If We Only Had A Brain – By Thomas J. Koester

If you were an alien arriving to earth from a far faraway galaxy, what would you report back to planet Vagus, located deep within the Andromeda Galaxy?

Would you report that intelligent life exists? Would you find anything of value to justify your 2.5 million light year journey?

The truth is that after careful study of earthlings, you might conclude that earth’s prime species is in a quick and steady course of de-evolution. The prime species had long ago reached its pinnacle and is quickly reverting into primitivism and tribalism. You may even report back that the earthling’s three-pound central organ had lost its use like their appendix. No faculty of learning. No intelligence, and absolutely no commonsense!

I think your data would prove there’s no reason to be introduced to earth’s brain dead leaders, especially if you were planning on invading North America!

I love the story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Frank L. Baum in 1900. I love the characters he developed; the homeless Dorothy, the heartless Tin Man, the cowardly Lion, and the brainless Scarecrow. It almost seems as though Mr. Baum was writing prophetically, a fitting allegory of 21 Century North America!

But today, due to our current sexual and culture war, I’m going to focus on the Scarecrow and his quest for a brain.

If the average American could have the same drive and quest that Mr. Scarecrow had, maybe we wouldn’t be a nation in decline and a de-evolved species. “If I only had a brain,” would become America’s quest and desire, maybe then, she could survive the 21 century.

Brain inactivity is rampant. Not only society in general, but in our institutions, such as grammar schools, universities, colleges, governments, corporations, and yes, even in many religious organizations. The evidence is indisputable and is absolutely inexcusable!

Who’s to blame?

All of us! Left, Right, Atheist, Saint, Pastor, Priest, Parishioner, and Patriot, we all are culpable and guilty for America’s decline. You and I are responsible for the current cultural absurdities. Our passivity is killing America, just as it has destroyed many kingdoms, nations, and civilizations.

“Bullies may be the perpetrators of evil, but it is the evil of passivity of all those who know what is happening and never intervene that perpetuates such abuse.” -Philip Zimbardo

“Passivity is fatal to us. Our goal is to make the enemy passive.” – Mao Zedong

So, there it is in plain view! We’re all guilty of passivity. And, yes, we were lulled into passivity by an evil enchantment cast upon us by an unseen enemy.

Don’t you recognize what’s been going on? Have you so easily forgotten our original story? Don’t you remember Evil’s entrance into paradise? Its enticement to cause earth’s first parents to doubt God?

“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” – Genesis 3:1, 4-5

Where was Adam when the serpent was deceiving Eve?

He was standing right there, next to her!

“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:6 [Emphasis mine]

You see, Adam was actually the first of the brainless scarecrows. His brainless passivity ruined it for all mankind. (Whoops, I meant “people-kind” how insensitive of me!) Adam concluded that God had been holding out on him. It is that thought that gave rise to Adam feeling offended by his Creator.

Mao Zedong’s quote above, about passivity, is as deadly today as it played out during his dark evil reign over the Chinese people. “His rule was from the 1^st of October 1949 – 27 September 1954. Mao’s government was responsible for vast numbers of deaths, with estimates ranging from 40 to 80 million victims due to starvation, persecution, prison labour, and mass executions, which drew criticism for being considered totalitarian rule.” Source, Wikipedia.

All offenses find their origin in the unfortunate story of doubting God’s goodness and His generosity. And so, Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, becomes offended by Abel, and so kills his brother. This stupidity of offense has spread throughout our planet more rapidly and deadlier than a virus.

Is it possible that our fate will be that of China’s?

No one can accuse the Chinese people of being ignorant or unintelligent. To the contrary. However, they were conquered by the Marxist and Communist. Their enemies were passivity and brainless tolerance. Their captors brilliantly used these psychological tools to lull the Chinese nation into slavery and death.

It is happening here, now, in America!

We have become a nation of cultural pacifists and controlled, whether you admit or not, by a brainless tolerance, allowing the moral and political destruction of the greatest nation in modern history!

So, the moral of the story – Go get your brains back! Before it becomes too late!

Or…

…Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, cause [America] is going, bye-bye!”

Don’t be a Mr. or Mrs. Scarecrow!

The Vacuum of The Prayerless Church – By Thomas Koester

The prayerless Church creates a vacuous people, void of conscience and the heart of God.

It wasn’t that prayer was taken out of our public school systems, which harmed the Nation. Rather it was prayer removed from many Churches; from our homes, and businesses that pushed our country into the depths of paganistic hedonism.

A few minutes of silent corporate prayer is no substitute for a church on its knees. Prayer must once again become the culture of the church rather than a brief moment of liturgy.

While the Supreme Court decided favorably for Madalyn Murray O’Hair’s 1963 lawsuit against the Baltimore School System that public school prayer was “unconstitutional,” the opportunity and vacuum for which this lawsuit was created were missed by the Church and Christian families.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as front-lets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates.” Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

“My son, obey your father’s commands and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to live.” Proverbs 6:21

We cannot blame a secular government for the failings of the Church and the lack of responsibility of “God-honoring” parents.

Yet the cure is not to politic or legislate but to dedicate and dictate God’s Word beginning from our homes and into our Churches, and out into the public square. To reinstate prayer, true repentant prayer, into our Churches, from our Temples, and our closets to family rooms and boardrooms.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

I don’t see any mention of school prayer here!

To blame our Nation’s moral tragedy on our children not praying?

This can only be because Churches and homes have lost their moral courage to do what is clear and accurate; humility, prayer, seeking God’s face, and repenting and turning from our wicked ways. Don’t blame the children or the ungodly and the unrighteous for our failure as a People of God. Just get it right and do the things which God has commanded and Christ has taught.

The prayerless Church creates a vacuous people, void of conscience and the heart of God.

Cry out to God so that prayer everywhere will be heard once again.

The Prodigal Father – Turning Your Heart Towards Your Children – By Thomas Koester

Don’t wait for your kids to find your heart, be brave and pursue theirs. It’ll change everything!

Before a nation collapses, the family collapses. Before a family collapses, the father collapses. Therefore, the fall of nations is the failure of fathers.

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Toni and I finally went to a movie theater in Angels Camp, California, to watch the sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water.” We watched it in 3D at 48 frames per second. Wow!

The movie’s subtitle should have read, “The Way of Fathers.”

While the cinematography, special effects, action, and acting were all superb, the portrayal of the father’s role was unmistakable and powerful! Matter of fact so was the mother’s role. The importance of parents and family is something we rarely see in movies produced in Holywood.

While James Cameron wrote a fantastic story and script, the importance of fathers taking responsibility for their children was something to behold. Just like in the world of Avatar, our world needs strong, uncompromising fathers to survive!

I see the role and importance of fathers in the Bible, from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of the Book of Revelations. From the last book of the Old Testament, the final chapter, and the last two verses, and to the opening of the New Testament, in the Book of Luke, chapter one, verses fifteen through seventeen.

Malachi 4: 5-6 (Last Old Testament Book)

“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Luke 1: 15-17 (One of the First New Testament Books)

15, ff “…And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord God. 17, And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelievers to the wisdom of the just men: to make the people ready for the Lord.”

John the Baptist was the second Elijah spoken about in the Book of Malachi. It was his job to stir the hearts of fathers to their sons and daughters. Otherwise, the mission of Jesus to reconcile the lost sons and daughters of Israel to his Heavenly Father would have met hardened hearts.

Our roles as fathers are not only the most significant societal and cultural role; it is the single most important relational/spiritual role our children can have here on earth. Malachi is pointing out that a father’s estrangement (absence) from his children has the potential of cursing our land and creating avenues of destruction throughout our cities and towns. Estranged and absent fathers make ungodly and rebellious children. It also hardens the children’s hearts against the love of God, his Heavenly Father’s role, and ultimately His plan of salvation for them.

Do you fathers understand your role and responsibility in God’s plan of salvation for your children? You will be held to account. Do you want to stand before God as a deadbeat dad?

There can be no more significant failure in a man’s life than to turn his back on his marriage and children.

The career is not worth it. An affair is not worth it. Money is not worth it. One more drink is not worth it. Your girlfriend is not worth it. Even your “ministry” is not worth the sacrifice of your children.

Suppose you’re on the fence about your marriage and your responsibility for your children. Suppose you’ve walked out of your marriage and your kids’ lives. Suppose you’re in an affair or about to enter one. Even the promotion in work or ministry could take you away from your wife and kids. Consider the impact on their lives and future and our culture before you walk off the cliff of selfishness. It is not worth it, men!

Go back home to the wife of your first love. Go back home to the family you’ve left behind. Go back home to the most extraordinary life a man can live. Rescue your wife, save your children and save your legacy!

Reconciliation becomes possible when fathers turn their hearts back towards their children, taking responsibility and becoming accountable for them. To reverse the curse, which is undeniably present in our culture, we fathers must turn back to God and walk in His ways so that we can again point our children to a greater Father to embrace, love, and walk with throughout their lifetime.

The success of marriage and unconditional commitment to our wives and children must exceed the failure rate of broken families and absent fathers. If this tide cannot be turned, then as Malachi has prophetically declared, our land will indeed become cursed and worsen rapidly.

Repair the breach, men! Turn your hearts back towards your sons and daughters. Repair your marriages and live up to your commitments. Turn your hearts back to God and walk with Him as your True Father and listen to His advice and wise counsel. After all, He is the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, and Prince of Peace. God is everything we need as men to become the fathers our sons and daughters need and our land requires.

To those sons and daughters that have lost their fathers due to death, you can still turn your hearts back towards him. Forgiveness is your most significant path to a new life, to a new future, and to become healed from your heartache.

This is the only path to a cure; to reverse the curse and restore our great Nation through restored families! Get it done, men!

…It may only take “20 seconds of courage.”

Make this your New Year’s Resolution, a Revolution For the Love of your children.

Prodigal fathers, come home!

“Just Do It!”

Put Your Faith In God and Not Politics – By Thomas Koester

A 2023 Forecast…

Judgment is approaching, and it’s just around the corner. But it’s not for the world. No, its time has been reserved for a day yet coming. This impending judgment is not for the lost but for the so-called righteous who condemn and toss out people of poverty, of thirst, with no coat nor cot…

… They failed to see the less fed and less dressed as Jesus in their midst.

So, our homes and our houses are spitting us out. Strangers and foreigners pick through our belongings and move in while we’re out. Our treasures and trinkets were collected and sold, carted by strangers who brag of their gold.

Church buildings, sanctuaries, temples, and steeples are auctioned and sold to other people. Coffers and budgets are empty and bare; velvet-lined plates are far less of cash, coin, and fare.

While worshiping in style of pagan delight, God’s Word came and went while we slept in the light. Prophets and priests proclaimed prosperity and health; we forgot about holiness and exchanged it for wealth.

Judgment can be averted but not with mere prayer; there must be repentance and dust in the air, sackcloth for clothes and ashes for hats, tears of repentance and confession ne’er held back.

To avoid the perpetual crushing of God’s fair assessment, far better to repent than go down in besetment.

“Dear Children, keep yourselves from idols,” warned John. But none took him seriously, so we fashioned and formed them one after another till our houses became filled up to the rafters!

The window is closing; the door has long since shut. No politician, talk show, or New York Best Seller can reverse all we have glut.

Now that the coffers of both State and country are emptied and spent, the people rise in loud cries and lament:

“Give us our water, our dirt, and our hay, and we’ll work even faster, and bricks we will lay — our sons and our daughters will pay, Pay, PAY!”

The party is over — It has been for some time. Only God can help us in judgment. He will refine. He’ll not listen to our cries and our whimpering whines but only of a bride, forthcoming in beauty divine.

Put you faith In God and not political might; His Kingdom is here within you, so fight, Fight, FIGHT!

Not man and his flesh do we engage and embattle but the kingdom of darkness in principality and power.

So ready your hearts; your homes get in order; God’s coming down, but not for the rapture hour!

Healing Your Wounded Heart – Your Greatest Day – By Thomas Koester

Don’t live with the pain. Time is not the Healer of all wounds; that’s a lie. God is the Healer.

“Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for from it flows the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“A wound where there are no tears is a wound that cannot be healed.” Author, John Eldredge – Ransomed Heart Ministries

A splinter under the skin, if left alone and ignored will eventually fester to a point of infection. Your body is rejecting the foreign object no matter how small it is, the pain calls out for your attention. If you ignore it too long, you could end up in the emergency room.

How about your heart?

Why ignore the pain?

Your heart is more precious than a finger; you can live without a finger, but you cannot live without your heart.

Sometimes we’re strong in the wrong things and at the wrong times, but to be weak in the right things and with a humble heart, can get God’s attention.

If you are hurting, in pain and are crushed in spirit, heart, and soul, you may be at the greatest turning point of your life. You may actually be dwelling with God in a high and protected place, but you must share your tears with God, or you’ll be swallowed up in bitterness and left alone on earth.

Isaiah 57:15

“The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.”

Psalm 51:17

“The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.”

Let God encounter your tears, after all, He is the Everlasting Father. Share it with Him as your sacrifice. Come to Him crushed, broken, betrayed; come to Him rejected and despised. His Son, Jesus is well acquainted with all of this and more. He allows it to touch your life, not to destroy you, but to draw you closer to Himself.

God wants to father you…

Simply trust and turn to God and surrender your right to be offended; your anger for being abused; your self hatred for being molested, raped, and violated. God specializes with hurting and wounded people, and He’d rather be with you than with kings and queens.

The moment you offer up to God your tears and pain, you are with Him in spirit and in truth.

Isaiah 42:3

“He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning flame. He will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged.”

God won’t exploit your bruises. He’ll not snuff out your heart, even if its barely beating and you feel life is over.

God desires to be your daddy…

Give it all over to God. If you do, He’ll see to it that justice is served, and you can give your revenge a proper burial.

Then, you’ll knock down your walls of despair and make them into a dance floor and you’ll dance with your Abba, just as He’s always wanted.

Don’t live with the pain. Time is not the Healer of all wounds, that’s a lie.

God is the Healer of all wounds, and He’s waiting to hear your cries directed towards Him, so that He may act.

“O my people in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more, for he will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. He will answer you.” Isaiah 30:19

Give it up to God. Let it out and drink in God’s presence and love, and so be healed and restored.

Become healed in the name of Jesus! He came to seek out the lost and broken, and there is no one he cannot save or heal.

Isaiah wrote about the mission of Jesus centuries before He arrived:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor…

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61: 1-3

You see, God wants to do an exchange with you, He’ll give you beauty, joy, and praise for all your ashes, mourning, and despair. It happened with me, and it could happen for you too.

This may be one of your greatest days!

Your heart and soul are God’s specialty. He wants to heal your heart and set you free!

The Rapid Collapse of America – By Thomas Koester

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalms 11:3

While the collapsing of America has been slowly plodding since it’s inception some 246 years ago, in these past few decades, and especially these past two years, it has accelerated to breakneck speed. Like a speeding locomotive, too heavy and too fast to stop.

Historically, every failed Nation or civilization has indeed gone through what America and Western culture is currently going through. The key phrase here is “every failed Nation or civilization.”

What America is currently undergoing is the rapid decline of our freedoms of the many for the sake of individual liberties of the degenerate and the immorality of the few. Those with political power will ride the inevitable cultural implosion to greater power and dictatorial control. This is by design and not by coincidence.

Again, this is not a new paradigm but a “rinse and repeat” cycle of history and what happens with apathetic, contemporary people unwilling to learn from past historical mistakes. The treasures of historical knowledge has been purposely engineered out of our educational institutions, and unwittingly to the average American citizen and student.

This, by no means, excuses the average American citizen but is a sad and factual commentary of our collective willingness to seek pleasure and policies of appeasement in exchange for governmental control and free goodies.

In reality, we’ve all chosen to worship America and all its bounty rather than the God of Heaven, Earth’s only Redeemer.

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalms 11:3.

Unfortunately, 21 Century Christianity has been too preoccupied with Church. You may not think so, but darkness does, and the Lord of Darkness celebrates our easy relinquishment of the Church’s Kingdom of God duties and responsibilities. If the Church had been occupied with the Kingdom of God as an occupying force for King Jesus, we would not be this far down the river, and perhaps the “foundations” could’ve been repaired.

Our task was to occupy until He came — To preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, to bless the world with the rule and reign of God’s Son. Not hasten the day of destruction because of our misguided disengagement, our pre-tribulation theory, and premillennial exfiltration madness.

As surely as the sun rises in the East, our future leaders will be as degenerate, morally vacant, and deranged as the voters that vote them into power. Our ignominious milestones of the first this, or the first that; the first gay Senator, first transgender Congressman, first Islamic-Extremist Representative, and our first LGBTQUIZ President, etc. will become the millstone of slavery around every citizen’s neck; rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight, liberal or conservative.

Unapologetically, the only option for recovery and change is to turn away from our individual and corporate sins, repent, and turn wholeheartedly to God — without delay, seeking His forgiveness for our willful disregard of His laws, and the greatest gift given to all humanity, that is Jesus Christ, God’s only way of salvation.

Without the Church’s acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as Lord and King, America’s greatness will undoubtedly collapse, and not even Donald J. Trump or Ron DeSantis can make America Great Again.

It is my hope and prayer, as I’m sure it is yours also, that our better days as a people and a Nation are yet before us. But this is all up to God and not up to a politician or political party. The two things that can change the fate of this Nation is a repentant Church and praying Saints.

Can I get an amen?

The Children of A Lesser God, Part 2 – By Thomas Koester

This is Part 2 of my first two-part article about the plight of 21st Century American Christianity.

My “fued,” if you will, is not against the true Church or authentic Christianity. It is an article of warning, challenge, and calling out believers that have been sold a false god, making them into a lesser child.

Nehemiah prays for God’s children…

“Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we now are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.” Nehemiah 9:36-37

Politicians, Legislators and Presidents will not return us to a Great People or a Great Nation, but confession and repentance of God’s People will.

Nehemiah continues…

“But they- our ancestors behaved presumptuously; they rebelled and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage. Nehemiah 9:16-17

Jeremiah laments…

Death Is on the Prowl

God ‘s Message yet again:

“Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried and true road. Then take it. Discover the right route for your souls.

But they said,

“Nothing doing. We aren’t going that way.”

I even provided watchmen for them to warn them, to set off the alarm. But the people said,

“It’s a false alarm. It doesn’t concern us.”

And so I’m calling in the nations as witnesses:

“Watch, witnesses, what happens to them!”

And,’ Pay attention, earth! Don’t miss these bulletins. I’m visiting catastrophe on this people, the end result of the games they’ve been playing with me. They’ve ignored everything I’ve said, had nothing but contempt for my teaching. Jeremiah 6:16-19

We’ve exchanged the Glorious Gospel for a seeker friendly message so as to build our Churches in numbers rather than faithfulness to God and His ways.

We’ve changed the blood of the New Covenant, the precious blood of our Lord and Savior, into that of the blood of animals, and we therefore proclaim people sinless by emotions rather by repentance and faith. We teach tolerance but not obedience. We preach the Love of God trumps all other attributes of the one and only True Living God of Scripture. Who’s wrath against sin and those who make sin their lifestyle still remains. Though they know it or not, their day of judgment is being held back.

Faith, belief, repentance, and obedience to The risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is mankind’s only escape from the wrath of God. For who needs to be saved from a God of Love? And, if we only preach God’s love and tolerance, what becomes of the shed blood of Jesus Christ? And, for what purpose does his death serve if God is only Love?

Our Country was found on Christian and moral principles, and by the rule of law. America became a people of renown, of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.

Our Nation was lost because we pastors and churches have abandoned our Christian principles and our moral standing under God and before the nations. We’ve abandoned the preaching of the cross and the resurrection of our only Redeemer. Sadly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his birth have become nothing more than semi-religious holidays.

We have full churches, but empty Christians. We have Christian couples fornicating, but freely worshiping. We have Christian marriages adulterating but actively serving. We have Christian youth sexually experimenting with their bodies, but attend warm gatherings and rallies for Christ. We’ve trained them with double standards, one set for school and the other for church. Our youth of tomorrow are the double standards of today’s adults. And all this is just fine?

Our Nation is lost not because the ungodly sin, but because the righteous practice, tolerate, and preach a distorted and confusing relationship with God!

The condition of the Church is directly related to the condition of our pastors; to the messages they preach, and the duplicity they tolerate. All in exchange for notoriety, fame and market share of transient Christians, and the unsaved seeking a friendly Sunday morning message. We’ve become more excited about a new visitor rather than a new saint.

One Wednesday evening service my Senior Pastor allowed me to preach a message titled: “Children of A Lessor God.” When I stopped preaching, people were weeping in their seats and falling on there knees at the alter. My Senior Pastor and I had to literally and carefully step around and over our repentant brothers and sisters, and began praying for them one by one. Others came forward to assist us with prayer or join their brothers and sisters.

After things quieted down, I will never forget what my Senior Pastor said:

“There is no way you can preach that way on a Sunday morning.”

I was both confused and shocked! It is precisely why our Churches and Christians are in the state that they are in because we don’t preach the Truth of God’s Word nor preach Christ Crucified to redeem sinners from God’s terrible wrath.

When we refuse to preach the weightiness of God, people will not experience the weightiness of their sins, and God then becomes less in their lives.

We have become children of a lesser God and therefore have a lesser Church, lesser Nation, and have become a lesser people.

Many years ago, between 1975 – 1978, I was attending two churches. The Walnut Creek Christian Reformed Church was the church my parents brought my siblings and me to. The second church, Concord Christian Center, was the church my girlfriend attended, which I visited from time to time.

At the Walnut Creek Christian Reformed Church, they read the Ten Commandments each Sunday service. The Ten Commandments were presented as God’s goodness and grace to his people. The Reverend taught in an expository manner, being faithful to context and textual meaning.

At Concord Christian Center, there was no reading of God’s law and, honestly, very little reading of the Scriptures. The worship part of the service was the highlight, with a full course band, singers, and highly emotional songs. The pastor’s messages, while loosely based on Scripture, were mostly topical, centering on physical blessings and prosperity. This church adopted the high school that I would eventually graduate from in June 1978.

At CCC, several marriages ended. Many of the divorced married other ex-spouses within the church. Fornication and adultery were not uncommon. While CCC may have been a fun and exciting place to worship and fellowship, the people there became lesser as God was lesser. This is one of my pivotal experiences that lead me to preach on a Wednesday evening service, “Children of A Lesser God,” back in 2007.

So, just as the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt, our nation is headed back to Europe, the very place our founding fathers had fled. The ancient Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt, to return to slavery under a new Pharaoh. We seem to be headed into a new style of slavery by unelected bureaucrats, technocrats, and globalists. We want this 21st Century enslavement because we see ourselves as a lesser people.

It’s up to God’s people to stand strong as His Chosen People, as His Holy Nation and a Royal Priesthood of True Believers! We must shake off our false identity as Children of a Lesser god and be His Children of The Great and Mighty God, God of the Angel Armies!

Do you want to be a great people, a great man, or a great woman? A great nation? Then reject the lesser god of your life, cast him off like a worn-out shirt.

If you’re attending a church that emphasizes a false and fake gospel, a tolerant love guru, a genie god, or a Geico god, where it’s “so easy, a caveman can do it.” Find a God-honoring Church that worships God in Spirit and in Truth. A Church that aids you in becoming a Child of The Great God of Creation.

So goes the Church, so goes the Nation.

The Children of A Lesser God, Part 1 – By Thomas Koester

You cannot build a healthy Church by feeding the flock from your personal intimacies with God. They’ll end up living their faith vicariously through your faith without actually living by faith.

God’s people must encounter God as who he is in their lives, families, neighborhoods, and jobs, more than what they hear in a Sunday sermon. They need to encounter the weightiness of God in their lives rather than a theological supposition that tickles their intellect but does not move them to worship.

In other words, people need to encounter the Lordship of Jesus and not just the flannel board Jesus in Sunday School.

If we fail to present God as God, people will settle for a lesser god, full of winks, giggles, and thumbs-up to their sins.

David wrote:

“Fear the Lord, you holy people who belong to him. Those who fear him are never in need. Young lions go hungry and may starve, but those who seek the Lord’s help have all the good things they need.” Psalm 34:9-10

Our fear of the Lord should lead us into a healthy worship of Him so that being His children becomes our most meaningful identity.

Sometimes, even in America, we live as though there are many gods, even though we profess the Truth of Scripture. Our actions dictate our true beliefs and not simply what we profess. We cannot escape it. We belong to what we fear and to whom we obey.

Belief in the One True and only Living God requires obedience and not just belief. Demons believe yet shudder in fear. Even the Name of God’s Holy Son, Jesus of Nazareth, invokes fear and dispels demonic tactics and oppression. Darkness always is dispelled by light, and no shadow can hide from God’s brightness.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “don’t be afraid of your own shadow.” This means to be extremely timid, nervous, fearful, and easily frightened. This is to live a life of fear worship rather than God worship.

So, we have become what we worship. We worship what we fear, and when we only believe and remain passive to God’s will, we cease to worship God.

The God of Creation and Author of our Eternal Redemption must be obeyed, or we’ll become quiet rebels, worshiping lesser gods. The proof of our false belief is in the quality, or lack thereof, of our true obedience. We become what we worship and a slave to what we fear.

Do you want and desire the Fruits of Heaven?

Start listening to the One who occupies the Throne of Heaven and obey His Word, even if it leads to your death; death of reputation, death of comfort, death of self, and yes, even the death of your body. For “obedience is better than sacrifice,” as it is written in 1 Samuel 15:22:

“But Samuel replied,

“What is more pleasing to the Lord…

…your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

When you act as though the Evil One has equal power to The Eternal One, you have ceased in both belief and obedience to God and have become a slave to your fears and false beliefs. Sickness, disease, divorce, betrayals, these suddenly have more power than God. The fear of these things eclipses the Fear of the Lord, and therefore these “things” become the center of your life, thought, and action.

There is NO contest between the Eternal One and the Evil One. God always was, is, and will be. The Devil, well, he has a beginning and an ending. Not even his puny acts will outlast the earth. And even the Devil’s original coup d’etat against the throne of God was a failure, and his kingdom is built on lies and falsehood. Yet, more believers are motivated by fear of man and evil than they are the Fear of the Lord and His righteous judgments.

Matthew 10:28

“Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell.”

We become controlled by what and by whom we fear; the clearest evidence is in our actions and responses to all diseases, betrayals, etc. You know it, God said it, and the devil, if you fear him rather than God, well, he delights in it.

Act like Children of God Almighty, the God of the Angel Armies, rather than children of a lesser god, who is the god of fallen angels and the Father of Lies.

Your actions tell the world who your true Father is. No matter how many Church services you attend, you cannot escape it.

Read I Samuel 15 again, but from the Message:

22-23 Then Samuel said,

“Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—
empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult.

Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God’s command, he says No to your kingship.”

Maybe the consent “No” from God is because of your consent disobedience to Him. After all, He is not called the Everlasting Father for nothing; if you call him Father, does he not have the right to treat you as a true son or daughter?

Whenever God disciplines you or brings hardship into your life, sometimes you blame the Devil, chalking it up to evil. When you doubt God’s goodness and wisdom during hardship, you become a victim and fall prey to the lies of the Devil. This false belief thwarts God’s hand in your life, and you reject your son-ship. You need to STOP DOING THAT!

Do you think God is impressed by your lavish religious productions — your empty rituals of a weekly 90-minute Church Service compared to a 10,000-minute week of worldly influence? A 90-minute Church creates Christians that can only last for 90 minutes in the world!

To the many pastors that occupy America’s pulpits. Your constant grandstanding and oratorical solos have robbed the Church of prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. Your job is to disciple and Sheppard people into ministry, not become the ministry. Many rather preach to attract and keep people, rather than preach to equip and send people.

Many pastors end up becoming the sole arbiter of the Word of God. This has created a Nation of dependent-class Christians whose only requirement is to tithe in support of career-focused pastors and church-centered budgets. God’s Church has become a den of weak vessels. There is more power when the People of God discover firsthand revelation from the mouth of God through their reading of Scripture than a thousand of your feel-good sermons!

You cannot build a healthy Church by feeding the flock from your personal intimacies with God. They’ll end up living their faith vicariously through your faith without actually living by faith.

Christ Jesus is the only True Manna from heaven, not your recycled sermons.

Start teaching the people to read God’s Word and hear and obey His voice!

I dare you to become lesser, so they may become greater.

This is why God says No to your “church business” and Yes to the power of the Kingdom Gospel and the people who obey it! This is why so many para-church ministries are taking up the cause of Christ, and so many so-called “religious leaders” are taking up the cause of church.

You are not raising Children of God but creating children of a lesser god, with no greater expectation than donations and attendance!

Start saying “yes” to God and obey His voice so that you may become children of God, The God of the Angel Armies, rather than children of a lesser god. After all, we can only access God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. He has proven Himself obedient through all His actions, even death on the cross.

The church shouldn’t orbit around pulpits but around King Jesus and Jesus as King to all Nations! His command to go into all the world, “..teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded you…” It was not mere rhetoric but a divine command by the King of Kings, Lord of Lords of the Gathered Ones! We are to make disciples of peoples and nations and expand God’s Kingdom, not churches.

Repent of your religiosity, and people worship. Break off your fear of man, or go the way of King Saul.

Teach us to become Children of God Almighty, dependent on Him for identity, purpose, and calling.

Where in The Heaven Are You? – By Thomas Koester

Until the “world” has been removed from you, you are no good to the Church or world. It is all about your proximity and not your prosperity! It is not what you have but rather where you are.

“Proximity,” definition: nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation.

Life comes to us in seasons. It unfolds like a story. Until we move with the Spirit of God, according to our individual story and cooperate in the seasons he has ordained, we will be of little eternal use to God. Our proximity needs to change from running away from God, to drawing near to him. And, at times this may be what’s behind the difficult seasons you go through. Remember the story of Jonah? He could not out run God, and his running from God was making him awful company.

Sometimes “surviving” is an ordained season from the Lord. Sometimes he takes us, one by one into the wilderness to remove worldliness from us. While simply living at “survival mode” may not be our choice, it may indeed be the season the Lord has ordered. We should not look to be removed from the world, rather we should look to have the world removed from us. A trip through the Land-of-Not-Enough (survival) sometimes leads us to the Land-of-Worshiping-Him.

Why did God want his people to be set free from Egypt?

Was it so he could lead them into the promised land, flowing with milk and honey?

Nope!

It was so His people may come to the wilderness to worship Him there!

Exodus 7:16 (New International Version)

“Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.”

God chose a unique people to show the world that he is a unique God. His first step was to bring his people into the desert. A land of just surviving, so that his people could learn to live in the Land-of-More-Than-Enough. The Land-of-Just-Surviving, trained his people not to forget Him, while they were to live in a land of worldly treasures. Since they so quickly refused God’s process of removing Egypt from them and the reproach of a “slave mentality,” God allowed his people to linger for a generation in the Land-of-Not-Enough, living at a basic survival mode with God as their sole (soul) provider.

Stop using the methods of the world to transform his people. We are not meant to be a “subculture” but a counterculture. We think we need to resemble the world in order to reach the world? God forbid!

We have got to maintain our worship of God. Our only hope in doing so, is to get the world out of us. You cannot use the same tools the world uses for worldliness and expect to be transformed into a spiritual people.

2 Corinthians 10 (New Living Translation)

“We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.”

1 Peter 2:11 (New Living Translation)

“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”

Unauthorized acts of Righteousness

I would caution you to be careful of what you parrot when reading books of men, and mimicking the ways of “rock stars.” There are many worldly ministers and authors who are too accustomed to worldly ways to be of any spiritual good. It may seem good here on earth and may produce results, but will it be recognized in heaven and will the “results” be eternal?

It’s not the ministry outcome, which should be measured, but rather it’s method. If it is a worldly method, no matter what the result or outcome, it is lawlessness and an abomination to the Lord. The definition of “lawlessness,” is unauthorized acts. In the biblical sense it means “unauthorized acts of righteousness.”

Wow! How can righteousness be considered evil acts? Let’s take a look…

Matthew 7: 21-23 (ESV):

I Never Knew You

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

You see, your proximity is far more important than your prosperity, far more important than your talent, your “bling-power” or your religious glittering image. Proximity has to do with the nearness of your relationship with God. Not your talent, not your “anointing,” and not your wealth!

It’s not “what you do” as a Christian or minister of the Gospel; it’s not how many demon butts you kick, how many prophetic words you speak or how fluent your prayer language is. It’s not how many show up for your concerts or sermons; how many people make a decision for the Lord because of your fine singing, powerful preaching, or earth-shattering-mighty-works of God. If it is not done in accordance with the will of our Father in heaven, it is unauthorized acts of righteousness and it stinks to high-heaven. Only those who do the will of the Father, are those who know and are known by the Father in heaven. You can’t practice righteousness apart from intimately knowing God as “Father!” No matter how warm and fuzzy it makes you, and your audience feel.

You are so lost…

Lost in yourself, lost in your ministry and lost in your “so-called good works.” How lost are you? Worse yet, how lost are your disciples? Those you’ve taught, those who follow your every move and ministry trick. It may not be the stage of life you learn of your errors, but the throne of God, at Judgment Day. Repent of your lawlessness. It’s not about just doing it right, but by knowing God as Father and then doing His will, His way.

Which is better, a Worldly Church or a Churchy World? Get the world out of the Church and you will have a Church which will change the world. Our value to the Church is our clean hands from worldliness. A corrupt pastor can only corrupt, no matter how pretty and charismatic he may be, underneath and behind the scenes, he may be falling apart, but before the Church he’s Johnny-on-the-spot.

It has been too long since Christianity has produced authentic saints of God. Men and women who’ve not bowed to Baal (worldliness), nor kissed his feet, that is to tolerate sin within and without. You become what you worship, and you’ll eventually act out what is within your heart. It is far better to confess to a brother in this life now, rather than it being exposed in the Halls of Heaven and at the Throne of God.

If seasons of survival, living in the Land-of-Not-Enough, are the surest way towards righteousness and clean hands, then let us all travel there for a season of change. It is our part to wash our robes.

Revelation 22:14 (The Message)

“How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.”

Job 17:9 (New Living Translation)

“The righteous keep moving forward,

and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.”

Jonah 2:8 (New International Version)

“Those who cling to worthless idols

forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

Mark 8:36 (New International Version)

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world,

yet forfeit his soul?”

Where in the Heaven are you?

Find a trusted friend and let him know where you truly are, so that you may find the needed rest for your weary soul.

Jeremiah 6:16 (TLB)

“Yet the Lord pleads with you still: Ask where the good road is, the godly paths you used to walk in, in the days of long ago. Travel there, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, “No, that is not the road we want!”

Yes, it is the road you want. It only takes twenty seconds to do the right thing.

Become so heavenly-minded that you’ll do earthly good. Maybe you’ll be recognized in heaven!

The Conspiratorial Contol of Climate Change – The Power of The Universe vs. The Power of Government – By Thomas Koester

Accurate scientific facts and astrophysicist theories tell us a different story than what the government “spins” daily through the news media, colleges, and universities. Here are a few facts:

The earth spins on its axis at approximately 1,000 MPH, all the while traveling around the sun at a constant speed of 67,000 MPH, and the sun rotates on its axis every 24.47 days. These dynamics, not what man does on the earth, cause climate variations. In other words, variations in climate have more to do with the myriads of exposures the earth experiences during its orbital travel and the sun’s various solar-dynamic radiation, including the sun’s solar flares.

We live on a spaceship called Earth!

When you drive your car from the West Coast to the East Coast, let’s say, traveling about 60 miles per hour, how many climate variations would you experience during the several-day journey?

Answer: Dozens!

The earth’s orbital path of travel around the sun takes 365 days. One complete orbit consumes an astounding 92.9 million miles!

So, let me ask you: What would you expect to happen to the earth as it travels 92.9 million miles yearly at a constant speed of 67,000 miles per hour?

Doesn’t it make sense that hundreds of weather anomalies, variations, and changes would occur on planet earth?

Do you have to be an astrophysicist to understand this?

Nope! Your ability to use your God-given common sense, which is your best weapon against the propagandists. Trust your mind more than you trust governments and Hollywood, and yes, even your tenured professors.

Nothing can be done to control the earth’s constant and unstoppable force and climate variations as it rotates and orbits its designed path around our star. Any attempt by the government to “spin” these facts and blame humanity is an intentional and engineered scheme to control and enslave the masses.

Understanding astronomical fact and how our solar system functions should bring freedom of thought and liberty, as well as disarms the climate change alarmists and governments seeking to control our economies and lives.

Why believe governmental authorities that constantly demonstrate their ineptness and inability to govern?

Everything centralized, beginning from your local HOA to local, state, and federal authorities, seeks to divest you and me of our independence and freedom and amass to themselves unmitigated centralized power.

Firstly, they try to enslave and control our thought. Secondly, our free speech. Thirdly, our ability to defend our house and home. Fourthly, our Southern borders. Fifthly, our healthcare and transportation systems. Finally, they centralized our economic engines, destroying the middle and wealthy classes, rendering us all impoverished and entirely dependent upon the State.

I can’t think of any more significant damage done to America and its freedom and future than the seizure of a Free Press. The Press, and now Social Media, has become the unelected 4th branch of government and controls the flow of information and ideas.

This is precisely why Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin continued their reign of ideological control and advancement because the “Press” had become the government’s propaganda tool.

The mass media has accelerated the progressive erosion of our liberties. Around 1839, public education was created, giving the government control of educating our children. These two pillars of our society began the slow takeover by the left in the mid to late 19th century. It didn’t take long, did it, folks?

In less than four generations, we went from the Constitutional Republic to Democratic Socialism. Whether you believe it or not, we’re dangerously close to becoming a communist regime. I think we are one midterm election away from becoming a failed nation.

The vanguards of a free society are knowledge of history, mathematics, the sciences, language/communication, and the arts. The progressive left has destroyed the journalistic integrity of the “Free” Press. Our nation’s watchdog should be a free, independent, and unfettered press, but tragically, the Free Press was corrupted decades ago.

Today, the main protagonists of climate lies are public education, universities, colleges, and the mass media.

Nearly ninety percent of the tenants of Socialism and Communism are significantly advanced and are in place. It happened while we were asleep in the light and mesmerized by our consumption and technological toys.

“Democracy is indispensable to socialism.” – Vladimir Lenin

“The goal of socialism is communism.” – Vladimir Lenin

“Our program necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism.” – Vladimir Lenin

“While the State exists, there can be no freedom; when there is freedom, there will be no State.” – Vladimir Lenin

We are a constitutional republic and not a democracy. The climate is in God’s control and not the government’s. Do not live in fear, but be informed and live as Americans who trust God and not man.

Continue to pay attention – fight against the lies of the Left and protect your liberty against the fearmongers and Socialists. And please vote this November!