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Hi folks! Thank you readers for your interest! I feel bad not not to have done an entry in two days. I have so much of end time interest queued up on a range of fabulous subjects! I am simply busting at the seams. But I started a second job Wednesday and I now work 11 hour days. I’ll have time at night to write for the blog, but it will take me a couple of days to acclimate to my new routine and the additional work hours. I also have bronchitis.

It generally takes me several hours of prayer and writing and editing to get the entries the way they need to be. And it’s not the time it takes, but the deep thought. After 11 hours with five year olds, I am wiped out physically and mentally! LOL. I’ll need a short while to adjust. Only a couple of days though! There’s too much happening to wait more than that. Look for some new entries this weekend!

Praise the Lord He found me work in this economy, and GOOD work too. He provides. Anybody in dire straits now economically, just hang on! Pray, fast, and repent so that you can clear your spiritual plate and tune in to what He may be telling you. Listen. Then, wait. He WILL provide!!!!!!!!!!

A guy on Twitter sent me a tweet. He wrote: “The Rapture can’t get here soon enough and get rid of the annoying asses that preach about it.”

He thinks he is annoyed now, I shudder to think what his, and others’, lives will be like when the Restrainer is removed. See, The Holy Spirit was only given two titles directly, Comforter and Restrainer. He comforts and He restrains.

“But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)

“While indwelling believers, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.” (John 16:8)

It is that conviction that the Twitter guy writhes under.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) So, when He is taken out of the way the restraint will be gone. The opposite of restraint is unleashed. Hell unleashed. What a world that will be! Let’s ponder what such a world would be like by looking at the world now.

Mexican Soldiers Open Fire on Family in Car at Checkpoint, Killing Boy, 15, and Father
MONTERREY, Mexico — Soldiers opened fire on a family’s car at a military checkpoint in northern Mexico, killing a 15-year-old boy and his father, authorities and relatives said Monday

Bosnian police find girl who tossed puppies into river
Bosnian police on Friday said they had tracked down a Bosnian girl who sparked worldwide outrage when she was seen on video throwing half a dozen puppies (one by one) into a river.

Gunman Kills 1, Injures 3 In Apparent Random Attack
A man is dead and three others are injured after a man walked up to them and began firing late Tuesday night, according to Suffolk County Police. The incident occurred on the front stoop of a home located at 165 Railroad Street in Huntington Station, where the four men were walking. Police say an unknown gunman walked up to the group and began firing…

U.N. puts Congo sex attacks at more than 500
“U.N. officials on Tuesday put the number of rapes and other sexual attacks in eastern Congo since late July at more than 500, more than double the previous estimate.”

Eight human heads found in Mexico
Eight human heads were found early Tuesday in four separate places near roadsides outside the northern Mexico city of Durango, the local prosecutor’s office said.

Life is cheap. Women are raped, people killed randomly at close range, girl calmly and cold-bloodedly tossed little puppies into a freezing Bosnian river. Heartless at age 13. Mexico is simply out of control. Murders, arsons, rapes, killings, massacres, abortions…all happening while the Restrainer is HERE. What would the world be like when He who restrains evil is gone??

This is not to say that God will leave people without a witness. The Holy Spirit will still be present on earth but He will not be indwelling Christians. He will revert to the Old Testament style of conviction by ‘coming upon’ them. God will supernaturally seal the 144,000 and they will witness throughout the Tribulation. The Two Witnesses will witness. An angel will witness to the world while flying around it repeatedly. New born-again Christians will witness. But for the first moments, days, weeks or months after the rapture, before the 144,000, before the Two Witnesses, before the Angel, before new Christians convert, there will be NO RESTRAINT to evil in the world. Do you want to be here? I sure don’t. And I won’t be. You don’t have to be here either.

Jesus is extending His hand to one and all. He took the punishment for sin by dying on the cross for you. He was actually thinking about you and me while He hung there. All you need to do is ask Him to forgive your sins (believing sincerely that you sin and that you need forgiveness, of course.) And believing that Jesus is the only One who CAN forgive. You will be gone with us in the rapture!

For all those really believe life will be better post Christianity, and that “The Rapture can’t get here soon enough and get rid of the annoying asses that preach about it,” know this: just when you really WANT to hear the word preached, just when you NEED it, “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” Remember, in John 14:26 above, “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things…” they will need a teacher but the teacher will not be indwelling Christians. Who will teach them?

Get the Word while you can. Do not be so quick to get rid of us. And…be careful what you wish for!

A new round of peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis began today. In advance of the opening day of talks, This headline is hugely important as far as God’s timetable goes:

Barak: Israel ready to divide Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, Sept. 1 (UPI) — In the framework of a peace deal with the Palestinians, Israel is willing to partition Jerusalem, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In an interview with Haaretz newspaper Wednesday, Barak said while the gaps remain wide and are of a “fundamental nature,” he believes there is a real chance to achieve peace with the Palestinians, based on a two-state solution and the division of Jerusalem.

Arutz Sheva reports

Barak: Israel May Divide Jerusalem, Internationalize Holy Basin 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak says it is likely that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will agree to divide Jerusalem with the Palestinian Authority. Barak told the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz in an interview published Wednesday that he believes the best chance for peace lies in a peace deal in which all the Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem would be handed over to the PA in order to create a capital for a new Arab country.

Two sources confirm that the unthinkable is being thought. God takes dividing Jerusalem VERY SERIOUSLY. He said:

I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land (Joel 3:2)

In Revelation 12:1-2 Jesus tells John not to measure the outer courts,

“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.”

The fact that God judges the nations (and Israel) that forced Israel to divide her land is a fact. It will come to pass. Whether it’s the time now when Jerusalem is divided or not remains to be seen. But just the fact that the Israeli Leaders are so specific about the dividing it bodes ill. Two years ago, Netanyahu said he would NEVER divide Jerusalem, and today they are discussing which neighborhoods would go to the Arabs. Christians, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. It is a command and it is the right thing to do. (Psalm 122:6) Keep looking up! Our Redemption draws nigh!

Our world is complex and interbalanced. Soon, God will overtly interrupt that balance. We see the beginning of that upset now. In Revelation 7:1, we read “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.” Wikipedia explains sea breezes, for example, “The sea has a greater specific heat than land and therefore has a greater capacity for absorbing heat than the land, so the surface of the sea warms up slower than the land’s surface. As the temperature of the surface of the land rises, the land heats the air above it. The warm air is less dense and so it rises. This rising air over the land lowers the sea level pressure by about 0.2%. The cooler air above the sea, now with higher sea level pressure, flows towards the land into the lower pressure, creating a cooler breeze near the coast. The strength of the sea breeze is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the land and the sea.” No breeze means a still earth. And it will be HOT.

Now imagine no breeze. Heat. Drought, Smells, Dead animals… In an end time precursor to the strange weather non-believers will endure in the tribulation, we see that the northern hemisphere is experiencing an excessively hot summer and the southern hemisphere enduring an excessively cold winter- with deadly and unexpected consequences.

1 Million Fish Dead in Bolivian Ecological Disaster
“Over 1 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles, dolphins and other river wildlife are floating dead in numerous Bolivian rivers in the three eastern/southern departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija. [now updated to 6 million] The extreme cold front that hit Bolivia in mid-July caused water temperatures to dip below the minimum temperatures river life can tolerate. As a consequence, rivers, lakes, lagoons and fisheries are brimming with decomposing fish and other creatures.”

“Nothing like this has ever been seen in this magnitude in Bolivia. Inhabitants of riverside communities report the smell is nauseating and can be detected as far as a kilometer away from river banks. River communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, fear they’ll run out of food and will have nothing to sell. Authorities are concerned there will be a shortage of fish in markets and are more concerned by possible threats to public health, especially in communities that also use river water for bathing and drinking, but also fear contaminated or decaying fish may end up in market stalls.”

I read a news article this morning that is extremely disquieting. It portends much. As if anything else in the Middle East and Israel doesn’t portend much these days, but this one stood out from the rest. And read to the end. There’s a kick to it.

The U.S. announced this week that it would upgrade its diplomatic relations with the PA by granting its mission in Washington – which is actually a PLO mission – the same status it enjoys in most European countries: that of a PLO “general delegation.” This is still a lower status than an embassy – a status the PA mission does have in many African and Asian countries, as well as some European and South American states. But it is a major step above what the PA has had until now. Prior to this decision, the PA mission in Washington was at a very low level from the point of view of protocol: Its diplomats did not have diplomatic immunity, and it was not even allowed to fly the PLO flag at the entrance to its offices. Now, its diplomats will enjoy diplomatic immunity and its offices will be able to display the PLO flag.

I’m going to give a little background, and it’s important, because the end result is that news article which states that America is doing business with a Terrorist Organization, openly and notoriously.

The PA is the Palestinian Authority. It is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The West Bank and Gaza Strip is territory inside the borders of Israel that are not part of Israel but are under Palestinian Authority.

The article continues-

“This decision reflects our confidence that through direct negotiations, we can help achieve a two-state solution with an independent and viable Palestine living side by side with Israel,” said White House spokesman Thomas Vietor. “We should begin preparing for that outcome now, as we continue to work with the Palestinian people on behalf of a better future.”

When you hear two-state solution, it means splitting Jerusalem, carving off East Jerusalem and giving it to the “Palestinians.” The “Palestinians” already have territory in Israel, so the two-state solution is really a misnomer. The territory known as the “West Bank” was originally part of the proposed Arab territories, but following the Arab-Israeli War this area was captured by Trans-Jordan (renamed Jordan in 1949). The West Bank was taken control of by Israel, during the Six-Day War in June, 1967 but never annexed by Israel. In 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank to the Palestine Liberation Organization, as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

The PA took the Gaza Strip back in 2007 at the Battle of Gaza and since then, most of the Gaza Strip is in control of Hamas with the Palestinian Authority stating it is officially no longer in control of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is an Arabic acronym  meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement.” In the past, Ariel Sharon and the George W. Bush administration refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and then president of the PA, whom they asserted formed “part of the problem” (concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) and not of its solution. In 2005 United States classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. PLO of course is all about Palestinian Liberation (from the Jews). Both are terrorist organizations the United States of America is legitimizing by elevating their status diplomatically. Today’s news about the wooing of the leader of Hamas is discouraging to say the least.

The PA has been seeking an upgrade in diplomatic relations ever since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last year. But after 18 months without progress, it was surprised to suddenly receive a letter from the State Department on Tuesday announcing that the U.S. had agreed. The letter was sent to Maen Areikat, who heads the PLO mission in Washington.

It certainly is not about peace. The PLO, Hamas, and even the Palestinian flag are all about war, terror, liberation, and revolt. Their flag is named revolt. “On October 18, 1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted by the All-Palestine Government, and was recognised subsequently by the Arab League as the flag of Palestine.” (Wikipedia)

Oh say does that flag of Arab revolt still wave…over the land of Sharia, and the home of the unsaved?

The Americans began seriously considering the upgrade two weeks ago as one of several steps it intends to take in an effort to entice Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into direct talks with Israel. … A senior Palestinian official confirmed the upgrade, and stressed that this is more than a symbolic step. “This move will enable PLO officials and Palestinian diplomats to operate in Washington in an official and orderly manner,” he said.

PLO officials operating in our nation’s capitol in an orderly manner? Terrorists do not operate in orderly fashion. It is counter intuitive. However, this diplomatic success is part of a greater plan by the Palestinians, whose total focus, remember, is to destroy Israel. Compare the news article excerpted above to this one below, also out today:

Abbas: American Jews on My Side Now
American Jewish lobbyists have been convinced to take a pro-Palestinian Authority position, and to ask US President Barack Obama to turn up the pressure on Israel, according to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas made the claims while speaking at a meeting of the Fatah organization’s central committee. “They promised they would go to Netanyahu and tell him to disassemble his coalition or announce that he agrees to a two-state solution,” he added.

The two-state solution would be to establish an Arab nation. Remember, Gaza and the West Bank are already given to the Arabs. Two-state solution would divide Israel in two and also divide her capital, Jerusalem. The two-state solution would also give Judea to the Arabs. Last year Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, “He [Israeli PM Netanyahu] knows very much that there will never be peace between Palestinians and Israelis without East Jerusalem being the capital of the Palestinian state.”

Here is what God says about monkeying with Israel’s borders and giving away land:

“I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)

The blood of the nations He assembles at Jehoshaphat will run as high as the bridles of horses for 180 miles, from Jehoshaphat to Petra. It is called The Harvest of the Earth:

“Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Rev 14)

Beware the “two-state solution.” DO NOT DIVIDE ISRAEL!

A Christian school in New Zealand fired a man whom they discovered was a homosexual. He was their netball coach and had been working for the school for a short time. The news today shows that the school was sanctioned, and as a result had to pay the homosexual coach an undisclosed sum, apologize, and take diversity classes. Here is one link/headline and the article’s first paragraph:

New Zealand school sanctioned after firing sports coach for being gay
A New Zealand Christian school has been ordered to pay undisclosed compensation and apologize to a sports coach it fired because he was gay. Board members of Middleton Grange School in Christchurch — on New Zealand’s South Island — will also attend courses on human rights awareness, school principal Richard Vanderpyl said Thursday.

This is a shame. Not only do organizations have the right to hire and fire, they have the right to fire people who do not meet their employment standards. Homosexuals do not meet the standards at a Christian School because Christian schools adhere to biblical standards. The bible’s standard for same-sex unions are that they are an abomination to the Lord. You don’t tell the children to maintain purity in opposite sex relations after marriage, and then set those standards aside and hire a homosexual who actively violates them. That is nonsensical.

The headmaster said, “We’re thinking of the impact on him,” Vanderpyl said. “We care for him and respect him.”

The school was required to take a diversity class despite already having respected his “human rights” by hiring him, and they respected his human rights again by proclaiming to the world that he is a nice person and respected by the school. The school simply had an opinion on his chosen lifestyle, and was penalized for it, while the coach had an opinion on the school’s culture, and was rewarded for it. This is a double standard.

And why does diversity only go one way? If gays are allowed to express their opinion in the workplace as to the appropriateness of their lifestyle, why was the homosexual man not required to take diversity training in order to better understand the Christian lifestyle? And … why, knowing that the school was Christian and that it held to certain moral precepts, did the homosexual coach even apply for a job there in the first place? It’s like a man applying to a women-only gym, and then suing for discrimination that he was denied entry. Or attending a vegetarian restaurant, ordering tofu fry, and then suing because hamburger isn’t on the menu.

Other questions: Did the coach tell the hiring committee at the interview initially that he was gay? Or did that information come to the attention of the Administration later? If the coach hid the information from the hiring committee, then the coach is a liar.

The coach is quoted as saying, “It’s hard enough to go through finding yourself and accepting yourself and being ‘out’ in the first place. Having to go through discrimination doesn’t help,” he said.

If it’s so normal to be gay then why do the gays themselves have such a hard time with their orientation? Why does it take a lifetime to “accept one’s self” if same sex sexual conduct is perfectly moral? And failing to meet Christian standards or morality is a perfectly legitimate basis for firing, otherwise, so many municipal charters, constitutions, oaths, and contracts would not state grounds for separability on moral turpitude. Many places, such as Michigan University, have for conditions of employment moral conduct and state as a matter of policy grounds for dismissal based on immoral conduct. Many contractual morals clauses can prohibit, for example, “actions violating societal norms,” among other statements. Ask Tiger Woods.

“It is understood that the school board made the decision that he could not remain based on Christian teaching that homosexuality is a sin.” He was pleased the people behind the decision had attended a human rights session “so they are aware what they did was wrong and don’t do it again”.

What they did was not wrong. Homosexuality IS a sin. In the legal world, morals clauses are written into employment contracts all the time. In the Employment world, you do not want someone who is morally decrepit to continue in employ. If the school had hired a teacher on the basis of having attained a Master’s degree and it was discovered later that the information was presented falsely, that person would be fired. They lied. If an organization had hired a teacher on the basis of having attained a high GPA in college but it was discovered they had earned all A’s from cheating on tests, they would be known to be a cheater and summarily fired. Willful and unrepentant sin of any kind should not be allowed to run rampant anywhere, but never in a Christian school of all places.

As for homosexuality, the demographics show that in Australia 2-3% identified themselves as homosexual in a survey conducted in 2006. In Canada in 2003, 1% identified themselves as homosexual. In the US, only 4% claimed homosexuality as their chosen sexual orientation. This article states the demographics problem well in discussing homosexual marriage: “Given that mentality, it is easy to understand the driving force behind this demand for gay marriage: the idea that people have some moral (and should therefore have some legal) right to state recognition for their personal identity. This is the heart of the matter because of its implications for democracy. Every democracy, by definition, consists of both a majority and one or more minorities. To argue that life is intolerable merely by virtue of being in the minority, in this case expressed by the exclusion of gay people from marriage, is to undermine the very foundation of democracy, especially in countries that supposedly celebrate their many minorities and promote cultural “diversity.”

In America, 80% claim Christianity. Yet why are Christian voices increasingly dismissed in “diversity” discussions and human rights classes? Because Christians are increasingly censored. Anti-Christians want Christians silenced in the workplace. Christians who voice their opinion about the sinful practices are increasingly penalized, and that includes even within Christian workplaces and organizations!

Remember, Jesus said that believers will be mistreated, all the way from unfairness to persecution to martyrdom. We also know that the Christian standards will be increasingly trod upon as deception becomes the way of the world in the end time. (Mt 24:10-12). Christian, be prepared with an answer if you are asked in the workplace about any of the bible’s standards for behavior, including homosexuality. Stand up for Jesus in decrying sin, but do so lovingly and with a spirit of humility and forgiveness. But be truthful, and be bold. His Word is true and we must live it, loving Him and hating sin. Don’t be afraid to say what you stand for if you are asked, without fear or favor! He is with us:  “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)

Jesus said that in the end time there will be pestilences. (Luke 21:11). Now, just because a place here or there experiences the usual outbreak of seasonal whatever, it’s not a cause for alarm nor a sign confirmed.  However, when we read of widespread outbreak, spikes in cases, or epidemics, we pay attention.

Dengue fever, a painful fever associated with the tropics, is running rampant in the Caribbean and also cases are up in the Keys of Florida:

1000 exposed to dengue in FL
Five percent of the population of Key West, Florida — more than 1,000 people — have been infected at some point with the dengue virus, government researchers reported on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico:
Dengue fever turns epidemic in Caribbean
Mosquito-borne dengue fever is reaching epidemic stages across the Caribbean, with dozens of deaths reported and health authorities concerned it could get much worse as the rainy season advances.

Dominican Republic:
Dengue cases double over last y
Thousands of health workers and soldiers will destroy mosquito breeding areas across the country this weekend, worried dengue cases are on track to nearly doubled from last year, officials said Friday. At least 27 deaths have been reported, and health officials say more than 5,000 people have been diagnosed so far in 2010 with the virus that causes fever, headaches and extreme joint and muscle pain.

Trinidad & Tobago:
Dengue upsurge, failing health care system blamed
The failure of local health care systems is mostly to blame for the annual rise of dengue cases, Dr Colin Furlong, Head of the Medical Practitioners Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT), said yesterday. With the advent of the rainy season, the country has again begun to see a flood of possible dengue cases, with one confirmed death two weeks ago, that of a 14-year-old boy.

Puerto Rico: Dengue running above epidemic threshold

An earthquake in Toronto (where the G8 is about to open) shook the northeastern US as far south as Ohio.

The SF Chronicle reports:
June 23 (Bloomberg) — A magnitude 5.0 earthquake in Canada shook office towers in Toronto and Montreal, interrupted train service and forced lawmakers and government workers in Ottawa from their buildings. The earthquake at about 1:41 p.m. New York time today was centered about 53 kilometers (33 miles) northeast of Ottawa, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tremors were felt as far away as Ohio, New York and Massachusetts, said Bruce Presgrave, a USGS geophysicist in Golden, Colorado. Don Davies, a lawmaker with the opposition New Democratic Party, had to cut short an Ottawa press conference on the costs of the Group of Eight (G8) and Group of 20 (G20) summits in Canada. The tremor comes three days before leaders from the Group of 20 countries converge on Toronto to debate ways of coordinating exit strategies from fiscal stimulus.”

Tampa Bay online reports:
The midday quake was felt in Canada and in a number of U.S. states, including Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.  Residents of a number of states in the Midwest and Northeast reported feeling the earthquake. In Ohio, people reported the sound of plaster cracking in Cleveland and buildings in Cincinnati gently swaying. In Cleveland, James Haselden says his office in a renovated 19th century brick building swayed and he heard plastic cracking but saw no damage. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its website that the Canadian quake was felt by some residents in the western Pennsylvania area. The quake also was felt in New Jersey, where the Bergen County administration building in Hackensack was evacuated after employees reported they felt a tremor.”

The upper “A” is the epicenter of the quake and the lower one points out Toronto, where the quake was felt and perhaps not to coincidentally, the G8 and G20 Economic Summits are about to open. How many millions of people felt that quake? It is a populated area of Canada and the most populated section of the US. Millions upon millions of people were directly affected by this quake, which in my opinion, was from God.

The LORD told us there would be earthquakes. “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. – Luke 21:11.” Earthquakes are one of His signature methods of alerting His people that He is present. Famous biblical fulfillment prophetical earthquakes of the past have been the one that occurred when Jesus died upon the cross. The one that released Paul from prison. In the Old Testament’s 1 Samuel 14:15, Then panic struck the whole army–those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties–and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.” An earthquake and a panic sent by God. Perhaps like today’s? [Below, people flee the office buildings in Toronto, where the 5.5 quake shook buildings for 30 seconds or more]

In the future (the near future in my opinion,) the LORD promised that the day Gog attacks Israel, “In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. “I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.”‘ (Ezekiel 38:20-23)

And we are promised earthquakes not just specifically as in Ezekiel, but also in general during the end times as the Luke verse states. Earthquakes are a sign from God. I can’t make the statement or claim that every quake is from God or that every quake has a prophetic tie-in. But we are far along enough in the end times that the Luke verse stating that there will be earthquakes in diverse places seems safe to say that God is trembling in righteous anger and warning His people. It seems safe to say that the panic set off by this Canadian quake seems to fit His methods for warning and a call to repentance. It seems safe – more than safe – to say that He is making Himself known among the nations. That the Tribulation is accompanied by many, many quakes as prophesied in Revelation, Zechariah, and Ezekiel is also a sign that the trumpet may be about to be raised to the Lord’s lips even at this moment. When that trumpet sounds, the Church Age ends, and we are raptured. It will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Are you ready?

(Press-Register/Ben Raines) A speckled crab is almost completely encased in a thick layer of oil just offshore from the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Bits of trash, such as this American flag, are similarly encrusted with the thick, goopy oil found hugging the seafloor in several locations along the Gulf beach.

 I used to spend the Fourth of July in Lubec-Eastport Maine. If you visualize Maine as the profile of a dog, Eastport and Lubec would be the nostrils. They are as far east as you can go in Maine and not be in Canada. The highest tides in the world begin there, with the Bay of Fundy beginning the funnel to a small inlet where massive tides are pushed in several times a day. They are nautical cities, driven by the sea, which surrounds both of them. And as for the air, there’s cool, fog, and cold. Those are the seasons. (Notice the shadow side on the left and the sunny side on the right. The difference in temps would be at least ten degrees)

Even on the Fourth the temperatures remain cool – in the sun- and out of the sun you will need either long sleeves or a sweatshirt. I loved it.

The Eastport parade drew about 8000-9000 annually, helped by the docking of a navy ship of one kind or another which gave tours. The navy men marched in the parade down Water Street, a sea of white hats swooping down the gentle hill as we clapped for their service and dedication.

I used to get there early because the parade street ran north-south. The sun at the starting time was shining on one side of the street and the other was in shadow. The shadow side was cool and dimmer than the sunny side. It was simply more practical to get there early and be in the warm sun. (Note the ladies are wearing fleeces and huddling under blankets on the dark side of the street. It’s cold on that side!)

I’ve noticed something lately. Many of my Christian brothers and sisters are sad. Times are tough, and there is much illness, uncertainty, and confusion. But that is not the kind of sad I am talking about- the sadness over the factory closing or not having money to take that trip this year. Not economic circumstances, but emotional. Many people I come across are sad about  things in their lives that happened to them on an interpersonal level. I get sad sometimes, thinking of the wrongs done to me or the loss of relationships or I mourn for the way things used to be.

Jesus got sad, too. Jesus even wept. When He arrived at the place where Lazarus had died, Mary fell at His feet weeping, and “Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,” (John 11:33b).

But there is a danger in allowing sadness to veer from a useful emotion that cleanses, and wallowing in it. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines wallowing as “to indulge oneself immoderately.”

One would not normally think of being sad as something one chooses to indulge in, but it is, and is the point of this post. Things happen to us that make us sad, it is part of life. As a strong Christian you are more likely to have events occur that wind up in sadness. The world does not like us. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19). So prepare to be occasionally sad. But do not choose to wallow.

Yes, wallowing is a choice, one that all to many Christians indulge in. Do you return in your mind to that last dreadful conversation and mentally list all the really terrible things your ex-husband/boss/mother said to you? Do you revisit the terrible circumstances, re-telling it constantly in conversation? Even thought it happened last year, ten years ago? Do you sit in your room and cry more often that you sit in your room and praise? You’re wallowing.

Yes, Jesus wept, but look what He did right after that: “So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb” (John 11:35-38a) Jesus kept moving. He ‘came to the tomb’, He engaged in action, He didn’t sit by the road and cry with His friends who all were crying and had been for days. He kept moving becase He had a job to do.

Our job is to be salt and light. We can’t be that if we stop moving. We can’t be that if we are wallowing in sadness over the things that happened to us. If we expend salt on our own tears and our light is dimmed by wallowing, then we are not fulfilling our obligations to the Lord Who also wept, but Who also kept moving.

Notice the photos I included in this essay. There is a sunny side and a shadow side at the parade. One side is warm and bright and the other side is dark and cool. Some choose to be on the dark side. Those who do, stand with coats on, then they sit and grab a blanket, then they start to huddle and shiver, not wanting to move because it is so comfy under the blanket. But it is more comfortable on the sunny side to begin with. It takes a bit of work to get there, making plans to arrive early and staying longer, but the entire experience is warmer and brighter because of the extra effort.

Christians you can choose to be sad and wallow in ‘what he said’ or ‘what she did,’ and that is a never-ending pit because the world hates us and would love to steal your effectiveness as a joyful Christian on the move. Or you can weep but move on to the next task with all the salt and light you can muster. If you have a hard time doing that, ask the Lord for help, and see what He can do: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” (Ps 30:11) Keep on the sunny side, Christians! And keep moving!

There’s a dark and a troubled side of life
There’s a bright, there’s a sunny side, too
Tho’ we meet with the darkness and strife
The sunny side we also may view

[cho:] Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us ev’ry day, it will brighten all the way
If we’ll keep on the sunny side of life

The storm and its fury broke today,
Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear;
Clouds and storms will, in time, pass away
The sun again will shine bright and clear.
Let us greet with the song of hope each day
Tho’ the moment be cloudy or fair
Let us trust in our Saviour away
Who keepeth everyone in His care