The American Iceberg of 2020

2020 has proven to be an iceberg. What we have seen, so far this year, is just the tip of the issue. Like an iceberg, the dangers ahead are more damaging and perilous than what many see. Once you hit an iceberg, the damage has been done and there is no going back to how it used to be. The 2020 iceberg is the competing ideology and kingdom of the world as opposed to God’s Kingdom.

The casualties in 2020 include relationships, community, and basic fellowship as people distance themselves from each other. It also includes the loss of civility, respect for differing opinions and tolerance. There seems to be a lot less freedom, period. I hope and pray that democracy and free speech survive. What else makes the casualty list depends on how each of us responds to what happens next.

For many basic freedoms to survive 2021, we need more than a new administration in Washington…Berlin, London and Brussels. We need divine intervention. We need the Holy Spirit to direct the agenda in our hearts and in the Capitol. If we don’t bring the Judeo-Christian Creator of the heavens and the earth back into our hearts and minds, the spirit and person of the anti-christ will soon take center stage. Biblical prophecy is not a conspiracy theory, it is truth. Truth is what and how God sees a subject, not what you or I deem it to be.

The culture and kingdom of the world is in constant flux but God’s people are supposed to reflect Him and His sovereignty, which never changes. The election should remind the world that God’s people don’t get depressed or excited depending on who gets elected OR whether you voted for the winner or loser. The Bible teaches that God expects us to ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men…who are sent by him…Show proper respect to everyone…’ 1st Peter 2:13-17. It doesn’t matter if we find the office holder repugnant or not, our words and actions should be respectful. A lack of proper respect for the elected authorities shows a lack of respect and fear for God. We have been seeing a LOT of that.

Only God can straighten out this mess. We need more of Him and less of ourselves in the processes and moments of each day. John the Baptist summed it up succinctly, ‘He must become greater; I must become less.’ John 3:30. In order to navigate the remainder of this year and what’s coming in 2021, we need more of Him. The Bible is the key for answering all the questions and problems we will face. Practical stuff like responding to ‘friends’ that call you a racist…digital currencies…rising taxes…healthcare…stacking the court; you name it.

“: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20. The 2020 iceberg is the way of the world…and it doesn’t encourage quick listening, slow speech or less anger. The way of the world is to close your ears and eyes to anything that doesn’t confirm your personal bias or benefit…to quickly speak out and label things systemic…and to express your anger with harmful words and destructive actions. More of Him and less of me involves listening more, being slow to retort and not getting angry about, well, about everything you may hear. I have seen that anger and I have felt some for myself. It’s not good stuff.

Can the way of the world and God’s way just co-exist? Can’t we all just get along? Well, yes, but no. God commands His people to be set apart and to live as ‘aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.’ 1st Peter 2:11. I feel that war when I hear anyone say that being white makes me a racist. God made me a white man. I didn’t chose to be white or to be a man, GOD made that choice and I was born with a skin color and sexual organs that made me what I am. Therefore, when I hear the systemic race accusation or the argument against only two biological sexes, I hear it as an accusation against God. I hear so much of the world’s rhetoric as the evil one telling mankind, and God, that HE has made the mess we are living in.

The 2020 iceberg facilitated a recent conversation with a friend about abortion. This conversation started along political lines but didn’t stay there. My friend argued that God’s word never addresses choice. The Bible repeatedly addresses the choice of murder AND it says that God ‘shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb’ Psalm 139:13. So, choosing to take away a life where God is busy forming one, looks like a wrong choice to me.

The world is good at pointing out the way God thinks and acts are not the same as ours. God put it bluntly, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.’ Isaiah 55:8. He finished it off with reminding us, ‘ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ‘ Isaiah 55:9. Only when you read the Bible can you KNOW God’s views on a subject.

2020 has been a tough year because it has been a stark reminder of the battle waging between the way of the world and the way of it’s creator…and the choices we are making between the two. As a Christ follower reading the Bible I am reminded, the Word says, ‘You adulterous people. Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.’ James 4:4. This can’t be more simple or straightforward. God speaks about choice and says it is either one or the other. He says the choice is His way or the world’s way.

Meanwhile, the current mantra is telling me to go along and get along…or else I will be cancelled, my words not heard or printed and I will be cast out of society. On the other hand, the Bible says He’s got me. Jesus says HE will protect me and make me legitimate in HIS kingdom. ‘ “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:15-16. Jesus isn’t part of the cancel culture that is screaming so loudly. His Kingdom dates back to creation and lasts for eternity, so….

This past week I was reminded how easily the world draws me in…and how critical it is to separate myself from it and the people who live according to it’s ways. ‘Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.’ My ways can involve trading insults, talking trash and repaying evil for evil. From a worldly view, I used to be pretty good at it…until God changed my thinking.

His Word also tells me to actively seek peace, to pursue it. The Word tells me ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others as better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.’ Philippians 2:3-4. The world may talk nice about compromise, tolerance and humility; but only when it is in the best interest of those in power. Otherwise, people can see these qualities as weaknesses to be taken advantage of.

Peter lived in a place and time where non-believers questioned why Christ followers acted the way they did. He reminded them and us to ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.’ 1st Peter 3:15-16. If no one is asking us these days, maybe our words and actions aren’t that different from the rest of the world? Have God’s people made their choice to reflect the world’s kingdoms and not the heavenly kingdom?

At the end of all this, the Bible is pretty cut and dried. There is God’s way and the world’s way…and they are in conflict with each other every day. The conflict is on the ballot when you vote. So regardless of your political choices, ‘If anyone, then, who knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.’ James 4:17. Ignorance is bliss when you don’t know what you should do or when you don’t know the truth…ignorance is bliss when you don’t know Jesus.

The iceberg is real and we have hit it full steam. Ignorance is not an excuse and we get new choices each day. Stay in fellowship with Christ followers who can help keep you accountable…who can encourage you and rebuke you when necessary. Share your faith but be careful teaching holy, spiritual concepts to those who won’t listen and just tear apart whatever we say.

The words in red speak volumes. ‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.’ Matthew 7:6. God bless you as we close out the year of the American iceberg.

When Enough Is Enough

We are bearing witness to extreme anger and indignation in the world. This extreme anger aims to erase and forget memories that are too painful. This anger targets retribution for the past kaleidoscope of promises, failures, victories and embarrassments. When enough is enough, anger can turn into wrath and wrath is a DEADLY sin.

As years pass, unpleasant memories can fade, but there IS a time to remember…and now is one of those times. Mistakes should not be repeated, commitments should be fulfilled and the memory of the past can encourage us and spur us to action. Statues, monuments and the leaders who came before us can serve to remind us of past successes AND failures. Without these reminders, future generations will not know where they came from and risk repeating the history they wish to erase. When wrath replaces patience mankind does not exhibit the love, mercy and graciousness needed to live in community together.

Wrath is unmistakable. Peaceful protests turn into riots destroying property and killing innocent people. Politicians discard compromise that benefits ALL people and become partisan at any cost. Movements target dismantling democracy and replacing it with fascism and Marxism. Wrath doesn’t restrict itself to one race, party or nationality. Wrath has no boundary and can claim the guilty and innocent. Wrath is God’s domain and not mankind’s. Wrath is a sin for men who want to play god.

When we don’t speak and act against the sin we see, we are complicit in the sin. If you know that a friend is cheating on their spouse, embezzling money from an employer or has committed a crime and you do not speak out, you are complicit. Therefore, I will not support movements whose purpose is to dismantle American democracy under the banner of our country being a systemic failure. I will not be complicit by giving my viewing attention and time to Leagues and Associations (NBA,NFL,MLB) that align themselves with those who believe America needs to be torn down and rebuilt. This is the time to make a stand for truth and righteousness, not wrathful indignation.

I believe everything happening in the world is a manifestation of the spiritual. In other words, the wrath we see on the news has an origin in the heavens. Therefore, the battles we see are representative of the battles we don’t see. Remember, wrath and the mantra that ‘enough is enough’ originated in the Bible. To better understand the current events, now is the time to remember the Bible and the God of the Bible.

God’s wrath has been around since creation. Since this IS a time to remember, let’s do a quick refresher on the God of the Old Testament. ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Genesis 1:1. Remember, the God of creation MADE the heavens and the Earth therefore they are HIS creation to use. We know God by His ‘name’ but He is known by many names in the Old Testament. The name I want to focus on is a good one to remember. This name is found in the book of Exodus. ‘…for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.’ Exodus 34:14.

In fact, listen to his own words. ‘ “..for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” ‘ Exodus 20:5. Those who actually encountered God put it this way. ‘For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.’ Deuteronomy 4:24. Most pastors and priests remind us that God is a ‘ “compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” ‘ Exodus 34:7. Since this is a time to remember, let’s accurately remember history and the God who created EVERYTHING by reading the rest of that popular verse. ‘ “Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:7. We can’t forget how God operates.

Part of the issue these days is that history is not remembered accurately or in the context of the time. Truth is being replaced with a lie when we see statues being torn down, founding fathers of the country misrepresented and our nation and it’s government labeled as systemically evil. When man’s wrath takes center stage, it can be too late for mercy, kindness and reason. When God’s wrath is exhibited it can be too late as well. ‘ “That is enough,” the Lord said, “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.” ‘ Deuteronomy 3:26.

God’s wrath makes man’s current display of wrath look like child’s play. Let’s remember the scripture many pastors leave out because of the e-mails they will get on Sunday afternoon. When God says ‘enough is enough’, there is nowhere to hide. In the Old testament, when God had enough of His people being maligned and mistreated by the Amalekites He instructed Saul as follows. ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” ‘ 1 Samuel 15:2-3. In other words, enough is enough.

Most everyone is familiar with some of God’s more high profile clips of wrath when ‘enough is enough’ but they don’t get many ‘views’ or ‘likes’. To correctly remember the record, He burns cities to the ground…’Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the Lord out of the heavens.’ Genesis 19:24. He sends floods…’ “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.” ‘ Genesis 6:17. He uses nature, HIS creation, to express His wrath.

If we don’t know or remember God’s ways we don’t recognize them when we see them. The God who created the heavens and the Earth commands them and history shows how He does it. What about today? Anyone notice the record wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington? If you call that climate change you might say the same about Sodom and Gomorrah. Record floods last year in the Midwest and Southeastern United States. Data compiled by the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that the number of earthquakes per year has seen significant variation, but the overall trend shows an increasing frequency. So far, the fierce 2020 hurricane system has formed 23 storms, almost double the average for an entire season. Could this be God’s wrath?

God is speaking but are we listening? ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what is known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.’ Romans 1:18. In America, the truth is plain and we know the truth. We should not suppress our failures but remember AND remind each other.

‘But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed.’ Romans 2:5. We can avoid God’s wrath by repenting of our wrongs and not stubbornly holding onto wrong ideologies and actions. I have wronged other people, our country has wronged others…EVERY ONE OF US has hurt another. We need to let go of any pride, envy, greed, lust, gluttony (overindulgence) and slothfulness (laziness) in our personal and national past. These are the deadly sins and we must repent (another word for being sorry and remorseful). We can repent to each other AND to God.

God does not forget His promises nor is He slow in keeping them. God is patient but there is a limit to His patience. Don’t believe everything is a conspiracy theory and don’t let God’s history, The Bible, be revised or forgotten. Prophecy is not a conspiracy theory. Prophecy predicts and history reveals what has been in God’s mind for all time. This is a time to remember, hopefully not a time when ‘enough is enough’.

God is full of mercy, compassion and grace but His wrath comes when he says ‘enough is enough’. In the meantime, God sent Jesus in place of His wrath, but don’t miss the last book in the Bible, it’s a doozy. God’s wrath is still alive and the time is coming when it will be released again, if it’s not already. The book of Revelation tells about God’s last show of wrath, His last ‘enough is enough’. ‘I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the last seven plagues-last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.’ Revelation 15:1. If we remember how God has acted in the past we might see some things differently today.

This is a heavy subject that reminds some people of the hell-fire and brimstone they want to forget. Yes, the just suffer with the unjust when we tolerate and become complicit with what we KNOW is wrong. Let’s remember we are a creation, not an evolution. Let’s repent and change our ways. Hopefully this is a time to remember, not a time when enough is enough.

Stay In Your Lane

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There is nothing new in the world today that hasn’t happened time and time again. The only thing that can be new is how you and I respond.

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“Stay in your lane” is one the most prevalent messages heard today. There’s a virus and your actions need to stay in the approved lanes, like wearing masks (N.C. Mandatory Mask Requirement ). If your opinions are outside the accepted lanes of conduct, don’t give them (Drew Brees Doesn’t Agree With Disrespecting American Flag) 

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Another message is that along the way to the new and better world, we should erase people and words that carry offensive baggage. People like Woodrow Wilson (Princeton Removes Wilson’s Name). Words like ‘dixie’ or ‘antebellum’ (Rush to Abandon Words and Symbols). If you don’t think George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus Christ can be put on this list, you aren’t keeping up.

The story being told is that we need to, and can, create a better, more Utopian world because the one we have now is not working. The path to this better world is full of accusations that are leading the whole world astray. This is the same story told in the books of Genesis (Did God really say…Gen. 3:10) and Revelation (Satan, who leads the whole world astray…Rev. 12:9-10). All it requires is for you to stay quiet and submit to staying in your lane while we get there.

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The result of the current climate will not be a world free from racism, classism and prejudice. The result will be bondage and a loss of freedoms, aka, tracing, speech police, tracking your movements, mandatory vaccines (Supreme Court upholds compulsory vaccines.)…(Univ. of Tenn. requires Covid-19 vaccine when available)…..the list is just getting started.

If we get down to the heart of the matter, the current distractions really need you to forget God. Forget God is sovereign, in control and created a perfect world to begin with. In fact, let’s make sure we forget God completely by leaving Him out of our conversations, politics, governments and definitely the schools that teach us how and what to think. Toppling God and His order IS the heart of the matter.

Many of the accusations of injustice, discrimination and prejudice are legitimate and the same as they ever were. Yes, people feel marginalized because they have been marginalized. Black people have been discriminated against not only in America but across the world for centuries. Look back in the Old Testament and realize Moses was ostracized because he married out of his lane and into another race.

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Native Americans were raped of their land and heritage long before slaves were brought here. In the day, Gentiles were called worse than the ‘n’ word when they were known as the ‘uncircumcised’. Various races (Caucasians as well) were considered so repugnant people would not walk on the same side of the road with them.

The spirit behind the move to topple and re-write history is not a move to right the wrongs or create a better world. The attempt to dismantle the system is to get away from the historical fact that in the Garden of Eden, God provided the very ideal world people seek. But, it was God’s world order, not man’s.

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Lest we forget, Adam stayed quiet and in his lane allowing Satan to deceive Eve. Christians cannot remain silent and in their designated lanes this time.

The world is being deceived again with thinking these are new issues we can solve by changing the world order…by getting rid of reminders of the past. Just the opposite is true. We need to remember God and his Word. We need to remember God stepped into history once before and sent his Son, Jesus. It’s going to take His return to get this straightened out. But if you read the last chapter and believe the Book, the next time He shows up He’s coming to judge the mess.

In the book of Colossians, we are reminded that people who follow God’s world order can be free from all the ism’s that plague the global protests. HOW? ‘…set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’ It starts with putting the old mindset to death and submitting to God by following Jesus.

The New Testament teaches once you accept Christ, ‘you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and non-religious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.’ Colossians 3:9-11 Message Translation. Kinda sounds like the results all the movements are after, minus Christ.

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Instead of following Jesus, people are being encouraged to strive towards a man-made Utopian society. The very word ‘utopia’ conjures images of a more ideal and perfect legal, social and political system. The Latin and Greek origin of the word mean ‘nowhere’, an ‘imaginary and indefinitely remote place.’  It is pure deception to think we can find compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience anywhere except for the Kingdom of God.

I don’t deny the systemic problems in our world (and in me) that are the root of the unrest we see in the headlines. In fact, I confirm it. But the origin is sin and rebellion from God’s plan and order for the world. The cure is repentance and returning to God.

Peaceful demonstrations and protests can  highlight the indignities people are suffering. The indignity of jobs being taken away, police brutality, racism and hatred. Violence, destruction and anarchy don’t achieve the greatness we need.

We need to see and know greatness now more than ever. Greatness is rarely seen and defined by affirming one’s rights. On the contrary, greatness is usually defined by suffering indignity. Think MLK. Think Rosa Parks. Think Jesus Christ. Suffering for what is right produces better results than looting and burning. We know this ‘…because we know that suffering produces perseverance: perseverance, character: and character, hope.’ Romans 5:3-4.

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It can be difficult to see ourselves as we really are. It takes more than a reflection in a mirror or a U Tube clip. We need to accurately remember the FULL history of this country and the world. We need to see and hear what is at the heart of the matter now more than ever before.

You can see, hear and feel the struggle to re-set the order of creation. Christians cannot remain quiet in their lane and secluded from the discussion. These are spiritual issues at their core, not issues of class or privilege. Men and women of God need to step up and speak the Word of God.

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‘What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.’ Ecclesiastes 1:9.

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Make no mistake, this is an age-old spiritual issue about turning back to God. Nothing else will work.

 

Believing Is Seeing

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Even an elf knows, you have to believe before you can see.

I’ve been grappling with understanding why this global pandemic is dividing people and not uniting us. This past week several states made the decision to allow certain businesses to re-open. Colorado, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alaska, Texas and the one that has drawn the most ire, Georgia. According to Dr. Scott Atlas professor of radiology and chief of neuroradiology at the Stanford University Medical Center, the facts (The Data Is In) support re-opening. Yet, taxpayers in New York and California are calling the aforementioned state Governor ‘idiot’….and the people who support the initiatives, ‘sheep’. In other words, not everyone sees the data and facts the same.

Properly researched and studied statistical data is used to make models and algorithms that help us understand and control the visible and invisible. We use these models to predict an outcome and mitigate risk in business, government and our personal lives. This process is essential to science (COVID-19), economics (monetary theories) and day to day life (logistics, traffic patterns in a restaurant, building a hospital, red lights at an intersection). C19 is proving confirmation bias is more critical than accurate information.

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So, why all the division even when data supports an action? The current pandemic is proving that believing comes before seeing. If you don’t believe 45, then you don’t believe anything that supports his words or actions. If you believe the Georgia Governor is a Republican stooge playing politics, then you don’t believe he is making the right decisions. Oh wait, but Trump doesn’t support what Kemp is doing. It’s not about facts and data, it’s about what and who you choose to believe.

Smart minds have lost touch with critical thinking and are being led by their bias and belief systems. Confirmation bias is the most prolific virus….THIS is the real pandemic.

I don’t need to see gravity to believe in it. Like gravity, belief requires faith in things you can’t always see. ‘Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Hebrews 11:1. What and how you see everything reflects your faith and what you believe in. Our core beliefs in what is visible and invisible are the reasons for all division in the world today. Division is separating family and friends. ‘Agree to disagree’ will only stay civil for so long.

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Faith is at the core of what you believe and therefore what you see. ‘By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.’ Hebrews 11:3. If you believe the Bible, it shapes what you believe about creation and evolution. It requires faith to believe everything in the Bible and not pick and choose what fits our lifestyle and the choices we make.  Pro-life or Pro-Choice? ‘ “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” ‘Matthew 25:45-46.

I’m not a judge and I don’t claim to be the righteous one. I do believe that Christ died for me and I claim His promise that believing in Him saves a schmuck like me. I also believe Him when he said “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” ‘ I know that seeing what is visible and invisible requires light…and the only way to see the invisible is with the light of Jesus. Therefore, the root of everything we are seeing today has it’s origin in spiritual matters. My confirmation bias is towards the Bible.

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Why am I making politics, C19 and all division about faith and belief in Jesus? Because, ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.’ Colossians 1:15-16. And the next verse…’He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’ Colossians 1:17. It’s always been all about Him. In turn, the battle against unity and holding everything together is a battle against Him.

Diversity of thought is good but when it divides it’s hard to see the benefit. Seeing things differently in business is an advantage and a strength. Because if all you see is what you see, then you’ll never see all there is to see. In life, we must see the invisible as well as the visible. Seeing what is unseen takes faith. Seeing the invisible takes faith and it can change your viewpoint and your life.

The Bible tells a story about a man from Egypt whose life was changed when his sight changed. Moses’ mindset originated in privilege with an ideology representing the home he was raised in and the career path he was on. In short, when he learned that all he had previously seen was not all there was to see, his life drastically changed. He then chose to endure hardship, ridicule and disgrace. ‘By faith…he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.’ Hebrews 11:27.

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For the sake of our world and our country we all need to better see that which is seen and unseen…and this requires more faith in God. Where we place our faith will determine whether or not we remain a UNITED States of America or if the strength of our Union falls apart. Not a politician or a perspective or a policy…or an expert or data or a study. This means a two way street of abiding no hatred of MY beliefs as well as your own, regardless of how polarizing our beliefs may be.

What you believe will shape what you see and how you see it.

If you only believe what you can see then what you believe isn’t all there is to see.

Dead Men Walking

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The fear, facts, disinformation, masks, gloves, concerns and hype surrounding COVID-19 all center on the fear of death and dying. Although death has been around a long time and it happens to everyone, people are still scared and confused by it.

God explained death to Adam in the second chapter of Genesis…’And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” ‘ Genesis 2:16-17. Right after this warning, Adam ate the fruit from the tree and died.

After Adam ate the fruit and died he had a son when he was 130 years old. Adam and Eve had many more sons and daughters and Adam was put in the grave at the ripe age of 930 (Genesis 5:5). The first man God created was a dead man walking and breathing for at least 800 years after he ‘died’.

Obviously, death involves more than being put in the ground when you stop breathing. Spreading fear and disinformation about death is one of Satan’s oldest tricks to steal our God-given freedoms. ‘”You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman’. Genesis 3:4. Fear of COVID-19 is the latest chapter.

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The fear and loathing with COVID-19 is more about taking power and making changes than actually dying. The number of deaths from Type-A flu, cancer, alcohol and smoking during the same time period we have shut down the world for a small virus, are multiples of the number of deaths from COVID-19. Not to mention the number of unborn children that have been killed all while the world is fixating on a new strain of the flu. Satan uses death and the fear of death as a distraction and a grab for power; same as it ever was.

The world changed drastically after Satan fooled Adam and Eve into choosing death over life. The new Covid World Order will usher in drastic changes as well. The complications from social isolation and economic hardship will manifest in more suicides (Suicide Calls Rise) and divorce.  5G will advance more rapidly since current systems are overloaded. Universal Basic Income (Steady Income Without Working ) and digital currencies will appear in Europe sooner than you think. These changes will effect how you live by killing your God given freedoms.

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The concern and fear of COVID-19 is the fear of death not the disease. The symptoms of death include a lack of pulse, no breathing or any sign of life. Let’s look at the symptoms of why the world has shut down today.

The mortality rate for COVID-19 fluctuates somewhere between 1-2% of the people who test positive. We don’t know they die from the disease but we DO know they die with the disease (99% Who Died in Italy Had Other Illness)…among other issues. Are we overestimating fatality rates and when the curve will flatten (Should Fear Be In The Rear View Mirror). The facts will emerge with time, but watch how quickly world powers and principalities try to make changes. The agendas have been set for years (Winds Of Monetary Change With Currencies)  and waiting for the right distraction. I think COVID-19 is the distraction.

My point is simple and straightforward…God told us the absolute truth about death from the get-go. We die as a result of sinning against God not from a virus or a cancer. Paul wrote, ‘ Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned- ‘ Romans 5:12. When you understand your last breath doesn’t define death, you don’t need to fear your last breath. But, the COVID World Order is whipping up a mean dose of fear right now.

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God spelled it out so we don’t have to fixate on when we die but how we live. ‘Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty if our strength endures;’ Psalm 90:10. With that knowledge, are the fears and concerns of dying from COVID-19 YOURS or are we being fooled by the media and other experts with their own agenda? Just like the original lie Satan planted about death, the result effects LIFE, not when you die.

The threat of death is not new. Neither is the idea of living without the fear of dying. In 1948 the new Atomic World Order was inciting fear (C.S. Lewis on Coronovirus ) Covid fear is being used to take away individual and economic freedoms that won’t be given back when the crisis has passed. Peter addressed the end of such freedoms when he said, ‘The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’ 1 Peter 4:7-8.

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The end of ALL things is near…the end of freedoms, jobs, relationships, economic systems, currencies, financial systems and life. This verse reminds me that while it’s all coming to an end, I need to love deeply…Deeply love those who are throwing shade on me for not being scared of this virus (Doctor Says Don’t Be Scared ). Deeply love those who stay 6 feet away and those I can’t even see because of social distancing. Deeply love those who are calling the Christian faith a crutch to lean on when a pandemic is ‘ravaging’ the world.

Once sin entered the world we became dead men walking. The work of Satan was to steal and take away Adam and Eve’s freedom in the Garden of Eden. The same battle is taking place in 2020. ‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.’ 1 John 3:8. Jesus gave His life so that we didn’t need to fear death…….Fear God, not death; or a virus. It IS that simple folks.

‘Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ‘ John 11:25-26. Are you living through COVID-19 like you believe this?

‘Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.’ Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

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We are all dead men walking……..We need to face the fears of COVID-19 and our fears of dying….and get back to living. If you have trusted Christ with your eternity, live like you know you are dying….convert retreating into advancing towards eternity and a better world.