America is Falling

I was going to take a nap on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. But now I am finding myself writing about Track and Field events and former Miss Universe contestants.....all in light of God's word of course. Read this all the way through. I think you will find it interesting.

Right before I was going to lay down I received an email from a good friend of mine inviting me to comment on a thread on his blog. I'll try and give you the cliff notes.

In the comments section at the end of his post he put forth a question. Without him taking a position, he wanted to hear both sides, both for and against, to the following:

"An argument exists that says the idea of God judging nations is an Old Testament concept... that all judgment for sin occured at the cross and so therefore no judgment of any kind is awaiting nations, as sinful as they are. Question: Does God judge nations today? If so, upon what basis in light of Christ’s work on the cross? 

So what he puts out there for discussion is whether or not God judges nations today. The following was my response on his blog.

Posted by Jay on September 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm

"The argument is an extension of Calvinism and the TULIP doctrine. They are superimposing it over the political and social issues of our day. It is another way of saying, “Peace and Safety.” (1 Thess 5:3)

Is the Grace of God a license for immorality (Jude 4)? Do nation-states reap and sow just as individuals do (Galatians 6:7,8)? Do nations experience judgement?

Isaiah 24 speaks of an “everlasting covenant” that has been broken by the nation states of the earth, specifically verse 5 and 6. It also clarifies the consequence for breaking this law of conscience, even amongst nations that did not know the spiritual rock Jehovah Jireh.

Revelation 6 speaks of the Lamb who is worthy to open the seals, releasing 4 horsemen upon the earth to conquer, to make men slay each other with the sword, to disrupt fair trade and plunge men into poverty and hunger, to release plagues on the earth, to release the wild beasts of the earth, and to harvest on behalf of Death and Hades.

Has God judged nations since the our Lord’s cruxificion and resurrection? Paul said, “In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.” 1 Thess 2:16

Even back to the time of Cain and Abel, man has experienced consequences for shedding innocent blood. God judged the world in Noah’s time because of this. After he got off the ark the Lord told him not to shed blood (Genesis 9:5,6) and that if he did there would be consequences. This was a component of the law of conscience which has always trumped old covenant law (See David eating the consecrated bread in 1 Samuel).

Japan’s judgment for what they did to China during WWII. Germany’s judgment for what they did to Europe. The judgment of the Armenians for not listening to God during World War I (and they were Christians). France’s judgment from 1915 to 1945 for what they did to the Huguenot Christians several centuries before. God’s judgment on Jerusalem and Judah in 70 A.D. God’s judgement on the Roman Empire for what they did to the Mediterranean rim. God’s judgment on Britain’s economy for what they did to North Africa (slavery), the southern U.S. (slavery), India and China (the opium trade) during the 1800′s.

Does he judge nation states? Can the United States murder 53 million children through abortion, 8 times more than the Nazi’s did in all of Europe, and think the party will continue? Really? Jesus threw over a few tables for some money changers. How much more should we be turning over these false arguments over 53 million children."

First I want to say that I love my friend who author's the blog I am qouting. I love his heart, his ministry and his writing. I love his whole family. He is married to a godly woman. They bear good fruit in Christ. They have great kids. They are trustworthy people. In no way is my comment a correction of him or anything he is doing in the Lord. I am not directing my response at him. I have even now put a link on my blog to his blog, The Sage of Texas. And I am extremely selective when I do that. I am encouraging others to read his blog and receive from him. Just want to make sure I am being clear.

But my response was to a question he posed from a neutral position and it was directed specifically at the other side of the argument which I believe is rooted in falsehood, specifically in Calvinism and to some degree in Dominion Theology/Kingdom Now Doctrine. Truthfully, if you have been following the posts on this blog for any length of time and you have been taking it in then you know my position on this in the Lord.

Read Here, Here, and Here  if you need a refresher. If not, keep reading.

Brethren, America is falling and has been progressively for many years now. Let me explain why I am bringing this up again like I have in the past months.

Coincidentally, this morning, I saw on the news that a new world record had been set by the Jamaican Men's 4 x 100 Sprint Relay Team at the world championships in South Korea just this morning. The men's 4 x 100 sprint relays are, in my mind, the most exciting 38 to 40 seconds in all of sports. Now 37 seconds. It's all about raw straightline power, speed and intensity.

But in this particular race we have what I believe is a prophetic symbol of sorts. You see, at about the 30 second mark something terrible happens to the runner on the third leg of U.S. men's team. He falls and the American team doesn't finish. Watch the film up until about the 1:00 minute mark. Then skip all of Usain Bolt's hot-dogging and fast forward it to the 3:20 mark of the video. They show the American falling in slow motion.





The American runner loses balance and just falls between strides. You know, this has happened recently to both of the U.S. contestants at the Miss Universe Pageants in 2007 and 2008.



Miss USA @ Miss Universe 2007



Miss USA @ Miss Universe 2008

Bless their hearts. I felt bad for the U.S. runners and for these 2 ladies. Yet these symbols are out there on the international stage for all to see. And they are not happening by accident. Joseph Herrin does a good post on the symbolism of some of these events as well. You can Click Here to read the whole thing later. But I want to pull something from it and quote it here. This is what he interpreted about Miss U.S.A falling 2 years in a row. I think it is very forthtelling.

"In 2007 Rachel Smith fell down while walking on stage at the Miss Universe pageant, and this year, 2008, Crystle Stewart did the same thing. No other contestant experienced the same. Consider for a moment how appropriately this contest was chosen. All the nations of the world are gathered for this event. Each country is symbolized by one woman. And for the past two years, the woman symbolizing the USA has fallen down as she stood before all the world, in a moment when she hoped to impress all those who looked upon her."

"Rachel was the name of the favorite wife of Jacob. She died giving birth to her son Benjamin. God will bring forth a purified remnant from the midst of the church in America, even though it should require the death of the nation as we know it."

"In an article I read today on the event, it was said that falling down was “the death knell” for any participant as far as their chances of winning the competition. The judges looked for how much poise and grace the contestants manifested on stage, and falling down was sure to end any chance of them winning. Is it not strange that this last event took place in Viet Nam, the infamous war that America failed to win?"

"That this event has occurred two years in a row, being repeated at the same stage of the event, the evening gown portion, reveals some profound truths. The word “evening” speaks of the last hours of the day before night falls, and all is plunged into darkness. That this same event occurred two years in a row bears the same meaning that Joseph declared to Pharaoh when God repeated his dreams to him twice."

"Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about." Genesis 41:32

God has determined this matter. This is to say that His mind is made up and now there is no turning back what He has determined. There is only a sure expectation that these things will come, therefore the wise should do whatever the Spirit tells them to do that they might be made ready. It will quickly come to pass. This judgment is no longer years away. It will commence presently.....As I mentioned, the signs of distress are everywhere apparent."

Joseph Herrin is right. The matter has been firmly decided by God. Both ladies names are in fact significant. Rachel for the reason he stated above:

"Rachel was the name of the favorite wife of Jacob. She died giving birth to her son Benjamin. God will bring forth a purified remnant from the midst of the church in America, even though it should require the death of the nation as we know it."

Rachel was first to fall in 2007. Then in 2008 it was Crystle that fell. The name Crystle is derived from the proper name Crystal and can be defined as: to take on a solid shape or form when atoms or molecules begin to arrange in definite and repeated patterns. (See Websters Dictionary).

When the Lord begins to speak on things repeatedly it means it's important. Real important. Four times in John 14 &15 Jesus said that if we loved him, we would obey him. Romans 1:28 says that men get into trouble with God when they don't retain his word. The word for retain (NIV) in the Greek is Echo. The word of God echoes. 2 Corinthians 13 says that things become established through the repeated witnessing of 2 or 3 members of the body.

My point is that as events occur repetitiously they, in many cases, become a sign of what God is saying. He is in effect trying to Crystalize his word. He is causing it to take a solid shape and form. In this case it is the fact that America, as symbolized by the American runner and the two beauty contestants, is falling. America is falling.

America will fall. The signs are everywhere if you know what to look for. I think in the next post I should talk about the four-fold judgment of Ezekiel 14. The dominoes are falling and the first one has almost completely hit the ground. Ezekiel 14 is happening in America right now.

Stay Alert.
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Finally

I took a trip back to the U.S. in July/August that lasted almost 4 weeks. I got back on Aug 4th. My wife told me that it rained almost every day that I was gone. This kept her and one of my sons from having to water the yard by hand throughout the time I was gone. This was a blessing. In Mexico most homes don't have enough water pressure to even run a water sprinkler effectively. Instead you either, 1) pray for rain, or 2) water by hand. In our case, we take a kid's swimming pool and fill it up with a water hose and dump it on the backyard. Primitive? Yes. Less Time consuming? Absolutely. It just requires more effort than enjoying the ongoing rains we get this time of year.

We'll, as the story goes, when I got back on August 4th the rains suddenly stopped. It rained practically  everyday when I was gone and when I get back the daily rains cease for 2 weeks. Everyday I prayed and waited for it to rain and nothing happened. In the silence of my heart I finally said to the Lord, "Lord, I always ask you to make it rain when I need to water the yard and you have answered several times. This is my final day of asking. If you don't make it rain today I am going to have to start watering on my own. I have turned to you for this Lord. This is my last day of waiting. The grass is dying. It needs water today."

Well, that same day, the very day I felt that my time of waiting had to finally end, the rains started and it has rained at least an hour almost everyday for the past week. The grass has been restored and is filling back out again.

When I see things like this happening I have learned to ask the Lord, "Lord, what it going on? Is there something you are trying to teach me spiritually through natural things? What is it? Is this just nothing or is there something to this?"

This is the response I believe I received from the Lord. Take a look at Acts 16.

"Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.' She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, 'In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!' At that moment the spirit left her." Acts 16:16-18

It's pretty straight forward. Before God could set things in order he had to wait for Paul to get fed up with the status-quo. When he finally got troubled to the point that he would take action, the Kingdom of God came forth and the will of God was fulfilled. Let's look at another example of this spiritual dynamic: Jesus and the clearing of the temple.

"When it was almost time of the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" John 2:13-16

Let's put this into perspective. Most present-day historians and theologians believe that Jesus was crucified and buried at age 33 simply because Jesus began his ministry at age 30 and the Gospel of John accounts for 3 yearly Passover feasts (John 2:12-16, John 6:4, John 11:55). Whether this is true and can be proved is subject to debate. But let's just say for a minute it is true, that the cruxificion of our Lord took place at age 33. Per the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the clearing of the temple occurred just after Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the shouts of "Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest." This occurred just prior to his cruxificion. This tells us that Jesus had attended Passovers before and obviously had witnessed the obvious mismanagement of the things of God. This wasn't the first time he had witnessed "merchandising" going on in his Father's House. 

Joseph and Mary had attended Passover with Jesus ever since he was a little boy. When they returned from Egypt they settled in Nazareth, a roughly 70 mile trip from Jerusalem.

"Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom." Luke 2:41

Jesus was in Jerusalem with his parents every year for Passover. In fact, the law required that they appear at the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year, not just once.

"Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacle. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you." Deut 16:16,17

I am assuming Joseph attended all three feasts on an annual basis. That means Jesus was in the temple three times a year. Let's just assume they had moved back to Nazareth from Egypt by the time Jesus was 10 years old. 33-10=23. That means from age to 10 to age 33, a period of 23 years, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the three aforementioned feasts at least 69 total times. That means he had witnessed merchandising in the temple dozens of times in his life. Yet he didn't clear out the money changers until close to the end of his life, just prior to his cruxificion. Why? Why the wait?

I think he finally got fed up. I think he had come to the end of his rope with this situation and responded in kind. I think he was finally boiling over. I think Paul finally got fed up with the demon in the slave girl and took authority and walked by a greater measure of faith. He had finally had enough. Jesus had also finally had enough. 

Over the past months I have been coming to the place where I have finally gotten tired in an area. I am finally tired of spiritual fellowship that is devoid of power and prophecy. The only reason anyone listened to Jesus' teaching and doctrine was because he was both prophetic and powerful with regards to signs, wonders and miracles. The beginning of his ministry was marked by such things as turning water into wine and prophesying to the woman at the well. These types of experiences are what should mark the church. Today in most fellowship circles these are uncommon occurrences.

Our faith is to rest in the power of God (1 Cor 2:5) and our lives should be marked by the power of God (1 Cor 4:20). Scripture is clear about it. We have to find our way in this. The power of God manifests with greater ease when the body is allowed to be the body. That means people are allowed to function in their gifts. What I have learned over the past 17 years is that quite a number of bodies of fellowship don't permit the body to be the body, to allow fellowship to center around everyone being equipped for and participating in ministry as God moves among us.

"...so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:5-8

The scriptures say, "let him, let him, let him." "Let him do it, let him do it."  It's repetitious in the above verse. This is very applicable with both the gift of the teacher and the gift of the prophetic. The scriptures say.....

"...if it is teaching, let him teach." Romans 12:7

"...by this time you ought to be teachers." Hebrews 5:12

If someone is a teacher they should be allowed to teach as long as their doctrine is accurate. Why? Because most often the best teachings are the ones that come unplanned, straight out of the heart, off-the-cuff by shooting-from-the-hip at a moment's notice. Depending on the size of a body of believers in a meeting you may have anywhere from 2 to 10 teachers in a room, maybe more. There has to be a liberty in the Lord for anyone to teach at a moment's notice as long as it fits with the order and flow of what the Lord is doing in the meeting.

What about prophecy? I am not talking about the office of the Prophet. I am just talking about the general flow of prophecy in the body. Do you every wonder about this, about why you see so little if any of it in the church today?

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged." 1 Cor 14:29-31

"...be eager to prophesy..." 1 Cor 14:39

First, we should be eager to prophesy. And secondly, we should experience seasons of prophecy. If we are not, something is wrong. It's one thing to believe in prophecy for today. It is another thing altogether to emphasize, equip and watch people actively grow in it. Yet it is very rare for church bodies today. Very rare. Yes, your church may have had a prophet come in for prophetic ministry. But God wants more than the Prophet prophesying. He wants the Prophets to equip the people to prophesy. The gift of the Prophet is an equipping gift. Everyone is to prophesy. God wants us all prophesying.

This only comes as apostles and prophets equip the church foundationaly for the work of the ministry. Read 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 2:20, Ephesians 4 and the entire book of Acts. The scriptures are stunningly clear on this dynamic.

I think I have come to a point in time where I have realized the "spiritual grass" has to be watered today. We are the grass and we need to be watered by the washing of the water of his word.

"A voice says, 'Cry out.' And I said, 'What shall I cry?'
'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are as grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6-8

"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the the word." Ephesians 5:25,26

Things have to change. I have got to pursue this. And I believe the Lord is trying to bring his entire body to this point, a place of finally wanting things more and more as they should be.

Be Blessed,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/

Know and Understand

The Lord told the prophet Daniel something very profound when he said:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

"Know and understand...." Daniel 9:25

The prophet lived a life that was saturated in dreams, visions and spiritual happenings. Many were his own while others where received by those around him. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an enormous statue, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a tree, the mysterious hand appearing before King Belshazzar and writing on the wall, Daniel's dream of Four Beasts, his vision of a Ram and a Goat, the Seventy Sevens, and finally Daniel's Vision of a Man. All of these things were profound. And all of them required not just knowing but understanding.

Understanding has two applications in scripture. One is the unfolding of plans and strategies as it follows the wisdom that God gives us. I wrote about that in detail HERE.

The second application of understanding is simply this: to interpret that which God has already spoken. King Nebuchadnezzar knew what he had dreamed in Daniel 2. He just didn't know what it meant.

"....Nebuchadnezzar said to his astrologers, 'I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.' Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream (knowledge), and we will interpret it (understanding)......The King replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me." Daniel 2:3-5

Do you see the dynamic? It is one thing to know what the Lord has said. But it is another thing altogether to understand it. Knowing and Understanding are two different things. Even the wicked know what God says at times. The difference often between faith and unbelief is understanding that which already has been said. That is where the real reward is...in understanding.

"Jesus replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's hearts have become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." Matthew 13:11-15

Jesus himself drew the distinction between knowing and understanding. The wicked at times know what God has said. But they never understand it. Understanding is a sign of growth in God. It is a sign that God's work is progressing in our lives. Proverbs speaks often of the man of understanding.

"...though is cost all you have get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

Pharaoh knew what he had dreamed. He just didn't understand it. Only Joseph could interpret it. Only Joseph could understand it. Interpretation = Understanding. Because Joseph understood, because he could interpret, he was rewarded. Nebuchadnezzar promised death to his astrologers if they failed to interpret/understand and at the same time he guaranteed wealth, honor and riches to those that did.

I am not advocating materialism. I'm preaching provision. God's provision rests in the laps of those that both hear and understand. Remember, God showers his people with riddles as he speaks to them. He always has.

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles." Numbers 12:6-8

Yes, the Lord often speaks to us plainly. But he also often speaks to us in riddle form that requires interpretation and understanding. Daniel had to interpret the writing on the wall even though everyone "knew" what the words were. We need to both know and understand when the Lord speaks through symbols, riddles, types and shadows. We need to Know and Understand.

Be Blessed,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Without Ceasing

In the summer of 2008 the Lord moved my family and I to San Antonio for a two year stint to finish prepping us for our move to Mexico. We moved there via a management transfer with my company at the time, Sam's Club. As our time in San Antonio continued to unfold I ended up having a run-in with my boss at work. She accused me of doing something I did not do and it became obvious in the course of time I was being pushed out, ableit by the Lord. Believing that the Lord had told us that we would only be in San Antonio for 2 years, and seeing that I may not make it the full two years in San Antonio with Sam's, I started looking for another job where I could make comparable money.

In the course of time I realized that this was God's will. He opened a door for me to go to work in sales for Frito Lay in our final 8 months of our time in the U.S. The Lord had a very specific reason for doing this although I did not realize why until this afternoon.

Typically my prayer life has centered heavily around spending large amounts of time in prayer and study in one sitting and then going about my day full force. To explain this in a physical parallel, this would be like someone eating only one large meal a day and then not eating another bite of food until the following day's large single feast. It's just been the way I have functioned over the years. I know some people say that they pray throughout the day. I have never been one of those people. I will sit down and pray for 2 to 4 hours at a time and then if I do pray at another time in the day I just pray in tongues or at very specific breaks of time. But never in a conversational pattern throughout the day.

This is not to say I haven't had conversations with the Lord or meditated throughout the day. I do. But I typically wouldn't pray about every step I took. I did that before I stepped out of the house and then I would go all-out while trying to be discerning as I went along. Well, this was why the Lord sent me to work for Frito Lay. He was trying to break me out of the deficiency of this pattern by eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of one large meal in the morning with a couple of very small snacks in the day. Let me explain how.

When the Lord opened the door for me at Frito Lay I was hired in as sales rep. Starting out in this job, your primary responsibility is to cover sales/delivery routes for the other reps that are on vacation or leave-of-absence. It's sounds easy on the surface and the base pay is good for what you do. But the job has many difficult variables that I've never experienced in any job I have ever had. Right after I started my immediate supervisor told me that this would be the toughest job I would ever have. He was right. Let me explain why.

• Frito Lay pays their sales reps a base salary plus variable-over-time (VROT). VROT is calculated as your base salary divided by all hours worked that week, divided by two. This determines your wage rate for every hour worked over 40 hours. There is no time-and-a-half for Overtime with VROT. This means the longer you work, the less you get paid per hour of overtime worked. This means you become cheap labor. The longer you work the less the company has to pay out in labor per man hour. This means they give you an extraordinary amount of work each day/week and there are no state or federal overtime laws regulating how much work they can dump on you. 
• Your normal work load keeps you in the field at least 60 hours per week with some holiday weeks easily taking you over 70 hours. I had one week where I worked over 70 hours in 5 days. One of the reps that I trained with worked 80 hours in 5 days.
• The average sales route has 10 to 12 deliveries a day, each taking at least an hour on average. This does not include your drive time to and from the plant across town in traffic plus your drive time to and from work in your own vehicle.
• Covering routes for other reps means your routes change every week. This means you have to learn a new route every week. This puts you in different geographic areas of the city each week. It feels like you are starting a new job every week. In fact, you are starting a new job each week, week-in and week-out.
• They don't provide you with GPS. You work everything off of your own maps that you provide for yourself after you get home from working your 70 hours.
• Every delivery truck drives differently and many are built differently. Just when you get used to driving one truck they put you in a different one. And the backs of the trucks are made of aluminum and don't have heating or air conditioning. This means that between deliveries you are either sweating to death in your polo-shirt and dress slacks or you are freezing like a pop-sickle. 
• Driving safety is a major company priority and liability. This means if you get in a wreck you are probably going to be looking for another job right after you get back to the plant. The risk is high.  
• All retailers (large and small) have different check in procedures. Target, Valero, Exxon, Sam's, HEB, Costco, all local mom and pop gas stations and grocery chains, .........They all vary and all have their own cut-off times for delivery. If you are not familiar with their systems it can set you back substantially.
• Every manager of every store can impose certain check-in and delivery stipulations beyond company policy. This means that two Exxon managers may have two different ways of checking in based on their personal preferences.
• When you do show up for delivery you may not get checked in right away, losing precious minutes to get through the rest of your route.
• Most employees that work in receiving departments of food retailers have poor people skills. That is why they have been moved to the back of the store....so they don't have to deal with the public. That means when you show up they treat you with very little if any respect.
• You are constantly rotating dated product on the shelves seeing as you are selling food items with sell through dates. Most of the routes that I covered for the full-time reps on vacation or LOA were neglected with regards to product rotation. This meant that I had to report back to their supervisors that their routes were not being properly managed. And then guess who had to spend extra time on each stop fixing and rotating all of the dated product? That would be me. Almost every bag has to be touched, popped and laced on the front row. It's very tedious once your start merchandising. It's boring and mind-numbing work.
• Products are often displayed in each store in unknown and unfamiliar locations. Every time you show up at a new location you have to spend valuable minutes locating displays and shelves, locating your product because this is not your usual route. It's like cooking in someone else's kitchen every day and asking, "Where do you keep the steak knives? Where do you keep the salt? Where do you keep......"
• You are having to order for each store for the following delivery without any knowledge of their selling patterns. Each store has different sell-through patterns on various products and the ordering system Frito Lay gave us to use on our handheld computers was often unreliable and useless in forcasting sales trends and ordering requirements.  
• It's overall physically rigorous. You move around hundreds of pounds of freight every day. You are constantly moving from standing back to kneeling back and then back to standing positions while stocking. You are up and down all day long. You are constantly on the move. In the San Antonio plant we had 150 sales reps total. 148 were men.  After I started I lost close to 10 pounds. My immune system was severely challenged for about 4 weeks. Every time I blew my nose blood would just spurt out from the sinus infections I had contracted while working.



Fun for who exactly????


The job had nothing but obstacles, obstacles, obstacles. The stress was unending from week to week. Never had I needed God more in my work from situation to situation, moment to moment, delivery to delivery, day to day, week to week.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful." Hebrews 12:11

The pattern of familiarity that develops in most jobs was gone. Just when you would get used to the nuances of one sales route the company would move you to another one with a whole new set of obstacles and challenges. The pay was great but the stress and demands were unending. You could never get into a pattern of predictability and it was frustrating for me beyond anything I had ever experienced in any job (Olive Garden management, Real Estate Sales, Sam's Club Management). The sales managers were constantly on us to meet ridiculous corporate sales quotas that were being set by home office in Plano, TX. The hours were incredibly long. And to top it all off the plant was on the other side of the city from our home meaning I drove to and from work at least 30 to 45 minutes one-way.

I could just keep going. I was grateful for the pay. I was grateful to have a job. But the job was mind-numbing and difficult in just about every way imaginable. At 40 years old I was feeling physically outmatched for the first time in my work life. I try to stay in good shape by running and swimming but this job was whipping my back side.

Through all of this I found that I didn't have time to pray like I used to. I didn't have time to gorge on the presence of the Lord everyday, fill up and go out with my stomach full of God's wisdom and power. Granted I was off on the weekends but I was so beat up physically and mentally I just wanted to sleep in and veg for two days on Saturday and Sunday.

"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2 Corinthians 8,9

The Lord had me under a type and measure of pressure that I had never faced and because of it I found myself relying on God like never before. There were so many things that could go wrong on any given day that I could only cry out to the Lord for deliverance from day to day, shift to shift, delivery to delivery, check-in to check-in. I found myself praying about things all of the time throughout every day. Truck safety, traffic, knowledge of routes, unloading of freight, check-in efficiency, favor with managers, favor with employees working in receiving departments, stocking proficiency, merchandising efficiency, ordering efficiency, meeting sales quotas from week to week, getting to each delivery with speed and ease, ......I found myself praying over details of my efforts on an ongoing-basis like never before in anything I had ever done.

All of this difficulty was there in my life by God's design to teach me to spread out the icing on the cake. The Lord was forcing me to pray without ceasing throughout my day. He was forcing me to change.

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 5:16
"Be faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"I keep asking...." Ephesians 1:17
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." Ephesians 6:18
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2
"Night and day we pray most earnestly...." 1 Thessalonians 3:10
"...pray continually; ..." 1 Thessalonians 5:17

This dynamic has been critical for us in Mexico. I needed to learn this on a really deep level before we came down here. It is one of the main things we have had to learn to walk in on a regular basis out of sheer necessity. Safety in driving, finances, physical safety, protection from corruption, our immigration status, making friends, learning Spanish, speaking and communicating in every situation, paying bills, setting up our lives in every area, raising our kids in a foreign country ............All the things we took for granted in the United States we can no longer take for granted.

We find ourselves praying over things we never prayed over throughout our days and not just in our prayer times in the morning. And why? Stuff appears before us over the course of our day. Needs arise over the course of the day. The Lord shepherds us over the course of a day. Our focus is over the course of a day and throughout a day. We are called to function with Him over the course of a day. Psalms 23 bears witness to it.

I normally only write in the mornings but I felt that the Lord had me sit down this evening and put this out there, prophetically if you will. If you find yourself reading this in the Lord, and you have yet to have this worked into your life, then the Lord is going to bring a change in the circumstances of your life to bring about this level of relational prayer and faith. Changes are coming to the Body of Christ throughout the world to increase our intimacy and faith in God. And this will be a good thing in God.

Be Blessed,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/

Aroma and Bouquet

I used to be a sales manager for the Olive Garden. One of my primary responsibilities in that job was to help educate the waitstaff to know our wine list, to be able to describe our base wines in great detail and consequently to be able to sell those wines to our customers. One of the things I would teach my waiters and bartenders was the differences between a wine's aroma and bouquet. Aromas, simply put, are flavors that the grapes absorb during the growth and fermentation process.

An example of this would be the following: If a wine orchard sits next to an apple orchard, the grapes will naturally absorb the flavor of the apples in the adjoining orchard. Another example of this could be grapes absorbing the flavor and smell of flowers as rainwater runs into the grape orchard from the surrounding countryside. Aromas are absorbed by grapes simply by being in proximity to something else. Aromas can be floral, apple, pear, pepper, ......anything that is naturally occurring in the environment.

Bouquets in wines are a little different. Bouquets are simply the flavors that are infused by man-made intervention in the barreling and bottling process. Examples of these are cedar, oak, smoke, leather, caramel, coffee.......These flavors are purposefully built into the wines by the winemaker to give their product distinct flavors and appeal. This is usually done by determining the type of wood used in the barrels, smoking the barrels, .....the list goes on.

So in summary, aromas are flavors that are absorbed from the natural world while bouquets are flavors that are man-made and infused by the wine-maker himself. With that said, this morning I found myself reading the following verse:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope (wait) in the Lord shall renew their strength......" Isaiah 40:28-31

All Christians are familiar with this verse. It is probably one of the most quoted passages in all of scripture. Yet when I read it I keep finding revelation pouring out of it. In verse 28 it says that the Lord never grows tired or weary and the understanding that flows from his heart and mind is unfathomable. It goes onto say that the Lord gives out strength and increases our power when we are weak. Yet it also lays down a condition. It says that only those who "hope" (NIV) or "wait" (KJV) on the Lord receive His strength, his power and his understanding in given situations.

The Hebrew word for "wait" in the King James Version is Qavah. Qavah is defined as gathering together, or to bind together by twisting. This would be like taking to pieces of twine and twisting them together to make a rope. I have also heard it described as a vine that grows up and wraps its way around a tree.

You may already know this but human skin is extremely porous. Our skin is like a sponge in a sense. When you press something up against your skin your body begins to naturally absorb components of whatever is applied to it. If you take a clove of fresh cut garlic and put it against the bottom of your foot you will start to taste garlic in your mouth within a short period of time.

Our spirits and our souls function in the same way. As we wait (Qavah) on the Lord and the presence of the Lord, as we wrap ourselves around him, as we gather with him, we absorb his nature. We absorb his wisdom, his understanding, his knowledge and his power within ourselves. Just like grapes growing on the vine absorb the aromas and flavors of that which naturally occurs in and around the vineyard, so we naturally absorb the nature of Christ as we consistently entwine with him. And as we do so we take on a divine flavor and aroma that distinguishes us from the rest of fallen humanity.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life." 2 Cor 2:14-16

Be Blessed

JEB

Our One-Year Anniversary

Yesterday marked our first year here in the Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. At this point we are preparing for another phase of what God has us doing. While we do feel God has made Merida our home, at least for now, we feel the Lord is having us take some more steps in getting settled in here.

When we first moved down I believe that the Lord showed me that we had approximately 2 years to get settled in. At this point I can say we have made several steps forward in learning the culture, the language and in fellowship. The scriptures say the following:

"God sets the lonely in families..." Psalm 68:6

We have seen this dynamic in our lives as we have been here. The Lord has set a family around us. The Body of Christ generally functions as a family, a body and an army. While the definitions of each one of these overalap to a degree with the other two, their is still something very basic and purposeful about family. Help with daily living, communication in the same language, help with errands, helping with each others kids, showing one another how to live on a daily basis, eating together.......All of these things fall into the category of "family" as I see it. And God has given us a family here and we are very grateful for it.

Yet we still have more settling in to do. If we are going to be here long term we are going to need to consider whether we are going to stay on an FM3 visas or shift over to FM2's. Once an expat from another country holds an FM2 for 5 years you can apply for inmigrado status. If approved, an inmigrado becomes a Mexican citizen except that you do not have the right to vote in political elections on any level. You can also adopt Mexican orphans if you have an FM2. This is something we are praying about at this time.

There is more I could share but for the sake of expediency I won't. I would just ask that you would pray for us to have wisdom, understanding and knowledge as to how we are to continue settling in here in the place we believe God has told us to call home. If we come to your mind please just pray for us to have these things along with the Grace of God. We very much appreciate it.

The boys are doing well. Christine is doing well. All of our new pets are doing well. I think I am doing well. We hope and pray you are all doing well. God Bless and keep in touch with us. If we can pray for you please let us know how.

God Bless,
Jay and Family
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Calvin and the TULIP

Tulips are beautiful flowers. I settled on this picture when searching them out but I am not sure that any one photo really does this plant justice. Originating from Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Northwest China, it is a perenious bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa.

Originating from the lily family (Lilacea), tulips overall are composed of 109 species of plant. Although naturally indigenous to mountainous areas with long, cool springs and naturally dry summers, they have subsequently been introduced as annuals in every continent on the globe.

Unfortunately, these are not the tulips we are going to speak of today. Instead, we are going to talk about a Tulip that has done more to impede the flow of life in the Body of Christ than just about anything I can think of. During the wealthiest days of the Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1923) the tulip became a symbol of abundant indulgence. And so much so that the high point of the Ottoman Era was referred to as the Tulip Era.

Isn't it ironic that so much of the church in America today has become just that,... abundantly indulgent in in it's own self-will? And much of that indulgence in American Institutionalized Christianity (AIC) has been driven by none other than TULIP doctrine. TULIP is an acronym that represents the fundamental doctrinal tenants of what we know today to be Calvinism. Many people believe that the 5 basic tenants of Calvinism where formally drawn up at the Synod of Dort in Dordrecht, Holland in 1619. Are you bored yet?

When I started writing this post about a week ago I, like everyone else, assumed that the conclusions of the Synod of Dort, the formation of TULIP and its accreditation being given to John Calvin was true. After all, the Presbyterians are the largest formal advocates of Calvinism and from what I understand they believe that John Calvin authored the basic tenants of Calvinism (TULIP). I thought that to. A devout Presbyterian gave me a book on the subject stating as much in 1996. But now I am not so sure that is the case.

Who was John Calvin, what is Calvinism, and was Calvin a Calvinist? Or was Calvinism unfairly ascribed to his name roughly 60 years after he died? And what does Calvinism have to do with you and me and the body of Christ as a whole today? How does all of this apply to our lives today? Let's answer some of these questions.


John Calvin

John Calvin was a 16th century French pastor and theologian who formally broke away from the Roman Catholic church around 1530. At that time the Protestant Reformation was well under way, having been spearheaded by the German Monk, Martin Luther. When Calvin was only 8 years old Luther nailed his famous Ninety-Five Theses to the front door of the Castle Church, thereby letting Rome know that the fight was on. In many ways Calvin's support of Luther, his support of the Reformation and his formal break from Rome's heresies were steps in righteousness. The Protestant Reformation was arguably, in it's first couple of steps, a necessary response to all of the heretical doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structures of the ever increasingly corrupt Roman Catholic Church (RCC).

But while researching this out one of the things I came to understand was that certain parts of the Protestant Reformation (PR), specifically some of the heart motives of it's leaders along with some of the doctrinal outworkings of the movement in various parts of Europe were huge mistakes. Let me explain. Out of the Protestant Reformation came what we know today as Protestantism . Protestantism ultimately branched out into two groups: The Magisterial Reformation and the Radical Reformation. Look at the following chart...

The Magisterial Reformation (MR) had three branches: Anglicans, Lutherans, and Calvinist Reformists. The Anglicans emerged in England, the Lutherans in Germany and Scandinavia while the Calvinists primarily took root in Switzerland, France and later in Scotland. The one thing that all three branches of the MR had in common was just that.....they had the backings of the magistrates, i.e. secular authorities. This meant that at times these three branches of MR Protestantism would turn to local kings, princes, city councils and magistrates to enforce their religious will and agenda. The Roman Catholic church was already doing this in countries in Southern Europe. The men who were spearheading the reformation in these three branches of the MR were walking in the same footsteps as their Roman Catholic predecessors, albeit on various levels. And from what I can tell, based on my research, John Calvin at times took it to the extreme. For further reading on MR click here.

Just so you know, I am not against God having root in government institutions. I am for that and believe that at one time much of the actions of America's founders were expressed through faith in the formation and functioning of our government institutions on all levels. I don't believe in the separation of church and state except where the state is by majority and through practice inevitably corrupt. In that respect we need to "...touch no unclean thing" so that we are received by the Lord. In that case we need to "...come out from the state and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6).

But what these men were willing to do and ultimately did in many instances was different. The men who spearheaded and maintained the three branches of MR were, according to some historical records, having dissidents murdered, burned at the stake, imprisoned and punished when it was politically expedient. Sometimes their victims were women and children, not just men. They were allowing secular authorities to institute physical, mental and emotional torture and/or death among the citizenry and also in the church in order to squelch anything they deemed as heresy. These were horrible practices when it comes to matters of church discipline and doctrine.

As an example of this, John Calvin supported the findings of the Protestant Geneva Council in Switzerland when they decided that Michael Servetus, a Spanish theologian and physician, be put to death for his views on the Non-Trinitarianism and non-Infant Baptism. While I disagree with Servetus on his views of the Trinity, scriptures make it clear you don't kill people that disagree with your understanding of scripture.

"And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." 2 Timothy 2:24-26

The scriptures are clear on how to handle open practices of carnality, divisiveness amongst brethren, unruly children and people who are false teachers. 

"When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 5:4,5

"Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that have nothing to do with him." Titus 3:10

"Blows and wounds cleanse away evil and beatings purge the inmost being." Proverbs 20:30

"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer..." 1 Timothy 1:3

You hand the rebellious and unrepentant over to the Enemy. You put out of the church those that don't respond to repeated warnings of divisiveness. You spank your kids. You command others not to teach falsely when operating in a position of authority. But you don't burn people at the stake or enlist the help of government agencies to push your doctrinal positions, at least not in the manner that John Calvin did. Calvin openly endorsed the execution of Servetus. Historical records seem to support this.

Now at this point I thought it was going to be a slam dunk to tie in some of Calvin's actions with the TULIP doctrine and all of it's deficiencies. When I researched all of this out I was assuming this was an easy conclusion. After all, doctrines and heart motives are clearly tied together. Scriptures are clear on it.

"Watch your life and doctrines closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers as well." 1 Timothy 4:16

"If any man will do his (God's) will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:17

I quickly came to the conclusion that because Calvin was involved with some of the things previously mentioned that it would be easy to tie it into the TULIP Calvinism that is ascribed to his name. But then I read this (Click Here). Dr. Richard Muller, Professor of Historical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary states that Calvin never directly or openly advocated two of the five points of TULIP.

Therefore the point of this post will not be to try and track down the source of TULIP. It's irrelevant at this point. God will judge the source. The point is to evaluate TULIP which has become foundational doctrine in many churches today. Some say TULIP came from John Calvin. Some say it came from the Synod at Dort as influenced by Calvin's ministry. And some are claiming that TULIP was created after Dort. I don't want to take the time to find out.

So at this point I am going to break off from focusing directly on John Calvin and the Synod of Dort. We are going to focus on the TULIP itself because, regardless of the source, it does exist and is taught in every Presbyterian church on earth, many Baptist churches, non-denominational Bible Churches, and even indirectly from the pulpit in many Charismatic churches.... whether many of the Charismatics and Independent Bible Churches recognize it or not.

TULIP stands for the following:

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints

Broken down a little further into layman's terms, this is what Calvinism teaches. Click Here and Here to read it for yourself.

Total Depravity - Man is totally sinful apart from God. Man's heart is evil and he is a slave to sin. (Agree)
Unconditional Election - God chooses some people to be saved and others to not be saved, not based on anything he sees in them, but solely based on his Sovereignty which is unexplainable. (Do not Agree)
Limited Atonement - Jesus died only for the elect. (???)
Irresistible Grace - When God saves a man there is nothing the man can do to reject salvation. You can't resist the Holy Spirit. He saves you and there is nothing you can do to reject God's election. He has saved you whether you like it or not. (Click Here for my response to that one. )
Perseverance of the Saints - You can't lose your salvation. Once Saved, Always Saved. Same as Irresistible Grace. (Sin Away Saints!!!!)

OK. As I stated from the beginning, the Tulip Era in the Ottoman Empire was symbolized by indulgence. In the next post or two I am going to show how adherence to TULIP in 4 of it's 5 facets promotes arrogance, undermines the Fear of the Lord, drowns out the voice of God, makes believers unproductive in the Work of God and gives some believers a false sense of security about what it really means to be saved. Like the Tulip Era of the Ottomans, I am going to show you how 80% of TULIP doctrine makes people indulgent in their own self-will and self-desires. Stay Tuned!!!

Blessings,
JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/.

Nick, Cecil and Calvin

In October of last year I started to suffer from some form of chronic fatigue and I wasn't sure what was causing it. Everyday around the early afternoon it was all I could do to fight the urge to lay down and take a nap. Since we moved down to Merida I have been able to start getting up very early in the mornings to pray and write so I figured maybe my body was simply adjusting to a new schedule.

But there was one other physical symptom I was having that was causing me to question if my immune system was fighting something off that it had never before. I noticed that every time I took a hot shower I would get these tingling sensations all up and down my forearms and lower legs. It literally felt like I had ants crawling all over my limbs. When I would get out of the shower and dry off the tingling sensations would slowly disappear. I thought maybe I was having a blood circulation issue with my body along with the fatigue. I didn't know overall what was wrong with me.

Finally, one day I spoke with an American lady who has lived here in Mexico with her family as a Christian missionary for 13 years. She told me that she had been through the same experience when they had moved to Merida (minus the tingling arms and legs) and that through the course of time had learned that she had parasites in her body from some external source like bad food, city water, poor sanitary environments, handling cash money....something. She advised us to take Vermox. This product is sold in every pharmacy, Wal Mart, Costco and grocery store chain in Mexico.

Although I did not realize it at the time, I had been exposed to parasites through some source like those mentioned before. They had developed so badly in my system that when I put my skin under hot water the parasites and amoeba would start moving around inside my arms and legs. It was so bad that I could barely make it through the afternoon without sleeping. They were literally robbing my body of nutrients and causing me to "gas out" way before I normally would in the normal course of my day. Once we took the Vermox we started to feel a noticeable difference within the hour. But for me personally, because my case was so far advanced compared to Christine and the boys, it took me about a week to slowly recover from the lingering affects of the damage that the parasites had done to my body internally. It was as though I has experienced some tissue damage on some level and my body needed some time to repair itself.

It seems as though I am seeing this in Christians everywhere I go. Most believers today, spiritually speaking, are infected with one or more of three bad doctrines that, like internal parasites, are robbing them of wisdom and power to keep them from the full measure of God's purpose in their lives. Everyone gets them at one time or another. It's just that people often don't realize what they have when they have it. And they become accustomed to low levels of energy without understanding that this is not God's purpose for their lives.

The Parasites I am referring to are Nicolatinism, Cessationsim and Calvinism. And they are affecting most main-line Christians denominations today. Charismatics, Pentecostals, Baptists, Presbyterians, Non-Denominational Bible churches, Lutherans, ......you name it. These three parasites  of Nick, Calvin and Cecil are getting after all of the main line Protestant Christian denominations in one form or another. Some have all three in their internal systems. Some have only two. All have at least one. And they are all sucking life right out of the church to such a degree that at times the church is hardly recognizable when held up to the light of scripture.

Now before we dive into these three doctrines, I want you to know that I am not trying to throw anyone under the bus. I know that many churches are effective in God in one form or another. But in my years with the Lord I have come to understand that the Body of Christ functions in three ways:

• As a Family
• As a Body
• As an Army

Family, Body, Army. God's people are to come together and function in all three roles at various times and in various ways. But it has been my observation that due to the three aforementioned doctrines, most congregations barely make it past the first stage of being a family. And those that get stuck in this stage and never function as both a body and an army end up becoming a dysfunctional family. Being a family is just that, caring for each others personal needs.

"Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Gal 6:2

We have experienced that through our church here in Merida over the past year. God has given us a family. People have made themselves available to us on a personal level and visa versa. We have spent time with others, eaten dinner together, walked through malls together after lunch at Chili's, given each other rides to the store and other places, offered to babysit others kids, played at the park together, helped each other financially......but that is about as far as it has gone. This stage of the church's life is about bearing the burdens of others, mostly physical. We have seen it and are grateful for it as God has given it to us. But it is not the fullness of what we are called to as Christians. There is more. Much more.

We are to go from being families to being a Body. Body life is about functioning within the realm of God ordained, God governed giftings.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received, faithfully adminstering God's grace in it's various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Prophecy, counsel, tongues and interpretation of tongues, healings, signs, wonders, miracles, apostolic teaching, the Spirit baptism, prayer and intercession for others, hearing God in dreams and visions.........This is what I refer to hear: The Charisma anointing that carries us into the supernatural. This is what we are talking of here. Not just water baptism and the doctrine of repentance and the pastor preaching against fornication.

We have experienced some of the prayer part with others and we have been able to share some brief testimony with others here and there. But all in all this is where the parasite Doctrines mentioned above really begin to do their work. This is where we see Cessationism, Calvinism and even Nicolationism starting to kick in. This is where the problems start in most churches, either in what they believe in or what they will allow to be apart of the lives of their members.

Because of this cutting off at the knees at the Body life stage, most of the time the church never really has any comprehension of what it means to function as an Army. I say army because at some point in time, as God's people are called to be raised up, we should be contending with demonic principalities. You can't contend with demons and take ground from the enemy praying only ten, twenty or thirty minutes a day. You just can't. You can't take ground from the enemy unless you are mature enough through spending sufficient time in Body Life like the things just mentioned.

We are ultimately called to make known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10)  and destroy the works of the devil.

"The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." 1 John 3:8

All things were created by Christ and for Christ and in him all things hold together. In Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in Bodily form and thus, we have been given fullness in Christ who is the head over every demonic power and authority. Jesus has disarmed all powers and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross. Now, as we are in Christ through Relational Faith, we tread on snakes and scorpions, both individually and corporately. Read Colossians 1:15-18 and Colossians 2:9,10,15. That's exactly what it says.  These verses, along with Ephesians 3:10 basically form a declaration of War by God against Satan's kingdom.

"The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12

What this means is that God wants to bring his people to a corporate degree of maturity and strength so that we hear him on an advanced level, ripping down demonic principalities ruling over people groups, neighborhoods, and even cities. That means we need to hear God on an advanced level. But is that happening? Rarely. And most people read what I am saying here and they have no idea what I am talking about. But that lack of understanding in and of itself proves that the parasites of Cessatinionism and Nicolationism are alive and well in the Bride of Christ today. Most churches today are engaged in ZERO warfare. Why? Nicolatinism, Calvinism, Cessationism. Parasite infestation.

Just a note to the reader: As I have gotten older in the Lord I have noticed that if you point out things that are out of order you are labeled by others as being critical or bitter. That is not my intention here. I hope I am not coming across that way. It's just that when you see the same symptoms over and over again in God's people it gets to the point where you realize that these things have turned into an epedimic. It's like a major disease has broken out and there seems to have been nothing done to stop it. That in an of itself should be shocking to us and warrants that the overall conditions of things needs to be exposed.

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." Ephesians 4:25

In the next three posts I am going to break down all three doctrines and the motives behind them and show you, if you want to see it, how these three man-made belief structures are literally sucking life out of God's people and making them ineffective and unproductive in the calling of God. Strap in and buckle up. I am going to show you things that I gaurantee you are in your church today, whether one or all three parasites. The church in its present form and state is not fully functioning today. And it's not just America. It's Mexico to. I see it down here just as much as I ever saw it in America. The parasites are alive and well in Mexico, Canada, the U.S., ....anywhere and in any country where there is not a sufficient amount of affliction to drive it out with fire on an ongoing basis. These parasites seem to keep growing back in countries where there is no consistent persecution, hardship and suffering of some form. I am going to prove it to you.

Stay Tuned!!!! We are going to peel back the skin and look under the microsope!!!

Blessings,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.