Sorry, there was no blog last week. Hubby and I both had Covid again. I had brain fog along with all the other symptoms. I couldn’t even read so writing just wasn’t going to happen.
There are so many topics I’ve been praying about it’s hard to narrow down to just one. I agree with Anne Graham Lotz who opened her newsletter recently, with these words:
“As 2023 begins, the news headlines remind us that we are living at a time of spiritual darkness and oppression. Traditional values of integrity, morality, and common decency have been discarded, while faith in the one, true, living God is derided and even despised. As a nation, when we desperately need stability and unity in the midst of a world that is careening out of control, we are left without a foundation. As followers of Jesus, we are a remnant. A minority. But the Light in our lives shines even brighter in contrast to our surroundings.”
We certainly don’t have a firm worldly foundation to steady the downward spiral of our crumbling cultural foundation. And sadly, true Bible-believing and Gospel-living Christians are slipping into the minority. Many Christians try to precariously balance following Jesus while still keeping one foot in the world. Wanting to be accepted by a world gone woke, they sacrifice faith to the idol of going along to get along.
That’s an impossibly uncomfortable and immoral line to walk and one that leads to a life of confusion, compromise, and separation from the Lord. Jesus clearly told us that we must leave our old life behind to take up our cross and fully follow Him. No reservations, no turning back. We’re in the world but not of the world.
There’s no question that Jesus specifically says life won’t be easy here on earth for Christians, but this earth is not our permanent home. We’re just passing through to spread His Light.
Committed Christians do have a solid foundation built on biblical Truth and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That foundation will never let us down or disappoint. But we must choose.
There is no such thing as:
A “woke Christian” only a fallen Christian.
A “woke church” is a false teaching church.
Why? Because the woke agenda is tolerant and accepting of murder, evil, and sin and has been hijacked by all those who want to live a life opposite of what God teaches in the Bible.
For example, the recent Grammy Awards not only featured evil devil worship, but awarded the performance with a Grammy and a standing ovation to the first man impersonating a woman to receive the idol!
I know there were nominated Christian musicians in the audience. I hope they kept their seats and hands in their lap, or better yet walked out, during that horrific display of debauchery. Or did they feel pressure to rise with the crowd and reward Satan? Did anyone watching on television turn it off or keep watching to see how bad it could get? I’ve actually seen some Christians on social media justifying the performance and you can be sure Satan is clapping.
The culture and our government are trying to commercialize, sexualize, and normalize Satan.
The Battle Belongs to the Lord, but We’re His Mighty Warriors!
I read something recently that made me ponder and put the world’s happenings into perspective. The author was saying the moral demise in our government and the world must happen according to prophesy before Jesus’s return. Many refer to what we’re experiencing as birth pangs that we can’t actually stop because they will usher in the rapture of God’s people. But we aren’t to sit by silently and wait either. Instead, we work diligently and urgently to share the Gospel so more unbelievers will be saved before Jesus returns.
8 He [Jesus] replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’[a] and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. 9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.” 10 Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. Luke 21: 8-12 NLT
We’re watching this Scripture passage come to fruition today.
Covid was certainly a worldwide plague. While we haven’t experienced famine in America, we’ve seen food shortages and empty shelves, even of essentials like baby formula.
NEWSMAX, one of the few Conservative media stations, was dropped by Direct TV and AT&T, cutting transmission to eleven million homes. While the secular CBS network tweeted before the devil’s Grammy presentation, “Let us worship.”
The devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake occurred the day after the Grammys, February 6th!
Thursday, February 9th, an FBI whistleblower leaked a memo that the FBI is targeting Catholics as criminals. Here’s a quote from the former FBI agent who unveiled this information on Tucker Carlson.
An internal document from the bureau’s Richmond, Virginia, field office allegedly vowed to spy on “radical traditionalist Catholics and their ideology.” “They have found a gateway in what they think is fringe Catholicism in order to move into Christians in general and declare them to be the actual criminals in this country or the potential terrorists,” federal whistleblower and former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin said.
Seraphin continued that the whistleblower who brought the information to him is not a Catholic, but knew it was problematic. “He or she stated the very simple statement, which is that if they’re going to go after radical, traditional Catholics, then radical traditional Baptists are next and radical, traditional evangelicalism and anybody else that espouses essentially what is radical, which is just a Christian faith and that is dangerous apparently in this country.”
Fortunately, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and 19 GOP state attorneys general are demanding answers from the FBI and Justice Department and threatening legal action after this leaked internal FBI memo revealed that the agency had efforts underway to identify and treat Catholics as “potential terrorists.” Miyares and his colleagues, told the FBI and DOJ to “desist from investigating and surveilling Americans who have done nothing more than exercise their natural and constitutional right to practice their religion in a manner of their choosing” and asked that they “reveal to the American public the extent to which they have engaged in such activities.”
“Anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the Bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs,” the AGs wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. “The targeting of Catholics for treatment as ‘violent extremists’ because of the language in which they pray or because of the beliefs to which they subscribe is unacceptable, unconstitutional, and deeply un-American,” they said.
So we’re watching Luke 21:12 lived out in an attempt to persecute the church.
Do you find it odd that the FBI would go after Catholics when the President and Pelosi claim to be “faithful Catholics”? I’m going to speculate that you won’t hear Biden speak out against this FBI travesty against the Catholic Church, as he rightly should.
Biden has touted his Catholic faith for most of his political life and opposed abortion until the Democrat party decided to support it. Now with this overreach and politicization of the FBI, he and Pelosi could justify supporting abortion by claiming they’re not “traditional radical Catholics,” which have criticized both of them! Now, they can justify selectively choosing the parts of their faith they politically agree with and attacking the rest. Sick. Twisted. Demented.
I also believe the FBI started with the Catholic Church because they are the largest denomination, with few exceptions, to devoutly remain opposed to the travesty of abortion and same-sex marriage. Sadly, that can’t be said about all Protestant Christian denominations. Some are either silent, as when Roe v Wade was overturned, or refuse to universally unite against murdering babies or unequivocally profess the sanctity of marriage as solely between a man and a woman. Too many churches and Christians are afraid to take a public stand against evil.
What does that say? Protestants aren’t as big a threat to the evil invading our culture as the Catholic Church? Unfortunate and unforgiveable. We need to be boldly firm about the Bible’s teaching or don’t call yourself a Christian church because you’ll be misrepresenting Jesus and His Word.
True Christians follow Jesus even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and not popular . . . especially then! We’re not obnoxious, we’re bold. Sometimes all we need to do is ask questions to make our point.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh silenced a Tennessee lawmaker this week with one simple question about transgender surgery for minors.
“Do you think a 16-year-old can meaningfully consent to having their body parts removed?” Walsh asked. “Do you? No?”
What followed was more than 10 seconds of silence. Hemmer never answered the question. Instead, he appeared to protest to committee chairman Cameron Sexton (R) that Walsh, a witness at the hearing, asked a question.
You can watch this encounter and more of Walsh’s defense of exposing Vanderbilt Hospital for promoting transgender surgery on minors at this link Matt Walsh sends Dem lawmaker into verbal paralysis with one simple question about gender surgeries on minors – TheBlaze
Revival before Rapture
I want to leave you with hope and encouragement that even though the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, a spiritual revival has been going on for days at Asbury University in Kentucky. Interestingly, it started last Wednesday, February 8!
To recap, the devil worshipping Grammy’s aired on Feb. 5. An earthquake in Turkey-Iraq on Feb 6th. A leaked FBI assault on the Catholic Church on Feb. 9th and in the middle of all that, the Holy Spirit poured out a revival on college students on Feb. 8, and as I write on Feb. 12, the Holy Spirit is still leading the revival!!
Here’s a quote from an article written by Clayton Bullion in Outreach Magazine about this amazing spontaneous youth revival that is now attracting all ages. I encourage you to read the entire article.
“I got to the auditorium late last night and the stage and carpet were still damp from tears…”
“These were the words of a campus minister in Kentucky describing Hughes Auditorium at Asbury University the evening of February 8, 2023. Revival has come to Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. On February 8, 2023, during a routine Wednesday morning chapel, the Holy Spirit fell, resulting in continuous worship, praise, and confession over the past days.
On January 24, 2023, Dave and I heard Dutch Sheets share on Flashpoint and amazing vision he had while speaking in Boise, Idaho right after 911 of revival coming to the youth on college campuses. God’s timing is always so perfect. Even though that vision was over twenty years ago, Dutch felt led to share the vision shortly before the revival broke out at Asbury University. Let’s pray that Dutch’s vision of this college revival spreading across the nation is for such a time as this. I encourage you to listen at this link.
I’ve been saying that revival will happen in the next generation and God is fulfilling that word He gave me. I recently did a podcast interview with Meredith Schoeller where I tell my testimony of God calling me into the ministry of one generation teaching and training the next. Here’s the link if you would like to listen to it.
The following quote is referring to the revival at Cambridge with D.L. Moody in 1885: “The heart of the older generation turned towards the younger generation and the younger generation went on to change the world.”
May this be said of us in 2023 too! The survival of the church could depend on it.
Psalm 145:4 NLT “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.”
The opening picture is from the Asbury Revival with credit to the photographer Sarah Thomas Baldwin.
PS. See Pastor Greg Laurie’s movie Jesus Revolution opening in theaters February 24 for a limited time. It’s about the hippie Jesus movement of the 70’s when Pastor Greg was saved and Pastor Chuck Smith opened up Calvary Chapel to the movement of God. This film is so timely! I can’t wait to watch it.
PSS. I apologize for the length of this blog. I’m just making up for last week lol.
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Very good. Thank you Janet.
If you listened to Dutch Sheet’s vision he had in 2001 of revival in the colleges, he was speaking in Boise at the time. I’m assuming at Boise State since he referred to students in the audience.
Great blog Janet!!! I am co- leading a book study at our church on a book by Erwin Lutzer lead pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago for 36 years. We Will Not Be Silenced! Our pastor recommended it and wants the whole church to read it.
It is profound in its message that we need to wake up the church to the Marxist infiltration everywhere in our country and even the church!! Jesus said, “Occupy until I return!” This is our time to be relevant and active in our communities, I. e., school boards, county board of supervisor meetings, city councils, etc. We need to be salt & light and this books tells us how to do it!!!
That book sounds great Linda. Thanks for sharing. I’ve also heard recommended Eric Metaxas’ new book Letter to the American Church is another great book.