July 16, 2010
A LETTER FROM A PROCTER AND GAMBLE EXECUTIVE TO THE PRESIDENT
By Lou Pritchett, Procter & Gamble
Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management.. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
Dear President Obama:
You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
any of the others, you truly scare me.
You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.
You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
visible signs of support.
You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.
You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.
You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
don't understand it at its core.
You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.
You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned
yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to
publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail..
You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
crowd and deliver this message abroad.
You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.
You scare me because you want to replace our health care system
with a government controlled one.
You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.
You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
living in the world.
You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics
against certain banks and corporations.
You scare me because your own political party shrinks from
challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.
You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
opposing points of view from intelligent people.
You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
omnipotent and omniscient.
You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything
you do.
You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannity's, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing,
conservative points of view.
You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.
Lou Pritchett
Note: This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits.
Confirmed by Snopes...
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.as
Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management.. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
Dear President Obama:
You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
any of the others, you truly scare me.
You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.
You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
visible signs of support.
You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.
You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.
You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
don't understand it at its core.
You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.
You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned
yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to
publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail..
You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
crowd and deliver this message abroad.
You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.
You scare me because you want to replace our health care system
with a government controlled one.
You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.
You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
living in the world.
You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics
against certain banks and corporations.
You scare me because your own political party shrinks from
challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.
You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
opposing points of view from intelligent people.
You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
omnipotent and omniscient.
You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything
you do.
You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannity's, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing,
conservative points of view.
You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.
Lou Pritchett
Note: This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits.
Confirmed by Snopes...
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.as
Abortion Clinic Owner Responds with Chainsaw as Radio Blares: 'God Bless Pro-Lifers!'
This is AWESOME - God Bless that DJ!!!
Monday July 12, 2010
Abortion Clinic Owner Responds with Chainsaw as Radio Blares: 'God Bless Pro-Lifers!'
By Kathleen Gilbert
ROCKFORD, Illinois, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Staff at the Rockford abortion mill, which has been blaring the radio through its speakers to drown out pro-life counselors for several weeks, got an unpleasant surprise Friday morning when a local D.J. found out what his show was being used for.
LifeSiteNews.com has reported numerous times on the bizarre Rockford abortuary, which has taken to taunting pro-life witnesses with signage and other paraphernalia mocking Christianity and Jesus Christ, and even directing personal insults at local pro-lifers. (See coverage here)
The facility’s latest form of harassment, blasting a radio talk show through its outdoor speakers to keep women from hearing the message of pro-life counselors gathered outside, backfired when D.J. Doug McDuff's scheduled talk show guest cancelled, and he opened the phone lines for comment.
Seeing his chance, Rockford pro-life veteran Kevin Rilott whipped out his cell phone and was on air within seconds, loud and clear outside the abortion centre where he was standing. Rilott took the opportunity to explain to McDuff and his listeners how the radio station, WNTA, was being used to silence pro-lifers' attempt to help mothers in need.
McDuff, none too pleased, decided to take matters into his own hands. "God bless pro-lifers! God bless pro-lifers! God bless pro-lifers!" the D.J. shouted.
One of the staff members, who was walking from across the parking lot at that moment, was so aghast, Rilott told LifeSiteNews.com, that "I thought she was going to have a heart attack."
"The abortion mill nurse who heard this began waving her arms around her head like she couldn't believe what was being broadcast over the abortion mill public address system," related Rilott. "The look of almost terror and confusion on her face was priceless as she scrambled into the mill."
The D.J. then gave Rilott airtime to explain how those who keep vigil outside the Rockford mill come "to offer love, help, and hope to mothers in need," and to request prayer for mothers in need and an end to abortion.
The landlord of the abortion mill, still determined to drown out both the radio and the pro-lifers, charged outdoors with a chainsaw running. But even that was not enough to prevent at least one mother from hearing the message and choosing life for her baby.
Rilott said that a woman who had entered the clinic earlier in the morning left after the incident, before the abortionist arrived for the day. "She certainly heard it inside the clinic, and when she left she gave us a big smile and thumbs-up, and she left before the abortionists arrived," he told LSN. "So it was a good day."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10071201.html
Monday July 12, 2010
Abortion Clinic Owner Responds with Chainsaw as Radio Blares: 'God Bless Pro-Lifers!'
By Kathleen Gilbert
ROCKFORD, Illinois, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Staff at the Rockford abortion mill, which has been blaring the radio through its speakers to drown out pro-life counselors for several weeks, got an unpleasant surprise Friday morning when a local D.J. found out what his show was being used for.
LifeSiteNews.com has reported numerous times on the bizarre Rockford abortuary, which has taken to taunting pro-life witnesses with signage and other paraphernalia mocking Christianity and Jesus Christ, and even directing personal insults at local pro-lifers. (See coverage here)
The facility’s latest form of harassment, blasting a radio talk show through its outdoor speakers to keep women from hearing the message of pro-life counselors gathered outside, backfired when D.J. Doug McDuff's scheduled talk show guest cancelled, and he opened the phone lines for comment.
Seeing his chance, Rockford pro-life veteran Kevin Rilott whipped out his cell phone and was on air within seconds, loud and clear outside the abortion centre where he was standing. Rilott took the opportunity to explain to McDuff and his listeners how the radio station, WNTA, was being used to silence pro-lifers' attempt to help mothers in need.
McDuff, none too pleased, decided to take matters into his own hands. "God bless pro-lifers! God bless pro-lifers! God bless pro-lifers!" the D.J. shouted.
One of the staff members, who was walking from across the parking lot at that moment, was so aghast, Rilott told LifeSiteNews.com, that "I thought she was going to have a heart attack."
"The abortion mill nurse who heard this began waving her arms around her head like she couldn't believe what was being broadcast over the abortion mill public address system," related Rilott. "The look of almost terror and confusion on her face was priceless as she scrambled into the mill."
The D.J. then gave Rilott airtime to explain how those who keep vigil outside the Rockford mill come "to offer love, help, and hope to mothers in need," and to request prayer for mothers in need and an end to abortion.
The landlord of the abortion mill, still determined to drown out both the radio and the pro-lifers, charged outdoors with a chainsaw running. But even that was not enough to prevent at least one mother from hearing the message and choosing life for her baby.
Rilott said that a woman who had entered the clinic earlier in the morning left after the incident, before the abortionist arrived for the day. "She certainly heard it inside the clinic, and when she left she gave us a big smile and thumbs-up, and she left before the abortionists arrived," he told LSN. "So it was a good day."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10071201.html
July 11, 2010
Are we really willing to surrender all?
THE HUMBLE WILL BE LIFTED UP
by Carter Conlon
The Bible says that in the last days, everything that can be shaken will be shaken (see Hebrews 12:27). There is going to be a separating even within what has professed to be the church of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul describes it as a great falling away—not only in society, but for those who attend the house of God without fully embracing the life that Christ offers His people. Something will enter their heart and mind that will draw them away, which the apostle James addresses.
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:1–10).
Historians essentially agree that James was writing after the martyrdom of Stephen, the disciple killed by an enraged crowd who were offended when he challenged their spirituality. James, as head of the church in Jerusalem, was acutely aware of this intense persecution.
Why would James speak such strong words to a persecuted church, the first generation after the cross? Surely the church was full of people living for God. I believe that while James was addressing problems inherent in the early church, the Holy Spirit also was giving him an understanding of what would be found in humanity throughout all time. So what are these core issues? What depth of weakness is innate in every person, then and now, that could cause a falling away from God?
UNSURRENDERED DESIRES
James points to unsurrendered desires that were keeping many troubled on the inside, and in conflict with others on the outside. He asks, “Where are these conflicts among you coming from? Do they not originate from those desires in your heart that are not surrendered to the will of God—desires for personal gain and pleasure?” (James 4:1, paraphrase) We see a wide range of selfishness displayed in the church even today. Pettiness or the desire to be greater than others leads to fighting that sometimes even splits churches.
EMBRACING THE WORLD
“You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4: 2–3, paraphrase). You might be like that today—never satisfied, everything that supposedly would make you happy always just out of reach. Why? Jesus said that whoever comes to Him would never hunger or thirst. So why do you run from church to church, conference to conference, without finding satisfaction? Why do you fight and not obtain? Why do your prayers seem fruitless?
James exposes the reason: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). You are asking God to bless a plan that is not His. Instead, this plan is coming from the lust of your own heart. Maybe somebody claiming to speak for God told you some great thing would come into your life, so you are holding tenaciously to that promise. However, you are praying according to a wrong view, so your prayer is never answered.
Today, just as in the past, many are still embracing the core values of a fallen world. James’ reference to the people as adulterers may seem harsh, but basically he is saying, “You are still embracing the value system of this world. You have not transferred your heart into the kingdom of God; your thoughts are still not in line with His. In fact, you are not very different from the people in the world, you just have God attached to all of it.”
RESIST THE DEVIL
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Everybody likes to think of the devil as being out in the world, but nobody wants to believe that he might actually be in the church. However, according to Ezekiel 28:14, Satan had originally been the anointed cherub. He observed God’s glory and when he saw that he was lower than God, he became offended and led a rebellion in heaven. He was then cast to the earth where he later entered the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve dwelt in Eden, quite content with all God had given them, and Satan approached them with the same lie he uses today: “There is a lot more out there than what you have here. God has you in this little box tending this garden, naming animals, meeting with Him occasionally. But life is meant to be a whole lot more than that. Did you know that you could be as God? You can chart your own course; you can plot your own destiny. All you have to do is agree with me.”
When Adam and Eve agreed, the nature of Satan was sown into the entire human race. So when James says, “Resist the devil,” understand that it is not necessarily an outside devil but an inside devil. That very nature that was sown into us makes us pursue something other than the will of God for our lives, seeking happiness other than where God has planted us—falling right into the same trap as Adam and Eve. Resist the temptation to be other than what God has called you to be—resist it strongly!
WHEN OUR FALLEN NATURE SPEAKS
In Mark 8:31–33, Jesus plainly told His disciples, “The Son of man is going to be delivered up to the priests, scribes, and Pharisees. I am going to be rejected and put to death, but I am going to be raised again from the dead on the third day.” The Scripture says that Peter then took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Although his exact words are not recorded, they were likely along the lines of, “No! This is not for you, Lord. You don’t need to do this. You’re the Son of God—You have all power and authority!”
It is always the natural man, the one to whom the preaching of the cross is foolishness, that concludes, “No, it shouldn’t have to be this way!” The natural man does not understand it and does not accept that suffering might be part of the Christian life. The natural man puts it all away and says, “That’s not what the church is about or what we are destined for. No suffering or trials for us. It’s just a golden highway all the way to heaven!”
Peter was speaking from his fallen nature, and Jesus recognized the origin of this type of reasoning. The Scripture says that He turned and looked at all His disciples, not just Peter, and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan, for you don’t have any taste for the things that be of God, but the things that be of men” (James 4:33, paraphrase). I believe that Jesus was looking right through His disciples, right back into the Garden of Eden, for He knew whose voice had been sown into fallen man.
HOW DO I HUMBLE MYSELF?
“Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:5–6, 10). So now the question is, how do I humble myself? Do I adopt a humble posture, with my head hanging down, saying, “I am just a lowly, miserable sinner?” I have known people who have done that, while inwardly they thank God they are not like other people.
Peter was rebuked by Christ, but eventually he came to an important understanding. Remember, Peter was the one who told Jesus, “Though everybody is offended, I won’t be. Though everybody flees, I am with you. I am going to go with you right into Jerusalem, and if you die there, I will die there with you.” He was full of zeal despite the fact that Jesus clearly told him he was just like every other man—a coward at heart. But Peter’s pride would not let him hear it. He viewed himself as courageous and capable of getting to the end on his own—a false view, of course. Similarly, many people today are gripped with a false view of themselves that is far from the way God sees them.
After Peter denied Christ, the Scripture says that he fled, completely broken. As he wept, his self-image finally came crashing to the ground. In his despair he probably thought there was no hope of a future. “I have been abandoned by God. I tried to serve Him but I couldn’t do it. In my heart, I really wanted to do these things and truly believed I was able, only to find out that I am a dismal failure. Surely God is going to reject me.”
Peter was now humbled in his own sight and in the sight of God. He also was humbled in the sight of his brethren because they had heard his boasts and knew that he had run, just as the rest of them had. Soon afterward, they all assembled together with the doors closed because of fear. Suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst and said to Peter and the rest, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).
Jesus did not come to Peter with condemnation—He came to him with the true commission. Now Peter was ready to be used of God! Isn’t that amazing? It is in our nothingness that God finally can use us. When we think we are something, we are actually very far from what God intended for us. But Jesus charged them, “As my Father sent Me, not in My own strength, not in My own plans, not in My own wisdom, but in the strength and wisdom of Almighty God—even so now I send you.” Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up!
WHO WILL DELIVER ME?
The apostle Paul also learned what it meant to be humble before God. He was a man with incredible knowledge and likely the most brilliant theologian of the New Testament. Yet he knew that knowledge alone was not enough to bring him to the place that God desired for his life.
In Romans 7, Paul essentially says, “I know what to do, and I actually delight in doing it in my inner man. But there’s a force inside constantly dragging me in another direction so that I am not doing the things I know to do. And the things that I don’t want to do, I find myself doing.” Does this sound familiar? Paul asks, “who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) All of his knowledge could not deliver him. Everything that he knew to do, he was not able to!
It can become a source of despair when we read the Scriptures and conclude, “Well, I know I should love others; I should love my wife as Christ loved the church. I should honor and respect my husband. I should be an example to my children. I should be the best employee on my job.” We know all of these things, and deep inside we desire to do them. Yet, if we are honest, we eventually come to the point where we say, “God, I can’t do it. There is a law at work inside that keeps drawing me to speak and do things that I don’t want to. I am unable to change by myself.”
“Who will deliver me?” In the last verse Paul says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25). Thanks be to God when I finally acknowledge that it is not possible for me to live this Christian life in my own strength. Now this is true humility!
TRUE HUMILITY
The heart of this message can be summed up in one sentence: True humility comes when all self-effort dies, when we finally realize that we are not called to live this life on our own. Jesus said to Peter, “When you were young, you dressed yourself, you went where you wanted to go, and you did what you wanted to do. But as you are growing older (now He is addressing humble Peter—the Peter that is being lifted up), you will stretch forth your hands, and you will be led into places that in the natural you cannot go and do not want to go.” Thank God Peter humbled himself before the Lord. Thank God we have the history of this man being raised up out of brokenness and brought into the life of Christ—an example of a man who failed and out of that failure found the strength of God.
Today you may be tired of the struggle, tired of having no peace and no victory, tired of trying to find satisfaction. You get up and give it your best shot as Peter did, but then you fall on your face again. You study and gain more knowledge as Paul did, but find that this inner battle never goes away.
There is only one way out: all self-effort must die. This means that all toiling, every Plan B, all strategies are gone. You must finally come to God and admit, “I can’t do this. I never could do this—forgive me for thinking I could. Forgive me for wanting things for my life that are not of You. Help me to find and follow Your plan for my life.” Rest assured, His plans are not that hard to find. He knows how to get you where He wants you to be—you don’t have to figure it out. Just start loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself and you will just walk into the plan of God.
Beloved, in the coming days there is going to be a great falling away produced by hardship. You must hear this today, and you must have the courage to be humbled in the sight of God. Humble yourself, and you will see prison doors start to open. Your eyes will start to see truth, and the wounds of your heart will begin to be healed. You will soon see that smallness in yourself does not mean insignificance. You won’t feel that you have to be standing before thousands to be appreciated in the sight of God. Rather, you will simply be content doing what God called you to do in the place He called you to be.
When we get to heaven, the reward is not going to be because we did some great thing. The reward will be because we humbled ourselves. We trusted God to live His life through us moment by moment, not walking in our own strength or zeal, but allowing the risen Christ to lift us up. That is how we will get to the end and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Hallelujah!
Carter Conlon
©2010 Times Square Church
by Carter Conlon
The Bible says that in the last days, everything that can be shaken will be shaken (see Hebrews 12:27). There is going to be a separating even within what has professed to be the church of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul describes it as a great falling away—not only in society, but for those who attend the house of God without fully embracing the life that Christ offers His people. Something will enter their heart and mind that will draw them away, which the apostle James addresses.
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:1–10).
Historians essentially agree that James was writing after the martyrdom of Stephen, the disciple killed by an enraged crowd who were offended when he challenged their spirituality. James, as head of the church in Jerusalem, was acutely aware of this intense persecution.
Why would James speak such strong words to a persecuted church, the first generation after the cross? Surely the church was full of people living for God. I believe that while James was addressing problems inherent in the early church, the Holy Spirit also was giving him an understanding of what would be found in humanity throughout all time. So what are these core issues? What depth of weakness is innate in every person, then and now, that could cause a falling away from God?
UNSURRENDERED DESIRES
James points to unsurrendered desires that were keeping many troubled on the inside, and in conflict with others on the outside. He asks, “Where are these conflicts among you coming from? Do they not originate from those desires in your heart that are not surrendered to the will of God—desires for personal gain and pleasure?” (James 4:1, paraphrase) We see a wide range of selfishness displayed in the church even today. Pettiness or the desire to be greater than others leads to fighting that sometimes even splits churches.
EMBRACING THE WORLD
“You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4: 2–3, paraphrase). You might be like that today—never satisfied, everything that supposedly would make you happy always just out of reach. Why? Jesus said that whoever comes to Him would never hunger or thirst. So why do you run from church to church, conference to conference, without finding satisfaction? Why do you fight and not obtain? Why do your prayers seem fruitless?
James exposes the reason: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). You are asking God to bless a plan that is not His. Instead, this plan is coming from the lust of your own heart. Maybe somebody claiming to speak for God told you some great thing would come into your life, so you are holding tenaciously to that promise. However, you are praying according to a wrong view, so your prayer is never answered.
Today, just as in the past, many are still embracing the core values of a fallen world. James’ reference to the people as adulterers may seem harsh, but basically he is saying, “You are still embracing the value system of this world. You have not transferred your heart into the kingdom of God; your thoughts are still not in line with His. In fact, you are not very different from the people in the world, you just have God attached to all of it.”
RESIST THE DEVIL
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Everybody likes to think of the devil as being out in the world, but nobody wants to believe that he might actually be in the church. However, according to Ezekiel 28:14, Satan had originally been the anointed cherub. He observed God’s glory and when he saw that he was lower than God, he became offended and led a rebellion in heaven. He was then cast to the earth where he later entered the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve dwelt in Eden, quite content with all God had given them, and Satan approached them with the same lie he uses today: “There is a lot more out there than what you have here. God has you in this little box tending this garden, naming animals, meeting with Him occasionally. But life is meant to be a whole lot more than that. Did you know that you could be as God? You can chart your own course; you can plot your own destiny. All you have to do is agree with me.”
When Adam and Eve agreed, the nature of Satan was sown into the entire human race. So when James says, “Resist the devil,” understand that it is not necessarily an outside devil but an inside devil. That very nature that was sown into us makes us pursue something other than the will of God for our lives, seeking happiness other than where God has planted us—falling right into the same trap as Adam and Eve. Resist the temptation to be other than what God has called you to be—resist it strongly!
WHEN OUR FALLEN NATURE SPEAKS
In Mark 8:31–33, Jesus plainly told His disciples, “The Son of man is going to be delivered up to the priests, scribes, and Pharisees. I am going to be rejected and put to death, but I am going to be raised again from the dead on the third day.” The Scripture says that Peter then took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Although his exact words are not recorded, they were likely along the lines of, “No! This is not for you, Lord. You don’t need to do this. You’re the Son of God—You have all power and authority!”
It is always the natural man, the one to whom the preaching of the cross is foolishness, that concludes, “No, it shouldn’t have to be this way!” The natural man does not understand it and does not accept that suffering might be part of the Christian life. The natural man puts it all away and says, “That’s not what the church is about or what we are destined for. No suffering or trials for us. It’s just a golden highway all the way to heaven!”
Peter was speaking from his fallen nature, and Jesus recognized the origin of this type of reasoning. The Scripture says that He turned and looked at all His disciples, not just Peter, and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan, for you don’t have any taste for the things that be of God, but the things that be of men” (James 4:33, paraphrase). I believe that Jesus was looking right through His disciples, right back into the Garden of Eden, for He knew whose voice had been sown into fallen man.
HOW DO I HUMBLE MYSELF?
“Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:5–6, 10). So now the question is, how do I humble myself? Do I adopt a humble posture, with my head hanging down, saying, “I am just a lowly, miserable sinner?” I have known people who have done that, while inwardly they thank God they are not like other people.
Peter was rebuked by Christ, but eventually he came to an important understanding. Remember, Peter was the one who told Jesus, “Though everybody is offended, I won’t be. Though everybody flees, I am with you. I am going to go with you right into Jerusalem, and if you die there, I will die there with you.” He was full of zeal despite the fact that Jesus clearly told him he was just like every other man—a coward at heart. But Peter’s pride would not let him hear it. He viewed himself as courageous and capable of getting to the end on his own—a false view, of course. Similarly, many people today are gripped with a false view of themselves that is far from the way God sees them.
After Peter denied Christ, the Scripture says that he fled, completely broken. As he wept, his self-image finally came crashing to the ground. In his despair he probably thought there was no hope of a future. “I have been abandoned by God. I tried to serve Him but I couldn’t do it. In my heart, I really wanted to do these things and truly believed I was able, only to find out that I am a dismal failure. Surely God is going to reject me.”
Peter was now humbled in his own sight and in the sight of God. He also was humbled in the sight of his brethren because they had heard his boasts and knew that he had run, just as the rest of them had. Soon afterward, they all assembled together with the doors closed because of fear. Suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst and said to Peter and the rest, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).
Jesus did not come to Peter with condemnation—He came to him with the true commission. Now Peter was ready to be used of God! Isn’t that amazing? It is in our nothingness that God finally can use us. When we think we are something, we are actually very far from what God intended for us. But Jesus charged them, “As my Father sent Me, not in My own strength, not in My own plans, not in My own wisdom, but in the strength and wisdom of Almighty God—even so now I send you.” Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up!
WHO WILL DELIVER ME?
The apostle Paul also learned what it meant to be humble before God. He was a man with incredible knowledge and likely the most brilliant theologian of the New Testament. Yet he knew that knowledge alone was not enough to bring him to the place that God desired for his life.
In Romans 7, Paul essentially says, “I know what to do, and I actually delight in doing it in my inner man. But there’s a force inside constantly dragging me in another direction so that I am not doing the things I know to do. And the things that I don’t want to do, I find myself doing.” Does this sound familiar? Paul asks, “who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) All of his knowledge could not deliver him. Everything that he knew to do, he was not able to!
It can become a source of despair when we read the Scriptures and conclude, “Well, I know I should love others; I should love my wife as Christ loved the church. I should honor and respect my husband. I should be an example to my children. I should be the best employee on my job.” We know all of these things, and deep inside we desire to do them. Yet, if we are honest, we eventually come to the point where we say, “God, I can’t do it. There is a law at work inside that keeps drawing me to speak and do things that I don’t want to. I am unable to change by myself.”
“Who will deliver me?” In the last verse Paul says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25). Thanks be to God when I finally acknowledge that it is not possible for me to live this Christian life in my own strength. Now this is true humility!
TRUE HUMILITY
The heart of this message can be summed up in one sentence: True humility comes when all self-effort dies, when we finally realize that we are not called to live this life on our own. Jesus said to Peter, “When you were young, you dressed yourself, you went where you wanted to go, and you did what you wanted to do. But as you are growing older (now He is addressing humble Peter—the Peter that is being lifted up), you will stretch forth your hands, and you will be led into places that in the natural you cannot go and do not want to go.” Thank God Peter humbled himself before the Lord. Thank God we have the history of this man being raised up out of brokenness and brought into the life of Christ—an example of a man who failed and out of that failure found the strength of God.
Today you may be tired of the struggle, tired of having no peace and no victory, tired of trying to find satisfaction. You get up and give it your best shot as Peter did, but then you fall on your face again. You study and gain more knowledge as Paul did, but find that this inner battle never goes away.
There is only one way out: all self-effort must die. This means that all toiling, every Plan B, all strategies are gone. You must finally come to God and admit, “I can’t do this. I never could do this—forgive me for thinking I could. Forgive me for wanting things for my life that are not of You. Help me to find and follow Your plan for my life.” Rest assured, His plans are not that hard to find. He knows how to get you where He wants you to be—you don’t have to figure it out. Just start loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself and you will just walk into the plan of God.
Beloved, in the coming days there is going to be a great falling away produced by hardship. You must hear this today, and you must have the courage to be humbled in the sight of God. Humble yourself, and you will see prison doors start to open. Your eyes will start to see truth, and the wounds of your heart will begin to be healed. You will soon see that smallness in yourself does not mean insignificance. You won’t feel that you have to be standing before thousands to be appreciated in the sight of God. Rather, you will simply be content doing what God called you to do in the place He called you to be.
When we get to heaven, the reward is not going to be because we did some great thing. The reward will be because we humbled ourselves. We trusted God to live His life through us moment by moment, not walking in our own strength or zeal, but allowing the risen Christ to lift us up. That is how we will get to the end and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Hallelujah!
Carter Conlon
©2010 Times Square Church
July 6, 2010
The Gulf of Mexico and The Statue of Liberty
A.A. Allen had this vision in 1954 about the Statue of Liberty falling down in the Gulf of Mexico. Very sobering. In light of what is now happening in the Gulf, could it be truly "prophetic"?
VISION...
As I stepped inside the elevator at the Empire State Building, I never dreamed of the great experience, which awaited me just 86 stories up…. There on the east side of the terrace, I noticed a giant telescope, of the kind into which you can drop a dime, and see for approximately fifteen miles.…
As I stood with my dime between my fingers, waiting my turn, suddenly the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon me. I noticed the two giant eyes of the telescope as the man who was manipulating it turned it my direction. I was amazed that the spirit of the Lord should so move upon me, there atop the Empire State Building. Why should I feel such a surge of His spirit and power there?...
Then suddenly I heard the voice of the Lord. It was as clear and as distinct as a voice could be. It seemed to come from the very midst of the giant telescope. But when I looked at the telescope, I knew it hadn’t come from there, but directly from heaven. The voice said, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly. Therefore, from thenceforth, thou shalt have wars." …
As I stepped to the telescope and dropped in my dime, immediately, the ticking started again. This ticking was an automatic clock, which would allow me to use the telescope for a definitely limited time only. … That morning, much of the view was impaired by fog. But suddenly as the spirit of the Lord came upon me the fog seemed to clear, until it seemed that I could see for thousands of miles. But that which I was looking upon was not Manhattan Island. It was the entire North American continent spread out before me as a map is spread upon a table.
It was not the East River and the Hudson River that I saw on either side, but the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. And instead of the Statue of Liberty standing there in the bay on her small island, I saw her standing far out in the Gulf of Mexico. She was between the United States and me. I suddenly realized that the telescope had nothing to do with what I was seeing, but that it was a vision coming directly from God. And to prove this to myself, I took my eyes away from the telescope, so that I was no longer looking through the lens, but the same scene remained spread before me. There, clear and distinct, lay all the North American continent, with all its great cities. …
And as I looked, suddenly from the sky I saw a giant hand reach down. That gigantic hand was reaching out toward the Statue of Liberty. In a moment her gleaming torch was torn from her hand, and in it instead was placed a cup. And I saw protruding from that great cup, a giant sword, shining as if a great light had been turned upon its glistening edge. Never before had I seen such a sharp, glistening, dangerous sword. It seemed to threaten the entire world. As the great cup was placed in the hand of the Statue of Liberty, I heard these words, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, Drink ye and be drunken, spue and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send."
As I heard these words, I recognized them as a quotation from Jeremiah 20:7. I was amazed to hear the Statue of Liberty speak out in reply, "I WILL NOT DRINK!" Then as the voice of the thunder, I heard again the voice of the Lord, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, YE SHALL CERTAINLY DRINK." (Jeremiah 25:28.) Then suddenly the giant hand forced the cup to the lips of the Statue of Liberty, and she became powerless to defend herself. The mighty hand of God forced her to drink every drop from the cup. As she drank the bitter dregs, these were the words that I heard, "Should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of Hosts." (Jeremiah 25:29).
When the cup was withdrawn from the lips of Statue of Liberty, I noticed the sword was missing from the cup, which could mean but one thing. THE CONTENTS OF THE CUP HAD BEEN COMPLETELY CONSUMED! I knew that the sword merely typified war, death, and destruction, which is no doubt on the way. Then as one drunken on too much wine, I saw the Statue of Liberty become unsteady on her feet and begin to stagger, and to lose her balance. I saw her splashing in the Gulf, trying to regain her balance. I saw her stagger again and again, and fall to her knees. As I saw her desperate attempts to regain her balance, and rise to her feet again, my heart was moved as never before with compassion for her struggles.
But as she staggered there in the gulf, once again I heard these words, "Ye shall drink and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword that I shall send among you." As I watched, I wondered if the Statue of Liberty would ever be able to regain her feet - if she would ever stand again. And as I watched, it seemed that with all her power she struggled to rise, and finally staggered to her feet again, and stood there swaying drunkenly. I felt sure that at any moment she would fall again - possibly never to rise. I seemed overwhelmed with a desire to reach out my hand to keep her head above water, for I knew that if she ever fell again she would drown there in the Gulf.
Then as I watched, another amazing thing was taking place. Far to the northwest, just over Alaska, a huge, black cloud was arising. As it rose, it was as black as night. It seemed to be in the shape of a man's head. As it continued to arise, I observed two light spots in the black cloud. It rose further, and a gaping hole appeared. I could see that the black cloud was taking the shape of a skull, for now the huge, white, gaping mouth was plainly visible. Finally the head was complete. Then the shoulders began to appear, and on either side, long, black arms. It seemed that what I saw was the entire North American continent, spread out like a map upon table with this terrible skeleton-formed cloud arising from behind the table. It rose steadily until the form was visible down to the waist.
At the waist, the skeleton seemed to bend toward the United States, stretching forth a hand toward the east and one toward the west - one toward New York and one toward Seattle. As the awful form stretched forward, I could see that its entire attention seemed to focused upon the United States, overlooking Canada - at least for the time being. As I saw the horrible black cloud in the form of a skeleton bending toward America, bending from the waist over, reaching down toward Chicago and out toward both coasts, I knew its one interest was to destroy the multitudes.
As I watched in horror, the great black cloud stopped just above the Great Lake region, and turned its face toward New York City. Then out of the horrible, great, gaping mouth began to appear wisps of white vapor, which looked like smoke, as a cigarette smoker would low puffs of smoke from his mouth. These whitish vapors were being blown toward New York City. The smoke began to spread, until it had covered all the eastern part of the United States.
Then the skeleton turned to the west, and out of the horrible mouth and nostrils came another great puff of white smoke. This time it was blown in the direction of the west coast. In a few moments time, the entire west coast and Los Angeles area was covered with its vapors..
Then toward the center came a third great puff. As I watched, St. Louis and Kansas City were enveloped in its white vapors. Then on it came toward New Orleans. Then on they swept until they reached the Statue of Liberty where she stood staggering drunkenly in the blue waters of the Gulf. As the white vapors began to spread around the head of the Statue, she took in but one gasping breath, and then began to cough as though to rid her lungs of the horrible vapors she had inhaled.
One could readily discern by the painful coughing that those white vapors had seared her lungs. What were these white vapors? Could they signify bacteriological warfare that could destroy multitudes of people in a few moments time? Or could they be the new G-gas, the horrible nerve gas recently made known to the American public? …
Indeed, Val Peterson, Federal Civil Defense Administrator, estimates that … "Nerve gas used by an enemy with maximum efficiency could be deadlier than an atomic bomb." Right now you and your family, all of us, are unprotected against the threat of this terror weapon. … The Army calls it GB; it's an odorless, colorless, tasteless nerve gas designed to destroy people with paralyzing suddenness. We have it; so do the Russians.… G-gas, as nerve gas is sometimes called, is cheap to produce, a small amount can do the job, and it leaves a nation's industrial plants, utilities and buildings intact for an occupying power.…
As I looked with wonder upon the vision God had give me I wondered could it be this horrible G Gas, which was causing the Statue of Liberty to react so violently, as it floated about her head, looking like an innocent cloud?
Then I heard the voice of God, as He spoke: "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof."
"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left." (Isaiah 24:6)
As I watched, the coughing grew worse. It sounded like a person about to cough out his lungs. The Statue of Liberty was moaning and groaning. She was in mortal agony. The pain must have been terrific, as again and again, she tried to clear her lungs of those horrible white vapors. I watched her there in the Gulf, as she staggered, clutching her lungs and her breast with her hands. Then she fell to her knees. In a moment, she gave one final cough, made a last desperate effort to rise from her knees, and then fell face forward into the waters of the gulf, and lay still - still as death. Tears ran down my face as I realized that she was dead! Only the lapping of the waves, splashing over her body, which was partly under the water, and partly out of the water, broke the stillness.…
Suddenly the screaming of sirens shattered the silence. Sirens that seemed to scream "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Never before had I heard such shrill, screaming sirens. They seemed to be everywhere - to the north, the south, the east and the west. There seemed to be multitudes of sirens. And as I looked, I saw people everywhere running. But it seemed none of them ran more than a few paces, and then they fell. And even as I had seen the Statue of Liberty struggling to regain her poise and balance, and finally falling for the last time, to die on her face, I now saw millions of people falling in the streets, on the sidewalks, struggling. I heard their screams for mercy and help. I heard their horrible coughing, as though their lungs had been seared with fire.
I heard the moanings and groanings of the doomed and the dying. As I watched, a few finally readied shelters. But only a few ever got to the shelters, and above the moaning and the groaning of the dying multitudes, I heard these words: "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversary with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain Of The Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not he lamented, neither gathered nor burled; they shall be dung upon the ground." (Jeremiah 25:31-33.)
Then suddenly I saw from the Atlantic and from the Pacific, and out of the Gulf, rocket-like objects that seemed to come up like fish leaping out of the water. High into the air they leaped, each headed in a different direction, but every one toward the United States. On the ground, the sirens screamed louder. And up from the ground I saw similar rockets beginning to ascend.
To me, these appeared to be interceptor rockets although they arose from different points all over the United States. However none of them seemed to be successful in intercepting the rockets that had risen from the ocean on every side. These rockets finally reached their maximum height, slowly turned over, and fell back toward the earth in defeat.
Then suddenly, the rockets, which had leaped out of the oceans like fish all, exploded at once. The explosion was earsplitting. The next thing, which I saw, was a huge ball of fire. The only thing I have ever seen which resembled the thing I saw in my vision was the picture of the explosion of the H-bomb, somewhere in the South Pacific some months ago. In my vision, it was so real I seemed to feel a searing heat from it.
As the vision spread before my eyes, and I viewed the widespread desolation brought about by the terrible explosions, I could not help thinking, "While the defenders of our nation have quibbled over what means of defense to use, and neglected the only true means of defense, faith and dependence upon the true and living God, the thing, which she greatly feared, has come unto her! How true it has proven that ‘Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watcheth but in vain.’"
Then as the noise of battle subsided, to my ears came this quotation from Joel, the second chapter: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand. "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
"A fire devoureth before them: and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in baffle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
"They shall run like mighty men: they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone on in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. "The shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." Joel 2:1-10.
Then the voice was still. The earth, too, was silent, the silence, with the silence of death. And then to my ears came another sound - a sound of distant singing. It was the sweetest music I had ever heard. There was joyful shouting, and sounds of happy laughter. Immediately, I knew it was the rejoicing of the saints of God. I looked, and there high in the heaven, above the smoke and poisonous gases, above the noise of battle, I saw a huge mountain. It seemed to be of solid rock, and I knew at once that this was the Mountain of the Lord. The sounds of music and rejoicing were coming from a cleft, high up in the side of the rock mountain. It was the saints of God who were doing the rejoicing. It was God’s own people who were singing and dancing and shouting with joy, safe from all harm which had come upon the earth, for they were hidden away in the cleft of the rock.
There in the cleft, they were shut in, protected by a great, giant hand which reached out of the heavens, and which was none other than the hand of God, shutting them in, until the storm be over-passed. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption." Galatians 6:7.
No doubt many who are reading this are wondering, "Will America actually be invaded? Will she have to pay for her wickedness and sin, and for turning her back upon God? Will the wrath and fury of God’s judgment fall upon Uncle Sam? Will America be invaded by Russia? Will Russia use the horrible G gas that can kill millions in a few seconds time? Will she resort to biological warfare that could kill literally millions over night? Will Russia resort to the use of hydrogen weapons? Could God allow such a horrible thing to happen to America? In reply to all these questions, permit me to quote a few scriptures, and make a few thought provoking statements.
America has been sowing with a free hand, preparing for a tremendous harvest - but what has she sown? God declares that as sure as America has sown, SHE SHALL REAP!
"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all nations that forget God." Palms 9:17.
"The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him but his power and his wrath is against all that forsake him." Ezra 8:22.
"If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land, but if ye rebel and refuse, ye shall be devoured with the sword." Isaiah 1:19, 20. …
It is my firm conviction, based upon the authority of God's word, that any nation which forgets God to the extent that America has forgotten Him - any nation that rebels and refuses to walk in obedience to God's word as America has refused and rebelled shall be destroyed, and that without remedy." "He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29:1.
In the light of these scriptures, I am convinced that America is on God's list!... Never did a generation of people live in such critical times. Decay has already progressed far. Judgment is on the way. And there is only one hiding place from the wrath of God. That hiding place is in the cleft of the Rock, Christ Jesus, protected by His mighty hand.
My friend, have you found the cleft in the rock? Has the mighty protecting hand of God shut you in? Do you have on the wedding garments? Are you ready for the wonderful coming of Jesus Christ? If the storm should strike tonight, would you be hidden in that cleft in the rock, which is Christ?
VISION...
As I stepped inside the elevator at the Empire State Building, I never dreamed of the great experience, which awaited me just 86 stories up…. There on the east side of the terrace, I noticed a giant telescope, of the kind into which you can drop a dime, and see for approximately fifteen miles.…
As I stood with my dime between my fingers, waiting my turn, suddenly the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon me. I noticed the two giant eyes of the telescope as the man who was manipulating it turned it my direction. I was amazed that the spirit of the Lord should so move upon me, there atop the Empire State Building. Why should I feel such a surge of His spirit and power there?...
Then suddenly I heard the voice of the Lord. It was as clear and as distinct as a voice could be. It seemed to come from the very midst of the giant telescope. But when I looked at the telescope, I knew it hadn’t come from there, but directly from heaven. The voice said, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly. Therefore, from thenceforth, thou shalt have wars." …
As I stepped to the telescope and dropped in my dime, immediately, the ticking started again. This ticking was an automatic clock, which would allow me to use the telescope for a definitely limited time only. … That morning, much of the view was impaired by fog. But suddenly as the spirit of the Lord came upon me the fog seemed to clear, until it seemed that I could see for thousands of miles. But that which I was looking upon was not Manhattan Island. It was the entire North American continent spread out before me as a map is spread upon a table.
It was not the East River and the Hudson River that I saw on either side, but the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. And instead of the Statue of Liberty standing there in the bay on her small island, I saw her standing far out in the Gulf of Mexico. She was between the United States and me. I suddenly realized that the telescope had nothing to do with what I was seeing, but that it was a vision coming directly from God. And to prove this to myself, I took my eyes away from the telescope, so that I was no longer looking through the lens, but the same scene remained spread before me. There, clear and distinct, lay all the North American continent, with all its great cities. …
And as I looked, suddenly from the sky I saw a giant hand reach down. That gigantic hand was reaching out toward the Statue of Liberty. In a moment her gleaming torch was torn from her hand, and in it instead was placed a cup. And I saw protruding from that great cup, a giant sword, shining as if a great light had been turned upon its glistening edge. Never before had I seen such a sharp, glistening, dangerous sword. It seemed to threaten the entire world. As the great cup was placed in the hand of the Statue of Liberty, I heard these words, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, Drink ye and be drunken, spue and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send."
As I heard these words, I recognized them as a quotation from Jeremiah 20:7. I was amazed to hear the Statue of Liberty speak out in reply, "I WILL NOT DRINK!" Then as the voice of the thunder, I heard again the voice of the Lord, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, YE SHALL CERTAINLY DRINK." (Jeremiah 25:28.) Then suddenly the giant hand forced the cup to the lips of the Statue of Liberty, and she became powerless to defend herself. The mighty hand of God forced her to drink every drop from the cup. As she drank the bitter dregs, these were the words that I heard, "Should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of Hosts." (Jeremiah 25:29).
When the cup was withdrawn from the lips of Statue of Liberty, I noticed the sword was missing from the cup, which could mean but one thing. THE CONTENTS OF THE CUP HAD BEEN COMPLETELY CONSUMED! I knew that the sword merely typified war, death, and destruction, which is no doubt on the way. Then as one drunken on too much wine, I saw the Statue of Liberty become unsteady on her feet and begin to stagger, and to lose her balance. I saw her splashing in the Gulf, trying to regain her balance. I saw her stagger again and again, and fall to her knees. As I saw her desperate attempts to regain her balance, and rise to her feet again, my heart was moved as never before with compassion for her struggles.
But as she staggered there in the gulf, once again I heard these words, "Ye shall drink and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword that I shall send among you." As I watched, I wondered if the Statue of Liberty would ever be able to regain her feet - if she would ever stand again. And as I watched, it seemed that with all her power she struggled to rise, and finally staggered to her feet again, and stood there swaying drunkenly. I felt sure that at any moment she would fall again - possibly never to rise. I seemed overwhelmed with a desire to reach out my hand to keep her head above water, for I knew that if she ever fell again she would drown there in the Gulf.
Then as I watched, another amazing thing was taking place. Far to the northwest, just over Alaska, a huge, black cloud was arising. As it rose, it was as black as night. It seemed to be in the shape of a man's head. As it continued to arise, I observed two light spots in the black cloud. It rose further, and a gaping hole appeared. I could see that the black cloud was taking the shape of a skull, for now the huge, white, gaping mouth was plainly visible. Finally the head was complete. Then the shoulders began to appear, and on either side, long, black arms. It seemed that what I saw was the entire North American continent, spread out like a map upon table with this terrible skeleton-formed cloud arising from behind the table. It rose steadily until the form was visible down to the waist.
At the waist, the skeleton seemed to bend toward the United States, stretching forth a hand toward the east and one toward the west - one toward New York and one toward Seattle. As the awful form stretched forward, I could see that its entire attention seemed to focused upon the United States, overlooking Canada - at least for the time being. As I saw the horrible black cloud in the form of a skeleton bending toward America, bending from the waist over, reaching down toward Chicago and out toward both coasts, I knew its one interest was to destroy the multitudes.
As I watched in horror, the great black cloud stopped just above the Great Lake region, and turned its face toward New York City. Then out of the horrible, great, gaping mouth began to appear wisps of white vapor, which looked like smoke, as a cigarette smoker would low puffs of smoke from his mouth. These whitish vapors were being blown toward New York City. The smoke began to spread, until it had covered all the eastern part of the United States.
Then the skeleton turned to the west, and out of the horrible mouth and nostrils came another great puff of white smoke. This time it was blown in the direction of the west coast. In a few moments time, the entire west coast and Los Angeles area was covered with its vapors..
Then toward the center came a third great puff. As I watched, St. Louis and Kansas City were enveloped in its white vapors. Then on it came toward New Orleans. Then on they swept until they reached the Statue of Liberty where she stood staggering drunkenly in the blue waters of the Gulf. As the white vapors began to spread around the head of the Statue, she took in but one gasping breath, and then began to cough as though to rid her lungs of the horrible vapors she had inhaled.
One could readily discern by the painful coughing that those white vapors had seared her lungs. What were these white vapors? Could they signify bacteriological warfare that could destroy multitudes of people in a few moments time? Or could they be the new G-gas, the horrible nerve gas recently made known to the American public? …
Indeed, Val Peterson, Federal Civil Defense Administrator, estimates that … "Nerve gas used by an enemy with maximum efficiency could be deadlier than an atomic bomb." Right now you and your family, all of us, are unprotected against the threat of this terror weapon. … The Army calls it GB; it's an odorless, colorless, tasteless nerve gas designed to destroy people with paralyzing suddenness. We have it; so do the Russians.… G-gas, as nerve gas is sometimes called, is cheap to produce, a small amount can do the job, and it leaves a nation's industrial plants, utilities and buildings intact for an occupying power.…
As I looked with wonder upon the vision God had give me I wondered could it be this horrible G Gas, which was causing the Statue of Liberty to react so violently, as it floated about her head, looking like an innocent cloud?
Then I heard the voice of God, as He spoke: "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof."
"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left." (Isaiah 24:6)
As I watched, the coughing grew worse. It sounded like a person about to cough out his lungs. The Statue of Liberty was moaning and groaning. She was in mortal agony. The pain must have been terrific, as again and again, she tried to clear her lungs of those horrible white vapors. I watched her there in the Gulf, as she staggered, clutching her lungs and her breast with her hands. Then she fell to her knees. In a moment, she gave one final cough, made a last desperate effort to rise from her knees, and then fell face forward into the waters of the gulf, and lay still - still as death. Tears ran down my face as I realized that she was dead! Only the lapping of the waves, splashing over her body, which was partly under the water, and partly out of the water, broke the stillness.…
Suddenly the screaming of sirens shattered the silence. Sirens that seemed to scream "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Never before had I heard such shrill, screaming sirens. They seemed to be everywhere - to the north, the south, the east and the west. There seemed to be multitudes of sirens. And as I looked, I saw people everywhere running. But it seemed none of them ran more than a few paces, and then they fell. And even as I had seen the Statue of Liberty struggling to regain her poise and balance, and finally falling for the last time, to die on her face, I now saw millions of people falling in the streets, on the sidewalks, struggling. I heard their screams for mercy and help. I heard their horrible coughing, as though their lungs had been seared with fire.
I heard the moanings and groanings of the doomed and the dying. As I watched, a few finally readied shelters. But only a few ever got to the shelters, and above the moaning and the groaning of the dying multitudes, I heard these words: "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversary with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain Of The Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not he lamented, neither gathered nor burled; they shall be dung upon the ground." (Jeremiah 25:31-33.)
Then suddenly I saw from the Atlantic and from the Pacific, and out of the Gulf, rocket-like objects that seemed to come up like fish leaping out of the water. High into the air they leaped, each headed in a different direction, but every one toward the United States. On the ground, the sirens screamed louder. And up from the ground I saw similar rockets beginning to ascend.
To me, these appeared to be interceptor rockets although they arose from different points all over the United States. However none of them seemed to be successful in intercepting the rockets that had risen from the ocean on every side. These rockets finally reached their maximum height, slowly turned over, and fell back toward the earth in defeat.
Then suddenly, the rockets, which had leaped out of the oceans like fish all, exploded at once. The explosion was earsplitting. The next thing, which I saw, was a huge ball of fire. The only thing I have ever seen which resembled the thing I saw in my vision was the picture of the explosion of the H-bomb, somewhere in the South Pacific some months ago. In my vision, it was so real I seemed to feel a searing heat from it.
As the vision spread before my eyes, and I viewed the widespread desolation brought about by the terrible explosions, I could not help thinking, "While the defenders of our nation have quibbled over what means of defense to use, and neglected the only true means of defense, faith and dependence upon the true and living God, the thing, which she greatly feared, has come unto her! How true it has proven that ‘Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watcheth but in vain.’"
Then as the noise of battle subsided, to my ears came this quotation from Joel, the second chapter: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at hand. "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong: there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
"A fire devoureth before them: and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in baffle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
"They shall run like mighty men: they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone on in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. "The shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." Joel 2:1-10.
Then the voice was still. The earth, too, was silent, the silence, with the silence of death. And then to my ears came another sound - a sound of distant singing. It was the sweetest music I had ever heard. There was joyful shouting, and sounds of happy laughter. Immediately, I knew it was the rejoicing of the saints of God. I looked, and there high in the heaven, above the smoke and poisonous gases, above the noise of battle, I saw a huge mountain. It seemed to be of solid rock, and I knew at once that this was the Mountain of the Lord. The sounds of music and rejoicing were coming from a cleft, high up in the side of the rock mountain. It was the saints of God who were doing the rejoicing. It was God’s own people who were singing and dancing and shouting with joy, safe from all harm which had come upon the earth, for they were hidden away in the cleft of the rock.
There in the cleft, they were shut in, protected by a great, giant hand which reached out of the heavens, and which was none other than the hand of God, shutting them in, until the storm be over-passed. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption." Galatians 6:7.
No doubt many who are reading this are wondering, "Will America actually be invaded? Will she have to pay for her wickedness and sin, and for turning her back upon God? Will the wrath and fury of God’s judgment fall upon Uncle Sam? Will America be invaded by Russia? Will Russia use the horrible G gas that can kill millions in a few seconds time? Will she resort to biological warfare that could kill literally millions over night? Will Russia resort to the use of hydrogen weapons? Could God allow such a horrible thing to happen to America? In reply to all these questions, permit me to quote a few scriptures, and make a few thought provoking statements.
America has been sowing with a free hand, preparing for a tremendous harvest - but what has she sown? God declares that as sure as America has sown, SHE SHALL REAP!
"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all nations that forget God." Palms 9:17.
"The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him but his power and his wrath is against all that forsake him." Ezra 8:22.
"If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land, but if ye rebel and refuse, ye shall be devoured with the sword." Isaiah 1:19, 20. …
It is my firm conviction, based upon the authority of God's word, that any nation which forgets God to the extent that America has forgotten Him - any nation that rebels and refuses to walk in obedience to God's word as America has refused and rebelled shall be destroyed, and that without remedy." "He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29:1.
In the light of these scriptures, I am convinced that America is on God's list!... Never did a generation of people live in such critical times. Decay has already progressed far. Judgment is on the way. And there is only one hiding place from the wrath of God. That hiding place is in the cleft of the Rock, Christ Jesus, protected by His mighty hand.
My friend, have you found the cleft in the rock? Has the mighty protecting hand of God shut you in? Do you have on the wedding garments? Are you ready for the wonderful coming of Jesus Christ? If the storm should strike tonight, would you be hidden in that cleft in the rock, which is Christ?
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