How We Got Here!

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”  I Samuel 8 NIV

If we take a few moments to contemplate this passage of Scripture and align it with where we are right now--we can see how we got here--to this time in 2017.

I'm a visionary and have an extremely creative imagination and while reading this I saw a parallel time period from then to now.

Hillary tried to warn us what would happen if 45 was elected--in all three debates--she let us know what would happen.

45 let us know who he was, but people blinded by dissatisfaction and willing to believe lies, didn't listen.

Evangelical leaders who claim to be pro-life (within the womb), but hate others outside the womb, wanted to see a Supreme Court Justice appointed who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Coupled with their hatred of Obama--the first Black President--they convinced people that God chose Trump to be president--using a well known tool--gas lighting--repeating lies until they are believed, leading people to distrust their own judgment.

What we learn from Samuel is that having a king to rule over the Children of Israel was never God's idea, but the people who badgered Samuel, who chose to have a king--after being warned about how a king would treat them. God never leaves us with choices without presenting the consequences of our actions (Deuteronomy 28).

Just about everything we were warned about with Trump has come to pass. He will lie about lies and back peddle on promises and those who CHOSE him--by electing him as president--are now crying, "foul!"

The Children of Israel didn't listen to Samuel and many people--those who are the most needy--refused to listen to Hillary and chose instead to believe the lies perpetuated by Trump.

Understanding what happened and how a kingship was established--the people's choice, should help many to understand that when Paul talked about "honoring authority" in Romans 13:1--(again I say), he was not talking about a president--but the authority that God established which is Christ Jesus.

The people didn't want to accept God as their King so He gave them what they wanted. Disgruntled, deluded, and duped gullible Americans didn't want Hillary as their president so He allowed them their choice.

Will God hear our prayers when we ignored Him? The prayers of the righteous avails much and we shall soon see whether He hears and will answer us--relieving us from this nightmare and the policies that hurt the poor and the needy.

Ignoring God and the obvious--the back-peddling pathological liar is how we got here; now it's going to take the same God we ignored, to get us out of the mess made out of an honorable position which no longer is held in high esteem by much of the on-looking world.

We can say anything we want to say about how God does things, but we only have to seek His Word to find out the truth--God has always honored man's choices and warned us of the consequences of our choices, but many refuse to listen.

Who's Carrying The Vision?

The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. I Samuel 3:1, 9-11 NIV

The Word of The Lord was rare--God was not speaking to many people who chose to ignore Him after they "crowned" their king so they could be ruled like other nations. But Samuel--given to God to serve Him by a mother who was grateful for the blessing of a child--was destined to speak for The Lord.

Throughout the Old Testament--we see how God removed Himself from a haughty groups of people (tribes) who forgot what He had said through other prophets and we also see the outcome. A nation without God is bound to lead to negative consequences. Under each king--the people either suffered or they prospered--depending upon the leader's attitude towards God. Under good kings--those who remembered God's Word--they prospered and under evil kings--the people were doomed. When God's prophets were ignored in favor of the king's prophets--calamity occurred every time.

Now--who is God speaking to and through today? To whom has He given a vision--that will benefit the people--warning them of the dire consequences that will fall upon them if people ignore it?

We have so many people who claim to be prophets of God and visionaries that it's almost comical. Not one of them have prophesied anything that has come to fruition.

Before I fell asleep last night, I saw in a vision a mist covering the earth and people changing their behavior for the better. There were no arguments, no violence, and everyone treated others with respect and kindness. So, my prayer was--"Let it be, Daddy. Let it be."

I'm not claiming to be a prophet, but that vision made me think about who God can trust to impart a vision to them. God must find us worthy to entrust us with His visions and if we attempt to move forward by our own visions--tragedy is imminent. I know--I've seen it happen. People claim God has given them a vision when in actuality, their vision overtakes them and they never see the end of the matter.

We don't have to wait for a prophet to speak to us--reminding us of God's Word--we have His Word in written format--the bible--and when we submit to Him, Holy Spirit reminds each of us what God has said and shows us those things to come--the good and the bad. Therefore, we who Believe should be trustworthy enough for God to use to build the kingdom to His glory!

Not Like Man!

"God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" (Numbers 23:19 NLT)

If God is not a man, why do we--human beings--attempt to give Him the attributes of mankind instead of understanding Him as a Spirit being--not needing us or anything He created? He is a Sovereign Being--self-sustaining--was here before anything else was and will be after everything is gone. He is the creator of all things and without Him, nothing, absolutely nothing was ever created.

Whether we believe this or not is irrelevant--especially since theorists are still trying to prove their theories--but here we are and at some point in time--we must simply realize that there are things that are beyond our understanding and defy our limited logic in attempts to explain them.

Having said all of that--God has no need to lie.  Why would He? Think about why people lie. They lie to gain confidence over others or to undermine others, to gain control over others or to escape punishment from those in authority over them. Who has any authority over Him? He is The Authority whether we accept Him as authority over our lives or not!

God is not human, but He understands His human creation well and has created us in His image--fully capable of love, but many are influenced by the evil one and their hearts have rejected Love and are full of hate.

God does not change His mind! What He has established remains true, but we have often misinterpreted His intent to fulfill our own desires and lusts. Once we understand His intent for mankind, we have a better understanding of His written Word and The Revealed Word that comes with relationship with Him. Like the human kings who seal "their decrees" with a ring and wax, God seals His decrees in our hearts with Holy Spirit.

If we look closely at the history of mankind and all of the current events, we can see that God keeps His promises--no matter what those promise are--they do come pass and we either reap the reward or the consequence clearly stated in His Word.

God will not tolerate people mocking His Word forever. As He has done in the past, He will do again--all those things He promises for either our obedience or disobedience. We only have to look at the state the world is in today to know--that He is not playing with us. So, why are we flagrantly disobedient to Him? Do we think we know more or can do more than He can? How foolish are we to think we can openly and rebelliously defy God and not suffer the consequences of our actions?

Woe unto us who know to do better, but choose to succumb to the dictates of man, rather than obey God!

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to understand Alpha and Omega and cut away anything in our hearts, not like You so we may glorify You in everything we do and say. Spiritually, deafen our ears and blind our eyes to those thing that are not of You and keep our tongues from saying anything that is rebellious towards You. Amen!

Tower Against The Storm!

"But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O LORD,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
are like a storm beating against a wall," (Isaiah 25:4 NLT)

Well-built towers--whether to house a light-house or skyline a castle can weather the storms of nature or withstand the onslaught of rebellious people.

The Lord is a strong tower--One in which we can be assured of safety against all the elements and those who oppose and rebel against His Word.

We can expect--the needy to find help from those who know The Lord.

We can expect--those in need of shelter from the storms waged by the enemy to find safe haven.

We can expect--provision from being decimated by extreme seasons and political unrest.

We can expect--with certainty--for all those who create problems to suffer the consequences of their actions--whether they are on the right side of The Lord or the wrong side for His justice does not discriminate and He holds no bias based upon political affiliation or any other trait or entity (openly or behind closed doors) that defies Him.

He sees and knows all things and His Word--shall uphold all who obey it and for those who do not--that same Word will convict and bring about the consequences for going against Him.

It is not a mystery for it is written--for the benefit of all--whether it is believed or not--nothing changes it for the Lord is King of Kings and whatever the King has written--He will not change.

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to understand with clarity who You are, how You want us to live and all that You have prepared for us when we obey and when we don't. Create in us a heart of flesh that desires to please You and not self and a will to obey You, and not the dictates of men. Thank You for being The Strong Tower for all who will run to You!