NOT ANOTHER POLITICAL POST!!!

           * A News Commentary Outlet After The Truth!*

NOT ... ANOTHER ... POLITICAL POST!!!

There's a sense amongst Facebookers that feels like they want a break from all the political news. Can't blame them. Months and months have passed, and 75% of our newsfeeds are mostly political posts or the like. Some to be sure, eat it up, can't get enough. But for the rest, I can say that we all need a break. I intend to direct my blogs elsewhere after this. Not a promise, but my intentions are good.
However, some things still got to be addressed simply because these issues haven't gone away … yet.

We are in the business of seeking out the TRUTH.
We capitalize on The Truth, wherever we can find it, and the Truth exposes Lies. That's the reason for this blog, this article. Some information is just "the facts", and not the truth at all. With all the mainstream media guilty of "fake news", it is time for the alternative news sites to shine, so there can be accurate and truthful journalism once again.

I just spent some time on YouTube watching the news reporters and anchors, melting down at the news of Hillary's loss. And then I watched a montage of celebrities also have similar reactions. You would think, by their reactions, that they just lost their favorite pet or something. What amazes me is the Leftist Liberal mentality and narrative they all have bought into. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out why they believe like they believe . . . and their entire belief system is built upon lies, fake news and false ideologies. Maybe we can offer to sell them the moon because, after all, isn't it made of cheese??

The whole negative reaction of the rioters/protestors to the Trump Win, is full of contradiction. They run around with signs saying "Love Trumps Hate" and they burn buildings and attack Trump Voters, acting out the very things they state they are against. They attack in the cities where the most people voted for Hillary. If I were to give them, the rioters a name, it would be "Wimpy Kiddy Baby Whiners", because that's all they really are >>> a bunch of sore losers.

BUT . . . there's a complete other dynamic happening here . . . a concerted effort by none other than groups hired by George Soros and The Left to continue to undermine and defame Donald J. Trump. They don't like what he stands for, it threatens them and their "new world order",  so they "make up" stories about him, fabricating concepts that just don't fit the man AT ALL. There's plenty of info & videos and history about The Donald, that refutes all the lies and labels that have been hurled against him. Actually, Trump has been in the public's eyes for over 30 years, and he was only accused of being "racist" when he announced  his bid for President on the Republican ticket.
Oh!! He's white AND Republican … Uh-Oh!!!
You know, at this point, I want to take a whole room of these Democraps and Liberals and ask them, "Why are you so afraid???"

We ALL know what Hillary believes, and yet there is this segment that feels so sorry for her . . . they ignore all of her crimes, her character, her tendency to blow up in anger, her diatribes like "baskets of deplorables", her repeated lying,  and all of her many, many scandals and investigations. One celeb said, "Oh I thought she should get the chance to become President …"
Oh Puh-Leeeze!! She DID get the chance -- Twice!
And she lost! Trump won fair and square, without rigging the polls and hiring dead people to vote.
When the Left gets on a tangent, they milk it and hang on the topic for all they can, for all its worth, and bombard us with it day and night! It's like this:
"If you don't vote for Hillary, you're sexist! You're a misogynist! If you don't like Obama, you're racist! If you disagree with our position, our opinion, then you are just plain Nazis!!" Again, I'm trying to figure out how they put that together in their brains, because all common sense and reasoning went down the toilet. Truth has escaped them . . . all that is left is this re-think of what is good and pure, to the point of insanity. And there is no other word for it.

Obama -- he continues to spew out his veiled but poisonous hate for The Law, for whites and for what I call Truth-In-Society, still LYING with a straight face, still propagandizing and still no-one stops him from his continual stream of disinformation. Because of his policies, which would have been continued and magnified with a Clinton presidency, racism and violence and lawlessness has increased exponentially over the last 8 years. It is for this very reason WHY the majority of hard-working patriotic Americans voted for TRUMP.  I want to yell at these news pundits and celebs and say: "Hey! Here's the reason your gal lost! We The People are tired of the corruption, the Lies, the hate going forth, the wrecked economy wrecked by the printing of trillions of fiat money, the bad foreign policy, the decimation of our military, the tolerance of terrorism in our own land, the violence against cops and truly racist-hate toward certain people in our cities, the failed "promises" of the Democratic party, leaving our cities in shambles; WE The People want our country restored, our AAA credit restored, our image restored, our people placed 1st, our Veterans cared for and placed first, The Constitution upheld and not undermined, and … if there's gonna be any "hope and change", then let it be what our Founding Fathers stood for -- the end of Tyranny from without or within and expression of Freedom for all of Our Peoples, not just a few! Not just for the Elite!" That's what I would tell them! I don't know if they would get a clue, but I would surely tell them, and tell them strong.
And Mr. Trump stands for all those concepts, and promotes those concepts and has been for them all of his life! We The People are tired of the status quo, the establishment of politicians doing the same old, same tired deeds that end in the destruction or defeat of our country. The Flag has been falling down, the Eagle has been sick, and can't even fly right.

That's what I would tell all of these Leftist Liberals. I may not argue with them to get them to understand me, they probably won't. But I would quiz them, try to reason with them logically. They may or may not change their mind … it depends on how steeped they are in "globalist thinking", which I have no desire for such nonsense. America used to be great, and respected and admired and emulated. It can and will be GREAT AGAIN. But that won't happen by letting the lamestream media being the leaders. The Left isn't about change and enrichment and greatness. They are just a bunch of crybabies who need pacifiers, pampers and the right "formula".  Don't try to nurse them naturally, for that substance is foreign to them. However, if one of them did turn and choose the healthy choice, there would be a major transformation.
That would be something. That would be a miracle, and the Beginning of The End of … The Left.

WHAT is Truth??

With all the political news, pundits, prognosticators, so-called prophets and doom-and-gloomers speaking forth their ideas and "facts", I thought it apropos and perhaps even urgent to write upon the topic of TRUTH.  The Oxford online dictionary defines truth thusly:

The quality or state of being true:

1.  the truth:  That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality

2. A fact or belief that is accepted as true

Well, I choose to define truth like this:

"that commodity of life and concept that refutes and exposes LIES and cannot be disputed once all the factors and information has weighed in".

Another Time. Another Place. A volatile mix of politics and spiritual dynamic is in the story below. Interesting how there are parallels with today, and how the political climate goes.
Jesus Christ Himself stood before Pontius Pilate, as recorded in John ch. 18.  Watch this, I think you'll find this amazing.

"Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”  Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”  Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”  Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”  Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”  [Pilate then leaves the presence of Jesus and says "I find no fault in him".]

Pilate says these immortal words: "What Is Truth??"
Jesus once told his disciples, "I am the Way, The Truth and the Life!"
And here, "Everyone who is of the truth, hears my voice".
I'm sure that Pilate was thinking, "Man, I've got counsellors, advisors, reporters, spies, enemies and so-called loyal friends, I sure don't get much
'truth' coming from most of them! What is this thing "truth"???" Pilate's head was fried.

   As it is today, we've got a lot of opinions, ideas, doctrines, information masquerading as 'facts' and news reporters who claim to speak the truth, but their journalism lacks professionalism and reeks of shoddy research. Whilst the 2016 Election Campaign was underway, the majority of the lame-stream media seemed out to protect HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton) at all costs, and malign Trump at every corner. Correspondents would go out of their way to take a sound-bite, a video clip or some word out of context, to build an entire case against Donald J. Trump, to defame his character and turn him into an evil person. Select women would come out of the woodwork and falsely accuse him of all sorts of atrocities. He became the poster-boy of the most negatively labelled political candidate to ever appear on the nightly news. And all the while, the networks just seem to be gleeful to lift up Hillary, and ignore her many, many scandals and criminal activities. During all this time, Trump enjoyed great support, and great turnouts for all his rallies. Some of his rallies were marred by violent protestors, but not of his doing, and NOT by his peoples.
It turns out, that The Donald was exonerated by the better news pundits, and video clips and speeches proved that all the info against him was ALL LIES.
It's at this point, I want to harp on. I would love to rant about … some would continue to call Trump by all those labels and be fearful of him, even after the news went forth to PROVE that the Left and the media, and Hillary were lying about him. As for Hillary, she would continue to lie, and lie about LYING, and lie to cover more lies. But because someone "heard it on the news", the ignorant public would swallow whatever they heard . . . without checking or re-checking the facts. Not to mention the daily propaganda coming out of the White House.
More Lies going forth.
And now, with all of the crazy so-called "protesting"
(which by the way, is just paid violent offenders causing mayhem), one has to wonder who or what voice do these people listen to??  I think a lot of it comes from the 8 years of listening to the doctrines, coming from Obama and the Clintons. There has been so much lawlessness, and it just trickled down to the unsuspecting sheeple. They listened to the lies and accepted them as the gospel truth.
You know, we all have been influenced, from birth, to follow some "voice of reason", some voice of authority or a voice that seems to have the "ring" of truth. But … not everyone has been raised to know the truth, and not everyone has been taught to discern between what is good and what is evil, and even our own children of this country … have been lied to and programmed to believe the perversion of the truth. Truth has been subtracted from their lives. Truth does not come into play, unless of course, you believe that this or that truth is "truth to you".  Even Adolph Hitler was a master of THE LIE. He is known for this quote:
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."

There you go. That's the way to brain-wash the public … take some pointers from Ol' Hitler here and the sheeple are putty in your hand. I started to wonder, if anyone was seeking the truth during this election. I wondered if anyone cared. It's just so easy to listen to "the news" or your neighbors and repeat exactly what they say and believe. I try not to do that. I consider myself a "truth-seeker".  The truth is not always evident, sometimes it has to be sought out. Is it really that hard to do? I guess when the majority of folks are talking schmack about a public figure, it becomes almost like swimming upstream if you take a different view. And in the age of "PC" nonsense, you could even be "shot down" for having a different view!
I think it is hilarious how the news pundits and talking-heads all started to melt-down and become befuddled when Trump won the election. I also think it is remarkable how some major news outlets actually started to report on Clinton's evil escapades, instead of ignoring them.

Can I express an opinion to you? I think the truth will eventually come out … I mean, even Jesus said that things that are hidden will be shouted from the rooftops! I think of TV antennae and Dishes on people's roofs -- I think that all applies. The question remains:
Will the people, all the people, who have been lied to and believed a lie, when the truth is put forth as THE TRUTH and cannot be disputed, will they change their minds?? Will they change their behavior?? Will they come to their senses???
The truth has a way of penetrating through the confusion and crap. It is the "truth that you know" that will set you free. I hope that the sheeple will take in the truth, and be truly set free.
   
Tony DLivahh Prince
RisingStar NewsSource.
My sources are as follows:
*The Bible, New American Standard
* Oxford Online Dictionary
*Alex Jones … InfoWars
*Rush Limbaugh
*Breitbart
*Western Journalism
Please feel free to "fact-check" anything I have said!

Why I hate Halloween

Disclaimer:
I write this not to condemn anyone or even change the minds of those who are inclined
to celebrate this "holiday" ... these are my own thoughts and beliefs, you may share them,
or not. If you don't agree with me, that is perfectly fine. That is your choice. I just had to 
describe why I feel the way I do. Again, no condemnation if you disagree.  TONY. 

I have several reasons why I and my family do not celebrate "Halloscream" (as I call it),
and many reasons why I feel the way I do about this so-called "holiday". There is a whole
entire history that I could delve into, the origins of Halloween, Samhain, etc. But other writers have already gone there. I'm just going to share my feelings and beliefs, and well,
Here I Go.

SCARE FACTOR

I was raised up in Christ to believe that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power/love/sound mind. That my thoughts should line up with Phillipians 4, the "think on these things" passage. I don't have the time or desire to clutter up my brain and soul with fear, howbeit be generated by media or by people or other stimuli. I have also watched little children be actually TRAUMATIZED by experiencing real fear, by entering into this or that spook house. I have watched parents laugh about the episode, while the child was visibly shaken up. FOR REALS. I don't think it's funny. I think any child, between the ages of 0 and 7 should never be exposed to such an ordeal.
We as a society have desensitized our children, and ourselves to evil. We have called "good, evil" and "evil, good". We create images of monsters and other creatures, with blood and gore and guts, and then present it to our children, as if it is NORMAL. Oh, it's OK, it's only once a year. Yeah, right. When I was growing up, "trick or treat" was usually harmless (except for the warning stories we heard about razor blades some whackos would place in apples) . . . but there was not a penchant for ultra-scary or horrific costumes and the like.
Also, notice how all the horror flicks/slasher films start to come out of the woodwork in October. Great genre, right? I know some peeps who just watch this junk and then laugh about it. Man, I was bothered when they had Alice Cooper in one of these films, and he was plunging a spear into somebody's body. That bothered me. I mean, I like Alice. I never thought of him as that macabre. I knew his shows were all an act.
Churches like to bring out their haunted films to scare kids to accept Christ. They drag in their productions of "Heaven's Gates/Hell's Flames" or even "Judgment House", and it all just glorifies the devil. All of this is crap and isn't even necessary.

GLORIFYING THE DARKNESS

So, once a year it is AOK to worship or, er, I mean publicize and focus on the powers of darkness. Ghouls, goblins, witches, demons, zombies, dead people, tombstones and cemeteries, blood and gore and guts galore. Hey, it's ok, its just ENTERTAINMENT, right??
I refer you back to the Phillipians 4 passage:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

It's like this folks:
There was this big to-do about backward-masking, once upon a time.
Petra had the best response to it. They recorded a short message on the beginning of one of their tunes, Judas Kiss. It was a message recorded backwards.  You had to play the vinyl backwards to get the 'forward' meaning:
 "Why are you looking for the devil when you should be looking for the Lord??"
 Brilliant. The question makes the point. Why are good people, good christian people focusing on and spending any time on the powers of darkness?? Unless it is to expose them and to defeat them?? There's already enough darkness in the world, without having to drag it back into our own lives.

DRESS-UP, PARTY AND CANDY

These traditions of Halloween, I've discovered, came over here mainly with the Irish.
Certainly things have evolved since the days of Samhain, and the actual horrendous
traditions that has come to be known as "trick or treat".  But hey, there's nothing wrong with having some FUN ... dressing up, and binging on candy and sweets etc. Nothing wrong with an occasional sugar-rush, right?? Except for those who are watching their quota of dental caries. But I'm always up for a good party. Bring it on. It's just . . . we can do this any day of the year. Why "that day"?? Why October 31?? Why during the biggest feast day and heyday of many groups of WITCHES, who yes, actually do engage in evil, debauchery, blood sacrifices and the cursing of church groups?? Yeah, that really goes on. I for one would NOT line myself up with them.
I have dressed up before. I was Moses one time. The Apostle Paul on another occasion. So, what's the big deal??? We don't do what those folks of ancient times have done, and we certainly don't believe like they do.
Answer: I sum it all up by saying, if you're going to celebrate something, let it have some meaning. Halloween is really a stupid, meaningless holiday, that has actually done more harm than good. And the majority of the world isn't commemorating a bunch of dead saints. Although, the Latinos have their own version, "The Day of the Dead". I don't care much for that "holiday" either. I saw some really bad fruit coming from that. No offense to my fellow Latinos, I love ya'all anyway.

IN CONCLUSION, if you can celebrate this time, this day with a clear conscience, then by all means, do so. Just do me a favor. Don't hurt anybody in the process. Have fun, be cool and don't be a ghoul.

TONY

Dysfunction=Junction

I would like to keep this blog writing short … and to the point.
I don't know. I can sure try. But there is so much to say.

I have seen this scenario play out more times than I wish to enumerate.  Whole families have fallen into this one huge rut . . . DYSFUNCTION.  The biggest downfall of it all, is that usually, the family members don't/can't see it. They are too busy conducting their affairs, their "family life", too busy with the cares of this world, jobs, etc. The problem lies, of course, in THE MIND. It is a host of mind=sets, attitudes and very bad habits. I have come to believe that in most cases, dysfunction is generational, i.e. genetic. As in "blood-line curses". Yeah.  Just like that. I said it.

CURSINGS AND WORDS A=FLYING

Let's start out with the greatest tell-tale sign:
Curses. As in  "word cursings".  This usually starts with the parents, who are just following suit the way that they were trained, saying stuff over their kids like, "You're so stupid. You can't do anything right. You won't amount to anything. You'll probably end up in jail before you're 18."  And ETC.  It gets worse. Siblings start in, saying all manner of evil and dark and negative things over each other, not thinking a thing of it, as if it's just OKAY. Later in life, when approached about this behavior, many times they justify it by saying, "We were only kidding, poking fun … why, can't you take a joke??"
SHEEEEESH.
Anybody want to exit this family now??

MEMBERS JUST AIN'T THERE FOR YA

Maybe you come from this type of family. Maybe you have gone through some kind of crisis, a real hard one, and your family's reaction?  "Man I can't believe you let that happen to you … I can't believe you let that person into your life … If it was me, that would have never happened to me … What? You expect me to sympathize and coddle you? Suck it up, baby!"  That's just an example. Some of you have heard much worse. You have become the "family scape-goat", and you get blamed for ALL.
It doesn't matter what happens to anyone else … especially if you are the "lone christian" in the family.  "Just sit over there in the corner and DON'T TALK … we don't want to hear from you!"  Now Jesus said that he didn't come to bring peace but a sword … but he was talking about HIMSELF being the main burning & dividing ISSUE of Life. Jesus doesn't have to bring a sword to these families, they have already fashioned their own!
"Why, do you think you are better than us??? Are you a holier-than-thou person??? Why do you have to be so DIFFERENT???"  And if you are a TRUE BELIEVER, just trying to reach out to your family with the real love of God, well, watch out. In a dysfunctional family, this truth rings true more than anywhere else:
"A prophet is not welcome in his home town."
They just aren't listening.
So, don't plan on going through any personal crises, because even though they may "act" like they care, they won't. They won't be there for you.

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

Paul the Apostle warned that some would fall away from the faith, and some would let their love "grow cold".  So, if you see a hardened heart, and try to appeal to them to "soften up", good luck. The only way that is going to happen is if they have a
Damascus Road=type experience and Jesus bursts through their darkness and stubborn minds. It could happen. You could pray for it. But don't hold your breath, know when to pack-up and dust your feet off. The Lord has plenty of others in this world for you to reach, and you shouldn't spend your whole entire life going back & forth to family, just to repeatedly get your daily dose of light-socket treatment. One can only take so much "shocking". Trust me on this. You can learn to love from a distance … and God didn't call you to pain and strife and suffering. No he didn't.

DYSFUNCTION=JUNCTION, WHAT'S YOUR FUNCTION??

The "function" of dysfunction is to set everything in a family at odds with itself, for things to get twisted and not operate according to God's design. Some people have it all topsy-turvy, and for them it's "normal".  If you don't like it, then "tough!"
When you are a part of something dark like this, for so long, after a while you'll start to wonder if you slipped into  The Munsters  or  The Addams Family!
Unfortunately, we see dysfunction in many other settings … on the job in companies, in government etc.  Dating relationships.
Marriages. A man at the local Circle K yelling at his daughter while she is trying to decide which drink she wants from the fountain. A parent berating a child, who has long grown up, and has "gone his/her own way" and that same parent ridiculing that child/grown-up in public, in their presence or behind their back.  The major dynamic in dysfunctional families is the role-playing of the diplomat, the aloof Dad, the overbearing mother, the "parenting sister" and the family "secret" or the family scape=goat. There are other scenarios, this is just one example. What is the end goal?? That this plays out everyday of the year, for years, until it is passed down as the "family way" or tradition, and the whole thing just starts over again … unless someone rises up and BREAKS THE CHAINS.

THEY GOT TO PUT AWAY THE MASKS!

In order for this madness to stop, to change, those who are "responsible" must wake up and take off the masks. Stop pretending that everything is normal or okay. It's not. Someone is going to get hurt, and chances are, it is too late. They are already VERY HURT. If they love Jesus, then they can get help, they can get therapy.
But what about you???
Are you causing someone pain?
Do you act like a "weapon" because you were "trained" that way? True families are supposed to be there for each other, to share the load, to cry together, rejoice together and cheer each other on. Get rid of your stupid jealousy and hate. Stop pretending that you have such a great family, you've got the whole public fooled, but it all falls apart the next day you get back home. Take off the dark shades, take off the masks and get real … get the Love of God in your hearts. Stop persecuting your own flesh and blood … get behind them, and support their successes, or their attempts at that. Act like you care … and really do care!! Do something to show your love, and not just a bunch of words. Words mean nothing if they are not backed up with real genuine "I feel ya" LOVE.   Love is often an ACTION VERB, that manifests itself in awesome life-changing ways.
The MIRROR is pointing at YOU … take a good long stare at it,
and make a change in your life. For the good of someone you should love.

The Heart of CAIN

This blog topic is different … different than I usually write.
That's may sound peculiar as I am always writing things that could be construed as "different", as far as point of view goes. I have been dubbed "The Radical Pastor" for years, since about 2011.  My blogs represent the fact that I approach topics and spiritual things with the finesse of "radical view", simply because I'm all about exposing LIES and spongy thinking regarding doctrines, etc.
So, I'm in the OT tonight. Don't usually spend a lot of time there, except for maybe Proverbs and Psalms and The Prophets.  Then there's the whole "character-study" thing, where we take someone's life (like Abraham, King Saul or David, e.g.) and dissect that under a microscope.

I believe that most everyone is familiar with the story of CAIN.
He was a son of Adam & Eve … and he had a brother ABEL. Cain was jealous of his brother, his relationship with God, the favor on his life so . . . he killed him.
Now every Bible teacher out there has preached on Cain's sin. But I have only heard a few sermons on "the spirit of Cain". And I'm taking that a little further by talking about The Heart of Cain.
The Heart of Cain is selfish. It is rebellious towards God Almighty. It gets jealous. It likes being "religious" because it thinks that's what makes one "look good".  The Heart of Cain really has the "warm-water-spirit" that we have wrote about. That "lukewarm" thing that is actually quite PHONY. Oh sure it acts all pious and "good" and covers its deeds with "good works" . . . and engages in "sacrifices" to absolve itself from guilt and escape conviction. It may act like it's FOR YOU, but in reality is truly against you. It is the "Benedict Arnold" spirit, through and through. Yes, it will betray you, when you least expect it. The Apostle Paul wrote about "false brethren" -- well, there you go. Need I illustrate anymore?

> And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;  but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”  Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”  He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.  Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!  Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”  So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.  (Genesis ch. 4)

From the narrative we can see just how flippant Cain's attitude was, toward his brother, and toward God.  As we read this, we can tell that Cain never really "repented" of his deed (godly sorrow), but God Almighty dealt with Cain where he was at. He even strongly urged Cain to RESIST sin … God knew what he was going to do, of course. And that was the first time that murder came on the scene.

> For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;  not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.  
(I John 3:11,12)
I have spent a lot of time in this little epistle, I John. It is beautiful and simple, even though the truths contained within are profound and strong. We see verses like, "By this we may know …"  and  "If you say you love God, but hate your brother, how can the love of God be in you?"  And so, with the Heart of Cain. His heart was evil. He hated his brother.

I have been around many so-called "christians" who were nothing more than the devil's "plants", pretending to be saved, pretending to be on my side, but they were the ones who were ready to stab me in the back, when I turned around. Maybe they didn't like my words … maybe they didn't like my "walk" … or maybe I ended up exposing them, because sometimes, that's what I do, whether I know it or not.  Beware. True Blue Believers have "got your back", and won't use your info as a gossip tool to undermine you. This is particularly difficult to deal with if it is a "family member" who turns out this way. It is in our God-given redeemed nature to love them regardless. But "false brethren" cannot receive the love of God, and no matter how hard you try, sometimes, you won't break through their defenses. You have to cover yourself. You have to be on your guard. And in some cases, you may have to walk away, and be rid of the "poison" that some people bring. Some people are just plain TOXIC, and God Almighty never called you to taking in poison, nor did he call you to strife.

I first was made aware of "false brethren" and warm-water-spirit folk by reading Proverbs. Actually, I was commanded by The Spirit of God to study Proverbs, because of the people I was going to be dealing with. I had no idea how much pride and folly they were into. And … That word … those WORDS from Proverbs saved my life, and saved the day on numerous occasions. You might say that the wisdom from that book just "kicked in".

Finally, the heart of Cain has no real concern for the Family of God. No concern for community. No grasp or appreciation of  The Kingdom of God, nor for The People of God. It is only focused and geared toward SELF. If it has to defiantly rise above and step on all the rest, that is what it will do. The heart is murderous … i.e. with WORDS and evil thoughts and scheming against those in its sphere, those in its path.

I could write much more on this topic, but for now, that's all I got to say. I hope and trust that you will study the places I mentioned, read the Apostle Paul's life, and Proverbs, so that you too may be prepared, and not deceived.

GOD BLESS YOU.

Re=Invention!

There's this TV commercial about a 70 year-old man who's getting ready to retire from a car racing and restoration business.  He's been at it for most of his life.  As he's departing the business another 70 year-old man enters in.  He's about to begin a new career, the racing and car restoration business.  I love that commercial, as it depicts the old guard leaving, while a new man comes in to find a new re-invented LIFE.

I thought about this as the Lord has actually led me through a couple of times in my life of reinvention.  As a matter of fact, I'm finding myself there, now.  Again.
How many times have you heard about people saying, "I need to reinvent myself."  It's a need.  It's something that some people need to do.  It's a good thing.  Perhaps, you're one person who has lived your life through a mundane, boring and otherwise, uneventful career/life.  You want and need a challenge.  You want excitement.  You want fulfillment.  Or maybe, you just mucked up your whole life and you want to start over.  I'm telling you, right now, YES it's OK to want to start a new life.  It's OK to reinvent yourself. 

I want to give you some examples of how God reinvented some lives.  Take Moses, for instance.  Moses started out being a Hebrew baby, who then was adopted by the Egyptians and then became a Prince.  One day he discovered his true identity.  He killed a man, rather by accident.  He fled the scene.  He left Egypt.  He ended up with Jethro and the Midianites.  So here's Moses becoming a shepherd, a far cry from what he was before.  Soon he has the encounter with the burning bush.  God speaks to him and tells him that he's going to turn him into a Deliverer.  God sends Moses back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, and tells him, "Let my People go."  In short, you can say that Moses became more than he ever thought he would be, certainly more than he was, a Hebrew.  But today, we look at him as a hero. 
Then, there's the story of Abram.  Abram was hand-picked by God.  God asked him to leave his country and he did.  God began to make all these great and wonderful promises to Abram, told him he would have a son even at a ripe old age.  And God told him he would be, "the father of many nations."  El Shaddai forced Abram into a position of supernatural faith.  How?  He changed his name to Abraham, meaning 'Father of a multitude' or 'Father of many nations'.  So, every time he greeted somebody, he would say, "Hi, I'm the father of many nations." Even though still child-less, he would tell his name to everybody, and hear it from everybody!  In this way, Abraham heard every day the meaning of his name, every single time he spoke his name to somebody.  That powerful concept went down into his spirit and helped build his inner faith.  The "new image" was working on the inside of him, to create his new "self".  This went on for almost a year, the end result being his faith kicked in, amazingly.  Before you knew it, bingo, his wife had a son whom they called, "Laughter" (Isaac). 
Now, let's not forget Simon-Peter, the old salty fisherman that Jesus chose to be one of his disciples and an apostle.  Simon's name means  "he has heard" . . . but Jesus insisted on calling him Peter, instead.  Peter, "The Rock."  Why did Jesus do this?  Well, Peter wasn't exactly what you would call, a super-committed guy.  Jesus knew that he vascillated on things.  By Jesus calling Peter, "the rock," he introduced the character trait of stability into Peter's life, not to mention that he ended up being quite an outstanding apostle as well.

Now back to me!
Jesus saved me in 1974. That's when he came into my life! Pow! It was powerful. I was on fire for Jesus, and wanted to tell the whole world about him.  But through time, religion came to mess with my head and life, and it wasn't so rosy. In 1985, God came to me and spoke to me saying, "I'm sending you far away and starting all over with you."  I ended up going to California. That's about 1987 then . . . the year that "God overhauled my heart". The Lord had to get rid of all the "doctrine-head" I had, and teach me LOVE.  I got filled with the Spirit again, and I had the "divine triangle" fixed in my heart -- I was a changed man.
In 2006, the Lord came to me again and said, "I'm returning you to your 'rock roots'".  I spent years in ministry, including music ministry, and He was trying to show me that I wasn't being 'true to myself', in essence, not really "me". Oh I loved CCM and christian rock, but there was more. Hey, I like Pink Floyd and Deep Purple and Yes and Jethro Tull, and prog rock music too!  That was the time that we developed, with God's help "The Music of DLivahh". Music that Delivers. I wanted to produce real music that also had the element of deliverance in it. I wanted to express the artistry that God had already put in me, that was formerly squelched by others. I also had a prophecy saying that God was going to use me in "the industry".
Lastly, but not final or least, I sense that The Lord Jesus and His Spirit are on the move again, in my life to re=invent me into something ... something I hope is greater than what I have experienced before. To do all that he has laid upon my heart to do, and to utilize ALL the talents that he has bestowed upon me . . . and to operate "outside of the box" as a "radical pastor", teacher, blogger, author, musician, deliverance minister, humorist, voice=over guy, as well as just being plain ol' me … The Eccentric Tony that is a husband and father and friend and lover of Jesus, not limited by opinions or religion or anyone that can't understand this:
I can't just focus on doing ONE THING only!
 I Like doing many things!  I have been blessed with several talents.

I tried "focusing on one thing".  Doesn't work for me.
I have to do ALL the stuff, and I think I do several things "pretty good" … I work at it really hard and I've seen some successes. And so, even while it looks like I'm "all over the map", I'm really just expressing myself the best way I know how, wearing many hats, but enjoying the ride just the same!

How about you? Do you need to "re=invent your self"?
(What's wrong with a little "new improved you", huh?)
Let God Almighty do it … He's really good at it!

Jesus IS King!

"The Kingdom of God is AT HAND."

*and*

"The Kingdom of God is in your midst."

He was called 'King of the Jews'.

"My kingdom is NOT of this world."
Ahhh.  THERE IT IS.

Jesus is not coming back to set up some "earthly kingdom".
He DID come back, through the coming and sending of the
Holy Spirit, who filled the apostles and disciples on earth.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."  

Right now, not sometime in the future.

(Oh, and by the way, The Holy Spirit is still here on the earth!).

"The kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever!”

King of kings, and Lord of Lords.
JESUS IS KING, right NOW, not in the future someday. 

He's already there! He's already been coronated. Crowned. King!
You don't have to wait for his return,
you can fellowship with him NOW,

you can be close to him NOW,
you can get to know him NOW.

He is the King of Hearts.
He "rules" inside the hearts of men.
He IS The Reigning and Benevolent King AND 

He is The Prince of Peace!

IS HE YOUR KING???