I recently made a road trip from Naples, Florida to Lansing, Michigan where my middle brother was lying in a coma near death. Half way to Lansing my youngest brother informed me that our brother had died.  In my motel room I fell on my knees with tears in my eyes.

I prayed a prayer of concern for the state of his soul. We were very close. He liked fishing and camping like I did and he was one of the best baseball players ever in my experience. We both were very artistic. I had witnessed to him for years, but he just wasn’t interested in what I had to say.

We had drifted apart and I hadn’t seen him in years. My brother was not a church-going person, but unknown to me; he had made a profession of faith in Christ years ago and had even shared his faith with my youngest brother. I needn’t have been concerned.

Lansing, the capital of Michigan has become a depressing place with druggies and alcoholics everywhere—roaming the streets begging for a handout. While driving around and viewing the desolation I stopped in a gas station to buy coffee.  While I was inside doing so, I watched a downtrodden man picking up food items. As I was paying for my coffee he exited the place with a backpack full of goods without paying.

I spent the week there in preparation for the burial. The night before the funeral my youngest brother K.C. and I were at a department store when an older decrepit looking woman and her pimp approached us asking for money to buy an inhaler, supposedly for her asthma. They were obvious druggies looking for a handout to buy drugs. My brother recognized them as such and he refused (which is not in my nature). I’m glad they didn’t ask me. The amazing thing is that so many people can’t or don’t want to see the moral decay, and may even be a part of it.

As I drove or walked the streets of Lansing reminiscing I realized that this city was a reflection of all the major ones in America, with Washington D.C., our nation’s capital, near the top of the list for violent crimes. How sad that our country has fallen victim to such demonic influence, all because God has been kicked to the curb. Is it any wonder we are in such a state of spiritual and moral decay?

I remember working on a movie in Flint, Michigan several years ago and it was already a blighted area. Detroit, where I worked on my next film and a couple of commercials, was also on the skids.

Hollywood has also become a haven for godless weirdo’s and perverts, and you dare not walk the streets at night for fear of being attacked.  In any major city these days you may even find yourself in the middle of a riot or criminal activity of some sort at any time day or night.

We are on a fast track to becoming a third world country. We are like a runaway train without brakes and in spite of the screeching and flying sparks we still haven’t slowed down. Every day now a new revelation of corruption in high places is being uncovered. Justice may or may not be served, but there seems to be no end in sight. Truly, the love of money and power has corrupted our system of government and the church as well. No one can be trusted anymore.

There was a time when the church was a beacon of hope, a voice crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the path of the Lord.”  Today the church as a whole has lost her voice, concerned only with numbers of attendees and money.

I inadvertently stumbled on these words from Abraham Lincoln the other day and they appear to be prophetic:

Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger expected? I answer. If it ever reach us it must spring up from amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.

Another much greater Man said, “When you see these things begin to happen, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.” Jesus was referring to the Rapture. The way things are shaping up we may have to endure some of the evil leading up to the Tribulation period. It’s hard to believe that things could get worse, but according to scripture they will. Maybe as the noose of immorality tightens, people will have to finally cry out in pure desperation, “God help us!”

Those of us who know Scripture can determine the signs of the times. With all the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, signs and wonders we should be able to make the connection and eagerly await the rapture, but not while sitting on our hands in fear. If ever there was a time to get real, it is now, with real heartfelt prayer and doing what we can to bring in the sheaves. God is being kind in delaying the judgment we Americans so fully deserve in disobeying and dishonoring Him, but it may be that He is waiting for us to get our act together.

I saw the movie Do You Believe? for the second time. It is one of the best written and acted independent Christian films I’ve ever seen.

YBIC,

Jim T. Towers     jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com and www.thepropheciesmovie

Our American culture and values continue to decline and it doesn’t matter that we have a new administration; in fact this problem has only escalated with the losers (no pun intended) and those on the fringes are being bribed and coerced to commit violence and anarchy against those of us whose political and religious beliefs differ. Where is the sense of fairness, human decency and civility we enlightened Americans are supposed to have?

Shouldn’t opposing factions in our country have a right to their own way of thinking? The majority has spoken; and still militant anarchists continue to fight against us. Not to fear, God is in control and ultimately His plan for us and mankind will be fulfilled. And it might not be what we hope for or think.

Corruption rules in the highest offices of our country and soon the manmade house of cards will come tumbling down.  Every day new scandals in the previous administration are being uncovered. WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange is releasing ever more emails about corruption in government. Apathetic people like to say things like, “Those are just conspiracy theories. You can’t believe everything you read, especially on the internet.”

While this is true, I’ve noticed that some of these farfetched stories have an element of truth to them and when the truth is finally revealed we find that things we once thought were scuttlebutt do actually have a basis in truth. Do I have to remind you that the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair and Barnie Frank’s male lover running a homosexual service from their digs were at first considered politically motivated lies? This only goes to show that men will normally take liberty in doing all they think they can get away with.

John Adams said, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion… Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Listen closely folks, God won’t intervene when we don’t cry out to Him in repentance. He is kind enough to let us have our way, often with disastrous results, and so we must cry out to Him in earnestness. We’ve come a long way to where we are today and things can only get worse.

“Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” —Alexis de Tocqueville.

But it doesn’t stop there, today more than ever before people are going stark raving mad and committing suicide as well. The largest cities in the country are cesspools of lawlessness. Random killings are common place. Drug use and divorce is rampant and people today don’t seem to know right from wrong. Those doing so have been deceived by the Devil, who is also referred to as a murderer in scripture saying that, “He goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour,” and he’s doing a good job of it. We are living in a very sick society, a society where evil abounds. The sickness isn’t just confined to the United States but is prevalent throughout the world. Is it any wonder that so many are throwing their hands up in despair?

Even though we are one of the richest nations on earth, we lack the peace of mind and hope that only God can give. Money can’t buy us the hope we need in times of trouble. Men, women and teens are committing suicide at an alarming rate, even going so far as to posting the act on Face book. They do so because they have lost all hope and want us to agonize over their plight along with them.

Today I heard of a woman, who ran toward an oncoming car trying to end her life, or else she was under the influence of mind-altering drugs; it was never known why.  The woman crashed into the car, breaking the side mirror, denting the car door, and breaking her ankle as the car swerved in trying to miss hitting her. She was air lifted to a trauma center in another city.

The first time I saw anything like this was in Miami years ago. As my wife and I were walking down the main street exploring our new environment a woman appeared in the distance walking quickly toward us.  As she approached I could see that her hair was disheveled and she was foaming at the mouth. She flew right by us as if we weren’t even there. It was a scene taken from a nightmare.

Again, several years later I saw a woman in the same state, with rumpled clothes and matted hair running toward us foaming at the mouth as we walked down a side street toward our apartment. In both cases I quickly surmised that both of these women were having a psychotic disorder due to stress or because they were under the influence of some mind-altering drug. We are in trouble!

We must develop a sense of urgency and do something in mending the broken lives, minds and hearts of our countrymen. The only way I know to do so is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.  Only then will they have hope, peace of mind and a sense of direction.

I would propose a countrywide revival, the kind that used to prevail during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Yes, I’m talking about tents, big ones, with colorful banners, open sides and plenty of seating. (Everyone loves a circus atmosphere.) There should be good Christian music and true Spirit filled preachers calling people to repentance. These nightly events should last at least a full week or more, if needed.

If this should take place throughout the country within the same time frame our country might experience the last and final revival before Christ comes to take us away from the impending calamity called the Tribulation period.

I’m sure many people would be attracted to such events, even if only out of curiosity. We all know that the Word of God does not return to him void and is sharper than any two edged sword, and this would be a good way to get the word out. Something of this nature must be done while the window of opportunity just opened for us to do so without fear of repercussion. Something like this may be the only way to bring our country back to an awareness of God and His gracious plan of salvation.

By the way, do not go to see the movie “The Shack.”  It is nothing more than demonic drivel. Place your trust in the gospel of Christ Jesus a gospel of redemption and hope that is found only in the Bible.

YBIC

Jim T. Towers       jtfilmmaker@yahoo.com   and  www.thepropheciesmovie and book.