So, we have had our elections, but anxiety could easily overtake us.

 So, we've had our elections, and as of Wednesday morning 11/4/2020, we are deeply entrenched in the voting scandals we expected. I have been seeing the 96-mile long vehicle rallies for Trump, the crowds of people who attend the political rallies for Trump, and, I have seen the rallies for Biden/Harris and there is hardly anyone there. Come Tuesday night, about 9:30 P.M. I had to turn off the reports as the anxiety could have easily overwhelmed me. I literally heard the Holy Spirit say to me, “Turn it off and relax; I have got this under control.” Ah, therein the problem lies because what we perceive as being under control is defined by how my head wants this situation to play itself out.

Now, this election may still play itself out according to my hopes, and an example came from my Pastor, Jack Hibbs, as I listened this Thursday afternoon 11/5/2020, to Pastor Jack's Wednesday night service, where he spoke about God being in control and the real anxiety that many of us feel. Pastor Jack asked the audience to take out their phones and look up “138,000 votes.” Yes, that's right, 138,000 votes got turned to Pennsylvania's election headquarters at 7:30 on Wednesday morning, and every one of those votes was for Joe Biden. That, for Biden, became the game-changer, as far as Pennsylvania was concerned. Immediately, the head that understands a common-sense world should have thought, that is impossible. And still, the fight goes on.

Now, just because you have faith, pour your little heart out to God, and listen to level headed speakers that deliver a clear message giving you educated reasons to NOT vote for a particular candidate, does not mean your man will get elected.

If that is the case what are we going to do?

One of the phrases that we hear in religious circles is to occupy. The terminology often has much to do with the reasons why we don't need to know the exact day of the Lord's return, and that is because most of us are lazy and we will do 101 things other than stay focused and ready for the Lord's return, most of which are in opposition to God,

The word occupy shows up in Luke 19:12-13 KJV

“He said, therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. (13) And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”

If you read this from the NASB, it reads like this.

Luke 19:13b NASB "..., 'Do business with this until I come back.'

Note the italicized words. Those were added to gain clarity. In reality, much like the KJV, we are to do business until he comes; no matter when that happens. To put this into common language, keep doing what you know to do until He comes back.

How many of you have been paying attention, not only to Bill Gates, but to Dr. Fauci, and other representatives of the World Economic Forum. This COVID 19 virus was their creation, with the specific purpose of bringing in a Global reset, a reduction in population, a global monetary system, and your subservience. Yes, this is all true, and if you are still reluctant to believe such things look at the Draconian measures New Zealand is already ascribing to. Canada and the United Kingdom, are right behind New Zealand. The mask you wear has no effectiveness against a 3 micron Covid molecule, and therefore must have some other purpose; and it does, as it is meant to control and bring the populace under submission. Can you do anything without your mask on?

Since I still have a church I can attend, I will continue to do so; and I will do until “they” lock and chain the doors, at which point every person I come in contact with becomes my church, my mission field, and my reason for living.

All that stuff about the World Economic Forum only works if people of power act in unison; and this is exactly what former Vice President, now Presidential candidate is doing when he states, “on day one of my Presidency, there will be a mandatory national mask mandate.” He is telling you, you will comply. All the subtle talk about Socialism is very much the purpose of the New World Order.

You can be like my stepdaughter and tell me, I don't believe that will happen, she is saying this in response to my telling her that Canada will incarcerate if you do not comply with the rapidly coming COVID 19 vaccination program. Much like New Zealand, refusal will make you a lawbreaker within your own home as by your refusal to be vaccinated you are endangering your household, and you will be incarcerated until you comply. To people like my stepdaughter, that refuse to contemplate such things happening, I say, you just go on living in your pastel-colored world, regardless of the fact that in many cities the streets are turning from pastel to blood red at the hands of fascist rioters; and soon, at the hand of Muslim enforcers of Sharia law, as they take over cities and make them no go zones, much like has happened in England. The reality is that this level of horror is happening as we speak and will only amplify. BLM Inc. and Antifa, have a dedicated purpose and goal to burn down our cities.

Did you know that a well-known prophecy in the Quran, is that the Mahdi (Christianities Antichrist,) will only come in the midst of chaos?

Joe Biden has recently been quoting from the Quran and is an advocate of Sharia law in our streets.

So, now, let me ask you, how much civilized time do you think we have left on the streets of America?

If you can even come close to answering that question, it is because you have a logical mind, can see the handwriting on the wall, and have inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, if you cannot say, that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then maybe you should move quickly to fix that. He, Jesus, moves very quickly into the lives of those who call upon His name.

Jesus is coming soon.

How do I know that?

1. My mind takes a logical path as I look through scripture and look at what is happening in the world.

   One does not have to be prophetic to see and understand these things, but the Bible tells us it is a great mystery and that the god of this world has blinded the eyes of most of you so that you cannot see it. Many of you think that the Presidential re-election of Donald Trump is a joke. Let me tell who the joker is. He is Satan - and he does not deserve to be referred to in the upper case; and, he is the great deceiver. Want proof.

    

   Revelation 12:9 NASB And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

   There are others with him. How many angels came to earth with him? If you could take an uncountable number, and then take a third of that number, that is how many angels bought into his mutiny and fell with him. In other words, there are enough to have one assigned to each of us. Don't let that bother you too much, as there are twice as many that are assigned as our personal bodyguards by the Father.

2. If you noticed, at the very beginning of this post, I said, “I heard the Holy Spirit say.”

   This voice is the activity of the comforter, which Jesus said He would send when He left the earth and returned to the Father; but it is also an aspect of the prophetic.

   Anyone, if they choose to listen to God's voice, can and will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

   In trying to explain this process I tell people that it often seems like one of the many voices I have in my head. Don't look at me like I am crazy, we all have voices in our heads, some sound like an abusive, or manipulative person in your life, while at other times it sounds like the wisdom of my wife.

   When the Holy Spirit speaks, I, more often than not, have no problem distinguishing whose voice it is, as He never leads me to anything but the truth. Truth, by the way, comes from the established Word of God.

   So, immediately, upon beginning to write these words, knew that many, even those who align themselves with some religion, would say, your words are false and made up, as no one needs to speak as a prophet any more because we have the Word of God. That is all well and good I suppose, but the fact that you can say something that narrow-minded demonstrates that you don't read, or know, the Word of God, nor does Jesus dwell within you.

With all that said, I need to tell you a story.

Mom has been gone almost two years now. We had already seen the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, but we did not know it, nor did mom. A part of the problem with the detection of serious issues comes from the hard hardheadedness of the patient as many don't want to admit they are in distress and therefore do not get early or appropriate help from the Doctor. The other problem comes from the medical facilities that don't see the necessity to spend the money necessary to ascertain what the problem is; therefore, things like pancreatic cancer go undetected until they are at stage four and beyond practical treatment.

2018 was a mess. Dad had been dealing with diabetic neuropathy for several years, and he was sure that a nerve pinch was a cause of all his problems; that was not the case and the doctors found a cancerous brain tumor about the size of a tamale and had to remove it. We did not know if he would be able to walk again, and we had to have the bathroom remodeled in case dad would be wheelchair-bound – that process took several months, and caused a tremendous amount of emotional strain. Dad had also been having emotional meltdowns, telling us that he was going to die in surgery; these meltdowns continued even after, in recovery in a sister's home as they waited for the remodel to get done. He struggled with his new, but temporary disabilities and refused to use the wheelchair. Now, here is where the Holy Spirit begins to kick in hard. On multiple occasions, I had told Dad, and other family members, that he will be fine.

In the meantime, mom is dying, although we have no definitive information about that diagnosis. In early January of 2019, Dad demanded that he be put back in his house. Shortly thereafter, mom begins having issues with what she simply calls, old lady problems. Dad refuses to have the Doctor do a biopsy, and so the Doctor doing the best he could, told mom and dad, that in all likelihood she has pancreatic cancer. I have never seen anyone come back from pancreatic cancer. Several of us spent some time in the faith movement – many aspects are good, such as reading God's Word, but the negative side of this movement shows it's ugly head when you try to bully your way through God and people. Some of my family members still lean in this direction. I told the other family members that mom would be gone within six months. Nobody wanted to hear that, and thus began the barrage of angry faith statements, like she will live forever.

How did I know that mom would die?

I heard a voice; I trust in God, and I lean heavily upon the Holy Spirit to guide me. If it were not for the Holy Spirit, I would be floundering, especially in the current situations.

Dad insisted that mom continue doing their somewhat normal routine, and they would go to church on Sunday nights, and almost every night they would go meet some friends at a local restaurant. Remember what that is like? My wife and I would join them on occasions, and I often saw my mother shed a tear because of the pain she was in. In early February, I heard the Holy Spirit tell me, “you need to go say goodbye to your mother.” It was clear and did not seem like a suggestion, and so my wife and I went. Saying goodbye, and telling her, if you want to go home to be with Jesus, it's okay. You have done your job well and we are all going to be okay. All of us know the Lord.

I left that night and immediately sent a message to my brother who lives the farthest away, up the hill. I told him, the Holy Spirit just told me that mom would be dead before the week is out and that he needed to get down here right away. He showed up the next day and had communion with mom, and also said his goodbyes. That brother told me a short time later, that they all laughed me to scorn, but yet he came. I said my goodbyes on Monday and mom took her last breath here on earth Sunday morning. She, because she knew that dad would want to go to church, was up and dressed that Sunday morning. Dad, not believing that she was even out of bed, called to her to check on her status. She answered him and moments later let out a scream of pain. She immediately went back to bed, ready for church, and was dead just a few hours later, dancing in the arms of Jesus.

Several months went by when dad says to me, your brother told me that you knew when mom would die. I simply replied, yes. He responded to that by saying, has God told you anything about me? God had, but I did not want to tell him as dad was in an emotionally fragile state.

So, am I a prophet? I used to think it would be very cool to have a superhero type of role, perhaps then I would get respect – something I have never felt. My imagery of prophets came from guys like Samuel and Elijah. Samuel hacked up King Agag, and Elijah called fire down from heaven. Pretty cool, huh? But acting out like Samuel will get you thrown into prison, and Jesus told his disciples that calling fire down from heaven, was not their mission; so I guess that's out.

But here is the scriptural reality, when I was about 23, I committed my life once again to Jesus Christ. I had a dream/vision one night. It was so real that I still have difficulty explaining to people that it was a dream. In that dream, Jesus stood at the end of my bed and laid out my life before me. I thought I should write this down, but I did not because it was so vivid and I thought I would never forget what had been said to me. Well, guess what, by morning I forgot every word. I do remember that He had been there and told me my entire life. I remember being filled with joy. Now, the truth is, I have lived most of my life, AND, it has NOT all been good. To the best of my understanding, there is something more to come and it should be fantastic.

So, after that dream life went on. Within a couple of years, I got married to a girl I met in church – they told me, go to church and get a good woman. Ha, she cheated on me twice. Do you get the general idea that life went south on me real quick? A few years passed and I got married again. This time I destroyed the relationship, and finally, I have been involved in this current relationship for over twenty years and we have been married for the last four of those years. No, life has been rough, and my dream of being a bible teacher has only been fulfilled by putting my life up on the internet for you to see.

One day, I was reading how Moses' brother and sister, attempted a mutiny. They said, what makes you think God speaks to you alone. You can find this story in the book of Numbers chapter 12. God defined a prophet during this process with this verse.

Numbers 12:6 NASB He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.

After reading this passage, I asked the Lord, does that mean I too am a prophet? To which he said yes. To be honest, I have never figured out what that means as I think most of these so-called prophets are frauds, just trying to make a dollar. God has spoken to me, and one of the things He keeps telling me is that He is coming back soon, but then, He is saying that too many people. Maybe He means it.

 

The prayer of faith. James 5:13-20.

We ended our last look at James with James 5:11.

“We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” (NASB)

Did you get that?

The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. I suppose much of this mental confusion that I have endured about His nature and character comes from the horrid sermons I have heard over the years. These messages were laden with guilt and implied that you needed to work harder, perhaps even be a missionary and have a spear run through you to prove your worthiness to God.

This kind of works based thinking is what Islam teaches, even to the point that if you get your blood spilled, you can never be sure it is enough blood.

It is head conversations, such as this, that prompt me to think, “and I am the guy that is telling people that Jesus Christ is coming back, and soon.” When I talk with people, you quickly find out that they are not looking for Jesus to return as what they have is good enough. Their lifestyle and traditions make up their comfort zone and frequent visits to some organized church allow them to call themselves Christians, right alongside the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.

I don’t know which is greater, the desire to tell people that I am looking for His return in September or showing them the details of what the time after the church will be like. I would be hard-pressed to reduce the time after the church to one word, but chaos just about covers it.

Why would I feel comfortable talking about when He might come back?

Because, as Paul states,

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;”
1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 NASB

After Jesus finished speaking to the crowd about the sower and seed, the disciples came to him and asked:

"Why do You speak to them in parables?" (Matthew 13:10b NASB)

It almost comes across as though they understood the parables; I don't think so. Jesus answered them with:

"To you, it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been granted. (Matthew 13:11b NASB)

This is not that difficult and the prophet Daniel confirms that God/the Holy Spirit, will give insight to many.

"Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many;...” (Daniel 11:33a. NASB)

The argument that most throw at you, and some will argue that this is a church doctrine set in stone, is Matthew 24:36.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (NASB)

In doing this, these antagonists overlook the context, which I will give you here.

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly, I say to you; this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:32-34 NASB)

It is a safe assumption to say that Israel is that fig tree, and its branch can be seen in some major events like the six-day war which occurred in 1967, in which Israel regained the land that God had spoken to them as being theirs, back. Sadly, that didn’t last long, as the United Nations got involved and Israel relinquished some of the captured lands. The Gaza strip is an example. Israel, to some degree, feels that it is successful and secure. In other words, the fig tree has become tender and has put forth its leaves. Having come to realize that this is happening I look to Jesus' words when he told those listening; then, you can know that summer is near. This reference to the end of time has little to do with summer, but summer, for the fig tree, is when you can pick the fruit.

Do you not realize that we, the church, are, in a sense, the fruit?

The gathering of His church then is the picking of the fruit. He next says, “when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Just looking at Israel alone, puts us in a place where we can look for the door to open and the Father to lean out and call us home for dinner.

Jesus gave us one more huge clue to help us determine where we are in this timeline.

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Israel became a nation in 1948; that date alone should be the lower limit of the timeline. A generation in 1948 was 64.6 years. If you wanted to get technical, Jesus made these statements at a time when the average life expectancy was about 35 years. Based upon the more modern sixty-five-year average, then we are seven years beyond Jesus' proclaimed time frame.

• The summer is near;
• He is right at the door,
• and this generation will not pass away.

Folks, we are there.

Considering the persecution that is coming, these words from James should bring you hope.

“You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Since you are now filled with hope and know that God is merciful, then you can take your prayers to Him. And thus, this next section is entitled.

The Prayer of Faith

James 5:13 NASB Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

Suffering is the Greek word kakopatheō and means to undergo hardship, be afflicted, and endure affliction.

Considering that our churches just recently got shut down again, you might think that many of us are suffering. James tells us, we must pray.

Cheerful means just that, cheerful.

If you are cheerful, then sing!

James 5:14-15 NASB "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; (15) and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."

Sick, as used in verse 14, is the Greek word astheneō and means to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, and powerless.

Sound familiar?

There are so many things that can make you feel this way, especially when we, three weeks after reopening our churches, got them shut down again. If that is the way you feel, and many of us do, then call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over you.

“and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick,”

We just covered the word sick in the previous verse, but look up the word sick, as used in James 5:15, and you find the Greek word kamnō, which is means to toil, by implication to tire (figuratively faint, sicken), and be wearied.

With a purposefully created virus, moving our state governors to open and close our churches, beaches, and restaurants, in irregular, indeterminate cycles - causing us to lose our bearings, it is easy to see how we can be tired, sick and weary.

James tells us the prayer of faith will restore not only the sick but also the weary. The NASB conveys the idea that God will raise you up. Let’s consider the word raise for a moment.

Raise is the Greek word egeirō and means the idea of collecting one’s faculties); to waken (transitively or intransitively), that is, rouse (literally from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death.

The idea of collecting one’s faculties makes me think of the boxer who has come close to being knocked out. It takes them several seconds to regain their composure and gather their legs back under them. For some, it is called “regaining your bearings;” for others, it conveys the idea of rousing someone from sleep; and, finally, healing from a disease or death.

You go to the elders and lay your tattered life before them, with the hope of collecting your faculties; doesn’t that imply that you have missed the mark somewhere along the line?

Sorry if I keep repeating specific themes like sin, which is, at the least, nothing more than missing the mark.

Regardless, all of it was paid for at the cross.

If that is true, then why do I need to go to the elders, and confess to them that the world is tearing me up, and I am not sure how much more I can take. Only to have them declare that my sins are forgiven?

This is why James continues with,

James 5:16 NASB "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

Confess. Gr. exomologeō, To confess from the heart, freely, publicly, openly (Thayer)

First off, don’t pour your personal failures out before everyone. Some people are not safe and will spill your information in front of just about anyone; and some of those know full well what they are doing to you. Take some time to find safe people; even then, some people you thought were safe may not be. In that case, you will have to trust the Holy Spirit to lead you to something like Recovery, or a small group where the leader, under guidelines, works to create a safe atmosphere.

Why would you do this confess thing?

For some of us, this missing the mark has become a habit, and not something you think you need to worry about, as you do it so often. Depending on what it is, it can merely be annoying or lead to the destruction of relationships. For others, it can be a step toward imprisonment or death.

The soundness within confessing might be understood aS God giving you a preview of the future and the trouble it holds; that, and a chance to do something about it. Being forgiven does not mean that you continually live your life in a whirlwind and all the destruction that it brings. Confessing puts that “small” thing out in the open and eliminates it from being our secret because our secrets quickly become our prisons. You should know that what you thought was a secret sin is the thing that will get you pulled from power somewhere down the road. If these people you are sharing your small failures with don’t pray with and for you, get away from them. You see, the effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much.

It was the words of James that freed me, as one day it occurred to me that this confessing is little more than my admitting my small and big failures, even if it includes the way I recently mishandled my dog.

There are times after I have poured out my heart before the men, that several of them merely sit there staring at me. In my head, I imagine that they do not have a clue as to what I just said since they have never sinned. Now, I know that is not true, and here is why.

James 5:17-18 NASB "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. (18) Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit."

Look up the phrase, “with a nature,” and you get this Greek word homoiopathēs, which means similarly affected or subject to like passions.

What that tells me is that he was capable of sinning, and did so, just as we do. Note how the verse tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain – and the rain stopped for three years and six months. Some preachers will stand before you, and act like this time that Elijah spent in prayer was a consecrated and holy moment; and, that Elijah did this repeatedly in some systematic manner. I don’t know about that, for that inference of a methodical prayer life becomes especially difficult when you are running for your life from the king and his deadly wife, Jezebel.

When you look up the word earnestly, Webster’s dictionary will lead you to the word importunately, which means with urgent request and pressing solicitation. Elijah was trying to affect a turn of this murderous king and his wife, toward God. Even if it stops raining, who knows how long it will take before Ahab and Jezebel respond to God if they ever do. We know they did not. Obviously, the rain did stop, and Elijah sat by what seemed like the only trickle of water in all the land; and, the ravens brought him food because God took care of him.

“he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

Elijah killed the 400 priests of Baal, and then, almost as if Ahab had been standing there, says, I hear the sound of the roar of heavy rain. Stop here for a moment.

What King travels without his bodyguards?

I suspect they all do, and having witnessed Elijah hack up Jezebel’s priests, why wouldn’t they, in turn, hack up Elijah? Something we may never know here on earth. So it does not seem logical that Ahab stood quietly by as God sent something that acts like a small nuclear blast, to consume the sacrifice, the rocks, and the water in the trench.

1 Kings 18:42 NASB "So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees."

“So Ahab went up to eat and drink,” as though it was just another day.

Elijah goes to the top of Mt. Carmel, crouches down with his face between his knees, and WHAT?

We are only left to assume he prayed for rain. How and what that prayer looked like is perhaps intentionally left out, and I can see a good reason for that, just as Jesus used a different technique each time He healed someone. The result of this man’s prayer’s, IT RAINED.

So where have we been in the last few minutes?

We opened with, “Is there anyone among you suffering or sick, they should go to the elders, where they will anoint you with oil and pray, and the Lord will raise you up."

But we found something interesting.

Those two simple words, suffering or sick, talk about the person who is struggling, afflicted, undergoing hardships, and doesn’t have the strength to stand on their own. Only because they, like Elijah, have learned through the school of hard knocks how to pray, these elders will take your life before the Father, "and He will raise you up."

And yet there is one more thing that seems unusual: “if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” Well, of course, he has, we all do, but we confess our sins (one to another,) not because we like embarrassment, but because there is healing and freedom in doing that. Again I tell you, be careful about who you share your sins with because NOT everyone is safe.

James has one more piece of advice.

"My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20 NASB)

“If” is a big word, and yet it is a word with hope. I think any of us would rejoice to see even one fellow believer turn back to spiritual maturity. Having been a leader in several recovery groups, there were a couple of men who struggled at the time but still hold tightly to the Lord. Just thinking about them bolsters my heart.

Note how James, reiterates that that one brother who aided in turning back the one who was sinning, saved his soul from death. Here is where it gets complicated for me.

If Jesus could say of the disciples, of all you gave Me I have lost none, and yet we know about Judas Iscariot, then either Jesus lied, or Judas is not lost, or He never had Judas to begin with?

That evokes another question because WE have been given to Him, just as the disciples were, so how can James say we who have turned someone back, will save their soul from death?

That word save is the Greek word sōzō and can also mean to protect.

But for me, there is still that question above.

Soul here is the Greek psuchē. The first thing the Strong’s give us is breath.

We are not talking about something unreal here. We are talking about saving another human being's life. Since they belong to Jesus, then, NO, they are not going to hell, but their potential and usefulness here on earth can be cut short. Perhaps in saving their life, our selflessness allows them to save someone else from death as well, and thereby, our voices and actions exponentially cover a multitude of sins.