The Rapid Downward Spiral Continues

Since obama took office this nation has been in a very fast downward spiral, spiritually speaking. It is not slowing down at all, rather it keeps speeding up. The evil one in the White House lit up the most famous and most powerful house in the world with rainbow-colored floodlights to laud the Wicked Court's decision regarding same-sex unions.  Last year Frito-Lay came out with rainbow colored potato chips to "celebrate" the Sinful Supreme Court's decision to allow same sex marriages. Since then I have not, nor will I buy in the future, Frito-Lay chips

Every now and then I like to watch Wheel of Fortune  because it seemed like a wholesome, fun game. Last night I watched it for the last time, never again! The first contestant was a single woman who seemed normal enough. The second was a guy who seemed rather effeminate. The third was a woman who said she had six children which she and her "wonderful wife" were raising. Two lesbians raising what I assume were their adopted kids, teaching them to be as evil as they are. Matt. 18:6 - “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."   But this type of sinful behavior is thought of as "brave and courageous" these days.

The guy was the one who won the right to go to the bonus round and when they asked him who was in the audience with him he said his father, his husband and some other friend. He won the bonus round and his "husband" came up on stage and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Here on this top-rated show the network deliberately put two same-sex couples on stage at the same time. This was not just a coincidence, it was planned. That is the last time I will watch this show. I don't watch any sitcoms or things like CSI, so I can't tell you how much filth is on them, but I'll bet it's substantial.

Last September after all the commotion that came from the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of the black guy who attacked the police officer, I had a 2' x 2' sign made for my front yard which read in big, bold blue letters "Support Our Police".  It stayed out in my front yard night and day until a few days ago when some evil punk stole it during the night. Our nation is turning against the officers who are there to protect them from criminals. Yes, I know that all the police are not good guys, but there are as many bad pastors as there are bad police, and the majority of our police are great people. I ask you to continue to pray for them because their jobs keep getting more and more dangerous every day.

This nation that once respected authority is rapidly turning against it. Why? Because the politicians and courts have told God He is not welcome in our police forces anymore, He is not welcome in the military, He is not welcome in the schools, He is not welcome in the movie theaters, He is not welcome in the government. As many of us also know, He is also not welcome in our churches anymore either.

How can anyone truly say "God Bless America" when we see how America has turned against God!!! What happened in the past when the Israelites turned away from God? He destroyed their nation and sold them into slavery. That is just what He is about to do to the USA.

Places of Refuge

In January the Lord sent me to visit some friends in Arizona who I hadn't seen in 30 years. About a year ago they had moved to a place literally in the middle of nowhere, elevation 6,000', a place where they have no electricity and no running water. Their nearest neighbor is about 2 miles away. They live in a mobile home which they heat with a wood-burning stove using wood they cut on their property, and cook on a propane-burning stove. They have a very small propane-burning refrigerator, something I didn't even know was made. They have a Port-a-Potty (which is not very comfortable when it's 10-15 degrees outside) and they have to empty it by hand when it gets full.

They do have a generator which they use for an hour or so a week, and they recharge the battery which they use to start it with a small solar cell. They also have a small solar cell to recharge the batteries in their cellphones. Yes, they actually have cell phone coverage out there in the middle of the desert. They also have a satellite dish for their tv, but they only watch it an hour or so a week. At night in order to see where you're going inside they have tiny little solar lights that they put in upside-down jars to provide a little light. Reading is done with headlamps like the kind you buy to hunt with or use for jogging at night.

To shop for food and other necessities they have to go 40 miles to town. Water is obtained by filling their 300-gal. water tank at the public water supply about 50 miles away. Then they transfer it into 55-gal drums and 5-gal buckets for use around the house. To take a shower I had to go 40 miles to town and pay to use the showers at a truck stop during the 17 days I was there. Since they don't have a water well they can't grow crops or raise animals since there is very, very little rain in the desert in northern Arizona where they live. They do have plans to put in a couple of wells when they have the money, but that may be a while off. To have hot water in the morning they put two 2-gallon pots on the wood-burning stove at night and leave them there all day so they can have hot water to wash the dishes with at night.

After a few days I got used to living like that and I can honestly say that it was somewhat comfortable, except for the Port-a-Potty on cold mornings and not being able to shower every day. The wood-burning stove kept the place warm and comfortable. At night the stars were absolutely magnificent and the peace and quiet out there was wonderful. Would I want to live like that for a long time? No! But that is what many of us will be doing in the coming years - this is what many of the places of refuge will be like.

Awhile back I wrote about a series of Christian books written by Teri Blackstock which told about a time when the world was hit by some type of star pulse which knocked out electricity to the world. It also fried all the electronics and planes and vehicles were ruined. There was no water in the cities because of the lack of electricity to power the pumps, and no electricity to keep food refrigerated. The books tell about life as it would be during those times, times which are almost upon us. I highly suggest that you read them. They are "Last Night", "Night Light", "True Light" and "Dawn's Light".

Which Way Do We Go, Lord?

This is a message I posted in 2012 and I believe that it is even more fitting for today.


Sunday, April 29, 2012
Which Way Do We Go, Lord?


Which way do we go, Lord? That is the question many are asking these days. You are wondering how should you prepare for the disasters which God is unleashing upon this nation and the horrors that are about to be sent upon this wicked nation and even the whole world. You have prayed and prayed and prayed for direction from the Lord but haven't received any answers yet. You have read the Bible seeking the guidance of the Lord, but it is as if the heavens were brass and nothing is coming from them. You are wondering if something is blocking you from hearing from the Lord, if you have unconfessed sin in your life that is preventing communication from above. You have even begun to fear that maybe God is angry with you and won't respond to you, or that you don't have enough faith to get an answer.

None of the above are true.

Here is the truth:

Isa 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it.

When the time comes for you to take action in the coming days the Lord will guide you and direct you - you will be on a path that the Lord has set before you and you will not even be able to stray from it. You will then see that all your prayers and faithfulness have borne fruit and that God is answering your prayers in ways that you had never imagined.

Some other verses to meditate on:

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 139:3 - You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 5:21 - For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He watches all his paths.

Isaiah 42:16 - I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone.

Isaiah 43:16 - Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

Isaiah 51:10 - Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway for the redeemed to cross over?

Jeremiah 31:9 - With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.


So continue seeking the Lord, my brothers and sisters. Continue in your prayers, Bible reading and faithfulness. In due time you will hear His voice and know which direction you are to take. The Lord be with you all, may He give you peace now and in the days to come. I love you all.

Addendum 2/18/16 - Do not fear my brothers and sisters about the coming days. When, or if, it is time for you to move this year you will know it. You may not know where the Lord is sending you, but you will know it is time to go. He will lead you on the path you are to go on. Trusting in Him in those days is what faith is all about. Remember, HE WILL LEAD YOU IN THE WAY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GO! May God bless each and every one of you in the days to come.

Time To Prepare

For those whom the Lord leads to do so, it is time to begin physically preparing for the horrors that are about to come upon this wicked, evil and godless nation. As I have prophesied before, Obama will bow his cowardly knees in surrender to the Russians before he leaves office. Before that happens parts of this country will be devastated by disasters. Where those will be I know not, although I do know that Texas will be a safe place for awhile, as will the Blue Ridge Mountains and parts of Arizona.

If the Lord had not had mercy this would have happened before the end of Obama's first term in office. But God was compassionate and has given His people more time to prepare. The solar storms that were supposed to hit in 2012 actually did happen, but they were a week early and missed this planet. See my previous message "Vindicated" from 7/28/14 for more on this.

But there will be no more delay! The recent decision from the Supreme Court regarding the legalization of same-sex marriages as well as the evil one in the Oval Office lighting up the White House with rainbow colors celebrating that abominable decision sealed the USA's fate. No more mercy, no more delays. "It is time, saith the Lord God of Hosts".

Yesterday I read in the paper that some Methodists and Episcopal ministers held a rally in support of the slaughter of unborn babies. Does that tell you how low this nation has gone, how far along the path of evil? People say "God Bless America!" I ask "why"?

It is now time to begin storing up provisions for the coming days of wrath. How should you prepare? As the Lord leads each of you individually. This is not a time for panic, it is not a time for fear. But it is a time to earnestly seek the Lord on how He wants you to prepare. I remember that in 2009 David Wilkerson issued a dire warning of a cataclysmic event that would shake the faith of even devout Christians. He suggested that you have on hand a 30 day supply of provisions, as well as cash. I believe that would be a good idea.

I said in a previous message that I believed that a sports stadium would be destroyed because people have made sports their god and idol. It is my feeling that will happen very soon.

My dear brothers and sisters now is the time to truly devote yourselves to prayer, prayer and more prayer so that you will be prepared for what is soon to come.

Come Out Of Her!

Rev 18:4 - 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:“‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues".

For some in the USA God used this to tell them to leave this country, or so they believed. But God means something else entirely to most of us. Through this verse He is telling us to free ourselves of the sins of this nation and become a people holy unto Him so that we don't share in the judgment that He is about to unleash upon most of those in this godless, wicked and perverted land.

Let me share with you some examples of what God has required of me lately. I cannot attend any movies rated "R" because they are filled with vulgarity, profanity and sex. Even movies rated "PG-13" I have to be careful of because of the foul language in them. It offends me when I hear "f... and f......" in every other sentence. I love to read adventure and mystery novels, but there are many authors whom I cannot read anymore because of the foul language, witchcraft and sex in their books. "Come out of her, My people!"

I used to love to attend the performances of the Vocal Majority, an a cappella group of about 150 men located in Dallas. Several months ago I was having lunch at a local restaurant and happened to be talking to the couple next to me. Somehow we got on the subject of the Vocal Majority and the guy told me that he was a singer and he knew absolutely that the great majority of that group were homosexuals. I knew that I could no longer support them and attend their performances. I cannot any longer do what the world does. God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and He absolutely condemns homosexual and lesbian behavior, although the world now praises that sinful lifestyle. We are called to be holy and separate and not to participate in the sins of the world and this nation. Yes, we will be called bigots, haters and intolerant, but that is the price we pay to be called servants of the Lord. "Come out of her, my people!"

Barry Manilow used to be one of my favorite singers. Last week I read that he recently married his longtime manager, a man. I thought about it for several days and knew that I had to throw away his CDs that I had and could no longer listen to him sing. I am also of the generation of the Fifth Dimension singing group who sang the Age of Aquarius. I can no longer listen to that song because it speaks of astrology, which God distinctly condemns. We are called to set ourselves apart from the world. "Come out of her, My people!"

I rarely watch tv because of the lifestyles portrayed on it as well as the absolute stupidity of the programing. Most of what is on it is an abomination to the Lord (and I am also speaking of the charlatans, thieves and liars on the religious networks as well - I refuse to call them "Christian" stations). I cannot understand how people can sit there all day and night watching that trash and expect to be pleasing to the Lord. "Come out of her, My people!"

It is rare that I ever watch any kind of professional sports on tv because most of the guys that are playing those games are not people that I would like to emulate nor have younger people take after. Yet every weekend millions of men sit there and worship these false idols like they are gods. Even after Tiger Woods was caught with 17 mistresses and proven to be a reprobate, people still worship him like he is a god. "Come out of her, My people!"

Too many of today's churches are teaching the "positive confession doctrines" and the "name it and claim it" theology. They teach doctrines that "tickle men's ears", and the sheep eat it up because they don't want to take the time to get into the Bible and read it themselves. Virtually no churches are calling their congregations to repent and be holy. The Methodists, Episcopalians and Presbyterians are welcoming homosexuals and lesbians into their churches and even ordaining them into the ministry - it's all about new members and money. How can anyone who calls themselves Christians participate in that kind of abomination!! "Come out of her, My people!"

Deut 22:5 - "A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this". Lately we have boys who decide at a young age that they want to be girls and their foolish, stupid parents allow them to wear girls clothing, act like girls, present themselves as girls - even in public and at school - give them girls names and refer to them as "she" or "her". They even expect them to use the girls' bathrooms and locked rooms. Then there are men who decide that God made a mistake and they should be women. They dress as women, act like women, give themselves female names and present themselves in public - even at work - as women. The price they will pay will be horrendous. "Come out of her, My people!"

The slaughter of unborn babies is looked upon as a "woman's right to choose", instead of as the sin of murder. Because of all the illicit sex and unwanted pregnancies, it is seen as a convenient way to get rid of an unwanted child. Can you imagine how much it hurts God for Him to see His innocent little creations destroyed like this? "Come out of her, My people!"

Last, but certainly not least, is Hillary Clinton. The news media love her, and they love everything that is an abomination to God. A true follower of the Lord CANNOT support her candidacy for president in any way whatsoever.  She is proud, arrogant, conceited, power-hungry and a liar (hmmm, she sounds just like her reprobate husband) who IS FOR the slaughter of unborn babies and who IS FOR the abominations of homosexuality and lesbianism as well as same-sex marriages. Last night I watched the news (a real rarity for me) because I wanted to see what the weather was going to be like today. What I saw was an ad for Hillary that absolutely disgusted me because at the very end of it was a picture of two men walking along holding hands. That, my brothers and sisters, is what Hillary is about.

"COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, SET YOURSELVES APART FROM HER WICKEDNESS AND EVIL!!"

Ladies, please dress modestly

Paul admonished the women in his day to dress modestly and I admonish the women of this day to also dress modestly. I swim at a public pool several days a week and am shocked at how so many women and girls wear as little as possible in order to show off as much as possible. Their bathing suits leave very little to the imagination. They dress to show as much of their bodies as possible but don't want to be thought of as sex objects. How absurd! Mothers are teaching their daughters at an early age to dress as sexy as possible at the pool or beach. "Oh, but that bikini is so cute!", is what they say. What they are thinking is "Gee, how sexy I'm (or the daughter is) going to look in that!" How do you think God thinks about you when you wear something like that? He does see you, you know.

Women's clothes today are designed to be as tight as possible to show off every curve of their bodies. The slacks, blouses and dresses are designed to show off as much as possible. Sure, we men enjoy looking at you when you are dressed like that. But the thoughts that come to our minds are not necessarily very pure. How do you think God feels about you showing off as much of your bodies as you can and trying to be as sexy as you can? He is the one you will have to answer to.

So please ladies, dress modestly.

Civil War in the USA

Many have been talking about civil war coming to this nation, expecting it to be violent and bloody with many deaths. That may very well happen in the next few years, and I expect it to. But civil war has already begun in the USA and we didn't even realize it. It is not a violent and bloody war in the physical sense, but war nonetheless. It is a war of evil againist good, darkness against light.

Look at what has recently happened to the guy from Duck Dynasty because he said that the Bible teaches that homosexuals (I refuse to call them "gays" because there is nothing gay about the abomination of homosexuality) will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Now I don't watch tv and have never seen the show, but from what I've read recently it is about a Christian family of rednecks in Louisiana who close out almost every show in prayer over the dinner table. But since this guy spoke the truth he is being crucified in the news media. The same thing happened to the president of Chick-Fil-A last year. The news media hated George Bush because he spoke about how Jesus changed his life. They hated Sarah Palin because she was a Christian.

Any time that anyone dares to speak out against homosexuality they are called bigots, haters and intolerant. They lose their jobs, their businesses, their "friends". A bakery recently refused to cook a wedding cake for two homosexuals because it went against their religious beliefs. They were taken to court and found guilty of discrimination; they will probably close their business because of this. I have a dear brother-in-Christ who the Lord had me warn that the people in the firm he is working for are trying to set a trap for him because he is a servant of the Lord. True Christians in this nation are being attacked like never before, and it is only going to get worse.

Don't dare speak out against abortion because you will be persecuted because of it. Instead of calling it the slaughter of unborn babies, it is now called a "woman's right to chose" (to murder her unborn child).

The war has begun from tvs and movies, trying to (and succeeding) convince the population that illicit sex,homosexuality. pornography, drugs, vulgarity, profanity, adultery and violence are normal, natural and good things. Have you looked at the movie ratings lately? It is hard to find anything other than "R" rated movies. Even the "PG-13"" movies are filled with vulgarity, curse words and sex.

The war has already begun in our schools where Christian values are looked down upon and mocked. There are no more Christmas parties in schools, only Holiday parties. No more Christmas trees, only Holiday or Winter trees. Homosexuality is taught as an acceptable lifestyle in today's schools.

The war has begun in our military where witnessing about Jesus is not tolerated. Even chaplains are told not to discuss their faith with people they are counseling. Fourth grade children in Prosper, TX made Christmas cards for the bedridden veterans at the VA hospital in Dallas, but the VA refused them because they said "Merry Christmas".

The war has begun in our government where anything to do with Christianity is forbidden. Prayers before meetings are not allowed. When was the last time you heard a prayer before a sporting event? Even the antichrist in the Oval Office refused to participate in the National Day of Prayer.

The war has begun and it is a spiritual war, not a physical war. which, unfortunately, will be lost by the Christians in this country because few of them are repenting and turning from their wicked and evil ways. When an antichrist occupies the Oval Office as is now happening, nothing good will become of it. We were told by Jesus that we would be persecuted, and that has been happening all over the world for centuries, except here in this nation. But that has now changed and God's people in the USA will see even greater persecution even unto death in the next few years. He that endures to the end will be saved.

The Power Behind the Kings, Rulers and Kingdoms

A friend of mine recently suggested that I listen to Chuck Missler's teaching on Genesis. Usually the Lord lets me know that I am not to be influenced by the teaching of others because the Holy Spirit is my teacher. Rarely does He let me read religious books other than the Bible and even less frequently does He let me listen to sermons. But for some reason I felt I was supposed to listen to at least part of Missler's program on the computer. I listened to the first part and understood why I was supposed to. It opened my eyes to something I had never heard nor understood before before. http://khouse.org/6640_media_serve.php?show_id=1000145&show_day=monday

Ezekiel 28:11-19 NIV

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden,the garden of God, every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper,lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings[b] were made of gold ; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence,and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

Now I've probably read that passage no less than fifty times in the last thirty years and, like many other things in the Bible, really didn't understand it. Presumably Ezekiel is prophesying to the king of Tyre. But upon closer inspection he cannot possibly be speaking to the king of Tyre. Obviously the king was not in the Garden of Eden. Ezekiel is prophesying to the power behind the king - satan. Now read it again with that in mind. Makes sense doesn't it!

Isaiah 14:12-17

12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. 16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, 17 the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

In Chapter 14 Isaiah was initially prophesying regarding Babylon. However, this part of the passage is obviously directed to someone else - satan, the power behind Babylon. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?

In that teaching Chuck said that there were other passages like this in the Bible. So next time you run across something like this that you cannot understand from a human viewpoint, look at it from a spiritual perspective and see if it makes more sense.

Apostles and Prophets

Below is a letter I wrote to the pastor of Hillcrest Church in Dallas which I attended for about a year in 2006. Although some of it relates to a few of my experiences, it is really not about me but about the offices of apostle and prophet in the churches today. Unfortunately, few churches listen and therefore they do not have the spiritual authority they could have nor are they operating according to the Lord's order of authority.


Dear Mark,

Over the past several weeks you have taught one of the best and most balanced series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.that I've ever heard. Most of what you've said I agree with you on. However, two weeks ago you taught on prophecy and also mentioned that prophets are not the same today as they were in Old Testament times. That is something that I disagree with you on and will explain why to you in this letter. Prophets are no different today than they were in past days.

When God first told me He was calling me to be a prophet back in early 1983, the first thing He told me I had to do was tell the pastor of Christian Life Fellowship in Plano - a man whom I loved, respected and thought highly of - that he was proud and materialistic. I was greatly troubled by this and spoke to both of the church elders, about this. One agreed with what I believed the Lord had shown me, the other didn't. A few days later I happened to mention this to another guy in the church who apparently mentioned it to his wife, who told it to others. By the time I called the pastor a few days later to tell him what the Lord had shown me, he had already heard what I was going to tell him. Before I could tell him what the Lord had instructed me to tell him, he said "I know what you're going to tell me and I refuse to accept it and I take full responsibility for not receiving it". This was a very hard thing for me because it split the relationship between he and I, but I knew what God had called me to do. Within a few weeks he resigned as pastor. The church no longer exists.

Several months after that God gave me my commission as a prophet: "I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to tear down, to overthrow and destroy, to build and to plant", the same as He gave to Jeremiah. He called me to be a prophet to the nations, to the churches, to the ministries, to kingdoms that men set up for themselves either in the church realm or the business world. Even my name, Clifford, was chosen by the Lord before I was born - I am a watchman who stands on the edge of the CLIFF, watching the FORDing place in the river so that I can warn the people when I see the enemy coming. My ministry is no different than Jeremiah's, I even spent seven weeks in a cistern filled with mud when Sojourn Church threw me out on the streets and I ended up at the Salvation Army for seven weeks, something for which Sojourn is paying a heavy price for.

Although God puts His prophets through hell, He is very hard on those who mistreat them. In 1984 I was living with an elderly woman, Jeannie, in Richardson. Jeannie had a son Earl, whom I was friends with, and a daughter Paula, both of them in their early 40s. After a few months Paula began treating me very contemptuously, with scorn and ridicule. She was afraid that her mother might put me in her will and give me some of "Paula's" money. I moved out of there in a few months and lost contact with the family. in 1988 I called up Carole, Earl's wife, and she mentioned that Paula was in the hospital with cancer. I told Carole that if Paula apologized to me that the Lord might heal her of cancer, but that if she didn't then she would surely die of cancer. Earl called me up the next day and asked me not to tell Paula that because he was her spiritual counselor and didn't believe that it was from the Lord. I haven't spoken to anyone in the family since then. About a year later I saw Paula's obituary in the newspaper. About two years after that I saw Earl's obituary in the paper.

In 1983 and 1984 I attended Central Park Church in Richardson, a charasmatic church of about 700-1000 members. The pastor had been warned by the other prophets in the church about his controlling spirit and how he quenched the work of the Holy Spirit. He wouldn't listen. When it came time for me to warn him, he came against me very strongly and wouldn't listen. I shook the dust off my sandals at him and left the church. Central Park Church no longer exists. That man now pastors a church of about 40 members and is more arrogant, controlling and prouder then ever.

In 1986 I was living in Phoenix and attended Foundation Fellowship Church, a church of about 1500 members. Ron was the apostle/pastor of the church, a guy in his mid 30s and a man who had a heart like King David's. This was a church that I loved, it was my family, my brothers and sisters whom I felt very close to. In May, 1986 the Lord moved me back to Dallas. Several months later I called a friend of mine at the church and learned that the church had recently split, with half of the people and leaders forming another church under People Of Destiny's banner. Ron stayed with Foundation Fellowship. The Lord had me write a number of encouraging, comforting and uplifting letters to Ron over the next few months, with one of them containing a word of caution about how to take care of sojourners whom the Lord would send their way.

The next year God sent me back to Phoenix for two weeks. When I returned to Dallas the Lord had me write two more letters of comfort and encouragement to Ron, along with another word of caution (a little stronger this time) about taking care of sojourners. The next year the Lord sent me back to Phoenix for another two weeks. Ron had not listened to my words of caution and refused to do so a third time. When I returned to Dallas the anger of the Lord burned within me against Ron and I sent him another letter, a very strong rebuke this time. I gave him the verses about the landowner who planted a vineyard and rented the property to some farmers. When he sent his servants to collect what was due him, the renters beat and killed his servants. What will this landowner do to these wretched people? He will kick them off the land and rent it to others! I never heard from Ron, but about a year later I called a friend from that church and she told me that the church dissolved and that the building now sits empty.

In 1988 I was living in Kemp, Texas, near Cedar Creek Lake. One day the Lord impressed upon me to go to Faith Church in Kaufman. I had never been there before, but I went there for services the next Sunday. It was a small church of perhaps 250 - 300 people meeting in an old building near downtown Kaufman. The pastor was a man named Scotty. They were talking that Sunday about the new building they were going to build on Hwy 175 in Kaufman. The Lord had me go and meet Scotty later in the week and tell him that the Lord was giving them the new building to minister to people who were traveling down the highway, and that people would come to them who were hurting and in need in various ways. If they needed gas or food, then the church was to provide that for them. If they needed a place to stay, then the church was to provide that for them. If they needed counseling or prayer, then the church was to do that for them. I moved back to Dallas shortly after that and had no more contact with Scotty. About three years later, a friend of mine who lived in Kemp told me that the church had built their new building on Hwy 175, but that it now sat empty and the church no longer existed. I never spoke to anyone from that church, but I know why it fell apart.

As the prophets of old anointed people for service, usually as kings, so also do the prophets of today anoint people for service. I have anointed a number of apostles and prophets for service (and/or told them what their calling was) and, many times, what that office entailed, the authority and responsibilities that came with it. I have anointed one man, David, as senior pastor of the remnants of Church On The Rock. I don't APPOINT them, I simply ANOINT them and/or tell them what their calling is, God is the one who appoints them.

As a watchman, God has given me special insight into the hearts and/or intentions of many people. There have been several instances where the Lord has shown me that people in leadership positions were actually spies from the camp of the antichrist. "If Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light, is it any wonder that his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness?" No one has yet believed me when I've told them that a certain elder, pastor or someone else in the church is actually a spy from the camp of the enemy, but God has proven me right in every case thus far. I've seen people who I knew were wolves in sheep's clothing and who were there to do nothing but cause trouble. My job is to warn the leaders of the church and let them handle the situation as the Lord leads them to, if they will listen to the Lord. Most don't listen, and because of that many of their sheep have been led astray or devoured by the enemy.

Matt 23:34 "Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town." Does that sound like the prophets of today are any different from the ones of the O.T., aren't we treated the same today as back then? Didn't the people persecute and kill the prophets in the O.T.? Doesn't this verse say that the same thing will happen to us in this generation? Why do you think the prophets of today are any different than the ones of old?

This next topic is a very sensitive one in churches - the order of spiritual authority in the churches today. 1Cor 12:28 "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers...." Eph 4:11 "It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...." Eph 2:20 "The church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets....." Nowhere does the Bible say that God has appointed pastors as the head of the churches, in fact the Bible only mentions the term "pastors" once, that is in Eph 4:11.

In every instance the apostle is the one who is mentioned as the head of spiritual authority in the church. Paul often spoke of using his apostolic authority over the churches - 2Cor 13:10 "This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority." The apostles were also the ones who appointed the elders in the churches - Acts 14:23 "Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church", Titus 1:5 (Titus was an apostle) " The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished, and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you to".

Acts 15:6 "The apostles and elders met to consider the question", Acts 16:4 "As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey", Acts 15:23 " The apostles and elders, your brothers ... to the Gentiles ....." All these verses speak of the apostles’ authority in the churches and how they are set apart from the elders – for it doesn’t say “elders”, but “apostles and elders”, making them a separate entity from the elders.
Gal 1:1 "Paul, an apostle sent not from men nor by man, but by Christ Jesus and God the Father". Today's concept of an apostle is "one sent", referring to missionaries sent by churches, usually to foreign countries. This is in direct conflict with what Paul says, because he was not sent by men, but by God. Nor was he a "missionary" in the way we think of that term today. He was sent by God to found churches, appoint elders and to have spiritual oversight and authority over those churches. If he was simply a missionary he could not speak about his authority over the churches, nor would he have the authority to appoint elders.
We see a type of apostle in the O.T. in Melchizidek, he was a king and a priest. Jesus was called a high priest to the order of Melchizedek, in other words a king/priest. The apostles of today are also king/priests and are the head of spiritual authority in the churches. They are given a very special overview of God's plan for the churches, something that is given to no one else. They see God's whole plan for a church, as opposed to bits and pieces that others see. They are given God's authority to found churches and choose elders. That's quite different from the way churches operate today, isn't it? "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets...." How far we have strayed from God's plan for the churches .

Prophets are given special abilities to see specific problem areas in churches and to point these out to the spiritual authorities in the church. We are also given the authority to anoint people for service. We work very closely with the apostles in the church.

I have never yet met a proud apostle or a proud prophet, but I have met many proud teachers, pastors and evangelists. God puts his apostles and prophets through the fires of affliction while He is raising them up. He humbles and breaks each and every one of them. A person does not mature spiritually except by suffering, and apostles and prophets suffer a lot so that they can be spiritually mature. We share in the fellowship of His sufferings, literally, so that we will be mature in Christ.

Where the churches got the idea that the pastor was the head of the church is beyond me, it is not scriptural, it is not the way God ordained for it to be. The term "pastor" is only mentioned once in the whole Bible, yet the churches today have raised up the pastors to be their kings, their idols whom they have given control over the churches. Nowhere in the Bible is this authorized, it is completely out of God's order. God's order is "first of all apostles, second prophets...." Mark 7:8 "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." the only priests that are legitimate today are those from the tribe of Levi. But since there is no temple and no burnt offerings, priests have no place today. Catholic priests are in direct disobedience to this. None of them are from the tribe of Levi and therefore they are all illegitimate. But that is another story which I won't go into at this time.


Matt 23:8 "But you are not to be called "Rabbi", for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth "father", for you only have one Father, and He is in Heaven. (Hmmm, that flies in the face of Catholicism, doesn't it?) Nor are you to be called "teacher", for you have one Teacher, the Christ". Can we not say also "you are not to be called "pastor", because you have only one Pastor, Jesus"? Mark 7:8 "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men".

Mark you are one of the finest men that I’ve known and have the true heart of a shepherd. I do not want you to take any of this as being critical of you personally, rather please look at the writings in this letter as spiritual wisdom that the Lord wants the churches as a whole to see so that the Body of Christ can be returned to its original purpose, plan and power.


Just as a side note, the letter was brought before the Board of Elders in that church and I was told that they could not argue with anything in it. But they did not change the way they did things. Several months later while I was in the prayer room in the church the Lord showed me that there was an attack coming upon the church. If I had had a trumpet I would probably blown it all over the church to warn them. He also told me that if the church rebuilt the prayer walls of the church then the attack could be diverted. (They used to have a 24/7 board in the prayer room on which people would fill in their names to pray for a certain hour or hours for the church on certain days. During the time of the previous pastor it was always filled up. But the current pastor let it go downhill). If the walls were not rebuilt then when the attack came there would be infighting within the walls, many people would be wounded and many would leave the church. I told the leadership of the church exactly this, including two elders (one of them the elder in charge of prayer), but no one listened. The attack came and exactly what I told them happened - there was infighting among the church members, many people were hurt and many people left the church. The church no longer exists, and it was a large non-denominational, charasmatic church in Dallas.

We Have Left the Lord

No one can doubt that this nation has left the ways of the Lord and turned to evil. The Bible speaks of what happens when we don't give the Lord the credit and praise for our prosperity. It speaks of what will happen when a nation does evil in the sight of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:17 - You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

Deuteronomy 8:19-20 - If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 28:25-26 - The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

Deuteronomy 28:37 - You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.

Deuteronomy 28:41 - You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.

Deuteronomy 28:47-51 - Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.

Deuteronomy 32:5 - They are corrupt and not his children; to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation

Judges 3:7-8 - The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.

Judges 3:12 - Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.

Judges 4:1-2 - Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.

Judges 6:1 - The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

Judges 13:1 - Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

1 Samuel 12:9 - But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.

Recently on a fishing website a guy asked about the movie "Gravity" because the youth director in his church wanted to take the youth group to see it. I responded to him that the movie has several four letter words in it that are not suitable for kids. His response was "Our youth director picked it out. She will allow anything but r rated. I really wanted to see it." I then said "If your youth group is part of a church then you need a new youth director. If she approves movies that have cursing and profanity in them then she needs to be removed." He answered "Well you have your opinion and I respect that, but you can't turn on network tv without some cussing. She would not allow a movie that was nothing, but violence and lots of cussing, but I doubt there were ten instances of cussing. There are High School kids not children so there is a different level of what is appropriate. Heck the first movie they showed last night was cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2 and they said damn in it." I then told him "My opinion certainly doesn't matter, but God's does. 'Woe unto him that causes even one of these little ones to stumble........'"

It is not only what our nation as a whole has done, but the churches have bought into the deceit of the evil one as well and are now following a false god and false idols, they are certainly not following the Lord our God. What do you think God is going to do about this? Do you think He will let it slide for another generation? No.

The Corpse Flower

On Sunday in Washington D.C. a corpse flower bloomed. The bloom smells like rotting human flesh. It is no coincidence that this happened in the nation's capitol at this time because the politicians, starting in the White House and down to the lowliest congressman, smell like dead, rotting flesh. Honor and integrity, morals and character, truth and justice no longer exist in our capitol city. Instead pride, arrogance, greed, treachery, deceit, immorality and narcissism have taken over. It is like a stinking dead corpse. Indeed, all the things that used to make us a great nation are dead. What exists now is nothing but rotting flesh and dead hearts.

The following is an excerpt from an article in the Washington Post on Monday:

"Garden officials expect “peak smell” to occur early Monday morning, and the flower to remain open for an estimated 24 to 48 hours. Then it will begin to collapse on itself. The last corpse flower to bloom at the U.S. Botanic Garden was in 2007."

Notice the part that says that it will begin to collapse upon itself. Notice also that this flower bloomed in 2007 and the economy began to collapse upon itself shortly after. I believe that this time we will begin to see not only the nation's economy begin to collapse, but also the nation itself.

Judgment Delayed

On Nov. 1, 2012 I wrote about Hurricane Sandy and this is part of what I put on my blog:

Thursday, November 1, 2012
Hurricane Sandy

On September 1 last year I wrote a message titled "Continuing Catastrophes" on this blog. In it I stated that I believed a hurricane was going to hit this nation like the "fist of God". I thought it was going to happen within a few weeks of writing that message.

Soon after I wrote that message I was speaking to a dear brother-in-Christ who is one of God's hidden prayer warriors, along with his wife. He was telling me that sometimes God had them praying against storms and other "natural" catastrophes, and that sometimes the prayers of the faithful caused disasters to be diverted or lessened.

That was the case a few weeks later when an epic storm hit the sparsely populated coast of Alaska instead of the northwestern states of this nation which are heavily populated. I stated at that time that there may be another hurricane that would hit this nation in the near future and cause great destruction. That happened this week when Sandy hit the northeast coast and caused untold damage. Many were killed and it is estimated that the cost of Sandy will exceed $20 billion. It literally hit this nation like the "fist of God".

What all this showed me is that sometimes God delays His judgment because of the prayers of His people. This is what I am certain has happened to what the Lord had planned for the solar storms hitting this nation and Obama surrendering this country to the Russians before the end of his first term in office. The Lord's prayer warriors have interceded and asked for more time for the Christians of the USA to prepare and to give this nation another opportunity to repent. But, just like the epic storm being diverted and then a year later Sandy hitting this nation, God's judgment will come, just later that we thought.

There is no doubt in my mind at this point that the Lord had originally planned for Obama to be a one-term president and for the solar storms to hit in 2011 or 2012. But He sometimes does delay His plans in order to give the people more time. I thought I was wrong about Obama not being re-elected, that I had missed the Lord, and I apologized for that. However, I am now fairly certain that I had been correct in what I originally said and that God simply delayed His judgment for a short while.

The latest I heard about the solar storms is that they are now expected to hit in the next few months, instead of in the past two years. We will wait and see how and when God does these things.

School Shootings

Many people in this nation are wondering how God could allow so many innocent children to be killed in this tragic mass killing at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut. Where was God? Why wasn't He watching over them? There a a couple on answers.

First of all, God was watching over these children. He took them home before the terrors of His judgment and wrath are poured out in earnest upon this wicked and perverse nation. Those were the lucky children who won't have to go through the horrors that are almost upon us. It is a horrible tragedy for their families and friends, there is no doubt about that. But these children who died will not have to suffer what the rest of us soon will. They will not be running for their lives in the near future as so many others will.

Where was God while all this was happening? Why isn't He protecting our children in school? We kicked God out of our schools many years ago. We told Him that He could no longer be honored in our schools. That the children could no longer pray to Him in school. That He was no longer welcome there. He was banned from our educational institutions. And we expect Him to be there protecting our children?

We kicked Him out of our government. We kicked Him out of our schools. We kicked Him out of our military. We have kicked Him out of our country. He is no longer protecting this nation and its people.

One last thought. Many are saying that there are now 20 little angels in Heaven. The Bible says that we will judge the angels, which means that we will not become angels when we die, nor will those children. What will become of them? I do not know. That is one of God's mysteries.

Forgive Me

As those of you who follow my blog know, last year I wrote a message in which I said that Obama would not be reelected. Obviously I was wrong.

This was part of the message:

"In Tom Clancy's latest fiction novel "Dead Or Alive", he says about a mythical President (even though he did not know he was speaking prophetically). 'So what happens when a weak man of flawed character is faced with a cascade of catastrophes? He crumbles of course, and with him the nation'. So also will Obama, a weak man of flawed character, crumble when God's wrath is poured out upon this nation shortly".

That part will still come to pass. The part I was wrong about was the timing of it. I felt that the Lord showed me that it would happen before the election, leading to Obama's defeat. Yes, I missed the Lord on that. It's something that no matter how hard I try to guard against it, it happens from time to time. I remember that even David Wilkerson, who was God's foremost prophet to this nation, missed it from time to time.

Why do prophets miss the Lord from time to time? I think the main reason is that we feel a responsibility to warn the people when we see trouble coming - that is the job of a watchman, which is what we are. But as human beings, sometimes we go further than we should or even miss the Lord completely. Sometimes we try to fit the warning into what we think God's time frame is going to be - that is what usually causes us to err. Sometimes we let our own thoughts and feelings come into play. Other times I'm sure that God deliberately lets us err because that keeps us humble, humility being an essential element of a prophet. There is no place in our training that allows any type of pride, God makes sure of that.

So this was another case in which I missed the Lord. It's not the first and I'm sure it won't be the last. In my heart I want to try to let people know when I see calamities coming so that they can be prepared. But, as Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Certainly not I. All I can do is continue to seek the Lord and try to let the people know what I feel He has shown me. When I am wrong please forgive me and have patience with me. When I am right then thank the Lord that He warned you ahead of time.

This also is a good lesson for everyone to follow no man, follow the Lord only. Men are human and make mistakes, no matter how spiritual they are. Become a disciple of no one but Jesus.

Hurricane Sandy

On September 1 last year I wrote a message titled "Continuing Catastrophes" on this blog. In it I stated that I believed a hurricane was going to hit this nation like the "fist of God". I thought it was going to happen within a few weeks of writing that message.

Soon after I wrote that message I was speaking to a dear brother-in-Christ who is one of God's hidden prayer warriors, along with his wife. He was telling me that sometimes God had them praying against storms and other "natural" catastrophes, and that sometimes the prayers of the faithful caused disasters to be diverted or lessened.

That was the case a few weeks later when an epic storm hit the sparsely populated coast of Alaska instead of the northwestern states of this nation which are heavily populated. I stated at that time that there may be another hurricane that would hit this nation in the near future and cause great destruction. That happened this week when Sandy hit the northeast coast and caused untold damage. Many were killed and it is estimated that the cost of Sandy will exceed $20 billion. It literally hit this nation like the "fist of God".

What I found interesting is that it hit one of the largest bastions of liberalism and evil in this nation - the Northeast. Do you think the people of that area will see it as God's judgment? Of course they won't. They think it was simply a "natural disaster" caused by "Mother Nature". They will not turn from their wicked and evil ways and repent. This is simply a taste of God's wrath for them, the worst is yet to come for that area of this nation.

While I was pondering all this, the thought came to me that the next area to be dealt with will be the West Coast. In "Continuing Catastrophes" I wrote: "Next I believe that major earthquakes will begin to shake this nation to its very core. The one that hit the east coast a few weeks ago was nothing compared to what is coming. God has had enough of the wickedness in the USA and nothing will stop His judgment upon this land."

I believe that we will soon see one or more major earthquakes strike the West Coast and probably other areas of this country. I also believe that there will be a sports stadium completely destroyed by one of these earthquakes and thousands upon thousands of people in that stadium will be killed. Judgment is upon the USA. God have mercy on His servants.

They Call Good Evil and Evil Good

Isaiah 5:20

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

The big flap over Chick-fil-A's president Dan Cathy telling the "Baptist Press" that he supports traditional marriage between a man and a woman, and the great outcry against him shows just how far the USA has fallen into the abyss of evil. Many in this nation's government, as well as state and local governments are calling Dan Cathy a bigot filled with hatred, and want to keep his businesses out of their cities and states. How far we have fallen.

Where is the outcry from the churches against these evil people? Where are the pastors who should be in their pulpits and out in the streets railing against the evil that now has taken over our nation? Have we no shame as a nation? Obviously we do not.

Micah 3 -

Then I said,“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice, 2 you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones; 3 who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot? ” 4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. 5 This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them. 6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. 7 The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God. ” 8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin. 9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; 10 who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. 11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” 12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

The USA has turned to evil and the prophets are still saying "Peace, peace! No evil will befall us!" If you doubt that, then simply look up Kim Clements' prophecies as well as the ones on The Elijah List website under "Prophecy". The fools in the churches believe these lies, they believe that God is going to bless this nation - THEY ARE ALL BLIND FOOLS!!! THEY ARE LED BY BLIND FOOLS!!

I cannot stand this any longer, and neither can God. My spirit is incensed, enraged and so is the Spirit of the Lord. I am sickened and disgusted with this nation and so is God. I will rejoice when the Lord sends His wrath upon this wicked country and I will rejoice when the people are suffering worse than they ever thought possible.

Lord, I pray that you will send your wrath immediately upon this wicked and perverse nation that refuses to listen to you, that refuses to repent and turn from its wicked and evil ways. Instead, this evil nation now rails against and persecutes those who dare to speak the truth, those who dare to follow You, Lord. Destroy this once proud and mighty nation that has now turned against You and Your ways. Destroy the shepherds and churches that refuse to cry out against evil but instead accept it in their midst. Do whatever is necessary to bring the inhabitants of this country to their knees. Amen.


UPDATE 8-1-12 - It warmed my heart today to see the many millions of people who went to Chick-Fil-As all over the nation today to support Dan Cathy. The CFA restaurants in the Dallas area were jam packed today with over 100 people in lines in the stores as well as long. long lines of cars waiting to go through the drive-through windows. The national news media, as much as they hated it, could not avoid the story.

If you want to send Dan Cathy a letter telling him you support his boldness and courage, here is his address:
Mr. Dan Cathy, President
Chick-fil-A
5200 Buffington Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30349-2998

Greatest Natural Disaster in American History

News item from the USDA on July 12, 2012

The United States Department of Agriculture has declared natural disaster areas in more than 1,000 counties and 26 drought-stricken states, making it the largest natural disaster in America ever.

The declaration—which covers roughly half of the country—gives farmers and ranchers devastated by drought access to federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans.

"Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation's economy," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday while announcing the assistance program. "We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted farmers around the country."

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than half the country (56 percent) experienced drought conditions—the largest percentage in the 12-year history of the service. And according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the period from January through June was "the warmest first half of any year on record for the contiguous United States."



No one has been speaking about this but most of us have noticed the startling increases in food prices over the past two years. Of course we all know that this is just a "natural" catastrophe and nothing God has His hands in. Sure, and the Red Sea parted on its own. America is burning (see the post directly underneath this one) our food supply is dwindling, gasoline prices are over $3.00/gal, actual unemployment is over 15%,our national economy is on the brink of failure, but no one seems to see God's hands in all this. The blind are leading the blind into the great abyss.

America Is Burning

There are currently 47 major wildfires spread through 15 states, most of them in the West. These are technically called "Large Incident" fires. The large majority of them are concentrated in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana - the area many of us call "God's Country". As I was pondering this yesterday I realized that God is burning His country. Yes, that is correct, God is burning His country. Amos 3:6 - “If calamity comes upon a city (or nation) is it not I, the Lord, who sent it?”

Why is He burning it? Last year was the worst year in history for wildfires and this year is already off to a monstrous start. Last June was the worst month in history for wildfires and this June is almost as bad. Why June specifically? June is Homosexual and Lesbian Pride Month. Obama calls it Gay Pride Month, but there is nothing gay about homosexuality or lesbianism - they are abominations to the Lord. We have become like Sodom and Gomorrah and our punishment will be the same.

As I was viewing the huge fire near Colorado Springs and saw what looked like whole mountains ablaze, I saw the wrath of God being poured out. I saw His anger like I have never seen it before, a huge wall of flame devouring everything in its path. This is the future of this wicked and perverse nation.

Prayers for President Bush

Last year the Lord showed me that He has chosen President George W. Bush to call this nation to repentance in the near future when God's wrath is being poured out upon this nation. The Lord had been putting upon my heart that He has more for President Bush to do and then He finally showed me what it was. Then the Lord had me write George and Laura a letter thanking them for their service to our nation and telling them that the Lord has called George to be His spokesman who will call this nation to repentance. I also told them that most people would not listen to him, but many would and he would be responsible for the salvation of many.

This will be a heavy responsibility for him and will cause most of the people in this wicked and perverse nation to hate him, maybe even cause attempts on his life. But I know his heart, the Lord has shown it very clearly to me, and I know he will follow the Lord's leading in this matter. He has a tender, caring and compassionate heart and it will take a lot of strength to do something like this. But I know that God is behind him and will support him in this endeavor.

This is not about politics, it is not about whether anyone agrees with every decision he made as President. It is about George W. Bush, a servant of the Lord. Please keep he and Laura in your prayers every day because he will need that spiritual support and strength.

Yes, he and Laura did read my letter last year and the Lord let me know a few weeks ago that they read it again recently. The second time they were stronger in the Lord and it meant more to them then, they had a deeper understanding of it. The Lord will bring this to pass in His way and His time, but please keep them in your fervent prayers.

Internet Scams

As many of you know, recently my e-mail addresses were hacked and were used to send out spam e-mails. This morning I received an e-mail from someone I knew telling me that they were stranded in London and needed me to send them money so that they could get home, giving me an international telephone number to call. This is not the first one of this type e-mail I have received and I'm sure it will not be the last. It is a scam.

It got me to thinking that whoever hacked my e-mail address book might also try to use my name to claim that I am in some foreign country and need money to get home. If you get an e-mail like that DO NOT CALL OR SEND MONEY to the thief. If you get any type of e-mail with my name of it asking for money it will be a scam because I do not ask for money from anyone on my blog list. So be careful my brothers and sisters, there are many thieves out there doing whatever they can to steal your money.

Which Way Do We Go, Lord?

Which way do we go, Lord? That is the question many are asking these days. You are wondering how should you prepare for the disasters which God is unleashing upon this nation and the horrors that are about to be sent upon this wicked nation and even the whole world. You have prayed and prayed and prayed for direction from the Lord but haven't received any answers yet. You have read the Bible seeking the guidance of the Lord, but it is as if the heavens were brass and nothing is coming from them. You are wondering if something is blocking you from hearing from the Lord, if you have unconfessed sin in your life that is preventing communication from above. You have even begun to fear that maybe God is angry with you and won't respond to you, or that you don't have enough faith to get an answer.

None of the above are true.

Here is the truth:

Isa 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it.

When the time comes for you to take action in the coming days the Lord will guide you and direct you - you will be on a path that the Lord has set before you and you will not even be able to stray from it. You will then see that all your prayers and faithfulness have borne fruit and that God is answering your prayers in ways that you had never imagined.

Some other verses to meditate on:

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 139:3 - You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 5:21 - For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He watches all his paths.

Isaiah 42:16 - I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone.

Isaiah 43:16 - Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

Isaiah 51:10 - Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway for the redeemed to cross over?

Jeremiah 31:9 - With weeping they will come, and by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.


So continue seeking the Lord, my brothers and sisters. Continue in your prayers, Bible reading and faithfulness. In due time you will hear His voice and know which direction you are to take. The Lord be with you all, may He give you peace now and in the days to come. I love you all.

2011 was worst year in history for "natural catastrophes"

In 2010 I wrote about catastrophe after catastrophe striking this nation as part of God's judgment upon this country. Then in June of last year I wrote in my message "Coming Out of the Eye of the Storm", that judgment had already begun and was going to get worse and worse. In a news report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today I read that 2011 was "extreme" in terms of weather and that there were 14 disasters that cost over $1 billion each, with a total loss of $55 billion, the highest in the history of the USA. In addition, mass murders increased dramatically last year.

Now most people will consider this as just bad luck, bad timing. But some of realize that it the hand of God causing these disasters.

Jer 6:19 - Hear O earth: "Behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words. And as for My law, they have rejected it also".

Ezek 6:10 - "Then they will know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster upon them."

Ezek 7:5 - Thus says the Lord God "A disaster, a unique disaster, behold it is coming"

Jer 11:14 - "Therefore do not pray for this people nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster."

This year, 2012, the disasters will only get worse. What will those disasters be? I believe that this year we will see a series of massive earthquakes in this nation, a continuation of the extreme drought in many of our southern states, more mass killings and, worst of all, the solar storms hitting the nation later this year.

Recently, a friend loaned me several books by Terri Blackstock who, starting in 2005, wrote a series of four Christian mystery novels dealing with a global blackout caused by "pulses" from some type of star. These novels deal with one community in Alabama and how they deal with this situation. How the faith of many people is tested and how the faith of some is strengthened during this time. The books speak truthfully of how much God demands of His people during these times, how difficult life can be.

Terri was prophetic when she wrote these books and I doubt that she knew it. Although the blackouts will be caused by solar storms and will not affect the entire globe, they will destroy all electricity and electronics in the areas that God has chosen for them to impact. The four novels in the series are "Last Light", "Night Light", "True Light" and "Dawn's Light". They are in paperback and should be available at your local library.

The reason I find them so intriguing and hard to put down is that I can see that the community portrayed in these books is probably very similar to the places of refuge that God will set up for His people during the coming years. The problems that these people experience are things that we will also have to deal with in the near future, even in the places of refuge. If you are able to, I highly recommend that you read them.

As always, my brothers and sisters, continue in the faith, in reading the Bible and in prayer.

E-mail List

For those of you are not on my e-mail list for this blog but who would like to be on it, please e-mail me at hilbertcliff@yahoo.com and I will include you on the list. You will only receive e-mails when I have posted a new message on here, once or twice a month usually. Your name will not be given to anyone else for any reason. Or you can simply type your e-mail address in the little box on the left that says "Follow By E-mail", even I don't know who is on that list.

Epic Storm

In a September post about continuing calamities I talked about a storm hitting the USA like the "fist of God". That happened today with what is being called an "epic storm" which hit the Alaska coast today. Fortunately it hit an area that was not highly populated so it didn't cause many deaths that they know about at this time. But it was no doubt the storm the Lord said would hit this nation. Will there be another one? Possibly, but only the Lord knows for sure.


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/09/alaska-prepares-for-storm-epic-magnitude/#ixzz1dByPWyf6?test=latestnews

Persecution

There was an article in the news today about a Christian schoolteacher in New Jersey who is being investigated by the school board because she posted on her Facebook page that she believes homosexuality is a sin. Naturally, all the homosexual, lesbian and transgender groups (I refuse to call them "gay" because there is nothing gay about their abominations), as well as the "politically correct" groups are criticizing her and condemning her because of her "hateful" views and claiming that she is not fit to teach children because of her thoughts on the subject. How far this nation has fallen. What a cesspool we have become.

But she is being persecuted by the public as opposed to by the churches. Many of the churches will cry out in indignation because this woman is being persecuted because of her religious beliefs, and well they should speak up in her defense. But these same churches will persecute many Christians in the near future when the true Christians speak up and tell the churches what cesspools they have become. The religious people will hate us when we tell them that they themselves have brought judgment upon the nation and upon themselves because they have turned away from the teachings of Christ and instead turned to the gospel of man. A gospel that teaches many nice stories about the Bible, that teaches the history of the Bible, the timeframe of the Bible, but ignores how God's word is a living word that He uses to accomplish that which He pleases and purposes. It is a living word that He uses to speak to us individually to instruct us, to guide us, to correct us, to give us hope, to help prepare us for what He is about to do. The Bible is not just about history lessons to be learned nor is it a dead word, but it is alive and living, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the bone and marrow. How many times have you been in a church where there was actually an anointing on the word being taught?

The churches also teach a gospel that lifts up mammon, telling us that we can have everything that our hearts desire. That God is a good God who just wants to bless us. That He is a loving Father who only wants to make us happy, just like Santa Claus. They don't teach about taking up our cross daily and carrying it. They don't teach about Paul's testimony that he was hungry, homeless, thirsty, in rags, poorly treated and in chains. They don't teach that the first thing God said about Paul was "I will show him how much he must suffer for the kingdom of Heaven". They don't teach about how Jesus said "He that does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple".

Ør, like Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, the church that I wrote about in a previous message "Taking a Stand", May 20, 2010, who condemns anyone who thinks differently than he does when he judged Mitch Romney to not be a Christian because he is part of a "cult". He doesn't understand that he is not this man's judge. Micah 6:8 states "What does God require of you man other than that you love justice, do kindness and walk humbly before the Lord your God." Now I don't know if Mitch Romney loves justice, does kindness and walks humbly before the Lord, and I can assure you that Robert Jeffress doesn't either. But I certainly cannot say that Romney is not a Christian because the Lord has not shown me his heart or anything about him. God does not condemn Romney because he is a part of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. God is concerned about Romney's heart. Robert Jeffress has made his heart known to all, and it is not good. There are many, many churches that believe that anyone different than them is going to hell. Do you think they will not persecute us when we speak the truth to them?

Then we have churches who are actively recruiting homosexuals and lesbians for not only membership, but also ordaining them into the ministry. Do you think they are not going to persecute us when we tell them in the years to come that they are part of the reason that God's wrath is being poured out upon this nation, because of their abominations?

What about 99% of the black churches who supported Obama simply because he was black, even though they knew that he was for abortion and for homosexuality? Do you think that they will not persecute us when we speak the truth to them about their foolishness when Obama surrenders this nation to the Russians before the end of his first and only term in office and they are once again forced into slavery? Do you think they will love us?

What about the "faith" churches who have been teaching their flocks lies about naming and claiming it, about believing it is their faith which causes things to happen, not God's power. Do you think they will not persecute us when we speak the truth to them while they are losing their wealth, their homes, their health, their jobs, their food? Do you think they will listen to us?

Just as Jesus and His apostles were persecuted by their own people, so also shall we be. Will God protect us during those times? Some He will, some He won't. Some will be put in prison, some sawn in two, some tortured - he that endures to the end will be saved.

Elenin

For at least a year people have been sending me information on Elenin, the asteroid that is no bigger than a school bus that is supposed to cause all sorts of terrible things to happen in a few weeks once it is aligned with certain planets. My brothers and sisters, this is all utter nonsense, just like the Y2K scare eleven years ago. You can find charts all over the internet "proving" that Elenin, which will not even come near our moon, much less our planet, is going to wreak every kind of havoc imaginable on our planet. Supposedly the U.S. government knows all about it and is involved in a secret conspiracy to hide all this information from becoming public. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!! I can't stand any more of this foolishness!!

Elenin, Planet X, Niburu and all the other "secret" planetary blobs are not going to cause anything to happen to this planet. Anyone can get on You Tube and claim anything they want to and people will believe them. Remember the swine flu virus that was going to kill millions because the Illuminati and the New World Order wanted to destroy one-third of the world's population? Did it happen? No. Remember the swine flu shots were supposed to contain nanobots that would be injected into your bloodstream and enable the government to control your mind as well as track you everywhere you went and listen in on all your conversations? Remember the death trains that were supposed to carry you to the "secret" FEMA death camps where the U.S. government had secretly stored millions of guillotines that they were going to use to behead you? There was even a woman on You Tube dressed up in Army fatigues who claimed that the Army was secretly training troops to arrest those who refused the swine flu shots and force them onto the "death trains". Remember that jackass. Vincent Xavier, who claimed that God revealed to him that a nuclear bomb would be set off in Washington, D.C. last October but wouldn't be realized until November - and people were gullible enough to believe that kind of idiocy!

Enough of this foolishness! Enough of this nonsense! It's time most of you stayed off your computers 99% of the time and used your time for something worthwhile like prayer, reading the bible, reaching out to those who are hurting and in need, ministering to the lost, etc. Stay off of those stupid, supposedly "Christian" forums which are filled with nothing but absolute nonsense. I haven't found even one of those forums that I would want to participate in, not one. Instead of looking for answers on those abominable forums, look to your bibles for answers. All you are doing on those sites is wasting your time, and I am dead serious about that.

Please do not send me any more information on Elenin, Planet X, Niburu, the Illuminati, the New World Order or any of that stuff. It is all utter foolishness. If you want to believe it then that is your business. But I know that none of it has any validity at all.

Continuing Catastrophes

In a message last year I spoke about how we would see catastrophe after catastrophe hit this nation. Then in July I wrote about how those things have been coming to pass and that they will only get worse. Then Hurricane Irene hit and we are now finding out that FEMA is almost out of emergency relief funds because they have spent the highest amount in their history for catastrophes that have occurred this year, and there are still four months left in 2011.

These "natural" disasters are going to get worse and worse. God has had enough of the wickedness in the USA and nothing will stop His judgment upon this land.

Let me correct something that I had written in this message originally. The Lord told me that there would be another hurricane that hit the U.S. "like the fist of God". However, He did not say that it would happen this year. I assumed that it would because we were in the middle of the hurricane season and it seemed likely that it would happen soon, but that was not something the Lord told me, that was my own incorrect assumption. It still could happen this year, but more than likely it will occur next year.



These "natural" disasters are going to get worse and worse. I believe that we are going to see another major hurricane hit this nation this year, probably in the next few weeks. This hurricane will slam into this country like the fist of God and will be much worse than Irene, and I don't believe that we will be prepared for it.

Next I believe that major earthquakes will begin to shake this nation to its very core. The one that hit the east coast a few weeks ago was nothing compared to what is coming. God has had enough of the wickedness in the USA and nothing will stop His judgment upon this land.

On another subject, last year I warned about the Gulf of Mexico exploding and causing horrific damage. When it didn't happen then I thought that my warning may have been premature, but that it would still happen, and it still might because I certainly don't understand God's timing or His ways. However, that was the only one of my messages that I have allowed anyone to influence me on, and that person's influence might not have been of the Lord. If I missed the Lord on that message then I repent and apologize to all of you. This I can assure you of that no one except the Lord will ever be allowed to have any influence on any of my messages in the future. I remember how I agonized for days over that warning before I wrote it, but I felt that if it were true then I needed to warn the people. The Gulf still may explode, but at this point I can honestly say that I don't know.

The Blessings of Suffering

Yes, the title is correct, this message is about the blessings we get from the suffering we go through. No one wants to hurt, no one wants to feel pain, but it is something that many times God uses to bless us. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. God's blessings many times mean that we go through suffering so that we can be a blessing to others.

I remember the story from a number of years ago about a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention who's son developed AIDS from a blood transfusion. He immediately became a pariah in the Baptist Church - he was suddenly an outcast. People then didn't know as much about AIDS as we know today and they treated this man and his family as lepers. They were rejected and despised. They suffered horribly. But because of what they went through they are much better equipped to minister to others whom the churches have rejected and despised for numerous reasons. They understand the pain of others in ways much more intimately than they ever could have before. In God's way of thinking the pain they went through was a blessing because now they can better help others - their reward in Heaven will be great.

In my last message "Comforting the Grieving" I spoke about the pain I went through losing my little sister to cancer. I also talked about how now I can minister to others who are suffering from the loss of a loved one, something I could never have done before. In God's way of thinking the pain I went through was a blessing so that I was equipped to comfort others.

The rejection and abuse the churches have heaped upon me in the past 28 years has wounded me deeply, but it has enabled me to reach out to others and empathize with them when they have become disillusioned with, hurt, abused and rejected by churches. They saw the emptiness and lack of love in these churches, they saw people who were focused on everything but loving and helping their neighbor. Because of what I have been through I understand their pain and can help to comfort them, encourage them and build them back up - to show them the love and compassion of the Lord.

Back in 1988 I was at a church retreat in Prescott, AZ and during that weekend I asked a couple of the pastors to pray for me. I remember one of them praying "Lord, I pray that you will give Cliff a new heart to replace this severely wounded one of his". I told him "No, Jim, I don't want a new heart. I want some of these wounds healed, but not all of them because that way I will be more sensitive to the wounds in others." I don't really think I knew what I was saying then, I believe it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me - but it was for the greater good, so I could better minister to others because my heart would be very sensitive to their pain.

Believe me, I am no glutton for pain nor am I a masochist. I don't like suffering any more than anyone else. But when I look back upon what I have been through I can now see why God ordained that those things happened that way. Yes, He ordained that I go through all that, and many times He was the one sticking a knife in my heart. You don't believe that? Then you haven't read the Bible. Job 5:18 - For He inflicts pain and He gives relief; He wounds and He heals. Isa 30:26 - .. when the Lord binds up the bruises of His people and heals the wounds He inflicted. Most people see where it says that He heals but they totally miss the part that says that He wounds. The sons of God know that He wounds, children don't.

Our knowledge of God and His ways is comparable to a grain of sand in all the oceans of the universe, we know virtually nothing about Him and His thoughts and ways. The pain we go through that we think is from the evil one may very well be from God to bless us in the way He views blessings. We do not grow spiritually except by suffering nor do we mature as Christians unless we go through intense afflictions.

Romans 8:18 - "I do not consider that the suffering of the present is worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". The glory can mean the love, compassion and mercy of the Lord that will flow through us to others because of the suffering we have been through. It can also mean the spiritual maturity that will result from our afflictions.

Now, lest you think I am a saint who praises God every time He wounds me, let me me very open and honest with you. There have been literally thousands times I have screamed and yelled at God in the last 28 years, times that I have complained bitterly, times that I have hated Him, despised Him because of the horrible suffering He was sending upon me. He was testing and trying me in the fires of afflictions. The pressure He was putting me under was absolutely horrific. Most "Christians" judged and condemned me for hurting and feeling angry at God. But as a 22-year old guy told me in 1986 "He is a big God and He can handle your emotions". So when I see people who are wounded, hurting and angry at God (the anger comes from the pain of the wounds that God has inflicted upon them) I simply comfort them, show them the love and compassion that so-called "Christians" won't. I let them know that God can handle their emotions and that He is not going to condemn them because of how they react to pain that He is inflicting upon them.

How do you get and refine gold? You pulverize a piece of rock then sift the gold out of it. You put the gold over intense heat for a long, long time until all the impurities are burned off. How is a diamond made? It is a lump of coal that is put under enormous pressure for eons and eons. The more pressure it is under and the longer the time, the purer the diamond. So also it is with us - the hotter the fire, the greater the pressure, the purer we will be. Yes, pain can be a blessing when we are able to see it from God's eyes.

I tend to personalize many of my writings with the experiences that I have been through. I have no doubt that the Lord wants it that way so that people can intimately relate to the intense feelings that I sometimes convey, feelings and experiences that they themselves may have had and not understood, and been judged and condemned by others because of those emotions. The Lord put me through those trying times so that I could use them to help others better understand why they may be going through great suffering, as well as, of course, to humble me, to mature me and prepare me for His service.

Comforting the Grieving

As God's judgment continues to be poured out upon this nation it is going to get worse and worse - many will be killed in the catastrophes that are going to hit our land. Many families are going to lose loved ones - husbands, wives, children, parents, brothers, sisters and friends. The Lord will call many of us to reach out to those who have lost a family member and we need to know how to help them. But this message is also for the present time, for those who are going through grieving now or know someone who is. I am not a psychologist, and what I share with you is from my own personal experiences, how I learned to help those who are grieving.

When I lived in Tyler, TX I was a remodeling contractor and did much of my work through realtors. Many of them I grew close to as dear friends, some of them I loved as sisters that I never had growing up. One of those was Pam who I kind of adopted as my little sister. The Lord bonded our hearts together and I loved Pam very, very dearly - she was my little sis. I knew her for about a year when she was suddenly diagnosed with stomach cancer. Pam fought the cancer bravely and with every ounce of her strength for a year, but it killed her in October, 1998.

I have never known such pain, I was devastated. I cried several times a day for many, many months afterwards. I didn't know that such a darkness and emptiness existed. It was the darkest period of my life. What made it even worse was that God forced me to go through it all by myself, He would not allow ANYONE to reach out to me, to comfort me, to be there for me. Instead, I had to be there to help others who were also devastated by Pam's death. God made me go through the depth and darkness of grieving all alone, there was no one there to comfort me, no one. And I grieved to depths that I didn't know were possible, I didn't know such pain existed. But what I learned from this was how to give to others who are grieving what I needed but was not allowed to have. I knew how badly I needed someone to be there for me and with me, I felt the pain so deeply in my heart. What I didn't get I now give to others because I know how desperately they need it.

About eight months after Pam's death I volunteered at the Hospice of East Texas Homeplace, an inpatient facility for the terminally ill. I was there almost every Saturday and Sunday for almost a year helping the nurses, the patients and their families. I saw much pain, much grief while I was there, the same kind of pain that I had been through, and I was able to offer some little bits of comfort to a few of the people.

The things that help people who are grieving are simple things like hugs, a shoulder to cry on, someone to just be there with them and let them know you hurt for them. Never tell them you know how they feel, because you don't. I could tell them that I understand the pain, and when they looked in my eyes they knew that I did because they saw in my eyes that I had been through intense grief myself and that I could empathize with them.

There are other things you can do such as bringing them flowers, having them over for dinner (inviting then into your home is much better than inviting them out to a restaurant for dinner because most of them do not want to go into public places soon after the death of a loved one, they want privacy as opposed to being in public), going to visit them at their home, calling them to let them know you care and sending them sympathy cards and letters. Don't try to cheer them up because they cannot be cheered up at this time - just be there for them. But don't expect anything from them because they are emotionally incapable of giving it. Just let them grieve, let them cry, let them be angry at God (He's a big God and can handle their feelings and their anger. He's not going to be angry at them for it).

Telling them trite little phrases like "God needed them more than you do", or "they are with the Lord now", or "God called them home because......" are usually not comforting. Never tell them that grieving lasts for such and such a time and then you get better, because that is a lie. It also puts pressure on them to "get through" the grieving process in a specified period of time. Each and every person grieves in their own way for their own period of time, there are no rules for this, no set times. It has been thirteen years since Pam died and there are still times that I cry for her. Yes, the memories of her are precious to me and most of them are happy because she was such a joy to be around, but I would be lying if I said that the grief is gone, because it has never completely left me. So don't expect people to grieve for a specific period of time (like some books say) and then "get over it". Don't expect anything at all from them.

Yes, ministering to the grief-stricken is a very difficult thing, it hurts to see someone in so much pain, it brings back pain from your own losses. But being vulnerable and letting those who are grieving see that we ourselves have suffered loss and that we still hurt from it lets them know that what they are feeling is okay, that it is normal for what they have been through. It lets them know that they are not alone and that they are not going crazy, that others have been through similar pain and have survived through it. The pain that I still feel from losing Pam is obvious in this message. But in order to help others we have to be transparent, we have to leave ourselves open and vulnerable. That's the way Jesus was, open and vulnerable. Two of the most important words in the Bible are "Jesus wept".

As I write this I realize that this message will offer some degree of comfort to some of those who are reading it because they have lost loved ones and have had difficulty "living up" to how they were supposed to "heal" after a few months and "get on with their lives". If this has helped you then I feel that I have done something worthwhile in sharing what I have been through.

If there are any hospice professionals who read this and have more insight into this than I do, I would welcome your comments because this is to help others in their time of need.