The deceiver lurks, seeking those he may devour.  Are you one of “those”?  Is your faith rooted, washed, supported and sustained by the absolute truth of God’s Holy Scripture or are you susceptible, thinking yourself safe, without opening, seeking, meditating and proclaiming the Good News of God’s grace upon your heart?   Are you submitted to the ruling sovereignty, majesty and direction of the Holy Spirit of God or does this world capture your allegiance?  The battle has not only begun, it is raging and the enemy will try at all costs to convince you that there is nothing to worry about, that there is no struggle to which we must find ourselves righteously engaged.  He will “adjust”, minimize and rewrite God’s Word wherever possible a function which is completely impossible when a believer knows specifically what is said in the Bible.  Are you at risk?

Do you know what the Bible says or can you honestly say that you will be free from any supernatural deception which may be perpetrated upon an unsuspecting humanity by a powerful being who used to be an arch-angel.  DO NOT BE FOOLED OR WORSE YET FOOL YOURSELF.  In these times, which are evil, the enemy will work overtime to lead you away from God.  This is the time when you will achieve life efficacy or slumber and be caught unaware either by the wiles of a desperate and might enemy or by the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church.

This all begins with humility and fear of the Lord our God.  If you do not respect Him reverently in His Majesty and Sovereignty then you will walk in the battle unarmed, unaware and insecure, possibly alone.  The following are specific definitions for humility, a subject which the enemy has diluted, obfuscated and diffused so that we cannot achieve the desired beginning state for a relationship and growth in the Lord.  Wikipedia states the following definitional characteristics for Christian humility;

1. Submitting to God and legitimate authority
2. Recognizing virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one’s own, and giving due honor and, when required, obedience
3. Recognizing the limits of one’s talents, ability, or authority; and, not reaching for what is beyond one’s grasp

http://www.dictionary.com states the following as a Christian definition for humility; Taken from Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary

So that you can clearly see the danger, falsehood, cleverness and nuance of the enemy, look upon these definitions and then match them to current social reflections upon humility.  Humility has been turned into a “less than favorable” pattern of life where people “empty” themselves of all thought for self in exchange for “enlightenment”.  Look at this statement and you will see the hand of the wicked one.  He craftily turns humility into something which serves yourself, as for self-deprecation you achieve the secular prize of “self actualization”, enlightenment or golden age understanding and oneness with the universe.  If you do not see the subtle attempts of the enemy to steer us away from God’s ideas of humility then you have already been deceived.  Seek the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul.  Be a Christian 24 hours a day not just one or two days a week.  Armor Up for the battle is nigh.  Stand together in faith, hope, knowledge and prayer, knowing that Christ’s return is near.  Praise Jesus Christ, Amen.  Lord please rebuke the enemy for all our sakes.

There are things that He would tell you.  Things He would have you know.  He has been waiting there with you in each room to which you passed threshold.  He has been bidding you rest your wearied eyes and raw heart every moment of your life where you could not bear the pains of life.  He has guided angels to lay walkways before you and nudge you the right direction each time you set out on sojourn.  He has sent people, storms, challenges, nightmares and love to stretch you in His quest for your freely decisive heart.  He has sheltered you from unseen trials, led you to unknown treasures and stayed with you when all had left.  His hand rests not upon just your shoulders but upon the entirety of your existence.  From inception to grave and beyond He has and will always be beside you.

There is no place I wish to go without Him, no place I wouldn’t go for Him, no place in my life I’ll keep from Him.  I did not create myself.  I am the progeny of a Mighty and Loving God.  It is to Him that I travel and from Him that I came and with Him I have gone.  There is no road that leads anywhere else for me.  All roads do not lead to God, some meander and some lead throngs of mighty men to hallowed halls while others lead to shadows of the deep.  Take the Good Shepherds path, the narrow lane that follows the way of the Lord into everlasting and passes through the Truth and Life.  He is there with you even now, waiting for your questions, prayers, tears, and laughter.  Know Him and find infinite peace.  Praise Jesus the King. Amen.

Do you feel the tectonic movement as if something in the undercurrent has switched polarity?  Have relationships changed, has there been introduced a new dialectic that challenges quite soundly the previously untested theories and policies of a history-changing minority?  Why have persecutions come to the United States a place where we overwhelmingly believe in a God that created, oversees and cares what happens within that conception?  Are the challenges and persecutions to be welcomed as they obviously produce character, purification, clarity and solidify faith?  Don’t we wish to be as immoveable as the early church, displaying adherence to faith even in the face of potential loss to property, reputation or life?

What has changed?  We must ask ourselves what has occurred to create such controversy?  What catalyst inspired such inquiry?  Why now, why not twenty years ago or hence?  Is it as palpable to all of you as it is for me?  I feel as if I can almost taste it on the wind, something has changed. The foretold signs are evident in the news, in the coffee houses, newspapers, churches and hearts.  But there is something more which struck me just today and that is a “gut feeling” that things will soon surpass mortal control.  I do not fear because the Lord God is in control of all that was, is and shortly will occur, but it’s as if humans suddenly became supporting cast in a play founded by titans, kings and the unseen hand of immortal agents.  Akin to looking at a digital display on an explosive device, which had previous stood silent only to notice that the timer had indeed started counting down toward zero.  We had best be prepared because our choice, safety and destination are soon to be beyond our control or decision.

I doubt anyone will ask me to explain this because each of us feels the same climate change.  Not just a weather anomaly or phenomena, rather that somehow the stakes had just been raised and things which previously were innocuous had been assigned new value and importance.  Love of a child, mother or wife, dedication to a noble undertaking, renewed concentration on things of Eternal perspective.  We all feel it, it is just that I have an insight through the Holy Spirit to put it into Words.  Prophecy is unfolding, if the scrolls have not been opened then Jesus’ fingers will soon be upon those seals He alone is worthy to loosen.  Have you lived like tomorrow is coming or abandoned all sense to soak up your last days of sunlight, sin and treasure?  Do you feel compelled to face the coming storm with your eyes welcoming the light or are you searching for a dark place to rest in a peace you somehow know will never come?  This world is about to change for all time, it is about to turn the corner toward eternity leaving behind man’s history as faint memory.  The Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, but soon He will rise to come to sit on His Throne as The Rock Eternal on which all our hopes solidly rest.  Praise You Lord in all Your Ways.  Amen.

Will you permit me to love you in a way for which you feel undeserving but makes you feel special?  I cannot both understand the way which God has loved me unconditionally, for which I am overjoyed and then consistently fail to extend that same measure of love to my brother, neighbor, friend or enemy.  This is no game where we delight and keep score, but the most difficult surrender in the world to reward people with love regardless of their behavior.  This is not a weak man’s effort.  If you can love those who do not deserve love, namely yourself being the first recipient of said love then when faced with circumstantial impetus, you can overcome the reactions of your natural man.  Do you get that overcoming is doing what God said to do and finding that such behavior allows you victory over the rudimentary rules of this world?  Be Holy, be righteous, be the new creature God has shaped you to become.  You are free of the constraints, illusions and deceptions of the principalities and powers of this world.  Your God has set you free and if He will not condemn you, who then has the right and authority to do so?

We are free, we are not held in check by the limitations of a scarcity system.  We are fed, funded and fired by the fuel which knows no boundaries.  We will be given everything that we need and more to accomplish that for which we each have been individually and wonderfully crafted.  Triumph is assured through faith which transcends sight.  Not that what I conceive as a man can be achieved, but that for which God has designed me will be obtained if I depend on Him for its completion.  I love you people, even those of you who challenge me to do so, not because I can always find a reason to do so but because I serve a God who loves you so much that He gave a perfect son as ransom to bring you back to His Arms.  God Loves You, that you cannot escape.  My question is why would you try?  What could be esteemed as highly, valued on par with a God who loves you enough to die for you?  Praise Him in His Grace, completeness, understanding and forgiveness.  Amen.

If we pass this final barrier toward iniquity His retribution will be swift.  There is no mystery to what the Lord will not tolerate, and this national decision makes public our contempt for the Lord’s Sovereignty.  Man has never been able to venture this far from righteousness for long without the Lord first sending emissary to warn of pending judgement and then sending angels to execute that sentence.  We stand here arrogantly, speaking terms like “red line” yet we fail to head the warnings given by God with regard to our own transgressions.  Although I am specifically critical of this nation because we call ourselves by His name, the entire world has taken on a new policy of self-service at all cost.  We have lost all common sense.  Parents steal from their children, Legislators from their constituents, rulers from their subjects and believers from their God.  The road will become steeper now as the enemy delights in our derision.  Hang on, be Holy and cry out to the King of Glory for salvation.

How long I ask you Father will You allow this to continue?  Where abomination is the law of the land and people openly mock the Name of the Most High God?  How long will Israel’s enemies threaten Your chosen?  I love Your people Father but I tire of this world in its present state.  Victory is Yours and All Glory Belongs to You.  Lord Jesus, we see the cup of filth which You had to partake and our hearts melt.  Praise Your Mighty Name.  Amen.

I want to be stingy with my time, stingy with my talents, tight with my funds and unwilling to help those in obvious need.  I hide in the shadows when there is no personal reward.  Then comes a grand ballroom display, unmistakeable in its imagery, meant to conjure illusions of philanthropic foundations.  False, fake, fantastic and unreal.  That is the nature of deception it carries the allure, a seed of truth bating the trap, concealed to all but the discerning eye.  Remember the Lord gave evil the power to perform miracles so that we may be tested, so beware!!!  What an amazing world that the Lord has created, perfect in every way to entice us toward any direction except the one leading to the Lord’s intention.  This is a battle, it is unique, clever, relentless but I thank the Lord that its time is running lean.  Hang on for a bit more my Brothers, keep your eyes trained on the coming Lord for a while longer Sister for even now the world’s luster fades.  The dim is near and at its end Glory.

Everything that I crave, somehow contains in it the faintest flaw, the minutest corruption and repeatedly leaves me unfulfilled in it pursuits as I eventually see that contortion.  I have chased the most noble ideas only to find that they fed my own glory, pocket or passion.  There is nothing new, no grand idea that will somehow free men from this perpetual folly.  No matter how diligently I struggle to invent something pure from my own heart it eludes me.  Nothing lasts indefinitely except that which is constructed of elements divine.  Not by bonding agents in a novel fashion, but rather reverting to the timeless ageless cornerstones built upon a foundation preceding time itself.  Yes I have in me eternal componentry that may only be revealed and utilized by stripping away those factors constrained by birth and first death.  Splay me asunder Lord, peel away the obfuscations and camouflage, reveal You in me.

No more wandering, no more ill advised journeys seeking meaning and episodal harmony.  Lead and I will follow.  Reveal and I will splendor.  Create and I will steward.  Let me do what is right and true in Your Eyes.  My love for You grows each moment I grow nearer to Your Throne.  Praise You Lord because it is what You deserve.  Christ is King, Amen.

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR3BBJ0#a=13  To those who for whatever reason refuse to look, learn and understand prophecy.  I give you Syria and Egypt as seen in one of God’s most prolific predictors, Isaiah 17-19.  Read it, meditate on it, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance upon it, but realize that it is happening whether or not you choose to remain indifferent or naive.  The Spirit of Prophecy is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take Hope in His prophecy as it tells of His return which stands imminently before us.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/russia-arms-syria-with-powerful-ballistic-missiles/  The armies led by Gog (Ezekiel 38-39) are making their plans known to an apparently defenseless Israel.  Read, acknowledge, understand, pray and disciple.  There is no other righteous recourse.

Changed over time by the invisible Hand of God shaping and molding our lives to conformity in Christ.  Decisions made, urges abated, triumphs recounted until we find ourselves surrounded by truly, nice people that want to have a life with us.  Then the weariness, the caution, the difficulty begins as we are pulled to and fro by our whimsies.  How shall we plan for a future retirement which will apparently never come, as evidenced by the prophetic signs of the storm to come?  May I pursue this relationship Lord when to do so will take attention, energy, time and treasure away from concentration upon Your desires for my life?  How do I balance the education in my head with the discernment in my heart?

Father, I see it coming and even those agnostics, atheists and mockers are coming to us in search of satisfaction.  Those who claim not to believe demonstrate daily the overwhelming influence of the Absolute Truth of God.  We all know something is coming and though unbelievers don’t know what to do about it, it is obvious that they possess the seeds of inquiry.  I am finding it so hard to remain silent when those coming to us are almost pleading for answer, comfort, understanding or worse yet confirmation.  Father, don’t let them be confused Lord, please let them see Your Majesty, Glory, Patience and Might before it is too late.

We who have learned, listened to and practiced your word know what soon comes.  There is no hope for this nation as many religious leaders would have us promote.  We have turned a blind eye to God and forsaken his favor, warnings and blessing.  There will be no last minute donning of sack cloth, burying our faces in the dust and crying out in humility for God’s forgiveness.  That will only come after subjection to tragedy, reality and tribulation.  God is coming and each heart knows this to be truth.  He is not coming to thank us for the wonderful job that we have done with what we have been given nor to pal around with us in golden age fellowship, but to rule and reign as the God that He Is.  For those who have headed His heraldic call, turned away from sin and maintained belief in His saving grace there will be a much different end.  Father grant us peace, a lasting peace that will only come under Your Righteous Hand and Heart.  We Love You, and although we have love for things in this world we shall not befriend it and accept enmity with You in such exchange.  Poor with Jesus is Eternally more wealthy than prosperity in this world.  Praise Your Mighty Name Lord Jesus, Amen.

I accept that there are troubles, difficulties, enemies and tragedy in this world.  Granted the pressures that these influences place upon the psyche and personal constitution is sometimes overwhelming.  Let us not forget that this is the world and the day which God has made.  This place is exactly the way it should be and no amount of whining, lamenting or running is going to make it go away or change.  This world is intended to produce reaction, the type of action which sponsors decision based on helplessness or lack of control.  No amount of running, hiding, escaping or relenting is going to produce “real” security in this world.  The only hope for safety, security, lasting peace and salvation is under the protective covering of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When these staggering pressures or enemy assaults threaten to steal your breath, stability and footing then let them drive you to the arms of God as they were intended.

There are many directions to which a man may turn based upon earthly influences.  One may turn to escape, captured by the certain private euphoria sponsored by any particular drug designed to take away over-contemplation upon the circumstances.  We know that this creates a perpetual cycle, producing no real solution, but rather providing a modicum of relief for a prescribed period of time.  The fictional world initiated through this escape is a maze or a cage that often produces consequences worse then the agitator which encouraged the escape in the first place.

Shrouded in a lonely world of shadows, double lives and secrets and is not a good place for Christians.  The enemy goes about seeking to destroy and devour believers finding Christian snared in this type of personal cage is especially enticing.  satan finds those in this state weakened, unprotected as easy prey and delights in consuming those who call themselves by the Name of God.  We as sons and daughters of God must stand against the wiles of the enemy and the seemingly overwhelming pressures of this world and “know” that the Lord God will fight for and deliver us.  Although hope in God is something good to have, knowledge of God is true faith.  The peace which comes with knowing the promises of the Almighty and that He will never leave us nor forsake us is an impenetrable armor.

Another false sense of security may from time to time be produced through personal output, monetary gain, bodily prowess or increased academia.  These would be acceptable forms of safety if they in fact protected us from all adversarial influences.  However, we all know that work efforts are short lived, money requires constant attention, age eventually makes even the strongest frail or feeble and learning is relatively useless when it comes to the affairs of the heart or ruthlessness of tyrants.  These dalliances are temporary and offer no permanent resolution or peace and just as the walls of the city protect its citizens they must be maintained with vigilance to protect against enemy stealth and natural decay.  That is because all of these paths are self-maintaining or self-reliant and cannot be perfectly upheld, because we after all are human and we get sick, tired, hungry and sleepy.  These are a bit more deceptive attacks perpetrated by the enemy but no less effective than the escapist’s realm.  If I am depending on me for safety/security then I have decided upon a insufficient battle plan fraught with the weaknesses of man and destined for failure.  We must remember that our enemies are relentless, powerful and supernatural, they may only be defeated by God through the Word and the Spirit.

Finally, there are many who would turn to the enemy for solace.  These deserve the most empathy, prayer and compassion, for they have turned away from truth and been blinded to believe that the hungry lion will not devour them when no other prey is available.  They have lost from the outset, as false gods provide nothing but despair.  Revelry is short lived and those who celebrate tonight regret in the morning.  The consistent elixir of each sin  steals a bit more of life from the imbiber.  And when the storms or fury of war approach those dependent upon false gods find that they are quickly abandoned to the myth which claimed their fealty from the outset.  There is no other God than the Great I AM.  He is the only shelter from the storm.  Turn away from fear and learn to know your true Father.  He will stick closer than a friend and be there til the end and beyond.  In the Name of Jesus Christ the King of All, I pray.  Set them free Lord.