There have been various prayer movements in the United States focused on praying for change in our government, the most popular that I know of being TheCall.  I’m sure a lot of young Christians now are probably devastated by the election results, at a loss to explain why God would seemingly ignore their heartfelt prayers.

While some proponents might argue otherwise, the whole point of these movements have been largely to effect political reform.  They were overly focused on what was happening with our government, but not what was happening in the churches.  In short, we were praying for the wrong things.

Our churches are in complete disarray, deluged with religious fads and heretical teachings, with a community of believers that are more concerned about prosperity than they are about holiness.  Whatever the world does, we imitate it at every turn, whether it’s coming up with our own version of “American Idol” or turning our churches into entertainment centers complete with built-in basketball courts and coffee shops.  We’ve become so preoccupied with meaningless creature comforts, and through it all we’ve allowed an entire generation of Christians to be deceived by the rampant heresies that have overwhelmed the body of Christ.  And yet in spite of all this, we’re holding prayer vigils outside the U.S. Supreme Court building pleading for God to give us more conservative judges.  And how has that been working out so far?

Here’s the deal:  God is not concerned with our governments so much as He is concerned with His people.  And since judgment must first begin in the house of God, our focus should always be on taking care of the church first before anything else, ensuring that we walk soberly, with our minds on heaven rather than on political issues of the day.  All the nations are as a drop in the bucket to the LORD of creation anyway, and more notably, the lesson of history has shown us when a remnant of God’s people repent and seek Him with their whole hearts, things then have a way of working out for themselves without any active intervention on our part.

This will soon be an extraordinarily distressing time for Christians, yet I believe it is not intended for our destruction, but rather to encourage us to seek the LORD once again in a spirit of true repentance and broken heartedness.  Whom the LORD loves He rebukes and chastens, and He admonishes us all to “be zealous therefore, and repent.”

So for those of you have become disillusioned and even bitter about the direction our country has been heading in, don’t despair.  God has not abandoned us, and while we may experience grievous times, it is in those times that we will find true faith and revival.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. - John 16:33

Last weekend the LORD directed me to read Isaiah 19, confirming who would win the election and why.  I wasn’t sure how to take it since I was still holding out hope, but now that the election has concluded, these verses are about to become more real than I could probably ever imagine.

I believe the Old Testament gives us a pattern of how God deals with nations and peoples, and these patterns still apply even today.  They are written for our benefit and instruction:

Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them {the people of the Old Testament} for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

With that in mind, I believe Isaiah 19 gives us a strong indicator of what will happen in the next 4 years.  I’ll provide the verses, then follow them up with my comments.

The burden of Egypt.  Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.  And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

That sure sounds like a lot of race-based riots are about to happen soon, doesn’t it?  Our nation will dramatically fracture along political, ethnic and religious lines, and we will all be pitted against each other in a spirit of violence such as we have not seen for a long, long time.

And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

Where conventional wisdom fails, people will run to unorthodox sources for answers (similar to The Secret hype we saw not too long ago.)

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

America, meet Barack Hussein Obama.

And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.  And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.  The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.  The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

Our defenses will weaken and our food supply will suffer.  The cost of certain groceries will likely rise, and rise dramatically.

Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.  And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

Linen manufacture was one of Egypt’s most lucrative trades, so this indicates to me a direct hit on our economy and our ability to trade.

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?  Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.  The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

Matthew Henry writes of this:  “Their politics shall be all blasted,  and turned into foolishness.  When God will destroy the nation he will destroy the counsel thereof,  by taking away wisdom from the statesmen,  or setting them one against another (as Hushai and Ahithophel),  or by his providence breaking their measures even when they seemed well laid; so that the princes of Zoan are fools: they make fools of one another,  every one betrays his own folly,  and divine Providence makes fools of them all.  Pharaoh had his wise counselors.  Egypt was famous for such.  But their counsel has all become brutish;  they have lost all their forecast; one would think they had become idiots,  and were bereaved of common sense.”

That actually sounds like Washington on any given day, but probably more so in the days to come.

The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.  Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

Our unemployment rate is going to skyrocket.  It’s possible we may see the same kind of double digit rates that were only previously seen during the Great Depression.

In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.  And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

Judah at the time was being overrun by the powerful army of Sennacherib, and was considered an ally of Egypt.  The fear expressed here is that Sennacherib would attack them as well.  Applying it to today, a foreign war involving one of our allies may take place (if not already) and the enemy fighting this ally will be seen as a serious threat to us as well, causing much fear and distress.

And now for the good news! 

In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.  In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.  And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

Sarah Palin 2012!

Ok, ok, on a more serious note, I think it’s clear the calamity Egypt went through resulted in a REAL revival (not like the fake ones we’ve seen for the past 10 years or so.)  A small group of cities turned and sought the LORD in a spirit of repentance and broken heartedness, pleading for His intervention.  This remnant of righteousness will spark a turnaround for an entire nation, and God will answer by sending them a deliverer.

Sarah Palin 2012!!!!!!!!   Hey, you never know…

And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.  And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.  In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.  In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

After smiting Egypt the LORD then heals it, and goes so far as to restore what had once been bitter relations between with them and the nation of Assyria, a possible sign that any revival we witness will be confirmed by a healing of relations with a powerful ally of ours.

None of this is set in stone of course, but the pattern is clear:  a nation becomes divisive and violent, falls under the rule of a cruel and fierce king, and all manner of economic calamity shortly follows thereafter, with our government in disarray and our country gripped with fear over the possibility of attacks from foreign entities.  The awful calamities and destructions we experience will however result in a bonafide revival, a revival that will sweep a large segment of our population and cause the LORD to show mercy and restore the nation, one more time.

I have to admit I find this hard to believe.  America has become so ridiculously blind and so breathtakingly evil that I don’t see how we could ever have a revival again, and indeed we may not.  But… if we did, if the church especially sought out the LORD with sackcloth and ashes, and we truly repented of our sins and began to obey His true Word, not being tossed about by the heresies that have so easily been allowed to flourish in the churches before, God may yet spare us, as well as restore the nation we live in.

Whether this revival actually comes or not, I don’t know.  So many people seem to believe Barack Obama was raised up by God to lead the United States, and for once I happen to agree, only not for the reasons they might think.  I believe strongly that he was raised up to be our oppressor, not our deliverer, and the reality of that fact will soon manifest itself shortly after his term begins, as we are thrust into one of the darkest times our nation has ever experienced in its 200+ year history.

Regardless, while “Egypt” may be judged, those who have remained faithful and loyal to the God of creation will find themselves in their own private Goshen.  I believe the Lord will supernaturally care for us even while a nation of people around us becomes severely judged for its sins.  In spite of my own failings and sins, one thing I am still confident of even now, and it is that God will always keep His promises.  He will care for me just as He will care for His people, because He has promised to do so.  And it is that promise I am holding on to, now more than ever.

Beginning in the afternoon exit poll results will start rolling in, and if the pattern follows 2004, it will probably project heavy wins for Obama.  Slate initially reported Kerry winning 7 states (names in bold indicate states Kerry actually lost):  Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico, and Bush winning 3:  Nevada, North Carolina and Colorado.  Zogby reported Kerry winning by a whopping 311 electoral votes to Bush’s 213, with 14 too close to call.  Late in the day Florida was then switched over to Bush’s column by a narrow margin (Bush decisively won the state by 5 points.)  In 2000, exit polls had also favored Al Gore in several key states that he eventually lost.

Morale of the story?  Ignore the exit polls.

I WANT TO BELIEVE

6PM-7PM EST

Polls in Indiana and Kentucky will begin to close at 6PM, while polls in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia close at 7PM.  Kentucky should easily go to McCain, but the results from Indiana should prove interesting.  McCain has either tied or maintained a very slim lead in this state coming into the election, so if the media projects McCain winning by a comfortable margin, it will be a very good sign.  If that’s the case, the media should project a winner for Indiana sometime before 8PM.

Virginia however will also be a HUGE bellwether.  Obama had been leading in this state at times by as much as 9 points going into the last week before the election.  If McCain wins this state as well,  Obama and his supporters can at least kiss their stupid dreams of a landslide victory goodbye.  BUT, if McCain loses not only Virginia, but Indiana as well, we’re finished.  Might as well turn the TV off and start drinking heavily, because the Obamunists are about to take over.  Assuming a similar pattern from 2004, a winner may be projected for Virginia by 9PM.  If McCain gets both these states into his column, this is going to be one crazy night.

7:30PM

Polls in Ohio and West Virginia close.  West Virginia should easily be called for McCain at this point, and presuming a tight race again, a winner for Ohio may not be declared until at least 1AM-2AM.

8PM

Polls should start closing en masse in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.  Sans the swing states, the rest should be easily projected.

It’s possible a winner for Indiana may be declared by this time as well.

8:30PM

Polls in Arkansas and North Carolina close.  North Carolina is another one to watch, where Obama has held a slim lead before.  Should they easily call this one for McCain as well, (in addition to Indiana and Virginia,) it could be a GREAT night for us.  A projection for North Carolina might be made around 9PM depending on the tightness of the race.

9PM

Polls close in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

At this time we should have projections for Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina, and thus a very good indication as to how well McCain will do for the rest of the night.

Assuming things go McCain’s way here, the talking heads will begin chattering endlessly about the inaccuracy of the polls and how the Bradley Effect screwed everything up.  Meanwhile Obama agents will start screaming at the top of their lungs about what a bigoted country we are and that racism is the ONLY reason why McCain is doing as well as he is.  Bet on it.  These liberal weenies are nothing if not predictable.

10PM

Polls begin closing in Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah.  Results from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota should start rolling in, but nothing concrete yet.

11PM

Polls close in California, Hawaii and Washington.  Reports from Florida and Pennsylvania should start solidifying at this point, and a winner may be projected by midnight.

1AM to ?

Polls close in Alaska.

At this point Ohio may be called just as it was by Fox in 2004, sometime after midnight, and starting from 2AM and onward, reports from key western (and some midwestern) states should finally start solidifying enough that projections can be made for those states as well, including Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada.  Projections for states such as Colorado and Arizona should have been made sooner, unless the race had been exceptionally tight.

Bottom Line:

By 9PM we should know for sure how accurate the polls really were.  A McCain win in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina will set the tone for the rest of the night, at which point it will truly become a fight to the finish.  Should that happen, start praying, and start praying HARD.  God in His mercy may yet provide us a stay of execution that I so earnestly hoped and prayed would happen.

And if not, pray anyway.  Whether we face judgment or a reprieve, this country is headed for troubling times, and I can only hope that in such times of distress, we will remember the LORD and seek Him once again in a spirit of true humility and repentance.

Sarah Palin is right, the election for the U.S. Presidency IS in God’s hands after all.  Oh, you thought it was in the hands of millions of U.S. voters?  Well, yes it.  And no, it isn’t.

We do have free will, but it ends where God’s sovereignty begins.  If His hand is in this election, His Spirit is able to move the hearts of the people to vote one way or the other.  The Bible credits Him for building up nations and for tearing them down, democracy or not, and ultimately, just as so many nations have been before it, the future of our country is in His hands.

If Obama wins, I believe he will be the instrument by which God begins judgment on this nation for its grievous sins, beginning with the Christian church.  If McCain wins, I believe we will have been granted a miraculous reprieve from judgment, perhaps in part because of the remnant of God’s people who have even now refused to bow down to Baal and have prayed fervently for a stay of execution.  But whether it’s McCain or Obama, God’s will WILL be done.  He will work, and “who shall let it?”  (Isaiah 43:13)

In light of this truth, it makes me wonder: what if, in spite of a half-billion dollar campaign, in spite of massive voter fraud, in spite of polls predicting landslides and demoralizing the opposition, in spite of a dominating mass media machine that has been completely in his tank, in spite of a world population that overwhelmingly supports him, in spite of an economic crisis that has caused people to blame the wrong villains, Obama still loses?

In the face of such insurmountable odds, will we give God the glory for it?  Will even the non-Christians marvel and admit the “finger of God” has been in this?  Or wil lthey rationalize with excuses and claims of racial bias?

Or what if Obama wins, devastating the followers of movements such as Lou Engle’s The Call?  Will they take it as proof that God does not hear their prayers and subsequently fall away to bitterness and apostasy?  Or will they recognize the folly of their ways and repent, recognizing that in order for a nation to be restored, the church itself must be restored first?

These are interesting times we live in indeed.  But whether we face judgment or a stay of execution, I am convinced that those who belong to the Lord will lack for nothing even in the darkest of times.  They will not be forsaken, nor their seed begging bread.  One thousand may fall at their side, but it shall not come near them.  While the world of Egypt is plagued, the people of God will remain safe in Goshen.  This is the heritage of the servants of God, and their righteousness shall always be of Him.

Now, if I can just get a girlfriend… 

If I were to be perfectly fair, there really is much to be thankful for. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, a stable job, a loving family, and a smokin’ ride.

But I always have a tendency to focus on the negative. I get reminded of all the disappointments of life, all the unanswered prayers, all the times when it feels like God left me here to rot, and I get angry instead. I’m upset that I have to spend yet another Thanksgiving without knowing who the love of my life is, if she even exists. Upset that once I go into work next Monday I may have to gear up for another fight with my union and the department I work for, with no resolution in sight. Upset that my health may never get better, and that I foolishly put myself at risk for life threatening diseases. Upset that no matter how hard I try, my blog doesn’t appear to be getting any traction. Upset that my career prospects are quickly going down the toilet.

So yeah, while there may be some things to be thankful for, there are plenty more reasons for me to remain an ungrateful bastard.

But for whatever reason, I trudge onward with hope. There are times when I really despair, but even in my darkest moments I always dream of a better future. I always hope.

So, if there was one thing I should be thankful to God for above all else, I guess it would be hope. I hope that the present darkness will lead to morning light. I hope that I will someday soon meet my true love. I hope for a better future for both my family and those who remain stedfast in their faith in Christ, even in trying times. I hope for the safety of our troops and their speedy return. I hope peace will continue to reign in the hearts of all my dear friends.

I hope.

Tonight’s chat with a dear friend of mine reminded me of a lesson I learned a few years ago, when I went ape nuts clicking every blue link I could find at iWon.com in a bid to become independently wealthy and attract me some hot gold digging babes. I was on a mission to win something, ANYTHING from iWon’s site, so I could pay my bills, quit my job, and at long last tell my boss to go blow it out his own arse.

I also signed up for these gaming sites too in the hopes that I would become some kind of gaming master and win hundreds of dollars in cash prizes. Instead, I would win $1.50… then lose $2.00, win $4.00, then lose $5.00, and on and on.

For three weeks I was at it, playing games, click click clicking, playing some more games, then click click clicking, then play iWon’s slot machine, then click click clickity click click clicking, until my fingers started to sprain. By the end of the third week I was a few dollars in the hole and my fingers looked liked they belonged to the Elephant Man. I wasn’t getting anywhere. As usual, luck was never a lady with me, and in the end I finally gave up.

The next day I went to work, and as I was signing in, somebody handed me an envelope.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“That’s your raffle prize.”

“My…. what??”

“Every year we raffle off the profits from the soda machines, and everyone is automatically entered. You were one of the winners, so that’s your share. 25 bucks.”

I just stood there, blown away by having finally won something, and especially at the timing of it all. I had spent the last three weeks trying to win every prize imaginable at iWon, and failing miserably at that, and now came this, a $25 prize for a raffle I never even knew existed. I still have that envelope by the way, with the money still inside.

There’s an old joke where a man prays to God to win the lottery and the Lord tells him to go buy a lottery ticket first. In my case even that part had already been taken care of. It was a sobering lesson straight from heaven, and one I had sadly forgotten over the years. As much as I’d like to believe God to rain His blessings on my life without requiring any effort on my part except to receive it, I still strive in my own strength to create my own success, and no matter how many times I fail, that lesson never seems to fully sink in for me. It’s been especially true these past few weeks, as I try to cram as much knowledge as I can find into my poor little brain so I can utilize it all to make money off the Internet, whether through my blog or elsewhere. There’s so much information to sift through, so little time to digest it all, and not enough brainpower on my part to take what I know and transform myself into the self sufficient man that I’ve always longed to be.

And yet I seem to leave no room for God in any of this. I’m trying to do it all on my own strength, relying on the world’s wisdom and philosophies, when instead I should be casting these burdens on Him, and trusting Him to once again provide that envelope of blessings when I truly need it. That’s something no professional blogger or Internet mogul will ever tell you either. But it’s the secret to real success, real peace and freedom from worry, learning that it really is all under His control. If I succeed in this new mission I’ve made for myself, it will not be because of my talents or skills or luck, but only, and ONLY, because God is gracious in His blessings towards me.

By the way, I do intend to use the prize money I won someday… specifically for when I finally meet the girl of my dreams.