|
TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Threadbare – Pete Garcia - https://www.rev310.net/post/threadbare
Although I consider myself to be firmly in the Classical Dispensational camp (Scofield, Larkin, Chafer, Ironside, et. al.) I tend to linger in the fringe areas of most fields of study more than most. Not so much in the increasingly crowded Nephilim, UFO, transhumanist, et. al. corners of the fringe, but more in the realm of things forgotten or questions unanswered. Things that are overlooked because they seem irrelevant or dismissed simply as nuance. As I mentioned in my previous brief (The Mystery of the Kingdoms), it’s the little things that pique my interest. Speaking of things forgotten, way back in ancient times (the 1990s), there was an alternative rock band called Alice in Chains who had a popular song titled “Got Me Wrong.” There was a line in the song that goes like this– …As of now I bet you got me wrong So unsure you run from something strong I can’t let go Threadbare tapestry unwinding slow… That line has always stuck in my head. I don’t know if it was the singer’s intent, but the image of a weathered flag always came to mind. In my mental image, the ends of said flag are weathered and coming undone. Loose threads hang uselessly like spent spider webs. And not to build any kind of doctrine around a snippet from an old rock song, but the process of unwinding itself hearkens back to both the Second Law of Thermodynamics (entropy) and William B. Yeat’s epochal poem, Second Coming, in which he writes– Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world The center cannot hold. The ends unwind slowly. Things falling apart. This is the entropic state of things in the year of our Lord, 2022. Assessment Whether we are talking about the major news events of our day highlighting some new and terrible calamity, or just watching the process of our communities and cities succumbing to the atrophying effects of sin, there is no doubt that things are falling apart. There is no arguing that sad reality. On any given day, there are at least twenty different existential threats, threatening to undo Western Civilization. But there is one aspect of this I'd like to hone in on in today's brief– the erosion of public trust and how that is being weaponized. It is to this point, I would like to begin with a snippet from Henry Olsen's Washington Post article addressing this very issue– “Confidence in public institutions is falling in part because of the belief that the people within those institutions do not work for the public’s benefit. Worse, many of those who exercise terrible judgment, such as the Federal Reserve governors who presided over the 2008 financial collapse and today’s entirely foreseeable inflation surge, keep their jobs. Nearly a year after the devastating and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, none of the senior military officials who presided over the catastrophe have been fired. The idea that there are two sets of rules — one for the powerful and another for the rest of the country — is gaining credence precisely because there are so many examples that it is true. This wasn’t always the case. Generals who lost important battles, such as the mauling of Allied forces at Kasserine Pass in World War II, were relieved of command because of their failures. Now, the “too big to fail” mantra that has been applied to large financial institutions seems to have morphed into “too important to face the consequences” for many high-ranking officials.” (Washington Post) The confidence in his article, meaning, the public trust in institutions that were supposed to be looking out for our best interests, has been lost. Mr. Olsen’s article was in response to the cowardly response of law enforcement officials in the recent school shootings in places like Parkland, Florida, and now Uvalde, Texas. But it’s more than simply blaming inept law enforcement, isn’t it? I mean, aside from the vociferous calls by democrats and leftists for a couple of years now to both defund the police and make them out to be modern-day pariahs, consider the uptick in the events themselves. Note the increasingly frequent cycle, for which we endure this increasingly familiar cycle for which these increasingly frequent and horrific events now happen.
Now, numerous questions have begun to arise (as they often do) as to how and why these mass murderers do what they do. The government and media are seemingly never interested in questions like how an unemployed 18-year-old high school dropout, could afford two high-end semi-automatic rifles (Daniel’s Defense) worth at least $2,000 a piece, plus a $700 optical scope, sixty clips, body armor, and 1,600 rounds of ammunition all totaling around $9,000? Their questions always seem to revolve around how can we restrict access to guns, never about why these killers do what they do. As far as unanswered questions go, I have some that go back decades. Here is MY list of unanswered questions surrounding numerous past tragedies. JFK Assassination-1963
The Vietnam War- 1964
The Oklahoma City Bombing- 1995 See here
September 11, 2001
Sandy Hook Elementary- December 2012
Jeffrey Epstein- August 2019
General Observations
*** For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 Whether it was violent attacks on the Pilgrims by the indigenous pagans (i.e. Indians) on the East Coast or the military campaigns against the colonies by the British armies under King George III, this nation has been under attack since its founding. Strangely enough, there has always been someone attempting to prevent this nation from being founded. In true Luciferian fashion, once Satan's initial attempts to abort the US from becoming a nation failed, he shifted tactics. He reasoned that if he could not destroy this nation from without (i.e., foreign powers), he would destroy it from within. Beginning with the encoding of Freemason symbolism into our nation's founding documents and architecture, Satan would use both corruption and division (ex. slavery and states' rights) to help tear apart these United States. From the 1820 Missouri Compromise, Satan worked relentlessly until he could push the nations to the point of Civil War. After the Civil War failed to permanently divide the nation, Satan began a more subtle form of subversion by importing European liberalism and Marxism into the US under the guise of academia (both religious and secular), banking, and big business. He used the Democrat party to continue perpetuating systemic racism throughout the nation (i.e., Jim Crow Laws, KKK, Eugenics, Margeret Sanger, Federal Segregation, Japanese Internment, etc.) while corrupting every institution that made this nation great. Since the turn of the century, it has been one ideological struggle after another, with the left increasingly inching further and further left finally making enough headway to becoming permanent mainstays in Hollywood, academia, and government bureaucracies since the 1960s. All of the craziness we have been witnessing since the 1960s begins to make more sense when you understand that the powers that be, are not just political or economic. They are primarily demonic and use the people inside of politics and economics like tools to shape the directions of empires and nations. They are dark and malevolent spiritual forces who use their campaign of whispers to influence their possessed servants like human meat puppets. These demonic forces, who are lords and princes of vice and territories, are using proven battlefield tactics and strategies to drive an increasingly desperate citizenry to demand a more totalitarian government. IOW, we are living through a real-life version of the Hegelian Dialectic, where those in control, already have a prescribed solution in hand. For them, mass casualty events are but catalysts meant to herd people like cattle towards a pre-determined conclusion. Now, when you consider people like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff, Cheney, and the rest of their ilk, they really aren't that smart. In fact, they aren't intelligent at all. They for sure aren't smart enough to conjure up all the things that are being done now in the name of global governance (digital currencies, man-made climate change, COVID19(84), etc. They are, however, being influenced by smarter people who live behind the scene like David Rockefeller (deceased), George Soros, Klaus Schwab, Larry Fink, Bill Gates, etc. These are the ones who have bent their ears to these demonic overlords and taken their guidance from them. They're convinced that global governance is the solution to all their problems. Regarding the issue of global governance, they are of 'one mind.' Who, might you ask, is influencing them that global governance is the solution? Lucifer is, and he isn't even original in his tactics. He is using tried and tested strategies to create an increasingly desperate situation (crisis) where the citizens (pick a nation) finally come to think that a stronger government is the be-all-end-all solution. Well, what's stronger than a one-world system? Since these problems are artificially created by Satan to generate the façade of crisis, it makes sense that he can just as easily resolve them in order to empower an individual (his man) to take all the credit. Perhaps this is the one whom Prince Charles referred to as the "his" in his COP26 Speech back in October 2021 at the Glasgow Summit. Prince Charles: We also know that countries, many of whom are burdened by growing levels of debt, simply cannot afford to go green. Here we need a vast military style campaign to marsh the strength of the global private sector, with trillions at his disposal far beyond global GDP, and with the greatest respect, beyond even the governments of the world’s leaders. It offers the only real prospect of achieving fundamental economic transition. (My emphasis) The fact that neither the Prince nor anyone else connected with him has come out and clarified who he was referring to, is cause for concern. It means a conspiracy is afoot and only those within a close circle of conspiring elites know who this individual is. Again, all these global problems they are crying about shouldn't be too hard to fix, after all, they either created them or facilitated their present conditions. Here is a list of artificial crises' created by leftists and globalists:
But we tolerate these things. The real question is why? Why do we tolerate them? First, by way of an analogy, in most traditional units in the Army (can't speak for other services), there were two major divisions within an Operations section. There are Current Ops and Future Ops. Current Ops were always busy dealing with all the day-to-day events like routine missions, meetings, daily reporting requirements, etc. to make that organization run. But Future Ops was always focused on everything beyond the present. They spent their time looking ahead, planning future missions, and helping shape the things to come for the organization. Most people are too busy living in the now. They are who I think of as Current Ops people. Life has got them so wrapped up in the daily grind (i.e., making money, paying bills, building families and careers, keeping up with Jones's, etc.) that they either don't have the time to think of things to come, or the desire to. Oh, they might be into investing and getting their retirement portfolios put together, but they aren't thinking of spiritual things. Secondly, our government has become way too big. It's an abomination, bloated to the gills with unnecessary bureaucratic agencies and departments that are not accountable to its citizenry. We have allowed a swamp (permanent bureaucratic class) to go unchecked for decades. But any time any president has tried to take it on (JFK, Reagan, Trump), they got dealt with. Thirdly, we have allowed special interest lobbies to control our political parties. Robin Williams once said that politicians should have to wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, so we knew who owned them. I wholeheartedly agree. Fourthly, under the guise of winning the Cold War, we have allowed for the creation of the most powerful intelligence agencies the world had ever seen. As these agencies came to life, they fed like selfish piglets on the teets of the American government. But as they transitioned off of milk onto solid food, their appetites became even more voracious. But instead of meat and meal, they feed off of war, conflict, and crisis to continue justifying their own existence.
Without conflict, these agencies face the budgetary chopping block, and they will not go quietly into the night. Lastly, we abandoned the idea of a balanced nearly eight decades ago. Perhaps it was those dastardly progressives like Franklin D. Roosevelt (delinking our currency from gold), or the crafters of the Bretton-Woods Agreement. Perhaps. By the time Lyndon B. Johnson implemented his costly Great Society Initiative whilst simultaneously waging an expensive land war in Asia, we were quickly heading toward an economic apocalypse. By the 1970s, Nixon had to delink our currency from the Bretton-Woods Agreement, causing the US Dollar to become a free-floating fiat currency. An ingenious plan was crafted to then link US currency with OPEC stability (i.e., military reassurances) that caused all nations on the planet to have to keep US Dollars as their reserve currency. This fiscal maneuver bought us some wiggle room, but it was never intended to be a permanent solution. During the Carter Administration, committed globalists like Zbigniew Brzezinski and Henry Kissinger (vis the Council on Foreign Relations and Trilateral Commission), along with the Bilderbergers, Rockefeller Foundation, and so forth, presumably convinced our leadership to spend ourselves out of debt. Of course, they knew Keynesian Economics doesn't work, but they needed our 'Almighty Dollar' to collapse in order to bring about a global currency. Thankfully, the technology wasn't ready then. Although they presumably didn't understand what was really happening (as they were being used by demonic forces) they were attempting to force God's timeline ahead of schedule. Instead, God gave our nation a reprieve in the form of Ronald Reagan. Another four administrations would follow (Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama) all attempting to reverse Reaganomics and usher in (again) a 'New World Order.' And once again, they were trying to force God's timeline, but this time, He gave us a reprieve in the form of Donald Trump. Now we (the collective we) are at the very end of ourselves. We are not just an empire in decline, we have declined and are now living off of borrowed time. We are out of road on which to kick the can down. We are out of runway on which to safely land. We are out of tricks up our sleeve. We (as a nation) are literally, hanging on by a thread oblivious to the dangers that lie below us. Conclusion I used to wonder how the educated and advanced German people of the 1920s and 30s could have followed a funny-looking man like Adolph Hitler and his brown-shirted National Socialists into power. I mean, didn't they realize what a nutcase this guy was? But then I realized how deceived the German people had been up to and through World War I. Second Reich German propagandists, up until Armistice Day -Nov. 11, 1918, had portrayed the German Imperial Army as both invincible and undefeated. So defeat was the last thing a shocked German nation ever expected. It was during this period of shock that allowed for a man like Adolph Hitler to step in and quickly garner supporters who began to champion his vision of a thousand-year Third Reich. We've seen that same kind of shock recently by those who were told over and over by practically everyone that Hillary Clinton was an absolute shoo-in to be the next president. They then watched all of that bogus propaganda deconstruct before their very eyes on the night of Nov. 9, 2016. WATCH: https://youtu.be/K4mydHqT77U This certainly explains the level of vitriol the leftists and democrats displayed over the course of Trump's presidency and the absolute blatant desperation to which the left would go to sabotage the 2020 elections (damn the consequences!). This same level of desperation that caused the German people to turn to a man like Hitler, caused our political left to turn to a dementia-addled candidate with a corrupted soul named Joe Biden. Even then, they couldn't get enough votes to drag him across the finish line so they had to stop the counting and flip the script in four states to ensure Trump couldn't win. Which tells me God allowed this for a reason. What we are watching happening now, is a generation quickly and intentionally being given over by God. We have a generation who are rejecting obvious truths under the illusion of intersectionalism, equity, and diversity and are being aided and abetted by a complicit government. Mark my words, any nation that can't define what a woman is, or what an unborn baby is, or how many genders there are, is a people ripe for the great delusion. They are a people who would overwhelmingly embrace a man like Adolph Hitler if he promised them bread and circuses. Of course, Biden isn't the next Hitler. Joe Biden doesn't know where he is half the time. He can't even string a coherent sentence together. No, Joe is more like the aging German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who, after losing WWI, faded miserably into history only to watch his nation succumb to the allure of Hitler and his national socialism (Nazism). Neither will the next Hitler come in with a funny mustache and dressed in khaki-cub scout attire. No, the next Hitler will be The Antichrist and is going to appear attractive, vibrant, and tolerant. He will use his advanced intellect and flowery language, to win over the widest possible group of people. But don't let his debonair looks and mastery of public speaking fool you. Although he won't look like Herr Hitler, he will be that same devil in sheep's clothing. He is going to preach tolerance while being the most intolerant man who ever existed. He will specialize in double-speak (dark sentences); saying one thing but meaning another. He is going to appear as a great peacemaker but will be a man of extreme violence who is wicked to the core. He is going to come in at the right moment (right after a global crisis) and will get the whole world to follow him by promising to them bring peace and security (a new thousand-year kingdom). But just as He did with Hitler, God will curtail that final gentile kingdom down to seven years. He then will toss both the Antichrist and his henchman (the False Prophet) directly into the Lake of Fire a thousand years ahead of everyone else, because they were responsible for sending billions of souls to hell. The fact we are seeing our nation plummeting as quickly as it is now, while troubling, is also reassuring for the students of Bible prophecy. As bad as things look now (economically, politically, religiously, and culturally), the Bible told us that this is what the last days would look like (perilous times). While we don't delight in seeing our world collapse, we don't despair either. We must be future ops people with eternity in focus, living in a current ops world. We must get busy investing in eternity by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can, in the few precious moments we have remaining, so that we can bring as many with us as possible. If your faith is in your career, or your country, you're investing in the wrong things. This world is passing away, and the lusts thereof, but we look toward that heavenly country and city, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:16, 12:22, 1 John 2:17). For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21 A Preview of President Joe Biden's Upcoming Disastrous Visit To Israel – Yoni Ben Menachem - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5423 The White House has officially announced that President Joe Biden will visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority on July 13 and 14, 2022. On Tuesday, June 14, Hussein al-Sheikh--a senior PLO official and confidant of P.A. chairman Mahmoud Abbas--met with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, who came to Israel to lay the groundwork for the president's visit. During the visit, Biden will be hosted by Abbas in Bethlehem, where the chairman hosted former President Donald Trump during his term in office. Biden is also expected to visit eastern Jerusalem for the first time. There, perhaps at the Makassed Hospital, he is expected to announce the renewal of U.S. financial aid to eastern Jerusalem's hospital network, amounting to tens of millions of dollars. The Biden administration is concerned about the 87-year-old Abbas' state of health and fears that his exit from the political stage will undermine the P.A.'s hold on the West Bank, spark a bloody succession battle and boost the status of Hamas. U.S. policymakers also fear that, even before Biden visits Israel next month, Abbas will take measures to further complicate the political situation while Israel's governing coalition is on the verge of collapse. Last week, Abbas warned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron that the Palestinian leadership is again seriously considering the implementation of the PLO Central Council's decision to suspend recognition of and security coordination with Israel in light of "the Israeli escalation in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount" that Abbas claims took place on Jerusalem Day this year. Biden hastened to dispatch special envoy Hady Amr and then Leaf to Ramallah, where they met with Abbas. In her parley with the P.A. chairman, Leaf emphasized the administration's commitment to the two-state solution. Abbas, for his part, again threatened to suspend relations and security coordination with Israel and demanded that the administration fulfill its promises to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem and the PLO office in Washington and delist the PLO as a terror organization. Last week, the Biden administration announced bureaucratic changes in the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem meant to send Abbas a reassuring message that the administration is not walking back its promise to reopen the Jerusalem consulate. Unfortunately, reopening the consulate would symbolize de facto U.S. recognition of eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state and effectively cancel Trump's recognition of united Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The administration has also decided to restore the separation between the Office of Palestinian Affairs and the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, with the former reporting directly to the State Department in Washington instead of Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides. This diplomatic entity's official name has been changed from the "Palestinian Affairs Unit" and will continue to be headed by senior diplomat George Noll. It will take orders directly from the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. This is a temporary palliative measure in response to Palestinian pressure and Abbas' threats. According to U.S. sources, the office will speed the transfer of diplomatic messages between the Biden administration and the P.A. and bolster their relationship. The Biden administration updated Israel on its latest moves. Israel has not expressed opposition, even though the measure is clearly an interim stage toward reopening the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, which will deal with the affairs of "Palestine." President Biden appears to be attempting a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, he seeks to placate Abbas and move toward reopening the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. On the other hand, he wants to avoid a diplomatic confrontation with the tottering Bennett-Lapid government. The administration does not want to give Israeli right-wing parties ammunition to accuse the Bennett government of caving to U.S. pressure by agreeing to the opening of the consulate. The Biden administration will do everything possible to prevent the Likud Party from returning to power. Its worst nightmare is seeing Benjamin Netanyahu once again take office as Israel's prime minister. The U.S. believes that the reassurances given to Abbas that it is committed to the two-state solution and to reopening the consulate in Jerusalem should be enough to calm the Palestinian leader for the time being. In a State Department briefing on Tuesday, June 14, Spokesperson Ned Price would not give a timeframe for reopening the consulate, but underlined the administration's intention to do so. He was asked, "Is there a timeframe? Are we getting closer to sort of a timeframe for reopening the consulate?" "There's no timeframe I can provide you other than to reiterate what I just said, that we remain committed to reopening the consulate in Jerusalem," Price replied. "It is part and parcel of our effort to reengage with the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian people. You have to remember that when we took office in January of last year, there had been almost a complete rupture, a complete severance between the United States government and the Palestinian Authority and, in some ways, the Palestinian people." Israel made a mistake by not objecting to the administration's intermediate measure of establishing a separate Office of Palestinian Affairs. Unfortunately, President Biden is stubborn and will not give up on reopening the consulate. Israel needs to show a consistent stance on the issue, which is vital to preserving Trump's historic recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The move by the Biden administration marks the beginning of the erosion of that recognition. If The Streets of America Are This Chaotic Now, What Will They Be Like When Things Really Start Hitting the Fan? - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/if-the-streets-of-america-are-this-chaotic-now-what-will-they-be-like-when-things-really-start-hitting-the-fan/ If you are not alarmed by what is happening to our largest cities, you should check to see if you still have a pulse. Once upon a time, the beautiful new cities that our forefathers constructed were the envy of the entire planet, but now many of them have degenerated into crime-infested hellholes that are absolutely teeming with violent predators. Shoplifting has essentially become a national pastime, open air drug markets operate freely right under the noses of indifferent authorities, and addicts pull down their pants and take a dump whenever and wherever they feel like doing so. Thanks to record levels of illegal immigration, gang membership is absolutely exploding, and human trafficking has reached truly frightening levels. Of course our steadily thinning police forces are overwhelmed at this point. In fact, police in Seattle are stretched so thin that they often are not able “to take reports from rape victims”. And if you are the victim of a non-violent crime in Seattle, good luck ever getting a police officer to pay attention to your case. From coast to coast, communities are descending into a state of utter lawlessness. So if things are this bad already, what will conditions be like when things really start hitting the fan? Continuing a trend that we have seen for the last couple of years, crime rates all over the nation just keep going higher and higher. For example, auto theft, grand larceny and transit crime are all up by more than 50 percent in New York City so far this year… Data released by the New York City Police Department showed Grand Larceny Auto increased by 51.1% with 5,420 incidents as of June 5 compared to just 3,587 incidents by the same time in 2021. That category had one of the largest upticks during the most recent crime statistic report covering May 30 to June 5. Grand larceny incidents spiked by 50.1% from 20,659 incidents reported to NYPD as of June 5, compared to the 13,713 reported during the same period last year. Meanwhile, overall transit crime surged by 53.6% so far this year. I thought that the new mayor was elected to end the crime wave. Instead, it appears that it has been supersized. One way to hide the rapid rise in crime is to decriminalize things that used to be major offenses. In Portland, voters decided to decriminalize hard drugs, but that just turned the city into an “open air drug market”… The streets of Portland resemble an ‘open air drug market’ after state officials’ scheme to decriminalize hard drugs led to a surge in overdose deaths, critics claim. Law enforcement agents say that the streets of Portland are full of homeless addicts openly buying and selling drugs and that signs of drug addiction are actually increasing statewide, Fox News reported. Photos show the desperate situation in the liberal Pacific Northwest city, where people can be seen shooting up drugs or passed out in broad daylight. At one time, Portland was one of the most magnificent cities in the entire world. Now it is a horror show. On top of all the ordinary crime that is going on, now we are witnessing a very alarming rise in politically-motivated violence. The Supreme Court decision that will overturn Roe v. Wade is expected to be released this month, and a group known as “Jane’s Revenge” has announced that it is “open season” on those with pro-life views… The pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge is declaring it “open season” on pro-life groups and crisis pregnancy centers. The group has a history of damaging property during their protests, and they took credit for the vandalization of a pregnancy resource center in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this month. In a message posted to social media, the group said they broke windows and left graffiti political messages all over the clinic. “It was easy and fun,” the message read. Sadly, even though the official Supreme Court decision has not even been released yet, there has already been quite a bit of violence. In fact, it is being reported that there have been more than three dozen attacks on pro-life groups, churches and crisis pregnancy centers in recent weeks… An armed would-be assassin’s alleged attempt on the life of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week is part of a wave of violence, arson, vandalism, and intimidation targeting pro-life groups and government officials since the leak last month of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. There have been more than three dozen such incidents directed at crisis pregnancy centers and churches in at least 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to a tally maintained by LifeNews.com, an anti-abortion site. The thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted on a daily basis is rapidly dissipating, and our streets are becoming more uncivilized with each passing day. If this is happening while economic conditions are still relatively stable, what will happen once things start getting really crazy out there? In some parts of the world, the food crisis has already reached critical levels. For example, the government of Sri Lanka has actually shortened the work week so that workers will have more time to grow their own food… Sri Lanka’s federal government on Monday approved a proposal that would shorten the work week of most public sector staff to four days so that workers will have time to farm their own crops, Reuters reported Tuesday, noting the measure aims to combat Sri Lanka’s worsening food shortages caused by a recent economic crisis. “Sri Lanka’s Cabinet late on Monday approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months, partly because the fuel shortage made commuting difficult and also to encourage them to farm,” Reuters reported on June 14. Over in Africa, the United Nations has stopped feeding approximately 1.7 million citizens of South Sudan because they simply do not have enough funding to feed the rapidly growing throngs of desperately hungry people… The World Food Programme has been forced to stop providing food aid to around 1.7 million people in South Sudan, because of a lack of funding. The UN-run organization will still reach 4.5 million people, but many will miss out on vital resources. According to BBC News, over half the population of South Sudan is currently facing hunger due to floods, localized drought, continuing conflict, and rising food prices. Marwa Awad is from the World Food Programme and is in the northern town of Bentiu in South Sudan, where she has been talking to people about the effects the cuts to aid are having. All of the experts are telling us that the global food crisis is going to get a lot worse as the months roll along. If the UN has already reached the limit of what they are able to do, who is going to help the millions upon millions of hungry people that will soon need help in order to survive? Here in the U.S., food production has been affected by a bizarre series of disasters, and we are being warned that much less will be produced this year than originally anticipated. I think that one expert summed up the current situation very well when he warned that “we are teetering on the edge right now”… Pennsylvania farmers are being “crushed” by the record cost of diesel – so much so, that questions about a food crisis are starting to loom, the Morning Call reported. One farmer in Lehigh County is quoted as saying: “I’ve got a tractor hooked up to my corn planter out here, no diesel fuel, and I can’t afford to get any.” That farmer was airing his gripes to Kyle Kotzmoyer, a legislative affairs specialist for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Kotzmoyer then turned around and testified to state lawmakers: “We have reached that point to where it is very close to being a sinking ship. We are teetering on the edge right now.” If we eventually get to a point where food prices spiral completely out of control and there are widespread shortages, do you think that those living in our core urban areas will respond with grace and patience? Of course not. Instead, people will go absolutely nuts. We got a small preview of what is to come during the Arab Spring of 2011. There were serious food shortages around the world that year, and that resulted in tremendous civil unrest. Here in the United States, most people do not have large amounts of food stored up, and that is especially true in our largest cities. So we better hope that the rapidly growing global food crisis does not affect us too severely, because the truth is that we are definitely not equipped to handle such a scenario. Content in Life - Nathele Graham - [email protected] Hardships and fear are two things that can spoil the peace God wants for us. It’s up to each of us to choose how we handle our troubles. Some troubles are worse than others, but when you are the one facing a tough situation, choose to honor God.? The best place to learn how to handle life’s troubles, is to look to Scripture. Can you find any one of the heroes listed in Hebrews chapter 11, who didn’t face adversity? Each one faced problem, but rose above the situation as they depended upon God. Abel was hated by his brother Cain, but honored God with proper sacrifices. Enoch lived in a time before God’s judgment, but in spite of the wickedness in the world, he walked with God and didn’t walk with Satan. Noah chose to follow God’s ways in spite of the wickedness, and his faith was rewarded. In the Old Testament we read about King David who faced lots of adversity, but as we read his story, we can see some of his problems came from making bad choices, such as impregnating Bathsheba then making sure her husband died in battle. David’s sons, Amnon and Absalom, were bad dudes. Amnon raped his sister, Tamar, and Absalom usurped the Kingdom from David and tried to kill David. Maybe they should have been disciplined more as children, and maybe they should have been schooled in God’s law. No matter what, David found peace in the Lord. Everyone sins. Anger is a sin. Disrespecting parents is a sin. Putting anything ahead of God is a sin. Read through the 10 Commandments and see which ones you break. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. We all deserve God’s punishment, but His love for us is greater than our sin. Jesus chose to enter His creation in order to give eternal life to anybody who truly believes in His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus, God incarnate, shed His blood as the final atonement for sin. When we repent and accept His sacrifice for salvation, quite often we become a target for Satan’s minions to attack. I know this was true for my husband, but his way to combat the attack was to draw closer to God. That should be how all of us face adversity. My husband, Ron, had a neurological disease that attacked his muscles. His eyelids wouldn’t stay open, and even a faint light would cause pain in his eyes. I would watch as he held his eyelids up with one hand and typed with the other hand in order to finish a commentary. His purpose was to glorify God, no matter what Satan threw in his way. Ron served Christ until he drew his last breath. Ron was content in his faith in Jesus, no matter what he suffered in life. Let’s take a look at just one of the many men who served Christ even in the face of adversity. The Apostle Paul wasn’t always a good guy. If he had been a cowboy, he would have worn a black hat. He had anger and rage against Christians. Why? Mainly because he served the powers of darkness, instead of walking in the light of Jesus. He was a young man with a promising future. He was the son of a Pharisee, and studied under a well-respected teacher, Gamaliel. Paul was a brilliant person who knew Jewish Law well. He was also a citizen of Rome. He never denied his Jewish roots, but neither did he deny Christ after meeting Him on the road to Damascus. “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.” Acts 23:6. We can draw courage from Paul. He was facing trial and imprisonment, and many wanted to kill him, but he never denied Christ. This wasn’t the first time Paul faced adversity. In writing to the congregation in Corinth, Paul listed some of his hardships. People in Corinth were questioning his authority as an Apostle, and he cited his adversity as qualifications for the apostleship. “Are they ministers of Christ (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep: in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. That’s quite a resume. Paul wasn’t bragging, but stating facts. Today, so-called ministers of Christ (whether in the pulpit or supposed missionaries) are so afraid of mentioning Christ and teaching Scripture, that the Gospel isn’t being shared. We need more men like Paul. The experiences that Paul had while spreading the Gospel would have discouraged most people. I’m not sure how much I would be able to endure, but Paul is a wonderful example of being content to serve Christ in spite of circumstances. Paul also understood the reason that God allowed such things in his life. “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7. He understood that his troubles kept him humble. That doesn’t mean he was happy about the problems. “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” 2 Corinthians 12:8. There are many speculations as to what the “thorn in the flesh” was. Some believe it was a serious eye problem. Some think he was speaking of his many beatings. Some even think it was a person who followed him and tried to interfere with his ministry. My feeling is that we aren’t told exactly what the thorn was, so that whatever plagues our life, we can draw strength from Paul’s plight. In his letter to the Ephesian congregation, Paul spoke of spiritual warfare. Paul was an expert in spiritual fights. When describing the armor of God, the last item listed was prayer. It’s a good thing to ask fellow Christians to pray for our troubles, and Paul did just that. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:18-20. An ambassador represents his nation and its leader. Paul represented his Lord, and he needed to speak boldly in spite of the dangers. It is very important for all Christians to know that we are encouraged to go to the Lord in prayer for our own “thorn in the flesh”, but we need to also submit to God and represent Him well. When we see things from God’s perspective, our outlook can change. When we can see the “why” behind the trouble, it can change our attitude, and help us to be content. Many centuries before Paul lived, there was a young man who was the apple of his father’s eye. His name was Joseph, the son of Jacob. He had 1l older brothers who were very jealous of him and resented their father’s love for him. One day their anger overcame their senses and they sold him into slavery then told their father he was dead. How could God possibly bless these guys? Joseph spent years in Egypt as a slave and suffered many hardships. He did have a gift of interpreting dreams, and one day, Pharaoh had a troubling dream. Joseph was asked to interpret it, which he did. Famine was coming and Pharaoh needed to make provisions for the coming time of famine. Joseph, was put in charge of the plans and promoted to the second highest position in government. Eventually, the famine did come, and Jacob and his family were affected. So, the 11 brothers were sent to Egypt to buy food for survival. They had no idea their younger brother, Joseph, was the one who would either give them food or deny them. It’s a long and interesting story, but Joseph did grant them the food and eventually revealed who he was. They were shocked, to say the least. We can take a lesson from Joseph’s words to them. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20. Whatever your plight, use it to glorify God and let God work his blessings through you. You never know how many people will be blessed by your obedience to God. Be content. One of the cities where Paul received a whipping and was imprisoned was Philippi. It was there that he and Silas were chained in a dungeon. They didn’t have a pity party, but prayed and sang. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Acts 16:25. Then a large earthquake happened and the doors of the prison were flung open and the chains were loosened. If the prisoners escaped, the warden would be executed. The witness of Paul and Silas changed hearts, and nobody escaped. The jailer, not knowing that, thought suicide was his only option. “But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.” Acts 16:28. Because of the singing and praying, the prisoners stayed put and the jailer came to a saving faith in Christ. He asked how to be saved “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31. The jailer’s faith wouldn’t save his family, they would have to make their own decision to follow Christ, but his changed life would influence them. It seems that God did a great work in Philippi, because a congregation was established there. Paul wrote a letter to them, in which he thanked them for providing for his needs. “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:10-11. That’s the key to joy in the Lord. Pray for your own needs, pray for the needs of others, but be content with whatever God’s answer is to your request. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews admonishes us to be content. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what men shall do unto me..” Hebrews 13:5-6. The word “conversation” is from the Greek word “tropos” and means your manner of life. Hold tight to the promise that Jesus will never leave you, or forsake you. He loves you and gave his life to redeem you. Be content in your life, and glorify Him in all you do. God bless you all, Nathele Graham [email protected] [email protected] Recommended prophecy sites: www.raptureready.com www.prophecyupdate.com www.raptureforums.com All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed. If you’d like Daily Jot: The Farm Chronicles: Bareback - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com The Finnegan’s had a horse show business. Every year they held several horse shows at their complex. I say complex because it was a mixture of their own horse barn and farm with a small arena and some parking availability in the hay fields. Mr. and Mrs. Finnegan ran a good and honest show. Classes cost about a dollar a class or sometimes you could “ride all day” for five or seven dollars. It was a good place to compete. We started going there in the 1960s and many of my friends who showed horses frequented the place. As we progressed through the show ranks, we used Finnegan’s as kind of a tune up for bigger shows. But there was this one particular show that was most challenging. Each year, the Finnegan’s had what they called the Bareback Show. It consisted of all timed events or elimination events, such as the fanny race or the egg and spoon race. Never heard of them? The Fanny race started when someone riding bareback (without a saddle) challenged another person to see how long they could ride with a dollar bill half way tucked under their thigh. You had to walk, trot, and canter until one person remained with the dollar bill. Somewhere along the line, the dollar bill was replaced with regular paper—I guess too much money was flying through the air. Egg and spoon race was similar, but you put an egg on a spoon and did the walk, trot, and canter when the egg fell, you were out. Fun, but challenging. In 1969, the Bareback Show had a high point trophy. Points went with the horse, irrespective of the rider. I convinced Dad that we should win that trophy. It started out that we were going to use Hollywood, Dad’s golden palomino stallion. Now Hollywood was a tall, strong, very muscular horse who loved to compete at anything. Dad told me to practice with Hollywood during the week. Well, I learned a few things. One was that Hollywood was so fast and powerful on the start that he was most impossible to stay on. Every time we tried to run the barrels, he would take off and I would slide off and fly through the air, and did a face-plant landing. Hollywood just circled around the first barrel and come back to me, putting his head down, nose against my face, as if he was saying, “C’mon man, you’re messing up my game.” This was not going to work. After talking to Dad about it, we decided to take my horse, Holly. Holly was AA track rated and she loved to run, She was smaller and not quite so powerful on the first step. And she had a long mane that we could hold on to. Dad always shaved Hollywood’s mane—Dad liked crew cuts—another story another day. On show day, Dad and I divided up the classes to ride. Dad rode the barrels and stake bends. Holly was so fast that she fell with Dad going around the end stake, got up quickly and still won the event. It came down to the last contest. We were in the running for the trophy, but we had to win the final class of the day—the obstacle course. You wove through five stakes, did a figure eight around the barrels placed at opposite ends of the arena, then raced to the finish after going over a 24-inch jump. Holly was not a good jumper. She jumped like a jackrabbit, straight up in the air. In fact, the first year I had her she jumped so high over a trail class jump that I broke my hand when it slammed into the saddle coming down. But that trophy was at stake. Putting all fear aside, we sped through the stakes and the barrels and we were all out when we hit that jump. She did her jack rabbit and I flew up in the air about three feet and somehow grabbed the last tiny bit of her mane when I came down stretched over her rump and hung on till we crossed the finish line. After much discussion, the judges decided that I had stayed on the horse and I had the fastest time. We won the trophy. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7,” I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” We finished for sure, on a whole lot of faith and a handful of mane along the way. Daily Devotion: The Quality of Endurance - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. —Romans 5:3 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-quality-of-endurance/ Listen Children are so cute when they’re babies. They’re so helpless and dependent. But as they get older, they learn certain skills. They learn to feed themselves and dress themselves. They learn to take care of themselves. They can’t be babies forever. In the same way, we don’t want be baby Christians our entire lives. We want to grow up and mature. I like the J. B. Philips translation of James 1:2–4, which says, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise [sic] that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.” God allows hardship and trials in our lives so that we’ll grow up spiritually. A teacher, for instance, might say to the class, “I’m going to test you today. It’s a pop quiz. So close your textbooks and take out a sheet of paper.” When I was in school, I was never excited when the teacher announced a pop quiz because I wasn’t prepared. I hadn’t learned the material. God will bring pop quizzes into our lives as well. He tests us to see if we have learned the material. We are so quick to tell others how to live. We are so quick to tell others to have faith and to pray about things. But often when trials and hardships come into our lives, we panic. So God sometimes allows us to go through tests to make sure we really know what we say we know. He tests us to see if we’ve learned the material. FROM THE HEART Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left, Count for ALL of Eternity! IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT? One of the most reliable ways to determine if a ministry is worthy of your financial support is to examine its fruits. If Prophecy Update is keeping you informed, and if that information inspires you, and causes you to draw closer to the Lord, if Prophecy Update equips you with valuable information and knowledge to share with and encourage other believers, and open the eyes of non-believers, and if Prophecy Update keeps you connected to current events relating to Bible Prophecy, then you are partaking of the fruit produced through this ministry. None of this would be possible without the Lords blessings and your support. I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides, and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me. Humbly Seek Your Support Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 We are very pleased to offer all our readers this FREE download on Bible Prophecy from the Evangelical Bible College of Western Australia - Just download and enjoy and be blessed! Feel free to share it with all your friends and family members. Click below to download! "AS YOU SEE THE DAY APPROACHING" If You Died Today, Would You Go To Heaven? Find out, visit: www.thegoodtest.net www.gotquestions.org www.wayofthemaster.com How to know God DID YOU KNOW? You can submit an article, leave a comment or praise report at email: [email protected] Maranatha! (Lord Come Quickly) "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand." "Let Us make the short time we have left count for all eternity!" YBIC-Randy
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed