A Prophetic Perspective

That is a question that I am sure millions of Americans would like to know. I as an individual and as a minister can share what I have observed, been told and known from the Lord. This past year and a half have been a very difficult year for most people including my family. I need to start by saying that the conspiracy theories abound and I will not cover them here. We all have the choice to believe them or not. This will be based on my experiences. I am sure there will be those with other opinions but I implore you all to seek God and find the truth and not what the government or part of the medical profession say because they do not agree with each other and especially what the news says because the news media is so filled with lies it is unbelievable.

A year ago March, right after the lockdown, I was upset and going through my house in the dark on my way to bed and asked the Lord, “Lord, what in the world is going on?” I got an immediate answer. Those of you who have dealt at all with deliverance will understand. If you are clergy who has never cast out a devil or known the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will not understand because the church has so watered down the power of God that most have  not seen the power of God for a generation. God answered me immediately. He spoke a simple answer which said a lot to me. He said, “All of the forces of hell have been unleashed.” That was it. No more explanation. Several times in my ministry God has given me short but powerful words that have not always been received. This said a lot. I and all of us have seen it play out. The COVID thing, is it real? Yes it is but it is not what the news says or even our governmental leaders say. I do believe that the lockdowns were a grave mistake and I believe that it was planned by the enemy of our souls to shut down the Church thereby shutting down the preaching of the gospel of  Jesus Christ.

Another thing that bothered me from the beginning was the masking of America and the world. I did not know exactly what to think about it except that it made me more than a little uncomfortable. The thought very strongly crossed my mind that there was a connection  to witchcraft. That may sound a little far fetched to some but if you have dealt at all in deliverance, you are aware of the demonic activity going on not only in other nations but in our own country and it has been increasing. It was months after the beginning of the masking, which by the way I still have a serious problem with the masking,  because they really don’t work or very few people would have gotten COVID compared to the numbers who did. I also have a serious problem with the closing of churches. I have come to believe that much of what has gone on is a strategy by Satan to shut up the Church and Christians. You may not agree but most Christians today are totally in the dark about demonic activity and think that every demonic problem is psychological and can be taken care of by a psychologist, psychiatrist or counselor. Yes many problems can,  but the supernatural is very real. The church unfortunately has followed the world in so many things that it has become much like the world instead of the people that God wants us to be.

God is on the move. I believe and many others that there is going to be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our land. Both Protestant and Catholic prophets have predicted it. I believe that in a vision that the lord gave me that I saw it. Right now there is still much fear and many,  including Christians,  do not recognize the spirit of fear. They are still wearing the masks and think that that will protect them. They are getting the jab thinking that will protect them. It is a very interesting thing to me that Christians believe the government and I really wonder how many Christians actually prayed about taking the jab. Interesting that in English speaking countries it is called the “jab”. The word jab also means to mock. I looked it up as I am uncomfortable with that word. I know of at least two churches in the town where I live that never closed down. They both have grown despite COVID and I asked one pastor and he said he is not aware that anyone got COVID in a his church. I am not pastoring now although I did for many years and have thought seriously about what I would do now as a pastor. I maybe would have shut down for the recommended two weeks at the beginning but after that, no way! If people could go to Costco, Home Depot etc, then they could come to church. The church is far more essential than the big box stores.

Where are we now? It is hard to say. People are still scared, many wearing masks, although many below their nose, which is a total waste even by what the CDC says, not that I believe them at all.

I say, return to church but one that is not woke, or does not preach the Bible. Find a church that does not give into everything that the government tells you to do concerning the virus. Begin to do your own research and turn off CNN, Fox and any other major news show. Listen to God’s prophets and ministers who are telling the truth. It might be hard to find but it is there.
 
Where are we now? It is really hard to say as the many things that have happened do not seem to be bringing us much change for the better. Although I wrote this piece months ago, I am adding this. The forces of hell are still at work but before you think that the battle is lost, think about the fact that millions more people are praying, many going back to church and the Gospel is going over social media in an unprecedented way. Even though most churches are open and there are variants of the virus going around, God will answer our prayers. No move of God or revival has ever happened without coming after hard times and even persecution. I believe with all my heart that we are on the verge of a great move of God, an earthshaking move. It may start in a different way and may look different but God knows exactly what He is doing. Trust Him as He has told me to do many times. Do not now lose faith. Seek Him and seek to draw closer to Him.
 
Stay safe, and I mean by the blood of Jesus Christ which is the only thing that can keep us truly safe. Amen!

​                  “You can’t go back to the music of yesterday. Yesterday’s drumbeat ain’t gonna help us now…”
                These are the words from the song from Ken Medema the blind singer musician who God has used in many ways. I was thinking this morning about how if the church is to be successful in this “new” time,  that we can’t go back to the drumbeat of yesterday.
                We have to look to God for a new move of the Holy Spirit and be open to his leading in our churches and move as God has ordained for us to move as in the book of acts. People are looking for something real. People are looking for something to take their fear away about the future. People are looking for the reality of God ‘s power, not just dead religious services even though the services may seem live with a rock band, clapping, flashing lights etc.
                People need to learn how to overcome in their lives and to take authority over fear and over all of the things that are going on in our country. Things are not the same as they were two years ago. In some ways it’s been a terrible two years, and, in some ways, I thank God that things aren’t the same because God wants to do a new thing with his people. God also  wants to reach more people.  He wants to bring many into His kingdom and it won’t happen if we go back to the same dull boring routine that we had before, sing a song, clap your hands,  sing a song, clap your hands,  sing a song, clap your hands and then a sermon about how to be prosperous and how to live supposedly within our society not considering that we are not of our society but we are as the Bible says,  a royal priesthood and  a peculiar people.
                We are called of God to be the kingdom of God in this world and not to be part of the secular society that we see around us. A society which does not consider human life to be important except people’s own lives. God does not want his people to go around masked and hidden but he wants his people to share the Word of God and to be open.  He wants His glory to be shown through our faces and not behind masks. The Lord spoke to me some time ago and told me to be bold as a lion. I have not always done that and now I regret that, but I’m ready to do it now. People may not want to hear what I have to say but there are many who do want to hear the truth. People are getting fed up with what the government is trying to tell us to do and that it’s not working. People are getting fed up with being told by the government’s tyrannical mandates to shut us down in our lives and in our worship. The church is essential more so than any other human organization because it is the church.  It is  those who are blood bought believers in Jesus Christ, who will bring help to others in the world who have no hope. We have the only true hope that will change people’s lives and make them what God has ordained them to be and bring purpose to their lives that they have not known before. We alone have the message of Jesus Christ that will transform people as the Word of God has said.
                If we are in Christ we are a new creature, old things are passed away and behold all things are become new. We need not fear a pandemic, we need not fear sickness, we need not fear those things that the government tells us we need to fear. "Greater is he that is in us then he that is in the world." that is what God ‘s word says that we need to know here and now. God‘s word is final authority and those who don’t believe the Bible have no hope but those do believe the Word of God,  the bible,  have the hope that God puts in our hearts that we know that he’s real and that we know that He has a purpose for our life and that we know he will keep us until that day where we go to be with him and live with him for eternity.
                There is a heaven and there is a hell. Hell has not been created for people and we need to realize that. Hell is eternal separation from God and that is one of the last things that we should want for our life, because God is love and hell is separation from the love of God. It is not by God‘s choice but by our own choice. We need to choose, and we need to share the good news that God has given us through Jesus Christ that salvation is in Him.   Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me”.   Jesus proved what He said by rising from the dead in which hundreds of people saw him after he rose from the dead before he ascended into heaven.  No other religion has a savior who actually rose from the dead in truth.  Over five hundred people saw him at the same time after the resurrection.  But when he ascended into heaven he sent his spirit, the holy spirit to dwell with us and in us and by the Holy Spirit we know that He is real. He is more real than the air that we breathe. Open your heart to Him today and pastors open your church to him for he is the only hope that we have in these days. 
We must have churches who are not afraid of the power of God and do not relegate the Spirit of God to the back room or small group. People need to see the reality of God’s power with signs, miracles and wonders following as He promised.  People do not want dead religion in these days but the reality of God. They will seek other supernatural means if they do not see the power of God in us.
 
Lord, show Yourself strong on our behalf for your glory!  Amen 

​he Holy Spirit Here Today
 
Who is the Holy Spirit? As a Spirit filled believer and minister of the Gospel for over fifty years, I am concerned about the mentioning and beliefs that many people have today about the Spirit of God and who He is. Growing up we always said “the Father , the Son and the Holy Ghost”. Still there are a few people who use the term Holy Ghost but in general that name for the blessed third person of the Trinity has fallen out of use, probably because of changes in the understanding of words in the English language. Languages always change over the years. I do notice that people are again beginning to use the name “Holy Ghost”, maybe some never stopped.
 
I have a serious concern about what I am hearing and reading about the use of the term “Holy Spirit” and how He is talked about. After serving God in ministry and studying the Word of God for over 50 years, I feel that our understanding may be a little flawed concerning Him. Some talk about Him as though He were this “spirit” that is given to us to reside within us but we do not have a clue as to who He really is. This could be due to a line of thinking in which we limit Him not realizing one basic but vital fact about Him. He IS God! He is God with us and in us. He is as much God as the Father and the Son Jesus. He is no less God. It is unfortunate that most  Pentecostals do not use the ancient creeds of the church, which were totally based on scripture by the way.
 
Many grew up with the Apostles creed and the Nicene creed, which is a statement of the Christian faith. There is another ancient creed that tells of the Trinity which is in the prayer books of several old line denominations. Unfortunately these have been thrown out by most modern day evangelicals. The one creed that discussed the Trinity and who the Holy Spirit is, is the Athanasian Creed. Used once a year in some churches it is worth the read by all Christians for a fuller understanding of who God in Trinity is. I won’t  quote the whole thing as it is quite lengthy and not one that you would want to memorize,  but here is a part that refers to the Holy Spirit that should enlighten our understanding of how great He is.
“So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; 
one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. 
And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; 
none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons 
are co-eternal together and co-equal. 
So that in all things, as is aforesaid, 
the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.” 
 
Sound confusing? It is what we call the "mystery" of the Trinity. All of what I am getting at is that the Holy Spirit is not just this spirit that fills us and belongs to us. He is God Almighty dwelling in us and with us. He is the third person of the Trinity who brought the universe and all of creation into existence. He is Almighty. There is no greater power. There is no God other than Him. He created all things and by His power all things exist. Do we even begin to comprehend how great God the Holy Spirit is? We cannot tell Him what to do but only ask. We cannot control Him but He must control us. The wind blows where it will and so is the Spirit of God. We must follow. He alone must lead. I fear that many consider Him this unseen thing that God puts within us that belongs to us. Do we realize that He is God dwelling in us? We should. Do we realize how great He is? No, that is impossible. I tell God all the time in my prayers that I am aware that nothing is impossible with Him and He can do anything. Am I  reminding Him of who He is? No, I am reminding myself. I do not want to have such a limited view of God the Holy Spirit that I miss out on what He wants to do in my life. Open your heart to a deeper understanding  that the Almighty God of all creation, the Master behind it all is dwelling in you and me by His Spirit. Realize that He is not the gift of tongues or any other gift but is the Giver of all these gifts. He loves us and reveals the beauty of Jesus to us. When He is in us, Jesus and the Father are in us spiritually as there is no separation in the Godhead. As the Bible tells us,  the  fullness of the Godhead dwelled in Jesus bodily. God is ONE although three persons. Let Him lead you and let Him show you how powerful He really is. Never again take His power or presence for granted. The Holy Spirit is God with us. Don’t try to understand. Just believe and receive! There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit will do in you and through you. 

​ 
I know what some pastors say, I even remember saying it in the past. “I don’t want to talk about politics because I don’t want to turn anyone away from the Lord.”  Those days are gone and I think even I was wrong at the time. Why mention political issues like abortion and freedom? Well, mainly because they are not political issues but spiritual issues. Our Constitution makes many so called political issues  spiritual issues. We have seen the government this past months do the opposite of what they say about separating church and state. The government has put severe restrictions on the Church under the guise of “health care”. Needless to say there was validity in the so called pandemic and many people were affected and many died, however being a pastor for over thirty years and other ministry for more years than I will share, I have seen the Church go through many things and never did we shut down the Church or were shut down by the government. This is America and if we truly believe that the mission of the Church is to do what Jesus said, to heal the sick and save the sinner, then the Church must be open. The Church is even more essential than the hospital because we deal not just with the physical maladies of people but with their eternal soul. This past year with the shut down Church, there have been more suicides and murders that we have seen in a long time. This time has been horribly hard on our nation.
 
We visited a church a couple months ago in our community and the pastor’s whole sermon was on Titus 3:1  Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.  Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil.
 
Right up front it looks like we have to obey rulers regardless of what they say but there is much more to the story. The pastor of the church we visited said that he had been getting so many emails etc, and that people had such differing opinions. Actually many pastors and church leaders had differing opinions. His was that we are to obey the leaders in the land no matter what they say except in preaching the Gospel. In other words, he never clarified if “preaching the Gospel” included being told what to do if it goes against God’s Word, the Bible. If what he said were true,  that we had to obey everything the governing authorities said and that the Bible meant that, then there would be no America. America was founded by Christians who left England to be free. They decided that it was not God’s will to follow the government and the “state” church, or the Church of England to be exact, which has as its authority the Queen or King, whoever is reigning at the time. Christ’s Church should NEVER be run by a secular governing authority.  The first people who came here from Europe did not come on a pleasure cruise and anyone who knows true American history would know that. They did not fight the Revolutionary War because they had nothing better to do. They fought for freedom which they believed was the right of every human being made in the image of God.  If Romans meant what that pastor said, they would have stayed in England and never escaped to start a new life of freedom. The pulpits were the “news” of the day and the ministers were defenders of the Faith and Freedom.
 
Major General Peter von Muhlenberg – “The Fighting Parson” wrote,
“Reverend Sirs: When we contemplate the friendship and assistance our ancestors, the first settlers of this province (while overwhelmed with distress), received from the pious pastors of the churches of Christ, who, to enjoy the rights of conscience, fled with them into this land, then a savage wilderness, we find ourselves filled with the most grateful sensations. And we cannot but acknowledge the goodness of Heaven in constantly supplying us with preachers of the gospel, whose concern has been the temporal and spiritual happiness of this people…”   Freedom was essential for the founding and beginning of America and the early pioneers were not going to give it up easily. My fear is that we have become so secularized that we do not know what the Bible truly teaches, the Bible upon which our Constitution is based.
 
What then do we do with these scriptures. Do we do nothing and let a Hitler or Stalin take over? You say that it is extreme. Well, I know personally people who lived under Hitler’s regime and know that it could happen again maybe even in America. In a land where there is less and less value of human life, including the life of the unborn children.
 
I believe that it is obvious that God wants us to have laws to live buy. After all, He gave the first laws through Moses. If we keep those ten laws then we will have freedom and peace. Unfortunately people do not keep them. The scripture says that authorities are appointed by God. Yes,  but they are also human and do not always do what God says. It also says in scripture that we are to obey God rather than man. God’s Word always interprets God’s Word. We are to obey the laws as long as they are in accordance with God’s Word.  Do some laws, like Roe vs. Wade need to be overturned, absolutely. How can we change laws? There are ways. I remember in San Diego many years ago the school system was in horrible shape mainly because of leadership. The Christians banded together and decided that they would have a voice. Many ran for school boards and were elected. Enough were elected to make a marked difference in that school system. That needs to happen again. Christians need to run for office in every strata of our society.  The only danger that I should point out is that if elected, power is a terrible temptation and can corrupt even the most sincere. So,  beware but don’t stop.  Run for any office that you feel you can do a righteous job in. God can bless and prosper you and open a door if you truly seek Him and His will for our nation. God wants to bless the people of the United States of America but He cannot bless unrighteousness and cannot bless a nation that kills it’s next generation.
 
Please pray about your part. God can use you and He will and we can change our nation by the help of God. 

a great In 2017, Before many were saying anything about a Third Great Awakening the Holy Spirit began speaking to me concerning future ministry of a great Revival that is to come. I have to admit that I thought He was dealing with me alone concerning things in my ministry, possibly because of the way in which He spoke to me.  In recent days as I have heard many prophets speak of coming revival, I have to wonder if it was not something greater and maybe even worldwide.
 
Let me give a short background to the vision. At nineteen  I  dedicated  my life to Christ in Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, California. Someone I met invited me to sing in a choir, knowing of my love of music being a musician, a choir for Kathryn Kuhlman, the lady evangelist who was coming to the Shrine Auditorium monthly for miracle services. I did not have a clue who she was but only what he told me. I auditioned for the choir and joined and my first experience to see miracles was sitting in the choir on the platform behind Miss Kuhlman. It was quite an experience to say the least. I did not realize at that time that God was calling me to be an evangelist.
 
Fast forward. Ministering starting in Bible College. I began to see God move in miraculous ways. This was the beginning of the Charismatic Movement and Jesus Movement.  Ministering in churches over the years of many denominations from Pentecostal and everything in between to Catholic churches, I saw miracles that awed me. I remember one such meeting in the One Twenty Fellowship, a ministry in Escondido, California run by Merlin Carothers, a known author in the movement.  The  presence of God from the beginning of the service was like the building was filled with electricity in the atmosphere. There were not only healings, but the move of God was so powerful I felt like a bystander. I could have sat down and watched God move. People in that service said that they had never seen a move of God like it in those weekly services.  It burned a picture  in my memory that I have never forgotten and that was about 50 years ago.
 
Onto the vision.  I was driving south on I-17 in Phoenix thinking about a move of God and back to when I heard Kathryn say that when the healings were taking place that it was like rays of golden sunlight on the individuals as she was “calling out” healings by the Word of Knowledge. All of a sudden while driving God gave me a vision. I cannot explain except that I saw this and also the freeway  at the same time. Now almost four years later I can see the vision as it was given to me. It was burned in my memory. I was standing on the platform of a large auditorium with a balcony. The place was packed. I then saw the Glory of God come upon the whole auditorium, upon every person like golden rain falling on the everyone in the auditorium.   I truly believe that God was showing me as He has shown others that we are on the verge of experiencing a great move of the Holy Spirit, possibly the Latter Rain the book of Joel talks about. Many in the 1940’s called that the Latter Rain Movement, but many men and women of God are being shown that this is to be a great worldwide outpouring. I believe it! Let us pray and believe God to do what He has said and has shown tp many,  that just might be the last great move of the Spirit before the coming of the Lord. It was prophesied by a prophet over me years ago that this would be bigger than even I could imagine and three people in three separate times and places prophesied to me the same thing, a great move of God. It IS Coming!!! Get ready!
 “The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”  Isaiah 40:5  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14

Perhaps there is not a greater controversy in the Church today than Romans 13. It probably would never have been brought to the forefront had it not been for the Covid19 Virus. The Lockdowns, the masking  and social distancing mandate, the shutting down of churches for the sake of health. What does Romans 13 really say? I visited a church a couple weeks ago where the pastor’s sermon was specifically about this subject. His final statement was that we should obey the governing authorities in everything except when they say that we cannot preach the Gospel. The confusing thing was that almost everyone in the church was not wearing a mask and most were not social distancing which is mandated here and there were probably two hundred people in the church, if not more. So, we were pretty much all breaking the law,  only that was not mentioned.  Is that really what Romans 13 is saying? A closer reading of the chapters 12 through 14 show us what our attitude should be. And interpreting scripture is always in context of other scripture.
 
Rulers are appointed to give laws for the good of all.
Romans 13:1-14 (NKJV)
1  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4  For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

This portion states that rulers are there to give laws that protect society and give peace. Do all rulers do that? Of  course not. Should they? Yes. What is the duty of all Christians regardless of what government they are under? It states it right there. The Christian is to do good works, glorifying God. We are to be peaceful so as not to bring reproach on the Lord and His Gospel. I don’t  think that any true Christian would reject that. What it says very plainly is if we break the laws of the land then we will suffer punishment. Whether that punishment be from the government or God is not so clear. Possibly both. The catch here is what laws are we to submit to? All the laws, even those that go against our faith? What if a law such as in a Muslim country forbids Christian worship and proselytizing? Are we to obey that law? What if we are in an army of a country and we are ordered to kill Christians or any peaceful citizens? The answer is obvious. You may not know it but it happened in Germany when  Christians were ordered by Hitler to kill Jews and and many who were Christians.  You say how could you be a Christian and be in Hitler’s army? He drafted both my friend’s father and grandfather who was age 65 and both were killed in battle. They were Christians and yet had to serve in an army that did many evil things against the will of God.
 
What are the laws of our land that we must follow? The pastor I heard said that the Bible does not say we can march with placards. No,  it does not but it says to obey rulers and in our land the laws are in our constitution.  We are allowed by the first amendment to peacefully protest. It is our legal right  and so therefore we are submitting to the governing authorities when we do that. It is interesting that in the latter part of the chapter it gives  the answer that should settle the whole matter. It quotes some of the Ten Commandments, which are the laws given directly from God.
 
8  Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9  For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."


It is clear here that we are to love our neighbors as a priority and  keep the laws of God. Those laws are the Ten Commandments. If we do that,  we should not be punished as an evil doer. It seems that it is  all  based on the principle of Love. If we follow God’s commands, doing His commandments which were given not only to save us from our own selfishness and lust, but to do  the works of righteousness then we will be pleasing to the Lord.  In a civil society we will be looked upon with favor. Of course all societies are not civil and ours is quickly moving away from righteousness. It is a simple directive from the apostle and that is to do good, show love and you will live peaceably. If the society is such that persecution results from doing good, then we must obey God rather than man.  Everything we do should be governed by love. If it is marching with placards peaceably to save the killing of innocents, then we are doing God’s work out of love for Him and for people, specifically babies. We are not to riot as some are but we are to do the whole will of God and that is not JUST preaching the Gospel.
 
“10  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
 
 ​

I have been a Christian for a very long time. I have learned many things about life, probably because I’ve lived a long time.  I have also learned much about the spiritual life. One thing I would like to share with you is about the big question that we ask way too much of God. That is the word “why”. Why does this happen and why does that happen in our life? The one thing I found out a long time ago is that it is pretty much fruitless to ask God why. There are things that God will give us the answer to and things that he won’t tell us, at least not in this lifetime. We all have things happen we don’t understand. You may guess where I am going with this. There is much in the news these days that we don’t understand, and I will be bold enough to say that I rarely watch the news on tv anymore. I am smart enough to know when one station after another has slanted the news so much that it is very difficult to hear the truth on TV anymore.  The ungodly liberal media has told so many lies, many of which I have caught them in, and I just can’t stand to listen anymore.
 
Do you really wonder these days who you can believe? There is so much conflicting rhetoric and information about many things from politics to pandemic that you really wonder what to believe. I do know one thing that I believe with everything that is in me, and that is that you can trust God. I learned when a teenager that the only one who will not fail you and is perfect is Jesus Christ. He has made us promises and those promises are true. We so often put our eyes on people, and we think that certain people will never fail us. Sometimes it is the people that we look up to the most, even in church. When we get our eyes on people, we will surely be disappointed and many times disillusioned. Why do you think there are so many people who used to go to church but gave it up?  They saw someone or heard something from somebody that did not measure up to what they thought should come from that person. I have had it happen and so have you if you will admit it.
 
Lean not to your own understanding the scripture says but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will bring it to pass. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. These are just two things that are said in the bible that will give us great peace of mind if we really put them to practice in our lives.
 
Many Christians are wondering what is going on in the political world and in our nation.   If things keep going the way they are, we Christians may suffer severe persecution. That should come as no surprise though because Jesus said it would happen. We in America somehow think we have a corner on God’s favor, but we have been going through some pretty terrible things in the past year that we wonder about. Does God not see it and does God not care? Yes, he sees and yes, he cares and yes, he is with us in our trials as he always promised that he would be.

The best thing I can do with all the division that is going on in our nation and in the church is to say, keep your eyes on Jesus. Politicians will fail us; ministers and priests will fail us and we will fail each other but one thing that is certain is that God will never fail us. I have sat at the bedside of more than one person who was getting ready to die or dying and God did not forsake them even at death. I could tell amazing things, but this is not a book. Jesus cares and at this most vital time in our nation and in the world, cast your cares on Him and trust that He will be with you. He is there regardless of your circumstances, regardless of how bad the pandemic is and regardless of who is president. Jesus is with you. Trust him!
 
If you do not know Jesus you can, and now is a great time to ask Him to make Himself real to you. We come to God by confessing that we have sinned and need Him. We ask Him to come into our life and He said that if we come to Him, He will not cast us out. Trust Him as your Savior and Lord today and I promise you that your life will never be the same and you will never regret doing it. Trust Jesus! He loves you.
 
Just so you know how to pray if you never have, here is the simple prayer that can change your life.
 
Dear Lord,
​Forgive my sins and come into my heart and life. I give it to you and trust you to make me what you want me to be. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Thank you.
Amen
 

​Luke 19:41-48  
41  Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42  saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44  and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
45  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46  saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
47  And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48  and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
 
Interesting picture of the love and grace and the righteousness of God. We see here and in another scripture where Jesus wept. He wept at the grave of Lazarus when he went possibly because Lazarus was dead, however He knew Lazarus would come out of the grave so maybe He wept because of the sorrow of Mary and Martha Lazarus sisters. His love reaches out to us all. Here He wept because of the spiritual blindness and evil deeds of the people in persecuting the righteous and killing the prophets of God. He then went immediately into the Temple and with a whip drove out the unrighteous who were trying to make financial gain from the sincerity of the believers IN the Temple itself.  It has been said many times that what America needs now is a “fear of God”. Grace has been preached in most churches to the amount that many Christians think that we can serve God and do anything we want as He will overlook our evil deeds because of His grace. Yes He has grace but according to Jesus in the Bible I read, we must repent of our evil deeds to receive that grace.

“The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.”  It is time to get back to the true Christian biblical teaching that God has not changed and what we do does matter both to God and should matter to us. Yes a righteous man falls and gets back up but we also believe that God is the Judge of all and trust that God will have mercy “if we repent”. What an odd word in these days, REPENT!. But if we truly want God’s smile and favor on our life then we must repent and ask forgiveness for our sins. It was Jesus who said it not me.
 
He is always willing to receive us to Himself but in His way, not ours. So look to Him now,  ask forgiveness as I do always for my faults and failures usually about every day. He will forgive, He will heal and He will as the prodigal son’s father and welcome us with open arms of love. 

​In pondering the results of abortion on society, I have been thinking about the horrendous price we have paid in our culture by allowing it. I was dumbfounded the other day when  saw a news clip on a rally on the steps of our Supreme Court building where young women were cheering the killing of babies. It was beyond belief except for the fact of knowing how deceived people can be spiritually.
 
Just think of what could have been and what might be happening if the 70+ million children killed in abortion had been allowed to live. Could we have seen a cure for cancer from a new brilliant mind, a new Thomas Edison, a new Bach or Chopin, a young man or woman who would one day be president or possibly a new Billy Graham? These are just a few of the possibilities we will never know. A whole generation has been lost, and at what cost.