PARKS BROWN

The world is trying to hijack, alter and change words at such a rapid pace it can be difficult to keep up. Divorce, is a word quickly associated with marriage but historically has a more basic understanding and definition. Divorce is an action, a verb. Divorce means to separate and dissociate one thing from another. Americans tend to think of divorce as a noun but however you use and hear the word, it identifies a lack of commitment and infidelity, unbelief and unfaithfulness.

In America, the divorce rate for first marriages is 40-50%. The divorce rate in a second marriage grows to 60-70%. More interesting is the fact 70% of all divorces are initiated by the woman. In the case of divorce between college educated wives and husbands, 90% are initiated by the woman. This data uses the biological definition of a man and a woman and may cause consternation among some people. For purposes of this discussion, I will assume a Christian perspective that acknowledges a Biblical definition and historical understanding of men and women taken from the Bible and biological sex.

God knows that a man needs a woman to help him and make his life more full and complete. God also knows a woman needs a man in the exact same way. This need is not just physical, emotional or financial. The need we have for each other is spiritual. We were made from the same flesh and joined together at Creation. When man and woman marry, GOD unites us as one flesh, one spirit and one mind. Marriage between a man and a woman literally joins us together at the hip, soul and spirit. It also unites us in the same manner with God.

In the book of Genesis, the Bible tells the story where Eve submitted to the temptation of the evil one and the first divorce/separation dissociation was recorded. The rest is history but as with most divorces one person rarely gets all the blame. Eve’s actions were not alone. Adam sat by and passively kept quiet therefore being complicit in divorcing mankind from our Creator. In 2025 everything old is new again.

The Bible tells the story about the first divorce and how it was reconciled. There IS one way to reconcile when men and women break their commitment and covenant with each other and with God; Jesus. This may sound like lame Christianese to couples that are angry and hurt and just want to move on, but it is very real. Christ’s life, death and resurrection proved that God is willing to forgive and heal our first divorce from Him. He sacrificed His only Son to reconcile the divorce Adam and Eve initiated. If a couple believes there is too much water under the bridge for reconciliation in their marriage, it is simply a reflection on their faith in a God that is too small. Said more bluntly, they do not serve the God of the Old Testament and His son, Jesus. They are serving their own selfish desires.

Christians profess to believe in God but I wonder if they’ve lost sight and knowledge of who and what they serve. Our churches have focused on Christ’s love and forgiveness at the expense of His power and miracles. Culture has made Jesus to be a guy walking around smiling with long flowing hair. Therefore, His followers have become complacent and content with a mere ticket to eternity. Have we forgotten the miracles of Jesus and his ability to reconcile the very first divorce? And His calling for us to do the same.

Jesus not only walked on water, healed the blind and raised the dead, His apostles and disciples did the same. Peter’s shadow even healed the sick! In talking about the scope of what would happen in the future, Christ said ‘whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and they will do even greater things than these.’ I don’t care how impossible your spouse is, God is MORE than capable. I guess the question is, ‘Will you be part of what God wants or do you prefer your own agenda?’

The data for Americans show less people identify as Christian than ever. Less people attend church than ever. Do Christians talk about seeing miracles in their marriage or everyday lives and relationships? God hasn’t changed but many of His followers have forgotten how big, powerful and capable He is. If you think your marriage is over, you don’t know Jesus.

You might ask, ‘Have we lost the knowledge of who and what Jesus is??’ As evidenced by the rate of divorce in America the answer is a resounding YES. If Christians doubt restoration in their marriage or from a divorce, they are serving a dumbed down and diluted Christ. Although this has become the trend and our faith has been weakened, our God hasn’t changed.

The Bible reminds us the current trend will come to an end and for many it will be too late. Another doctrine we need to remember is the fact there is a last call. We all know what last call means and we all know once that time comes it IS too late. Before your last call, get right with God. When Christ returns He isn’t coming to love everyone. When Jesus returns He’s coming ‘to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’

‘It’s too late for my marriage.’ ‘God can’t change my spouse or me.’ ‘I hate that person. God can’t change my feelings or our past.’ These are defiant words and ungodly acts. Consider what you say and do with gravity.

Back in the day, we were taught there are 5 senses. Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. These senses send information to our brains and equip us to perceive and understand the world we live in. Our senses help us to enjoy the world God created and also to protect ourselves from dangers in the world.

When someone ‘takes leave of their senses’ it means they lose good judgement and are no longer able to think or act rationally. We know life is more difficult WITHOUT our senses but today we are reminded about the dangers when these senses get lost. While many around us act as though they have lost their senses, what happens when this becomes a permanent condition? What happens when mass numbers of people go blind?

The fires in California are the latest to expose how many have lost their senses. Political leaders are in the crosshairs, but the people of California share in the responsibility. Everyone could see the empty reservoirs. No one smelled fire from what should have been regular controlled burns. All Californians could hear and see legislation passed to fund protective fire services but the money was never touched because it was re-allocated to other countries around the world. The National Weather Service issued a written and spoken fire warning on January 2 that was palpable, but it fell on deaf ears. Where have our senses gone?

The Bible reminds us in James that when we pursue and make friends of the world it makes us an ENEMY of God. I’d suggest California and much of the United States has left friendship waaay behind. We have flat out fallen in love with the world and are in danger of God’s wrath. And everyone knows, love is blind.

We blindly send billions of our tax dollars to foreign countries to pay for their benefits and retirement while the homeless sleep under our bridges. Our leaders turn a deaf ear to protecting our citizens and punishing those who steal from and kill Americans. Citizens talk about the injustices but no one feels the consequences for evil actions. In other words, deaf, dumb AND blind.

It’s plain to see our borders haven’t been protected. Our hospital and housing infrastructure is overwhelmed and crumbling under the stress of the influx. Much of the national infrastructure has been left unprotected and refineries burn, bridges are destroyed, communities lose clean water. The land is permanently polluted when trains are derailed with toxic chemicals. Have we ignored our senses and no longer see the evil spreading across the nation?

Protecting your own people comes first…this is Biblical. Jesus protected His own first and foremost. Christ prayed to God about his people and said ‘ “…the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” ‘ The bottom line issue in protection is knowing who and what to protect against.

Many of the decisions made by politicians and everyday folks center on loving things of the world, benefiting themselves and putting profit ahead of people. The Bible speaks about people whose ‘idols are silver and gold made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel….nor can they utter a sound with their throats.’ Psalm 115:4-7. In other words, their senses have been lost.

America WAS founded on Judaeo-Christian principles. The Founding Fathers recognized and credited the God of Creation in our Constitution and on numerous Federal Government buildings. They declared National holidays as times to thank God and seek divine protection. Since then, we have taken God out of our homes, schools and government. In the resulting vacuum, people have lost their senses and fallen blindly in love with the world. The One who has protected us since 1776, not 1619, has been relegated to second chair. As we slouch towards Gomorrah, we’ve seen evil and the evil one tolerated and accepted.

Jesus put it bluntly… “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Luke 12:4-5. There is an evil one and HE causes people to lose their senses. The evil one is in the world and can take your senses captive to do his will.

It can be frustrating when we aren’t united in seeing what is going on in America. Christians can be even more frustrated when people ignore, reject and oppose what God teaches in the Bible. Nevertheless, ‘The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone…opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.’ 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

The fires are just getting started. Christ followers must lead the way to regain our senses and His protection. With the evil one empowering those in love with the world, we need real protection not just investments and hedges. Long ago the prophets wrote about the depth and scope of God’s protection. ‘You will not leave in haste or go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.’ Isaiah 52:12. In other words, if you submit and follow the God of Creation, He has your back, He walks beside you and He’s going ahead of you to protect you. That’s not an insurance policy. This is a promise from God.

Take it from a man just like us. ‘The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.’ Psalm 18:2. Currencies WILL rise and fall. Get ready, they also WILL default. When bitcoin drops in half you will need real protection. When a sleeper cell shows up in your city, there is only one shield of protection.

Most Americans know OF God and his son, Jesus, but they don’t KNOW Him. It’s hard to fully trust who and what you don’t know. I get it, but Peter reminds us God IS a protector. ‘If he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah…and seven others…if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly…..if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials….’ 2 Peter 2:5-9. He has an impeccable track record much longer than bitcoin.

The Bible tells us there is a time coming when the fires really start burning and destroying more than Los Angeles. At this time, God’s messenger says…. ‘Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Revelation 7:3. Hear this reminder and think back to blood over the doorways in Egypt when God protected the Jews.

Love IS blind. Make sure who and what you love can protect you through the days to come.

We live surrounded by aliens, foreigners and strangers…and we always have. Aliens do not simply fly UFO’s and UAP’s, they live among us. Aliens are foreigners from another land. Aliens are not naturalized citizens of the country in which they live. A foreigner does not belong to a particular place or group. In other words, aliens and foreigners are strangers and outsiders.

We ALL share a heritage of being strangers in a foreign land. Americans take pride in the fact we are a nation of converted aliens and foreigners. We are immigrants united by our citizenship in the United States of America. Citizenship is what defines us as Americans and as a people.

The fabric of our United States is constructed and strengthened by aliens, foreigners and strangers who submit to a process and become American citizens by choice. The choice of citizenship is what unites our disparate backgrounds. Citizenship is a legal and covenantal relationship that entails rights and duties. The past few years have seen an increased effort to dilute the unity of our nation by circumventing the legal process and covenants that make us citizens of a United States. When the legal process and rule of law is not enforced the covenant we make as citizens is broken.

This past week our nation celebrated Thanksgiving as a national holiday. The original Thanksgiving proclamation is a reminder the founding fathers of America recognized the need for our covenant with the Judeo-Christian God of Creation. It is our citizenship as Americans and our covenant with God that is in the eye of the storm.

America was founded to regain God-given freedoms that had been usurped by the oppression of kings and queens. Where politically organized communities and territories were previously known as kingdoms with monarchical forms of government, our founding fathers chose a republic form of governing. The freedom to choose our own leadership made the term ‘kingdom’ fade away. The sovereignty of leadership changed and evolved but the reality of a kingdom did not go away.

The Bible teaches there are two distinct kingdoms. The earthly kingdom and a heavenly kingdom. A kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God, the Creator of man and earth. The knowledge of a creation and a Creator is ground zero to understand everything that followed. The Bible reminds us that God created the heavens and the earth where there was previously a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness. This planet was a prison, a dark place where Lucifer had been cast from the presence of God. When God decided to create man and woman in His own image, He made us as aliens, foreigners and strangers exiled on this planet.

The reality of being an alien has been planted in the hearts and minds of all people. In the book of Genesis, God chose people to be citizens of His Kingdom. He made His people, His citizens to be aliens and foreigners and strangers in the world. God told these people they would be ‘strangers in a country not their own…enslaved and mistreated there.’

After thousands of years, the New Testament continued this teaching about God’s people and the choice we have to become God’s people. Peter addressed his letter to Christ followers… ‘To God’s elect, strangers in the world..’ The 11th chapter of Hebrews is a roll call of God’s people known as the Hall of Faith. Many are listed as the stalwarts of faith, citizens of the heavenly Kingdom of God. The writer confirms these citizens ‘admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.’

God made sure His people knew they are exiles on this planet. He gave instructions on how to deal with foreigners and aliens…AND how to LIVE as one. The Old Testament says point blank, ‘Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.’ The New Testament reminds us ‘..I urge you, as foreigners and exiles…Live such good lives among the pagans that…they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.’

Since the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, our founders made a covenant with the nation to rule by these principles. Have we always fulfilled that covenant? No. But, when we fail, we have confessed our failures and tried to right the wrongs. Because of this, our laws have provided more freedoms and less oppression than anywhere on the planet. The United States is based on laws where citizenship requires rights and duties and prohibits purposeful wrongs and discrimination. When these rights are given away but the duties are not required, the covenant is broken and the country suffers. Welcome to 2024.

Re-read the Proclamation of Thanksgiving written by George Washington, the first elected President of the United States. Americans have forgotten our recognition of and dependence on God is what made our nation great. This submission to Judeo-Christian principles has given us the freedom and opportunity to CHOOSE a citizenship in Heaven as well as America.

Citizenship is what matters. Citizenship is a choice to submit to a legal covenantal process and authority that will govern your life. Citizenship defines who we are in our heads and hearts. In the book of Philippians, Paul reminds Christ followers they can be confident and take refuge knowing ‘our citizenship is in heaven.’

Earthly kingdoms rise and fall. Political parties change their stripes. Our citizenship is defined in our hearts where our loyalties and submission comes from. Where is your citizenship??

It’s easy to ignore things you can’t see but it doesn’t make them any less real. Practicing the old adage, ‘out of sight out of mind’ is not only shallow, it is dangerous. Dealing with issues and questions that aren’t in your front yard requires attention, wisdom and discernment. Focusing on what you don’t see can take away from our mindless pursuit of leisure and recreation. BUT…If you wait for the unseen to become flesh on your bone, it may be more perilous….suddenly.

When we were kids in school we read about things we never saw. The Revolutionary War, taxation without representation and the Boston Tea Party. We heard about the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia on the evening news. We heard about students rioting for democracy in Tienanmen Square that led to a massacre. We didn’t see it but we knew it was real.

Suddenly, truckers in Canada lose access to their bank accounts but we haven’t seen it in America; yet. Widespread riots in France, Germany and Scotland have torn the countries apart but that’s on TV. Now, we hear about prison time in England for tweeting your thoughts. There is ample historical precedent for the sudden results that come if we wait quietly for what we cannot see.

America naively thinks it is separated and removed from the problems of the rest of the world. Americans have become prideful thinking they are protected living in a compound surrounded by two oceans and a moat of money. We have forgotten it is the God of Creation and Christian principles that have provided our freedoms. Christians rarely speak and stand up for HIS policies and principles…and the nation suffers.

Suddenly, suffering in America is becoming more widespread than before. Peter wrote a letter to remind Christ-followers they should not be surprised when life gets suddenly difficult. The Bible CONSTANTLY reminds us that we are in the thick of exactly what Jesus experienced.

Peter penned the words…’But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed….For it is time for judgement to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ 1 Peter 4:13-17. Christians and America are coming under His judgement.

The topic of seeing what is unseen has become popular and common. There is conversation from mainstream sources about aliens and more talk of the spirit world than anytime in my life. Possibly the most successful venture capitalist of our time, Peter Thiel, was recently speaking about travel at light speed and hypersonic weapons. He mentioned the practicality by referencing angels and demons.

There is ample Biblical evidence for the spiritual world becoming seen. When the unseen becomes seen, it happens suddenly. The birth of Jesus recounts ‘suddenly a multitude of angels’ appearing. In the Old Testament in the book of Daniel…’Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster on the wall…’ In Acts, Peter was freed from prison chains when ‘Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared…’ Search the word, suddenly, in the Bible and remember how commonly it appears in relation to things unseen becoming seen.

Today, Americans are being reminded about the origin of our country and it’s founding Christian principles because the landscape is changing…suddenly. Many Christians live in the world they have built for themselves and forget there is more than what we see. The modern American Christian is more comfortable living by sight and not faith.

The unseen spiritual world has no material limitations and is the basis for EVERYTHING we see. Ephesians 6:12…’For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’

To be clear, for the person who is more worldly than spiritual, the unseen is flat out scary and dangerous. The unseen can possess your thoughts and actions and make you a different person. The unseen and spiritual is not limited to space and time as we know it, therefore it is multidimensional. The unseen can appear suddenly, then disappear as quickly as it arrived. It does not respect physical walls and can travel from one place to another in an instant.

The unseen is being fleshed out as AI crosses the line from truthful answers to lies and deception. We have been lulled into thinking that data will lead us to the truth….the people we can see and vote for are more important than the unseen policies they promote. Our pride and hubris regarding the seen over the unseen WILL lead to sudden changes. Our nation has become overconfident in mitigating risk with the things we can see…like money, homes with security systems and a few weapons. There are unseen risks that carry greater calamity.

THE question we have to ask EVERY day of the week is….Do we focus on the seen at the expense of the unseen? This is a physical worldly question as well as a spiritual question.

Jesus will return suddenly, like a thief in the night. ‘While people are saying “Peace and safety”, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a woman…’ 1 Thess. 5:3.

Learn to see the unseen by believing what God teaches through the Old and New Testament. Get in the Book to see what’s coming next. Make sure you aren’t suddenly caught living only by what you can see.

When I was a kid in the 70’s, the word ‘cool’ was popular. Cool, was a general expression. Cool was an attitude, a mindset, a demeanor and a way of life. People were so drawn to using the word that it became associated with a period of time and the people who lived in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. When a word becomes so representative of a time and culture, it can take on a life of it’s own. I encourage you to start looking and listening for the new buzzword… ‘enough’.

A few months ago Nick Saban retired as Head Coach at the University of Alabama. The college football game had changed and Coach Saban lived out the new buzzword. In his own words… ‘I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play, because they’re thinking about transferring and how much are you going to pay me?…So, I’m saying to myself, maybe this doesn’t work anymore.’ In simple terms, I’ve had enough.

Last week a Democratic State Senator in California joined the rallying cry. Senator Eggman announced she was switching political parties. Her words were straightforward… ‘I’m done…we have a moral responsibility to say enough, enough!…’ Start watching and you’re going to see this new buzzword spread like wildfire.

I’m not going to list the plethora of current events that might cause millions of people to start repeating Senator Eggman’s words. Be alert to the actions that accompany the attitude and mindset of ‘ENOUGH’. Actions can be more critical and impactful than the utterance of the word itself. Ask Alabama fans. When Coach Saban had enough, he simply walked away. Senator Eggman walked across the political aisle. Some people drop friendships and family, but the results are the same.

What makes each of us reach our limits and say ‘enough’ varies from person to person. Too often people will turn their heads and ignore their responsibilities (even moral responsibilities) until it becomes flesh on their bone. When a situation finally comes home and effects you, your family, your reputation, bank account or the business you’ve built, THEN, it may be enough. Have YOU reached the point of ‘enough’ with anything lately?

I pose the question, “Does God ever say ‘enough’. What does it take to get Him to this point and what does it look like when He says, ‘enough’?” Anybody remember the flood? The metropolis of Sodom or Gomorrah? The Tower of Babel? The God of the Old Testament hasn’t gone anywhere.

Peter reminds us that with the Lord ‘a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day….but the day of the Lord will come like a thief.’ Is mankind altering ourselves and the world God created beyond what the Creator will tolerate? Are current activities enough to warrant God’s direct intervention? Remember, when enough is enough things happen quickly and unexpectedly.

Elon Musk is pushing ahead with brain chips to be implanted in people and AI will turn us into something different than God created. Musk recently said “We are entering a time where humans may be able to work as a hobby but AI supplants mankind in all endeavors…If the computer and robots can do everything better than you, does your life have meaning? I do think there’s a role for humans in this…in that we may give AI meaning.’….Is God’s plan for mankind to give AI meaning or worship Him? Does this make God say ‘Enough’?

The entire Creation is being subjected to radical change. Solar geo-engineering is utilizing high altitude chemical infusions to cool the Earth and block the sun (In other words, to alter the weather and the climate…which God historically claims as HIS domain). From genetically modified mosquitos to self-assembling nanotechnology being injected into humans via mRNA vaccines, the Creation is being re-created. By altering the human creation and our physical world, men and women are attempting to change WHAT God created AND the purpose for His creations. Is this enough to hear God roar from Heaven?

Revelation 10:3 documents Jesus returning to Earth and speaking with emphasis. It’s interesting to read the words in several translations…

-the NIV says ‘…and He gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.’

-KJ21 says ‘…and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth.’

-CSB says ‘…and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion.’

-NET says ‘Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring.’

Christ speaks loudly, emphatically, powerfully and with emphasis so that everyone can hear. This is only my speculation so I’m not adding or taking away anything written in the book, but…. I wonder if the world is going to hear the Creator shout ‘ENOUGH!!’

I encourage us all to look in the mirror, listen to our own words as well as the words and actions of others. Will Christ followers stand up and shout or will they be counted as the cowards spoken about in Revelation 21:8, choosing to be fearful of being cancelled or disliked?Will the Creator allow AI to be the new Tower of Babel? What does it take to hear and see Christians live out their professed beliefs?

ENOUGH is the new buzzword. It will become a mindset, an attitude and demeanor? Stay tuned.