THE DAY RUSH LIMBAUGH DIED

This is my latest article (03.01.21), which can be found on the Put Old on Hold Journal site, along with other contributors you'll enjoy discovering, whether you stand in solid agreement with them on some matters or have differing opinions. Site Link: https://putoldonholdjournal.com/ 

THE DAY RUSH LIMBAUGH DIED

First admission: I wasn’t one of the millions of faithful listeners of Rush Limbaugh, which is no reflection on him and is more about my . . .

Second admission: I had little interest in anything political until early 2016, when I began to make fun of Donald Trump’s running for office, until the moment God said in that way of His, “How about you close your mouth and open your ears instead.” It wasn’t that God wanted me to put my attention so much on Mr. Trump, but on matters I’d chosen to ignore that were contrary to His Kingdom, because this was also when God, through His grace, called me to Him after multiple decades spent in New Ageism and other sins.

Third admission: This isn’t about Rush Limbaugh. It’s about you, me, and . . . well, let me explain.

Maybe you, too, have someone’s post show up on your Facebook feed, and not only do you not know the person, you don’t know when or why you became friends, other than back at the start when everyone was eager to amass followers, a quantity-over-quality kind of thing. That’s all I can figure about this particular poster.

After learning of Rush Limbaugh’s passing, I went onto Facebook. On my feed was a meme about Limbaugh, created by that unknown friend, followed by a second one of his. I was genuinely shocked, not because it was about Limbaugh in particular, but because of how utterly void of compassion and how celebratory in viciousness and vitriol the comments were regarding a fellow human being whose last year of his life had gone as it had, until his last breath.

I thought, “That’s it! I’ve prayed for this guy every time one of his crude ‘I’m morally superior and your not’ posts about someone not on his side of the political fence has shown up, but This Is It! I’m done.” I headed to the Unfriend Zone. As I scrolled to find his name so I could erase him from my feed, God once again in that way of His said, “Which does he need more: To be unfriended and forgotten or prayed for? Which is more important: Your prideful sensibilities and self-righteousness or his soul?” Conviction and correction received, Lord, for which I thank and praise You.

St. Augustine said,

“Pride is the beginning of sin. And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation?”

I’ve also heard said,

“Pride is pregnant with every other sin.”

Previous writings have dealt with how, for months, God’s been putting on my heart that the words we speak (or type or share) matter far more than we comprehend. They matter so much, He made sure to include in His Word that we will all stand before Him on Judgment Day and account for our every word, and that He considers slander, and any comments that seek to tear down or ruin reputations of fellow humans, equal to murder. He also told us that each time we sin, we give a legal right to the Adversary to go after us (health, finances, family, etc.). It’s something to ponder.

As I pondered these things, this new thought arrived: Sarcasm, of which we are far too fond, (including those who claim to be Christians) becomes a curse: On the person we aim it at, at those who see it or hear it and hop onto that bandwagon we put into motion, and on us. God commands us to bless, not curse, others. When we sin, we’ve taken God’s name upon us in vain and do not represent Him as a light in the darkness, as He instructs and commands.

God commands us to forgive others as we want Him to forgive us (quickly, easily, and always), and to ask Him to forgive and bless those who offend or harm us. It isn’t a suggestion, it’s a Commandment. As are all of His Commandments, each one is meant to protect us from the Adversary. When we begin to grasp this fact, we begin to understand that our Father’s intent is to save us, protect us, and turn us into Kingdom warriors of His, warriors committed to helping set fellow humans free from the prison of sin and its consequences.

I highly recommend Pastor J.D. Farag’s profound 1-hour talk about the current satanic strategy of “Divide and Conquer” using words we speak against others, which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2cjup6sh . [Disclaimer: I’m not sold on the pre-Tribulation Rapture, but am focused on learning and doing the Kingdom Walk.]

Here’s something Holy Spirit put into my heart and mind 02.11.21:

Not Left or Right,

not of-Color or White,

but Lost or Saved.

Period.

May God guide you and yours in all your ways and all your days.

 

Are You Clear or Confused about What’s Going on These Days?

One of my consistent prayers is this: “Lord, give us a discerning heart so that we are not deceived by others or by ourselves.” I also pray that He increases our vision so we see the truth, increases our hearing so we hear the truth, and increases our understanding of His truth.

  

Sorry to say it, but we can be a pretty gullible people at times. In fact, a lot of the time. One of the greatest seductions of the current era is that we are the power, rather than that we can be like Jesus, who came to Earth in the flesh, not as God, but as a man with the power of God within Him, through the grace of God our Father. Remember: Jesus is God, but He didn’t act as God while here. He always turned to and gave tribute to the Father as the one providing everything He needed and the power to do everything He did, and did this because He wanted us to know—it was imperative that we understand—we can do the same things He did, through the grace of the Father. He told us this was true, and He meant it. He was our perfect example. But, most of us didn’t grasp that, for a variety of reasons. Yep—more deception.

That seductive deception I refer to above is a whole other topic I intend to comment about at some other time. But I will say this: If you pay attention, you’ll see the deceptions all around us. We’re being fed these deceptions, especially children, who are so open to influence. And these deceptions move us away from God’s truth in tantalizing increments. Unless we’re paying attention and know what to look for.

This morning I caught the last 10 or so minutes of a program called The Key That Unlocks the Bible. The minister kept talking about the key of David that Christ gave to His disciples and His Church (which is us). I looked up the Web site: https://www.thetrumpet.com/programs/key-of-david/latest and found the 27-minute program on the Home page, along with ways to get the two writings he mentioned—for no cost. One is, of course, The Key of David (176 pages). The other is The True History of God’s True Church (233 pages). You can either download these books or get them mailed to you. I like to turn pages and have a tangible book I can retrieve from my shelves, so ordered them. In other words, I’m suggesting them rather than recommending them, since I haven’t as yet read them.

The minister pointed out that Jesus warned us about deceptions and the great deception: “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” ~ Mark 13:22-23

If current events trouble you, right down to that, yes, thorny issue called climate change, read Mark, chapter 13, in its entirety. Jesus laid it all out for us. One truism has been espoused, but in a different context than I intend: If you want to change the world, start with yourself. From the biblical perspective, if you want to help save others, start with yourself. Pay attention to how you’ve been deceived (and still are), and in what way you’ve espoused these deceptions—likely unknowingly. I speak from experience here, as one deceived by all the New Age proclamations and falsehoods. Ask the Lord to inform you. Knock and the door will be opened to you. But you have to walk in willingly.  

The First Lie and the New Age Counterfeit

The first lie Satan told to a human was, of course, to Eve, about why God wanted her and Adam to avoid the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan knew the real reason, and it’s why he did what he did. God told them if they so much as touched that tree, much less ate the fruit of it, they’d die. They didn’t die a physical death for a very long time after disobeying God, but they died a different kind of death.

According to the Bible, sin equals death, and in 1 John, misery is a form of death. God knew that if Adam and Eve touched or ate from the tree, they would know sin and the misery that comes from it. Every time they sinned, they’d experience a form of death, because sin would move them further from feeling and experiencing their true connection with God, their Father. They’d feel shame. How do we feel when we sin? Exactly. How do we feel when we hurt someone who loves us and whom we love? Exactly.

The sin happened before the first bite, when Eve then Adam chose to go against God and what he wanted for them. God gave them everything but the knowledge and experience of sin (choosing and doing evil). He also gave them free will. Free will plus a crafty lie by the father of lies led them to choose the idea of (imagined) individuated power over the power of God operating for them as His gift and through His grace. That choice stained us all—it entered our (mankind’s) psyche. Their love and reverence for God, who created them and cared for them, wasn’t pure enough to get them to make the right choice. God gave them everything they could ever need or want, and still they wanted more. Satan saw this, and he’s been using it against us ever since.

Fast forward to the latter decades of the last century. Satan wanted an an effective way of pulling a similar deception, but with as many people as possible. The New Age Deception, with its counterfeits, was one way to accomplish this. Satan knows human nature well.

What qualifies me to comment about this deception? A lifetime of being a participant in and advocate for the New Age and its various modalities. And not only did I practice this, I preached it to others through articles and so forth. My motivation was not to deceive anyone, but to inspire people to expand their spirituality and inner peace, which is no excuse. Like so many, I fell for the deception. I believed in and practiced the counterfeits. Until God woke me.

What are some of the counterfeits I refer to? Some, if not all listed below, will be familiar to you. Some of what I list may either have you nodding your head in recognition and understanding or may not sit well with you, especially if you, as I did, have considered one or more of these an innocuous practice. I was guilty of practicing everything listed below, and more. The thing to keep in mind about the New Age deception is that it convinces people the power is within them, and not from God. The recognition and glory is given to the individual, not to God. Practitioners of New Age modalities are doing Adam and Eve all over again. Let’s look at some of them.

The I Am deception: I Am is what God called himself when asked. The counterfeit is the New Age method of using “I am” at the start of affirmations as a way to “confirm” that the power is within us, not within God. Satan wants people to believe their word is law over God’s Word.

Contemplation vs. Meditation: We are to study and contemplate The Word of God. The New Age counterfeit is meditation that doesn’t necessarily align us with God, and often is more about our straining to make sure we get what we want in our lives, often material or monetary, without it being a gift or reward from God for our faithfulness, or even in our best interest. Affirmations = I am the power. The Word = God’s truth and promises, which He always fulfills. This ties in with the New Age practice of “Name it and claim it,” rather than seeking the Kingdom of God that is within us. Again, we are meant to believe we are the power in our lives, not God.

Blessings from God vs. Magical Manifestation: To feel blessed means we know where our good comes from; we know that God’s hand is in and on our lives at all times. Magical manifestation diminishes and or removes God’s presence from the good things or miracles that happen in our lives, and gives us what we want (sometimes) by virtue of a, so-said, non-discerning law of attraction. The counterfeit to receiving God’s goodness and blessings is believing you manifest whatever it is you receive. That you manifest or create what you receive, rather than receive what you have from God, who knows what you need—and what you don’t. (Just so you’re clear: Everything good comes from God; everything bad comes from Satan. But God converts everything bad to good. We just need to learn how to discern and receive this.)

Aligning our words with The Word vs saying whatever we want to: New Age says there is no ultimate spiritual judgment for what we do wrong; that, yes, we are to strive to be better people, but there’s no actual judgment if we mess up, other than what we self-inflict or allow others to inflict on us. This includes what we say. The Bible says our words matter. That we are to avoid gossip, criticism, judgment, condemnation, and more. An interesting example of this kind of deception is a meme on a social site that claims if you frequently litter your language with obscenities, it’s a sure sign or proof that you have a high level of intelligence or genius. What a “great” way to encourage offensiveness that is far removed from the Word. This “no judgment” philosophy also leads people to live according to the desires of the flesh rather than of the Spirit, which includes seeking the approval of others over desiring to please and honor God.

Gematria vs. Numerology: God used/uses gematria or numbers for His own purposes, to reveal information to those with a mind to see. But it isn’t so that we define and limit ourselves by the meanings assigned to numbers by humans regarding who we are and what we’re capable of (With God, all things are possible). A good example of how God used gematria is found in David Flynn’s book, Temple at the Center of Time. If you align with numbers, as though they possess power separate from or above God’s, it isn’t God you’re aligning with.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost vs. Universe, Source, etc. Yes, God is the Source of all creation. But when we use that word to mean an ambiguous energy source, we’ve removed God from where He belongs—within us. This use of New Age names makes sure you don’t have an intimate relationship with the Holy Trinity, as well as encourages you to deny God the Father altogether.

Eternal Life in Heaven vs. Reincarnation: At no time did God or Jesus ever say reincarnation is a fact. And it wasn’t left out of the Bible so that we’d behave in the lifetime we’re aware of. But what a powerful deception and counterfeit reincarnation is.

There are other deceptive counterfeits you may be aware of or want to know about. These include any forms of divination (cards, psychics, runes, astrology, channeled entities, etc.) vs. receiving divine messages or inspiration through the Holy Spirit. You will learn a great deal if you listen to the YouTube video, “Lucifer and the Illuminati Plan Exposed” with Carolyn Hamlett and Laura Maxwell. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF048ONiYRE. It’s highly informative.

Ask God for a discerning heart so that you are not deceived. May God cover you with the blessings of His love, wisdom, grace, mercy, care, comfort, guidance, and patience. May you demonstrate and share these blessings with others. May the sacred blood of Jesus Christ cover you with His protection, and cleanse, restore, renew, and strengthen you.