Deuteronomy 8

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies,‎14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Reminds me of what our religion has come to these days in the west.

Do not worry however, as God chastised Israel He will chastise us, and bring us back to the place of repentance, surrender, holiness, and Kingdom for the lost and broken around us. It's coming like a flood.

I had a dream 09-15-09:

I had a dream where we, a wide ranging group of people, some I knew some I do not, were at a road side "Mom and Pops" store doing our thing (shopping & browsing). I suddenly noticed that it was supposed to be dark outside but the sun was up- it was a time that it would normally be dark outside- I am thinking 10 p.m. I hurriedly began to call my family who lived out west and asked them about what the sun was doing- when I call and ask they then begin to notice that it was dark much earlier than usual and that something was clearly wrong. Most people did not notice this dramatic event- it was as though the rotation of the earth was changing, however, the sun was still in an appropriate position, just not at a usual time. Of course if the axis and/or rotation changes, even slightly, then we are looking at global catastrophe- life, AS WE KNOW IT, will be violently destroyed. As I am seeking to confirm this phenomenon, I am waiting for the storms to come knowing that they must come because of this kind of change. From the first notice of this event the verse at Acts 2: 19 constantly plays in my mind through out the dream; 'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

The fundamentals of life as we know it are in the process of change, the storms that would normally rage immediately at the slightest change are delayed temporarily but are brewing and gaining strength. I am struck at how few people notice the changes occurring and who can comprehend the ensuing disaster.

Two things I ask of you Lord;
deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”

or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 14

Fat & Sassy

The physical therapist assigned to help me strengthen my core is very knowledgeable. I am impressed with how much knowledge this person has on the subject, particularly the spine. Interestingly, this person is obese and their core is much larger and injurious to their spine than my situation. Clearly a person can have knowledge, even expertise, and not put into practice and live the life style that they regularly advocate.

The physical therapist's vast knowledge and apparent lack of will to apply it to the their own life is sorta like Christianity in the west. Western Christianity has never been more sophisticated, organized, and wealthy, yet never so powerless- look at the evidence.

Amazingly, we have made a religion of knowing the Bible while not living according to it's mandate and by it's exapmle. We make great boasts about believing it literally yet walk in the most incredible unbelief of spiritual reality. We pursue "mammon" just as vigorously as we do our own glory when God declared that we cannot serve both God and mammon.

I am amazed at how similar the modern Christian aristocracy is to the ancient Jewish aristocracy....... you know the Pharisees, and for those of you who deny spiritual reality yet take the Scriptures literally, the Sadducees.

Alexis de Tocqueville

"I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives.

Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications, and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent, if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks on the contrary to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness: it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances—what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living?…

The principle of equality has prepared men for these things: it has predisposed men to endure them, and oftentimes to look on them as benefits."

-- Alexis de Tocqueville

Oh Western "church",

You are holding to a form of godliness, yet you deny its power;

“YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”’

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.

“Woe to the rebellious children (the "church" in America),” declares the LORD,“Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, Who proceed down to Egypt(government)Without consulting Me,To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh(politicians)And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt (government)!
“Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation. For this is a rebellious people, false sons,Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right,
Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
“Since you have rejected this word
And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,

For thus the Lord GOD has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.

Learning from Haiti

Something has been telling me to watch Haiti and see what happens when society breaks down. The following are a few links to articles that are describing the mayhem taking place in Haiti.

http://wcbstv.com/national/haiti.earthquake.haiti.2.1427143.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arxZJfdcT_i0

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14205092.htm

This link mentions the prison that collapsed and the prisoners now on the loose:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953379_1953494_1953819,00.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2

I heard a quote in one of the videos from Haiti that mentioned the fact that money is no longer valuable but water is now the currency that they are using.

I believe that it is just a matter of time before we experience some troubles in our own society. I recommend that we study and learn from this affair in Haiti. Then we need to plan in concert with each other, or with someone.

No, its not fear like some claim, but wisdom. Someone needs to be standing firm when the storms come. I believe that those of us that are prepared, spiritually and materially, to some degree will be significantly more effective early on in representing Christ to the desperate and the bereaved.

We need to guard our hearts. Of course, if our relationship with Jesus is lacking we will be short on everything that we really need. What good is a stockpile of goods without the fruit that only comes from relationship with the Father? After spending time in the presence of God, what ever ideas we have about preparation should be trusted. With each action we MUST weigh the motives behind them so as to make sure our preparation will not interfere with what the Father has planned for such a time; Ephesians 2:10. Ultimately, kingdom is all that matters. Is it impossible to think that we might be asked to give our lives for someone else according to eternal purposes? God forbid we position ourselves against the heart and plans of the Father.

Freedom

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your... gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3

In reading Daniel 3 I began to catch glimpses of the institutions prominent in our country. From the government, the financial, to the religious, I began to see this same pattern repeated: the leadership creates an "image"/ideal for the people to worship then demands that the people worship it. With a wide variety of manipulations, coercions, and Idealistic values to be revered, they have created systems of control.

For example,

I see the government creating a growing dependence upon themselves. To the degree we depend on someone, they have power over us. The gov demands our worship which is expressed through our taxes among other things- the more taxes they demand from us the more control they have over us under threat of punishment. Gov also has found it advantageous to create personalities with which to keep the people distracted from the reality of their slavery and through whom offers false/empty hopes that have the ability to make us patient for a tomorrow that will never come. This is the custom of all political parties for those of you who are blindly committed to a party.... See More

I see the financial institutions making slaves of just about all of us. If we agree to what the financial institutions declare as "good and ideal" then we must participate in their system- which enslaves us. "The borrower is slave to the lender" and to the degree that we get caught up in "more, bigger, better" we enslave ourselves further. The financial institutions too have found it beneficial to to create personalities through whom they can capture the gaze of the people. They idolize the rich and famous which effectively creates an idolatry that demands a life long dedication.

I see the religious institutions manipulating it's adherents with subjective and self-serving interpretations of their "good books" (the tithe as it is taught today is one example). I see the institutions creating virtues and rituals which are very shallow and largely powerless in the sight of God but have the ability to manipulate and influence an outward allegiance but leave the heart of man dry and disconnected from the Life that true religion/relationship offers. Few of the superstars that religion has created have been able to survive the idolatry they receive but this has not stopped institutional religion from creating them and using them for their own benefit. The institution has created, within their traditions a dependence on it's leaders, which they, often unknowingly, foster to the detriment of the people's spiritual health and freedom. This is witchcraft which produces idolatry!

As I have continued to draw closer to God/Jesus in relationship, not through religion, I have unexpectedly found the chains of slavery which have had my mind and heart bound to man and the worship of him. I did not set out on this path nor would I have chosen it. I do appreciate the freedom that I see down the road, not that I am there yet, but the cost is beginning to get expensive. I have heard it once said that "Freedom isn't free."

Trust

You cannot produce trust just like you cannot 'do' humility. It either is, or is not. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me. The Shack