Hi all,
Thanks for your prayers for Barb, Chris and I. Since my last letter Chris fell out of his wheelchair and hit his chin, opening about a 1’ gash which the doctor closed with glue – the skin being so thin on the underside of his chin that seemed the best solution. Some other behavioral issues, some a result of staff changes and just getting to know Chris, some of it Chris. Barb will visit him while I’m gone in Finland the 12th-21stand take him some favorite fast food at the group home on the 2 Friday’s he will miss his home visits, so please pray for Chris and Barb – thanks.
Prophetic
I tend to share things the Lord says to me in bits and pieces, in part because people tend to obsess over prophetic things. But in January when the Lord appeared to me, He spoke of three things concerning technology that I feel comfortable sharing here.
When He appears to me, most often it is for me, my life, and the body of Christ as a whole – or what I’ll see in the future. It is very unusual for Him to talk of technology, and last month I shared just a tiny bit, including that ‘…you won’t recognize the country (US) in 2, 5, and 7 years.’ But today I’ll share more as these are things to pray about, and things to observe, to know the times and seasons in which we live.
These are principles and development in where technology is going. He stated that He gave this technology to bless people, but it was even now, ‘being used against my people’. The first He spoke about is AI – Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is at the core the ability for all computers to talk to each other and then ‘think’ to be able to put information together.
It is what is used in China to grade their citizens socially, in which they are tracked as they walk down the street using facial recognition, to what they purchase, to who their friends are in social media – all this tracking is then sorted and compiled into a profile of each citizen. This is what He was commenting about, and how it will be used in the US and west.
When it is used for good it can be a blessing. The US currently has ‘commercial AI’ which is when say, Amazon and Facebook track sites you visit and what you buy, and their algorithms then tailor make advertising for those stores or companies when you sign on. Or the use of GPS to track you so you can find x address. That is all good.
This leads me to the 2nd thing He said that is related: He talked of how this was going to be used in a blend of government and private companies to spy on people – He said of that which is used in the US now for marketing; “You haven’t seen anything yet concerning what it can do.”
He said to watch (US) Congress for laws taking away our (US) rights, and courts as the US decides how it will deal with companies who edit what they deem is offensive.
For example – me speaking here – if an apartment complex has a community room for use by the residents of the apartment complex, it may rent that community to any resident. That resident may use the room for whatever they wish, the apartment company has no liability for what is done in that room because they are just renting it. That is what people expect of Facebook and Google and such.
But if the company who rents the room and says it is for all the residents, but then starts accepting or denying permission to use that room based on whether the perceived use of that room is offensive, then it crosses the line to be liable – that is the coming battle we will see over many of these companies. They want to go beyond marketing AI to tracking and editing if you or I may even ‘rent their room’.
The third was what He said is the same lying spirit used through the centuries against Him (His body). He said it is the same spirit when lying witnesses took His words out of context or twisted them to make Him say something He didn’t mean. (Mark 14: 56-59)
He stated the technology to transform any video or audio into a person saying something they never said or did, using a lying (false witness) spirit, is coming. It is coming in such a way a person can manipulate a video to show a person saying something, that they never did – but people will believe it because they see it. He shared this partly for my information, and also for prayer.
As I said, this was for prayer – it was a ‘heads up’ as to what is down the road. Other things He talked about was persecution against Jews, Christians, and conservatives, the same going to be blamed for the economic ills to come, and so on…
But He closed with: “But don’t be afraid when you see some of these things starting to come to pass. Be about the Father’s business and you will be well. Those who walk with Me will even prosper in days to come, for those in darkness will stumble blindly, but those in the light will have their path lit by the light of the Spirit. As I said to you at the start: It’s (CWOWI) a provision against a time to come. The wealth of my people is first found in the richness of their relationships. These are the days in which I’m telling my body to rearrange priorities to honor and love the household of God, and not the things of this world. Many are divorcing themselves from the world and its ways to renew their vows to Me. Others will find all they trusted in divorcing them, as their world falls a part, and for some, it will take that before they return to Me, their first love. Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.”
Grow a backbone
Having a free will means learning how to use it, and how to fight for it. Neither God nor the devil can make your mind up for you. Beyond that, we must learn to control our emotions and thoughts. The number of Christians who can read chapter and verse and then dismiss it because they ‘feel’ lost, or empty, or that God isn’t in them, is astounding.
I learned early on that I must be the master of my emotions. No matter what circumstances, hormone, or others say, I can and must control what I feel. I am a sovereign being.
This lesson came when I was a teenager reading what Jesus said in Matthew 28: 18: “All power (literally, ‘all authority’) is given me in heaven and earth, you go therefore into all nations…”
When I questioned Him I asked, “All authority?” He answered, “That’s right. The devil has no authority of himself. He gets others to give him their authority, then he uses their authority against them. When a person is oppressed of the devil it is because they have given their authority to him, to use against them.”
I’ll never forget that. It was one of my first conversations with the Lord Himself. That principle that the devil uses our own authority against us, because he has nothing but what people give him, made me angry – at the devil. As the Lord talked my understanding suddenly understood how whole nations do that – some nations are even dedicated to gods and/or the devil and such. And there are nations dedicated to God, but who have turned away and given the authority they were given to be used against them, being destroyed from within. Look at history, it is simple to see how nations imploded.
When I was first baptized with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, it sounded like gibberish. I wasn’t sure I had ‘gotten it’. But I remember reading Acts, comparing Acts 2 and 10 and 19 to see the examples, and based on that rather than how I felt, I made the choice to believe that I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, that it was God not me or the devil. Period, paragraph, over and out. I was not going to give my authority which was that I might receive the Holy Spirit, to the devil who would then tell me I didn’t receive Him. That just wasn’t going to happen.
The same for feeling unsaved, lost, abandoned, not feeling Christ in you – what do feelings have to do with anything? Jesus didn’t feel like going to the cross, but He did. At the Transfiguration in Luke 9 and Moses and Elijah appeared to Him and told Him from the Law and Prophets what must happen to Him – He didn’t feel good about it – His mood immediately changed, coming off the experience chiding the people for their unbelief and asking ‘how long will I be with you’. But He went because in the Word it was written of Him, and He came to fulfill His purpose.
Grow a backbone. Your will is sovereign, stop letting emotions and the devil what you can and cannot do, and what you feel or don’t feel. The Word says you have Christ in you, the hope of glory. So act like it! You are a believer, you are saved – you haven’t lost your salvation or you wouldn’t be concerned about it. Grow a backbone. Fight for your free will, establish spiritual boundaries, and give that free will 100% over to the Lord, who will never use it against you, but will only help you grow in Him.
The giving of our will to another – a spouse, the Lord, a boss, the devil – is all about giving them permission within certain constraints to use our will. We do this for the boss – for each work day they have our will within certain limitations. When we are married we give our spouse our will, and have to prove we have the character to maintain that throughout the relationship. Sometimes one will withdraw their will in a marriage, and a separation or divorce follows.
With the devil – he will use your authority, your will, by your permission, against you. All authority is given to Jesus – you are in Him – so start edging out the elements of your will you had previously given the devil, and take it back. Grow a backbone in this. Hope that makes sense and is taken correctly an in context.
Conferences:The Dutch conference 5/30-6/2 is filling up. The August 15-18 Wisconsin conference is about 60% full, the October 11-13 New England conference about 20%. So let us know you want to come even if finances are such you need to send that later – we’ll work with you but we have to know you’re coming to reserve a spot(s).
I so enjoy praying for all those who donate via PayPal or mail, or who just write in prayer requests – know that you are loved, appreciated, and supported. Blessings! John & Barb.
