Yesterday I was looking at images of the California Dessert in bloom. As I did, I heard the passage in Isaiah 35 about the desert blooming:
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. (Isaiah 35:1–2a NKJV)
As I pondered that Isaiah 43 was called to mind:
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. (Isaiah 43:18–21 NKJV)
I believe that this is speaking to what God is doing, and saying to the Church. California has long been a place where things, good and bad, begin. After a very long dry drought, rain and snow has been pouring out on California, to the point where drought is now almost nonexistent, and in fact, we are seeing flooding as rivers and streams overflow their banks and levees.
So, what does that have to do with the Church? For years, there has been a growing, ever thirsty for more of the Living Water, remnant that has been crying to God. Known as the Golden State, California has been thought of by many as a type of the Tabernacle, more specifically, the Holy of Holies. Regardless of whether they are right or wrong, California can be seen as symbolic of the Church in many ways.
Don’t you realize that together you have become God’s inner sanctuary and that the Spirit of God makes his permanent home in you? (1 Cor 3:16 TPT)
We the Church are God’s Temple, our hearts His Holy of Holies, even as we see rain pouring out on California, He is preparing to pour out the Living Water of His Spirit upon the Church. Just as we are seeing the desert come to life in California, we will see dry lives, dry congregations, even dry denominations spring to life as they are watered by the Spirit and washed by the water of the (Rehma) Word. We, the Church is about to spring forth in a riotous display of God’s Glory, Splendor, and Majesty. That brings us back to Isaiah 43:
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?
It’s already begun, the streams are already overflowing their banks, soon the rivers and levies will overflow as they become filled with Living Water. Can you see it?
Things are getting interesting. I keep coming back to something my wife herd in January of 2019. “In the end, Trump will win and the house of cards will fall.” Could this be the begining of that fall.
Unless you’ve been under a rock somewhere, you are at least aware of the bruhaha over Georgia’s new election law. Many on the left, including President Biden, have decried it as thinly disguised voter suppression. President Biden went so far as calling it “Jim Crow Two.” But is it? Let’s look at a few of the provisions most often mentioned.
One of the first things invariably mentioned is the limitation on providing refreshments to voters in line to vote. The reality is, GA is not alone in that prohibition. Solidly blue NY has a very similar provision, and in fact most states have some provision that prohibits electioneering by candidates or campaign workers.
A big deal has also been made of requiring an ID to vote. Again, they are not exactly alone in this. Reliably blue Colorado, along with Minnesota, Ohio, and Kansas all have similar requirements. Note that three out of four are blue states. It’s also worth noting that compared to the other states, Georgia allows more flexibility, and will allow yo u to vote without an ID if you say yo u don’t have one.
OK, so how about early voting. Well, President Biden’s own home state does not allow it at all, in fact unless I missed one, his is the only state that does not currently allow it. Even when they do finally allow it in 2022, they will have seven less days than Georgia. Again, many solidly blue states have fewer days and more restrictions on early voting and absentee voting.
They were also criticized for their handling of wrong precinct voting. The law specifies that if you report to the wrong precinct, you be directed to the correct one. Pretty much common sense, and in line with the majority of the states. However, the GA law has an exception, if it is after five o’clock, they will allow you to cast a provisional ballot, which assuming it is verified it will be counted. Half the states will not count it at all.
Clearly what we are seeing is nothing more that political posturing, with party leaders using deliberately misleading statements and demagoguery in an effort to divide the people they are supposed to serve for political gain. Sadly, aided and abetted by the media, they have managed to construct an effective, but false narrative that has served to do just that. Hopefully people will take this as a cautionary tale, and begin to look hard at claims by politicians, celebrities, and new sources. Left or right, expect bias, the days of journalistic integrity are gone.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I could smell marijuana smoke. I looked over the fence into the yard of my neighbor, Sam, because the smoke was coming from his back porch. Sam was teaching his thirteen-year-old son how to light up and smoke dope.
It was not hard for him to interpret my glare. He defensively explained that he didn’t want to lose his son—that it is “better that he does it at home with me, than behind my back.”
Apparently, sitting his son down and explaining why it was dangerous and stupid to get stoned, was not an option. But, he was not saving his son—he was destroying him.
In the same way, a prominent Evangelical ‘scholar’explained why—even after he and his group called ‘Pro-life Evangelicals for Biden’, were used and lied to—he still supports Biden, because, he admits, he doesn’t want to lose the kids!
I can see what a lot of people cannot see. Not because I am a seer. Not because I am a prophet—which I have consistently denied.
I don’t even need any superpowers to see that a huge backlash is coming. What is happening right now in California is the reason for my conviction that it is coming. It is not simply that 500 people have already come to Modesto from all parts of the nation—to serve. And that they have come with no expectation of being blessed, entertained, or recognized. They have come to win souls and heal the sick. That is a sign.
That tons of food and clothing are going out to the forgotten and destitute is not enough for them. They must give a dynamic witness to the surpassing power of Jesus over every ill and evil. This is not a photo op or a guilt trip…
There once was a preacher who was just plain boring. How boring? A man on the back pew became so angry about it that he went outside and got a brick. When he came back in, he threw the brick at the preacher. But it fell short and ended up hitting a man sitting in the front row in the back of his head. The victim stood up reeling, and said, “Hit me again, I can still hear him.”
Tonight, I felt just like that man. Joe Biden’s speech was pure torture. I just wanted it to stop.
I am a man of God. I am trying to exercise restraint and grant due respect. But there comes a time when the corruption and madness is so beyond the pale that human decorum must be set aside for the sake of truth and decency.
I begin with a story. A therapist takes chalk and draws a straight line across the blackboard. “What does that make you think of,” he asks the patient. “Sex,” replies the patient. Then the therapist draws a triangle and asks again. “Sex,” comes the answer again. Finally, the therapist draws a circle and once again the reply is, “Sex.”
Putting the chalk down the doctor says, “I don’t need to go any further. Obviously, you are obsessed with sex.” The patient indignantly retorts, “ME!? You’re the one drawing the dirty pictures!”
“Woke” people only see dirty pictures. “Woke” folk believe they see all things clearly. “Woke” individuals do not see their own bias, overreaction, or falsehood. To them, society is only drawing dirty pictures. Even the act of opening their eyes to reality offends them.
Science, truth, and history are all evil to the “Woke,” if it contradicts their…
On election day morning, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Something you are not expecting is going to happen tonight. But do not fear, because God has a surprise for all of you.”
Then I watched as Fox News prematurely announced that Biden had won Arizona. It felt like sabotage. Then Georgia, and Pennsylvania stopped counting votes. It threw everything into confusion. That confusion is right now reverberating across America. Many of God’s people are dismayed.
Then I remembered the chaos that God had warned me was coming in November, and I realized, this is it.
I too was shaken, until I remembered the promise I had received this morning, “But do not fear, because God has a surprise for all of you.”
Why did this happen? It happened because Satan wants to rob the church of her destiny, right at the finish line.
On election day morning, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Something you are not expecting is going to happen tonight. But do not fear, because God has a surprise for all of you.”
Then I watched as Fox News prematurely announced that Biden had won Arizona. It felt like sabotage. Then Georgia, and Pennsylvania stopped counting votes. It threw everything into confusion. That confusion is right now reverberating across America. Many of God’s people are dismayed.
Then I remembered the chaos that God had warned me was coming in November, and I realized, this is it.
I too was shaken, until I remembered the promise I had received this morning, “But do not fear, because God has a surprise for all of you.”
Why did this happen? It happened because Satan wants to rob the church of her destiny, right at the finish line.
The election season is upon us, and in many places, voting has already begun. I have been thinking and praying about this for a while now, watching, listening, learning. We are at a divide, indeed there has not been such division in the nation in a long time. Maybe in the 60s and 70s, but I think it may well be greater than even then. Perhaps as great as the division that led to the Civil War.
Many, especially on the left, have blamed President Trump, but is he really at fault, or is he just at the center of the storm. Certainly no one would accuse him of being subtle, or gentile. He is more like the proverbial bull in the China shop. But still, we have had leaders before much like that and hailed them as heroes. Men like Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill to name a few who would fall into that category. So, if not the President, then who or what is the cause?
Let me suggest that the ultimate cause is the widening philosophical gap between the two major political parties. Historically, the Democrats and Republicans have had differing world views. In the era of the Civil War for example, the Republicans were pro emancipation, while the Democrats were not. This carried on into the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s, with Republicans favoring legislation, and Democrats against. (There were exceptions on both sides of course, but by and large that was true.) At times, discussions were and are heated, but certainly not as heated as in 1856, when Representative Preston Brooks (D-SC) beat Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) to near death with his cane after a speech by Sumner strongly condemning southern slave owners, but nevertheless that gap is wide and serious.
The Democrats have swerved left to become ever more progressive, favoring increasing social nets, regulation, larger government and increasingly limited freedoms. Though they do not use those terms. On the other hand, the Republicans have swung in the opposite direction, advocating greater personal responsibility, less regulation, smaller government, and protection of all rights, even bordering, in some cases, on Libertarianism.
Which is right, and which is wrong? In reality, I suspect neither is completely right, or wrong. At least not as far as a Biblical Judeo-Christian world view. We need to look beyond the rhetoric and hyperbole on both sides and examine how their platforms and actions line up with Biblical precepts. What precepts? I’m glad you asked. There are, of course many. But for now, I want to take a look at one that, for me at least, is vital, abortion.
No one would argue that this is one of the hottest of the hot button issues today. Both sides are diametrically opposed. Understandable, it is either right or wrong, I don’t see much middle road there. The Bible does not say much about it, well not directly, but certainly it has plenty to say about when life begins, and about murder. Psalm 139 says the following (vs 13-16):
You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place, carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something. You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book.
When God calls Jeremiah, he tells him:
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
I could throw a lot of other verses in here, but those two make it clear enough that as far as God is concerned, life begins at conception. The Bible is also very clear that murder is wrong. Certainly, the Mosaic law treated it as such, even for the unborn. Exodus 21:21-23 states
“If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall require [as a penalty] life for life,
I think the point has been made, abortion is biblically wrong. The child in the womb is a human being. There is no magical point of transformation where it changes from a blob of flesh to a child. God has conferred humanity and a destiny upon that child from the very instant of conception, perhaps, even before that moment. (Before I formed you, I knew you).
Are there other issues, issues of morality and conscience that we should consider. Yes, of course. Does character matter? All other things being equal, yes absolutely. But in the end, we should be voting on record and policy, not personality and demeanor. Trump is a bull in the china shop. He can be crass, crude and rude. He’s far from perfect, but then again, aren’t we all? Oh, some may cover it better than others, some may be more subtle, err… refined, but ultimately, we are all sinners. We are all, as Johnathan Edwards so famously put it, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It is only by grace that we can stand before Him. You, me, Trump, Biden, all of us,
For there is really no difference between us,for we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. 24 Yet through his powerful declaration of acquittal, God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us, all because Jesus, the Anointed One, has liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin! Jesus’ God-given destiny was to be the sacrifice to take away sins, and now he is our mercy seat because of his death on the cross. We come to him for mercy, for God has made a provision for us to be forgiven by faith in the sacred blood of Jesus. (Romans 3:22b-25a)
Watchers On The Wall 