Night is Falling

As the children of God we have the promise from God of eternally being kept.

Hebrews 13:5 … God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

I have been contemplating the presence of God in our country today… or the lack thereof , and how it correlates with scripture.

Jesus has said;

John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

“Night is coming.”

I am not certain what he means by, “no man can work”. Does He mean His work or vocational work? Based on the context it is framed in, I am more inclined to believe it is His work. However, the period of night is from the Greek word νύξ, it is a primary word and it is generally agreed upon that the word is being used metaphorically. Most scholars contend that Jesus is implying that ‘death’ is the period when none can work. But the word is also used metaphorically elsewhere to imply the time of moral stupidity and darkness.

John 11:10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

I believe He was implying the latter use of the word, describing a period of moral decline, darkness and spiritual stupidity that would precede the end of days.

Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:1-9 Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals.
These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself "truth." They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself.

This also sounds like a period of time described by moral decline, darkness and spiritual stupidity.

Way back in Genesis, God made a statement as it related to His continuing relationship with man.

Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with (Or My spirit will not remain in) man forever, for he is mortal (Or corrupt…

There has already been one period of time when God ceased striving with man in Noah’s generation, and in that instance He wiped them out. There are many instances where God has ceased striving with us as a Nation or as individuals and gave us over to our sinful desires. Here are a few of them; Job 8:4, Psalm 78:50, Psalm 81:12, Ezekiel 20:25, Acts 7:42, Romans 1:24, Romans 1:26, Romans 1:28 .

And there is coming a day or the day has already come when God will once again cease to be apart of us as a people.

Has that day already come?

For those who have been Christians walking closely with God for a long period of time… doesn’t it seem some how different today? We already know because of Hebrews 13:5 that as His individual children He has promised to remain with us. And Jesus also said;

Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

He said He will be with us (individually) until the very end. But as a race, as a people…I believe He has begun to withdraw from us.

I think there is a day of darkness that is upon us. That night is falling. That the time for working is drawing to a close. I can see it all around us and I can feel it when I talk to those that do not belong to Him.

There is a closed spirit in many today. Jesus at one time said;

Matthew 9:37 "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

I would say that the workers are still few… but the harvest is beginning to wither.

Night is Falling! And for those that are willing to work, it is time to work harder!

Matthew 24:3-14
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Thoughts to be discarded

It has been a little while since I last blogged.

It isn’t because I haven’t had anything to say, but that what I have to say is more about my personal regression into self pity as I see the masses ignore the obvious and watch this once great republic fall to the ignorance of democracy.

Most don’t understand the difference, but to put it simply a republic is a society ruled by law and a democracy is a society ruled by the majority (regardless of whether the majorities ruling desire is rational or immoral or detrimental to the continuation of the society as it was previously known). As a country, we have finally completed our regression from the republican rule that our forefathers originally established into the democratic chaos that is on the horizon.

This is obvious when we consider our leaders response to the mortgage meltdown that has marked the beginning of our financial downfall. My wife was in real estate sales when this madness began. I knew there would be huge problems when I saw the types of homes being sold and the mortgages approved to people who had no real way to make the payments after the interest only loan expired, or if the interest rate moved up even a little bit. My words then were “a lot of people were going to lose their homes when reality hits”. I had not thought it through enough to see what we are facing today, nor did I ever envision that our government would saddle our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with the debt of the ignorant fools who signed on to a mortgage they could never afford, and allow them to stay in a home they should never have bought in the first place.

Then we elect this liberal nepotist to lead our country and one of his very first acts of leadership is to repeal every abortion law we fought so hard to enact. And to legalize the wholesale slaughter on demand at any term of pregnancy of millions of children. And he hasn’t been in office a whole week and there is already a bill from congress (Blair Holts H.R. 45 bill http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/text ) that is the most insidious attack on second amendment rights that we have ever faced. There is so much change that has already been promised it scares the crap out of me.

We wanted change… and it was offered. The only problem was no one ever asked what ‘change’ was going to be.

And I honestly believe we won't survive the coming change. At least not in the lifestyle we used to enjoy. Those days are gone.

Especially when you consider that the majority of the people in this country are more concerned about who is going to win the Golden Globes or the Super Bowl than they are about helping the millions who are already out of work and figuring out a real way to fix this mess were in, so that we can all continue to work going forward.

The only way out I can see, is to toss out every one of the corrupt political (politics- poly:many / tics:bloodsuckers) leaders we have and start over, and I think you would be hard pressed to find any that are not corrupt.

So that’s why I haven’t blogged much lately… my thoughts are not popular opinion, and no one likes a doomsayer.

May Gods peace comfort us all as the light at the end of the tunnel morphs into a train.

Hippo-Critters

HYO-O-CRITE /hɪp ə krɪt/ Pronunciation [hip-uh-krit] Noun
A person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

A person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

Origin: 1175–1225; ME ipocrite / OF / LL hypocrita / Gk hypokrit s a stage actor, hence one who pretends to be what he is not, equiv. to hypokr (nesthai) (see hypocrisy ) + -tēs agent suffix

Them Hippo-Critters are Waa-scally fellows aren’t they?

You see em’ all the time. You see em’ on the way to work, at work, at lunch, in the grocery store, at home, at church, you see em’ every where… and you see one staring right back at you every time you look in the mirror.

We all walk so tall and proud, but if are deepest darkest secrets were know by everyone, we would crawl under the closest rock in shame. I don’t say this by any special insight into your life. I say it because we are all the reflection of what the Bible says we are.

Romans 3:12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

I don’t care how pious and perfect your life may appear to be… we all wear a face on the outside that is different from the one God sees… and one that we hope no one else ever sees. In other words; “we are all Hypocrites!”

But it’s OK, God loves us anyway.

This isn’t intended to be a bash on anyone. It’s really pointed at me. It is an epiphany that the Holy Spirit brought upon me when examining my own life. It’s not like I have some deep dark secret that just became too heavy to bear, or at least none that are any different from those that are carried by any one else. It is the realization of just how far away I am from where I want to be (or from where He wants me to be), and how impossible it is for me to get there. When I contemplate who I am before God, and what a despicable wretch I am, it makes me ashamed to come before Him for anything. I deserve far worse than I have, and none of what He offers.

But, I know that I am in good company, even Paul mourned his earthly failure in this area.

Romans 7:14-24 I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me?

I think Paul was somewhere around 14 years into his ministry when he said this… after a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ, an anointing by the Holy Spirit like few have ever seen and 14 years of successful ministry. If he was still struggling with being who he presented himself to be after all this; then buckle up partner, we are all in for a bumpy ride.

The only time we will finally get it right, is when we get to go home.

The Immortal voyage of the Mortal

As Christians we will all face a life of trial. Jesus made the statement in Matthew 10:23 “When you are Persecuted”, not if… but WHEN. Paul, our bastion of Faith made reference to the suffering he faced in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 as well as many other places. I have heard many sermons by preachers saying; “as a Christian, if you have not faced persecution or trials, it is because your life poses no threat to our enemy”.

We are all immortal beings living in a mortal body, and at the end of our mortal life on earth all of us will either live or die eternally in our immortality. The path to immortal death or “eternally dying” is the natural result of not searching for or finding the “narrow gate” that Jesus described which leads to eternal life. It is a life marked by living for ‘self’, with no regard for the designs and desires that the creator has for you.

As Christians we walk a narrow winding path to a life of immortality. In Matthew 7:13-14 when Jesus describes the path to Heaven; "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”, I envision a narrow goat path leading up the face of a sheer mountain wall. There is not much room to rest, and little room for mistakes. But there is help and comfort along the way. We are not blazing a new trail, but following in the footsteps of the one who has gone before us (Jesus) who showed and continues to show us the way.

Walking up the goat path may have its challenges, but the view is awesome. And we are not alone on the path.

2 Corinthians 7:5-6 …our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us…

I have been told that there are 365 different times when the bible says not to fear or be afraid. Why? “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us”… because we are not alone, ever.

What ever we face, whatever the challenge, it is by His design for His glory. And as His child, we are never alone in the trial.

Matthew 28:20 “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He will be with us always, from now until eternity.

Four Boy Friends

My dad emailed this to me tonight. I thought it was a great analogy.

Four Boyfriends (or Girlfriends) Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confident and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.' Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word. His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend.. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.' His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives: Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die. Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others. Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave. And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day: Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.

Red Sky in Morning Sailors take Warning

Matthew 16:2-4 But He replied to them, "(When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'
"And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?
"An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah."

History Channel is having a series of shows this week and they have entitled it; “Armageddon Week.” I am not a Nostradamus fan, but I watched a 2 hour show on History channel last night entitled “Nostradamus 2012”. It was interesting at the least. But it also brought up a number of thoughts as it relates to the last days. On the show they had scientists and astrophysicists and other ‘smart’ people that talked about the fluctuation and weakening of the earths magnetic field and the catastrophic effects that are in store for us from this and how this appears to be coincidentally coinciding with the aligning of all the planets with some black hole in the center of our universe on Dec. 21, 2012. They said it would cause cataclysmic upheavals of the mountains and islands of the world.

Revelation 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

They sited various other religious predictions from Mayans, Egyptians, Christians, Free Masons, Alchemists and on and on that all predict catastrophic happenings on the earth both physically and socially and a significant portion of them predict it to be around 2012.

God does not intend for us to know exactly when it is all going to be over… He says the angels don’t know and Jesus himself didn’t know. Only the Father knows. But Jesus made a statement in Matthew 16:2-4 that appears to be satire. The unspoken implication is almost saying; "if you would put as much effort into studying scripture you would better be able to discern the times you live in." And He also gave us some pretty clear prophetic events that will indicate when it is about to end. He may not have told us the day or the hour… but I firmly believe He intended for us to know the season in which we live and the times in which He would come back! And the more I consider the events taking place around us the more I am convinced that we will be the generation to meet Jesus while still on earth. To be those changed in the twinkling of an eye… and meet Him as He returns for us from the Easter skies.

When you consider the magnitude of natural disasters occurring on the earth, the recent global economic decline not to mention moral decline, the way the world has focused its attention on the Middle East and in particular the escalating war between Israel and Hamas (Iran by proxy) and the recent UN denunciation of Israel as the aggressor and Hamas as the victim… a lot really seems to point to what is described in Daniel and Revelation… it’s kind of funny how the media and movie makers of our time have embraced this thought process as well.

I don’t relish the thought of living through the last days. Amos gives us a dire warning for these times:

Amos 5:18-20 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, for what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

But when it is all said and done, we will have a story like no other that we can tell in heaven, of what it was like to live in this time and be changed in an instant to fly up and meet Jesus.

…Ok, Ok, so it is another apocalyptic post… what more do you want from a Blog entitled; “Were One more Day Closer.”

Apathy bordering on Respite

ap·a·thy
Pronunciation: \ˈa-pə-thē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek apatheia, from apathēs without feeling, from a- + pathos emotio
Date: 1594
1 : lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
2 : lack of interest or concern : indifference

Ok… so I am on a downward kick! But there is only so much you can take before you throw up your hands and scream WHAT THE £③©#!

I get tired sometimes and when it gets especially rough Job 3 begins to sound comforting.

This isn’t the place for journaling… so I won’t!

But, I think that the above word “APATHY” can be a way to slow down your reaction to life. Not outwardly for the world to see, and not as a tool for self abasement, but a tool to use inwardly to help stop emotions from running rampant. It is an internal switch that you flip to keep from flipping out. (Or to keep from doing something really stupid) For me it's seems better to say; "I'm not going to care about this anymore", rather than react to circumstance and throttle the closest person to you. Sometimes it is the only way I can get through it. I thought about using the word ‘Respite’ (a period of temporary delay) but it doesn’t accurately depict how I feel nor does it give a way to accomplish a period of delay.

We all exist on the edge of our perception. We can’t get beyond it. We can expand our level of perception… but that is only moving the edge we stand on. Ultimately, when you’ve pushed perception out as far as you can; you realize that there is still an edge that you can not see beyond. And when all of what you don’t know begins to pile up on top of you… things like, how, why, what do I do now, what’s next, where do we go from here??? AND YOU JUST WANT TO SCREAM… ‘Apathy’ can be a source of comfort. Apathy is another way to swallow what you face and leave it up to God. Believe it or not there can be peace and joy just beyond apathy. On the surface the word paints a negative picture. But in the heat of trial ‘apathy’ can be a stop gap to keep you from stepping further into Rage over what you can’t control or Fear over what you don’t know and beyond both into worry over either of them. James tells us; “to count it all joy”… and maybe there are a few hero’s out there who can do this all the time… but for those of us who when under fire sometimes feel the need to crawl back under our rock, you can find a friend in Apathy and stand strong in the flames. For me it gives me a chance to slow down and focus. To keep rage and worry at bay and focus on God… and ask Him… how, why, what do I do now, what’s next, where do we go from here, and stifle the scream! We are human… we are ‘flesh and blood’ and we can’t always feel joy in pain (although we should strive to). None of us have been given an option to ‘quit’ or ‘give up’… only an option to endure. And if you can’t find joy… you can still find a lack of concern for your problems (temporarily) in apathy.

And when Gods peace finds you apathy subsides, and His strength returns… because ultimately it will… you will rise from the fire and ashes stronger and purer than when you entered and better equipped to fight another day.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

1 Peter 1:6-7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

How much Longer?

I watched a show on human trafficking, it was sick… and what made it worse is IT WAS HAPPENING HERE IN THIS COUNTRY. I have personal experience with this as my daughter became a victim of this sick and perverse world. The sad part is in the court system the victims are made to appear guilty and the guilty are the victims. Even when perverts are convicted the sentences handed out are a pathetic Joke! I saw one guy convicted of trafficking a 14 and a 15 year old girl and received a six year sentence. These girls were handed a life sentence and he will be out in two to three years to do it again.
I watched a court room show on murderers that had been cold busted committing their crime, and escaped punishment because they gave a defense that they were not in their right mind or outside influences made them the victim.
Rapists and Child molesters are mere court room nuisances… White collar crime such as Governor Blagojevich who is cold busted and cries FOUL, and the Wall Street bankers that have run this country into the ground to line their pockets are all pathetic examples of just how high of a circle the crime in this country runs rampant.
The greed of the common individual is even worse. Every one is looking for the quick way out. Slip and fall in a store and sue because they shine the floor… pour a hot cup of McDonalds coffee in your lap and sue because it’s hot, shoot a burglar for breaking into your house and he sues you for personal injury because he can’t work anymore… IT NEVER ENDS!

Without a major miraculous intervention by God I don’t see a cure. Call me a pessimist but I only see it getting worse. Think about it! Go back 5 years, 10 years, 20 years... is the perversion and evil we face trending up or down? Everyone says; “I don’t have time to get involved, or someone else will fix it, or just ignore it… it will go away.”
The time is near… and it is our job to do as much as we can while there is time left. We need to work to change what’s wrong with what we see, and change the hearts of those we see doing it.
Don’t let Bridegroom find you with an empty oil lamp when He returns. Don’t waste what little time you have left in this prison we call life trying to get just a little more.

Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.