“Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
The FIRE of the Lord is SO COMPASSIONATELY UPON the Church in America right now. And the heart of our God is for our good, our nobility, and for our blessing. He’s especially bringing His judgment FIRE to MAGA leaders and believers.
Today, who has eyes to see beyond the headlines? Who has the moldable will to yield, celebrate, bring everything in, bow down, surrender, be illuminated, purged and re-empowered by our God’s heavenly FIRE?
Beloved. His heart is for redemption, FOR EVERYONE WHO ENTERS INTO HIS FIRE!
For the last year, the Lord has been speaking to our household from Isaiah 1, telling us that this day was coming. Here are five truths about the FIRE of the LORD from Isaiah 1:27-31
THE FIRE OF THE LORD IS ABOUT REDEMPTION v. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The Lord is moving proactively, by His own sovereign will to REDEEM His covenant people; those who already belong to Him. No one has earned this. It’s His initiative. It’s coming from His zeal to war against the UNRIGHTEOUSNESS that’s threatening His people. He promises to REDEEM our UNRIGHTEOUSNESS with His RIGHTEOUSNESS if we merely come to Him in REPENTANCE. This is the FIRE of His ZEAL TO REDEEM.
THE FIRE OF THE LORD DESTROYS ALL THAT IS IN OPPOSITION TO THE LORD v. 28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. There is also a DESTRUCTIVE nature to His FIRE. The Word of the Lord promises it will CONSUME those who “FORSAKE THE LORD”, meaning those who refuse to REPENT, who refuse to become PENITENT, and will not let the Lord REDEEM them from UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. We “FORSAKE THE LORD”, when we don’t come to Him for REDEMPTION. He is the God of Redemption. If His people will not let Him REDEEM them, He knows (much like the children of Israel in the desert) the FIRE that’s on the earth will DESTROY them in their TRANSGRESSION and SIN.
THE FIRE OF THE LORD ILLUMINATES AND EXPOSES v. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. The FIRE of the Lord is illuminating the foolishness of man’s DESIRES, right now. In the light of the Lord’s FIRE, it’s showing millions and millions of hearts how deceived, foolish, and ultimately, how destructive their hearts’ inclinations really have been. This illumination naturally breeds SHAME and ignominy. But it isn’t a SHAME that shuts one up in condemnation. It’s a SHAME that’s meant to serve as an internal alarm that screams, “run into the shelter of the Lord! Don’t cover yourself with fig leaves in the GARDEN you’ve chosen. Go to the Lord for His covering in the ‘sure mercies of David.'” (Isaiah 55:3). He has no desire for us to experience SHAME any longer than we need. He’s made every provision for our idolatrous hearts, through the lovingkindness of His Son’s own blood. THIS IS IMPORTANT! When the Lord’s FIRE illuminates what you’ve been believing, and what you see causes you to be conscience-stricken regarding where you’ve CHOSEN to put your hope, let even a tinge of SHAME be a sign that the Father is compelling you to be clothed in the righteousness of His Son.
The tinge of shame, or disappointment that you feel when the truth of your champion is being illuminated is actually an internal invitation to come into the Lord’s shelter of cleansing grace while the fire passes through the ranks.
THE FIRE OF THE LORD COMES WITH PERFECT PATIENCE v. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. The TEREBINTH tree is one of the most hearty, resilient, draught-resistant trees in the world. The Lord is saying that those who refuse to come to Him, are like this tree. Although they can “hold out” for long periods of time, they cannot outlast the patience of the Lord. He is saying to them: “If you continue to spurn My invitation, and if we DON’T “reason together” about your adultery, I promise you, you will eventually become like a WITHERING TEREBINTH tree.” The Lord prophesies, He Himself will withhold the life-giving RAIN from the GARDEN where their false beliefs, values and ideologies are being grown.
THE FIRE OF THE LORD IS INESCAPEABLE v. 31 The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them. The Lord promises/warns that even the STRONGEST of men will not be able to withstand the illuminating, consuming, heat of His FIRE that’s falling upon us. We should not be deluded into believing that our STRONGEST narratives, prophetic words, ardent work or human emotions will be safe from the Lord’s FIRE. The STRONGEST WILL BURN. NO MAN will be able to QUENCH the Lord’s FIRE. This is meant to engender a healthy, necessary fear of the power of the Lord’s FIRE, that drives EVERYONE into deep, honest conversations with the Lord about the nature of our sinful, and idolatrous ways.
Friends, the SPARKS of what will eventually CONSUME MAGA are flying. Through the heat of scrutiny over our President’s character, his previous life, and a number of theological/ideological schisms within the ranks, the TINDER in this movement is being set ablaze. Much like His Word to Judah through Jeremiah, the Lord is actually calling our family to seek shelter WITHIN THE FLAMES THEMSELVES, so that He can purify our ways, and establish us in the eternal hope found in Isaiah 1.
Again. Should we continue to avoid Him, know that as more and more is exposed, and you feel increasing SHAME over what you’ve been championing, understand that the remorse, the indignity, and the disrepute are all gracious, internal signs that God is summoning you into the eternal security of His FIRE.
Today is a good day to enter into the fire of the Lord, and pray: “Father, redeem me, purify me, and consume me. I want all that I am to be wholly Your’s – with longevity, depth, authentically, and without reservation.”
WHY OUR HOUSE of PRAYER IS CHOOSING TO BOW LOW BEFORE OUR ONE KING TODAY
Several friends have asked if I will be attending/endorsing the #NOKING rally today (Saturday, October 18). Observers estimate that the civil protest will be the largest series of protests in the history of our nation (built on protest).
My simple response is “No”.
I get the temptation. We’re Americans. Civil, (and uncivil) discourse is in our social-psych DNA. We have constitutional “rights” to bring our arguments to college campuses, arenas, and our city’s streets in order to protest policies, presidents, and ideologies that we disagree with.
And yes, it’s good and right for followers of Jesus to lift our voices to speak truth to socio-political power, whether the power wants to authorize abortion and gender confusion under the banner of humanism, or it seeks to unceasingly curse its enemies and hide its sexual perversion, under the banner of Christianity.
Truth-be-told, in our life-times, we have never seen a more prolific, and hostile attempt for two political factions to seize the moral, and religious high-ground in our nation. Through assassinations, racist rhetoric, violent raids, and riotous defiance, America is ablaze with uncivil fires.
So why then would we refuse to participate in what is planned to be a civil, and even peace-filled demonstration of opposition to the Trump administration?
Here are 7 reasons why our little House of Prayer in the Mountains of Arizona is pro-actively choosing to forego this massive protest, and instead give ourselves to praising ONE KING today:
1. THE PRIORITY and POWER of PRAYER In an hour of enflamed zeal, we (especially followers of Christ) have no business bringing our voices to the civil arena if we haven’t first brought our voices into the chambers of the Lord. Most American ChristiansOVERESTIMATE the power of protest, and vastly vastly UNDERESTIMATE the power of prayer. The fact of the matter is, what we will gain through 3 hours of prayer will be monumentally greater than what we gain through any number of hours of protest. Our principled, activated stance in prayer on a day when many of our neighbors will protest, is a testimony to the truthfulness of this much needed spiritual reality in our world. What change (in ourselves, our communities, and our nation) do we hope for that doesn’t come through the Lord of glory Himself?
2. THIS IS AN HOUR of JUDGMENT This is an hour of predominant judgment. The Lord is at work in the Church, and in our nation, to bring His truth to bear on our values, practices, beliefs and lifestyles. The pressure we feel in our national forum is a God-orchestrated pressure designed to force conversation with the Father Who wants to reward us, as much as He wants to rebuke us. He’s preparing a Bride for His Son, Who is returning to be joined with a people who will reflect His heart, His power, and His wisdom. In an hour of judgment, who has the right to “rise up” and protest? As followers of Christ, our primary response to the judgments on the earth is to adjust our hearts before God, not protest the inconvenience of the pressures themselves. Isaiah 26 tells us, “When the judgments of the Lord are on the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness.”As we experience the injustices and fire-storms of our culture, we do well to go into the courts of the Lord and receive His gracious, and patient instruction for our hearts, minds and ways. Above everything else, we Christians want to come through the tumult and trouble looking more and more like our King.
3. THE OPPORTUNITY to GIVE WITNESS of a PURE RESPONSE of FAITH to the LORD In an hour of judgment, the Church is given both an opportunity to respond faithfully to the Father and simultaneously give a witness to the world about how to respond faithfully to the God they do not know. As we experience the contentious pressures in our culture, as the unbelieving world watches the people of God bow low before His sovereign pressures, we show them the way into humility, repentance, and contrition in the fear of the Lord. In the heat of our current context, as followers of Jesus make prayer our primary, and zealous response, we are declaring that there is indeed a God to Whom we are accountable, a King Who demands our loyalty, and a Father Who sees and responds to our cries for justice. This witness is vital to the well-being of the commission the Lord has entrusted to us. And, if I can be a bit provocative; it is a witness that we American Christians have enormously failed to issue through the great pressures that have come upon us as a culture. Our primary response to the conflict in this hour has greatly emphasized protest and politics, while nearly entirely neglecting humility and repentance.
4. THE TRAP of PROTEST Again. We’re Americans. We’ve been built on the spirit of protest and revolution. Revolution is largely the spirit behind the thrust to Make America Great Again. Many picture our President as a type of “George Washington” who is bringing manifest destiny to the USA once again. Still others see his ways as despotic and authoritarian. Both perspectives clutch to the constitution of the United States to go to war against the other. Pastor Brian Drinkwine, in an excellent article entitled, “No Kings. No Idols. No Exceptions” writes: “We love the sound of rebellion, but rebellion without redemption just builds a new empire with different slogans. “No Kings” tears down the throne, but unless the crucified King takes His seat, someone else always will. History proves it. Every revolution that toppled tyrants eventually crowned new ones. The human heart cannot live without a ruler. The only question is whether ours wears thorns or gold.” Simply put, we will not overcome a spirit of protest with a bigger spirit of protest. That’s not how the Kingdom of God works. The Lord visits the meek, the poor in spirit, and those who fast themselves from the world’s ways of gaining power. We are a people who are prone to the idol of “demos”. Democracy is our “go to” idol when issues in our society are shaking. We reach for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, decide what is true based on our own internal evaluation, and then try to convince others that it’s true, until we have a critical mass of confirming assent. Pick ANY story from the Bible, and this power will be exposed for the (destructive) deception that it is. The Lord is looking for “faith”, not “correct perception”. He wants us leaning on Him, not on our own understanding. If I may be so bold, and pentecostal – protest may also fuel a ruling principality of “revolution and protest” that can keep the heart and soul bound to an inordinate (even idolatrous) faith in the powers of democracy, rather than in pure, obedient submission to the Kingly authority of Christianity, and the claim Jesus has on the way we live our lives before God and others.
5. THE POTENTIAL for CONFUSION and COMPROMISE Undoubtably, there are many who are keen to throw off the over-bearing ways of this administration. Many who will be protesting “No Kings” have no will or desire to be surrendered to any king, much less our King, Jesus. This is the atmosphere of Psalm 2, when the people “rage” against the Kingly order the Father has appointed over the whole earth. We’re not of that spirit. Neither do we want to give an indistinct witness to that kind of lawless spirit. The primary spirit of our witness is love, and allegiance, to King Jesus, not rebellion and rage against a carnal king. (Incidentally, this is the very issue that TPUSA fails to account for in its adulterous partnership with conservative Mormonism) Anything (plus much more) we hope to accomplish via standing with a sign in our arms before our neighbors, we accomplish bowing low before the Lord of glory, WITHOUT distortion, misinterpretation, or compromise. In the place of prayer, I greatly eliminate the potential of feeding a greater and greater spirit of rebellion. Rebellion is an enemy in the spiritual war that’s being waged, AND certainly in the Bride that’s being purified.
6. THE OPPORTUNITY to LOVE OUR ENEMIES In the midst of great contention, the Lord is looking for a people that He can use to redeem souls, narratives, and lifestyles. His love and His grace rides on humility, tenderness, meekness and faith. He wants to clothe us with a supernatural, transformative winsomeness that bids even our enemies to find refuge in His wings of redemption. He’s not looking for the crusaders. He’s looking for the crucified through which He can release His resurrection power to conservative, MAGA, liberal, humanist, curse-laden humanity. Our protest greatly exacerbates the divide. It doesn’t greatly bring His transcendent mercy into it.
7. THE DECLARATION of ZEAL to ONLY “DO THIS” WITH GOD As noted, we Americans are in a very unprecedented season of socio-political tribulation. We are in a battle to decide what kind of nation we will have. In Joshua chapter 5, in the hours before God’s chosen people were to attack the city of Jericho and begin their conquest of the land that had been promised to them, the Commander of the Lord’s Army comes to Joshua, and tests his heart with the revelation that He, Himself was neither on Joshua’s side, nor Jericho’s side. The question that confronted Joshua was: “Will you be on the Lord’s side?” And this is no less the question for us today. Joshua’s response is a good one for us to emulate. As he removed the sandals from his feet, he bowed low before the pre-incarnate King, Jesus essentially declaring, “I surrender myself to You. This is Your battle. No matter what else happens. I want to be found on Your side. I don’t want to do this without being with You where You are.”
CONCLUSION Beloved. There’s something MUCH BIGGER than our democracy at stake here. If we don’t see the Lord’s hand in the pressure that’s being stirred within the church, and the nation, it’s all the more impetus for us to give ourselves to seeking out the Face of the Lord.
And yes, the call to prayer is wholly counterintuitive. It is only going to be heard and understood by faith in the place of our spirit. The call to prayer isn’t primarily to “change” government, or popular opinion. It’s to align our will, emotions, mind and spirit with the heart of our King as He’s bringing His pressure to bear on our society. He’s really God! And He’s really preparing the earth for His Son’s return. If we’re more angry, or defensive, or righteous about what’s happening in our nation than we are humbled, and prayerful about Who’s coming, we’re in urgent need of adjustment – adjustment that will only happen at the deep, thorough level that comes from having given ourselves to being in the audience of the King of the Universe.
Find the place of prayer. Be a woman, or man of authenticated faith in the transcendent power of God. Lift up your eyes to the Lord of a trillion galaxies. Lift your voice there – in His holy, and magnificent Presence – if you can.
Today. Saturday, October 18 – our House of Prayer will be engaging in 3 hours of dedicated space to simply adore the King the Father has ordained to reign over us. And we confidently anticipate that as we do, He will extend His majesty, power, wisdom and kindness over our lives, and our communities. The Lord does inhabit the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
This “trouble” in our nation isn’t going away anytime soon. If your church ministry doesn’t have a dedicated time, space, people who give themselves to seeking, humbling, worshipping prayer – start one. I promise you, the Lord will visit you there.
A WATERSHED HOUR The Church America is in a “watershed” hour.
The spiritual atmosphere is shifting. Thought patterns, narratives and paradigms are being sealed into whole networks of Christians; where pastors, pundits, prophets and intercessors not only believe false storylines, but care little for cautionary scriptures, and heartily draw each other into the destructive spirits attached to the lies. There is no argument, no amount of reason, no logical presentation of the facts that can budge individuals from the realities that so many are clothing themselves with.
When a full web of deceit has been allowed to infiltrate the minds of any collection of humanity, (ie. married couple, family, small group, church fellowship, or denomination) the perverted world-view then determines the truth. The deceived bend the scriptures to reenforce the perverted truth, and scriptures that militate against the perverted truth are marginalized and ignored altogether.
This is where the household of God finds ourselves in 2025 – entranced by the myths of a gilded delusion.
False, collective mind-sets have overtaken the people of God throughout history. From the tower of Babel, the days of Noah, the Children of Israel, to the days of the prophets, to the church in Corinth, Sardis and Laodicea, to the crusades, to the civil war Southern Baptists in our own United States, and the Lutherans, and Catholics in 1930’s Germany, and Italy – whole elements of the people of God have repeatedly veered into degenerate beliefs about the ways of the Lord.
FALLING AWAY The Bible often refers to this phenomenon as “falling away” from faith in God.
“These ones have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:17) (See also Luke 8:13)
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to FALL AWAY.” (John 16:1)
“Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never FALL AWAY.” (Matthew 26:33) (See also Mark 14:27)
“Then many will FALL AWAY into sin, and they will betray one another, and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10)
“Blessed is everyone who does not FALL AWAY on account of Me.” (Matthew 11:6)
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the FALLING AWAY comes first…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never FALL AWAY…” (2 Peter 1:10)
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11)
We can be easily deceived by our uncrucified mind. The ability to see when one is falling away is a supernatural work of the Spirit. Our flesh will distort our reality, and the nature of the faithlessness that’s truly in our hearts. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
PSALM 20 • SOME TRUST IN HORSES In Psalm 20, David notes that many in his day “put their boast in chariots, and horses” (v.7), and had “bowed down” (to another) and “fallen away” from “trusting in the Name of the Lord” v.8. This erosion of faith; whereby the covenant people of God are seduced by lies, and place their ultimate trust in another power of provision other than YHWH is routinely identified as “IDOLATRY” in both the Old, and New Testaments.
THE IMAGE OF GOLD One of the most prominent pictures of idolatry is vividly detailed in the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s “image of gold”, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
After years of hearing of the Lord’s judgments upon the nation of Judah, the Jews had finally been deported to Babylon. There, the covenant people of God would spend the next generation, outside of the land of promise, under the unrighteous reign of a series of pagan kings. In Daniel chapter 3, we learn that the first king, Nebuchadnezzar, has erected a towering statue on an open plain near the city. Furthermore, the king is demanding that all of the inhabitants of his realm “bow down” to this image upon his command. Undoubtably, many Jews in Babylon heard this decree, and, in varying states of faith and unbelief, were faced with a choice: “In light of YHWH’s first commandment, how do we respond to this summons to extol the glory of Nebuchadnezzar?”
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” (Exodus 30:4-6)
Apparently, many “bowed down” (Exodus 30:5; Psalm 20:7; Daniel 3:6) to the king’s demand to worship his image. Perhaps they rationalized that they were simply showing proper respect for their new ruling authority. Or maybe, many had already begun to embrace the Babylonian cult-legends, ultimately believed the lie that by submitting to the false glory of the king of Babylon, they would be sufficiently provided for, and protected… (who knows?) What they didn’t perceive was that they were actually taking the next step in their long process of “falling away” from their God; the One Who had been pleading with them, and their father’s fathers through the prophets. Undoubtably, many of these Jews had a correct belief in Who YHWH was, but in the heat of self-preservation their theology was exposed as a rhetorical construct and not a practical reality that shaped how they lived their day to day lives. With meager faith in YHWH, many children of Judah capitulated to Nebuchadnezzar’s orders, perhaps even donning fashionable golden-image jewelry, or chanting popular, emotional phrases, and prostrated themselves before a demonic entity.
Though many tragically bowed down to the image on the plain in those days, Daniel records that three would not. There were three who saw the moment for what it was. In spite of the pervasive cult beliefs, the peer pressure, the Facebook memes, and perhaps even arguments from their own teachers – these three saw Nebuchadnezzar’s executive order as an affront to the power and glory that belonged to their God.
Of the thousands who were on the plain in that day, only three passed the test in the courts of heaven.
FALLING AWAY HAS CONSEQUENCES The story of the “golden image” is much more than a quaint Bible story about three noble young men who made a wise choice. It was a significant day of judgment upon the people of God. One that would lead to potential reward and blessing for some, and consequence and additional curse for others.
Over the last several weeks, as our authoritarian President has dictated that our nation honor the birthday of the flag, the army, and his own life, (a demand that would have sounded familiar to Nebuchadnezzar, and many other self-exalting supremacists throughout human history including Mao, PW Botha, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Kim Jung Un, Stalin etc. – all who held military parades on their own birthday) the Lord has brought the American Church into an hour of judgment no less pointed than what Shadrach, Meschac and Abednego were faced with. The Lord is looking us in the eye, and confronting us with our own idolatry. In a very troubled, and tumultuous cultural context, He’s issuing the pointed question to our souls: “Who will you honor? Will you put your nimble, daily trust in Me? Or will you ‘bow down’ and hail another carnal king who promises to provide for you, protect you, and make you a great people?”
Simply put, the Lord is bringing us to a moment when He is testing the nature, and strength of our faith.
PROFESSED FAITH vs. CRUCIFIED FAITH The faith we want, and need to have in this hour, must be more than a correct propositional statement. It needs to be more than orthodox dogma about Jesus. In Matthew 16, Peter declared what was true about Who Jesus was, truth that Jesus even affirmed as being “revealed by the Father” (Matthew 16:17). But in the minutes after this inspired assertion, as Jesus described what was about to happen to the Messiah, “doctrinally correct Peter”, is found rebuking Jesus! He openly opposed the way that Jesus was describing – the way of humility, crucifixion, death, and abject faith in the will of the Father. Peter let the prominent cultural legend about the mission of the Messiah to determine his belief, and even override the expressed Words of the Messiah, Himself! His narrative had the Messiah violently overthrowing pagan oppression. Jesus was indicating that both pagan oppression and religious orthodoxy were about to put Him on a cross. It was oil and water in Peter’s mind. He had no template for what Jesus was talking about. Death meant failure and loss. Victory looked like spiritual, moral, and governmental domination.
Peter’s ideologies toppled all the more as Jesus underscored the way of true anointing: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)
This was Jesus’ vision of robust, living faith: to lay down one’s life, without complaint, and to trust that the Father would receive the complete offering of self, along with all of one’s hopes for self-glory, self-sustenance, self-determination, self-justification, and self-gratification, and raise us up in the same Spirit of Christ, so that we share in the same glory; the same authority; and the same character as Jesus, Himself. Jesus was saying that He was about to offer His Father “obedience to the point of death” (Philippians 2:6-8) and by it, the Father would see to it that Jesus’ covenant love, mercy, and leadership would be extended to the whole world. Complete surrender of the impulse of self to the Father, even to the point of death, was the way Jesus was going to extend His Kingdom, from Jerusalem, to Galilee, to Syria, to Turkey, to Rome, to Europe, to the Americas, to all of Africa, China, the Islands – in person after person, and ekklesia after ekklesia.
It takes a lot of real faith to believe this – both, from a global / missions perspective, as well as from a daily, personal perspective. The way seems small, too slow, and too dangerous. It takes faith to believe that there is a Father in heaven Who sees and rewards every little extension of kindness, forgiveness and sacrifice with His favor, and His “dunamis” power.
It takes faith to believe that poverty of spirit, meekness, mourning, and asking for forgiveness is going to extend Jesus’ reign on the earth. In a dog-eat-dog (X, formerly TWITTER) world, it takes trust to display love when everyone around you is hating; to rejoice while everyone else is raging; to walk in peace while everyone is declaring war; to be patient while everyone is seizing the moment; to extend kindness after you’ve been vilified; to operate in goodness while those around you are compromising with holiness; to be gentle when everyone else is taking up the sword; and to surrender self, when everyone is urging you to take what’s rightfully yours.
But this is the real, moment-by-moment world the Lord calls us to manifest faith within… And what I’ve just outlined above, is what true faith looks like to Jesus. To not possess this type of faith is to either not have faith, or to have FALLEN AWAY from real faith.
“When the Son of Man comes, will He find real faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)
This is also the type of faith that Paul describes that many will fall away from in (2 Thessalonians 2:3); a faith that both believes the true things about Jesus, and willingly lays down our selfish lives down unto the increase of His glory within the context of a hostile world.
And this is where, in this crucible of faith-analysis, that we, as a people find ourselves. For ten years our family has been challenged by one man to assert self, rather than deny self. He has openly, and daily challenged the Body of Christ to cheer words and ways that are antithetical to Christ. He’s goaded us to “fight like hell!” Seize your rights Curse! Revile! Push! Shove! Demand your own way! Condemn! Never forgive! Never admit your mistakes! Murder! Abuse! Justify your fleshly impulses! Crave! Take! Lust some more! Rage! Deceive! Alienate! Divide! Conquer! Exalt self! And, especially, at every opportunity, “exalt me!”
The followers of Christ have been selectively targeted to compromise the integrity of their wholehearted allegiance to the Father. Their trust has been assailed with temptations that are as real as Jesus’ temptations in the desert. (See Luke 4) It’s been a decade-long barrage on the Church. Every day our collective group-speak about what is evil, and what isn’t moves a centimeter – until one day, the voice of murder, lust, pride and impatience can wait no longer and openly makes us an offer: “All this power and glory I will give You… if You will bow down before me.” (Luke 4:6-7)
This is the day that is upon us – a day when the devil’s barter is seen for what it is. “Worship me! Worship my power and might! Worship my authority to not only rule the nation, but rule the earth! Hail my way of hostility, pride, self-assertion and covetousness. Acknowledge that my way – the abusive way of might – the way of Peter in (Matthew 16) – is the right way – and even God’s way.”
You’ll notice that Jesus’ answer to the devil in (Luke 4) is the same as it was to Peter in (Matthew 16). “Get behind Me, Satan!”
Selah
Selah, some more…
Would that this had been our family’s response to our President’s latest appeal to “bow down” and honor him, and his display of might and power. Would that our family would learn that Jesus’ response in both of these instances is the “real faith” that the “Son of Man” (Luke 18:8) will be looking for at the end of the age. “No. I won’t bow down to you and your contra-Kingdom definition of power, your false promises of glory, and your hostile way of self-determination. Get thee behind me, satan!”
There was a day when many children of Israel, who had celebrated the first Passover, put their trust in the familiarity, pomp, and empty promises of a deity represented by a golden calf. (Exodus 32:28) Even after being threatened by Moses, 3000 would not repent, and instead laid down their lives for their idol.
There was a day when 10 children of Israel put their trust in their own ability to win the day, and would not go into the land because of the giants (Numbers 14). All ten of them, and their families died outside of the land promised to them by YHWH.
The Lord has been giving us such a choice in these days. Will we continue to extol and vaunt the way of one who is promising us greatness through carnal strength and self-determination? Or will we humble ourselves, put self in the grave, and walk in the noble, incorruptibility of our faith, daily being made into the image of the One we long for?
This is the ultimatum that the Lord has put before us.
Allow me to be straightforward.
It’s 2025. If you’re hailing Trump, defending his arguments of carnal selfism, casually offering him displays of adoration, you have taken the devil’s bait; you are bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold; you have fallen away from faith in God.
It’s vital that you know what your approbation is communicating to the Son of Man:
A. Your “boast” in the Lord (Psalm 20:7) is more rhetoric, than daily, practical, Biblical reality.
B. You’ve compromised your allegiance to the way of Christ. In fact, you’re “bowing down” (Psalm 20:8) to a king who is contraChrist.
C. You’ve “fallen away” (Psalm 20:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:) from heaven’s definition of faith in God.
D. You need to return to pure, and sufficient faith in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20) The Lord knows there are grim consequences to “bowing down and falling away”…
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief FALL AWAY from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)
“They have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they FALL AWAY, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:5-6)
1. Your adulation will cause you to side-step the faith-cultivating process that Holy Spirit is working in the Bride through the Sermon on the Mount. Consequently, you will not have a breathing, adroit faith that will be sufficient for the “troubled” day in which we’re living. You will lack the humble responsiveness to the Lord that will keep you safe from losing your obedient love for the Lord.
2. The spirit of delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11) is a bonafide threat to your Christlikeness, and to your salvation. In apologizing for this man’s demonic spirit, you are being beguiled by greater and more self-satisfying lies. You will defend the indefensible. Truth-be-told, if you’re reading this with an argument in your spirit, you already are. And ultimately, you will encourage others deeply into these contra-Christ thoughts and behaviors. This is the sure, scriptural, mathematical pathway to destruction traversed by the envious, those filled with strife, deceit, malice, insolent, arrogant, unfeeling, and unmerciful.
“Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil… without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve, and encourage others to practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)
“Consequently GOD SENDS ON THEM A DELUDING INFLUENCE so that they will believe what is false.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
“For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that THEY ARE THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19)
“They are pure vanity, the work of delusion and error. When the day of their visitation comes, they will be destroyed.” (Jeremiah 51:18)
What does being given over to a spirit of delusion look like in a soul, a community, and/or a culture?
12 Signs and Consequences of a Christian Being Given Over to a sPirit of Delusion:
1. You cannot also be filled with the Holy Spirit
2. You will not crave the fruit of the Spirit – you will crave and justify the fruit of the flesh
3. You will (increasingly?) suffer (literally) the natural, compounding consequences of unrighteousness
4. You will not be able to rightly bear a cross; you will have no means of true discipleship in Christ, and will therefore have no means to cultivate increased living faith in Christ Jesus
5. You will be found testifying to things that actually harm the reputation of God, and harm others.
6. You will seek out greater and greater religious zeal to make up for the lack of Spirit power in your life
7. You will listen to the destructive and divisive arguments/doctrines of demons
8. You will increasingly NOT walk in the light of honestly, vulnerability, poverty of spirit, humility, meekness etc., but instead walk in darkness, shame, isolation, and evil suspicion
9. You will fill your self with more and more of a “curse” – that will actually often manifest itself as “cursing”
10. “Prophetic” words (charismatic), and Biblical teaching (dispensational) are more and more about “saving self”, and less and less about exalting Jesus, or even mentioning Jesus at all.
11. Daily intimate fellowship with Jesus and His Word, and prayer (watching and praying) becomes more and more burdensome, and the invitation to political, social, ethical, religious zealotry becomes more and more appealing.
12. Ultimately, the terms of your own covenant with Jesus are on the table, and you find yourself questioning key elements of the gospel for yourself, and others.
CONCLUSION After ten years of this man’s vanity, deceit, lust and malicious words, the Lord is saying to our 21c blind, Laodicean spirit: “If you’re celebrating this man with no alarm about the (1 John 2:16) antiChrist spirit that’s in his soul, you’re giving him what he wants – ‘worship’; worship that only belongs to Me. This is idolatry in My eyes. The many in My household who continue to bow before this man, and his blasphemous pride and carnal hostility, ‘I am giving over’ (Romans 1:28) to a (2 Thessalonians 2:11) “strong delusion” – a spirit that has the power to cause all who elevate this man to “fall away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) from the cross-bearing faith that will be necessary to stand with first-commandment love for Me at the end of the age.”
Today is a good day to weep. Truth be told, our tears over the compromised state of the church in America have far more glorious might than all the firepower in our military arsenal.
Shame upon a people who have lost their vision to see this…
There are a few across the land who are heralding this warning unto repentance with love, prayers, and the anticipation of redemption. And on the open plain where the false prophets bid the people of God to bow down to nationalist glory, there are a handful who dare to stand and boast in nothing but the Name of the Lord, our God.
And this is the message of those who stand. This is the invitation that we cry on the slippery slope of our culture: “Come! Repent of our idolatry! The Lord is bidding us to get up from bowing down, and come to His threshing floor, together. The hour is late. Let’s put away our spots, wrinkles and blemishes! Let us engage the fire that Jesus first offered to our Laodicean sisters and brothers: “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” (Revelation 3:17-18)
____________________ JSB • June, 2025
POSTSCRIPT: The only way to break the curse of the unrighteous delusion that clings to us is for believers, churches and ministries to come to the Lord’s threshing floor, and engage the Lord in brutal personal truth over His Word. It’s only as we dialogue with the Spirit about the destructive contra-Christ thought-patterns and narratives, and give ourselves to weeping, repentance and contrition that we will find power to extricate ourselves from their invasive affects on our hearts, ways and relationships.
This was the type of engagement that Ezra gave to the Lord when his people were found to infected with the virulent strain of rebellious adultery in their day:
“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and priests, have been delivered over to captivity, plunder, and embarrassment—right up to the present time.8 “But now briefly we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude. 9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us…“And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments 11 which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters in marriage for your sons. Do not ever seek their peace or welfare, so that you may be strong and may eat the good of the land and may leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this. 14 Shall we once again break your commandments…? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant? 15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt no one can really stand before you.”
While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God…” (Ezra 9:6-15 and 10:1-3)
Friends. This hasn’t been our way. We don’t value this kind of prayer in our evangelical circles. Nor have we “learned Christ” in this manner. Our prideful theology demands that it all be settled in a moment. Our hearts and minds are “dead set” on dominion, even if it means waving our paper swords in make-believe worlds to manifest it.
The tragic tragic truth of the matter is, MANY who believe that they are sons and daughters of the most High God will be lost under the power of the strong delusion simply because they refuse to let the Holy Spirit make them real through the fires of weeping, conviction of sin, lament and repentance. It’s so vital that we allow the Lord to begin to do this work within us today.
SPIRIT WORD & CROSS 