Marathoner

See as how this is an eschatological subject, I would think it belongs in the appropriate subforum. This is not a subject of "general interest" to most.

Even when I didn't know the Lord, I never understood why some fell prey to jingoistic propaganda. It was always terribly transparent and even garish to my sensibilities, but perhaps that was partially due to my upbringing. I was born on a military installation --- ironically, home of the same military school I would attend after I enlisted --- and grew up on military bases overseas. Perhaps it was because I witnessed aspects of the military that others did not, though on the surface that doesn't speak of the evil which occurred beneath flying flags, wearing uniforms and festooned with medals. What command let certain men get away with was the face of evil itself. I surely didn't join the U.S. Army to "serve my country." I owed that country nothing at all. Rather, the Gulf War was brewing... I knew that some stateside units were preparing for deployment to the Persian Gulf... it was my chance to escape the horror of the house I was born into... and it was an opportunity to potentially check out of this sick and twisted world. I had a combat MOS and I had heard rumors that soldiers arriving in Europe from the states were being diverted to Tent City at the Frankfurt airport. Tent City was the staging point for deployment to the Gulf. That was where you exchanged your woodland camo gear for the newly issued desert BDUs. 117 soldiers on that flight into Frankfurt (I was one), and what happened? 116 were sent to Tent City except for one. I was the only soldier on that flight assigned to West Germany. I volunteered to go to Kuwait but because my commanding officer designated me as indispensable to the operation of the company, I was stuck in Germany. I couldn't leave that unit until the Gulf War was over. I was denied my opportunity to check out. I didn't know it back then, but that was according to the will and purpose of the Lord. Indeed, for He called me after I was finished with the military.

I'm in agreement with @D. Adrien. I didn't know the Lord when I enlisted in the U.S. Army. There's surely no shame to be had but I must say that, knowing the Lord as I do now, I would certainly not do such a thing. I would gladly be incarcerated than join myself to such a thing. Medics are armed, my friend. The only individual in the U.S. armed forces who is exempt from carrying arms by regulation is the military chaplain; however, chaplains are assisted by aides and those soldiers are the ones who bear arms.

It's worth sharing how I learned to "speak in turn." How? I lost the ability to speak and had to learn how to do it all over again. That was the first step along the way to be sure. The second step ---and arguably the most important lesson that the Lord delivered to me in this regard after He taught me how to speak again --- was remaining silent while my adopted mother did her very best to drive me away. How I did I know when I should say nothing? The Spirit commanded me to say nothing. He made it all too easy to do the "right thing" at the right time, for this is precisely what He promises to do for us all. When the Lord told me that I was to honor her as if she was my mother, this included bearing whatever she threw my way in silence. Did I ever want to pack my duffel bag and take off? Yes indeed, and on more than one occasion. The Lord intervened, saying that I was going nowhere. I didn't realize that I was facing dementia until the Spirit said as much one day when I cried out to Him to reveal why saying nothing --- and ignoring her bizarre demands that I leave --- pleased Him. She was suffering from dementia and I was the one whom He chose to be a son until her time was finished. The one who waits upon the Lord speaks in turn, my friends. There are times when we say nothing at all.

The cause. There are many causes which lead to illness, my friend. None of them are voluntary on our part by any means. Most are organic in origin. The answer is complex, but to sum it up briefly and concisely as I possibly can, only if we are allergic to the constituent ingredient(s) in food. For example, a very long time ago, my adopted mother was a school teacher who worked in Special Education. She was very talented and worked for the state education department, traveling from school to school assessing children in order to determine what would serve their needs. My adopted mother was unusual because she conducted home studies as part of her assessments... but then, this was why she was so effective and in demand. There was a little boy in the 2nd grade who wouldn't speak. He was prone to violent outbursts; after a comprehensive assessment, my adopted mother suspected that this little boy had an allergy to sodium nitrate. He was acting out on account of the symptoms he suffered from eating the hot dogs he was being fed at home. Deciding to act upon my adopted mother's advice, his parents stopped feeding this little boy anything containing sodium nitrate. After one day, the little fellow started talking and behaving himself both in class and at home. That's pretty rare, though. Allergies would be the culprit where physiological and psychological health is concerned.

Prayer is always appreciated, dear sister. Yes, I am beginning what the Lord has in store for me to walk in next. That's what it's all about for us in this world: to carry out those works which the Lord equips us to walk in. We are created for these works in Christ after all!

In my estimation, hypocrisy is but a symptom of the rot which has infested the nations of man for as long as nations of men have existed upon this earth. It has always been this way, and both history and scripture attest to this truth. Much like my analysis of Mr. Trump, my analysis of President Biden is no different (he's a despicable fellow). To couch it in the simplest terms possible, politics is a scheme perpetrated by confidence artists and grifters. That's the name of a disgusting game which has not changed in substance for thousands of years. Here is a sentence from a paper I wrote for my political science coursework in college: The glorious revolution deposed the tyrant so that a despot might sit upon the throne; the light of a civilization's brilliance is only the glow cast by the fires of ruin. Like the flowers of the field, the nations of man rise up and then crumble to dust, replaced by another empire which rises under the same sun in a cycle that continues to this day. It's exceedingly naive to put our faith and trust in man when the Light of Truth Himself claims us as His own. His kingdom is not of this world.

After television held that title for a while, the Universal Product Code became the next tool of the devil. I remember it well. Before the UPC and television, it was radio. Radio was the tool of the devil. Before radio, it was public education. Before public education, playing cards were the tool of the evil one. Cards shared the spotlight with dancing, of course.

I don't take issue with your presentation nor your heart, brother. Here's the issue at hand: This isn't the first time that narrative has been broadcasted to the public. Portions of it (or even the entire ball of wax) have been dramatized in books and movies at times when the end seemed to be upon us all, not to mention radio broadcasts and the like. When that narrative outline did not come to pass, great scorn was heaped upon the proponents of false prognostication by the lost... and rightfully so. Indeed, waves of false prophets preaching this peculiar style of interpretation have come and then vanished from the scene, but it appears that many who were inclined to believe their error never learned from the experience. They were poised to eagerly trumpet the next "Hal Lindsey" to come along, once again earning the scorn of the lost and providing militant atheists with greater stores of ammunition with which to blaspheme the name of the Lord. "Preaching prophecy" avails us nothing, my friend. Consider the recently referenced examples of New Testament sermons to witness what we ought to preach: Christ, and Him crucified. Appealing to fear and terror --- or seeking to whip both up in your audience --- has been the time-honored stock and trade of charlatans over the past 200 years or so. That's what they do best. If one's example and those words which the Lord promises to furnish us when the hour of our testimony arrives are somehow insufficient, then what does that say? It says that our hands are required to steady the ark.

It's simple, really. There are organizations that collectively call themselves "church" but are not His Body. However, members of His Body may be found in such places just as some of us were found in this world in diverse locations. Many of us never darkened the door of a church, myself included. Such is the power and purpose of the Lord. That, my friends, is conspicuously absent in those places which are devoid of His Life.

Disparaging one's neighbor profits nothing. The grumbler is not justified by any means; never forget that the measure by which you judge others shall be returned to you by the Son of God. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 NASB)

A long time ago, the Lord counseled me to never seek a position of lordship over others which is to say, usurp the judgment seat. It is sufficient that the ways of others are not my own, but great care ought to be taken in how I treat my neighbor no matter who they are. Our example --- not our critique! --- is all that matters. When we are known for our condemnation of others then we are appropriately defined by what we hate... and hatred is not what the Lord said we would be known by. Moaning and groaning about this world and the lost is the same error. What profit is there to be had in that? None at all. The perishing and the lost need to see Jesus Christ displayed in us. Every spirit who declares that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God (1 John 4:2). I prefer the instruction of the Lord's apostle.

Two years ago, the Lord declared that I would work as a peer support counselor. I couldn't fathom it, but He said that when the time came, I would know. What happened? A colleague where I work left one day and never returned. He abandoned his job as our peer support counselor, and I remembered the words of the Lord regarding this. I submitted a resume for the vacant position and then immediately regretted doing it. "I hope they don't call upon me, Lord," I said to Him. "They won't select me. I'm needed right where I am." They did indeed call upon me, and I was offered the position. Whatever the Lord declares comes to pass.

When the Lord opens up a vision --- the Almighty unfurls time and space like a scroll --- He explains what I need to know while the vision unfolds. Prophecy as forth telling is given when the Lord declares what I shall say as I observe myself in a vision. The vision itself is of an event that shall come to pass according to the timeframe He specifies; it always happens exactly at the time He declares it will, and the events are true to the vision. The truth often runs afoul of beliefs held by some so when I share that the Lord has related to me in such a way from the days of my youth, I don't share that lightly. I was a teenager when I experienced a dream that turned out to be a vision of an event 30 years into the future. What did I see? I saw myself in a strange house with drapes drawn to keep the sunlight out. I stood up and walked toward a mirror mounted on a closet door; when I arrived at that mirror, I saw a strange older man gazing back at me. He looked like skin and bones... his eyes were so tired in hollow sockets... and his hair was wispy. He opened his mouth and several teeth fell into his palm. I looked down into my palm and saw those rotted teeth in my own palm. I was the man in that mirror. 30 years later, I had to hide from the strong sunlight because it made me feel faint. I avoided looking at myself in mirrors because I was crushed by what was happening to me. The events of that dream started to unfold... I stood and walked up to the mirror on the closet door in the hallway of my adopted mother's house, opened my mouth, and several teeth in my mouth fell out into the palm of my hand. I remembered the dream and wept in despair. I was indeed that man.

That is indeed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Anything else is a different gospel.