The Last Charge of God’s Light Brigade is Mounting Up–Are You In?

It appears by all indications that 2009 is the year something of profound importance spiritually is going to take place in this world. With leaders handpicked by those in the upper echelons of power, the world reeling under the pressure of recession and more and more people feeling like finally a man is in control in the United States who can change everything for the better; it certainly looks like a classic case of the enemy getting ready to play his trump card.

If this is true and the enemy is planning to implement his longstanding plan to institute a one world government, financial system and religion; those who know the truth from the Bible better get their heads screwed on straight quickly for there will not be time once events start happening at breakneck speed.

Neither I nor anyone else knows for sure what is going on in the hallowed halls of Washington, the plush offices of New York or the stuffy enclaves of Europe; but it certainly appears that all the individual pieces of the puzzle have been put in place and now it is time to start putting the puzzle together. Never before, in modern recorded history has there been such a confluence of power brokers along with crisis after crisis in need of someone to diffuse them as the present.

Without question and with no hesitation I can say with full assurance that the man governing the United States gives every indication of being the perfect candidate for the antichrist. Up and down the line, he measures up to the criteria laid out in the Bible for this ultimate powerbroker. If he continues to succeed in what he has managed to get done the first week in power much longer, then I believe anyone who believes we are living in the “end times” must awake and honestly evaluate who this man may REALLY be.

In trying to put together the records given by Paul, Peter, John and Jesus along with the Old Testament prophets, it is very hard to develop an ironclad timeline of specific events which are to take place leading up to and during the final week of Daniel’s prophecy. There are certainly some things which are undeniable and indisputable, but there are also many other things which are very difficult to assign a specific time and place as to their occurrence.

Last March I had a dream which shook me to the very depths of my soul. I rarely receive dreams which have any spiritual significance, but this one did. The basic elements of this dream were that a cloud of darkness would overspread the United States and cause panic and fear and finally immobilize the masses and turn them into subservient subjects. I honestly thought at the time this cloud of darkness was either weather related or the effects of a nuclear attack.

I now know this dream of impending darkness dealt with the collapse of the American economy as it had been known. I now know that the darkness that is overspreading this land is that which is being caused by the deliberate dismantling of the free enterprise system (otherwise known as capitalism) and replacing it with a forced version of socialism and/or fascism. All that has gone on is going on and will go on is not by accident but by deliberate design to break down American families and businesses to the point they must abide by government dictates in order to survive.

All the trash talk about “economic stimulus” packages and the like is all a smoke screen to cover up the truth of what is really happening. All symbolic meetings such as went on yesterday in Washington are part of a cleverly conceived plan to convince the public that what is being debated and voted on in Congress is legitimate when in reality it is as contrived and illegitimate as anything promoted and developed by the devil and his human associates.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are eyewitnesses to the events which are ushering in the “last days”. There is no doubt in my mind that there is about to be a rapid fire succession of events which will appear to produce unparalleled peace and prosperity for a season in this world. There is also no doubt in my mind that those of us who wholeheartedly believe in the rapture of the church will soon be taken from this cesspool of iniquity called the world and transported to our eternal home in the heavenlies.

I am fully aware of the controversy surrounding statements such as I just made. I am fully aware that merely saying them arouses pure venom and hatred within some who vehemently deny any of these things will ever take place. I understand that others feel just as strongly that all is going to be fine and God will establish His Kingdom on earth via the hard work of His people preaching the gospel and building churches. To each they must establish what they believe and then abide by it.

As for me and my household, I look at the unrelenting trials and tribulations which have befallen so many good and honest believers recently as the final testing by God to establish who is worthy to be considered the remnant which will participate in the marriage supper soon to start. Those whose trust and confidence is in this world and/or their church or themselves will never receive the call to appear before the Lord in the air to be taken to the place where we will enjoy the wedding feast.

While the overwhelming majority of Christians will be somewhat aware that a few “freaks” have vanished from their company, they will go on living the same as before assuming their own abilities or the power of their government will save them from any horrible things that might arise. They will rejoice as they see apparent peace in the Middle East, harmony among nations and the restoration of prosperity again. To them, all will indicate they were right all along.

But, just when they say “peace and safety” sudden destruction will come upon them as labor upon a woman with child. Seemingly from out of the blue, peace will turn to war, harmony to discord and prosperity to poverty. As the world collapses around them, they will only then remember the words of those “freaks” who warned such a thing would happen. But, alas, it is too late and they must come to grips with the realization the great tribulation is upon them.

It is not too late to get your heart right with God and totally commit yourself to Him. It is not too late to once and for all break away from the systems of this world and find the freedom that comes to those who fully and totally trust in the Lord and not in man. It is not too late to bow down before the Lord and repent once and for all of everything that has prevented you from living in the presence of the Lord. It is not too late to fully turn your heart, soul and life over to Him who saved you and called you with a holy calling.

I beseech you to consider these words carefully and weigh them in your heart against the sense knowledge “hope” that somehow things are going to get better in this world through the works of men and women sold out to those who control this world. What takes place in this world in the days and weeks ahead is exactly what God will allow to happen which in turn will lead to the most dramatic seven years in the history of mankind.

As for me and my household, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to speak the truth in love so others can hear of what is coming. We are committed to no longer compromising with the world on matters of heart and loyalty. We are committed to placing our faith totally in God and with full confidence yielding to His sovereign will. We are committed to never turning back to the weak and worthless elements of this world. We are committed to serving Him with all our hearts until He calls us home.

I pray you take stock of your situation and make sure your heart is right before God and that the affairs of this life have not so beaten you down that you have unconsciously compromised your faith by yielding to the demands of this world. I pray you return to your first love and allow your heart to rest in the everlasting loving arms of your Savior and Lord. I pray you lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily distract us and weigh us down.

I pray that in these final hours of these final days that each and every one of us neglect not the gift God has placed within us and instead stir up that gift into the flame of compassionate outreach to others who are falling away faster and faster each day. I pray that no matter what the enemy does to tear down, distract or apply pressure; we all stand fast in the faith, unswerving and unashamed of the Gospel of Christ Jesus which is our very life.

We only have a little time to put on the armor of light and raise the standard of Jesus Christ one last time to this dying world. Soon, and very soon, that light will be gone as those bearing it will be taken out of the way so the son of perdition may have “his day”. Soon, and very soon, those who remain will face the full force of a world gone totally mad for a season. The hour of our message being needed is NOW and so is the hour of our decision to rise above our personal woes and move out as God’s last brigade of light and hope to a world who desperately needs us.

Oink, Oink–The upcoming Pork invasion in the economic stimulus package

If there were such a thing a “truth detector”, the readings would be setting off all sorts of alarms based on the insanity flowing from our nation’s capital. Things being said and promoted are so far off the chart of logic that I wonder if there are really any people who believe them. We truly live in a time when most ideas and decisions are literally upside down from the way they should be, and far removed from what the majority of people really want.

I would tend to agree with some who have stated that the rash of executive decisions announced the past week are nothing more than “pay back” to special interest groups whose help was needed to get the current crop of politicians elected. The same thing happened in reverse eight years ago which reversed what happened back sixteen years ago. Each new administration seems to feel it has the right to abruptly change those policies it doesn’t agree with and that can be done via Executive Order, as quickly as possible.

Where this policy is to be expected, some of the other moves by the new administration should be raising eyebrows and sending warning signals to those seeking rational and objective leadership. Of course many think it is a good thing that one by one the agenda of the “right” is dismantled and replaced with a radical agenda that is predominantly “leftward leaning”. I really don’t see why this should surprise anyone and I don’t know how different things would have been if the November election results would have been reversed.

The point is that in many different categories, things will be radically different than they were before as Congress starts the process of pushing through key elements of the new administration’s plans for “change”. Whether desired or not, these elements are on the way and will start showing up soon in areas affecting all of us. Whether we like these changes or not makes little difference for once laws are written, they are laws and must be obeyed.

Once the economic stimulus package is ever finished and the endless changes and amendments are added, there are few who really think it will end up under a trillion dollars. The unfortunate reality is that once that bill reaches the President’s desk to be signed, it will have more pork in it than most slaughterhouses. Cozy little earmarks and little spending measures will be buried in the bill in such fine print no one will catch them until after the bill passes.

It is an absolute given in Washington politics that the most powerful members of Congress make sure they somehow bring home the most pork each session. If they don’t, they don’t stay long in Washington. States with long serving Senators and Representatives manage to squeeze money out of even basic bills for their state or district. Then, when re-election time comes, they make sure they remind everyone how much “good” they did the preceding term.

I sometimes pity some of the small states or those who have only brand new Senators or Representatives. It is a foregone conclusion these places will get very little pork the first few years. I guess this is why there are so many extremely elderly Senators. The states keep re-electing them due to how much money they send back home instead of their positions on major issues.

Since no one seems to care how much money is spent to stimulate the American economy, look for more and more additions to the spending bill when it reaches the Senate. For the life of me, I don’t understand why they don’t just make it a ten trillion dollar bill and give each Senator a few hundred billion to “play with” for their states. Of course they could just send us all a million dollars and we could in turn tell Washington we don’t need a Congress anymore for we have enough money to run things ourselves.

44th President–Greatest ever or worse than any–Let God and time be the judge

For the multitudes trying to transform President Obama into the reincarnation of John F. Kennedy; the only words I feel appropriate are the famous words spoken in 1988 during the Vice Presidential debate. At the time, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen had this to say to Sen. Dan Quayle and his comparing himself to Jack Kennedy. “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy: I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” President Obama is not John Kennedy, even if he succeeds in pushing the Governor of New York to appoint JFK’s daughter to the United States Senate.

For the multitudes trying to transform President Obama into the reincarnation of the Rev. Martin Luther King; the only words I feel appropriate cannot be written in a public blog post. This comparison is even more revolting than that to JFK. What Martin Luther King did was so unique and phenomenal due to the times in which he lived, to compare what Mr. Obama has done to what Martin Luther King did is to diminish the historical significance of Rev. King’s accomplishments.

For the multitudes trying to transform President Obama into the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln; the only word I feel appropriate is “huh?” Other than being from Illinois, I fail to see why there should be any comparison between these two men. Any attempts to do so are in my mind comical.

For the multitudes trying to transform President Obama into the reincarnation of Franklin Roosevelt; the only words I feel appropriate are that this is the one comparison that is worth considering. The similarities dealing with the economy are eerily similar as is the general condition of the nation. With a solid majority backing his decisions in Congress, the similarities become even more matched. But, even with a somewhat similar financial mess on his hands, the challenges awaiting our 44^th President are similar in outward appearance only to those faced by FDR 76 years ago.

Why not let President Obama be his own man instead of squeezing him into the mold of those who lived and served years or even centuries ago? Why must everyone feel the need to always compare one person with another? Is it not possible that a person can end up being uniquely different than anyone who preceded him?

I wish only the best for our new President. Why shouldn’t I? If negatives happen, they will end up directly impacting me and my family. If positives happen, not only will my life be better, but President Obama will make his own history as someone capable of pooling the collective resources of great people and dealing with the worst financial crisis since the depression FDR had to deal with.

I refuse to participate in the constant negative, sarcastic and unprofitable rhetoric being propounded by conservative talk show hosts. They relentless attack every move Obama makes like there is an election coming up next month. Hey folks, the election was two months ago and you lost. Get over it. Don’t do what the Democrats did after Al Gore’s humiliating defeat in 2000. They never let go of the bitterness and anger.

Unless someone in authority comes up with a better plan than the ridiculous excuse for a stimulus package being rammed through Congress at this time; this country is going to fall, no matter who is leading it. The very idea of throwing trillions of dollars at the economic problems facing this country is shortsighted and historically not a good example.

Any honest historian knows that it was World War II that brought the world out of The Great Depression and not the money FDR and Congress threw at the problems. Once this country HAD to start making everything from tanks to ships to airplanes and bullets, the economy was jumpstarted faster than through all the stimulus packages attempted for the preceding eight years.

President Jimmy Carter deliberately drew down the United States military by starving it of funds during the horrible economic times in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Once Ronald Reagan took office, he immediately sought to cut taxes and up the amount of money spent on the nation’s defense in a huge way. Those two moves, more than any other, prompted the economy to throw off its lethargy and within a year or two embark on nearly two decades of amazing growth.

Most experts are comparing the current recession to that of 1980-82. That inflation driven recession was not overcome by throwing money at banks and other insane moves. It was overcome by giving American citizens and businesses such a huge tax break, they gladly spent which got the economy moving again. At the same time, huge contracts were given to major defense contractors who in turn hired unemployed workers in droves.

The biggest question which will determine whether President Obama will be viewed as a success or failure is whether he and his friends in Congress turn the United States into either a socialist state or worse—a fascist one by having the government take over everything; or whether he stands up to his friends and fights to rejuvenate American businesses and families through tax cuts and policies designed to promote growth not just a safety net.

I most certainly pray not only the “experts” but the United States and the world for that matter wait until well after the first glorious 100 days before erecting statues, naming highways and otherwise christening President Obama the greatest President ever in this country. Perhaps he may end up being such, but it would take history many generations to make that call accurately. One cannot be judged by the immediate results one produces.

Whether President Obama leads us to the Promised Land or to ruin; as Christian our role is to pray, pay honest taxes and follow the laws of the land. I will do those things with a pure heart and nothing more. I will allow the judgment of the new administration to be made by the Great Judge God and the time needed to see if short-term fixes indeed produce long-term positive results. By these long term results we will indeed be able to know what commenced today with the swearing in of our 44^th President.

Misplaced and dilusional optimism running rampant in D.C. this week

In most respects, I want to crawl into a hole and come out in next week. I look forward to what is happening this week in Washington about as much as sleeping naked on my frozen pond. There is nothing happening this week that I believe is anything other than the reflection of a nation who about to reach the end of its glory. All the talk of “hope” and “change”, which will fuel exorbitant optimism that all the woes that drug this country down this past year are over, will never happen.

No one man, no matter how handsome, skilled in giving speeches and popular is able to turn the United States of America around. Many think FDR did, but his policies (if they really did any good) took years to take effect and the changes took even longer. Just because everyone is down in the dumps doesn’t make it right for them to suddenly lose all sense of rational thought and get stuck on stupid.

Surveys allegedly show that well over 70% of Americans think that somehow their new President is going to wave a magic wand and solve all the problems of the country AND all their personal ones too. What this means is that well over 70% of Americans have lost their collective minds. There are no magic wands and no President is able to talk or spend America or Americans out of their problems. Why and how so many people believe this is troubling and frightening.

Back in 2001, after the horrible tragedy of 9/11 surveys showed 90% of Americans believed their President would lead them to victory over the forces of evil which caused the disaster. Within a very small amount of time the percentage of those who believed that dropped to 60% and by the time the man leaves office Tuesday, barely 30% believe he did any good in eight years. The point is that Americans are notoriously fickle in their optimism and loyalty to their leader.

In 1991 at this time, President Bush the elder had just launched “Operation Desert Storm”. Almost the entire country was solidly behind the effort, helped along by songs like Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” and others. To most Americans at the time, the whole thing was equal to watching the Olympics. Their “team” was beating the daylights out of the Iraq team. At the time, Americans thought George Bush Sr. was the greatest President who ever lived in the White House. By November of 1992 they had voted him out of office in a humiliating defeat.

I wish President Obama all the best. I pray for him because my Bible says to. I pray he makes the right decisions and leads this country the best he can. But, he is still just a man. He is not a god and does not possess some type of supernatural ability to instantly solve all the nation’s problems or mine. Perhaps he will enter office with a 70% or greater approval rating. Perhaps the economy will turn around with all the spending and by next year he will have a 90% approval rating. If it happens, it happens.

All I know, is that realistically speaking, the odds do not favor a sudden and abrupt change in anything other than the National Debt. Things fall apart far quicker than it takes to rebuild them. Anything short of a National debt forgiveness program is bound to take months, if not years to produce the desired results. Problems which took years to develop cannot be solved overnight, no matter how much “hope” the people have.

My problems lie with the mentality of the American population and their misguided belief that their self pronounced “savior” can lead them to the promised land of financial prosperity and wealth without having to work or save for it. This entitlement and welfare state way of thinking is doing nothing but setting Americans up for an even greater disaster than the one which has taken place the past few months.

Wisdom, patience, hard work and prayer will pull this country out of the cesspool of depravity it has sunk into. Realistically speaking, I don’t think there is any more chance of these things being operated by the incoming President and Congress than the outgoing. All I see for this country is years of falling deeper and deeper in debt and only deferring to the next generation the horrible end game catastrophe such debt is bound to produce. For now, America, enjoy your misplaced and delusional “optimism” for that is all it is.

Dealing with the the terror and fear of failure

Fear has a way of gripping, seizing and otherwise stopping people in their tracks. Fear of failure has to be the greatest of all fears next to the biggest one—fear of death. When the fear of losing all one has worked for to obtain confronts a person, the instinctive reaction is first panic and then irrational actions. Both of these reactions generate negative results which compound the problem.

Fear is like a disease which creeps into the mind and slowly but surely takes over thought patterns and influences the decision making process. Fear is irrational and thus the decisions made out of fear are irrational. Fear is counterproductive and thus when allowed to influence our thinking it generates results which only serve to foster more fear.

The purpose of a terrorist attack is to generate fear and panic more than anything else. The immediate destruction is important, but the long term fear is the main objective. Terror is not a nice word, and to terrorize is one of the ugliest words in the English language. Nothing harms people more than to live in a state of terror for in that state there is no freedom but only bondage.

Fear and terror are the cruelest of all slave masters and they rule with an iron fist. When a person, community or nation is ruled by a tyrant utilizing fear tactics, the resulting submission is obtained at the cost of individual initiative and personal liberty. Living under the cloak of fear produces nothing but bondage and a timid lifestyle void of any risks and joy.

The greatest realm of fear currently is of course finances. With the ongoing, and seemingly never ending onslaught of negative news regarding everything from the Stock Market to house foreclosures to job losses, etc there has settled over the world a growing fear that things will never be as they were during the years of prosperity fueled by unbridled greed. As the reality of horrible mistakes made years ago catches up with the current situation, things just keep getting worse due to the enormous deceit and evil practiced by so many for so long.

Times are tough and getting tougher by the day for millions of people. The numbers of us who have to deal with the gnawing fear that within a few months there will not be enough money to even pay the mortgage, let alone all the other bills, is growing daily. Those who have lost 50% or more of their net worth and have gone from equity positions to being “upside down” in their homes are the ones most at risk of yielding to fear.

Somehow there is a way out of the wilderness and that way can be found if fear is kept at bay and sound practices of financial stewardship are practiced. As is evidenced by the current flood of negative earnings reports by major corporations, Americans have been cutting back on purchases which is the only sound and logical thing to do in times such as these. But, in so doing this, the ripples spread throughout the whole economy as one sector after another suffers a downturn in business. It is, indeed, a vicious cycle.

Whether all the bailouts and stimulus packages which have come and are coming will really do much to stimulate the economy, promote job growth and halt the foreclosure crisis is open for debate and won’t be known for months or years. What is a known reality is that if fear is allowed to take hold and dictate decision making whether in Washington or everyone’s kitchen table; the results will be opposite to what everyone desires and the problems will compound.

In these troubling times, it behooves the wise person to first be patient and secondly be prudent. Now is not the time for outlandish and risky moves. If ever there was a time to dig in and hang on, it is now. Budget your resources as best you can with the mortgage being most important followed by utilities and other living expenses. The vultures circling who lured us into getting their credit cards will just have to live off the scraps for awhile. The tactics being employed by the major banks by cutting credit lines and raising interest rates for even good customers is deplorable and I pray it backfires on them.

Normally I would never advocate paying the minimum per month on a credit card bill, but if it comes down to paying more or losing your house; it is a no brainer. In due time all this will work out one way or the other and we all will either be living in tents somewhere or the ship will right itself and the good times will come again. Until then, the main thing is to stay calm and not panic. Refuse to act out of fear and of course trust in the Lord for guidance, provision and wisdom. That is all any of us can do.

Try obeying speed limits; if so, be prepared for therapy or worse

I had to make a sudden and unexpected trip last Friday which ended up taking me from the St. Louis area all the way past Knoxville, Tennessee. Although I have made this trip before, this one was extremely taxing as well as disturbing in many respects.

In my 40 years of driving, I have probably logged millions miles on the road. Although professional truckers would call that a “good year”, it is still a lot of miles to predominantly be made in a car, van or small truck.

My troubles this trip came not from weather or high gas prices, but rather from fellow drivers. Perhaps because I am getting older by the day or due to my physical woes my tolerance level has dropped; either way, it is getting more and more difficult to drive according to the rules of the road and not get run over in the process.

Some of the questions I am left with as I unwind here tonight from this exhausting trip are:

1. Why do we have speed limits in this country? No one obeys them unless they are over 55 years old or their vehicle can’t go any faster. Where on earth could people be going at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning that necessitated them going 90-100 miles per? Somehow I don’t think it was to church.

2. What is the purpose of law enforcement if they don’t enforce the law? I personally witnessed vehicles speed past parked state police vehicles easily going 85 mph without bothering to even tap the brake and without such enforcement vehicles leaving their parking spots.

3. When was the law passed that says, the bigger the pickup or SUV, the faster it is allowed to go and never leave the passing lane? It is truly a source of great consternation to pull out on an Interstate to pass a semi and within 5 seconds a gigantic SUV going 100 mph is two inches from my rear bumper flashing its lights and honking its horn. Just what does the driver expect me to do anyway?

4. If this country is in such a horrible recession, why could I not find a parking place in the course of 30 minutes Friday Night at the Grand Ole Opry Mall in Nashville, TN? Once I did find a spot, it took me nearly 15 minutes of walking to get to an entrance. Once inside, I honestly thought the entire city of Nashville was crammed into the place. Obviously there are still plenty of people with tons of money to spend.

5. If the country is in such a horrible recession, how could the line of vehicles near Pigeon Forge, TN stretch for miles on a Saturday in JANUARY? Every attraction, shopping venue and restaurant was packed. If times are so tough, why is it that everyone seems to have plenty of money to spend, time to waste and bags of “stuff” packed in their cars?

I came to the conclusion this weekend that the so-called recession which supposedly is causing such pain and suffering is pretty much a myth. I am sure there are hurting people out there in America somewhere, but there must not be too many of them driving on Interstate 40 in Tennessee or frequenting the malls there.

When gas prices were $4 per gallon I noticed traffic did slow down on the Interstates, but now that gas is cheap again, the old habits of this country have returned as there remains no impetus to obey traffic laws. Most people who drive 85-100 mph can easily afford to pay the speeding fines and have good a good attorney who can get the points taken off their driver’s license. Furthermore, I think there is a secret agreement made for I never see any $60,000 SUV’s or luxury cars pulled over for speeding. Usually I only see older vehicles or minivans.

Thank you for allowing me to vent some vent up “road rage”. Happy trails as you try to obey the speed limits in this country while surrounded by millions who absolutely could care less how fast they are going because of their mistaken belief they are better than everyone else on the road.