The Coming Times will Require New Wine…and New Wine Skins

 

We people running around down here on the earth are missing a lot of good, healthy spiritual reality.

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Not that it’s that complicated, but I never really ‘thought through’ the idea of new wine & old wine skins.

We are living in times when much of what was once considered ‘reality’ is being & will be challenged.  As I write this, the momentum is building towards that moment when many people will be shown things they never dreamed were, or even could be true. Although the ultimate goal of what will transpire is the righteousness, safety & healing of our society – and the entire world – the process undergone to get to that point will cause some pain.  Shock may lead to disbelief, denial, anger…maybe trauma.  A ‘reality disconnect’ will probably occur for some of us, possibly for many. And people are going to NEED to find an anchor for their souls.

There needs to be a reality that transcends the place in which we may suddenly find ourselves. A place of shipwrecks & dismay and worse. When we wake up in the coming mornings, we need to be able to immediately reach out for solace, comfort & stability. Preferably before your feet even hit the floor…there NEEDS to be a way. I have said this before and I will say it again, and again, there is a Way, and only One, within which we need to place ourselves by faith. The Jesus who said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ is here for us now. Today…

Start your quest for answers & sanity with Him.

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“…This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

(Luke 22:20)

America Stolen…but Waiting on God

For several reasons, I have not written much at all on this blog, for over a year now. I have an article ‘in process’, which I started many months ago & which has remained untouched for some time. Not the least of these several reasons is the 2020 election outcome and its resulting…chaos.

I do not mean this in a cavalier way, but the Lord Himself would have to somehow clearly let me know that this election was not 100% hijacked from We, the People. It is my absolute opinion that the man now seated in the Oval Office is not the man we actually elected. Our choice was usurped. Therefore, as I see it, our nation has been stolen from us. On the surface, such an action is bad enough, but if you consider that which underlies a theft of such massive proportion, the kind of living darkness that impelled it…you are faced with far more than political conflict & opposition. Spiritual reality comes into play & begins to move to the forefront of our awareness.

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For the first time in my forty-plus years as a believer in Jesus, I began watching prophetic broadcasts & messages. Coupling that with constant online updates of a more plain political nature, and my own times with the Lord (during which I had two visions & a clear prophetic word), combined with the past 7-8 years of learning about many ‘conspiracy theory’ type scenarios…I today sit in a position of quietly waiting on the Lord to act & overturn this atrocity against His plans & purposes for not only the United States of America, but the entire world.

“…greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

(1 John 4:4)

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“Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God…” You may Find It even in the Coronavirus Quarantine

Joseph sold into Slavery

I would not say that God released the coronavirus around the planet, but I would say that He had a plan for good, within its release & effects on humanity.  Similar to Joseph’s brothers’ intentions for evil, when they sold him into slavery out of their jealousy & resentment of him.  Joseph, when victorious, spoke these words to them: “You thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good…” (Genesis 50:20)

It would have to have been within such a time as this – a time of lockdown & quarantine – when I would have been severed from most all of my normal activities – that I could finally face a central reality.  Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide.  And the alleged ‘refuge’ of being home & ‘sheltering in place’…well, to quote the Eagles’ song, ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ “Every form of refuge has its price.”  Escape from coronavirus became at times imprisonment.  Faltering hope turned into fear & despair. Demons, waiting at the door, found entrance.  Depression crushed.

As a Christian, I know there is, for me, only one truly effective Way to fight these things.

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…but I’ve been believing (I thought) in this Way for over four decades, so why was I being so oppressed?  It would seem like I should have been in better shape than I was.  It should’ve been easier for me to fend off the demons & nightmares.

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God causes the light to shine out of…what?…darkness.  Though we think we are in the abyss, perhaps instead we have been positioned for glorious breakthrough.

I have experienced anew the impact of 1 Corinthians 10:13,  the Scripture promising us that God will not give us more than we can bear, but with the hardship will provide a way of escape.

There came a point for me, about a month ago, where I had to jump off a spiritual cliff.  The price of remaining hunkered down (and I don’t mean the coronavirus quarantine!) in an ever-increasing darkness & hopelessness was too high.  I needed that way of escape.  And it was shown to me.

I learned that I had to make a conscious, deliberate choice, with a more-or-less ‘no going back’ clause attached to it.  This may sound simple to you – basic – and it is but I wasn’t doing it.  I don’t know what I was doing! but it wasn’t this:  I realized that the kingdom of God has to come first.  Whereas before the kingdom perhaps didn’t seem ‘real’, I couldn’t relate to it in certain moments & circumstances – and I think that’s to be expected, we live in a world system and also a tangible reality that affects our senses – now I had chosen to begin to superimpose what God says over what I’m feeling.  More than that, I had to toss aside that ‘feeling’, that dread, that fear.  It had to be an absolute choice.  And it sometimes had to be done, if necessary, minute-by-minute.

That may seem like an inconvenience or worse.  Getting really serious about it involves choosing an alternate reality for yourself, in any given moment, and even though you ‘trust God’, that can be scary at first.  Hard to do.

It’s worth it.

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We can experience some horrible sensations, and maybe can’t even put names to them.  But I’ve heard that only two basic emotions exist, love & fear. I myself accept that every other feeling is a version – by degrees – of these two emotions.   And we KNOW when we aren’t feeling love, so…combat the isolation, dread, despair, whatever emotion that grips you, with a related Scripture.  THINK on it.  If you can, take the time you need to see it through.  

 

You have to choose.

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This isn’t a one-time action.  And we fall.  But because of the Lord, who holds our hand, we don’t remain cast down. (Psalm 37:24)

I have struggled with fear all my life, and still do.  I am 69 years old, and have believed in Jesus Christ for over 40 years.  Practicing what I have tried to explain to you just now is starting to bring a relief such as I have not experienced before…I need to do it every day, many times, but this is spiritual reality.  It is the kingdom of God being sought first, and He adds the rest (Matthew 6:33) – in my case, literal rest!  

It may be thought that seeking the kingdom of God first translates to actions.  While I wouldn’t say that’s not true, I think that the kingdom – that over which this King has dominion – begins with how He thinks & what He tells us in His Word.  My starting point in this is what He tells us about fear, anxiety, isolation and such, in relation to His character & promises TO US. Moreover, His character period!

For instance, if you really believe that God is faithful...think about it…always faithful…that right there causes me to exhale & feel safe.  You don’t need to be a Bible scholar, a student of Hebrew or an accredited theologian.  You do need to know – or learn – some of the Bible, and it’s a good idea to be reading it in order to primarily get to know God in Christ.  Use a concordance.  Focus on maybe just a few verses or even only one phrase, for a time.  Take small bites.

 

Keep it up.

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When I was first apprehended by Christ some 44 years ago, there was always someone declaring that Jesus was coming back soon.  From Day One of my salvation moment, this statement was constantly being made. But  I never sensed His imminent return.  I wondered why…besides, I had hoped to have a better life, in so many ways! before Christ’s return.  Well, right or wrong, that was how I felt.  

For the first time, NOW  I have finally sensed that the whole planet is being prepared for His return.

 

I think that’s what this coronavirus is about.

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Coronavirus, the World System, and the Son of God

…so here we are, as a nation that is part of a global pandemic…our familiar routines lifted from around us as we are transplanted into others. Not sure how long it will be this way. Many are wondering, will things actually, fully return to what we call ‘normal’? ( Is This Lockdown The New Normal? )

I had planned to write a post based on an alleged quote of Franklin D. Roosevelt, America’s 32^nd President.  Research revealed to me that there is no proof President Roosevelt ever actually made that statement. So I’m feeling a little deflated right now! But, even so…I want to continue with my thoughts on possible motives & forces behind the coronavirus.

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Right off the top, I want to make it very clear that I see God in this. I see Him large & in charge. I do not mean that I believe God is smiting the earth with a viral plague, that His intentions are to judge, punish or hurt. And yes, I know many have died. Yet He wasn’t taken by surprise when COVID 19 began to manifest around the world. (In fact, pastor Joseph Prince sees this viral strain as demonic ’catch up’ to a special supernatural healing released by the Lord earlier in 2018. YouTube)

Regardless of how our ‘normal’ may or may not change, the Lord is present. JESUS is here. His eye is on the sparrow. As a believer, He knows what you need before you ask, and in some cases, He answers while you are yet speaking, right?!! Psalm 86 tells me that the LORD is plenteous in mercy unto all who call upon Him, and the Hebrew word for ‘all’ used here (#3605 in Strong’s Concordance) does not appear to exclude anyone.

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I myself seriously consider that, as some believe, the coronavirus was bio-engineered & deliberately released into the world. If you are not someone who has even remotely thought of such things, this sounds ludicrous, I know. Five years ago, that was me. Not so much these days, though…

Once I focused & did an internet search, I found enough online information to remind me of this possibility. I continue to ponder it. The Scriptures tell us of the existence of a present ‘evil age’. They remind us that our true warfare is not against flesh & blood but against ‘powers and principalities’ (Ephesians 6:12)). So there is justification to consider a darker source behind a global sickness, something other than just an outbreak of germs & viruses that multiplied and spread on their own.

Knowing only a little bit of what goes on in the world system (or appears to go on) and then looking at some of the behaviors that have developed, as a result of COVID 19, I have to wonder…

For instance: for years, I have been suspicious of the true intent behind the internet. I continue to be suspicious. This ‘lock down’ is removing us even further from normal human interaction & increasingly confining us to an isolation within which we are looking at screens. Globally, we are being fed information that is tied into and determined by cybernetics, data programmers & AIs. Too much control is being taken away from us.

Another pattern of changing behavior that I’ve seen developing in my area, is substituting electronic actions for cash transfer from hand-to-hand, to hinder the spread of the virus. Yes, it’s a good & safe idea, but still, it’s another move towards an increasingly cashless society (Mary Stewart Relfe, Ph.D., The New Money System). This particular instance involves public transportation, and likely it’s temporary.  Still…I notice it. I wonder.

I am pointing these out as examples of what could become a ‘paving of the way’ for Antichrist, a one world/New World order leader. My intention is not to over-dramatize the agendas that are probably in place, and have been, since the downfall of man in the Garden, but to simply remind people that perhaps something else is going on here. And to become aware of the Antichrist’s nemesis: THE Christ who has come in the flesh, and will come again.

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Lana Vawser Ministries has posted a word of great comfort from the Lord, concerning these times of coronavirus, while we are being set-in-place: “THERE IS SO MUCH GRACE AND HELP FROM THE LORD FOR YOU IN THIS TIME OF RESET AND TIME OF REALIGNMENT!  Regardless of any diabolical sources – if so be – behind this pandemic, God is greater. In my heart, I think He desires those things that need to be shaken & removed, or severed from us in our individual situations, to be so severed & removed, that we may begin to regain a focus that perhaps many of us have lost, or that has become faded. For some, it may be a new focus, a first-time experience! Amen & Hallelujah! What great rejoicing!

And if some are thinking, does God need to let a PANDEMIC (or even just the fear of one) course throughout the earth just to get our attention? Really? I would answer, if you knew Who He is, and what He has done in Jesus Christ, you would understand.  Because you DON’T understand, for your own good, yes, He does.

He wants you to know Him. He wants you to know His love.

While powers & principalities, working through the world system & fear, are seeking to pave the way for their own destructive, satanic purposes, the Risen Lord is paving the way for something else – for you & I to know Him, or know Him better, and life abundant in & through Him, now & forever.  Because forever is real.  Amen.

Which is why I say that I see God in this.

Rolling Away the Stone…Coronavirus

I recently found myself unexpectedly reading Psalm 94. The plan had been Psalm 91, as so many have been turning to for reassurance & comfort in these coronavirus days. But I got ‘sidetracked’…or did I?

I had underlined a certain verse in the psalm, which of course caught my eye. That night, while downloading a Derek Prince video teaching, I hear him reading that very same Scripture, but couldn’t place where I had just heard it.
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Today, picking up in Psalm 94, I see the verse in question. Aha! I think. I’ll start reading here today, and see where it takes me…I end up being intrigued by verse 20: “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” I don’t recall ever seeing the term ‘throne of iniquity’ before. (Of course that immediately brings to mind the ‘throne of grace’… a SO much better reality!) Nor do I recall any language about framing mischief by a law.

Looking into these phrases, flipping pages as I cross-checked this & that, I arrive at Psalm 37. I wasn’t intending that, it just ‘happened.’

Almost pulsating off the page – I could not ignore it – was verse 5: “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”

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Let’s take a look at that word ‘commit’.

The literal Hebrew translation of this specific text is to roll. It could be interpreted, to run down (as water?) or, interestingly enough, to wallow. When we ‘roll’ something away from us, and/or towards another, we have to let go of it.  It’s out of our hands! If something is ‘running down’, it is also out of our hands! And when we think of ‘wallowing’ in something, well – when I wallow, I’m not exactly trying to control whatever I’m wallowing in (even if I should be…)

While pondering the idea of rolling something away, another rolling action occurred to me: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.” (Mark 16:4)

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While all doing our parts, from sustained medical & scientific research to faithful hand-washing, mask-wearing & social distancing as required, there needs to always be that most essential component of the formula to eradicate the coronavirus: the energizing power of the LORD to roll far away the stone of COVID 19, as we commit its defeat to Him.