Journey began March 6, 2017 when I went in for my regular annual wellness checkup. Dr. Robin scheduled me for a routine mammogram.

On March 17th, I went to Rollins-Brook Hospital for a mammogram, and on March 27th, I had another mammogram because there was an area that was unclear. Bobbie also did an ultrasound on the right side.

The area in question was still inconclusive so an MRI was scheduled for April 27th at Metroplex Hospital. That was real scary. They had to start an IV (so the contrast could be injected). The machine was very noisy and the contrast stuff felt funny when it was injected. Afterwards, I went to Walmart and while there, Dr. Robin called and said that the MRI revealed a suspicious area and she was referring me to a great surgeon, Dr. McLaughlin. However, that referral was denied and I was instead directed to Darnall Army Medical Center. The earliest time I could see the surgeon for the consultation was 3+ weeks.

On May 22nd, Frank went with me to DAMC and we saw Dr. Bruce, who explained in detail how breast cancer was rated. She rated me as a BI-RAD 5 (on a scale from 0 to 6) meaning I had over a 90% chance of having breast cancer. She also wanted to re-run the tests and since the Radiology was backlogged, was referring me back to Dr. McLaughlin at Metroplex.

I waited for over a week for the referrals to take effect and be called for an appointment with Dr. McL. With Frank being very busy at work, I, myself, called the scheduling office at Metroplex on May 31st. There, I was told there was no referral and I told her that could not be. She proceeded to be very very rude and harsh to me, with no kindness or compassion whatsoever. A few minutes later, I got a call from the scheduling office at the Family Medicine Clinic who told me that she had had the referral for Dr. McLaughlin for over a week and she was also very rude and mean to me, threatening to tear up the referral. After this very terrible experience, I called Dr. Robin’s office and asked her assistant to please ask Dr. Robin for help in getting my referral to Dr. McLaughlin. And on June 2nd, I saw Dr. McLaughlin.

Dr. McL talked to me and did a brief exam and said he would order a biopsy. I waited a week to receive the phone call for the biopsy. The surgeon’s office did not answer the phone and never returned calls or messages. Finally, on June 8th, Frank went to the surgeon’s office during the day and sat there until he had answers. Later that day, Dr. McL called me and said I would have the biopsy the next day (Friday). On Friday, June 9th, I didn’t get a phone call until about 10 am asking that I come in at noon for the biopsy.

The biopsy procedure was not as bad as I thought. The doctor (Vancuren) made sure I understood the procedure and then injected the lydocaine and the ultrasound guided needle biopsy was painless.

Now I am back to waiting. I have an appointment on Tuesday, June 20 to talk to Dr. McL where we will discuss what will be done to me.  I am exhausted from worrying about the unknown. Nobody has said for sure that I have breast cancer. I am encouraged by my friends who are supporting me with their love and prayers. I am blessed to have a loving husband who is taking the best care of me and taking time off of work to be my advocate. It would be honest for me to say that I am really scared. Yes, scared. But I want to live to be very old. I have confidence that God is with me every step of the way and will not leave me.  But deep down, I’m very scared.

I used to think that politics were all run by human beings. That people had all kinds of motivations that drove them to push legislation for or against just about anything under the sun. But in this past election cycle and current administration, I have learned that something much more powerful than the whims of man is at work.

Consider the obvious: Our nation’s acceptance of the false claim of “separation of church and state” has led to all kinds of “political correctness” against Christianity. We have torn down all public displays of the Ten Commandments, crosses, nativity scenes, Bible verses. We have condemned business owners for living their faith in Christ (bakers, wedding photographers, etc), actually running them out of business because they would not condone sinful behavior. We have forbidden our pastors from saying anything political because it might spread the salt of God’s Word on our society.

Now consider the daily news: Irrational attacks on our President (who is doing his best to uphold the tenets of Christian principles in our government). The unending accusations about Russian involvement, even though every intelligence source says there was no collusion, or even a direct investigation of the President; the completely unjustified judicial sanctions against the President’s immigration orders (which he is expressly authorized to issue in Title 8, USC); the riots and looting we all witnessed; the attacks on police; the completely irrational behavior of countless senators, representatives, media, and celebrities. My point here is that the behavior of the liberals is beyond human explanation – and here is the wake up call: we are witnessing a demonic possession the likes of which the world has not seen since the days of Noah. The spirit of the Antichrist is growing, and spreading rapidly throughout the world, and that includes the good old USA.

Ephesians 6: 11-12: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We need to recognize that our problems are not social; our problems are not political; our problems are not climates or policies or any other human construct. Our problems are spiritual, and we are asleep on the battlefield!

I strongly urge everyone to read the series of books by Joel Richardson on Biblical prophesies. Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bible’s Greatest Prophetic Mystery; Mideast Beast: The Biblical Case for an Islamic Antichrist; The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast; and others.

When I got to college, I became completely fascinated in Biblical prophesies about the 2nd coming and all the events leading up to it. I read everything I could get my hands on from numerous authors and varying viewpoints. I read through Daniel, Isaiah, and Revelation trying hard to grasp what the Lord was telling us. I prayed that I might be allowed to be one who was “changed in the twinkling of an eye” to be “caught up with the Lord in the air”. I believed at that time that our Lord would return during my natural lifetime.

But there were conflicting interpretations that continue to this day. Many agreed on a basic outline of events, but disagreed wildly on the timing of events, such as the “rapture”. Authors would tell why their theory was “right” and someone else’s was “wrong”. But I could never resolve which was which by my own studies. I finally gave up trying because I realized that the Lord’s admonition to Daniel still applied to us today: “seal up the vision, it concerns the distant future.” Dan 8:26
I realized that no one would understand the prophesies until the Lord revealed them to the generation that would live through them.  Jesus told his disciples, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” Matthew 24:34

Bible scholars are now reaching a consensus that previous ideas of a “Roman” antichrist are wrong.  “Gog” does not refer to Russia, but to Turkey. All the prophesies of the Old Testament refer to the same sequence of events, each shedding more light on the big picture. Revelation is the restatement of the Old Testament prophesies, but with even more detail. All the nations that God will judge as described in the various prophesies are consistent with each other, and every single one of them is an Islamic nation surrounding Israel.

Understanding the big picture, we are now able to watch the world events unfold and not be surprised or alarmed. God’s plan is unfolding right before our very eyes. The results of World Wars I and II have shaped the Middle East to the exact set of conditions as predicted in the Bible. The influx of Islamic radicals into western nations is not happenstance. Clinton’s Iran Deal sets the stage for the Ram vs Goat battle of Daniel 8 between Iran and Turkey. Expect Iran to attack to the west in the next few years, followed by a counter attack from Turkey. This begins a series of battles that will culminate in the taking of Jerusalem. The recent elections in Turkey eliminated any hint of democracy in that country, and turned almost total power over to their radical Islamic leader, Erdogan, who will certainly play a leading role in these wars. The Antichrist will most certainly be Islamic, portrayed as their long-awaited messiah.

Joel’s books are very thorough in their analysis of the prophesies as matched to current world events. At the same time, he explains why other interpretations fail at multiple points of the prophesy.

I have always abhorred politics. That is precisely why I didn’t make it past Major in the Army. I did not play their political games. Never mind I was ahead of my peers by all accounts in terms of jobs performed. (Successful Company Commander when all my peers were being relieved of duties, Battalion Executive Officer of the Army’s largest battalion when I was still a Captain, Operations officer of the Corps Support Command as a Major). But it just takes one jerk who doesn’t like you to ruin your promotion potential.

Politics has ruined many a corporation, and now it is ruining this great land of ours. Mark my word, America will no longer be a democratic republic by the time my kids are my age. The Republicans in Congress are to blame. The progressives have their agenda, to turn America into a socialist state. Since the RINOs are going along with it, we have no hope. We fund Planned Parenthood (condoning the murder of millions of babies) but not the border wall (protecting our citizenry and livelihoods). We turn our blind eyes away from all the corruption rampant throughout our government.

We let the vocal minority liberal progressives silence the Christian influence in our education, our government, and our society. Without the voice of reason, “every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Yes, this county is doomed, and it won’t take a war or even an external threat. We will commit national suicide if we continue the direction we are going.

Our only hope is to turn this nation back towards the God of the Bible, and truly drain the swamp with our votes. I only pray we have time left to do that.

We are now in Holy Week, remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That one event turned the entire world on its head. Everything changed after Christ rose from the dead.

Think about it. Without the Resurrection there would be no New Testament. There would be no church. There would be no Christians of any kind in the world. We Christians don’t believe the Resurrection happened because the New Testament says it happened. The New Testament was written because there was a real event – Jesus Christ rose from the dead, proving to an entire generation that He has power over death! The disciples would not have dared to come out of hiding had there been no Resurrection! They would not have written the New Testament had there been no Resurrection. Caesar would not have issued a proclamation for people to stop robbing Jewish tombs had there been no Resurrection. There would be no godly Gentiles throughout history, to include you and me. No Reformation. No force for true “good” in the world.

Subsequently, there would be no Church, no Christians, nor any of the many beneficent things we have from Christianity: hospitals, missions, a moral compass for society. Without the Resurrection, Jesus would have been forgotten in history. America would not have arisen as a world power based on our Christian morals.

Let that sink in. The Resurrection was THE turning point in history.

Hallelujah! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!

Frank

I know that you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet, or on Facebook. However, I follow an Israeli news outlet online, and a couple of recent articles indicate that we are getting very near the time of the end. Bible prophesy (100% accurate so far in history) declares that when the Antichrist sets up his image in the Holy of Holies (the abomination that causes desolation), the end will come swiftly.  Well, in order for that to happen, there must first be a Holy of Holies set up, meaning the Temple must be rebuilt.  Obviously, this would cause a world-wide stir, since there is a Muslim mosque (the Dome of the Rock) on the Temple mount, where the outer court of the Temple would be. I believe a temporary truce is coming where the Jews are allowed to build their temple – minus the outer court. (Revelation 11: 1-2: I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers.  But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles.”) This truce would allow the Temple and the Mosque to coexist on the Temple Mount.

Besides the world political climate, one thing has stood in the way of rebuilding the Temple: no one has seen the Ark of the Covenant in over 2000 years.

So here is where these two news articles shed light on the nearness of the final days.  The first article claims that two very senior rabbi’s have indeed seen the Ark in a hidden room underneath the original Holy of Holies.  It will only be brought out when there is a place to take it (i.e. the new Holy of Holies).

The second article claimed that high ranking Israeli ministers are now calling for the Temple to be built, saying the time has come.

It’s getting interesting over there, folks!

Our God is a great God! He has created and continues to sustain everything that exists. Nations rise and fall by His will. He has allowed evil in the world so that we can see our need for Him, and to separate those who are with Him from those who are against Him. He is perfectly just, perfectly loving, and perfect in all ways. His ways are so much higher than our ways, we struggle to imagine what His true nature is like.

We hear it in the news all the time: against all odds, Trump was elected. Although he supposedly had less than a 2 percent chance of winning, he won. Although the entire liberal world was against him, he won. Although the media lied and slandered their way through the entire election cycle, he won. Although the Republican establishment was against him, he won. Although his opposition garnered millions of illegal votes against him, he won. Mr. Trump was not a perfect candidate by any measure. He was rude, he was politically inexperienced, he was a bully – intentionally insulting his opposition, both within his party and in the other party – yet, he won.  How do you explain what many see as unexplainable?

I believe a large part of Mr. Trump’s success was a direct result of prayer. Millions of decent, hard-working people prayed, and then they voted. They appealed to our Almighty God to save our nation from the ravages of those who have thrown God out of our nation and our society. Millions of people have prayed based on 2 Chronicles 7:14: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The liberals’ numerous attempts to discredit Mr. Trump and his election have all seemingly backfired. They demanded recounts. The result was more votes for him. They made a big push to have the electoral college go against him, resulting in more votes lost for Mrs. Clinton. They have mounted a sustained attack claiming the Russians helped him win the election. After four months of intensive effort, not one single shred of evidence has been found, yet reports are surfacing that it was the Democrats in bed with the Russians. How do you explain every single attack hurting the attackers?

These attacks on Mr. Trump are like the attacks of David’s enemies: “They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.” (Psalm 57:6). Indeed, God has set a principle in place: Proverbs 26:27: “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.”  Not that Mr. Trump is as holy or righteous as David, but he is God’s instrument to bring decency and leadership back to America. We would do well to recognize that fact, acknowledge that “all authority is established by God” (Romans 13:1), and pray for God’s protection and guidance for our new President and his administration.

We must continue to pray! We must not become complacent ever again. The forces of evil are fighting desperately to rid the world of our Christian influence. Real demonic forces are waging war against us. We know that someday, there will be a one-world government and financial system. But it doesn’t have to be in our generation! God is patiently waiting for “the full number of saints” before he comes again. Let us pray and work to bring as many as possible into the family of God.

Frank

The Bible clearly reveals that the end times will be characterized by a one-world government and a one-world finance system. We aren’t there yet, but we are rapidly screaming down the tracks to that inevitability. Take a look around the world – listen to the news and bounce that news off of Daniel and Revelation.

BREXIT, or the British exit from the European Union was fueled by a groundswell of British nationalism from those who were sick and tired of the globalization of Great Britain. Prime Minister Merkel of Germany has recently backtracked on her liberal ideas of globalizing Germany because she sees the harm being done by their attempt at de-nationalizing their society.  President Trump was elected for the very same reason. Enough Americans were sick and tired of the devaluation of American citizenship, the globalization of industry and commerce, and the loss of national sovereignty, that they rose up across the nation to throw off those who would globalize the world.

The whole idea of “open borders” is necessary for all nations to find a common ground, a common faceless society free from national pride, in order to form a one-world government. The beast is waiting in the wings, and quite possibly is alive today, just waiting to be revealed.

This generation of 40-somethings and above, who have pushed back against this tide of globalization will soon be too old to make a difference. The younger generation that clearly seeks a socialist, borderless society will throw the doors to America wide open and the beast will waltz in on the resulting geo-political-financial disaster that will bring the world to its knees.  I can see it as plainly as reading the morning newspaper.

I may not see the second coming of Christ in my lifetime, but it will most certainly be shortly thereafter.

As the writer of Hebrews said, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”

As with most matters of morality and eternal substance, our culture has redefined the meaning of “faith”. We are told that one faith is as valid as another, that “all roads lead to the same god.” Faith is looked upon in our culture as a weakness, not a strength. We people of faith are accused of using our faith as a crutch, because we are not mentally strong enough to handle situations through our own reasoning. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Faith is being defined nowadays as a blind hope for which there is no solid evidence. It is seen as an excuse for those who don’t know better, for those who aren’t “enlightened”. (There is a strong irony in that statement.)

Biblical faith is the polar opposite of what we are accused of having.  The difference is in the object (the substance) of faith. The world considers faith to be in something that we cannot be certain of. Their “faith” is a blind hope in something we might wish to be true, but could not prove. They refuse to acknowledge the blatantly obvious evidence of God. In fact, Romans chapter 1 tells us this is a “willful ignorance”:

^“18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

“People are without excuse.”  Rather than being a blind, unjustified faith, true faith is in knowing the object of your faith for certain. We KNOW God. We are absolutely convinced of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. There is no uncertainty in those facts, for the believer. We recognize God’s hand in all of creation, in the miracles of life, in the history and the affairs of humankind, and in the events of our own life.

When a person goes to college, they work for about four years of their life. They struggle through classes and labs, tests and exams, professors and lectures. And when the time comes for them to graduate, they look forward to that day when they will walk across the stage and receive their diploma. They know for certain that it is going to happen. Everything necessary to achieve that graduation has been accomplished. They are excited and filled with anticipation. They have faith they will graduate and receive that diploma, because they are totally and utterly convinced of its certainty. That describes the Christian’s “faith”.

The Christian has worked though the fact that he or she is a sinner. They recognize that there is nothing they can do to save themselves. Then they learn about Jesus, our Savior, who has done everything necessary to win our salvation. We know that he has gone to prepare a place for us, and that we will be with Him in total and complete sinless perfection for all eternity! We know for certain that this is going to happen. We are excited and filled with anticipation for that day to arrive because we are totally and utterly convinced of its certainty. Faith is not blind: it knows the person in whom it is placed. Faith is not a hope because we want something to happen. It is an anticipation of what we know is going to happen. Our faith should be the source of the greatest excitement in our lives. It should empower everything we think and do.

This definition of faith mirrors the biblical definition of “hope”. Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is the anticipation of what we know is going to happen.

Frank

The word tolerate originally meant “to endure without repugnance; put up with“, regarding wrong behavior or action that was being tolerated. In other words, we would allow wrong behaviors or actions to be ignored or dismissed without punitive results or corrective actions. The word directly implies guilt of some sort, whether violations of laws or social norms. To be tolerant was to look the other way without doing or saying anything to correct the misbehavior.

But as with many terms, our liberal humanist friends have redefined the word in order to spread their liberal humanist ideology. Tolerate no longer implies guilt. The term now means to put up with anything that is different from you, to include all things that you might consider “wrong”. The new definition seeks to demonize Biblical morality. It seeks to neutralize Biblical declarations of sin and abominable behaviors. Take away the guilt factor, and everyone “can do what is right in their own eyes” (a biblical condemnation of widespread sin).

The liberal humanist has perverted the original meaning even further, by equating “tolerance” with “forced acceptance”. To see this in action, look no further than the rash of wedding cake companies and photographers who have been put out of business for refusing to serve gay weddings. These good people serve gays routinely, but were unwilling to compromise their principles by participating in a ceremony that violates their personal convictions regarding Biblical standards.

You would think that someone who is so forceful about tolerance would be tolerant themselves. But alas, their hypocrisy is blatantly obvious when they refuse to accept a decision that goes against their own convictions. (such as the will of the people to elect a President.) The inexcusable hysteria that continues even months after the election screams the fact that they refuse to be tolerant when they don’t get their way.

“Tolerance” is more analogous to “compromise” when it comes to a system of values, norms, and behavioral standards. Tolerance is not standing up for what you know to be righteous behavior. Tolerance is sticking your head in the sand while the world around you spins into depravity. Don’t tell me to be tolerant.

Frank