John the Bamtist

I believe the Lord gave me the “parable” below in response to the skepticism and animosity that many in the Church have expressed toward Todd Bentley and the revival that is taking place in Lakeland, Florida. It is written from the perspective of skeptical onlookers offering their take on what is happening. For more information, go to http://www.freshfire.ca or http://www.revivallakeland.org.

A group of seven Jerusalemites were walking back to the city one day commenting on the ministry of John the Baptist. "Look," Adonijah the Priest said, "I know that large crowds are going out to hear that wild man. People claim to be getting saved and healed? But don’t let that fool you."

"Yea," Benaiah the Rabbi retorted, "It's a little strange that this guy lives out in the desert by himself. Even when no one is around, he stands out there and preaches into the sky. There’s a synagogue on every corner; if he wants to be heard, why doesn’t he just preach in the synagogues?"

Hanna couldn't resist, "I know God doesn't want us judging others by their outward appearance, but his outfit is shocking! Couldn’t he wear some decent clothes? Why he killed and skinned a camel and now he’s wearing the skin; no underwear I might add. He’s so unkempt. His mangy hair is down to his shoulders. Wouldn't a more clean-cut appearance make him more appealing to normal people? Whatever became of 'becoming all things to all men' to win them?"

"Don't forget his disgusting diet," Leah chimed in. "He eats bugs alive and robs beehives. I’ve seen him pick up a grasshopper, pop it in his mouth, and chomp down on the nasty thing. The thought of bug juice splattering in my mouth makes me gag. I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten some kind of stomach disease!"

"Everyone says he's preaching repentance and people are turning to God, but that's not enough for me," Adonijah said. "Have you noticed who is attracted to him? Ignorant and uneducated fundamentalists. You just wait. I’ve seen his kind before. He’s just baiting them. Once he wins everyone’s confidence, he’ll begin to introduce the false doctrine. When he does, I’ll be there to call him out."

"His message is over the top," Mered the Scribe asserted. "He claims to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 40. Says he’s the 'voice of one crying in the wilderness.' Isn’t that a role reserved for the forerunner of Messiah? I’ve read Isaiah 40 and this guy’s no forerunner. I’m concerned that he’s setting people up for disappointment."

Saul, the Ruler of the Synagogue, couldn't hold his peace, "When the senior pastors go to check him out, he becomes defensive and demeans them. Why he even called them a 'brood of vipers' and insulted their heritage. He insinuated that they needed to escape God’s wrath; they're pastors for heaven's sake! Then he embarrassed the hell out of the mayor by calling him out for commiting adultery with his brother’s wife, right there in front of everyone! Wouldn’t he catch more bees with honey? Each of those pastors has a Ph.D. and he doesn’t even have a high school diploma. What does he know?"

Naomi chirped, "He baptizes people in the polluted Jordan. Doesn't every synagogue in Jerusalem have a clean baptismal pool? People are going to get dysentery if they ingest any of that water."

Adonijah offered final comment, "I know I’m being a little picky, but every time someone comes up out of the water, he lays his hands on them and shouts, 'Bam!' and 'Sheeka Boom Bah!' I’m steering clear of this guy. This just isn’t for me."

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. (1 Corinthians 1:25-29)

© 2008 Seeds for Good Soil (Last updated 30 June 2008)

The End of America - Part II

1962 – US Supreme Court (SC) ends prayer in public schools.
1965 – SC grants married couples the right to use contraception.
1972 – SC grants unmarried couples the right to use birth control.
1973 – SC, in Roe v. Wade, legalizes abortion on demand.
1977 – SC grants minors the right to use birth control.
2003 – SC strikes down a Texas law banning sodomy.
2003 – MA Supreme Judicial Court legalizes gay and lesbian marriage.
2008 – The CA SC rules that homosexual marriage is legal.

20?? – American economy enters second “great depression.”
20?? – Europe burns as Muslim riots break out in every major city.
20?? – France elects first devout Muslim Prime Minister.
20?? – France's Muslim PM declares France a Muslim country.
20?? – USA embraces Sharia as a basis for trying Muslims in court.
20?? – England embraces Sharia as a basis for trying Muslims in court.
20?? – Muslims take a majority of seats in British Parliament.
20?? – England is officially declared a Muslim country.
20?? – Germany is officially declared a Muslim country.
20?? – Russian government is overthrown in Islamic revolution.
20?? – Washington D.C. is obliterated by a terrorist nuclear weapon.

This is the second of two blog entries that culminate in a dire prediction about the future of America if the Church does not wake up and America does not turn back to God. As stated previously, America and the Church are in a spiritual and moral "state of emergency." Spiritual "air raid sirens" have been sounding for so long that they have become more "background noise." Our nation is decomposing from within. The glory has departed. Our national rebellion against the light and truth continues to increase and ferment and God has decreed destruction upon our land.

God has given America over to the lie of “multiculturalism” which energizes our rapid cultural transformation from a predominantly Christian society, to a melting pot of false, and in many cases, occult belief systems and religions, religions that import demonic influence and spiritual oppression, not to mention a divine curse (Galatians 1:8,9). A national landscape once dotted with neighborhood churches is increasingly dotted with Mosques and Hindu temples. According to a 2001 ARIS study, “The fastest growing religion (in terms of percentage) [in the United States] is Wicca, a religion that is sometimes referred to as Witchcraft. Numbers of adherents went from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001. Their numbers of adherents are doubling about every 30 months.”

God is giving America over to vile affections. (Romans 1: 28-32) At every level, our educational institutions have become indoctrination centers promoting every kind of deviant sexual behavior. Our courts have mounted a full assault on the traditional family, sanctioning sodomistic marriage, thus defecating on the seminal reflection of God’s glory on the earth, marriage union between one man and one woman. The night before their city became a "smoking hole," the men of Sodom surrounded Lot's home, demanding to sodomize his angelic visitors. In like manner, even in the so-called "Church," mainline denominations have trampled that which is holy by sacramentalizing homosexual marriage and ordaining practicing homosexuals. As the people of Sodom and Gomorrah discovered, this is a final flashpoint in a society's progression toward complete extermination.

Some will be offended when I say 9-11 was merely a warning shot. Americans watched in horror as people jumped hundreds of feet to their deaths in what became their "the end of the world." When the World Trade Center towers fell we should have known then that the hedge protecting our nation was seriously compromised. In His mercy, God allowed 9-11 to wake the Church and our nation; some are waking up, but for the most part the collective yawn smacks of Job's sons-in-law:

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. (Genesis 19:14)

Like those who abandoned themselves to gravity on 9/11, will the Church take drastic steps to save our nation? Or, will America continue to abort her divine destiny and, like the WTC towers, crumble into an ash heap of history?

Unless widespread, pervasive revival comes to the Church and our nation, I believe America is finished. The years ahead will be characterized by a series of withering “birth pangs” that will grow in frequency and intensity. America will be hit by apocalyptic events from which we will not be able to recover. Even if America turns to God wholeheartedly, I am not optimistic that it will do more than delay the judgement of God to a later generation.

I know much of what I have written will be dismissed. Others will nit-pick or find fault with my emphasis. If our hope is in Jesus, then He will comfort our hearts. He has promised us a Kingdom that can’t be shaken.

Prayer

God wake us up!

© 2008 Seeds for Good Soil (Revised 13 June 2008)

Stop Dog Abuse!

Television, radio, editorials, the Blogosphere, from the barroom to the bistro, from the clubhouse to the corporate “watering hole,” the outcry is unanimous. The verdict is in. Michael Vick’s dog fighting cruelties are unforgivable. According to a Gallup Panel survey, 58% of NFL fans believe Michael Vick should never play professional football again. 86% believe he should spend time behind bars. (Source: http://www.galluppoll.com/)

As we armchair the NFL superstar’s case in the court of public opinion, however, we would do well to telestrate our own distemper over the matter. Allow me to offer my own color commentary.

If Michael Vick operated an abortion clinic for unwanted canine pregnancies, would there be more outrage than there is over the thousands of unborn human babies aborted in our society every day? And, what if some of the bitches got damaged by the abortion procedure? Would society take more notice than it does over the thousands of women’s lives that are physically and emotionally scarred as a result of sacrificing their babies to abortion?

Our society has become a literal “dogtopia.” We have dog resorts, dog salons, dog modeling, dog superstores, dog manicures, dog psychologists, dog whisperers, dog insurance, dog adoption services, dog hotels, and dog abuse police. We read, “Dog Fancy Magazine,” “Good Dog Magazine,” “Urban Dog,” “Dog World,” “Modern Dog Magazine,” “Show Dog Magazine,” “Lucky Dog Magazine,” to name a few. Who gets better treatment, dogs or unwanted unborn babies?

Stay with me; I’m not yanking your chain. If you are chasing your tail over the absurdity of abortion services for dogs you have completely missed my point. Heel! I have a few more bones to throw your way.

The aborted babies of this generation will rise up in the judgment against a society that incarcerates men for cruelty to animals but yawns over the slaughter of millions of innocents. Far-fetched? Hardly. Jesus said,

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. (Matthew 12:41)

I wonder if society’s growls against dog abuse will be rebroadcast at the judgment, self-recriminating evidence against a backdrop of deafening silence over abortion. Absurd? Jesus said,

For by YOUR WORDS [emphasis added] you will be acquitted, and by YOUR WORDS [emphasis added] you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:47)

When America’s response to dog abuse is measured against our national disposition toward abortion, our nation has been “weighed in the balance and found wanting.” (Daniel 5:27) There is little hope for the future of any society that howls against animal abuse, but is silent in defense of the defenseless. If we are not careful about what we condemn, we may end up as witnesses against ourselves on the final day.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, Help me speak in defense of those who can’t speak for themselves. Do not let me not grow cold regarding anything You treasure. Help me to measure injustice according to Your Kingdom priorities. Let Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

© Copyright 2007, Seeds for Good Soil. (Created September 1, 2007)

The End of America - Part I

1962 – US Supreme Court (SC) ends prayer in public schools.
1965 – SC grants married couples the right to use contraception.
1972 – SC grants unmarried couples the right to use birth control.
1973 – SC, in Roe v. Wade, legalizes abortion on demand.
1977 – SC grants minors the right to use birth control.
2003 – SC strikes down a Texas law banning sodomy.
2003 – MA Supreme Judicial Court legalizes gay and lesbian marriage.
2008 – The CA SC rules that homosexual marriage is legal.

20?? – American economy enters second “great depression.”
20?? – Europe burns as Muslim riots break out in every major city.
20?? – France elects first devout Muslim Prime Minister.
20?? – France's Muslim PM declares France a Muslim country.
20?? – USA embraces Sharia as a basis for trying Muslims in court.
20?? – England embraces Sharia as a basis for trying Muslims in court.
20?? – Muslims take a majority of seats in British Parliament.
20?? – England is officially declared a Muslim country.
20?? – Germany is officially declared a Muslim country.
20?? – Russian government is overthrown in Islamic revolution.
20?? – Washington D.C. is obliterated by a terrorist nuclear weapon.

This is the first of two blog entries that culminate in a dire prediction about the future of America if the Church does not wake up and America does not turn back to God. America and the Church are in a spiritual and moral "state of emergency." Spiritual "air raid sirens" have been sounding for so long that they have become more "background noise." Our nation is decomposing from within. The glory has departed. Our national rebellion against the light and truth continues to increase and ferment and God has decreed destruction upon our land.

Over 40 million in utero American citizens have been murdered since January 22, 1973 as a direct result of the most self-immolating Supreme Court decision in our nation's history, Roe v. Wade. The blood of the innocents cries to God from the ground while their murdered souls cry out in heaven, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, doest thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 5:10) Lawmakers, political activists, educators and lobbyists demand the “right” to continue the slaughter. Our future has been euthanized and our nation is cursed with a curse.

The Church yawns in the face of the slaughter. Professing Christians vote, and in some cases even campaign, for political candidates who are committed to the prenatal holocaust. As the unborn are herded into abortion boxcars outside her doors, a disregardful Church implores God for a fresh outpouring of His manifest presence.

Abortion is rarely spoken of from Western pulpits except, perhaps, once each year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In many cases, Church leaders resist those would marshal fellow church-goers to action. Parishoners who advocate speaking out are treated with passive disdain. Mainline Christian denominations have even joined the fight for a woman’s "right" to kill her baby at any time for any reason.

According to a 1994-1995 Alan Guttmacher Institute survey of 10,000 abortion patients, one in five women having abortions are “born-again” or evangelical Christians. If you think the date of the Guttmacher study weakens its findings, ask yourself, “Could it be much better fifteen years later?” How much better would be better enough? Worldwide, Muslims have lower abortion rates than Christians.

How can we expect God to pour “latter rain” upon our churches when we are ambivalent about the murder of His babies? If the Salt of the Earth does not speak prophetically into our culture, who will? If God calls us to seek the good of the nation He has placed us in, then we have a responsibility to speak out forcefully. In a society that protects freedom of speech, we are without excuse.

Instead of embracing God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth,” (Genesis 1:28) our nation has opted for a convenient, undisrupted existence with two-designer-children-families. Sadly, large Christian families are often viewed as aberrant within the Christian community. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve heard Christian couples blithely pronounce, “We’ve had our two and we’re done.”

Abortion, devaluation of children, and a concomitant decline in birth rates have left America with an aging society that will soon collapse under the weight of the entitlements it demands from shrinking younger generations. To “quick fix” the looming demographic and economic crisis, we, like Western Europe, have flung open our borders without demanding that would-be “citizens” fully embrace our language, culture, history, political system, and yes, religious values – Christian values that define us and that have made us the great nation that we are.

If America does not repent of the sin of abortion, our future is bleak indeed.

Prayer

God wake us up!

© 2008 Seeds for Good Soil (Revised 13 June 2008)