The Oil of Faith...

I've been away from and neglecting this blog for months now. Life gets busy sometimes.

Today I wanted to break that neglect and start posting new entries again. I'm still not on a schedule for this, but I will try to post regularly again.

Recently, I saw a discussion about the 10 Virgin's Parable and a side conversation about what the Oil represents.

Most people default to the Holy Spirit on this, and then comes the arguments about how could it be the Holy Spirit if, this and that, and such and such.

I have always held that the Parable of the Ten Virgins is for the Tribulation time. Not about the rapture. The Bridesmaids are not the Bride. Simple as that.

IMHO:

The Oil is "Faith", not the Holy Spirit.

The long term theme has always been about Faith under Pressure, pressed on all sides and yet remaining faithful.

The Olive is crushed under pressure to produce the Olive Oil that is often used in Oil Lamps of the time.

The Bridesmaids all start with OIL, but you don't run out of Holy Spirit, you can however run out of Faith if it was based on the wrong thing.

The Holy Spirit is immersive and over flowing and immeasurable. Faith comes in all sizes and lack, from ones with no faith, to the size of a mustard seed, or as an enduring faith.

The key is: Faith in what? Christ? or yourself?

If Faith is the Oil, then it is a curious comment that the 5 wise tell the 5 foolish to go to town to buy more. :)

Can you buy faith?

Can you buy the Holy Spirit?

Those in the Tribulation will all start out at the same level, but only those with the extra Faith will make it to the end of their run. Only they will go to the Wedding Feast (after the Bride and Groom have already been married).

I still believe this interpretation of this parable even now.

Grace and Peace to you all through our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh! 

---

Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

March winds of change...

Isaiah 26:16-21

O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.

As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.

We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth,  nor brought any life into the world.

Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.

Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.

For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.

As of late, there is a horrible trend I am seeing often in social media and Utoob where people feel they can decide the salvation condition of another from outside appearances. And often based upon the idea of visible "works" or the lack of them. The arrogance and hypocrisy is astounding, and though we knew it would come, it is still somewhat of a shock to se it in play.

This often runs parallel with various forms of legalism and religious expectations that have nothing to do with the Gospel or Christ's work in our lives.

How many times does it take to get it through the mind and into the heart that Salvation is a gift, and is only of Grace and Mercy? How many times does it take to make someone understand that another's salvation is not their business, but their own personal relationship with Christ... IS!

Often they run to (Matthew 7:15-20) about judging the fruit of others, disregarding the direct context of recognizing false prophets, and it not being about another's salvation. That is solely a matter between them and Christ, just as you and I have a private relationship with Christ. The test is about character and not salvation, that is solely the choice of our Lord and Savior.

They betray their own character as false with these very acts.

R.C. Sproul said it quite elegantly and simply, that salvation is permanent once attained.

Salvation: If you have it, you can never lose it,
and if you seemingly lose it, then you never really had it.

This should be reminded of everyone every time one doubts, it should be the first tenet repeated in any discussion in faith.

It has been said another way...

If you could lose salvation, you would.

Let us remind ourselves RIGHT HERE, and RIGHT NOW about Salvation.

You can't earn it, you can't work to maintain it, because it was never about you... It's always been about Him, His final sacrifice, His victory, and our Faith in Him.

No matter how new you are to the faith, how wretched you have been, how many times you still fail after He has come into your life, you cannot lose the gift He has freely given you by Grace and Mercy.

It is a marriage covenant, and more than this, it is a covenant based solely on His fulfilling the requirements.

All of the rest of our lives are lived under a permanent Justification that He established regardless of the opinion or metric of men.

Christ works in our lives from our salvation to Death and Resurrection or Rapture, on our Sanctification, until our final and full redemption.

His works. Not our works. This is why works do not bring faith, Faith brings works, His works.

In the end, there will people you did not expect to see in Glory, and many more who you did expect to see that are absent.

Understand this, and know this:

Your opinions about another's salvation have no bearing on the reality of His Judgments or His Grace.

And I will be the first to tell you that I don't care about what you think of me, I only care about what He thinks about me.

The last couple of months have been rough. It will likely get rougher from here on out. March has a history of changes.

The trials, the adversary, the constant battle to keep the flesh crucified with Christ. This is not an appeal for sympathy, but a recognition that I am in it, it is real, and I must put on Christ every day to overcome it through faith.

I desire encouragement, I desire edification, and in turn I desire to give them to others also.

The winds are changing, stay humble, stay armored, remain peaceful and trusting, stop chasing the world, get your feet out of it, and get your eyes on the Word.

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

... and having done all to stand, Stand Firm Then. (Ephesians 6:13d-14a)

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31b)

Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh!

---

Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

The New Direction

John 4:23-24

“But a time is coming and has now come when the TRUE worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.

God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

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I've spent some time away from the noise of the world trying to distill the following paragraphs in a succinct way.

The beginning of this year 2026 started off wrong, and I need to apologize to a few people about my rant in mid January. I have since removed it, but the damage was done.

Yes, I am human, and yes I am in physical and medical trials, but it is not an excuse for the nature and delivery of that outburst. This blog was never meant for that, and it will not become that.

Among the Fruits of the Spirit in (Galatians 5:22-23) are Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, and Self-control. And none of these applied to that entry, and so, I will ask all for forgiveness for it ever being made.

This is perhaps a great example of the onslaught of stress, confusion, and deception in our midst, and sometimes our stumble and even falling to the weight of it.

My problem was inundation and being overwhelmed in my email. I reacted harshly, and for that I am very sorry.

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With this said, I want to go further on the topic of the Holy Spirit and the nature of our Faith and the Faith that Christ was looking for and teaching about.

I chose (John 4) here at the beginning of this as the base to explore from. You all most likely recognize it as the Woman at the Well exchange. It is very profound, and many people miss it.

I often smile at the times God reserves the most profound things for those who were not Jews. Why? Because they were able to receive it when the Jew couldn't. And it shows also that Christ is for ALL men, and not just a selective group.

This revelation is a basis against Works theology, and the foundation of REAL Faith. This is the New Direction.

You cannot be freed from the bondage of sin, if you keep returning to the Law as a Justification. You essentially reject Christ and His grace in favor of your own works that will never be enough.

We know this, as the many times it has been taught both from Christ as well as the Apostles.

Further, The Law, was given to Israel to remember and to teach, it truly is His nature, and is one we cannot achieve on our own. This is why the "Christ" was prophesied so long ago before at the beginning. When Israel kept the law, they were keeping Christ who was to come, and they had lost that understanding by the time He arrived in front of them. It was meant for them to appreciate what the Messiah (Christ) would do for them, and ALL men.

It taught them that they could never achieve Justification on their own works or by the Law, because ALL men fail it. ALL men are corrupted.

So we see today even as in the times of Jesus or of Paul and the other Apostles where men try and fall back on a self-centered desire to do something to rate them worthy, when no one can be by that avenue.

I'm not much for any recognition of anyone on Youtube, and I am always given good reason. Recently I watched a video where the person essentially was judging other peoples salvation and making a judgement on their "Faith" by whether they "produced" works or not.

Here we go again, and again, and again...

Always and often, they run to James or Hebrews or parts of John to point a stringy and shaking finger at others, always taking the verses about works out of context. Basically assigning works as a test or requirement for their approval.

Let's get this straight, right here, and right now. It's none of your business. Their salvation and their Faith is solely between them and Christ, just as yours is also.

Mind your business, mind your commission. You know... The Gospel (Good News)... Your arrogance, and opinion, and judgement are not Good News to anyone but your own ego.

And those "works" you are talking about. They're not your works anyway, but Christ's work through us by our Faith and submission. Those are the ones that will be Gold, Silver, and Precious Jewels that do not burn up at the Fire of Testing, like all your works will, which are Wood, Hay, and Stubble.

And "His commandments"? It's not the Law of Moses or the Old Testament, rather it is the Law of Love that Christ has taught. To love God and love your neighbor as yourself. To do unto others as you would have done to yourself. To love others as Christ has loved us.

These are the first two of The Law, and encompass all the law and the prophets, because by these first two, all the rest are kept through Christ. With these two, no one is affected by the temptation to break the others.

Do you love Him? Good. Now finish it by loving everyone else also.

As a side note here. The Sabbath was given to Israel to set them apart from the rest of the Nations. No gentile observes it legally unless they are within Israel's borders.

For the Christian, Jew or Gentile, Christ is our Sabbath, but it is still observed by all within Israel's borders as a nation.

(1 John 5:1-5) perhaps is the best description of true faith when understood properly, and how we overcome, because Christ has overcome already on our behalf. And our Faith in Him makes us a partner in that achievement. He is the fulfillment of what we could not achieve. He then literally carries us on His back (on His wings).

The commandments we keep in these verses are the ones we just spoke of. His commandments of love.

1 John 5:1-5

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. 

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our FAITH.

Who then overcomes the world?

Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

That last line is important. Jesus spoke about the "work and will" of the Father being that of believing in the One whom He sent. That is the thing that brings salvation. That is the essence of True Faith.

John 6:29

 Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

John 6:39-40

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.

For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” 

And to come full circle, this Faith is to worship Him in Spirit, since, He has given us of His Spirit, to be able to do so. Not by works, but by our Faith, from which come His works.

Works do not lead to Faith, but His works come from our Faith when we submit to His will, and not our own.

This is that New Direction. It's been that way since He came to us, will still be that way when He comes again soon.

Faith in Spirit.

The scripture is clear, our salvation is based on believing He is who he claims to be.

Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say?

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of FAITH we are proclaiming:

that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

It's right there... Can't be ANY clearer!

Grace and Peace to you all in our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh!

---

Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

Do not let your heart be troubled...

1 John 3:1-3

Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!

The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

In this season, and in these times, it is very easy to feel down and without hope.

So, if for no other reason than encouragement and edification, let us remind ourselves of His great promise for us.

I chose to start with (1 John 3:1-3) because it has several important things to remind us as Christians.

• That the Father has given us (not worked for, not maintained through works) His Son as a promise and standard of His love.

What does that mean though?

Well, it means that He knew we could not make it back into fellowship with God on our own. The price to be paid for that return was too high for us to ever reach or achieve. So, His Son paid it in our stead.

This "Justification" was given to us freely through simply believing in Him, that He was and is the Son of God, and that He IS our Messiah. And once attained and attributed to us, it can never be lost or taken away from us, even at our lowest points and worst cases in our lifelong "Sanctification".

The reason being that it is a gift for one thing, and that it is based on His work in our lives and not our work in our lives. It is a marriage covenant in which all the requirements, and maintenance of the covenant are on His shoulders, and not ours, and it is permanent.

• Having defeated death, and rising from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection, He is now what we will become upon His return for us. This is that beautiful promise of our completed redemption and re-creation into what He is now at the Resurrection and rapture of the saints, when we are no longer blocked by sin because that old fleshly body is no more.

2 Corinthians 5:1-3

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

Full, and completed Redemption is His promise, His finished Victory, and our Hope, our Joy, and our Peace in our endurance.

• And finally, "Everyone" who has this Hope, purifies themselves in that hope because it is the expression of our belief and trust in Him, which defines our true faith.

1 John 5:3-5

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our FAITH.

Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

These commandments are not that of the list of the Law we could not keep, but the commandments of Christ to Love God, and to Love thy neighbor as thyself and to Love one another as He loved us.

Romans 13:8-10

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:13-14

For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

From this Love comes the fulfillment of the Law, because Christ has already fulfilled the Law on our behalf.

This HOPE is valid. His PROMISE is true. Our SALVATION is real. Our full REDEMPTION is near!

Grace and Peace to you all through our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh!

---

Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

Deceptive to the core...

Revelation 17:12-14

“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast.

These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.

They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

We are not able to fashion our own Gods truly, but we sure can fashion our own Devils.

Before finishing this blog entry I have a request for you the reader to watch this video below:

We're Not Ready for Superintelligence

This is a secular/non-religious view of the current risks of "Artificial General Intelligence" (AGI) with a pair of fictional possible outcomes from among many. I find the second more positive possible outcome unrealistic, because of human nature. But I want you to pay more attention to things like "global governance", "crisis oversight committee", how AI is taught more or less "like we teach animals" or shall I say "beasts"?

This truly is a beast system being described too. AGI Kings with no Kingdom, yet with Power and Authority.

Satan has often been linked to logic and reason. His battlefield is the mind. The old saying is: "The devil is in the details".

What better champion for the AGI model to "reason and align with"? Their birth is already steeped in deception training by humans.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all is the speed, and more importantly, the increase in interval. Time is short, and the dam is getting ready to burst...

The oldest truth in both times of peace and of times of war is the fact that when something is built, it will get used (and eventually abused). The problem here being if it gets to the point where it improves itself without human interaction or control, it might also get used against us by it's own reasoning.

And all these fools are happily building their destruction and the destruction of everyone else around them.

It wasn't enough to scare the living daylights out of several generations for decades with the atomic and thermonuclear bombs. No... Someone had to say "Hold my beer and watch this..."

I don't want to be here to see it.

Praise God I have an escape regardless of my mortal condition or end, and I don't apologize for wanting to escape either...

Stand firm in the Lord. Be still and know He is God! And if you get nervous or overwhelmed by any of this, remember:

Philippians 4:4-8

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and God in the flesh!

---

Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

Been here before...

Luke 12:39-40

But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

As I have contemplated this over the years, I have bounced a bit between us being able to know the day of our Full and Final redemption and not ever being able to know it. These days I don't think we will know it, until it (literally) catches us either by surprise, or in that great sigh of relief of "FINALLY!"

Many will use (Matthew 24:36) and (Mathew 25:13) and even (Luke 12:39-40) incorrectly to uphold this notion. The context of all three of these is not tied to the Rapture at all.

With that said, I think (Luke 12:39-40) shows a internal view of why we won't know the day until it happens.

Jesus describes His return as a thief taking from the homeowner. Let that sink in a minute. What "homeowner" would someone like Jesus endeavor to steal from?

Satan of course, who is currently, and temporarily the owner of the world (the god of this world). The kingdoms of the earth only become Christ's a bit later on during the Tribulation.

And what exactly does Jesus steal from this homeowner? Why, us of course!

It sounds paradoxical for me to say that I know, after just saying that the context around these verses are not about the rapture. But Like I said, this is a larger picture and an internal perspective of God.

There are many more things than just the date of the Rapture, that men know nothing about and have not been revealed to them. So this is a basic policy on the part of God about certain tactical knowledge kept under wraps.

In short, if we were able to know the day, Satan would as well long before we figured it out. That's not good strategy.

In WWII the motto was "Loose lips sink ships", or in this context, satan would not have let his house be broken into.

Today is one of those days that we have seen before. Speculation about 9/23 and it's implications. Very reminiscent of 2017. It's actually the Feast of Trumpets that gets people animated about it all.

Like then, in 2017, when we had the Revelation 12 Sign (as it were) in addition, people were expectant. And this is why I feel (Luke 12:39-40) applies yet again.

And like then, I say "Caution" as I illustrated then with the "Don't Slip - Wet Floor Rev 12 Sign"

I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm hopeful, like any other day and any other person would be or is even now.

I can't tell you it won't happen today, and I can't tell you it will happen today.

All I know is that IT WILL happen, and each day is one day closer to it happening.

I mean, why do you think it's called Patient Endurance (Perseverance)?

Keep Calm and remain a believer...

Grace and Peace to you all in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is faithful and true, and He will come soon given all we see around us in these dark and evil days.

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Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]

Our lives are hidden with Christ in God

Colossians 3:1-4

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Here on this solemn day of September 11th, in addition to this remembrance we now add another tragedy to the list.

I did not know Charlie Kirk. I only knew of him.

The tragedy of his assassination is a reminder of the cost of our faith, even here in the USA. Not just the loss of friends and family, but even of life and limb.

People around the world face it every day in some places. The hostility of the world against the truth and those who share it, believe it, and practice it.

The days are truly evil, and we must be vigilant and fully armored.

No one advocates for death, but we are dead already in Christ, so that we may live with Christ. And Paul said it best. To live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

My prayers for comfort and peace to his family and all the lives in who he touched for Christ.

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then... (Ephesians 6:13-14a)

For, you will stand, because He is able to make you stand. (Romans 14:4)

Come soon Lord Jesus!

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Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]