Radix Fidem Blog

Some Current Tech Talk Trends

Posted on January 27, 2017 by ehurst

In my computer tech support ministry, I still run into people with notions carved in stone from before the introduction of Windows. It arises from the bureaucratic mindset seeping into the wider society: Invent once; never progress. Do you know that the number one reason for running some major brand of anti-virus on computers is to avoid being fired? “If something goes wrong, make sure your ass is covered.” We call that “CYA.” It doesn’t matter that your corporate choice of AV is utterly, truculently stupid, and the computers consistently get hijacked and leak all your corporate data, as long as you follow the rules they can’t easily fire you.

For one thing, the MacAfee/Norton duality should have died long ago. Back when Mr. MacAfee and Mr. Norton still ran their namesake companies, they had good software. When those two men sold their companies, it all went downhill. These two are now the worst AV products available, worse than having nothing at all. They both create problems you didn’t already have, and solve precious little new trouble. And they will nag you to death about things that don’t matter except to their bottom line.

But in recent months, it seems all the other AV vendors are struggling. Right now, it’s Catch-22, because installing AV means increasing the number of ways you can be attacked. A good AV worms it’s way into your system like a virus in the first place, but tries to keep other malware out. And with Microsoft becoming increasing our-way-or-no-way, I’ve lately begun recommending folks just stick with Microsoft Security Essentials. That is, it stays out of your way and it does not increase the paths by which your system can be attacked, because it’s just another part of the Operating System, not an add-on. It drops into place without opening new holes.

I am surprised by the number of people who, fighting to keep Win7, have simply turned off system updates altogether since that big mess to keep Win10 from hijacking their system. While I can’t blame them, it’s hard to know where you can and should draw the line. I’m not giving advice on this, but I can observe dispassionately that MS is struggling to take over computer use itself. I’m convinced they will someday introduce forced subscriptions. Meanwhile, it seems their current plan is to make Windows 10 the last upgrade. From now on, it’s a rolling update/upgrade in place, and it’s already all-or-nothing for system updates. It will be like your smartphone from the cell provider: You take what they offer or pay a huge price to escape their plans.

Sure, buy a Chromebook. It’s just like the majority of smartphones. It runs an OS indistinguishable from Android and you can’t keep hardly any files on your system; it’s all in the cloud. You do everything through the browser. The only difference is that Chromebooks don’t make cell calls… for now. You have precious little choice what kind of additional software you can install, and the stuff you are most likely to need costs extra. Not bad for an alleged derivative of Open Source Linux, eh? All supported by advertising and user tracking. Oh, wait; MS has forced advertising into the mix on Win10. Maybe that’s how MS will do their subscription thing — you will use Windows and you will endure the advertising. The newest Win10 devices are increasingly like Chromebooks, especially the ones MS sells directly.

A lot of Linux users have begun investing in high-grade used hardware. It’s still powerful enough to run the latest versions of Linux, plus there’s no OS lock-in crap. Meanwhile, it’s cheap because the machines simply won’t run Windows 10; some won’t even run Win7. Commercial grade Vista era machines are a really good deal right now on eBay. You’d be amazed at the vast array of hardware, both inside the box and peripherals, for which Win7 has no drivers and MS refuses to provide them. For example, on a wide array of very good graphics chipsets, you only get a minimal display resolution, but Linux supports them at full resolution.

If you still need Windows 7 and run into something that requires a reinstall, I recommend WSUS Offline Update. It’s officially approved by the MS techies and it bypasses the issue that typically requires days to catch up on the updates after a fresh reinstall. It does this by incrementally pulling in certain required updates first. It still takes long enough, but it’s more like a few hours versus two or three days. I’ve used this myself and it’s about the only way to get it done and keep your sanity. Oh, and you’ll still have more updates when it’s finished, but they’ll install at the normal speed of things.

Posted in computers | Tagged computer technology, linux, windows | Comments Off

Let Me Know

Posted on January 26, 2017 by ehurst

I was born heart-led. As you might imagine, growing up in a world that denies such a thing, I lived a very tormented childhood. It was a wildly strange and twisted existence, where everyone kept telling me to live my conscience, but when I did, they turned on me. What they meant was that I supposed to live their conscience. That is frankly sinful — sinful for them to expect it, and sinful for me to do it.

Even late in my military career, when I felt compelled to walk someone else’s path, it felt dirty and sickening. It’s the one thing about the uniformed service I don’t miss. The arrogance is built into the system.

When you turn to consciously walk the heart-led life, you are suddenly transported to an entirely different realm of existence. Everything starts to make sense. I look back over my years of tortured consciousness and I have forgiven the whole world. No one owes me anything. Now I understand how there is nothing — nothing — I can do to change the situation. Merely wanting to change it is morally wrong. I can’t even change me, but at least I can be granted the power to work on that, and it’s all I can do. By the same token, I can’t avoid seeing how people are destroying their lives, and I have to speak sometimes, in some ways.

Do you see that I’m not really leading you folks at all? The best I can do is explain my sense of calling. As far as possible, I summon my brain to make some sense of what God has planted in my heart, knowing that my pitiful efforts to relate that in words can be used to awaken something in you. And it applies across the board, from my spouse to the outer rings of my limited dominion. Everything is voluntary. People who love me and fellowship with me do so to answer their own sense of need and calling. Do you know what it’s like when the little girls across the breezeway see me and run to hug my leg? Do you know what it says that they feel comfortable asking to borrow a stick of butter?

I really do love the fellowship; I love it when you take the time to post comments or send email. Some of you have sent donations from time to time and that’s also just dandy, but it’s more important to hear from you how God is using me to bless your life. I want to know how you find your own victory, your own calling, your own moral dominion. Tell me how I can pray for you.

Posted in personal | Tagged eldercraft, fellowship, moral accountability, prayer | Comments Off

Our Parish Teaching on Politics

Posted on January 25, 2017 by ehurst

To the degree that we could change anything in this world, it has to come as a secondary result of our normal mission activity. This is particularly true with politics and government policy.

Let’s review the background for this. The Covenant of Noah is binding on all human governments in the world today. Inherent in that covenant is the assumption of Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) feudalism — a tribal social structure and government. If for some reason you cannot build on blood kinship, a covenant family is proper. The summarizing statement is: No one has any business poking around in your daily life unless they are related by blood of covenant.

There is a protocol for an external conquering “imperial” government, but that government must work through tribal chiefs. The emperor has no business changing customs, folkways and religion, but can demand tribute, including money, goods and services. Military conscription must be negotiated. Whatever the end result, humans are hard-wired by God to live in a tribal social structure under ANE feudalism. That’s the Law of God; that’s how you reap the blessings, the optimal human existence on this earth.

Failing that, we who embrace that Law of God are to recognize that God still steers human affairs rather like herding cattle. Human government outside of Noah cannot pretend in any way to claim God’s blessings. Whatever good things God does through such governments will ever appear random, as it rests entirely upon His whims and plans. Those plans are seldom revealed except in terms of prophetic warnings to repent.

You and I are not divine cowboys; we don’t participate in herding the cattle of God. We most certainly should offer prophetic warnings, but we are not to engage government affairs outside the Covenant. We can influence individuals within appropriate limits, but we do not agitate for change as if we actively participate in human government. We can even serve in such governments, but there are no hard and fast rules. It’s a matter of calling, but in broad general terms, we should avoid leadership roles that amount to governing, per se. This has to do with the very serious danger of moral compromise, beholden to a heathen system.

The risk is that it amounts to idolatry. In biblical examples, we see men and women of God refusing to submit to a ruler who demanded his servants worship his deities. At the cost of death or other, lesser punishments, we do not bind ourselves to idolatrous moral requirements. You can petition for relief of grievances both as individuals and as covenant entities, but you dare not join yourself to “political allies” with significantly different moral values. You have to stick to what’s in the Law of Noah. So, for example, I can’t align with any mainstream Christian organization because their agenda includes too much that I find contrary to Noah. Vague notions of democracy, representative or otherwise, violate Noah.

But we don’t simply remove ourselves from the world, lest we lose any hope of participating in revelation. That’s another form of idolatry. We do engage our world in truth. You need to discern what’s appropriate for you in your social context. In broad general terms, we would naturally seek to reduce tyranny and oppression. We naturally prefer decentralized control; that’s the lesson of the Tower of Babel. Those things are obvious but we always do so in the power of the Spirit, not through mere human means.

If you break cattle out of the feedlot or slaughterhouse, they are still cattle. If you break them out of slavery to this world and into a heart-led life, they aren’t cattle any more. Changing human governmental systems will not raise them from their low estate. To bring them under Noah requires a radical shift in culture across the whole population. Doing that requires a level of force no less tyrannical than any current government. If they are conscious enough to recognize they suffer under tyranny, about the most we can do for them is help them find their own way out. What happens once they are out on the range again is up to them and what God chooses for them.

Thus, we are politically neutral in our compassion to all. If they have a drive to act on something, we must discern whether our conscience is clear in helping them, but we dare not get directly involved in most of their concerns. We don’t seek to change the world, only a few individuals whom God places in our lives.

Posted in eldercraft | Tagged Biblical Law, education, Noah's Covenant, politics | Comments Off

Politically Agnostic

Posted on January 24, 2017 by ehurst

Hopefully I’ve established a model of clarity and acuity for things of this world. It’s not a question of objective truth; it’s a question of avoiding the trap of sloppy thinking that makes propaganda work to manipulate behavior. I’m trying to cut you loose from the mental chains so you can decide who you are and what your narrative will be in the Lord. You need to know your own story as told by your heart to your mind.

Let me assure you: If you can seize upon the heart-led way of living, your prayers for divine wisdom about the world around you will be granted. You will know your story and what it demands of you. You will find a way to tell that story and God will use it to reveal His glory to others. Believe it.

My head is exploding these past few weeks. Not in the sense of encountering things that seem impossible and intolerable, but in the sense that my brain is making huge leaps of understanding about my mission and what I have to know to engage that calling. The paradox is that, the more I grasp, the more I realize what I don’t grasp. If the truth does not make you fall on your face, then you didn’t get much truth. Divine revelation always fills you with humility and self-cynicism. On the one hand you are bursting with a message; on the other hand you are hesitant to say much because you don’t want to mislead anyone.

I have to tell my story; take it with a grain of salt. See it as just my narrative, a model for your consideration. You have to know your own story; notice the paradox of faith and assurance woven in with self-doubt.

Observe the current US political scene. Has anyone noticed how those who accuse their opponents of being like Nazis are themselves acting like violent storm troopers? Who is being hateful and destroying property? I said we would have fascism under Trump’s presidency, but I didn’t realize it would be embraced by his opponents. The pattern has been set and we should expect more of it, to the point we would call it “terrorism.”

But it’s not as if Trump’s constituency is all goody-two-shoes. Rather, they are better organized and trained. Not trained by Trump and his staff, but they bring the training with them. They are out for vengeance, but they generally refuse to ape the violence and destruction of their opponents. Nor do they act at Trump’s command; they were ready to act a long time ago. Trump’s ascension gives them permission and the hope of succeeding at what they always wanted to do. Some of it will be very ugly.

For example, this is the first time the Washington DC police and prosecutors have used felony charges on rioters. Some 200 protesters were kettled into a small area and arrested en masse. And instead of being charged as a nuisance, they are looking at ten years confinement and $25K fines. Some are clearly innocent, but even the standard lefty lawyers stepping up to defend them are shocked. Trump didn’t tell anyone to do that; he created an atmosphere that leads to such things by uncorking the long simmering anger of folks who got rubbed raw by political correctness.

There are plenty of things Trump will do himself, but I’d suggest that you won’t really understand what’s happening if that’s all you notice. Look at what his constituency, the majority-in-effect are doing. He’ll try to defund various government institutions that have traditionally been run by and for leftist causes. His followers will sneak around by the “back doors” and cripple the leftist activists in other ways. I suspect you won’t see storm trooper violence from the Trumpites, but you’ll see a very determined and organized shredding of leftist institutions. Think of all the things these institutions rest on, what makes them go. On the front side, there will be the propaganda war that discredits the mainstream media support for the left. The Trumpites are using social media and independent news sources and making sure their fortunes rise. But behind the scenes, you’ll hear about hacking of lefty organizations, doxing their leaders, exposing the funding sources, and provoking local governments to basically make leftist activism illegal.

Look for incumbent Democratic leaders in Congress to start losing elections back home. Look for counter-boycotts, where the Trumpites start buying lots of stuff from targets of lefty boycotts. Look for counter-demonstrations using surprise techniques to basically make demonstrations pointless. For example, try to picture a large formation of unmuffled Harley Davidson motorcycles revving their engines in unison right next to a noisy crowd of chanting SJWs. And Trump’s constant lavish courtship of law enforcement will provoke them the same as we saw with the DC metro PD recently. Do you remember when the IRS was used to persecute and hinder the Tea Party movement? Donors are also very vulnerable. The IRS has shown themselves willing to obey the will of whomever is President.

Look for vengeance. Not just the revenge of those who might be somewhat justified in crushing past abusers, but this right-wing backlash will bring out all kinds of old scores to settle, some from way out on the fringes. It’s not pretty no matter who the victims are. As I said before, a lot of decent folks get hurt in political games like this, regardless what side of the street they stand on.

What will I do? I’ll give you an example: In times past, my computer ministry saw me helping a lot of right-wingers who felt oppressed. That’s who called on me. If now the oppressed lefties start asking for help, I’ll be there for them. We all gain from better computer security because computers and the Network are politically agnostic. We are called to render aid to the oppressed, and there’s an awful lot of decent people on both sides.

Posted in sanity | Tagged activism, computer ministry, economics, law, politics | Comments Off

What’s Going On 05

Posted on January 24, 2017 by ehurst

I’ve gotten it down pat. Once the tower was reassembled, it took just over an hour to: install Xubuntu, update, configure the desktop and install all the extra software I use, to include the Windows stuff I run under WINE. The only boo-boo was testing the latest Java JRE release; it’s not ready for prime time, so I installed the default.

My Mom was up from Texas to see her progeny. I met her at her motel because our apartment complex won’t allow her dog, even for a short visit, without a whopping big deposit. It’s a whole different game talking about things face to face where you can commune via sensory heart waves. It wouldn’t help much if I were to make videos or recordings, because without that direct heart linking, it’s just the same as writing. I can tell the difference; I don’t like talking by phone or recorded media, but I love chatting in person. So we discussed the things I posted the past few weeks here on the blog, along with her plans for continuing ministry. We agree we both have at least one more mission ahead of us.

I rode my bike to see her. I’m keeping my “car” in shape. Today I received the brake pads I ordered and I’ll be installing them tomorrow. These days I don’t ride to explore any more, just to visit one or another prayer chapel in the wild. In fact, I’d love to have access to a rowboat so I could visit some secluded areas at Draper Lake, or just to get out on the water away from human noise.

Someone asked me once about the notion that we have aliens among us. A couple of guys are claiming that their blood type isn’t human, or something like that. The answer is that, if aliens are around, they are part of God’s Creation. Either they are fallen or they are not, but if they hang out on earth, it’s likely they will have no effect at all on my mission in life.

Another question was regarding A Course in Miracles (ACIM). I’m okay with some of their psychology; it overlaps ours. However, there is one really significant distinction. They say that reality doesn’t actually exist; the world is an illusion. I teach that reality exists, but that we are born deluded about its nature. The problem isn’t reality, but with our perception. But we agree on the idea that perception has a powerful effect on how you experience reality. We teach here that if you walk by your heart-mind, Creation as a sentient living thing will shift to meet you as a friend and ally. You’ll get special treatment from reality; it’s so tired of “heartless” humans that it will jump in with extravagant blessings when someone appears with their heart-mind awareness. That’s because Creation/reality is woven from God’s moral character.

There are differences, but I’m not interested in attacking the ACIM folks.

It hit 76°F (24C) today and south winds are stiff. Tomorrow it will be just over half that temperature. We do the temperature see-saw like that in Oklahoma.

Posted in personal | Tagged miscellaneous | Comments Off

Photography: Revisiting the Canyon

Posted on January 23, 2017 by ehurst

I’m posting this from the resurrected tower computer. The replacement hard drive arrived today and it’s working fine. I haven’t much felt like long rides mattered any more, so just over 20 miles was plenty. Today I felt like revisiting the canyon just off the NW entrance to Draper Lake and tried to get some better shots.

Since my last visit the trail coming around behind the canyon has seen some significant use, mostly horses and dogs (of course the deer tracks are everywhere). I was able to ride right up to the canyon itself. My new multipurpose tires didn’t feel any different on the rough ground from the knobbies. I made the decision to check out the canyon about half-way there, so all I had on me was the little pocket Coolpix. Still, it didn’t do too bad.

It’s a lot deeper than it looks in these pictures. I’d have to fall to get down on the bottom, and I might not be able to get back out. I never saw any good trails down into it, and the bottom was still mucky anyway.

Of course, my real intent was to visit Miracle Hill. It’s my favorite prayer chapel. Today I was praying for our Brother Jay; it’s a private matter but he’s walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death right now. I’d like for you to pray for him to make it through this and come out the other side. I stayed up there on the hilltop quite a while; the wind really smells good up there most days. Scanning the horizon, I could see all the way to the weather radar dome at Max Westheimer Field in Norman, the OKC skyline, the other local weather radar dome way out near Choctaw Road, and so forth. I could also see the heart of God on a few things that were on my mind.

I may be spending a lot of time out there in the coming days.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cycling, geography, photography | Comments Off

No Title Fits This

Posted on January 22, 2017 by ehurst

I love it when friends are willing to stand for what they believe. In a background conversation with someone dear to me, we discussed some issues related to the inauguration ceremony Friday. I was trying to clown a bit, but my friend came back with something solid and it triggered a prophetic response in my soul. The conversation itself does not bear repeating here, but there is now a burden I have to bring before you.

It’s a clarification of the picture I’ve already tried to draw. I remain committed to your welfare, brothers and sisters, particularly in your sense of confidence and faith in the Father’s calling on your life. Particularly for you living here in the US, or close enough to be splashed by the mess in the US, I want you to rest assured God is watching us all closely. We are going to be okay, and our message will prosper.

Surely you already understand that this treasure we hold in our earthen vessels is not going to capture much attention. That’s a good thing. Had God left the world on the apocalyptic track, then we would need that kind of attention for His glory. But now that we are on a different track, we are better off flying below the radar. Getting attention right now can be very expensive in the worst way. What follows should serve to explain that, so just follow me here for a few paragraphs.

Let’s review some things I’ve already said. The elites have been in control of America since the first Constitutional Convention. The Constitution was a cynical device for defrauding the people of responsive government. A few of the folks attending that convention said so, and were silenced, shouted down, as it were. Centralization is evil in God’s eyes, and the Tower of Babel narrative was recorded in part to get that across. The whole image of federalism is a big lie, a propaganda trick intended to slowly collapse government into the federal center. Those guys who wrote the Constitution knew what it sounded like, but also knew it wouldn’t last. But the states smelled a rat and it was never really ratified, just declared so by the central government officials. And the majority of those likely to take any real action bought it.

Understand the concept here: majority-in-effect. It’s not the majority of voters, nor the majority of voices, nor even the theoretical majority will. It represents what government officials can get away with because there aren’t enough genuine dissenting peasants to stop them. The number of folks likely to actually get off their butts and make real trouble for the elites is pretty small. And paying them to riot won’t do it; it has to be folks who really and truly believe in it enough to act at their own expense.

Of course, when that minority gets riled up, they drag a significant number of somewhat interested folks with them. That’s what Trump won in the election. That’s his constituency, and Congress dares not oppose them. Having now stirred them up, the momentum is like an avalanche that will pull a lot of pressure along with it — all those folks who can’t rise up on their own, but will go along with it opportunistically. They are mobilized and things will change.

One of the things that will change is a rollback in the lefty agenda. Of course, keep in mind that an awful lot of good stuff will go down the tubes with all the SJW/globalist bullshit. Do you understand that the left has hijacked a lot of good ideas, dragging in some things that represent genuine human need? The SJW/globalist agenda by itself is sheer evil. It would have collapsed in a few days of its birth had it not managed to sucker in a huge front of folks who truly believed in something that made a lot more sense.

I’ll give you an example: That DAPL pipeline is going to poison millions of acres of land before I die, if it gets built. That’s the standard negligence of how Big Oil does things, and they deserve to burn in Hell. So the Native American protesters and all their allies, while perhaps misguided in some ways, are closer to God’s revelation than those who seek to force that pipeline through. That’s not a left/right issue; that’s an unconscionable rape of God’s Creation we are talking about. Trump’s administration creates a policy ambiance that favors Big Oil. And while a great many Trumpites aren’t necessarily behind that pipeline, you can bet the protest will be stained with the same tar that gets splashed on the SJW/globalist agenda.

You can probably think of some other examples of truly good things that have been hijacked that way. Do you understand that this women’s march is funded by Soros? That’s like painting a target on everyone who showed up for that march. Soros and his gang know that; they suckered a huge variety of differing, even conflicting, groups with sponsorship as cover for the real agenda. They needed a huge showing. And the good stuff you probably didn’t read about in the news, or even the alt-news, will be tainted by showing up at that march with the bad stuff. That was a tactical mistake that will destroy some good causes.

Granted, I’m saying that within the context of what we actually have here in the US, not what we teach is a better society. The world around us is not going to give much heed to the radical notion of ANE feudalism, and they certainly would get grouchy about the idea of ending Western Civilization. Working with the system we have, I could have easily shown them a better path for US politics. It’s patient, persistent and compassionate.

Do you understand how Trump’s political victory stands on the shoulders of Ron Paul? Everyone says Ron Paul’s presidential campaign failed, but it didn’t. That is, he didn’t win a shot at the office, but he won in almost every other way. His campaign awakened the Internet awareness of his supporters, and in the end, it meant getting the attention of a lot of folks who didn’t know they supported Ron Paul until they got a more accurate accounting of it when folks bypassed the corporate media. It set things up for Trump to win when he made a much wider appeal. And woven into that appeal was one essential ingredient: All the folks who had been rubbed raw by the impatient SJW/globalist agenda that rose under Obama. Obama’s supporters didn’t try to win hearts; they gleefully wielded the power of corrupt government. The constituency that responds to scolding is much smaller than that which responds to heartfelt compassion and moral suasion.

The atmosphere Trump creates will unleash all the anger Obama’s friends provoked. Everyone who took refuge in his shadow now has a target painted on their backs. If you think Hillary was humiliated, wait until you see what’s coming. Remember that DAPL protest? The state government there wants to make it legal for ordinary folks to run over protesters blocking the roads. Several other states are cooking up similar laws that are guaranteed to shut down such protests. Did your peaceful march serve to shelter some violent anarchists? Your organization will pay the damages. And so it goes.

Folks, this is not a good time to draw attention. This is a time for quiet and compassionate missions to those individuals whom God places in our path. We are not a movement; we are the song of Creation singing to the few individuals whose ears God has opened. We are the voice of wisdom that doesn’t shout in the streets like all the other hucksters, but a voice that speaks softly to those whose hearts cry out in pain. Don’t worry; they’ll be looking for us. Some part of their soul will have the radar turned on, seeking the sound without noise, the song without words, the glow of the Spirit in the Land of Shadows.

Do you realize that your heart-felt obedience to God’s Law creates a powerful presence? Not everyone will notice, but all the rest of Creation notices. If you haven’t been greeted joyfully by the grass, flowers, trees, birds, etc., then you aren’t paying attention with your sensory heart. Nature is so tickled to meet us heart-led folks that it’s almost giddy, and it generates a living power that changes the very air around you. Believe it! Rely on it and act accordingly.

Posted in prophecy | Tagged Creation, faith, heart-led, history, politics | Comments Off

We Are Not of This World

Posted on January 22, 2017 by ehurst

We are trans-dimensional creatures. The third pillar of Christian Mysticism is disentanglement — don’t let the context own you. Instead, discern how God owns it and you are His feudal servant, executing His judgment on your dominion. Your primary concern is battling temptation in your own soul; you are the battlefield. We fight Satan on our knees before God; events in the rest of life are just gathering plunder. Get your responses right and God will handle the rest. Learn to accept His provision as in your best interest; His glory is your best interest.

At the same time, we absolutely must have some sense of what God would prefer to see based on His revelation. You have to understand His character; His preferences are personal, not precise. You have to understand that He always takes action against sin — and always blesses obedience — in His own way and time. But you have to see how the vast majority of the human race consistently fails His expectations so that you can then know what to expect.

The testimony of His dealings with the human race are sufficient to provide a model for the mind to use as a frame of reference. On that foundation, the heart builds and directs you in specific contexts for you personally, making you what you were meant to be. While you should also be aware of how the world views these things, you should always be aware that your mission takes no guidance from the human angle. So you may well be called on to do something that cannot possibly succeed, simply because your failed effort points out the righteous path and how people refuse to embrace it. You aren’t supposed to win all the skirmishes; you are supposed to carry God’s standard into battle and keep it visible.

Stay disentangled from the political scene. At the same time, you must discern the moral nature of what’s happening. Be cynical, not dismissive. It will affect your mission and you should seek God’s wisdom to understand without inserting your personal sentimental reactions. If you are fully conscious of what offends you and why, it’s easier to sort out the flesh from the heart-mind. It’s easier that way to know what to expect and to know your duty regarding it.

So, for example, when I look at what Trump has done so far, I see a man of action who is going to make some radical changes. He will break any rule that doesn’t suit him; he will be like no president in living memory. However, he loves to play head-games about that as part of his dominance milieu. Plenty of the crap he’ll ignore, but there is a specific pattern to his combative answers. If all you see is the inconsistencies and thin-skinned arrogance, you won’t understand what he’s doing. He is fully capable of deciding in a flash to change his plans because he’s likely to have a dozen different ways to deal with almost anything. He is willing to cut his losses and move on if it’s not worth fussing about in his mind. It’s not simple megalomania; it’s far more crafty and self-conscious than that. I suspect he will go down in history as one of the “great men” of politics, in the sense that he will genuinely change things in a big way. Whether those changes are good or bad is mostly a matter of seeing the moral impact on multiple levels, as we are taught in the Bible.

Of greater significance for you and I is the prophetic vision, the currents of moral ebb and flow, things we can all see if we try. Paul said that if there is one spiritual gift we all should pray for, it’s that we could stand up and deliver the prophetic truth of God and His hand in this world. Prophetic vision is the quintessence of how we proceed into this new reality God is creating. Prophetic truth has a distinct and varied topography. While no two of us will see exactly the same details, you will begin to grasp how it’s just different viewpoints of the same big moral concern. What I’ve shared so far has been confirmed by others, and it’s heartening. It yields courage for the battles we all fight in our own souls.

So let me share something that wove itself into my dreams: Our biggest problem as heart-led believers is that Trump has bowed the knee to Zionism. Naturally he will follow the beat of his own drum in pursuit of this commitment, but whatever deep dark secret rhythm it beats has something to do with Israel. I’m not sure it’s a personal commitment in his soul, but it’s definitely the key to understanding how he will seek to sell us into slavery.

As I’ve said often, whatever Israel is, she does not hold any of the Covenant promises now — not this Israel. So Zionism represents the single, most incredibly massive lie of the Devil today, and we need to remain unfettered in every way possible. If I tell you to avoid debt, it’s more than just a mere financial matter; it’s the full spectrum of moral encumbrance. Cling to the parable of the nomad tent dwellers of Ancient Hebrew culture, always ready to move at a moment’s notice and abandon anything that doesn’t enhance the mission. This world is not our home — and we have to understand “this world” means the system of human existence under the Fall. This world is life without the heart-mind; it’s life without full communion with God and His Creation. Our teaching is to restore that heart-led approach to reality. We can sally forth into the future proverbially naked and find all that we need for His glory at the next camp site where the fiery pillar of cloud halts. That’s the “Israel” we seek.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged christian mysticism, heart-mind, Modern Israel, politics, prophecy, spirituality, Zionism | Comments Off

Psalm 119: Tzaddi 137-144

Posted on January 21, 2017 by ehurst

This octet delivers the Charge of Righteousness. The image is a feudal servant vested with a special trust, a mission that the servant must faithfully keep over a long period of time and through a long series of trials. He’s like a keymaster who must follow his lord through endless turmoil, yet always able to deliver the key when called.

Our Lord defines justice in His Person; His judgments are self-consistent. More than a mere record of His actions on this earth, it is the testimony of their meaning that He has charged us to keep, and they are more solid than the roots of great mountains.

Our psalmist finds himself burning with zeal, a fire all the hotter against the hassle of dealing with people who can’t be bothered to pay attention to God’s revelation. The Word of God has been tested and purified in the trials of His servants, so it’s a legacy more precious than any earthly treasure to us.

Most people aren’t impressed with the human talents of the psalmist; all the more reason he must distinguish himself by faithfulness to God’s revelation. This divine justice to which he clings is like a path that vanishes into eternity, to the very face of God Himself. What God decrees is the very substance of existence itself.

Whether it’s natural or man-made trouble that afflicts him, he can always find peace and contentment in God’s Law. The essential rightness of His testimonies will outlive life itself. He begs that God would write them on his soul to enable him discernment that makes life worth living.

Posted in bible | Tagged hebrew literature, law, psalm 119 | Comments Off

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