The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. ~ Proverbs 11:30

Frocine and I held church at the Edenville General Store Open Mic last night. She had sent out an invitation to a number of friends to join us. A friend from the “We Don’t Do Politics” Church questioned her from behind the walls of his bread-of-life silo, “Why are you playing for sinners?” Well…those weren’t his exact words, but that is exactly what he was inferring!

The Devil is nothing if not confident in this hour. He has every right to be; he sees both the sinner and the Christian who dare not tread anywhere near his tree of life, the tree of politics. In fact, the host of the open mic warned me before our set last night, “No politics!” Remember that Satan, who knows the Bible better than any Christian, has a counterfeit version of the Galatian 5:22 fruits of the Spirit…including the Genesis 2:17 tree of knowledge, which he needed to declare to be forbidden fruit in his counterfeit garden!

Here’s where it gets interesting. We didn’t bring politics to the sinners, we brought church. We sang Record Book and Angel Band. After our set, the host came over, thanked me, and said, “We need more church here!” Then he shared with me the details of the demonic attack he suffered at 3am that very morning. It dawned on me in that very second that God had me and Fro in the very mission field of His Harvest where we are called, and where we are literally invincible in the armor of our faith…and Hosea 4:6 knowledge (politics). It gets better…

Those who are condemned to see the world in shadows will be forced to formulate a description of reality based on insufficient information and, therefore, contrivance. Human history verifies the axion, “In the absence of knowledge, superstition prevails…many Christians have endeavored to reduce what they cannot comprehend into facile religious concepts that they can. This ‘Sunday school reductionism’ tends to transform profound truths into coloring book illustrations…” ~ Timothy Alberino, Birthright

So, I’ll let our good shepherd, Pastor Steve Offringa, bring it home from here:

In Leviticus 23, we find the seven annual feasts of Jehovah, the very special, important, and great religious festivals to be precisely observed every year as scheduled by the Jewish nation.  There are four spring feasts: The Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits, and the Feast of Pentecost.  Then, there are the three fall feasts: The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.  On our calendar for this year, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) actually ends at sundown (today), ending Israel’s “High Holy Days”.  In the light of the entire Scripture, these feasts all speak clearly and prophetically of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, both of His Person and of His work.  The spring feasts pertain to His first coming, and the fall feasts relate to His glorious return and promised kingdom reign, the stage for which is being prophetically set right before our eyes!  Between these two seasons of feasts is the summer, and I am reminded of a very sobering verse from Jeremiah 8:20 which says, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved”.  Jeremiah is overcome with grief for his people, an expression of mourning and of despair for those who are apparently beyond rescue, due to their incurable wounds of sin! It’s not that God cannot save and cure them, but that they refused to repent before the harvest passed!  Could the “summer” speak, perhaps, of this “age of grace” which is soon to end, and many will have missed their opportunity to be saved?  Should we not also be pained, as Jeremiah was, over the condition of the church and, of course, of the people all around us?  Do we grieve over the lost?  Do we love them as God does, enough to share Jesus with them?  Harvest time is here!

NEXT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 3-5 PM: “SECURE AMERICA 4 WE THE PEOPLE”!  Concerned, God-fearing citizens will peacefully gather together to publicly proclaim our guaranteed, Constitutional rights to FAITH, FAMILY, and FREEDOM!. These inalienable rights are now under unprecedented attack, the rights that come from our God!  They must be defended, protected, and preserved, especially at this critical hour in our Nation’s history.  May we stand together for true liberty, both spiritual and political, from the One who is the Author of liberty!  This gathering will take place at 450 State Route 211 East, in Middletown, NY 10940.  Please pray for the presence and blessing of the Lord!  See you there!

Are YOU in His Record Book?