Monday, July 4, 2022

PROPHECY UPDATE 7/4/2022

 




An Election Gimmick - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2022/07/02/an-election-gimmick-by-daymond-duck/

 

Concerning the high price of gasoline: on June 22, 2022, it was reported that Pres. Biden wants to suspend the federal gas tax (18 cents per gallon) for three months (between now and the mid-term elections).

 

It looks like a plan to stop trying to force voters to buy electric vehicles until the election is over, but when the election is over, the taxes and push for electric vehicles will be restored.

 

Senate Republicans will be pushed to cooperate, but if they don’t, it is a sure bet that they will be accused of supporting higher taxes, hurting the poor, hurting women and children, being under the control of big oil, etc.

 

Notice that Biden doesn’t intend to permanently solve the problem (drill for more oil, restore America’s energy independence, permanently lower taxes, help the poor, the women, the children, etc.).

 

Biden is simply trying to temporarily deceive enough voters to help his party win enough seats in the House and Senate to continue his climate change agenda (the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and America’s submission to the New World Order).

 

It’s an election gimmick to stay in office and continue the effort to establish the New World Order.

 

Here are reports that recently made the news.

 

One, concerning deceit at the end of the age: on June 22, 2022, it was reported that Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), recently told a senior European politician the Covid-19 virus probably started with experiments in a lab in Wuhan, China (but he still says he doesn’t know how it started).

 

In Oct. 2021, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) admitted that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to the U.S. Senate when he said U.S. taxpayers didn’t subsidize those experiments.

 

So, this is the point: These men are proven liars, so why should every person on earth be required to obey them and not have the ability to remove them from office?

 

Two, concerning the New World Order: on June 22, 2022, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and China announced that their nations will work together to establish a new “democratic world order.”

 

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said they are working together to advance “global multipolarity and the democratization of international relations.”

 

It is my understanding from past reports that they want a larger group of leaders (the Bible indicates the rise of Ten Kings or ten leaders) to establish and run international relations.

 

The leaders of both nations have already expressed support for the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, both praise Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum (WEF), Putin agreed to the Paris Climate Accords, etc.

 

The big problem seems to be the structure of the NWO (which nations and how many run it).

 

Russia and China want to diminish the power and control of the EU and the U.S. and to increase their power and control.

 

As this writer sees it, Ten Kings of iron plus clay are coming (not ten kings of iron; the materials in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue represent nations or groups of nations), and soon after that, they will surrender their authority and militaries to the Antichrist.

 

Three, concerning world government: in early June, I wrote that Mexico’s Pres. Obrador suggested that the U.S. and Mexico should erase their border and merge the two nations, and he will meet with Pres. Biden at the White House next in July to discuss this very issue.

 

On June 21, 2022, it was reported that Obrador announced that he will meet with Biden at the White House in July, and he plans to suggest the merger of the entire Western Hemisphere (North, Central and South America) into one group of nations like the European Union (EU).

 

For several years, I have been saying the UN goal is to divide the world into ten groups of nations (with a leader over each group) patterned after the EU.

 

It has been my understanding that the U.S. will be merged with Canada and Mexico (Central and South America would be a different group), but nevertheless, Biden has stopped construction on the border wall, destroyed the border patrol, thrown the border between the U.S. and Mexico wide open, and Mexico’s Pres Obrador says he plans to discuss a merger patterned after the EU with Biden at the White House in July.

 

Four, concerning natural disaster: I recently wrote that on June 17, 2022, it was reported that the Bureau of Reclamation has given the seven states in the Colorado River system 60 days to draft an emergency plan to cut their water usage in the next 12 months or the Bureau of Reclamation will declare an emergency and make the cuts that need to be made.

 

On June 24, 2022, it was reported that if something isn’t done to slow the current rate of decline in the water level at Lake Mead, in about two years, the water will stop flowing through Hoover Dam, and millions of people will no longer receive water and electricity from the lake and dam.

 

According to the article, Nevada, Arizona, California, and part of Mexico will no longer be livable.

 

At peak production, one million homes received electricity from Hoover Dam; that is down to about 675,000 homes, and it will drop to zero in about two years if something doesn’t change.

 

Five, concerning pestilence and famine: on June 23, 2022, it was reported that the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (pestilences) said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (war) started a global food crisis (famine) that will prevent millions of people from having enough to eat, weaken them, and make them vulnerable to infectious diseases that will take their life.

 

Time will tell if he is right, but this fits Rev. 6:5-8 (one-fourth of the global population dying from war, hunger, pestilence, and wild animals).

 

(More: On June 24, 2022, UN Sec. Gen. Guterres said the world faces the prospect of a mass starvation catastrophe driven by unprecedented food shortages. He said, “There is a real risk that multiple famines will be declared in 2022, and 2023 could be even worse.”)

 

Six, concerning hyper-inflation and an economic collapse: on June 23, 2022, Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, told the House Financial Services Committee (in my words):

 

  • The U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path because its debt is growing faster than its economy.
  • To get America where it needs to be, the U.S. economy needs to grow faster than its debt for longer periods of time.
  • The Federal Reserve was wrong when it said inflation is transitory.
  • In 2021 (before Russia invaded Ukraine), inflation rose from 1.4% to 7%, and in 2022 (while Russia was invading Ukraine), inflation rose another 1.6%.
  • The biggest rise in inflation occurred before Russia invaded Ukraine, and the main cause was government spending (Biden’s 1.9 trillion-dollar stimulus package).

 

This is the point: If our government doesn’t deal with the real problem (excessive spending), the U.S. economic situation will continue to worsen.

 

Seven, concerning the days of Noah and wickedness: on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no implication of a right to an abortion.

 

  • Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) said, “The hell with the Supreme Court; we will defy them.”
  • An agent at the Dept. of Homeland Security informed the Catholic diocese of Stockton, CA, that nationwide intelligence reports warned that the terrorist group called “Jane’s Revenge” was calling for “extreme violence against Catholic churches and pregnancy centers” nationwide.
  • Nineteen state Attorneys General sent a letter to Merrick Garland at the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) urging him to investigate and prosecute the terrorist acts and threats by “Jane’s Revenge” and other groups.
  • Garland denounced the Supreme Court decision and said the “DOJ will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”

 

Understand that at the same time Democrats are encouraging and overlooking demonstrations by domestic terrorists that have admitted damaging pro-life centers, they are prosecuting Trump supporters for the Jan. 6 demonstrations.

 

Antifa and Black Lives Matter destroyed millions of dollars of property in Minnesota, but nothing was done about it; now, “Jane’s Revenge” has admitted damaging pro-life centers and is threatening to damage more. The Dept. of Homeland Security and the DOJ know about it, and 19 Attorneys General have asked for them to be investigated and prosecuted, but it looks like nothing will happen.

 

Equal justice under the law no longer exists at the highest level of the U.S. government, and the statement that the U.S. Constitution gives a woman a right to an abortion has now been found to be a fraud that people (politicians, doctors, and others) have used to kill more than 60 million babies.

 

Eight, concerning the days of Noah and wickedness: the U.S. military discharged personnel that refused to take the Covid-19 vaccination, and the Dept. of Justice is prosecuting the Jan. 6 protestors for breaking the law, but:

 

  • The Pentagon has announced that it will not obey the laws in states that prohibit abortion.
  • The Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it will ignore the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and state laws that criminalize abortion.



What is the purpose of laws and the U.S. Supreme Court if the military and the DOJ can ignore them?

 

(My opinion: U.S. institutions are being deliberately destroyed from within to bring about America’s transition into the New World Order.)

 

Nine, concerning hyper-inflation and natural disasters: on June 23, 2022, Germany, the largest economy in Europe, announced that it is facing a long-term gas supply shortage that will cause prices to skyrocket, impact industrial production, a be a major financial burden upon citizens.

 

Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands may soon go back to their coal-fired power plants.

 

Consider this: Biden is preventing more oil and gas production in the U.S., so some of our allies will make up their energy shortages by burning coal, but burning coal supposedly increases pollution in the atmosphere and contributes to global climate change and natural disasters (and electric companies are going to have to burn coal to provide power to charging stations to charge up citizen’s electric vehicles).

 

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

 

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.









Tribulation Preview - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-7-3-2022/

 

Forces from within are weakening the United States even as the world economy falters. Inflation is rising almost everywhere. The nations who once stood for human rights and dignity grow more and more willing to suppress rights in exchange for the promise of “peace and safety.” People are afraid.

 

More every day, these look like the times described in the Bible as happening just before the second coming of Jesus Christ.

 

In biblical terms the seven years preceding Christ’s return are known as Daniel’s 70th week. But most Christians refer to those years as simply “the tribulation.” The Bible teaches that several things must happen before the tribulation begins. They include the rapture of the church followed by the antichrist’s rise to prominence.

 

We know a great deal about what will happen in the tribulation and what the world will look like in those days. Even though we are not in the tribulation, we see the world looking more and more like it will during that time. From here, it can happen with exceeding speed.

 

The tribulation will be a time of judgments upon the earth. Those judgements will begin with the famous “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” Revelation 6:2 (NASB) says, “And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.”

 

That first horseman will be antichrist presenting himself as a false messiah to the world. He will conquer by bringing the world into a single monetary system headed by himself. The verse mentions a bow, but no arrows. He will conquer without firing a shot. When a desperate world sees his seemingly miraculous Middle East peace treaty, it will be as if he pulled the sword from the stone, and they will quickly give him their kingdoms.

 

The desperation we see now is a prelude to the extreme desperation that will enable him to conquer the world with amazing ease.

 

But the era of peace, safety, and international cooperation will be brief. The underlying antagonisms will remain. For instance, Iran, Russia, and Turkey will still hate Israel. The arrival of the second horseman marks the removal of peace from the earth. It means war.

 

Next comes the black horse, destroying lives and economies with hyperinflation. Then arrives the pale horse, leaving death in its wake. And those are just the beginning of tribulation’s judgments.

 

The hurricane has not arrived. But the wind has picked up, and it’s beginning to rain. The barometric pressure is dropping. And in the distance, we see a dark, threatening sky. It’s a good time to draw close to the Lord and His word, and to spread that word everywhere. We stand remarkably close to the culmination of this age.



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Why Many Churches Today Can Never Understand the Times – By Jan Markell - https://harbingersdaily.com/why-many-churches-today-can-never-understand-the-times/

 

I recently did a Facebook/YouTube live presentation with my colleagues, Amir Tsarfati and Pastor Barry Stagner. It was titled “Doctrine Matters.” And indeed, it does! We considered a number of theologies that do not allow their followers to understand the times or become watchmen on the wall.

 

I thought I would summarize that discussion in this magazine format. Please understand that not every church in a particular denomination or stream of theology holds to some of this aberrant theology! A good illustration of this is many in the Assemblies of God are pushing back against Kingdom Now/ Dominion Theology, so prevalent in some Charismatic churches today. I’ll explain in a moment.

 

So, here’s a short list of theologies you might want to understand, and particularly if you are looking for a new church. I suggest you avoid any church that embraces:

 

Amillennialism: The Millennium Began at the Cross and We’re in it Now!

 

Tragically, almost all major denominations embrace this today. The Millennium is not literal, in spite of the fact that Revelation 20 says it is a thousand years multiple times. It’s not that they deny a Millennium; rather, they don’t believe it is literal. They believe that Jesus is sitting on the Throne of David in heaven, and that this present Church Age is the kingdom referred to, over which Christ reigns.

 

To the Amillennialist, nothing is taken literally. Jesus is never going to rule from Jerusalem. There is no special role for modern-day Israel. Her rebirth is of no significance. The Church is the new Israel (Replacement Theology.)

 

To embrace this is to call into question God’s desire and/or ability to keep His promises, and this opens up a host of other theological problems. For example, if God would renege on His promises to Israel after proclaiming those promises to be “everlasting,” how could we be sure of anything He promises, including the promises of salvation to believers in Christ?

 

Dominionism/Kingdom Now/ Postmillennialism/Latter Rain: Things Just Keep Getting Better and Better!

 

Mankind does not have the ability to improve a decaying, sinful planet! But try to convince people who embrace any of the above theologies because they believe the Church can, indeed, bring Heaven to earth. Is this delusional? Perhaps. Jesus Christ cannot even return until we clean up the planet physically, spiritually, and politically, they teach!

 

The command in Genesis 1:28, to take dominion over all things, has nothing to do with creating perfection on a stained planet!

 

We cannot bring Heaven down to earth even though that is the message that is screaming at those who visit the website of Bethel Church, Redding, CA. The Bible says everything will deteriorate as we move further into the end-times, and apostasy will rage in the church. The love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). People will primarily focus on self and money (II Timothy 3).

 

Many, but certainly not all Pentecostals embrace one of these similar theologies. Thanks to the church, things will keep getting better! Glory days are ahead!

 

Instead, society will so decline that a “man with a plan” known as the Antichrist, will have to step up to the plate and try to save everything.

 

These theologies are not really interested in the nation of Israel as their single focus is using the Church to perfect the world. Those caught up in any of these belief systems will never be able to understand the times!

 

Preterism: It Already Happened and Who Knew?

 

This is one of the strangest theologies ever! All prophecy is history. It happened in 70 A.D. The Tribulation was the sacking of Rome and Nero was the Antichrist. There is no relevance to the rebirth of modern Israel. Some branches of Preterism even believe Christ returned “in spirit” in 70 A.D. and that’s it. It’s all over. A Parial Preterist would believe in a Second Coming.

 

Two prominent Preterists include Hank Hanegraaff and R.C. Sproul. Hanegraaff has misled millions who listen to his call-in radio program. He seems to constantly be at war with popular Dispensationalists like Dr. Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. His belief system causes him to make inflammatory remarks that come close to anti-Semitism.

 

No Preterist can possibly understand our crazy days!

 

Reformed Theology: The Rapture? What’s That?

 

There are many popular teachers today who embrace Reformed Theology but very few of them will be able to make sense of our times. Reformed scholar Dr. John Piper says, “The promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel.”

 

His Replacement Theology, or the Church is the new Israel, will blind many of his followers to the truth of what is happening on a daily basis! This kind of teaching causes evangelicals to abandon Israel and become pro-Palestine and even pro-Hamas. After all, they conclude, Israel has no right to the land!

 

Reformed blogger, Tim Challies, says he rejects the concept of the Rapture and says he will always hold to the fact that Satan is bound right now so he will cling to his Amillenialism. There is no coming Millennial Kingdom.

 

The Reformers got a lot of things right but they collectively got eschatology (Bible prophecy) very wrong!

 

Some ten years ago, Dr. John MacArthur scolded his Reformed brethren at his annual conference and asked them if they had ever met a Hittite? He reminded them that today there are several million Israelites and please adjust your glasses to see that this has huge significance for the believer trying to understand the times! Without MacArthur’s perspective, nobody embracing Reformed Theology will properly understand our times.

 

Premillennial Dispensationalism: The Truth!

 

Though it’s mocked and scorned, it is the biblical truth and the only theology that will allow you to understand the times, contend for the faith, and become a watchman on the wall! Some just call this “Left Behind” theology, based on the Tim LaHaye book series of 15-20 years ago.

 

The key word here is “literal.” It teaches a literal Rapture, Tribulation, Antichrist, and Millennium. It fully understands the important role of Israel and her miraculous rebirth in 1948. It predicts that the church, right before the Rapture, will be Laodicea—riddled with heresy. It does not promote an end-time revival other than during the Tribulation, at which time untold millions will come to salvation through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the Two Witnesses.

 

Jesus Christ will return at the Second Coming to save mankind and to save the earth. He will install one thousand years of perfect government. This will be followed by the New Heavens and New Earth.

 

Conclusion

 

Because space is limited, I had to limit this discussion, but I hope this helps. If you are church shopping, all of these issues are relevant for you! Today, many churches and denominations will lead you astray thanks to these flawed theologies.

 

Thankfully, there are some who refuse to buckle to false theology and reject the aberrant, having a love for the truth! May their number increase! Our times will continue to get crazier and people will desperately search for some answers. But because so few churches actually embrace theological truth, the sheep just wander from church to church trying to find one that will help them cope during these last days. 



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Who Goes in the Rapture? – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2022/07/03/who-goes-in-the-rapture-2/

 

Listening to a man who was obviously a pastor this morning, I was thinking how clearly he was laying out the pre-Trib view of the Age of Grace and the Rapture.

 

I’ve never heard it presented more clearly than he was teaching it. I can’t see the screen and they didn’t announce his name. (And I probably wouldn’t mention it if I did know his name and program, because this commentary gives only partial kudos to the gentleman.)

 

As I was saying, the sermon was about as clearly delivered as I’ve heard. It was very simple, and right on the money, from my understanding of what God’s Word has to say about the Rapture.

 

The man said that, at an unknown time, Christ will call the Church into the air, where believers will forever be with our Lord. Antichrist will arise, and all will be turned into the worst times in human history back on earth, according to Jesus as recorded in the Olivet Discourse.

 

He then launched into thoughts based upon three questions. I don’t remember the other two because the third was the one he dwelt on—and his take on things from that point definitely piqued my discernment radar system. The question was something like: “Who goes in the Rapture?” –Meaning who will leave this planet when Jesus calls, “come up here?”

 

He started by saying some disagree with him—including his wife. She believes, he said, that all Christians will go to be with the Lord when the Rapture occurs. The man then said that he believes Christians who don’t believe in the pre-Trib Rapture are likely to stay while those who do believe in the pre-Trib Rapture will go when Christ calls.

 

To restate, he said those who believe in the pre-Trib view are the ones who go to Christ at that great event, and Christians who don’t believe will be left behind. He muddled it all by saying only believers will go, and indicated that he believes all others who are Christians will be left behind with the lost of the world to go through the Tribulation.

 

This, of course, is all part of what is called the “partial Rapture” theory. He was not preaching the pre-Trib position, although he evidently thought he was.

 

I was taken aback that, after laying out such a clear position on the pre-Trib Rapture, he veered so dramatically by saying something the Bible doesn’t teach.

 

The Rapture is a powerful and absolute doctrine taught in God’s Holy Word. But belief in the Rapture is not, I repeat not, the prerequisite for what it takes to be part of the millions of Christians who will be lifted in a millisecond of time when Christ says: “Come up here!”

 

I can’t remember the preacher’s Scripture to back up that some Christians will be left behind because of not believing in the pre-Trib Rapture, because I wasn’t taking notes. But the Scripture, I do remember, was taken out of context and used in his mistaken view.

 

The way he explained his view, it’s what a Christian believes that matters. That is, the person must believe in the pre-Trib Rapture. He never mentioned, that I heard, that it’s whom they believe in that matters. It is in whom the person believes—period—that makes the person part of those who will instantaneously evacuate this doomed planet at the Lord’s call.

 

Didn’t Jesus tell us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me”? I hear nothing in that statement other than “Jesus is the only way.”

 

Belief in anything other is a false concept—even a deadly one. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that covers our sin—past, present, and future.

 

So, to believe in anyone or anything besides Jesus for salvation misses the mark and dooms one to Hell, apart from God forever.

 

Paul the apostle makes it very clear about in whom people must believe to be saved. We use this passage, as you know, quite frequently. I don’t want people to miss what is required to go to the Father, rather than to the other place.

 

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

 

The same Paul tells about the Rapture of the Church. He lays out very clearly exactly who will go to Christ when He calls us.

 

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

 

Paul further says the following:

 

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18)

 

Paul did not write that “some” will go when Christ calls. He said “all” (believers) will go in that glorious moment to be with their Lord. And we are to “comfort” ourselves with that assurance.

 

If you truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved. Nothing and nobody can ever take you out of God’s mighty hand (read Romans 8:38-39 for proof from God’s Word).

 

The greatest question for you, personally, is: Will you be one who goes to Jesus when He calls all Christians into the air? Only you can answer. We prayerfully hope you can answer a resounding “yes!” Believe me, everything happening points to the reality that his call will happen at any moment!

 

And when you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your head; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28) 


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Let us remember the American Revolution - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com

 

As we approach the day of our Independence from Britain, it may be helpful to be reminded of the sufferance of the Founding Fathers and what was going through their minds as they decided to take on the most powerful political and military force on the planet. They said, “A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” What happens when that “Prince” collectively becomes the Supreme Court, the Congress and the Executive Branch working in concert with one another toward a world order foreign and detrimental to the people they are charged with representing and to the Constitution they vowed to uphold? What are citizens to do?

 

The Declaration of Independence is a masterful document that served as the true “preamble” to our Constitution. It begins by saying: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

“–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

 

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.” The signatures of 56 men were written on the Declaration after this sentence: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

 

In other words, they risked everything. They counted the cost. They understood the will of God. They acted. This Independence Day, please take time to remind yourself and others about the sufferance of those who made such a pledge on their Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor. Please contemplate our national condition. Please seek God. For as Peter and the disciples said in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” And recall the words of James 1:25, “But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” The body without spirit is dead, faith without works is also dead. Please consider your destiny. 



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Are We Desperate Enough? - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org

 

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed —Romans 13:11

 

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/are-we-desperate-enough/ Listen

 

When George Washington was fighting in the Revolutionary War as the general of the Continental Army, he had a special flag prepared with the words, “An Appeal to Heaven.” Washington understood that our only hope to become a nation was through God’s intervention.

 

We still need to appeal to heaven for our nation today.

 

In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (NKJV).

 

There’s no question that God has blessed our nation in so many ways. We even sing about it: “America! America! God shed His grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”

 

But I believe America needs to wake up spiritually. Romans 13:11 says, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (NLT).

 

It’s time for us to wake up. It’s time for us to turn back to God. Will God send a spiritual awakening to our country? I don’t know. I hope He does. I hope He sends one or two or three more.

 

Chuck Smith is regarded as the father of the last great spiritual awakening known as the Jesus Movement. I once asked him whether he thought we would ever see another Jesus Movement.

 

“I don’t know, Greg,” he said. “I don’t know if we are desperate enough.”

 

How desperate are we for God to send another spiritual awakening? If we are desperate enough, then we’ll start praying about it. This Fourth of July, I’m praying that God will send another spiritual awakening to our nation. Will you join me in that prayer? 

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Is America on the Cusp of a Food Catastrophe?















Jonathan Brentner -



Warnings of catastrophic food shortages by the end of 2022 abound. What are we to make of these?



In the book of Genesis, Joseph prepared Egypt for the coming famine and saved the lives of a great many people, including his entire family. Is it prudent to follow his example and prepare for what many tell us is coming our way?



There’s a Proverb that I believe speaks to the day in which we live.



“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, / but the simple go on and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 22:3)



Please allow me to present the evidence that I have and demonstrate why it’s prudent, or wise, to prepare for the food shortages looming on our horizon.



WARNINGS OF GREAT ECONOMIC PERIL



The warnings of coming economic peril are far too frequent to ignore. Even if food remains on the shelves at some stores, this will make it difficult for a great many people to afford to buy groceries.



JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently warned about a coming “economic hurricane.” He said this:



“It’s a hurricane. Right now, it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine, everyone thinks the Fed can handle this . . . . That hurricane is right out there, down the road, coming our way. We just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy or Andrew or something like that. You better brace yourself.”[i]



It’s more than a little disconcerting that the JPMorgan Chase CEO refers to record high gas prices and double-digit inflation for groceries as “kind of sunny.” What might the “hurricane” have in store for us if it’s “sunny” now when a great many people are already suffering and unable to make ends meet?



Robert Kiyosaki is an American businessman, author, the head of private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos. Michael Snyder, in his article 4 Really Big Names That Are Warning That Major Economic Disaster Is Ahead, quoted one of his tweets (with his emphases):



“DO YOU HAVE a PLAN “B”? We are in BIGGEST BUBBLE in world history. Bubbles in stocks, real estate, commodities & oil. FUTURE? Possible DEPRESSION with HYPER-INFLATION. . . . “[ii]



Michael Snyder, a blogger and economic analyst, in that same article wrote:



I hope that you are enjoying these beautiful summer weekends while you still can, because it appears that very troubled times are dead ahead. Simultaneously, inflation continues to spiral out of control even as economic activity in the U.S. dramatically slows down. Many have compared what we are currently experiencing to the “stagflation” of the 1970s, but the truth is that what we are facing will eventually be so much worse than anything that we went through back then. A meltdown of historic proportions is here. . . .[iii]



Britt Gillette, prominent biblical prophecy author and blogger, recently wrote:



So what does all this mean? It means a major economic crisis is on the horizon. It may be the worst global economic crisis ever - worse than the Great Depression.[iv]



Besides the warnings of increasingly difficult economic times ahead, many are also warning of a severe crisis this fall and winter caused by dangerous food shortages and soaring costs for groceries beyond what we have already seen.



WARNINGS OF CATASTROPHIC FOOD SHORTAGES



Below is a sampling of quotes that speak of catastrophic food shortages in our future.



Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue recently told Fox News that the world is on the brink of a food crisis. "We are on the precipice of a global food crisis," he told Maria Bartiromo.[v]



Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv Shah described what is soon to unfold as a “massive, immediate food crisis that will strike the entire world, leaving no country untouched.”[vi]



Michael Snyder, on his End of the American Dream blog, wrote about the dire situation facing America and the world. I know it’s long, but he sums my point better than I can:



“The hits just keep on coming. Over the past few months, I have carefully documented the rapidly growing global food crisis, and I have explained that even here in the United States food production is going to be way below original expectations this year. Unfortunately, most of the population still doesn’t grasp what is happening. Most people simply assume that everything will turn out okay somehow. Meanwhile, farmers are telling us as loudly as they can that everything will most definitely not be okay. In my entire lifetime, I have never seen America’s farmers this alarmed about what is ahead. And of course, everything that we are currently witnessing in the U.S. and around the globe is setting the stage for the sort of historic famines that I have been relentlessly warning my readers about. I wish that I knew a way to get through to the millions upon millions of apathetic people out there that don’t seem to care that a major food crisis is coming, because the suffering that we are going to witness all over the world will be off the charts.”[vii]



I follow a great many newsfeeds that include both believers and those outside the faith. I hear many voices warning of the food crisis that’s about to hit the world and America. Making matters worse are the famine and severe draughts in parts of the world, including the western half of the United States.



The title of this insightful article says it all, U.S. Farmers Issue Dire Warnings of Looming Food Shortages as Most Americans are Clueless as to How Their Food is Produced and Unprepared for What’s Coming. This piece puts together several news stores that contain warnings from farmers concerning the high prices of diesel fuel and fertilizers. Below is a quote from it:



“Today, less than 1% of the population of the United States now produces food for the other 99%, thanks to the technological age, so when farmers, particularly farmers with contracts in the commodity food industry, which is by far the majority, speak out with warnings about what is ahead, it is time to sit up and listen, and realize that if you cannot buy food from your usual local grocery outlets, that there will be no one to bail you out if you have not prepared for such a situation.”



A recent article on The Epoch Times website also warns of food shortages later this year and into 2023:



With each passing week, it’s becoming increasingly clear that severe food shortages are going to be inevitable, more or less worldwide, and whatever food is available will continue to go up in price.



The cost of agricultural inputs such as diesel and fertilizers is skyrocketing due to shortages — caused by a combination of intentional and coincidental events — and those costs will be reflected in consumer food prices come fall and next year.[viii]



SHORTAGES OF DIESEL FUEL AND DEF COULD SPELL DOOM FOR MANY AMERICANS



Because less than 1% of America’s population produce food, we are totally dependent of diesel fuel for our survival. Without engines propelled by it, food would never reach our groceries store and we would starve to death.



The following is a quote from Time magazine warning of dangers inherent in the shortages of diesel fuel:



“Though most consumers shake their heads at the cost of gasoline and complain about the cost of filling up their car tanks, what they really should be worried about is the price of diesel. The U.S. economy runs on diesel. It’s what powers the container ships that bring goods from Asia and the trucks that collect goods from the ports and bring them to warehouses and then to your home. The farmers who grow the food you eat put diesel in their tractors to plow the fields, and the workers that bring construction equipment to build your home put diesel in their trucks.”[ix]



Not only does the planting and harvesting of crops depend on diesel fuel, but it’s necessary to keep the trucks running that take the harvest of our food supply to relevant plants and then to the stores. I know that the majority of you know this, but so many assume that we can survive without gasoline, natural gas, and diesel fuel; the truth is that all these sources of energy are absolutely essential and without them tens of millions of Americans would die of starvation in a very short time.



The looming crisis extends beyond just the shortages of diesel fuel and the soaring prices for this fuel, but also to diesel engine oil and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Newsweek magazine had this to say about the looming DEF shortage:



The U.S. could soon experience a severe shortage of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), impacting U.S. drivers already hit with soaring fuel prices.



DEF is a solution made up of urea and de-ionized water that is needed for almost everything that runs on diesel. It reduces harmful gases being released into the atmosphere and works by converting nitrogen oxide produced by diesel engines into nitrogen and steam.



The solution is injected into the exhaust stream to limit pollution from diesel engines in order to meet current exhaust emissions standards.[x]



Not only do these things potentially spell disaster for our food supply, but it could mean the deaths of great many people in the U.S. I cannot emphasize this enough; the warnings regarding shortages of diesel fuel, oil for diesel engines, and DEF could alone spell disaster for tens of millions of people in the U.S.



A CONTROLLED DEMOLITION



Perhaps even more alarming is the purposeful destruction of sources for both food and the draconian restrictions on energy production in the U.S.



Recently, thousands of cattle died in Kansas. The media gave the official cause as excessive heat. In response, I read numerous reports saying that the “official response” was a lie. Ranchers from many other states contradicted the story stating that even higher temperatures in the past did not impact their herds in this way.



They also said that it’s highly suspicious that so many died at the same time; such things just do not happen. Maybe a few weaker heifers might die from extreme heat, but never thousands at one time. That never happens.



The killing of these cattle was deliberate and fits with a pattern of demolishing the food supply in America.



Lest you think that I’m a wild conspiracy theorist, and some do, it’s well-documented that in the United States alone, fires and other disasters have struck at least 97 food processing facilities since January of 2021.



Michael Snyder lists all 97 of them in his blog post, More Major Disasters Hit U.S. Food Production – Are You Prepared For What Comes Next?[xi] Click here to see listing of all of these with dates and locations. Snyder provides details of instance of sabotage against our food supply. Other writers have similar lists to his.



The authorities in the U.S. are also ordering the slaughtering of chickens and turkeys in huge numbers. They blame the “bird flu,” but it’s too coincidental for me. I’m highly suspicious.



Combined with the famine in many of the western states, the controlled demolition of America’s adds up to a crisis that will soon hit the U.S. as well as the rest of the world.



JESUS IS COMING SOON



What does all this mean?



First, I believe it signifies that we prepare as best we are able to do. I believe it’s a matter of being prudent, just as Proverbs 22:3 tells us.



The writer of the article for The Epoch Times agrees:



While it’s difficult to predict just how bad it will get in any given area, it seems safe to say that everyone should prepare for some degree of food shortages, regardless of where you live, as we’re staring at a perfect storm of confounding factors that are global in nature and therefore can cause far-reaching and somewhat unpredictable ripple effects.[i]



Second, it tells us that Jesus is coming for His church in the very near future.



The catastrophic shortages of fuel and food that lie in the future for our world speak to conditions that the apostle John described in Revelation 6:1-8. (My recent post, The Sound of Approaching Hoofbeats, goes into much detail on how what we are seeing today fits with these verses.)



However, there’s good news in all of this: the Bible says we will be with Jesus before He unleashes the seal judgments described in these verses.



In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, Paul describes the judgments that John would decades later write about in Revelation as the Day of the Lord wrath that will come unexpectedly upon the people of the world.



For believers that are awake, however, this day will not surprise them “like a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Why is that?



First, we recognize the signs of this coming day and they are everywhere we look.



Second, the apostle promises that the Lord will come for us before this day in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10:



“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”



This is joyous news for all of us that are securely in Christ. We may suffer between now and the Rapture, but the Bible tells us that the Rapture will happen before the astronomically high death toll of Revelation 6:8 occurs. That’s day of the Lord stuff and according to Paul, the Rapture must happen before that.



My wife and are bit by bit adding to our reserve of food; we believe that a crisis is coming and want to both be prepared and in a position to help others who are not as able to prepare. Our prayer is that if we do not need our added supply because of the Rapture, a tribulation saint might find our home.



Maranatha! Come soon Lord Jesus!

Refreshed and Restored

  by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org


 

Turn us again to yourself, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved —Psalm 80:19

 

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/refreshed-and-restored/ - Listen

 

We often hear the word revival in the church, but we might wonder what revival is exactly. I think we overly mystify this word and don’t necessarily understand its actual meaning.

 

Revival is another word for refreshment, restoration, or simply returning something to its original condition.

 

For instance, when someone buys an old car from the junkyard, does bodywork on it, repaints it, adds new tires and wheels, and puts in a new engine, that is a restoration. When you see it rolling down the road, you can’t believe it’s the same car.

 

Or if you have a plant that’s withering, but it comes back to life again after you’ve watered it, that is a restoration as well.

 

The psalmist prayed, “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6 NLT). And Psalm 80:19 says, “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved” (NLT).

 

Revival is refreshment. Revival is restoration. For the believer, revival is getting back to that first bloom of a love relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes when we’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, the passion begins to fade. The zeal begins to erode, and we don’t have the same excitement in walking with the Lord as we had before.

 

We want longevity as we walk with Christ, but we don’t want to sacrifice our passion.

 

Revival takes place when God’s people come back to life again because they are refreshed. They have been refilled and restored to their original condition.

 

And what is the original condition? It’s the same condition as the church of the first century, the church of the book of Acts. It’s the church that turned their world upside down.

Child Abuse Month

 - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com


 

Major corporations and the government have celebrated June as Pride Month with the LGBTQ+ people. It used to be called Gay Pride Month, but to avoid confusion after so many sexual orientations were added, they dropped the “Gay” part. So they are celebrating Pride. Personally, I don’t really care what they do in their bedroom. I don’t want to know what gender they think they are today. All that is their personal preference. It’s between them and God, really. But I also don’t want them evangelizing their prideful declarations and confusions in elementary and high schools to minor children—my children or grandchildren–under some façade of anti-bullying. This is no less than sexual abuse of children.

 

To indoctrinate children with many confusing identifications of sexual orientation is sexual abuse. It is the ultimate form of bullying. If an adult wants to “Identify” as something other than what they were born with, that is their choice and their liberty to choose. But that choice crosses the line when children are indoctrinated—by trusted adults, mind you—which confuses them about who and what they are. It teaches that disagreeing parents are wrong, bigoted, homophobic (well, is that a word any more since there are 29 known sexual identities?). The alphabet should be taught in the school system, but the alphabet beginning with LGBTQ+ should be banned in schools. The LGBTQ+ community uses the school system to recruit and as a shield to censor people who disagree with their agenda.

 

The case of the Loudoun County, VA schools is such example. School policy required all staff to use students’ preferred pronouns and to allow transgender students to participate in sports activities based on how they identify, regardless of their biological sex. A boy dressed as a girl raped two girls in the girl’s restroom as a result of these policies. Physical education teacher Byron “Tanner” Cross, a Christian, opposed the policy at a school board meeting, saying “I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa, because it’s against my religion. It’s lying to a child. It’s abuse to a child. And it’s sinning against God.” Cross was promptly put on leave from his job at Leesburg Elementary for expressing his views.

 

This type of “education” allows the LGBTQ+ to sexually exploit young victims who are legally unable to give consent. That’s abuse. Joe Biden supported sexual abuse of children when he issued an Executive Order on June 15 that essentially allows open season for LGBTQ+ predators to groom kids in schools. Christ said in Matthew 19:4, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female.” Confusing kids about their gender and then recruiting them is horrible sexual abuse. Isaiah 14 calls it “pomp” in discussing the original sin of Lucifer, “For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will be like the most high. (verses 13-14)” That’s pride. Celebrating Pride month says a lot, especially when it is the agenda-driven sexual abuse and evangelism of children.

Rationing Has Already Started In Europe As The Entire Globe Plunges Into A Horrific Economic Nightmare

 


- by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/rationing-has-already-started-in-europe-as-the-entire-globe-plunges-into-a-horrific-economic-nightmare/

 

If countries in Europe are already beginning to ration certain things due to “supply problems”, how long will it be before it starts happening in the United States? Up until the past couple of years, many of us in the western world always considered shortages to be something that only “unsophisticated” poor countries on the other side of the planet had to deal with. But the last couple of years have shown us that painful shortages can happen to wealthy countries in the western world too. At first we were told that they were “just temporary”, but the months went by and we just kept having more shortages. In fact, in 2022 “supply problems” have become so serious that many supermarkets in Europe have been forced to strictly ration essential items at various times. For example, it was being reported that due to the war in Ukraine flour, sunflower oil and sugar were all being rationed by stores in Greece…

 

After limiting the sale of some flours and sunflower oil online, Greek supermarkets are turning to rationing the sale of sugar as well, now including in their stores, over supply problems.

 

The AB Vassilopoulos is setting a maximum limit on the purchase of all brands of corn and sunflower oil and of flour per customer while Mymarket put a ceiling on sunflower oil purchases and Sklavenitis has added sugar to the rationed sales of corn oil through its online store, with a maximum of four packs, the products in high demand from restaurants, some of which said they have to stop selling french fries and other fried foods.

 

Over the past few months we have seen similar measures implemented in other major European nations as well. For example, the war in Ukraine prompted some pretty severe rationing in Spain…

 

Sporadic shortages of products like eggs, milk, and other dairy products also hit Spain since the war in Ukraine began. And major supermarkets including Mercadona and Makro began rationing sunflower oil earlier this month.

 

Now, stores will temporarily be allowed to limit “the number of goods that can be bought by a client,” according to information in the Official State Gazette published on Wednesday.

 

Looking forward, natural gas rationing is the next big thing that many people in Europe are talking about. The flow of Russian natural gas into Europe has been cut back, and it appears that this may soon cause widespread rationing in Italy…

 

Italy may start rationing natural-gas consumption to certain industrial giants, after Russia’s Gazprom halved supplies on Friday.

 

On the weekend, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Italian government and energy industry would meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the crisis, with the likely outcome being the introduction of a state of alert under the country’s gas emergency protocol.

 

And CNN is reporting that Germany is “one step closer to rationing supplies” now that Russia has decided to reduce the flow of natural gas going to that country…

 

Europe’s biggest economy is now officially running short of natural gas and is escalating a crisis plan to preserve supplies as Russia turns off the taps.

 

Germany on Thursday activated the second phase of its three-stage gas emergency program, taking it one step closer to rationing supplies to industry — a step that would deliver a huge blow to the manufacturing heart of its economy.

 

Of course there are other parts of the globe that are dealing with problems that are far, far more serious than what Europe is facing right now.

 

As I discussed in an article that I posted earlier this week, significant numbers of people are starting to literally drop dead from starvation in portions of eastern Africa. Global food supplies just keep getting tighter, and the head of the UN is openly telling us that the world is heading into an “unprecedented global hunger crisis”.

 

So if you have plenty of food to eat tonight, you should be thankful.

 

Here in the United States, economic conditions are deteriorating fairly rapidly, and most Americans are completely and totally unprepared for any sort of a major economic downturn. Earlier today, I came across yet another survey that shows that about 60 percent of all Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck…

 

“We find that consumers in all income brackets — including those who make more than $100,000 annually — are living paycheck to paycheck. PYMNTS’ research finds that 61% of U.S. consumers were living paycheck to paycheck in April 2022, marking a 9 percentage point increase from 52% in April 2021, meaning that approximately three in five U.S. consumers devote nearly all of their salaries to expenses with little to nothing left over at the end of the month.”

 

So what is going to happen when those people start losing their jobs in large numbers?

 

Already, we have seen the number of tech layoffs greatly accelerate over the last couple of months.

 

Sadly, the layoffs will get much worse in the months ahead.

 

And as inflation continues to systematically eat away at our standard of living, Americans are turning to credit cards at a record pace…

 

As Americans grapple with the highest inflation in 40 years, the number of new credit cards have surged as more Americans rely on them to keep up with high prices. According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve, revolving credit (credit cards and lines of credit) increased by 19.6% from the previous year to $1.103 trillion.

 

Going into credit card debt is not a solution.

 

At best, it can buy you a little bit of time.

 

And it is especially a bad idea to go into credit card debt as we plunge into a recession.

 

At this point, almost everyone realizes that things are going to get bad. According to one recent poll, a whopping 85 percent of all Americans believe that the U.S. is “headed in the wrong direction”…

 

The national dissatisfaction is bipartisan. Most Americans, 85%, say the country is headed in the wrong direction. A majority of Republicans have been unhappy with the direction of the country since Biden’s election. Democrats had been positive about how things were going, but now 78% say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

 

I was astounded to see that 78 percent of Democrats believe that the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction with a Democrat in the White House.

 

I have never seen a number like that ever before.

 

But this is just another indication that the hour is late and that things are about to start getting really crazy out there.

 

For the moment, life is still at least somewhat normal in the western world.

 

Sadly, it won’t stay that way for long, and so I would recommend using your time wisely. 

Unless America Repents, We Will Crumble Onto The Ash Heap Of History

 


- Anne Graham Lotz - https://harbingersdaily.com/unless-america-repents-we-will-crumble-onto-the-ash-heap-of-history/

 

Deuteronomy 30:19 – “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live… “

 

Recently I drove my youngest granddaughter to the DMV where she was to take a test for a driver’s license permit. Since the DMV was located in a small town that was unfamiliar to me, I put the address in my GPS. About three quarters of the way there, I took a wrong turn. As soon as I did, the voice from my GPS told me to make a U-turn as soon as possible, which I did. I was able to get back on the right road and arrive at the right place at the right time. All because I was willing to turn around when I took a wrong turn.

 

As I have watched our nation over the last few years, I am convinced we have taken many wrong turns and therefore we are on the wrong road and going in the wrong direction. As a result we are imploding into chaos, corruption, confusion and in the end, we will crumble onto the ash heap of history. Unless we turn around, we will never reach our destination of abundant life, liberty, and true happiness for all.

 

On the morning of Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court took a significant step in leading our nation to turn around when it overturned Roe vs. Wade. Six courageous justices chose life. I applaud their decision as a victorious first step for the well-being of our entire nation as we turn around from the federalized legalization of choosing death. Every farmer knows that life is in the seed. Human life is no different. Life begins at conception. Period.

 

I am also heartened that SCOTUS upheld religious liberty when the same six justices decided the right of a former high school football coach, Joe Kennedy, to publicly pray on the field after a game. It seems ludicrous to think that he had been fired for doing so. While I respect separation of church and state, I believe in many instances it has been misused and applied in a way never intended, as though it means separation of state and God. The danger is that if we, as a nation, separate from God, He will separate Himself from us.

 

So…are we as a nation beginning to turn around?

 

The Biblical Old Testament prophet Hosea called on his nation to, “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds” (Hosea 6:1). God Himself echoed that call to turn around when He spoke through the prophet Joel, “Even now…return to Me with all your heart…” (Joel 2:12). Even now… when there is rioting in the streets, churches burned, Life Care Centers fire bombed, with fear, anger, hatred, and divisiveness replacing civil discourse…even now, Joel exhorts, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing” (Joel 2:13-14). In other words, if we return to God, He will return to us.

 

Turning around is another way of defining what it means to repent. The first word Jesus spoke when He began His public ministry was, “Repent” (Mark 1:14-15). Turn around. At Pentecost, when Peter was asked how a person could get right with God, he answered, “Repent” (Acts 2:38). Turn around.

 

At a very dangerous, critical time when we are looking at food shortages that includes lack of baby formula, skyrocketing gas prices, record breaking inflation, rising violent crime, nuclear threats from our enemies, and other crises, God has promised:

 

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn (turn around) from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and My ears attentive to ”… their prayers (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).

 

It’s time, America, to turn around! Beginning with you and me…