusades were on our four-channel TVs all the time. Pat Robertson was just starting out....David Wilkerson was preaching and R. C. Sproul was beginning to teach on the holiness of God....and Hal Lindsey....although he didn't realize it....was giving the world a primer on Israel and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
                Colson's entire countenance had changed! He has gone on to be with his Lord and Savior....but I'm sure that sometime in the past he had said that his very public collapse was the best blessing that God could have given him. Maybe it will be the same for this Michigan coach....for God had mercy upon me....the lowest of the low....and more unlovable even than Charles Colson in his heyday.
                You would know it if you heard it....the University of Michigan fight song....that begins...."Hail to the victors valiant....Hail to the conqu'ring heroes"....but this passion and praise is fleeting....and worthless.....and vanity. May it be for many....that this is the day that they can finally see and say...."To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever," 

The Gravitas of Isaac Newton......And The Gravity Of The Situation

                Isaac Newton was writing down his thoughts literally all the time....and most of it was on man and his relationship with God. He wasn't a great theologian by any means....not even a good theologian....but surely one of the very greatest minds in history. In his research on the Second Coming....primarily from the book of Daniel....he predicted that the end of times would come on or around 2060....(1260 years after the founding of the Holy Roman Empire)....maybe a little later....but probably not sooner. 
                Not even Isaac Newton's mind could hurry when God would reveal things to us....but it was strong enough to see the gravity of the situation of man's coming judgment. It is extraordinary in that when a man....or a woman....is so gifted in some specific area.....that it usually becomes their whole life....but with this supremely gifted scientist....his mind was still stayed upon the God of the universe that he studied. So Newton should speak to us today....even in Bible prophecy and the end of the age....with a gravitas that a mind like his commands.
                 My point here is that it should be....to anyone who seriously examines....patently apparent that this age....in its present state of drones and missiles everywhere....where you can just push a button and let some machine fly to the other side of the world to kill and destroy....that as the fingers on the wall told Belshazzar....that his days were numbered....and he was found wanting....so are ours!
                When Daniel was told at the end of the book of Daniel....that he should go his way...."until the time of the end....[when] many shall run to and fro....and knowledge shall increase"....this was pointing to this present day and age. We do not know the specifics....they will come shortly....but in that Isaac Newton was certainly the greatest of all....natural philosophers....he could see that man and his rebellion to God had only so much time....that there was....so to speak....a corresponding....second law of spiritual dynamics. It should also be noted that the word..."until"....was used.....indicating that a time would come that many of these things were not...."sealed."

"By Prayer And Supplications, With Fasting, Sackcloth, And Ashes."

Preface: The following post is from February of 2019. I reposted this a number of times...and wrote another post on Daniel chapter nine....and reposted it a number of times. The point I was and am trying to make is that Daniel....as an old man....and in Babylon a long time....pleaded to God with prayer and supplications and fasting and sackcloth and ashes....laying before God the guilt of all of Israel that brought them to where they were.....and as soon as he did this....God sent Gabriel to explain to Daniel what the seventy years of Jeremiah meant. There is no mortification for our own guilt in the church today....and until our pulpits lead us in this direction....we will remain confused and in chaos....and continue to suffer in extreme delusion and spiritual blindness....but should we prostrate ourselves in mortification before God....and pray with tears....God will....just as He did with Daniel....open our eyes to what is today hidden concerning the return of our Lord and Savior and King!

"By Prayer And Supplications,  Fasting, Sackcloth, And Ashes."

               There is a prayer of Daniel that would do Christians in America good to not only read but meditate upon....and not only meditate upon but devour....along with....in due time....the entire book of Daniel. ...again and again and again as the years go by....should God give us those years. Daniel's prophesies are not fully understood by us today....not by a long shot....but much of it is....and much of Daniel is perspicuous in that the meaning is clearly discernible upon reading it for the first time.
               The prayer starts in the fourth verse of the ninth chapter and continues through the nineteenth verse. Daniel had witnessed what had happened to his people. This exalted prophet of God.....having already experienced miracles  and visions.....reads the prophet Jeremiah anew....but this time understands that his people would be in bondage for seventy years. This should be a lesson to us....God reveals the various wonders of His Word to us in due time. Daniel had pleaded with God...."by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." God is not going to reveal to us those things we are so in need of today if we are not anxious to hear them.
                No sooner does Daniel finish his prayer.....but God....through Gabriel....reveals one of the most incredible prophesies in all of Scripture to him. So whether you are thirty years into the faith or thirty days....God incrementally opens His Word to us in marvelous ways....as we are in need....and according to our desires to know of them.
                 In that prayer Daniel acknowledges the rebellion of the people to the Lord....and the consequences paid. This is what we need to meditate upon in America....this is what our pulpits must remind us of....for we also have rebelled.....and are staggering blindly in confusion and chaos. We are looking for answers to questions today but are in reality looking no further than our own minds....instead of humbly imploring of the only One who has those answers.

Jesus Does Not Have To Schedule An Appointment

The following was first posted in 2022

Lord Jesus 

As you know....for this blessing is from you....
        our son Kyle has a full football scholarship....
        at an SEC school....GO DAWGS!
        and you have also blessed us with a beautiful daughter....
        whose wedding is planned for next year....
        and we need every minute of this year to prepare for it....
        so yes Lord Jesus....come....just not right now.

I know that America has strayed far from you...
        but that's really the Democrats Lord...
        I was just talking to the pastor the other day...
        at the pot luck after the service....before the game
        and he says that we are going to get the House back....
        and then we are going to throw Hunter Biden in Jail...

They're making us wear masks Lord....
        just like they put a crown of thorns on your head!
        our wonderful freedoms are being taken away....
        bless Donald Trump Lord....and Ron DeSantis....
            and Matt Gaetz...and Marjorie Taylor....I can't remember her last name....
                and the My Pillow Guy.

May I ask one more thing Lord....
        when you do come....
        can you call first...and leave a message
        to see if we are home....
        what with Bible studies and pickle ball and all
        a grandkid on the way....
        it's going to be a busy decade or so.

So all praise to you Lord....
        Come Lord Jesus....
        With all your mighty angels....
        In Power and glory....
        And righteous judgment....(on the Democrats)....
        Just not right now.

Just one last very personal request Lord...
        just in case Billy Graham was right
        and you are indeed coming real soon....
        could you possibly schedule the rapture....
        in early April.....
        just after March Madness if possible
        so I don't have to break my back...
        unnecessarily spreading all that mulch....
        and fertilizer?

        (I missed the first week of last year's
        church golf league because of it....
        because I couldn't bend over to putt)

All Is Truly Lost

                We have as a people experienced a lot in America over the past forty years or so....with gross corruption and crimes....and terrorist attacks both domestic and foreign. Socialism and anarchism and even communism have made inroads in a nation that is set to celebrate a 250 year anniversary. Our culture just totally collapsed. Billionaires are everywhere....not only a new ruling class....but in essence a new governmental class. It appears that the printing press and the entire Industrial Revolution will be dwarfed in its societal changing effects by the horror of all horrors in artificial intelligence....of which we are loving because it occupies our no longer exercised minds. All is truly lost....not only in America but in the entire world.
                 There are no award ceremonies that make any sense anymore for they are all political. Sport no longer has anything to do with character building....for money and greed has taken over everything....from paying college athletes....to hundred-million dollar contracts for professionals. Whereas sport once only flirted with idolatry....from a Christian perspective....it is now our own Areopagus....with monuments to our own pantheon of gods.
                 Debate is gone....for how can one debate when truth is no longer of any consequence? Conversation has been replaced by pep rallies. The image has entirely replaced the word....except when the word is used in attacking others effectively using the word.
                 The evangelical church is not even a shell of what it once was only forty years ago. The gospel is almost gone.....replaced by political issues....and the preaching lacks conviction....and mortification....nor does it prostrate itself before the holiness of God. No one has to be born again anymore. We don't have time to be born again when....as we have prioritized....that we need to make our country great again....but in reality we do not even know what the word 'great' might mean.
                  God has taken all of our leaders....and left us utterly leaderless....both in the church and in the government. We have no shepherd on a national level....such as was Billy Graham....to warn us....no Sproul or MacArthur....or even Phil Robertson. Christian bookstores are gone....that were once a wonderful brick & mortar town crier....heavenly libraries....replaced by crass podcasts of ministries that winter in warmer climates. If there is anything solid and edifying left on Christian television....it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find. Christian music no longer has the lyrics that cause us to think and then lead us to worship....as they are now replaced by the harmonic mesmerizing that has us worshiping....in essence....ourselves. Our youth flock to passion extravaganzas when not passion political conventions.
                   There is no rule of law today. The man in the White House has lived his entire life above the law....one step ahead of the law....yet today he can look us in the eye....(well he never really looks us in the eye....as he is always looking into a teleprompter).....and tell us as he purges all those who utterly refuse to bow down to him....that no one is above the law! And amazingly....we believe it....which in itself has to be part of the great delusion that God's Word warned us about! 
                   Forty years ago in the church we would quote 1 Peter 4:17...."For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God..." We knew it was coming. We thought it would be in other parts of the church....the liberal church....but it has turned out to be us....right smack dab in the middle of evangelicalism! We warned of false prophets back then....forty years ago....it was almost common conversation....but as it turns out....we were the ones who fell hook....line....and sinker for the biggest of the false prophets!
                 Ultimately....as it all turns out....Jesus is near....look out your window into the sky....it is that close....and not only do we not know that....but we don't even care....nor would we really want that....for we are more interested in the second half of the football season....the playoffs and bowl games.....than the Second Coming of the one who all of the mighty angels of heaven....cannot stop praising!

Please listen to the warning given by John MacArthur in the video below.

                                         

              The above graphic is used today....but the below graphic is what was originally used over forty years ago.

                                                         

Lord's Day Post

                I have been praying in these Lord's Day Posts for over a decade that God....if it should be in His perfect will....and to His glory alone....might move mightily in the hearts and minds of His shepherds in their pulpits....having mercy upon them....and thus having mercy upon us in the pews....but maybe I have been praying too boldly....for does not His Word tell us not to despise the day of small beginnings?
                So for tomorrow my prayer is that God....if it should be in His perfect will....and to His glory alone....might give a morsel of humility to His shepherds in their pulpits....that they might consider if even for a moment....that they may have failed to stay true to God's Word in warning us of what is ahead....so obviously ahead....and in bringing us to our knees in mortification of what we have become....of what I have become....that only then might we go to Him and pray for mercies....not upon our nation....not mercies to become what we never were....and not to desire to become great in the eyes of the world or in our own eyes....but mercies upon ourselves....a church within that nation....who knows that we can do absolutely nothing good....and nothing honorable....unless we first acknowledge ourselves to be prone to transgressions against God....and to pray....not for favor but discernment....that we might know which way we should turn....and what we should do....and how we should pray....in the days that are ahead of us!

We Followed Him......And Became Like Him

                  My mechanical pencil and highlighters are always right by me while reading God's Word....and this for forty years now. I gave a woman a Bible a week ago....along with a highlighter....and told her to start marking up that Bible right away....for too often....as I have found over the years....we feel that we have to keep the Bible in pristine condition....as if that somehow honors God?

                 Recently I've been reading slowly through Proverbs....and I began to add a notation....a very small....'DJT'.....next to verses that seemed to describe Donald John Trump....for they are everywhere throughout Proverbs....the first being in chapter one....verse ten....this from the ESV...."My son, if sinners entice you....do not consent"....the warning continued in verse 13...."we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder." Brothers and sisters....this is exactly what happened.....as Trump enticed us with his promises of greatness and riches....and we followed him....and became like him!
                 Trump can be found in all of the books of the prophets....as either a false prophet or a bad king....and he can be found all through the New Testament....from the gospels.....to Paul's long list of what type of person to stay away from....to Peter's admonition about Balaam....and Jude's...."they have run greedily in the error of Balaam"....and his description of...."loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage."..... and John's letters...."and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come"....and even into Revelation...."....you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam....who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel...""
                  At one time....early back in Trump's first term....there may have been an excuse for not immediately recognizing the dangers of Donald Trump....for we were ignorant of who he was....but those excuses have long since expired. Today one would have to purposely ignore or outright reject all of the warnings....for the examples of an increasingly vile and deceitful and corrupt and power-mad Trump have been daily occurrences for over five years now!
                  We tell ourselves that God uses imperfect persons to fulfill His will....and that is supposed to make it OK to not only support....but make excuses for....and even lie for....a man who has single-handedly decimated American evangelicalism.....causing us to be unmerciful....and vengeful....and greedy and prideful....and to trust in armies and power and might....the very things that God's Word commands us not to trust in!

You And I Will Be United....UGH!....That Doesn't Sound Too Good To You Now.....Does It?

The following preface is from 2018....and the post following it is from November of 2017.

Preface: I have lived sixty-eight years (seventy-five now) and ten months. I was able to partake in the America of our heritage....before that America succumbed to the same temptations that ancient Israel succumbed to before they were judged by God. I remember that heritage....and weep at what we have replaced it with. I have given nothing to stop the downward spiral....in fact I added to it. I am but one person....one of many....who God for some unknown reason had mercy upon. Even my warnings are tinged with pride and arrogance....but I continue to warn....for if Jesus felt it to our benefit to warn us....and if Peter warned us....and Paul warned us....and John warned us....and Christians ministers such as Billy Graham.....just to name one.....of whom I have no right to even stand beside....if they felt....and feel it necessary to warn those that God gave them to minister to.....then we all have no choice but to do the same thing....to at least warn our neighbors and friends....which in reality is all that these posts are....words to neighbors and hopefully friends....wherever they may live!

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

              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 they knew it all)....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 a world as 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....
              Is there any good news? 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 Christians....in America....(figuratively speaking)....are about $20 trillion in arrears. (that was 2018....it's $38 trillion now.)
              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. (the underlining for emphasis was in the original.....do you think we might have had difficult times in the past seven years?) Folks....faithful pastors (Billy Graham et al) were telling you this for a long time...while Trump told you all the time that "the best is yet to come." 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!! 

DISPATCHES

The Times article described Trump as a....crypto industry player. You know what that word 'player' means right? It means that he is one of the big investment boys. The article went on to describe how the S.E.C had numerous cases pending against various crypto firms....but when Trump came into office the second time....the S.E.C. dropped every case where the crypto firm had ties to Trump. AI is a money-maker for up-and-coming billionaires....and it is also a 'player' in Bible prophecy and quite possibly the mark of the beast....and it was in essence given to the world with the strong support of the American evangelical who had spent a half century warning of the mark of the beast.

Thursday....December 11....most likely you are already on one side or another....either AI is a great thing....or as those like me....think that it is the ultimate monster! Anyway....Trump sees only one thing here....that we cannot let China take the lead in AI....but what he is doing on this would be unthinkable if it were not already the norm with him. To put it simply....he is using executive orders....and he is threatening....not only in primarying....but threatening to take money away from states that do not do what he wants them to do....which is to stop plans on regulating AI! We on our side....used to be....state's rights people. On an aside to this....if we ever get there....the 2026 primary season....Trump knows more than anyone else in this entire country that if the Democrats would take the House....then there would be immediate impeachments....and multiple investigations....particularly on how much money he is making for himself through many of his actions. He would not want fair primary elections....just like the last time....and he would be threatening again!

I watched an episode of Bill O'Reilly interviewing Franklin Graham. A couple things about it. Rev. Graham....who long ago rejected his own father's advice on being wary of politics....went on and on....(this on immigration)....on how he believes in the law....but he is totally ignorant of how Donald Trump has lived above the law....staying one step ahead of the law.....his whole life. Franklin just has no clue on who Donald Trump really is. I doubt if he has spent an hour reading anything that might inform him of things he does not know....that could change his mind. He then went on about how he feels for people who just wanted to come to America for a better life....and then said that they have to go back. He is 100% on board with Trump's deportation policies....and he said just that....but apparently has no interest in the collateral damage done in Trump's methods. In fact on his Facebook page he posted a picture of Kristi Noem and himself....at a White House Christmas party.  It was a Trump rally in Phoenix I believe....in 2017....and the rock music stopped....and Franklin came out.....and gave a wonderful prayer....so wonderful that I shorthanded it and posted on it....and he walked off the stage....and immediately the celebration continued. It was a sad spectacle to witness. Donald Trump uses Franklin Graham.

It was forty years ago at least when I first had the idea to cut out a newspaper article that made a statement such as....'they will have to rewrite the science books'....for something was always being discovered that negated what was previously believed. I never followed through with that idea. Today is only the latest such article....as the journal....Nature....published archaeological findings on an ancient hearth....indicating that man may have been able to start his own fire....much earlier than previously thought. So the news article began it could...."reshape our understanding of human evolution." There will most likely come a day....but it is not necessary....when some scientists find out that....because of some monumental scientific discovery....never expected or even dreamed of....they may have to scrap all of their estimates from carbon dating....and start all over.

December 10.....The Left has its 1619 Project....a revisionist history....and we on the Right have our....2025 Project.....seeking more to change history. The Left focuses on that we are a nation of diversity....and the Right....that we are a nation of....unity in diversity. When I was a youth I had a foreign pen pal. As an adult....traveling around the world...when in Asia....I was excited to meet the different cultures.....but when in Europe....(and Australia)....some of these people may have spoken a different language....but our nations were not just casual friends....we were one almost as much as Alabama and New York are one. Well that has all changed....for we are no longer one....not even with England. They are on their own....and we do not need them....or so we think for now. Trump has divided us. He has to make some kind of 'in your face' news every single day....for if he did not then we would start to think for ourselves....and that would be a problem. Today's poke was Rubio changing the State Department fonts and typeface on all official business back to Times New Roman....and away from Calibri....that Biden's Secretary of State brought in. He couldn't just send out a directive....for he had to have it as part of the war that they want us to think about every day. So the 'West' has divided....and Putin loves it of course....and America has divided....and Putin loves that also. The church though has not come out of or even thought about coming out of the world,

Napolean may have said it....and he may not have....either way it is true...."An army marches on its stomach." The Red Ball Express was a convoy system that supplied the allies with food and fuel and ammunition after D-Day. It is said that future wars may be AI sustained....but its fuel....and its food....is electricity. If that power is lost....or temporarily lost....even if it has back-up power....it could take valuable time to return to full power. 

Saturday....The United States Institute for Peace....USIP....is or was a non-profit research and analysis organization that Trump cut the legs out from under. They have a building in Foggy Bottom....with the words....United States Institute of Peace....etched into the granite. Trump just officially changed the name....and on the building....above the permanent name....begins the new name....Donald J. Trump....Institute Of Peace. 

A friend of mine....during a casual talk....brought up the subject of making reservations for an event that occurs in mid-March that would require some traveling. My response was some hesitance....because we are definitely going to be in some sort of upheaval by mid-March. Hey....we are friends and we have to be open with each other right? He was being open in not being concerning about where the world is going right now....and I was being open in showing my concern. So he responded...."Special Dog....you have said things like this before." In which I responded...."Well put it in your iPhone....tell Siri to remind you in mid-March that I said there would a major upheaval of some sort by then....so that you can remind me!" So he did tell Siri to do that. Friends....the real mistake....the real error.....is not in errantly believing that surely our Lord and Savior and King must be coming soon....the error that we should always want to avoid most....the error that shows where our heart really is....is in....not....hoping and believing and trusting that our Lord and Savior And King is coming....even soon....to make all things right!

Saturday.....Trump is really infatuated with the scheduled 2026 World Cup in America. This is his opportunity to brag about himself literally in front of the whole world. In his latest 'renaming' gesture....he said the NFL should think about changing its name....for it is the world's game of football....that really uses the feet....and our football uses the hands. That doesn't sound too....'America First'.....does it? Why didn't he tell the world to change the name of their own game?

Friday....December 5....3:30 PM....Trump's Plan For A New World Order....by law the president has to formally declare his overall foreign policy plans at least once during his....(or her)....administration....and he just did that. It is way too early to do anything but give a first impression....which to me is this....that he wants Europe and the Middle East to be on their own.....America Only. He wants complete control of the Western Hemisphere. He wants Russia back in the fold. India continues to get closer to Russia and that is understandable considering that Trump wants relieved of the responsibilities of American power around the world. How will this affect Israel. So far I have not seen any opinion from Israeli newspaper on the Trump foreign policy. This most likely will change as soon as they can get a handle on it. We will need to see which of Trump's advisors were most influential in this paper....if any....because Trump sees himself as the ultimate genius in everything....and tends to choose advisors who would agree with him more than choose them for their experience.

Saturday morning update....The Jerusalem Post weighed in on the above Trump National Security Plan in much the same way that Europe and everyone else has. It did reveal some concern in that Trump said that Israel's security was important....but also said that the goal was stopping endless wars. They apparently are not sure how to interpret this.....so I will help them....it is not 'America First'....it never was just that....and it is not even 'America Only'....although that is closer to the point. The ultimate and underlying goal always has been....'Trump First and Trump Only!'

Coordinating with the above paragraph....the army announced today a major shakeup in commands. Essentially they are....effective immediately....giving defense of all of the Western Hemisphere to a new four-star command. They even displayed the new patch....an eagle perched upon a globe that shows only the Western Hemisphere....and four stars....signifying that it is a four-star command.

We have all seen the ads of computer games where there might be an army of comic figures crossing a bridge....and the game player just dusts them off by the hundreds....swathing side to side the machine gun fire on the screen. In real life....when one can wage a war simply by pushing buttons....even thousands of miles away....then one can come to dehumanize the enemy. There was a better way to stop the speeding boats carrying drugs....but we chose the optics of a game....where you can see the pixilated figures blow up. And there was a better way to deport illegal aliens who were a criminal threat to society....but we opted for the higher numbers of deportations.....even if it had to include women and children and families and hard workers. Psalm 127:1 in the ESV is...."Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the  LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." President Kennedy's speech that was to be given in Dallas on that fateful morning was to quote from that verse....after the president would say this...."The righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength." That presumption is questionable today....and there is no one around to question it.....or if there were....they would not be allowed to question it.

The general consensus is that Russia's military is so depleted that if cannot even outfit its soldiers in the Ukraine with proper armor and weapons....but it has a large....strategic reserve....as they have labelled it....presumably for things other than the Ukraine. Putin said today that Russia is ready to go to war with Europe if Europe wants to go to war. Europe has not had time as of yet to rebuild its military....but would get stronger....the longer Putin waits.

Last week Trump announced that he was voiding executive orders that Biden signed by autopen. Today he added everything else....pardons and commutations. This is one seriously psychologically disturbed individual. It has been ten years of torment to Christians who know who Donald Trump really is....as we not only watch the building tyranny....but watch evangelicals....brothers and sisters that we love....devour the red meat of revenge that they chose over the fruit of the Spirit. God has seriously judged the United States of America and its people by giving them what they really wanted....first in Trump....and then Biden....and then....almost beyond belief....Trump again.

I'm watching 'live' the cabinet meeting....and it is like watching a politburo meeting. There is no intellectual integrity in this presentation. Nothing that is said....due to time constraints...can be challenged. Every cabinet secretary literally praises Trump....one of them actually used the words...."joy and gratitude.' This is a purely politically motivated televised event....the ninth so far. There is no other possible reason for holding a meeting like this. It is propaganda....(in the most negative aspect of that word)....at the most effective level we have ever witnessed in this nation. Honestly folks....this is like a king....who extends his scepter for someone to come in and exalt his majesty.

Note: Noem just aid to Trump this...."We have saved hundreds of millions of lives in the cocaine that you (President Trump) have blown up."

Kristi Noem famously wore a $50,000 Rolex while visiting a notorious prison in El Salvador. Then she had her purse stolen from under her seat at a Washington DC restaurant....and recently she was photographed laughing while wearing a sombrero at a Mexican restaurant.

First of all there is never going to be a legitimate interview with this man......Trump. He's the president....and he has the power to do what he wants. At the end of his first term he had tarmac interviews....with the helicopter so loud behind him that it was absurd to try to take questions. Today it is the doorway between the executive and press areas on Air Force One that he sticks his head out to say something. And here is what he does when someone does get a question in. It's really a nefarious genius. He will first attack the person asking the question....then he will bring up that it is all Biden's fault....and then....and this is the key....he will go on a scattered rant of maybe five minutes or more.....not answering anything....and confusing everything.....and changing the subject....all of which are really talking points for the MAGA people. He is an absolute master of deception.

His mental state was causing concern....even more than usual....and then it was reported that he had an MRI....so the press was curious as to what it was for. He ignored the issue for a few weeks....and then all of sudden said that he was going to release the MRI report? And then it became even more absurd in that he said that he didn't even know what area the MRI was had examined? This is just totally unbelievable. Then the results come in and the MRI was for cardio and stomach checks.....and everything was great. So why....why....would he wait and go through this rigmarole? His personal White House physician is an osteopath physician...with specialties from battlefield emergencies....picked apparently from out of nowhere? They gave him some mental tests....30 questions....he got them all correct. It would be nice to at least have a neurologist's opinion. What does Ben Carson have to say about all of this?

There is controversy about what six people from the Congress said about military personal following orders. One of those six is our congressman here in Western Pennsylvania. I would only start by saying this. There were soldiers at My Lai who refused orders to fire on the mass of villagers in the ditch....and a helicopter crew actually put it's helicopter between the villagers and the one who were doing the firing! And need I add that most of the defense at Nuremberg was that they were only taking orders?

Trump never showed concern over drugs over most of his life as he hobnobbed with the jetsetters who did drugs. The former president of Honduras was convicted in a U.S. court of giving protection to people who transported drugs to America. Trump said that he was 'unfairly treated'....which is the explanation that he has given to other pardons that he issued. His whole defense of his impeachments and other trials was that it was all fake. In reality....none of them were fake. We on our side just believe anything that he says. Remember...he is the one who back in 2015 said that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and would lose none of his followers! 

The Times of London is reporting that Christianity is losing members in Great Britain....many of them going into paganism....but that there are some people taking membership in Christian churches. The church there was astonishingly weak there to begin with....so moving into paganism is almost a lateral move....so this is a winnowing of sorts....in which the church getting smaller....but those leaving were never Christian to begin with.

God Is Our Hiding Place

                The first 'devotional' book that I ever read through was by Corrie ten Boom.....titled...God Is My Hiding Place. This would have been in 1982....and I still remember how its simplicity and purity affected me. There have been times when I would intentionally in my mind....and I still do even today....seek to return to those first days of a child's love for Jesus....putting aside only for a short period of times....the necessary and arduous defense of doctrines....and the warnings that consume me today.....more concerned at the moment to heed the admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2....(the first letter of the seven letters to the seven churches)....that they had left their first love.
                Over the years there have been other devotionals that came in very handy. Devotionals by John MacArthur and R C. Sproul and others....and recently by Charles Spurgeon....a devotional on the Psalms....which is a treasured gift. Well today I was given another devotional book as a gift....and I can tell after only the first ten pages that it also will be wonderful and a great blessing. It's no surprise because the author is someone whose sermons and writings and teaching have been a constant source of blessings for many decades....Scottish professor and author and pastor and teacher at Ligonier.org....Sinclair B. Ferguson. The title of the 2024 devotional is....Things Unseen....One Year of Reflections on the Christian Life.
                 A devotional is usually a vignette a day for the whole year....a time when we can rest....and with the help of another brother or sister in Christ....see through the fog of the night....off in the distance even to....as Bunyan would put it....the Celestial City itself!
                 We cannot live on devotionals alone. A older woman....who apparently has been a 'searcher' for a long time....told me only a week ago how she reads little well-known and widely distributed devotionals every day. I advised her to throw them out....(I've been praying since then that that was the right thing to do)....and I went out and bought her a good devotional/Bible study book....(this by John MacArthur also.) 
                 Twenty-five years ago my wife and I owned a Christian bookstore. It was all books by men like MacArthur and Sproul and Spurgeon and Ferguson....and I would on a daily basis....watch someone come in....and browse through the books....and pick up one or two to peruse more carefully what was inside....and then they would leave....and I would at times even be heartbroken....not because there was no sale....for we did not have that Christian bookstore to make money....(although it would have helped)....but to do what I am doing here....recommending something that could change the course of one's life....and in doing so bring glory to God!

One last thing....the Spurgeon sermon that I listened to yesterday....which I have added below....has almost the same title of Corrie ten Boom's book. I don't believe in coincidence....so I am thankful to have the opportunity to add this sermon....with the recommendation of the book!