Awake and Sober

Monday, June 22, 2015, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Thessalonians 5 (Selected vv. ESV).

Peace and Security (vv. 1-3)

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

“The Day of the Lord” denotes the coming of divine judgment(s). For one, the Lord will visit the earth in judgment during the period of time known as “The Tribulation.” It is possible we are already in that time, but we may just be experiencing the birth pains leading up to that official time. For, in the case of many believers throughout the world who are suffering severe persecution for their faith, I would think we might have a hard time making a case saying that time had not come, for what they are experiencing is tribulation intensified, for sure. Many of the things prophesied about in Revelation 13 are happening today.

The New World Order Beast (Global Order) is indeed conquering peoples and governments throughout the world, and is putting many to death for their faith in Jesus Christ. The inhabitants of the earth are being deceived by this “Beast,” and it is forcing the peoples and governments of the world to bow to its authority or to pay the consequences. And, this has now come to America, too. Yet, whether or not that specific time is now upon us or is soon to come, what we do know is that many throughout the earth right now are going through tremendous suffering for the name of Jesus Christ and for their testimonies for him and for his gospel of salvation, so I pray for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort of the Holy Spirit at this time.

I don’t know the situations each of these nations, throughout the world, were in prior to this beast coming in and taking over their nations, but I do know that right now in America we are still relatively in that “peace and security” phase, but that is rapidly changing, because the N.W.O. Beast is here creating havoc, producing racial, religious, and political tension among peoples, and is faking uprisings and inciting riots, etc., and all for the purpose to produce such chaos in our nation that it calls for a “solution” to our “problem,” which is to make new laws, clamp down on “extremists,” go after people’s guns, force mental health evaluations, and/or bring about martial law, do away with our present form of government, and bring the USA and all nations of the world under the rule of the Beast.

So, whether or not you believe we are in that “official” period of time called “The Tribulation,” these things are really happening, and they are happening right now, today, in our time period, and we can see how this beast is now working its M.O. in the USA just as it has been doing in many other nations throughout the earth over the past several years. So, the USA, as we have known it to be for many, many years, will soon be no more, for we will all be forced into solidarity with this beast or pay the consequences for non-compliance.

Children of Light (vv. 4-11)

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

For right now, in America, many people are still asleep concerning all that is going on in the world around them, and they see these “incidents” as isolated, and they believe just what the N.W.O. Beast tells them, via the government-controlled media. I was like that, totally oblivious to what was happening in the world around me, believing what the media said and what my government leaders said, for the most part. I was naïve and gullible, and I bought into many lies they told me. But, then the Lord woke me up. He started showing me all these things, and I started paying attention, and he taught me so much that I never would have imagined or even thought that my human mind could comprehend. And, I am so glad he did.

My eyes were opened now, and I could begin seeing what was really happening, and how we were being lied to and deceived into believing whatever they told us. So, when these things began happening here in America, I could see the M.O. (modus operandi). And, I know where it is headed, not because of my own human deductive reasoning or human logic or intelligence, but because the Spirit of God opened my eyes, and he taught me, and led me to do the homework and to search these matters out, only to find I was not the only one who realized this is what is happening to our world. Many others have had their eyes opened, too, but the vast majority in the US are still blinded, and/or are still under the false notion of “peace and security.”

One of the deceptive tactics this beast (global conglomerate) uses against us is to convince us that the truth is just nonsense, a bunch of conspiracy theories, created in the minds of people who are crazy. So, this beast often actually tells us the truth of what they are doing, because they have preprogrammed our minds to reject the truth and to call all who speak the truth “nutcases.” This has happened within the church, too. Very subtly and slowly these lies and deceptions have crept into the church, largely unnoticed by the general populace, who have been brain washed into believing the lies and into rejecting the truth, and into following the thinking and ways of this sinful world, thinking that is what they must do to reach the world.

The leaders within these churches, for the large part, have also been trained in manipulation tactics, in the use of marketing schemes, and in how to target the people who will go along with their goals and objectives, and how to spot and discard those who have “strong convictions,” and who might not “fit” with their marketing schemes and global business goals and objectives. So, they work hard at trying to discredit us and the true gospel of salvation, calling it works-based salvation and legalistic, and to convince people it is not the true gospel, so that they will buy into the lies, instead. Oh, how very clever Satan is at convincing even God’s children to believe lies and to doubt God (case in point: Eve).

We will remain in the darkness as long as we continue to believe everything we hear, see and read, whether coming from those who call themselves Christians, or from those within our government and our media (another arm of the government). We will remain in the darkness as long as we refuse to even consider that what we might be believing is lies. Of course I am not asking anyone to doubt the existence of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – or to question the inerrancy of scripture in its original form, or to question the deity of Christ, or his virgin birth, or his death on a cross for our sins, or his resurrection, etc. There are some things which should never be brought into question.

Yet, that is not to say that we have everything right, or that we haven’t been taught wrong on some things, even on some essential matters of the Christian faith and doctrine, especially with regard to the doctrine of our salvation. So, we need to be willing to have open hearts, ears and minds to not reject scriptures which seem to contradict what we have always been taught, but we should see these challenges to our faith as opportunities for us to search the scriptures (if possible), and to compare scripture to scripture, and to read scriptures within their context, and to pray and to ask God to open our minds to the truth, and to be willing to change the way we think about some things.

I see so many Christians so loyal to government (nation) that they literally treat with hate anyone who even challenges them to search out the truth, and who asks them to not just believe everything they hear and read and see. Again, if someone challenges our beliefs or our thinking, with the exceptions noted above, we should not put our hands over our ears or stick our heads in the sand, but we must be willing to listen, at least, and to check it out and to pray over it and to ask God to show us what lies we are believing and to show us what the truth is. Why will so many of you continue to believe the lies and not even seek after the truth, and close your ears whenever someone tries to tell you the truth?

So many people are believing the lies, I believe, because of TV and the internet and social media, which are able to persuade people’s thinking and believing through the use of visuals and emotional manipulation of people. When we see something in the news on TV, for instance, we have the tendency to believe it is real, but what if it isn’t? What if what we are seeing are just Hollywood productions, acted out by trained actors, and for the purpose to deceive us into believing lies? What if we wake up one morning and we realize we live in a virtual world of make-believe and so much of what we came to believe was real, and to which we invested much time, energy, emotion, commitment and passion, is really a big fat lie? I believe that is where many people are – deceived into believing lies and living in a fantasy world which they believe is real. And, when the lid is blown off this façade, and all hell breaks loose, they won’t be prepared, for it will catch them like a thief.

Let Us Not Sleep

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

So, what can we do to make sure we are living in the light, and not in the darkness? For one thing, I believe we all need to get on our knees before God in all humility and repentance, and we need to call on God and ask him to show us what lies we are believing, and to reveal to us the truth, both biblical truth and the reality of where we are in relation to this “day of the Lord,” particularly in relation to world events, which is applied biblical truth.

I would highly recommend getting rid of TV, or at least be willing to put it away for a while, and to limit your time on the internet to what is necessary. That time you would normally spend watching TV and movies, or playing video games, or getting on social media sites, or just surfing the net, instead, invest in prayer, in the study of God’s word, and in asking God to open your minds and hearts to hear and to receive the truth. We can’t hear the Spirit speaking to our hearts if our minds are cluttered with the things of this sinful world. Satan plotted that we would have TV, videos, video games, smart phones, electronic tablets, personal computers, and the like, not only to distract us, but to clutter our minds with so much junk and so many lies that we can’t hear God. Christians need a “retreat” from the worldly media which is strongly influencing their minds and hearts, so that they can hear God speak. As a people of God, in this nation, we will remain asleep, and the “day of the Lord” will overtake us like a thief, if we crowd out God with all these other voices.

We need to be listening to the voice of truth which tells us that Jesus Christ died on a cross for our sins, not just so we can escape hell and have the hope of heaven when we die. We need to know the truth that teaches that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave himself up for us; and that the righteous requirements of the law are fully met in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, and who, by the Spirit, are putting to death the deeds of our sinful flesh. The truth is that only those who are believing in Jesus have the hope of eternal life, and true faith is continuous, and it endures to the end.

The truth is, if we claim to have fellowship with God, but we continue to conduct our lives in the darkness, we are liars, and we don’t live by the truth. The truth is that if we say we know God or that we love God, but we don’t keep his word, we are liars. The truth is that if we conduct our lives according to the flesh, we will die, but if, by the Spirit, we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live. The truth is that Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. He said his sheep (his followers) know his voice, they listen to him, and they follow (obey) him, and they are the ones who can’t be snatched out of God’s hands.

Full Release / An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.

Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.

 
Monday, June 22, 2015, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Full Release.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Thessalonians 5 (Selected vv. ESV).

Peace and Security (vv. 1-3)

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

“The Day of the Lord” denotes the coming of divine judgment(s). For one, the Lord will visit the earth in judgment during the period of time known as “The Tribulation.” It is possible we are already in that time, but we may just be experiencing the birth pains leading up to that official time. For, in the case of many believers throughout the world who are suffering severe persecution for their faith, I would think we might have a hard time making a case saying that time had not come, for what they are experiencing is tribulation intensified, for sure. Many of the things prophesied about in Revelation 13 are happening today.

The New World Order Beast (Global Order) is indeed conquering peoples and governments throughout the world, and is putting many to death for their faith in Jesus Christ. The inhabitants of the earth are being deceived by this “Beast,” and it is forcing the peoples and governments of the world to bow to its authority or to pay the consequences. And, this has now come to America, too. Yet, whether or not that specific time is now upon us or is soon to come, what we do know is that many throughout the earth right now are going through tremendous suffering for the name of Jesus Christ and for their testimonies for him and for his gospel of salvation, so I pray for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort of the Holy Spirit at this time.

I don’t know the situations each of these nations, throughout the world, were in prior to this beast coming in and taking over their nations, but I do know that right now in America we are still relatively in that “peace and security” phase, but that is rapidly changing, because the N.W.O. Beast is here creating havoc, producing racial, religious, and political tension among peoples, and is faking uprisings and inciting riots, etc., and all for the purpose to produce such chaos in our nation that it calls for a “solution” to our “problem,” which is to make new laws, clamp down on “extremists,” go after people’s guns, force mental health evaluations, and/or bring about martial law, do away with our present form of government, and bring the USA and all nations of the world under the rule of the Beast.

So, whether or not you believe we are in that “official” period of time called “The Tribulation,” these things are really happening, and they are happening right now, today, in our time period, and we can see how this beast is now working its M.O. in the USA just as it has been doing in many other nations throughout the earth over the past several years. So, the USA, as we have known it to be for many, many years, will soon be no more, for we will all be forced into solidarity with this beast or pay the consequences for non-compliance.

Children of Light (vv. 4-11)

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

For right now, in America, many people are still asleep concerning all that is going on in the world around them, and they see these “incidents” as isolated, and they believe just what the N.W.O. Beast tells them, via the government-controlled media. I was like that, totally oblivious to what was happening in the world around me, believing what the media said and what my government leaders said, for the most part. I was naïve and gullible, and I bought into many lies they told me. But, then the Lord woke me up. He started showing me all these things, and I started paying attention, and he taught me so much that I never would have imagined or even thought that my human mind could comprehend. And, I am so glad he did.

My eyes were opened now, and I could begin seeing what was really happening, and how we were being lied to and deceived into believing whatever they told us. So, when these things began happening here in America, I could see the M.O. (modus operandi). And, I know where it is headed, not because of my own human deductive reasoning or human logic or intelligence, but because the Spirit of God opened my eyes, and he taught me, and led me to do the homework and to search these matters out, only to find I was not the only one who realized this is what is happening to our world. Many others have had their eyes opened, too, but the vast majority in the US are still blinded, and/or are still under the false notion of “peace and security.”

One of the deceptive tactics this beast (global conglomerate) uses against us is to convince us that the truth is just nonsense, a bunch of conspiracy theories, created in the minds of people who are crazy. So, this beast often actually tells us the truth of what they are doing, because they have preprogrammed our minds to reject the truth and to call all who speak the truth “nutcases.” This has happened within the church, too. Very subtly and slowly these lies and deceptions have crept into the church, largely unnoticed by the general populace, who have been brain washed into believing the lies and into rejecting the truth, and into following the thinking and ways of this sinful world, thinking that is what they must do to reach the world.

The leaders within these churches, for the large part, have also been trained in manipulation tactics, in the use of marketing schemes, and in how to target the people who will go along with their goals and objectives, and how to spot and discard those who have “strong convictions,” and who might not “fit” with their marketing schemes and global business goals and objectives. So, they work hard at trying to discredit us and the true gospel of salvation, calling it works-based salvation and legalistic, and to convince people it is not the true gospel, so that they will buy into the lies, instead. Oh, how very clever Satan is at convincing even God’s children to believe lies and to doubt God (case in point: Eve).

We will remain in the darkness as long as we continue to believe everything we hear, see and read, whether coming from those who call themselves Christians, or from those within our government and our media (another arm of the government). We will remain in the darkness as long as we refuse to even consider that what we might be believing is lies. Of course I am not asking anyone to doubt the existence of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – or to question the inerrancy of scripture in its original form, or to question the deity of Christ, or his virgin birth, or his death on a cross for our sins, or his resurrection, etc. There are some things which should never be brought into question.

Yet, that is not to say that we have everything right, or that we haven’t been taught wrong on some things, even on some essential matters of the Christian faith and doctrine, especially with regard to the doctrine of our salvation. So, we need to be willing to have open hearts, ears and minds to not reject scriptures which seem to contradict what we have always been taught, but we should see these challenges to our faith as opportunities for us to search the scriptures (if possible), and to compare scripture to scripture, and to read scriptures within their context, and to pray and to ask God to open our minds to the truth, and to be willing to change the way we think about some things.

I see so many Christians so loyal to government (nation) that they literally treat with hate anyone who even challenges them to search out the truth, and who asks them to not just believe everything they hear and read and see. Again, if someone challenges our beliefs or our thinking, with the exceptions noted above, we should not put our hands over our ears or stick our heads in the sand, but we must be willing to listen, at least, and to check it out and to pray over it and to ask God to show us what lies we are believing and to show us what the truth is. Why will so many of you continue to believe the lies and not even seek after the truth, and close your ears whenever someone tries to tell you the truth?

So many people are believing the lies, I believe, because of TV and the internet and social media, which are able to persuade people’s thinking and believing through the use of visuals and emotional manipulation of people. When we see something in the news on TV, for instance, we have the tendency to believe it is real, but what if it isn’t? What if what we are seeing are just Hollywood productions, acted out by trained actors, and for the purpose to deceive us into believing lies? What if we wake up one morning and we realize we live in a virtual world of make-believe and so much of what we came to believe was real, and to which we invested much time, energy, emotion, commitment and passion, is really a big fat lie? I believe that is where many people are – deceived into believing lies and living in a fantasy world which they believe is real. And, when the lid is blown off this façade, and all hell breaks loose, they won’t be prepared, for it will catch them like a thief.

Let Us Not Sleep

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

So, what can we do to make sure we are living in the light, and not in the darkness? For one thing, I believe we all need to get on our knees before God in all humility and repentance, and we need to call on God and ask him to show us what lies we are believing, and to reveal to us the truth, both biblical truth and the reality of where we are in relation to this “day of the Lord,” particularly in relation to world events, which is applied biblical truth.

I would highly recommend getting rid of TV, or at least be willing to put it away for a while, and to limit your time on the internet to what is necessary. That time you would normally spend watching TV and movies, or playing video games, or getting on social media sites, or just surfing the net, instead, invest in prayer, in the study of God’s word, and in asking God to open your minds and hearts to hear and to receive the truth. We can’t hear the Spirit speaking to our hearts if our minds are cluttered with the things of this sinful world. Satan plotted that we would have TV, videos, video games, smart phones, electronic tablets, personal computers, and the like, not only to distract us, but to clutter our minds with so much junk and so many lies that we can’t hear God. Christians need a “retreat” from the worldly media which is strongly influencing their minds and hearts, so that they can hear God speak. As a people of God, in this nation, we will remain asleep, and the “day of the Lord” will overtake us like a thief, if we crowd out God with all these other voices.

We need to be listening to the voice of truth which tells us that Jesus Christ died on a cross for our sins, not just so we can escape hell and have the hope of heaven when we die. We need to know the truth that teaches that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave himself up for us; and that the righteous requirements of the law are fully met in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, and who, by the Spirit, are putting to death the deeds of our sinful flesh. The truth is that only those who are believing in Jesus have the hope of eternal life, and true faith is continuous, and it endures to the end.

The truth is, if we claim to have fellowship with God, but we continue to conduct our lives in the darkness, we are liars, and we don’t live by the truth. The truth is that if we say we know God or that we love God, but we don’t keep his word, we are liars. The truth is that if we conduct our lives according to the flesh, we will die, but if, by the Spirit, we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live. The truth is that Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. He said his sheep (his followers) know his voice, they listen to him, and they follow (obey) him, and they are the ones who can’t be snatched out of God’s hands.

Full Release / An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.

Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.


Sue, what a tender heart for the Lord! You talk about the Deception going on, fearlessly. And your post here, is very complete. God Bless you!
 
Sue, what a tender heart for the Lord! You talk about the Deception going on, fearlessly. And your post here, is very complete. God Bless you!
Praise Jesus! All glory to God! Thank you so much for these encouraging words. God bless you!
 
Praise Jesus! All glory to God! Thank you so much for these encouraging words. God bless you!

Sue, you're so full of the Spirit, you're brimming over! Tell me something, do you practice Spititual Warfare, with the weapons described in Ephesians 6? You know these are only defensive weapons?
 
Sue, you're so full of the Spirit, you're brimming over! Tell me something, do you practice Spititual Warfare, with the weapons described in Ephesians 6? You know these are only defensive weapons?
Penion, all praise and glory to God! So, when we daily put on faith, truth, the Word of God, his righteousness, etc., they are not just defensive weapons, but are offensive weapons, too. When our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, we are on the offensive against Satan, for we are preaching freedom from sin for the captives, and that is an offense to Satan, and it does hit him where it hurts. We don't wait until he attacks to respond with the gospel, but we go forth with the gospel, even knowing he is going to come against us, and this infuriates him. If we wait until we are attacked to respond, and we are not fitted with the armor daily, then we are not prepared to respond when he does attack. So, I believe these weapons are both offensive and defensive, and I believe we are in a continuous war with the forces of evil, and that spiritual warfare is something all believers should practice daily, and yes, I do practice spiritual warfare daily, both offensively and defensively, because we are in a spiritual battle.
 
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