Posted in end of days, end time, hurricane irene, judgment, prophecy, warnings

The costs from Hurricane Irene are outweighed by the cost of not repenting

That natural disasters are on the rise is unquestionable. The data is the data and the facts are the facts. The debate is not whether they are increasing, but is over the cause of the increase. Some people say that these disasters are increasing because of changes in the magnetosphere, which, they say, caused the aflockalypse of bird deaths at the beginning of this year. Others say the cause is from government conspiracies such as HAARP, or High Frequency Active Auroral research Program which purposely disturbs a segment of our ionosphere and measures the effects. HAARP really exists but conspiracy theorists posit that it is being used for dark purposes. Others say it is global warming, such as the author of this first article. But whatever the cause (and it is GOD) the effects are real.

In this article by Bill McKibben, he attributes the recent increase of disasters to global warming but in his article he totes up the effects, which are devastating:

“Remember—this year has already seen more billion-dollar weather-related disasters than any year in U.S. history. Last year was the warmest ever recorded on planet Earth. Arctic sea ice is near all-time record lows. Record floods from Pakistan to Queensland to the Mississippi basin; record drought from the steppes of Russia to the plains of Texas. Just about the only trauma we haven’t had are hurricanes plowing into the U.S., but that’s just luck—last year was a big storm year, but they all veered out to sea. This year we’re already on letter I—which in a normal year we don’t get to until well into October.”

But then Irene hit.

In an incredible decision, all Mass Transit in NY City was closed in advance of Hurricane Irene, costing millions. There were no flights Sunday at the 5 NY-area airports; 9000 flights were canceled, and the George Washington Bridge lower level was closed in both directions. Amazing. What an incredible shut-down for our largest city. But that was not the worst of it. Upstate NY and Vermont were hammered.

Hurricane Irene flood damage stuns inland areas
“Brattleboro, Vt. — Rippling creeks became deadly deluges. Bridges collapsed into roiling waves. Dry streets turned into fast-rising lakes, closing in around stunned towns. While Irene – first a hurricane and then a tropical storm – unleashed its initial share of damage along the sandy shores of the Eastern Seaboard, by Monday its greatest impact was felt far from the coastline, in places such as landlocked Vermont and the bucolic mountains of upstate New York. Even so, more than 48 hours after Irene made landfall early Saturday, about 4.5 million people remained without power in 13 states from North Carolina to Maine. The death toll jumped to at least 40, according to the Associated Press, and some rivers had yet to crest.”

“Hundreds remained stranded in communities cut off by washed-out roads, including at least 2,500 residents of remote Hatteras Island in North Carolina, where severed utility lines also left them without power. The only access to the island was via a ferry limited to emergency use. Police in suburban Parsippany, N.J., had to rescue dozens of people who became trapped in two hotels Monday when a nearby lake spilled over its banks and sent enough water into the streets and hotel parking lots to swallow vehicles. Evacuees included guests who had fled to the hotels after heeding advice to evacuate their homes in advance of Irene.”

The economic cost of the advanced protection and evacuations, the lost revenue from closed businesses, and the cleanup afterwards is incalculable.

Joel Rosenberg wrote a good piece this week titled “This was a wake up call: American East Coast shaken by Hurricane Irene.” Joel write in part–

“This was a wake up call. At its peak, Hurricane Irene was the size of the State of Texas. Had it remained a Category 3 storm — or even increased in intensity — it could have created the greatest natural disaster catastrophe in the history of the United States. Fortunately, that’s not what happened. The storm is now over, and even as the clean up begins, critics are saying it was hyped up and “overblown” by government officials and weather forecasters. But did the experts really badly “misjudge” Irene, or did God hear people’s prayers and have mercy on us by weakening the storm faster than the experts had predicted? I think both are true. I am grateful to the Lord for His grace and mercy on us. I am also grateful to the forecasters and the government leaders who warned us as best they could and took decisive action to put public safety first. As I have written about several times in recent months, the Lord is shaking us, trying to wake us up and get us to focused back on Him and on His Word. We need to recommit ourselves to prayer, fasting and reading the Bible and get our hearts right with the Lord. For Bible prophecy tells us that far greater storms are coming as we steadily approach the Day of the Lord.”

And another storm has formed. She is on the same track as Irene. Her name is Katia… I’ll repeat Joel’s good advice: “We need to recommit ourselves to prayer, fasting and reading the Bible and get our hearts right with the Lord. For Bible prophecy tells us that far greater storms are coming as we steadily approach the Day of the Lord.”

Posted in bible jesus, day of rage, peace, prophecy

Arab Spring in America?

Did you know that there is a planned “Day of Rage’ here in the US? It is planned for September 17 and targets Wall Street, but sister cities are planning their Day of Rage also. The point is supposed to be a protest against despots, dictators and cronyism in the White House, Congress, and Wall Street. Here is what the Arab Business and Banking journal Zawya wrote about it:

“Arab Spring-style protests are apparently being planned in the United States as the richest country in the world teeters on the edge of a ‘lesser depression’. Things are so bad in the U.S. that disenchanted, non-partisan citizens are planning to occupy Wall Street reportedly on September 17, according to media reports and vent their fury at Wall Street banks and policymakers.”

“The “U.S. Day Of Rage” echoes the massive protests undertaken by citizens in various Middle East countries to demonstrate against despots, dictators and cronyism in the Arab world. Similar to many Arab Spring movements, the organisers are leveraging social media website to gain some traction. Nearly 4,800 people ‘like’ the main US Day Of Rage Facebook page and it has nearly 6,000 Twitter followers. According to its social media feeds, it is planning peaceful civil disobedience across many American cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Idaho, Oklahoma and Hawaii, among others.”

“While the movement may well fizzle out, it does point to an extreme reaction to the complete and utter disappointment of American citizens with their governments especially as they watched in horror the debt debacle, the subsequent Standard & Poor’s downgrade and the ‘correction’ in American stock markets wiping out trillions of dollars in a matter of weeks.”

“U.S. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have fallen to an average of 43% (including a personal low of 39% in one survey) while Congress’s collective approval rating slumped to an average of 17% (dipping to 13% in one Gallup poll, a record low).”

The website for Day of Rage says that they plan ‘civil disobedience.’ I fail to see how something called a day of rage is supposed to put enough of the brakes on so that people are only civilly disobedient and not marauding mobsters yanking people out of cars at the state fair or razing a convenience store, things which have already happened in abundance without a prompting of a Day of Rage.

Matthew 24:7 says that in the Tribulation “nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.” The word ‘nation’ in this context is the Greek word ‘ethnos’ which means people group sharing a similar culture. In other words, civil unrest. It means that there will be black against white, poor against rich, young against old performing violence against each other within the same country. These kinds of protests and violence are things the US has already experienced. The young mobs mobbing stores where older owners stand by helpless…blacks yanking whites out of cars and beating them senseless, and the poor protesting against the rich Wall Street bankster types are all things that we see already. During the Tribulation this kind of violence will get worse. Kingdom against kingdom, means for example, Lebanon fights Israel, but ethnos against ethnos is a worse kind of violence for it means your neighbor could turn on you and you may never even know why.

With food prices shooting up and unemployment rampant, the general mood in the US is tenuous at best. Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse blog wrote a recent piece titled: “16 Statistics Which Prove That The American People Are Absolutely Seething With Anger“. He wrote another piece titled “10 Signs That Economic Riots And Civil Unrest Inside The United States Are Now More Likely Than Ever.” What I like about his pieces are that he uses credible sources and presents exactly what the title says. After reading the facts, you believe exactly that unrest is coming and that people are seething with anger. What are the chances that the Day of Rage will be peaceful, with polite folks engaging in civil disobedience with no harm done? Low. Very low.

The organizers of the Day of Rage say they will engage in civil disobedience, but the fact is that people are already at tinderbox temper. It would not take much to trip them over to mob mentality. As Bonnie Tyler sang in her song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,”, ‘We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks’.

I prefer the Day of Prayer to the Day of Rage. I pray that the light of Jesus will shine in the eyes of all who live in darkness. When you see the Light, you know that a perfect government is coming. It will be one filled with perfect justice, perfect peace. The government will make war no more, and all the citizens will be engaged in productive works. Their relaxation times will be saturated with harmony in worship of Jesus, songs, and pleasant conversations where there will be no gossip, agendas, or misunderstandings. In the New Jerusalem there will be no days of rage but only peace.

Proverbs 19:3 shows us that their rage comes from within their heart and it is against the Lord. “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the LORD.”

Proverbs 29:11 – “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.”

The calm in the end always leads back to peace, IF there is reconciliation with Jesus. Apart from Him a person is in rebellion, that is why they rage. It is the underlying reason. But it need not be so. A person need not have a day of rage, nor an eternity of rage:

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,” (Ephesians 2:14-15)

Now isn’t that much better than a day of rage?
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Posted in bible jesus, china, demons, prophecy

A Tale of Two UFOs: China and Moscow

A commenter asked me on yesterday’s blog entry if I knew about the UFO over China’s airport. I responded that I did, and that I had written about it when it occurred last year. But then another  person alerted me to the fact that this was a new UFO incident over China’s airport that happened yesterday, not last year. WOW!

I was intrigued by the last year China UFO event over the airport because air traffic controllers had spotted the ‘craft’, or the ‘thing’, whatever it was. ATC’s are trained sky spotters. They are official. They are official enough that the airport was closed, because they feared incoming airplanes would collide with the UFO. In addition, the UFO was showing up on radar.

So when Anonymous said that another incident had occurred, I read up on it. Fox News reports,

UFO Spotted Over Chinese Airport
Published August 18, 2011
“Planes were dramatically diverted away from a major Chinese airport after reports of a UFO circling a runway, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday. The mysterious object was spotted Wednesday afternoon floating high above Jiangbei International Airport in the city of Chongqing, an important aviation hub for southwestern for southwestern China. Worried officials diverted several flights to other airports before it disappeared about 50 minutes later and air traffic was allowed to return to normal. The Chongqing government has not offered any explanation for the UFO, Shanghai Daily said. However, skeptical airport workers believe it was a sky lantern or a large balloon, the newspaper said.Wednesday’s scare mirrors an incident in July last year when Xiaoshan airport in the eastern city of Hangzhou was closed after baffled air traffic controllers spotted a UFO on their radar screens. The object vanished but footage of a strange glowing orb streaking across the night sky was posted on YouTube, sparking global interest in the supposed close encounter.”

Here is a photo that accompanied the news article:

The instant I saw that photo I remembered another incident. Get a load of this:

Mystery UFO halo over Moscow
Published: 11 Oct 2009
“THIS glowing halo in clouds over Moscow looks like an Independence Day style alien attack. The astonishing ring was spotted over the city and captured on video by stunned locals. It has been described as a “true mystery” by a UFO expert. cores of supernatural enthusiasts have been gripped by the astonishing footage and speculated it could be an ALIEN MOTHERSHIP. The sighting in the clouds is reminiscent of scenes from the 1996 Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day.”

The picture just above is a still from a Youtube video of the incident over Moscow last year. You can click on the ‘Mystery UFO’ link and see a photo of it at the UK Sun. Are the Moscow UFO and yesterday’s China UFO the same photo? Are they the same UFO? Are the demons THAT close to showing themselves? What is going on?

The world we see is not the only world there is. There is another world that is close, but hidden behind the veil that God put up. Sometimes in the bible, He lifts the veil between His world and ours and allows us to glimpse His glorious home. In one example, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11 was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire.

In 2 Kings 6:16, Elisha was prophesying over the war with Aram, and when Elisha’s servant admitted fear because of the enemy multitudes that had gathered around them, Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened. The servant saw the multitudes upon multitudes from God who were gathered in chariots and horses, ready to fight for God and defeat Aram’s forces.

In Luke 2 on that cold and starry night, when the veil lifted the shepherds saw the heavenly host. As Stephen was dying from his stoning by the angry mob, he looked up and saw the heavens parted, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56).

God’s world is real, and it is so close to us. It is only as far away as a thin curtain being lifted. It would not take much more rebellion for the demons to punch through and show themselves. They follow satan who is already god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). In other words, they already roam up and down upon this world seeking whom they may devour. (Job 1:7;  1 Peter 5:8). Are they hovering even now, ready to come through the veil and show themselves?

At some point, they WILL irrupt. (Rev 9:2-3). Whether they choose to appear as angels of light (2 Cor 11:14-15) or as terrible demons screaming in the holy places (Luke 4:33), they will return. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the times just before the end (during the Tribulation) will be as the Days of Noah, and we know from Genesis 6:5-6 that the Days of Noah were totally evil with men thinking evil thoughts continually.

Christians need not fear. Demons, or UFOs, or whatever you want to call them, are not greater than He who is in us. When they do eventually appear, when the veil is lifted and more and more supernatural things begin to take place, as Revelation 6, Matthew 24, and Daniel 2, 7, 11 show, His children will be in heaven. We will be enjoying our awards ceremony and marriage supper. You can be part of THAT supernatural event, by repenting. Please do so soon. It seems that the veil is already starting to be lifted…
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Posted in one world government, prophecy

One step closer to One World Government?

The United States is not the only nation struggling with the economy and teetering on the edge of (or plummeting into, depending on your perspective) a depression. The European Union of nations are also struggling mightily. Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Italy are all plummeting fast, and France is teetering. Even strong Germany’s economy has slowed. This last bit of information seemed to shake the normally staid Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

As a result of currency woes, economy struggles, and unrest, the two European nations France and Germany agreed to meet. They came up with an idea. They proposed this idea. The idea is:

Sarkozy, Merkel Plan ‘Collective Govt’
“France and Germany have proposed “collective economic government” for the eurozone after European investors sought reassurance from the two countries’ leaders. Details of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plan remains unclear, reports Reuters. It was revealed after the pair met in Paris for talks on the issue, with markets anxious for signs they have a plan to restore stability in the region. The meeting comes as new figures show Germany’s economy has lost its “dynamism” and has all but stalled in recent months, putting further pressure on the eurozone. The quarterly GDP growth figure of only 0.1% was way below expectations and is significantly lower than the 1.3% growth recorded in the previous three months…”

France & Germany: Save euro with one EU government
“The leaders of France and Germany tonight called on Eurozone nations to form a “collective government” to save the struggling currency. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel put forward the radical plan to balance the budgets of the 17 nations that use the crisis-hit single currency.”

The book of Daniel 2and 7 and Revelation 13 tell us that the final world government and its final evil ruler rises from a reformed European empire. We know that in the Tribulation, the antichrist will rule over ten nations. (Daniel 7:24-25; Rev 17:12-13). That the European Union has reformed is an amazing prophetic fulfillment. After all Rome collapsed in the early 400s. That the European Union leaders as it exists today is proposing an even closer relationship under one government seems to be the final movement toward the reformation of a kingdom prophesied to give rise to the world’s most evil dictator.

How close are we? Pretty durn close, if you ask me.
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Posted in economy, end time, prophecy, tent city

Shocking tent city in NJ

The UK Daily Mail does a good job of keeping up on news from the United States. Better than even the United States media.

The Tent City of New Jersey: Desperate victims of the economic slump forced to live in makeshift homes in forest
In scenes reminiscent of the Great Depression these are the ramshackle homes of the desperate and destitute U.S. families who have set up their own ‘Tent City’ only an hour from Manhattan.
More than 50 homeless people have joined the community within New Jersey’s forests as the economic crisis has wrecked their American dream. And as politicians in Washington trade blows over their country’s £8.8 trillion debt, the prospect of more souls joining this rag tag group grows by the day. Building their own tarpaulin tents, Native American teepees and makeshift balsa wood homes, every one of the Tent City residents has lost their job.”

The photos are amazing, the Daily Mail really does a good job with pictures. I feel for the people who have been affected and are reduced to living under tarps, exposed to the weather, and scrounging for food. These statistics from The Economic Collapse Blog show that this kind of living standard awaits many more of us:

“At this point, there is no solution to our national debt problem under our current financial system. Most state governments are also facing huge financial problems. The state government of Illinois is so broke at this point that it can’t even afford to bury the poor people that are dying. But Illinois is not alone. All over the country, state and local governments have been implementing austerity measures. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state and local governments have slashed more than half a million jobs since August 2008.”

There are more statistics at the link that paint a bleak economic picture for the near term. But for Christians the near term looks very bright. GLORIOUSLY bright! Our Lord and Savior, who loves us, will come down from His abode in heaven, issue a shout, and we shall rise, the dead and the living, to meet Him in the air. (1 Thess 4:17; 1 Cor 15:52). You can be part of this grand reunion as well. All you have to do is confess your sins to the Lord, for He is righteous judge, and ask Him to pardon you, for He is merciful judge. Your sins will be forgiven and forgotten, and you can be part of the wonderful Marriage Supper of the Lamb, a banquet of cleansed saints and our Groom, Jesus. It is up to you, for He is kind Judge, allowing you to choose Him, and not forcing Himself upon you. You won’t get the same treatment from satan.
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Posted in palestinian state, prophecy

‘Palestinians set date for statehood showdown at UN’ (UPDATED)

News we need to know:

Palestinians set date for statehood showdown at UN
September 20 marked for Palestinian UN statehood bid, AFP reports; PA foreign minister says Abbas “will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council.”

“NEW YORK – The Palestinians set September 20th as the date for the much-anticipated vote over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, according to AFP. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the international community to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state on the first day of the annual opening gathering at UN headquarters in New York. “Abbas will personally present the request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon… at the opening of the sixty-sixth session,” he was quoted as saying by the French news wire. “[Abbas] will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council.” The announcement cast aside speculation that the Palestinians might quietly step back from their bid for statehood in response to mounting international pressure against it.”

Haaretz reports, “Next month, Arab members will be at helm of UN bodies with Lebanon holding the rotating presidency of the Security Council and Qatar as chairman of the General Assembly.”

The Jordan Times reports, ““Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will personally present the request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon… at the opening of the sixty-sixth session,” on September 20, Malki said. Abbas will “insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council,” he said. Malki added that the Palestinian Authority chose September because Lebanon, holding the rotating presidency of the Security Council, would be in a strong position to push the bid forward. “Lebanon will hold the presidency of the Security Council in September and this will help us because the president of the council has special prerogatives, which is crucial,” he said.”

How’s that for timing? It will be a tense, nail-biting time as we watch to see what the US will do. Of the five Security Council Permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China; the P-5) if just one vetoes the proposal, the proposal dies right then, at least, according tot he rules- IF they choose to follow the rules. The US is one of the P5 members. Will we veto? Or will we not veto? Showdown in more ways than one.

In late September Comet Elenin also starts its final month before its closest appearance to earth, which is now projected at .0004AU at its closest appearance (only 37,000 miles!) Link to DutchSinse NASA buzzroom video describing the new calculations, which, the NASA Buzzroom video has now been taken down and the Buzzroom closed…that’s why I posted the Dutch link instead of directly to the NASA link.

September could prove very interesting. I really fear for the UN vote on the Palestinian State. God has been very clear about not messing with His people or His land. (Genesis 12:3; Joel 3) Read more here about the effects on the world of dividing God’s land at Joel Rosenberg’s blog and his study of Joel 3.
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Posted in bible jesus, porn, prophecy, rick perry

"Is porn driving men crazy?"

Naomi Wolf’s article “Is porn driving men crazy?” poses a great question. I’ve seen several photos like this one below lately, (it isn’t part of Wolf’s article) which had made me ask the same question. I mean, really? Really? Looking at porn on a wide-open computer screen. In a crowded room? While live TV is happening? That’s just stupid, nuts, and dumb. You have to be crazy to be that stupid, nuts, and dumb. (I’d posted about this porn peeping bankster here)

CNN-is porn driving men crazy?
By Naomi Wolf:
“It is hard to ignore how many highly visible men in recent years (indeed, months) have behaved in sexually self-destructive ways. Some powerful men have long been sexually voracious; unlike today, though, they were far more discreet and generally used much better judgment in order to cover their tracks.Of course, the heightened technological ability nowadays to expose private behavior is part of the reason for this change. But that is precisely the point: so many of the men caught up in sex-tinged scandals of late have exposed themselves – sometimes literally – through their own willing embrace of text messages, Twitter, and other indiscreet media.What is driving this weirdly disinhibited decision-making? Could the widespread availability and consumption of pornography in recent years actually be rewiring the male brain, affecting men’s judgment about sex and causing them to have more difficulty controlling their impulses? … The hypothesis among the experts was that pornography was progressively desensitizing these men sexually”

She asks a good question. She offers a different possible answer to it than I would. I say it is the fallen-ness of our sinful world and the fact that satan inhabits it. He is actually the god of this world and operates within it through the boundaries that God sets. (more here). On the other hand, Wolf could be unknowingly exactly right, because of this verse in which Paul spoke of some people who, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”

The full verse is: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron”. (1 Tim 4:1-2). The Matthew Henry commentary on this verse explains, “The instruments of promoting and propagating this apostasy and delusion. It will be done by hypocrisy of those that speak lies, the agents and emissaries of Satan, who promote these delusions by lies and forgeries and pretended miracles, v. 2. It is done by their hypocrisy, professing honor to Christ, and yet at the same time fighting against all his anointed offices, and corrupting or profaning all his ordinances. This respects also the hypocrisy of those who have their consciences seared with a red-hot iron, who are perfectly lost to the very first principles of virtue and moral honesty.”

We get desensitized to sin. Once engaging in it, unless we repent and confess immediately, presenting ourselves for a spiritual bath by the Holy Spirit, we remain unclean in that little spot, and we get used to the unclean feeling. We decide that it wasn’t really so bad, and we do it again. And again. Until we’re so strewn with scar tissue from the searing of our consciences, we become inured to the effects of sin and never even feel its pricks any more. And before long we have men exposing themselves publicly in ridiculous ways that they have convinced themselves are fun because they have lost any ability to feel shame. (Anthony Weiner comes to mind ). I think that the effect of this culture’s perpetual exposure to and engagement in sin, our brains are being rewired to be desensitized to sin, especially the sexual sins of homosexuality and pornography.

God told Jeremiah to tell the Israelites:

“Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished,says the LORD.” (Jer 8:12). God told Jeremiah to speak that to God’s people at the end of a long list of sins they were committing, which also included deceit, straying from the ways of God, listening to false prophets who say all is well, being greedy, and rejecting God. He punished them. Will He do less with us? Surely not!

Edward Gibbon wrote the book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He spent twenty years researching it. Through his research Gibbon realized that all great nations, Rome included, have fallen for the same reasons. Those reasons can be boiled down to just five.

1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral.
4. The building of great armaments when the great enemy was within; the decay of individual responsibility.
5. The decay of religion, fading into a mere form, losing touch with life, losing power to guide the people.

This has been a somber week. We see continually that the sunset of the United States of America is upon us. Other nations are angry with us, and civil tumult abounds from within.

In the face of all this stood one man. Not a governor. Not a presidential candidate, not a high executive. A man. A man who believes in God and who led thousands in Reliant Stadium, yesterday in a day of prayer and fasting. TX Gov. Rick Perry, troubled by the terrible state our nation is in, prayed. He asked Christians to turn to God for answers to the nation’s troubles. This is the only correct response.

“Gov. Rick Perry called on Jesus to bless and guide the nation’s military and political leaders and “those who cannot see the light in the midst of all the darkness. Lord, you are the source of every good thing,” Mr. Perry said, as he bowed his head, closed his eyes and leaned into a microphone at Reliant Stadium here. “You are our only hope, and we stand before you today in awe of your power and in gratitude for your blessings, and humility for our sins. Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government, and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness.” (source)

Will you cry out for forgiveness? Jesus is listening, and His arms are open.
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Posted in bible, bible jesus, drought, prophecy

Drought picture essay

Picture essay.

source

Above, in an article published by The Economist, ‘Drought in the South [USA]: Bone-dry – Drought has blanketed nearly a third of the lower 48‘ the weekly said: “There are wildfires in the south-west and water restrictions in the south-east. Fields are scrubby and fallow, and in some counties the ground is riddled with deep cracks. Farmers are struggling to produce crops, and ranchers are worried about watering their cattle. As their losses mount, crop prices have risen.”

source

Above, The drought hit hardest in the Sahelian regions of Kanem, Bahr-El-Gazal, Hajer Lamis, Bastha and Guéra, Chad.

source

“Above, A dead cow lies on the ground as a bus travels past near the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 21, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. Famine brought on by the drought has killed tens of thousands in the Horn of Africa.” (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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Above, “The remains of a cow lay near a watering point in a pasture July 28, 2011 near Tulia, Texas. A severe drought in the region has caused shortages of grass, hay and water, forcing ranchers to thin their herds or risk losing their cattle to the drought. The past nine months have been the driest in Texas since record keeping began in 1895, with 75% of the state classified as exceptional drought, the worst level.” Photograph by: Scott Olson, Getty Images.

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Above, USAID’s photo of drought conditions in Ethiopia, amidst the 2011 Horn of Africa famine.

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The Cimmaron Grassland Director explains drought conditions in Kansas USA.

I believe it would be a fair statement that the USA is no longer being blessed.
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Posted in holy spirit, prophecy, regeneration

The lovely work of the Holy Spirit

When we repent and come into reconciliation with Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit into us and the Spirit begins the work of regeneration. Because we are born dead, spiritually empty and carnally minded, when the Spirit comes, He revives us and begins the work of shaping us like clay, into the Lord’s likeness. Here are but two verses that remind us that He grows us sovereignly and perfectly:

“One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (Acts 16:14)

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6)

The change is not instant, from one who is dead in the flesh to one who is bearing all the good fruit is that the Spirit nurtures in us (Galatians 5:22-26). Even the Apostle Paul battled flesh (Romans 7:15). But through constant submission, prayer, study of the word, and good works in His name, the Spirit leads us into good things, which will be completed on the day we are glorified in body at the rapture. (Gal 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

But sometimes it is hard to detect if we can see this change in ourselves. In growth by degrees you don’t see it at first. Our first day of school was Friday and I looked at the little kindergarteners I’d worked with last year. Some had sprung up like weeds! I noticed it because I had not seen them for 8 weeks. But do I notice growth or change in myself? No. But I’m sure others did, not having seen me for 8 weeks either.

I remember the first time I noticed a Christlike change in myself. I was saved 7 years ago and really started studying the bible and attending church 5 years ago. So I’d have to reach back in my mind ten years to go beyond the point when the Spirit began His regenerative work in me.

During my 30s I traveled to Italy once a year. I love Italy so much. The rolling Tuscan hills filled with sunflowers, the steep and somber Umbrian mountains, the castles, villas, architecture. I fell in love with the art. In the Accademia Galleria where the famous sculpture of David is housed, I was absolutely floored when I saw it for the first time. Since I was not saved, I had no idea, really, of the story behind it, other than the surface. David killed Goliath with a rock. That’s as far as my understanding went. But I did a great study of Michaelangelo, the sculptor of the statue of David, and the marble itself. I even went to Carrara to see where the marble came from and how it was extracted from the mountain.

The bible says for us to “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Col 3:2). So I do. I ponder heaven, and the Spirit and Jesus and the things He has told us in the bible. As I looked to heaven I mourned the loss of all the beautiful things in Italy. I’d think of the tribulation earthquakes and pictured in my mind the crumbling of the leaning tower of Pisa, of the Colosseum, of the castles that had stood for thousand years. “Gone…” I’d muse to myself. “How tragic!” I thought of the David, the most perfect man-made thing I’d ever seen, and though of how anything else could be more beautiful. For a long time I could not picture it and went around sad that my treasured Italy and everything in it would be destroyed.

So one day I was musing along in my mind and thought of the David again. “Gone…” I shook my head. Then another thought popped into my mind. “Hey! I can go over and see the REAL David!” It was then I laughed because I could detect the Spirit had grown me over time. My mind was no longer on earthly things but realized that a greater treasure was the resurrected, glorified and perfected David that the Lord had personally set as King of Israel! I laughed out loud. The real David, how about that! I began to get a glimmer of just how beautiful the Lord’s work is in us and that there will be many more things that will be stunningly beautiful that my brain can’t even conceive of but was just getting a tiny glimpse of. Slowly and surely the Holy Spirit does His work in us, praise God.

My mind was instantly set at ease as I realized I’d let go of earthly things and trusted the fact that no matter how lovely the things of earth are, the LORD is preparing a place for us that will be astoundingly beautiful, the foremost beauty of which are the glorified and redeemed people populating the place through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ.

Do you have a moment when you came across a growth marker in yourself when you realized that your response to a thought or a situation was a direct result of the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit? Please share. Let’s celebrate Him!
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Posted in downgraded, mark of the beast, prophecy

Downgraded! What does it mean for the US economy? (UPDATE)

Here is an article from ABC that explains the effects of the US government’s credit rating’s downgrade from AAA to AA.

S&P Drops US Credit Rating to AA+: 5 Easy-to-Understand Effects of a Downgrade

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“Standard & Poor’s announced Friday night that it has downgraded the sterling U.S. credit rating for the first time. The move came even though the Treasury Department said that it had found a math error in the firm’s calculations of deficit projections, according to a person familiar with the matter. S&P (Standard and Poor’s) decided to lower the AAA rating, held by the United States for 70 years, to AA+ after a bipartisan debt deal signed into law this week failed to assuage concerns about the nation’s growing spending. Analysts have said a downgrade could increase the cost of borrowing for the U.S. government and lead to tens of billions of dollars in more interest costs per year. That could translate into higher borrowing for consumers and businesses, too.” (source)

I’ve read plenty of economic analysis lately that explains what it means to be downgraded in terms of specifics to our economy. I can’t re-explain them to you now, because I understood them at the time but I’m not experienced enough to know the ins and outs to be able to recall it and then present the information. Here is one analyst’s version of what a downgrade will do to the economy. But I do know it will be bad, and right away, too. Where the article says it will cost us more to borrow it means disaster. That is the bottom line.

Here is the text of the S&P release that accompanied the downgrade:

“The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year’s wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements, the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability.” What to expect on Monday: ” it is possible that interest rates could rise if investors re-price relative risks. As a result, our alternate scenario factors in a 50 basis point (bp)-75 bp rise in 10-year bond yields relative to the base and upside cases from 2013 onwards. In this scenario, we project the net public debt burden would rise from 74% of GDP in 2011 to 90% in 2015 and to 101% by 2021.” And why all those who have said the downgrade will have no impact on markets will be tested as soon as Monday: “On Monday, we will issue separate releases concerning affected ratings in the funds, government-related entities, financial institutions, insurance, public finance, and structured finance sectors.”

The German magazine Spiegel published today the following opinion piece:

“This week, the United States nearly allowed itself to succumb to economic disaster. Increasingly, the divided country has more in common with a failed state than a democracy. In the face of America’s apparent political insanity, Europe must learn to take care of itself. The word “West” used to have a meaning. It described common goals and values, the dignity of democracy and justice over tyranny and despotism. Now it seems to be a thing of the past. There is no longer a West, and those who would like to use the word — along with Europe and the United States in the same sentence — should just hold their breath. By any definition, America is no longer a Western nation. The US is a country where the system of government has fallen firmly into the hands of the elite. An unruly and aggressive militarism set in motion two costly wars in the past 10 years. Society is not only divided socially and politically — in its ideological blindness the nation is moving even farther away from the core of democracy. It is losing its ability to compromise. America has changed. It has drifted away from the West.”

So USA has reduced economic credibility in fact and is seen to have reduced economic stability in perception. We’ve been said to have cooked the books (according to AP), our debt is 100% of Gross Domestic Product, we are now toxic (being a failed state), and former economic allies are backing away as fast as they can pedal. The USA’s economy is the world’s biggest, so this downgrade will have monumental impacts to the rest of the world’s economy. (As stated by the last line of the S&P release).

I do not know what that impact is or how long it will take to permeate, but I have a feeling it will not be long. I DO know that the book of Revelation in chapter 13 describes an economy that can be controlled by one man down to the specifics of who is participating in it and prevent any person he chooses from buying or selling if they refuse to worship him- the antichrist. In order for the economy to be that tightly controlled, I’ve long been saying that the present economy must collapse, in order to make way for the new economy AND the man proposing to solve the global economic problems which preceded it. Is that time here? God knows, but it really feels like things are not just fraying, but ripping to shreds.

Tomorrow Gov. Rick Perry of TX is calling for a day of prayer and fasting. It is a day that’s been set aside for those purposes since last December, so it is not a response to this current economic crisis, per se. It is a forward thinking Christian man who saw the train coming down the tracks and knew that it was headed in the wrong direction spiritually, economically, politically every way. Here is Joel Rosenberg’s plea for participation in the day of prayer and fasting, even if you are not in Texas. Prayer is not an alternative, it is the only response to a world that is getting further out of control, our control. It is all in God’s hands. If we clasp ours and repent, we will be in His hands, too. And that is a very good place to be.
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