Just Blame Putin

I will no longer listen to those who blame Putin for the war in Ukraine, the gas shortage in America, the rise of inflation, or supply line breakdown. The American people are lazy when it comes to finding the truth. That is both political and religious truth. They will not take the time to seek out the absolute truth on any matter. The power of deceit from the Synagogue of Satan and the behind-the-scenes manipulators of Satan who use the media to attack Putin to promote their globalist agenda has deceived the American public. That's what's happening; the news is being shaped to advance the interests of Satan's minions.

We are in the final stages of the battle for the soul of mankind, and many American Christians cannot see Satan deceiving them. Their eyes have been blinded for so long that they have no motivation to seek the truth. The issues of Ukraine and Putin are just another area they have closed their eyes to reality.

After all, what do the American people know about Putin? Have they ever listened to his speeches or read his statements following meetings with other world leaders? Have they ever tuned in to his marathon 4-hour "ask-anything" Q&A sessions? Have they ever read transcripts of his interviews where he speaks candidly on critical policy issues, culture, or religion?

No, of course not. Everything Americans know about Putin they read in the media or hear from some talking head on TV. And that's the problem because the media despises Putin. And they hate him for the same reason they dislike anyone who disagrees with them because the media's wealthy owners see him as a threat to their political agenda. That's the whole deal in a nutshell. Putin is not hated because he is a "KGB thug" or a "new Hitler"; that's just public relations gibberish. He's hated because he is an obstacle to the globalists achieving their geopolitical objectives. That's the motive that drives this smear campaign. Putin has blocked them in Chechnya, South Ossetia, Syria, and Ukraine. He has derailed their grand plan to "pivot to Asia" and to encircle China with US military bases. He has been a thorn in their side for two decades, throwing a wrench in their loony plan to crush emerging centers of power and rule the world. That's why they hate him and use their media to make you hate him, too.

Putin is not hesitant to speak of living in a world based on biblical values. The Russian state actively encourages traditional marriage and childbearing. Same-sex marriage is not recognized. He has no problem with LGBTQ persons,  but some things done in the West appear excessive. Russians want these people to be happy, but this must not overshadow cultural traditions and family values.

Here is a headline that should grab your attention: Ukraine is a physical, visible battlefield in a spiritual struggle between a debauched, apostate West led by the United States and a traditionalist Christian Russia. Who in their wildest dream would put Russia as a Christian country?

The Russian Orthodox Church has its roots in Kyiv, where Prince Vladimir converted Russia to Christianity in 988, an event viewed as a cornerstone of Russian and Ukrainian identity. President Putin was in Kyiv for the 1025th anniversary of the Christianization of the Russian people: On that occasion, he said:

"Spiritual unity is so strong that it is immune to any acts of authorities, either of a state or, I dare say, even of the Church. No matter what power the state may have over people, there is nothing stronger that the power of our Lord,"

The media in America would lose their mind if Biden made a statement like that. I believe even the Democrats would call for his impeachment.

Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and Russia are shocked at how America has become the New Evil Empire. By promoting abortion and privileges for perverts with their aggressive pro-homosexual agenda, bullying African governments to legalize abortion and homosexuality, and sending generous aid to radical Middle Eastern governments which severely persecute the Christian Church. The Christians in both countries cannot understand how Christians in America have allowed the government to remove everything related to Christ from public view, just as the Communists did during the Soviet enslavement of Russia.

Have we not learned from history that our country's direction is what happened in Russia in 1917? Socialism is, in Marxist theory, the final transitionary step to communism. What has communism given the world since 1917? Only several 100 million deaths.

Putin has pulled away from communist Russia to support a Christian Russian, while American leadership has embraced the teachings of Lenin. And what did Lenin say about religion? "Religion is opium for the people," wrote Lenin in December 1905, echoing his hero, Karl Marx. "Religion is a sort of spiritual booze." That was a mild assessment from a man who wrote that "there is nothing more abominable than religion," and "all worship of a divinity is a necrophilia." Yes, necrophilia.

Sticking to this 1905 statement, Lenin saw socialism as incompatible with religious belief: "Everyone must be absolutely free to… be an atheist, which every socialist is, as a rule." He declared: "Complete separation of Church and State is what the socialist proletariat demands of the modern state and the modern church." Like a 21st-century secular progressive in America, Lenin insisted that "religion must be declared a private affair." This has become the mantra in American politics "religion is a private affair."

Of course, once Lenin and his Bolsheviks took over a decade later, they refused to tolerate religion even as a private affair. Even in that 1905 letter, Lenin conceded as much: "We demand that religion be held a private affair so far as the state is concerned. But by no means can we consider religion a private affair so far as our Party is concerned." In his Soviet state, the Party was the supreme, infallible authority, and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union would relentlessly pursue what Mikhail Gorbachev called "a wholesale war on religion."

Lenin continued, "to combat the religious fog… we founded our association, the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party, precisely for such a struggle against every religious bamboozling of the workers." Lenin wanted a political system "cleansed of medieval mildew." He tried to halt "the religious humbugging of mankind."

In September 2013, Putin took part in the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. On this occasion, the President mentioned the spiritual conflict between East and West:

"We can see how many of the Euro-Atlantic countries are actually rejecting their roots, including the Christian values that constitute the basis of Western civilization. They are denying moral principles and all traditional identities: national, cultural, religious and even sexual. They are implementing policies that equate large families with same-sex partnerships, and belief in God with the belief in Satan."

Putin continuously makes it clear that he envisions Russia as a Christian country. When was the last time an American President declared America a Christian nation? When will the American people, especially Christians, stop believing the MSM and research the truth?

Men Are No Longer Warriors

 Over the fifty-some years in the ministry, I have watched the Church slowly lose its male population. The number of women in most churches outnumbers the number of men seven to one. The leadership of the Church has changed from all-male leadership to a majority of female leaders. In the past 30 years, Christianity in the American Church has become fully feminized. Christians have forgotten the Bible is a book of warfare. We have reduced it to a book of love, peace, and tolerance.

Why have the men left the Church? Some men feel the Church is no longer challenging. Men are active, not passive.

The Bible is the book to teach us about spiritual warfare, not tolerance for sin. It is a book to challenge the warrior to stand loyal in the fight for the cause of Jess Christ. Men are no longer coming to Church because there is no challenge. A religion that challenges is active, not passive. A church that requires you to adapt to its teachings rather than adapting to you is challenging. The longer you are involved, the more you realize the demands are great. Where is the challenge to be a warrior brave and true?

Young men once grew up being challenged daily. I bet I can throw this ball farther than you can. You can't run as fast as I can. I can lift more weight than you. You get the picture. We then bring these boys into the Church and discourage them from wanting to do the impossible. The Church is about sitting quietly, singing songs written for women's voices, and listening to a sermon on love, peace, and tolerance. Is it any wonder that men do not want to go to Church? 

Warriors are a people of discipline. The Bible is a book of self-mastery through discipline. Study to show thyself approved. The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. 

Hebrews 12:

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their Fathers?

8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate and true sons and daughters.

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live?

10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness.

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled but rather healed.

"In the Bible, the theme of spiritual warfare is ubiquitous; saints, including female saints, are warriors. Warfare requires courage, fortitude, and heroism. We are called to be 'strugglers' against sin, to be 'athletes' as St. Paul says. And the prize is given to the victor.

As a teacher, I was taught to make the lesson rigorous and challenging—the same with being a Christian. Being a Christian is rigorous. It is complex; it involves cross-bearing and walking a difficult narrow path. It is about overcoming oneself. It is strict, and in that rigor, men find liberation.

Being a Christian is serious. It isn't easy. It is demanding. It is about mercy, but it's also about overcoming oneself. You will be challenged profoundly, not to 'feel good about yourself but to become holy. It is rigorous, and in that rigor is liberation.

I, along with other men, want life to be simple and clear about what I am supposed to do. Most men will feel comfortable when they know what is expected of them. God presents a reasonable set of boundaries. We are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service. It's easier for guys to express themselves in worship if there are guidelines about how it's supposed to work—especially when those guidelines are so simple and down-to-earth that you can just set out and start doing something.

I wrote a morning prayer each day for two years and posted it on social media, not expecting it to appeal to very many. Some felt their day had a bad start if I was late in posting a prayer. I came to realize that many found it challenging to pray each day. Some religions provide morning prayers, evening prayers, prayer before and after meals, and so on--this gives men a way to engage in spirituality without feeling put on the spot or worrying about looking stupid because they don't know what to say.

 Several men have told me they never want me to call on them to pray because they don't know what to say. What is wrong about reading a prayer that speaks to our spiritual life? Why do we expect prayers to always be spontanious? The disciples were rugged men who asked Jesus how to pray. The prayer the LORD taught them to pray is repeated in many churches yet today. Churches do not teach men how to pray nor give them examples what to say in their prayer.

Men appreciate a challenge that has a goal: union with God. The problem is they need to be challenged to do something. Men want to be doing something, not just talking about it. The Church has been reduced to a place where we talk about the theory of being a Christian without the physical act of being a Christian. Here is what men need a challenge, a goal, perhaps an adventure — in primitive terms, a hunt. Christianity has lost the ascetic, that is, the athletic aspect of the Christian life. Men are activity oriented. Run the race before you. Fight the fight of faith.Endure the hardships as a good solider.

The language of the Church has adopted a more feminized vocabulary. This has resulted in men shying away from Church. 

What appeals to women does not appeal to men. Is it any wonder that men believe the Church is for women and children? Women have turned the studying of the Bible into  "a love story written for women by women." "American Christianity in the last two hundred years has been feminized. It presents Jesus as a friend, a lover, someone who 'walks with me and talks with me.' This is fine rapturous imagery for women who need a social life. Or it depicts Jesus as an emfeminate weak man. Neither is the type of Christ the typical male wants much to do with." They are looking for the warrior King.

I have never been a fan of holding hands while we pray—this appeals to women but not men. Men feel uncomfortable holding hands with another man. Most men I know are not the "touchy/feely type of person. They are not looking for emotional attachments, they are looking for a manly church.

One man said he looks at the curtains when entering a church. That tells him who decides how the Church is run and the type of Christians they want to attract.

Men either want to be challenged to fight for a glorious and honorable cause and get filthy dirty or loaf in their recliners with plenty of beer, pizza, and football.

 I have found that many evangelical churches base their salvation on emotional experience. Feelings. Tears. Repeated rededication of one's life to Christ in large emotional group settings. Singing emotional invitation songs, swaying hands aloft, and even Scripture reading was supposed to produce an emotional experience. The entire worship service was conducted to generate an emotional reaction. The whole religious experience is about emotional feel-good salvation.

"Men get pretty cynical when they sense someone's attempting to manipulate their emotions, especially in the name of religion. They appreciate authentic worship. It's not aimed at prompting religious feelings but at performing an objective duty.

Evangelical churches call men passive and nice (think 'Mr. Rogers'). Churches should call men to be courageous and act (think 'Braveheart').

What draws men to the Church is not simply that it's challenging or mysterious. What draws them is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the center of everything the Church does or says.

Christ is a militant. Jesus takes Hell captive. Jesus came to cast fire on the earth. (Men can relate to this.) In the one true Baptism of the Spirit, we pray for the newly-enlisted warriors of Christ, male and female, that they may 'be kept ever warriors invincible, filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

There are only two models for men: be 'manly' and strong, rude, crude, macho, and probably abusive, or be sensitive, kind, repressed, and wimpy. But in following Christ, there is  'neither male nor female,' but Christ who 'unites things in heaven and things on earth. There is only one type of Christian those who the blood of Jesus Christ has redeemed and have taken up the cross and followed Him.

Like it or not, men prefer to be led by men. In an authentic Early Church setting, lay women do everything lay men do, including preach, teach, and chair ministry duties. But what men like is to be led by men.

Regardless of the appeal of a church to men, a dangerous life is not the goal. Christ is the goal. A free spirit is not the goal. Christ is the goal. He is the towering figure of history around whom all men and women will eventually gather, to whom every knee will bow, and whom every tongue will confess. It is time for men who call themselves Christian to start acting like a warrior in the kingdom of God and step on the battlefield and join in the fight against the enemy of our souls.

Loss of Respect

 Over the years, I have observed a disturbing trend that has created a generation of disrespectful youth-the lack of spiritual guidance.

Parents no longer teach respect to their children. There was a time in our nation when an essential moral basis of the family was the respectful attitude of children toward their parents. From a young age, children were taught respect for their elders. As a child, I learned very quickly not to interrupt adults when they were talking, never walk between adults, children were to be seen and not heard, and never back-talk to your elders. There was a time long ago when children were respectful to their elders, even fearful. Those days are long gone and are now only stories told by grandparents when they were a kid and children were obedient and respectful.

.A respectful attitude towards parents and the older generation, in general, was expected of all children. There was a time when society condemned those who allowed themselves a disrespectful attitude toward their elders. This was based on the religious teaching of one's parents to honor your father and mother as a commandment from God.

The lack of religious instruction in the family has created a generation that does not know God or show respect for their parents and the elderly. The decline in teaching respect and honor started with the Baby Boomer generation. The decline in punishment for disrespect resulted in an era of undisciplined children who lacked the fear of physical accountability for their actions. Rather than using the rod of correction, the parent chose to spare the rod and spoil the child." Punishment was  "time out" or "being grounded." 

Proverbs 13:24 KJV

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Proverbs 23:13 KJV. 

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Proverbs 19:18 KJV

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

I am sure some heard these words from their parents just before the correct rod was applied, "This hurts me more than it will hurt you." It was several years before I understood what my parents meant. Physical punishment of a child is torturous for the parent. I remember my mother crying while she was whipping me, and I did not understand why she was crying; I was hurt.

As a child growing up, I was often reminded of the passage of scripture in Deuteronomy 21:18-21

"If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

I was told that I should be thankful I was not living in the Old Testament times. I learned later that even in the New Testament, you could be put to death "For God commanded: esteem father and mother; and: he who reviles father or mother shall die by death" (Matthew 15:4) 

I am well aware that so me will find the physical punishment of a child the reason for the cycle of violence. There is a significant difference between punishment and abuse. Looking back on my life, I did believe my parents abused me, and I knew they loved me despite my need for correction.

Just a thought, maybe if there were more use of the rod and less sparing of the rod, there would be less violence and more respect among our youth today.

Standing All Alone

 For the last three years, I have warned about the coming food crisis, the failure of the supply chain, the collapse of our economic system, the increase in the death rate, and the war on Christian beliefs. It has been like talking to a post. I have come to realize there is nothing more I can do to warn of the Evil we are facing. I have tried to convince people, especially those who call themselves Christian, that Evil is here now. I have reconciled myself to the cold hard fact that Satan has blinded the eyes of so many. It is difficult to understand why Christians cannot see the evil parading in front of them. Are people so blind that they cannot see what is happening daily, or do they refuse to see?

Satan has so distracted people that they fail to see the late hour we are facing. The end is near, and we are living like the days of Noah. People continue eating, drinking, and being merry as if they do not see the darkness of Evil spreading across the world.

I even said I would not dwell on the judgment of the LORD that comes on this nation because no one was listening. I am resolved to stand alone and dwell on the things that matter. What matters is eternity and how I loved and cared for my family. It will not matter what I own or do not own, my educational status, or any status symbol. None of this is going to matter. What matters is, have I listened to the voice of God? Have I done all he asked me to do? Have I been faithful to the commission the LORD has given to me? My actions towards the commandments, precepts, testimonies and the law of God are all that matters. There is no "virtue signaling" involved. There is no one to impress. Others' opinions do not matter. I will stand alone and face the ridicule of those who believe I am overreacting.

When I read about parents taking their children to "drag queen hour," I feel disgusted. 

Having spent 38 years in education, I know how teachers indoctrinate their students into immoral ideologies. I find it hard to accept that Christians have their children in government schools. When is it right to expose your child to gender identity issues taught in government schools? Is it any wonder our youth are confused about how God created them? I asked myself why have all Christian parents not taken their children out of public government schools. When is it right to expose your child to drugs, immoral sex acts, violence, and antichrist doctrines? Is it any wonder we have a generation that does not know God? Public government education has changed since you, as a parent, went to school. The idea that Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic are the core subject is no longer the case. Discipline is out of hand; drugs, sex, and violence are in every public government school and are on the rise. Children are bullied to the point that some commit suicide. Is this what you are willing to expose your child to every day in school?

When the medical system mutilates young children in the name of an ideology that children are born "gender fluid" and can one day decide which body parts they want to keep and which they want surgically removed or altered, I see the hand of Satan. What kind of people do these things? What sickness has taken over their hearts, minds, and hands that do the work? If you cannot see Satan's work being done by these evil people, you are blind and spiritually dead. 

Regardless of your politics, our government is rushing toward World War III by provoking Russia and China. I can only shake my head at the stupidity of our elected officials and those who vote them into office.

Governments have done incredibly cruel and demonic things to others throughout our existence. We are again facing demoinic persecution, and tribulation like the world has never seen, and you need to prepare your soul for the coming trials and tests. Judgment is here now!