Just Show Up

As I've been pondering my recent dream regarding this nation, the LORD has been clarifying certain aspects of it. One thing He has made quite clear is that we are losing the battle for our nation because the warriors choose not to come to the battlefield.

Abortion is central to the destruction of our nation. It absolutely is. It is central to the three issues God is angry about. It is a Disrespect of the Cross to treat the shedding of their innocent blood as though it were nothing.

Keep thee far from a false matter, and the innocent and righteous slay thou not. -- Exo 23:7

Abortion is propped by lies. "It's not a baby. It's a blob of unaware tissue." Yet, the science is clear. It is a baby who fights for its life. "A woman has a right to her own body." It's not the woman's body that is being killed. The child in the womb is a distinctive, separate person. "It's like an alien invader, taking over her body." Really?! No. The child in the womb is exactly where God ordained it to be. Therefore, it is an innocent, helpless tiny human. It should be protected by law. It is protected by God's law. So, abortion is both a "false matter" and the slaying of an innocent person, meaning it is both the sin of  disrespecting the cross and the sin of shedding innocent blood. Which are, in case you haven't been following my posts, two and three on God's list against us.

Point number one is that we have loved other gods, literally, that we have loved other gods so much we no longer even know Him. Guess what? People have abortions because they love other gods. In this nation we have made false gods of ourselves, our wealth, and our careers. It is more important to us to be powerful, physically appealing, and/or wealthy than to be godly. We literally shun holiness like it was an infection -- a plague. We hold to form of holiness, wanting to look good; but we absolutely do not want to actually be holy. No, that would be too radical, too "offensive"! We'd rather loose our nation to God's wrath, than offend our neighbor to save it.

In the dream some of torches carried by those who refused to fight the croc were fairly bright in the beginning. However, as the dream progressed they grew steadily dimmer. As they went off into the darkness some flickered and went out. Others became just embers, barely twinkling in the distance. None shown brightly.

Those that busied themselves white-washing the inside of their pristine cathedrals had more light because they banded together. However, they purposely ignored the outer walls. So, the inside they devoted themselves to looked glamorous, but the outside was literally falling apart. Even as I stood surveying them, I knew their lights would dim, too. It was an illusion. They busied themselves with an illusion.

This group represents our illustrious spiritual leaders. They have made their fortunes and their fame on claiming to know the word of God, and being the ones we should go to for counsel and wisdom on all things Godly. They are not giant fighters. They know. They understand even better than I, but they will not battle the enemy. They will not show up. They will watch this nation fall from their ivory towers and lament it's passing, but they will not come to the battlefield.

Now, I do mean that the LORD showed me that I am not really the one to be fighting this battle. There are others far better equipped. They are more educated. They are more knowledgable. They were more spiritual. They should be standing where I am, and doing what I am doing; but they will not fight.

I'm Celtic/Indian. That's my physical heritage. If I understand correctly, I have both Cherokee and Chickasaw blood in my veins; and multiple helpings of Irish. So, I'm a scrapper. You mess with my children and you better do it on the run, cause I will get you. Size doesn't matter. Skill doesn't either. I'm coming after you and you'll know I've laid a hand on you. It's just who I am.

I've sinned so greatly that I deserved to be put to death. I've run from Him. I've argued with Him. I've done everything except completely walk away from Him. But He had mercy on me, exceedingly great mercy. So, I love Him too much to not fight the giant -- or, in this case, the croc. I'm on the battlefield, and I'm taking the fight to him as hard as I can.

You need to understand that the ONLY way to save this nation is to get back inline with God's will. We cannot do that without coming to the battlefield. Washington is truly a lost cause. You can keep on fighting to restore it, but God is not going to allow you to succeed until we earnestly repent. Propping up the church is not going to change things. That's truly an illusion. Without God there is no church. Until we repent -- in actions; rather than, the lip service we've been giving, He's going to continue seeing to it we fail. Your guns won't save you, either. Sorry, bullets are nothing to Him. All you'll do is loose your family, and everything else you're fighting for. No, pleasing God is our only hope.

It was a disturbing dream. Some have already said, "Well, I guess we'll see!" My answer to that? The willfully blind will be blind, and Don't come crying to me when the darkness overcomes you. You know what, if you can't see how clearly this describes what's going on here, I can't help you. I don't know that you can be helped. Seriously. The hand writing on our wall is skyscraper high in bold print. We have sewn death and death is what we'll reap.

I'm screaming and fighting as hard as I as know how to, and I'm not even the one who should be leading this charge. If this world continues, centuries from now scholars will say, "The United States collapsed because their warriors failed to show up on the battlefield!" Wow, what a legacy.

Reality Check

Then the chief priests and the elders assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Yeshua in some sly way and kill Him. – Mat 26:3-4

Literally, the highly regarded church leaders came together to plan the assassination of a man known to be innocent. These were no ordinary men; but rather, the pastors, evangelists, teachers, etc. of the day. They would have been greatly respected. Their advice would have been highly sought after and taken very seriously. People would have modeled their lives based on the words of their mouths. They were the considered spiritual elite, with men and women willingly submitting themselves to their authority and contributing to their support. Yet, here they were planning to commit serious sin merely to keep those positions of honor.

Jeremiah’s Israel was also plagued with men of revered spiritual station who ignored God’s law. The spiritual leaders of his day were complicit in child sacrifice, idol worship, and spurning God’s laws. I’m certain they, too, had grown quite comfortable with their authoritative role.

In fact throughout history man has been afflicted by those who claim to represent God, but are clearly far more concerned with themselves than the things of God. We have seen these men wield great earthly power and live opulent lives, openly flaunting an obvious a disregard for our example. (Remember, Christ never owned a home and had to borrow a ride. Mat 21:1-3, Luk 9:38) Some have even gone so far as to declare themselves equal to Christ, and their word as God’s law.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. – Act 4:12

In addition, many have staunchly insisted that the common man should never attempt to interpret the word of God without their explicit guidance. Implying that the word of God was in no way intended for the common man, but only for those educated according to whatever denomination, etc. that particular leader adheres to. (Interestingly, it appears that none of the twelve were nearly so highly educated.) In effect the attitude is that while Christ did die for man, He did not desire to educate man on the value of that sacrifice. To be sure Christianity has been profaned because of these men.

In reality, men who seek such great power and wealth have, by the very nature of that quest, already disregarded the things of God.

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” – Mat 6:24

Still, they can appear to be holy while robbing others of their fortunes. They can speak the Scriptures without ever having been transformed by them. And, certainly, they can appear gentle and kind while conniving against the innocent.

I once knew a man, ordained by the church, who used to go to the local late-term abortuary. His “service” was to assist mothers in coming to terms with killing their children. He was a soft spoken, kindly-smiling, well-educated man of apparent affluence and outwardly gentle manner. Smiling sweetly, he would assure the mothers, “We don’t do anything mean to these children. Our methods are kind and gentle. You will not have wronged your child by aborting them. God is not going to be angry with you.”

How do I know? Well, he tried these assurances on me. Not that I had gone for an abortion, because I had not. No, he was just trying to convince me to stop pleading with the mothers to not kill their children -- stop offering them blankets, stop offering them assistance, and, most importantly, stop speaking the Scriptural truth.

Obviously, well to most anyway, this man did not work for God. He was nothing more than a wolf, profiting from the children’s deaths. However, to the unwitting he looked and sounded very proper. He was Biblically educated, had all the right credentials, and was, in fact, a properly ordained minister. He even had many of the right connections, being approved of by many. Certainly, he had the right approach, appearing gentle and compassionate. And by his affluence, he seemed to be espousing a very reasonable philosophy. Yet, his tongue spewed out nothing but self-serving lies.

Before you get too fired up against this man, look back at Matthew 26. The point is that sometimes those we value as spiritual leaders can be completely wrong. And it isn’t always so obvious, especially when the decisions are made – like they were with Christ – by a selected few in private.

Just like the Levitical priests of Christ’s day, denominational leaders today gather to discuss how to deal with the issues of this day. In these meetings abortion, for example, has gone back and forth -- at one point being considered, at another ignored. Yet, when the Scriptures are fully considered, it is clearly an issue for the church. On the other hand, some teach little besides prosperity, as if God really wants to bless a nation that ignores the shedding of innocent blood (Exo 23:7). Even some are saying that there are no more miracles. God has gone silent, according to them.

Obviously, not all Christian leaders are this far afield. The thing to remember, though, is that all Christian leaders are human; and therefore, fallible. So, what do we do?

Well, first off we need realize that God is never as inept as man thinks He is. He doesn’t make mistakes. He says exactly what He means and means exactly what He says. Further, having been intimately involved in the lives of men and women throughout our history, it follows that He remains so. Remember God does not change? Neither does God lie. So when He makes a promise, He honors it.

We have His word recorded for our use. Don’t buy into the ridiculous idea that only those educated by the church can understand it. God is NOT that inept. Therefore, we can take Him at his word when He says:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to whom who knocks the door will be opened.” – Mat 7:7-8

Brothers and sisters this is not a maybe so promise; but rather, a guaranteed assurance. If we seek, He will answer. If we ask for understanding, He will give it. As long as we are seeking in earnest with perseverance to His glory, He will respond. It’s just that simple.

What am I saying? Simply put, just because one is a leader, doesn’t mean everything that comes out of one’s mouth is straight from God. The Bible was given to us for a reason, that we might know the truth. God is still listening and responding to those who earnestly seek Him. So, do not just accept what you are fed, rather verify it. It could make an eternity of difference.