Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Enduring What Is Coming--Mental Preparation

I believe, over a year ago, that the United States experienced a large influx of demonic spirits.  I can't prove that, or explain why that might be--I can only tell you that I feel it.

Something has radically changed in America.  There is a spiritual darkness present here now, as the darkness that envelopes the land before a great storm.  I don't know whether or  not you have sensed it too.

I'm sharing a list of suggestions, to help you protect yourself from things that are to come: deception and spiritual forces of evil (in whatever form they may manifest in our physical world).

Scripture tells us that a people without understanding (of God's ways) will come to ruin.  Jesus says that we are as sheep among wolves, yet we should be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. 


  • There is another dimension-an unseen spiritual world-that is intricately tied in with everything that happens in our world   That world is eternal, ours is bound by time.  From that world, all dimensions are seen.  In our world, much that happens is not visible to us.  Our world is secondary to that world.  In that world, the story began--the story that never ends.  This world, as we know it, is coming to an end.  A new heavens and a new Earth will take its place, by the grace of God, because this one has been irreparably corrupted (no, I don't mean global warming).
  • Everything really does boil down to the battle between good and evil   That is the whole reason 'our world' was even created.  It was chosen to be the theater for the great battle between good and evil.
  • Don't be so sure that you know what is going on--nothing is as it seems  Many deceiving spirits are among us.  Theories abound.  Conspiracies abound.  A lot is going on, and a lot is being revealed.  God will show you what you need to know.  Be careful you don't get caught up in the confusion and start defining people as 'friends' or 'enemies' by whether or not they share your current beliefs about what is going on--they may just know more (or less) about it, than you.
  • There is one force of good--spiritual forces of evil are attacking from many sides   There is only one force for good, and it is far more powerful than the force of evil.  However, the force of evil is desperate, and is attacking from every side.  Stand firm and wait for God's deliverance (no, not the 'Rapture') when you are besieged.  Have faith.  Resist evil and it will retreat.
  • Get back to the basics   Don't let yourself be taken on a tangent by new and intriguing teachings. There is much deception swirling around us.  Go back to the basics that God teaches us in the Bible, and hold on tight.
  • Search your heart often   Our hearts our desperately wicked, yet if we would judge ourselves, we'd all see ourselves as innocent.  God judges the intent of our hearts.  It is your heart that decides toward what direction to point your will.  It is your heart that falls into sin first.  None of us is righteous.  Our greatest enemy lies within us, and we are blind to its true condition, and to its power to lead us astray.
  • Read your Bible & pray for understanding   The Bible is God's message to us, and is for God's people only--no one else can understand it.  But, the Holy Spirit must teach you what it means.  Equip yourself for the days ahead, by learning it now.
  • Live by Biblical principles:  even if you don't understand them--they protect you   God's rules form a hedge around you--not a hedge to keep you in, but a hedge to keep evil out.
  • Don't follow the crowd   Jesus told us that the path to destruction is wide and many people will go that way and, conversely, the way that leads to life is narrow, and few will find it.
  • Don't be distracted by the trivial  God, and his people, are being attacked from every side.   Stay focused, there are many important issues right now--don't let the enemy distract you.
  • Be very suspicious of 'miracles' and supernatural displays   Jesus promised that false messiahs and workers of miracles would abound in the latter days.  Don't be surprised, and don't be taken in, no matter how elaborate a 'miracle' may seem.  A lot can be done with money, technology, and demonic power.
  • Deceptions come in all sizes  Don't think something is too big and powerful, or too little and unimportant, to be fake.
  • Turn off your TV!   More than anything else, this is the tool that Satan uses to unify people in their beliefs and actions.  It's not about what shows you watch--it's the whole paradigm for life, the whole package of values and beliefs, that is presented over and over and over and over . . . molding you without you even being aware.
  • Trust no one 100%   Sadly, unfortunately, we have come to this point.
  • Be skeptical, think critically   Don't believe everything you see and hear, no matter  how often you see and hear it.  Don't believe everything you are told--no matter who tells you.
  • Blindly follow no one   Think for yourself.  It is largely your choices that will determine the course of your life.  Everyone has an agenda.  As times get tougher, people will become more self protective, deceptive and manipulative--in a word: less trustworthy.
  • Be responsible for yourself and your children   Start taking on the responsibilities God gave you, because soon you will have to fight tooth and nail for them.  Everyone's children will soon be taken away--because parental authority will be usurped by international treaty.  The irony is, you'll still have the expense and responsibility for raising them, they'll still live with you, but you will not have the freedom to choose what is in their best interest, or how you will raise or teach them.  (What do you think your family life will be like when your teenager realizes you have no legal authority over them?  Who will be running the show then?)
  • Protect what is important to you   You are standing on the verge of losing everything that matters to you--and you don't even see it.  Trust me--you'd better wake up and stand up to protect what is important to you now, while you still can.  After that, you're going to have to decide which of your values and freedoms you are willing to die to hold onto, and which you'll learn to live without.
  • Diligently protect your children!   The real battle is for the hearts and minds of your children.  If you don't believe me, look to history, look to other countries and their kidnapped child-soldiers, look to how our mandatory, liberal/progressive-run educational system is turning children against their parents.  'There is nothing new under the sun'--history repeats itself.  To see the future, examine the past.  Fight now, before it's too late!
  • Teach your children   Equip your children now, to face the deceptions ahead of them.  Your window of opportunity is closing.  Not only will you not be legally able (your parental authority will be gone),  your children will be turned against you in the schools where they are spending 30 or more hours a week under intense pressure from people whose values are in direct opposition to your own--people who have already begun a revolution, against the values we represent.
  • Think long and hard before surrendering your freedom for security  An enemy will say anything to get you to surrender--it's much easier on them than having to fight you!  They will even create a crisis, to convince you to surrender your freedom to them, in trade for the promise of peace and safety.
  • Remember that what you agree to do voluntarily, will later become mandatory  Seems to be a basic principle in life.
  • Remember that if you don't use self control, you will end up under someone else's control  Another seemingly basic principle in life.
  • Don't be proud and arrogant  Pride comes before a fall.  It's pride and arrogance that got America into this mess.  It's pride and arrogance that God hates.
  • Don't be sucked in by flattery  Oldest trick in the book.  It works most effectively on those with low self esteem, excessive pride and arrogance, or narcissism.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

The New Year's Gift


I have always been different from everyone around me, so it should come as no surprise that I celebrate New Year's Eve differently too.  I really don't give much thought to celebrating it.  Sure, I may turn on the TV and look at other people celebrating, but it doesn't really move me.

I don't know where I got the idea, but for at least the last dozen years I have had my own tradition.  I spend New Year's Eve alone with God, and I ponder which spiritual attribute I lack the most--the one that would give me a closer walk with God, in the year(s) ahead, if I had it.  Then, I request it of God.


The most memorable was the year that I asked Him for faith.  I had already heard that one shouldn't ask for faith because it would bring many trials.  But, that's what I felt led to ask for, and I'm glad I didn't let fear stop me.

When the spring semester ended, I was surprised to learn that I would have no financial aid for the summer . . . and my lease would end at the same time!  As a single parent of three kids, this was not a good situation to have looming on the horizon!

After much prayer, I decided that camping in the woods all summer was one option.  But, that a better option would be to buy a camper shell for my pickup truck, store our things somewhere, and travel the USA for the summer.  I realized we had what might be a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'!

That summer is one that none of us has ever forgotten!  A whole summer of 'quality time' together really bonded us deeply.  We had a couple of destinations in mind--relatives that we could visit for a few days, but mostly we had 'time to kill'!  (I find that almost impossible to imagine these days!)

For $100 we bought a family pass to the National Parks, and we lived on $600 a month.  Every day I got behind the wheel and asked God to guide me.  I would set a jar of canned food on the dashboard and head east, driving and praying.

By midday we had a warm 'meal'.  We ate very simply and very rarely paid to stay at a campground or eat at a restaurant.  We trusted God to show us a safe place to park each night, and prayed we could sleep unbothered.

We soaked in the beauty of God's creation and rested--what a blessed thing that was!  We learned that California had a nearly magical forest of giant trees;  that in Michigan, blueberries grew on the ground; and that the mosquitos in Minnesota were something to be reckoned with!!  We fell asleep in the woods at dusk, serenaded by the most beautiful birdsong I had ever heard.

That summer, I learned that God can take a bad situation and turn it completely around; that He can be trusted to watch over me, even while I'm asleep; that He is always with me, even when I have no idea where I am; that some of His best gifts are free; and that a glimpse of blue sky, the song of a bird, or a gentle breeze can help me reconnect with Him when I feel alone and afraid.


In the days ahead, as the works of man grow more depraved and ugly, and as evil increases around us--remember to look up sometimes.  Let God's creation remind you of who is eternal and who is really in charge.  Remember that the trials and tribulations that lie ahead are only temporary.  Life on earth has never been easy.  Although things will get a lot worse--it won't last much longer!!  Ten years from now, it may all be behind us.

We have much to look forward to.  We will have a thousand years to live on earth, in peace and equity, with Jesus Himself in authority.  How I yearn for His truth and justice to be established upon the Earth; for righteousness to be the standard, and the law to be upheld; for things to finally be fair; for a chance to rest and walk with Him; for a time when evil is put to flight and goodness can prevail.


Last year was difficult.  Not the circumstances of my life, but the evil around us grinding on me, wearing me down.  I imagine that a year from now, 2009 will seem like 'a piece of cake' as evil continues to increase.  I've become polluted by our culture, taking on bad attitudes and values, picked up from TV and movies.  Anger has taken root inside me, and hatred has started to grow, as I have seen America stolen and our rights stripped away.

Learning that it is all part of God's judgment has helped me put it in perspective.  I have long known America was provoking His judgment.  Realizing that the destruction of America that is now taking place is God's will--because of our sin--my anger at the people involved diminishes.

Instead I cry bitter tears of regret.  We had it all, but knew it not!  We had such a priceless gift from God, but we threw it away.  We squandered our freedom, to indulge our lusts.  Oh how foolish we were!!  America is forever lost.  We can never go back.


The anger and attitudes I have adopted have hardened my heart and made me more callous towards the pain and suffering of others.  Tonight, I need to repent of my anger, and my attitudes, and move beyond them.  I think what I need to ask for this year, is compassion.  Someone's life may depend on it.