Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.~ Ephesians 6:16

I have read the above verse more than a thousand times just in the past three years alone, as it constitutes my preparation every morning each day along with Eph. 6:10-15, 17-20, and Psalm 91. But in the final days of 2023 something powerful and revealing emerged. The Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit {Eph. 6:17} had always reigned above all to my mind.

And in this same time… It wasn’t the shout that brought down the wall of Jericho, but the faith in the shout. ~ Dutch Sheets, Give Him 15, Persistent Faith

And it dawned on me just exactly what was missing in almost every pulpit in America. And, as a tragic consequence, almost every faith community as well. If this were not true, we would not have our children sexually and morally groomed away from their Creator, trafficked, tortured, and murdered for their blood (Adrenochrome), while the faith community holds its tongue.

And gentlemen, now-a-bed, Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap…There are a lot of men across this nation that are asleep as their country hangs in the balance. If America falls, and I’m not suggesting it will, but if it does it will be because a majority of her sons were either nowhere to be found, or on the wrong damn side when she needed them the most. If she is saved, it is because we happy few didn’t allow her to fall. The men now asleep will one day curse their own cowardice when they realize they faltered while their country stood in peril. ~ Brad Miller’s statement, opening with Shakespeare

Spiritual warfare is spatial…breaking strongholds…I have lamented more than once that if you were to ask the faith community, “How many of you believe we are in a spiritual war?”, every hand would go up. But if you followed with, “How is your spiritual warfare training going?”, you might see a hand or two, but mostly deer in the headlights…if we’re being honest. I have put countless hours, resources, time, and energy for the past three years into a dream I had based on our Lord’s prayer in John 17:21…which manifested in C.L.O.T.H. (Christian Leaders Of The Hudson), only to come to realize this year, there is no leadership in the church. It is the one institution in America…besides the weatherman, where there is zero accountability. Some might argue accountability is missing in our government as well, but that would not be the case if we had spine, leadership, and true faith in our pulpits. Sadly, in a county of over 136 churches, I am able to count where this spine, leadership, and faith exists on one hand. God has blessed me to be a faithful and grateful member of one…

It’s been said that the Bible is the only book that reads us while we are reading It! So, think about this dear brothers in shepherd’s clothes who tailor their Sunday read to fit men’s ears; whilst, seeking the applause of men over the approval of God…to paraphrase our good shepherd: With our eyes clearly focused on the Lord and His Word, we must prepare ourselves to leave behind any spiritual “wilderness”, and to cross over by faith into God’s promised place of renewed trust, rest in His will, of victory over the forces of evil, and of “possessing” the “land” that He has given to us in Christ!  By faith and obedience to Him, we are to wage battle by the power of His Spirit against the forces of evil and of darkness!  Canaan Land is not a picture of heaven, but rather one of the Christian life, where there are enemies and battles, but victories in the Name of Jesus!  Will we choose faith, or fear?  Life, or death?  Man’s applause, or God’s approval?  Church as usual, or a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit for victorious living and effective, soul-saving witness?  Do we want religious entertainment centers, or houses of genuine worship and powerful, enemy-defeating prayer?  What do we want to hear?  The unadulterated Gospel of Christ, “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), or just some popular, “prosperity” message for cultural “believers” in a world of horrific spiritual and moral compromise?  ~ Pastor Steve Offringa, Howells Church

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? ~ Acts 19:15

If you haven’t read Acts 19:13-16 lately or ever, I encourage you to do so, because without true faith in the Holy Spirit of the one true God, we are no better equipped than the vagabond pretenders when facing the enemy…which is why so many of my brothers and sisters in the faith community at large seek to avoid the enemy.

Without unflinching faith in Holy Spirit, we suffer a deadly lack of discernment which is on full display in a very large segment of the faith community that identifies as Catholic…

The faux pope ‘vicar’ representative…representative of Christ…any person foolish enough to believe Bergoglio (Francis) is a Representative of Christ…the Father, and Holy Ghost, can only be Biblically malnourished…You can’t indulge in pious pretense when you come to the atmosphere of the Bible. (Bib. Ethics) ~ Oswald Chambers, The Power of Voluntary Choice

Which brings us to the bittersweet outpost known as Remnant…

When you begin to deport yourself among men as a saint, they will leave you absolutely alone, you will be reviled and persecuted. ~ Oswald Chambers, Systemic Vexation

But, Oh my brothers and sisters, what joyful company we keep, through trials and tribulations so deep, beyond all pain and sorrow, behold the bright tomorrow, when at last we’ve passed from can’t to can!

I’ll leave you with two Remnant prayers from my brothers Dave and Rev. Bill B in their order:

[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ~ Romans 12:1-2 KJV

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. ~ Phil 1:9-11