By Ms. Smallback
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I’ve been spending a lot of time the past year or more, reevaluating my convictions and beliefs. The old adage, “the more you learn the less you know” has resonated through my core. I won’t bore you with all the categories I’ve revisited, or even all the things I’ve reevaluated and changed some of my thinking on. I’ll just let you know where I am now.
I know nothing completely. I only know in part, and am fumbling my way to learning more. Let the record state.
You know how President Reagan said, “It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so.”? I just don’t want to be THAT. I need the little parts I do know to be truth.
Watching the systematic dismantling of our nation has been grueling. There are no less than a hundred serious issues in America, (and most of them have been assessed prolifically in the public square). As I found myself more and more burdened by the seeming growing darkness, I sought all the harder to find the Light. It’s been almost two years of this pursuit, and this is where I find myself today…
I’ve been looking at it all wrong.
The Ancient of Days cannot be defeated, minimized, or subdued. However dark the days are becoming is irrelevant to the Kingdom of God, which cannot be destroyed, defeated, or even altered.
The Spirit keeps leading me back to Daniel 7, the vision of the coming beasts in Daniel’s day. Do you recall that when the Son of Man is presented in Daniel’s vision, that He was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that is everlasting and cannot be destroyed? (vs. 14) But wait! It gets better! That kingdom that Christ takes dominion of is given to the saints of God who will possess it “for all ages to come.” (vs. 18 and again in 27)
(I realize there will be some theological differences here of when that occurs, but I don’t have space to get into that right now. Let me just say, I am thoroughly convinced that kingdom has been given to Christ upon His victory over the devil and death; He now possesses it, as do the saints of God.)
This means try as the darkness may, it cannot achieve the takeover of the earth. It can only take what it is given. [And let’s be clear about this, it accomplishes this through deceit. Yes, people yield to the darkness because they are blind, ignorant and/or deceived. But we are children of the Light, and we merely have to resist the darkness and it has to flee.] (James 4:7)
[Sidebar: Before you contact me to inform me how wrong I am about the timing on this, please spend some time in Daniel 2. Recall the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. We know that the statue is relegated in the end of an era as inferior kingdoms of mixture represented by the final state of the Roman empire. We also know that the final state of the Roman empire is the beginning of the Church of Christ/Kingdom of God. (not a denomination, but the actual followers of Christ) According to Daniel, Christ’s kingdom is set up in those days, the days the Roman empire fractures and fails. He even uses the imagery of a stone cut from a mountain, and we know Christ to be the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God. Eventually that kingdom established by the rock cut from the mountain will crush all other kingdoms and remain the only enduring kingdom. THAT kingdom (Christ’s) only grows, only gets stronger and bigger.]
There is no contingency. That is the only plan and it is a plan that cannot fail.
The only thing darkness can do to children of light is deceive.
Our position in the Kingdom of God is superior to anything the kingdoms of this world can offer. We have to stop straddling between two kingdoms. Darkness can only take from light what light gives it.
We must stop giving anything to darkness.
We are not victims of bad people. We are more than conquerors in Christ. (Romans 8:37)
Refuse to participate with the works of darkness.
It’s really that simple. (and by simple I don’t mean necessarily easy)
I’m in a women’s group that meets monthly, and we were meeting in 2020. The obvious current events dominated many of our discussions. (masks, mandates, vaccines, etc.) At one point I told the group that Bill and I weren’t participating in the pandemic. They seemed taken aback and asked what I meant. I mean that we don’t wear masks, don’t stay home, we do our own shopping, still gather with friends and family, keep our blood untainted by untested poisons, etc. To us, the “pandemic” was a setting on another stage, but was not our stage, not our reality. (and yes, Bill got covid twice and was treated and recovered fine with the nonpoisonous treatments available and without the medical industry’s input)
I don’t adhere to the systems of the world. They don’t dictate my actions, and if they get in my way, I find a way around or through. This is the responsibility of freedom (both as a Christian, but also as a free American). It may get dicey in the days to come here in America. The determined and desperate powers of darkness operating through humans may attempt to force conditions, and we may be forced to take some hard stands that may cost us. But let’s not just give it to them. Let’s not go along to get along. What does light have to do with darkness?
The Kingdom of God cannot be defeated, and as Christ told us in Matthew 13, though the kingdom of God started small (like a mustard seed), it will grow full size to the point it will become a tree that houses much life. That tree cannot be cut down, and it will not be thwarted.
Christ went on to say the Kingdom of God is like leaven which though hidden in just three small parts of flour went on to leaven all of the dough. The dynamic character of yeast is that once the process begins, it cannot be thwarted. The kingdom of God cannot be stopped.
And then THIS is where God led me in a sort of full circle:
A bearded darnel is also called a tare, and in broader language, a weed. The tare (darnel) also looks like wheat at first glance. Christ told us the wheat and tares will grow up together. Tearing out the tares will damage the wheat, and so they must co-exist until the harvest, so as to not damage the wheat.
Their roots get intertwined. God’s children are in a world system where at first glance we might look like the children of the world. But upon closer look, we’re clearly not. It would seem we must co-exist in this world, each of us reaching fruition of our character, whether for good or evil. To try to tear out the weeds among the wheat (the bad among the good) before full fruition can damage the good as well. Both must be left to reach full harvest, and only at the harvest will they be separated.
The harvest is the end of the age. (Matthew 13:24-30)
Pragmateuomai…. It’s only used one time in the Bible. Occupy. “To busy oneself with; to trade.” It comes from the (Greek) root word “pragma” which means a deed, business, practice. The New American Standard says, “do business” and the English says, “engage in business”. It’s the only place in the Bible the word is used.
It’s in the parable of the nobleman who went to get his kingdom and gathered his servants to give them instructions until his return. Luke 19:13, “…and he said to them, occupy until I come.” Busy yourself with the resources I’ve given you; do business, practice, engage in business…. “until I come.”
This is our solution. This should be our focus.
“The darkness is not dark to You, the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” (Psalm 139:12)
The solution to the rising darkness is increasing our light. We occupy. We co-exist with the darkness, in but not of, and we busy ourselves with what God has given us in this territory we’ve been given – in our homes, our jobs, our cities, our country.
Remember that fear is darkness, and our culture, society, and world operate out of fear. Media, government officials, even church leaders motivate by fear. Begin to evaluate all information coming at you and recognize anything that promotes fear or stimulates a fear reaction in you. Once your recognize it, break alignment with it. Do not be in step with it. Fear is used to control and paralyze. It is paramount for the works of darkness. The opposite of fear is love, and the countermove of fear is faith. Look for the God solution to the “problem” being promoted and walk toward that until you are in it.
It’s not dark to God anyway. His Kingdom isn’t going anywhere; it can’t be defeated or destroyed or even thwarted. We’re of His Kingdom. We stand.
We have the solutions to the darkness. If we don’t, we must find them.
The food supply is threatened. Grow your own. The meat supply is threatened. Buy from your local farmer. The water supply is increasingly toxic. Set up a home water filtration system, dig a well, harvest rain water.
The medical industry is killing us and making us sicker. It’s controlled by Pharma and only prescribes toxins. Study natural healing, homeopathy, and/or put yourself in the care of experts in such areas.
There’s an increasing surveillance state. Get off every surveillance thing you can (Google, YouTube and Facebook are the biggest surveillance watchers in the world). Don’t employ them. There are alternative phone options, computer options, etc. If you don’t know where, seek.
We’re tired and sick. Eat healthier. Exercise more. Get in the sunlight. Turn off your wi-fi and hardwire your electronics to lower your exposure to EMFs. Learn how to deflect damaging 5G waves. Get off highly toxic prescriptions and learn how to heal your afflictions naturally and/or spiritually.
The economy is imploding and I have to work harder to keep less. Start co-ops with friends and family. Buy in bulk with others if necessary and split costs. Ride a bicycle when possible to strengthen your body and offset gas. Downsize if necessary, reinforce infrastructure if possible to minimize energy costs, etc.
The public schools are indoctrinating my children and grandchildren. Remove them. Homeschool. Set up a homeschool co-op if you need to and share teaching responsibilities with other parents if schedules are hard to optimize. Find a private or charter school if that suits you better. Start a private or charter school. Vet every single influencer in your child’s life.
The entertainment industry and public arena is full of depravity. REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE. Set up alternatives to everything that violates your convictions. Shut off the TV or find wholesome activities. Strengthen your family so the world doesn’t destroy it.
Corey’s Digs has a series of interviews called The Solution Series that right now feature 25 different experts in their field. They have solutions to the darkness in fields like technology, food supply, finance, health, self-reliance, and even the political realm. I have a notebook full of notes from it that I’m working through at implementing real time and real world solutions to tyranny, depravity, and other works of darkness attempting to occupy my energy.
We must be creators of light in our spheres of influence. We’ll be side by side with workers of darkness, but we are from the superior kingdom. We’re from the kingdom that can’t lose, can’t be destroyed, can’t be diminished, that ultimately cannot fail. Once we wrap our heads around that, occupying until He comes becomes clearer. We can focus better. [See Tares Among the Wheat DVD]
The world may indeed get darker, but if we’re doing our jobs, our lives will be the lights those in the darkness need, and will further the unshakeable Kingdom of God. A long time ago I learned the phrase, “What you behold you become.” Behold the Light; become the light.
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