You may have noticed that I haven’t got involved in political matters on this blog. By nature I would be considered a conservative. My time in the Vietnam war might have had something to do with that because I grew up in a family of liberal democrats. So was I until I was exposed to the corruption of the U.S. government. It was very much a downer to find out at the end of that war that 57,000 of our men and women died over there for nothing except to make corrupt politicians and the military-industrial-complex rich in exchange for the blood of our servicemen. Enough said.
I got home from that war in 1967 after three “cruises” over there in the Navy off the coast of Vietnam. The more I read about the political history of the U.S. and Vietnam, the more disenchanted I got with all that took place during that war. I was looking for answers and an alternative to the insanity that was happening all around me which continued after I came home. But I can now say that God used it all to get me to look beyond myself and anything this world had to offer.
The problem with most of us is that we keep looking for answers in this world. But what did Jesus say as He was being tried by Pilate?
“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36, ESV2011)
The question is, what kingdom are we of who claim Christ? We who want to fight and use soulish means to advance Jesus and His kingdom are showing that we are not of His kingdom. Jesus had to rebuke Peter when he drew his sword in defense of his Savior. “Put away your sword, Peter. Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.”
I think I had a two stage conversion to Christ. By 1968 We had started to attend an evangelical church in our neighborhood. Having been raised a Catholic, hearing the Bible preached from the pulpit was something new to me and the Bible was scratching an itch I couldn’t reach. By the summer of 1970 the Holy Spirit was hard after me and I was becoming quite miserable trying to be a “good” church Christian. I could read the Bible for myself, but I was missing the enlightening power of the Spirit and it was like reading a big city phone book. It was all disconnected. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father but by me.” Led by the pastor of that church, I had said “a sinner’s prayer” in 1968 but that was not enough. God wanted me to walk IN the Spirit and not just in religion so that I might hear His voice. Jesus said that after He died He would send us the Comforter and that He would lead us into all truth (see John 16:13&14). Until I received the infilling of the Spirit I had no idea what I was missing.
Before then I was totally miserable and terrible to live with. My wife had told me that unless something changed, she and the kids would have to leave me. She told me that the hate in me was killing her and the kids. THAT gave me a lot to think about over the next three months! Of coarse the enemy was telling me to commit suicide and do everyone a favor (if God had not moved on me the way He did I probably would have). It is no wonder that over 300,000 Vietnam war veterans have commuted suicide or died in strange accidents after coming back home.
One day in July 1970 I came out of that Sunday church to find a handbill on the windshield of our car. It was an invitation to park meetings that some out of town “Jesus People” were having in our area. I figured, “what do I have to lose!” After going to two or three of these open air meetings, I finally found out what was missing in me, I had not yet been filled with the Spirit of God. I asked one of these young people what it meant to be filled with the Spirit. He told me that the law of physics states that no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. THAT I understood! He went on to tell me that as long as I was filled with myself, the Spirit could not come in. I needed to get down and humble myself before God and be emptied out of everything I was, everything I had, everything I even hoped to be. I had to confess every sin that I had committed as far back as I could remember and give it ALL to Jesus. He went on to say that if I would get real with God, He would fill the dark void in me with His Spirit. That evening in a coffee shop prayer room, I did just that and it was not a pretty sight.
Looking back on it, I think that I picked up a spirit of murder while I was in the Vietnam war. Since I left that war behind, I had been collecting guns and ammunition and dreaming of killing people that were against my political beliefs. The guns and ammo had to go along with all that was driving me to do evil. In short, I got delivered that night.
The apostle Paul wrote,
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2Cor 5:17, AMP)
Sometime that night the Spirit of Christ came into me and I awoke in the morning with a new mind and a new heart. All that hate that had been driving me was gone and I was filled with Christ’s love for all men. Three months later my father-in-law came to visit. He took my wife aside and said, “What has happened to Mike? He doesn’t swear anymore!” As the Bible says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” and I had been given a new heart (see Hebrews 8:10&11).
You might be wondering, “What does all this have to do with the assassination of Charlie Kirk?” I had not been a follower of his and not a big fan of political people in general since Christ set me free of all that had been driving me before. As a result, I have to stay clear of getting involved with politics least I fall back into my old mindset and make room for demons to take over again. Jesus warned us about such things when He said,
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” (Matt 12:43-45, ESV2011)
In Proverbs we read, “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” (Prov 26:11, ESV2011). Dear saints, we must learn from what happened to this young man that shot Charlie Kirk. He had been meditating on killing Charlie “because Charlie was filled with hate.” That hate demon had found a home in him to manifest the will of the prince of demons. Except for the grace of God, that could have been me in 1970 taking the life of some left-wing politician or antiwar demonstrator.
When Jesus and the disciples were about to pass through a Samaritan village, those people turned them away because they saw that Jesus and the disciples were Jews heading for Jerusalem. (The Samaritans believed that they had the true place to worship in their “holy mountain”). How did Jesus’ disciples react?
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, will you that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?’ But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, ‘You know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they went to another village. (Luke 9:54-56, KJ2000)
What manner of spirit are we of? It is sad what happened to Charlie Kirk and many believe that he is now with Jesus in heaven. We should pray for his wife and children, but we should also pray that this young man that killed him that he might reach out to Jesus in his misery. Remember Jesus’ words to Nicodemus. No one is beyond salvation.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17, ESV2011)
“That whosoever believes in Him” would have eternal life. It is never too late. Remember the repentant thief that was crucified with Jesus? He called out saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43, ESV2011)
(The above photo was courtesy of Janine Robinson on Unsplash)
A Wilderness Voice 
Thanks, Michael… good word. As much as we hope for improvement in our culture and government, nothing can change until the hearts of the people experience God as you did. We continue praying for that time.
Blessings,
Grover@
Christianbody.net
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Thanks for your comment, Grover. I completely agree. Jesus put it this way, “I am the vine and you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing.” This shows us the importance of prayer being more important than political action.
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Thanks, Michael… as much as we hope for improvement in our culture and government, there is no real hope outside of His new life, as you experienced. Blessings to you and yours…
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Thanks again, my brother.
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🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
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Oh boy, that was a very honest confession, Michael! You have courage, indeed! 👍🏻
Great article, my brother. Thank you for sharing what our Lord put on your heart. 🙏🏻🕊❤️
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Susanne, you have always been an encouragement in Christ to me. I thank Jesus for the Spirit led exchanges that we have had together for all these years. Your exhortations to come up higher above all those downward pulls of this world have made the difference.
Yours IN Christ, Michael
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Michael, whenever the Lord shows up in our midst during our talks on the phone, it is like a taste of heaven. Even though we have been so many miles apart, for God there is neither space nor time. God does not need a building where we meet since we are His temple (1 Cor 3:16) and His living stones (1 Peter 2:5). I am so very grateful to our Lord for this blessed fellowship. You are a treasure, my brother! ⭐
Yours in Christ
Susanne
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Yes, Susanne. Your comment just reminded me of my heart’s cry after I read Jesus’ final prayer a few years ago…
That taste of heaven you speak of happens when His prayer gets answered IN us… We experience the heavenly unity that Jesus has with the Father. Like that old hymn says, “Oh, what fellowship, oh what joy divine… leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” In God’s economy there is ONE Christ, ONE body and ONE Head of that body with All of its members fittingly joined together, edifying one another IN His love. I am so blessed to have experienced this with you. May we truly be a witness to the world around us when anyone asks us “What is this hope you have within you?” What Jesus has shared with us IS the testimony that God desires from all His saints. Amen!
Michael
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Amen to all of that, Michael!
And may we never forget that it is all His doing, not ours. We have no means in ourselves to bring His Spirit into any situation, not even into our fellowship if our own spirit has not surrendered to His Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance. I was just reminded of the following Scripture,
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.” (Ps 127:1-2 BSB)
Susanne
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So true! Thank you Jesus for your great love for all your saints. Amen.
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AMEN!
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Thank you! Your words are cool water on a hot, dry day.
Blessings!
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Thank you for your encouraging words, dear sister. I hope all is well for you up there in Idaho. Remember, the Kingdom of Heaven is within as we rest in Christ.
Michael
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It’s so true what you have shared Michael,we as saints have to keep our eyes on Jesus, spite of all the violence and political upheavel in the world, our Lord Jesus warns us of all the signs of the confusion and deception of the last times in which we are living, and not to be caught up in being involved in it, we have a heavenly Christ, and a heavenly calling, and our citizenship, our commonwealth, our associations of life are in heaven not in this world, we are in the world but not of it, we can’t help but see all the wickedness around us, but we must not be tempted to try to make the world a better place, that’s what some christians get tricked into doing, thats what politics is, trying to influence and reform the world, its like the woman in Revelation chap. 17 riding the beast, trying to guide and control the beast, thats what the corrupted system of christendom is always trying to do, always involved in politics. But we are of God in Christ Jesus, the Assembly, the Church is the body of Christ, and we are the organic members of that body, and are not out of the world as a source,because Christ has chosen us out of the world.When I see all the evil going on in the world the temptation can come to take a side, but then I see my side is Jesus, my calling is from heaven, and cry out, come quickly Lord Jesus, unto Him who loves us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests unto His God and Father, unto Him be glory and dominion unto the ages of the ages Amen
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Thank you, Jim, for your reply. As I read what you wrote, I was first reminded of the following warning from Paul that not only the siren song of the world and its people trying to draw us away after their causes and way of thinking, but to be aware of what is going on wherever people gather in the name of Christ,
Even in the first century the enemy had planted false teachers and false prophets among the ekklesia of God. It came in with the rising up of the bishops in each area where Paul had planted the body of Christ… men who came out from being among them and rose up over them. In the modern church they do this by going off to seminary and Bible school to get a title and false authority as a result. This system went into high gear once Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. In so doing He put these bishops and the ones he appointed under his authority in order to completely unify all forms of authority in his realm. Thus was born “The Holy Roman Empire.” The people welcomed this because it brought an end to the terrible persecution of Christians that started with the stoning of Stephen. I watched this rising up of leaders happening not only during the Jesus Movement in the early ’70’s but later on in the house church movement. Any time the Spirit moves upon the hearts of men, the enemy is soon to come in among them as false shepherds lording over the people of God. As Jesus warned,
I claim no title. I am just a brother IN Christ who tries to share what the Spirit is saying to the body of Christ, and it is good to know you as my brother as well.
Your brother IN Christ,
Michael
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Amen brother, thanks for sharing your measure of the gift of Christ that you have, and thanks to all the saints that shared their gift of Christ on this website, everytime we share Christ we contribute to the building up of the body of Christ in love.
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That is so true, Jim. Like Susanne who is in Germany said, it makes no difference that we may be thousands of miles apart physically, we are still joined together in Christ and His great love spirit to spirit.
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Wow, that was a very enlightening contribution, Jim! Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us on here.
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Michael, I just want to add one more comment, I really appreciate that you are a fan of Church history, as I am too, the true Church history as written by godly saints throughout the centuries, I think so much confusion among Christians would be cleared up if they had a clear grasp and understanding of the history of the Church from the day of Pentecost to the present day, But also the Apostles Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, speak of the history of the Church in their day, in their epistles they wrote how the evil was creeping into the Church, and would wax worse and worse in the latter times. When the Apostles were still alive they had supernatural power given to them by the Lord Jesus and were able to keep the evil at bay, but after they went to be with the Lord the evil progressed, it was a mercy from the Lord to have all these warnings from the Apostles included in God’s Word for the saints today, to give us a clear path to walk with the Lord, and escape the confusion and deception so common today, like you said the world really came into the Church with Constantine the Great, and resulted in the holy roman empire and the thousand years of the dark ages until the Reformation. And today we are really in the last hour before Christ returns, I just pray and try to warn as many people, mostly Christians about the lateness of the hour, but sadly I’m met with resistance and indifference even from Christians, its like their ears wont hear and their eyes wont see,
O Lord Jesus have mercy on us, and all of your saints.
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Jim, in 1905 George Santayana observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” It first takes men and women who sincerely seek out the Truth and why this world is so messed up and learn along the way. Then they can remember what they have learned about the past and avoid the same mistakes. It is no coincidence that history and the Bible are no longer taught in public schools. Ignorant sheep are easier to herd along than ones that have learned to hear and obey the Good Shepherd’s voice. I thank Jesus that He left us the Spirit of truth to guide us.
You might be interested in some writings that George Davis and I have found In our search “outside the box” regarding why the churches are so far from the teachings of Christ. Most of these authors are no longer with us. “Wisdom is known of her children.” Check out this page on our website
http://awildernessvoice.com/OthersArticles.html
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thank you Michael, for providing that list of links of material to research, and the Lord Jesus bless you, Amen.
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You are welcome, my brother. There are many more listed on our website under >http://awildernessvoice.com/OthersArticles.html
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Thanks again Michael for the links to the Christian authors, for years my mainstay authors have been J.N.Darby,William Kelly, F.W. Grant, R.Evans, W.Trotter, Hamilton Smith, etc. etc. I’ve been reading some of the Authors that you sent in the links and I see really good material, great reading, its good to see more recent Authors rightly dividing the word of truth, new manna to feed on. The body principal, every member a joint of supply, ministering life to the body of Christ, Amen.
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Glad to hear this, Jim, Funny how we have never overlapped on the ones that have blessed us in all these years. I have to say that in the last 15 years, T. Austin Sparks is the author I have been bless the most by in my searching. Before that it was A. W. Tozer, Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, George Warnock who have all passed on besides a few that wrote with great insight in the 1700 and 1800’s. There is a Japanese brother who has since passed and his book is called “One Body In Christ.” He had great insight about the failings of denominational-ism that tried to get roots in Japan in the first part of the 1900’s and how that IN Christ all his servants are ONE and not divided by the whims of ambitious men. His book is available on our webpage as well.
Blessing in the Son,
Michael
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Hi Michael,
Thank you for your honesty. I moved back to Jackson, MS, and last year our former mayor was indicted for alleged corruption. I enjoy walking early in the morning at a park near our house and some older ladies walk there too. Their discussions were very political, and one lady gave me a voter registration application. I just wanted to enjoy the beauty of nature around me. Getting involved with politics is something I have never wanted to do. Praying for our city and its residents is what I do often, and I see improvements. All I know how to do is pray!!! It is always good to hear from you.
Your sister in Christ,
Wanda
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Wanda, it is good to hear from you again. Your story about being accosted by those politically minded women when all you wanted to do is enjoy God and Hiss creation. I think that the Jews often tried to get Jesus to side with the cause of Israel and against Rome but He would not.
Their desire was to get Jesus to answer them politically for the Jews hated the tax burden levied on them by Rome. But Jesus saw through the treachery in their hearts as they tried to trap Him. He would not take sides with the political minded Jews neither did He he come to reinforce the Roman occupation. He healed the servant of a Roman centurion and He healed hundreds of sickly Jews. He manifested the love of the Father for all mankind. His kingdom was not of this world and neither should we get trapped into taking sides in politics. For if we do we will side with one group and be hated by the other. I was once told by a pastor that I was so heavenly minded that I was no earthy good. We are not put here to further the plans of carnal men, but to pray for the furtherance of God’s kingdom… “Our Father who art in heaven… thy kingdom come thy will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.” We should learn by His example and be instruments of His Light in this spiritually dark world.
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That was an excellent biblical illustration of how wrong the confusion of two opposed kingdoms is, Michael! We cannot serve two masters simultaneously. Thanks for sharing, my brother. 🙏🏻🕊🌈👍🏻
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You are welcome, Susanne. Once again the Spirit gave me that illustration and many others of how Jesus had His heart firmly planted with His Father and His kingdom and no other. I remember His words about His stand here on earth, “The prince of this world (kosmos) is come and he has found nothing in me.”
This word “world” is from the Greek word kosmos. The kosmos is not the earth itself, but the princes and powers controlled by Satan himself as well as all the lusts and desires that go with it that are counter to the Kingdom of God. This battle for our hearts was shown by what Jesus said,
Likewise in the parable of the sower He draws out the effects of the kosmos on those who hear the gospel when He said,
I firmly believe Jesus knew that this battle would be so intense toward the end that He warned, “And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt 10:22, KJ2000)
Dear Father, please fill us with such intense love for you and YOUR kingdom that we will endure to the end without wavering. Amen
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Oh, the rage, fire and fury! Charlie Kirk’s political assassination may be the tipping point into some other major, ‘retaliatory’ violence. So much more anger and hatred may result.
… There is relatively little compassion in the world when compared to the very plentiful anger or rage. I, too, have been angrier over the last few years — perhaps in large part in relation to the Internet ‘angry algorithm’ sending me the stories, etcetera, it has (unfortunately correctly) calculated will successfully agitate me into keeping the (I believe, overall societally-/socially-damaging) process going thus maximizing the number of clicks/scrolls I’ll provide it to sell to product advertisers.
Largely relevant to the present social and political turmoil, both domestically and abroad, are the words of American sociologist Stanley Milgram (1933-1984), of Obedience Experiments fame/infamy: “It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception [and] awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”
At least as individuals, we can try to resist flawed human nature thus behavior, however societally normalized it may be, once we become aware of its potential within ourselves. Once cognizant of it, perhaps enough of us could instead perform truly humane acts in sufficient quantity to initiate positive change on a large(r) scale.
Then again, the human race may so desperately need a unifying existential/fate-determining common cause, that an Earth-impacting asteroid threat or, better yet, a vicious extraterrestrial attack likely is what we have to collectively brutally endure together in order to survive the longer term from ourselves.
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I know what that rage feels like and was delivered of it once and for all when Jesus put in me a new heart filled with His love for me and for all others. That was in 1970 when I was heavily into right-wing politics after getting back from Vietnam. Yes, I had lots of guns and ammo and part of keeping my new found peace was to get rid of them all. It is sad to see how this epidemic of hate and murder is going on and except for that miracle in my life that came with an unconditional surrender to Christ… except for the grace of God, THERE GO I!
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Regarding human emotions, I had to confess hatred for a certain public figure as a sin, and give it to Jesus. Then I had to reduce my exposure to those things which fed my hatred, and pray for that figure. It is a process, I am not yet free, but the hatred is greatly reduced.
God is in charge, especially of that which I dislike. He knows what He is doing. I pray He will do it, regardless of whether I like it or not. I also pray that He will have mercy on those who are His, and on those He knows will be His, as He works out His will.
I am looking forward to His coming!
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Louise, what a heavy burden hatred is. I am glad to hear you are making progress. One time I was asking the Lord why I have such a hard time seeing God as my Father. I know that part of the reason is because my own father was mean spirited and distant during my growing up years so the name “father” has a negative connotation as a result.
But as I asked the Lord to show me the deeper reason He lead me to this verse:
It is so good to hear from you and thanks for sharing your life with us.
Love IN Christ,
Michael
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