Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Brexit is the Expression of Man's Love of Liberty


"And there was war in heaven." -Revelation 12:7

The men and women of America are rejoicing at the sight of Great Britain taking back her sovereignty. The European Union is an unwieldy giant.  Many have come to see the EU as tyrannical in regulation, socialist in bent, folded nicely in the modern garb of civility and progress.  That garb had been quite impenetrable.  It seemed man had moved past the need for nation states and free markets.  We couldn't see the truth.  For the longest time we had no idea of the multiplying problems with the "new deal." But with the advent of new media, increasingly Americans are in the know.

Europe is bankrupt.  Nearly every country in the EU has debt in excess of it's total GDP.  The immigration surge has led to increased crime, terrorist attacks, and rape.  All of these things are invisible to the mainstream television media.  They can't take a moment's notice, because it might invalidate their politically correct secular agenda.  But it's all true.  And the truth has a way of cutting through the darkness.

Increasingly, though painfully slowly modern man is waking up to the facts.  Western man is realizing: The shared ideas of the past weren't so backward and foolish.  They were in fact quite wise and took into account the need to check the selfishness and fallen nature of man.  That's why checks and balances were so necessary to our national government.  Our founders understood from the Judaeo-Christian perspective, that man is fallen and there must be barriers to check ambition and overreach.  Increasingly western man is realizing they'd left religious faith behind in haste, rushing forward into a globalist world.  It was just at this late moment that many realized that western man hadn't really changed or become fully good.  They realized the old selfishness and the old tyranny were still quite present in the new governments of the global world.  And western man had been bankrupted on a liberal secularism which had been found grossly wanting.

So when an unchecked oligarchy in Brussels stepped upon the sovereign rights of Britain's finest, well, the leftist media rhetoric only went so far: 48% so far.  But 52% of the British people realized that the media rhetoric and the political correctness didn't match with reality.  So they voted for something all the experts told them would lead to chaos and destruction.  The tyranny of the experts failed, ultimately.  Increasingly we realize today that the experts are wrong just as often as they are right.  Ultimately it goes down to opinions and rhetoric.  What they call facts, aren't always or even often facts. 

It was like we, western man had been lulled to sleep by the lullaby of modernity.  We were slightly drunk, perhaps a bit tipsy on the idea of the ultimate goodness of man.  We stared upon all the fancy gadgets and gizmos, all the lovely technology, the abundant food and wealth, and we seemed to forget that man is not basically good, but that man is basically not good.  We forgot that capitalism and our government structures, and our moral principles were all founded and set up to temper man's ambitious self interested attitude.  We forgot that humanity is safer when forced into honest barter, honest trade, and honest governance based on the ability of branches and entities to keep one another in check.  We forgot that wars aren't a thing of the past.  The list goes on: we were lulled to sleep by a tunnel vision narrative perpetrated in academia, the sciences, the media, and Hollywood that edited out the truth.

Modern man let go of facts recently and began embracing feelings.  It became more and more about feelings, and less and less about logic and facts.  The rhetoric and political correctness kept many of us quiet, very quiet in fact, because we feared being labeled as racist, homophobic, bigoted, or misogynistic.  But as the "feelies" took over, we saw that facts were being tossed out the window.  We saw the national debt skyrocketing.  We saw dangerous changes being made to marriage, gender, education, and even foreign policy and border security.  

Yet it seemed for the past ten years whether in America or Britain, the progressives had captured the hearts and minds of the general public.  The average man sitting in front of the TV had bought into the ideology.  Young people had been taught and integrated into the new ideology.  

The news media did a fabulous job of hiding the lies, controversies, and outrages of the bureaucracy.  But just beneath the surface is a growing army of angry men and women, tired of being demonized by the media, tired of being labeled as haters, and tired of having their opinions minimized and shut out from public discussion.  A lying media protecting one side of the debate and demonizing the other is certainly prone to trigger anger.  So is political correctness.  This is righteous indignation, a visceral sense that blatant injustice is taking place.  Before the internet it was just a deep quaking of the heart while watching the evening news.  Today, it's a communal quaking, among groups and people and movements aimed at the mainstream media, the Alinsky left, the socialist relativist naturalist academia complex, the anti-God science orthodoxy of the Darwinian establishment, and other disparate parts of this modern matrix.  

In the bright shining light of the garden of the America ago, we were a Christian nation; not perfect, but prosperous. Long ago in the roars of World War II, bombs falling in the distance, a snake entered the garden.  That snake was the Frankfurt school, fleeing the Nazis in Germany.  The Frankfurt school began developing connections and pushing forward the ideas of Marcuse and Marx.  But they couldn't implement their progressive socialist agenda with the playbooks of Marcuse and Marx.  Then came along a rat, a second snake in the garden, Saul Alinsky and his hideously genius "Rules for Radicals."  They had found the recipe to destroy America and implement their agenda.  Today they've conquered most of America's social institutions, they've turned out the conservatives, the enlightenment types, and religious types and run them out of town.  The same staffs that were open to the ideas of these progressives, and allowed them to share their views have now found themselves shunned and blocked from participation.  We've been locked out of own nation's institutions.

We need to wake up to what has happened.  And we need to reclaim our country, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is real.  It's true. And he is at work in America.  His Spirit remains.  But we have to do our part.  How can this be done?  By way of the enlightenment and by way of great awakening.  These two forces swelled back and forth in American history to drive the nation forward in times of struggle.  The enlightenment on the left and the religious on the right, we were the eagle that led the nation forward.  But now on both sides, left and right, we've found ourselves infiltrated and overrun with formidable enemies.  We slept while they conquered.  

The same happened in Britain.  In fact it happened all across Europe.  So what's the problem?  Why haven't they completely taken over and driven us out all together?  Because their ideas don't work.  Their policies are a mess and they destroy nations.  The Marxists could never admit that every time their systems were tried, it led to genocide and/or economic collapse.  Today those policies are destroying America and destroying Europe. They decimated Venezuela, drove Puerto Rico into economic collapse, and they are destroying Greece, Spain, and the rest of Europe.

The first big turning point is that Britain has said: "Enough, no more."  The British people have comprehended that the politically correct nonsense of the progressives is empty.  They've realized that multiculturalism is a failure.  They've realized that cultural relativism is a myth and a rather obvious myth at that.  They are tired of being lectured by the arrogant hypocritical left.  So they've decided to be free.  This is a first big step in a new direction.  

We should continue to fight in the United States, for our liberty, against the Alinsky left and their utopian delusions.  Because we know those ideas destroy.  Critical theory is all about destruction.  The fatal flaw of Alinsky, Marx, and Marcuse is that they spend so much time tearing down, they have nothing to build up.  They search for a utopian future that fails to comprehend the nature of humanity.  It is a delusion, a failure, and a lie.  They cannot build.  But we can build.  

We need to build past them, not going back to the past, but thrusting ourselves past them into the future.  How?  Left hook, a new American enlightenment based around the source ideas of America, dating back to ancient Greece and the ancient Roman empire.  And right hook, a new great awakening of the Christianity that transformed the world throughout the ages.  We'll leave the alinsky progressives in the dust, failed, pathetic and utterly bankrupt.

Our ancestors built great nations in America and the United Kingdom.  They were builders, dogged, relentless and free.  These empires worked.  It took the big government ideas of leftist movements to begin to circumvent and destroy both.  Great Britain like the United States must move forward into robust Christianity, federalist government, free market economics, and a new morally motivated culture with strong values and stronger families.  Those keys have always worked and they will continue to work in the future. 

Why do we allow these leftist hacks to destroy everything with their faustian "progress"?  Their progress is destroying everything!  Their redefinition of all things is a lie.  Their agenda is about money and power.  Their rhetoric doesn't match with the facts.  And their authoritarianism, their bullying and violence toward constitutionalism, federalism, Christianity, Judaism, and conservatism violates their own supposed standard of "love and tolerance."  In fact, these leftist Alinskyte progressives are the most hateful, authoritarian, and valueless hacks imaginable.  They are the epitome of intolerance and hatred, yet like true Alinskytes they throw those exact terms at their enemies. 

We in Great Britain and America need to understand the vast framework of the progressives.  We need to understand them, and we need to defeat them.  Why?  Because they are destroying America and they are destroying Europe.  These nations are the beacon of the world, we are the future of the planet, of the Earth; we must stand together and reject with one voice these evil policies being thrown at us from every angle.  

The forces arrayed against us our many.  We cheer so loudly for victories like Brexit because these victories are sadly the exception and not the rule.  We need to make victories like Brexit the rule rather than the exception.  We have complicit old guards in the GOP and so do the conservatives in Britain.  It's time to remove those old adages, those whipped dogs, catering to the leftist agenda, and drive forward to the future, in the spirit of Margaret Thatcher and in the spirit of Ronald Reagan.  

God is good.  He will grant us the victory.  If we pray and if we take action and if we believe, well, we can do anything.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and so can you.  Tell the new story, tell and retell the new narrative, our narrative, which is the truth and it is this: The people are rising up and we're coming for our freedom.  


"American Eagle" on the U.S. Embassy in London via Wikimedia
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Sunday, June 26, 2016

The Return of Jesus Christ & the New Jerusalem



 

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, New York, Macmillan, 1960, p. 119.

This life is short. Anything can happen. Our bodies function for a certain number of years, and then we die. Life can seem very difficult at times. Life can seem great at times, and we’re happy. Life is a strange thing. We walk around in these mechanical bodies working jobs, driving cars, getting married, making babies, walking about hustling and bustling to do this or that on this mud covered sphere flying through the void of space at thousands of miles per hour. You’ve got the moon, the stars at night, the clouds and sun during the day. It’s quite odd.

We do many things in life. We try many things. We work, we wonder, and we dream. And we yearn for something more.

I always had a yearning within. Even when I was very young, me and my sister would do little more than play all day. But after a few years I began to ache, just slightly at the end of the day, and think to myself: Is this all life is? The best way I could describe it is that it’s like the day after Christmas. There’s been this great build up for all these gifts I’d thought I’d wanted, that I thought would fulfill me, and they’ve just let me down.

In the same way, using marijuana, or speed, or getting drunk, I’ve done those things. And eventually after a few years your just waiting for the hangover, or your waiting for the “come down.” You can hardly enjoy it anymore. Because increasingly every day there is growing sense of meaninglessness. There is a growing sense of frustration, as time and again and again and again, I set a goal for myself, I set a desire, a product, a relationship, a marriage, a trip, a season, as my ultimate, that somehow when I reach this point finally, finally finally everything is going to be ok. But that moment never comes. It’s always a let down, and I’m disappointed beyond belief. What a cruel reality, and how frustrating after 50 tries, after 100 tries, after 500 tries.

The true story is told of Deion Sanders, a hall of fame corner back who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He had just won the superbowl. He’d had a great game. He was back at the hotel with superbowl ring. And he was on the phone ordering a new Lamborghini. He set down the foot and a very, very disturbing feeling fell over him. Meaninglessness, he had just achieved every goal he had set, and there was nothing. Just emptiness. In the hotel room, Deion Sanders fell down onto his knees, and called out to Jesus Christ.

All we seek after, the fame, the glory, the relationships, the perfect marriage… it all fails to satisfy that sacred yearning.

That yearning is eternity, set up the human heart by God almighty. It is why we ache for something we’ve never had, a perfect timeless existence in full connection to God almighty. I fall into that too, thinking about the perfect romantic relationship. Maybe then my depression will go away, maybe then my tiredness will fade, maybe then I won’t feel lonely at night. But it isn’t true. Only God can satisfy that eternity, because he has placed it upon our hearts, as a desire for a new world. We have within a sacred desire for life without boundaries, for perfect justice, for perfect love, and for a perfect world. Does it make sense to you? If nothing in this world satisfies me, then I must be made for another world.

As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ the son of God came to Earth, that he died a replacement death for us, he died in our place on the cross, to redeem us in God’s eyes. Jesus then resurrected from the dead bodily. And he returned to heaven. As Christians we believe Jesus Christ will return to collect us, his people, and give us all the promises he has made.

Revelation 22:12-17 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."

Jesus answers our call for eternity, the desperate desire within all of us for something greater when he says “I am the alpha and the omega. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.” What an astounding statement, to save that he is all. He is the answer to the yearnings of our deep souls. We’re made in the image of God, making this limiting world quite exhausting, sad for us, we’re like teenager on a kindergarten playground. We’re capable of much more, desiring of greater things, yet stuck on the monkey bars. For now.

Because Jesus Christ is coming back. And when he returns, he will do many wonderful things. We’ll talk about that in a minute, first, let’s look at our apologetic moment.

1. The universe exists and it must have a cause, everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Evolution can't create, neither can science. The universe needs a first cause that is timeless, outside the system and infinitely powerful. God is the logical first cause (cosmological argument)

2. The universe is finely tuned, there is order in the universe at work that allows for planets, stars and galaxies. There are laws in the universe, constants like gravity, relativity, and so on. It's reasonable that when we find mathematical laws and cosmological laws in the universe, that there is a powerful being that created those systems (argument from design)

3. Within the human cell we find massive amounts of information. When we look at the human eye, we see a system so incredibly complicated that it could never come about by chance. When scientists look into the human body they see a complex yet harmonious system of machinery. We see cells and tissue, and DNA and systems that all function as one, and are irreducibly complex. (specified complexity, irreducibly complexity).

4. The human mind intuitively knows that there is good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad. Objective moral laws exist, they are universal. If objective morals exist, then an objective moral law giver must exist, therefore God exists. (moral argument)

So to review, Jesus came the first time to offer himself as a sacrifice to save us, but this return of Christ has to do with rewarding those who are waiting for him.

We await our savior. We await the great chance to be with Him forever. So we must be careful that we continue in the faith. Jesus has entrusted us with his gospel, and he requires of us that we share it with others. Do you recall the parable of the 3 servants? Each of the servants were good stewards of the gifts the master gave them, aside from the 3rd servant who simply buried his gift and didn’t make any use of it.

Again, think of the parable of the ten virgins. 5 of them were prepared, 5 of them were foolish. The master took a long time to return, and they fell asleep. They didn’t bring enough oil to keep their lamps lit. So they were not able to enter the kingdom. The master told them “I don’t know you.” Those words terrify me. The parable of the ten virgins has always scared me. The last words say “Therefore keep watch, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”

I’m hoping after hoping to hear some very sweet simple words from my savior: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Faithful, and good. Interesting combination. We live by faith, yet we must also try our best to live in holiness.

In the future, we die, or perhaps in our lifetime, Jesus Christ returns. Either way, we meet Jesus face to face. Whether you believe in God or not, you will see God face to face. Every person will. I feel sorry for those killed in the Orlando shooting, because they may find themselves hearing the words “I don’t know you.” I can’t judge, only God knows for certain. But I can examine and discern the truth.

If we are found faithful and good in the eyes of Christ Jesus, we will be rewarded for our good deeds, at an event called the great white throne judgment. Some might say “oh judgment, Jesus wouldn’t judge anybody.”

"Well, actually, he will judge everyone. And to add to that, do you not know you will judge angels?" -1st Corinthians 6:3. Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

But for those of us who know Christ as our savior and Lord, there is no judgment for us, there is only reward, glory, honor, praise and riches in heaven. For those outside the cross, there will be judgment. And I’m glad for that, because God is a perfectly righteous judge. I’m certain every judgment he makes, the smallest, to the greatest will be 100% just, and right, and deserving.

Judgment offends our modern sensibilities. But judgment is a good thing when done by God. I trust Him. The return of Jesus Christ shows us a whole new side of our savior. Jesus while on earth 2,000 years ago lived a life of radical service, he was meek, lowly, and merciful. The returning Jesus Christ, we see is powerful, strong, and a warrior.

Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. -Revelation 19:11-16 NIV

So we make the cut, we’re a precious friend of Jesus and we’re welcomed into a new state of existence. Many things must come to pass in the end times before that can happen. We’re not going to get too much into that today. We’re going to talk about the city of God.

The scriptures say that our current reality, this Earth and the stars, all of it are destined for fire, for destruction. And in Revelation it says that then comes a new heavens, and a new Earth. And a new city, called the New Jerusalem. Our eternal home, in the next life, will be the city called New Jerusalem.

Now let me tell you about this city, it is really something special. It will amaze you. The New Jerusalem is a city, are you ready for your mind to be blown? God’s eternal city is a giant cube, about 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles high. That gives the New Jerusalem an area of 2.25 million square miles.

This is an approximation of the size of the city when compared with Earth as it is right now. Simply astounding.

Revelation says the city will literally come out of the heavens. Almost like a ship, landing on the new Earth. Revelation 21:11 says the city shined with the glory and presence of God.

Now every once in a while we get a tiny taste of the presence of God. Sometimes when I’m leading Bible study, or preaching or praying at night, I get a sensation of the true presence of God. And it’s the most amazing feeling ever, and I wish it would stay, but it always flees. That’s how things are in this life, in the fall of man. But in the eternal city, the full presence of God will be everywhere. The city has twelve foundations on each foundation is written the names of the 12 apostles of Christ and 12 entrances along the sides, marked with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The walls were made of jasper, which is a beautiful red stone. And the city itself is made of gold. The twelve foundations are decorated with all sorts of precious stones, like topaz, emerald, ruby, and amethyst. The twelve gates were each made from a single, giant pearl. Thus the old adage, the “pearly gates.” Literally, the gates to New Jerusalem, your future home, will be pure pearl.

I won’t you to think about that, and picture yourself touching the gate with your hand. Because God willing, one day you will. You really will.

There is no temple necessary in the city, because the city itself is God’s temple. And you live there! Nothing impure will ever enter the city. The nations will come into the city, aka the gentiles. Who are gentiles? We are gentiles. Finally it says in Revelation 21 that the city has no need for moon, stars or sun, because God himself lights the city.

The angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. –Revelation 22:1-5 NIV





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Monday, June 20, 2016

What is a real Spiritual Journey?

Butterfly Nebula via HubbleSite
One day we may explore the stars.  But what are the stars, but reflections of the mind of God? Our exploration is the exploration of galaxies within the mind of God. Make no mistake, God is no god if he has limitations.  From one end of the universe to the other is nothing to God.  Any distance, beyond him, any time frame, of no affect to him, any description, entirely inadequate. 

A spiritual journey well, that sounds fluffy doesn't it?  Oh yes it does.  If one wants to empty their mind of all reason and truth and hum to Deepak Chopra tapes, well, there's that too.  But if one is interested in actually seeking after what is true, then that's something entirely different.  We can all float what feels good for a while, hoping it will bring us peace and personal affluence, but it never quite works that way, does it?  Well, reality doesn't align to our thoughts and emotions.  It certainly responds to us, but it doesn't conform to our every whim.  No, we are not gods.  We are people.  

The common approach of the culture, major media, and so on is to attempt to combine religions into a sort of spiritual potpourri.  Unfortunately this approach fails, crumples up under systematic contradictions between religions and ends up being an arrogant farce intended to bludgeon Christianity and spiritualize a self-deified sort of mystic atheism.  I know this because I once did it.  It's a dead end.  It's appetizing because I can simply edit out anything I don't like, say like moral teachings, and I can just take whatever I want.  So new age universal at the conclusion, ends up being an American consumerist buffet transferred into the region of God and spirituality.   

To seek after a God who is really there is something quite different, and it may not be what we envision when considering a spiritual journey.  The thing about seeking after a God who is really there, is that he is actually, really there. He responds to and literally replies to our seeking is quite a wondrous thing.  And quite scary, let me tell you.  The reaction often is fear when the God who made the universe with his own unimaginable powers begins to interact with me.  Fear and wonder.  Extreme wonder comes, and a sense of severe gratitude, almost unspeakable gratitude, as if I was blessed beyond measure.  

It's a sense of shock as the presence of God is felt.  It could be comparable to seeing a ghost, or staring at a 3d picture just right so one sees the image.  More so, like seeing a ghost, at least in the panicked, excited feeling, when noticing the presence of God.  As if something spiritual has just cut through the mundane of the material and reinvigorated something vital within me.  

Because the daily grind can be so soul crushing.  And then a hope cuts through the night, and that hope is the presence of God.

When we begin to realize that God is really there, and really wants to have relationship with us, then we begin to have a spiritual journey.  The journey can start anywhere.  It's amazing.  It's scary at times.  It challenges our deepest viewpoints and opinions about the world.  It stretches our emotional capacities and challenges us to grow.  It leads us into dark places, just as much as light places.  

I'm so so convinced that this journey is the answer to everything we young people seek for in political heroes, heroic dramas, and ambitious educational endeavors.  We're seeking for something greater, we're seeking for the ultimate expression of unity in diversity.  It can only be found in God, of course.  

Why is that so hard for so many to accept?  Well, it's because attached to this saga is a challenging new lifestyle.  It's a lifestyle of peace, as described on this blog.  But so often a lifestyle of peace means daily warfare.  Ironically enough, it is so.  I must fight my own desires, because those base desires threaten to destroy me.  My emotions don't dictate reality.   

It's almost like an RPG or MMO where I level up, one level at a time, growing and maturing through struggle after struggle.  A real spiritual journey smashes you to pieces and remakes you into something totally different.  This isn't Oprah's mythical universalist buffet.  This is the real deal, and it's not for the faint of heart.  But if your ready for an insane, life transforming spiritual saga, then the road is Christianity.  

Why?  Because unlike other religions, Christianity is true.  And it's tough.  It's difficult.  It calls us to live radically different.  Who is Jesus?  Why the Bible?  There are many questions to explore.  But there are good answers.  I never thought there were, but it's true, there are excellent answers, it's just those things had been hidden from me by a secular culture.  

People don't like it.  It's a challenge.  It calls out the worst in me.  But something inside me enjoys that struggle.  I want to be free of those terrible dark things within me.  I want real righteousness and real love and real transformation.  I'm thirsty for it.  Are you?  I hope you are.  This is the way.  Begin that journey.  It's a real spiritual journey.  It's tough.  It's fun.  It's amazing.  It's a challenge.  It's the real meaning of life.  It changed everything in my life.  Do it. You won't regret it.  










 
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Friday, June 17, 2016

25 Powerful Christian Graphics: Share!

Sharing graphics on social media can be one of the most effective tactics in renewing a corrupt culture.  Imagine if millions of Christians across America were regularly sharing pictures and scriptures everyday.  They would impact people in their area slowly over time, and place the idea of God within.  It is a potent tactic for helping people to faith in the truth.  Feel free to save and share any of these pictures.  I don't claim to own or control any of these graphics, I'm simply a Christian activist seeking to change the world in Christ. Enjoy!


























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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

I Think I Might Need God in my Life: What Should I Do?

"Quest" via Wikipedia
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me." -Proverb 8:17

So maybe some wonder: "I see your posts, your Christian life, the proofs of God's existence, and I've realized that there's something to all that. And I want to take the next step. What do I do?"

First, understand that you are embarking on a journey that will transform your life.  Your about to begin a process of not beginning to practice a religion, but your beginning to seek God.  It's a relationship, beyond any relationship imaginable.  It's expressed not through conversation so much as through moments, through thoughts, and through the natural world.  The word of God and prayer are of course paramount to this journey.  The word is the guide book to existence, life, and everything.  Prayer is our communication toward God.  

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." -Lamentations 3:25

Ultimately this journey will challenge the deepest foundations of who we are.  Our entire worldview will be upset, disassembled and transformed.  Our conduct will be challenged, our thoughts will be changed, and our entire manner of living will change.  It is the greatest journey imaginable.  And we must understand that it is a costly journey.  It will take all that we have.  It will cost us all that we have.  We may lose friends, family, we may lose everything we have.  When God calls us to Him, he leaves no room for our own ways to remain.  He comes for all of us, every little bit.  So the first thing you must do is count the cost.  Are you willing to go all in on this journey?  If not, there's the door.

What's nice is you can begin this journey gradually.  You don't have to dive in to all of that all at once.  Depending on where you are, you can simply make a beginning.  Begin to seek after God.  Watch for his fingerprints in your daily life.  It started that way with me. Eventually the heart follows, and later, the life itself.

"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

The next step is find a good church community in your area.  I know, I'm sorry.  No one likes this part.  I didn't either.  But I'm convinced it's quite necessary. Some people go back to the church they were raised in. I didn't do it that way. But you can google churches in your area and consider different options. You can ask people in your area if they'd recommend an institution.  I went to a church that I felt God was leading me to.  But I explored other churches in the area, I went to probably about 7 different services, getting a feel for what they were all like.

Why a church? It's a big deal to commune with other believers and engage in worship and bible study. We can try to do it by ourselves, but I think it tends to be a losing battle, and leaves us open to attack, isolated. 

The down side is a lot of churches get it wrong, and a church community can and often is very messy. It's tough. There's drama. And the teaching may not be right or not Spirit filled. So you may have to shop around for a while, and find a church that is certainly spirit filled.  But be careful here, don't leave a church because the teaching is hard.  We need hard teaching.  Don't leave a church because your being challenged to grow and change.  We need that!

Make your search in prayer. Purchase a good study Bible. Begin to pray on a daily basis. I try for 3 times a day. Many pray once in the morning and once at night.  Daily devotionals are great too, in the morning I do two. As you take those action steps, God will bless your journey and you'll start to grow close to Him.

Ultimately it's about reaching Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  He is the way to God.  We can't approach God any other way.  Our fallen ways separate us from God, but Jesus Christ is our way to God.  So seek after Jesus Christ.  Call out to Jesus.  Flee with your heart and mind into the arms of Jesus.  Literally call out to Him: Jesus help me. Jesus save me.  Jesus change me!

It all starts with an opening commitment. If there are accompanying struggles with alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, pornography, gambling, etc get involved with 12 step groups in your area. Or find a Celebrate Recovery, or see a counselor.  I purchased Christian books on struggles and topics such as those.  I purchased workbooks on depression, angry, anxiety, and other issues.  I began to work on myself, everyday. 

Take those action steps. Pray about it. It'll work out. If God is tugging at your heart, then do it!

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." -James 4:8




Saturday, June 11, 2016

Media Bias, Saul Alinsky, & the War on America's Character: Powerful Video Presentations


The mainstream media in our country is lying to us everyday. When we start to realize that, we start to see the truth. If we want to know what's really going on in the world, we've got to look to alternative media and Christian media.  

I personally look to certain YouTube channels for my facts, news, and political presentations. Thankfully for the internet there are many options.  Some off the top of my head would include National Review, Breitbart, the Daily Wire. And Christian news sources are just as vital, such as: Charisma News, LifeSiteNews.com, The Christian Post, and others. 

Don't trust the television media, there are things going on in the world, like the beheading of Christians in the middle east, where you won't hear any of it, or maybe just a quick story, but when a gorilla gets shot, it'll be continuing coverage for three days straight.

Distrust the media. Test and verify through alternative internet media. If you want to do something about the bias, get involved with the The Heritage Foundation, MRCTV, and Heritage Action for America.  For now I'd like to share five incredible presentations by some of the most brilliant minds I've ever encountered.  Thanks be to God for the Heritage Foundation and many other organizations who are fighting everyday for our nation.  But we can't do it alone.  We need you to dedicate your daily life to fighting this battle.  The problem has always been that good men and good women are outside the know, or they simply aren't engaged in the battle.  So please, get involved.  And enjoy.  Do what you enjoy.  Use your passion to fight the battle. Understand the truth, for it will set you free.

1. Takedown: From Communists to Progressives, How the Left Has Sabotaged Family and Marriage



2. Collusion: How the Media Stole the 2012 Election and How to Stop Them From Doing It in 2016



3. Andrew Breitbart: Righteous Indignation at the Heritage Foundation



4. The Black Book of the American Left: The Collected Conservative Writings of David Horowitz



5. American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character



Additional Viewing:
  1. The Black Book of the American Left: The Collected Conservative Writings of David Horowitz
  2. Lawless: The Obama Administration’s Unprecedented Assault on the Constitution and the Rule of Law 
  3. Andrew Breitbart talking about Righteous Indignation
  4. Victims, Victims Everywhere: Trigger Warnings, Liberty, and the Academy
  5. How the West Really Lost God: A New Theory of Secularization
Related Posts:
  1. Authoritarianism toward Christians in the name of Gay Rights
  2. A Movement of Millennials: The last hope of Western Civilization
  3. Take a Stand Like Daniel: Being a counter-culture Warrior
  4. Religious Liberty: The Great Struggle of our Time
  5. The War on Principles & the Hope in our Worldview
  6. A Three-Fold Battle Plan to Redeem Western Civilization
  7. Five Political Presentations that will Change your Worldview
  8. The Great Pillars of Society: Morality & Religion
  9. The Illusions of Modern Society and the Gospel
  10. An Appeal to Heaven: The Movement

Friday, June 3, 2016

An Essay on the Fall of Man in Today's America

Earth via Flickr
All of information and man conspire to keep us from the truth about life.  They've labored quite thoroughly to keep us from the spiritual, to keep us from the truth about God.  But we see it.  Beyond all the noise, technology, false philosophies, and half-baked theories, we see the truth.  The truth is God is real, and Jesus is alive.  

Yet I must lament for the sorry state of affairs.  No decent person deserves it, though none are decent.  No wicked person deserves it, or is accustomed to it, for we live in a twisted state of affairs.  

A twisted state indeed; What I like to call the tangent universe.  The phrase tangent universe actually comes from the film called "Donnie Darko."  The tangent universe refers to the altered reality that is formed when a jet engine falls into Donnie's bedroom.  The "artifact" comes from outside the system, and thereby changes the fundamental nature of the universe, changing it into the tangent universe.  The tangent universe is highly unstable, in fact it collapses after 28 days.  Donnie's mission is to somehow return the artifact to the static universe before the tangent universe destroys itself, and the human race with it.  

We find ourselves in a similar state of affairs.  Isn't it impressive how within so many films, books, and stories we find reflections of the real overarching saga of man and God?  Much like the reflection off water, we see in ripples, imperfectly the themes of Christ, eternity, and judgment within the sagas of man's imagination.  Is it any surprise that we are so inspired by them and so drawn to them?  

For within each of us is the divine imprint, within each of us is grafted the very splinter of eternity.  That splinter either becomes a hemorrhage or it becomes the meaning of our existence.  There is no middle ground, at least none that can be maintained. 

Tis a bright splinter, engulfed in darkness. Engulfed in the malady of the human race, that thing which is so apparent, yet so hidden, that thing that is so obvious, yet so minimized, so self-evident yet so denied.  

It is the reason God come to Earth was nailed to a cross.  It's the reason Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.  It's the reason Socrates was required to drink the hemlock.  It's the reason good men feel helpless.  It's the reason young girls are bought and sold as sex toys on cruel markets.  It's the reason unborn child are exterminated by the millions, body parts sold for profit.  It's the reason your heart aches, and my heart aches, and the world is so corrupt and broken.  Though so many deny it we must face it, we must face that terrible thing they call "sin."  What does sin mean?  To fall short of doing what is right.  To do wrong.  

Your in the tangent universe.  And the clock is ticking.  What will you do?  Donnie Darko had to learn to defeat the laws of physics and use the power of his mind to send the jet engine back to the static universe.  We have to find Jesus, and find faith in Him.

Reality was once perfect.  It must've been serene, sublime, unbelievably beautiful, shockingly succinct, prone to ecstatic ecstasy, and righteousness.  It must've been particularly nuanced.  Like a painting.  And oh, the presence of God himself walking through the garden!  Living in closeness with the Creator! And living with the animals in harmony. Timeless, at peace with nature and each other.  No need to even be clothed, for the full perfection of life itself leaves nothing needing to be hidden.  Only the truth, perfection, faith and at the highest, love was the center of all things.  It must've been wonderful.  

Did you think life on Earth was suppose to be this way?  Mankind has confused it so greatly, hidden the truth beneath layers of B.S. propagated by experts in many fields, constructing this false reality based on pithy half truths, unscientific nonsense, revisionist history, philosophical contradictions, half-hearted speculation and outright lies; all fueled by an internal hatred for the righteous and a longing, an internal impulse to flee from God, to hate God and to blame God, and to fight with every bit of their energy to snuff out God, to deny God's existence, and to destroy God.  What wicked fools they are, and how they have multiplied in our land.  How they've conquered the media, academia, the sciences, psychology, history, all the disciplines.  Amazing in only a few generations we've been swept aside. 

I didn't know this before.  In fact I was part of the insurrection.  I was a rebel in arms, fighting against the Christian majority.  I sure felt self righteous about it too.  We were gonna show those dumb religious nuts who was boss!  I was a junkie, a selfish freak, a self serving self destructive troll, a bridge troll looking for those whom I could corrupt and looking for any and all ways to feed my base desires.  

There I was in the middle of it.  And eventually that lifestyle could not be sustained.  I began crumbling, and falling apart, and finally... I died.  For a long time I lay there dead, along the river styx, rotting quietly as the toads croaked in the gullies and marshes beside the gushing waters of eternity.

I was dead you see, plugs jammed into arms and legs, into my brain, my heart, body.  The television on repeat jammed into my eyes.  And the lies of the world stuffed into my ears, anti-depressants and prescription medications flooding daily into my mind, salty, sugary processed foods pumping throughout my body.  And the arrogance of modern culture at the forefront.  There I labored for many years, carefully destroying myself, peeling myself apart slowly, driven mad by the splinter and the darkness, and all the lies.  

There I was, my corpse rotting along the riverside.  And lo, Christ walking on the water, shining brightly into the smog and ruinous post-apocalyptic nightmare landscape.  Lo, Christ stepping out into the disaster, nuclear lights upon my face.  I lay not dying, but long dead, hopeless, and rotting along the banks of the river.  There the mysterious risen savior, golden in light and crown of holiness dared taint his hands with my smoldering flesh, and called my flattened two dimensional soul from the ash heap and something eternal lept up inside me.  Christ awoke me from the dead, shined upon me, and I was reborn.  Yes, it's true.  

There I was alive, coughing and spitting, ashes and hunks of rust and death chaffing off my soul.  I looked up into the dark sky, beams of light sneaking through from between the clouds.  And I burst out crying bitterly, realizing what I had been, what I had done, how I had labored to destroy myself and all those around me.  And I cried out.  But I was alive.  

What a dark place I thought to myself, what a terrible state of reality.  Awareness had come, of the truth.  I had been given the mind of Christ, the armor of God.  I had been made a part of the dynamic body of Christ.  I had been stationed and commanded to lead the fight against the hordes of hell.  I had been given a calling by God almighty.  What an honor!  What a privilege!  What an incredible destiny the Lord of the universe had given me...  Wow.  

But I found the body of Christ quite divided.  And quite half asleep in these latter days.  I was quite surprised what I found.  Today the body of Christ, the church, well; it's at least 65% apostate.  And that's the most optimistic projection I have.  In reality it's probably closer to 80%.  All apostate.  Filled to the brim with pornography, dope, sex, worldliness, luke-warm, half hearted imitators of the world.  Willing participants in the evils of this world.  What a terrible thing, a terrible thing indeed!  To see the body of Christ staring at televisions, filled with the viewpoints of the world, supporting socialists, supporting abortion, or simply not caring, not taking a stand on anything; truly standing for nothing!  What a bizarre, contradictory situation.  

Yet Jesus saved me, and he called me to do something.  For there is a remnant, there is a band of loyal followers filtered throughout the cities of this crumbling Earth.  They're out there.  Not out there like Goldstein, but really out there.  

We are those set aside, confused, despairing, crippled, weak yet victorious citizens of heaven.  We dream dreams, see visions, come under spiritual attacks, we sense the very presence of God, and we defy the dead in our own ranks and the dead on the other side laboring so effectively to destroy the last free nation.  It is a fallen state of affairs, but quite normal for a fallen Earth. In fact just the same cycle has been repeating for centuries.  Once again, humanity lost the knowledge of God and in rebellion sought to supplant His laws with their own foolish ideas.

They are quite powerful now in America.  They are quite determined and united.  Our forces in comparison are divided, leaderless, on the defensive, filled with appeasing compromisers, traitors, double agents, and corrupt godless wealth seekers.  Our enemies are powerful, they control the media, they control all the screens in fact, they control most of politics, and they control academia and the bureaucracy.  They labor quite effectively to destroy us, to label us haters and bigots.  Even now they work day and night to draft and pass hate speech laws and enforced "equality" laws to push us into the very corner, and if we dare open our mouths to speak the truth, they will arrest us, fine us, and eventually I'm quite certain, they will look to kill us.  And on that day, when they do try to kill us, they will do so believing they are doing it for the just and right cause of removing from the world "evil bigots" who have no place in the new order of cultural relativism, spiritual inclusiveness, and worldwide peace-tolerance.  They are perhaps the parents of those who will cheer as they slaughter the church of God.  It's true.  And you know it's true.  

These are the heaviest thoughts and the most troubling times.  Most of the church is too busy playing soccer mom and soccer dad to notice.  Most of the church is so much like the world they are blind to the battle.  Much of the church is so completely blind to the realities of this spiritual battle that they fight actively for the other side.  It's true. 

I'm not telling anything new.  There is nothing new under the sun.  The book of martyrs is a long, long book.  And it's final pages have not yet been written.  

Jesus Christ the son of God, the perfect king was nailed to a cross and murdered on this Earth.  How can we think that we should live in partnership with the world?  If we are partnered with the world, what side does that put us on?  Why is the church so silent on "controversial" issues?  They will make any important issue controversial to keep us silent.  And they constantly tell us of this imaginary wall between church and state, demanding that the only people willing to fight for the Constitution and religious freedom have no right to be on the battlefield!  What a particular farce! What a faustian arrangement!  This imaginary wall they talk about is just that, imaginary, the establishment clause has NOTHING to do with separating church and state.  The establishment clause prevents Congress from establishing a particular religious denomination.  And that. is. it. Period.  And nothing else.  The establishment clause has exactly dic to say about whether a child can pray in school or not.  These judges are lawless.  

But what must a God-hating minority do?  They must destroy the laws of the God-fearing nation, then they can subvert and transform it into their socialist utopia, which in reality,will be a fascist dictatorship that destroys the rights of man and sets back civilization a thousand years with nasty ideas that deny human nature and leave a vacuum for monsters to grab power.  And as we all know, communism and socialism always end in genocide.  It's true.

Forgive me for tearing down these modernist delusions.  The quiet American life is an illusion.  Just beneath it are aborted babies, sex trafficking, drug addiction, and a raging war on Christian liberty.  We must not turn away.  We must look and fight these evils before it's too late.  

The clock is ticking after all.  And the tangent universe will be destroyed.  We know that from the scriptures.  God intends to reset the universe and reality itself.  He intends to make all things new.  And right.  I look forward to that.  Because everything is broken today.  This is not how it was suppose to be.  But something happened long ago.  And God let it play out.  He extended it, to give his people time to be reconciled to Him. 

Jesus Christ is alive and well, Lord in heaven.  We will live in a restored universe, a restored Earth, a restored city with God for eternity.  Our job now, in this twilight, is to seek out and help those who would join us at this eternal city.  All this evil, that we struggle with and we struggle against will eventually be destroyed by God.  We must not feel sad when they win time and again, and they do; because in the end we will be victorious.  They will have no inheritance, ours will be beyond anything we can imagine.  It's true.  Deep down, you know it's true.  

Keep fighting friends.  It's tough.  I feel the melancholy.  I'm tired much of the time and often discouraged.  But I keep fighting.  Because I know there is a life greater coming for all of us who trust in Jesus to the very end.  Don't give up now.  We must continue forward.  

Life can be good too.  It's not all bad here.  God gives moments of joy and peace.  And love.  For God is good and He is love. Therefore obey Him in this life, live like Jesus lived.  Study the life of Jesus, exhaustively.  Comprehend the will of God.  The clock is ticking.  The pieces on the board are moving.  Are these the end times?  It's hard to say.  I'm sure many have thought that, and were wrong.  The world wars might've appeared that way or the persecutions or during the crusades or during the cold war.  But none of those events were the final end.  

Is this transformation of America, into an immoral hell hole just another step in history?  Or are we really quite close to the last hours?  It's impossible to say.  We certainly hope it is the last hour, because it's gotten so ugly, so terrible, and our faith is so openly mocked by morons in the media and in Hollywood.  It's heartbreaking.  But Jesus Christ remains King.  Remember that.  Trust in Him.  He will return.  And he will make all things right.  Do his will, and I will try my best to do so also.  

God be with you, in the tangent universe, the fall of man, your center stage friend, this is it! Use your time well, for these moments will be remembered, for better or worse.  God is great. Jesus Christ is Lord. Glory awaits! Go in Peace.



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  2. What is the matrix?
  3. Living in the Suburban Sprawl (Mountains beyond Mountains)
  4. Ancient Doorways in the Brickhouse: Fields of Green in your Dreams
  5. Depression & Meaninglessness: Where is God in the depths of sorrow?
  6. The Awe of Dreams & the Surreal
  7. Big Picture: The Solution to all the Problems of Earth
  8. What is the meaning of Life?
  9. You Oh Lord are my Strength: The Manifold Provision of God
  10. Daybreak: Examining the Problem of Pain