Come On In!

Man alive, history truly does repeat itself: this truism is due to mankind's perpetual inclination toward spiritual stupidity regarding the consequences of gross sin - gross is defined here as obvious, and unacceptable, thoughts and resultant behaviours in the sight of God. 

In the book of Nehemiah, Tobiah the Ammonite, an enemy of God's people, was invited by the high priest, Eliashib, to reside within the temple. He was housed comfortably there, in the heart of God's Holy City, Jerusalem, whenever he happened desired a spot of entertainment, and afterward, a place to lay his wicked head down for rest.

The expression in bed with your enemy, comes to mind. God's people are a peculiar bunch, meaning set apart, different, not to be mixed and mingled with strangers that worship deaf and dumb demon deities. Sex, power, control, money, prestige, all play a role in the debauching of humanity. The high priest, Eliashib, had a penchant toward misusing blessings and his position of godly authority, in order to scratch his dirt encrusted itch: he favoured Tobiah as a companion, and told him, Come on in!. Eliashib violated the sanctity of the temple by giving this man living quarters, where Israelites were meant to worship the living God. Rather than chasing the rascal away and protecting God's people from a murderous menace, the high priest modelled irreverence and disregard for God's Sovereignty, putting God's people in jeopardy. 

If you happen to go to a church that invited a modern day Tobiah in, aka, co-VID, then your high priest, otherwise known as your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, whatever title he/she/it has given itself, is a traitor and a trader of souls. To be plain, your religious leader is Eliashib, and invited in the enemy of your spirit, when all the nonsensical protocols were implemented, what now seems like a lifetime ago. We see remnants of these orders from the devil in disguise: masks are still lovingly placed over paranoid faces, and the poor souls that sport them haven't a clue that they are slowly cooking themselves in their own poisoned juices. 

Listen. We all make judgment errors AND, we all have to learn to say these mountain moving words: I am sorry. If your religious leader is anything like Eliashib, and has yet to apologize for inviting Tobiah into your midst, and you KNOW that a hoax was perpetrated against you and all of mankind via CO-v-ID, then you are being subjected to demonic forces that thrive on sucking the life right out of humans: that is their only driving source of energy. They live to kill. 

Listen again, with all the wax sucked out of your ears so you can hear. There are modern day Ezra's and Nehemiah's. They warn us about snakes and scorpions, the kind that slither and sneak into holy places to sully and seduce us toward being sinful. Biblically, Nehemiah saw what was happening and he took hold of the situation and honoured God by removing Tobiah and kicking him out onto his butt, without hesitation or fear of reprisal from men, because he honoured the living God, and holy reverence moved him to action. If you love Jesus, you will do the same. You will look at your life, and with God's help, pin down the sin snakes and scorpions, and stomp on them or catch and cast them away, but you will NOT SUFFER THEM in your life! 

This is a test. Cov-ID was a test, and now we have our final examination. God is watching to see who will abide in him and resist the devil. Clearly we cannot do this on our own. Clearly we need the strength of the Saviour; and we are asked to: 

1. trust in God's providential care

2. maintain our temple - the soul that resides in the tent of our body - via reading his Word, praying, and living a holy life

3. refusing to collude with secular spirituality that waters down faith until it is tasteless and ultimately, nonexistent.

The Bible is a blessing, dear reader, because we don't have to guess at what comes next. We live history, with the theme of good vs evil prevailing, and evil currently rearing its ugly head in the most grotesquely arrogant of fashions. But what, I ask you, of the good? What good can you and I do in a world of people that like to roll around in pig pens and muddy their souls in the muck? 

I am asking you to be very aware, alarmed even, so that you can have your yay or nay say in what is happening in your own life. Each human has impact, and yours can be for the wholesome good of your neighbour. Modelling the love of Christ is the only answer, the only solution, and I ask you to decide now, to follow him. 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7)

Message complete, I'm out, as they say. Have a good and godly day today dear one. 

Implication

Indirect messaging, that is what implication suggests; a way of implying without being specific, you catch my drift?

Wicked and malicious people have a way of adding numbers to their single-mindedness; they propose they have a majority on their side of the fence, and that this larger part, will strong-arm any opposition to their destructive plans. When this tension presents, we see a battle of the wills and wits, not amongst all peoples, dear reader, only between those that recognize the realms of good and evil. The minority I speak of, make up perhaps 10-20% of the population, if the Pareto Principle is to be believed as accurate. Do you agree, that 80-90% of the population is stupefied and ill equipped to face off in the spiritual realm?

Follow with me as I do a little x's and o's deductive reasoning. If what I imply is true with this ratio: 

❌ 10-20% of people comprehend the existence of the spiritual realm

⭕️ 80-90% of people haven't a clue about God, the devil, angels and demons 

Then we are looking at 10-20% of people engaging in spiritual warfare, and this is typical of humans historically, with a minority doing the majority of the heavy lifting of influencing populations:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14) 

Let's say 10% of the warriors are Christians of the authentic variety, that live their faith based on Biblical principles and the commandments of God Almighty, while the other half of the 20%, in other words, the other 10%, work as minions for the Satan, doing his bidding and living his dastardly demands. That is a standoff, if you ask me, and while the wicked and malicious people I mentioned above would have you and I believe we are outnumbered, they do what they do best, which is lie. God doesn't need paltry people to win battles; in fact, he could call it a day and snuff us all out with a wink or a nod, but alas, he made us in his image with free will as our gift for choosing, and it behooves us to do our part when it comes to establishing publicly, whom we will serve. Are you battle ready, dear reader?

⭕️ dear, I am very concerned for the 80-90% of people that cluelessly go about their daily business without consideration of the peril they are in

⭕️ my, they witlessly contribute to their own demise 

⭕️ boy, what will become of them if they never see that the enemy of their souls holds them captive already, because they refuse to let go of superficiality and acknowledge that they are beholden to One Triune God

❌ Christians vs Satanists ... ❌ marks the spot

All good stories have a theme and generally speaking, there is a mix of good and evil sprinkled throughout. The evil we see is loud and perfidiously proud, unabashed and unafraid. The good we see is has the stamp of godly righteousness, with no need to parade and preen: 

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still (Revelation 22:11)

I did a little black and white, wrong and right work with you today, dear reader. We played x's and o's, and if you have ever played this game, you know how simple and easy it is to win, and to lose too. Misplacing our faith, or not placing it at all, is a mistake, and I pray you are a player, and not a bystander that allows your fate to be selected and sealed without you uttering a word of approval or refusal. I am asking you to get out of the 80% if you find yourself there, and join forces with those of us who understand what is going on, and how vitally important it is to take a stand of faith in Christ, while we still have breath in our lungs. 

The flood, Sodom and Gomorrah: these are perfect examples of the mercy of God and his long suffering. He gives us ample time to change our minds and ways, but when we refuse, he does what only he can do righteously, which is pass judgment. We are here now, you and I, watching debauchery and waiting to see what will happen next, knowing it will only get worse. Our warrior weapons include the Word of God and prayer. The more time you spend in both, the better for your soul. 

Time to go now dear one, I pray you go with God. 

Who You Mad At?

Misplaced displaced floating in the psyche anger is a raging caged ornery bull that snorts, head down, ready to charge, given the right circumstances.

Latent is defined as: present and capable of emerging or developing but not now visible, obvious, active, or symptomatic

Dear reader, do you have latent anger? Is your anger present and capable of emerging or developing but is currently invisible, inconspicuous, passive, or asymptomatic?

Have you heard or read the term, passive aggressive? This is latent anger hiding behind excuses to lash out at those that have absolutely nothing to do with the origins of your feeling miffed, cheated, mistreated, mishandled, maligned, unheard, unseen, forgotten, abandoned, plain old hurt. Angry people are hurt people that couldn't express feelings of sadness, sorrow, disappointment, because no one had an ear attuned to their stingy feelings when they needed it the most. Stifled sentiments are what many have labelled 'stuffed' down emotions, and one way or another, anger will express itself when it hasn't had the air time to be vented: repressed anger leads to a temper. How do I know this, you ask? I have been there, done that, and figured myself out, that's how. 

We all have reasons for our feelings, and dare I say that while there is some validity to our emotions, we don't always have a full picture, a completed puzzle as it were; and so, we often feel minus all the facts. If I have learned anything big in this lifetime, it is that each individual is very much self-absorbed with their own thoughts and reactions. Very rarely do we meet someone that is completely altruistically other focused to the point of self-sacrifice. I can think only of one Man/God of this unique calibre, and he just so happens to be known as Christ, the King. 

🔥 Latent anger is sneaky and insidious. 

🔥 Latent anger lurks looking to pounce. 

🔥 Latent anger is one of the most unsavoury, misguided weapons that seeks revenge on unsuspecting victims, and it slashes this way and that, indiscriminately with bloodlust. 

🔥 Latent anger casts about to be directed, looking for a target, because it is vengeful and wants its pound of flesh. Recall, repressed feelings don't stay that way, especially for those that in time, feel entitled to retaliate. 

I see a lot of latent anger these days, with much more to come. I see that people have been mistreated and wounded, and have done their fair share of the same to others. I see that trust is costly and rare, and rightly so, given the fact that betrayal on a universal level, has been our most recent common and mutual experience. Who do you trust, dear reader, and why?

I admit, the past couple of days, I have been a little mad: not crazy mad, just a tad miffed. I am disappointed that people reject Jesus and then, when they are in need, or trouble, they turn to God as though he is a magic trick or a vending machine. Plunk in a prayer request and voila, your pleading pays off. If you are a fornicator, a liar, a cheat, a gossip, a fortune telling lover, someone that holds horoscopes or palm reading near and dear... hey, I could go on and on; if you are anti-Bible, anti-Christ, then you reject Jesus. I am not telling you not to pray, go ahead: I am telling you that when you pray, know to Whom you speak, and man alive, show some reverence and display some awe, because you be talkin' to your CREATOR, and hells bells, his wrath for being dismissed, and disregarded matches nothing you have ever seen or felt from a mere human, or demon for that matter. 

NOTE regarding prayer: God will hear you, dear reader, but there is a price for admission into the throne room, and it is this: you must repent after being reproved. You must forsake your old ways and accept that you cannot pay the price for all of your sins, and that they were paid for for you, by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary. 

God's anger may very well be described as latent: present and capable of emerging or developing but not now visible, obvious, active, or symptomatic, but unlike human anger, his is never misplaced or derived from misunderstanding. He has all the facts, the completed picture or puzzle, and when he gives vent to this powerful verdict of righteous anger for all the wrongs we humans have cumulatively accomplished, it will blow our hair and ears right off our heads and melt us at the knees. That is my prediction, dear one, and we will see this in the very near future.  

Anger usually stems from a sense of unfairness or injustice, and a feeling of helplessness too. The most angry people I have known, were severely put upon as children, and never really recovered from that state of perpetual shock at being mistreated. The only solution I have ever seen work to heal the wounds that cause latent anger, is the salve of salvation. Telling God that our heart hurts and our soul aches with tears of sorrow, is the most wonderful curative process I know of. 

God's love heals all. If only everyone knew this...

Dear reader, figure out who you are mad at, with the caveat that you cannot say you are mad at God. It is humans that hurt other humans, so we must not blame the Almighty for our soul cuts. Once you have taken the time to observe your own pain and figure out its genesis, you can begin the work of processing your angst and resolving it, so that your aren't a walking talking unwieldy weapon that aims itself at innocent victims that haven't harmed you, nor plan on ever doing so. 

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephesians 4:26)

Notice, dear one, that the Bible does not say, Don't be angry. The Bible points to the fact that angry happens, but when it does, we are instructed to sin not. Anger is dangerous when it is hot and given its way; we must be very aware of ourselves when this sentiment rears its self-righteous head. Dealing with what enrages or hurts us is vitally important, and the suggestion is to figure things out before you lay your head down for rest, and not carry the irksome item with you into the next day. 

Sage advice, wouldn't you agree?

Covidism & Curses

Curses befall those that mangle the minds of the young... If you are going to use this phrase, give me a little credit, would ya? I have noticed my blogs are lifted and placed untraceably elsewhere, and I have no idea who has absconded with them. This is called intellectual thievery, but then again, it is a sign of the times, isn't it, dear reader? Let us get right into our topic, of curses. 

We now have abundant evidence that undeterred corruption emboldens the brazen, to take liberties they believe are consequence free. The ridiculous occupation by squatters on university campuses comes to mind, and I want to point out up front, that the universities deserve to be desecrated because of their willingness to subjugate vulnerable students to socialism, communism, atheism, nihilism, paganism, and lastly and most recently, covidism. Curses befall those that mangle the minds of the young...

Do you recall your university days, and the book stores that soaked students, charging them exorbitantly for the annually updated textbook editions that had to be bought this year, because the very same textbooks from last year were ever-so-slightly outdated; or the fatten-the-calf meal plans that could be directly blamed for the freshman fifteen, the extra poundage that students put on because nutrition wasn't a consideration in the cafeteria, rather, calories were paid for at great cost, to the wallet and the waistline. Money money money, wasted and difficult to repay, with loans burdening the graduate and no guarantee of employment to follow. 

Far from home for some, further yet from God, the young are mentally mangled in our schools, with higher education viciously attacking ethics and morals in a competitive and condescendingly controlled environment. Students are free to fail, made to feel responsible for themselves while being negatively influenced and put upon, by those that think nothing of manipulating young minds. I speak, dear reader, in generalities, and more specifically, of what has occurred in our most recent past: Covidism dominated, and professors, supposedly thinkers able to impart wisdom to the young, fell head long into the trap, and dragged with them those that held them in high esteem. 

The curse of covidism has befallen the universities and I dare say, it is not students that speak with forked and vulgar tongue. Masked marauders with no purpose feigning an important cause, occupy space in fenced areas, annoying passersby, and vexing the peaceful: I wonder in print, Do they know they are fire fodder, human twigs tossed on the funeral pyre to distract others from what is really going on? (I will address this thought below in a NOTE.) The masks they sport speak of their cowardice; they haven't the guts to naked face be bold because they haven't a clue about what they really believe or know to be true. What ushers out of their mouths is nonsensical and vulgar, and often times they physically demean themselves with hand and body gestures that drops them down into a category all their own, known as YUCK and reprobate. 

The curse on campuses in the Western world ought to be an embarrassment to all university administrators, unless of course, they take pleasure in seeing the demise of higher 'education'? I liked university, I really did, but there is no way I would send my son, if he were school age now, to kindergarten, grade school, high school, university or college. Why would I trust someone I love with strangers that teach strange things that ultimately wound the soul? 

University professors tacitly enjoyed tenure, but alas, curses befall those that mangle the minds of the young, and favour has left them to be replaced with peace-less-ness in their professions. They have vexed souls and in return, they are reaping what they have sown. Am I sounding harsh, dear reader? Yes, even to my own ears (I hear my voice as I type), I sound brassy as I bash the people I hold accountable regarding the injuries the young have suffered under the influence of their elders. I recall talking to students on campus at Western in London Ontario a couple of years ago. Most wore masks, and as students, followed politically motivated protocols in order to continue with their educational endeavours. They didn't know it at the time, but they had been groomed to follow orders that would ultimately teach them to be the unthinking, the lackeys, the uneducated and mentally malnourished. Indoctrination rather than education was what they dearly paid for without cognizance. 

Curses befall those that mangle the minds of the young...

There are many answerable adults that are learning quickly this Biblical truism:  

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6)

All administrators, teachers and professors for universities, colleges, high schools, grade schools, and kindergarten: if you forced masks and injections, and any other wicked command upon those under your charge, you are guilty of betrayal and I highly recommend you repent, beg God for forgiveness, and start praying that the curse you brought upon yourself and others does not show up as consequences that you cannot escape, talk yourself out of, or heal yourself from. 

Now is your time to come clean before God and man. God is mighty to save and redeem, but you must do your part to turn things around, or live with the dire upshot of what you have done. 

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10)

NOTE: Above I stated: Do they know they are fire fodder, human twigs tossed on the funeral pyre to distract others from what is really going on?

What is really going on is people are sick and dying from the poison injections so many took just a couple of years ago and for some, even more recently. I believe latent anger directed at self and then at other, is fuelling an unholy fire in the bellies of those that unconsciously recognize they were duped, and fell for a massive hoax. Rather than accept the error in the choices they made, there is leakage, with rage building up and spilling out, looking for a place to be expended. Instead of going after the perpetrators, the victims go after those that can do nothing to fix or change the situation. Someone has to 'pay' for the pain and suffering, and scapegoating is an old fashioned way of misplacing guilt and personal shame, onto another...

Mangled minds do not perform properly, and this, we see, all around us. 

The Devil Is A Liar

Oh, to lie to yourself, dear reader, is one of the scariest things you could possibly do! You are with yourself day and night, night and day. The only person you cannot hide from is you and yet, if you are a liar, you are playing hide and seek with your own soul. Behold, as a fraud betraying yourself continually, you simply cannot make sense of the world you live in. With those silly multicoloured tinted glasses you look through, you are a walking talking ball of confusion, and others will know you as deceptive and difficult to associate with, because you shift from leg to leg on sifting sand.  

How can you stand yourself as a liar? and what makes you think anyone else can for any length of time? I heard a newer friend say just the other day, The devil is self-deceived... this comment floored me. I know the devil is a liar, that he is the father of lies and misleads others to their own demise, but I never really thought of him as self-deceived, which now that I think of it, is so crystal clear as to make me feel foolish in not considering it before. Of course he is self-deceived, a liar of the first degree and order, preferring his own version of 'truth' over reality, his own way over The Way... and isn't that precisely what he tries to sell as a slick purveyor of all things perverted? Isn't he first and foremost in suggesting that a little white lie doesn't hurt anyone, and yet, the white lie tarnishes many a soul and blackens many a relationship, and requires the liar to commit to deception, once, then twice, then trice, then... you get the picture. 

You don't have to lie. You don't have to lie, I said. Did you hear that? If you choose to lie, then expect the person that is lying to be your biggest enemy. Think about what you just read... when you open your mouth, you cannot trust the you that is talking. When you stop talking, you must run over those words and flatten them out in your mind, kill them so that they cannot rise up and speak against you; if they live on and you have to address them, they will accuse you and call you all manner of names. 

Liar, hypocrite, deceiver, fibber, falsifier, perjurer, false witness, fabricator, equivocator, prevaricator, spinner of yarns, fake, fraud, untrustworthy, unworthy, ruthless, self-serving, troublemaker, coward, deceptive, destroyer, shameful

It would be some kind of wonderful if truth didn't require bravery. It would be so fantastical if honesty was the norm and not the exception. But dear reader, so many just plain old love to lie, that it is a way of life, and why not, I ask you? Why shouldn't people act exactly like their parents? If your daddy is a liar, then you, bad fruit with the outward bruising and inward rotting, will speak and behave accordingly, if you do not forsake his wicked demonic ways. 

God cannot lie, it is an impossibility. With his strength, we are emboldened to speak the truth not only to others, but more importantly to ourselves when alone. Are there things a person, that belongs to God, would prefer to sugar coat, avoid, not think about and look at? Of course, and yet before God we know we are naked, vulnerable, and incapable of hiding, because he is God for goodness sakes, and he hears and sees all we say and do! So in due course, we must self-assess and ask, Am I an honest person, or a downright cowardly deceptive liar? 

As created by God beings, we all sense that we are being watched, and I don't mean by the thought and behaviour police that want so much to control our every word and deed. God knows what is going on in our lives, and that is precisely why conscience must be overridden in order to sin against him. You and I both know that when we do wrong, there is a pang of guilt followed by the sting of shame. Eventually, if you lie often enough for an extended period of time, your conscience will be seared, you will no longer feel guilt or shame, and you will be left to your own deceptive and lonely devices. Lonely, dear one, because you will no longer feel a pull toward heaven. Turn your back on God, and he will after long-suffering your disobedience and ingratitude toward him, turn his back on you. 

The devil is a liar, and my questions to you are:

• Are you a liar too? or;
• Do you value truth over lies, with honesty working as the cementing agent between you and others?

I could, if I felt energy surging through me in this moment pick-up once more, the theme that Satan is self-deceived, but that is a moot point. God has established the fallen angels future, and they know it. But what about your future, dear reader? What about your relationships and interactions with God and others? The goal in living this life is to love, and there's just no room for deception when love is present. Love God, and then love others the way he loves you... is this too difficult an idea to grasp? 

If it is, too difficult an idea to grasp, too much to ask of you that is, then I am concerned for your soul. Truth in love is powerful, but when people cling to lies as a way of life, it weakens the fabric of society, and opens the door to diabolical forces that threaten dastardly destruction. And that, dear reader, describes the state we find ourselves in in the year 2024. 

What are you willing to do to turn things around, if that is possible this late in the game of life?

Proverbs 12:22

Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight

Abomination or delight to the LORD: you chose.

Toxic Positivism

I heard the phrase toxic positivism just yesterday, from a new friend I met not that long ago. I asked her what it meant and if she had coined the phrase, and she answered, It is a real thing, and proceeded to gave me some examples that sound something like this: Sure, your dryer element stayed on all night and you have to replace the whole unit, but at least your house didn't burn down. Or, Sorry that happened to you, but aren't you glad it wasn't worse? Here is one that we are all familiar with, spoken far to often at funeral gatherings, It is sad so-and-so died, but at least they aren't suffering anymore... hmmm? Yup, the deceased may not be suffering anymore, but the person hearing these words may very well be. Consider with me that while some prefer to silver line everything, others may need some time, and space to actually feel, then process, and eventually, perhaps after an extended period of time, learn to live with what happened, if possible. NOTE: Some circumstances are so horrendous that heartache may be a perpetual state of being, despite the passing of time. 

Grief, sadness, joy, anger etc, are real emotions and when we feel rushed or pushed in and or out of them, we are getting the message that somehow what we are experiencing is either too much, off base, inappropriate, sucky, self-serving and somehow making others uncomfortable. 

This attack on the emotions others are feeling can also work in reverse, as in being positively toxic! For instance: I am having a great day, with bubbling joy overflowing from a heart that is grateful and appreciative, only to have someone come along and point out to me what needs to be fixed, replaced, taken care of, removed. Whether the approach is toxic positivism or positively toxic, the imposer steals the emotional thunder from the person they impose upon, and that, dear reader, drives a wedge in relationship.

My point, you ask? It is to pay attention to the person in front of you, and encourage them to share what is on their mind and in their heart without trying to change what they are feeling or spin things around, when that is the last thing they want. Sometimes miserable is what we need to wade through before we get to the good stuff that feels more upbeat and joyful. 

There is a famous song that has Biblical lyrics therein:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time to war, and a time of peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Jesus wept, dear reader. I have often pondered these words taken from John 11:35. He did this publicly without restraint, displaying sorrow and grief openly, and this is our prerogative. We get to feel and not hide or even care, if it makes others uncomfortable. We get to emote and express, like king David when he danced before the Lord joyfully in the streets (2 Samuel 6:14-22).

We get to be us, all the time, and that might mean we get to say, Hey, this is how I feel, and you don't have to make it better for me, I can handle that myself (Jill), when I am good and ready! 

A time for every thing in its season... 

So, dear reader, if you happen to be one of those toxic people that insist no one around you is entitled to their emotions, maybe you need to explore some of your own. I know a great coach that can help you with that: Linda Grace Byers is her name, give her a call!

Thanks for the writing inspiration Sam I am, xo friend. 

Highly Annoying People

NOTE: Bear with me, my plan is to deliver some humour, despite my opening paragraphs. 

Recall the days of old, when motivational books flew freely, and seemingly of their own accord, off shelves and into the held up high and waiting hands of sales people of all shapes and sizes. To be motivated and establish your very own elevator speech, that captured the imagination and cash of your captive short-trip-up-or-down audience, meant you could get rich! Crowds of humans spent countless dollars on seminars, conferences, audio and in-print books, and on pre-recorded tapes and courses, to learn how the masters did it, meaning, made their millions. 

Gone are those big old anyone can be recruited to prosper days, only to be replaced with shell events, where the spirit has gone out of the thing, and it is a hollowed out shadow of its former self. Superfluous comes to mind as the word to describe how business is now conducted. Customer care and service are becoming has-beens, almost forgotten friends from an era marked with the old fashioned idea that relationship matters, with work excellence being marred, while everyone is treated as just one more. 

With my rather depressing opening, I grin at what I plan on sharing next! I discovered a little book in a used book store that promised to tickle my sardonic fancy, and I tell you dear reader, it did not disappoint! As a comical spin-off from the book that became a massive series phenomena, namely The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, written in 1989 by Steven Covey, BAD DOG PRESS published The Habits of 7 Seven Highly Annoying People, in 1996. If you are anything like me, you have some people in your life that can be described as ranging from being irksome, to down right vexatious. Trying to figure out what bothers us about their behaviours can be an arduous endeavour, so when writers hit the nail on the human head, describing perfectly what we might have seen, heard, or experienced, it can be a relief for the soul to be set free from believing that we aren't the only ones that have suffered from having to relate to Mr or Ms/Mrs, annoying! I will not go into all the 7 types of people outlined in the book, but will relate the one that grabbed my attention most recently, and had me saying, YES, that's IT!

Mr. Aggressive caught my eye when reading about his highly annoying habits. These two sentences, did the trick for me, dear reader:

1. He's in control and he'll go to any ends to make sure they know that and, here is the how to part...

2. Mostly with contradictory behaviour and subliminal attacks at others' self-esteem 

Mr or Ms/Mrs Aggressive, is an out of control control freak, dear reader, that hasn't the self-awareness to see the damage they cause, because quite frankly, they don't care about your feelings or mine; what they care about is being rightfully in charge, as the smartest most brilliant person in the room ... or out of the room, or in the vicinity of the room... or ... anywhere near or far from a room.

I heard a line once from an aggressive type that had me laughing, almost in disbelief, because it was such a consolation to hear the person finally acknowledge what I knew to be true of them: You know, Linda, I know this isn't right, but I think I'm always right. In my head a voice yelled, You aren't crazy, you aren't CRAZY! There was a fast talking chatterbox that followed the yeller, reminding me that all those insecure feelings I felt around so and so, the ones that had me second guessing myself, were due to subliminal attacks, meant to undermine my self-esteem. They were contradictory arguments complimented by contradictory behaviours imposed on me by an aggressor, that simply cannot stand anyone else getting any sort of acknowledgement or recognition, without them being seen as the one that deserves credit, even when they have nothing at all to do with the successes of others. But I will tell you what, dear reader, they often have a lot to do with the failures of others, especially when they have influence, power, or control over those that may be vulnerable to their very adept and finely tuned subliminal, and often times obviously aggressive, attacks. 

Vainglory, dear reader, is the sulky sin that these aggressors display when they do not get their own way. Try as they might to rectify their ways when they realize it is something they are doing that repels others, they can't seem to help themselves, and simply return to what appears to be their self-satisfying factory setting. Every once in a while I feel sincerely sorry for this type of character, because while they like people, they really can't stand them, and that shows up whenever someone else threatens to shine, even if it is ever so dimly. This type of person misses out on intimacy in relationship, because no one can trust them. Believe me when I say, trusting a charming aggressor when they are feigning sweetness, leads to much irritation and disappointment, and that feeling of, dang it déjà vu, here I am again.

Remember this, if you are working with or around an Aggressive Mr/Ms/Mrs: Ya can't please 'em, even when you agree with them! They always up the anti, and will find more things when you are in a weakened state to get you to agree to that you clearly said you didn't believe in multiple times in the past, and it will give them the sick satisfaction of winning that they so savour, while you will go off in a huff muttering miserably, once again. This annoying type has endless energy for proving themselves continually correct and obviously, the wisest person in your life that deserves constant kudos. 

Once you figure this out, you will be free, dear one, not of the aggressor of course because lets face the facts, sometimes certain people are integral persons in our lives, (I am fairly confident you and I may very well be described as annoying too, probably by Mr/Ms/Mrs Aggressive of course, for pushing back all the time) but of your almost automated reactions to them. You get to decide you don't care what they think because what they think changes depending on whether or not it puts them in a position of power and being right at the expense of other. You get to say to yourself, I will stay in relationship but they will not rattle my chain.

Sure, this will take some practice, but it is worth it, dear one, AND, added bonus: Once you figure out that you simply do not care what an aggressive imposer thinks about what you do or how you think, you will find yourself thinking about and doing what you really love to do without a voice critiquing and criticizing you constantly! Making mistakes won't make you feel as badly as they once did, and recovery from them becomes much faster, when the aggressor no longer has a say in your head, or in your ear for that matter.

Remember, God gave you a brain, talents, ability, and the heart of a lion. You get to roar without rationalizing if you so choose, or purr like a cuddly kitten if that is your inclination, but you don't have to get out those claws of yours and scratch someone else's itch when they want to engage you in a battle of wits. 

Mr/Ms/Mrs Aggressive can go play by themselves, and you get to say, I just don't care what they think, and mean it. 

The King's Decree

It was to punish us for our sins that we were, for a time, put out of the possession of this house; not because the gods of the nations have prevailed against our God, but because we had provoked him for which he delivered us and our temple into the hands of the king of Babylon, but never intended thereby to put a final period to our religion. We were only suspended for time, not deprived forever, an excerpt from Matthew Henry's Commentary On The Whole Bible, page 493

Canadians held captive by the king of Babylon. This would be a laughable concept a mere seventy years ago. Seventy is one of those numbers that holds mystical power Biblically. Seventy years of captivity, seventy years before the temple was destroyed, seventy years of life for you and me? My father was an immigrant to Canada in his twenties. He had escaped communist Albania and built a life for himself and his family on foreign soil, the land of the free. As his daughter, I fight the good fight with God as my strength, against the invisible enemy that threatens enslavement. My dad was Mr. No Nonsense, and I am very grateful for his earthly example. My Father in heaven commands the universe, and I daily wonder at his magnificence and power. 

Are you a heathen, dear reader? I laugh a little as I type, considering myself a former heathen. As punishment for my sins, for a time, I was put out of possession of my place in the heavenly kingdom. There can be no peace on earth when rebelling against God; only stolen pleasure, that fades into a sense of shame, can be experienced. Thankfully, God corrects and chastens his children, and I have been given the gift of renewal, the opportunity to worship in his temple without censure; I fear not the enemy, and trust only in the Lord, the King of kings. As pointed at above, provoking God puts humanity in peril, as individual's and in groups or nations. Can you see how the enemy of our souls has managed effectively, to put many in shackles, as only a wicked Babylonian king can do? 

Cumulative sin, outrageous and egregious unspeakable sin, amassed and grotesquely on display for all of heaven to see, has brought about the demise of nations. Forsaking the one true living God for idol demon worship, the worlds population now suffers in the throes of death, since we have been delivered into the temple of Babylon, after forsaking true religion, which is living the will of God Almighty. 

But not all is lost, in fact, all is as prophesied. Christians have always been aliens/foreigners while walking the earth. Christ followers stand out as heavenly ambassadors, walking talking living temples, priests among the populace. Currently many a professing Christian has waxed cold, while the enemies of God have run hot with hell fire giving them burning ambition to do damage to the Kingdom of God... alas, they know they are already lost, and while they have momentum now, they will soon run out of fuel. With the question of freedom on the tip of many a tongue, perhaps cool Christians will be ignited, as the godly of old were when God called them back into service, to set the captives free. 

If you feel like a foreigner in your own country, perhaps you recognize the seismic shifts in the spiritual realm. God is allowing us to collectively suffer the consequences of denying him as Sovereign: imagine what he sees every moment of the day, dear reader. Does the thought make you cringe?, as it does me.

In the book of Ezra, the king of Babylon decreed that the Jews rebuild their temple in their own Holy city, Jerusalem. They had been put out of it, taken captive, been displaced and subjected to governance in foreign lands. God purposed a temporary suspension, but not permanent depravation. Is this, dear Christian, not the very same situation we find ourselves in? Is it not time, to rebuild the temple of God, otherwise known as the church?

You, dear one, if you belong to Jesus, the King of kings, Saviour of the world, are called to be a walking talking living stone of the temple of God. Your purpose is to firstly, live the commands of God, and secondly without hesitation, preach the Gospel for the salvation of souls! We are God's ambassadors; is this not marvellous to know? 

Read the Bible, and delight in seeing our brethren harken to us of the hardships they endured that heightened their faith in God as their King. God decrees, we obey... and let not your heart be faint in the doing of his will, his way. 

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29)

Blood Splatter

Nothing brings ruin on a people sooner than persecution, Matthew Henry, page 490 from his Commentary On The Whole Bible. 

A re-enactment of our most mutual and recent past...

Voice # 1

Listen, and listen good. Something bad is happening, and I want to warn you. I don't know all the details, and that doesn't matter too much. What matters most is the vile scent of evil wafting on the air waves. I feel sick at the thought of what awaits if you don't pay attention and catch the drift. You are in danger, physically and spiritually, if you refuse to absorb emotionally and mentally, what I am trying desperately to get through to your mind, your heart, your very soul.

Voice #2

No no, YOU listen to ME. Yes, there is danger, and you are it. You are the obnoxious scent, the annoying voice, the repugnant and vile odour that I cannot rid myself of fast enough. GET AWAY FROM ME, you are despicable. You repulse me!

Dear reader, which voice do you relate to? If you are Voice #1, you and I spoke loudly while trying to beseech the vulnerable to steer clear of what we discerned and perceived early on as a dangerous situation brewing. You and I warned, and in some cases pleaded with perfect strangers to heed, but alas, we heard in reply, Voice #2 over and over again.

If you happen to relate to Voice #2, then I am firstly surprised you are reading my writing, and secondly, grateful you are here, because it may be that you have come to terms with what happened, and what continues to occur, regarding the demise of the human race via masterful manipulation and murder. I have a few questions for you:

■ Do you regret your neglectfulness in being duly diligent when you were confronted with the possibility that something was desperately wrong; and that you had been warned? 

■ Do you wish you had taken some time to consider what friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues were trying to alert you to, concerning the pending disaster we are now commonly living? 

Dear reader, blood is splattered everywhere, and it coats and covers messengers, the prophetic, the ones that tried, and tried again to sound the alarm in whatever way they could to let EVERYONE know, that death was the stench in their nostrils and they/we, could not stand the idea of humanity being wiped out in one fell swoop by the enemy of our souls, Satan. Blood is also splattered all over those that refused to heed, and it is with great sorrow that many of us watch the suffering and with heavy hearts plead almost without ceasing, with God to please make people well, take away their pain, heal their brokenness and more importantly, that they come to saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ as Saviour. 

Satan is a persecutor but he is legless, he is voiceless, has no arms nor any strength without humans doing his bidding. Voice #2 was his when it came from beings created in God's image directed at other beings also created in his image. Don't you see, dear one, how persecution brought our global society down? Don't you now know that if you used Voice #2 and justified separating yourself from anyone that had the authoritative #1 Voice, that you need to repent and make amends with those you dragged with you into this mess? 

The blood of prophets and messengers of the Lord has been splattered throughout the history of mankind, only to have said prophets and messengers vindicated after death. Satan hates us and dividing and conquering is his modus operandi. It saddens me greatly that so many bought into his death plan so readily, at the expense of self, and relationship with other. If you relate to Voice #2, you are guilty of injuring many by way of persecution, and it is your duty to hold yourself accountable for blood shed, and also to make recompense, by way of apology firstly to God for not trusting in his Sovereign and perfect will, and secondly to all those you treated as pariahs that went against the wicked grain and tried to alert, alarm, warn, beseech you to not go toward a fire that threatened to burn out of control. 

Holding others at arms length is unhealthy and unholy. The masses were willing to do so when ordered to, and this begs the question: From whom do you, take your orders, dear reader? 

While you have breath, you have time. Perhaps now is the time for you to write some emails, texts, messages, letters, or pick up the phone and make calls to those you maligned and thought of as malicious, when all they wanted for you was to have the peace that surpasses all understanding through Christ our Lord. If you spoke anything like Voice #2, you have some work to do, because you thought it okay to carry on enjoying life, while condemning anyone that did not think or respond as you had done when decision time arrived. 

It is decision time, once more. Will you be part of the blood splatter clean up crew, or continue to believe that while you have been dead wrong, you remain steadfast in justifying yourself and pretending you were righteously right? Pride is an ugly character trait, and stubbornness is akin to stupidity. We all have options, and the best one of all, is humility before God and man, when we have deviated from the path he has carved for his people. 

What's it gonna be, dear reader? 

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1Peter 5:6-9)

NOTE: You have been warned

Post NOTE: If you didn't have a voice at all and remained silent to avoid and evade conflict in the past four plus years, you have contributed to the destructive cause significantly. It does not bode well for you to be passive, while the world around you is being raised to the ground in hell fire flames. 

You will be fodder for the fire if you continue to remain disengaged from the spiritual battle that rages all around us. You, voice number three, have also been warned. 

LASTLY... if you were a poison pusher and insisted that others get injected, while threatening that if they did not, you would disassociate from them, you are culpable. You desperately need to go down on your knees, and beg with tears and snot flowing freely, for forgiveness from those you have wounded mortally, that either listened and did your bidding, or had to walk away in sadness, knowing you were temporarily (or perhaps permanently if you have not come to terms yet with reality) insane for believing the biggest lie of our mutual life time. 

Broken Moral Compass

Today I became hot under the collar, as the saying goes. I was on LinkedIn early this morning and was greeted with a picture of a woman, sitting atop a bucket, pants and panties about her knees, looking out at the water surrounding her as she eliminated: she was on a boat. The author of the commentary gives marriage tips, and suggested that this female was a keeper, willing to stay the course and do what she had to, to remain in the fishing game. 

My question is, was her man a keeper? Someone took a picture of her in a private moment and perhaps it was a joke between them and somehow, someway, SOMEONE took a liberty and posted it for public display: with, or without her approved, this is a disgusting exhibit that demonstrates how very far away from decorum we have travelled as a people.

The man that made the post calls himself a Christian. I too, call myself a Christian, but we must ask ourselves daily, Am I following in Christ's footsteps, or have I deviated and gone off course?; in other words, Is my moral compass malfunctioning and perhaps, a little or even a lot, broken? 

As a female, I am appalled at how un-lady like women have become. Butts, boobs, and bellies hang out and over clothing. Nothing is off limits for displaying or discussing regarding bodily functions and fluids. Gross, just plain old GROSS. 

I had a lengthy back and forth with the man that thinks it okay to display a female in a compromised position, on a public forum. I asked him to ask his wife if she would pose similarly, and if she would approve of being in a post like the one we disagreed upon. Would it be okay with him if it was his daughter, sister, aunt, mother, grandmother? He did not answer these questions, but said, I am comfortable before God ... eeeck! These are dangerous words spoken by a man that perhaps hasn't spent much time in his Bible lately. No one has EVER been comfortable before God, and his suggestion that his Christianity and faith are sound, puts him in a danger zone with his open and very public stance, that females in a vulnerable state can be used as click bait for his posts. 

We are witnessing an anything goes society devoid of elegance, and far removed from feeling shame. People justify their words and deeds, and others flood in to support reprobate behaviours, because they too, are guilty of all manner of disgustingness. Humour is now the translucent curtain people hide behind to make their demeaning jokes, directed at an already depraved populace. 

If professing Christians read the Word of God and next, measured their own words and deeds according to the commands of Scripture, perhaps they would speak a little less, and when they do speak, minus any hint of liberality. Men are not men of God when they are not protective of the weaker sex. Men of God are appalled when women are put on display, without any regard for how it might impact them. I boldly state that professing Christians that do not live like Christ, are no Christians at all: they are quite simply, hypocritical heathens that have lost their way, with their moral compass needing recalibration to Christ.

If a man declares himself a Christian, wouldn't it be wonderful to actually see this on display, rather than showing off what ought to be another persons private moment? I issue a warning to men everywhere, that they might hear and heed, that our Righteous God, does not suffer the impenitent, or trifle with fools that suggest they are not sinners: 

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off they feet, for the place whereupon thou standest is holy ground (Exodus 3:5)

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereupon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so (Joshua 5:13-15)

Any man that thinks he can comfortably stand before God, has another thing coming to him and hey, don't be mad at me for speaking truth, go to Scripture and see if you can out-argue God Almighty.

NOTE: Our work according to Jesus is this: 

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent (John 6:29)

Let us be fishers of men, and not fishers for followers that we may lead astray because our moral compass has spun in the wrong direction.