Now More than Ever

Some songs are written by people that may not be Christians or practicing Christians, but it is easy to tell that the Holy Spirit led the author, even without the author knowing it. I don't know where Mr. Mellencamp stands with his beliefs in God, Jesus or any type of religion. I know that he and I are on the opposite sides of political beliefs, but I do like some of his songs. My hope is that he is a Christian or will one day soon accept Jesus as his Savior. I pray for this to happen.



This is all about John's song "Now More Than Ever", a great love song. You see, love songs that are written for a woman or a man also can be paralleled to Jesus. Jesus is known as the Bridegroom and the body of believers in Him are the Bride. It's all over the Bible, in the Gospels, up to and including Revelations, I will provide more specifics as we break down this song.

If you believe, won't you please raise your hands
Let's hear your voices, let us know where you stand
Don't shout from the shadows cause it won't mean a damn
Now more than ever

If you have been to a modern church lately, or a meg-church you have definitely seen people raising their hands in praise during worship. It's common among believers to lift their hands to their Lord and Savior. The Lord wants to hear your voice, He as well as other believers needs to know where you stand. Either you are with Jesus or against Him, there is no in betweens. When I look at the last verse, it reminds me that we have to stand up, loud enough in the light to be the light that Jesus wants us to be.

John 3:19 says "This is the verdict, Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." NIV version.

The chorus of the song also has many truths to it. John speaks of actual love, not just a slogan. During the 60's slogans were big, but did they mean anything? John also speaks of not being able to stand alone - as a believer and follower of Jesus, I know this is true and experience it.

Now more than ever, the world needs love
not just a slogan, but the world needs love
now more than ever I can't stand alone
now more than ever

The next verse is very interesting. Obviously John was probably speaking of marriage to a woman. That we all understand, and that's exactly why Jesus compares the uniting of His Church (the body of believers in Jesus) to a marriage. Jesus being the bridegroom and the church His bride. Check this out. To back this up, look up Revelations 19:7-10.

If I was to buy you a diamond ring
make you my princess, would it mean anything
would you take me for granted and just curse my name
now more than ever

Of course the 3rd line is basically what the world has done to Jesus. Aside from those that worship Jesus, everyone pretty much has taken His love for granted, and cursed His name.

Now, I relate the last the last verse quite well. As someone that is born again, I obviously realize that I was lost at one time. But it's never too late to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, confess with your mouth that He is Lord and that God the Father raised Him on the Third Day.

Who am I to say
what needs to be done
I'm just nobody, another lost one
Caught between what's right and what needs to be done
Now more than ever
the loss of love
the loss of our dreams
it's not too late

I really have fun doing this in my blog and hope you enjoy it too. I hope you respond if this moves you, upsets you or disagree with it. Remember, this is my take on the song, I have no idea what was going through John's mind when he wrote it.

Food and Oil

For those that wonder what is happening with the current prices of oil, gas and the rising cost of foods, it's prophecy right out of the bible. Out of the book of Revelations. Now, keep in mind, prophecy is not predicting the future, humans cannot do that. Prophecy is understanding God's word. The bible is as much about the future as it is the past. God gives us history and a road map at the same time in this book. It's one of His ways of communicating with us.

Revelations 6, 5-6 states:
"When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come. I looked and there before me was a black horse. It's rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages and do not damage the oil and the wine."

Okay, I know that it seems confusing, but it's really not that hard to understand God's word. Understanding it takes commitment to Jesus, worship of Jesus and of course confessing publicly that Jesus is Lord and Savior. Of course, not all is revealed and it sometimes takes years and years of reading, praying and talking to God to understand just the tip of the iceberg, but the more you try the more God reveals to you.

The black horse, the third seal is the seal that is releasing the increased cost of food, supplies and even necessary fuels (oil, gas, natural gas, all tie in with food prices). Right now we are experiencing high costs of food, oil, gas and so forth, but keep in mind, we are still in the phase prior to the seals being released on earth, prior to the beginning of the tribulation and prior to the believers in Jesus being caught up to him in heaven (see 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

So where does this leave us now? I believe it is all preparations for what is to come. Food prices are soaring, as of right now 37 countries are in peril and their food supplies almost completely depleted. Even rice is being rationed at major wholesale food chains such as Sam's Club and Costco. Oil prices are approaching $120 per barrel and probably within a year break $150 per barrel. But, keep in mind, Israel can produce 400% more food that it can consume, keep this in mind because we will address this again later on. As it is stated in Revelations 6, during that time period it will take 1 day's wages to purchase enough wheat (food) for one person to be able to eat. So as you can see, we aren't there yet, at least in the U.S. But we are on a steady increase in prices to the point we could get there in the blink of an eye.

Wheat prices are high, in some places over $12 per bushel, soybean prices are over $14 per bushel and corn is approaching $6 per bushel. That not only affects the wheat, bean and corn prices, but affects the following prices:

Cereals, breads, beef, pork and poultry meats, dairy products such as milk, cheese, etc. Of course for those that drink beer, beer prices will go up too. Basically, fruit and nuts are not affected by this. But what will affect all food supplies?

Oil prices. The higher that the oil price goes up, so does gas. Then take into consideration that food has to be delivered, by truck or train, both utilize gas and oil. So to pay for the transportation, food prices go up for the consumer. Not to mention, all products that you buy will go up to pay the high prices for gas and oil. That's how vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. will also rise in price.

As each area goes up in price, grain, meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, gas, oil they will drive each other up to the point where it will take a day's wage to eat. So, you work 7 days a week just to eat. Now think about this, what about paying for a place to live, feeding your family, driving to and from work. Putting clothes on your back and your family's. How are you going to do this? At some point, many nations will not be able to do this, and the fight for food and survival will begin.

America may face an attack because of our vast supplies and ability to raise crops and meat. Several attacks physically could cripple us. Economically, we are ready to sink, and at some point we could crash that way. Regardless, America may not exist during this time period for one reason or another. So, if we are gone, who will stand by Israel?

Israel, a country that is the size of New Jersey, surround by Islamic nations that hate them, now stands alone, without it's ally America to help protect her. Only God will be able to protect His chosen people, Israel. Ezekiel 38-39 talks about a coalition of countries (including Russia and Iran) that attack it. This attack could be instigated by the demand for food. Israel's capability of producing 400% more food than it can consume will attract the worst out of enemies that hate her. They will go up against Israel, and Israel will not have to lay a hand on anyone.

God will show his might, power and glory at this time, by wiping out the armies coming against Israel. This could also be the precursor to the anti-christ being able to convince the world that he is God. Or in otherwords, the beginning of the great tribulation.

I will discuss this more in a couple of days.

Abortion Part 2

Another day and more commentary on the subject of abortion. Since 1973, there have been millions of babies aborted. How many Billy Graham's were killed, or Ronald Reagan's, or artists, musicians, CEO's or what if the first female president was aborted? Only God knows what the potential was for each and every one of those babies that were killed. It's sad really.

Let's look at this from another view point though. Statistics show that there have been over 40 million "legal" abortions in the U.S. alone. Let's look at the Generation Xer's and younger for just a minute. The 60's generation has been the largest generation as far as population in our country's history. Could my generation have been just as large if not larger if abortions were not legal? Just maybe, just maybe. Could the generation behind the Xer's be just as large or larger? Maybe, just maybe. Take out those that were aborted, and take away birth control which is an abortifacient and the generations since the baby boomer's may not be so small. In fact, there may be more Generation Xer's and younger than the baby boomers.

Now let's look at Social Security for just a minute. The baby boomer generation gave us birth control, then abortion. Their large population will be consuming Social Security to the point of bankruptcy, yet they (I realize not all from this generation support abortion and/or birth control, but for the sake of making it easier, I am lumping all 3 generations as whole groups)have been willingly murdering my generation and those younger without blinking an eye. They won't back down either, but then wonder why there won't be enough money for younger generations to retire on.

I realize that not all of the 40 million would be currently contributing to Social Security, but just for the sake of argument, let's just say 20% of those aborted would be currently contributing to Social Security. That's an additional 8 million contributors to those that are retired now and will be retiring soon. Yes, the way it works is those retired are collecting from those still working. Let's just say for argument that those 8 million make an average of $40, 000 per year per person. At $40, 000 per year, that would be a contribution of ~$3, 000 from just the person. Keep in mind, our employers also pay in the same percent as we do, so to add both together for this argument, we have $6, 000 per person in additional contributions. Have you added that up yet? Okay, here it is; that would be an additional $48, 000, 000, 000 put into the funding each and every year. It may be plus or minus X amount of dollars, but think about it, it would be additional billions poured into Social Security and we may have a chance to keep Social Security afloat. That is if we could pass laws to prevent our government from raiding the surplus's like they have in the past.

You see, not only has abortion and birth control affected us in a way that any genocide or holocaust has affected us spiritually, but it's affecting absolutely everything in our society. We are becoming bankrupt. There are literally millions of women that are suffering emotional problems from having this procedure done. May Jesus forgive our nation for accepting such a terrible infanticide.

I urge each and every one of us to read and re-read Dueteronomy 28. It's the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. Our nation at one time was on the blessing side, but I believe we are quickly heading for the cursed side if we don't change how we think, live, and who we worship. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Before I close for the night, let's just look at what Jesus had to say about children.

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My Name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but the one who sent me." Mark 9 36-38 NIV.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10 13-15 NIV

"And He took the children in his arms, put His hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10 15-17 NIV

And sadly, just like Rachel, we followers of Christ must cry for those lost through infanticide:

"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." Matthew 2 17-19 NIV

May God bless all those that read this and give comfort to those that need it.

Abortion

I know this is a controversial subject, one that gets people emotional and upset, on both sides of the issue, including me. Even before becoming a follower of Jesus, I knew that abortion was wrong. It just didn't seem right to end a life. Yes, I said life. Life is created at conception, and I will prove from scripture that my belief is true.

First of all, what is truth? God's word is true. It's the only truth that is on this earth. God never changes, His word has always remained true from the ages, and all that is written in the Bible has either come true or will come true and be fulfilled at some point in the future. Wikipedia's definition of truth, in part states "The meaning of the word truth extends from honesty, good faith and sincerity in general."

God has described in several verses throughout the bible that before we were even formed in the womb, God new us. Yes, the all knowing, all powerful God of the heavens and earth new each and every one of us before we were formed in the womb and He planted our souls in the body that was formed.

For example:

Before I was born the Lord call me; from my birth he has made mention of my name, and now the Lord says, He formed me in the womb to be His servant." That's Isaiah 49, 1 and 5.

Another quote from a bible verse, this time from Jeremiah:
"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1, 4-5.

Again, God is not only telling Jeremiah that He knew Jeremiah before forming him in the womb, but Isaiah as well. If God knew those two prophets before they were formed in the womb, why wouldn't He also know any one of us? God is the creator of all. The stars and sky, heaven, earth, animals, and yes, us humans.

Why is abortion wrong, that is the question that many people have been debating for years. The answer is this, it is murder, homicide, however you want to put it. Don't get me wrong, I do not want those that have had abortions to feel bad about what I am saying, but I do have to shoot straight, it is what it is. The world lies to us about what it is to try an ease the pain and suffering women go through before, during and after the gruesome procedure. Would you find it acceptable if our government decided that adults that get dementia or alzheimer's disears have their lives terminated? I wouldn't find any acceptable. It should only be up to God when He determines to end life, it is our responsibility to honor and uphold that which was created by God.

Another reason that abortion is wrong is it is hurting an innocent child. Yes it does hurt to have your limbs ripped apart, whether as a child or adult. Gruesome, yes I know, but that is what happens. I cannot fathom why anyone would want to hurt a child, but I do know that Satan causes people to do this. That's not giving the evil one credit, it's placing the blame for evil where it belongs, in Satan's hands. God is incapable of evil, Satan defines evil. Some other time, I will discuss Satan and how he uses people (those that do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them).

Life is sacred and should be cherished at all costs if possible. That's what makes our military so very strong, courageous and honorable. The American soldier day in and day out put their lives on the line for all of us to remain free. In the same way that our military protects our freedoms, should not all of us stand up and protect the rights of the unborn? I say yes, and I know Senator John McCain has answered this question with a resounding yes!

There will be more on this tomorrow, I promise.

Thoughts on U2's "With or Without You"

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU BY U2

I sincerely believe that there are several singers/songwriters and bands that are not classified as “Christian Bands” but are Christians that are being used by Jesus to get His word out. This actually works better and lines up with one of Jesus commands for us, to go and preach the gospel throughout the world. Let’s face it, U2 is a band of Christians, but doesn’t want to be labeled as a Christian band. The reason being is this, U2 can attract non believers to see their shows, listen to their music and watch their videos. How many are being reached this way? If they were labeled as a Christian band, how many non believers would see their shows, listen to their music or watch their videos? Why preach to the choir, when you can preach to the masses of non believers?

I honestly see U2 writing this song from Saint Peter’s perspective. I can envision Peter, at the time he is being crucified, having flashbacks to his time with Jesus. Below, I capture my thoughts, which may or may not be U2’s thoughts when writing this song, but this is how I have interpreted this song. Either way, we know that this song has several references to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

See the stone set in your eyes

Here I envision from the Passion of the Christ movie the point where Peter hears the rooster crow for the 3rd time. Jesus looks right at Peter, and Peter runs crying. Matthew 26: 33-34 (NIV) Peter replied “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” Matthew 26: 75, Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” As Peter is being crucified upside down, his first flashback goes back to the day his Rabbi, Jesus was being crucified.

See the thorn twist in your side.

2 Corinthians 12:7: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." Although Paul stated this in 2 Corinthians, Peter’s biggest thorn was his lack of patience, he wanted it all right now, but sometimes Peter struggled in his faith.


I wait for you.

Sleight of hand and twist of fate

On a bed of nails she makes me wait

And I wait without you


This verse reminds me of all of the disciples that were left behind. All left Jesus, they ran. They were scared and did not completely understand what was going on, but they kept their faith. 40 days later, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus returned to them and gave them the Holy Spirit. Each disciple went out into the world to spread the word (see Matthew 28, the Great Comission). But not one of the disciples spent the rest of their lives without persecution, pain, suffering, imprisonment, torture, beatings, etc. Each one at times was on a “bed of nails”, but their faith persevered until they were taken. John, the Revelator was the only disciple to die of old age, the rest were crucified, tortured and murdered.


With or without you With or without you.

All of the disciples, like us have to wait. We wait with the Holy Spirit, but without Jesus present. It’s hard for people to understand unless you have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus speaks to us through His Spirit, through His written word, through prayer and even through other people. But without seeing him physically, it seems we are waiting without Him, but we have the Holy Spirit so He is with us all.


Through the storm, we reach the shore

You gave it all but I want more

And I'm waiting for you
Again, Peter was impatient. He wanted his Lord to be the King right now! Peter also wanted everything right away, understanding, knowledge, love, etc. We all go through this. We all want the good right now, we don’t want to wait through life’s storms, we want the Son Shine right now, without the dark clouds of storms. Jesus always will calm the storm, sometimes by stopping the storm, but more often than not, He brings us through our storms. Matthew 8:23-27; Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and work him, saying “Lord, save us, We’re going to drown.” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked “what kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.”

Also, Peter, being impatient and wanting it all right now was part of another miracle of Jesus. Matthew 14: 28-31 tells us this; “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come, Jesus said.” Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me.” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, “You of little faith”, He said, “why did you doubt.” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying “Truly you are the Son of God.” We all go through times in our lives where Jesus is showing us a miracle, letting us walk on water with Him through our Faith, but sometimes our doubt gets in the way. These are the times we must stop and realize, yes Jesus is our Lord, Savior, Master and is the Son of the Living God.

With or without you

With or without you

I can't live with or without you.(Same as above)
And you give yourself away

And you give yourself away

And you give, and you give

And you give yourself away.
This is simple, Jesus gave Himself for us. Jesus loved us so much that he took the beatings, torture, humiliation, pain and suffering so we could have a chance to be with Him in the Kingdom.
John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”


My hands are tied, my body bruised

She got me with nothing to win And nothing else to lose.
This reminds me of the point at which Peter was being nailed to his cross. My interpretation of “she” is the Roman empire. The Romans decided to have Peter crucified, but not until Peter had established a core of believers in Rome. Rome had nothing to win by crucifying Peter, they had already lost along with Satan the moment Jesus paid the price for us. They gained nothing, but lost a true disciple at this point. Yes, Peter’s body was bruised and beaten. Peter’s hand would have been tied, even though he was nailed to the cross. Peter, at this point in his life was more patient and full of faith and love for Jesus. Peter felt that he was not worthy to die the same death that his Lord and Savior Jesus did, so he requested that he be crucified upside down. He was, and is in the Kingdom of heaven right now.


And you give yourself away And you give yourself away And you give, and you give And you give yourself away.With or without you With or without youI can't live With or without you. With or without you With or without youI can't live With or without you With or without you.

The same explanation as above for the remaining chorus of the song.

Politics, Music, Jesus and More

Thank you for visiting my blog. I welcome anyone to respond to any of my postings, but I ask that no foul or vulgar language is used. Please respect this, I want this to be viewed by people of all ages, and I want to keep everything that is posted here very respectful.

My intent for this is to spur thoughts on everything from politics, music, Jesus and more! I am a Christian, born again, but have not always been one. Prior to that I lived a wild life, I am a prodigal son.

I will post new things as often as I can, it may be about music that I like, what is happening in the political world, it may very well be about Jesus, scriptures, or what's happening as far as the end times and second coming of Jesus. It may be other issues too, things that happen in the news, etc.

I hope that this will not only spur thought, but I hope my testimonies will also help other people as well.

Thanks again for checking it out. You will hear from me soon.