Month: April 2026

Undertow

Many years ago, when I was 14, I was with my family on vacation in Morehead City, North Carolina. I had ventured out into the ocean and was enjoying myself. But suddenly I was being pulled away from shore. I was caught in a rip current. I was not even aware of this deadly phenomenon. As a boy I was on a swim team and was a strong swimmer. But that was in pools and this was different. And I had no knowledge of how to react when caught in this dangerous situation. I tried swimming straight to shore. A wrong move. I was getting tired and then a bit scared. I was being pulled farther out to sea. I waved and yelled toward shore. No one seemed to notice. Including the life guard. I was losing strength and hope that I’d overcome whatever was pulling me away from safety. Suddenly something pushed me forcibly through whatever forces held me. It wasn’t my time.

I told my parents some of what had transpired and was just told to stay near shore. Looking up, I saw the lifeguard appeared to have seen nothing, even with his vantage point. I’ve realized over the years that there was angelic intervention that pushed me out of what held me. I wish there was such forceful intervention many other times in my life where I’d gotten into difficult situations of my own making. There very well may have been.

I feel this is so similar to where we are spiritually in our country right now. Except we are fighting even against spiritual help. Like we are warned in Hebrews 2, we need to give much more attention to that which is spiritually eroding in our lives and in our country lest we drift away. There is an undercurrent that is so diabolical and deadly that has been allowed into every facet of our lives and our world. And so many seem to willingly embrace it even though it will bring death. Physically and spiritually. This undercurrent is most dangerous as it moves away from shore. Out to sea. Like so many false teachings that appear safe on the surface, but below is a current bringing you to ruin.

These undercurrents of lies and that which is contrary to what Christ teaches us look to 1) Cause compromise. Get you to accept a little that is off all the while waiting to pull you toward spiritual ruin. 2) Give you a sense of false security. Sounds and looks like the Word so it must be safe. But as it says in Proverbs 14:12, its end is death. 3) Accept wrong doctrine. On the surface certain words and mannerisms appear to mimic that which the Word says but it is based on lies and duplicity of the devil to cause you to follow a path of deception. 4) Apathy starts to creep in and what we once felt strongly about no longer has importance in our spiritual walk. 5) Spiritual exhaustion from wrong theology starts to wear you down and you no longer stand and fight against what you know is wrong, nor do you seek to hold onto the truth which is your life-giving force.

Just like the lifeguard, your vantage point for better sight makes no difference when your vision has become compromised. And even your spiritual family may not be looking out for your safety through prayer and warnings. We have cast off the warnings Paul gave the church of Galatia in that we have followed again after false teaching when all that is necessary for life is right before you. Yet you, by your actions and beliefs, desire to go back into bondage. And that pulls you farther out into an ocean of bewitchment of the evil of this world.

Just look at how many ministries are walking contrary to the ways of our Lord. Teaching doctrines of demons. Embracing leaders who are the epitome of those who teach and follow a doctrine of Baal. Casting off the Sermon on the Mount. Not caring for the poor or marginalized. Enriching themselves. Standing in solidarity with those who cover up pedophilia. And agreeing with wars to distract. Many of them are falling. More to come. As Oswald chambers said, “The most pitiable of all these wrecks are those inside the harbor.” They are visible to all if you care to watch and learn from their mistakes. Hold onto the words spoken by the Apostle John. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” Press into Him. Pray without ceasing. Blessings.

Adonijah Spirit

Two weeks ago, I was awakened by the Lord early in the morning. He started showing me a parallel between Adonijah, a son of King David, and the spirit that was in him causing him to cast off God in his quest for power. The next night, the Lord again awakened me and showed me how Adonijah grieved the Holy Spirit and how that is being done by leaders in our country today. All for power and self.

In 1 Kings 1 we see a King David that is old and soon to die. Advanced in years and unable to stay warm. The servants of David searched throughout Israel to find one to look over David and keep him warm. They found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. In her we see a symbolic parallel to the Holy Spirit. She was a caregiver. Quiet and humble. Not looking to draw attention to herself. A caretaker that embodies the goodness of the Spirit of the Lord. This was not an arrangement like that with other Kings who had a caretaker in their last days. David never knew her. (1 Kings 1:4)

After King David died, Adonijah sought the kingship of his father. But it was promised to David’s son, Solomon. So Adonijah sought to work behind the scenes to take the kingship. When he became aware that his brother Solomon had been anointed King by Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest, he sought underhanded means to gain power. He asked for Abishag, the Shunammite woman who was King David’s caretaker, as his wife. This would give him standing and maybe a chance to usurp the throne. His evil plans were thwarted and his life was forfeited. And today we watch as so many use the name of the Holy Spirit to try to attain power and influence. This will not end well.

Today we watch and listen to people who compare Donald Trump to Jesus. We see people like Paula White and Franklin Graham extol the virtues of Trump and are basically saying he walks in the blessings of the Holy Spirit. One like Jesus. We listen to constant profane and deranged messages daily from Trump. We see him attack any religious leader who does not stand with him and his ongoing war of words with the Pope who has called him out for his ungodly ways. And we just recently saw Trump post a picture of himself as Jesus the healer. Only He can heal you. But with the backlash, he’s now saying that was a picture of him as a doctor.  

What we see today in our country, especially with maga Christianity/politics, is that same spirit that operated in Adonijah. No sin is too wicked if it gets what you want. That Adonijah spirit is seen in all who would basically prostitute the Holy Spirit if it could attain power for you. Jesus said in Matthew 12:31-32, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or the age to come.” Yet so many have no fear when they equate the works of the Holy Spirit to men looking to gain power. To men seeking greater riches. To men who care nothing for their fellow man and look for ways to harm the disenfranchised. To steal from. To murder. To cover up the rape of children. To do whatever evil one can to maintain power.

We are at a place where there is scant time left to cast off this wickedness. To call out those who openly display that Adonijah spirit seen in so many today. To walk from it and in no way provide anything that shows support. Even remaining silent in the face of this grieves the Holy Spirit. All unrighteousness is sin, but this spirit that would use His Spirit to gain power will call for a terrible reckoning. Turn from this now. To not turn away is to physically embrace one who has the most virulent form of leprosy.  But still, we should realize it is not as terrible for what awaits one who would use the Holy Spirit like Trump and his minions.

We are of God and He has given us understanding to what is true. Yet we see that the world is under the sway of the wicked one. Recognize this Adonijah spirit that would prostitute the Holy Spirit for power. Turn from it. Keep yourselves from idols. Pray without ceasing. Stand! Blessings.

Folly

I see a fitting parallel by the choice of our country’s allies today opting to sit back and not participate in another Trump international folly to that of King Jehoshaphat in 850 B.C. They have seen a mad king look to garner more power and riches for himself. And they have watched him expect their obeisance when he just said they had never done anything for the United States. This said after many countries had given the lives of their service people to come to our aid after 9/11. Yet Trump expects blind loyalty and in anger threatens to leave NATO over this perceived slight. And our allies now sit and watch the idiocy of madmen unfold.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah made the mistake of aligning with evil King Ahaziah of Israel, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Jehoshaphat had previously been warned by the prophet Jehu to not help the wicked or show love to those who hate the Lord. He didn’t etch those words in his memory. So once again he went along with a request to aid the evil King Ahaziah and send his ships along with Israel on a venture in Tarshish to secure gold. These riches would help secure their economic prosperity and lead to more world power. But God sent a storm and totally destroyed the ships before they could set sail. A great financial loss. And God sent a prophet, Eliezer, to tell Jehoshaphat, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.”

How many countries that have always aligned themselves with America now sit back and weigh each situation because of the lies and treachery of Trump and those he surrounds himself with? They have wisely opted to not take a major role in this war of convenience for Trump. A war to gain personal power. To attempt to frighten those that stand against him. To acquire more wealth. With no care as to the innocents killed or the loss of lives of our service people when we previously had a treaty in place (the JCPOA that Trump withdrew from in 2018) giving us oversight of Iran’s nuclear abilities. The right to send in inspectors. And we supposedly had already “obliterated” all their capabilities 8 months ago. So much for that doing the trick. And now all Americans are paying a price.

We can expect more obfuscating at the highest levels in our government. More outright lies. More timelines changed to fit a fictitious narrative. These nations we call allies are wise to stand back from this evil of Trump. Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” And even in all this evil and death, Trump is looking to gain riches. Proverbs 21:6 warns us, “Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.” And this is folly. A war of Trump’s own choosing. As we are warned in Ephesians 5:11, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” And this is darkness and evil from one in Donald Trump in whom no good thing resides. We must take a stand against all this evil so present in our country right now. We must pray without ceasing. Do not repeat the folly of King Jehoshaphat and align with that which has no place in God. Blessings.

Slain in the Spirit

A most revealing truth regarding the deity of the man Jesus Christ is revealed in John 18. Jesus has just agonized in prayer, sweating great drops of blood, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas comes to betray Jesus with a detachment of Roman troops. Some believe it could have been 500-600 men. Either way, a large group of soldiers. Jesus asks them who they are seeking. They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He answers with words and a phrase indicating who He was and the power and authority He walked in. He said “I Am He.” At that point all the soldiers, and Judas, fell to the ground. They could not stand in even the briefest presence of His authority being revealed.

This is often cited as the origin of the phrase “slain in the spirit.” No one could stand in the revealed presence of the Lord. John, the beloved disciple, the one who laid his head on Jesus’ breast, could not stand before His majesty and authority in Revelations 1:17. When John saw Jesus in all His power and majesty, he said “I fell at his feet as dead.” Yet the Roman soldiers and Judas still arrested Jesus after they got up. It seems incredulous that they could be this addled, but this was allowed.

From this most holy and fearful moment in time, the church used the phrase “slain in the spirit” to explain people falling under the power of the Holy Spirit, especially when the one ministering to people laid hands on them. At times, this phenomenon was quite powerful. People would be laid out for minutes to extended periods of time. They could experience extreme peace, to shaking, to heat, to trembling, to electricity coursing through their body. This was common and became an expected sign at many church meetings. People were delivered from great problems to physical healing. But after a while, some came more for the signs than for the presence of the Lord. Some even fell back to avoid having hands laid on them, and some did it out of expectation that this was what you were supposed to do. I’ve experienced this and know it was real. I’ve seen great signs and wonders during this, but it came to be misused. I’ve witnessed it being misused too often. And now it seems some of that Holy Spirit power that once seemed to be so present, has become infrequent in presence and power. Quite sad. When present, it’s glorious.

I feel what is most important to note is that all those soldiers and Judas were not ripped from their evil appointed task by sheer awareness of the presence of God. “I Am” was right before them. He touched them. Yet they continued on their hell-bent mission. And today we watch as so many who claim to know Jesus follow doctrines of demons. They have no problem with ignoring the poor or hating their neighbor. Of justifying one who sits in our oval office free and protected of crimes of sexual misconduct, lying, stealing, grifting, using the name of the Lord for his own interests, and covering up the crimes of pedophilia. We have His story before us to know the true path, yet so many follow the path of the evil one. And they do so while proudly wearing a cross. While loudly claiming to know Him.

The great “I Am” is coming soon. Many believers will spend Easter acknowledging what Jesus did. But many need to realize they’ve been following a different gospel. A Jesus of their own making. A gospel that will not stand when placed before Him. All will bow before Him. It’s best to do so now. While it is yet today do not harden your hearts or remain on a path that leads you away from His truth. Endeavor to enter His rest. To fall before Him in love and worship. He is worthy. Blessings.