May 8
	And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
	Acts 28:3
Sometimes Satan tries to destroy or discourage us with sizable storms. Other times, he uses sneaky little snakes. While Paul was helping people, the snake struck. And you can be sure that’s when the serpent will strike you. When you are helping others, serving others, loving others — from out of the heat of hell, Satan will strike. Paul, however, would use this opportunity to share the Gospel with these people in a uniquely powerful way. You see, the fallacy of the over-emphasis of the faith movement — the mentality which says we should never be smitten by snakes — is that it robs us of opportunities to share the Gospel. While the Maltese people knew about these snakes, and had watched their families and loved ones succumb to their poison — now they were about to see how Paul would handle the power, the danger, the pain of their venom. So too, the Lord will allow you to go through difficulties. The doctor may say, ‘It’s inoperable.’ And no matter how you name it and claim it, folks, it may be the Lord’s plan for you to navigate that pain and venom in such a way that those around you who are also losing their loved ones to cancer, will change their minds about Who God is as a result. Jesus said to Thomas, not — ‘Watch this miracle’, not — ‘'Listen to this sermon’, but ‘Touch My wounds’. The world is rarely impacted and drawn to Jesus Christ through the sight of Christians prospering. No, it’s through seeing believers suffering, but not giving up, that the skeptics change their minds. Perhaps the most important ministry you’ll ever have is when people see how you react to the pain they go through all of the time. Difficulty is the agent which often allows people an opportunity to see the reality of Jesus Christ most clearly.

May 7
	And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
	Acts 27:42-44
Just as the Lord promised, everyone on board survived the storm. Following are four reasons why storms come into our lives ... 1. Storms of correction. Ask brother Jonah about these. When a storm arose and he was tossed overboard and swallowed by a great fish, it was because he was rebelling against the Lord (Jonah 1: 10). So too, sometimes when I’m in a place of disobedience or rebellion, the Lord will allow a storm to get me on track again. 2. Storms of perfection. After Jesus fed the five thousand, He sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14). Midway through their journey, a storm arose around them. Why? For their perfection. You see, Jesus knew it wouldn’t be too many months before these same disciples would see another multitude of five thousand — not fed, but saved (Acts 4:4) — followed by another storm — not on the sea, but of persecution within the Church (Acts 8:1). Thus, Jesus was training His boys to endure the storms of persecution which inevitably follow the seasons of blessing. Faith is not a pill we take, folks. It’s a muscle we work. Therefore, the Lord will send me into a storm from time to time not for correction, but for perfection because the way I react to storms internally will tell me where I’m at spiritually. Storms provide unique opportunity for me to see where I’m at, and to grow in my understanding that the Lord will come through at the right time, saying, ‘Be of good cheer. We’re going to make it.’ 3. Storms of protection. Because ‘Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,’ (Genesis 6:8), God sent a storm to drown out all of the carnality, sin, and iniquity which surrounded him. The storm raged for forty days and nights, but Noah and his family were not only protected in the storm — they were protected by the storm. ‘Oh, no!’ we cry. ‘My TV blew up,’ or ‘My stereo doesn’t work. What a storm I’m in.’ But, as in Noah’s case, it might be a storm of protection — protecting us from the carnality and iniquity which surround us continually. 4. Storms of direction. Knowing there was a group of people on the island of Malta in need of ministry, the Lord said, ‘Before you go to Rome, Paul, I’m going to allow you to be blown off course because of something I want you to do for Me — something you never would have thought of on your own, something that wasn’t part of your agenda. I have some people to whom I want to minister, so I’ll allow a storm to arise, which, although it looks like it’s blowing you off course, will put you in the very place I want to use you.’ ‘How come I got canned?’ ‘Why did she dump me?’ ‘How come it’s not working out?’ we ask. Don’t be blown away. Realize that the Lord is changing your direction because there’s something He wants to do that will ultimately be a blessing. Storms of correction and perfection, storms of protection and direction — how can you know which one you might be in? Talk to the Father. Say, ‘Why am I in this storm, Lord? Is it correction — or are You perfecting me for what You see is coming my way? Is there a new direction for my life — or are You protecting me from something which would be very damaging?’ How long has it been since you got away to spend time with the Lord? Clear your schedule and seek Him — and you’ll be blown away by His goodness, rather than by the storm.

25th shot system

Silent Sound manipulation"Noiseless cassettes. Chernishev claims that the Japanese have developed the ability to place infra-low frequency voice patterns over music, patterns that are detected by the subconscious. Russians claim to be using similar "bombardments" with computer programming to treat alcoholism or smoking. 25th shot system The 25th-frame effect, alluded to above, a technique wherein each 25th frame of a movie reel or film footage contains a message that is picked up by the subconscious. This technique, if it works, could possibly be used to curb smoking and alcoholism, but it has wider, more sinister applications if used on a TV audience or a computer operator."

http://www.mail-archive.com/pen-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu/msg55778.html

http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/7/gamson-j.html
Class Clowns
Joshua Gamson


The Oblongs, the WB network's new animated series that premiered on April
Fools' Day, opens with the sound of a flushing toilet. Chipper voices, who
could be singing about the Flintstones or Scooby Doo, sing the show's setup:
As cartoon waste flows from a fancy mansion down into a valley filled with
decrepit houses and power lines, the voices chirp about how "a chemical
spill came from the people living up on the Hill," and we get a glimpse of
the show's title family, living, fa-la-la, "by the landfill with hazardous
foam, in their happy, glowing home."

The Oblongs are the first television family marked by the deformities of
waste dumping. Milo, the little boy at the center of the show, is almost
physically normal--one eye is much smaller than the other--but he has what
the family doctor calls "typical Valley childhood ailments: ADD, OCD, TDD,
and of course foaming diarrhea." He used to go to a special school for "the
pathologically high-spirited." His mother, Pickles, a downwardly mobile
former Hill girl, is bald underneath a tall wig and drinks like a fish. His
sister, four-year-old Beth, is a tattletale with a cucumberlike tumor
growing out of her head; his twin brothers Chip and Biff are typical
adolescents, except for the fact that they are conjoined, with three legs
and three buttocks between them. His father, Bob, has no legs and no arms,
but nonetheless maintains an upbeat attitude, a decent assembly-line job at
the local poison-chemical plant, an active sex life, and can cut wood, give
charades clues, and light a barbecue with his head. Milo, dressed in a
T-shirt bearing the motto "No," hangs out with a club of misfits: Helga, who
is shaped like a giant pear and whose parents disappeared for a year, during
which time she lived off of crows and unsold cakes from a bakery dumpster;
Susie, a slouching Goth girl with a strange, depressed-Frenchwoman accent;
one-breasted Peggy, who spits and lisps, on account of the absence of a
lower jaw; and Mikey, a redhead with an extrabulbous behind. "It's funny,"
Mikey says of his butt. "And sad."

Aside from the occasional talk show or Dateline segment, the appearance of
such grotesques on television is quite unusual. But this is not your usual
freak show. The Oblongs aims at comic social commentary, and its target is
what the WB, that hotbed of radicalism, calls "the caste system in
America"--and also, not coincidentally, what WB Executive Vice President
Jordan Levin calls "a disenfranchised younger audience." Indeed, as Levin
told journalists at a recent press conference, here "the have-nots are the
heroes." The real monsters are the haves, who reside, literally and
figuratively, at the top of the Hill--especially the climbing Klimers.
George Klimer is Bob's greedy, patronizing boss at Globocide Industries, and
his wife is a zombie snob. Their son is a stupid bully, and their daughter
is leader of the Debbies--the rich, popular, spoiled girls, all named
Debbie, who look like Barbie dolls and like one another. The folks in the
Valley are well aware of what they have not and venture up the Hill
periodically for an envious glimpse. "Wow, she's got everything," says
Mikey, when Milo and his mates break into Debbie's room. "I've got just a
towel, a floor, and an old batting helmet to eat out of." Peggy, of the
missing jaw, lolls around on Debbie's bed. "Thish ish what I dream my
marital bed will be like," she says. "Except that it will contain a shwarthy
Lothario with a mashtersh in shpeech therapy."

Each episode is a little fable of class conflict, in which the oppressed
battle a bit of injustice and the oppressors get their comeuppance. In one,
Milo has to give away his beloved dog Scotty, who was making him "more hyper
than ever," and George Klimer descends from the Hill to take the dog in. But
when the Debbies discover Scotty "making" on the lawn, George removes him to
Animal Testing at Globocide, where the dog is used to test a cologne whose
side effect is narcolepsy and is caged next to a chimp in lipstick and high
heels and a beaver testing an exploding sombrero. "I don't hate you, Dad,"
Milo declares when he finds out Scotty's fate, "I hate the company you work
for." By the end of the episode, the Oblongs have donned black clothing,
broken into the factory, outwitted two sets of guards, battled Boss Klimer,
and set free Scotty and the rest of the animals. Klimer is doused with his
own narcolepsy-inducing cologne and blown up with his own exploding
sombrero--only to return for next week's show, of course. This is, after
all, a cartoon.

In another episode, a gun-toting, racist Bible-thumper named Mrs. Hubbard is
sent down the Hill by the mayor to reform the parenting skills in the
Valley. She offers to adopt humongous, abandoned Helga and give her a nice
home and self-esteem: "Lord, cleanse this heathen of her vile and disgusting
ways," she prays. Meanwhile, she turns Helga into a prim proselytizer who
goes door-to-door requesting donations to send Bibles into space. Helga's
eyes flash a desperate message when she and Mrs. Hubbard visit the Oblongs:
"HELP" on one eye and "ME" on the other. The Oblongs break into Mrs.
Hubbard's bedroom, where limbless Bob, bouncing around in a harness and a
thong, whips a startled Mrs. Hubbard, while Pickles snaps scandalous photos
to bring to the custody hearing. Owing to poor photography, the strategy
fails; but using the Internet Milo tracks down Helga's parents, who had
survived a plane crash by eating the other passengers, and Mrs. Hubbard is
nonetheless foiled.

As befits a cartoon, the satire is broad--drawn, like the characters, with
big, bold outlines and not much complexity: Rich people are pretty on the
outside and ugly on the inside, and poor people are hideous on the outside
but happy inside. But in a media culture that barely acknowledges the
existence of a class system, it's striking to find a show premised on making
fun of it. In fact, with The Oblongs--which joins shows like The Simpsons
and King of the Hill, made by the same company, Film Roman--the genre of
class-conscious cartoons has now reached critical mass. It is safe to say,
and a bit chilling, that the American media's most direct and critical
representations of class inequality are taking place in cartoons, the only
spots on television that make no claims whatsoever to realism.

Underground cartoonist Angus Oblong, the show's originator, can hardly be
said to have an upbeat sensibility. The Oblongs is based on characters from
his self-published Children's Tragedies strip and the subsequent book Creepy
Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children, and among his
upcoming projects is a mock children's book called Mommy Is Going to Die.
Yet it is quite clear that, in its move onto television, his vision has been
transformed into something lighter and friendlier and more familiar, so that
The Oblongs breaks new ground without feeling especially groundbreaking.

Oblong himself told The Sacramento Bee not long ago, in fact, that he was
"really shocked" by the first episode. "I thought we were designing a dark,
mesmerizing show," he said, "but it is so bright and colorful." The
brightening was as much thematic as visual: From Oblong's original
proposition of a show about Milo's clubhouse of "deformed kids who can't
otherwise get friends," the show became one with a happy, lovable family at
its center. As the show's executive producer, Bruce Helford, put
it--sounding much like a satire of an executive producer--"The people from
the Valley are all lovable," so lovable that "when I watch it, I can't help
but feel, God, I want to hug all of them." Most likely, this undarkening is
some combination of caution and habit, the usual routine of television
producers fearing unlikable characters and attempting to duplicate the
success of other shows--in this case, most obviously, The Simpsons. (An
executive producer of The Oblongs, Jace Richdale, was a co-creator of The
Simpsons.) Perhaps it is also a wise, if unfortunate, assessment of what
audiences will and will not "relate to" and therefore watch in high enough
numbers.

Whatever the motivation, in the WB's satire of "the caste system, "the shat
upon are happier than the shitters. As the network's Levin declared to
television critics, "Audiences will relate to The Oblongs, where
love-and-family is more important than what the folks on the Hill have." And
Helford added that "the heart of the show is how people in a really
dysfunctional environment, who have nothing, who are put upon--with all the
things they have to put up with, they are still a really good functioning
family and happy, healthy, loving people," while "these people who are
supposedly perfect," the Hill people, "are really, really fucked up
emotionally." This is a nice fantasy for alienated teenagers, but it leads
to a pulling back from the edginess that is meant to be the show's selling
point. The moral superiority of the oppressed, the persistence of love in
the midst of adversity--these romanticized visions of class escape satirical
scrutiny. Even animated television seems unable to allow a more cutting, and
probably funnier, possibility: that being dumped on by people higher on the
hill can generate something other than a happy, healthy, huggable family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bit of lunacy>
2001-04-20
  25TH SHOT FOUND IN POKEMON CARTOONS
  Psychologists in the Russia's southern city of Krasnodar have called on
the Russian government to ban televising of the Pokemon Japanese cartoon.
The cartoon has already been televised on Russia's state-controlled ORT
nationwide television network, as many countries, including Japan itself,
have tabooed it. Krasodar psychologists assert that a 25th shot system is
applied in the cartoon which negatively affects children's subconsciousness.
As a result of this shot's impact, a ''neurolinguistic programming'' occurs,
or, to put it in other words, zombying. The psychologists characterize this
phenomena as the ''intellectual genocide.'' In their view, the cartoon calls
for cruelty and aggression, while numerous signs on the heroes' costumes
symbolize death.

Svali: I'm not sure what the "25th shot system" is, but obviously Russia has
recognized it as some sort of subliminal frame set that has a detrimental
effect on children (why am I not surprised, I've already shared my opinion
of Pokemon...). And Magicke, another card game, is even worse. Also, think
of the role playing games that teens get sucked into, such as D&D online, or
Diablo, and others. The list goes on.

http://arshadnaik.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/cartoons-and-mind-control/

Cartoons and Mind Control

Besides music, Illuminati has used cartoons for brain programming of children in order to destroy their intellectual capabilities.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) both feel that TV does influence the behavior of children. The AAP states “Neuroscientists have shown TV is a very quick medium. Messages are shot at the viewer as if by an automatic rifle. When the child becomes used to receiving information at so fast a rate, they lose interest in information that is more detailed and methodical, such as the information received in day-to-day schooling.

There is evidence that 6-10 Hz ELF magnetic waves can affect brain waves and control the mind of any person. It is important to realize that when a person watches TV, they go into an alpha brain wave state, in which they are more suggestible than normal. In fact, a LOT of Illuminati programming is done in alpha state, since the person is relaxed and highly suggestible. Most cartoons have a subtle message as well as subliminal ones meant to influence the next generation of children, destroy their intelligence, family values and morality. Psychologists in the Russia’s southern city of Krasnodar have called on the Russian government to ban televising of the Pokemon Japanese cartoon. The cartoon has already been televised on Russia’s state-controlled ORT nationwide television network, as many countries, including Japan itself, have banned it. Krasodar psychologists assert that a 25th shot system is applied in the cartoon which negatively affects children’s sub-consciousness. As a result of this shot’s impact, a ”neuro-linguistic programming’‘ occurs, or, to put it in other words, zombying. The psychologists characterize this phenomenon as the ”intellectual genocide.” In their view, the cartoon calls for cruelty and aggression, while numerous signs on the heroes’ costumes symbolize death.

It increases aggressiveness and anti-social behavior, makes children less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence, and it increases their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life. The Children who watch too much cartoons on
television are more likely to have mental and emotional problems, along with brain and eye injuries and unexpectedly the risk of a physical problem increases.

The American Psychological Association passed a resolution in February of 1985, informing broadcasters and the public about the dangers violence on the television has on children. Three major effects have been proven by psychological research caused by children seeing violence on television are that the child may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; children who watch violence do not fear violence nor are they bothered by violence in general and the children are more likely to become aggressive or use harmful actions towards others.

The April 2004 issue of the medical journal Pediatrics published a study done by Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center of Seattle, Washington. The study revealed that children who watched three to four hours of television daily had a 30 to 40 percent greater risk of developing attention deficit disorder than children who did not watch television.

In December 1997, an episode of the Japanese cartoon “Pocket Monster” (later renamed “Pokémon” for international distribution) drew worldwide attention after multiple cases of children suffering seizures(a sudden attack of an illness, especially one that affects the brain) after watching the episode were reported (Warner, 2004).

Visual Subliminal Messaging in Children’s Cartoons

Subliminal messaging is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as, “Below the threshold of conscious perception; inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response” (AHD, 1352).  What this means in the world of mass media is advertisers and programmers are slipping in messages that you act upon and don’t even realize that you are doing it.  And they are also doing it to children.

Children’s cartoons are packed with many controversial topics such as violence and sexuality. However, many parents would be shocked to learn that cartoon makers are intentionally brainwashing their children by secretly placing messages never to be deciphered by the conscious mind, but instead propagating the subconscious, into behaving a certain way. 

Pornography in Cartoons

There are levels of Satanism – Witchery – Pornography and Spiritism present in Disney’s videos.

For example, in the video of “Mermaid”, male genital has been shown. (I am not placing the picture here; you can easily search it on web). This video, “The Little Mermaid” is a video of child pornography. In the background, during the music that says “kiss the girl”, kiss the girl, kiss the girl – there is a Jamaican group speaking African words, to curse each and every child who is listening to the video.

Another example, in the video of “Aladin”, if you stop the video in slow motion, going slowly. you will see that he says, so quickly you cannot hear it in normal speed, he says: “good-teenagers-take-off-your clothes”.

There is another video that has been causing great sensation, called “Pocahontas”. Pocahontas is an Indian word, it has two parts – “poca” meaning spirit, and “hontas” meaning abyss, meaning spirit invoked from the abyss. When you utter “pocahontus!” you are calling the Devil to your side, and to the side of your children.

There is a video called “the lion king”. The Time Magazine said, “It is the most dirty, most perverse and most charged with violence, than any other video Disney has produced. That children who watch the “Lion King today, will be the murderers of tomorrow. This video “Lion King” was produced by a homosexual man named John Smith, who died of AIDS in New York. In this video the lion walks effeminately. If you watch the video in slow motion you will see that when the Lion hits paws on the ground, and the dust particles rise – in the middle of the television forms the word “SEX.

Michael Eisner, the owner of Disney 60% of the stocks married a homosexual man, at Disney World, Orland Florida.

This is what Disney is teaching! Pornography, spiritism, Satanism and Destruction to our children. And you still believe that Disney is family entertainment. Disney is nothing more than a satanic empire. Made with an astounding precision to destroy your home and to destroy your children.

Law on Cartoons

There is no official law that makes subliminal messages illegal; it is widely frowned upon by the Federal Communications Council (FCC).  Stiff fines and penalties including revocation of a station’s broadcasting license can arise if a station knowingly airs anything containing a subliminal message.  This is not always the case as proven by the FCC in the 1950’s when legislation that was to forbid subliminal messages was overturned.  The FCC referred to Section 326 of the Communications Act stating, “The FCC is prohibited from censoring broadcast material, including advertising.”  It wasn’t until 1958, when the National Association of Broadcasters pressured the FCC to make subliminal messages illegal, that the FCC finally complied by revising its policies on the matter.  The new code states: Any technique whereby an attempt is made to convey information to the listener by transmitted messages below the threshold of normal awareness is prohibited (FCC Information Bulletin 7).  This law, however, only limits the use of auditory subliminal messaging.  There has never been any legislation passed restricting the use of visual aspects of the subconscious, which remains legal today.

Many acts of accused subliminal messaging are easily explained by a simple coincidence.  Such as the infamous Disney stories, when in the 1990’s, conservative Christian groups such as the American Life League accused the children’s entertainment giant of placing subliminal messages of a sexual nature in its films.  Many of the things displayed in cartoons cannot be even mentioned; otherwise this article will become an obscene one.

Auditory Subliminal Messaging in Children’s Cartoons

Meowth said, in an episode of “Pokemon” that aired on Monday, October 11^th, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.  When children watch cartoons, they always pay attention to what is being said.  In a child’s subconscious mind, he or she is exposed to auditory subliminal messages that they may never discover, but they will eventually become a part of their lives.  The interesting thing about the situation is that these messages are most common in popular cartoons. The main allegation against SpongeBob Squarepants is its use of metaphors in place of profanity.  When he is disappointed, SpongeBob will often yell out “Tartar Sauce”.  To an adult ear, that phrase may sound like it is intended to represent a curse word.

TV ends up being the de facto babysitter for millions of kids. Save yourselves and your children from this Fitnah of Dajjal before it is too late!

And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle and told Paul.
	Acts 23:14-16
It was neither coincidence nor accident that Paul’s nephew was in earshot of the plan to kill Paul, it was part of God’s program for Paul. At some point in their walk, most believers ask, 'How can I know what God wants me to do?’ And, like Elijah in 1 Kings 19, they sit in a cave, wondering. Like Elijah, they feel the earth shaking — but the Lord is not in the earthquake. They see the fire glowing — but the Lord is not in the fire. They watch the wind blowing — but the Lord is not in the wind. Many people are still looking for an earth-shaking confirmation, a fiery illumination, or a wind to blow them in Divine direction. But it’s much simpler than that. As Elijah discovered, God’s is a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). The Lord whispers in your heart, writes desires upon your heart, and then gives confirmation to your heart through situations and people around you. Accuse me of being simplistic, but I find it so wonderful to say, ‘Father, this is the desire of my heart. I’m going to pursue this course, knowing You will close and open doors — as You lead me in a supernaturally natural way.’ For whatever question you face presently, just make sure your heart is open to the Lord — and He’ll have a nephew in the right place at the right time who will overhear a conversation, go to the Roman captain, and set events in motion which the world will call luck, but in which you’ll see the hand of God.

May 1
	And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
	Acts 22:10

‘Go into the city, Paul, and when you get there, further instructions will be given.’ That’s always the way of the Lord: One step at a time. He gives His people one instruction, and waits until they obey it before more information is given. In the midst of a great revival taking place through Philip’s ministry in Samaria, the Lord told him to go to Gaza. Philip obeyed, and the Ethiopian eunuch was saved (Acts 8). While Peter was praying on his rooftop, the Lord instructed him to follow three men who would knock on his door. Peter obeyed, and the house of Cornelius was converted (Acts 10). The Lord called Abraham from Ur, and told him to follow Him one step at a time. Abraham obeyed, and a nation was born (Hebrews 11:8). Every time the Lord calls a man or a woman, every time He wants to bless someone, He does it by encouraging them to take a step of faith. Many times a lot of us miss out on years, or even a lifetime, of being in God’s will because we don’t act on the singular instruction He gives us. Precious people, we must obey the one thing the Lord has made known to us either through His Word, through times of prayer, or through the desires He has placed within our hearts. If we knew how it was going to work — it wouldn’t be faith. If we knew where the supplies would come from — it wouldn’t be faith. If we had it all mapped out — it wouldn’t be faith. Faith says, ‘Okay, Lord. Like Abraham I don’t know exactly how it’s all going to work out — but here we go!’ In 1 Samuel 14, the Israelites were at a stand-off in a battle against the Philistines. Perhaps looking up at the stars one night, Jonathan was reminded that the Creator Who made such beauty and displayed such glory was with him constantly. Perhaps pondering God’s promise that one could chase one thousand and two could put to flight ten thousand if they were in God’s will (Deuteronomy 32:30), he poked his armor-bearer and said, ‘Let’s sneak over to the Philistine camp, and see what the Lord might want to do.’ So while the other guys snoozed, Jonathan and his armor-bearer made their way to the camp of the Philistines. As they approached the Philistine garrison, Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Now wait a minute. We want to be men of faith, but we don’t want to be fools. I’ll yell to the Philistines, and if they say, ‘Stay there, you guys. We see you, and we’re coming to get you,’ — we’ll split and make our way back to camp as fast as we can. But, if they say, ‘Come up here you guys. We’ll take you on’ — we’ll take that as a word from the Lord, and we’ll go get them.’ That’s the way I believe the Christian life should be lived: by taking steps of faith without being foolish. We should put on our armor, get ready for battle, go out to the edge and say, ‘Here we are, Lord. What do You want to do?’ Jonathan called out. The Philistine answered, ‘Hey, come up here and we’ll teach you guys a lesson,’ — and Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘God is with us. Let’s go get ’em.’ God was indeed with them, and a great, miraculous victory took place that day, when two guys took on an entire army — and won. Stepping out in faith and yet always being willing to pull back if God isn’t in it — that’s the key. Step out in faith — but if you sense the Lord’s not in it, re-group, and see what else He might want to do. Be a Jonathan. Take a step of faith. You’ll never regret it.