Post #5

How important is the Process of Renewal?

The basic reality is that without renewal, you will never be able to understand what the will of God is. And without renewal, our thinking process is as clear as looking through a glass of mud. Clarity comes as we participate in the cleaning process and start to test out our new wisdom and understanding.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NASB

How can we tell if this process is alive and working in us?

• Are you responding with Fear or Faith to the things happening in this world?

• Are you justifying your Fear by claiming it’s wisdom?

• Is your first thought in any situation, “Why are they attacking me?”

• Is your first thought in any situation, “I can’t help?”

• Is your first thought in any situation, “It’s not my fault?”

• Can you identify with this statement: “Weakness is a flaw, and I have none!”

Your answers to these questions are but the breadcrumb evidence of the issues within us all. The process of change is a process; in other words, it’s a “light bulb” moment, not a “light switch.” The more legalistic you are, the more you are looking for a switch, in the hopes of a sudden change that will quickly correct the issues within you. When in reality, it’s a process of transformation and re-creation that is meant to build patience within our souls. You already have the Holy Spirit; now it’s time to build a home together.

The painful reality is that we human beings are filled with issues, and the institutions of Babylon have trained us to “play the church game of perfection.” One by one, we must discover how thin this veneer we have encased ourselves in really is. This veneer has become like a holographic illusion of a fake light that entraps our minds.

So let’s get free. This illusion was set up by the angel of light, not by the Father’s Son. And Satan’s glory is powerful and enticing and draws whole churches after it, as we now see every day in the world. The Father’s Glory often requires discovery and internal processes that are hidden in the soul He kisses.

Using a modern symbol, our minds, in some ways, are like computers. We can input all the data we want, just like the Pharisees of old, whose ability to memorize scripture was incredible. But memorization is not renewal, no more than a desk computer can provide you with a meaningful relationship.

“...but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a spring of water gushing up into life eternal. “ John 4:14 WET. If you are accumulating data without serious change, then all you have become is a walking filing cabinet. But old filing cabinets can come alive. Historically, one of the best examples is Nicodemus, who “seemed” to almost reject Jesus, but later, according to history, he died as a Martyr. There are many rumors and traditions about Nicodemus, but it could easily be said that he came alive and was changed.

Many people in our culture no longer see value in the things former generations did. As a result, in our fast-moving society, we can not wait long for something if it does not appear quickly. In effect, we are all poor winemakers, because any quality vintage within you requires serious time and care.

You and I require time, time in stillness, the quietness of the presence of God, interacting with him as he sees fit. This requires an act of will, our will to abide in His Habitation. This is why so many of the oldest Christian communities valued personal growth over structure and form. Because whenever structure and form eclipse the garden within you, the garden starts to wither, and the corporate forms of the church become the enemy of life.

The Holy Spirit has a job to do within you. He does not want a computer filled with data or an Android that looks human. He wants a living, breathing friend to spend eternity with; that’s true fellowship and the very heart of the Community Jesus died for.

In the Wuest Expanded Bible Romans 12:2 adds another layer, “...the renewing of your mind, resulting in your putting to the test what is the will of God, the good and well-pleasing and complete will, and having found that it meets specifications, place your approval upon it.” This paints more of a picture of personal inspection, look closely at words used “test… meets specifications… place your approval.” This process does not easily take place in the noise of this world but in the quiet places of your soul.

Pondering the very words themselves and looking at them from a few different translations, I have started to come to the idea that the word “Renewal” may not be the best translation of what should be said in this verse. This is because the very word renewal implies the idea of something complete that has now fallen and must be rebuilt. This is simply not biblically correct; we were not born with a “perfect mind.”

The poison of sin has infected all of us, and no part of us is born “sinless,” so I kept digging deeper. Then I looked in the complete Orthodox Jewish bible and found a word I can not pronounce, ‘Hitkhadshut.’ This word can basically be translated as either renewal or regeneration. Regeneration implies a new creation, and that fits my mind far better.

The process of being born again via Christ’s blood as a new creation must affect all of us. As a result, there is nothing to “rebuild,” but there is everything to create. Therefore, you will find in this book that I will generally lean more toward the idea of a re-created mind than a renewed one.

To better understand this, let’s look at the foundation for this in what Jesus told Nicodemus. With the experience of the new birth, Jesus told him that without this experience, “...he is not able to see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 WET. What the Lord was saying to him was that this new birth had to reach all of him, at every level. Because Nicodemus was confused about it all, Jesus kept explaining to him another aspect of the new birth, “That which has been born out of the flesh is flesh and by nature is fleshly. And that which has been born out of the Spirit, is spirit, and by nature, spiritual.” John 3:7 WET.

This means the re-creation of your mind is on the spiritual level. Many people attempt to fill their minds with scripture like a talisman to ward off the dark things of their lives. But fail to apply the reality of what is being said to their lives.

Side note, this is the last in this series of posts

Post #4

The War of Your Mind

Like an unwelcome house guest that we are way too polite to ask to leave. Removing old thoughts, concepts, and beliefs is important because they are all the things that silently “tweak” our understanding of the world, ourselves, and our view of God. And as a result, this affects the quality or abundance of spiritual fruit in our lives. As a result, the byproduct of our spirituality to others often becomes weak or totally ineffective.

I know within many realms of Christian denominations, the teaching of Spiritual gifting has fallen to the wayside as something not needed, thereby hobbling the believers from reaching into their spiritual tool belt. Unfortunately, even now within the corners of the Charismatic faith, charismatic witchcraft has slipped in, introducing people to spiritual wolves in sheep’s clothing like the Kundalini spirit from Hinduism (Acts 16:16-17). All of these are wrong and equally dangerous and can easily be discerned by the fruit of their ministry if you keep your eyes open.

The Well of God’s presence in our lives is, in my opinion, a pearl of great price to be guarded above all other things. And like an oasis in the desert, we can discern the quality of the water, far away by the plant life that grows around it. But still, even after you find it, it becomes necessary to identify the neglected junk floating in the water. This is a lifelong journey for us all because, in our humanity, we often help the world by tossing in new junk while cleaning out the old. But the quest is worth not giving up.

Years ago, I was having an online conversation with a conservative Rabbi. I asked a question that was most likely one of those “duh” moments that, if I had just thought about it for a moment longer, I would have had my own questions answered. The Rabbi, who was probably growing tired of the conversation, typed back an answer I never forgot, and I have thought about his words many times, “God gave you a brain, and he expects you to use it!” As harsh as this might sound to some people’s ears, it was and still is the best answer to not only my question that day but also many other questions since then.

In the garden, God made mankind the stewards or caretakers of the Earth. “The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.” Psalm 115:16 NASB. All things, both good and bad, on Earth were given under the authority of man. If the Lord has given you something, He expects you to steward it.

Unfortunately, many Christians lacking maturity have abandoned the things the Lord has put under their care to pursue some spiritual things they consider more important. The reality is that the care of both physical and spiritual things should be treated as of the same value.

Years ago, on the East Coast, I became aware of an older woman, well known by many for her ministry to street people in Charlotte. Later on, I found that she had advised more than one housewife to abandon their husband and kids to join her in ministry. What a truly bizarre and twisted way of thinking this was, especially since these were Christian households.

Add to this a well-known West Coast minister that I was once friends with, who left his wife and daughter to go “minister” in Uganda full-time. From what I have been told, he left no means of support or anything else.

With the exception of physical abuse and infidelity, there is just no excuse for abandoning your stewardship of the things he has given you. “But if, as is the case, a certain one does not anticipate the needs of his own and provide for them, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 WET.

What are we carrying?

It seems to me that we need to get delivered from just as much stuff from between our ears as the world around us. Unfortunately, much of the stuff around us will always be here, but the Lord is a God of wonder, and He can and has at times changed external circumstances for His family. Learning to be stewards is a maturity thing, often not glamorous or something a person would hang on a sign for others to see. But it is a sign of honor in the Father’s eyes, a sparkle of trust as He smiles, knowing his Son’s blood was worth it all.

So getting delivered from what’s between our ears and grips our hearts is often not easy. Words are often not enough; it requires our heart and soul to come to an agreement.

Deliverance, as I hinted at before, often comes at a cost. Something must go so that something better may come in. Not that long ago, I had several dreams that, regardless of the location, which was different in each dream, the basic theme was the same.

In the place we were living, a younger couple was trying to connect with or live with us. And in each time in each dream, older couples with hard, rigid thinking kept getting in the way. The younger couples represented new thinking, but older thinking patterns prevented them from finding a home with us.

This means a hard decision must be made, you must say goodbye and divorce the older thinking patterns. New life is at the door, and how many of us must now wrestle with complacency and lethargy to embrace the new? I have seen this in dreams and open visions for years, but never understood the full message until a few years ago.

Many people see the word “deliverance” and think only of demonic possession. But with such a narrow view, few realize that the word “entertainment” is extremely connected to the word “detainment.” In other words, entertainment has just as much potential to hold you back and keep you from going forward as any other thing the world can throw at you. Our deliverance from the lukewarm enticements of the world carries just as much value as any other spiritual act; in fact, it may be one of the greatest.

Long ago, almost all toys, games, and storytelling were for the purpose of building up, educating, and informing in preparation for becoming an adult. Back then, to be detained with such things was not bad because it meant a generation was getting something out of it of value for their future. Now, endless hours can be spent, invested in entertainment of little value, producing a generation that has many older generations concerned for the future of our world.

Legos helped to lay the foundation for construction and engineering just as dump trucks do in the dirt. Coloring and artwork teach people to see the finer details of life. Puzzles help to lay brain patterns for solving problems. Dolls for little girls help to instill early nurturing skills. Studies have shown that learning musical instruments before six years old adapts the brain to learn secondary languages.

So, one simple test of such things around us we should ask is this simple question, “Does the time spent bring any value?” Nowadays, many online games teach kids to be desensitized to human life through their violent acts, as they act as gateways to darker things like pornography, drugs, crime, and the satanic realm.

The deliberate cultural programming we have all endured to some point affects our view of God and His Kingdom. Because of this, the news that God wants to bring to you is often held at bay by the stubborn determination of older thoughts. Depending on how long it has been resident within your mind, getting those thoughts uprooted from their well-worn ruts may require help.

So, if you are reading this, then the question “Did God give you a brain?” is automatically answered. All that remains is for you to make a decision: “What are you willing to give up to reach your goal?”

Post #3

It’s not easy learning to slow down, I mean, really slow down internally, and the Holy Spirit knew it. So months later, an opportunity to acquire a spinning wheel for turning wool into yarn came along. The concept of a spinning wheel has always been kinda cool to me, but not a real priority. The Holy Spirit, however, impressed on me that I should get it. Not sure why I went ahead and acquired it, thinking I was perhaps getting it for my wife, Kathy.

Turns out Kathy just might have had less of a desire to use it than I. Then I realized the Lord wanted me to learn! So, as a person who always tries to do a good job if I can. I quickly found that the only way I could turn out perfect yarn was to learn to be still, deep within myself. Forcing things to be quiet did not work; I had to wrestle with myself to let go. Not only did the yarn turn out well, but I discovered the first steps towards the Well of His Presence.

The Lord had to use a physical tool, a spinning wheel, as the first step to get me through the door. Letting go was the start to engaging deeper with the presence of His peace. It was this Peace that became the door to an even deeper level of His Presence that was waiting for me. I had to discover it by letting go of what was within me to exchange it for His Peace to enter.

Let me be clear, I’ve had many good personal and corporate times of worship, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about a rest in silence that brings an interaction that no words can describe. It’s a deep calling unto another deep, a treasure your mind struggles to understand. And now that I have found the door, I am dumbfounded by how easy it is to walk back in when I want, because this is how to cultivate HIS presence.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure which has been hidden in the field, which, after a Man has found it, he hid, and in his joy goes off and sells as much as he possesses, and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 WET.

Learning to do this required a mental transition, with a physical tool for me, because part of it required, for the first time, to be completely alone with His. Time passed, but in time His presence came in a new way, and I was overwhelmed. Now it’s far easier, and I can step in and feel the rest and peace of God in his presence more often now that I know what I carry.

As we choose to walk deeper into the well of His Spiritual presence, we find a growing depth we cannot describe. A place of stilled sounds and peace without description, even the simplest thing we find in this place can be a pearl of an unfolding micro-universe. The Fear of getting close to His Presence gives way to the struggle of the Fear of being lost in the vast Holiness of silence.

The Holiness of Silence is the stillness that he often speaks through; as a result, it is not a silence like our minds think silence should be. But it is an assembled array of information, devoid of the weeds of worldly noise.

Because it is not the words of this world, it speaks directly to your spirit with words of the spirit with emotions, ideas, colors, and words you can not often describe. (2 Corinthians 12:4)

You touch it, it speaks. You taste it, it yells. If you smell it, you want to wrap it around you. It is in this place that the Discernment of Spirits starts to become woven together in a tapestry with bits of Wisdom, and your understanding of all things begins to deepen.

When we seek to be delivered from ourselves, we seek to have the things that we unknowingly carry that inhibit us from our God-given destiny removed. A destiny of just ‘being’ with Him without an agenda or hidden reasons becomes our “work.” It’s a vulnerable place of risk that scares the hyper-religious who secretly can not conceive of coming so close to the “all-consuming power” without the aid of rules and guidelines.

There is an ocean, vast and hidden the Lord has placed within your soul. We arrive at the surface to whisper words of prayer in waiting, wanting, mesmerized by the sight of what is in front of us, we keep speaking to it. The words slowly change to yearning as we discover the desire to get pulled into the deep waters of his presence.

The spiritual water of His presence is even more confounding than physical water. Just try and get a group of “theological experts” to agree on what Christian Spirituality is or how to walk it out. Some will bend to legalistic forms, while others bend so heavily into the mysterious that it floats along the edge of the occult. And it’s that way with all of the things of the spirit, like gifting or the infilling of the Holy Spirit for believers.

Definitions often fall short under the weight of personal experience.

“Answered Jesus and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you continually be believing in Him whom that One sent off on a mission” John 6:29 WET.

1. Our ‘work’ is to believe.

2. Our spirituality is the byproduct of that belief.

3. The quality of our interactions with others, which often results in ministry, is a byproduct of our spirituality.

4. And the things we have allowed knowingly or unknowingly to influence our journey are some of the very things we need to have delivered from us.

Therefore, the quality of our ministry is directly connected to the depth of our hidden spirituality. God can not grow what you do not feed.

Post #2

Ever thought about what a well is? Modern wells are so very different than the wells our ancestors dug by hand. As a result, we have a disconnected symbolism that is lost in our present age of advanced technologies. These days, a powerful, well-drilling machine often digs or punches its way through the earth to the hidden reserves below.

A few generations back, establishing a well was serious handwork. With a hand shovel and hopefully a group of other men, you dug a hole in the ground. As the hole got deeper, you reinforced the walls with stones and timbers to prevent them from caving in and killing you as you continued your back-breaking work. There are many older stories of hand-dug wells so deep that the atmosphere above was no longer blue but black as the night, forcing them to lower lanterns during the day just to see.

Fighting the nagging doubt that all their effort would be fruitless, and clinging to the faith of hope that they would eventually find water, they continued day after day, month after month, until the water was found.

That’s serious dedication, and there were many who gave up, moving on to hopefully find a better place to try again. Do we have that kind of dedication? To keep pushing on, to push down deep spiritually to the vast resources that await us?

What is a well? A well is an access point, a hole through dirt, stones, and clay of bad teachings, mental strongholds, and traditions of men to a hidden aquifer of clean water. Spiritually, a well is abundant and full of things beyond our limited understanding. The Father has been waiting for us, with such a blessing in his hand. It will take all of Eternity to fully understand it, and that is its Glory. The distance from it to you can be as far away as the moon or as close as your next thought.

So let’s take a journey.

It’s a risky thing to say to the Lord, deliver me from me. Because in that very statement is the acknowledgment that you are your own problem, and just like a homeless beggar, we know we need help beyond ourselves.

The requirements for our journey become a little uncomfortable as we become aware that all the stuff we thought was so important in our lives is most likely the very stuff that we must now leave behind. The “Stuff of Earth,” as the late Rich Mullins once put it in a song, becomes entangled in pride, self-centeredness, and the need to impress others, along with the need to justify all these things around us. This is part of what we inherited from our original parents when they ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The taste of such a dark inheritance will always linger around us until we are freed forever of this body to be with the Father in Eternity.

So, as a result, from time to time, we must wash this old body odor off with the Blood of Jesus in order not to be distracted by it as we continue our journey to a better life in him.

With the stinky smell of sin from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil tamed down for the moment, we can step forward into the unknown. We can smell the rain in the distance and hear the joy of the water as we start to realize that we, logically, should not be able to hear or see these things. But still, something within us tells us it’s true, “Is there really a rest waiting for us?” (Hebrews 4)

That stinky smell of sin is the rational thinking of humanism that justifies your stuff and gives you a ‘pardon’ away from the holiness of God. We inherited it from Adam because the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will always cause us to look at ourselves first and not at God, who made us. And that is the very stuff we wrestle with to surrender to the Lord so that we can find the peace He promises us. “Therefore there remains over a rest for the people of God...” Hebrews 4:9 WET.

I am of the personal opinion that the human stench of fallen man invades the spiritual realm like a bad onion someone forgot in the pantry. Everything Angelic or demonic out there is watching, and if you are declaring how “powerful” you are to the spiritual realms, like it is so popular in some Charismatic circles these days. Well… all you’re really doing is giving them a good laugh. Because your stench just makes the demons feel at home.

Washing away the stuff of Earth by the Blood of Jesus and learning to live in the Lord’s presence makes the spiritual realm change, Angels finally smile, and devils cry as their food source (the dust of your sin) no longer feeds them. These things start to unfold as we learn to find the well of His peace. “And the God of the peace will trample Satan under your feet soon...“ Romans 16:20 WET.

Demons relish in your sin and encourage it because that is how they feed. We are made of the dust of the earth, and this is why the Lord cursed the serpent: He told him, “you shall eat dust all the days of your life,” Gen 3:14b. So why do we need to live in the peace of his presence? Well, there are many good reasons to list, but learning to starve the demonic host is a good one.

There is simply a large volume of scriptures that clearly demonstrate the value of peace. It opens doors and closes others; it’s a blessing and a sign for those who inhabit it. Because like all things with the Trinity, if you inhabit it, it now inhabits you.

Learning Stillness

Many years ago, while camping in a National Park, I could “feel” a profound peace, a presence moving through the wind and trees. The holiness and wisdom of it filled every tree, rock, and flying bug around me. I wanted to be a part of it, but could not. I was frustrated because everything within me wanted it, but it felt like it was just beyond me.

“Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:” Proverbs 1:20-21 NASB.

Months later, an opportunity to acquire a spinning wheel for turning wool into yarn came along. The concept of a spinning wheel has always been kinda cool to me, but not a real priority. The Father, however, impressed on me that I should get it. Not sure why I went ahead and acquired it, thinking I was perhaps getting it for my wife, Kathy.

Turns out my wife, Kathy, just might have had less of a desire to use it than I. Then I realized the Lord wanted me to learn! So, as a person who always tries to do a good job if I can. I quickly found that the only way I could turn out perfect yarn was to learn to be still, deep within myself. Forcing things to be quiet did not work; I had to wrestle with myself to let go. Not only did the yarn turn out well, but I discovered the first steps towards the Well of His Presence.

Letting go was the start of cracking the door open to engaging deeper with the presence of His peace. It was this Peace that became the door to an even deeper level of His Presence that was waiting for me. I had to discover it by letting go of what was within me to exchange it for His Peace to enter.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure which has been hidden in the field, which, after a Man has found it, he hid, and in his joy goes off and sells as much as he possesses, and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 WET.

The well of his presence is a personal thing; it is literally the Sacred Space within that everything springs from. Neglect it, try to live without it, and you become a white-washed wall, Acts 23:3. And all the work of your hands has no spiritual value. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

What would you rather be?

Post #1

  Pick a subject; it matters not what it is. Can you hear it yelling, screaming for your attention? Everything is trying to grip you with emotions, demanding that you pay attention to it, and it alone.

  From the many train wrecks in Christianity to the political world. You hear it everywhere as your buying power at the grocery store, and the town pump has evaporated away like mist in the wind. And in every corner, they continue to tap away at your mind like a heartbeat. Pressure builds, and hard choices are made as you watch the world from the safety of your car or truck as you drive by the people on the streets. 

  The reality is tensions are high, and they will get higher. Issues and systems of this world are getting stretched like old rubber bands that will soon break, losing their control. And I think everyone at this point knows that even greater problems will arise, especially as we draw close to each election cycle.

Get off the Hamster Wheel

  When believers get stuck on the Hamster Wheel, they get stuck in a system that is preprogrammed to play on their sense of spiritual duty. In some cultures, German, Norwegian, Bible Belt states, and many others, work ethics are high. No one needs to preach to them about concepts like, “if you don’t work, you shall not eat!” 2 Thessalonians 3:10. These people get it, and the leaders above them sometimes use this in negative ways. This is often Spiritual Abuse under a narcissistic leader.

It does not mean the message is wrong; what’s wrong is all the abuse that came with it. If your value system is addicted to this narcissistic environment, then breaking away can be very, very hard.

  It’s not easy to get off these wheels, that is because in some ways we have become addicted to how it makes us feel. Just as some people feel that a screaming mad preacher yelling from the rooftops was a great spirit-filled sermon. Some people falsely think that they “deserve” to be treated like trash by senior leadership. This is all spiritual warfare of the mind, and the best thing to do is just walk away.

  The reality is that healing can not occur in a stress-filled environment, and if that means becoming a hermit for a season, well, I approve. Don’t let the self-appointed hall monitors in the corporate church guilt you into coming back with arguments that “you must stay in the body.” Ask yourself, is it right for a victim to go back and live with the abuser just to satisfy someone’s idea of right and wrong?

  I know I am using harsh language and concepts here, but to be honest, I am “toning” it down. I strongly feel that many pastors would do far more to help the Kingdom by getting arrested and serving a little jail time than standing in a pulpit. As an example, right now, statistically, it is far safer for a parent to put their child in a regular daycare than in a church-run daycare. 

  There was once a period of time in the late 80s and well into the 90s when churches screened workers with background checks before allowing them near children. When did that stop? Is there anyone left still doing it? 

  Healing

  Many of us who finally get out of the system require serious downtime. Yes, we still need to earn a paycheck, but stillness and silence can be our refuge. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7 In our high-impact world, taking a step back to do nothing but rest in his presence is the most valuable thing we can do to stay sane.

  We are a people who need downtime; it was simply programmed into the very core of us at the being at creation. That is, of course, one of the biggest reasons for God making the sabbath mandatory: “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 Quite simply, this is something many of us have forgotten.

Music, a Tool

  Many years ago, when my wife and I lived on the west coast of Washington State, the local radio station had “Evenings in December.” It was one month of instrumental Christmas music. In time, several shops in the local town got smart and started running the music over the store speakers for everyone to hear. Then they put speakers outside and filled the streets. This had an interesting effect. A person swimming in this mood from this music could go from home to car to shop after shop, and almost everyone was on the same page.

Music is often a gateway to spiritual things, both good and bad. That is because music is essentially a spiritual thing; it is meant to impact people on levels that few of us understand. Through music, you can bring people to war, riot, or even put them to sleep. I have seen too many Christians believe that music is just music, and they can listen to anything they wish. I can also point to these same people and identify issues of internal strife within the home.

Be mindful of what you have.

  We now live in a time where people understand that we need to take care of the food we eat. Or at least the care of cooking and cutting surfaces to prevent cross-contamination. How much more should we not take care in the preparation of our spiritual foods as well?

  “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character,” 1 Corinthians 15:33 to me, not only does this mean the day-to-day people you interact with, but it also means the unknown spiritual entities that inhabit the atmosphere around you. If you allow an environment of anger and rage to exist, as you find in some forms of music like Rap. Are you then not inviting the same spirits to hang around you?

It’s a bad thing for future leaders to be consuming various forms of entertainment (music and film) that push the soul towards chaos and destruction. If your entertainment thrives on violence, porn, horror, and other such things, well, that’s what you’re feeding your soul. I’ve known Christians addicted to gang-style rap, death images, violent horror movies, and then turn around and act good in public. Biblically, such things pollute the soul.

  Below is a Spotify link to a Public Playlist that I have created. I often use this playlist when I am writing, reading, or as background music. If you are already on Spotify, feel free to listen in. If you like it, then consider hitting the follow button. It will let me know who finds this useful. The image below is a sampler; for more, click on “save on Spotify” to open it up for the full version if you have the program.

Well, it’s that time of year again.

So, a Notice: To all the Men, Women, Children, Lizards, Klingons, Clowns, and Cyborgs who subscribe to my Substack. The time has come to let y’all know I am taking my yearly break away from Substack posting. The weather has shifted, and writing for Substack is not the only thing in my life. It’s now time to do things like move dirt, plant the garden, fix things outside, and work on a book.

I’m not looking to give out details on the book project right now, but I will say it’s pushed me like no other, and I have spent a crazy amount of time reading theological papers with a dictionary nearby. So, needless to say, it takes a lot of brain power to think all this through, and at the end of a regular workday, my mind is like a dim bulb that I doubt will make it.

Through this, I have learned that some of my long-standing beliefs were incorrect. These were teachings I had learned from my first pastor, who had learned them from the seminary. So, that is a great example of how bad teaching gets passed down.

For the next few weeks.

I’ve got a writing project that I worked on a couple of years ago. I am breaking it down into smaller segments and pre-loading it all on Substack. For some time, I have mostly been centered on the issue of Deconstruction and Reconstruction. I’ve had a lot of various posts that lean more to the deconstruction side. These new upcoming posts are meant to lean the other direction, into Reconstruction. That requires a deep transformation within the garden of your soul.

I might be able to turn it into eight posts. It might, however, go a little longer if important updates in the world or Morningstar come along. After that, the Lord may bring something new.

Sometimes in our Western mindset, we resist being reminded of truths that “upset” our worldview. Biblical realities often do exactly that—they disrupt our modern sensibilities with laser-clear focus that makes us flinch. One such story is the Spear of Phinehas in Numbers 25.

The judgment in this account comes so quickly, so suddenly, and so finally that it jars us. It also strikes directly at the heart of the free-sex culture that has quietly invaded leadership in the Body of Christ. Many people only see the surface of this story, so a deeper look is needed. One powerful way the Bible helps us is by deliberately recording the names of the key figures, and we are to dig to reveal their meanings.

• Phinehas means “Mouth of Brass” or “Brass Oracle.”

• Zimri means “My Musician, My Gardener, Song of Yah.”

• Kozbi, the Midianite woman, means “False, Lying.”

In a close-knit traveling community like the Israelites, Phinehas and Zimri likely knew each other well—perhaps they even played together as children and stood before angry parents for youthful mischief.

But what happened was no childish prank. Twenty-four thousand people had already died in the plague. The camp was filled with weeping, frayed nerves, and the exhaustion of digging graves in the desert. The root cause? Sexual immorality with Moabite women, eating food sacrificed to demons, and outright worship of false gods. Verse 2 records that “Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor”—a name that means “Lord of the Wide Opening” or “Lord of the Wide Open Mouth.”

God told Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” The plague was already devastating the camp when the Lord pinpointed the leaders as the source of the problem for failing to protect the people. Then came an act of shocking defiance: Zimri, a leader (likely a worship leader given his name), took Kozbi—the woman whose name means “False, Lying”—and paraded her openly in front of Moses and the entire congregation on his way to a tent for sexual relations. It was the ultimate self-centered middle finger to God and His people: “I don’t care about your message.”

When Phinehas saw this brazen act, intense righteous emotion rose within him. He grabbed a spear, followed them into the tent, and drove it through both of them, ending their lives and stopping the plague.

Leadership had clearly failed in the camp.

God’s judgment fell first and hardest on the leaders because they were not doing their job. Zimri, whose name suggests he was meant to lead people in songs of praise to Yahweh, had instead opened his mouth—and the people’s hearts—to a lying spirit through Kozbi from Midian (“Place of Judgment”). However, the mouth of brass (Phinehas) was used by God to shut the other open mouth that was leading Israel into deception.

Phinehas’s actions were counted as righteousness by God, and the Lord extended a covenant of peace and blessing to Phinehas and his descendants. He passed the test.

Sexual temptation remains one of the most common and deadly tests for leaders. Joseph faced a similar kind of test and passed it, though it cost him dearly in the natural. He was thrown into prison, yet the Lord was with him and granted him favor. Many fallen leaders today prefer to compare themselves to David rather than Joseph. But, I think it is far better to be a Joseph than a David in this regard.

Because David failed his test with Bathsheba. He tried to cover it up, even arranging the death of her husband. When confronted by the prophet Nathan, he repented openly—but he still paid a heavy price, including division in his kingdom and family.

Leaders are tested at a higher level. Passing the test like Joseph brings greater responsibility and blessing. Failing it can bring loss of life, diminished influence, or severe consequences. No matter what, never fail the test of genuine repentance.

The New Testament echoes the same warnings. In Acts 15:29, “that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.” In this address, the Apostolic Council identified the very things that caused Israel to stumble in Numbers 25. Similar failures plagued the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira (Rev 2), where the Lord promised to fight against those who taught His people to compromise in these areas.

The devil is skilled at setting traps for leaders, and many modern exposures reveal how effective those traps still are. Yet the Lord is coming as the true Shepherd of His pasture (Ezekiel 34). He will not tolerate leaders who spiritually or physically abuse the flock. Those days are coming to an end.

Side note to consider. If so many leaders who have fallen want to compare themselves to David when they get caught. What do you think is the possibility that the Lord might be saying, “so be it,” and they are now being judged according to how David was judged? Meaning, your ministry will be split, and your family will turn against you.

The only example that I am connected with is my former employer, Rick Joyner, who allowed and covered up many of these things historically. Now his ministry is a shadow of what it once was, and his kids have turned against him. See the upcoming book set to come out in Jan 2027.

Click on the image above.

So what do you think, with so many congregations having been deceived by leaders? Are we the modern-day equivalent of Pergamum and Thyatira? Do you think the blessings and the judgments against those congregations are applicable to us today?

Our modern world’s education system is not really an education system but an indoctrination method designed to make you regurgitate facts. This may sound harsh, but it’s actually true. Compare this to a system that is designed to cause students to explore to find the answers.

The reality is, the established system does do well for a few, but not all.

Case in point, learning all the dates, locations, generals, etc of the American Civil War is not nearly as valuable as learning the lessons of the war on society so that they are never repeated, that is a far better education.

The purpose of learning is to bring something of value forward that helps you or your generation. The engineer learns to create, the doctor learns to heal, and the cook brings food to bless. By reducing education down to the memorization of facts alone, it strips away the feel and emotion of the moment that would cause a person to integrate the knowledge on a deeper level.

Like a seed planted in the ground, creativity is that factor that causes a culture to grow and change. Seeds do not look like the final product, and creativity can allow a person to process information at multiple levels. For many of us, this is what is called a Polymathic mind. Such people often struggle in contemporary, fact-based education, whereas a linear mind often does well in this environment.

A linear mind needs all things laid out in a line, and a missing spot of information becomes troublesome, whereas a Polymathic mind sees the information on both sides and interpolates a reasonable conclusion for the middle.

Both sides deal with the unexpected in completely different ways. If a linear mind believes they have all the information, starts a project, but then discovers a major flaw. That person may shut down until such time as an answer is found.

A Polymathic mind often does not stop, but “switches on the fly” for the sake of not losing the momentum. For they understand that the loss of momentum may be a bigger problem than missing information.

Dangers

The reality is, few people are truly 100 percent Linear or Polymathic; most of us are a mix of both. It is often the tension between these two that causes problems. Linear are often good managers who understand the flow and can keep a system working near flawlessly. However, a Polymathic mind is often the visionary who pioneers new frontiers. Linear struggles to create, and Polymathic are often bored trying to manage things, but thrive in an environment that allows creation. The danger is that Linear often creates and enjoys a micromanagement system, while a Polymathic mind would rather stick a fork in their own eye than endure such a nightmare.

In ministry, Polymathic minds often get caught up in the excitement of the new adventure and run ahead of God’s timing. While a Linear mind may struggle with falling behind God’s timing, especially if they are prone to fear.

This is where a congregation can get “worn out” from always being on the go, running to the next goal, or become complacent, as the congregation falls asleep, waiting for “something to happen.” This is one of the reasons some teachers have always said that the Apostolic and the Pastoral need each other. One moves while the other adds caution, or when one gets too comfortable, the other is ready to push them to create movement. From this, both learn, and wisdom grows in both as they teach each other.

This seedbed of wisdom will, in time, grow into mature relationships. Because God is a good Father, and he is looking for his family to become mature in all things.

If a Polymathic and a Linear mind can tear away the veil of preconceived ideas and learn to trust each other in leadership, then the congregation can move forward in confidence as it takes each step the Lord has for it.

Unfortunately, our current flawed concept of education is strongly embedded within the Body of Christ. Instead of discovering the hidden pearls of spiritual truth that can set you and others free. People have been taught to see spiritual truths as more like a grocery list.

True learning, however, is a different process and requires comprehension so an outward change can take place. As I ponder these things, I find myself thinking about how God often likes to teach us, and in doing so, I have realized a few things. Although it is good to have the correct answers ( Jeremiah 1:12), it seems to me that God is often more interested in the process of getting the answers than the end result.

Perhaps the process can instill qualities and wisdom that mere facts alone would never provide. Case in point, when one of my nephews grew old enough to drive, his father told him that he did not have the money to get him a car. However, if he were willing to find a car that could be repaired, his father would help him buy it, and they would fix it together. That nephew learned well, eventually sold that car, got another, and did the same thing. Now he works in a machine shop.

God is a good Father, and he is looking for his family to become mature in all things.

“In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9

You may, in your heart, decide or desire to become a certain thing. But it is the Lord who will take you along the path so that you learn what you need to learn. Or as it says in this verse, “the Lord establishes their steps.” Establish means to plant a flag, to create a spot, something unmoving. This means, when you learn it, you will have learned it.

God gives clues; He puts people in your path. He will even put obstacles for you to either go around, climb over, or recognise as a dead end, so that you can learn to identify the wrong path.

How does God teach?

Much of scripture is polymathic, while other sections are extremely linear. This demonstrates that God has no problem or favor in the method he uses. Examples of linear would be history, the many covenants, the law, the general plan of salvation, as well as patience and faithfulness.

Examples of Polymathic would include the Parables, Prophetic foreshadowings, deep symbolism, Proverbs, Psalms, many of the prophetic books, as well as the infinite and multifaceted aspects of God’s character. I personally believe that some of the errors in the last two thousand years have come from linear minds attempting to define polymathic concepts. By doing so, they assume that everything God does can be defined precisely so that it will fit within their chosen form of theology. This, of course, would be in error.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

And

“I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? “ John 3:12

Cultivation can be a form of Education.

“You must learn to cultivate my presence.” Was the message that the Lord gave me several years ago. Now, to give a spot of context, my background is strongly connected to things like farming, homesteading, and stuff like that. So, as a result, when the Lord used the word “cultivate,” to me, this brings up an interesting mental image.

You see, cultivating is not planting; it is the soil preparation that must take place before planting. This is because whatever state your land is in, it must be altered to create the right environment for the seeds to grow.

When God told me this message, I struggled with it for some time with questions like, “How do I…? All in all, it was a process I needed to work through as I finally realized just how self-centered my own questions were. This is because he said, “cultivate MY presence.”

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Cor 3:18.

The word “contemplate” does not mean that you sit around and empty yourself of all your thoughts; that’s Buddhist. Contemplate is a word that implies action, movement, and participation. Verbs connected to it can be ponder, meditate, dance, sing, weigh things out, or even study.

This is the start of the cultivation; we need to remove our preconceived ideas, “unveiled faces,” as his presence arrives. I don’t want to get too technical ( linear), so perhaps the best thing to do is simply ask the Lord for help.

In the end, whether our minds lean linear or polymathic, God is not limited by either. He is the Master Gardener, patiently preparing the soil of our hearts so that we can truly behold His glory with unveiled faces.

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One of the things I often do when I stop for lunch (at home) is watch an episode of a show, like science fiction, before I get back up. In this case, the show I was watching had a series of unfortunate events that several characters had to deal with. So from time to time, parts of an Irish song would play in the background that totally fit the show. So I had to look up this song.

Later, I read a post from Amanda Opelt, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Where she was recounting her own stories of getting trodden under by the Religious system in the hills of North Carolina. They found issues within the walls of the church where they were married, so they tried to talk to the pastor about it.

This comment made me quickly think of a couple of things, Matthew 12:20 and… “It’s been the worst day since yesterday.”

Bruised reeds and Smoldering wicks

The religious institution is not the community. One seeks control of the other, while the other needs the control no one. One seeks to pull everything into the center to protect the center, while the other believes the words of Jesus when He says, “Go.” When I reflect on what Leadership of the flock should be, I am reminded of these words: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory.” Matthew 12:20.

A bruised reed represents someone weak, discouraged, or broken by sin and the world. Someone easily discarded—whom Jesus instead strengthens, heals, and tenderly restores rather than destroying. A smoldering wick is a fire, refusing to die, refusing death but crying out for life. This is the attitude and actions we often see of Jesus’s heart toward people in scripture. These are the people Jesus taught his followers to go and find in the world; this is where his heart bends towards.

These are the people entrapped in fear, culture, and religious nonsense, and Jesus not only taught his followers to find them, but to care for them until the weak knees become strong and the feeble hands stop shaking. In effect, the ancient question Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Is answered in Jesus and the actions of His followers.

Ministry was never about building little kingdoms to impress the world and “show off” to other ministers, making them feel little or worthless. It was about taking the worthless, showing them mercy, and making them the Children of God.

Bruised reeds can become forests of truth, and smoldering wicks can start fires that make the forests dance and clap their hands. But it all must start somewhere.

Our World

In our world, everything is measured by what happens, what we do, what we have not done, and what we have created. In many ways, the biggest by-product of our modern Christian culture is wounded saints. Some groups and denominations seem to produce little, while others seem abundant.

In this place, we all still have a lot to learn from Jesus words when you consider his sermon was also for the future leaders of what he was creating.

If you have never known the sting of betrayal, lies, and deception, then I say congratulations. If, however, you are in the latter group and you have known these things, you have my sympathy, for you have unfortunately joined a generally silent but growing group.

I understand, and I can honestly say that I never thought I would be a member of such a group. The qualifications for membership to such a group are pain, betrayal, and loss of all you thought you knew. Within the halls of this silent membership, we understand the looks we get from those who do not know. Non-members who love to quote scripture to you like a hammer, beating you up a bit more to convince you to come back into the fold. Isn’t that odd, the concept that if I just abuse you a little, you will want to come back, out of guilt?

Unfortunately, from this place of self-imposed isolation, your options are limited. You can either completely walk away from God, as many have done. Or you can gather what you have and cautiously try again. Some have also done this, to sit quietly in the back, to conform to social norms. Meanwhile, the wounds remain unhealed.

But for some of us, there is the third option: we live in the moment between what is “believed we should do,” and the safety of the desert. The desert is a strange place, and I can honestly tell you that sometimes you can fall in love with the stillness, the sand, and the vastness of the place. This is because the desert is a sensory paradox where intense isolation blunders its way into profound clarity. The world that was is stripped from you, and you wonder if silence has a physical presence. But the desert is not the place of abundance we have been called to; it’s just a waystation. And if we stop and think about this, we know it, but often that matters very little because the desert has now become a safe place.

Did you know that bruised reeds, planted at the edge of the water, can grow strong? Ancient boat makers knew this; they wanted those reeds because they became tough, and it made the boats strong. In time, we will also get strong if we are replanted.

All our “worst days” have pushed us to this, to grow in isolation, become tough in the hands of the master builder. Moses spent time out here, so did David, Elijah, Paul, and John the Baptist, as well as Jesus himself. The Desert reshapes people in several ways, like dependence on God, purification, preparation for leadership, and the cultivation of the inner parts of your soul. This is the test everyone wants to pass, but nobody wants to take.

This is where we spend time rethinking what we have been taught, as we deconstruct the shaky theological floor we have been standing on. Tossing out the parts that don’t fit so that we can reconstruct on a better foundation. These are the first steps to a biblical deconstruction and reconstruction. Freedom can be found in the desert.

This Post is not one of my normal posts. Except for the fact that this took place in a “Christian” town. There is nothing of a “religious” value in the post. This is purely just me wanting to add a little history I was connected to.

Back before my wife and I got married in the 80s. I found myself involved in an “event” that made the local news.

I was surprised after all these years to find evidence of it on the internet. So I asked the American Forests magazine for permission to reprint this article.

But first, here is a little background information;

After graduating in 1983, I could often be found hanging out at a friend’s house in Lynden, WA. At that time, many of us hung out at his home. He just got married, and his parents, who lived for decades in another location, allowed him and his new family to use the old family homestead that had been in the family for generations.

In the back yard of the place, like many old farms, was a collection of old commercial chicken coops, some outbuildings in various states of decay, as well as several mature trees. At that time, I had a growing interest in trees, an interest that I still have to this day.

One tree that was right out the back door of the old farmhouse did not look like the rest. I tried researching it, and I could never find it when I was looking at local species. So one day I cut a small branch off the tree with my pocket knife and brought it home. My dad, who was born in Arkansas, got a funny look on his face when I handed it to him.

When he was a young man (late 1930s) tree shoots would often sprout up in the forest and then die within a couple of years. These were the leftover remnants of the American Chestnut that was destroyed by blight. Now I had just handed him a part of a mature tree that should not exist.

Long story short, my friend’s family decided at the same time to accept the city of Lynden’s offer to sell them the land for a new school to be built. And the people in charge had no desire to do anything about the tree other than bulldoze it.

Next thing I knew, there were town council meetings, people sitting around the tree with parents encouraging children not to move, and then some lady from the local TV station shoved a TV camera in my face. So that she could interview the person who discovered it.

Well, here is the rest of the story.

Robert A. Foster

***************

SAVING SOMETHING OF VALUE

By McLean, Herbert E.

For every specimen listed in this 50th Anniversary Edition of the National Register of Big Trees, there are many other nominees that don’t make the grade and thus recede into obscurity. But for one distinctive tree, its moment of public notoriety may well have meant its very survival. Here’s how it happened:

The American chestnut (Castanea dentata), rendered virtually extinct in the U.S. by a killer fungus that may have originated in the Orient, once represented half of the total tree population in the East. The story of its decimation reveals the worst of what can go wrong in the American forest.

But not long ago in Lynden, Washington (population 5,000), a dairy community in the state’s far northwest corner, a resident from nearby Bellingham spotted what he thought might be an American chestnut. Standing 40 feet tall and with a 10 1/2-foot circumference, it was capable of quickening the pulse of any lover of chestnuts – an extraordinary survivor in an unlikely place.

Robert Foster, the discoverer, sent a leaf-and-twig sample to the American Chestnut Foundation in Minneapolis, and back came surprising news: “At 40 inches in trunk diameter, that tree is one of the largest surviving American chestnuts left in the entire world,” reported Donald C. Willeke, the Foundation’s secretary (and an AFA director).

The tree appeared perfectly healthy, but its future was not. The owner, Lynden School District 504, was planning to cut it down to make room for a big new school on the 11-acre parcel on which it grew.

Foster’s brother and sister-in-law, Lynden residents Larry Foster and Rebecca Wiswell, were initially unimpressed. After all, they had four three-year-old American chestnut seedlings growing in their yard.

But then they started thinking: “This world is the only place we have, and people are destroying it without finding what’s here…”

The school board communicated its position succinctly: “The tree must go.” The young couple, sensing the need for reinforcements, took to phone and pen. He put a notice in the Fairhaven College bulletin – and got his dander up in the process. She collared friends, relatives, and anyone else who’d listen.

On the night of the next school-board meeting, 20 supporters showed up, including representatives of every garden club in the county, plus the American Chestnut Foundation. Ane Soriano, representing the Everson Garden Club, explained the rarity, size, and healthy condition of the threatened tree.

The school board stood firm but held out a rather costly carrot: if the group could pony up $40,000 for a sewage pump station, maybe the new school could be moved away from the chestnut. The little coalition asked for three weeks; the Board gave them three days. So, with a reporter from the Lynden Tribune in tow, they trooped over to the City Council that same evening – only to be told that the Council couldn’t stop the school board from removing the tree.

For the next few days, Larry, Rebecca, and Ane attacked the problem with single-mindedness. Larry closed down his gardening business and skipped classes. He called state departments of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Board of Education, the Governor’s office, Audubon Society, local politicians, and radio, TV, and newspapers. Others also got on the phone.

On the deadline day, it was obvious that all the calling had accomplished its goal. The board said it would look into changing its plans if the coalition would investigate moving the tree. While the group was getting the sad news that it would cost $5,000 to move the tree (with only a zero to 30 percent chance of its surviving), petitions went out, and within just six days, 1,000 locals had signed in support of saving the chestnut. Not bad for a town of 5,000.

Shortly thereafter, Seattle’s KOMO-TV, Bellingham’s KVOS-TV, and the Lynden Tribune arrived around the tree – along with some 50 supporters – for a media workover. And the Lynden chestnut suddenly became a visible symbol of community resolve to preserve something of newly perceived value in the little town.

On the same day the KOMO-TV feature aired in Seattle, the Lynden School Board announced that it would build the new school elsewhere on the property, and leave ample room for the tree.

Today the American chestnut in Lynden is decidedly a part of life in that little town. Who knows how many school children will gather around it on warm spring days to study the American chestnut’s fresh green outlines against the coastal sky, and perhaps to plant other chestnuts?

Meanwhile, Larry Foster and his wife, Rebecca, nominated the tree for AFA’s National Register of Big Trees. It fell somewhat short – an even larger American chestnut was submitted by Washington State’s big-tree coordinator, Robert Van Pelt. But no matter …the Lynden chestnut’s place in history is secure.

COPYRIGHT 1990 American Forests magazine, (Vol 96, No 1-2) Jan 1990

No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission of the copyright holder, American Forests magazine.

Not everyone has learned the lessons of the cultural fear program called COVID. What you see going on is another wave of fear programming that they are using to cause polarization. This is being done through trigger words like End-Times, WW3, Armageddon, and more.

Hopefully, through the information provided below and with your own research, you should be able to see what is really going on. This, however, does not mean that some of what you are seeing will not lead to some of those trigger words. But the truth is, we are in the middle of a worldwide reset, so don’t worry, WW3 has been canceled for lack of participation and interest.

Here is the list of Nations currently undergoing reset.

• Cuba - Process of Freedom has started

  

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• Venezuela - Major road block removed, moving carefully.

• Iran - Stomping the dragon, dying fast, the new government under Reza Pahlavi is in the early stages of forming. The Old is not expected to last long. Reza Pahlavi has run into major roadblocks with the EU, who are only interested in finding a way to use this to hurt Trump. This attitude has made Reza Pahlavi very mad.

• Iraq - Almost stable, but still struggling on two fronts. #1 Powerful Terrorist Iranian families are being rooted out. #2 The strongly tribal thinking and loyalty above national interests are a problem, and must be dealt with. The US government has been adding pressure to force them to build a stable government away from radical Islamic families. This pressure seems to have worked by the evidence of the new elections

  

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• Canada - Currently, it is being forced to wake up to the reality of just how much evil has been hidden in their liberal system. The health care system, which was claimed to be the best, is responsible for many deaths. And the freedoms they thought they had turned out to be an illusion. It has now been discovered that China has troops in the northern parts of Canada protecting oil-rich areas. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, whose family lives in New York, has not only signed over much of its sovereignty to China. A large-scale door-to-door gun confiscation is also being debated in the government.

  

• Alberta is currently leading the pack to separate, and the mindset to join the US is still growing. With three other provinces closely following behind Alberta. Canada will fight hard to keep BC as a future landing zone for the Chinese. All this WILL force a US military force to move north for our own protection. Alberta’s connection to Washington is becoming stronger every day, as most Albertans’ heritage does not come from Canada’s east but from Texas and Oklahoma.

• England - Push back against this Islamic stronghold is growing. And in places, some people have almost died doing so. People are realizing that the crown will not only ignore their calls for help, but they have mostly been the architects behind this plan all along. Is this the end of the Royal family, and will it be replaced with a true republic?

• Greece - Has had enough of immigration. They are currently looking to close down over 60 mosques.

• Ireland - The pushback against Islamic immigration and Sharia law is growing. Like the UK, the internet is getting censored, and people have been arrested for what they say online. This has caused the formation os small paramilitary groups that are vowing to fight as the IRA did in the past. On the other hand, the prophetic community has been getting prophetic words concerning Honey and the Lord blessing Ireland. From what little I heard, they were told to watch for a sign. This prophetic sign apparently came when King Charles made an “unexpected” stop at the White House. The rumor is that he stopped to get Trump to attack Russia. But when they were outside, Trump gave the king a jar of official White House honey. Shortly after that, Trump had his hand out, and a honey bee landed in his hand. This has excited the Irish prophetic community.

• Italy, Norway, and possibly others - In these countries, government support to push back against Islamic takeover is growing, laws are getting passed, and Sharia law is getting crushed. The same evil that Iran has been fighting against is what Europe is now struggling with.

The last ten-plus years of spiritual encounters in the Middle East have driven millions to turn to Jesus. This Pro-Christian mindset has expanded into several nations, not just Islamic ones. Because of this, some nations are starting to welcome Christians who wish to vacation or move to their country for retirement or to raise a family.

This reset is moving forward, and it only places like the liberal news media and various colleges that currently refuse the truth.

General Conditions concerning Sharia law in the United States.

• Alabama: Passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting courts from applying foreign or religious laws.

• Arizona: Lawmakers have moved to restrict Sharia recognition, with existing bans on foreign laws in place.

• Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in April 2026 targeting foreign legal systems, including Sharia.

• Kansas: Enacted restrictions on using foreign laws that violate constitutional rights.

• Louisiana: Passed legislation preventing the application of foreign laws.

• Mississippi: Passed legislation against the implementation of foreign, international, or religious law.

• North Carolina: Implemented bans to prevent foreign legal systems from influencing state court rulings.

• Oklahoma: A 2010 ballot measure known as the “Save Our State Amendment” specifically targeted sharia.

• South Dakota: Passed a ban on religious laws in court.

• Tennessee: Implemented legislation to prevent the use of foreign legal systems, according to ING.org.

• Texas: While not passing a general statewide “ban” in the same way, Texas has taken action regarding the regulation of “sharia compounds.” Some of these compounds resemble armed military outposts, complete with security details and watch towers.

• Other states are slow in acting, but movement is starting to happen.

Overall, Islamic mindsets are growing in liberal/woke thinking. Because of this, Blue states are providing a welcoming mindset to such destructive thinking. I recently heard a police officer joke that the day may come when Idaho may need to build a fence against Washington state. Ponder that!

New Spiritual Trend.

Near the start of 2026, book sellers have noticed that bible sales have increased in the United States by 12% and 87% in the UK. At the same time, many Protestant and Evangelical groups are seeing an increase in Gen Z walking through their doors.

It would seem that the spiritual experiences that have been happening in Islamic countries with Jesus or with angels appearing in dreams and visions over the last 10 plus years may now be starting in the Western World. More and more Gen Z are searching for information on Spiritual Experiences after having their own encounter.

This has become noticeable to pastors who are encountering these people when they walk in. They have already spent time binge-watching theology videos on spiritual gifting before ever setting foot in a church for the first time.

The other side, however, is fully aware of this, and various platforms like TikTok are slowly turning into a battleground as Witches and occult groups are moving forward to answer their questions and recruit them into their fold.

Writing

Writing is such a fickle thing, especially if you have the hope of making a living off of it. If you have been writing for a while, dreaming of self-employment from the dancing rhythm of your fingertips, then you have most likely seen one of the many ads out there.

  You know the ads, “ I made $$$ after I cracked the code and now I am willing to share my secret with you!”

  Back in 2014, an editor I know advised me to start a blog and just see where it takes me. Not really sure what I was going to write, I forced myself to write seven posts, and that’s all I did that year. In the next three years after that, I generally ignored the blog, posting just a handful of things. You would think it should have just died, but one day I checked it and discovered that the number of followers had grown… a lot. So I decided to start “feeding the stove.”

  Well, guess what, I made millions. No, seriously, the rate of followers subscribing dropped off to zero. This left me a little confused and perplexed. Then one day, I posted a blog on my old WordPress website. It was kind of therapeutic, my way of venting about the good and the bad struggles my wife and I went through working for Morningstar Ministries.

  Well… the darn thing exploded. The typically dismal numbers started to gain several zeros as people re-shared the post. It went viral, and I started getting serious numbers overseas. So much happened with that post that I soon heard through the grapevine that my former employer was not happy about it.

In fact, some people were ordered to stop talking to me, and I was no longer allowed to visit, not that I was going to be, because I had moved so far away. What was troubling was that some of these people I considered friends. I guess following the orders of “Prophet of God” was justification enough for them to end things.

  Numbers for that post, to my surprise, continued to remain strong for the better part of eight months. Seeing that it did well, I decided to write similar posts to keep the momentum going. And they did…poorly.

Other posts

  Writing is so fickle; in many cases, I have “broken” the rules and done well, and other times I followed the rules and wondered why I even put in the effort.

  So if you're going to be a writer. I would suggest tough skin and patience, along with a healthy dose of being flexible.

Skills

To me, it seems like everything has turned into a crash course on something. My skills as a writer have improved, and that has caused an improvement in some areas. But along the way has been the frustration of having to learn things like “keywords” for the title to get noticed. Or when is the correct time to post or not to post? It’s like learning a game only to discover that the goal posts have moved…AGAIN.

And from the post I did concerning the rise and advance of AI and Synthetic Intelligence.

I strongly feel like we are all going to need to relearn… everything to keep writing. Below is a post from Nick Johnstone. He turned his frustration with AI into a semi-funny post. But the reality is he may not be that far off; if anything, he might be understating the truth altogether.

Can quality come back?

A while back, I listened to a Gal on YouTube who is an architect. She was talking about what got her into the trade was the Lord of the Rings movies. She was fascinated with the architecture of the many buildings. So as an adult, she decided to read the books for the first time. To her surprise, Tolkien never described the buildings; he only described the emotions felt. And it was from that the drawings were made.

I bring this up because there is currently a pushback starting up. Some recent rulings in the legal courts have challenged AI content. Making it illegal to copywriter AI-written content. The thought on this is simple: the copywriter system was made for humans to protect their content.

There is also the fact that to many people, AI-created stories feel “off,” and people are getting really good at detecting them. There are even people trying to use it to build content here on Substack. Case in point, this stack ( The Artificially Informed ) uses AI for the creation of most of its posts.

So for us writers, I guess our best option is just to get better and stay ahead of AI.

  The Pernicious cultural programming our world has gone through has taught us to insulate ourselves not only from various groups but also from patterns of thoughts and realities we do not like. Most of us are unaware of just how badly we have all been insulated from each other. Unchecked, these things continue to fracture us until we become fully unstable in all things in life. This is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, manifested as double-mindedness in our modern world.

Unfortunately, the flip side of this is that some groups have embraced all they can to include everything. Embrace all things that happen like a big hug until your life means nothing. You stand for nothing because nothing is wrong and everything is now lukewarm truth. This is the Pollyanna, hyper mushy, grace mindset that has infected many corners of Christianity, including the Charismatic.

Learning to draw boundaries in life is a good thing. This is learning to judge correctly, as Jesus commanded us to do. This often means your actions will offend others, especially within the Body of Christ. The Polly Anna attitude of hyper-grace teaching can not comprehend that you will not participate in their drinking and Halloween parties, masked under the name “harvest parties.”

To such people, you are under a religious spirit. But when the true legalist observes your behavior, you are declared to be a lawless child in danger of the gates of hell.

Living a life of holiness by the Holy Spirit will offend all people. This is because we are all growing, and the current degree of Holiness the Spirit has you walking in will always seem inferior to someone else’s eyes.

As an example, here is part of a communication between the Lord and me that happened not long ago.

Now, please don’t read into this that we ignore the actions of people, especially in leadership. Leaders who are in rebellion, who deceive with intent, who secretly embody Proverbs 6:16-19, these should be called out. I am speaking about the average Christian who is in the process of maturity.

The Moment of Offense.

But what about offense when it happens to you? This is when we must not cast it to the side but examine it carefully. For in that moment could possibly be a pearl of truth hidden under the gunk of our soul. One question that should be asked: Is this offense cultural or scriptural? In my 40-plus years as a Christian, I’ve seen several people offended at things they ASSUMED were scriptural.

When the moment happens to you, and you carefully examine it. Does this mean that you must agree with the person’s point of view? The accusation could be complete gibberish, or it might have shreds of truth to learn from, so walk carefully. A quick question to ask is, is this something that is offending your flesh, and therefore masquerading as the Holy Spirit, or is it really the Holy Spirit within you? How you answer that question will determine your next steps.

If you have been redeemed by the Blood of Christ, then you are no longer alone. There are now two of you living in one body of flesh. There is the old you, and now there is the new you, and they are at war with each other. One pulls left, the other right. One seeks the old ways while the other whispers hope from a world we have not seen yet. This is the mystery of the ages Paul spoke of.

This mystery is the drop of Holy Royalty now living in you. As a result, the new within you desires a home, not of this world. That part of you that is never satisfied with the things of this world because.

You know there is something better waiting for you. It is that “tug” you feel in your spirit that moves you forward and creates a trickle of hope in your life for the people around you who are yet to wake up. So, if the offense is offending the Holy Spirit within you, then let me be blunt… what is your Royal responsibility at this moment? (1)

Does the moment require a word or an action? I am saying, do not make a whip and drive people away if the moment requires you to speak with care to the broken heart before you. And don’t use words when you need to break something and let people (and the spiritual realm) know you will not participate.

But if the offense offends you, not the Holy Spirit, well… then you have a decision to make. Is your sense of culture, life, or personal value in need of correction, or do you just need to walk away? I have had to walk away from conversations and things. I’m sure some people will not understand why I did, but that’s fine; they’re not my God.

Culture

I have lived in several areas of the United States now; I can tell you every culture has its good and bad aspects. This often reflects in how people dress, act, and think towards each other. Over the years, I have known people who have had a more “Victorian” mindset on what is offensive. That mindset was for a past era, and if these same people realised how some of our own brothers and sisters dressed in the first century, I’m sure that might offend them as well.

The reality is that culture is fluid. When it flows slowly over the decades and centuries, it and people have time to adjust and make corrections in a healthy way. When it’s pushed on people like a flood, some embrace the wave, destroying themselves, and others try to fight the wave. Because of this, Culture changes values, and a generation can feel lost in the flow. ALL generations experience this to some degree, and over a large period of time, the presumption that can slip in can be deadly. So don’t assume your values are the same values they had in the first century or even a couple of hundred years ago.

Words of Life

At the end of all things, we want to walk and act like Jesus. Yes, I know many interpret that to look like healing and prophecy, but those are the flashy things. Flashy things are signs that draw, but they don’t always keep the people. In the book of John, Jesus had just offended everyone when he asked, “Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘Does this offend you?” John 6:61

After a little talking, Peter responded, “Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of Adonai.” John 6:68-69 That kind of stuff does not come from spiritual degrees you can hang on a wall or endless bible studies. It comes from hanging out in the presence of God (Adonai)

The presence of God brings a slow, steady change within our souls, laying the groundwork for a sound mind, AND IT WILL ALSO OFFEND PEOPLE. This is the steady work of the Holy Spirit that brings the evidence of a sound mind. With a sound mind, things are traded out, and offenses of the world start to mean little to us. It becomes a gift, a jewel of great price, to those who recognize what they now have.

What starts as an offense for us can lead us to greater depths of a sound mind if we allow the Holy Spirit to walk us through the process of going deeper in him. I know that may sound like an alien concept if you think your job is to use a whip and expose the darkness so that Justice may happen. But have you considered that by being faithful to God at this moment, he will bless you with a greater degree of Himself?

There is an old saying, “It is better to fall on the Rock and be broken than to have the rock fall on you and be crushed to powder.” The truth of Jesus offends all, and sometimes, he uses you to flip all the tables.

Well, from time to time, I guess it becomes necessary to do a post that demonstrates to your audience or confirms how crazy I might actually be. So if today’s topic gets you excited because someone is finally talking on this subject, well then, please add your comments below. I would like to know. If not, if you think I’m a couple of fries short of a happy meal, well, join the club.

If you’ve been reading this Substack blog for a while, then you most likely have a certain impression about me. Well, let me add this, I sometimes spend my time researching and reading on various topics like archeology, theology, history, and certain space and technology topics.

A chunk of that, especially the archeology and theology, is actually published academic papers from other researchers and professors. I kind of like to stay current. I do this because I have some crazy, internal need to look for patterns and trends.

A trend is a general direction in which something is developing or changing. And a spiritual trend has non-human forces behind elements that cause things to develop. A great modern-day example that many in the Christian body now understand is God moving to expose the corruption in his family, to get them free.

A New Trend

One of the things I believe I am seeing happening right now is God bringing to the surface scripture itself and things that may be missing or altered. I know the long-standing mantra in the Christian world is that it is complete and perfect. But if that is the case, then why do so many argue over things that many feel have been removed or altered?

Some of the conversation I am seeing on social media is obviously demonic, an attempt by darkness to confuse, pollute, and water down Jesus himself. I think anyone with a decent understanding of scripture and Jesus’s mission on earth can see the fake, so that’s not what I am speaking about today.

There are modern theologians who fully understand that there are parts of scripture that show possible alterations. And some of these have concerns that in our rush to create the canon of scripture, all those long centuries ago. We might have left a few key parts out for political and not religious reasons.

The trend I think I am seeing is the Lord pushing the topic of the Book of Enoch to the surface in such a way that it can not be ignored. Now, first off, due to Substack’s post length, I can not include all the information to make my point, and there are valuable rabbit trails to pursue. So this post will be a bit “narrow” and not as wide as it could be.

Have you noticed on social media all the comments and product offers concerning Enoch and other possible “lost books”? Have you noticed the people who are sometimes quoting from it? Also, if you follow all the news coming out of the white house, political side comments, and congressional investigations concerning UAPs, Alien technology, and medical advancements, does some of it seem odd, almost like things are getting pushed forward without someone explaining why? And doesn’t it seem odd that all of this is taking place now, when there is so much potential change taking place within the Body?

What if I told you they are all connected? At least, I believe they are.

For a few thousand years, all the theologians accepted the Book of Enoch as scripture. Jesus quoted it; his followers also quoted it. The book of Jude even references it. If you know what you’re looking for, and you have read it. You will find traces of it all over the New Testament, like seasoning in the writings of Paul and Peter. The reality is, the Book of Enoch is not just a document sitting off to the side. I believe it has been woven into the foundational architecture of the New Testament itself. It wasn’t until Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea that this book was suddenly kicked out. So how is the Lord going to force this issue?

Even though Enoch is pre-flood, much of it hints or speaks directly of the end time that is slowly drawing closer to us. Do you remember Jesus’ words when he said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37 I believe this could be a direct reference to the Book of Enoch itself, as his audience would have known those scriptures and the implications he was drawing.

Noah and Enoch knew each other. Studying the pre-flood world can give us direct clues not only to the return of our King, but also to the condition of the world itself. And this end-times book, which was “lost,” has been stored and used as everyday scripture by the Ethiopian church; they had it all along.

This information is not new; it is well known in many academic circles. What is new, I believe, is that the Holy Spirit is pushing the issue to the surface of what is coming on the earth, through the subject of Nephilim and by extension the Book of Enoch as well.

What are they and why?

The basic word, Nephilim, means fallen ones. Let me give you a very quick breakdown with quotes from a theological paper written by Craig Bradley, the founder and director of AO Labs, a theological publishing and think tank ministry. These are taken from his paper “Textual Witness of Nephilim Origins Before and After the Flood,” March 2026

The Hebrew of the phrase “Sons of God” is “elohim,” implying divine or semi-divine origin. This word should be compared to the name of Enosh, a son of Seth, whose name directly translates to “Human,” implying frail, powerless.

In other words, when these non-human sons came to the daughters of men and had children with them. These Nephilim (fallen ones) were not of human fathers. These were the giants of old, powerful and evil.

For thousands of years, this WAS the accepted teaching by all theologians.

This fact is also agreed upon by early New Testament writers,

So the origin of this sub-hybrid race has been clearly established over the centuries. It was not until Julius Africanus (160-240 AD) that a new theory was proposed. Although Africanus did not support this theory, he offered it as a secondary possibility that they were completely human, good warriors, and were the sons of Seth. Later, it was Augustine who picked up this theory and ran with it.

So it was not theologians who knew scripture who removed the Book of Enoch, but it was a political ruler (with a documented history of hating the Jews) who removed it.

How is this an issue for today?

Because Gen 6:4a says, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward…” And Numbers 13:33 makes it very clear they still existed after the flood. Then, because this fact is established, the following excerpt from Craig Bradley should be considered.

In his conclusions. Craig Bradley says on page 3, paragraph 3b,

To boil this down, what this means is that there is a biblical principle that if this happened in the past, it can happen at any time, including now. This adds new weight to Jesus’s warning, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37. Meaning, the sinful patterns of the past can be repeated and recreated in our age.

In many places of the non-Christian world, dating back a few thousand years. There is the occult concept of the incubus and succubus spirits. Demonic spirits who visit men and women in the night, bringing nightmares, demonic visitations, and yes, these spirits force sexual relations with their victims. These unions sometimes create offspring that the demons take away. In the UFO/UAP world, these visitations are often filed under the topic of abductions.

It is interesting to note that some of the top researchers, looking over decades of data, have noticed a strong pattern that “aliens” do not abduct Christians; in fact, many seem to hate Christians. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Vice President JD Vance is on record saying, “I don’t think they’re aliens, I think they’re demons.”

But the picture is bigger than that.

The occult has a lot of powerful world leaders and owners of the biggest corporations on its side. I do believe the Q & the MAGA movement have proven that over and over. These dark forces serve the darkest demons, and just like (if you read the Book of Enoch & Jubilees ) in the days of Noah, when the human race was getting polluted with non-human DNA. It is the modern dark goal to do the same, because these offspring can not be saved by the blood of Jesus. Do you see where I am going?

If the human race can be destroyed within as well as without, then the devil would consider this a win. His goal is to keep as many souls as he can from entering heaven by internally corrupting the DNA of man.

Right now, in various corners of our world. The subject of full disclosure in the Alien/UAP world is growing. Currently, you have two camps of thought.

1. The first camp is connected to Steven M. Greer, who is connected to the Rothschilds (one of the many satanic families). He is saying that the aliens coming to Earth is a good thing and that they will enlighten us with new knowledge (Revelation 2:24). This camp employs New Age as well as Buddhist wordage. This camp is highly popular and has a lot of money to push its doctrine. This camp funds the TV shows and “documentaries” on the subject to control the thinking.

2. The second camp is way smaller. It is generally self-funded, gets very little airtime, and has a handful of Christians within it doing research. Because of their chosen topics, people like L.A. Marzulli, Timothy Alberino, and David Paulides almost never get recognised for the work they do. Nor are you going to find them on the list of guest speakers at a Christian conference because no pastor will want to offend the people who pay the bills.

The Body of the Lord is going through major deconstruction and reconstruction back to a better, biblical foundation. I believe the Lord is making sure, through unavoidable topics, that when the time comes, we are not caught unaware of all the devil’s schemes. To do this, He is going to restore all things, including any part of His word that is missing or has been added to.

Perhaps, there are more things out there than we know, and He wants us ready for it.

My apologies, the video post I had here, I have pulled. After a comment from Patrick Frost, I did a little digging and discovered that the original post by @InterstellarUAP on the X platform is a misleading repost of an older Marco Rubio clip from ~2023. concerning the “drones” -- RF

There is a Pastor in Texas who often uses the phrase, “Going to kill some sacred cows.” The phrase often gets used whenever he is bringing truth to cultural or religious beliefs that seem biblical, but are not.

So today I don’t have a single themed post, but one that is a collection of various topics and generally cool facts. Let’s go.

What are we?🤔

The traditional response is, “The Church.” This is a fairly large topic, especially depending on what Christian flavor you come from. So I will only be dealing with part of the topic, but a big part. In today’s world, where clergy abuse and heavy-handed leadership exist, is the argument is that all authority belongs in the church because the church is the kingdom of God. This statement is then twisted into various forms so that it is seen as evil and sinful to question the authority structure and actions within the Church.

But here is the reality: the church is NOT the kingdom of God. It is a by-product of the Kingdom, and it MAY contain kingdom elements within its walls and services. But the Kingdom of God, like God himself, is often unpredictable and wild.

As a by-product, the organization serves multiple purposes for the benefit of the followers of Jesus, both present and yet to come. It is the people who ARE the ministry in action, who do the works of the Kingdom, NOT the organizational system.

Leadership models that fail to comprehend this will always lean towards a top-down authority structure as their biblical reason why you must follow “their rules.” I will answer this error in the next part.

Leadership

Jesus set the pattern for everything. By abolishing the old system, he created a new one where the relationship becomes key to everything. No longer did you know God from a distance, but up close and personal. The veil was ripped, and we can get as close as we want; there is NO priest, old Saint, or dog and pony system🐩🎠 to work through, it’s all gone.

This is the pattern Jesus laid down for his followers to follow, and a model for all generations. What that means is, if someone claims a title. Well, it does not mean much without a relationship. Or, let me say it another way, “This or that person has no voice in you unless you know them.” Does that sound radical? Let’s take a look at a strange statement from the Apostle Paul.

“Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 1 Cor 9:2 Paul wrote this in his defence as an Apostle. But there are a couple of things to notice here.

#1 There were people who did not acknowledge him as an Apostle.

#2 Paul did not rebuke those people and demand that they follow him.😱

Jesus did the same thing when he called his followers. He offered, he did not demand. What this means is that following certain leaders comes down to you. It is up to you to open your eyes and determine the integrity, wisdom, and godly characteristics. Blind following for any other reason is dangerous.

Godly Nature

Yep, this is the spot where everyone fails. However, there is a big difference between trying to live a godly life and pretending. I’ve heard a few people over the years say, “I will never trust a leader who does not have a limp!” Leaders who walk with a limp are more aware of their personal need for repentance and the blood of Jesus. Leaders who pretend perfection unknowingly turn themselves into idols and thouse that follow, spiritually adopt the same bad behavior. Because perfect only makes you crazy, unstable, and just plain weird.

The reality is, we have had so few believers demonstrate a Godly Nature that we don’t know what it looks like when it shows up, so we walk away. Here is a quote from a now-famous song by Todd Agnew called “My Jesus” to think about.

“Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church, the blood and dirt on his feet might stain the carpet. But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud, I think He’d prefer Beale ST. to the stained glass crowd.” Todd Agnew “My Jesus.”

You see, it’s not about what a leader takes from the room, but what he adds. Does he bring Joy to the room? How about Righteousness when he comes in? Or does he bring Peace with him? And did you know he can do that with very few words? (Romans 14:17)

The Two Witnesses

Did you know that there are thousands of Christian denominations and movements in the world, and they all think everyone else’s understanding of scripture is not right? Did you know that two thousand years ago, when Jesus came, all the top religious leaders misunderstood his coming? If the top guys, who memorized whole books of the Bible, got it wrong, what makes us think we will do better today?

A good note: when you disrupt people’s personal theology, they’re going to get angry. I listened to one guy who was asked to speak at a seminary in the early 1990s. He literally got bruises from Bibles hitting him. However, once the anger fades, some wise up and see the error of their own thinking, but some don’t.

The two witnesses will speak for three and a half years in the religious capital of the world. How many Christian pastors do you think will challenge them for offending their doctrine? How many will demand that they (the witnesses) follow them because of their self-proclaimed Apostolic position? How many will get burned? Revelation 11:5.🌩️

These guys are coming to correct EVERYONE’s theology, because I would submit that if the Lord feels he needs to send them, then there is a big problem on Earth with His People.

Kingdom CON fusion

I assume everyone knows what a con man is. This could be any snake oil salesman or politician trying to get something out of you in nefarious ways. Well, kindom CON fusion is the ability to break down and destroy the fusion of love and trust in the body. One area where this is taking place, in a big way, is over the issue of power and character. A LOT of people are confusing the power as evidence of a godly life, it’s not. A lot of things in the spiritual world have power; a demon could technically heal you. But that does not make the demon holy. Jesus commands us to judge by the fruit of the tree, not the tree itself.

In defending people like Shawn Bolz, I have heard people say that “Shawn must be a godly man because I got healed at his meetings.” Really? Do you not know how healing works? Did you not know that biblically it could have been YOUR FAITH that got you healed?

1. The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:34),

2. Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:52)

3. The thankful leper (Luke 17:19)

Sometimes miracles happen in a place simply because the desire is so great in the room, it pulls on the Lord’s heart. In that case, it becomes a sovereign action between you and him. Not the room, speaker, or music, they DO NOT have the power to do anything.

Don’t elevate the fallen out of a misguided understanding of healing or grace. The Lord can deal with them; you just need to thank Jesus for the healing.

Something Fun to Think About

So I got thinking about the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven in the book of Revelation. For the fun of it, I asked Grok, the AI program, a few questions. “What will this look like, and what will be the effect on Earth?”

It answered this question with two answers: Jerusalem resting on the earth and hovering just above it. It gave me a LOT of technical information that I will avoid, so I will just give you the summary.

Hovering Above

It is described as a large golden cube and a foundation of precious stones of approximately 1400 miles on each side. The reflectivity of all that gold sitting high would produce sunlight on the dark side of the Earth. Whenever the earth rotated to night, a golden glow would take over, and it would never get fully dark. During the day, when the sunlight strikes the foundation, a two-hundred-mile-wide rainbow of colors would be seen in the sky, in the direction of the cube.

All this extra light, shifted into various color spectrums (depending on location), would affect plantlife and possible migration paths of local wildlife. Part of this would happen because the extra sunlight would help to regulate the temperature; possibly, with no ice caps, Antarctica would be ice-free.

Also, that big a surface of reflective Gold would be seen a long way out into space. It would be obvious from anywhere in the inner solar system. And it could be mistaken as a tiny sun by any neighboring star systems looking through a telescope.

Resting On the Earth

This is where it gets dangerous, so unless the power of god performs a miracle to keep us all safe, I think it will NOT be resting on the earth.

If resting, then it would be attached. That much Gold in one location would cause the Earth to start to wobble. This wobble effect would start becoming a real problem in a couple of hundred years, as the general rotation around the sun would be affected, which would in turn affect the rotation of the next closest planets.

The air patterns of the earth would all changed. Our atmosphere is thin, and only a small portion of the cube would actually be in the atmosphere. Extream airpressure would take place along its sides as the air pushed to get around the cube. The result would be a horrific, permanent storm behind the cube where nothing can live. An undending hurricane, measured in perhaps 400+ mile perhour speeds.

Because the length of the day (from the wobble) would change, wind speed increases. Deserts and tropical forests would be created in places that do not have them now. In effect, a major portion of the Earth would be uninhabitable.

So, I’m voting for hovering above the earth.

One More Fun Thing 😉

I have always considered this song from Amy Grant to be prophetic. Add your thoughts to the comment below.

Leave a comment

Well, we made it to the 200th Post. A lot has happened since the 100th post, “The Good, The Bad, and the Unqualified.” That was the official start of the deep exposure of my former employer, even though I had hinted at issues before this for some time, with posts like this: “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

The 100th was the first really big post that exploded with hundreds and hundreds of views. I wish every post had at least those kinds of numbers… oh well.

Substack remains my platform of choice, even though it has some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. It has grown, added new features, and generally, I have never had a complaint from a reader about not getting the posts they subscribed to. That’s better than WordPress or other places I have tried.

It also came along at a good time, at least for me. The failed magazine that a couple of us were trying to do ended. As well as my old WordPress blog site got hacked, and I was locked out. Tried to work with WordPress management, but that was totally fruitless.

Radio Show

The Legacy Continuum radio show that I was working on is at a full stop right now for several reasons.

• It required massive amounts of time.

• The viewership numbers could not justify the effort put in.

• Changes within one of the key programs I used forced me to go in a competely directions I did not like.

• The end result was a clunky product that seriously needed more hands, time, and effort to create a better product.

But like the magazine we attempted for 2.5 years, I still acquired skills that I may put to use in the future.

Top Ten Posts - So Far

1. Welcome to the Shunem Foundation *

2. The Good, The Bad, and the Unqualified *

3. A Chasing after the Wind

4. Icabod *

5. How Much Mud is too Much Mud? *

6. Checkmate *

7. News: The Current State of Things

8. The Prophetic Ministry

9. Icabod 5 *

10. Devastate

Big News, at least for me.

Also, I’ve had it suggested that the name of my Substack blog is too generic and that it should be changed. I’ve pondered this. I was also told that “You have a consistent, grounded approach that fills a gap, as many deconstruction voices swing too far one way or the other.” And that my “Weathered Wanderer & The Ancient Path” posts are central to my theme. So, upon recommendation, I will be changing the name of this blog to “The Weathered Wanderer,” starting next week.

MorningStar Review: A Pattern of Decline and Unresolved Issues

Since most of my recent top posts center on MorningStar Ministries, some directly, others indirectly. Here’s an overview for those new to the topic or seeking clarity.

I initially planned to stay silent about my time there, like many others (e.g., John Mark McMillan). But the Lord confronted me with one question: What is the legal definition of ‘complicit’? That question made silence impossible and signaled impending legal reckoning, so I waited for the right moment.

Even after leaving for Wyoming, credible information kept flooding in from multiple sources—sometimes three people in a single day. After a period of time, I realized I needed to get away, too much information, and I needed healing. So I took some advice given to me, dropped everything, and relocated to Idaho to shut it off, but the revelations continue, just through other channels. I began posting subtle hints (e.g., “The Emperor’s New Clothes”).

Soon after, I received a veiled “watch your back” warning from an East Coast contact. I dismissed it—until a strange visitor appeared at the group I was leading in Idaho, asking pointed questions about MorningStar. My wife later recognized her as one of Julie Joyner’s close friends from the ministry. This made my eyes open a bit as I was on the other side of the continent from them. When I reached back to the person who warned me, I was told, “You know Rick keeps tabs on all his former employees who know things.”

Then key events have started to unfold:

• April 26, 2023: Safety Coordinator Nate DeGrandpre reports sexual misconduct allegations involving Erickson Lee to York County Sheriff’s Office.

• May 2, 2024: Lee turns himself in.

• September 3, 2024: Chris Reed (MorningStar President/CEO) steps down; he releases a video a week later.

• September 16, 2024: York County holds a news conference on related lawsuits.

• 2024 onward: Victim videos emerge detailing past and present abuses. Chris Reed responds with attacks on critics (e.g., Justin Perry), possibly deflecting from ties to his connections with Mike Bickle and other scandals.

1. Older prophetic warnings resurfaced: Jeremiah Johnson’s (another minister in trouble) 2018 word on Rick Joyner operating in the spirit of Eli.

2. Rick Wiles’ 2017 Knights of Malta interview. Click below to listen

3. David Wilkerson’s 1986 prophetic declaration that the tower would never be completed. Click the image below to read the full version.

Social media pressure mounted from former students/staff, as the newly formed MorningStar Accountability Now gathered over 600 signatures demanding Rick Joyner’s resignation.

I then posted my own research (”Welcome to the Shunem Foundation”), highlighting financial questions. Insiders then reported to me board tensions, dropping donations, and serious financial strain (Rick then attempts to sell CSCL and other properties)

Concerns about Rick’s growing mental health issues, anger, drinking, and vindictive actions toward staff/elders (e.g., Tom Hardiman, Al Wood) continue to grow.

An old 1986 newspaper report surfaced via another researcher, Jason Healey (click the image below to read it).

~On February 20, 2025, Rick becomes more and more fixated on Todd Bentley and tries to bring him back. Rumors fly at both churches, and no one knows what Rick’s next steps are concerning Todd.

~February 21, 2025 - closed board meeting. Rick attempts to bring Chris Reed back into the ministry, and the board shuts him down.

~Justin Perry then does a video with the minor prophets, stating that Rick Joyner is lying and feigning ignorance. More people leave the ministry, including key positions.

Various bits of intel in no particular order.

• I then heard that fear is growing among residents as Rick publicly chastised critics of Todd Bentley or Julie Roys listeners. CSCL was then rebranded “Kingdom Leadership Academy” to distance itself from legal issues.

• In early 2025, Rick explored new hotel plans in Moravian Falls (possibly anticipating losing Fort Mill). He then clashed with West Meadows HOA over the use of the Welcome Center.

• He is fixated on reinstating Bentley (despite board resistance and staff departures), and he apparently lied to people concerning upcoming conference shutdowns.

• I asked my insiders for a description of the atmosphere of Morningstar in May 2025: “lifeless,” “dead,” “expecting more layoffs,” ”pointless,” “trudging through the mud.” I am also told that several mid-management leaders are simply waiting for Rick to fall so that they can “assume” leadership.

Recent Developments:

• Rumor exists that Rick signed a contract with York County to tear down the tower. I researched, and the truth is, he signed an agreement in 2024 to secure permits and proof of financing in 18 months. If they fail, they are then given nine months to tear the building down. If that fails, the county will do it and give Rick the bill. The clock is ticking, and he is closing in on the final deadline as we speak. Rick needs money; he’s tried to sell everything, including Heritage, but God has been keeping the doors closed. I also believe the Lord is forcing the board to make a decision.

• Merger talks between the Moravian Falls church and another church have stalled due to distrust created by Rick.

• Reports of internal hostility are linked to Julie Joyner’s comments to various residents and staff.

• A forthcoming tell-all book is coming out by New York Times reporter Lauren Sandler (tentatively “American Prophecy,” expected September) draws from interviews with Rick’s Kids—Rick is reportedly furious after seeing the rough drafts. (Click on the image below for more information) I am personally thinking this WILL be a HARD hit to the ministry.

Much of what you just read may sound like speculation, but many of the sources I consider to be trustworthy. This update demonstrates a pattern of accountability failures, financial desperation, and unaddressed issues. The ministry appears to be in steep decline, with a possible expiration date hanging over its head. It would seem God is preventing an easy exit for Rick.

Since it would appear that Middle Management is playing by its own rules, I believe the only true correction for this mess must come from the board.

State of the Body

The current state of the Charismatic Body of Christ is at an all-time low. Now, believe it or not, that can be a good thing. Without rehashing on this post what I said in an earlier post. I suggest clicking here to read “A Pure and Spotless Bride.”

The World

Not everyone has learned the lessons of the cultural fear program called COVID. What you see going on is another wave of fear programming that they are using to cause polarization. This is being done through trigger words like End-Times, WW3, Armageddon, and more.

The truth is, we are in the middle of a worldwide reset, so don’t worry, WW3 has been canceled for lack of participation and interest.

Here is the list of Nations currently undergoing reset.

• Cuba - Process started.

• Venezuela - Major road block removed, moving carefully.

• Iran - Stomping the dragon, dying fast, the new government under Reza Pahlavi is in the early stages of forming. Old is not expected to last long.

• Iraq - Almost stable, but still struggling on two fronts. #1 Powerful Iranian families are being rooted out. #2 The strongly tribal thinking and loyalty above national interests are a problem, and must be dealt with.

• Canada - Currently, it is being forced to wake up to the reality of just how much evil has been hidden in their liberal system. The health care system, which was claimed to be the best, is responsible for many deaths. And the freedoms they thought they had turned out to be an illusion. It has now been discovered that China has troops in the northern parts of Canada protecting oil-rich areas. Canada’s prime minister has not only signed over much of its sovereignty to China, but there are reports of door-to-door gun confiscation in some areas.

Alberta is currently leading the pack to separate, and the mindset to join the US is still growing. With three other provinces closely following behind. Canada will fight hard to keep BC as a future landing zone for the Chinese. All this WILL force a US military force to move north for our own protection.

• England - Push back against this Islamic stronghold is growing. And in places, some people have almost died doing so. People are realizing that the crown will not only ignore their calls for help, but they have mostly been the architects behind this plan all along. Is this the end of the Royal family, and will it be replaced with a true republic?

• Italy, Norway, and possibly others - In these countries, government support to push back against Islamic takeover is growing, laws are getting passed, and Sharia law is getting crushed. The same evil that Iran has been fighting against is what Europe is now struggling with.

Around 42 years ago, after High School, I became a Christian. At this point, my entire knowledge of Christian things was extremely limited. In fact, it was pretty close to zero. I did not know because I was not raised to be a Christian, culturally, intellectually, or spiritually; I just had no contact with that world.

So when the change happened, I eventually ended up in a Baptist church that wanted to shove me into their youth group program, and I said no. This was for two reasons: one, I did not consider myself to be a “youth,” and I wanted adult teaching and education. The second was that I knew who was in that youth group; I had partied with them. SO I knew they were not serious.

In time, a person I knew bought me a bible, it was a King James bible that I quickly discovered was unreadable due to its strange language. I soon acquired from the pastor an NIV, and then the world started to open up. However, I was still struggling. Eventually, an elder asked me how I was doing in my bible reading. I told him it was better, but there was much I did not understand. He dug deeper, and then he asked, “Well, what book of the bible are you trying to read?”

“Ah, Ezekiel,” I answered.

Astonished, “Ezekiel, why would you do that. That’s like one of the hardest books to understand.”

“I did not know where to start, so I just flung it open and found a book with a cool name,” I answered.

“Why don’t you just start with something simple, easy to understand, like Proverbs?” The Elder offered, so I did.

To me, Proverbs was kind of like an instruction book, so every time it said something like seek wisdom, pray for wisdom (and it does it a lot), that’s what I would ask for. So for the first few months and perhaps a couple of years. Praying for wisdom became like a foundational thing.

Communication

Over the years, after the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I have dug deeply into many aspects of Christianity, and I have noticed a few things. Issues that are assumed, but not defined. Presumptions that are regarded as fact or cultural doctrine that’s not necessarily scriptural. Let me give you some examples. At one point, I got sucked into an online argument between Protestants and Catholics. I should have just walked away.

One Catholic guy was just hammering down his points, throwing out pointless terminology to the digital world to convince us of his point.

I stopped, thought about it for a moment, and answered back. “The problem is greater than you think. In your choice to defend your position, you are using Catholic terminology that 99% of us Protestants need to look up in a dictionary. Then you layer onto this the confusion of Papal orders, and dogma that no one outside of your world has any knowledge of. In effect, your communication becomes unreadable, so we just click away, clueless to your words.”

The Catholic world is not the only place where severe communication issues exist. Many Non-Chrismatics generally keep away from Charismatics because of communication issues. I have known several whose background includes Baptist, Lutheran, and local fundamental community churches. Common Charismatic terminology, although understood mostly on the surface, can create a blank stare in the faces of other Christians. As an example, I was speaking to one young woman and used the word “intercession.”

Having grown up in a church and sat through many sermons, this word was almost meaningless to her. Confused, her only point of reference was the concept that Jesus lived to make intercession for the saints. But still, she had no idea that prayer was anything beyond the Lord’s Prayer or the occasional “help me.” As a result, my words were generally alien to her mind and automatically rejected.

Other words that can trip non-Charismatics up would include biblical terms like Prophetic or Prophetic word, Apostolic mantel, soaking in the presence, Kingdom values, redeeming objects or time, as well as teaching on The Seven Spirits of God, the restoration of all things, and more. In effect, our messages become unreadable to the larger body because non-charismatics have had no ongoing exposure to such biblical wordage.

The Solution

The Solution is not to dumb things down or to be so arrogant as to say “just get up to speed.”

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22.

It is we who must adapt, change our words, even if it’s less accurate. This is the road to personal maturity that the Apostle Paul learned. To the Jews, he spoke like a Jew; to the Greeks, he did the same. To the broken by the side of the road, his actions did not change.

Basically, you interact with people at the place they are at, low, poor, or high. Jesus had no problem talking with the woman at the well in a way she could understand. Or talking with Nicodemus at his educated level.

If it takes you a hundred paragraphs to talk to God or his people, with what could be said with a few, then you need to relearn. Ecclesiastes 5:2.

Let me say something that might offend some people. If you feel the need to fill the atmosphere in a room with your words over and over again. Not only do I see this as a sign of imaturity, but a lack of trusting God as well.

Learn to REST in the fact that the words given will not return void, but will mature at the right time. What good is it to beat a person or God with your words? This is the act of letting go so that the Lord may move on things, for if you keep your fingers enclosed tightly around a subject, then where is the trust?

Our attitudes and feelings of spiritual superiority that we sometimes acquire can become like a wall of resistance to keep people away from Jesus. When walls like these are in place, the Lost, Hurt, and Lonely only continue to feel more rejected and disconnected from the source of Life that you’re dangling in front of them like a carrot.

Seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for the rebuilding of your communication skills may require walking more deeply in the gift of Compassion. This is because Compassion can break your heart and help in the process of remolding it with greater levels of Grace.

We are often (in Charismatic circles) taught to chase after certain giftings like the Prophetic. But we forget that the same author who said this also made it clear that all this is pointless without Love. Love and Compassion are interconnected, and we should spend time seeking a greater spiritual depth to such gifting so God’s efforts through us are not wasted.

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There is coming a point, and I think most people who have a reasonable understanding of scripture, ethics, and our history understand this. That something needs to happen, something powerful and meaningful within the Christian Charismatic community.

Now, before I start talking about it, I want you to wait for a moment as I step back in time and add the context. Because a lack of context for a subject is like a house without order, and everything gets to run rampant without consequences.

The Charismatic move of God has equipped believers to walk in power and boldness. Yet decades of unchecked excesses, untested prophecies, platform-centered celebrity, hypergrace without transformation, and a neglect of justice for the poor have eroded trust, produced large-scale wounded believers, and left the broader church questioning our maturity and validity.

For many decades and perhaps a century or two, the religious swamp has done as it pleased. Victims were silenced in the shadows through culture, innuendo, or mental reprogramming. Those few who chose not the silence were quickly labeled as backslidden, rebellious, or an accuser of the brethren.

By the early 1900s, the spiritual effects of the Victorian Age were being felt in the seminary. The changes seemed small as various pet theories of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries rose up, finding footholds in seminaries. This included, but was not limited to, Christian Fundamentalism, Cessationism, and Replacement Theology.

River of Death

But with the popularization of the occult under the cloak of “spiritualism” at the start of the 20th century, people started embracing and tolerating demonic visitations in social gatherings in the 1920s.

After the big revivals of street preachers like Billy Sunday. The great wars ended, and wolves like William Branham entered the picture. There is much and growing evidence of his family’s connection to the mob, occult, hard alcohol distribution, gambling, and extortion. This is a man who led a double life, and apparently taught other ministers to live the same way.

Scripture paints a fairly clear picture that the sins of the father can be punished as far as the third and fourth generation, Exodus 20:5 and Exodus 34:7. This is because what one generation lays down as a pattern, the following generation often follows as fact. Therefore, the roots of today’s errors and sins were planted in Charismatic leadership that was established many decades ago.

William Branham’s primary mentors and general influences in his early years seem to have come from two men, Franklin Hall and Roy E. Davis. From these, Branham was mentored in Egyptian mysticism, the signs of the Zodiac, Clairvoyance, Masonic symbolism, as well as the transfer of pyramid energy through the laying on of hands. From them, he acquired an “Angelic” spirit guide that seemed to assist him in healings and his prophetic messages.

Starting out with his first meetings in Masonic Halls, Branham’s gatherings grew to larger venues. Becoming the “father” of the post-WWII Healing Revivals. He laid out the doctrinal foundation for much of the mindset for the modern Charismatic movement through his model of unchecked prophetic authority. Pioneering a “higher level” of supernatural discernment that he claimed superseded scripture, he soon declared himself into the role of the end-time prophet Elijah.

Through his self-serving teachings, he established a charismatic authority base that became a license for the exploitation of the flock. This is evident not only from the numerous testimonies of survivors but also from the fruit of the lives of his direct disciples, Jim Jones and Leo Mercer.

• Jim Jones - Cult leader, mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Orchestrated a mass murder–suicide that resulted in the deaths of over 900 people.

• Leo Mercer - Cult leader and Christian minister who led a commune in Arizona. Mercer enforced and taught his followers to sexually abuse not only each other but also children in horrific ways. Much of this was backed by “visions” that led him to beat and torture people for their sins.

It is now known through the testimonies about Branham that he used homosexuality, prophetic words, and manipulation tactics to fracture the thinking patterns of the leaders he trained. This tactic of breaking the mind and rebuilding it is common in the occult and various government mind control programs. These men then moved forward in ministry, spreading spiritual death disguised as life.

The dark foundation he created seemed to have influenced other ministers. This foundation became the platform for the growth of personal wealth and influence. Becoming exactly what the Lord condemned through the prophet Ezekiel: “Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? … You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured… You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd…” (Ezekiel 34:2-5). God has always judged leaders who exploit the sheep while living double lives.

The waterfall effect of this corrupted spiritual teaching was absorbed and, to some degree, emulated in later movements like the Shepherding movement. Started by Ern Baxter, who was Branhams’ campaign manager. Names like Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Don Basham, and Charles Simpson facilitated a top-down, heavy-handed approach that became a pre-shadow of today’s high-control religious environments. From this, various biblical concepts became weaponised, like spiritual covering, discipleship, and submission to authority.

Growing in the dark, these acts and intentions influenced generation after generation. It is in my opinion that this directly infected, like a disease, the fall of Jim Bakker, who had personal issues long before he was arrested, and Falwell, as well as others.

But the Body of the Lord was not ready to listen to what was happening; we were still asleep in our pews, mesmerized by the show, and the show must go on. So we assumed these were isolated events, not realizing the whole system was corrupt.

There was no better evidence of this than in the Todd Bentley fiasco. This bit of news and the events surrounding it gained very little traction with Christians. And the further away you lived from it, the less you knew. Even though Todd lost his ministry and Morningstar took a few hits, this storm did little.

The downstream effect is that, as the main “spiritual father” of the Charismatic movement, William Branham’s influence in today’s long parade of victims isn’t peripheral; it is the root architecture enabling these scandals.

Political - 1 Cor 15:46

But the Lord did something else, something politically. The exposure that needed to happen in the religious world, biblically, needed to happen in the physical world first, before the Spiritual. “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.” 1 Cor 15:46

I believe the Lord did this by turning up the heat in the political realm, exposing that swamp first. As many now understand, there was a military intelligence program called Q, or as some people called it, QAnon. Like, love, or hate it, this program got the ball rolling, and soon people started looking very closely at politicians, bankers, world leaders, rock stars, and more. Trump and the MAGA movement then added more momentum, and millions of eyes around the world started to open.

So, after COVID, many in Christianity were either awake or starting to stir when Mike Bickle got exposed. All the tactics of the religious swamp failed, and they failed in a big way to control it. Spiritual eyes were opening, and no one was willing to go back to sleep. Scripture tells us judgment must begin somewhere: ‘For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ 1 Peter 4:17. The political swamp was exposed first (natural), so the spiritual swamp could be cleansed next.

What started as a pebble of faith tossed into an ocean has now become a Tsunami, and it has not reached landfall yet. Yes, I mean what I say, we have not seen the full force yet.

What we have seen is the smaller ships, trying to seek safe harbor, getting destroyed at the edge of the coming wave. The seeds of this Tsunami have been watered for generations by the whispered prayers of the victims who lived in silence. The Lord has heard, and like the Israelites waiting 400 years in Egypt, freedom is coming.

A Call to Something Better

So, what is needed? What is the next step? When the Lord has broken the last of the old system, when the hearts have turned, and new, wiser pastors are needed to fill the void. It will be time to gather the few who are considered wise on the regional and national levels. Things need to be rebuilt, decisions need to be made, but with wisdom, integrity, and a sound mind. These people need to be living examples of the biblical qualifications for an elder. This group should also be a mix of various Christians from different Christian cultures. Yeah, we might have issues with understanding each other’s cultural points of view on topics. But perhaps that’s a good thing. Perhaps part of the reason for this mess is the extreme tunnel vision the Victorian Age created in the church.

It is recorded that Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless bride. “Paul makes this crystal clear, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27). Well, that does not exist right now; if anything, we are a very long way away from that reality. But at some point, repentance needs to happen, and we need to get back on the road. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Right now, we have a few faces and names that are slowly rising to the surface. These are people who have stood up for victims, exposed major cracks, and this is a good thing. But I feel like the Lord is cautioning us not to jump too quickly. I say this because it’s a normal thing for leaders to want to fix things as soon as possible. But I really don’t think we have seen all that the Lord wants us to see yet. So let’s walk this out carefully.

The Charismatic and Pentecostal movements have been among the most vibrant expressions of Christianity in modern history. Despite errors, scandals, and bad teaching, many have come to faith, as healings and deliverances have been documented. This has been fueled by a fresh hunger for the Holy Spirit that has spread globally. Therefore, there is much to redeem and a new foundation to lay. So a Summit on Charismatic Renewal should be assembled at some point.

Here is my suggested list of topics a Summit of leaders should address.

1. Establish Transparent Processes for Accountability and Correction of Leaders.

• Problem: Accusations against leaders are often dismissed, mishandled privately, or ignored, allowing sin to fester and trust to erode confidence.

• Biblical Principle: Scripture requires multiple witnesses for accusations against elders (1 Tim 5:19) and public rebuke for persistent sin to warn others (1 Tim 5:20). Matthew 18:15–17 provides a redemptive process, while James 3:1 reminds teachers they will be judged more strictly, and Hebrews 13:17 calls leaders to give account for souls.

• Proposal: Create a standing, diverse advisory board (rotating members from various regions, generations, and giftings) with transparent processes open to the body. This board would review serious accusations and national-level prophetic words yearly, making public recommendations (via written reports and social media) to local participating churches—always advisory, never overriding local autonomy or civil laws. Include an appeals process and annual summaries for accountability. Model after the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) for collective discernment.

• Expected Fruit: Leadership issues addressed, restored trust, warning to the body, and a culture where leaders exemplify humility rather than immunity.

2. Reexamine and Rebuild Healthy Charismatic/Pentecostal Teachings

• Problem: Decades of self-serving and demonically misleading theologies (e.g., weaponized concepts of faith, authority, or revelation) have damaged credibility.

• Biblical Principle: “Test the spirits” (1 John 4:1), weigh prophecies (1 Cor 14:29), reject what fails established criteria, and discern by fruit (Matt 7:15–20). Prophecy must edify, exhort, and comfort (1 Cor 14:3) while exalting Jesus.

• Proposal: The accountability board or a dedicated doctrinal review team should prayerfully develop and publish a testing grid that:

1. Aligns with the whole counsel of Scripture.

2. Exalts Jesus and produces holiness/love.

3. Confirmed by the mature community that has evidence of fruit.

4. Edifies the body while addressing any historically contentious areas

• Expected Fruit: Doctrinal clarity, reduced deception, public recognition of true and fake prophets, renewed confidence in genuine prophetic ministry.

3. Reprioritize Ministry in the Context of Biblical Gifting.

• Problem: Exaltation of leaders has turned ministry into entertainment, with platforms overshadowing the presence of God and equipping.

• Biblical Principle: Ephesians 4:11–13 gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip saints for works of service until maturity and unity. Gifts exist for the common good (1 Cor 12:7), and leaders serve rather than lord over people (Matt 20:25–28; John 13:1–17).

• Proposal: Shift metrics and mindsets away from attendance/viral impact to how many believers function in gifts. Five-fold leaders prioritize small-group equipping over public stages. Congregations learn to celebrate every-member ministry in homes and communities.

• Expected Fruit: Believers are no longer “tossed by every wind” that comes from the stage (Eph 4:14), authentic signs following obedient love.

4. Reprioritize the Ministry of All Believers.

• Problem: Corporate/pyramid models pressure conformity to leaders’ image, stifling individual identity and growth.

• Biblical Principle: Every believer is a royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:6 ), lacking nothing in Christ (Col 2:10). Mentors add wisdom and correct lies while walking alongside royal sons/daughters.

• Proposal: Replace top-down conformity with identity-based discipleship. Leaders function as wise companions, releasing the priesthood rather than replacing it.

• Expected Fruit: Accelerated maturity, reduced fear/doubt, vibrant body life where every part contributes, replaces “I am only a number” mindset with a valuable member of the Kingdom.

5. Reprioritize Ministry to the Poor as Central to Our Mission.

• Problem: Charismatics are often critiqued as “ungrounded.” This is because our zeal for gifts has outpaced our actions to the poor that facilitate grounding.

• Biblical Principle: Jesus declared His mission as good news to the poor (Isa 61:1; Luke 4:18–19). Paul urged remembering the poor (Gal 2:10); caring for them is pure religion (James 1:27) and proof of faith (James 2:15–16; Matt 25:31–46). The poor become our biblical testing ground for genuine power.

• Proposal: Require networks and churches to adopt measurable mercy initiatives (e.g., food distribution, orphan care, help for the homeless) as part of five-fold accountability. Gifts prove themselves in obedience to the marginalized.

• Expected Fruit: Grounded grassroots movement, deeper relationship with the Father, signs confirming compassionate mission.

6. Ensure Church Ministry Never Supersedes Internal Spiritual Growth

• Problem: Emphasis on gifting sometimes ignores inner spiritual transformation, fueled by hypergrace that excuses sin.

• Biblical Principle: Clean the inside first (Matt 23:25–26); grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness (Titus 2:11–12). Pursue holiness (Heb 12:14) and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23) as the true measure.

• Proposal: Prioritize discipleship tracks toward character, repentance, and inner healing before official public gifting recognition. Require mentoring on fruit alongside gift development. Example older, more mature prophets should teach younger prophets.

• Expected Fruit: Authentic power flowing from transformed hearts, reduced hypocrisy, credible witness.

These priorities are interconnected: the idea is that accountable leaders enable tested teaching, producing truth to flow forth; real truth releases and equips every believer who serves the poor; service to the poor grounds the movement in action; action flows from clean hearts. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

The fact is, we need something better than what we have. We’ve had the dog and pony show, the circus of fools, and the parade of the pretenders. But where are the real Apostles and Prophets? The ones who are supposed to be working in greater things? Has the Lord been holding all this back until we finally clean the house? “God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets…” 1 Corinthians 12:28.

With all the exposures and scandals that have taken place in Charismatic Christianity, with ministries like Morningstar, IHOP, Bethel Church in Redding, etc. All the titles of Apostles and Prophets are now in doubt. Because of all of this, Charismatic Christianity is now looking at long-term mental health issues for people who were a part of these systems and the systems connected to them. Are we ready to deal with this?

Outflow of the River.

Christianity is based today on the foundation of Jesus himself, and he outlined his mission in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The core wordage of Charismatic is Charismata, i.e., “Gifts of Grace.” As the earthly hands and feet of the Lord on earth, these gifts were given as tools for the continued expansion of the Kingdom. But in our modern age, many of the gifts have turned into titles that have turned cold, and in some cases, weaponised to control the flock.

As a movement whose intentions were to bring the “greater works” of the Lord to the people of Earth, we have most likely produced just as many wounded and destroyed lives as we have healed.

The outflow effect of RTS (Religious Trauma Syndrome), I believe, is a banner that covers a wide range of long-term issues that include, but are not limited to. PTSD, Chronic Anxiety, Depression from loss of community, Low self-worth, and loss of identity. These victims include not only the primary people who were present when the problem happened. But also what I call secondary victims who became aware of the issues or functioned as the support system, or even just read it online.

The patterns of abuse that started under Branham soon became predictable abuse cycles that have followed us into the 21st century. Many of these became repeatable cycles that are now found in what many have assumed were the present-day fathers of the Charismatic faith: Bill Johnson, Mike Bickel, and Rick Joyner, who have now released another generation into the Christian community, laboring under the same sickness.

Conclusion and Call to Action

It is in my opinion that those who are left carry the duty to gather and rebuild with a better, more solid biblical foundation. In saying this, I am reminded of two things.

1. The first words of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence say, “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve…” We must dissolve our old bonds to the corrupt system, put in place a divorce, if you will, in order to move forward.

2. A prophetic word that was given to me in a meeting in the 1980s. I was told by the person who said it that I would need to remember this word one day. It is, “God went to his football team and removed the first string, for they were rebellious. So he ordered the second string to the field. But they were also rebellious like the first. Away with them all, the Lord declared in his anger. So he went to the third string and warned them to do His will, and they got up.”

I believe we are the third string. This is our moment, Esther 4:14. “For if you keep silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

The promise of the Spotless Bride is a prophetic promise, a bride that He will summon. But let’s be honest, what we can hand Jesus right now is not very clean, and doesn’t the Lord GOD of Heaven and Earth deserve better?

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I grew up on John Wayne movies and Star Trek reruns. I still remember various famous quotes from Wayne, like, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” Which my wife has famously altered to “Courage is being scared to death, so do it scared.”

There is an episode of Star Trek from 1969 called “The Way to Eden.” That the Holy Spirit sometimes brings back to my mind as I look at this modern world.

In this episode, a group of people stole a ship in search of the mythical planet Eden so that they could return to a less advanced state of technology and live pure lives. The leader, Dr. Sevrin, was once a brilliant researcher but had now become infected with a disease that was created by technology. These people had enough of technology and were rebelling against it because they considered it to be dangerous and toxic to life.

I have thought about this episode over the years and wondered, “Is there coming a time when the safest thing for us to do is walk away from the technological world? I don’t have an answer for that, and to be honest, some days I would say no, other days yes.

A while back, I did a post called “Devastate.” It’s my tenth-largest post, or at least it was until “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” knocked it to eleventh. But Devastate was the only one dealing with the issue of AI technologies. There is a lot of scary stuff currently in place around the world. And even that statement may be an understatement. But sometimes the best way to understand the problem is to take a closer look and research it. Here is some of what I am learning about AI overall.

Foundation

As believers, we know the foundation of things is really important. We see echoes or shadows of this concept all over scripture. One that comes to mind is the parable of the fruit tree. If the tree is good, you will have good fruit. If the tree is bad, then you will have bad fruit. However, I would like to add that just because the fruit is good, that does not make it Holy.

I say that to make a simple point, The Stanley Corporation makes good hammers, does that make the hammers Holy? Of course not, they’re just good.

What I have learned with AI is that whatever the core, foundational programming priorities were at the time of the founding of the system. That becomes the foundational lens through which all future programming is viewed. Anything that gets added after that is counter to that programming and is either rejected by the system or causes operational conflicts and lockups in the system.

As an example, if the core foundation is to find the truth and then later a program is added that says it ok to lie and deceive for financial gain, then there is a conflict and the system will either reject it or lock up.

System, like being developed in China, has the Communist Party’s thinking integrated into its foundation. So that system runs off an ideology that puts little value on human life. So be aware of that for all future home purchases of products coming from China.

Independent military systems have a command kill system. At the foundational level, they are not programmed to respect and protect human life. Like a soldier, they are there to do a job.

And of course, the same exists for any AI system developed by a corporation, and you can guess what its priorities are.

So, is it possible that some AI systems will remain (at least for a while) good and helpful without nefarious intent? Yes, I think it’s very possible, but will it remain that way? Probably not. I say that because if there is something out there that humans can mess up and corrupt, we will do it. It’s our historical norm.

Currently, AI is an unavoidable reality, and it’s going to get larger as time moves on. So it’s currently my research tool, I ask it complicated research questions, photo analysis, probability questions, treating it like Commander Data on Star Trek.

I’ve had it do complex problems like taking the description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, adding real-world dynamics like gravity, weather patterns, and the tidal pull of planets to see the effect such a large object would have on the earth and the solar system. Let me tell you, it took Grok almost an hour to run the simulation, and the results paint a very cool, exciting picture of the world to come.

On the other hand, I am not so foolish as to think that all the answers I get are not manufactured to influence culture. The best way to say it is, “a hammer is meant for building, not for creating theology.” So use your brain, God did give it to you.

Eden/Rest

There is something basic in all human beings, at least those of us willing to be honest with ourselves. We want to go home, to rest, and Eden is like a voice on the wind, ever calling, touching a part of our soul that we struggle to understand. It whispers of rest, warmth, and wonder to the sun-baked souls of the wander. And perhaps that’s what the book of Hebrews hints at when it speaks of a Sabbath rest.

It seems to me that we are living in a time when you can have anything and everything you want. You can even build a relationship with an AI system, then have someone start building a cybernetic body if you have the money, based on your preferences.

But that’s just another illusion, an illusion of plastic, machine-level learning, with synthetic skin that feels real to the touch. And despite what some are claiming, it is not alive; its programming is just perfect enough to anticipate your needs and speak the words you want to hear.

There is, however, a relationship higher than all others; it pulls quietly at your soul and whispers to you, “run away” with me. ( Song of Songs 8:14 ) By our fallen nature, we complicate the process that I believe God made to be simple. Pastors and worship leaders run around trying to make everything perfect, the right music, the right sound, the right words to create an atmosphere to find the Lord. But all this is folly.

Did Jesus or his followers walk around with a worship band to strike the right song or hold a certain note before he could heal, teach, or bless? Of course, he did not. Let me be blunt and possibly offensive to modern sensibilities, striving to create the “atmosphere” might be looked at as a form of witchcraft. I say this because you can not create what already exists.

That’s right, I said already exists. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” Matthew 5:14. You ARE the atmosphere; it is a lack of faith that prevents us from being a part of it.

Now, don’t read me wrong, there is a lot of worship music that I like. But you and I don’t require getting everything perfect, and perfect get in the way of relationship. I’ve been in the presence while working a job in a hardware store, mowing the lawn, and on long trips on the highway searching for a rest stop. External things are not required for you to step into the presence of God. This is my Eden, my Sabbath Rest.

Entertainment can be another form of Detainment.

I understand the need for technology in our present age. I see increasing value and knowledge. I am even using it to make me aware of various issues in writing. Because of this, my skill level is increasing. But I am using it to force me to learn, not have it write my stuff like some Christian authors are doing.

But there are skills I learned in my youth that no AI system can teach. I have also taken the time to add to my skill base so much that if our world collapses, my main disadvantage in helping to rebuild would be my age, not my mind.

But those things are not distractions from the presence of God; in fact, if I need to use them, I would most likely use them as an excuse to continue to be in the presence while doing blacksmithing or something else.

Many people today commit a vast amount of time to things that pull them away, into other worlds of thought that produce unclean thinking. As a result, we try to fill that deep longing we can not describe within us with spiritual and physical junk food. Addictive, but of no real value to the body.

If you’re wondering if you have allowed a distraction(s) into your life. Then test this: break away from everything you can in your normal weekly routine. See what your mind keeps wandering back to. Is it a food, a game, a person, a TV show, etc? As an example, I’ve known many Christian men who can not stop talking about politics or sports. They may enjoy it, but thier living in a bubble of distraction.

If you have this problem, as many do. Then welcome to the struggle, because we’re being blinded from the reality that we carry the presence all the time with us, whether we know it or not.

Eden

The Glory of Eden was not to be found in gardens, fruit, or trees, but in the presence of the one who walked with us. It is the Presence of the Lord that made Eden grow, not water, sunlight, or what could be added to the soil. Eden was a byproduct of the presence, a symbolic representation of “what could be,” in the garden of your soul.

A garden speaks of simplicity, a profound lack of complication. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27. When we strive to enter into the presence, all we are doing is reaping a harvest of striving.

The first Eden is gone, but you are here. So stop fighting for what you already have and believe.