God Needs Us to LEAD OUT

 

I understand most of you will look at that picture above and instantly make a decision.

You may love this now iconic picture or you may hate it.  That picture might immediately sway you to love this little blog more or it may alienate some of you from me.  In today's culture, it might even incite hate or violence.

That's what we have become.  

This morning, with coffee in hand, I set out to find a new devotion to read.  Having caught up on all the ones I had in progress, I searched out topics like yoga (yes, YOGA), organization, and exercise.  Strangely enough, the two devotions that came up had to do with the Book of Revelation and (oddly enough) Covid (my least favorite subject).

This plan is called Flourish, and although it was written for and during the period now know as "the pandemic," oddly enough, I see why God gave it to me this morning.

It speaks to our time today as well as it did back in 2020.

For instance:

"...we look to the prophet, Habakkuk. He, too, faced the unprecedented, offering true wisdom for how to flourish in your present. 

Habakkuk is given a vision by God. Not much had happened yet. But as the prophet of God, the mouthpiece, he could see what was coming in the future and was charged with making it known. 

The vision was unsettling. He saw bad guys overcoming the good with God’s blessing. Conflict, injustice, and wickedness prevailed over the righteous. The country was ravaged. It left Habakkuk with huge questions and real perplexities, much like we might find ourselves entertaining with death tolls rising, falling markets, and the strange disappearance of life as we once knew it."

Sound familiar?  Our Country, and our world, are in perilous times.  Almost everything God strictly forbid in the Old Testament seems to be replaying again in today's society.

We are told to recognize sin and love the sinner.  We are told to "get along."  Yet, our insides burn as the Holy Spirit grieves within us.

My reading for today ended like this:

"God is not moving you to survive this moment in history. He needs you to lead out during it. More than He needs His people to make it through, He is looking for you to flourish. So, hear as one who is responsible—not simply for yourself, but to take what you have, use it, and pass it along. He is equipping you for a greater purpose."

I believe we ARE being equipped for a greater purpose.  I'm excited for this new reading and to see what all it holds over the next few days and week.

That last paragraph got me.  God is not moving me to SURVIVE.  He needs me to LEAD OUT and FLOURISH.

Friends, we are about to experience and head down a path in this Country that America has never traversed before.  I said to a friend this week, "I wonder what is like to be Mr. Bragg?  To know you are the one person that is taking America down."  The sad thing is - so many, like Mr. Bragg, believe they are doing the right thing and are excited to be experiencing a first in American history.  

God is calling us.

Did you realize the America is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation?  I had the awesome privilege of sitting under one the the greatest teachers of prophecy and the Book of Revelation in my young Christian years.  His name was Dr. Ed Hinson.  He was a man of great knowledge, learning, and wisdom.  I was also privileged to sit under Tim LaHaye for many teachings.  (Tim was one of the co-authors of the Left Behind series.)

They both recognized that America was not in the Book of Revelation and explained all the symbols and symbolisms to us that sat under their teachings.  Dr. Hinson used to say, "Why is America not mentioned in the Book of Revelation?  Do we cease to exist?"

That is a scary thought my friends.  The Bible says that not one man, not even the SON OF MAN, know the day or hour of His return.  Only God the Father knows that.

I really hope that time is not now.  I hope we are not witnessing the demise and fall of America.  That may be a long stretch I understand.  But, at the same time, I want to be fully aware of what is swirling around me these days.  I don't want to merely survive.  I don't want to be silent like so many Preachers in the pulpits are or even my Christian friends.

I want to LEAD OUT and FLOURISH.  I pray for all of us this week.  I pray and lay hands on (figuratively) Tuesday.  Our Country, our values, our Constitution and other Founding Father documents, and our President need our prayers, our spiritual protection, and divine wisdom.

God, grant us the wisdom for these times.  Grant us opportunities and words.  Grant us peace, empathy, and love.  Protect us all - our Country and our leaders - from violence and hate.  We pray all these things in your name.  Amen

Unseen

 

Happy Thursday friends,

I've been struggling a little bit lately, so I thought I'd write it out.  :)

I've gone from election night blues to a righteous anger to a dull ache.  I'm trying to stay in focus and in touch with the Lord, and He has been good - dropping some really incredible resources in front of me.

...and I've been learning so much.

...but still.  Sigh.

Anyone else feeling it too?

I'm feeling like a drug addict not knowing where to get the next hit.  I loved my Fox News "bookends" for years now.

Fox & Friends in the morning while I got ready and then, Tucker and Sean before bed.  It was the perfect good morning and end cap to my days.

(I've never cared much for the news folks in the middle.  My apologies if you do, I just never did...)

So now that Fox News has gone all CNN and MSDNC on us (the Christian, Conservative Right), I'm off in a new realm...

...and it's left me feeling empty in my morning routine - as I said above - like a drug addict with no stash and not sure where to find one.

Fast forward to this morning and my no-news, no-Fox & Friends blues.

I decided it was time to fill in the void with Jesus.  I could watch some YouTube videos people have been sending me of Rabbis and Preachers or I could watch Unashamed by the Robinson family.  Instead, I decided I just needed to PRAISE.

So that's what I did.

"Alexa, play PRAISE and WORSHIP."  My Pastor, Louie Giglio, always says, "When you are down and out, just turn on Praise and Worship music; it's amazing what it can do for your soul and your Spirit."

Listening to that music this morning was great, and it helped lift my spirits just as it was intended to do.

As I drove to work, I asked God to provide guidance today - whether from a friend at work or a reading He would lay in my path.

(I so love when God shows up specifically.)

Below is what he gave me, from my daily Levi Lusko reading.  I love it because (for me anyway) it specifically addresses how I feel about the current election process going on in our Country.

So many people praying and asking for God's direction, protection, and healing - and yet, we all know there is so much more to the story than we can actually, physically see.

God is the BIGGEST, the most POWERFUL, and the most MIGHTY.  He can see things we cannot see, and in times of desperation, like now, we must remember that and lean into the shelter He gives.

Hidden In Plain Sight

The human eye sees more than you realize—much more than you can actually process. For instance, when you look up at the stars, you are technically looking at all of them; you just can’t perceive all you are seeing. I can prove it to you. A telescope or other lens just magnifies and brings into focus what you are already looking at, what is there all along. Even in the daytime, the stars are right in front of you, hidden in plain sight. The reason you can’t make out what you are seeing is because of distance and interference. So it is spiritually.

You must not rely on the naked eye. What you think you see is not all that is there. There are unseen things. Spiritual things. Eternal things. You must learn to see life through the eyes of a Lion. Doing so is to utilize the telescope of faith, which will not only allow you to perceive the invisible—it will give you the strength to do the impossible.

Proverbs 28:1 says, "The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."

2 Cor 5:7 says, "For we live by faith, not sight."

Great verses to remember during a time in our Country's battle for righteousness, protection, and healing.

Remember friends, our battle is not over.  We still have a lot of fight left to save and protect our Country.  Keep praying, keep studying, and stay on guard.

The enemy roams back and forth ready to devour.  We must be ready to defend.

Stand strong Patriots, and don't let the funks overtake you, as I learned this morning.  Together, we have the Lord in this fight with us!

Unashamed

 

Good Sunday morning,

I know I am posting a lot lately on social media, and I know you hide, unfriend, or scroll by me...

...but one thing I have learned over the past few years is that if something is laid in my path, I feel like the Lord has laid it there.

And this morning, that happened again - as it always does.

So, with what I truly believe the Holy Spirit sitting upon my shoulders and resounding in my chest, I am writing here on my personal blog - it gives me more space and freedom, it's free of controversy and suppression, and you can scroll past a link instead of paragraphs if you so choose.

Below is a link to the latest Unashamed Nation podcast from Phil Robertson "The Duck Commander", Al Robertson, and Jase Robertson (this time, however, it is w/o Jase and with some special guests).

The show is about 50 min. long, and if you have time to listen to it while getting ready in the morning, driving to work, or doing whatever - I am going to suggest you listen to it.

Their podcasts are always good, but today, I feel there is a little bit more imperativeness to it.

It will shine a little more insight into how things work in our Country, behind the scenes, and out of sight.

Their guests today are Ann McElhinney & Phelim McAleer, journalists and also (BTW) writers and creators of the play, "Obamagate."

Their interview reminded me of a few things - (1) God is always in control; He knew today was going to happen; and He knows how January 20, 2021 will turn out; (2) never underestimate the Washington, DC machine - Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were Masters at what they did - you can rarely, if ever, win against the DC machines.

However, Donald J. Trump - along with help from a great set of reporters, Fox News (who at the time was our only beacon of light and has now, sadly, joined forces with CNN and MSDNC), legal analysts, and lawyers - beat that machine and won the 2016 election.

Fast forward to 2020 - and we again have the machine in full force and Trump outfitted in his worn and weary but still strong battle gear.

Lesser Republicans have laid down and let the machine win. Romney let the machine devour him during his Presidential run, and recently, on his latest podcast, Dan Bongino talked about the biggest regret of his life - letting the machine devour him during his Congressional run.

But Romney and Bongino (as tough as Bongino is) do not wear the same armor President Trump owns. Patriots, we have a fighter on our hands.

If we do not stand up and fight the machine NOW, we are at the risk of losing the America we love. Socialism, Communism, and Fascism are already rearing their ugly heads in Congress and on social media.

Congresswoman AOC has publicly sent out her henchmen to start a Trump Accountability Project list. Government officials, Judges, and others will be added to the list and held accountable for their support of our President. (Ring a bell my Cuban and Venezuelan friends?)

This time and however, George Soros, the leftist media, antifa groups, and Big Tech (i.e., FB, Twitter, and Google) joined forces to create another MONSTER of a machine. One that grew so big and so sloppy, they left a strong wake of cheating evidence in their path.

As of this writing, a few things from that wake have happened:

• The fraud reporting line has been overwhelmed and they cannot keep up with the amount of cases being reported.
• There are numerous lawsuits filed in cities and states and before the Supreme Court.
• There are numerous videos of USPS employees and others physically bringing in, taking out, and destroying ballots in the wee hours of the morning (November 4, 2020). A quick twitter or Google search and you can see them for yourself.
• There are numerous still pictures of the above-mentioned items.
• There are numerous eyewitness accounts, testimonies, and whistleblowers on file now with legal teams across the United States.

So while the DC monster is hard to fight, there is EVIDENCE out there of fraud. Remember this: Networks do not call elections. People do.

A few other tidbits of fraud we know from this election:

• Joe Biden pulled in 74 MILLION (illegal) votes; if that were a LEGAL number, it would be more than any other Presidential candidate in the history of America. Are you going to tell us that a man that did not campaign and that we only saw from his basement (the majority of the time), pulled in MORE votes that Obama did in his record-breaking, landslide election of 2008? We hardly think so! (Don't forget - both Joe's and Kamala's public appearances pulled in 25 or less in attendees as compared to Donald J. Trump's record-breaking crowd attendances of 50,000 or more.)
• Multiple ballot dumps of 100,000 or more were brought into ballot-counting facilities in the wee hours of the morning (between 3:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.); the ballots when counted went to Joe Biden 100%; that is statistically impossible.
• Donald J. Trump pulled in 71 MILLION in LEGAL votes; more than any other Presidential candidate in American history (yes, a RED WAVE DID OCCUR).
• Donald J. Trump doubled the amount of LGBTQ (not sure if I have those letters in the right order anymore - it's been a long week!) votes any Republican has received this election.
• Donald J. Trump was the first Republican since 1960 to get the highest number of votes from blacks, Hispanics, and Latinos.

And to run this blog post full-circle back to how I started it above, I saw a video this morning on twitter. And it really confirmed what we, as Believers, already know.

A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND:

Good thing Biden doesn’t believe in Antifa, eh? https://t.co/4EjbEeINzu

— Fiscal Therapist (@BigLifeMark) November 8, 2020

Make sure you actually click on that link to see (and hear) the hatred...

The Bible tells us in Matthew 12:25, "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every Kingdom DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF will be RUINED, and every City or household divided against itself will not stand.'"

Y'all. We are watching the Left, the Liberals, and the Democrats self-implode. It's Biblical and as I watched the video on twitter this morning, I thought, "We are watching a house divided fall."

Don't let the plethora of dancing in the street videos fool you. Don't let the MINORITY (and yes, it is the minority), who have control of the main stream media, suck you in.

This isn't the only video out there like this. There are plenty. (As just two other examples, I saw a video this morning of Biden supporters at one of their "celebrations" physically YELLING at the police officers there to protect them and allow them to celebrate safely. It's disheartening. The second video was of NYC police officers standing in a park protecting a celebration with tears rolling down their cheeks from the sadness of the occasion, not the joy of it.)

So, keep all these things in mind.

These celebrations in the streets of America are reminiscent of Old Testament Biblical stories. Stories of Sodom and Gomorrah; stories of Moses coming down from the mountain top. Stories of whole communities celebrating ungodly situations, people, or things. We are watching Biblical times unfold in front of us.

Stand strong Patriots.

Even if God allows the US Courts and legal systems to fail us. We have known the TRUTH, and we will always know that God has an ulterior plan. One we may not be able to grasp or understand now - but one that we will always abide and bow down to.

And sometimes...yes, evil will prevail.

We are walking on FAITH right now; we don't know the outcome of this spiritual battle; stay on your knees. Keep claiming Scripture. Our President is surrounded by Godly men and women, faith leaders, and a Nation of Godly believers.

Do not buy into the lie of Hollywood and the national media. We have NOT just watched a Dictator fall. We have watched a Godly man fall. We have watched our entire media system, Big Tech, and liberal Americans buy into the lies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We have just witnessed them reject Jesus Christ, who was FINALLY being brought back to the center of American life.

Patriots, the truth is out there. Do the background research yourself on Joe, on Kamala, and on this election. Truth and righteousness are on OUR side.

Keep the faith. Stay on your knees. Gather together. James 4:7-8:

"Submit yourselves to God; resist the devil and he shall flee. Draw near unto God, and He will draw near unto you."