The Story

Many who know Jesus remember life before him and life after. I truly can't remember a time that I did not know Him. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, early 60's, to working class strict-but-loving parents, I and my younger brother were introduced to Jesus by our Dad's Mother, Grandma Nina (pronounced 9 - Ah) Bell, who watched us while our parents worked. She read us the Bible, taught us to pray, helped us memorize verses.  Holy Spirit through her, instilled a deep, true and loving relationship in my life with the Lord, Jesus Christ.

At 5, our parents moved us to California. Our parents could never agree on a church, so we did not attend one. UNTIL, 4th grade - enter my best friend, Lisa, who brought me to church.  I could not get enough. I went through Sunday School, Confirmation, eventually Baptism and became a member of the church as a teen. 

In my early 20's I'd met and married the most wonderful Robert and we began, what became our wonderful family. 

Once our children were raised, in my 40's I began learning about prayer and praying with people - I loved seeing Jesus do what only he can and grew even closer to Him! 

In my 50's, my church started a Celebrate Recovery. I was asked to help (felt the Lord wanted me to).  Little did I know it would be one of the most life changing shifts in my understanding of myself and the Lord Jesus Christ. Me helping turned out to be Christ mercifully helping me shed terrible things that were hurting and binding me that I had no awareness of.  I found out I was scared of rejection, a people pleaser and used helping other people to feel good about me. God kindly, gently and lovingly peeled back my outer veneer to show me the horrifying truth of my truly sinful self, but then He did not leave me there alone in shame, but, helped me learn how to walk out life, handing over these things to Him (who died for them) and  how to receive, instead, His abundant freedom and real Life!  That was and is the most wonderful thing that I'm still, thankfully learning and doing. Being able to breathe be real about me and at the same time know that I am deeply loved and to love Jesus even more than I ever thought possible. My whole life, after Jesus.

Captain My Heart

One of my pastors recently shared a brief account of part of the amazing story of Ernest Shackleton. If you are not familiar with him - he is one of the Antarctic explorers who led expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 1900's. He is known for overcoming impossible suffering, odds and situations. 

On one of Shackleton's expeditions to be the first to explore the inhospitable Antarctic from shore to shore, he selected his crew not just for their needed skills on the expedition, but, by his impressions and other things such as if they could sing or just the way they struck him when he saw them. One man he chose because he struck him as funny looking. Though his methods were unorthodox, his instincts were spot on as more than one selection proved invaluable on this trip. He once said that the four great qualities needed to be an explorer were: optimism, patience, imagination and courage. 

The ship on this expedition, the Endurance, sailed off and became trapped and frozen in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea. Stuck fast in the ice - the Endurance drifted to within 30 miles of Antarctica only to drift on northward, losing any chance for her crew to fulfill their expeditionary goal. Finally, when the summer came and the ice was breaking up, the ship's hull was crushed by the very ice it was freed of.  Endurance sank, but not before Shackleton evacuated the men, limited supplies and 3 lifeboats onto the ice floe.  He led them for months on the shrinking icepack hunting seals and penguins to support dwindling supplies - trying to reach land.  

They finally had to leave the melting ice floe in the life boats and landed on the uninhabited and remote, Elephant Island.  Ten days later - having realized that no one knew where they were and the men were weakened physically and psychologically and they would likely not survive or be rescued any other way, Shackleton selected 5 men and they fitted one boat to travel the impossible 830 miles over the rough and dangerous South Ocean to the nearest group of whaling stations in South Georgia.  After 17 days of punishing tortuous freezing soaking wet existence in heavy seas, force 9 winds, ice build up on the boat that they had to break off to keep it from sinking, bailing water from the rough waves, waves over 100 ft and a tidal wave that Shackleton mistook for the sky - the lifeboat, crippled and broken finally made it to South Georgia, but landed on the opposite side of the island from the whaling stations. After 36 hours of hiking over the difficult island terrain, Shackleton and 2 of his men made it to a whaling station.  They picked up the other 2 men on the other side of the island and he immediately set to getting a ship to rescue his men on Elephant Island.  It took a lot of coaxing to find anyone willing to back such a mission.  Then, finally, after several aborted rescue missions, Shackleton, relentless in getting back to his men, was lent a tugboat by the Chilean government and nearly 4 months after they'd set off to find help, Shackleton arrived at Elephant Island.  Not a single man was lost. They all returned.  When asking the men how they held on to hope that they'd be rescued from Elephant Island - they said, we know our captain. 

Our pastor noted how like the men under Shackleton - we can know our captain, Jesus.  We can trust his character, heart and desire toward us in pulling out every stop in saving us because He already endured horrible suffering and death on the cross to do just that.  The threat of and experience of impossible suffering and death did not defeat our captain. His unrestrainable life would not let death win and He gave us this unrestrainable life in place of our death, if we receive it from Him! 

Unlike Shackleton's very real human limits, frailties and the real possibility of his failure - Jesus' victory over death, though his human physical and emotional suffering was very real, was not ever in question.  Slain before the foundations of the earth - Jesus' victory was established and real long before it came into space and time.  God's winning was never in question.  What does come into question in the minds of those who love and trust Jesus is why would an infinite, perfect and all-powerful God lay aside his glorious deity and submit himself to the weak limits of human existence within his own fallen creation?  What would prompt the most powerful being to suffer so?  Well, He told us - He loves us. It's unbelievable to us, but true.  And he proved it! His love is the kind of love that does not just sit above in lofty glory looking down in disappointment doing nothing through the failures and suffering of his creation.  His love climbs down into the dirt, muck, trouble, pain, suffering, horror, into the very seat with us, hurting with our hurts, walking out our walks, climbing through our climbs - we're not in this alone - He is active with us.  And He made the way for us - if we will accept - to be forever one with Him!  We were never alone, but knowing He came for us, who are so small and seemingly insignificant in such a vast and complex creation, that is astonishing. He told us that He made us in His image - He cares very much for those who bear His resemblance - we're bonded/family. 

We cannot begin to fathom the wonders our God has for those who love Him. We've only barely scratched the surface of knowing and have eternity to go ever deeper. Holy Spirit has been sent to dwell in all those who trust in Christ Jesus to guide, help, assist, teach, that we come fully into Christ's image.  I ask Him, in navigating ever deeper in this amazing exploration - Captain my heart!

Tough Truthful Discussions

Does anyone I know enjoy conflict with people they love - no.  Really no. Some even try to avoid conflict with anything, period "La-la-la-la - I can't hear you!"  I'm not so fond of it myself, but, we're living in a time where we are being called to stand up for truth, even when people disagree or do not want to hear. Navigating conflict is an important skill.  I have not been so great at it, but, I know I must learn how to do it better.  We're living in a time where we must stand up for the truth - if we don't, we are lost.  

Nazi Germany was full of good people who kept quiet and when it was too late to speak up, they were enslaved to an evil tyrannical government take over and became partners to genocidal killing estimated at over 20+ million people who did not conform to the government's idea of people who should be allowed to live. 

I am a follower of Jesus Christ.  As His follower I must align with His heart and mind in all things. His word is clear about what He designed and authorized and what He did not. I and all true followers of Jesus must die to our own preferences or feelings every day and bow to His will and ways, not the other way round.  

In our culture - even those who call themselves Christian, many in the name of love, have avoided talking about God's truth and values in order to soften any harsh reality from those engaging in things He does not author or approve of.  But, I will ask - is that really loving?  If you know that sin un-repented of and brought to Jesus for trust and acceptance of His salvation will result in eternal separation from God, how can you fail to grieve, mourn, cry out for and try to reach out to those caught in sin's deadly grip?  How can you smile, comfort and wave them off on their freight train to hell?  If you really care, wouldn't you risk offending them to save their soul?  I don't mean being hateful to them, but truly caring about their wellbeing!

God put principles, values and the construct of all things into place for good - and He called it good.  Man, in his sinful state, will always be at odds with those values and try to de-construct what God has laid down.  He wants his own way - He wants to be God, deciding what really is good. Silly thing that - there is no good outside of God and His ways.  It is what we see now in culture.  The proliferation of evil to the point that anything good is now called evil. As people have moved away from God and His values the void has been filled with un-godly ways and values (the bible calls it Anti-Christ, for so it is) - it's exploding to such a degree that all of humanity is threatened with slavery to it.  These ungodly values have proponents who years ago eased into the conversation just asking for tolerance.  But that became a wedge and slippery slope to go further. They now demand not tolerance but embracing and endorsement of their values.  Anything at odds with those values is now condemned as hateful and unacceptable.  Who pleads tolerance, but, has none for those holding other values?

Ultimately, this has always been a spiritual battle.  Will men submit themselves to God, accept His gift of goodness and life in Christ Jesus and spread light?  Or, will they be their own god, proliferating evil, death and spreading darkness?  We are in that battle - where do you stand? The good news is that Jesus won this battle long ago on the cross, raising from death to life and if we accept His gift, we too raise from death to life!  We are either establishing His Kingdom victory in our own lives, families, neighborhoods, regions, country, world or we are allowing defeated foes to remain in authority and cause chaos, death and destruction.

Vision

So, you always wanted x-ray vision as a kid, huh?  Maybe you still want it now.  Superman was so cool, spying out the real situation or those bad guys through buildings, in vehicles, underground, he saw it all.  No  obfuscation!

In these days, seeing through things to the truth, wow, what a rare and valuable skill that is! And what a benefit!  Unfortunately, even Superman like x-ray vision would not really be helpful in our situation today.  You see, people and situations look to be one way on the outside but are another way on the inside.  Superman could only see through physical things to physical things.  Now Jesus, Jesus can see hearts and to the very heart of the matter!  He sees all things very clearly.He is more than a Super man - He is The God Man - Messiah.  He made all things so, it's no wonder He can see so well. He sees people so very much differently than we do.  He knew what He was about when He made them. He formed all people of the past and still forms each one today in their mother's womb, in the image of God. He has "Jesus Vision" - he foresees the plan He's crafting each one for. All shine the glory of The Maker, even if they may not align with His heart.  He has actually invited each to reflect Him uniquely in the world. Very spectacular!  If they accept/receive Him, they will live into the real self He made them to be.  He wants every one of them to, but will never force people to receive and love Him.  He died to rescue us from sin and death (something horrible we can never cleanse or free ourselves from that separates us from our loving God), so that we can have forever Kingdom life together with God,.  He is so so good that we will never get to the end of adventures in seeing the wonder!

There are many deceived in this time, but lots are waking up - seeing the fog lift, understanding there is evil in the world and a real enemy who wants to kill, steal and destroy them, their children and all human life.  The enemy wants to mar God's image, wreck the beauty of His creation and thwart Father God's relationship with those He loves so dearly.  The enemy uses human agency to accomplish much of his plan, but God has come in human form (Jesus) and snatched victory from the enemy forever! It's like the song "The Passion" says, "Our chains are gone, our debt is paid, The cross has overthrown the grave For Jesus' blood that sets us free means death to death and life for me!" And, while the King is victorious, there are far off outposts where people have not gotten the word!  But, it's coming - even now unfolding! Billions - asking for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers!

So, Jesus Vision, how do you get it?  Trust Jesus' shed blood for your sins and take Him as your Lord! He will send you the Holy Spirit to guide you into seeing with His eyes. You'll be amazed at what you never saw before become completely visible!  Blindfolds OFF!  Take time to look into the eyes of Jesus.  What you will see will overshadow any other thing your human eyes may see - put into perspective any situation or circumstance you may be experiencing.  His love, power, truth, life and light - His purity, holiness, righteousness, joy, goodness and kindness - you will see it all there and it will astonish and knock you over! Most of all, His true deep real and constant love for you, personally.  Mmmm...that is the most wonderful.

Can You See?

Recap of Our Situation as of May 30, 2020

Communist China has a lab in Wuhan that somehow releases a virus sometime late 2019

This same Wuhan lab - funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease funded a study specifically on Bat Coronavirus , which was a project that included scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (that the State Department had reported was unsafe and they found were developing bat coronaviruses with potential for human transmission were a risk for possible sars like pandemic) – even though it was prohibited by the Obama administration to give money to any lab working with these viruses. Why would US based citizens fund work illegally and with a lab that was found unsafe and developing coronaviruses that could be transmitted to humans run by Communist China? Why would our government, after prohibiting work with these labs – continue to allow funding?

Communist China tells no one about the outbreak of the virus, silence doctors who raise alarm about it, use WHO to lie about the nature of it and prevent anyone from Wuhan from travel in China, but send people from there all over the world. Why would a country do such a thing? What could they gain?

Harvard Professor in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department arrested for lying about scientific collaboration for money with China while under contract with US NIH and DOD – found working with Wuhan University of Technology. Two Chinese nationals arrested, one posing fraudulently as a student and found to be an officer in Communist China military and working for the Communist China National University of Defense Technology in conducting research, assessing U.S. military websites and sending U.S. documents and information to China. The other arrested at the Boston airport trying to smuggle 21 vials of biological research material from a lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to take to China.

UK Virus specialist gives outrageous death models that are completely false that other health officials use to close the nations. US health officials promote a 14 day lock down – just to flatten the curve so our healthcare systems will not be overwhelmed all at once.

14 days – the curve is flattened over most of the US – though New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and other states decide to order COVID 19 positive patients into nursing homes (which were known to have the most vulnerable to the virus) and some areas surge as a result in those states. NY had Navy hospital ship and Javits Center to use that were closed up due to too few patients and forced these people into nursing homes that cannot isolate them and huge numbers of deaths occur as a result – which they then point to as reason to not open. What are these people gaining? What is the real reason to kill people, keep people fearful and locked down, businesses lost, increased suicide, increased addiction, hunger, families failing?

Hydroxychloroquin (a safe FDA approved drug, used for over 40 years) used together with zinc and z-pak found by “on the ground treating doctors” all over the world to work for their patients when used early enough with this virus as both prophylactic (fend off the virus) and treatment early in infection. The drug is downplayed, maligned as dangerous and use of it is quashed by media and health care officials who say they are scientific, but have no interest in being scientific about this drug in particular. Doctors are being monitored who prescribe it, drug stores are refusing to fill prescriptions unless the doctor shares private patient info. Doctors who prescribe it for patients are being threatened by the state medical licensing. Why would anyone want to leave people with no treatment vs. some treatment in a death situation? What is the motive?

Governors in many states make a power grab to institute a police state and further extend the shut down time- talking about not opening again until a vaccine is in place. Designating arbitrarily (outside the constitutional mandates) what is and is not essential – pot dispensaries, liquor stores, casinos – open, church – closed. People cannot feed their families, food banks getting cleared out, businesses are failing closing up to never return all based on arbitrary silly rules with no scientific basis. Arresting people and putting them in jail for trying to feed their families while releasing rapists, sex offenders onto the streets, touting the virus as the reason. Put mostly law abiding productive citizens who are trying to care for their family in jail and release known dangerous criminals – why would authorities do that? Why would governors override their own state legislatures to institute illegal measures? Why tout science only to practice the most unscientific things? Is this about safety or control?

Then, we have a black man killed on video by police, no apparent concern to conceal it or worry that it is horrific - though the officers see the person filming. The story about the arrest of this man is shaky – first they say a check then it’s a phony $20 bill. The officers are not arrested or held in any way. It takes time for anyone to decide to arrest the one officer The other officers are not arrested. Isn’t there something odd about all of this and the timing of it? What would be gained by enraging and inciting people to riot with hate and mistrust toward all police? Who benefits from this?

People in Minneapolis take to the streets to protest. Then rioting begins - looting and burning neighborhood businesses and the police station. Police will not stop them. The media condones the destruction. Many people involved in the rioting are found to be from outside the area. This continues in a concerted way through many cities over days, all over the country. Organizations that want instability and send people to create havoc, violence and destruction have hired people and are involved. Local citizens both black and white take up guns to try to protect businesses and people. We see near unanimous outcry against this killing by most all people. Why do you think people would want to infiltrate protesters to portray them as mob rioting anarchists and whip the hate further between people? Who benefits from this? What is happening that people ignore while all of this is happening?

Hong Kong is suddenly slapped with a new security law curtailing their freedoms by Communist China – who reneged on the 1997 UK/China agreement for their autonomy. Arrests, martial law in Hong Kong continue.

Further clamp down came on free speech, by social media who were licensed as platforms for commentary from others, but became publishers through the actions of editorializing (censoring) attaching notes to and removing people’s posts that they do not agree with. Why would platforms portraying themselves as just a vehicle for others to comment make themselves the arbiters and purveyors of truth?

Is anyone awake out there? Can anyone see real manipulation of us for evil purposes – infiltration for potential overthrow? Can anyone see that there can be bad actors that do illegal things, play on public fears and push buttons and engage in violence to cause further fear and de-stabilization of our country?

Through all of this, some people are still asleep, blindfolded, though many are waking up - clearing the wrapping from their eyes – asking questions, thinking, standing up, and speaking up.

People who rely on God are looking to Him, listening to Him. They are walking out His love, His life, His truth, uncovering and breaking enemy plans and strongholds, drawing people to Jesus in a hurting and deceived world.

Misdirection

Almost no one is talking about this (see the link below to watch Eric Metaxis' full interview of Sidney Powell - attorney for General Michael Flynn), but, our nation is being hi-jacked, sold out and transformed into a machine of elites empowered and protected by an enforcement arm of terrorist prosecutors that make real their agenda by any means, with impunity! It is shocking and horrific!! Intentional misconduct and intentional targeting - hit jobs - lying about and withholding the truth and mischaracterization of people and situations for a specific agenda - not justice! Forcing people by coercion and torture into agreeing to plead guilty! It's terrorism in our own government against the people's will! And every day people, citizens, are being misdirected - distracted by so much hyper-focus on hate and whipping up anger. People - wake up! You are being duped - sold out! These Prosecutorial thugs are protected in the commission of their unethical practices, withheld evidence, torture and illegal actions - anyone else would be thrown in jail, has been thrown in jail for this! They are doing this every day, while your rights are being removed, ignored and taken from you without you even realizing! Do not be fooled – the same can happen to you!!

And where is our free press, the ones who actually research things and hold accountable the powerful?  They are accessories to this debacle. They are owned by the same bad actors in this mess. They don't report anymore - they are a propaganda machine for damage control and telling people what to think.

With Trump, as much as you may not like him, I'm not a fan of his ways, thank God he has the temperament and skills to take on these snakes! In looking at this debacle of our justice system, I believe God is using Trump to block the complete overturn of our government and bring awareness of this evil corruption. Do you see it? You may not like Trump, but the alternative is the complete loss of our nation and it's freedoms. He is not the one who put these people in place and fostered and protected these practices that are escalating! He is one of the few taking on this monster and putting a stop to it (no wonder they wanted to impeach from before he took office)! Supporting him - it's really supporting us, The United States of America! As much as you dislike his conduct I urge you, for our nation, to protect and support him, but, don't take my word for it - view and read for yourself what is going on and then decide!

It is good that all this is being revealed (nasty as it is) - it give us, the people, a chance to stand up against this tyranny.  We've been sleeping - time to wake up and stand up! Praying God's help, protection and blessing over our nation.

Here is the link to Eric's interview of Sidney:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3THtcukktug


And here is a link to one of the articles Sidney refers to by Jed S. Rakoff in the
interview: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/why-innocent-people-plead-guilty/

Hating

It makes me sad when people buy in to a political party’s speak on issues to such a degree that they become hateful at their opponents and the point becomes not helping a situation or people group, but demonizing and demolishing anyone seen as an opponent at any cost – which turns out to be completely at odds with exactly the values they’re trying to promote. Compassion for immigrants, widows, orphans, unborn children, women, men, and disenfranchised people of all kinds is a noble and a worthy value to uphold.

How can anyone say, men are more important than women? Or, women are more important than men? Where in the world would it be right to say immigrants are more important than children? Or poor are more important than rich? Rich are more important than poor? In what universe could it ever be right to put one group of people over another? Can you ever equalize a person or people group by trashing another person or people group? Is that truly effective? In the course of trying to equalize people, we have denigrated and marginalized people – how is that working? It’s not. As long as it’s okay to hate and tear down and demonize, dehumanize others – these problems will continue. Until we see the value in every person, even and especially those we do not agree with – these many problems will continue. I’m praying for eyes to open – for people to let go of their party affiliation and to embrace compassion for people, especially people they have trouble embracing – people they don’t like!

For the record,

Men, all men, are beloved of God, precious, important – they matter and are not disposable, not people to despise, hate, use, denigrate or treat as non-humans, not to be treated as chattel, property, objects, to subjugate, look down on or prevent from becoming all God made them to be

Women, all women, are beloved of God, precious, important - they matter, are not disposable, not people to despise, hate, use, denigrate or treat as non-humans. They are not to be viewed as persons to subjugate, look down on or prevent from becoming all God made them to be

Babies and children, all of them, in the womb or out of it, are beloved of God, precious gifts of God, important – they matter and are not disposable, not people to despise, hate, use, denigrate or treat as non-humans, not to be treated as chattel, property, objects, to subjugate, look down on or prevent from becoming all God made them to be

Just my 2 cents, for what that's worth today.