WAR

 

"Listen, peoples, all of you! Pay attention, earth, and everything in it! Adonai Elohim will witness against you, Adonai from His holy temple. For look! Adonai is coming out of His place, coming down to tread on the high places of the land. Beneath Him the mountains will melt, the valleys split open like wax before fire, like water poured down a steep slope." Mikhah 1:2‭-‬4 CJB

     We are in a war! A war with darkness itself. A blackness that is swallowing up whatever possible light it can.
     It's time for those who stand for righteousness, for truth and justice; for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be warriors, not cowards. Greater is He who is in you than the fiercest of enemies you may face.
     We have been given ALL AUTHORITY, yet most believers live in a basement with no windows too afraid to fight back. They don't trust God, though they claim they do. They are liars!
     Nothing in this world is greater than Yehovah! NOTHING! SO GROW A SPINE! If Y'shua was unafraid of anyone or anything He faced in His deity-laid-down human flesh, then why aren't you? Does He live in you or not? Well, DOES HE?
     When you realize who you are and who you belong to, then and only then will you walk in a level of power He has bestowed; power that even demons cower to and fear. Until then, you are no threat.
     The Kingdom of God suffers violence and it's only the righteous warriors who know how to make war against the forces of hell that will take what belongs to them!
     You want peace? Then fight in Y'shua's holy Name!

Steven Bliss
© 11/8/2020

OY!

     What a year! 

     Last January I lost my J... that left the rest of my year J-less. Appropriately, February until now, with only 3 weeks left, became an OY year! I know I can get an amen, but it's deeper than that. Oy is right!
     Pressure proves character... and this has been a year of characters to be sure. In all the years of my life I've never seen such pathetic displays of lovelessness, EVER! The absurdity and hatred. And you know what's even more disturbing, the vitriol, hubris and complete lack of humility. Utterly shameful!
     I've been meditating in some of the most difficult verses in the Bible lately which are in 1 John. Now I'm far from perfect, but this hits home when it comes to my personal observations of what the pressure of this year has revealed in the hearts and minds of many as the bitter chill of winter sets in on us.
     John said, "he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." And again he said, "If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" 1 John 2:11 & 4:20
     Oh the justifications! Oh the righteous indignation! Oh the hostility and fierce contempt! But even more, oh the deception! A good question to ask yourself, is your brother only your blood brother? Or is it far greater?
     I don't see positive things coming, only extreme disappointment. I see what is being exaggerated to intolerable levels.
     But hey... it was all worth it, right? Sure!
     Measure yourself by the thoughts and deeds of others and you will imagine yourself just and fair. Measure yourself against the Almighty and you'll find you don't measure up at all. It doesn't matter what you think of me or the things I've said because in the end it will only matter what the Holy One thinks.
     If you want to measure up then you have to humble down. That requires abandoning your vain imaginations and surrendering yourself to the Living God! 

     May the "J" return to all of our "OY's"!


Steven Bliss
© 12/8/2020

WHAT IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT

     I find myself getting stuck in the minutiae and I start to spin out into despair because I want things to go the way I think they should go. After all, I'm not hoping for anything but righteousness, justice and truth. Isn't that good? Isn't that godly? Yes... but this story is way bigger and has been going on far longer than my brief existence. So then the only thing that will bring me peace is understanding the bigger picture and it starts with this... No matter what, our answers and our hope is in God and His decision. Period!
     He already knows the outcome. He knows the strategy. He knows what the left is planning and what they will execute given the opportunity. HE KNOWS IT ALL!
     God inspired the men who birthed this nation... even they themselves had no idea its full meaning or purpose. And I can tell you with great confidence, they never saw an Israel coming in the future nor did they imagine the role America would play in its rebirth and the return of Jesus to the earth. But, that's exactly why this nation was born. With the Bible and the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus as it's bedrock and foundation, these Divinely inspired men created a nation where freedom and liberty would effect the entire world for God. If it wasn't for America and Harry Truman in 1948, whose best friend was a Jew, Israel wouldn't exist.
     It's God's story, not man's that's being played out here. Jesus is coming back... and sooner than anyone wants to believe.
     Trump is beyond special to God. He is not just another president but perhaps the greatest of them all because of his stance on justice, law and order, righteousness, the unborn, liberty and freedom, and above all, Abraham's seed, the land of Israel and the covenant God made with Abraham. Even the peace agreements, which no one has been able to achieve in the entire world until Donald Trump, are called "The Abraham Accords".
     Most will never see it like this, but this is an ancient story being played out right before our eyes. I'll explain. God loved and favored Isaac as the son of promise. He was the seed through which God would bring Messiah, but He loved Ishmael because he was Abraham's seed as well. So much so that He kept him from dying and promised him that he would become a great nation.
     What's happening in these peace agreements is the restoration of Isaac and Ishmael, the brothers. This is, to me, a telltale sign of Jesus's return. It was always part of the end of all things. One New Man! The cross made the two brothers who were divided into one, by breaking down the wall of division between them.
     And it's Jesus' return that finishes the story!
     All that said, Trump is the one God called and anointed for this time for the purpose of showing America and the world profound possibilities when God is King and to prepare Israel and the world for the imminent return of the King of kings.
     So I pray this... Your Kingdom come, Your will be done! Come Lord Jesus! Come!


Steven Bliss
© 12/12/2020

YOU MUST BE LIKE A CHILD

 

    When we die, there are no badges of honor given out because we owned a house. There are none given because we reached the highest position in our companies or acquired great wealth or amassed an array of possessions. There are no advancements to the front of the line for scholars or geniuses, nor are there any given for spiritual knowledge or superiority. Whether you go to heaven or you go to hell, there are no hierarchies or better positions because of the accomplishments you achieved while living here on the Earth. The playing field is leveled; what was no longer is. In the twinkling of an eye we are all on equal footing.
    Contrary to popular belief, shallow teachings and just plain narrow perspectives, the Kingdom of heaven is one that is contrary to the philosophies, ideologies, interpretations and standards of man and the world he inhabits. The truth about the Kingdom of heaven is, it is the Kingdom of opposite's where the weak are strong and the poor are rich; where the humble are exalted and proud are brought low. What we imagine and perceive to be good on this planet doesn't even measure up there.
    What would be God's-eye view of things? He sees the earth and humanity like this; those who are considered least amongst men are those God considers as having the most. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Those who think themselves something are those who are destitute and poor. The King of Glory whose majesty and power is inconceivable [and let's be serious a moment, who can actually comprehend the majesty or the glory or the splendor of God?] stepped down from His throne and out of eternity, divesting Himself of royalty and power, and in the form of a fallen man, in man's most undignified broken down and destitute state, takes on his likeness and accepts the punishment and penalty for man's rebellion against his Creator and pays the ultimate price... death. Enduring the scourge, hatred, shame and humiliation at the hands of insane, blind humanity, the very ones He was coming to save, He took upon Himself their curse and gave His life willingly on the cross so that ultimately they could be not only forgiven, but restored to intimacy with their Father. Unbelievable!
    What god would do such a thing? Even more, what father would sacrifice their only son for people who hate Him and treat Him with contempt? Looking at man's terminal state, instead of washing His hands of the matter, He gave His own as a sacrifice to save them from the torment of eternal separation from Him! Why? They are created in His likeness.
    On the one hand you could consider it to be the greatest sci-fi story ever written. Right? It's the unthinkable and the unimaginable which makes it seem more fantasy than reality. It's no wonder man has struggled with the idea of God coming in the likeness of human flesh willing to lay down His Divinity and die in order to deliver him out of all his woes. Even ancient Israel thought it inconceivable that the Almighty would stoop to such a level.
    With God being creator and we His creation, why would He make Himself one us in the first place? Doesn't that go against His own commandments? To this very day, Isaiah's prophesy in chapter 7 verse 14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God amongst or with us"] is a very difficult concept to embrace within the confines of Judaism and the Jewish world itself. But He did and is coming again! Again we see it is the opposite of the way we think, the opposite of the way we do.
    We have bought into a system that perpetuates a perspective of thinking that is in direct opposition to God Himself. We struggle and strive to achieve success and reach for the highest heights without realizing it's the polar opposit of the Kingdom of God. We build our personal towers of Babel trying to become God but they will never be high enough.
    Our true purpose is so simple and elementary; KNOW God! Become intimate with Him and let go of this world and the things of this world. To find great pleasure in the knowing and deep satisfaction in the simple purity of such personal intimacy with Him. But the world bids us come... come to its delights, follow its ways.
    Solomon said, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its way ends in death." Proverbs 16:25 John said, "DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love IS NOT in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, IS NOT of the Father’s, but is of the world. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does the will of God, remains forever." 1 John 2:15‭-‬17
    I want to make a qualifying statement because someone, maybe you, will ask this very important question, "does this mean we can't enjoy anything or have any sort of pleasure?" God is not, by any stretch of the imagination, opposed to us having things or enjoying the pleasures of this life while we are here. To enjoy the fruits of our labors. After all, He has given us the power to make wealth. He has given us incredible creativity to figure things out, to discover and inspire one another to build and create and master things. To enjoy the short life we have been given and use our gifts and talents to prosper and excel. Yet, it is not a contradiction that He calls us to a higher place of thinking. Nor is it one to say that this life is not it, it is by no means the end all. This is not as good as it gets; not even close... and to love it puts a wedge between us and God! Wedge? What wedge?
    That brings us to idolatry! The idea of idolatry from an ancient Hebraic perspective is quite enlightening. The imagery is simple and concept, childlike. Of the 10 commandments God said the first two are these: “You shall have no other gods before me." And two, “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, yet showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:3‭-‬6
    There is a lot of confusion about the idea of idolatry, but to the ancient Hebrews, and even on to the more contemporary rabbinical teachings, the understanding of what God calls idolatry is as simple as this; if you are focusing all your attention and affection towards God and you suddenly place something else in front of your eyes, whatever that may be, blocking your ability to see Him, then your focus will change from Him to the whatever that is (career, money, a person, a thing, etc.), it is at that point you have committed what God calls idolatry. It's like adultery. You allow someone else to become the object of your desire thereby taking your eyes off of your spouse. Jesus said, "but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28... even if the actual physical act never happens!
    Whether it's a golden calf in the desert of Sinai or in your personal life that takes precedence over your focus, your devotion, your relationship and most importantly, your intimacy with God, idolatry becomes the term relevant to your life. Only you can determine what those things are. God knows. More often than not we ignore those things that distract us because they bring us pleasure.
    Our problem is we don't grasp our mortality or that we are not of this world. This is not our home. This is not it for us.
    As good as you think this is, your wildest imagination cannot conjure up Heaven. Words cannot describe its splendor, its beauty or the peace that exists there. Our minds are limited and constained by death, pain and sorrow... by our end. But the kingdom of God has no end. What is there does not exist here, but there is a way to experience a drop of the eternal in the here and now... but that will require you to step outside of yourself, outside your comfort zone. To see through the lens of Jesus will permanently alter your view and change your mind forever. It will create a hunger for what you cannot see and a knowing that, beyond the shadows of doubt, it is real.
    The epoch of your tomorrows will become the essence of your todays; the authenticity of your forever.
    We all die! It's coming to each of us, like it or not. What matters here and what you will take with you is your decision as to whether or not you believe in what God offers you here through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus while you still have breath. Once the door closes, your story is over. I pray that like a child you come to God by faith. That He opens your eyes to see and believe. That by faith you surrender to the truth and give Him your life. That today you would choose life and the forgiveness of God which will live forever rather than that which is momentary, dies and exists no more.


Steven Bliss
©10/27/2020

POWER

When you face the devil and you know the Son of God as your Savior and the King of kings, you realize that there is no match against the power of God!

Once you actually "know" that to be true, then it's time to walk with the confidence that no weapon formed against you can prevail.

That whatever you face whether trial or tribulation, it's only for a moment.

That GREATER IS THE SON OF GOD WHO IS IN YOU than whatever the devil, hell or the world can throw at you.

So, if you're a believer in the Son of God and His death burial and RESURRECTION, then EMBRACE and ENGAGE who you are IN HIM! It's called POWER and nothing can stop it!

Instead of sitting in your car with the engine running in park, put the dang thing in gear and punch the gas. 

With Jesus, it's 0 to infinity in 0 seconds flat!

Steven Bliss
©10/26/2020

HIGH STAKES

 

    If Donald Trump loses, America is over. It will be a divine statement, a holy edict from God Himself upon this nation that judgment has come.
    First, it will immediately erode and destroy our relationship with Israel, and Israel knows it. This will be devastating to America. Why? For the 8 years of Obama's presidency America was in decline. Mainly because of Obama's position and stance with Israel itself and her leaders. Obama is a Muslim sympathizer and anti-Semite, as are Biden and Harris and everyone feeding their machine. The topic is discussed daily in Israeli news. It's no small matter with global implications.(1) Israel knows the blessing Donald Trump has been to Israel and it knows the loss it will suffer with his removal. (watch this video from Behold Israel) https://youtu.be/9sy29uUgh7w
    Second, there is no way a rational mind full of wisdom and discernment can look at and research Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and not see with clear eyes that what these two stand for will fundamentally change America OVERNIGHT. It will cause massive upheaval and extreme moral decay. They themselves are a breed of elite criminals, crooks and thieves. The mind that cannot see and discern such has been blinded and brought into a stupor. That should cause great concern in and of itself. Why? Because this is not just ignorance, which is inexcusable and bad enough, it is spiritual blindness where God removes ones ability to know the truth. This only comes from ones willful rebellion towards the righteousness of God.
    Therefore it will be without a doubt God's judgment upon America. And that should bring great fear in every heart and mind. God warned Israel over and over again to turn from her wicked ways, but she wouldn't. Finally it would get to the point He would severely discipline her. He did it many times. He has warned us here more than we will amidst. If He did it to Israel, He WILL do it here.
    On November 4th we will know where God stands because He will use human beings to bring about and enact His will.
    My suggestion: Fast if you can and pray to God. But at least pray.
    But, I will leave you with a positive that will come out of the potential negative... "the fields will be white to harvest." The deep despair and decline will open the hearts and minds of the masses to the Spirit of God. Like it or not, the eyes of the world are on America because they know, for good or bad, what happens here will effect the entire globe. There will be no greater time to change the souls of men for the kingdom of God!

Steven Bliss
©10/25/2020

1. https://www.newsrael.com/post/-MKVsZkz7li18cJhDmyF

* Special thanks to Behold Israel for their incredibly timed video. 

   Click the settings wheel to adjust the quality to 1080HD.

TO THE VICTOR GO THE SPOILS

BATTLES: MY DREAM! TO THE VICTOR GO THE SPOILS
(to all who face incredible odds and are afraid; fear not, God is with you!)

    Recently I woke from a dream that had a series of scenes within it. Each one had huge fierce battles going on with what appeared to be a dark force that manifested itself like nature of some sort; whether it was extreme storms or whatever, intuitively I knew they were forces of unseen power raging against me in each battle and I had no choice but to stand and fight against each one ALONE, tearing things down and decreeing things as they should be in the name of YAHWEH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Father of Y'shua/Jesus, the Messiah.

    Each battle was fiercer than the one before it and with each battle I had no choice but to address it face to face; though at times I was deeply afraid. Just after I thought I had won the victory, the final battle came and it was the most intense of them all.

    Suddenly in the distance I could hear the sound of hooves thundering on the ground, beating like drums as they charged towards me. I started to run as I could see this dark warhorse arrayed for battle running towards me with great speed and determination.

    Even after all I'd just been through I was now deeply afraid... a feeling of dread and doom came over me! This horse was like none I'd ever seen... tremendous in power. Its eyes were like fire and its nostrils enflamed as they violently pulsed with each breath, drops of sweat and blood dripping from them being flung into the air as he thundered.

    I knew I couldn't outrun him. But just then, suddenly, I felt this great power come over me. I stopped and turned around to face this dread rushing towards me.

    As I stood there, he ran right over me... he literally passed right through me as I reached up and grabbed ahold of his mane and with all my might I pulled this giant beast down to the ground. With a tremendous exhale from its lungs, it hit the ground with a violent force as above me thunder and lightening roared. 

    Kneeling down over its monstrous head, I boldly leaned all the way down until I looked straight into its bulging eye and said, "I have all authority and power over you... today, you are mine"! To the victor go the spoils.

    I instantly awoke sweating with my heart pounding saying the Name of God out loud... suddenly I heard these words like a proverb spoken to me in my head:

"You must never turn and run

For battles are only won

When you face what you face,

Whatever you face...

Facing it head on!"

Steven Bliss

© 7/14/2020

YHVH IS...

   God is not who we think He is or who we make Him out to be. He is very different than we imagine. He doesn't fit into a box nor is He a containable, controllable force.
   Not to negate the efficacy of scripture which is immutable and indelible, but deep within the realities of conscious intimacy and conceivable thought, God's magnificence is far beyond the Bibles majestic descriptions.
   Imagine in your mind the Scriptures as a wall full of polaroids taped to it. Each one displays a glimpse, but not the fullness of the seven dimensional realities of His personhood. They are for each of us awe-inspiring invitations to come through the doorway and beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies, where the unimaginable and inconceivable Eternal exists in splendor and majesty!
   We are the living pages of the eternal Bible, created and written upon for the purpose of all those we encounter to experience and reveal, to the best of our limited abilities, the Creator of all things who was, and is, and forever will be God.
   The untouchable yet tangible who mysteriously, by inhabiting our every cell, immortalizes our existence as He intertwines Himself within us as the lover of our souls.
   As dust from the ground in this earthly fade, our senses open like Lily's to the sun only to slowly waste away, and yet God remains. We are for a moment, but YaHoVaH is...

FOREVER! 

Steven Bliss
© 4/25/2020

JUDGEMENT DAY

JUDGEMENT DAY

(A two minute mortality poem) 

You only live so long 

You only do so much

You write another song

As you try to keep in touch

But it's just around the corner

That day that can't compare

When the shadows fall around you

And you stare a dead man's stare

Your only hope is in the knowing

That you didn't waste your time

So that when you hear the reaper

You're ready for his rhyme

It's God who is immortal

It's man who has no say

So pray to the Eternal

Please save me Lord

Before the judgment day

Steven Bliss

©3/3/2019

THE ANTIDOTE

Peter said, “Now I know for certain that God doesn’t show favoritism with people but treats everyone on the same basis .
Acts 10:34
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. If you are Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:28‭-‬29
    Question: if God who created man as equal is by no means about race, according to the above verses, and we, the family of man in His image are to be like Him, why would any believer in such truth associate themselves with anything that favors or promotes one race over another? According to the Bible, every single life matters to God; irrespective of their race, gender or their religious beliefs. There's only one who stirs up such dissension, division and diametrically opposed perspective, and he is not about life, fairness or justice, on the contrary, he wants death for all mankind.

    In light of that an even better question is, how much do you know about the organization Black Lives Matter? The groups black fist logo oddly resembles that of the radical 60's socialist organization the Black Panthers founded by two Marxist college students in Oakland, California. 

    Who are these people and where do they get their funding? Are they actually a grassroots street moment or is there something far more sinister and nefarious that rides on the underbelly of this emotionally charged, supposed civil rights movement? Do you know? Have you done your due diligence to check into the realities of what's behind the beast? I'm pretty sure that most don't and fall into the category of the emotional charged ignorant thinking that the agenda they push along with their comrades in arms, Antifa, are just trying to set the world straight. Well they're not.
    It takes money to move the mountain and wherever the money is, that's where you'll find the heart of the matter. So I'll make it clear for you. I've done the digging and I've done my due diligence and I know what's behind the doors. And it is both expected and truly ugly. Whether you want to accept it or not is your choice, but I will lay the facts bare naked in front of you to do with what you will.
    Black lives matter was created on the back of a lie. It comes under the premise that blacks are targeted by police and therefore discriminated against rampantly throughout the country. And that discrimination deserves a push back. They want to associate themselves for the purpose of justification with the demonstrations of the sixties with Martin Luther King, Jr., but that is not only balderdash and pure unadulterated deception, there is no resemblance whatsoever to the message or methods of Dr. King. But rather than me retelling the entire story I'm going to post a link to a very well written and factually based article from four years ago from the New York Post. https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2016/09/06/the-lies-told-by-the-black-lives-matter-movement/amp/
    If this information isn't enough to make you see something is awry, then the next little morsel just might take you to the next level and make you realize that BLM is not all that it's cracked up to be. As the old saying goes, follow the money.
    BLM is funded by an organization called Borealis Philanthropy. Sounds philanthropic doesn't it. Well if you get the shovel out and start digging down deep enough you always come across buried treasure. And in this case it turns out to be one of the people on this planet that is behind more insurrection and anarchy than any other human being around. If you want to make a contribution to BLM, your contribution will be funneled through an account called Act Blue. This is where the money goes after you contribute... and it isn't to the cause of Blacks. https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1270875601549787144?s=19
    The man? George Soros! A multi-billionaire whose personal "philanthropy" is for the advancement and the destruction of humanity. A Hungarian Jew who during WWII as a member of the Hitler youth sold his own people into the ovens of the Nazi killing machine without remorse. He like Bill Gates, the Clinton's and others who have more money than they will ever know what to do with, finance their own agendas using fronts and human beings to hide behind and accomplish their wicked will. BLM is an organization flush with cash and front for something far bigger, far darker than your everyday 'kids with a cause in the hood' movement. Along with Antifa they are the brute force anarchy arm of the uber progressive anti-God, anti-human elites whose sole purpose is to create the illusion of cause when in actuality their agenda is chaos. So rather than go on and on in my own words again I will post an article from 2016 in the Washington Times that is rich with insight and knowledge.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/16/black-lives-matter-cashes-100-million-liberal-foun/
    [To add to the dramatic reality of this article and the articles you just read, let's bring in a dose of reality. Out of the mouth of one who lived within the system and had their eyes opened to what was really going on. Listen to a voice of reason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR8SSPxVxSI] (So I'm going to leave this as is. This video was yanked as its content was damning to the agenda of those it exposes. This is the wickedness of the time in which we live. Freedom of speech is gone. Truth is snuffed out. To all who read this... let it be a warning. We live in unprecedented times. Be careful who you say things to. In the times of the early Christians in Rome it was the same. The Ichthus or the fish was not what it has become. It was the sign of the Fisherman, Kefa (Peter); a secret sign. If you were talking to someone you didn't know you would draw half of the fish on the ground. If the other person didn't complete it, you gave up no more information as it could mean not only your death, but the imprisonment and death your family and fellow believers.)
    For those of you reading who don't know there is a God, there is. He also has a Son named Jesus whom He sent to die in the place of all humanity which, steeped in sin, disobedience and rebellion deserved the sentence of death that He took upon Himself. And oh yes... there is an actual devil. His name is Lucifer and he is the author of all lies and deception, who in fact hates all of humankind because it was created in the image of God Himself. Lucifer's hatred is unquenchable and insatiable and as a result his sole agenda is the destruction of all mankind because he knows, man was created by God to bring about his own demise. Sounds sci-fi right? Nonetheless, it's true.
    In the Bible the prophet Isaiah said that in the last days, "Darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the people." In a time when knowledge will increase beyond comprehension, deception will reign over the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere. That deep darkness in Hebrew refers to the human intellect being so deceived that it cannot perceive truth and as a result it will pursue the lie instead and stumble headlong into destruction.
    This article was written to give you information and insight for the purpose of enlightenment for all those who are willing to humble themselves and seek the truth in the light of God. He is the antidote to all the lies and insanity this world finds itself in until He comes.
    May the Lord bless all who read this with understanding, and may all who don't know Him repent and give their lives to Him as they see light of truth as these days grow ever darker. And may those who say they believe and yet walk in direct opposition to Him, wake up and run back home. 


Steven Bliss
©6/2/2020

SAY TO THE WEST!

    For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you have been precious and honored in My sight, and I have loved you, therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.
    Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!' and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back!
    Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.’” Isaiah 43:3-7

    For over 30 years I have said that America must be rendered useless in its relationship to Israel, because in the end, Israel stands alone making way for Y'shua to come and deliver her by Himself alone.
    I believe that just before all this happens many of America's Jews will be shaken like a tree in a violent storm, dropping its leaves to the ground causing them to become afraid of what they see coming upon them and they flee America and go back to Israel. This will make way for God's judgement to rock this nation as well as fulfill what He said He would do through the prophet Isaiah. We are beginning to see it right before our eyes.

    I was given a series of prophetic words going back to the early 1990's. Back then it was so far off in the distance and unimaginable that no one could wrap their minds around it, including myself. But now, it stands at the door and knocks.
    When God told Isaiah that He would cry out to the world, to the North, South, East and West for them to give up those who are of the descendants of the house of Israel so they might return to the land, Isaiah was clear, it would be Yahweh Himself who would shake the nations in order for them to be released and come out. As an American Jew, I feel the resonation of it deep in my soul.
    Modern Israel stands as a testimony of His shaking. The nation was not created out of indigenous people, it was created out of those who had been once scattered and now come home. It was birthed out of the Holocaust. Mostly from the North, South and East, the Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Mizrahim came as survivors and remnants of WWII to rebuild an ancient nation as their new homeland .. the nation of God.
    Today there are roughly 20 million Jews worldwide. 6½ million of them live in the land of Israel while another 5½ million are in America. The other 9 million are scattered throughout the globe. There has been a steady pilgrimage to Israel going on since 1948 but it has picked up exponentially over the last 20 years. But not from west... not from America.
    American Jews are comfortable. Many are in high positions and financially strong. They have bought into the system and been lulled to sleep by liberalism and progressivism. Reformed Judaism, which is vibrant in America, has become a safe haven for the pricked conscience of the American Jew who would prefer no pressure or requirements. It holds no lifeline to biblical Judaism or adherence to the truth of scripture whatsoever. It's an aberration as it holds no connection to the very truth that it claims to have come from. The clarion call is less likely to be heard, much less responded to in Reformed synagogues across America. It is unlikely when the prophet calls, "Awake... shake yourself from the dust" that his voice will be heard, much less heeded where the truth is subjective and liberalized. Many would prefer leeks, onions and garlic rather an encounter with the living God. Mark my words though, the call will come.
    Nonetheless, God shakes and God calls. Nonetheless, He is faithful and capable of demolishing a man's stubbornness and hard heartedness right before his haughty eyes.
    Perilous times are no longer coming, they are here. Difficult days are upon us. The breath of God now blows on the trees and the shaking has begun. When it's finished, America will no longer be the land of the free. It will stand at a distance and in opposition to Israel. It will no longer support her or the Jewish people. It will become like any other nation who rose to glory and then in arrogance walked away from its Source.
    America is the last bastion of dispersed Jewry. The greatest hold out of Abraham's seed. But the inescapable reality is, God made a promise to Abraham and He is not only keeping it to this very day, He will fulfill it just as promised. 
    It won't be long. The signs are all there.

Addendum 6/11/2020: Two articles have appeared in the Jewish News Service in Israel over the last four days about the influx of global applications for Aliyah [citizenship]. The first dated 6/10/20 below directly relates to the writing of this article which I originally wrote 10/7/2019 before I published it on 5/31/2020. The second relates the fact that Israel is at an all time historical high of global applications. Both establish this article, SAY TO THE WEST as prophetic and precise.
* 6/10/2020 https://www.jns.org/coronavirus-helps-spur-north-americans-to-make-record-setting-aliyah/
* 6/8/2020 https://www.jns.org/in-an-era-of-global-uncertainty-record-numbers-of-jews-seek-to-return-home/


Steven Bliss
©10/7/2019

MY PERSONAL PANDEMIC POINT OF VIEW

    This all gets weirder by the day. It's hard... fighting through depression. I meditate, read and have the Bible read to me every day. But I don't know, maybe you're better at it than me, but it's really starting to get to me.
    The isolation is staggering. Nothing is normal, right? I know everyone's experiencing the same thing, but I'm starting to talk to my shadow and notice that it's following me. Oddly enough, I'm beginning to enjoy its company these days. I keep hoping that it might just talk back and carry on a conversation with me. This "being alone" thing through all this is like some sort of cruel form of punishment. You have to really like and be into yourself to actually enjoy it. Know what I mean? Up until now I loved being alone at times. Me time, you know... space, where no one intruded in my little slice of the life pie, but after 8 weeks... I'm like, "Hey, anybody want to share some pie? I'll grab some Cool Whip or real whipped cream!"
    I really want to believe there is going to be a lot of good come from this, but I'm beginning to have my doubts. I hate all the new lingo like "THE NEW NORM". What does that even mean? People talk about it like they have this deep sort of psychic understanding. Is this the zombie apocalypse? Or the sequel to Will Smith's, I AM LEGEND?
    And the mask thing is really starting to bug me. Is this a set up to the Jihad and the worldwide take over of radical Islam? Or is this a Lone Ranger episode and the Kemosabe's going to pull up in his Humvee named HairTrigger and stop the bad guys from hoarding all the paper products? Wait, did I just say something politically incorrect? For the first four weeks of this thing no one in my Whole Foods gave a rip. No masks, no gloves. Now it's signs everywhere and some of the people working there act offended if you're not complying. Hypocrites... give me a break. And what is this crazy stuff I'm seeing on the roads? People driving alone in their cars with a mask on? Who the hell thinks that's sane? What? Is the radio going to spit on you? Come on people... GET REAL!
    And this whole "can't go to church or synagogue" or whatever it is you attend has just gone off the edge. Let's get real and talk about God and creation, if you're smart enough to be into that sort of thing. God made us for interaction not isolation. To tell people they can't fellowship together for the sake of the greater good is just pure BS! It goes against every principle and the rules of love! Not one of us are on this planet because we willed ourselves into being. Maybe some tree hugger tinfoil hat types perhaps, but for the most part it took intimacy and interaction with another human to create life. And I'll just talk about Jesus right now... He came and died so that all of us who actually realize how messed up we are without Him can have... WAIT FOR IT... RELATING-SHIP WITH GOD! That's based solely in intimacy! Fellowship is personal, live, human to human interaction, it's not sitting somewhere watching a TV or smartphone screen and acting like it's the same thing. NOPE, it's not. 
    Ok, in the first few weeks as we were navigating the mirky waters of the COVID-19 it might have been a good idea... but enough already. This is boarding on socialism or communism. Big Brother, mind control. If they get you to comply without any resistance, they've lured you into a trap. History is full of such stories. And again, like the masks, we're being wooed into the NEW NORM! I watched my little church service online yesterday... and God bless all of them, but it was just not connecting. So what is the point and why do we keep letting them tell us this is the way it has to be?
    I don't know about you but one of the things I know about myself is I'm a touchy feely guy. I grew up in a family that kissed each other. Call it weird but we love each other. Hugging is not the "norm", it's necessity. My dad is almost 94 years old and to this day when I greet him or say goodnight or goodbye I kiss him... square on the lips. I was built for interaction, for intimacy and touch. I sat at the park the other day where I go and walk and I watched families and couples interact. They were holding hands and being intimate with each other. I found myself becoming envious, even downright emotional. Then I became a little mad. I've not been in relationship out of choice for the last five years and, for the most part, wanted nothing to do with it ever again. But this COVID thing has kicked the reality of not having it and all that it brings along with the realization of just how empty life is without it into high gear. I went from sensory deprivation to sensory revelation in a matter of 8 weeks.
    Now, I didn't say all that because I'm suddenly on the hunt, I'm not. But when you come to the point where you don't even know what touch is like anymore, you know you're in a bad place. When the Hallmark channel suddenly makes sense and you find tears running down your cheeks at the stupidest stories, you know it's gotten bad. I mean people substituted rubbing elbows for handshakes for God sakes. What's next, classes on tree hugging as an alternative? 
    Look, desperation is never a justification for jumping from the flame into the fire, but for me, the epiphany has been quite startling to say the least. I wonder what the birthrate will be between November and February next year? All these hospitals that are doing such bad business because the virus isn't really paying off like they hoped will be bursting at the seems in the maternity wards come winter.
    It really is disturbing to me because I realize that the freedom we have, or had, is the way God created us to be. And when those things are removed, it creates a tremendous emptiness and void... and when that's not replenished, the outcome is never positive.
    The more they seek to isolate us with their projections of doom and dread, fear and despair, the greater control we allow them to have. When they see they can get away with it and that we comply without resistance, power slowly drains from the brains that God gave us which are created like His... to function in wisdom and discernment. Just something to think about.

    Anyway... that's the way it is in my brain, May 12th, 2020!

Steven Bliss
© 5/12/2020

TO DIE IS TO LIVE

    We live in the most ego-centric, self-interested, self-absorbed "ME" society the Earth has ever had the unfortunate displeasure of having to put up with.
    All the deserts on the face of the Earth were at one time fertile Crescents, but through time and erosion the eventuality of their destruction was predetermined. Humanity, in particular our society and its culture are so obsessed with the concept of self that it's willing to, at any and all cost, destroy whatever stands in the way of its personal fulfillment and gratification. We're even willing to kill babies in the womb to the tune of millions just to remove what we consider an intrusion into our peace and happiness. How much more depraved and destructive does it get? We are willing to kill our own kind, the continuation of who we are as human beings just because we don't want the inconvenience.
    History has never been kind to the story of humanity. Though there have been moments in time when people have come together for short periods, but for the most part, it's been a bloodbath going back to the creation of man. Survival of the fittest. If anything stands in your way kill it or make sure it never has power over you whatsoever. Whether it's dictators, emperors, premiers, kings, queens or regimes, history has continuously revealed and proven that the hearts of men and women everywhere are much darker than anyone wants to believe.
    Are we any different now? I don't think so. And perhaps because there's more of us today, it just may be worse. Oh sure, we live in what appears to be a higher level of sophistication and consciousness in many ways, but much of the world is as barbaric and twisted as it ever has been.
    That brings me to my point and why the title of this article. Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its way ends in death." That's a strong and ominous statement because it applies to every single one of us, from the least of us to the greatest. More startling are Jeremiah's words, "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9 Is there a remedy? What is the anti-virus to this obviously harsh and bitter truth? Can we be healed? How do we even know if we're going the right way? How do we know what we determine as best for us is, actually best? Without sounding crusty and steeped in cliche, Let me break it down as simply as I can. We have to die to ourself so that we can live life to its fullest.
    Jesus said it this way, "I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies [meaning it goes into the ground and dies in order to begin the process of transformation] it stays a mere grain [it lies on the ground without accomplishing its purpose]. But if it dies it will multiply and produce a magnificent harvest. Therefore, the one who loves their life loses it, but the one who hates their life in this world will keep it safe right on into eternal life!" John 12:24‭-‬25
    Die? Is He actually talking about dying... as in going into the ground and never coming back, dying? Yes, in a way He is. He's talking about a mentality, a perspective that goes against the grain of human thought. To overcome ourselves and our self centeredness we must be willing to give up the idea of our agenda for the agenda of the One who knows not only knows what we were created for, but what's the best way for us to get there and accomplish that purpose with great success. Making sense is human, trusting God isn't. It takes faith and the willingness to lay everything down to have His perspective be the one we function in. But how?
    Humility! It's the rain that softens the hard ground of our lives that prevents the seed from going down deep so it can die and then live. But not just produce life in us but a harvest. Humility says to God "it's not my way that matters, but Yours, not my will, but Yours, not my agenda, it's Yours." Humility fills the clouds of Heaven for God to water our seed.
    I'm not talking to only Christians or the church here necessarily, though they're welcome to tag along, I'm talking to those who are stuck. Those who have a heart and desire to see change in their lives, who either don't know God or perhaps hate anything religious yet want to know who God is and if there is purpose for their lives. Those who have a longing for answers. To those who desperately want a connection to God, something that not only has meaning, but lasts. They are sick of this world, sick of doing things their way and never getting anywhere. Those who have lost hope and desperately want to find a better way. If you're reading this and it hits you and you're worn out with no place to go, then you have found the way to hope. Today is your day. 
    There is no coincidence you are reading this and experiencing the thoughts you are having in your mind right now. God loves you... that's right, right where you are and just as you are. All He is asking you to do is surrender. To give up control and die to yourself. To give your life to Him right here, right now. He wants you to know His only Son Jesus who was willing to die for you and take your sins and carry them Himself, paying the price so you don't, and just like that seed going into the ground, He rose up alive so that you could know God personally and have life, not just here and now, but forever. If home is what you're looking for then ask the One who created you and knows the way back, lead you.

    To all of you who know God and feel a deep sense of hopelessness in your life as you realize just how self focused and self absorbed you've been, constantly spinning your wheels, then it's just this simple... surrender, repent and come back.

    There is life after death. Not just the one where breath leaves your body for good, but a real vibrant life right here, right now. It's as simple as this... with God, to die is to live!


Steven Bliss
© 4/20/2020

WHY WORSHIP?

Recently a friend of mine told me that their child had asked the question, "Why are we told to worship God?" To her it seemed almost selfish that God would expect us to worship and praise Him. A very interesting question and perspective from a 9 year old. They ask me if I had any thoughts that might help them in their attempt to give an answer. I rattled it around in my brain for a while. After all I was the director of music at a very large church in Southern California for a long time and have written hundreds of worship songs... of course I can answer that. Right? But as I fumbled through it I realized that I saw things from the perspective of an adult. When I came to God, I was 30 years old. My perspective was that of an adult, not a child. So after throwing out my first response because it was just too lofty, I repositioned myself as a father talking to my young child. So this is what I wrote.

First off, the word worship means, in the simplest of terms, to love and adore someone or something so much that it occupies the majority of our thinking, so much so that they or it becomes a huge part of who we are.

When it comes to God it plays an even greater role because the more we worship Him, the more He becomes the most important thing to us. The greater our minds pull away from the world and all its distractions and we begin to become more like who He is. We slowly begin to resemble Him. And the result of becoming more and more like Him is, an unmovable peace deep within us begins to take shape because we now have peace with Him. And God knows this.

God doesn't need our worship. If you think about it, according to the Bible, God is surrounded by amazing angels and creatures too fantastical to describe who give Him praise and honor and glory constantly. So in reality, the worship of God is not so much for Him as it is for us. Why? Because we live in a fallen world and pride has taken over our minds as a result, the only way to pull away from that mindset and attitude is to re direct our minds focus towards the One who made us. God is holy and by us worshipping Him we bring ourselves into a place of humility before Him, acknowledging that He is and always will be God and that we need Him every second of every day. There's nothing wrong with being our best but when that takes us over and we put all our confidence in ourselves we begin to lose perspective of who we really are and what we were created for, and is to know God personally. So we don't really need more of us or the world and all it offers us, we really need more of God.

This is why there is such a struggle in this life to pull our hearts and minds away from Him. The truth is the one who hates us hates Him because God created us in His image. God has a very real enemy who wants to keep us from being intimate and really close to God because he knows this, that if we believe in God and His son Jesus, and if we give our lives to God and worship Him, then God's enemy [who is our enemy as well] whose name is Lucifer, not only loses the battle with us but he loses everything. Every single soul matters to God.

The Bible says He will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind and heart is focused on Him. That is worship. To love and adore God. To give ourselves to Him and trust Him with all our heart, no matter what may come. To love Him more than we love anything else. What we worship will take over our thinking and affect our thoughts and our actions. The more we love and adore Him the more we want to be like Him. It's not selfish of God, it's wise. It is the love of a Father for His child.

Why does God wants us to worship Him... because He knows it fills us with life.


Steven Bliss
© 4/26/2020

FOR GRANTED: NOT AN OPTION

These very unusual times have forced us all to experience things we're not used to. They're uncomfortable and they seem at times foreboding. Some of us are struggling with different realities in the midst of it. Whether it's a loss of jobs and income or the stark realities of isolation and the effects of not being able to be around those who we are close to or being stuck in the same place without any ability to enjoy the freedom this country offers us, as time moves on the stagnation is depressing, to say the least.

I just got back from spending a couple weeks with my dad. While I was there I met and walked with my cousin Paul. Paul's wife, my cousin Carol whom I was very close to since childhood, passed away a year ago at the age of 69. We walked in the cemetery where she is buried. Most of the parks here in St. Louis are closed so the cemetery is big. It was a great time to get out in the fresh air, have conversation and spend time with God. 

As I walked there, the thought began to grow in my mind as I looked at so many graves about the brevity of life. I started thinking about all the things we take for granted and the inconveniences that are, well in many cases really not so inconvenient. I thought about all the people who pass us by everyday, all headed to the same destination.

Each day I began to look at the tombstones and read about some of the people who are there. A few stood out, grabbing my attention. So I thought I'd share one with you that might just inspire you to grab on to what God has given you and appreciate it more than you ever have.

Charles and Margaret Eime were both born over 150 years ago. Like many of us, they were a typical couple who fell in love and spent their lives together. But the Eime's were different in that they experienced a series of tragedies that would stop most of us dead in our tracks. Charles and Margaret lost 7 children, four of which died in infancy while the other three were 1, 2 and 9 over 13 years. To add sorrow to the story, their second child, Laura, died in the same year as their third child who has no name. As I put my hand on their stone, and having lost a child myself, I could feel the reality of their pain and loss, their deep sorrow and grief. As I was feeling the sadness I began to realize the incredible power of their love for each other. That in the midst of such tragedy their love held them together through the most horrendous of times and moved them forward through the years in spite of it all. I can't imagine losing 7 children over the course of 13 years. Margaret and Charles held each one of those children in their arms and then laid them all to rest.

In this time of deep uncertainty and all that faces each one of us, I want to encourage you, take nothing for granted. Cherish every moment. Live like each day is your last. Don't come out of this and go back to life the way it was. Don't long for the past or the good old days. Reset the agenda. Reboot! Realize that as quickly as this happened, it can happen again and probably will. Love hard, love deep. Find God, and if you've already found Him, make Him a priority. Take time to talk to Him, but even more, take time to listen. Don't waste another minute on things that don't matter and make time for those that do. Matthew 6:25-34 is a good reminder.

May Adonai bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine on you and show you His favor; may He lift up His face towards you and give you peace.

Steven Bliss
© 4/18/20

PERFECT PEACE

Take me to a place where the water is still and the air clean. Where the images that penetrate my mind are majestic and awe-inspiring. Take me to a place where my ears hear the sounds of tranquility as they alter the consciousness of my mind and deliver me from all my worries and fear.

Can you see that in your mind? Can you smell that air so crisp and clean? Can you see the regal mountains jutting to the sky as they reflect off of the perfectly still waters of a crystal blue lake in front of you? Where the most beautiful sounds of songbirds fill the air and your mind empties of all it faces. Where fear melts like ice cream in the Sun and everything you worry about and fret over no longer comes to mind as you’re instantly delivered from it all. It’s a dream right? This is a type of peace we all want in this time but is far from our grasp. But there is actually a peace that won’t disappear.

Peace is a commodity that has suddenly evaporated before our very eyes. Every single person, no matter what your financial status, no matter what your race, no matter what your gender is faced with uncertainty that no one on this planet has ever had to face… and it’s everywhere all at once! If you could bottle peace right now and sell it you would become the richest person in the world. There’s no app that can give it to you. No meditation or guru. No amount of money or the accumulation of things. No political power or level of control can give us the one thing everyone wants.

I have a solution, an answer, a definite hope and assurance that won’t vanish like a dream or turn off when your phone goes to sleep or shuts down. There is a key that unlocks that door. That key is faith. That picture I painted above that you want to never fade away or leave you is only found in Jesus. That’s right, Jesus. In the Bible in the book of John he tells about his experiences of walking closely with Jesus for the final 3 years of His life just prior to His crucifixion and shares what he saw and heard Jesus say and do. But of all the wonders that he personally experienced, it was the few simple words that Jesus spoke that would alter his consciousness forever and give him the confidence to go on, no matter what he faced. Before He went to the cross Jesus said this, “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]" John 14:27 AMP These words were powerful enough to give everyone who heard and followed Him the confident assurance that, regardless of what they faced, even death, His peace would be with them and give them the strength to arrive safe on the other side.

There is no peace in the things we see and hear. Everyday it becomes a little bleaker. Things become a little tighter, a little more uncertain. But I want to encourage you with this. If you don’t know Jesus as you are reading this, if you’ve only heard about Him but never really connected the dots with who He really is… that He took your sin and rebellion and nailed it to the cross taking the punishment you deserve and paying the debt you owe to God, then it’s as simple as this… ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Tell Him you surrender and give Him your life. Tell Him that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to fill you with Himself and His peace as well as the courage to overcome your fears.

If you are a believer, and you’re in a place of fear and panic, STOP… realign your heart and mind with the truth. Resist the temptation to let darkness weave its insidious lies in your mind that are contrary to the truth of God. Put these words in your heart. Read them out loud to yourself. Speak them over yourself and your family. Speak out loud,"GOD HAS NOT GIVEN ME A SPIRIT OF FEAR, but of LOVE, POWER and a SOUND MIND! Today, I declare that I will not be anxious for or about anything, but instead I will talk to God about everything and trust Him for all my answers, knowing that His peace, which is nothing like the world and even beyond my comprehension, will guard me, comfort me and keep me safe. I choose right now to focus my mind on the things that are true and what is good; on what is authentic and real, honorable and admirable. I choose to focus on what is pure and holy, merciful and kind. And I will thank God moment by moment for His perfect peace. AMEN!” If you need to say this 20 times a day, DO IT!

I promise you, if you seek God in these very difficult days, in the midst of it all, He will not only hear you and answer you, but He will bring you through in perfect peace.


Steven Bliss
© 4/2/20

TIME OUT!

These are unprecedented times to say the least…

If you listen to the news and the talking heads, you'd be convinced the worst is yet to come and that any ray of hope has left the planet for good. That this plague that is now upon us is the end of all we know and that the word recovery doesn't even exist in the vocabulary of this dire situation. But as bleak as it looks, I want to calm your minds and present a different picture for you to consider.

Nothing happens without there being a greater purpose behind it. Whether it’s good or nefarious, there is always a story behind the story. This time is no different. Though doom and gloom vomit out of those who peddle fear, and hopelessness the feeling of so many right now, I believe we are being given a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to, shall we say, put our houses in order. 

There are no guarantees in this life. None. What you’ve gained can in a moment be taken away, as many of you have seen and are now experiencing. I’ve lost everything several times in my life. The death of my first-born from a heroin overdose, jobs that paid me lots of money and benefits, cancer, my home, savings, hundreds of thousands in investments… yes I’ve lost most of what I’ve ever had. Not to mention the many whom I've loved that have died from horrible diseases, including my precious mother who meant the world to me over these last 8 years. There are no guarantees. We are all going to have those times come to us living in this world. For me, I’ve had to learn to live my life with my hands wide open. To not hold tight to what I think is mine and allow myself to embrace not only the brevity of life and things, and to stop and fully smell the roses blooming right now. To value what’s right in front of me.

Every time something extremely challenging and difficult happens I come to realize that God is wanting me to embrace His perspective about things; though I will say that came neither fast or easy. It took me many years of trials and tribulations as well as a lot of Q&A with God… usually questions on my part and quiet on His. His favorite answer is, "TRUST ME!" as every loss and trial brought me closer to Him. Each one played a part in the eviction of my skewed perspectives, my anger and serious disappointment which kept me chained to a state of mind that only perpetuated my personal slavery to hopelessness. Not that I have now arrived by any means, I mean after all I am human, but I’ve gained valuable insight that, in hindsight and wisdom, is transferable. 

This is a global reality taking place. Not one place has not been touched. Not one person completely safe. I’ve faced death several times in my life, and though I don’t talk about them much, they have left lasting impressions on my soul. By design God has let me taste my own frailty and the brevity of life. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that "all is vanity!" It's true. We think we own it... but we don't. Later James said it like this, “You don’t even know if you will be alive tomorrow! For all you are is a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears.” James 4:14 You know that old saying, "here today, gone tomorrow", well, it's true too. 

So this is what I believe. God has put the whole world in time out. He's taking advantage of the circumstances to teach us something. Every single human is being given an opportunity to evaluate their perspectives on time, life, possessions and most importantly, what they believe and where they stand with God. You can kick and fight and piss and moan, but when all is said and done, every soul is going to stand face to face with the living God. Perhaps other things have occupied way too much space in your brain and created an interrupted view or wall to seeing the only One that really matters? Maybe the world and its offerings have become way too sweet in your mouth which has created an addiction to those foods that are loaded with, you know, empty calories? Or even worse, the stress and worries along with all the cares of this life have so weighed you down that the idea of trusting anyone other than yourself and your abilities to get the job done is nonexistent, removing any possibilities of dependence upon God, even if He does love and cares for you far more than you could ever imagine. Whatever that is, whatever it may be, this time out is time for us to put it all things in perspective.

You see, no one can control or fix this. No one can stop it. No one has that magic wand to suddenly make it all go away. But as always, and throughout time, there is only one answer, one remedy, one solution and one hope: God whose name is Yahweh! The God of all creation is giving each of us an opportunity to clean house and get things strait with Him. He is your hope and your answer. He is the way, the truth and the life… no matter what anyone says. The world is dying. Yes, I said it; just like us, it too is dying. Go visit a graveyard. Every one of those tombstones are telling you the same thing. Every soul who has come and gone for thousands of years, if they could, would look you square in the face and tell you, “WAKE UP! DON’T WAIT! EVERYTHING THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT AFTER THIS LIFE IS TRUE!”

It is no coincidence that it’s happening to the entire world at once. Things are changing and the truth is, time is short. Your answers are all found in one place; relationship with God through His Son, Jesus who stood in the gap for you and took the ultimate punishment of death which belongs to you because of sin. There’s no candy coating this. This is a NOW moment for each and every one of us. If you don't know God it's as simple as realizing you are a sinner and can't save yourself. Tell Him that and ask Him to forgive you, to save and deliver you. A single drop of faith is all it takes.

I want to leave you with this thought. In this global time out, take the time to let fear go... no matter what things look like. Turn off the news. Turn off the TV. Stop, look and listen… the flowers are beginning to bloom, take the time to smell them. Seek God while we are in this time with your whole heart! You may not get this time again. Take advantage of it. Repent, reconnect and realign your heart and mind with the source of life Himself, Yahweh and His Son, Jesus. He’s listening. I promise.

© 2020 Steven Bliss